Summer 2010

“Why is it so crazy right now?” “Hey, do all these natural disasters have anything to do with the planets?” “Do the stars have anything to say about what is going on?” “What’s supposed to happen in 2012?” “When is it going to lighten up?” These and other questions come the way of your friendly neighborhood astrologer more and more frequently these days. Often, my answer starts with, “Yes, the planetary patterns are symbolically very connected to current events and have lots to say about what to expect and how to handle the turbulence.” Read on to get the lowdown on what is ‘up’ with the heavenly bodies and how their placements can give us a read on what’s happening down here among us Earth-dwellers.

We are in the midst of major, major, (See, it takes two “majors” just to make the point!) planetary configurations. It is always the outer planets, those with longer orbits farther from the Sun, that make for a big deal when it comes to planet-wide events, especially if there is a lunation involving the outer planets and the faster moving inner planets. (Like the annular eclipses in June and July this summer!) Outer planets we will think of as Jupiter ‘on-out’ to Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. (Re-assigning Pluto and demoting it to “dwarf planet” status according to the International Astronomical Union is evidence of our radical, collective denial concerning humanity’s shadow – our devastating impact upon Mother Earth, our animal and plant friends, and our fellow humans.) The inner planets include the Luminaries – Sun and Moon, (not planets, but called such for convenience) and the planets Mars, Venus and Mercury.

Since mid- 2008, we have had a series of interactions between Saturn and Uranus. (Interactions are called “aspects” and their geometry will not be explained here – but words like contact, connection, relationship, and other, non-technical language will be substituted to get the ideas across) The first exact to-the-day interaction between Saturn (tradition, elder status, conservatism, status-quo of the established power structure) and Uranus (rebellion and reform, hope and progress, breaking free from limits and old structures) occurred on the day of the general election, November 2008! Can you place McCain and Obama with Saturn or Uranus, and see how the struggle for the U.S. presidency was symbolically matched by the planets in the heavens? That was very recent history, and a marvelous example of how events here on can Gaia mirror the archetypes associated with the planets.

The summer Lunar and Solar eclipses pull in another force-to-be-reckoned-with: Pluto. Pluto, like Uranus, is also slugging it out with Saturn. Pluto/Saturn dynamics result in what have been termed “shrinking transformations” – like implosive contractions, compelled concentrations, relentless repressions, severe corrections, total de-struct-uring, sudden collapses and fatal constrictions. The most recent major phase featuring these two heavy-weights happened from June 2001 through to May 2003. The exact contacts occurred in August and November of 2001. The World Trade Center twin towers terror attack in September of 2001 was a key event characterizing this recent astrological interaction of Saturn and Pluto. The magnitude of this particular event has been so important that we are said to now live in a “post-9/11 world”. Astrologically speaking, Saturn vs. Pluto has witnessed the fostering of fear, polarization, war, increased repression and the loss of civil liberties for the sake of security, as well as the concentration and consolidation of wealth, power and influence in certain sectors, particularly among the so-called plutocrats who manipulate behind-the-scenes, or did until recently. With the Goldman-Sachs executives recently on trial before Congress, the evidence (again!) of the corruption involved in the business-as-usual, “greed is good” rapacity of Wall Street working fist-in-glove with revolving door politicians and presidential advisors is not only plain for all to see, it goes so deep and is so entrenched that no mere ‘reforms’ seem capable of correcting ‘the system’.

Pluto traveling in Capricorn (the sign of business, government, institutions, social and political establishments, bosses, leaders, executives, status, hierarchies, tradition and worldly success) through 2024 suggests that a deep and thorough purging is due for all things related to the social, business, economic, political and established order for all entities, whether individuals, corporations or nations. Pluto, as a rule, will ruthlessly expose the corruption, decay, unhealthy behaviors, obsolete policies, pollution and unsavory practices in any situation, system or individual. More history: Pluto just spent about 15 years in Sagittarius, the sign of religion, ideology, higher education and philosophy, organized sports, publishing, the judiciary, and foreign travel and commerce. We see Pluto’s heavy hand in the sign of the Archer via hindsight by virtue of the religious warfare, church abuses and cover-ups, the way doping and money has tainted professional sports, the control of education by ideologues and of the air-waves by commercial/political interests, the selection of a President by a politicized Supreme Court, and violence and terror inflicted upon international travelers by groups and governments alike, – to name a few Pluto-in-Sagittarius themes.

Back to the present: While aspecting the planets Saturn and Uranus for the next several years, we can expect the work of Pluto to continue to affect individuals, whole societies, and entire civilizations with world-wide shake-ups and breakdowns, in a sometimes slow-motion (Gulf Oil Spill), sometimes sudden (Icelandic Volcano), sometimes dramatic, sometimes subtle, yet always enduring fashion. Those attached to rotten structures, or persisting in controlling behavior patterns to maintain their position or hegemony will feel challenged to transform their ways of going about their business. Pluto isn’t just being mean and nasty, Pluto is the inexorable Force that pushes evolution onward beyond the apparent Final to the Absolute Ultimate (or next transformation), whatever that may be for each entity, structure, system or soul.

Saturn wants some measure of security and safety, and persistence of form and structure. Saturn says that caution and prudence is required. Saturn suggests that practical steps should be taken to keep it together and do what is necessary in order to maintain a steady, grounded, mature perspective. Saturn wants to feel satisfaction with the end results and shows us that a stabilizing influence is available, even in these trying times. Saturn looks to the past and tradition to maintain consistency, and to uphold what is good and true and correct in society. In resistance, Saturn insists upon keeping things the same for the sake of order at all costs, and can be rigid, punishing, cruel and dictatorial.

Uranus insists upon renewal and reform of old, outmoded structures and systems. Uranus screams “Enough already!” to the entrenched, the dominating, the Old Guard, the exploiters, the ‘too big to fail’. Uranus incites the willing to gather, rebel, make noise, take action, vote for change, disrupt, disobey and break free. Uranus wants each individual to have equal access to opportunities to express themselves uniquely for the health of the collective. Uranus intends that both the radicals and reactionaries will find their voice and an ear and make a contribution to the crazy world we share, and be able to find their right place among their fellows. Uranus desires sustainable changes that benefit everyone. When outraged and re-active, Uranus takes a revolutionary stand willing to topple, destroy, break down, exile, ruin, riot, and forcibly replace the old order with a new order. Uranus was discovered at the time of the American and French revolutions, and is associated with the spirit of that era.

All together now: During the rest of 2010, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto are in a three-way conflict, fighting for their archetypal agendas, supporting their favorite groups, gangs, organizations, leaders and corporations, the various ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ in corporeal form here at ground zero, Planet Earth. Some currently active ‘representatives’ are obviously aligned with their planetary backers as they play out their roles in public consciousness. Uranus stimulates the Tea Partiers since they want change and reform, and U.S. President Barack Obama, because he wants change and reform. Saturn supports the established powers-that-be, for instance Wall Street financial interests, who wish for nothing more than for things to stay just as they are and business to just keep going on like normal. Pluto energizes the desperate, and/or the supremely powerful and wealthy. Those with nothing to lose, those with too much to lose, the utterly despairing or totally committed are those types most likely to be possessed by the mania of Pluto’s compulsions. Think of Al Qaeda operatives, British Petroleum executives and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il.

All is not lost! The Earth and her inhabitants have been in the cross-fire of planetary power-struggles before. Admittedly, we are in the midst of the Sixth Extinction (see Leakey and Lewin, Doubleday, 1995), however, with crisis comes opportunity, or so say the sages. For the span of this summer and the next few years, I think the “saving grace” will come through the spiritual gifts and sacred symbolism related to the Neptune/Chiron union-in-the-sky. Working through the illuminating and inspirational signs of Aquarius and Pisces, Neptune and Chiron are symbolically significant of the struggle to reconcile the scientific, investigatory impulses with the religious, spiritual tendencies of the human mind and psyche. Aided by Neptune and Chiron, we are striving towards a vision for humanity’s future, one that combines the enlightened evidence of an evolutionary trajectory with the divine aspect of Nature into a meaningful, guiding mythos, a great story whose theme and objective give us the hope and courage to work towards, and believe in it. Pay attention to your dreams and inquire after their messages. Build bridges between yourself and the worlds around you, from the flies to the faeries. Make an effort to imagine what is possible, even if it seems improbable in the face of the ugliness and ranting that abound, for it is only the fearful thrashing about of those clinging to the parts of the worn-out world-that-is-ever-changing as it recycles towards a new beginning. Big shifts are happening. Neptune asks us to help others as we are able, and to help ourselves by surrendering consciously to the Higher Powers. Chiron suggests that we have much to heal, especially in the area of our sensitivity to the cosmos and creatures around us. Does it make you grieve to see polar bears starving on ice chunks adrift in the ocean? Are you affected by the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, coating the crabs and marshes of the Gulf waters? Experience the emotion. The Mayan holy men say we owe a ‘grief debt’ to our world. Feeling is healing. Make a connection and cherish your capacity to love, be overwhelmed, be sorrowful, be cleansed and ultimately carry on with an awakened and responsive heart. Right now, I think that is one interpretation we can take from the current planetary alignments that may guide us through the intensity and into a brighter, healthier future.