Hard Road Ahead

PLUTO IN CAPRICORN - Posted November 20, 2008

The “planet” Pluto is currently entering the astrological sign of Capricorn. It briefly crossed over into the sign from January, 2008 to June 2008; then on November 26, 2008 it will re-enter Capricorn and slowly move through this sign until 2023.

Pluto is a powerful force. Its energy involves destruction, with the potential for regeneration and transformation. Looking back on Pluto’s effect in different astrological signs, we see it traveled through the sign of Libra from 1971 to 1983. One element that Libra represents is women. Prior to 1971, women were largely seen as delicate, irrational beings that needed a man to take care of them. During Pluto’s transit this delusion was challenged and destroyed with the image of woman significantly transformed.

Does Pluto’s energy always result in positive transformation? Looking back we can see that as much as there was a destruction of previous falsehood, what results is not always perfect. It is a time of opportunity; humanity is free to make any choice. During this period of Pluto in Libra, parts of society began to recognize woman as strong competent beings, other parts of our society clung more tightly to fundamentalist religions that keep women in subservient positions. Some resistance towards women’s new role was seen in the rise of violence towards women. Some women in connecting to their power developed an oppressive attitude towards men.

Since 1995 Pluto has been traveling through Sagittarius. Sagittarius is the energy that represents our legal system, a quest for truth and our beliefs that we live by. One “truth” that was destroyed was the belief that we have a fair legal system. Between the OJ Simpson murder trial in 1995 and the new technique of DNA testing, it was brought to light that our legal system was flawed. Another belief that was destroyed was the trust in our news media. Between revelations of journalist making up stories, to the lack of objective journalism leading up to the Iraq War, it became apparent that journalism and the news media had great flaws.

As this era comes to an end we see the legal system using DNA testing for more accurate judgments. In fact, an entire series of television programs focus on our fascination now with accurate crime scene investigations. Unfortunately, in real life there has been variable response in reviewing cases of those currently in prison that DNA could exonerate. In Nebraska, two men were recently released from prison because DNA testing proved they were not guilty of a crime committed in the 1980’s. DNA testing has been available for over 10 years. One wonders why it has taken so long to exonerate them.

The news media has had a variable response. We see worldwide many journalists willing to risk their lives for the sake of bringing forward the truth. In Russia, journalist Anna Politkovskaya reported on Putin’s brutal repression of the independence movement in the Chechnya. She was murdered for this, in what appears to be government sponsored assassination. A more negative response to this energy is the segment of our media that presents themselves as new programs, but really function only as brutal defenders of one political or cultural point of view.

So Pluto is the destroyer of delusions, which opens the door to transformation. With Pluto entering Capricorn we ask what does Capricorn represent, where will we have delusions destroyed? Capricorn relates to the practical, material world, to the economy, social status and business leaders. Even though Pluto has barely touched into Capricorn we have already seen massive destruction of delusions. We find that for years housing and investments have been booming based on the belief that housing prices always rise. Pluto has now blown that delusion out of the water and our financial world has been rocked.

Pluto will travel through Capricorn until 2023. There will be more delusions destroyed. One of them is global warming. The business community has been living in denial of global warming. The energy industry continues to build coal-fired plants. The American auto industry has resisted any move to produce more fuel efficient vehicles. As destruction from global warming increases, with record-breaking floods, storms and droughts, insurance companies will be hit hard. We are already paying a huge price for this denial. We need to wake up and address these issues quickly.

Pluto in Capricorn will be a difficult time in a very real sense. Many people speak of the W.W.II generation as the Greatest Generation; they united, worked hard and sacrificed to save the world from fascism. What we face now will require as much unity, hard work and sacrifice to pull the world through this difficult time; anything less will not work.

SATURN IN VIRGO

On September 2, 2007, the planet Saturn enters the sign of Virgo. It will be moving through that sign until November, 2009. Saturn relates to the real world, the material world. Where Saturn is moving through our birth chart we are challenged to mature and be more realistic. The more we have been unrealistic in our life, the more difficult these Saturn lessons are.
We all have Virgo energy somewhere in our birth chart, however the intensity of this energy varies. Those with planets in Virgo will feel this strongest, especially those with their Sun in Virgo. Virgo is an earth sign meaning that it has a very practical nature. It is focused on health, wholeness, work, service and meticulous attention to detail. Historically it was the sign of the servant. Servants are not common in our culture, but we do have people that take on the role of public servants. On the negative side, Virgo energy can be obsessed with perfection or service to the point of martyrdom.
A person that I frequently use as an example of Virgo energy is Warren Buffett. His work is a major focus of his life and it involves hours of reading and analyzing business reports. Through his meticulous attention to detail he has created a company that has provided him with great wealth, but it has also served to provide a profitable opportunity for other investors.
Vice President Dick Cheney has Virgo as his rising sign and it rules his first house. Saturn will enter his first house on September 26, 2007. The rising sign and first house symbolize the public persona. As Saturn enters Vice President Cheney’s first house he will be challenged to examine his public image. President George W. Bush has Leo as this rising sign and ruling his first house. Saturn just finished traveling through his first house and we can see that this was a difficult time for him.
Along with health and work, Virgo also relates to animals and agriculture. During the next two years Saturn energy will be affecting these areas of our society. We can already see in the area of health there is a concern about a shortage of nurses, because of a lack of nursing instructors; there are concerns about an avian flu epidemic, if it develops will we be prepared. In the area of agriculture, the new push for ethanol is causing food prices to rise and conflicts on water rights to intensify. In the United States, we began using genetically modified crops for our food several years ago. It was assumed that this was safe. If this is an unrealistic assumption, Saturn traveling through Virgo can bring this to light.

Spring 2007

Age of Aquarius

The Age of Aquarius is a phrase that you may have heard before, but do you know what it means? Certain historical eras have a focus on one particular sign of the zodiac, which correlates with the astrological sign that is rising at dawn on the first day of spring, the Vernal Equinox. Historically, the first day of spring was considered the beginning of the year. Each year the exact location on the circle of the zodiac rising on that day changes very slightly, this is called the precession of the equinox. The change is so slow that it takes more than 2000 years before a new sign is rising. A new sign rising at dawn on the first day of the year, indicates new astrological age, a change in emphasis of energy on the planet. We are currently in an era of transition from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius. There is disagreement among Astrologers about the exact year of the beginning of the Age of Aquarius. I personally feel that there is an overlap between ages with the spirit of the new age being felt even before it has come into it's full focus.

The last transition of Ages was from the Age of Aries to the Age of Pisces. Astrologers generally agree that the Piscean Age began with the birth of Jesus. The sign of Pisces represents spirituality, compassion, and self-transcendence; it is a water sign. The sign of Aquarius represents freedom, individuality, justice and unity; it is an air or mental sign. The energy of the world is changing from one whose major focus was spirituality (Pisces), to one whose major focus is now mental energy (Aquarius).

The sign of Aquarius is ruled by the planet Uranus. Uranus was first discovered in 1780. The discovery of the planet correlated with an upsurge in Aquarian energy. The American Revolution and the French Revolution occurred at this time. The motto of the French revolution was Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. This motto I feel strongly represents Aquarian energy. The consciousness of the world was changing so that people felt that they should be allowed to unite together as free and equal individuals to govern themselves. This challenged the common belief in the Divine Right of Kings, meaning God has designated Kings to govern the people.

There are numerous examples of moving forward to the Aquarian Age:

The Public Library system, a uniting of individuals to open the world of information to all members of the society.

The end of slavery worldwide, a global change in consciousness that recognized all individuals have the right to freedom.

The Worker's Movement or Union Movement, which is free and equal workers uniting together to insist on fair treatment from employers.

One challenge of this Aquarian energy is finding the balance between its different aspects, balancing between individuality, freedom, equality and unity or the common good. As free and equal individuals our citizens disagree on this balance in many areas. One example is the debate on gun control. Many people feel that as free and equal individuals we should be allowed to own any firearm that we wish, others argue that as a "fraternity" of citizens this is not a safe choice for the common good. This debate continues.

Leo is the zodiac sign that is opposite Aquarius. The energy of Leo also is focused on the individual, but in a different manner. It is more of one individual above all others, one individual as the center of attention, the ruler, the celebrity. The energy is one of celebration and entertainment as opposed to the civic responsibility energy of Aquarius.

Now and for the next few years, two of the powerful outer planets will be energizing these two opposing signs. Saturn is in Leo and Neptune is in Aquarius. This combination will be a time when we will face where we have been too excessive in areas of celebrity and entertainment and too unrealistic about justice, freedom and the common good.

What we have recently seen in New Orleans is already a reflection of this awakening. The city was very focused on Leo energy with its Super Dome, sports teams, and entertainment. They did not have levees built up to protect against Category 4 or 5 Hurricanes - they did not unite together to create safe levees for the common good, which would have been an Aquarian activity. New Orleans is not the only city which has made decisions like this. How many cities in the country have public libraries that are closing, school systems that are suffering, and it is not because the community does not have the resources? How many citizens spend large amounts of money going to see sporting events, music events or gambling, yet paying taxes for schools, roads, libraries, and other important areas of community work is avoided at all cost? How many citizens when making decisions, base them only on what they would enjoy without thought to the common good? "I would love to drive a big SUV"; no thought is given to how this gas guzzler effects the environment, the common good. It is not that Leo energy is all negative, but when it becomes such a focus that contributing to the common good is lost, it is unbalanced and unhealthy.
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