Whistling Upwind at a Wall

Whistling Upwind at a Wall

This article is in response to a thorough analysis of Pluto in Capricorn affecting power structures etc. by Lynn Koiner,

www.lynnkoiner.com/astrology-articles/pluto-in-capricorn

I'm writing this just as the financial crisis is emerging in fall of 08, and I see the Libra conjunctions of the weekend of September 7 and Pluto turning direct in late Sagittarius back toward Capricorn as having coincided with an initiatory activity (Cardinal signs) to create equilibrium in an overly-leveraged financial market, beginning the process of balancing the equation away from an excessively inflated financial structure. (Jupiter in Capricorn squaring the planets in Libra in Sept and trine Saturn in Virgo, exact trine the same week Pluto entered Capricorn in Jan ‘08).

The fundamental area being affected by Pluto’s transit through Capricorn is a re-evaluation of our relationship to basic resources and survival mechanisms; ie: homes, food, energy sources, water etc. with a particular emphasis on peoples’ insecurity around their structural foundation of the home etc. (Capricorn). This is affecting the emotional security (Cancer) dependent on this foundation.

With this fear is a constriction, as people are witnessing the transformation of fundamental structures that have been taken for granted in their lives.

At the beginning of Pluto’s sojourn in Capricorn, we are witnessing the catharsis and destruction of old forms and structures. The public will experience denial first and then emotional release as the depth of the transformation we are experiencing becomes apparent.

One potential manifestation of this transformational crisis of Pluto in Capricorn, if it is not brought to light and experienced fully by humanity itself, will be the increase of volcanic and seismic activity around the Pacific rim and elsewhere.

It looks however, as if America is releasing this energy in the economic spectrum following the September square of Mercury, Mars and Venus in Libra to Jupiter in Capricorn. That Monday, September 8, 2008, the government announced the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The following new moon on Sept 29 ‘08 at 6 deg Libra accompanied a further development of this configuration. That Monday the house declined to pass the initial $700 Billion bailout bill and set off the wave of declines on Wall Street. It is likely that Mercury stationing direct on 15 October at 8 Libra will set the stage for the next phase of the transformation. This is the date of the final presidential debate of the 2008 campaign.

Look for another dramatic event as the lead up to the election intensifies on Wednesday October 22. The Sun enters Scorpio that day and Mars transits 13 Scorpio, where the Sun will be on Election Day Nov 4. Mercury is also passing over 13 Libra on October 22 with the Moon at 13 Leo square Mars. The moon is transiting conjunct Barack Obama’s natal sun.

We have long since lost a great deal of trust in America in the administration. Yet it is a participatory democracy. Our lack of personal responsibility and continued empowerment of a corrupt system now has an immediate consequence in the limitation of availability and means of distribution of basic resources such as shelter, food, energy etc.

Under the pressure of the immediate crisis, Congress has now acted to consolidate a huge amount of property as a consequence of the financial bailout bill just passed.

One potentially unnoticed effect, at least initially, of the consolidation/socialization of Freddy Mac, Fannie Mae, mortgage-laden banks etc. is that the Government now owns a tremendous amount of fundamental structural resources. Many people have just had their mortgage acquired by the government.

The centralization of power, even with the likelihood of Barack Obama getting elected president in November, will continue. Obama's natal Jupiter at the beginning of Aquarius will be transited by Jupiter during the inauguration in January of 09. So I predict that he will be elected and with Aquarius rising, implement at least a glimmer of hope based on forward-thinking Aquarian ideas in the midst of this transformation.

A closer look at the horary astrology of election day November 4 shows the Moon in Capricorn during a long void of course cycle from 2:48 am EDT until 8:02 pm EDT when it enters Aquarius. The last aspect in Capricorn is a sextile to Mars in Scorpio. This indicates that the contraction of the economy and the wars over shared resources in the Middle East will remain as the popular emotional concerns for most of Election Day. As the election results come in from the East Coast and the polls close on the West Coast, the more futuristic Aquarius Moon becomes prominent. It will feel like the beginning of a renewed promise of hope for the American dream in the midst of a mess.

The larger theme at work in the Election Day chart is the T-square between the idealistic future of Uranus in Pisces and the practical necessity and constriction of Saturn in Virgo with enthusiastically charming Venus at the focal point in Sagittarius.

Whoever wins this election, the next president will be called upon to balance these two forces, steering us toward the future while dealing with a host of inherited limiting consequences in the midst of structural realignment. Chiron, the planetoid orbiting between Saturn and Uranus, holds a key to this resolution. Chiron is the teacher of heros, the wounded centaur Its current placement in Aquarius and approach toward Neptune indicates that the emphasis on progressive humanitarian ideals will trump the reliance on security in the game of politics. Chiron is also transiting Barack Obama’s Aquarius ascendant at 17 Aquarius through early 2009.

Obama has captured the imagination of the disillusioned and potentially rebellious US populace. This is also evidenced by his natal T-square in fixed signs with Mercury (Leo) opposing Jupiter (Aq) with Neptune in Scorpio in the 9th House at the focal point. The T-square by transit to Obama’s natal sun at 13 Leo on Election Day from the Scorpio sun and North node in Aquarius is activating a potential solution for the economic scenario that emerged with the September 08 planetary configuration.

Even so, John McCain will not be ignored. It is clear that in this case he represents the Saturnian pole of the Saturn-Uranus opposition on Election Day. He is perceived as the more folksy yet mature choice between the two candidates. His seventy-two years of age is accentuated by the proximity of Saturn in Virgo to his natal Sun in Virgo. His age however, is softened by his compassion gained through imprisonment in the Vietnam War and his naturally jolly demeanor. This is evidenced in the T-square configuration in his chart between Saturn (Pisces) and Neptune (Virgo) with Jupiter at the focal point in Sagittarius.

Just as Obama’s Sun at 12 to 13 degrees Leo connected with the above mentioned configuration and subsequent alignments at 13 deg of various signs, so does McCain’s Mars at 12 to 13 degrees Leo. In this case, however, he is perceived by many as the hawkish, assertive candidate who is coming on with a little too much rash energy to judiciously handle the economic crisis. His temporary postponement of the first presidential debate and subsequent photo op instead of astute negotiations prior to the financial bailout vote in Congress came across as ego-based and impulsive.

McCain does have the benefit here of appearing stronger in relation to dealing with terrorism and America’s enemies abroad as the honorable old soldier who has served his country. His reputation as a stubborn maverick is exhibited in the square between Uranus in Taurus and the Leo Mars. The Mars trine to Jupiter in Sagittarius gives him foreign policy experience and the wisdom of a tested veteran of the Senate. McCain should receive a spooky boost in popularity on October 31 before the election as Venus in Sagittarius transits his natal Jupiter.

As Jupiter is a natural in Sagittarius, so is McCain’s joviality a strong factor in his popularity. This pre-election bounce will tighten the race toward the White House but it will likely be a case of too little too late.

While McCain has a good deal of foreign policy experience, Barack Obama inherently has the capacity for international diplomacy by nature of his mixed racial heritage and the cross-cultural international experiences of his childhood. He will likely succeed in bringing the United States back into accord with its allies with a much more multilateral approach to foreign relations. His willingness to negotiate will be a case of the pen being mightier than the sword.

However, the hard stone walls of the hole we have dug ourselves, both militarily and financially, will confront the next president almost immediately. Obama’s idealism will be short-lived in the face of the entrenched structure confronting him and the necessities of the situation.

Pluto transiting Capricorn however, will eventually accompany the destruction of that very structure.

In regards to the war and the hangover from Pluto traversing Sagittarius, Obama will focus on relations with Pakistan (also Leo) and eradicating the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He will be frustrated in this initially at least, with his natal Mars in Virgo inconjunct Neptune's position in late Aquarius until mid 2009. Also Saturn is transiting conjunct his natal Mars at 23 Virgo in late August of 2009, not quite reaching it before going retrograde at the end of this year.

Afghanistan is fundamentally Capricorn in temperament. Dry mountainous rugged terrain occupied by an impoverished populace with a strong Neptunian influence.

With Neptune in Aquarius and Pluto entering Capricorn again, the drug trafficking and production of Opium, tremendously expanded in Afghanistan since the occupation by the coalition, will come into focus as an issue preventing substantial economic growth in the country.

It is possible that there will be a shift to a new economy in the region, but I don't see it anytime soon.

What will eventually happen, is that the US, exhausted and broke, will tire of invading other countries under the guise of liberation (Neptune in Aquarius again) for the purpose of control of energy resources (Pluto in Capricorn).

When a redistribution of wealth and resources begins occurring through a humanitarian response to world hunger and impoverishment, then terrorism will cease as a response to the inequity between the haves and have-nots. This unequal distribution of resources is more explicitly the motivation behind most revolutionary actions in history, rather than the specific agenda of a militant interpretation of any ideology.

After entering Aquarius in January of 09 near the inauguration, Jupiter is conjunct Neptune in Aquarius in May of 09 as Neptune stations direct at 26 deg. We may see with this alignment an initial move toward redirecting the energy of the “war on terror” toward the needs of the populace in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

It is likely though, that the privileged world will not experience a global shift toward compassion without experiencing limitation and the destruction of its consumptive foundations with more consumer-oriented populations sharing the pain of poverty themselves. Humans grow through crisis. For the United States, the paramount example of luxury on the planet during the last century, this will be felt as a severe tightening of the belt lasting at least until the Juptiter-Saturn conjunction at the beginning of Aquarius in 2020. Pluto doesn't finally transit into Aquarius until 2023.

One initiative embodying Aquarius solutions during the catharsis of Pluto in Capricorn will be an expanded investment in sustainable energy technology aided by the distribution of information through the internet and communications technology.

As part of the financial bailout bill, Congress passed and Bush signed the extension of the renewable energy tax credit for solar and wind. In the near future, investment in large scale renewable energy projects will still be hampered by the credit crunch.

We will witness however, a tremendous stimulus to basic research and development of new materials necessary to reduce the cost of renewable energy production and make it more realizable as a replacement for subsidized fossil fuel energy sources.

Once elected, Barack Obama will inevitably experience diminished support from his own liberal base as the shine wears off and he faces the necessity to balance futuristic goals and humanitarian concerns with the legacy of war, debt and economic constriction. A dramatic source of this disillusionment will occur if Obama persists in pursuing nuclear power as a viable energy source. The Plutonian shadows of Nuclear energy are nuclear weapons and nuclear waste. Addressing the challenges of potential Armageddon and toxic radiation of the environment are necessary before nuclear energy can be implemented safely.

It is likely that a new invention allowing cheap reprocessing of nuclear waste into harmless material will be brought to light within the next generation. However, we’re talking alchemy as perceived by the current scientific paradigm. It is not until humanity can accept certain Aquarian paradigm shifts such as a resonance-based understanding of vibration as underlying matter, and a heartfelt realization of sharing in international brotherhood/sisterhood that this will occur.

Note that in contrast to the symbolic earthiness of Capricorn, the glyph for Aquarius can be seen as two standing waves in resonance with each other, vibratory motion with the illusion of solidity. We are collectively experiencing a lightening of the heart and a loosening of the steel cables binding us to our material preoccupations. It really is getting better. This is just the necessary cathartic destruction of the old before the new can be born.

With a successful reorientation toward this new paradigm will come a world undreamed of as yet, including abundant energy and enough for everyone’s need, not everyone’s greed, as Gandhi would say. So again, the message of the Uranus-Saturn polarity is that while the lofty ideals of new era are possible, the basic requirement to focus on the details and get it done individually while staying grounded in practical reality remains a necessity. Think globally, act locally. The elders have their wisdom as well. In the midst of our collective folly, there is also human brilliance and kindness.