Beggars and Choosers

Seems like humans are always begging for something from someone - God, the government, the boss, Jupiter .... If only they knew who was in charge.

I guess with Pluto in Capricorn we're about to find out who cares and who doesn't, just how much mercy will be extended, and exactly how much we're on our own.

The people just spent millions and millions and millions of dollars hiring the current government and now they're on their knees begging for care and for Wall Street to stop stealing all their money. Where can they go for help? A quandary it is.

There's a lot to cover besides everyone's illness, and outer space is extending the populace a little preliminary course in realism, not greeted with joy considering the country's elevated Neptune. This Neptune is about to be crossed by Saturn, and fantasy will have to share the area with practicality for a little while. Fair's fair.

It's true that Pluto makes experience seem like a life or death situation, but it really isn't that fateful in the long run. And the long run is what we're in for considering the four Cancer planets. The wave of panic is really unnecessary other than to provide the temporary thrill of fear so many favor. I wish them an enjoyable frenzy.

The way I see it ... the public is a hyped up rag doll with its arms being pulled out by both parties vying for power and elections approaching. It's all in the game, and as usual, the people are playing their subservient role masterfully.

Rushing like a runaway truck on I81 is not good for your health. Expecting the government to suddenly turn benevolent borders on foolish. And obsessing with the phrase "public option" is idly filling time. Most people don't know what it really is and yet their lives depend on it suddenly. It could just as well be " pubic borazzmatazz." Such is the madness of Pluto, not to forget the 29 Scorpio moon of the inauguration. Group phrases provide something to get your tongue around, but probably won't pay your medical bills. And neither might their insurance plans. But it's more than nothing. I think.

Probably the best thing would be no health care until there could be good health care, if such a thing could materialize in that foggy place called the future. But if the forces demand a deal, you can expect the establishment to win at this stage of the game, if you think there's a contest. You can cry and beg all you want to, but as long as you keep paying for these people to do what they do, and voting for them, they will do it.

And so the team arrives at the Virgo-Pisces axis again. Are we healthy? Not particularly. Can we get healthy? Maybe some of us. Who's going to pay for it? Good question. Who's responsible for whom? Good question.

Sickness is big and remains a puzzle no matter what. When healing became controlled by profit people got entangled and now it's bigger than the sickness. A chicken for a cure got out of hand.

The fact is, you can get health care now. You won't expire without the public option, Pluto notwithstanding. You can enjoy what you have. You can eat well, exercise, and control exposure to painful stress in many cases. You can go to a naturopath. You can get poked by an acupuncturist at a very reasonable rate. You can clean the house and do some long awaited repairs with the end of Saturn in Virgo. In fact, you can organize your life. You can learn to like yourself despite the world's injustices. All things Virgo create health in a human and now is the perfect time to get it. It's your body. Baby.

Soon sickness will be prohibitive. Heh! That'll do it.
So it was designed all along.

Panic in Needle Park

That was the title of a movie I saw once about a ragged group of junkies who procured their fixes in a Brooklyn Park. The supply suddenly dried up and the film was an interesting view of the ways in which they survived.
Neptune equates with drugs and illusions, and the feeling now reminds me a little bit of that movie. The Hope & Change altered state has ended and people are suffering withdrawal with the accompanying panic that it might not return. The high was so expansive that the comedown was bound to be of similar great dimension, but there's more Jupiter-Neptune ahead with the chance to adjust to reality in stages.

Anyone occupying the White House now would have been subject to this climate, and most likely would have handled it equally. It's not at all personal.

It was a thrill for some to revel in the new administration's magical powers and for awhile, it was relatively harmless. But the people are changing surprisingly fast and are preparing for future challenges, including an evaluation of their leadership sans the Hope & Change.

I've been listening to my local radio shows and oddly, the general public seems to be a little bit ahead of the blogosphere on this one. They like the president, but they have serious doubts about his chances of fixing the problems.

The diminishing hope is exactly on schedule, since expectations have to be cleared occasionally. The bare bones approach in Capricorn wants to do what's within capability with a guarantee of success.

People adjust to sudden sobriety in a variety of ways. Some are angry and blame anything. Others welcome the change and see the seeds of genuine optimism provided to replace the drug. Some couldn't care less. Most are a little worried, but have confidence that things will work out.

It can be difficult to comprehend the urges politicians have in their hunger for power, and Saturn-Pluto is the epitome of ambition. The panic they're experiencing now is loss of public support, without which, they lose their seat in the ring of power. They're nervous. Both parties are frowned upon out there. They seem to be showing their weakness. And Pluto is coming in.

All the politicians are bought (hired) by these corporations, and just like any business, they have to do what they're ordered to do by their bosses. But things are getting out of control. Or have gotten. With Pluto soon turning direct and heading for full Capricorn territory, the story is just beginning.

Alas, the bystanders are foregoing the fairy tale as Jupiter and Neptune separate, not the support of the president, of course. They still like him. Next year, as Jupiter and Uranus complete their work in Pisces, the initial panic should turn into acceptance and a new enthusiasm for reality. And the dealers will be out of work.

The Pitfalls of Prophecy

Eclipse at 29 Cancer

July 22nd they warned! Or heralded.

As you can see, nothing happened. Oh, some will insist that it's too subtle to perceive, and that's probably true, but most are looking for tangible signs. People have been acting as prophets since time immemorial, and whether they are shrieking on the street corner or pontificating on a book tour, I feel secure knowing that most everyone takes them in stride. These everyones always have an ear cocked just in case, but so far we've managed fairly well without benefit of prophetic services. Mostly people are seeking drama in a rather routine mundane existence. Not a whole lot happens, yet everything does.

Eclipses are one of many small events that make up human activity as it relates to the solar system. When things actually do happen they quickly drift into the semi-remembered land of the past. Even the ones that make history drift into the long continuum over time. Those hoping for cataclysmic events and sudden shifts are generally due for a letdown.

What drives these proclamations? Ego, of course. And that's what this eclipse is all about. The Sun (ego) in Cancer is kind of like a permanent eclipse and this moment exaggerated the condition. The result has been an agitated attempt to bolster the frightened entity, often leading to childish tantrums and screams for attention. The public nursery school at full tilt. Even the dogs were whining and shouting in the park yesterday, something they never do. Fierce protection of territory can also occur under Cancer's influence, and the difficult truth of the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction - that world peace, harmony, and happiness are not here just now - is disheartening to some.

The personal reigns supreme with Cancer and we're just getting started. This particular eclipse is a lead-in to the next year and a half of the south node in Cancer offering a chance to stop and talk with the squirmy child and teach it reason, logic, and self control a-la the north node in Capricorn. It's also looks like a diminishing of overblown idol worship with the south leaving Leo and the darkening of the solar so perfectly timed.

On the other hand, some with less than outstanding egos had a chance to stick out a little more while the shiny ones got shadowed. It all evens out. The ordinarily overlooked can't take too much of the spotlight, but their contribution in rare moments is probably remembered in that expansive land of the past. Who can tell in this unpredictable world? They might even step out from the shadows a little bit more as time goes on and the Leo south node leaves the superdupers in the gold dust. It will be a fascinating Mars retrograde in Leo coming up, I guarantee that.

So the prophets cry. Even when catastrophes do occur, or merely unfortunate, upsetting, or slightly miserable events, they give way to the broader, deeper movement of humanity, which no one can perceive. Light and dark live side by side, kindly symbolized by the sun and moon. Granted they don't like to share the sky, they both have their slots, but overall, they get along. This eclipse was another fateful meeting of the two enhanced by the Cancer energy and south node in Leo just about to cross over. An eclipse of the sun is a temporary moon type darkness, usually with the attendant insecurity. A sort of cosmic dimmer. It makes me squint whether I'm looking at it or not.

As I mentioned earlier, the next years are scheduled to break habitual dependent behaviors in some and this event has been a harbinger of these potential movements. Leaving so-called secure caves for exposure to the outside can be daunting, but sometimes the urge to get out gets the best of you. You might see the cardinal signs leading the way. The fixed will probably require bulldozers.
There's real work to be done in society and the rewards of achievement and recognition beckon. Along with that journey out is the development of a viable ego that includes benefits for society as well as yourself.

So who has her hands clasping the light? Who's better than whom? Who makes these decisions? Some insist that the forces of evil in the universe must be eradicated. Conquered. Snuffed out. That's a tall order. Light doesn't kill the dark, really. Life is comparison and contrast. And who says that light isn't "evil"?

Deep in the ocean beneath the surface light there are hot spots known as thermal vents where unusual biological forms exist. There are giant worms who thrive way way down in the depths, and to them, light would be evil. They even have blood in their strange bodies very similar to ours. Together these forms live in a dark world that astonishes the imagination. In the ocean, and on the earth's surface, and probably in the heavens, you can witness horrors committed by the inhabitants, but it's all part of the chain that perpetuates the ecosystems. The octopus isn't such a nice guy.

Many nefarious acts are committed under cover of dark. But so are they done in the light. Evil was at home in paradise from the getgo.The forces of evil have a magical way of twisting and winding through everyone, and even though some seem to hold more, the quickest route to eradication, if you choose that road, is inside yourself. Lingering on others' "darkness" can even cause you to miss your own, the most important piece of the evil pie. You aren't going to be successful conquering it out there. I'll stake my silver on that claim.

The United States is in somewhat permanent eclipse with her Cancer stellium and her fear is spelled out in her astronomical military expenditure. We were born or live here for reasons connected to this destiny. The north node in Leo indicates a solid gold ego somewhere down the line but the process is a long one as the relationship is developed between these two great luminaries and people learn to love themselves with solar pride, while understanding that the other human levels of expression will have their time as well, including calamities, war, disease, and all manifestations of earthly existence. You live beside what you perceive as wrong while doing what's within your capabilities to make a better world if you want one. Neither side has any intention of going away and neither side wins. They share the universe and they teach. Your own fear of evil frequently is just a signal that you need more confidence. The night must be laughing to see little humans try to self-righteously use the dark as a weapon, mislabeling so consistently. The storm clouds too. And the worms in the vents. And, of course, the fantasy novelists. The fearfulness of the moon is a perfect complement to the confidence of the sun. Dark and Light are a match made in heaven.

It's another eclipse. One of so many. The Sun and Moon chuckle, sharing the joke.

Sustenance

Pluto in Capricorn Opposite Venus in Cancer

"Taurus is generation, Scorpio is regeneration. The association of Scorpio with loss and death shows that the people are required to sacrifice personal desires in order to satisfy the demands of the society of which they are an integral part. Taurus represents food, possessions, and all that individuals incorporate in order to renew their bodies, while Scorpio represents the renunciation of pleasures, which enables an individual to become absorbed into a larger corporate body. Vegetables and animals must die before they are consumed by people. Analogously, people must slay their own greed and selfishness if they are to nourish the collective human organism. Pluto oversees this process of reduction to basic components in order for the pulverized material to be assimilated by the greater whole."
The Divine Astrologer: Marcia Moore and Mark Douglas

Pluto opposite Venus is the Taurus-Scorpio configuration, and as you can probably tell, in this country there is an imbalance. Unbalanced incorporation. If using the Sibly chart for the United States, the pattern is particularly prevalent. It's written in the nodal axis -- south node in the Taurean 2nd house, north node in the Plutonian 8th -- with Pluto repeating the pattern positioned in the 2nd, further emphasized by an opposition to Mercury, the planet of commerce, in the 8th. People are pirouetting on pins and needles awaiting the next few years as Pluto opposes Venus and Jupiter. Changes in economic behavior are anticipated and citizens are already responding.

On September 11, 2001, as you recall, the Trade Towers of America were destroyed and I took that to mean that her trade policies and economic habits were going down in some way eventually, and would have to be rebuilt. On that day, the north node was in Cancer at 3 degrees, on US Venus. Mars was conjunct the south in Capricorn, indicating the demolition of the structure by explosion and fire.

Now the nodes are returning to the 3rd degree along with Pluto and an experience looks to be in store. The nation's material security is taking centerstage and in November of 2010, the south node will be on Venus exactly opposite Pluto at 3 degrees. With transiting Venus on a long retrograde in Scorpio at the time, the Taurus-Scorpio theme will be emphasized even more.

"Taurus and Scorpio are the two money signs. The former stands for individual resources, privately owned property, and income, while the latter stands for collective resources, public property, taxes, and investments. Earthy Taurus rules real estate and land, while fluid Scorpio has suzerainty over the ever fluctuating stock market."

The country was founded on principles of successful business and perpetual expansion. The development of the colonies was sponsored by companies who demanded a profit, and the colonists did anything they could in the new inhospitable land. They formed treaties with the Native Americans, then broke the agreements, settling on the Indians' revered hunting grounds, claiming their food supply. When they discovered the work load was too big they imported slaves. These practices turned into a similar foreign policy advocating plunder around the world, and now the growth of financial conglomerates (Pluto), unnaturally fast and too consolidated, threatens the organism as it snuffs out necessary cells in the form of small enterprise (Taurus). Rapid growth becomes a worshipped and followed deity, virtually impossible to reject.

Things in nature grow bigger, but forces of decay complement the procedure and prune when needed, so the environment matches the organisms and they can sustain a balanced system. Uncontrolled growth now is overcoming the smaller aggregates and necessary divisions, so I'm expecting the whole organism to speak as the corporate mass, headed by giant banks, comes to the showdown. Both are likely to survive, but ideally in a semblance of balance. Some big businesses share markets with small ones successfully, both benefiting through the arrangement. 

It's pretty well established that the long period of expansion has now become one of contraction, and the excess is Pluto's job to remove. Unfortunately, some of the players in the game are reluctant to embrace the reality of "smaller" and are now growing yet larger in a wild overreaction. Government spending could also end up in this category. How they compromise with reality should prove interesting, especially with dry, controlling Saturn in Libra there at first between the two. Of course, Uranus in Aries is unpredictable, but it should provide the spark for action, both good and bad. Following Libra, Saturn goes into Scorpio forming a mutual reception with Pluto in Capricorn, which sounds interesting, and tense, with the thing turning in on itself. Some very serious business, I'd wager, with extremes meeting constraints head on. A real bind.

A concern is insurance companies (Pluto). How much will they dictate the way life is lived? How much constriction in general is required before the system adjusts? Where will the squeeze be? Who will apply the pressure? How tight will it get?
Taurus is "mine." Scorpio is "ours." What's yours is yours, what's mine is mine, and what we share is decided upon mutually with loyalty to the agreements. From the start, the country has broken trust. Taxation, with its creation of common shared resources, is like the devil magnified. Growth (Taurus) becomes excessive (Pluto), and destroys (Pluto) nature (Taurus). I find it interesting that the inauguration of the president is done on the Taurus-Scorpio axis. The cosmic entities are aligned with our education it seems. Or else they want our money.

I think with Venus conjunct Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn, the country has both an overindulgent nature and a frugal one. Circumstance determines and the people are moving surprisingly fast by spending more sensibly and saving for the first time in years. This presents a problem in the short term as consumer spending shrinks, but eventually markets and correct finances find each other. It looks like the populace is quick to react which is good for survival. Upheavals can be expected when Pluto is involved, but the intensity varies.
The question of war for profit is a thorny one...

"The Taurean avidity to accumulate material goods can lead to Scorpionic jealously and covetousness on the part of the have-nots of the world. Most wars, inquisitions, and persecutions have been thinly deprived efforts to deprive people of their property. War strips away possessions through taxes, bombing, and deliberate destruction of homes and belongings, even to the point of doing away with man's first and foremost possession -- his body."

Governments are in business, largely dealing in war supplies and drugs. This Plutonian arrangement leads to a world of high crime, creating fear among the people, but they'd be afraid anyway. In and around the sordid dealings are commodities exchanges that are relatively clean and equitable. You choose. Both are always available. Attacking the criminal and the crime achieves little without consulting the source in human nature. In the meantime, watering your crops works fairly well, along with discovering whom to trust.

I imagine that in order to go on to the next 250 year cycle, the US budget will have to be brought under control. It appears to be going further out right now, and when real contraction comes, things will change as promised, not necessarily in paradisiacal fashion. The stimulation and government programming could encounter difficulty, since restraint and severity are needed at this juncture in history. Elimination of financial waste.
Failure is good. It paves the way for success.

A further part of release is psychological and with the south node transiting Cancer along with the Pluto opposition, the attachment to the past (Cancer), and all its myriad resentments (Pluto) could influence the situation even more, if that's possible. The past is bobbing up again. The square to Libra is concerned with justice, Pluto with revenge, and some would like the previous leaders to be punished severely, and event unlikely to occur. Too many present leaders are implicated and too many business deals are still in operation. This links to the non-victim stance I always champion...

If you've been the victim of a crime, but the perpetrator won't be punished officially, then clutching to the hope is discouraging and stoking the resentment hurts yourself. The criminal has won again by retaining power over you as you spend energy, time, and money pushing for the impossible. You are in bondage. Pluto. You're doubly stripped, and imprisoned in sensations that effect your peace of mind, and probably your health. The best revenge is repairing the damage and learning how you got there in the first place and how to avoid it in the future. If things don't improve fast enough, the obsessive quality of the blame could increase, until the country realizes that the current administration is part of the problem and that's where any logical repair will take place.

You really can't do much about everyone you hate vehemently, be they the rulers, the wealthy, the evil people in charge, or whomever is perceived to be stealing your goods at the moment. They're always there. And justice has an uncanny way of working on its own. My favorite stroke of revenge is improvement of my character. Show them you've done well. Feeling fine without you.

Another aspect of Cancer-Capricorn is housing and urban environments. In the cities where Taurean nature is demolished, Plutonian underworld activities often dominate. In city planning the trend toward bringing back nature with parks, bike paths, and the like, probably increases the public's well-being. It's interesting to see how some natural preserves become havens for Plutonian dealing, and others become a cost-free way to enjoy an afternoon of paradise. One never knows.

At the same time, new housing communities are being designed and constructed outside cities with renewable energy, their own food production, and maybe even eventually their own manufacturing base to an extent. Small industry again. Small sustainable units, the ideal in the age of contraction. The tribal village of Cancer becomes the successful business venture of Capricorn easing the strain on society as a whole.

The real question comes when individuals ask, "How much am I willing to forego for the benefit of the whole?"
Until now, the collective decision was to satisfy desires unchecked, and thus, the corporate structure has flourished in order to feed human want. The avarice of the corporation mirrors that of the individual. Pluto oversees self-mastery concerning desires and Capricorn brings the discipline to achieve it. A stellar opportunity.

So as you can tell, the direct motion of Pluto coming soon is of great importance to the American people. The opportunity offered, considering Venus and Jupiter and their benefic characteristics, is worth considering, although everything comes with a price. Taurus-Scorpio. Pluto-Venus. Commodities, finance, and survival itself. But most of all, the key to a good life is being able to honestly experience pleasure and then the two main sensations of the body, pleasure and pain, operate in balance, with grasp and release in rhythmical order. Overstuffing only on very special occasions, divvying up if possible, and all the while "slaying greed and selfishness." Well, maybe just a trimming will do.

America on the Cardinal Cross

The cardinal signs are the primary relationship points in the astrological wheel and successful development of all four ensures the healthy functioning of a society.
In Aries the relationship with the self is established separate from having to conform to interpersonal or societal norms. In Cancer, the family is formed and tribal belonging with protection and security provided by the intimate bonding with others compose the next stage. In Libra, emotional separation comes and the individual sees the other from a mental perspective, balancing, weighing, judging, and using the opportunity as a mirrored reflection of self, thus gaining more knowledge and understanding, along with learning how to give and take. In Capricorn, the emotional familiar attachment is no longer needed as much while the native forms a relationship with society as a whole. A good foundation of security creates the ability to relate to the group later on. The individual is able to trust others, knows her*his character, talents, and skills and is able to use the earlier lessons of cooperation to become a productive member of society. On the large scale, a country then becomes a mature player on the world stage.
As you can see, the United States has some work to do at the Cancer point with four planets there just about to be heavily transited, and I do mean heavily. The Libra Saturn and Capricorn Pluto points will also be involved. And Aries will soon be factored in. Cardinal energy is dynamic action meant to initiate change. A lot is ahead.

Right now, there is a fascinating configuration of celestial influences coming into focus. The new moon at 0 Cancer became the full moon eclipse in Capricorn. But it's an unusual moment since there will be a second new moon at 29 Cancer and another eclipse. Adding further to the configuration are the nodes of the moon entering Cancer and Capricorn. Just when the nodes change, Pluto goes direct headed for serious business with the US Cancer stellium. And finally, the direct motion occurs exactly when the next Saturn-Uranus opposition comes. It's time for an experience with the child-parent, home-world puzzle so woven into the country's destiny. Successful developments on the childish, dependent, often fearful and insecure Cancer end could bring about a more mature relationship with the world and a better functioning society as we come to the first return of Pluto to its natal position. It's theoretical at this stage, of course.

The blogs are a new part of the arrangement and they could figure in significantly since they perfectly combine the cave-like intimacy and family connectedness to the public arena. So people are home and in the world at once. The tribal units are out in the open being monitored and hopefully, if only eventually, keeping people on their best behavior. Lessons of dignity, politeness, respect, and so on could be learned with Pluto in Capricorn, especially with Saturn in Libra in the beginning.

On the other hand, the urge for independence will cause some to leave the security of the blogs and the attachment to administrators as mother figures protecting the brood from the cold cruel world. Emotions could get out of hand at first and quarrels could escalate. Some blog masters will realize it's time to let go of their own blogs and dependence on their familial clusters. Clinging to security blankets in general is up for consideration including the idea that the government is going to magically transform into a kind, caring, frugal, respectable, people-loving entity.

Who and what are the politicians protecting? Who is ultimately responsible for your interests? How can we turn the natural Cancerian impulse to nurture and band together into one that nourishes the well-being of society? How can private successes become public? Who really is in charge? When is it time to take things into your own hands and how can that be accomplished?

I often talk about complicity and shared responsibility. Many feel that they are victims of the elite, the corporations, the government, and authorities in general. Metaphysically, there is no such thing. All relationships are contracts between the parties and so-called victims have reasons to be there. From that perspective, the "evildoers" are just as much victims of the people, themselves, or circumstance. Trying to accurately pinpoint blame often is fruitless, time-consuming, and exhausting. There's one simple reason for acting from this position. If you play the victim you can't do anything about it. If you share responsibility, you have control. Your chances of a fix have improved exponentially. Growing up as a Cancer country, the lesson of responsibility will come one time or another. This looks like a perfect time.

Another important part of maturing is facing mistakes. The Cancer child reacts defensively to criticism, but the good adult knows how to criticize and receive judgement gracefully, along with using the information for correction. The United States, herself, is due for some discipline, which might include some humiliation. The leadership is childlike and superficial and not taken seriously at present. Ancient threads still weave their way around the planet. Correction is the key to Saturnian development on the path to expertise with genuine pride in achievement.

Ideally, we the populace, become the parents of ourselves, managing our finances, voting intelligently, paying attention to local issues where direct votes can influence policy a great deal, drying the tears, ending some of the tantrums, and standing up to do the job, watching the moves of the politicians in relentless Plutonian investigative fashion. The terrorizing from the parents now has gone on long enough. I realize they have their hands on mega world demolishing weapons, but hey! They're as afraid of them as we are. And they know they can't get away with as much as they used to. If things progress well, a new brand of leadership could emerge, reflecting the people's growth, and you will recognize it. The all day sucker transforms into the wild cherry tootsie roll pop and the kids shriek with delight. Hidden pleasures from Pluto. If they're good.

Pluto in Capricorn plays no favorites. It's interested in an efficient smooth-operating system. The understanding of collective survival and control from a deeper broader source diminishes a lot of the fear and frees up energy for achievement both personal, and societal. Pluto does signify revenge sometimes, but the best revenge is success and health, with more emphasis on reward than punishment. Power is in constant flux and redistributes itself according to system requirements. Breakdowns only lead the wise ones to the avenues of repair, or in some cases, destruction and rebuilding. The backbone of Capricorn can be used to build anew from the primal Cancerian need for safety.

As usual, there are good and bad aspects to the challenges ahead, but most important is the realization that it's not going to be done for us. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people means just that. We are it. The nation has serious problems and some might feel there isn't much that can be done, but soon, renewed vigor will come.
There's always a solution. The greater the effort, the bigger and more enduring the transformation can be, with careful planning, sensible division of labor, sincerity, consistency, method, and patience. People can let Pluto come and do what it does, remaining wobbly and too yielding under the Cancer influence, waiting for the adults (?) to take care of it, or they can utilize the nourishing talent of the sign to build solid security from within, remaining firm, erect, and with the help of Aries, a little bit fearless. When is it time to take things into our own hands and how can that be achieved? Are you ready for power? We do have a little time yet to think about it.

The cosmos is not one to deny creatures their autonomy. It means less work for those illusive entities. More time to frolic among the stars.

The Facets of Experience

Dissolution
Jupiter, Neptune, and Chiron

The triple conjunction is winding down now and as you can see, both the good and unpleasant aspects of the entities are at work, as is always the case with astrology, exactly like life. Some predicted a magical healing with great happiness, optimism, and loving collective togetherness. Others warned of disasters and false hopes. I've noticed a little of each, but mostly, I sense more of a feeling of suspension, people not knowing where it's all headed. This configuration is especially important since it will be carried over for an entire year as Jupiter transits Pisces and meets Uranus on its way into Aries. We've only just begun and not knowing the future is paramount at this juncture. No one knows what's ahead and once this fact is accepted the freedom inherent in the Saturn-Uranus oppositions can manifest.The future is ours to create.

People are grappling with hope and disillusionment in some way. And the main effect of Neptune .... dissolution. The negatives stand out and are actually supremely helpful since they guide people to problems in their psyches that if faced and worked with, can improve their existences. So running away from the negative can be a shortchanging of yourself.

This conjunction is the start of the year-long cycle culminating at 29 Pisces. It's hard to imagine much being accomplished in this chaotic loose jointed time. There's a sort of end-of-the-rope moment that beckons before the collective can move on. Things are breaking up and falling apart.

All moments are a combination of sensations. Neptune includes infinity, if only theoretically. People attach the positive or negative label according to personal needs of the present, so an overall plus for the whole crowd is virtually impossible. Individuals see reality differently. One's negative does not, however, ruin another's positive. They co-exist. When all facets coordinate and the value of the integrated whole is recognized, progress is made. That includes perceiving your foes as allies ultimately as we all help one another find understanding ... standing-under: feet: Neptune. So-called enemies are far too valuable to annihilate. They come back, anyway, as the mirrors they are. The ideological differences of Jupiter-Neptune are part of growth, and as you can see, there is a long way to go. How willing are you to allow opposing views an equal existence? Saturn in Libra on deck might provide part of the answer.

Aquarius governs rebellion and collective ideals, but it also is implicated in dictatorship as a fixed, often ego-driven sign. Many force their wills on events and insist that things are going to be a certain way. That's why the lessons of the sign include circumstances beyond our control. Neptune oversees socialism and cooperation, but the oneness of the energy can also mean totalitarianism. The desire in America for the obliteration of the opposing party is not indicative of advanced social harmony, especially since those who profess to be adhering to the lofty principle are among the perpetrators of the division. Hypocrisy, a favorite of Jupiter, has been rampant. During the transit partisan hatred has gone on unabated while chat about great collective strides forward has masked this primitive mode of operation. Movement is governed by the forces of equal and opposite and if we were all ideologically the same, I guarantee life would not be worth living. In fact, life would cease to exist. So celebration of diversity, no matter what the details, is the plus side of Jupiter-Neptune. Are you right? Yes. Are you right? No. Who has the answers? Everyone.

Real advancement comes when the hate and illogical fear of others end, and the power over yourself is decidedly yours. Banding together in mutual distrust is not really a path to enlightenment. Jupiter governs broad social urges beyond the one on one. Many people are reluctant to leave this cozy arrangement so they cling to the interpersonal in the form of gossip, the main ingredient in political discourse. The collective unity Jupiter-Neptune offers has been rejected by and large as the divisions are rigorously maintained. All groups spit others out.
You'll know when real evolution comes. When the malicious gossip subsides and people recognize their complicity in the games as a whole, with a natural urge to understand rather than denigrate, castigate, separate, elevate, anything but accept others into the human family with the magnanimity of Jupiter. The attempt to portray yourself as better than others translates into the hierarchy we see in society. It's ancient. We all do it. It successfully prevents the unity of Jupiter-Neptune and integration with the cosmos. Happiness? Not so much. Positive? Not very much at all. When the gossip lets up and is replaced by real talk of ways to solve problems and honest discussions of how to best govern ourselves, then progress will be evident. With Aquarius, leaders have to descend from the heights and join the efforts.

Jupiter is positive and upbeat at times, but the full reality is more. Neptune represents longing for alternative dimensions or the question of whether or not these places can, in fact, exist in the real world. Jupiter is concerned with long journeys, so the desire for inspired travel through these territories in our imaginations is a large driving force of the transit. "Hopiness" is a mere fraction of the spectrum of Jupiter-Neptune.

In the search for transcendental experience, longings for painful sensations are also included, as evidenced by the uncontrollable desire to see more images of torture, hopefully worse than before. The peep show ruled by this purveyor of fantasy. The pictures remaining hidden is actually a good sign, the ideal being a loss of desire to look at humans hurting humans. That evolutionary point is a on a far distant shore. As long as people want to watch it, the phenomenon will continue. The ongoing Colosseum of the collective mind. Theatrical enjoyment. Rings and rings of circus. The same applies to the deceptive and manipulative news media people condemn. As long as eyes are focused there, they flourish as is. An understanding of complicity, again, is required. Do we want to be deceived? Yes. As long as Neptune is around. The line between healthy non-fact and destructive lying is often blurred and the need for coverup remains until the time for revelation comes. How much truth do we really desire and how do we ever know for sure?

Conjunctions can be the most difficult of all with both planets competing for power in the same place. Jupiter ruled Sagittarius and Neptune ruled Pisces are naturally in a square aspect, so some trouble could be anticipated. Pisces is unspecified faith and Sagittarius is religious hierarchy with authoritative figures and traditional ritual. In that respect, the election results in Iran make perfect sense. In fact, all the participating factions are religiously backed and all are corrupt. The evolution in the Islamic world as theocratic rule is gradually joined by secular has been going on for a long time and it's going to take a lot more. Change needs reactionary elements to move against and as Pluto travels into Capricorn, those energies can be expected to increase at first. The year of Jupiter in Pisces could assist this change but things will go slowly, perhaps showing significant development when Pluto crosses Pisces and the Age of Aquarius sets in later on.

In the meantime, the events of the last days eclipsed the soaring spirits aroused by the recent speech hoping to unite the whole world in pleasant common purpose. This promises to be the pattern all year as hopes rise and fall in bipolar order until the graph flattens and the Uranus-Neptune mutual reception ends, where fantasy and reality can cease the constant argument. What and whom to believe? Which ones to follow? Who's jiving who? A harmonious world of peace and cooperation will probably not be the result but fortunately, we keep trying, and always succeed in some places. It's a good time to realize that hopes naturally come and go. Feelings aren't permanent.

Chiron

Real healing comes with the understanding that there's no such thing overall. One pain disappears, another one comes. Wounds open and close. Like breathing.
I think Chiron is concerned with the knowledge that comes with wounds. Knowledge that the wound is permanent, but that's exactly as it should be. Hurts instruct and, again, guide humans to problems in the psyche. The good sensation comes in knowing we're able to live well with the less than perfect parts of ourselves we'd like to disown but never can. Cures come and go. Wounds keep opening as if speaking. One can listen.

Neptune governs the most beautiful fantasies we can create, but it also can bring the fake with no satisfying depth of experience. Fake optimism, fake spirituality, fake badassness, fake leadership, fake talent - you name it, the false has shown its costume. Phony gurus (Jupiter) have been waxing poetic (Neptune) as Jupiter brings out the holier-than-thou in so many of us. Long soliloquies on consciousness are often an exercise in ego power, and not much of an example of advanced spiritual achievement, which tends to be peppered with some obscurity, sparsity, sincerity, and silence. Good advice is always around, too, though. And some truth-tellers have ventured out of the closet, undoubtedly under protective influences.

And then there's the dilemma surrounding USA Neptune activated by this special conjunction. Are we the ones to moralize to the world and dictate to other cultures how to behave? This country who gouges the wound in Afghanistan and continues her horrendous imprisonment practices, economic terrorism, and governmental intervention around the globe. Who are we to talk about peace, love, and harmony as savior of the world?

Saturn is due to arrive at US Neptune soon and I have my doubts about this country's ability to save the world at the moment. She has her own problems to face.
The ideal with Jupiter-Neptune is to see ourselves as part of the whole, not the exception, an age old problem this country will eventually have to tackle. Some of the country's promise has been fulfilled, some has not. Soon it will be time to make an accurate assessment. This conjunction seemed to have diminished the exaggerated state of grace and redemption so hoped for. The country has some debt to pay.

There is nothing exceptional about US leadership right now and if it gets there, it probably won't be for some time. It's wise to accept that. When we act as if we are equal and one with the world, then we can talk about it successfully. Rescuer of the human family seems kind of ludicrous as Saturn heads for Neptune and the days and months ahead might bring relief from having to pretend. Jupiter governs promotion and advertising and next year in Pisces, as it approaches Uranus and Aries, salvation might not be the most salable product for the magazine cover. And maybe when Pluto transits Pisces, the savior idea will lose some of its juice altogether.

People are symbols, rulers are marionettes. No one has the power. Even though the puppeteers are pulling the strings, they, too, are being controlled by the collective force and its decision-making prowess, always a constant. The group rules itself. Power is always always shared. No one gets to keep it. We're all players in the game. The hierarchy is a collective fabrication and until we understand why and how we create it all together we are bound to be confined by its structures getting glimpses into egalitarian cooperative behavior as we go. And everyone has to be included if it's real. "The People" are just as corrupt as the leaders as a whole or else the chosen ones wouldn't be there. They are us. We might not have any choice in time but to turn within seeing the symbolic projection for what it is.

So now the earth is prepared to go on to the full year of Jupiter-Neptune and the grand finale at 29. It's wonderful to think that the crowd is making a sudden big shift into higher consciousness, but you know it doesn't work that way. After the rocks are dropped, and perhaps some guns and bombs laid down, progress is thinkable. Every individual has to come to awareness in order for the whole to reflect it. It won't happen noticeably until all become familiar with the deeper and larger entities within, and thus depend less on outer personalities, including planets, to do the work for us. We best become more self-governing. Movement happens slowly over time, but Neptune does provide the moments of magic to keep humans inspired and will continue that gift giving. 

The job of Neptune with Uranus in Pisces, and Jupiter soon joining, is to dissolve the outer bonds, I think, in order to get to the inner guiding entities. The leaders/celebrities won't do it. They're exactly like us. Afraid, confused, lost, overwhelmed, wandering, wondering, searching, quivering in the magnitude of it all ... things highlighted in these end of wheel Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune days. Leadership is dissolving and even if the grip tightens at first, many of the personalities are due for failure. The idea is to get to the source of authority with Pluto in Capricorn. The source within the individual. The real and singular seed for the end of oppressive government. When groups can successfully manage themselves the need for oppressive rule dissipates. History has been a fascinating study of how human aggregates try to accomplish this. 

Predicting precisely what the planets will do in 2012, 2022 or otherwise can be fun, but the results are questionable. No one came close to predicting the events of this alignment. Life is a trickster. The celestial bodies don't know any more than you do. The thing is writing itself. Good becomes bad becomes good, truth and lies play catch, sorrow becomes joy then loops back to despair, birth becomes death becomes birth, and wrong and right are ultimately impossible to distinguish in the never-ending flow of experience. I have no choice other than to trust it. The joy of Neptune. Every step one takes includes an element of faith.

All civilizations decline and perish eventually as new ones are born. We don't know where the collective is now. That's discovered in retrospect. We can't say where the United States stands in her evolution, either, and probably won't until after the Pluto return. You can think it's all positive if you want to. The pessimists could be right too. But anyone can live an exemplary life, and by doing so, probably contributes the most to collective advancement. The stars and planets don't make the decisions. We think it up all together. And it's full of surprises. Infinitely multi-faceted.

What's Been Called Magic

Entertain: To hold the attention of
Entre: between
Tenir: to hold

Between what? This world and that? Illusion and concrete reality? Heaven and earth? Daily life and special occasion? Is it meant to amuse and divert or is it serious? One definition appeals to me: anything that restores strength and energy for serious work .... recreates.
Sometimes I think everything is entertainment in an attempt to find a focus for attention. The world stage does seem a bit scattered, though, and not always inspiring.

Neptune and Leo are associated with drama and illusion as dramatists weave fantasy into experience, probably a healing potion for human ills, though it sometimes works to increase the illness, I've found. Neptune dissolves the boundaries that separate dimensions and Leo provides the illumination and grandeur. It's an interesting tango with ego and dissolution of said entity. Great dramatists know about this.

Jupiter is associated with Thespians, and this conjunction has brought to attention the condition of the public stage. The central idol involved made special and literal use of wounding, probably a part of Chiron's information. So is entertainment painful? I've found it so quite often, although I believe it should be otherwise. And sometimes it is. But mostly, for me, it's disconcerting following the flashing frantic chaotic pace and the upsetting angles. Plus the constant presence of the same images on multiple screens, kind of like a drunken seeing-double thing. Triple and quadruple. I had a little trouble with the three ring circus as a child when that became popular. One ring was plenty for me. With three rings I always felt shortchanged. Too much eye-darting. It was hard to pay full attention to anything.

My first formal experience with the stage was at the age of about seven in a Camp Meadowbrook musical production. My bunk did Me and My Shadow and I was Me. My bunkmates were my shadow. It was wonderful. I like the tune and I love to dance.

The next memorable one was The Crooked Man in my Girl Scout troop. I was the Crooked Man and a convincing one at that. Old and bent. I was 11.

Over the years I was in many productions of this and that -- Gilbert & Sullivan, Mary Warren in the Crucible in HS, a weirdo in my ballet recital, and a Russian peasant -- until I finally settled on filmmaking. I was set to attend NYU but in a last minute change of mind, I decided to develop my considerable musical talent and become a professional. I headed for Woodstock to join Tim Hardin's production.

So it's been from the perspective of knowledge that I've watched this South Node in theatrical Leo come to an end with the grand Jupiter-Neptune finale. And, of course, with some interest.

The players on the public stage today are not our best. The first great tragedian was thought to be Thespis, and actor who lived in Dionysos. I mentioned earlier the connection of Neptune to these ecstatic rituals. As history progressed, actors were not respected but were watched, needed, and meagerly supported. Then they became part of the elite as money became the object and the price on actors' heads became a gauge of their talent and worth. Their personal melodramas and failures became more entertaining than their stage performances, but that's no wonder, as the cream has thinned markedly.

Ordinarily entertainers put on a show separate from the audience; a spectacle imposed on the situation rather than born of it. The people witness the effort and work to arrive at satisfaction. They cheer, yell, then scream to achieve it. In classical cases, they merely cough and sneeze. They applaud in relief when the end comes, hoping the next number will do it. But when magic begins, the separation ceases and the people become full participants, the point of Neptune dissolving boundaries. There's no barrier between the mind, the body, the floor, the walls, the stars, the crowd, the sounds, and the sights. They become one undulating organism. As a performer, when it happens a sort of click comes and I'm no longer expending any effort. I'm no longer playing music, but the music, instead, is playing me. That's what I call entertaining. Holding between.

The first time I experienced it formally in public came during a Tim Hardin concert in Carnegie Hall. The late Colin Walcott (a member of the group Oregon) was playing conga and someone else was on the trap drums. Tim was at the end of his days and not performing well, but in a flicker of a moment, the two drummers connected in a groove that transfixed and transported the audience. Back and forth they rocked in perfect slap, snap, thump and brush harmony, barely able to contain the smiles on their faces. The hall paused and life moved in a serpentine path wiggling easily in and out of our bodies and minds. It was not the personalities. It was the feeling. And the genuine strokes of the artists in unexpected pleasure. 

In an added drama, the Capricorn Moon eclipsed the light of the former main attraction. It wasn't supposed to happen that way, but the cold steppes of Russia have not warmed up to the actor as was hoped. In fact, they've been perplexed, wondering why the rest of the world was so weak in the knees. Pluto in Capricorn is opposite his Venus in Cancer, restricting the emotional outpouring. The conjunction is on his South Node in Aquarius representing further isolation. His coldness is showing. Added to that is the transiting Leo South on his Mercury, causing relative communication problems in terms of adulation, and the Aquarius North is on his withdrawing 12th house Jupiter. It could be a time for a bit of retreat from the spotlight, and perhaps a time for humble work considering Saturn leaving Virgo. And if we're lucky, some fresh and different entertainment.

I love American popular music and now that we have a permanent king, I am not completely happy with the choice. I'll live with it. I am happy, however, that music continues to exist in human consciousness. It can be grasped occasionally, and that's probably as it should be. It actually hooked me tonight in Safeway. A funky jazz number in the cleaning aisle. Very funky. I danced by the detergent, although I didn't find the copper cleaner I was looking for...Kleen King. LOL! Life is okay. Amazon's got it.

In great entertainment the real stars descend as the little human stars remain humble enough to receive the light as vessels. Magic moments. Ample seating, and not necessarily expensive. I'll even be around for Neptune in Pisces and maybe that undulating wiggle will come get me again. Or maybe next year with Jupiter in the area. That would be perfect timing. I do so love to dance.

My Stars

Jupiter, Neptune, Leo South Node
Let Us Pray

The latest object of mass worship was not very talented. A mediocre circus act at best, a carny freak show in the end. Loud, crass, stiff, and overdone. It was a testament to the mutilation of life done to entertain the masses including the desecration of music. Group frenzy, screaming, and extraction of money. Call it what you will, talent doesn't work that way. The death has been the most entertaining moment, has it not?

Jupiter rules icons, Neptune rules worship, and here we have the dilemma spelled out on the blackboard in stark realistic terms under this beautiful Capricorn Full Moon, a harbinger of the Pluto transit to come, especially after Uranus and Jupiter leave Pisces. It would have been nice to have a great moment in human evolutionary advancement, but it didn't work precisely that way. It did bring teaching though.

You can see how lost the masses are and how tragic the urge is to find something to believe in, with real spiritual teaching at this moment's core....the source of one's divinity is in one's self. I still don't know why this eludes people so. Analyzing others is limited in terms of accessing spiritual nourishment. I hope the cosmos has a trick up its sleeve by 29 Pisces.

People are people. Gods and goddesses? Prophets from paradise? Mythic kings and queens? Put a crown on your head and see if it works. And dress your stage up with a billion dollars worth of trinkets. Entertainment? What does it take? The 0 Leo Node hopefully will leave some clues.

Maybe as the crowd goes forward the hero worship will make some progress in winding down. Even an imperceptible sliver would help. I will say that it's better to fall at the feet of an entertainer than some psychotic general leading a nation. So perhaps some progress really is being made. God is a problem, for sure. Love is a four letter word.

I'm optimistic. It's all so obvious. Clear as a star in the black night.

So I'm going to go ahead and believe. None of it really matters, but, you know. Nothing else is going on. Or is nothing going on? I hope so.