Pluto in Capricorn/Penn State Scandal; Uranus in Aries/Leave Your Bank Day

I circulate through four main news sites (Google News, Yahoo Finance, Alternet, and Al-Jazeera) and receive financial commentary from Patrick.net, John Mauldin, and Graham Summers.  Today, I read an article from a man my age who is a Penn State grad who said he "had lost all faith in the leadership of my parent's generation."  I can relate.  I have written and spoken about the fact that my generation (born in the midst of the Civil Rights movement) does not have any Elders to guide us; our society has turned our would be Elders into second life teenagers, telling them to forgo responsibility to family and society in favor or vacations and extravagant consumption whenever possible.  Many people I talk to who are within 10 years of me (33 to 53) feel lost or unguided at this time in their lives.  Predictably this period coincides with a Saturn square, opposition, and second square; Pluto squaring Pluto, Neptune squaring Neptune, and Uranus opposing Uranus.  These transits all represent transitions from adulthood to Elderhood and can prove devastating without guidance or enlightening with support.

The Penn State scandal is probably the model we astrologers could use to precisely show how Pluto transiting Capricorn transforms large institutions by revealing the "deep secrets" in such a way that we understand how the very institution is complicit in the secret and the crime.  The tendrils of the situation are just beginning to spread outward and have already consumed individuals who probably thought they were the highest of the high, living without a worry about their safety or security.  The most venerated and successful (Capricornian) coach in college football history was fired just days after the story broke and it was clear that the structure designed to help protect young people (through chain of command reporting and assumed action), supported the powerful and "loved" member of the football team coaching staff over the children abused.  Other similar blow back has happened in other arenas, politics especially.  The Occupy Wall Street movement is rather similar to the Civil Rights movement with all the same tropes and themes that were used at the start of that movement to discredit the protesters.  Keep in mind that Pluto is still in the first decan (the first 10 degrees of the sign).  When it squares with Uranus next year and starts moving into the second decan, watch for the European Union debt can to find the end of the road, no more kicking available.

Once you say something is too big to fail, Pluto says ... "really?"

Uranus in Aries will represent "Awakening to Survival and Independence."  The "Leave Your Bank Day" proved dramatically effective as people leveraged the real vote left in our pseudo-capitalist society ... taking their money elsewhere.  Corporations may have bought and sold our government, but banks are not the only game in town ... at least, not yet.  Each sign interacts with each energy point in different ways, sometimes enhancing, sometimes neutral, and sometimes diminishing.  Believe me when I say that Uranus in Aries is like putting a booster pack on lightening.  The previous Uranian journey through Pisces was about the Awakening of Spirit and Spirituality, largely taking shape through rapid communication technology and the maturation of the Internet.  Social Networking emerged while Uranus was in Pisces.  Keep in mind that Pisces is probably the most fluid and ambiguous sign, especially since it reflects dreams and the mass consciousness (one giant Amoeba).  Aries is the Warrior image, so imagine Zeus hurling thunderbolts and you have some idea of what Uranus will be like moving through Aries.  The journey has just begun and the peak, several years out, will likely see the mass consciousness realize that voting as it currently stands is a choice between a pile of dog crap and a pile of cat crap ... and no REAL choice at all.

Monumental change is on the horizon and likely to emerge and explode between 2012 and 2015.  2012 is not only an ending, but also a beginning.  And like all beginnings involving a movement from the status quo to a new status quo, the transition will be chaotic at times, but Pluto is moving through the sign ruled by Saturn to force transformation from the old ways into new ways.  That will be done by unveiling the systemic corruption present in government and corporate business, by design ... but not before the current players go all in.  Make no mistake that the wealthy will destroy themselves before they give up any of their possessions ... and they will eat their own, just ask Lehman Brothers employees.

The easy to miss and forget transit is Neptune in Pisces; it is watery, ambiguous, delusional, dreamy, and spiritual ... and entering its own sign while Pluto and Uranus do their work.  I think we can expect to see issues with liquids, the two most important being water and oil, constantly entangled with one another as more deep sea drilling must be done to locate new sources of oil and millions of gallons of water must be used to separate oil from the "miracle" tar sands in North Dakota.  And lastly, expect more gas in the water system as Fracking continues to develop with minimal regulation and maximum greed for alternative energy that is just like or just as good as oil.

Uranus square Pluto, Occupy Wall Street, and Karl Marx

I've written quite a bit about the upcoming Uranus/Pluto square, as have many, many other astrologers.  The situation has had me thinking about Karl Marx.  Most people who denigrate Marx or claim Communism is a failed system have not read a page of Marx.  In graduate school I took the opportunity to read not only the Communist Manifesto, but also Das Capital.  Neither of these books are "light" reading.  It's not surprising that Marx would be vilified by the elites and all those in the West who hope to one day be members of the elite group (meaning the vast majority) since he promotes a communal system, a more egalitarian sharing of resources, and the idea that resources are limited and must be managed properly.

Marx not only wrote about a complex problem in a complex way, but he accurately predicted various outcomes and his most important one is coming to pass right now.  Marx argued that capitalism would have to be global before socialism and communism could be viable alternatives because capitalism has to reach the limits of the system in order to show its destructive process to the masses and essentially override any and all propaganda.  He also argued that there was a short cut, violent revolution.  But he provided a caveat, those who overthrew an existing dictatorship or oligarchy would have to give up the power it seized in the revolution, which has not ever happened.  No "communist" country, especially Russia, has implemented Marx's principles; they have just traded one kind of top down power for another and clothed it in the word communism.  In essence, Marx is on the side of the 99 percent.

Occupy Wall Street is in its infancy and will likely sputter along until the European debt crisis matures and wipes out bond holder wealth to a staggering degree.  Look for that event to happen some time between now and the first Uranus/Pluto square in June of 2012.  What Marx wisely predicted was the inherent problem with capitalism, which chugs along just fine so long as there are new frontiers and cheap labor to exploit.  But once the system goes global, then inequalities become more and more apparent.  Western workers are finding that their value is coming in line with the value of Eastern workers, and now that global commerce has taken hold Eastern workers are seeing a rise in their value because there really are no more labor markets to exploit.  As John Mauldin, a very smart economist, entitled his book Endgame, we are beginning to see the Endgame of capitalism as predicted by Marx.  

Many different layers will emerge during this transition period as we begin to reach the limits of our closed system.  Not the least of which is the collusion of technology and population growth.  As technology makes the need for workers decrease and population continues to increase the disparity between those who have and those who do not will continue to grow.  Oddly enough an energy crisis could prove to be a saving grace (in the long run) for the human population.  Watch for problems with liquids (oil and water) as Neptune traverses through Pisces.  And, when energy and jobs become scarce, watch spirituality increase, from the infantile (fundamentalism) to the sophisticated (Hopi and Mayan).

In essence, the world has borrowed about three lifetimes of wealth which cannot be paid back.  We could move towards this future consciously by engaging in some very radical changes, which would include conscious population management, rethinking private and public resources, eliminating corporate charters and the stock market.  But, I suspect and expect the Plutonian/Capricorn elites to resist to the full measure of their greed and wealth, requiring a violent revolution to dislodge them and redistribute resources to the larger civilization.  Nothing new under the sun ...  Don't be surprised if they figure out that they need to shut down the Internet or close it down restrictively if the movement grows and thus dodges the mainstream media.  Once the larger system collapses on itself (debt default), there will be the opportunity for people to come together and look for new, more mature solutions and Marx's prediction of a natural evolution to socialism and communism will prove to be true.

2012 to 2015 - The Coming Storm

In his book on Lunation Cycles Dane Rhudyar emphasizes the cyclic nature of all energy points, not just the Sun and Moon.  To understand the ebb and flow of energy using Astrology, one must understand the current cycle of the energy relationship between two points in the chart.  The one to watch from 2012 to 2015 is the upcoming square between Uranus and Pluto.  Since Uranus is the faster moving of the two, it passes Pluto approximately every 115 years (1850 to 1852 they were conjunct in Aries and 1965 to 1967 they were conjunct in Virgo).  So, looking at the most recent conjunction, the 1960s represented the end of the cycle and the beginning of a new cycle.  In America this transition played out significantly moving the country out of a stratified mind set and into changes that brought new and better opportunities for minorities and women.  The whole period around 1958 to 1972 experienced the combination of Awakening/Transformation in the energy of Virgo, affecting skills, day-to-day work, and health.  Not surprising, the 1960s represent a fairly clear shift from America of 1850 to 1960.

As part of the whole cycle, the energy points will square twice and oppose once.  Significantly the first half of the movement towards the opposition is considered waxing (or increasing in intensity) and the movement towards the conjunction from the opposition is considered waning (or decreasing and preparing for the next cycle).  So, as the full on square approaches in July of 2012, we can expect more volatility that will intensify through 2015 and leave lasting impact on the way to the opposition.  Since the two signs involved are Capricorn (Pluto's transit) and Aries (Uranus' transit), there will be antagonism between big systems going through necessary change and people's survival needs.  The Occupy Wall Street movement will grow as the large systems crumble and people realize that the war is between the 1% and the 99%.  

Greece will default, and even if the European Union provides a bailout now, they will be trapped by all the other countries in need of defaulting or bailing out (Ireland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain).  Sort of, well if Greece gets to cut as much as 50% or more from its bondholder responsibility (or 100% through default), why shouldn't the other countries get the same deal or make the same move.  Basically the EU is backed into a corner.  Iceland has been kept as far out of the news as possible because they gave the finger to British and Scottish banks, defaulted, were froze out of the international credit markets, suffered an economic fall off a cliff, and now (9 months later) are stabilizing and rebuilding their economy in more realistic terms for what the country can produce and sustain.  They are, in fact, living within their means.  The fact that Greece, which probably represents no more than .04% of the world economy, can threaten to bring the whole financial system to its knees helps you can understand how out of control credit lending became while Pluto was transiting through Sagittarius.

I also find it ironically interesting that the "birthplace of Western Civilization" is likely to lead to the "end of Western Civilization" as we have known it pretty much since the last Uranus/Pluto conjunction (during the time of the industrial revolution).  Since the upcoming square involves Cardinal energy, the tension is more likely to be explosive than collaborative.  Jeff Green, in his book on Uranus, points out that Aries represents, at its most primal, the need to survive.  More broadly Aries rules the pioneering spirit, independence, arrogance, and selfishness.  As more and more people see the big systems fail and the corporate and banking ruling class no longer hide as effectively behind both parties, it will become clear that the political system is rigged on both sides of the isle.  Both parties are now, more clearly than ever, the tools of corporate greed, especially now that corporations are people too!  We are also seeing how fully controlled the mainstream media is by the same powers, as they do their best to denigrate the protesters, put as the lead story the release of some woman accused of murder in Italy 2 years ago, and make claims (thank you Hermann Cain) that this protest against greed is Un-American.  I wonder if Mr. Cain would feel the same about Civil Rights protests that helped put him into a position where his "work hard" did allow him to become wealthy.  Obviously he did everything on his own.

Everything will be done to avoid taxing the wealthy since they have so clearly paid to put people in office to protect their interests.  While 2012 may not be the year to throw out everyone from both parties, it will likely be the catalyst year when people finally realize that neither party is interested in protecting the larger populations interest for the common good.  How radical could Pluto become with the antagonism from Uranus?  How about the end of private/corporate donor money to politicians?  Term limits for Congress?  A line item veto or better yet, one item per bill?  The stripping away of corporate charters and the elimination of the stock market and the privatization of all companies?  Maybe at the end of the Plutonic transit.  Right now I expect more the cutting of services and the end of Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlements, even though they will not be nearly enough to cover the debt and the most "essential" service, the military.

Unemployment will continue to increase and power will continue to consolidate.  In the US only 4 banks own all the remaining banks and Bank of America is on its too big way to failing, leaving the other three to gobble it up (the rich eat their own, just ask Lehman Brothers employees).  How many phone carriers remain; the magic number of 4 again (Verizon, ATT, Sprint, and T-Moble) with a merger underway.  And keep in mind that, on the whole, advances in technology always eliminate more jobs than they create, which does not help when the population keeps increasing.  The number they do not talk about in the monthly job report is the 65,000 jobs you need to create just to handle population growth (all those 17 year olds that become 18 year olds each month).  So when you read about 103,000 new jobs in September, make sure to subtract 65,000 from that number to get a more correct number.  Now consider all the months in which there was no job growth.  And keep in mind that every time a Republican suggest cutting the deficit by cutting the budget he or she is really saying "let's put more people out of work."

The sad, difficult truth is that private companies cannot do all the hiring and that the government is a massive employer.  Unemployment benefits keep the peace.  Sports won't be enough to keep the masses distracted when they have to cut off their cable to have extra money to buy food.  2012 will be a big year, but 2013 and 2015 will contain all the real action.  If the wealthy successfully block tax increases and new technology continues to displace people and we keep increasing the overall population, we will begin to see the survival instinct/awareness so basic to Aries begin to grow more restless.  For the first time in human history we are actually reaching the boundaries of our closed system; there is no such thing as limitless growth on a sphere.  And unless we develop a warp drive in the near future, we are likely to meet the boundaries in this century.

The Transitioning of America (Part 3) - Pluto

Pluto just went direct two days ago (9/17), roughly at the time that President Obama presented a budget solution that finally includes raising taxes on the wealthy and the corporations.  All of the other outer planets continue to be retrograde at this time and mostly what we see in the news are ongoing attempts to "return to normal" and avoid the day of reckoning for as long as possible, even though the event is likely just on the horizon.  As he put it today, "we can't just cut our way out of this hole."  Tax increases represent part of the Capricorn energy.  Most people do not know that tax rates on the rich were once 91% (in the 1950's) and cut down to 70% in 1965 and much further (into the 28 to 35%) during the Reagan/Bush I presidencies.

Looming on the horizon is a Greek default, describes not as "if, but when" by economist John Mauldin.  October looks to be the trigger month unless the European politicians "kick the can further down the road," which is always possible.  In November, Chiron (11/11/11) and Neptune (11/10/11) will go direct, creating more "forward moving energy."  If the can is kicked down the road, November may then become the move forward month.  If not then, the end of December and the beginning of January 2012, could provide the final  energetic push when all the outer planets (and Jupiter) will be direct.  Expect fits and starts from now until the end of the year and never underestimate the power of denial.  In the end, 2012 will likely be the explosive year many predict, but probably not because of natural disasters, though they may be part of the picture.  The larger disaster ,considered in terms of human consciousness, is this mess with the global economy.

Basically, Pluto in Capricorn is showing us that we have borrowed our future away and returning to equilibrium is likely to be a very painful process without some very serious and significant changes ... and probably forgiveness of debt obligations.  Many of the "rich" will find themselves in a "former employee of Lehman Brothers" situation if they cannot bring  in the money on the debt they purchased through credit default swaps and they cannot "steal" through another TARP.  Hard choices are coming and the best way to face them will be through local community connection and support.  Clear whatever debt you can and network with friends and family in case you could get caught in the tidal wave looming on the horizon.  The real tests will come between 2012 and 2015 when Uranus and Pluto square.  It is not so much massive earthquakes or tsunamis that we face, but a massive upheaval socially that is already being played out microcosmically in the Middle East through various revolutions.  These near future times will certainly be "interesting" to a degree not experienced since, really, the 1960s.

The Transitioning of America (Part 2) - Neptune

Neptune has moved back into Aquarius, where it will stay until February of 2012. Once out of Aquarius next year, Neptune will remain in Pisces. While retrograde Neptune will almost reach back and touch the US Moon (less than 2 degrees) and is moving back and forth over the very bottom, most private part of the US chart. Neptune is about surrender, dissolving (washing away), and spirituality. As we enter a prolonged period of economic contraction, more and more individuals will find spirituality through scarcity, as well as potential bonding with our fellow human beings.

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Neptune will stay at the bottom of the US chart for the entire duration of 2012.  Coupled with the Uranus/Pluto square and the Saturn Return, we should expect 2012 to be what is generally predicted, a time of tremendous change.  Setting aside doomsday theories, we will likely see one of the most volatile years in America due to the upcoming Presidential election and the ongoing debt crisis in Europe, the US, and pretty much around the world.  As I posted in an early entry, we could also see, throughout the duration of Neptune's transit through Pisces, limits and problems involving all liquids, the two most important being water and oil.

Moving forward beyond 2012, Neptune in the movement through the US 4th House will reawaken spiritual feelings about family and culture.  If another recession or a depression (publicly named) manifest in 2012, we can expect a long duration of adjustment, peaking or bottoming out (depending on the metaphor you prefer) around 2015, when the last Uranus/Pluto square takes place (there will be 7 times the energy points square over the period of 2012 to 2015).  Neptune, rather appropriately, is returning "home" (to its own sign) and doing so in the US chart 4th House (of the Family).  We will all be encouraged to see and engage our family and even address wounds (Chiron in the 4th at the same time).

The Transitioning of America (Part 1) - Chiron

In previous posts I have written about the ingress of the outer energy points (Chiron from Aquarius to Pisces, Uranus from Pisces to Aries, Neptune from Aquarius to Pisces, and Pluto from Sagittarius to Capricorn).  Just one of these energy points changing signs is significant, consider the shift in the US and the World when Pluto moved from Sagittarius (Expansion) to Capricorn (Responsibility) at the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008.  During this current span of five years (2007 to 2012), all the outer energy points will transition from one sign into another and we can expect what we have received so far, a world in massive transition.  

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Our wound to face while Chiron was in Aquarius dealt with idealism across the spectrum of our lives.  Chiron entered Aquarius in March of 2005, just five months before Hurricane Katrina.  The sheer lack of preparedness and subsequent failures following the disaster was a wound of a very different sort than the September 11, 2001 attacks (under Capricorn and to our financial center).  Throughout its journey, which ended in February 2011, America elected a President on the slogan of Change, We Can Believe In and got the Same Old, Same Old.  At the time of this post Congress has one of the lowest approval ratings in American History and the President is fairing little better.

What can we expect with Chiron in Pisces? Pisces rules spirituality, dreams, and the larger consciousness of humanity.  We can expect the wound to take shape around those energies from 2011 until 2019, when Chiron will permanently enter Aries.  In the US chart Chiron resides in Aries in the 5th House (Sibley Chart, Whole Signs System).  Americans actually wound themselves through their independence and warrior approach.  No country has more successfully broken apart community and family at the micro and macro level than America.  The uber independence ideal has created a fractured health care system , a stagnant education system, and host of other ills no longer fully offset by the benefits.  In the current direction, what do you think we can expect when Chiron returns to its original position in April of 2024?  Will Americans heal this wound or be wounded more deeply, thinking the way forward remains the path of extreme individualism?

Chiron also functions as a bridge between the inner energy points, ending with Saturn, and the outer energy points beginning with Uranus, so it connects the individual with larger human consciousness.  Chiron is currently transiting through America's 4th House (of Family and the Inner Life).  One interesting outcome of the Great Recession has been the sometimes forced reconnection of family as adult children and baby boomer parents find that they must rely on each other if one or both get swept away in the tide of economic contraction.  Old or unresolved wounds around family will likely emerge with renewed and forced dependency.  Healing will come in the form of renewed family connections, the creation of new non-standard families, and the re-localization of communities.  In April of 2012 Chiron will conjunct Natal Ceres (the Harvest), retrograde back over nCeres in August, and complete its final forward pass in February of 2013.  The 4th House sees a lot of activity; the Progressed Sun is nearly conjunct nCeres now, Progressed Neptune will reenter Pisces in February of 2012 and conjunct nCeres in April of 2015, and Progressed Pallas is approaching the midway point through the house.  In all, we will see a refocus (pSun) on family while dealing with dreams/illusions/delusions (pNeptune) about family as we strategically think about family and its purpose in our lives (Pallas).

What this time appears to offer through these massive transitions, at least for Americans, is a rejuvenation of family, but not along past lines.  Uranus just finished its journey through the 4th House and "awakened" and "revolutionized" the American family.  If we try to "go back," as will be one of the strong suggestions during this time, we will find greater difficulty than if we find a way to mesh our strong individualism with a strong sense of family ... and, perhaps, more importantly, the inner life.  Do not be surprised if, as resources and wealth dwindle writ large in the coming conclusion to the debt supercycle, people find a greater need for a more secure and abundant inner life instead of an outer life of consumption and constant distraction.  Chiron will focus us all on issues of family and inner life, especially as the placement of Chiron plays out in the specific location of each individual's chart.

The Perfect Storm Approaching (Uranus Square Pluto)

I was asked this morning what I thought the square with Uranus and Pluto would mean for the world starting in 2012 and going on until 2015. Based on human behavior as I see it reported in the mainstream media, blogs, and fringe media, I am willing to predict a global depression. The thing about naming a depression is that it usually takes a few years in to actually get the human denial machine to own up to it. When the global depression is written about one day in the future, the dates may reach as far back as 2007, the beginning of the Great Recession. Actually, for history buffs, the original Great Depression worldwide and in the US occurred from 1873 to 1896. This time period was renamed the Long Depression after the 1930s Depression earned the moniker the Great Depression. Maybe this one will be the Greatest Depression or the Really Great Depression.

We have a perfect storm brewing, mainly due to the collusion of population growth by way of non-renewable resources that we are treating as if they are renewable. I have yet to find even the staunchest conservative who would claim that more oil is being created at the same time and/or rate we are consuming it. Basically the argument boils down to how much oil do we have left and is it enough time for human ingenuity to pull our assess out of the fire when we use up all the non-renewable resources (including not only oil, but natural gas and uranium as well). You see, we do actually live on a planet with infinite resource, we just can't live the American/European lifestyle on a purely solar/wind/water energy plan. And even those plans require using some non-renewable resources to help in the capture of the energy. When religious texts say the meek will inherit the Earth, they must be predicting the time when non-renewable energy reserves are gone and the entitled people who live on them find they really can't manage to stay alive; they are not hardy enough to live without their petroleum based medicines or wise enough to return to living off the land (especially suburbia). I'll probably be one of the entitled to bite the dust, truthfully.

Hence, the Dark Ages prove one vital message for humanity ... we can go "backwards." 2012 to 2015 will be the spark of the mother of all spiritual forest fires. Oil and other non-renewable resources are part of our spiritual test, one we have failed miserably and will, apparently, continue to fail. Here's how you can learn that we are on the edge of failure; follow the stories about new energy source extraction and you will see it is more costly and more dangerous (deeper wells required, more out of the way places to get to it, more unstable methods to get to it). Eventually it will cost more energy to extract energy and that is the end game.


What makes this kind of prediction a bit more reliable than previous end of world scenarios. Well, we're actually, really reaching the limits of the biosphere for the first time in human history. We have operated with a frontier mentality for so long that we actually believe the planet is a limitless frontier instead of a round ball enclosed by an atmosphere that is like a true boundary. Use up all the non-renewable resources,that took millions of years to produce, in less than 50,000 years, and most aggressively in less than 5,000 years, and exponentially grow the population and you can see that we are actually reaching the upper limits of what the planet can sustain. You can not expect good things to happen when you treat a limited environment like an unlimited one. Let me use a basic logic problem to illustrate my point:


Let's say you have a container filled with a certain amount of water that constantly renews itself. An organism comes long an sustains itself by consuming the water. Luckily the consumption of the water at a certain level does not break the renewal process. So, to begin with, the new organism consumes and discovers there is plenty left over but never studies the closed system because the organism is NOT LARGE ENOUGH to see that system is actually closed and has a limit. So the organism consumes and expands AS IF the system expands with it or has no limits. But in truth, there is an optimum point when consumption will actually damage the renewal point and essentially break the system. That's humanities path at the moment. And if people, generally, are more worried about the future, globally speaking, I would argue that people quietly, in some deep subconscious recess, are generally realizing that we are hitting the limits of the system, especially the non-renewable energy limits. And more to the point, deep down, these same people know that truly renewable resources cannot ever REPLACE the lifestyle created by the non-renewable sources, much in the same way people considering divorce know that they will take a lifestyle hit if they have to go live on one income or have to start earning enough to maintain separate residences.


In the end, the Uranus/Pluto square is not about a new invention to "keep the status quo" but a globally enforced behavior change that we could consciously choose, but most likely will not. Greed, short sightedness, and an unwillingness to manage human population will lead to the mother of all bubble bursts. I know this is not uplifting stuff and truthfully, I just wanted to get it out. And let me tell you, I would be more than happy to somehow be "proven wrong," but I bet the horses I see and watch run. What I see is massive debt and insolvency that can only come with fiat currency and interest rates because we went off a natural resource standard (gold, which would have forced us to live within a certain limit), accelerated consumption of non-renewable resources, continuing population growth until outside pressure exerts enough force (via starvation, disease, war between heavily military nations for remaining non-renewable resources, unnatural disasters involving the pursuit of non-renewable resources) to reign it in.


Will the world actually end, no. Will humanity, as a whole, have to cut back, as in the number of human beings on the planet, yes. That will not be fun and it will be the end of the world for a lot people; their end. It will be messy for the world, painfully so. But deep down, I don't think we have to go the unthinking route, the denial, pretend it won't happen route. I think we can make conscious choices to make a better future, I just think its going to take the rough and tumble, dark side of Uranus/Pluto to get us woken up on a large enough scale to make the necessary changes.

More samples of Pluto in Capricorn

Stores That are No More (Photo Series)

Recycling the Suburbs

Don't Own, Share!

Pluto's continuing work in Capricorn

America's Foreclosure Wasteland

Macro EU - DOA

The Lost Generation and Merging Credit Bubbles

The first square with Pluto and Uranus is still a year away! Systems are failing to be restructured. Or written another way, "Systems are failing, to be restructured."

Pluto Working Hard In Capricorn

Hello all, instead of an audio blog today, I thought I would provide real world examples of Pluto doing its work in Capricorn. Keep in mind that it is only 7 degrees into the sign and currently "backing up" (retrograde) until September, when it will get all the way back to 4 degrees before moving forward, which will allow Uranus to "catch up" and form an exact square in June of 2012, the first of 7 until March of 2015.

The US Housing Market and the Shadow (Plutonian) Inventory

Nuclear Fallout from Japan (Youtube video of Helen Caldicott) - don't be surprised if this video disappears.

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid now in the discussion of cuts, but not the Military (article about the US All-Volunteer Military)

Education on the Ropes (see the movie Waiting for Superman)

Another Big System in Turmoil - the NFL Lockout and a sample of its potential impact

European Debt Crisis

As you can surmise, the list can keep going: US states bankrupt, Middle East unrest (over the whole region), rising Energy Costs, increased Severe Weather (storms of the centuries), Class Warfare worldwide, and on and on. Like a Hurricane building strength, we are only at category 3 and will reach category 5 during the 2012 to 2015 years. The very last remnants of the Pluto/Capricorn storm will not come until November of 2024. So, in the meantime, what to do?

Build your social support network; you may find you need to rely on people in ways you never thought you would (like moving in with them, carpooling, and bartering).

Accumulate assets where you can when you can; so long as the Government prints money, your savings account dwindles. If your retirement is a forced gamble in the casino of the stock market, consider long-term conservative investments. Pay off your mortgage if you can, own everything you can outright (cars, appliances, and so on).

Downsize, learn about your local community, figure out how things work (look under the hood of your car, know where your electrical box is inside your home, and how to repair or build something ... anything).

Take care of your health! Exercise regularly, eat organically, get regular check-ups. Take care of your eyes and teeth.

And most of all, work on your spirituality. What is the meaning of your life in the cosmic drama; why are you here now. What is your responsibility as a human being among human beings living on a living planet that provides for your needs. Wake up and if you are awake, help others wake up. Intervene in life, teach and share.

A Flock of Black Swans - Uranus Ingressing

If the entry of Uranus into Aries is any indication of things to come, then we can expect a flock of Black Swan events to fly through the world over the next seven years while the energy point travels through the Cardinal Fire sign.

Regress, Progress, and Ingress

In my previous entry I talked about some big decisions coming up in the US this week, possible Black Swans. The NFL labor contract was set to expire last night at midnight and the US Federal Government was set to shut down two days ago. Both situations reached the "11th" hour because two opposing groups could not agree. So what has been decided; in both instances the groups have agreed to allow themselves more time to disagree in the hopes that one side will eventually give up or give in and the other side will get what it wants. In the meantime nothing actually changes. Welcome to the "not" results of energy points ingressing. An energy point is in a state of ingress when it moves from one sign to the next. Pluto completed its ingress in Capricorn at the beginning of 2009. Neptune and Uranus are set to ingress this year into Pisces and Aries respectively. This blog entry is about the behavior we are likely to experience during these transitions.

Below is the US Chart for 3/4/2011, which is the chart I was looking at while recording this entry. Click on the chart to open it in a new tab or window and see it enlarged.

Saturn Return in the US Chart; Potential Black Swans

Hello all,

I know, I know, its been a while.  I hate to say it, but I think my process will be, at best, intermittent.  Hopefully those of you who find your way here and back will find my sporadic musings worth your time and effort.  I am still enamored of the audio recording process and have again recorded this entry.  Below is the chart I used for this entry, the United States Sibly chart for March 3, 2011.  The first week in March is rather a big deal, as two potential Black Swan events are looming.  If you are not familiar with Black Swan theory, then check out my previous blog (link opens a new tab) on the Black Swan, a book by Nassim Taleb (click on Taleb's name link to go to Alibris.com to purchase the book).

The US chart for 3/3/2011 (click on the image to enlarge and open in another tab); below the image is the audio link for this blog entry:

 

How Astrology Works (Audio Recording)

Hello once again.  I am definitely finding the audio recording process very much to my liking, so here is a new recording for my latest blog entry.

A little background for this recording should be helpful.  I do have a Facebook account and through that account I found an Astrology Bloggers group.  This group is an excellent resource for professional astrologers who want a "teacher's lounge" and for serious students of Astrology.  Novice visitors would likely find the discussions difficult to follow without a very solid foundation in Astrology jargon and theory.  A member of the group, actually the founder, Jeffrey Kishner, recently posed this question: What do you think is "behind" astrology?

My written answer to the group was: Astrology, for me, is a very useful explanatory model, depending, of course, on which model you take up (Tropical, Sidereal, Cosmobiological, and so on). What's "behind it" ... all of the above and anything that is added next? I see the actual practice as a comparison of narratives. Clients come to me filled with narratives and ask me to read their chart, which is another narrative. We compare the narratives and see where that "takes" the client. How does the narrative of the chart reading fit against/with the narrative of the client (especially around common narratives like romance, work, health, and spirituality). Does the reading reinforce/support the existing narrative and leave the client feeling, "I'm on the right track" or does it challenge the client, "wow, I've got a bit more work to do, don't I?" Astrology trumps psychology for me because the language is, honestly, more beautiful, romantic, engaging, heroic, humanistic, juicy, and any other adjectives that describe, or are used, to describe/write a great story. Intuitively, I believe people are drawn to Astrology because its all about the outlier and the individual, its all about them and not statistical groupings.

My much longer answer is recorded on this digital mp3 file.  Enjoy! 

Astrology and Black Swans

Hello all,

I have decided to try a new process.  I am finding I cannot type fast enough for my thinking, so I want to begin recording my blog entries.  This morning I decided to talk about a recent book purchase, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb and how it relates to Astrology in general and my practice in particular.

Enjoy the recording!

Book Recommendation - Soul Sick Nation by Jessica Murray

It is rather easy to find a essential books for Astrologers to read, such as Horoscope Symbols by Robert Hand or Astrology and the Four Elements by Stephen Arroyo.  It is much harder to find essential books for both Astrologers and non-Astrologers to read, and so far, I have only found two.  Perhaps readers of this blog will have some other suggestions; if so, I hope you will share them.  Up until two weeks ago, I had only one book on this rarefied list, Cosmos and Psyche by Richard Tarnas.  Today, I want to add Soul Sick Nation by Jessica Murray.

Why should you ... no, no, why MUST you read this book?  Ms. Murray eloquently captures the true State of the Union for America and why it matters to the rest of the world.  Like it or not, as she says, so goes America, so goes the World.  And America is rotting from the inside and spreading that rot out to the rest of the world.  Condemn us though they may, most people and most countries would like to have America's level of overindulgence.  The problem, as Ms. Murray so astutely points out, is America's arrested spiritual development.  We are a nation that has devolved into a country run by adolescent behavior.  Spiritually speaking 13 year olds are at the helm of the ship, driving the car, and piloting the plane.  And she gets at the root of the problem with Astrological incisiveness; America is living the shadow of its Pluto in the 2nd House, where "getting mine" is taken to a dark level in the pursuit of control of resources.

From a Super Size Me philosophy to a Wag the Dog war, America has pushed self-interest to darkly divine status, where "Greed is Good" and acting immaturely is revered.  Murray chooses the Sibley Astrological chart for the Birth of the Nation and shows both America's potential and how the shadow side has erupted into the behavior of the common way.  The Bush presidency is the purest, unadulterated expression of America's dark side, where all the world is either "with us or against us."  No attempt was made to hide the fact that the rich have completely dismantled the safeguards that created a better country than had existed world wide, on the whole, for the benefits of its citizens.  And from an Astrological perspective, we need more blatant disregard to wake up the world.  I often joke that no one will really believe in Global Warming until the subways of New York are filled with ocean water and even then a large number of people in America will still believe it is a terrorist plot.  People in this country, generally, have embraced an i"gnorance is best" policy that is shamefully astounding.

If you want to see the deep power of Astrology, not only to point out how and why things are F'ed up, but also the answer that is the way out, then go buy Ms. Murray's book RIGHT NOW!  Really, no kidding, ALL CAPS.  And if you do and you do read it, I want to talk with you about it.  She has her pulse on a America and it's pretty erratic and headed towards cardiac arrest (can we say "implosion" of entitlement programs - Social Security and Medicare).  But she also has a very fundamental solution that calls of us to action at a level we can all manage if we choose to take up the call.  I am trying and I hope you will too.

Ophiuchus Addressed

I'll admit, I'm going to cheat a little bit since other Astrologers have already responded quite eloquently to the issue of the "13th" Sign/Constellation.  I will provide links to their articles at the end of this blog entry.  But first, let me try to get at the core issue. Ophiuchus is not the core issue, but it does provide, to the non-Astrologer, an opportunity for Astrologers to reveal the core issue of Astrology, and it is this:

Astrology is the interpretation of data and an approximation of information into a meaningful narrative.  Essentially, it is a game.  And like a game it moves beyond the data and information to make a meaningful experience.  Ophiuchus is data that has been consciously ignored and the real question before us is this: 

Is the ignoring of Ophiuchus a deal breaker?  Is it the Holy Grail of Atheism for Astrology?  Is it the arrival of intelligent life from outer space completely obliterating humanity's belief that we alone have consciousness?  Not really.  But it clearly makes for good press!  And here's why ... the Sun moves through/in front of none of the signs/constellations for exactly 30 days.  In ALL cases the Sun moves in front of the constellations for differing amounts of time and the shortest of those times is through Scorpius (just 7 days), followed by Ophiuchus (at 18 days).  Basically, Scorpius and Ophiuchus got mashed together to fit the 12 month Gregorian Calendar.

Equally important is the fact the Western Astrology uses Seasons, another approximation, to mark the beginning of the signs.  So even though the constellations have shifted, we still keep the start of Spring marked at March 22.  Here's what Ophiuchus really reveals about Astrology and, honestly, all "mystery"/spiritual systems.  They vary.  Even within Tropical Astrology you have multiple ways to cast a chart based on different House Systems (over 10).  In Astrology generally, you have a two competing systems - Sidereal and Tropical.  You have systems that cast out the Houses (cosmobiology, as promoted by Rheinhart Ebertin) and ones that cast out the Signs (Fixed Star Astrology as promoted by Jamie and Marina Darkstar, one of the linked authors below).  Maybe Astrology is not your best guide; you can choose palmistry, Runes, Tarot, psychology, or science.  Or mix it all up.

In Sidereal Astrology I end up with a Pisces Sun sign and when I look at the fully cast chart, I learn something useful about myself.  I bet if I decided to run a chart with Ophiuchus and all the signs/constellations with exactly their time for the Sun to cross the path, I would learn something useful that way as well.  The universe is big enough to teach us something using this constellation or ignoring it.  What it does not do is throw Astrology into the trash bin; it really helps bring illumination on a subject that, I think, moving into the future, we are going to need more and more help from.

As promised, here's what others have to say:

• Jamie Darkstar (1st Piece)
• Jamie Darkstar (2nd Piece)
• Eric Francis

Philip Young, PhD

Spirit Animal Reading for me by Archana

Truly, the Internet is an amazing tool.  Through Facebook, I met Archana, who lives in California.  It was one of those random/non-random experiences, as she was really just a photo on a friend's page that caught my eye.  We leapt into profound connection and exchanged readings with each other.  I provided her with an astrology reading and she gave me a  Spirit Animal reading, which I am sharing with you below,  including my comments about each card.  These reading processes are deeply helpful and, I believe, should become part of everyone's spiritual practice at regular (maybe every birthday) and as needed intervals.  Below is a photo of the cards and the reading itself.

Archana,

Patience, I have found, is often rewarded ... and quite highly.  This reading is most helpful and dead on accurate.  I'll share my story after each position/card (and I did get the image of the cards, thank you).

On Sat, Jan 8, 2011 at 1:19 AM, archana sachdev <smilingbuddhess@yahoo.co.in> wrote:

Hey Philip, Thanks again for your patience.... 9 totem card reading expressing your soul's purpose and lessons in this birth 1-East-This animal guides you to your greatest spiritual challenges and guards your path to illumination. Blue Heron:This card is about diving into the depths of your inner self......go into your own unconscious/shadow work,in order to find your spiritual essence....it will help you develop inner strength and certainty of purpose...and trust your path...Hero emerges from the unseen world of spirit into a new balanced sense of self....

In August of 2009, I had a mental break that turned out to be a spiritual awakening.  I didn't have to be institutionalized or go on psychological medication, but I thought long and hard about both.  Fortunately I had the human support around me to help through the deep soul work that really caused me to withdraw from life for a while.  I'm still working through the tail end of it and in spiritual work terms that means probably another 6 months.  It's all part of several mid-life transits beginning with Pluto square my Natal Pluto, Uranus opposing my Natal Uranus, Neptune/Chrion squaring my Natal Neptune, and Saturn opposing my Natal Saturn (from 37 to 45).  For much of this time I have felt "lost" and unable to feel purposeful (especially the impact of Neptune/Chiron).  The depth work is finally revealing and renewing my purpose as a teacher, but it has been one hell of a descent into the underworld.

2- south - protects the child within and reminds you when to be humble and when to trust/balanced personality Frog- if you have been stressed take a break....relaxation/bath/cleansing....replenish your parched spirit.. getting rid of distractions...make the waters clear again... frog people have clearing energy,to remove negativity from any environment... so,the way to balance your personality would be- to take a break and cleanse yourself of any person place or thing that does not contribute to a new state of serenity and replenishment...

In June of 2010 we had a family move in with us.  The family was in pretty dire straits and we were looking for some intentional community to help us in the care of daughter and to ease the burden of life in general.  We were hoping for a win/win scenario.  Unfortunately the adult (single mother) has proved to be too unhappy to remain here and they are in the process of moving out.  The situation that was supposed to help relieve stress became a terrible source of stress.  It was only this past week that final arrangements to work out a plan to move out came into focus and I finally felt relief from a terrible tension.  This weekend and the next few weeks as they move more and more of their possession out of the house and into storage is a clearing period of negative energy.  Once they are completely gone, I will call upon the Frog energy to fully cleanse our home.

3- west- personal truth and inner answers...path to your goals Raven- magic/unknown.... power of the unknown is at work,and something special is about to happen... recognize it and use it to further your growth... bring the magical messages that come from the darkness/the void, in to light....in doing so you will honor the magician within.... so the path to your goals is,to openly receive messages from the world of mysteries,in to the light of the day-share it with people...

Neptune square Natal Neptune is a profound transit and it is about SURRENDER.  During this transit you must learn to react and accept what is given by the universe. I am deeply learning that lesson and it has been a challenge, especially for someone like me who has lived a life of control.  Control may be an illusion, but even so, my illusion/delusion was a pretty strong one and one I enjoyed.  Waiting for the mystery to unfold has been a great spiritual lesson for me, and not without some dark days.  But in the end and over the course of the journey, I have learned to trust that some times in life are about deep and profound listening.  And I do feel that many of the things I've heard since August of 2009 are messages I will share with the world, even if its just the people in my immediate life.

4- north- wise counsel and also-when to speak and when to listen Dog- reminds you that your  greatest loyalty must be towards your own truth being loving even to people who have wronged you,since you have a compassionate understanding of human shortcomings....be of service

This attribute has gotten stretched almost to the breaking point ... at least well past the point of being taken advantage of.  I have learned that while I need to be loving to people who have wronged me, I need to make sure going forward that I better guard against those in need who will be ungrateful or act entitled.  I do understand human shortcomings, but I also have learned that people must be responsible for and accept the consequences of their shortcomings and some of those consequences can be very, very harsh.  I have to help the people who want to be helped and appreciate help and turn away from the people who need to learn the lesson of failure.

5-above- how to honor the great star nation...dreamtime-personal access to the other world Spider- In order to access the other world, you need to 'CREATE' or you might be coming too close to an entagling situation use a journal to write down and review your progress-if you do this,you will be conscious about how you are creating a new phase of your won reality

My Sun has progressed into Gemini and I am still adjusting to the energy of this sign in my Solar path.  I had no idea how active the Gemini mind is and I am still trying to learn how to manage this constant pursuit of new ideas and information.  Writing has been the release valve, which occurs in my blogs and through Facebook actually.  I am reading more than I ever have and that's not a small thing to say since I've had periods in my life when reading was my professional obligation (graduate school).  I have novels and books on astrology and tarot clamoring around in my head that are not yet ready for the light of day, but are developing, percolating, peeking out, and at the ready to burst forth when the thoughts finally align.

6- below- about the inner earth,how to stay grounded on your path Coyote- medicine is about laughter and joking.... what helps you stay close to your own inner earth is having a light hearted playful attitude on one hand,but on the other hand also making sure that you are looking beyond illusions since this card can have a trickster energy,which can take you away from the reality.... so - sense of humor and staying in touch with reality through  meditation...

In the last 6 months, when doing a random draw from the Osho Zen Tarot, I have drawn the Playfulness card some 9 or 10 times.  Before starting to draw that card and from August 2009 until really August 2010, I lost my smile ... my inner smile and could not muster the energy to laugh.  Even my daughter's joy, which is immense and infectious could not penetrate deep enough to pull me out of my spiritual darkness.  But she did provide me with a tether and her laughter did keep me from falling completely into darkness, as did the support of my partner Betsy and my parents.  Without those tethers and many, many others along the way (friends, fellow astrologers, someone like you), I'm pretty sure I would have been swallowed up by the darkness.  Now I am laughing again and trying to play more while certainly feeling I have been "touched" by reality ... that profound, non-duality of reality :-).

7 - within - heart's joy,personal truths....protector of your sacred space... Owl- guides you to your personal truth by giving you a gift or 'clear vision' nobody can deceive you.....you may not be awar of your abilities,but people do....owl people know more about people's inner lives than they themselves do (this is certainly a good quality for an astrologer) you are being asked to use your own powers to intuit some life situation....owl might bring you msgs through dreams or meditation,you must listen in silence....maybe some omens...

Oh yes, I do feel my "eyes have been opened" about many things most recently and I am trying to manage how to use this newly found "clear vision."  My astrology work has most definitely benefited.  When I am in silence, I am listening with "clear ears" and it is amazing what I am hearing.  Not only am I experiencing my personal profound transformation, I am hearing the profound transformation of our world.  More than ever, I can see through people and this most recent situation involving the family has cleared a field of my vision in a truly dramatic way.

8 Right side- protector of male side- your father protector within, courage and warrior side wolf- teacher...you might be called to write or lecture to share knowledge with the world...to help people understand their path in life... shareing of great truths to take human consciousness to higher planes... seek lonely places to commune with the teacher within....look for teachings/teachers everywhere....

I recently started teaching in college again.  I have been allowed, by the universe, to find my way to a community college and I felt the most significant surge of my personal power teaching in a classroom again.  It is one of my callings, of which I am finding there are three great ones.  The other two are astrologer/tarot reader and priest.  They all intertwine.  I have thought of all the things I could be, could have been, and could still pursue, but, at the end of the day, I am a teacher and constantly being taught.

9 - left - protector of female side- learn to receive abundance,nurture yourself and others.... it also teaches about r'ships Don't worry about the future,not meant to be mentally 'figured out' "BE" embrace the unknown and flow with the mystery.... leap into the void with implicit 'TRUST' avoid interruptions and go into your own self discovery and healing process.... you will receive unexpected blessings.....

I have just reached this realization in the deep way necessary to reap the harvest of its message.  I became lost to regain my faith and to rediscover trust. 

Thank you so much for this reading.

Happy New Year

Well,

It's been a while since I posted.  The end of last year really filled up my days and I could not seem to find the right subject or the right time to write at length or regularly.  I started writing a beginning astrology series that I do want to continue this year and entries on mid-life transits.  I'm currently weathering my Uranus Opposition and Neptune Square, two transits people born between 1967 and 1970 will be experiencing until 2012.  I'm looking in the direction of my Saturn Opposition as my next mid-life entry.  I guess my new year's resolution, like many bloggers, is to try to write regularly and on topics of mutual interest to myself and my followers.  And hopefully I will pick up more followers.  Maybe I should plan a "Year in Review" entry that can coincide with significant transits and progressions.  That should definitely be a blog entry for this week or next.

But today I want to write about a fantastic opportunity that started my new year.  Back in December of 2005 I was ordained as a Priest of the Order of Melchizedek.  I chose this Order because the Priests and Priestesses are all of unique and, for the most part, self-designed faiths and practices.  At the height of my excitement I created a website for my priesthood which outlines my beliefs and practices.  One role I am able to perform, but, until January 1, 2011, had not performed is a marriage.  This past week, while trying to arrange a visit to my friends Adam and Anne, they asked me if I could marry two friends of theirs (Anna and Zachary).  I, of course, said, "yes, absolutely."  Our family traveled down to see them on New Year's Eve and we planned the wedding for New Year's Day.  The ceremony was very simple, by a pond, in the woods behind Adam/Anne and Zachary/Anna's houses.  It was such a fantastic way to start my new year.

2011 looks to be quite different from 2010 and the upcoming 2012.  I like to describe it as a lull between storm fronts, a time to prepare.  The storm has not cleared and the real thrust of it has not yet arrived; that will be the energetic work of 2012 to 2015, when Uranus (in Aries) squares Pluto (in Capricorn) and Neptune and Chiron permanently enter Pisces.  We will really feel the New Age with Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto all in new signs.  But for this year, a time to gather your friends around you, save money, pay down debt, meditate, organize, ... prepare.  I'll be advising all my clients to prepare!  And that will mean different actions for different clients.  For myself I am trying to manifest my family closer to me, increased savings, more work, and continued good health.  I'm not looking to expand as much as I am looking to have enough and save my extra :-).  I still have a spiritual awakening journey to complete and I have one current hurdle that should help me start to see the downward slide.  2010 was a humdinger ... and my spiritual ears are still ringing ;-).  But I'm also still standing, and looking better in the pocket than Brett Farve ... who coincidentally is getting his Uranus Opposition at this time!

All in all, I want to wish everyone reading this blog a Happiest of New Years and appreciate your interest in my words.  Hopefully I will have plenty of brilliant ones for you this new year!

Philip