Trouble in the House

Venus-Mars in Scorpio
Pluto opposite Venus in Cancer

When Pluto last opposed the United States Venus-Jupiter conjunction in Cancer the first part of the current financial disaster exploded and the failing banks were rescued in an emotional moment, one of many monetary panics that societies inevitably create. Pluto is just back on Venus and the anticipated housing crisis is revving up to full gear. Scorpio represents the underworld and all the secret criminal dealings that have influenced our financial world since time immemorial, and now with Mars in Scorpio, these hidden contracts, or absence of them, are coming to the surface. The Scorpio transits are especially noteworthy since the ruler, Pluto, is opposing US Venus repeating the pattern and revealing the necessity of facing and trying to ascertain the extent of our collective troubles. Homes are precious commodities and the loss triggers deep insecurity in the populace, all part of Pluto crossing the Cancer stellium. Often people run looking for their parents when these moments occur, but now the parents have all gone missing. What are we to do?

It's normal to try and pinpoint the people responsible for the massive fraud but that is almost impossible. Condemning and punishing the individual thieves, although part of the response, would do little to solve the larger problem which is a combination of factors that have been at work for a long time, perhaps since the birth of the country. The significance is increased even further by ruling Pluto's involvement in the Pluto return. Pluto would like people to discover the source of their troubles, a tall order I admit. Cancer can feel left out in the cold when security blankets disappear and under that influence, people can cling as if their lives depended on it. It can feel like life and death with Pluto but I can see how the entity could ultimately pry the grasping fingers from these outworn dependencies in order to move on and face adulthood, Capricorn's domain. Even now you can hear the voices of reality speaking out in sometimes harsh and hard to take tones while the childlike cries continue to try and make them go away. It can be unsettling but there are always people in the crowd who protect the weak at the same time there are those who exploit them, as the bankers have done and will continue to do. Hard times bring out both.

Compounding the shakiness is Neptune making its last pass across the US Moon forming a quincunx with Mercury in Cancer which effects commerce, trust, and security, all the things that are breaking down under the influence of Pluto in Capricorn. Bonds are dissolving with Neptune bringing about a great deal of loss and confusion, all related to Uranus leaving Pisces. A return of trust is essential to economic recovery, and it certainly is hard to build such a thing at the moment.

So metaphysically speaking, the loss of home security must be part of the experience required to successfully complete the Pluto return. Leaving home in a sense for other accomplishments. A trade for the contentment of maturity.
It was a long winding road getting here. One of the most distressing turns was the mass move to suburbia last century and the emotional and psychological damage that resulted because of poor planning and overly zealous settlement. Community connection broke down and people's personal wealth became too tightly bound to real estate. Rather than settling in homes as places of familial support and emotional satisfaction, they became gambling chips and a way to make easy money, while increasing loneliness and alienation set the tone. Psychological depression became epidemic sending the roots of insecurity further underground. The lure of big profits made people susceptible to business predators and as you see, the game got out of hand. We're getting a kick in our assets.

Regulation of business is only a part of it. The predators will always be there pouncing on the vulnerable. Regulation of our selves is just as important as we remember prudence, thrift, value, and the real meaning of home. We the people have been trading up houses, cars, and many other things with no end in sight. Until now.
But perhaps even more fundamental is the ravaging of our constitution, the right to own property being a major one. The extended systematic breakdown of our entitlement is now clear with ownership becoming difficult to ascertain. But who's stealing from whom? Ask an ancestor in his tee pee. Who is entitled to own pieces of earth? Who has the authority to divvy up the earth? This brings thinking around to the evolution of human nature and how long it will take to live sanely, humanely, and comfortably with one another. And maybe we would do better with less property after all is said and done.

Just in time the great era of contraction materializes and since this goes to the fundamentals of our socio-political behavior there won't be any heroes to make laws and save the day. No commissions will solve the problem, no economic genius descending from a bright cloud to take up a chairmanship in this broken government will have the answers. In fact, the suggestions now look like they're only going to make things worse and there does seem to be some cosmic design leading us around some further troubled twists temporarily. There are fears of excessive authoritarian control and attempts by the corporations to decimate our economy and strip the people of power in the workplace and that might be so, but the success of their felonious plans isn't guaranteed.

I think there could be many genuine changes ahead. People will be downsizing, some giving up ownership and maybe the dream of an "ownership society". The large aging population will need to be taken care of and perhaps families will re-organize, looking after their elderly to a greater extent, and even choosing to live in larger clusters including grandparents, children, and children's children. Ideally communities will return to cooperation and independence from federal control thereby becoming less of a burden on society as a whole. The job of government can be taken out of the hands of the federal bureaucrats and spread out among the people with the magnificent benefit of autonomy, self sufficiency, and management of one's destiny, all Aries favorites. We'll even have to take care of the thieves that stole all our money or maybe ship them to an asteroid with health care. The road to renewal is bound to be a rocky one but if real transformation comes, then real disintegration and destruction will be part of it. Pluto is busting up the homeland but it's already helping us appreciate what security we do have. Ideally we'll learn to provide as much of it on our own as we can.

There have been many years of poor leadership in America and the crisis point has come with Pluto nearing its opposition to the country's Sun in Cancer. At this stage it's not advisable to expect someone to do a good job since the problems have surpassed ordinary control and the skills to solve them are still unlearned. It could be an epic battle with Pluto opposite the Sun, one in which the good judgment and maturity of Capricorn pits itself against the neediness and fearfulness of Cancer. Slaying the monster might be the story and Mars in Scorpio offers a few tips. Aries will provide more. The anger in the nation is necessary for arousal, and although it is unfocused and misdirected at this point, it is likely to consolidate and do its job, especially with Saturn so heavily involved.

The solutions aren't due for awhile. The trouble runs deep. By now people are realizing experientially how the issues are beyond the players in our country's drama and it's good for the crowd to learn to concentrate on the real thing. This is why the leaders are failing so miserably as it helps divert attention and misplaced adoration, more so as people's personal dilemmas take precedence. The bitter divisions among us stoked for political gain are beginning to go against the grain of well-being. Blind authoritarian party loyalty on both sides is becoming more and more destructive while the politicians are completely abandoning ideals and policy in favor of a monetary orgy, spinning further and further from control. We're getting to the place of chaos, not knowing exactly why we hate one another. It seems to be because of stupidity nowadays, but because everybody is supposedly stupid, it's stupid to call anyone stupid as a reason for the underlying problems. It merely keeps eyes and minds away from the real ones. Besides, if you tell people they're smart long enough they might come to believe it and act in accordance. And there are alternative forms of intelligence no matter what the grammatical level of expertise of the human. A dangling participle is not much of a cause for annihilation. People's reasons for being who they are are not always unsound no matter how much they scare you. Or merely deviate from your own choices. Sometimes a review of your ideas can reveal some rather odd characteristics judged objectively.

Home and the world are ruled by Cancer and Capricorn and you must build a strong foundation if you want solid success in the broader realms. As our international stature diminishes in the coming years we can reroute and deal with the trouble in the house. It might require a demolition team but look in the yellow pages. The demolition business is a classy one. They do a good job.

October 13th marks the return of Pluto to Venus then on to Jupiter again. There is more to come. Pluto goes retrograde next April and returns yet again to Jupiter for a long station at 5 degrees. Over three months. I find these long stations helpful when they are exact. Developments around this housing issue as well as the whole financial setup will reveal more and more of the truth, something to look forward to in my opinion. The truth is handy. And a secure home is an honest pleasure, something to be highly appreciated no matter how many powder rooms it doesn't have.