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?

Venus turns direct – “A Great Example of How Changes of Planetary Direction Create Reversals”

This will be a brief newsletter, but something very interesting occurred today that directly relates to Venus changing direction and turning direct. One way to describe it is to say that values are returning back to normal

Please check out this article — http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/20/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm?postversion=2009042013

April 20th was the first day the stock market was open since Venus went direct on Friday, April 17. All the dates in the above article represent the Venus retrograde cycle. The first sentence actually says — “Stocks tumbled Monday as the six-week old rally lost steam.” Venus has been retrograde for exactly six weeks. Then the author writes that — “It was the biggest one-day selloff since March 2nd.” Venus went retrograde on March 6th.

Of course, reasons will be given for this reversal, but how can the exact dates of both changes be accounted for without examining the astrological significances? The interesting part of this article is that the Bank of America reported positive earnings and they weren’t believed. Why are they only now being disbelieved?

For those watching the market, it will be important to see what happens this week as it will reveal much about the trends of things. I must add however that we are close to the formation of a Jupiter/Neptune conjunction. It takes place for seven months and begins in mid-May. This is an important aspect to watch as it could create a very hopeful and optimistic attitude. It may or may not be realistic, but only time will tell on that. What I do know is that this conjunction will likely represent a new reversal point, indicating another possible shift.

I know some of my subscribers watch the markets so I thought I’d pass this on.

I’ve received emails from many of you and want to thank you for your stories. I’m in the process of changing my website and hope to create an active section for these stories. Permission will be requested before publishing.

What we can learn from this present moment is that this is a good time to be realistic about money and relationships.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

I know the economy is difficult so I am continuing the reduced price of $110 for a 60- 80 minute consultation. I welcome people who have never had an astrological consultation to give it a try as well as those of you who have.

If you haven’t already, please check out the website for Sher School of Wisdom at www.sherschoolofwisdom.org.

All the best,
Jim Sher

The Square Between Venus & Pluto – The Intensity of Desire

Hi Everyone,

Ordinarily, Venus is a fast moving planet which results in its effects being short-lived. They may last for only a few days at most. But that’s not the case right now at all. Venus is slowing down in the latter part of its retrograde cycle and will only be moving two degrees over the next month. This means that the transit it is making with Pluto is not going to last just a few days, but until the first week of May. In my classes right now, the main topic is on this subject. Why? Because firstly, whenever a planet slows, its effects are amplified and intensified. When a planet is moving slowly or is stationary, its going to feel similar to shining a light on just one spot. That spot is getting all the heat, attention and focus.

But secondly, it will be squaring Pluto during this entire slowdown and reversal. In fact, Venus will be making a square to Pluto for a month as it doesn’t complete the square until May 3rd. Pluto intensifies whatever it touches, so the two together form a tense aspect that demands we look deeply at our feelings, what we want, and any relationships we are in or are considering. Pluto’s intensity is best understood as an ‘All-or-Nothing’ attitude or approach. The reason for this is that right now we want a real, authentic, deep form of relating or nothing at all. “Why bother?” could be our attitude.

Although there is great focus on relationships, it isn’t just that. It’s finding out what we want and like. We are asking what makes us truly happy. This is the paramount question and we can even be obsessed about this at this time. I have been honored to receive a great many emails in the past several weeks from readers who are going through their personal adventure. The deep probing is not mental by any means. People are going into their depths (and sometimes their dark bedrooms), needing to go internal in ways that can be shocking and for some, alarming as they are so focused on love and relationships that it’s scaring them. Fear itself is an important aspect of this transit and can be explored to great advantage. We can begin to examine the nature of fear itself, that it is closely connected to fear of the unknown, to the fear of admitting to oneself all the things we don’t know and cannot control. We can feel very vulnerable, which when accepted, can be a very helpful thing.

URGENCY – I want to talk about this one by itself. When Venus is in Aries, one wants to move quickly and being stationary and square to Pluto right now, this sense is intensely more prominent than ever. “I have to decide now”, “I have to get out of this painful feeling now”, “I must solve the problem immediately”, etc., are just some of the things people are saying to me. This urgency is best dealt with by simply acknowledging that we are feeling things so much more strongly than we are accustomed, that we are afraid, worried, or just want it to be over. We can even feel consumed by these feelings. Learning to sit in what we are feeling rather than try to change or do something (or anything) is the best way to deal with this transit. No, this does not mean that we should not act when we know what we must do. We should act once we are clear. But the urgency itself is a red-flag telling us that we may not have fully processed what we need to in order to make a decision we can feel good about later.

Pluto asks us to deeply process and this takes time. We are being pulled into our own unconscious right now and if we make decisions or act from this unconscious place, we may not like the results. Processing the new and emerging feelings, motivations, etc. are what we are being asked to do. And if relationships do end, the process that matters most to us is one of getting to the core of why that relationship didn’t work. What was missing? Were we able to be ourselves or were we faking it with that person and trying to fit into the image of what the other person wanted us to be?

Also, we are advised not to take the first person who shows up. The urgency I speak of can result in our wanting to find something, anything, just so the pain and/or uncertainty is reduced. Also, what we attract or are attracted to may be a reflection of our unconscious and hidden motives and desires, and not what we really want or need. When the contents of the unconscious emerge from our depths, it is a vital and important time for us where much growth can occur, but until we have integrated the material into our consciousness, any act can be premature.

FINANCIAL – Just a tidbit to those of you who are watching the market. The market went up when Venus went retrograde, though it has been slipping the last several days. The next reversal point is when Venus turns direct on April 17. That will be the time to watch and see if the stock market continues to grow or begins a reversal of fortune. My guess is that since Pluto rules debt, that not all of the banks have revealed how much bad debt they are still holding. As that comes out, it will constantly exert downward pressure on our confidence. We won’t think that the financial problems have hit bottom or that our leaders have a handle on what to do.

NEW WESTSIDE ASTROLOGY CLASS

There are only a few spots remaining for the new Thursday evening astrology class, so if you are interested in learning astrology in a supportive and fun environment, please email or call as soon as possible.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

I know the economy is difficult so I am continuing the reduced price of $110 for a 60- 80 minute consultation. I welcome people who have never had an astrological consultation to give it a try as well as those of you who have.

If you haven’t already, please check out the website for Sher School of Wisdom at www.sherschoolofwisdom.org.

All the best,
Jim Sher

New Beginning Astrology Class on the Westside – Announcing a NEW Astrology Class Forming on the Westside

I have located a space near West L.A. and am now able to offer a Beginning Astrology class for those wanting to take astrology on the Westside. The class will be on Thursday evenings although the first class is being scheduled for Sunday, April 26. This date is contingent on having enough students to begin the class. If you’re interested in taking the class or desire to learn more, please contact me at 818-501-7114.

The Subject of Reversals

One of the most interesting aspects of watching transits closely is to notice when there is a reversal in the energy or momentum of a situation or matter. Financial astrologers do this all the time in their attempt to predict where the stock and commodity prices will go. Something odd occurred when Venus went retrograde. Usually this transit marks a time when stocks go down, but not this time. Since Venus went retrograde the stock market has risen 21% in just 14 days. That sort of radical rise last occurred in 1938. This has been a truly historic rise. Then we had the Inferior conjunction of Venus to the Sun and we have had a reversal. This is not unusual. Stocks are declining and in fact, there is a possibility that the decline will accelerate between now and April 4 as Mars is moving into an opposition to Saturn. NOTE: I an not advising anything here. I am not a financial advisor at all. I am simply reporting the trends from an astrological perspective. We can watch this together and see what emerges.

The Mars opposition to Saturn is a time where we must face some hard realities. Some will do so and as always some will resist. The macro events of this cycle seems to be pertaining to the automobile industry as Obama has forced out the CEO of GM and is sending all kinds of signals of what he wants the auto companies to do. The Republicans and citizens of Michigan are renouncing this, which is to be expected. My guess is that the intensity of this matter will be growing over the next week reaching a peak on Friday. After this, Mars will move over the next two weeks into a conjunction with surprising and volatile Uranus. We will certainly feel that things are changing (perhaps radically) but that feeling will likely be accompanied by a real fear as uncertainty will also rise. It may be exciting but people generally love stability and predictability and the period between April 4 – 15 will be anything but that. For individuals though this will be a very good time to make those changes you have been pondering for a long time. The feel of this cycle will be one of ‘breaking free’ from constraints, rules, limitations, etc. Uranus rules innovation so there can be a greater openness to new ideas than usual.

More on Venus retrograde – Venus does not turn direct until Friday, April 17, so the evaluation process inherent in this cycle is continuing. However, much has already been learned so that the last part of this cycle is usually concerned with processing what one has learned and discovered over the last few weeks. For example, people may have come out of the woodwork to check in with us, seeking some kind of resolution in understanding. Now we must work with all that to see where we want to go from here. When Venus turns direct we are likely to feel refreshed and ready to move forward on any matters that pertain to love, beauty, romance, and of course, personal finance. It can be like cleaning house, especially with the Venus retrograde squaring Pluto.

This square to Pluto however can be difficult as Pluto rules the underworld. When we work with Plutonic energy we are thrust into issues from our own subconscious. This is the realm of those things we don’t want to look at, areas around which there are wounds and painful memories, but where something fundamental must be released in order for us to truly feel whole, clean, and able to move forward into a new way of Being-in-the -World.

As always, I love your emails reporting on how the transits are affecting you and am very grateful for them.

Announcements

I know the economy is difficult so I am continuing the reduced price of $110 for a 60- 80 minute consultation. I welcome people who have never had an astrological consultation to give it a try as well as those of you who have.

If you haven’t already, please check out the website for Sher School of Wisdom at www.sherschoolofwisdom.org.

All the best,
Jim Sher

More on Venus Retrograde – Venus Retrograde Intensifies Whatever it Touches

The above headline is simple, but is the essence of what any Venus retrograde is all about. We are now in the midst of this cycle and are experiencing it fully, so we have an opportunity to understand what this cycle is apt to mean for us. We will get even more information at the New Moon on March 26, but let’s look and see what’s happening so far.

Economics — Before Venus went retrograde the U.S. and most of the international stock markets were dropping like a stone. Suddenly, Venus turns retrograde and we see a rather dramatic turn in the opposite direction. Specifically, on March 6, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 6469, its lowest price in 12 years. Only 10 days later, as of the writing of this article, the same index is at 7350, a nearly 10% increase. It seems that the Obama Administration is successfully making the needed changes to regain confidence in the financial system. Venus retrograde is usually an indicator of sharp reversals and this time is no exception.

It is, in my opinion, significant that right now there are four planets in Pisces, the sign of imagination where we see what we want to see and interpret through a lens that can distort things. There are other forces emerging that will actually intensify this optimism for the next 10 months, but I won’t go into that yet. Let’s just say that there is every likelihood that things are seemingly better than they really are. Having said this, however, it doesn’t mean that the government is not looking very hard at what it needs to do to stabilize a basically insolvent financial system. We know they are reviewing policies at every level, especially the role of the central banks as well as the largest financial institutions. There has been a large public outcry at the announcement of large bonuses paid by AIG, using taxpayer money to do it. The issue of fairness is highlighted now and Obama has today spoken harshly about these bonuses as well as many others in the government.

Also, China, our largest funder of the U.S. debt is openly warning that the dollar must not drop. Were it to do so, China would find itself on the losing end of their investments and would put great pressure on the U.S. to do something to fix it or it would pull out its money. We are in truly unknown territory. No one really knows how to navigate through all this, making the recent stock market increases even more suspect.

Relationships — the Venus retrograde period often brings people back into our lives so we can review that relationship. This can mean going into areas that we weren’t able to look at previously, so that some sort of resolution can take place. Another way we can use this period in a helpful way is to examine relationships that we haven’t resolved for ourselves, where we are stuck and are having difficulties letting go, etc. Sometime relationships break up at this time, but even when they don’t we are apt to find ourselves looking closely at what we want and need. Venus is in Aries during most of the retrograde, so it is about our discerning what we, at core, are wanting in our lives to support our own growth and development. It’s not that we cannot be in relationship, but it is about needing to take time to assess the nature of the ones we do have or may want to have. While new relationships can begin now, there are steps to be made and issues to face before one can know whether the new possible relationship has a real chance or not. This is not the time to finalize anything about a new relationship, but a great time to explore, communicate, and determine what we are feeling.

Personal Finance — Venus retrograde is asking us to assess the condition of our personal finances and to honestly face where we are with regard to this area of our life. If you have a financial advisor, this is a good time to take a close look at one’s portfolio to see what adjustments you would like to consider as we have entered a new financial environment. Also, we may be having to face some very real issues in our work life that are simple but demand our attention. If we are in sales, are we getting paid fairly and on time, is the product we are involved with the one we truly feel is worth our investment in time, etc., are just examples of questions we may be asking.

These are some of the areas that we are having to look at closely, but the main point is that these are likely to be highly charged right now. They will have an intense feeling about them that demands that we pay attention. The intensity is still growing and will continue their present phase until the New Moon when a new shift will be in order.

I want to thank those of you who have been writing about your personal stories of this period and want to continue to encourage others to do the same.

ANNOUNCEMENT

I know the economy is difficult so I am continuing the reduced price of $110 for a 60- 80 minute consultation. I welcome people who have never had an astrological consultation to give it a try as well as those of you who have.

If you haven’t already, please check out the website for Sher School of Wisdom at www.sherschoolofwisdom.org.

Best to All,
Jim Sher