Wishes and Circumstance

Aquarius and the Eleventh House

There are two things associated with Aquarius and the 11th house that I find interesting. One is the reality of circumstances beyond our control, and the other is the fulfillment of wishes. They appear to be in conflict, but maybe upon closer consideration, they really are not. It could be that letting go of command allows an easier pathway in for idealistic desires.

In the final quadrant of the astrological wheel, where all the collective outer planets are now transiting, the lessons of living come to completion. As the human creature crosses Capricorn, s*he tries everything possible to make order and exercise direction over existence. In Aquarius, the order is broken and the native learns that one cannot determine the whole sequence of events. In Pisces, s*he no longer wants to control and surrender to circumstance brings the ultimate attainment of wisdom. Unity results as the native returns to the beginning.

This sequence is now in the forefront and for many years, specifically the struggle between Saturnine constructs and Uranian liberation, will be shaping the collective story as well as the personal. Many Aquarians find themselves daunted by the freedom their sign offers and actually cling to dictation, especially with Saturn in Aquarius or the 11th, where prediction, calculation, and a tight grip on consistent reality can be excessive. Eventually it blows. The struggle for years to come is attempting to realign established structures and bring about a new order, possibly to completely dissolve in Pisces, but who cares then? It does what it does since the entire universe is in on the action. Homo sapiens are bit players, although architects of their individual lives in theory, even if the firm has some rather elusive partners.

Politically, the primaries, the campaign, and the election, all went in orderly fashion seemingly under control with the first Saturn-Uranus opposition. The outcome was simple to predict and the people had their way with an easy victory. Now come two more oppositions until Uranus goes into Aries, and then another one at that time when Saturn enters Libra, something I dare not calculate in any way. Will circumstance go according to plan? Or is lack of power the prerequisite to the genuine change so often talked about? How much are people willing to go into the unknown of uncontrolled circumstance in order to gain this bigger victory and have their wishes for a better society fulfilled? Time will tell. At least we can count on Saturn to keep that under control.

On the way, come spring, Jupiter joins Chiron and Neptune in a prolonged transit since the two planets will be going retrograde at the same time and slowing down considerably. If ever there was a configuration promising wish-fulfillment, this is it, since it occurs in Aquarius. It can, however, inflate delusions with equal enthusiasm, and the fire of joy can be drowned in Neptunian despair. Preparation, perhaps, can influence the outcome assuming there's a little control for the moment.
The current Venus-Neptune conjunction might be a prelude. The aspect is trine US Mars while Saturn is square for awhile turning retrograde, and making a close quincunx to Neptune.
The ideal is to open up and let it come gracefully, gasses and alluring vapors bringing spiritual touches with healing and education via Chiron. Jupiter governs relationship with the outer cosmos, Neptune the more amorphous inner world of faith. "I believe" are the keywords for Pisces. You have to, really, after the loss of boundary and familiar reality. Immediately following, the North Node leaves Aquarius for Capricorn and the see-saw swings back to control and the continuing dialog between Saturn and Uranus.

The coming conjunction occurs close to the USA moon and triggers her trine to Mars -- at best, an application of the airy love of humanity, a blurring of the blade. In realtime, action unknown. The country's Aquarian Moon will be getting a lot of attention for awhile and after Aquarius, Neptune comes home to Pisces for fourteen years trining the four US Cancer planets.

While the universe sorts itself out, trying to uncontrol circumstance and continue dreaming, this rich conjunction occurs in everyone's chart, and now is a perfect time to give yourself the benefit of the doubt. The lessons of events beyond control are among the most meaningful and the human ability to wish is there for good reason too.

Oil of Bliss

In The Perfumed Garden
Venus Meets Neptune

Today Venus (planet of love) joins up with Neptune (planet of fairy tales) for a trip into interpersonal paradise if you're lucky. The wedding veil takes on special meaning with this aspect. Venus in Pisces, Neptune in the 7th, and Venus-Neptune aspects all share this desire for illusion and romance in otherworldly dimensions, tragic endings notwithstanding. Sometimes preferred.

I "love" the Venus-Neptune conjunction for its elevation of art and beauty to transcendental realms, and for its sublime expression of the poetic and human emotional longing. But in the earthly world of relationship it has a wide variety of effects.

Often with these aspects, there's adoration, even worship of others, but the saint-sinner syndrome can permeate the myth, and the angel falls. Far down at times. Not always, however. Sometimes the god*dess falls and gets back on the pedestal, the perfect muse miraculously surviving the blind turns of the entanglement. When the love object is given sainthood, struggles generally arise in physical reality, sometimes as a path to an inner sanctuary that another can help an individual discover. Probably if one recognizes the idealistic search as one's own, then the partner becomes ally rather than tormenter, and the deceptions and disappointments are merely inevitable intruding and instructive realities on the way to self-knowledge. A difficult task for anyone, marrying sensual form with shapeless ideals.

Neptune is the ocean creating shimmering, sometimes blinding light, and distorting objects beneath the surface. Once Venus dips into Neptune's dreamy liquid, the object of desire shapeshifts and escapes the grasp. The elusiveness enhances its attractive power, so in many ways, the seeker prefers this non-attainability. Some can dance with it, some find themselves increasing frustrated and disillusioned. Many times you'll hear the Venus-Neptune say, "I didn't realize he was like that. Why didn't I see it?"
"I didn't know she'd drink herself silly, drug herself into lands I could never enter, or watch movies into oblivion."
"I knew he was a musician but instead of serenading me in the garden, he's out partying all night, courting trouble, escaping responsibility.
Is she there?"
The Neptune disappearing act can happen right before your eyes.
Occasionally one will wake up from a Neptune-Venus transit and say, "I actually married this creature? Where was I?"
But they have charms impossible to resist. And shared pleasures can be out of this world, timeless, approaching the limits of imagination.

People frequently fear the veils of Neptune, but so often the wrong places to which you think you were misled, the delusions you suffered, or the failures you encountered were there to reroute you correctly in the end. Sometimes the "wrong" path is the only way. Neptune teaches us that there's no difference.

I love my Venus-Neptune friends because they love me unconditionally. For twenty-five years I had a partner with Venus in the 12th and a best friend with Venus in Pisces. It was a strange sort of bliss -- real, beautiful, and tainted. I knew they both would love me forever and they have. The best friend actually did serenade me -- all night on his guitar. But paradise has its price.

My father was a Pisces and my brother is a Sun-Moon-Neptune in Libra, the first guys in my life. Yes, I love my Venus-Neptunes. What can I say? I have Mars conjunct Neptune in Libra. I worship everyone on and off.

To Hell With 'Em!!

For the love of liver I can't figure out what's gotten into Zelda my chicken. Uranus is back on her "personal" planets and she's laying objects that resemble the photo of Jupiter my niece, Jm, posted below, only elliptical. She seems to be enjoying herself. She always does when Uranus comes around. She's no longer laying ecstatically every time Barack Obama speaks, since her Venus-Mars-Uranus conjunction in her 5th house falls in and out of love as quick as lightning. I would prefer she stay out of love for a minute. Too much noise for Mortimer, my very old parrot, who is trying to recover from the election and his gastric distress. Who knows what will happen when Jupiter transits Aquarius?

As you probably know, I am an Aries and not afraid of anything -- Pluto, Uranus, Methuselah, Zorro, you name it. I'm ready. Mars is thrusting into Pluto temporarily (he asked for it), but you haven't seen anything yet. Keep your repeater under firm control.

It's going to be a great year. They all are. Keep up the good work and don't let the goddamned government get away with anything! One jackass begets another. Stick up for yourselves! Don't fall for it and remember to change your furnace filter.

Keep on your toes and stay creative!!
Spoken by the ever effervescent duracell Myrtle Rae Bernstein

An Unusual Christmas Treasure

Jupiter Conjunct Pluto
A Real Santa Claus

Today, as you might know, much of the world is celebrating the birth of baby Jesus, saint and redeemer, rescuer of humanity from its sins. Never mind that no one knows for sure whether or not the birthday is accurate. It's the thought that counts. He was bony, strict, and frugal according to all reports, and familiar with denial and suffering, so he could have been a Capricorn. Might as well be.

I've noticed a different vibration this year, and although money is tight, and dire predictions circulate, there's been a sort of odd "oh well" optimism in the air. Not a delirious dance of jubilation with gift wrapping crackling madly, ribbons flying like UFOs, but some kind of recognition of something or other as yet unnamed.
"Joy to the world" is a curious concept.

I think it has a lot to do with transiting Jupiter conjunct USA Pluto today on his way out the door into the land of air and cloud. Jupiter-Pluto, purveyor of joy when at its best. A deeply earthy moment and I think some resignation concerning wealth and what it means.

Jupiter (inflation) joined with Pluto (riches) is associated with big money, great fortunes, expansive, sometimes excessive growth and speculation, generosity, and real wealth, if one is lucky enough to make that discovery. That's the key. What and where is this abundance? Are we really headed for depression, poverty, and despair, or is poverty relative? Well it might be if you end up losing the house and living with relatives.

Anyway, as Jupiter crossed Capricorn all year, there was major upheaval in the stock markets, a blown-up and scattered economy, and the usual heists by the plutocracy taken to astronomical proportions. I think the populace is still stunned by the disappearance of trillions, deficits they don't understand, and bottom lines bottoming to Middle Earth.

But did it really disappear? Was it really real? Where is the wealth located these days? Whose is it? Judging from the mood this holiday, a good portion of it is in Pluto's emotional treasure chest. Venus joining Neptune shortly says that maybe some of these friendships we keep nurturing around here are the stuff of paradise. Do riches ever disappear? Not when Jupiter meets Pluto.

As the cosmic giant departs with his gaseous self, leaving Pluto behind, with his dense, unpredictable, dwarfed little body, slowly twirling in compact Capricorn, some grand education looks to be in store. Speaking of stores ... empty shelves? Big Box mega-monsters devouring one another? Depends on which shelves. And how deep we're willing to travel for genuine satisfaction. And how much we're willing to share.

An Uneasy Opportunity

Saturn and Pluto Get to Work

"On an inner level, the god Pan is an image of bondage to the crudest, most instinctual aspect of human nature. Because the god was worshipped in caves and grottos, attended by fear, his image suggests something we are both afraid of and fascinated by -- the raw, goatish, uncivilized sexual impulses which we experience as evil because of their compulsive nature. The problem of shame about the body, the feeling of being dirty and wicked, ugly and inferior, is the problem which Pan personifies. Yet in myth he was not evil, merely untamed and natural. It's the paralysis of humans who are held enthralled in terror and fascination which creates the problem. The human must learn to confront with humility the basest aspects of himself or he will remain forever in bondage to his own fear. In order to hide this shameful secret, he pretends that he is superior and projects his own bestiality on others, leading to prejudice, bigotry, and even persecution of individuals who seem evil to him."
Liz Greene

Pan is associated with Capricorn and while Pluto is in transit, the problems of societal guilt and shame are due to be addressed. The first major encounter was the controversy over Rick Warren and I think it's important enough to be studied in depth. This man represents one of the most sordid pits in human nature, and while inclusion, understanding, and forgiveness personally are good, and all people have redeeming characteristics, it doesn't remove the fundamental problem which is far beyond the man himself. It can't be quickly wrapped in cover and forgotten, epsecially when Pluto and Saturn are just beginning their work.

There are uncountable trillions of people in history, murdered as a result of some authority proclaiming that certain groups were subhuman or aberrant and did not deserve to live. Unfathomable numbers have been persecuted and kept from society's rights. In a country where one group was legally considered three-fifths a human, I think the nation should tread carefully around this subject. The accumulated guilt about the accusations and subsequent actions eventually surface. Denial of the current behaviors makes it worse.

It's not the man that concerns me. It's the adulation and adoption of his philosophy that get closer to the naked facts along with the failure to recognize that we all harbor similar feelings to an extent. It's the justifications and rationalizations and the rush to clothe the revelations in false finery and ceremony. I can only hope that the truth will be faced in increments in this sensually terrorized culture.

My question is, "Where is the source and what can be done?" I don't want to be a part of a group that does this to other people blindly, following the orders of unhealthy leaders seeking control and money. I know the dangers of obedience to power and how few resist. You can see it now as gradually the group joins together and swallows it meekly. There are parties to organize. Important Bibles to fondle. Back down beneath the surface it gathers strength for the next eruption.

So Pluto in Capricorn with its search for ethics, morality, and proper judgement opposite Venus -- sexuality, taboos, and lust in general -- are combining to teach. What can people of conscience do? So many techniques have been tried and here we are again. How can we live side by side with such a man and his followers while diminishing the influence of these destructive attitudes, continuing on our own paths? Maybe the new togetherness will work, maybe not. It's deeper than talk. Maybe repeated exposures will do the trick with the benefit of time and cosmic help. The most important thing is that society takes responsibility for its morality and ethics, and doesn't condone these abuses, but speaks up truthfully while offering ways to rehabilitate those trapped in their own pained psyches. With Pluto exposing these habits, the opportunity to come up with something effective is here as well. It's the start, but that's the perfect time to embrace awareness and not shy away from taking steps with appropriate firmness.

The Longest Night

I noticed a fraction of gloominess in the air, but I always expect that right before the winter solstice and the longest night of the year. I prepare after so many seasons on earth, and I'm a night person so I can deal with it quite well. As it goes, though, I always sense a subtle shift immediately after when the days start to lengthen. The mood lifts.

What strikes me as somewhat odd is that optimism builds just as the Capricorn season arrives. There's something about Saturn and facing reality, which society seems to have done in the past few weeks. A kind of relief and willingness to travel into the future. Expectations nicely balanced.

It makes me think that hidden in the fabric of the upcoming Capricorn years could be the so-called "hope" mentioned so frequently, and certainly solid accomplishment would be one reason to feel that way. It came in with the luggage.

So the days get longer in perfect rhythm. Something always works out right. The fire blazes. The sun gets higher. Natural gas prices are going down. Company's good. The King of Wands ignites before me. A toasty future ahead.
Illustrations:Steven Arcella:Nicolette Ceccoli

Inaugural Balls

Dancing with Pluto
"Grrr."
Yeshe Choden

I mentioned earlier the power struggles coming with Pluto in Capricorn, and they're just beginning. Everywhere. Within the government and without. Change has come, or is coming, or something like that, but most people know that profound change doesn't happen without a struggle. The more one genuinely wants reform, the more readily one takes the necessary steps.

I have never ever seen a message trying to get through as hard as this Saturn-Pluto one is now. The next president's Scorpio MC, the extreme Scorpionic cabinet he's installing, the Inuagural Moon at 29 Scorpio (the most important aspect I believe), the ruling Pluto in Capricorn in the 8th house, Transiting Pluto opposite USA 10th house ruler Venus, and now the crowning development -- the next chapter invoked by none other than a Mars-Saturn in Scorpio with a North Node in Capricorn. It's absolutely amazing. Do you think we'll get it?

Inaugurate; augur: one of those held to foretell events by omens

This fellow chosen to herald the coming of the next administration is beset by deep-seated fears regarding emotions and sexuality based on revulsion with the self, but we all have these in some way. Maybe the snapshot is there because it's time to take a closer look. Maybe the exposure will be good in the long run. Should they be our leaders? Can we evolve past the psychological crippling. Can we face these things in ourselves? One thing I find troubling about the man as symbol is the huckster that he personifies, leading the masses as if selling the truth, waiting for the cash registers to ring up the next book sale. This adoration of empty wealth is one thing I think Pluto aims to expose. When did "spiritual leaders" become bloated, grasping malcontents? All the way back, I suppose. Can people ever stop being mesmerized by charletons, contributing more and more to their heavily lined pockets? Aren't we all worth more? But still there's the idea of skinny Jesus wearing the same battered sandals through the deserts day in and day out, not hating anyone in particular.
Inclusion is a grand idea but we certainly are far from ready. And material wealth does not equal god.

The moneyed thieves are back on the mountaintop, thinking that business as usual is in order but there might be some surprises in store. They're wiggling their greasy fingers in anticipation and one of their own is proclaiming their current victory in ceremonial fashion, but Pluto in the land of the rich is a master.

Obama is a player in the cosmic game doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing. Transiting Jupiter is on his Saturn in Capricorn and he's just been put in his 12th house prison, with the door slammed shut for awhile. He's trapped in the system, an inevitable destiny with Saturn retrograde in Capricorn in the house of confinement. He'll fight in his own way, the system a symbol of his personal internal struggle. And he's got Jupiter to keep him company.

But now he's the designated driver of the machine, that, believe it or not, the whole collective wants to reform. If you're not angry yet, just wait. This is as it's supposed to be so that people can stick up for themselves and fight for their rights during the coming Uranus-Pluto square. They won't be handed to you on golden plates at the Inaugural Ball. It takes some getting used to, but the state of arousal should be maintained for optimum results. The frustration is fruitful, and the bouts of fury are part of the potential energy being released in order to actualize change. Resentment of authority is natural. No use in evading it since Pluto will dissolve any sugar-coating you have planned. Any questions about arousal against the system, just ask me. Now is the perfect time to pick your way through the diminishing fog and get accustomed to the fresh reality, waiting to be shaped.

Inviting Reality

Out of the Clouds ... Saturn Slows Down

The other day I was thinking about the Capricorn changes coming into my life and suddenly they appeared -- two friends I hadn't seen in many moons, a Capricorn and a Moon-Saturn in Capricorn. Ask and ye shall receive.

The Moon-Saturn said, "Something's going on," and I proceeded to tell her about Pluto and her conjunction. "How long will that be?" she asked.
"Sixteen years," I replied.
"Good! she exclaimed, delightedly (as delighted as a Moon-Saturn Cap can be)." She likes reality. Prefers it. She left laughing with her spirits high. Mine were too.

In perfect orchestration, Saturn is now slowing down, eventually to a standstill, while it stations and goes retrograde for the next two months and helps the world adjust to Pluto in Capricorn and a new outlook. Such timing. I often find that fears actually diminish when reality finally arrives.

But the most interesting addition is the long quincunx Saturn will make with Neptune in Aquarius, the weaver of dreams. This provides a stellar opportunity to deal with illusions, and with Neptune in America's 9th house square Mars, the country loves them. She idolizes her leaders making them into a sort of combination religious icon and Hollywood superstar, glittering into the Promised Land. That has its pleasures and purposes, but in Capricorn times, the illusions have a tendency to harden and solidify out of the gaseous vapors and take concrete form, often with a period of adjustment which we're in now. The bends can be avoided with gradual progression. Of course, some of the Aries-Mars types are impatient as always.

The quincunx gives society the opportunity to view the incoming leadership a little more accurately, although it's always an individual perception that suits each one's purpose. Our own picture of authority figures determines the view. What's even more interesting is that Saturn is conjunct USA Neptune while forming this configuration and will be in the Inaugural Chart, influencing the next four years. This indicates a longstanding problem that's due for correction as Saturn is retrograde in Virgo, the sign of repair and healing going back, inconjunct Neptune in Aquarius -- collective visions. Chiron is also conjunct for additional knowledge and healing, Saturn exactly on the midpoint. Some realism does seem to be in order. In my case, I could turn my intense dislike of politicians into a moderate one. Progress I can believe in.

It gets even more interesting ... Saturn in the Inaugural is in the 5th house with the South Node in Leo curtailing the habit of over-elevating leadership. The new president, amazingly, has Mars conjunct US Neptune square Mars, so the energy and surgical precision are there in case people want to peek through the clouds a bit and see leaders for what they are -- people doing specific jobs. Humans. Doing something productive with my tax money. Hopefully. I can still dream a little.

So I'm going to follow the lead of my Moon-Saturn wise one and invite reality in, even suspend judgement for a minute so I can see what it's like. Get to know it. Of course, judgement comes under Saturn's auspices so when it returns, I plan to use it with perspicuity.

The Game Proceeds

Aries-Capricorn and Questions

As the first big round of the fight heats up between the Mses Clinton and Kennedy, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who isn't enchanted with the drama ...

I find the whole unfolding Caroline Kennedy saga to be rather depressing. Not just that she's being considered (in the press if not elsewhere), but that she's running a public campaign which involves reaching out to elites. The whole thing is just weird and feeds into the politics as personality soap opera that the press loves to focus on.
Atrios

We actually do have real problems as a nation but this interpersonal angst can be expected with Moon at 29 in the Inaugural in the 7th house and the plethora of Scorpio ladies entering the inner sanctum, or thinking they are. Plus the Pluto-Venus oppositions I've talked about. Meanwhile, Mars is in Capricorn in the Inaugural and the fight against the system is wasting no time getting started ...

And so the "Open for Questions" feature at the Change.Gov website proved to be an insulting mockery of the 20,000 members of his base that crafted 10,000 questions and voted them up or down.
The Transition Team says it is looking forward to "round two." But who in their right minds would continue to participate in a process that in the first round proved insulting and fraudulent and completely out of sync with the tone and pledges of a more open and transparent government?

On this, Mr. President-elect - and from one that has defended you and even some of your appointments that didn't make me cheer on the basis that the governance hasn't begun yet - you and your staff get an "F."

This response to the questionnaire from Al Giordano expresses perfectly the building resentment against the establishment that is percolating. The youth, who responded to the queries enthusiastically, also supported the new president with historic enthusiasm and that part is good. It got them engaged. But they also have concerns that need to be addressed, and some good ideas, too, and this first step to communicate with them ending in this belittling manner could either fire them up further or it could cause them to return to their apathy. With Uranus coming into Aries representing the new and young, I'm going to assume that the former will take place. Of course, the cards fall where they will.

The new executive's tragedy is his Saturn in Capricorn and South Node in Aquarius getting him stuck in an oppressive outmoded system repeating his destiny with the collective, and thus he has no choice at the moment. That's later. Some saw the incoming cabinet line up and knew we were in Pluto in Capricorn trouble. He's much better when he shines from above with his North Node in Leo, but I'll elaborate a little bit later as well, counting on the fact that I'll get it together and do that node. The South Node is in Leo in the Inaugural so it will be awhile before things shimmer as they did during the campaign. Even then it was always quickly eclipsed. There's time, though, and this is the mere beginning.
For now, the stage is being readied for the Aries-Capricorn battle. That is, if the daily soap opera could be condensed into a smaller time slot.
Illustration:Candyland:Chris Van Allsburg

Democracy

Astrobabble with Winston Moonbat

Greetings and salutations all you star-crossed mutables! I thought I'd pop in to update you about the goings on around the galaxy. On December 12th, as Jm predicted, the world ended and began. Nothing major. Probably some of you didn't even notice. Then on December 13th it happened. The earth-shattering event occurred. MPK landed in Hurricane, Utah, and the earth stood still for a brief moment to register this great occasion.

From here on out, life should resemble normality, disappointing as that might be to some of those hungry for explosive excitement. I just came from a meeting in the executive office on Jupiter's 68th moon and we had a lengthy discussion about you earthling astrologers who were predicting extreme agony across the planet. While we understand how skilled you are, and we applaud you with mighty enthusiasm, we felt it proper to point out one little thing many of you forgot in this dastardly disastrous grand cross .... the Gemini moon forming a strong trine to Neptune in Aquarius after passing that ever-lovely North Node.

Now in the United States of America, this trine created a grand air trine with Mars in Gemini and Saturn in Libra, and that's why you all have been having such a good time chattering and making new friends as well as seeing old ones again. According to your astrologer, Ingrid Naiman, air signs govern love of humanity, so as hard as it is to resist, in moments like this it can happen anyway. For those of you who enjoy violence, there was a little of that available as always, and there will be in the future. Something for everybody.

Along with these configurations, there was a biquintessimal aspect with a rare asteroid named Calamitus Janus, but nothing came of it. We all breathed a sigh of relief up here. So there'll be more good times for some, not so good for others, but all in all, a celestial convergence perfectly suited to the holiday social season.

Pluto wanted to let you know that despite some concerns about catastrophe in the next 16 years, he will try to be as just as possible. Enjoy yourselves and as the wise old sage Stepininnit cautions, mind your pees and ques and eat your flaxseed. See you soon and keep talking away. One of your artists, Laurie Anderson, said that language was a virus from outer space, but the antidote is actually more language, a sort of homeopathic approach, and the cure is always in the packages we send.

All My Love,
Winston

The End of the World. Or the Beginning.

Rumor has it that the next full moon is going to be like nothing ever experienced before. A climax of the cosmos. Calamities of immeasurable proportion are hoped for. Excitement you can believe in. The end all be all. Strict celestial orders.

I'm confused. I thought they were all like that. Lifting oceans an' all.

Tides are created because the Earth and the moon are attracted to each other, just like magnets are attracted to each other. The moon tries to pull at anything on the Earth to bring it closer. But, the Earth is able to hold onto everything except the water. Since the water is always moving, the Earth cannot hold onto it, and the moon is able to pull at it.

Darn Moon.
Blue Mesa Petrified Forest:Jack Dykingas

Fish Gotta Swim

Like schools of fish the crowd follows the latest scandal, bombing or disaster, pointing fingers in high excitement, saying, "It's not our guy," while s-he tries to dance around the truth and not get caught. The question that emerges in my mind is, "What's wrong with society that people created this web of crime as government?" That's what Pluto is investigating. Not "who and what" so much as "how and why?" Those who hold the most power in Washington are corrupt and that realization is immensely helpful. Pluto seeks the source, the seed of germination.

The Planet of purge just got started. Like a miner with a headlamp, he goes down looking for decay in all systems -- cracks, rotting elements, toxic gasses, microbes, attitudes and all forms of disease that undermine the health of the system. All systems -- governments, bridges, courts, schools, corporations, financial institutions, etc. The process of living vacillates between health and disease in a continuum. The Saturn in Virgo opposition to Uranus in Pisces also figures into this dynamic, as purity and immunity are studied in a search for efficient functioning. While people are waiting for the ax to fall, the bomb to drop, the elements of healing are there to be used at any moment.

The leaders now have gotten in position through tainted money: Pluto in Capricorn in USA 2nd house opposite Mercury(commerce) in the 8th. The South Node in the 2nd adds to the tale. Then there's Venus-Jupiter and excess materialism, Venus ruling the 10th house of executive power. It's everywhere. The Pluto return in the second aims to address the fundamental problem, and if there is a basic correctness in any of them, it will emerge. Meanwhile people can look to clean mountain streams and fresh lakes for new big fish to follow, if they'd like.

The incoming president took a step in the right direction by rejecting the money of lobbyists and taking the relatively clean cash of the general populace, but this a tiny step and much work remains to be done. First is the recognition that big money does not ultimately have all the power. Pluto in Capricorn is aware of that. Uranus in square and then trine is also aware.

There are many repeated configurations pointing to potential techniques. The Moon at 29 Scorpio in the inaugural chart looks frightfully interested in detection. Pluto in the 8th is searching in there too. The 26 Capricorn of the inaugural chart is conjunct natal USA Pluto and the president's Saturn. Mars is close by. The chart's ruler Venus conjunct Uranus opposite Saturn also points to awareness and restriction. Pluto is now square the USA Midheaven revealing the corruption once again. The Libra 10th with Saturn points to justice in these matters once the lessons are learned. The more challenging the tasks, the greater the rewards.

Jupiter soon transits Aquarius crossing the US South Node, forming a grand air trine with natal Saturn and Mars in Gemini, then on to the Moon. The North Node moves to Capricorn giving a boost to the ethical search. But most interesting is the Pluto opposition to Venus, the ruler of the 10th. Herein lies the opportunity to face the depth of corruption in our country, with a realistic, unsentimental look at them all. Each and every one.

Including ourselves. There's no magic wand, no savior, and no devil to wreak total havoc and destruction. There's a lot of reality to face. Waiting for the mighty to fall can be useless. They rise and fall all the time. The most significant part is the Plutonian confrontation with our own structures in our own lives. For example in my case ... I have Mars at 0 in Libra in the 6th. Pluto is there now headed for my MC and professional success. So that means that I must root out those relationships that are not in synchronization with my goals and build new ones in alignment with my destiny. Pretty simple. Where Pluto is in your own charts reveals the answer. Once people stop following the big fish blindly, clinging to every move hoping it will work out right -- once they get on their individual right tracks -- the government will follow. Exactly how it's designed.

People can peck and wait like obedient children, squealing with the daily tabloid drama or they can peck, mature, and get to work. It's the common denominator thing, as the country learns about money and values, the seed of her success. Shared resources. Pluto.

The Plot Smokes and Thickens

Venus, Uranus, and now Pluto

The term "flapper" in the 1920s referred to a new breed of young women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to the new Jazz music, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers had their origins in the period of liberalism and social and political turbulence.

Yesterday we talked about Venus in Aquarius and Uranian relationships. This has special significance because of the coming Pluto opposition to USA Venus which will also square Uranus in Aries, and at the same time Neptune in Aquarius transits the Moon. It does look like the cultural attitudes of and toward women and relationship could be scheduled for change. The new First Couple fits into this pattern perfectly.

Barack has Uranus close to the cusp of the 7th house of marriage, and the South Node in Aquarius in the first. He's extremely independent. Pluto in his 7th, however, is the opposite. He's learning to come in from the cold this lifetime and embrace merging and bonding. Michelle has Moon, Venus, and Saturn in Aquarius, also very independent. Because of the SN in the first, he's most comfortable alone, but destiny has some interesting plans for him regarding relationships. It probably won't come easily as he yearns to return to his known South Node and escape the many conflicting magnets around him.

When the couple met, Michelle wanted nothing to do with him romantically, but she changed her mind. They married. When he first started to rise politically, he neglected her, she protested, and they entered a rough patch in their marriage. They worked it out. When he became a US Senator, he took an apartment in DC which she refused to stay in. She preferred hotels. When he campaigned for president, they were separated again and now they are euphoric at the thought of being under the same roof. But how together will they be, given their natural tendency to stay aloof?

So in comes Pluto to oppose his Venus and the pull begins. Venus is in his 5th so his daughters are involved. Jupiter is coming into Aquarius, Neptune remains there, and the South Node still has a way to go. The pull goes in both directions. Then there's a 29 Scorpio Moon in the inaugural chart exactly on his Midheaven squaring his 1st and 7th nodes. So the deep draw of career is the focal point of the conflict. I've mentioned the multitudes of Scorpio women around who also have parts to play, and not to forget his grandmother who died in such a timely fashion, also a Scorpio.

With Pluto in the 7th, the man eventually should give up his isolation to an extent and it's impossible to say how difficult it will be. Uranus remains on the descendant. He seemed happiest on the campaign trail alone with the collective, but he needs people in order to realize his ambitions and reach his goals. Probably the more the people take things into their own hands the better he'll be able to balance the crowd's desires. But what does this mean for the country?

The last time Pluto transited US Venus and Jupiter, the flappers came in with a Uranus trine in Pisces. The movement reached its height with Uranus in Aries, then when Uranus in Taurus came with economic difficulties, the high spirits declined and the flappers disappeared.

Venus in Cancer, along with Jupiter, is a rather traditional family oriented relationship model and most of the First Ladies I've seen have been obedient wives and mothers. The exception was when Uranus was in Aries and Eleanor Roosevelt became one of the most active and influential wives ever, breaking the traditional mold right after the flapper decline. The Obamas appear to be a very conservative couple but with all the Uranian aspects, I tend to doubt that. I've noticed that people are not yet comfortable with Michelle. She really is quite different. But still her husband has staid Venus in Cancer, so they aren't too far from the norm. The interesting thing will be how this country reacts to the transits with a history of going wild at times and breaking with tradition. There's always the Aquarian Moon to consider and the pioneering past of American women who made it alone on the frontier.

There is so much Saturn-Uranus energy in store for the next years and the changes simply can't be predicted, but as a Venus-Uranus lover myself, I could use some free spirits. First the Plutonian-Venusian inner workings will have to complete their jobs, but hopefully, the first couple, and the country, will get to dance and maybe have a few drinks. Let loose a little bit. Night clubs do well during depressions, so I should be able to find a job. I'll buy you a drink if you lose yours. Of course with Pluto in Capricorn this time, the women might be too busy professionally for excessively wild liberation. Driving an automobile in 1920 whilst smoking cigarettes was almost a little too far.
Eruption of Mt.Pintube,Philippines,1991

Prophet of the Avant Garde

"Look, they say I'm ahead of the times. I say, 'No. I'm never ahead of my time. It's the others who are behind the times.' "
Man Ray

"I'm a free man. I don't work for a boss. I'm indifferent to things that don't interest me. But never would I attack them, especially in the creative arts, because I say anybody who does creative art is a sacred person. He cannot do any harm whereas a bad politician, a bad doctor, or a bad cook -- can kill you."
Man Ray

Well I'm not sure artists are completely harmless human beings but they do come ahead of politicians on that score. Venus has just entered Aquarius, on her way to the North Node, then on to Neptune, for some futuristic pleasure within all this new reality. I have a Venus-Uranus conjunction and every best manfriend of mine has been an Aquarius. My father had a Venus in Aquarius and we communicated in alternative dimensions. Telepathy is a must. The mental realms of these creatures fascinate me and the freedom I've enjoyed in all of these relationships has been treasured. I'm free to be myself. Untethered.

The artist Man Ray popped into my head and I watched a documentary I had on his life and work. He seemed to fit the Venus in Aquarius moment so I looked him up. August 27, 1890. Moon conjunct Jupiter in Aquarius trine Venus conjunct Uranus in Libra. Exactly my type. Everything he did was inventive and he worked in many different media, always following his own imagination. He was hilarious too.

"I simply try to be as free as possible, in my manner of working and in my choice of subject. No one can dictate to me or guide me."

He lived a long relatively unsuccessful life in multiple relationships with women, another Venusian Aquarian characteristic. Now his works sell for millions. A dollar too late. Then again, many of us have a rather detached relationship with money, perfect for the dedicated artist who doesn't mind starving. No Venus in Taurus here. I suppose anarchy would triumph if we all lived by these ideals so the dictates prevail and restrict. Unless by chance, you have a Uranian Venus.
Sculpture: Obstruction by Man Ray

Muscling Against the System

The Aries-Capricorn Square

"The person with squares from Capricorn to Aries will sooner or later have to buck the heavy weight of authority and seek new pastures where he can kick up his heels in freedom. Since he is usually dependent on the system against which he reacts, impatience, irritability, and frustration may be his lot. He protests against a routine humdrum life, yet knows himself to reap benefits which come from a well-regulated establishment.

There is plenty of energy and drive but often the system is hard to beat. The individual subject to these influences should study the law of cycles to make time his ally. There are periods when he should remain resolute and endure, and periods when he should strike out boldly. The secret of his success lies in cultivating a sensitivity to the deeper rhythms of life."
The Divine Astrologer

People were wondering what Pluto in Capricorn would bring and the only thing one could be certain of was that some semblance of reality would arrive. And it has.

My discussion of the incoming administration and some of the problems being presented has generated some interest. The main point is that the status quo was destined to be reinstated at first so the forces of change could get to work. The power of resistance -- Aries-Capricorn. There's a year and a half before Uranus gets to Aries but it's not too soon to prepare.

The upcoming transit is potent and when Uranus enters Aries in May of 2010, Jupiter will also just be going into Aries adding fuel to the fire. At the same time Saturn enters Libra forming a T-square and the urge to bring change to the government looks to be especially strong. The square will be tight for unusual lengths of time and it's likely that pressure against the system (some system) will be felt from here on out in varying degrees. People with Aries planets especially might feel the squeeze. It needn't be debilitating, and successes occur all along the way accompanying the customary failures and trials and errors of Capricorn in its quest for perfection. The energy can be used. It is, however, not a time to sit back and wait for things to be done by others or entirely by circumstance. Aries asks for direct personal effort.

Aries was born to muscle against resistance, building strength, courage, and ideally to prove invincibility. Triumph is the Aries aim. I'm a lovely flowing Cancer in theory but it all goes up in smoke with my Aries ascendant, determined to boldly push through life meeting challenge with vigor. The Aries is taut, tense, and always primed for action and conflict. Always seeking a hard entity to thrust against.

When Aries (the body) meets Capricorn (construction) you get the classic body builder, so with Uranus in Aries the part of the body politic seeking progressive reform muscles against the status quo. That's why the old conservative cast of characters is in the new cabinet, the same ones whose policies created the current situation. Pluto plumbs the depths bringing political corruption to the surface for release. And there's a helluva lot there. Underneath the top tier, however, alternatives are percolating and new characters representing that divergence will be in the administration, moreso as time goes on, especially if the citizenry gets to work sensing where they are.

Obama remains an outsider no matter how much he's learned to play the game. And he plays it well. He'll do his part in the corrupt system he's taken on. The most important part, though, is ours. Complacency, lassitude, excessive fear, paralysis and such things could be wisely abandoned, along with the child-parent relationship to government, even if people don't necessarily stay politically involved, but at least move some of the restraining walls in their own lives. It all adds up. The realities can be disappointing, even daunting, but what better force to build strength against than a real one?

In the meantime, there are some helpful aspects in the inaugural chart, primarily a grand earth trine from the Taurus ascendant to Mars in Capricorn and Saturn in Virgo, making the transition more stable. The North Node in the 10th is also good, and the North Node coming to Capricorn soon bodes well for order, even though squares can be difficult. There is also a potent Moon at 29 Scorpio just on Obama's Midheaven and this can be watched with interest as power is divvied up in the new administration and the elements of destruction and renewal are set in motion with Pluto through Capricorn and this Moon as emissary. Pluto in the 8th house of the chart repeats the pattern. The incoming president is a good fit with his repeats of the Saturn-Pluto theme, and his own Saturn conjunct USA Pluto.

This process could have a kind relentlessness to it so all you weary travelers rest now while you can. Saturn as you know stands firm, sometimes seemingly unmovable, and Aries doesn't give up. The ideal result is the introduction of the new into the old in order to expand in a combined dimension, earning the ease of the Uranus in Taurus trine that follows. The completion of a grand cardinal cross with USA Saturn in Libra and Venus, Jupiter, Sun, and Mercury in Cancer makes for huge potential achievement with the initiating talent of the cardinal energy, but not without muscle. Pumping iron, cracking stone, pushing boundaries, tearing down and building up walls, and rearranging the halls of power. Where an Aries goes, heavy machinery often follows.
Photo: swimmer at Victoria Falls:Annie Griffiths Belt

Death, Rebirth, and the Great River

The Second Coming of Pluto

The River of Heaven

The story of how the River Ganges fell to earth from its source in heaven ...
There once was a very holy king, called Bhagiratha, who worshipped the god, Shiva. The king begged Shiva to let the Ganges fall to Earth to bring his dead ancestors back to life. Shiva agreed but he knew the Earth would shatter under the water's great weight. So he caught the river in his long tangled hair and let it trickle down gently to the Himalayas. The king led the water from the mountains, right across India to the sea and down into the land of the dead. There its sacred waters touched the ashes of his ancestors and brought them back to life.

Ganga Ma - Mother Ganges, as Hindus revere the river - is the heart of India and the Hindu faith, one of the world's oldest religions. The waters and its tributaries mean life itself for the hundreds of millions of Indians who live in the Ganges Basin. At the bottom of the muddy river the people burn their dead in purification rituals, but at the top, from the source in Gangotri, the water runs clear and pure, the sweetest liquid you've ever tasted. I lived on it for three months in an ashram one year way back then.

Poor Obama has gone fishing in the sewer for his cabinet and he's gotten some ripe pickins. He's under pressure, in a BIG hurry, and caught in destiny's web. With Pluto newly in Capricorn, I can imagine the power struggles escalating to new heights in the government, especially within the Democratic Party. The present incarnation is also scheduled for demolition just as the Republican Party recently was. In the next few years he's going to find out which of these rats are his allies, and which are his rivals on his famous "team." He has enemies everywhere, both open and hidden. One day he'll be glad we the people bought a big piece of him.

Already those who aren't playing right are being eliminated with authoritarian force. The shiny new A-team is coming in. But many surprises are in store as those who think they have their hands clutching the reins of power now are going to find out where they really stand. Hard lessons are ahead for the mighty and corrupt, especially in several years when Saturn gets into Scorpio and forms a mutual reception with Pluto in Capricorn. There is an unusually high number of Scorpio planets in the charts of his sewer friends.

The incoming president has Saturn and Jupiter in the 12th house and he's a behind-the-scenes executive with a Scorpio Midheaven. Power plays, intrigue, secrets, jealousies, and betrayals as well as the potential for great creative achievement and transformation are possibilities. All of these things will likely happen. The Scorpio planets of others around his MC can help but this amount is excessive.

No wonder. The guy has a Moon-Pluto square indicating power struggles with women, and a whopping Pluto in the 7th house of relationships, meaning power struggles with just about everyone. His little National Security harem is really going to be a doozy as they seek each other's veins while Pluto opposes his Venus by transit. Unless there's some quirk of fate the control games are going to be immense and the agonizing competition for his attention and loyalty along with their individual quests for significance, will probably fall short of fun. Some are going to get creamed. His trusty detachment will probably fail him as he gets lured into his own Plutonian machinations. Those who think they're in the driver's seat at the moment are going to be unpleasantly awakened. Diplomacy doesn't really show up in these charts for some odd reason. Well I hope we're secure anyway. Foreign affairs might have to go on automatic pilot while these unhappy home affairs unfold. "Why do we always have to be so dysfunctional?" she asks her brother once again. Hopefully Pluto opposite our Cancer stellium will answer a few of these questions. It would work well if the chief executive can use the friction for energy and if Pluto has purification in mind being the good guy we know he really is. Sewers have their purpose but one doesn't want to linger too long.

The country, herself, is getting a Pluto-Venus opposition during this steamy time so the question of the female model is sure to be raised. Do we want a sex goddess, a testicular imitator, a Pulitzer Prize winner, a charming, agreeable lady? So many decisions.

With Pluto at the helm I don't expect this incoming Clinton administration to last. More like a reckoning is ahead. I think Pluto must be laughing, even dancing right now. Escape? LOL! ROFL!! The sins of the forefathers. Some of these criminals will be seeking redemption once Pluto gets plumbing, some won't. Some will be getting it, some won't. Some of them might have an inkling of conscience. Anything's possible. Capricorn could bring out the guilt which should be down there in copious amounts. Ruining countries eventually reaps payback. I'll be looking for a cabinet-maker with fresh non worm-infested wood and an environmentally safe varnish. A citizen can still dream. Change I can still believe in.

But while the main artery is filled there are many capillaries and as always, good ones leak in by mere happenstance, the luck of the draw, or good ol' cosmic design. As for that main artery, I'd like to send them on a paid vacation to Gangotri for a cold bath in the holy waters. Cure them of their love of war. I'll try anything. Holy Mother of us all. In the meantime, I'll be fishing in clean waters myself, where I can see the light of day and drink up some of that purity. And watch the rebirth.

Photo#1:Varanasi,India. Photo#2:mudflat remains of the Colorado River Basin:Annie Griffins Belt Photo#3:Chad Ehlers

Aging and Patience

There is nothing finer than properly aged Parmesan cheese freshly cut from the wheel. I'm impressed with cheese-making and the Saturnine patience required to wait for the right time for consumption in order to get the full, rich, and satisfying flavor. I'm reminded of this in terms of this country and her first Pluto return now underway. It will take 16 years, which is really not much time at all, but more than this fast paced population normally likes to wait for results.

"The great task before our Founders that day was putting into practice the ideal that government could simultaneously serve liberty and advance the common good. For Alexander Hamilton, the young Secretary of the Treasury, that task was bound to the vigor of the American economy. Hamilton had a strong belief in the power of the market. But he balanced that belief with the conviction that human enterprise 'may be beneficially stimulated by prudent aids and encouragements on the part of the government.' Government, he believed, had an important role to play in advancing our common prosperity. So he nationalized the state Revolutionary War debts, weaving together the economies of the states and creating an American system of credit and capital markets. And he encouraged manufacturing and infrastructure, so products could be moved to market.

Hamilton met fierce opposition from Thomas Jefferson, who worried that this brand of capitalism would favor the interests of the few over the many. Jefferson preferred an agrarian economy because he believed that it would give individual landowners freedom, and that this freedom would nurture our democratic institutions.

In the more than two centuries since then, we have struggled to balance the same forces that confronted Hamilton and Jefferson – self-interest and community; markets and democracy; the concentration of wealth and power, and the necessity of transparency and opportunity for every citizen."

This is an excerpt from Barack Obama's excellent speech addressing Wall Street at Cooper Union in March, 2008. He articulated a broad vision for economic repair in America and, of course, everyone knows how necessary that is now. I think we're preparing to revisit our philosophical roots with this return in order to understand how we went so far astray in mixing business with government and what we can do to remedy the failure and bring the nation to economic health.

The business entrapments of the government have gone into deeply destructive territory and the cast of characters who led the development are still in power and have been re-installed in the new administration to start it off. There is no reason to shy away from the realization that many of these people do not have our interests in mind. It looks terrible to see the same multinationalist war profiteering crowd continue as is. The less pretense the better. But I think this is a necessary step in the overhaul destined with Pluto. Obama has no choice right now - he seems uncomfortable with the reality - still the process cannot be shortchanged. The forces of reform need the status quo there to work with. So they are temporarily back in. The same godawful bunch. I don't really care to analyze them or make excuses, or learn to love them. I don't and won't. I simply want to apply my basic metaphysical overview.

The establishment is established for the moment with the first of the three Saturn-Uranus oppositions. I wrote earlier how the next two are going to diminish their strangling hold. Then comes Uranus in Aries to cause them more trouble than they know. Political decisions cannot be made entirely with profit for the rich in mind and that hard lesson will eventually be learned by the time Pluto returns.

I've mentioned many times the conjunction of Obama's Saturn and USA Pluto trine Neptune and the president's Mars, both in Virgo. Another positive factor in the return is the trine to Uranus in Taurus all through the process. Another interesting one is Saturn in Aquarius for most of it when exact. The repeating theme is phenomenal starting with the opposition at the election. The blending of conservatism and change, old structure and new, and the ruling elite and the commoners, is so prevalent in the upcoming years that there is no way a solution can be avoided, in my opinion. Bang enough times and the door opens one way or another.

So the patience of a fine cheese-maker can be used for anyone anxious to have an improved country. Ups and downs, and sideways, can be expected in the arduous process of growing up, but the appearance of a leader interested in combining history, present, and future in helping shape good policy, along with some favorable cosmic configurations, tells me that progress is possible, especially if truly desired. Proper aging takes time.