It’s Getting A Bit Complicated

 

The study of astrology becomes really interesting when we have several significant astrological factors happening at one time. The period we are in right now is one of those times. Here’s what is happening:

1. Mercury is in retrograde, which began on November 23, 2011 and will continue that way for two more weeks.
2. We had a Solar eclipse on November 24th and will have a Lunar eclipse on December 10th.
3. Mars is in its ‘shadow’ period.
4. There will be the Inferior conjunction between the Sun and Mercury on December 4th.

Any one of these is important by itself, but together it creates a confusing, but active period full of cross-currents and complexities that can defy our attempts to navigate if we only use logic as our guide. You may want to refer to my previous article for more information on the Solar eclipse and Mercury retrograde which you can find here.

What I want to talk about in this article is how the Mars transit fits into all of this. To understand the Mars cycle, you will need to know that ordinarily Mars moves along smoothly at a fairly rapid speed. It moves almost 1° a day for most of its two-year cycle. Thus, unless it is transiting a particularly important part of our chart, we may not take notice of its influence. It takes about 2 years for Mars to orbit the Sun, but for 6-7 months, Mars does something very different and this 6-month period is actually 25% of its 2-year cycle. What makes this so important is that it spends this period in only 20° of the zodiac. This means that during this time, we are going to be very focused on a very small portion of our chart when it comes to Martian matters.

What Does Mars Rule?

 

The Mars energy is how we assert ourselves, how we project our Will out into the world, to affect it the way we want or, as is often the case, the way we must. It rules our strategies, approaches to projects and the way we act or behave to get what we want and need. During this high focus Mars period we are forced to really consider what we are doing. We will need to take a really good look at what we want to achieve and how we should go about doing that.

The Mars Cycle Itself

 

Mars will go retrograde on Jan. 23, 2012 and stay in retrograde motion for 11 weeks. Ordinarily, Mars is retrograde for only 8 weeks.  So this upcoming period of review is going to last much longer than normal and therefore be more intense.

Why Talk About this Cycle Now?

 

On November 17, 2011, Mars entered the territory it will retrograde back to by April 14th of next year. So, it is already in the area of your chart that will be a part of the “review and discovery” process that will last until early summer of 2012. That’s seven months. So, even though Mars will not go retrograde for another 7 weeks, the Mars cycle has actually already begun.

What This Means

 

Let me first say that this does not mean one should not act or do things. Such a notion would be ridiculous. But it is going to be helpful to note that whatever is set into motion right now, could be reviewed and/or modified over the next months. I’m suggesting that one ‘expect unanticipated results or effects from whatever we begin at this point.

Remember that with Mercury retrograde right now and a coming lunar eclipse, we are in a state of great transition. This is not a stable period of time, especially if your chart is affected by these transits. What I do during periods such as these is make sure that whatever I choose to do is as well thought out as I can possibly make it. I will tend to avoid snap decisions if I can and wait until I’m sure of whatever decision I’m thinking of making. But it is just as true that amazing new ideas can begin to come in to us. We should not refuse them, of course, but we also should not act on them yet as they are not likely to be fully formed for quite awhile.

Mars in Virgo

 

Mars is now in Virgo and will be for 7 months. Virgos love to break things down into their parts and see what is out of balance or what isn’t working the way it could. Then, after that, they want to organize it into a comprehensive whole. That’s the hardest part for them as they can focus excessively on details and not see the whole picture. They also love to improve the techniques or style of whatever they are involved in. This is a great time for all of us to focus in on health, diet, and nutrition issues as we can discover new ways to take care of our body and mind. Also, any health issues that come up for you now or in the near future, should be taken seriously as they could be hints of problems you will want to address.

Mars square Mercury While Retrograde

 

In the middle of all this, we also have a potential crisis that we would do well to handle without falling into a severe argumentative approach. This transit which happens on December 4th and January 1st, 2012 is a time I would suggest all of us watch carefully. These two periods are a time where people could take belligerent or argumentative stands. Things could easily turn nasty and create long-lasting effects. What this period is good for, if both parties of a dispute can remain composed and focused on solutions, is to find creative ways to look at their conflict from a new perspective. Another constructive aspect of this transit is that if two people are trying to work something out AND one of them has been less powerful than the other in the past, then this period could allow for things to equalize. The weaker person may suddenly want to be heard and seen. The outcome will depend on how well the stronger person handles this ‘new’ approach by the other. If the dominant one doesn’t like the change they see, they could fight back aggressively and become intransient, which would make moving forward impossible. For some, this could be a trying time. Patience and calmness is extremely important now. With the Sun/Mercury Inferior conjunction also occurring on December 4th, clarity is possible as we can see more than ever how things really are. What we do with that clarity is important, but I suggest that we not rush to resolution. Issues coming up now may be significant ones, so much so that they cannot be solved quickly. It will be enough to agree to enter a process with the other person, if both sides want to work through the problems. But it may be that the conflict cannot be resolved. This is another reason why it is best to wait and see rather than push towards a solution that cannot happen right away.

As you can see, the first 10 days of December are quite difficult for some of you. We will succeed if we can hold our tongues while still asserting ourselves in as constructive a manner as possible and remain patient and non-reactive.

I will be writing more through December as so much is going on.

The Coming Solar Eclipse and Mercury Retrograde

 

This article takes a look at the potentially important date of November 23-24, 2011, when two significant transits happen within hours of each other. Each of these by itself can bring about important changes, but when they coincide, one can pretty much count on it bringing some interesting effects. This will depend, of course, on whether or not, a particular chart is activated by these transits.

Mercury Retrograde

Astrology has become more and more popular in the last 10-20 years. In fact, as a result of this growth, much of the scientific community seems rather irritated and concerned with it. Even those rascally comedians, Penn & Teller have attacked it with great vigor. Yet, astrology grows in spite of or perhaps because of this criticism. Also, because more and more people are seeing the accuracy of astrology in describing what and why is happening in our daily lives. The reason why I’m so confident of this growth is that I find that many people are aware of the effects of Mercury retrograde. In fact, many people blame all sorts of things on Mercury retrograde, unfortuantely even when Mercury isn’t retrograde at all. Still, a lot of people know about the phenomenon and include it in their voccabulary.

Part of the problem with interpreting Mercury retrograde cycles is that its effects don’t just occur during the 3-week period itself. It’s actually a 4-month cycle with at least 8 sub-cycles, all of which are part of a holistic understanding of the retrograde cycle. I say this because Mercury doesn’t turn retrograde until Nov. 23rd, 2011at 11:21pm PST, but is affecting us already. It will turn retrograde at 20° of Sagittarius and will then go back to 3° Sag. on Dec. 14th , 2011. It is affecting us now because it is already slowing down and is in what is called the ‘shadow’ period. This is the territory in which Mercury will travel three times. This means that wherever it is located in a person’s natal chart signifies an area on one’s life that will be given focused attention for almost 2 months. Specifically, from Nov. 5, 2011 through Jan. 1, 2012, Mercury will be traveling between 3° – 20° of Sagittarius. If you are a serious follower of astrology you may want to know where this territory is located in your chart and what aspect of your life will be receiving special focus and understanding.

This is much closer to how Mercury retrograde cycles affect us. The view that Mercury retrograde periods bring about computer crashes, car repairs, problems with phones and other forms of communications, delays in deliveries, cancellations of appointments, etc. are all a common part of this cycle, to be sure. There are often a lot of inconveniences that come up for us at this time. But, frankly, this is due in part to not caring for these ‘predictable’ problems much earlier. Maybe we were too busy with other things to change the oil, fix the heater, and so on. Suddenly, Mercury retrograde strikes and problems occur that could have been prevented if we chose to get them fixed earlier. Still, surprises do occur as a natural part of the cycle.

Basically, this is Mercury retrograde is a time to focus on two things:

1. It is a time to review.
2. It is a time to finish projects that are near completion.

The Solar Eclipse

Solar eclipses are inertia changers. They can suddenly change the direction and momentum of events in a person’s life. This eclipse takes place about 23 hours after Mercury changes direction. It happens on Nov. 24th, 2011 at 10:10pm at 2° Sagittarius. If your Sun, Moon, or Ascendant occurs with 1°-2° from that point, then there is a strong likelihood that you will notice this eclipse. People who have the same degree in the mutable signs of Virgo, Gemini or Pisces will also be affected.

I will be going deeper into the chart of this eclipse in next week’s article but I would like to mention the Saros cycle that this eclipse activates. It is called 14 North and is considered to be an indicator of odd or strange effects. Specifically, it can bring about a time of confusion in personal relationships (Venus and Neptune dancing together), unexpected happenings in financial matters, and even a degree of disappointment and despair. However, it may be more of a feeling from within than a reaction to a specific event or happening. This is not a time to make important decisions as one’s response may not be accurate, due to confusion, miscommunication and even delusion from others. By the way, this is also not a good time to make significant decisions due to Mercury going retrograde.

As in all matters, sometimes we are forced by life situations to make decisions whether we like or not, so if you are faced with that necessity, then use as much caution as possible and if possible, see if one can delay having to finalize the matter.

Next week I will be going deeper into both the Mercury retrograde and Solar Eclipse areas.

Scorpio New Moon – 2011

 

I want to take a break from the Pluto series to talk a little bit about the Scorpio New Moon. It began last week on October 26th, 2011 at 12:55pm PDT at 3° Scorpio. As many of you know, Scorpio is the sign of the harvest, a time when we are surrounded by varying forms of death as we now can sense the approaching winter and the need to prepare for it.

It seems I cannot completely escape the Plutonic theme as this New Moon is in Scorpio which is ruled by Pluto and in this New Moon chart Pluto sextiles the Sun and Moon as well.

Pluto and the Principle of Dormancy

The seasons represent physically as well as psychologically the Sun’s vibrant energetic movement. In spring, the Sun awakens from its winter slumber and begins to pour forth in innocent exuberance, creating feelings of hope and optimism. In the summer, that solar energy reaches a peak and we can hardly remember when it was cold and nothing could grow. Now, as the fall season fully arrives, we are reminded of the cycles of life, that death follows life just as life follows death. What this tells us is this: the life-death process is one process, one principle, unified as the one true Life principle.

So, what is happening to the solar energy now? Is it dying? No. Energy cannot die. The life-death principle shows that the movement of the seasons reflects two sides of the same coin, always interconnected and flowing back and forth in their yearly dance. The outflow of energy that we see and feel in the spring and summer now reverses. Symbolically, it begins to draw inward or downward into the ground. Vegetation dies and becomes the fertilizer for future growth. The seeds created by the life force of summer enter the ground, nestled safely within the soil, lying quietly while waiting until they are called back into action in the coming spring.

Dormancy, then, is not a lack of energy as much as it is a refocusing of energy into the creation of potential. No, we cannot know what the growing energy of this dormant period will produce or yield. That’s for next year’s growth process to tell us. But, this period is as important as any other as the vitalizing force is drawn into the underworld so that our inner world can come alive again and grow outwardly during the next cycle.

In last month’s article in the Libra New Moon, I said that protests would grow. This was due to an exact square between that Sun-Moon conjunction and Pluto. And indeed, that monthly cycle did birth what was called the “Occupy” movement. It was and is inevitably unfocused, diffuse, chaotic and without any clear goals. It represented the first outward expression of citizen discontent about the abuses of the banking system and the super-rich’s abuses of the financial system. In many respects it is the opposite of the Tea Party and other regressive pressures aligned with Christian fundamentalism. Right now, the movement seems to be in a very messy, incoherent stage. But in my view, this winter, the coming dormant period, will cause the participants of this movement to take a look at what they stand for and refine their message, so that by the time, next spring arrives, it will probably be much more focused and clear. Then we will see the first real conflicts emerge.

What is the nature of this conflict? One of the interesting statements by Steve Jobs was that he believed that the terms or labels of ‘conservative/liberal’ or ‘Republican/Democrat’ were obsolete, outworn and completely false. Instead, he believed that the forces in this country should be seen as either constructive or destructive. He apparently even spoke to Rupert Murdock privately about this as he took Fox News to task about this. He referred to them as one of the most destructive forces in America today. I would term this slightly differently and call these forces ‘regressive or progressive.’ Obviously, the anti-science view of the fundamentalists I am terming regressive, to say the least.

Next summer we will have the first of seven squares between Uranus and Pluto and right now this is what is setting up. What I believe is that a titanic struggle between old and new paradigms is coming between the forces that want to take us back to the 1920′s and earlier and those that want to look afresh at all of the economic and political models, to question them fundamentally. There is no clarity about this yet, but those who can extrapolate can see it coming just around the horizon.

What this Scorpio New Moon Means for Us

I offer to my readers my thoughts about the power and importance of dormancy. It is the process that inquires internally to reach greater clarity, to understand what has not yet been seen, and to take stock of things in preparation for the future birth of the new cycle. This is the time to feel the coming winter in ourselves and begin to identify the forces within that now will begin to grow, if we can look inside. We benefit from paying attention to our inner drives and motivations and reflect on what we discover. We can ask ourselves what do we need to learn including how we can shine the light of our own ‘inner Being’ onto the world.

This is a potent period, not a dead one in the sense of no energy or life. In fact, this is what the transformation process is about. Without self-reflection, who are we? Are we not mere robots or automatons if we do not engage in this very fruitful aspect of every cycle?

I hope some of you might share your thoughts and experiences of this potent cycle.

Pluto in Capricorn Series – Part II – Libra

 

In the first part of this series, I examined the general nature of Pluto transits. Now, I am going to spend several articles on how Pluto is expressed in the three previous signs so we can really examine the likely meaning of Pluto’s present transit in Capricorn. This article will discuss my view of the meaning of Pluto’s transit through the sign of Libra. You might want to read the first article of this series, if you haven’t done so, since it will help you understand the basis for all that I will be presenting here. You can read the first article of the series here:

Let me begin by giving you some dates. Pluto entered Libra in July of 1972 and remained in the sign of balance and harmony for approximately 12 years. In late 1983 and then again in the summer of 1984, Pluto entered the sign of Scorpio, which is the sign it rules and is therefore especially strong. Pluto stayed in Scorpio for about 11 years and entered Sagittarius in 1995. Pluto remained in Sagittarius for 13 years and in early and then again in late 2008, Pluto entered Capricorn, where it is today. What is interesting to note is that Pluto has a very elliptical orbit and therefore can be in a sign for as much to 30 years as well as move through them quite quickly, such as what you see here. The fact is that Pluto takes about 248 years to orbit the Sun, but spent only 35 years in the three signs I have just named. Thus, Pluto took only 14% of the time it takes to orbit the Sun, while traveling through 25% of the space of that orbit. What this means is the effect of Pluto is greatly intensified as it travels through the signs of Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius.

Pluto In Libra

This generation is here to learn, and then teach us about a new way or form of relating in partnership. Wherever Pluto resides is the territory where we must face the problems and abuses of previous generations and then from that knowledge, create an entirely new paradigm ‘out of whole cloth.’

Let’s look at history – until the 60′s, marriages were expected to remain together, no matter what was happening. The actual quality of their marriage was not taken into account for most people. This led to all sorts of problems, but it did tend to keep families together and therefore there was more stability, or at least there seemed to be. Thus, the divorce rate was quite low. On the other hand though, deep states of repression and its resultant depression were equally high. This situation couldn’t last forever and when Pluto entered Libra, the inevitable compensation and balancing began. Suddenly, freedom from the bondage of feeling forced to stay in unhappy marriages arose and with it a tremendous rise in divorce began. This is exactly when the Pluto in Libra generation was born.

This generation found itself facing an unprecedented number of divorced families. Even if a particular child lived with both parents, it was common for them to know many friends living in divorced families. Many children were splitting their time living with two separate parents and even two separate families, which occurred when their parents remarried. So, what kind of expectations did they grow up with? Here is a sentence I have heard very frequently from adults born with this astrological signature: “I don’t have any models for what a good marriage or partnership looks like.” They are right. Most of them don’t. At first, this may feel like a curse, at least for many. But it can be more than that. It is also a chance to create new forms of relationship as they must now do. This is exactly how Pluto works. Something outworn and outdated must first be released so that a totally new paradigm can emerge and be created. This is of course when Pluto expresses itself in a progressive way, taking humanity to a new and higher level of functioning in relationship. By progressive, I mean more open, spacious and authentic. Marriage and partnership has a chance to become true cooperation and even collaboration of two or more people, each of whom is able to be authentic and fully themselves (Aries – Libra’s opposite sign). This, I believe, is the nature of the paradigm shift that is possible for the Pluto in Libra generation as well as for those who follow it.

As always, just as there are progressive forces, there must be regressive ones that oppose all forms of change. These forces consistently glorify and idealize the past, for which they deeply long to return. These forces want to bring back “Ozzie and Harriet” and the Cleaver family for to them, those were the good old days when families ‘got it right.’ Only this was never true. For a great many people, it wasn’t true at all. In order for these times to ‘seem’ good, massive denial of one’s true thoughts and feelings was necessary. It was all about image and conformity to the societal expectations of the times. False fronts abounded and dominated the societal landscape. I used to listen in on my mother’s weekly bridge group. It was most illuminating. I heard what the four women really felt about their husbands and men in general. There was deep resentment, but also something that the women reading this article may enjoy and get a quiet smile from. These women “saw” their men. Their men had no idea what their ladies were feeling and expressing to each other, except for a very few. Yes, there was confusion and uncertainty, but there were many moments when the natural ‘female wisdom’ shone through and not always in a positive way. There is the “Kali – the destroyer” aspect to the female psyche that men would benefit from being aware of. I can’t go into all of this here, but this is when I saw that women were sometimes playing with their men just like a cat plays with a mouse.

I am mentioning the above because this sort of thing occurs only under very repressive conditions. Pluto falls away from its real and constructive purpose when control issues take over. This is when it becomes dark, manipulative and scary. When a person is driven by fear, this is when the best side of Pluto brings about a deterioration of the human being in favor of its more animal aspects. This is when everything is reduced to ‘survival mode.’ In other words, this is when we lose our true humanity and become unable to see wonderful possibilities that lie right in front of us. To get to a higher expression, we must replace fear with a willingness to progress into an unknown future that is truly new and, of course, unknown. If it’s truly new, then it is impossible to know in advance what it is likely to look like. To want to remain in an idealized past is itself repressive, since Plutonic forces are intending to take us directly into an unknown future. This is why courage is necessary. We cannot know what the future brings, so to embrace it, we must be willing to expose ourselves to the unknown.

For our Pluto in Libra generation, this is what they must do in the arena of relationship and partnership. Instead of fearing new forms of relationship because of emotional wounds from one’s own family and the lack of positive role models, they must develop the courage to create new models with a quality that embraces the authentic being of each individual engaged in the relationship. This will be a totally new model, made out of ‘whole cloth.’ It will look like a win-win relationship where collaboration replaces compromise, which, if you think about it, is a lose-lose situation.

It may feel risky as new models always do, but if you can engage in this creative process, you may find that you are guided by the transformative and wise energies of Pluto that harkens us into an unknown world that is potent and evolutionary for you and your partner, as well as for the entire human race. When it comes to relationships, you are our pioneers.

Part III of this series will be on the subject of Pluto in Scorpio.

As always, I hope this article will promote discussion and sharing. Please feel free to post your thoughts so that others might hear more on the ideas presented here.

Pluto in Capricorn Series – Part I

 

In the past few months I have been taking a hard look at the coming square between Uranus and Pluto and in this newsletter have given a special focus to the Uranus aspect of this powerful transit that will last through 2015. In this series, I will be turning towards Pluto and its nature so we can build a solid view of what the coming transit may look like. Whenever we have such profound transits, the truth is that it begins several years before the first aspect actually connects. This phase can be a bit hard to see, although it becomes much clearer once the transit fully begins. At that point, we can look back and see that it really was developing during the previous ‘emerging period.’

This subject requires much more than just one article so I will divide it into 5 parts. In the first article of the series, I will look at the Pluto process itself. Many people who have only begun to be interested in astrology know that Pluto is associated with change and transformation. Now I want to look and investigate into what that means. What kinds of transformation are we talking about and how does that process work? Why can it be so difficult at times and how much control do we have over its process? In Part II, III, and IV, I will look at the nature of Pluto transits and go back and examine how Pluto was expressed in the three previous signs from 1972 to 2008 so we can really examine the likely meaning of Pluto’s present transit in Capricorn. Specifically, I am going to discuss my view of the meaning of Pluto’s transit through the signs of Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius. Finally, the fifth article of the series will go deeply into the nature of Pluto in Capricorn itself and what its square to Uranus is likely to bring about in our personal lives as well as how it may affect our nation.

Let’s begin by looking at the overall effects of any Pluto transits. (You can do a search at this website for more articles on the effects of Pluto in astrology). My personal experience of Pluto is that it is the force that drives a person or people in general to arrive at the ‘essence’ of something. Thus, one of the main keywords for Pluto is ‘purity.’ What makes something pure is that it contains no ‘extraneous’ material, nothing outside what it is. Pluto also describes the archetypal process of ‘casting aside’ all that is not part of its essential nature – its truth of being what it is. Many astrologers are familiar with the keyword of transformation when it comes to describing Pluto, but that does beg the question of what does transformation mean. This is what it means – it is a process that sheds the false so that the essence or truth can shine through, revealing the true nature of something. It cleanses and purifies, and often not in a gentle manner. It can lead us to the discovery of one’s true Soul needs. In fact, Pluto’s process does not seem to care at all about what you like or dislike. It simply does what is needed to be done, so that the Soul can shine through. Not surprisingly then, the further from essence we are, the harder a Pluto process is likely to be on us. The more we avoid or deny, the worse it can get as things must return to the truth of what really is and the ride back to that place can be a very bumpy one indeed.

How Does This Process Work?

The Plutonic process in psychological terms is what the entire field of depth psychology is concerned about. This field studies the relationship between the conscious mind and all of the psyche’s contents held in one’s unconscious. We know that human beings are actually ruled far more by our unconscious mind that we can even begin to imagine. This is the part of our psyche that provides our real motivations and even our goals and aims in life. But, for most of us, all of this is below our awareness. We live our daily lives under the false assumption that we are completely conscious of everything we do, every decision we make and why we do it. This now allows me to define the nature of the Plutonic process. It is the process by which we become aware of these subliminal levels which actually define who we are and allow us to become authentic beings-in-the-world.

The question we must look at now is this. How can we become aware of this field or level of our own psyche? How can the unconscious become conscious? The only answer possible is that this area of our psyche must be greatly magnified, amplified or intensified. When this happens we can become aware of what had hitherto been hidden from us. Sometimes, this happens by ‘force,’ or it seems to be because we are ‘pulled into our own inner world’ even if we truly don’t want to go. When Pluto is operating, events happen and we do not understand why. Then we must look and see why they did. What part did we play in their showing up the way they did? It is these so-called ‘fated’ events that force us to look at all of what we have refused to see. We may feel the world is conspiring against us, that things aren’t going the way we planned or the way they should. Life seems to have suddenly become dark, foreboding and disturbing. Carl Jung referred to this phenomenon as facing one’s shadow.

The Plutonic process is actually what therapy was originally intended to be. It was more than helping people solve personal or social problems, which is what social work and other counseling fields are concerned with. It’s not that this isn’t an important service; it is that the human being of the present moment in history has both the need and potential to go through transformational and therefore evolutionary changes that were not possible in the past. In fact, we need this more than ever.

What Happens When the Psyche Retreats from the Plutonic Process?

Astrology books are filled with data and keywords describing the negative side of Pluto. Here are some examples of these: Pluto is said to rule greed, the Mafia, organized crime, the ‘Underworld’, despots, ruthlessness of any kind, the super-wealthy, the oligarchy, tyranny and tyrannical leaders, the need to control others at all costs, deep secrets such as conspiracies, cruelty, and many more. This list should give you a good idea of this darker side of Pluto. The reason why these characteristics can apply is that all of these characteristics are what happens when we are cut off, separated from our own truth or nature. Pluto can lead to one’s knowing of our own divinity, but without that experience, we are going to engage in all sorts of projections of our own inner demons onto others. Our job is to work with them directly by acknowledging them as our own and becoming conscious and aware of them. But they’re not going to just disappear if we refuse to do so. They will appear through our view of and dealing with other people.

We Become Detached and Lose our Soul

When we cut ourselves off from our own inner world, we detach from both ourselves and others. People become mere objects to us and we can then easily blame them for everything. Any sociologist or historian will tell you that throughout history, when things go bad in a society, the poor are blamed. It’s easy to do and humans have done it for millennia. It’s the oldest trick in the book and you can count on it every time. Does this sound familiar?

The reason for this is that instead of facing the truth of something, we repress it instead. It seems that it is unacceptable to look at the whole situation and see all of the facets that go into making things the way they are. Again, this occurs at many levels, from the personal, to the national and all of the levels in between. We go into a dangerous state of detachment that is the death knell of one’s own Soul. So, when I say that the Plutonic process leads to the discovery or our divinity, I am also describing a process that leads to what some have referred to as an ‘ensouling process.’ We become alive in ways we did not believe was possible. That’s the bright side and purpose of this transformational process. There is much to gain when we face our inner world and its demons, but also much to lose if we are not willing to engage in this Plutonic process.

There are many levels of destiny. As a counselor and teacher I often focus on the individual and how we can participate in this process. But nations also have their destiny. There is a big difference though. An individual has the potential to claim higher levels of ‘Being’, but the whole of a nation must grow in a much slower way. It must suffer the consequences of not facing its shadow which leads to the slow learning from its heavy mistakes. Then generations go by and it seems that a new group of human beings must learn the same lesson again. For example, all of the laws instituted after the Great Depression were stripped in the late 1990′s and early 2000′s and within just a few years, nearly the same thing happened again. We don’t know where we are now in this process.

Pluto can take us into the depths so we can discover our own essential nature, a Soul that is divine in nature. From this evolutionary leap, life changes for us and we ‘die’ so as to be ‘reborn’ into Life, a fullness that can be truly joyous. But it takes courage and fortitude to enter this game and yet, if we don’t, we find that we still must face the negative side anyway.

In the next article on Pluto, I am going to describe the nature of Pluto’s transits through the sign of Libra. It will be followed by the next article of the series that will look at the transit of Pluto in Scorpio. I hope you enjoy this important series.

The Libra New Moon 2011

It has not been my custom to write about each New Moon, but the particular one we’re having is a very exceptional one and worth our attention.  The strongest New Moon is always going to be a Solar eclipse.  Some astrologers regard them to be 100 times more powerful than a regular New Moon. Since not all solar eclipses are the same, I don’t tend to think that way, but if a non-eclipse New Moon can be strong in its effects, then this is the perfect example.

The Libra New Moon is on September 27, 2011 at 4:08am PDT.  It occurs at exactly 4° of Libra. This means that anyone with planets or the angles (Ascendant or Mid-heaven) at 4° of any cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn) will likely feel this New Moon the most. There are several indicators of what makes a strong New Moon.  The first indicator is if it occurs in any cardinal sign.  This is when the seasons change and marks a time of new beginnings or new cycles.  It is a time when we get a chance to take what we’ve learned from the past summer and start with a fresh outlook and a ‘let’s move forward’ spirit.

What makes this New Moon different though is that Pluto is in exact square to the Sun/Moon and Uranus is in opposition to it as well.  I have been writing about Uranus quite frequently as of late and will continue to do so, but with Pluto so closely involved I regard this New Moon as the beginning of the coming square between Uranus and Pluto which officially begins next year.  It has begun to show itself already, but I expect things to be much more lit up by one month from now. Let me cite just one obvious example.  Protests of all sorts are breaking out all over the world.  There is growing anger and frustration among those who have been harmed by the global economic problems we’ve seen since 2008.  It is interesting to note that there is huge conflict around who or what is responsible for the problems, but there is total agreement that something is deeply wrong.  It is this Moon cycle that, I believe, will spark even more anger and fuel many more protests.  There is the Arab spring, which now has turned into fall and there are the problems in Syria, Israel, and Egypt as well as throughout the Middle East.  And there is the looming threat in Europe over the possible breakdown of the Euro and the European Union.

I will be writing much more on Pluto’s role in this, but it is necessary to mention that Pluto, especially when it is in the sign of Capricorn, rules massive wealth, the oligarchy, and the increasing growth of the super wealthy class that has been gaining for the last 20-30 years.  In the U.S. the debate over who should be paying taxes is more polarized than ever as the Republicans call increasing the taxes on the wealthy a form of ‘class warfare’ while the Democrats feel it is the wealthy paying their fair share.  But we have also begun to see something else.  We have not had an election since the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people, another example of Pluto transiting in Capricorn, and that they have the right to make political donations.  The coming election will not be like any other before it.  Money is being given at greater amounts and is also more secret than before. There are many articles in the media about how corporations rule the world, not countries.  Who is bigger?  Is it Goldman Sachs or any nation?  I will be developing this further in future articles, but I imagine that many of my readers know what I am talking about.

When Uranus is strong in a New Moon chart we can expect shocks and surprises that seemingly come out of nowhere.  What we can do when these occur is to take a really good look at what this shock reveals.  This is because that shock may be the ‘tip of the iceberg’ or a ‘canary in the mines’, type of phenomena.  One example in politics of this, at least so far, is the sudden drop in how well Gov. Perry is doing in contrast to the rise of Herman Cain after his win in Florida. By the way, at the same time Perry is dropping in the polls, the State of Texas seems to be close to granting refineries in the state a refund of $135 million which will result in even more money being taken away from public schools and other public services.

Now let’s take a look at some of the ways we may be affected personally by this Moon cycle.  Mercury is conjunct the New Moon so it will affect our communications with others as well as our thinking.  We may be subject to a significant change of mind about something, possibly due to new information.   But if your chart is strongly affected, you can expect some big surprises and of course, also new opportunities.  This is especially true with Jupiter returning to its trine to Pluto. For now, I would encourage you to watch the events of the next month carefully as they could indicate significant shifts in your direction or thinking.

I will be watching the developments of this Moon cycle closely and reporting on it as it may be a true harbinger of the emerging Uranus/Pluto square and worth extrapolating on it.   Also, if your chart is affected, I would suggest you check in with an astrologer who can provide insight as to the meaning of what is happening might be.

As always, we love to hear your comments so please feel to reply with your thoughts.

Good luck.

Jim Sher

Where is the Compassion – More on Uranus

“Compassion is the radicalism of our time.”

-The Dalai Lama

It has become common knowledge around the world that the times in which we live are difficult and are possibly getting worse. The newest set of problems seem to be coming in Europe as the debts of Italy and Spain could create huge problems for the entire world. In addition we face growing problems here in the United States as well. The subject of this article will focus on the particular political and social divisions we are seeing right now that are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I will also take a look at what I believe is at the heart of this conflict, which I regard as a major paradigm or belief system problem.

One of the chief features of today’s atmosphere is the lack of compassion or concern for others or the collective needs of our society. We saw this phenomenon during the Tea Party debate this last week when Ron Paul was asked how he would handle a situation of a 30 year old person without insurance needing an expensive surgery for which he could not pay. Before Rep. Paul could answer, many in the audience yelled out ‘Let him die.’ While Ron Paul did not overtly disagree with this notion, he did suggest that in the past religious charities took up the slack for people in this man’s plight. There are many other examples of the growing hatred of all government services and a lack of compassion. The nation’s infrastructure breaks down more and more each day and the only solution conservatives offer is to build private toll roads. Would we have ever built the interstate highway system we take for granted today without the federal government financing it? How many successful economies in the world depend on private companies to do everything a government used to do? The answer is none. The answer offered by conservatives is to have everything privatized which must also mean that they also want the profit motive to rule all public policy.

This article is not meant to give tons of examples of this phenomenon that I regard as a growing lack of compassion and concern for our fellow man/woman. Some of the reforms conservatives seek are worthy of consideration. But I’m asking why there is such enormous rigidity and such a commitment to a belief system that all other viewpoints are seen as flat-out wrong. What I seek is to understand what is happening and how astrology can both assist us as well as to discover what might be done about it. Let’s start with the notion that these are times of great extremes. Whenever people cannot find a way to resolve disputes, we can assume that each side is coming from some degree of extreme ideation. Each side justifies why their view is right and must be advocated without any concern for what the other side thinks. To me, this indicates a high degree of imbalance. This is where astrology can reveal important things to us that will aid us greatly in our understanding.

The Polarity of Uranus and Neptune

Both of these planets are considered to be ‘outer planets’ in astrology. This means that they function at a different level of ‘being’ than the ones from the Sun to Saturn. The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are concerned with the development of our personal and social life within a family and societal context. These planets govern our ability to make our way in life and to function successfully in society as well as to get our own personal needs met. Interestingly, astrology worked quite well hundreds of years ago, long before the outer planets were discovered. This is because Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are of a different order or paradigm. You don’t need to know about them in order to understand what’s happening in daily life, at least for the most part. These outer planets have been called ‘transcendent’ planets which rule the transformational process and give us insights of a non-ordinary nature. They push us into new territory, a paradigm shift or a leap in consciousness which often takes us outside our everyday world. But can you guess where a problem could develop? To this author, a problem occurs if an individual is unable to understand the nature of the ‘pull’ of one or more of the transpersonal planets. Those planets are there whether or not we are able to relate to them the way they are intended. And many people may not be able to do so. This is what sets up the possibility of dysfunction in that field of our consciousness.

Another factor I will be showing is that Uranus and Neptune are actually part of an important POLARITY and that if one side dominates over the other, great imbalance and harm can be done to a person, society or an entire nation. So, let’s take a look at what each of these archetypes represent in the best sense and then we’ll examine what can happen if they remain dormant and therefore inactive in our unconscious.

If you care to learn more about either Uranus or Neptune, please feel free to use the ‘tag cloud’ or do a search for articles about them. I have written extensively on them in past issues of this newsletter.

Uranus

This archetypal energy represents the principle of awakening into true personhood or individuality. Uranus is the first planet that follows Saturn. With Saturn we learn how to live successfully in our everyday world. By nature, this is where we must play by the rules, conform, and work well with others, unless otherwise indicated. When Uranus is active, the message changes and we must now work toward being a unique person. This is where we must think for ourselves and not blindly listen to what others say. We must follow the dictates of our own inner knowing whether that concerns our purpose or our ability to make a unique contribution to the world. Sometimes, however, we must eschew the society and find our own path, which includes ignoring what we are told by others or by the mainstream. This is where we must find our separate self and hold to no outer authority. Joseph Campbell put this so clearly with his famous maxim “Don’t follow me, I’m following my Bliss.”

Neptune

This archetypal energy is the one that balances Uranus. It is the opposite side of the set. With Uranus we develop our own unique self, unfettered by anyone else. With Neptune, we begin to ‘see’ and more importantly ‘feel’ our connectedness with all others. This is where we are asked to develop compassion and understanding as we recognize that we are not alone, not isolated ‘selves,’ but in fact are a part of a holistic reality. Another way to see this principle is the idea that we actually are the other person and that as we treat them, we are treated. Neptune is unconditional Love, the love that keeps the universe together in a mystical, but real sense.

What is important to realize is that both of these principles are new to the consciousness of human beings and often fail to be used in the way they need to be if negative effects are to be avoided. It also makes it more difficult to stay in balance with each other.

The Negative Side

Because most people are not yet sensitive to the vibrations and tones of the higher planets, we usually see more of the negative expression than the positive, unfortunately. Of course, this is how we learn most of the time and there is a pretty simple cause: the function of these planets is still new to humanity. They have not been absorbed into the consciousness of the people on this planet, although they are indeed emerging.

With Uranus, we see the rebel (sometimes without a cause), the person who demands freedom to do what they want to do no matter what anyone else thinks, and someone who believes that everyone should make it on their own and if they don’t, it’s their fault. We can read about the philosophies of Ayn Rand to get an idea of Uranus in its effects. By the way, Rep. Paul Ryan regards Rand as one of his favorite authors and Rep. Ron Paul named his son after her as well. It will be helpful for those of you who want to understand the philosophy of the Tea Party to know of her work.

In the case of Neptune, there can be an unrealistic idealism that can lead to self and other deception, goals that are too idealistic to achieve and a sacrificial nature that gives over personal power to someone or something else. And, if one is emphasized over the other, you can expect to see all sorts of issues developing that can have very negative consequences.

The value of knowing about this set, about concepts that have opposites contained within them, is that when we are conscious of these sets, we can recognize if we are straying way out of balance on one side or the other. Without this kind of knowing, we are blind to so many things in the real world, as our ‘belief systems’ take over and we then see only that which we want to see.

The State of Our Society

Right now, with the transit of Uranus about to square Pluto, the archetypal potentials of Neptune are being completely washed out. Compassion is often considered to be a weakness, something only the ‘bleeding hearts’ waste their energy on. Instead, what matters most now is complete reliance on self alone. With this belief system, government is seen only as a waste of resources and anything that the government historically has been expected to do, must now be ‘privatized.’ So, the nation’s infrastructure begins to fall apart, the possibility of global warming is denied, and even the concept of evolution is attacked freely by religious fundamentalists who have the right to believe whatever they want to believe, even in the face of evidence to the contrary.

To the author, this shows an out of balance emphasis on Uranus that is very likely to grow to greater extremes as we move into the coming square between Uranus and Pluto. Any reliance on others seems to be regarded negatively. Personally, I was shocked when Gov. Perry said he has never lost sleep over the death of an inmate sentenced to die. What makes this so strange to me is the fact that we do know that there are cases of innocent people going to jail for crimes they did not commit. Where is the compassion, not just for that single person, but for all of us who might suffer the terrible fate of being condemned to death for something we did not do? How can a governor completely ignore this? No one in his position should sleep like a baby about such important things. This is one of the few times that one would hope for a case of restless sleep.

Summary

In the long run, humanity learns about these archetypal principles from all that happens to it collectively and to each of its individauls. We discover more about what is best for us as much or more from our excesses than we do when everything is working well. However, this doesn’t mean that people will not suffer while this learning process takes place. The pain we do to ourselves will ultimately bring about the awareness we need for growth.

But frankly, there is one caveat to this. The ignoring of the environmental issues the entire planet faces may not be fixable by the time humanity recognizes the enormity of the problem it faces. It is possible we are under a ‘sword of Damocles’ problem and refuse to realize it to be true. The price of hubris can be very high indeed, and deliberately ignoring the facts is perhaps the very height of that hubris. True compassion to ourselves and to the world must include taking care of the place in which we live and have our Being.

A Time of Real Practical Opportunities

For the past three months, we have been in an astrological phase where many of us have the opportunity to bring about practical and transformational changes in our lives. This has been due to the trine, a very harmonious aspect, between the planet of opportunity, Jupiter, and the tiny, but potent Pluto, that intensifies whatever it touches. This began in early June, when Jupiter entered the stable earth sign Taurus and has been strengthening as the summer heated up. This transit lasts much longer than most Jupiter transits because of its retrograde period that creates the exact trine three times. In fact, it lasts until late March, 2012, which means the trine is in effect for 10 months. This means that we are going to have several shots at making something happen, if we are willing to take some practical risks.

I am well aware that the economy is stagnating for a variety of economic and political reasons. In fact, because of the much deeper transit of Uranus in square to Pluto, major changes are coming that will force us to question many of the models or paradigms that control life in this country and in the planet in general. But, for individuals, life goes on. In fact, it is very important that each of us recognize this and that we do what we can to refuse to get caught up in the general fear and possible malaise around us, so that we can take advantage if something does come our way. I believe that the transiting Jupiter trine to Pluto aspect we are in right now is preventing things from being even worse than they might be otherwise and that for some people, great opportunities can be discovered.

Let me first talk about the nature of any trine. It is an aspect between two planets of 120°, which is the angle that forms in an equilateral triangle. It represents ease, harmony and flow. The reason we like our trines when we have them, is that usually things will work out well for us, i.e. that our affairs go easy. However there is another side to this. Because there is an ease at this time, there is little pressure or need to act on anything. It is the squares and oppositions in astrology that bring us the necessity for change and movement. In other words, while this is a time of possible opportunity, it could be one that is wasted.

Please remember that, by necessity, I am making broad generalizations. There are many factors in an individual’s chart and all of them would have to be examined before we could know how a specific person could be affected by this transit.

So, this is a time to really look around and see what is appearing in our lives. Although there is no need to push, if we do see an opportunity, we should take it seriously. With Pluto being involved, the archetype of ‘all or nothing,’ is always the best way. Go all of the way or let it go. We need to dive in or stay out of the water. The ones who will win are going to be those who fully see the potential for growth and who decide to ‘go all in.’ This trine is an earth trine, the signs of Taurus and Capricorn, which tells us that this is a time of great opportunities to manifest something significant in the world. Jupiter, the planet of vision and expansion, means that there is a good chance things will work out the way we envision, if we only make the effort.

Right now, Jupiter has just gone retrograde. This does not mean that opportunities are stopping and that we must wait. It means instead, that things we might have missed, not seen, or which were not ready for manifestation, must now be picked up. You can picture a bus going downtown, but is going so fast, that some people who are important for our future, were not picked up for the ride. We will not be able to progress until we return to pick them up. Here are some of the other meanings for when Jupiter goes retrograde:

1. Opportunities will reappear and this time, we will see them for what they are.
2. Any changes in our philosophy about a project should be considered carefully.
3. Avoid missing steps. It is better to take one’s time than to force things to happen prematurely.

More about a Pluto transit

This archetype is about resurrecting something new out of the ashes from an old cycle. For example, this is seen when a business is bought at a low in order to be rebuilt and radically transformed into something new. This includes, of course, the facing of the necessity of first letting go. We’ve seen both HP and Google let go of some products they have invested in heavily and which now are seen as losers for them. With the present transit, it will be interesting to see what they do over the next months now that they have surrendered to something they know won’t work for them. Other things we can do is look and see if there is value in areas that others have missed or something that you can see has great value for the future.

However, Jupiter is in Taurus, so we will need patience, perseverance and dogged determination if we are to turn this into something truly significant for us. What is needed here most is INTENTION. Once we’ve decided what we want to pursue, we need to commit fully and not let our courage wane in the middle of the stream. Any transit of Jupiter trine Pluto reveals the “Power of Intention” in determining our ability to succeed and create something new. But know that Intention is always tested and challenged. We cannot know if we actually have it, until we successfully handle this test. We are going to be measured for this quality. Why? Because this is what the sign of Capricorn always does.

As always, I want to encourage you to reply to this post. All of our readers enjoy hearing how others are being affected by the present transits.

A Time of Hidden Potency

In previous articles I have written about the nature of the Mercury retrograde cycle that we are in right now. And we are in the exact middle of that phase right now. This phase is called the Inferior conjunction of the Sun and Mercury and occurs on August 16, 2011 at 23° Leo. For those who are interested the exact time is 6:04pm PDT. This is a very important point for those astrologers who watch cycles closely, for this is when a ‘seed idea’ is born into our psyches. Thus it is like a New Moon in the sense that it is a true beginning of a new framework or thought-form that will grow and develop over the next 6 weeks. Any New Moon is also called a ‘dark Moon’ because in a physical sense we can’t see it, and in a symbolic sense, we do not yet know what the nature of that newly born seed is. We are, for the most part, in the dark. So, it is very helpful now to pay close attention to what you are thinking during the next several days. Since Mercury is still retrograde, some of the ideas will quickly fall away, but not all of them. With time, one of the ideas will emerge as an important one to follow up on and take seriously. It will still go through many changes as the idea moves more completely into one’s conscious mind, but engaging in this process will be worth the patience and effort.

Astrology offers an interesting view of the mind. In our modern culture, we usually think we are in charge of our thoughts and believe further that new thoughts come from within us, from our own brain. I’m not sure why this belief is such a rigid one, since I know many scientists who have wondered aloud where such and such a thought came from. Their answer is that they just had an inspiration (breath), which is true. But where did it come from? Astrology suggests that perhaps it comes from outside us. It presents a picture of a dynamic, creative and flowing world that is full of mystery and even magic. All we have to do is allow the new moments to freely enter and take root in us. This is one of those times. We can help ourselves by simply taking time to notice, feel, and sense what might be emerging. Maybe it comes through a dream, a message from a friend or even a casual remark made by someone you overhear in a mall or restaurant that you immediately feel is expressed ‘just for you.’ This is the kind of openness we need to feel the inherent mystery and meaning within each moment.

But there is more going on at the same time. There is another cycle which is coinciding with the Sun/Mercury one. On the same day, August 16th at 5:08am, about 12 hours earlier, there is a Sun/Venus conjunction. This conjunction is called the Superior conjunction, which means that it is occurring while Venus is in its direct motion. The Venus cycle is much longer in duration than the Mercury cycle. It is approximately 19 months long as compared with Mercury’s 4 month cycle. The Superior conjunction is similar to a Full moon in that it brings things to some kind of fulfillment, completion, manifestation and clarity. The cycle actually started on October 28th last year (2010) and occurred at 5°Scorpio. For those of you who can find transits for your chart, if you look and see where that point connects to your chart you will learn a lot about the meaning of today’s set of transits. Perhaps a relationship that began at that time is coming into greater clarity and fulfillment.

Here we are talking about Venus, which rules relationships, attitudes and values toward people, money, investments, beautiful things such as jewelry, etc. Many people who began dating someone are finding out now whether or not they want to move to a new level in the relationship. Others are discovering that the relationship is not what they had hoped for and are ending relationships. It can go either way at times like these. What is certain is that something that is related to Venus is coming to some kind of fruition.

So, what does it mean when these two different cycles occur at the same time? It is a rare phenomenon and represents both beginnings and endings. As I talk to people about how they are doing right now, much more than usual, a silence comes over them as if to say, ‘I’m not sure,” but there might be some big things right around the corner. It is important to remember that the merging of cycles like these are less about the events that happen themselves and more about how we are affected by them internally and where they direct us to move in the near future. One thing we can determine now is that if something is working well, we can assume it will continue to do so and if it isn’t, either something is wrong and needs to be corrected or there is a large misunderstanding that will need to be reassessed.

This is a very potent time as we can get our bearings and discover both where to go as well as what to release. It is a time for creating priorities in the areas where we have greater clarity while being open to taking new directions if this is what is in the offing. In other words, there are conflicting flows and degrees of turbulence and confusion that do typify this unusual cycle. So, if you find yourself in confusion and uncertainty, you may need to wait until thing become clearer when Mercury goes direct on August 26, 2011. This is when the new ‘seed idea’ can begin to emerge and turn us toward the direction we need to go.

It is at crucial times like this that a consultation with an astrologer can be helpful. The art of the astrologer is to apply the archetypal forces of the moment toward a particular individual.

As always, we would love to hear from our readers as to how they are being affected by the present transits. Please let us know what you think.

Best wishes,

Jim Sher

The Coming Square Between Uranus and Pluto

Hello Everyone,

I want to spend a little more time looking at what is happening in the U.S. as it is the precursor for the coming transit of Uranus square to Pluto. Right now, they are only 1° apart from being in exact square although it will still be another year before the first aspect is made. This will happen for the first time on June 24, 2012, when Pluto will be at 8° Capricorn and square Uranus at 8° Aries. They will square each other 7 times over the following three years so this transit will be in effect for a long time.

While it will affect the world as a whole, the U.S. will be affected a great deal since in 2014, this transit will link up to the Sun/Saturn square of the U.S. chart. This article cannot go into all of this, but what I want to look at is the question of how what is happening in the political environment might be a prelude to the possible issues emerging in the next few years.

This article is intended to both make observations and ask questions. So, I hope some of you might want to reply with your own thoughts one the matters I will be bringing up.

One of the biggest biases on my part is that the political environment of today is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Even in the ‘radical’ sixties, the two parties didn’t fight like they do now and were not as extreme either. Let me give some examples:

• Filibusters were very rare as there was a general belief that in a democracy the party that won the election had the right to govern and that to block it simply because one could do so, was anti-democracy. Now, filibusters are used as a constant threat and are frequently a part of the political process.
• Governmental and judicial appointments by the President were normally approved since to not do so was to render the government ineffective and unable to carry out it legislated mandates. Now, there are an historic number of blocked appointments which prevent the various governmental agencies from running as they should. Sometimes it seems that the anti-government party wants to make sure that government won’t work by blocking every appointment it can.
• Many pundits and even some politicians openly state that they want to do as much as they can to prevent the President from succeeding even if it means that the country will suffer accordingly. This would have been conceived of as near treason in the past, since it undermines the very promise of democracy. I used to enjoy the Sunday news programs where Republicans (Nixon, Kissinger, Rockefeller, Lindsay, etc.) debated Democrats (McGovern, Symington, Jackson, etc.). There were hostilities too, at times, but no one questioned the importance of coming to a solution that would serve the American people. In fact, there was a belief that the debate itself would assure that end by making sure that whatever was decided would indeed be the best outcome of that time period.
• Facts were considered important. When I listened to politicians from both sides of the aisle, most of the facts were not disputed. How they were interpreted was what the debate was about. Today, if one listens to any political discussion, one will not be able to leave the program or article without feeling confused about what is and is not true. It seems that people will say anything.

This is just a partial list, but given all of this, how can any consensus ever be formed? In fact, it is fair to ask the following simple question. Is the present climate one in which the actual intention is to block any effort to achieve a consensus? Is the coming to consensus even a desired goal anymore? What I see is that for many consensus is now something to be fought against with all of its might.

So, how can a nation or its government stand when this is the case? So, let me ask the bigger question. Is there a ‘Will’ to remain one nation?

This has been an issue for the U.S. throughout its history. Witness the Civil War. And the truth is that many in the South have not gotten over that loss. We are 50 states and though there has been the ‘Will’ to be a nation, there has always been tension between how much power the Federal and State governments should have.

The growing transiting square between Uranus and Pluto will certainly test the ‘Will’ of the citizenry to remain one nation in a way that has not happened since the Civil War. And we are beginning to see it now.

We hear rumors that the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, will run for President. This is the same man who not long ago publicly wondered aloud whether the great State of Texas should secede from the union. What can this tell us about the momentum of things? And if he and other Tea Party members lose and Obama wins the general election, how will they feel about it? What will they do? Will they do what used to be done and congratulate the winner and do all they can to serve their nation to support the ‘Will’ of the people? I see no evidence of that at all. What is more likely is that it will further enrage and radicalize these forces.

So, as we go into the revolutionary and passionate transit of Uranus square to Pluto, this is what we are seeing. This transit will amplify everything we now see, and it will likely become even more extreme than it is now. And the biggest question of all will be whether or not this plays out as the need for major reform and improvement (such as the creation of a national commission to review and modernize the Constitution), or will there be a movement towards overt revolution that could cause the States to break up into regions composed of ‘sympathetic’ States from the old union.

It may seem to many of my readers that my take on recent events is exaggerated. I hope you are right. I would offer simply this. Watch and see if there is a ‘Will’ to make government work for the people. After all, in an ideal world, the people are the government. And if this is no longer true, then why not reform the government rather than destroy it? Why not seek solutions to the problems rather than blindly condemn each other constantly. Ask yourself, what is the natural end if there is no federal government and the States rule everything. What will that look like?

ADDENDUM:

For fun, I’d like to say a little about the history of the debt ceiling. To me, it ought to be something that each person with an opinion about the recent debt ceiling debacle would need to understand.

How many countries in the World have a debt ceiling? Two, the U.S. and Denmark. But Denmark has set an impossibly high number so it never comes into play, which leaves only the U.S. as having a real debt ceiling.

Why don’t other countries have one? Because other countries recognize that if a Legislature approves bills that result in the government bringing in less money than is going out, that it will have to borrow money to do so. If that government decides to change its approach to debt, it must take action to do so, but this would not mean that it no longer owes the money that previous Legislatures approved. The fact is that our present Congress has behaved like a deadbeat, refusing to pay the bills on what it owes. It’s sort of like going to the store and buying a nice stereo, then using it a while, and then saying you don’t want it anymore so you announce to the people you owe the money to that you’ve decided not to pay the debt. Gee, that sure does breed confidence in the person who is owed the money, doesn’t it?

When did the debt ceiling begin? It began in 1917 during WWI and was called the Second Liberty Bond Act. It was put into place so that Congress did not have to authorize every new issue of debt. But it was always assumed to be a mere formality for the same reasons as what I’ve written above.

How many times has the debt ceiling been raised? Since 1960, it has been raised 78 times and done so as a formality.

All of this means that the ‘crisis’ was made out of whole cloth. It was invented and to me, was an act of shooting oneself in the foot. It was not caused by debt. Yes, we have a debt problem that must be dealt with, so why would I make such a declaration? Because right now, the World is loaning money to the U.S. more cheaply than ever before. It was considered to be the ‘gold standard’ in the world’s currency. UNTIL NOW, that is. It is still considered to be in much better shape than the Euro and other European currencies.

We don’t know all the effects of the debt ceiling ‘crisis’, other than the fact that S&P has downgraded the nation from its highest designation of AAA to AA+. There is some controversy about S&P itself given the fact that other countries who they still give their highest rating to are more suspect than we are. Also, there is the fact that they completely blew it in 2008 as they had no idea about the state of the economy that was about to enter the huge crisis we all know about now.

But China has already issued warnings to the U.S. about its debt and has even questioned whether or not the U.S. dollar should remain the world’s currency. Few people know how many benefits come to the nation that is the recipient of this blessing. But if you are interested in learning more about this, look at history and read what happens to countries that lose this status. In every case, it meant a significant downward turn in the lives of their citizens as that nation ceases to be a world power.

Today, the Federal Reserve announced that they would not consider raising interest rates until 2013. This was done to try to create a climate of certainty in this turbulent marketplace. This action is itself highly unusual as actually the Fed is handcuffing itself by doing this. What if economic conditions change and there is pressure to raise interest rates? These are times of great uncertainty made even greater by the poltical system in this country seemingly being committed to chaos and disorder.

Next week the newsletter will return to its usual astrological focus. We will be looking at the Mercury retrograde cycle and the fact that there will be a very rare conjunction between the Sun, Mercury AND Venus bringing together two different cycles all at once.

As always I would love to hear the thoughts about this article. One question I will leave you with as we enter this revolutionary period of the nation’s history is this. Do you think that the majority of citizens of the U.S. have the desire and ‘Will’ to remain together as a true democratic nation with all that this means? Can we find a way to come through this turbulent period with respect for the promise that this nation represents which includes tolerance for those of us with different views or fall victim to the pressures of greed, disorder, and vitriolic passions? What do you see coming for us?