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.

Mid-Life Transits (Uranus square Uranus - 41 to 43)

This blog entry will discuss the second of the four mid-life transits, the Uranus opposition (when transiting Uranus is opposite natal Uranus).  Uranus roughly reaches the middle of its journey back to itself at 42 and opposes its natal position.  When this happens we get a shock to the two houses involved in the opposition.  In my case the lightening strike moved into and is going through my 5th House and reaching across to my 11th House.  The Uranus opposition started impacting me in March of 2009, but really walloped me August 28, 2009 when tSaturn was conjunct nPluto at the same time that Uranus had gone Retrograde and backed up over the exact opposition for the second time.  It was on that day that I had a severe panic attack on my way to help a friend and had to pull of the highway and call 911.  I'm still amazed that my body could experience that much stress for several hours and still keep me conscious.  I was thrown completely out of my preexisting state of life and it was not fun.

For several months after the initial incident I struggled just to cope with life.  Fortunately, I had already quit my full time job, but unfortunately, I could not quit my role as stay-at-home parent.  My life partner, Betsy, and my parents stepped in and kept me afloat as I worked through health problems that put me in the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack (about a week later) and through various stress and liver tests.  Every medical test came back negative and my physician, who did a wonderful job with his tools, told me that after he went down the list, the one on the bottom was "its in your mind."  At the height of the initial panic attack I was able to get some "medication" to help me manage the symptoms and function on days when I would enter extreme states of overwhelm.  I put quotes around the word "medication" because it in no way offered me a solution to the core problem.  And, I found, I only really needed it when, surprise, surprise, I was left alone with my daughter.  When I had human support, I did not need the "medication."  And here was my big 5th/11th house shake down.

The 5th House is, essentially, the area of our lives where we begin to establish our independence through our creativity ... it is, for me as an Astrologer, the house of the teenager energy ... creative, dramatic, full of one self, romantic, and playful.  The 11th House is our commitment to community and our authentic role in community.  The universe, without a doubt, brought me down a notch or 100 to teach me that individuals cannot actually "do it alone" and we really, really should not be as isolated as we are, especially in Western societies.  When profound crisis strikes we do not have the human networks in place to help us manage the crisis in a way that can be completely healthy and decidedly healing.  And if the crisis is "in your mind" as mine certainly was/is, then medical science is only helpful on a symptomatic level and not a curing level.  Yes we have psychology, and it is useful, but what we really lack is a mature spirituality to address what is essentially a spiritual transformation.  I thank Gaia for Astrology.  More than any other tool or process, working over my own chart or having other professionals give me input has kept me off the drugs and limited my use of therapy, which was very helpful because I had a therapist comfortable discussion both Astrology and Past Lives.

As it turns out I'm getting a chance to correct a past life that occurred 1500 years ago in India, when I was a priest and father during a plague.  In that life time I had a daughter, who is again my current daughter, Maya.  Her mother was not present; it was just her and me.  Due to my responsibilities and the situation of the plague I sent her away and could not forgive myself for doing so.  Not long after our separation, I committed suicide by drowning.  I was cruising along in my life as a father in this life time until she turned 4 and 1/2 and I am sure those past life feelings were activated (her Moon and my moon are almost exactly conjunct at 21D of Libra, for me hers is in my 11th and for her mine is in her 1st).  Suddenly I became deeply worried about what would happen to her if something happened to me and wham, instant, overwhelming anxiety.  Let me paint the scenario for  you.

We live along a major road, not in a neighborhood (not that it would help that much in the US anyway), and Betsy's parents live 5 states away.  My parents live over an hour a way.  We do not have lives where people just stop by regularly.  So here's a very real scenario; something could happen to me after Betsy goes to work early in the morning and my daughter would be without help until Betsy came home.  If I blacked out, there would be no one check on her and that thought horrified (and still horrifies me).  I immediately began to reach out to people and try to make changes that would prevent such a catastrophe.  But this is the common "nuclear family" life in my culture ... and it is, thanks to my Uranus opposition, unequivocally and fundamentally wrong.  Most of my life has been about "being the strong one for others" and "going it alone" and now I was face to face with utter horror of modern life and its disdain for family.  We need community, not credit cards and indulgent consumption.  We need networks of friends and family staying constant, gentle interaction because I can say, without a doubt, that being the sole caretaker of my child makes earning PhD like opening a Cracker Jack box and pulling out the diploma.  I don't write these words with a smile on my face.  Parenting is hard, parenting well is a monumental challenge. 

I suddenly and deeply felt the "rightness" of community, but not haphazard community.  What we need more of are intentional communities, thoughtful, supportive, with high expectations of members and the group. When I think of the best of an intentional community containing many parents, I think of "distributed responsibility," which helps take stress off of everyone.  This country and my culture sure as hell needs a better model.  With that in mind I began to look a radical (Uranian) ways of living that might put us in touch with this kind of community and help me heal with human support instead of pharmacological masking.  While we did not find one that suited us, we did learn a lot and have worked instead on building our relationships much more intentionally.  Its really a book's worth of material for each transit.  

At the essence, image you are a tree in a storm and lightening bolt strikes from the top of your trunk searing down and splitting you all the way to your roots, exploding all your trunk and limbs out into the storm.  That's what I got and what most people will get even if it all happens internally.  Now, image that occurring on the global scale to everyone currently 40 to 42 in every country of the world!

Mid-Life Transits (Pluto square Pluto - 34 to 37)

I've been trying to find my stride with this blog and have decided I want to take a new, more personal direction.  Other astrologers do an outstanding job looking at global events, namely Jamie Darkstar and Richard Tarnas come to mind.  I've taken a look at the US chart and have enjoyed writing about what I found there, which is mostly a lot of turmoil over the next 10 years.  The world is definitely going through some growing pains.  I've also started some posts on beginning astrology and how to get started.  I hope to continue those posts intermittently over the course of my writing time, hopefully another 40 or so years :-).  Maybe after I've posted on all 79 cards of the Osho Zen deck, I'll be ready to pick another deck and work my way through.  Another writing project to unfold over the long hall.

But for right now and the foreseeable future, I'd like to pick up a new thread and write more personally about the series of mid-life transits that are currently kicking my spiritual rear end.  I am currently 42 and if you are as well, then you should know my kind of struggle as well.  In fact, the full range of mid-life transits essentially run from 37 to 45, peaking at different times for different people based on the year of birth.  If you were born between 1965 and 1973, then you are at the beginning, in the thick of, or wrapping up four major energy transits involving the transiting energy point and the identical natal energy point.  These are: tPluto square nPluto, tUranus opposite nUranus, tNeptune square nNeptune, and tSaturn opposite nSaturn.  The severity and intensity of these transits will vary based on other birth chart aspects and transiting aspects.  Those of us lucky to be born in the 1968 to 1970 range of the time period got our Uranus opposition as part of a t-square involving tSaturn opposite tUranus square tPluto!

On a personal note I began the journey to my spiritual awakening/shift in mid-March 2002 when I could begin to be influenced by tPluto on my nPluto (allowing for a 3 degree Orb of influence).  In mid-March tPluto was at 17D44M of Sagittarius and the work of this transit began in earnest.  During this year I finally decided to ask my wife for a separation and divorce.  I had met my birth mother at the beginning of the year (we had been corresponding for almost a year, and we finally met in 2002).  tPluto's work was pretty dramatic in the year  plus leading up to the first exact opposition in January of 2004.  One year to the day after my separation papers were filed (August 13, 2003), I met Betsy, my life partner and soul mate and change rapidly followed suit.  We moved into together three weeks after meeting, we discussed having children and got pregnant in May of 2004, and bought a house (the one we currently live in) in October of 2004.  Maya, our daughter, was born in January 2005.

Perhaps what I remember as most profound for me during the time of my separation was a sudden desire to have a child or be involved in a child's life (Big Brother or even foster care).  That feeling was the most "out of the blue" experience for me, as I would have easily been voted by my high school and college classes as the person least likely to have children.  Somewhere in my heart I guess I knew I should not have children with my wife and once free of that relationship the idea had some room to percolate.  It would certainly take a book worth of writing to describe all the changes that occurred after a fairly stable period of life between 1994 and 2000.  Granted that period of time had some big events, earning my PhD, getting my career job, an affair, but over a longer stretch of time and associated with other key transits (namely my Saturn Return).  But nothing like the level and multiplicity of changes brought on by Pluto activating itself!

Throughout 2004 tPluto went square with itself three times (January <direct>, June <retrograde>, and November <direct>) before finally moving on out of  Orb (3 degrees) in November of 2005. So the full range of impact lasted from March of 2002 until November of 2005 (from the ages of 34 to 37).  tPluto was doing its work in my 2nd House of Values and Resources and, without a doubt, my values and resources shifted tremendously.  I went from being married and owning a home to giving that home to my ex-wife and paying support to living in a one bedroom apartment (I loved that apartment) to owning a home again (but instead of me paying for it, my partner Betsy did).  I got out of a failing and mutually unhealthy relationship, dated around, and entered back into a long-term relationship that, so far, has proven deeply healing and extremely healthy (and is not a marriage).  I did not realize that this period was just the beginning of a period that will span another three to five years.

At the heart of the transition was the squaring energy of nPluto in Virgo in my 11th House with tPluto moving through Sagittarius my 2nd House.  My community went through a radical change as I left my marriage behind and entered into a new, more spiritually invested relationship.  One of our first dates was to the Body, Mind, and Spirit Expo in Raleigh, NC where we had our aura photos taken.  We would visit the expo twice a year and soon after our first year of visits, I had gotten a booth to do tarot readings.  My previous community, largely made up of friendships around my marriage and my relationships with my co-workers dissolved and reformed in a community of spiritually minded practitioners, ranging from psychics to massage therapists to henna artists and fellow tarot readers.  I also completed the tattoo back mural of Pegasus flying over the ruins of the Temple at Tholos, a site for the Delphic Oracle.

Now that I write about these transformations, I really see the power of this transit and its broad and deep impact on my life.  If you are between 30 and 33 and feeling some calm after your Saturn return, fasten your seat belt for the first of the four mid-life transits because, change will be a-coming!

Born in 1967, 1968, 1969 -- Struggling in 2009, 2010, 2011

If you were born in the years 1967 to 1969, then this post is for you!  I was born April 12, 1968 and I can say that the years of 2009 to 2011 have been and will be ones of tremendous transition.  In our life cycle we have many astrological cycles, described as Returns.  When you are born every energy point eventually returns to its degree placement in the sky.  Some you will not live to experience, like your Neptune Return (165 years) or Pluto Return (248 years).  If you live to be 84, you will experience your Uranus Return.  All other energy points will return if you live at least until 50, when Chiron Returns.  We celebrate our Solar Return each year on our birth day (though that's not always the exact day of the return by actual degree, but its close enough).  While all energy points return, astrologers tend to focus on the longer patterns of Jupiter (12 years), Saturn (29 1/2 years), and Chiron (50 years).  We human beings often feel and experience big shifts in our lives coinciding with these returns and their three other significant aspects (two squares and one opposition).  When we add in the squares and oppositions we get predictable times of transition that allow us to mark certain periods in our lives as times we will go through big internal, external, or both internal and external changes.  Any singular transition is a big deal:

• your Jupiter angles every 3 years, 
• your Saturn angles every 7.5 years, 
• your Chiron angles every 12.5 years, 
• your Uranus angles every 21 years, 
• your Neptune angles every 41 to 43 years, 
• and your Pluto angles every 62 years.

As you can see by the numbers, you also can get "double or tripled" up at certain times in your life.  For those of born at the end of the 1960's we're getting a double whammy from our Uranus opposition (current Uranus opposing our natal Uranus) and our Neptune Square (current Neptune squaring our natal Neptune).  Additionally, we have current Chiron also squaring our natal Neptune and current Pluto squaring our natal Chiron on its way to a square with our natal Saturn.  If you have felt "struck by lightening" (Uranus Opposition) AND dislodged from stability (Neptune Square) in the last two years (much more so than everyone swept up in the Great Recession), then you are not alone and you still have at least one to three more years to weather the transition!

I've shared my personal story in other posts, but it bears repeating especially for this post.  In late 2009 (August) I experienced a Spiritual Awakening that struck me down to the depths of my soul/consciousness.  The transits I just mentioned above were all beginning to align, with  then transiting Saturn crossing over and conjuncting my natal Pluto.  Since the initial "lightening strike" I have been caught in the undertow of Neptune square Neptune, which Robert Hand describes as a time when illusions run high and are broken at the same time.  A person feels a strong desire to manifest dreams but the energy in life is not readily available to help manifest the dreams and can, in fact, push us into delusion.  Now for each person the real impact will play out wherever the current Neptune is in relation to the natal chart houses and the natal Neptune.  In my case the energy is playing out with my fundamental identity (1st House) ruled by Scorpio and my family (4th House). ruled by Aquarius  The Spiritual Lightening of Uranus struck my house of Community (11th) by opposing itself in the house of my Creativity (5th) in Virgo and Pisces respectively.

And here's what I got for my troubles :-).  My Heart Charkra basically got blown open, which left me overwhelmed by the stresses and strains of the current world situation.  I could and still can feel the planet groaning in pain from human behavior; I can feel we are reaching a Tipping Point (around energy, water, food, communication, financial institutions, health care, education and so on).  Like the convergence of personal energy via my transits, I feel a convergence of problems that will require some very big leaps in human behavior and decision making to overcome and help humanity evolve.  And we're not talking about biological evolution, but civilization evolution.  At times like these, we are not guaranteed forward progress, feel free to read up on the Dark Ages as an example of devolution and regress.  

I was also deeply struck on a personal level to question how we make/sustain human families in this country by way of the so-called nuclear family.  The answer I found was deeply troubling.  We are all powerfully isolated and I feel a deep knowing that our current way of manifesting family is profoundly wrong.  We have utterly destroyed community and our housing debacle is really a way of exposing how crass, as a nation, we have become about greed and moving up at the cost of healthy support networks.  Most families do not live near each other and most communities are in a constant state of two to three year transition, so there is no "rootedness" in our communities anymore.  There has been spotty response to this damaging phenomenon, apparent in the spread and rise of intentional communities, but on the whole our fast paced world has "out paced" us.  The Recession is a natural slow down response, a gift in many ways and a reasonable consequence of too much greed.  My shift has made me realize how isolated our family (of three) really was.  Our network of friends are geographically dispersed and helping each other in a time of crisis would face the simple barrier of geography.  For this reason, we looked into intentional communities and opened ourselves to the possibility of sharing our home with another family.  As it turns out, the second manifested instead of the first.

On a more personal level, I have been completely thrown out of my comfort zone, my deep and long tenured sense of confidence and faith in the way I fit into the world has evaporated.  I have talked with other members of my age group, not a statistically valid sample, but enough for confirmation that they too are "off balance" and unable to get their footing.  That's what Neptune square Neptune feels like.  And its meant to teach us what out of balance feels like so we can do a better job with balance when the energy finishes its work.  Like millions of other people around the world, we are moving back to a savings mentality ... but more profoundly, I am learning to be grateful for the simplest of things.  In this time of deep internal work, I know I need to appreciate this transition.  If you are feeling a similar shift because you were born around the same time, then know that the time to work through the shift is limited (3 to 5 years).  Who knows what the world will be at the beginning of 2012, but those of us born in the late 1960s should be through our work, if we do our work, around that time.

2011 in the US - The Year Ahead, The Year of Adjustment

To perform this forecast, I have chosen to look at both the Transits and Progressions of the United States chart (Sibley, 7/4/1776, 5:10PM, Philadelphia, PA) using the Whole Signs system as written about in Astrology and the Authentic Self by Demetra George. In terms of global transits, 2011 will be much quieter year than the last three (2008 to 2010), which included, significantly: Pluto's transit into Capricorn (January 2008); a Saturn (Libra), Uranus (Aries), Pluto (Capricorn) T-square with Saturn opposing Uranus (2009-2010); Chiron/Neptune conjunction in Aquarius; Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in Pisces; and Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto all moving towards and/or back and forth over the ingress point between signs (Virgo/Libra, Sagittarius/Capricorn, Aquarius/Pisces, and Pisces/Aries). Jupiter separates from Uranus and will move entirely through Aries, Saturn nearly completes its journey through Libra, Chiron permanently enters Pisces and begins to separate from Neptune, Uranus moves permanently into Aries, Neptune and Saturn trine by the end of the year, and Pluto settles more firmly into Capricorn. The ass-smacking square between Uranus and Pluto will not ramp back up until 2012.

While the global transits basically give us a breather, we need to take that time to "batten down the hatches", "stock the root cellar", "pay off our debts", and any other save and conserve measures to protect us from stormy weather and rainy days. The Cosmic Storm brewing with Uranus/Pluto is going to be much more volatile than the last one, when they were conjunct in the 1960s. We will also get a feel for the new way of things as the world economy continues to be stagnant overall and contracting (debt unwinding will become the business as usual if we can detach ourselves from debt accumulation as business as usual). Uranus and Pluto will square in 2012 and dance a "square dance" 7 times until 2015. Given how the global economy represents a "fragile" complex system at this time and entropy is on the rise, we may see many different avalanches over the course of those 3 years depending, largely, on what each world government and the banking system decide during the next two years. If we stick with business as usual (debt to pay for debt), it won't be a pretty picture.

The US, in particular, is going to continue to feel strains, both from the transits and certainly from progressions. I have written about the pVenus/pMars opposition, with tSaturn conjunct pMars, in a previous post, which augers, I believe, a time of fighting to deny the changes we need to make to get society to a healthy place. Mars and Saturn together often indicate war and aggression and tSaturn will be dancing over nSaturn in one hell of a Saturn Return. A lot of what we can expect from 2011 will be set up in the November 2010 election. I suspect we will actually get more of the same even if the Tea Party has major victories and the Republicans return to power in the Congress. Pluto in Capricorn is showing us that the big systems are failing and "work from within" is not likely to bring about any significant change. But what does work from outside look like? It looks like Uranus in Aries in the 5th House of Creativity! America does have tremendous resilience, but what we need is truly revolutionary thinking, not the watered down change offered by Lobbyists for corporate interests.

Whatever we don't do in 2011 to right the ship will only show up in more "men, women, and children overboard" in 2012 when the next Presidential election occurs right near the time of the first exact square of Uranus/Pluto. 2011 will truly be a Year of Adjustment, so let's look at the significant Hot Spots for the year.  Follow this link if you want to see all the monthly charts cast for 2011.

Progressed Venus conjunct Natal Chiron opposes Progressed Mars, Transiting Saturn, and Natal Saturn

This set of configurations represents one of the two Heavy Action areas of the US 2011 chart (the other one involves pMercury, tNeptune, and tChiron conjunct nMoon).  pVenus will progress from 20d29m in Aries in the 5th House to 21d30m over the course of the year, forming a 1d Separating Conjunction with nChiron.  On a societal level, our 1 to 1 relationships and our contracts have merged with the wounding energy of Chiron in Aries (doing whatever we want as individuals without regard for others, and suffering the consequences).  The shadow expression of Chiron in Aries is a wound that comes from doing whatever we want (Aries/5th).  Our greatest asset, Aries independence and creativity, is our greatest potential harm, as deregulation has opened the door for theft at an unprecedented level, one that threatens not only US economies, but world economies.  With pVenus conjunct, we will, at this time, feel the high or low vibration of nChiron in Aries in our 1 to 1 relationships, our marriages, and our business dealings (note the recent review of foreclosure proceedings).

Opposed is pMars at 18d34mR (retrograde) in January and 18d31mR in December, less than 4d Approaching Conjunct to nSaturn (at 14d48m) and in tight opposition to pVenus.  It is a time to strike balance with masculine and feminine energies or watch them go "back and forth" against each other, vying for the upper hand.  Mars and Saturn represent the Great Malefic(s) and here they are conjunct, doubly so since tSaturn is at 17d6m in January and not even 3d Separating Conjunct from nSaturn.  "We have seen the enemy and he is us."  Mars retrograde can mean holding back action, reviewing plans, or becoming impotent.  Unfortunately, pMars will remain Retrograde until 2086 (having gone Retrograde in July of 2006), for an 80 year span. pMars will re-conjunct nSaturn and move all the way back into Gemini.  If American is an empire, then this span will likely show its fall from power or impotence on the world stage over the duration of the time. We are likely to see our "gains" diminish as this progressed energy moves longer and longer through the Retrograde phase.  The positive shift is learning to live with less, re-tooling and rethinking our ambitions.

Among the various great returns in individual charts, the Saturn return is likely number one (Jupiter occurs every 12 years, Chiron returns at 50, and Uranus at 84).  The Saturn return is the "big test" period of our lives when we evaluate what we have done and either give ourselves high marks or learn that we need to make some big changes.  Considering the national and household debt, the state of education, the corrupting influence of banks and corporations, I think we will find this Saturn return about making some big changes.  However, it will be hard, as hard as realizing your marriage is not good, but you don't want to give up the lifestyle you can only have with 2 incomes or 1 person supporting the other.  Obligations, like children or family may add difficulty to making the necessary changes.  Many people reach their Saturn returns, find their lives lacking, and keep staying the course.  Saturn is not a change agent, that's what Pluto is for, which is making its way towards a future square (not in this year) with Natal Saturn in about 10 years.  We are going to have to make dramatic changes to the "unchangeables" - Social Security, Health Care, Education, and the Military.  If we "stay the course" or continue to rejuvenate the old course, we'll find ourselves hitting the iceberg without the number of life boats needed to save everyone.  And like trying to turn the Titanic, it will be too late to make the turn when we actually see the iceberg!

What to do?  If you are not a player at high level, and even if you are, you likely want the system to work and can't abide significant change, then you need to do your best to make changes on your personal level.  Do away with debt any way you can and don't take on any new debt, buy a used car, rent a home.  SAVE, SAVE, SAVE.  If you do buy, but real assets and own them outright ... like land.  We may all be farmers again one day.  Network, build your personal tribe and community of support, consider joining an intentional community, get rooted and learn about your local community.  Learn how to live more simply, carpool,  learn to share resources; these strategies will help you regardless of how the future unfolds.

pMercuryR, tNeptune, and tChiron conjunct nPallas and nMoon

Pallas is not a commonly used energy point unless you are a student of Demetra George after she published Asteroid Goddesses, which I am.  Pallas represents logical thinking, strategy, the art of planning with the mind and it is tightly conjunct the US Natal Moon in Aquarius in the 3rd House (of Communication) and nearly conjunct the 4th House cusp (of Family and Culture).  Americans are "Idealists at Heart" and we certainly have the rhetoric for community activism.  We have also been on the forefront of many changes in community, though not so much of late, probably an impact of pMercury being Retrograde since late 1994. (though gay marriage is staggering forward even as the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell failed).  Retrograde Mercury is also a time for re-evaluation, slowing down, reviewing, and listening!  It is the listening part that America struggles to master, especially since it has such good luck (Part of Fortune conjunct Mercury in Cancer in the 8th) talking and speaking as a moral authority (the mother sign) in its relationships (8th House).

Now, however, is a time to take care of our own, our deep self with the pSun moving through the 4th House and Pisces (6d).  American will be "feeling itself" in the home.  The financial crisis has not only thrown people out of homes, it has driven people back home, trapped people in homes, and opened up wounds in families.  Chiron and Neptune represent a very dynamic combination, much in the same way that Uranus and Jupiter (in 2010) presented.  Unfortunately, the shadow side of these energies represent wounding and delusion and often get more press and play than the higher vibration healing energies available in both.  They will both be Direct at the beginning of the year and the end and Retrograde in the middle.  Chiron will move into Pisces while Neptune will remain in Aquarius.  Most likely, the illusions of the past will hold fast as businesses and government try to reanimate the consumer monster (debt supercycle), military superiority (failed, failing, or unproductive wars), and world authority (while owing everyone else for buying our bonds).  At home we will need to do some serious, deep healing and embrace compassion (Pisces) instead of idealism (Aquarius).  The size and duration of unemployment, and more importantly, underemployment will keep distractions to a minimum as communities and families slow down and turn inward.

In essence, these energies suggest a countrywide turning inward phase.  Coupled with the Saturn Return, America is in for a year of navel gazing while the "powers that be" try their level best to keep the population gazing at the TV.  Distractions may prove harder to come by, especially after the new Congress fails to accomplish anything of import; they will slash programs, but not the budget!

Other Hot Spots of Note

• tNorth Node conjunct nAscendant - Learning to re-present ourselves to the world.  We will know we need a "new look" out in the world.
• pMoon approaches nSaturn - Emotions start to have more of a role in the rules, when pMarsR hits we could have a "boiling point".
• Lunation Cycle - Full Moon - Analyze and Perfect, develop a plan.  We need a long range strategy, but will we get one?  We, as a country, are very used to operating in the Hedonistic Now, and what we need is a "long view".  If we don't start developing one now, when this cycle end s(around the same time Pluto gets out of Capricorn), we may really see a fallen empire in 15 years.  The potential is in the energy for amazing change, but leadership is going to have unite and lead instead of divide and stagnate.
• pAscendant ingress the 10th House.  We need new work, and not just for the unemployment problem, but a new way of thinking about, distributing, and enacting work.  We need, entering Virgo, to bring manufacturing back into this country, adjust the wages, do whatever is needed, but we need people here producing instead of consuming.

2011 will be the quiet before the storm and there will be a storm in 2012 because a soaring stock market and high unemployment are an explosive combination showing the elimination of the Middle Class.  Frustration will likely be the brew of 2011 unless local communities and individuals can begin to create new opportunities and compassion as the world shifts and sifts through an ongoing economic struggle.

US Astrology: The November 2nd Elections (2010)

A look at the transits and progressions active in the United States astrology chart for November 2, 2010 reveals a tremendous amount of important pressure being exerted on key energy points of the US birth chart.  There continues to be ongoing debate about the exact time to attribute to the birth of the US and I am comfortable accepting that all well-researched times reveal various important truths about this nation.  For my own work I have found the Sibley Chart, which assigns a birth time of 5:10PM, to offer highly significant interpretations in line with current events.  I want to provide an interpretation of the upcoming election day within the framework Steven Forrest and Northwatuppa provide in their videos about the Cardinal T-Square (see my previous blog to view the videos). Forrest talks about the amount of pain we must encounter and endure before we are ready to face our difficulty and seek the proper healing.  Northwatuppa discusses the Uranus/Lilith conjunction that reveals kinky dark energy prepared to shock us by coming forth more openly over the next year.  I relate this energy to the expression of the Tea Party movement currently active in American politics.  So what does the 11/2/2010 US transits and progressions chart show us along these lines and others.  Below is the chart; I am using the whole sign system as written about by Demetra George in her book Astrology and the Authentic Self.

To view a larger image of the chart, click here.

There has been plenty of time given to general discussions of the T-Square of Saturn, Pluto, and Uranus and other transits.  In this post I want to put these and other relationships into context against the birth chart energy of the US.  This chart includes a second set of evolving energies, progressions.  Progression calculations allow us to slow down the faster moving planets and see their energy impact over longer periods of time, much in the same way we look at Jupiter through Pluto because they cover time ranges from 1 year to 15 years per sign.  Progressed Sun to Progressed Mars, gives us the same 1 to 10+ years of duration.  The chart above is one of the most "complete" astrologers can cast because we see all the energy points apply over longer durations of impact.  While it is very important to note the transit and progressed aspects (like the tPluto square with tUranus and pMars oppositie pVenus) in and of themselves, the most powerful aspect to consider is the conjunction, when energies merge, not only transit to transit or progression to progression, but transit and/or progression to the birth chart energy point.  As you can see we have two powerful transit to transit conjunctions occurring currently and on 11/2 (tNeptune/tChiron and tUranus/tJupiter).  And, of especial importance, the tNeptune/tChiron conjunction is also conjunct the natal US Pallas Athena and Moon (nPallas and nMoon)!

Suffice to say, the 11/2 elections are going to be a big deal!  A lot will be happening, a lot of potential and possibility, all with strong implications for lower and higher vibration expressions.  I like the Sibley whole sign chart because the transit of Pluto occurs in the 2nd House of values and security, personal home security (your individual wealth and material needs/standing).  A Capricorn 2nd House is very fitting for a nation that believes its home should be its castle.  We are driven (Capricorn) to achieve in our personal material gain and put forth our own values (privacy and independence, getting what is ours).  Pluto rocking this house reflects the kind of personal transformation in values and status that comes in a Recession and Depression.  Of important note is the conjunction tPluto will have at this time with the tNorth Node.  The North Node represents a need to express something while lacking the full understanding of how to express it.  Basically, we need to find new values (or more appropriately revive some very important old ones ... frugality, savings, integrity), we feel this energy deeply but remain unclear how best to manifest it (North Node).  It is times like these that open the door for charlatans and opportunists (like Mussolini, Hitler, or Stalin).  We will hear many simplistic solutions to complex problems and the "easy" choice will present itself as very attractive, especially to a society grown "fat" with entitlements unearned (debt Supercycle unwinding). The Tea Party is an excellent manifestation of this energy combination.  Once you move beyond the "stop government spending" slogan, the details become very antagonistic to specific groups (for the Nazi Party it was the Jews, for the Tea Party it is the Immigrants and Liberals ... and the parallels are tLilith eerie, noting that tLilith is in the 4th House of the US chart).

We can only wonder if this Lilith expression can either gain majority support or have enough focused minority support (while the majority remains largely apathetic) to gain control of government decision making.  Considering some of the moral character shown by Tea Party candidates, I suspect Big Business and the Banking Industry will be very happy to have these people available to their lobbyists.  The candidates we need elected are the ones NOT receiving large donations from special interest groups, but the irony in the current age is that a candidate cannot run unless he or she has a very large "war chest".  We face real limitations in change due to the design of the current system, which is why tPluto is making is move through Capricorn, to bring about fundamental change to large systems.

Let's get back to the chart and two progressed energy points that stand out, both for their current aspect with one another and their conjunct/opposition aspects with the US chart energy points.  I am referring to pMars (Libra/11th) opposite pVenus (Aries/5th).  Here's why everything in this country feels polarized; the masculine energy and feminine energy are in direct opposition and they are in opposing sign energy (Libra is ruled by Venus and Mars is ruled by Aries), so the energies are in mutual reception.  More than ever we need collaboration, not compromise or combat.  Unfortunately, energetically, pMars is conjunct nSaturn and nJuno, making the desire to change very difficult.  With these energies in the 11th House of Community, pMars inclines us to think we will best help society by doing what we want selfishly (the shadow expression) or by restoring local community health (higher vibration expression).  Libra's shadow expression is "follow the rules" no matter what while its higher vibration is about making proper judgments as circumstances change.  Think of the financial crisis this way; government has done all it can to hold up the very institutions and their behaviors with as little change to the rules as possible.  Note too that tSaturn will be conjunct nSaturn during this election cycle as well.  Change to the "status quo" is available, but may only turn out to be apparent.

 

Saturn and Mars have a "go to war tendency" and we can certainly feel and see that energy in American politics.  Opposite this energy is pVenus conjunct nChiron, which means we are in touch with our wounds via our relationships.  Who now does not know someone adversely affected by the economic downturn.  Seemingly independent adult children are moving back in with parents and parent retirements suffering financial hits are forcing new conversations with children about end of life plans.  This whole configuration (pMars/nSaturn/nJuno opposite pVenus/nChiron) could be summed up as, "we are our own worst enemy."  The great potential of this configuration could be using the drive of pMars to make changes in our laws (nSaturn) and our personal contracts, of which marriage is the most fundamental, (nJuno) for the betterment of society (11th House) while balancing (opposition at the higher vibration) the healing opportunity (nChiron) with our familial and cultural relationships (pVenus) in the area of our creative self-expression (5th House).  It is a matter of conscious choice.  What do you think is most likely to happen?

Finally, for this entry anyway, I want to focus on perhaps the most powerful transit scenario in play on 11/2, the tNeptuneR (R for retrograde) conjunct tChironR conjunct nMoon in the 3rd House near the ingress point of the 4th House.  Having a natal Moon so close to the 4th House is, I think, indicative of Americans passion about and for privacy.  Our Sun in the 8th House and in the Northern Hemisphere, along with our Sagittarius Ascendant gives this country its profound outward expression in the world.  The Cancer Sun gives us our Hero complex.  But the Moon near the cusp of the 4th House shows how deeply private and personally hidden we often want to be.  Neptune deals with dreams/delusions and compassion/insanity while Chiron is about healing/wounding and collaboration/compromise.  Both of these energies have been in conjunction during the time of this Recession and both have been dancing over the end of Aquarius/3rd House and beginning of the Pisces/4th House.  Their final movement through the sign of Idealism unveils the wounds of our dreams/delusions.  Many articles written about the financial crisis use the phrase "The End of the American Dream".  During the Bush Presidency, the American cache of goodwill was not only spent, but also put into debt.  Being the lowest part of the chart, we are wounding ourselves and deluding ourselves.  Much of the rhetoric of the upcoming election will likely include a "return to glory" theme.  We need to "go back" ... to smaller government, protectionist policies, and states rights strength.

In the positive, I think the current energy of this configuration is trying to tell us to slow down, refocus on local community, and turn reflectively inward (not fearfully inward).  Forrest does not directly say we have not yet experienced enough pain, but I think he gently implies that our country and the people worldwide have not actually hit rock bottom yet.  And we most likely need forces outside us to help us along the way, like global warming that moves coastlines into fertile soil or resource depletion that begins to affect our ability live our "normal" lives.  It has been written that, in America, the children of my child's generation may be the first to have a shorter life span than her/their parents, thanks largely to a lifelong artificially (not organically) provided diet.  We are seeing the signs of "too much of a good thing is bad" and feeling the effects of over extension.

In the end, I think the fact that the 11/2 elections will occur while four energy points are Retrograde (Jupiter, Chiron, Uranus, and Neptune) and they are "back" in the sign they are leaving, we will see votes being cast to try to get us "back to where we were before" instead of "ahead to where we are going."  I expect very reactionary voting which will lead to further reactionary decision making at all levels of power in an attempt to staunch the inevitable change that Pluto is bringing to our most powerful institutions.  The financial crisis and subsequent bailouts nakedly revealed the true power governing the world, and it is not world governments.  They tooled up to protect the real power managers.  All the potential for higher vibration fundamental positive change is very much present, but it will require, thanks to the various configurations, a great deal of conscious effort to bring about the positive manifestations.  Paradoxically, we may need more darkness (tSaturn on nSaturn, tLilith approaching tUranus, tNeptune/tChiron on nMoon, pMars on nSaturn, and tPluto approaching nPluto) before we see the light.  Even so, everyday, we can choose to see the light whenever we want in front of or ahead of any victimizing darkness.  In my life I'm choosing to see the light and trying to be beacon, however small for others.  I hope you will too.

Making Sense of Aspecting Transits - Saturn and Pluto

Your birth chart represents a snapshot of the energy points in the sky at the time of your birth.  When you took your first breath, you initiated a new consciousness into the drama of the universe, carrying that snapshot energy with you throughout your life time. As the universe continues to unfold the cycles of energy impact your birth story through moments of energetic impact when the energy points of today align by certain angles (aspects) with the energy points of your birth chart.  When you are around the age of 7, Saturn in the sky would have been approximately 90 degrees from your birth Saturn position.  So, if you had Saturn at 5 degrees of Aries when you were born, then at 7 Saturn would be at 5 degrees of Cancer.  It would have transitioned from your birth to the current location at the time of 7 years of age.  An astrologer would say, "Transiting Saturn is square your Natal Saturn."  Transits are extremely important because they alert us to key moments in life when energy is spiking for us and how we can face the particulars of the energy spike.

At times, two transiting energy points can form their own aspect, as happened recently when Saturn in Libra was square (90 degrees from) Pluto in Capricorn.  Saturn is the energy of restriction, the past, and rules.  Pluto is the energy of transformation.  So its not hard to imagine that when these two energy points align by aspect there is some serious energy spikes occurring.  Saturn resists change and Pluto brings about change.  And Pluto is STRONGER.  Change, as the paradox goes, is the one constant in the universe.  When Pluto initiates a change by entering a new house and sign, the world and the individual are forced to take notice.  Pluto entered Capricorn in January of 2008 ... notice anything?  And in the US chart that meant that Pluto entered the 2nd house, the home of personal wealth, needs, and values.  Capricorn is about paying dues, and guess which energy point rules Capricorn ... Saturn!  With Pluto in Saturn's sign we can expect fundamental changes to our most long standing and long lasting structures.  The claim that anything in this world is "too big to fail" is hubris in the face of life's ever changing and evolving energy.

So what can happen when Saturn and Pluto connect energy via the energy cord of an aspect?  Old structures begin to crumble in order for new structures to emerge.  However, as with any process involving these or any other energy points, there is always a continuum of negative to positive expression.  Saturn's positive expression is "the right structure or rule at the right time."  Its negative expression is "to resist change at all costs."  Pluto's positive expression is to embrace necessary change and help facilitate it.  Its negative expression is to manipulate change for subversive or selfish gain.  The change, however, is going to happen.  Keeping in mind the positive/negative expression of energy, let's look at three aspects between these two energy points that started in November 2009 (with Saturn/Libra square Pluto Capricorn) and that will end March 2020 (with Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn).  During this transit period, both energy points will oppose the US Venus, Jupiter, Sun, and Mercury.  As a nation we will be facing some of the most fundamental and structural changes of our history.

From November 2009 to October of 2010, we have felt the influence of Saturn and Pluto squaring one another.  Squaring energy is highly conflicted and difficult to manage because the two players involve very different kinds of energy.  In this case, the air energy of Libra and the earth energy of Capricorn are both trying to take the lead and have control.  As I stated earlier, Pluto is stronger, so the Plutonian drive has the greater impact on reality.  Consider the financial crisis; the government and private sector attempted Librian solutions (tax credits, bailouts, new financial rules); however, they did not do so in the spirit of the deep change brought on by Pluto in Capricorn.  They have tried to save the system that caused the problem and hope to revive it in the nearly same form as it was leading up to the problem.  They have played a language game (Air, communication), calling this shift a recession instead of a depression, and talking about slow growth instead of steady contraction and shrinkage.  They are trying to use laws to keep the existing system in place (bonuses for CEOs, increasing the size of the few remaining big banks, transferring tax money to debt institutions).  The square provided an opportunity and, I think, we saw essentially the negative expression of both Saturn and Pluto in our leadership.

The positive expression would have possibly looked something like this: only fixed loans would be available for new home purchases and new buyers would have to come with 20% to closing.  Bad loans would fail and properties seized and transitioned onto the market, causing a nearly 50% drop in home values (or a return to basically the tax value of a home).  Derivative markets would be closed; the stock market would be closed and only private investment would be allowed.  Banks would no longer be usury institutions.  Lobbyists would be removed from contact with political leaders.  That's the kind of radical change in structure that is possible with this energy in play.  We are a nation overburdened with debt and it is beginning to unwind and piling more debt on top will not bring about fiscal health.

Up next will be a sextile or 60 degree relationship between Saturn and Pluto beginning in December of 2012 until October of 2013.  This relationship is more harmonious than the square and will involve an interesting situation called mutual reception.  Saturn will be at 9 degrees of Scorpio when Pluto is at 9 degrees of Capricorn.  The energy points will mutually receive each other because they will be in the ruling sign of the other: Saturn rules Capricorn where Pluto will be and Pluto rules Scorpio where Saturn will be.  They will each receive energy from the sign placement of the other that will amp up their energies.  Pluto in this case will be even stronger than during the square when it was connecting with Librian energy instead of Scorpionic energy.  Now again there will be a chance to express positive or negative energy in helping to use structure to facilitate change.  Now we have Saturn in the sign of deep truth, emotional commitment, and transformation.  Pluto will still be chugging along with the unwinding of our world and US economy, but now Saturn will show and see the New Normal for what it is and will be.  Major institutions will again face a chance to make significant changes in line with the Plutonian transformation or ... bury our heads even deeper in the sand and grab what power we can in our respective roles and lives.

Note that this transit aspect will be in full swing after the next US Presidential election.  The first 6 months of the new President will either show great courage or intense fear.  We will get either Churchill/FDR/Lincoln or Mussolini/Hitler/Stalin.  This time will set the tone for the biggest transit aspect of them all, the conjunction, when the energies actually merge and show us the new structures for the next 35 to 40 years.  Saturn/Pluto were conjunct in 1947 and 1982.  Consider the shifts of American power for both of those times shortly after (our rise to power as one of the superpowers and then our move to become the lone superpower).  With these two energies conjuncting nearly opposite the US Sun, those of us living in this country can expect a full reckoning of our nation's activities.  If we arrive at that time as a nation in deep debt, we may find ourselves "bankrupt" and out of options.  If we arrive having made significant changes asked of us by Pluto that require new structures and, in all likelihood, new frugality and humility, then we will continue to be a nation that leads in this world.  We have a lot of work to do between now and 2020.  Some of the work will be foisted upon us by newly emerging realities (resource shortages, deflation of assets, limited work opportunities, a large aging population, overpopulation), which will require some very honest assessments and innovative problem solving (fortunately, Uranus will be in Aries and again we will have an opportunity to express/leverage the positive energy of this transit).  And, as it so happens, Uranus and Pluto will be square from 2012 to 2015.

If you are alive now, then you have chose to be born in one of the most dramatic and exciting times in human history.  We may easily surpass both World Wars, The Great Depression, and the Revolutions of the 60s in this next 10 years alone.  We could make a massive leap forward or backwards; it will all depend on our intentions, our thoughts, and our actions.  I am glad you are all here sharing the journey with me. 

Noticing a Lack of Forward Progress? 5 Energy Points are Retrograde

If it feels like the world is experiencing the doldrums (a state of inactivity or stagnation), that's because it is, at least from an energetic standpoint.  And how's this for synchronicity, the definition provided by dictionary.com has a usage example and the example says, "August is time of doldrums for many enterprises."  I wonder if the editor is also an astrologer?  Right now Mercury, Jupiter, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are all retrograde, which means we are in a period of reflection, rejuvenation, and rest where each of these energies are involved in your chart.  Today I will talk about the impact of these retrograde periods on the United States Birth Chart (cast using the Sibley data - July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia, PA, at 5:10PM), which you can see below (click on the image to enlarge it):

It is surprising how many people are familiar with Mercury Retrograde, which has earned an unfairly bad reputation for being the cause of wrecks, failures in communication (electronic or human), and bad business deals.  Mercury facilitates communication and like all energy points, it needs a period of rest as well.  Think of the times you've gone to your online bank at some obscure hour (Sunday morning at 3AM) only to find that the system is down for routine maintenance.  Mercury Retrograde gets so much bad press because we are supposed to slow down and we don't, and that's when and why accidents happen.  The suggestion from astrologers to "lay low" during a Mercury Retrograde really has nothing to do with greater danger and more to do with the proper rhythm to employ during this phase, which now is from August 20 to September 11.  In the US chart Mercury is transiting the 10th House; the house of public responsibility, business, and large systems (think banking, education, government, military, and corporations).  Now is a good time for all large systems to review their books, reflect on their current status, review contracts, and reread documents pertaining to votes of law.  Do all the things involving review, reflection, and rest.  The same is true where Mercury is transiting your chart.

For the slower moving energy points, beginning with Jupiter, which I will talk about in conjunction with Uranus (because they are currently conjunct), the retrograde phases last longer and have broader and deeper impacts.  Jupiter began its retrograde phase on July 23 and will conclude this phase on November 17.  It will move back from Aries and into Pisces, suggesting that exploration and expansion need some more time on the "dreaming board" (Pisces) before being put into action (Aries).  In the US chart, the 4th House of Family and Culture and 5th House of Creativity and Children will be affected.  Essentially the proposed solutions to solve our financial crisis (that is impacting so many families) need review and reflection.  We also need new thinking and it needs to be more radical than we realize, which is what Uranus conjunct Jupiter and also retrograde moving back from Aries to Pisces tells us.  Uranus went retrograde, after just edging into Aries (less than 1 degree) July 5th, and will not be done until December 5th (well after the November elections are over).  Families in the US (4th House) have certainly gotten a shock (Uranus) to their dreams (Pisces) with this financial crisis.  Uranus was 15 degrees into its transit through Pisces when the crisis began (1/2008), and now the depth of the shock is sinking in with remaining high unemployment, deflation of home values, outstanding debt, and a long term out look for slow or no growth, and even retraction.  As a nation, we won't really feel the Aries push for innovative solutions until March 2011 since the retrograde phase will take Uranus all the way back to 26 degrees of Pisces.

We have another pair of energy points conjunct and retrograde, Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius right on top of the US natal Moon.  Chiron started its retrograde phase June 4 and it will last until October 31.  Neptune started its retrograde phase May 31 and will remain retrograde until November 6.  Chiron deals with the wound we must heal while Neptune deals with our dreams and delusions; these two together are potent for deep, deep spiritual and psychological work and they are moving back and forth over the 3rd and 4th house of the US chart, the very depths of the US soul and activating the soul energy point.  This country is filled with idealistic notions, many of which have been achieved and most of which now have been corrupted.  This conjunction of energy is revealing that our capacity for bringing a new light (a certain kind of democracy and development of society) to the world has been tarnished by our greed (quite simply, the debt supercycle we face is a fundamental case of living beyond our means).  We have borrowed against the future to have more of everything now instead of pacing ourselves within our means.  Ideals have been perverted to such a degree that our nation's exalted status (generally speaking) is largely damage beyond repair.  We face a new age as the center of the world shifts to China, the only "solvent" country thanks to its dominance in manufacturing.  But keep in mind, this conjunction and retrograde energy is also affecting an area in China's chart, and Russia's, and all countries.  Personally we will each be getting a heavy dose of depth work involving wound/healing and dream/belief energy.  Welcome to the dark night of the soul.

Finally, Pluto is retrograde, and unlike the other four outer planets, it will not cross back over into Sagittarius.  The US got a very heavy dose of the "bill collector" when Pluto entered Capricorn in January of 2008.  The full disclosure of the over extension (Sagittarius expansion) is still unwinding and will do so for the duration of Pluto's transit through Capricorn (until 2025 ... yes, another 15 years).  Pluto is the transformer, the destroyer, and the rebuilder and his next work is in the area of big institutions (Capricorn) in the arena of the US chart dealing with Security and Values (2nd House).  We will see a tremendous change in those two areas of our lives as we learn to live with less and must make do with less. If our country had to settle its debts today, we would have to declare bankruptcy and essentially start over again.  In some ways, such action would be best and honest, though extremely painful.  If we never enter an outright Depression, we will likely experience recurring recessions because Pluto entered Capricorn at a time when large systems are overextended.  California and Illinois are precursors to what we can expect when the stimulus money runs out, especially since "no new taxes" is fully the accepted mantra.  Services will unwind and superstructures will begin to show bigger fractures than they already have.  Too big to fail is usually Plutonian code for "the process for failing has already begun."  But this need not be a terrible process, Pluto is also about rebirth and we will need to rebirth civilization over the next 20 years and hopefully we will be able to avoid the choices of the 1910's to 1930's when Pluto entered Cancer and rolled over the US Sun and opposed itself in 1935.  During this transit Pluto will oppose the US Sun (2014) and conjunct itself (2022).  We will experience the Pluto return for this nation, and all that has been sown in 240+ years will be reaped.  Jeff Green, perhaps the leading authority on Pluto, predicts, "On a national level it is interesting to remember that Pluto is in Capricorn in the US chart.  The day will come when the United States will 'fall from grace.'  One day it will not be the world power that it is today (writing in 1993); it will be one nation among many.  This will force a restructuring of the national Soul so that a new collective self-image can evolve.  The national sense of security (2nd House) linked with being a world power will have to change as a result of this evolutionary necessity." (Green, Pluto: The Evolutionary Journey of the Soul, 192).

Finally, I want to point out the large triangle or T-Square connecting the one outer planet not retrograde, Saturn (in Libra in the 11th House of Community) in opposition with Jupiter/Uranus (in Pisces in the 4th House of Family and Culture) and square Pluto (in Capricorn in the 2nd House of Security and Values), which itself (Pluto) squares Jupiter/Uranus.  We are dealing with a great deal of tension during this configuration and the balance point is in Cancer in the 8th House of Death and Transformation.  We must transform and in the vein of caring and nurturing (not rugged independence and "get yours while you can").  It is hard because the point/energy is "hidden" and not active because there is no energy point transiting in the house of the needed activation.  Yet the activation needs to happen on our country's Sun, its Life Path and it will also affect our relationships (Venus); how we grow, expand, and teach (Jupiter); how our country communicates (Mercury), and our destiny (Part of Fortune).  Exciting times to be sure.