In the previous installment, I discussed the Saturn-Pluto cycle in general and looked at the previous such conjunction in Capricorn: the conjunction of 549 CE associated with the Plague of Justinian that spread through Europe, even as far as the British Isles, during that period. That example should alert us to some possible ramifications of the present conjunction, again in Capricorn, for Capricorn has much to do with hierarchies, particularly of the governmental sort. And, as we have seen, Pluto rules viruses and other rapidly mutating organisms that can cause disease in humans. The 549 AD conjunction had much to do with the dissolving of the remains of the Roman Empire, certainly the weakening of it. As I said in previous installments, William H. McNeil has detailed (in Plagues and Peoples) the influence of microparasites on the well-being and sustainability of human societies, particularly when we join our understanding of microparasites with and understanding of their varied interrelationships with macroparasites such as armies of conquest and, indeed, many long-standing social hierarchies in which elite groups have a parasitic relationship with much larger non-elite groups. In this installment, we will look at the most recent Saturn-Pluto conjunction.

As I said before, transiting (TR) Saturn conjoined (TR) Pluto conjoined on January 12, 2020. Let’s look at some particulars related to that event:

A. The conjunction took place in Capricorn.
B.  More specifically, it took place in the 23^rd degree (22+) of Capricorn.
C. Saturn will move – and has, as I write this, already moved, though he will return to Capricorn for a bit before returning – into Aquarius.

A. That the conjunction took place in Capricorn suggests, among other possibilities, that Saturnian elements can influence Plutonic ones, at least for a while. According to astrological tradition, Saturn rules both Capricorn and Aquarius, two signs having much to do with public life. Thus we would expect Saturn to have great influence in this conjunction, though the example of 549 CE surely suggests that Pluto, the outermost planet of the pair, will eventually have his or her say.[1] At first, status quo forces will attempt to control the virus and/or the death-rebirth pattern; after all, TR Saturn rules Capricorn. Watch for government forces to further their restrictive purposes.[2] However, though the current aspect can certainly suggest an empowerment (Pluto) of status quo arrangements (Capricorn), it can also suggest a necessary transformation (Pluto) of hierarchies (Saturn and Capricorn), quite possibly forcing those hierarchies to go through metaphorical or literal death-and-rebirth processes. This remark has particular relevance for hegemonic situations.

All of this sounds dire, and I see it as such, though I hold out the possibility that those hierarchies could transform in helpful ways. We can already see signs of this more positive result, as millions of people have shown great resiliency and commitment as they took upon themselves the necessary disciplines (Saturn) to deal with the virus (Pluto), showing the possibility, in the process, of bringing about a necessary transformation. After all, as various city and state governments announced regulations of all sorts, millions of people voluntarily cooperated, bringing about the results we see, in places like New York (city and state).Though many people have died, we have also seen, despite the interference of some obdurate leaders, a transformation (Pluto) of social forms and social orderings (Saturn), though the processes remain in fledgling form at this time. Saturn-Pluto symbolizes concentrated energy that after small, sometimes hidden, germination, can bring about enormous changes, a statement that obviously applies to viruses, but that also applies to individuals as they, through a multitude of decisions that seem small in themselves, can transform situations that had seemed completely entrenched and immovable. Pluto works through chain-reactions that begin with something very small but that bring about enormous change, a statement that applies to viruses and to powers lurking in the hearts of people. Thus we see a potential transformation not only of our societies and institutions, but also of ourselves.

BTW #1: In your horoscope, look to the house in which the conjunction occurs, along with any aspects to natal planets and/or angles, to understand the effect (so to speak) of the conjunction on you.
BTW #2: If any government, whether of a city, a state, or a nation, attempts to go back to “business as usual” after the conjunction, that government will make the worst mess of things. Pluto insists on change. It sets up the conditions to make transformation possible, and it sets the process in motion with inexorable force. Saturn and Capricorn symbolize, in different ways, traditional structures – the entities that must change.

B. The conjunction took place in the 23rd degree of Capricorn, a degree that has the following for its Sabian symbol (according to Marc Edmund Jones):

Two awards for bravery in war…a symbol of man’s resourcefulness in developing new areas of experience on the practical side of life, and of his genius for dramatizing a broad-minded self-expenditure…The keyword is RECOGNITION. When positive, the degree is the social stewardship which demands a continual self-dedication, and when negative, strutting self-exploitation.   —    M.E. Jones: The Sabian Symbols in Astrology

The degree points to the need for all people, “on the practical side of life,” to act with broadmindedness, and the “when negative” part certainly will encourage many of us to think of a certain Donald Trump. “Recognition” certainly suggests that everyone (for the conjunction has world-wide relevance) must recognize the problem, seeing it accurately in order to participate in solutions. In other words, the symbol points to a demand, not just on Trump or other government officials, but on all of us, to see problems accurately and to respond with a sense of social responsibility “on the practical side of life.” That the conjunction took place in this degree suggests that the symbolism will arise in various ways throughout the phases of the current cycle. Saturn-Pluto can certainly manifest as empowered social responsibility, but it will not do so automatically.

C. After completing his sojourn in Capricorn, Saturn will move into Aquarius, where he will spend over two years. He has arrived there as I write this, but, as noted above, he will soon retrograde back into Capricorn before returning to Aquarius some months down the line.[3] Saturn rules both signs, sharing rulership in Aquarius with Uranus. Thus we find Saturn, ruler of structures and with a close connection to status-quo realities whether considered as idea-structures of quasi-cemented social structures, in a position of strength.

Aquarius has to do with groups, with one-to-many relationships of various kinds, particularly in the public sphere. We can expect some restriction on such social dynamic, and though we can also expect some release of pressure after Saturn turns retrograde in May and returns to Capricorn, he will return to Aquarius later in the year, suggesting a return of the social restrictions we have witnessed with his initial foray into Aquarius. (Note that Saturn’s entry into Aquarius in late March coincided with increased restrictions on such relationships.[4]) Because Saturn will spend another two-plus years in Aquarius, we should consider it a reasonable concern that authority regimes (Saturn) will demand increased restrictions on Aquarian matters (e.g. socially-defined hopes; group involvements; the need for progressive change in the way we work with groups – or, or course, countries). Saturn also has to do with useful action, so it seems that we’ll have to make our social interactions useful, not merely pleasurable.

Human beings at present apparently have a tendency to project Saturn onto authority systems and authority figures. As I have argued in at least two of my astrology books, we end up with restrictive systems of authority at least partly because so many people “negativize” Saturn: thus they relegate him to the unconscious (Saturn functioning as ruler of Tartarus, one of the underworlds) and experience him as a projection. However, recent and current events suggest that people can make conscious use of Saturn through necessary and helpful personal disciplines. In other words, we can withdraw our projections from problematic authority figures as we take on more personal responsibility.[5] Thus we can see some hope arising in the present penumbras; the hope can increase if we can all “own” our own Saturn-capacities by governing our own lives. Thus we can see ourselves as the agents of transformation, we can take responsibility (Saturn) for our relations with others and with society as a whole – and not merely in our periodic visits to voting booths. We can help to build social forms that respond to the need for the transformation (Pluto) of hierarchies; we can move from “strutting self-exploitation,” to a “social stewardship which demands a continual self-dedication.” Perhaps the viral pandemic can serve as a catalyst in this process as people see the inadequacy of governments in such matters.

A final thought: In my book on the Mayan Long Count – The Machine Stops: The Mayan Long Count Through a Western Lens – I suggested that the new Long Count (the 5125 year period that started in 2012) will find humans moving toward smaller, independent societies instead of the huge states, empires, and trans-national corporations characteristic of the previous Long Count. Among the many factors influencing viral spreads, we can certainly number globalization and nation-state rivalries. We can all probably remember our teachers telling us, in schools that developed in lockstep with capitalistic development, about the wonders of trade. Perhaps we took those statements as generally-valid truths, but many purportedly valid truths function as collective deceptions. After all, for many centuries, viruses and other disease organisms have found it convenient to travel along trade routes. Thus the spread of microparasitism; those same routes also had a close connection to macroparasitic patterns.[6]

Next: What About Les Etats Unis?

[1] Pluto seems to transcend gender-distinctions. Perhaps we should use Timothy Leary’s convenient little gender-unifying pronoun: hir.

[2] See Naomi Klein’s writings, particularly The Shock Doctrine and Disaster Capitalism.

[3] Saturn left Capricorn on March 22; he will return to Capricorn on July 1 and re-enter Aquarius on December 17.

[4] Remember, in considering this, that signs have no definite boundaries. As Saturn moved through the final degrees of Capricorn – in, say, late February and early March – we could all discern the need for restriction in these areas.

[5] Relevant reading: Stanley Milgram’s Obedience to Authority.

[6] I have borrowed these terms from William H. McNeill’s Plagues and Peoples.

ASTROLOGY, POLITICS, AND HISTORY – Tim Lyons – April 16, 2020

The Saturn-Pluto Cycle: In General

1. In General
2. In Particular
   

In this installment, we will discuss the Saturn-Pluto conjunctions and cycle in a mostly-general way; in the next installment, we look more closely at the current Saturn-Pluto conjunction.

In general, the Saturn-Pluto cycle symbolizes the development of form and structure out of Plutonic matters – matters like viruses, on the one hand, and psychological complexes, on the other. Consider those as images of the dark side, and the dark side generally appears dominant, at least on a collective level, during Saturn-Pluto conjunctions. However, the aspect also suggests a drive to transform our view of the world in and around us and thus to effect, through personal power and organization, transformative change in the collective – for though Pluto transforms, the transformations begin in the mind. Pluto takes us beyond many boundaries, particularly the one between inner world and outer world; thus the connection between inner work – work on the intensional world (the mind)– and extensional change. This may seem strange, or even ridiculously idealistic; however, remember what I said in an earlier installment about the Pluto-dynamic: that enormous changes can grow, via chain reactions, from very small beginnings. Witness the current pandemic.

Saturn-Pluto aspects, particularly the ones that take place in Capricorn, can set in motion cycles of development that can transform the structures of the extensional realm. The previous conjunction in this series (i.e. the conjunctions in Capricorn[1]) took place in 549 AD. The Plague of Justinian broke out during that period, transforming the Roman Empire. Justinian himself contracted the disease in 541, and it spread to the British Isles by 547. After long struggle, Rome, weakened by the plague, which ravaged port cities far more seriously than others (apparently because the rats who carried the bacillus travelled by boat), fell to Totila and the Ostrogoths in 546. William McNeill writes:

…the failure of Justinian’s efforts to restore imperial unity to the Mediterranean can be attributed in good part to the diminution of imperials resources stemming from the plague. Equally, the failure of Roman and Persian forces to offer more than token resistance to the Moslem armies that swarmed out of Arabia so suddenly in 634 becomes easier to understand in the light of the demographic disasters that repeatedly visited the Mediterranean coastlands from 542 onward, and accompanied the Moslems in the first critical stage of their imperial expansion. More generally, the perceptible shift away from the Mediterranean as the preeminent center of European civilization and the increase in importance of more northerly lands…was powerfully assisted by the long series of plagues, which confined their ravages almost entirely to territories within easy reach of Mediterranean ports.[2]

Justinian, recovered from plague and struggling with external enemies, did not make conditions any easier for afflicted citizens of the empire: he extracted taxes ruthlessly, sometimes demanding of the living taxes owed by those who had died.[3] But the Empire had weakened greatly, so invasions from the north followed shortly thereafter. These lessons of that period for our own time seem clear, both as regards government hierarchies and the problems related to trade (as in “globalization”); the pattern accords well with those described by William H. McNeill (Plagues and Peoples) regarding the relations between micro- and macro-parasites (e.g. viruses and military/hegemonic machines respectively).[4]

Saturn-Pluto interactions suggest a transformation of and/or empowerment of Saturn’s structures; however, on a collective level, the latter generally gain at least temporary ascendancy. Thus we see, at present, government incursions into citizens’ lives and even, as in Venezuela, attempts to increase imperial dominance under the cover of the pandemic. However, because government hierarchies will often resist the required changes, they may eventually suffer great defeats, often with catastrophic consequences for those who live under the hierarchies’ hegemonic sway. (See previous paragraphs.).

In a period of collective structural transformation, we should note the presence in our world of two types of structure, one of which resists change and one of which thrives on it. [5] In the former category, put all government structures as well as humankind’s various feats of engineering; most such structures result from changes, often brought about by humans. The latter category – the sub-lunar realm – contains the forms of the organic world, forms that consist of changes even as they can effect changes in their environment. In the former, we find suspension bridges, buildings, and highways; in the latter, we find viruses, bacteria, trees, and spinach. The things in the latter category thrive on transformation, as they don’t survive unless they transform constantly – for example, viruses. In humankind’s engineering feats, by contrast, change generally indicates either the end of function or problems related to it. Think of Galloping Gerty – or even rust and rot, examples of second-category things involving themselves with first-category items The former come under the rulership of Saturn; the latter come under the rulership of the Moon. In the natural world – the “sub-lunar realm” – structure and form consist of operations instead of solid “things” – or we might say, operations play the defining role. Saturnian structures, by contrast, generally result from operations; though they may serve a function, they generally do so effectively to the extent that they do not change form on a macroscopic level.[6]

In the previous paragraph, I offered rust and rot as examples of 2^nd-category processes affecting 1^st category “things” – also processes, of course, though Saturn, functioning as a trickster, would convince us otherwise. Viruses, another 2^nd-category process, can obviously affect Saturn’s “structures”: though viruses do not seem to effect buildings and bridges, they can wreak havoc with social structures of all sorts, as the historical record clearly shows. Astrologically, Pluto will affect – force a transformation in – Saturn’s structures.

The Saturn-Pluto conjunction can also symbolize the development of social restriction (Saturn) from unconscious complexes and phobias related to control (Pluto). Viewed more hopefully, the cycle developing from the conjunction can symbolize the development of transformed social structures from people’s sense of shared value (Pluto as the natural ruler of the 8^th house) and from a sense, developed or developing in the collective, of the need for a transformation of delusions (Neptune), social responsibility (Saturn), and even human inventiveness (Uranus) – the recognition of the need for inventiveness to further goals that benefit people, not just the structures themselves[7], for social structures to do similarly, and to move from delusion to compassion. We can see all of the above in the present situation, at least in seed form.

[1] Though the Saturn-Pluto conjunctions take place roughly every three and a half decades, with the variation resulting from Pluto’s changing speed, the ones in Capricorn take place much less often, and in no pattern that I can discern. Remember, too, in this discussion, the evidence accumulated by Richard Tarnas that the conjunction’s energies appear for many years to either side of the year of the precise aspect.

[2] William H. McNeill, Plagues and Peoples, pp. 141-2.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_of_Justinian.

[4] File Justinian’s come under Mr. McNeill’s “macroparasitism”; file the plague bacillus under “microparasitism.”

[5] Saturn rules some organic structures, though, with the skeleton as a prime example. The boundaries between rigidity and flexibility seem – well, flexible! I sometimes say that Saturn’s structures tend toward rigidity while the Moon’s tend toward flexibility and change. I prefer to say not, as in the traditional astrological writings, and even many today, that the skeleton “is ruled by Saturn”, or even that Saturn “rules” the skeleton, pure and simple, but to say, rather, that Saturn rules the skeleton insofar as the skeleton qualifies as “rigid.” Similarly with discussions of other astrological “ruler” designations.

[6] The apparent stability of such structures deludes us, of course; Saturn often functions as a trickster. A steel bridge will eventually collapse even if well-constructed; nothing lasts forever. Nevertheless, the function of the structure depends on some degree of stability. With Saturnian structures, proper function depends on some degree of unchangingness, whereas with lunar structures, unchangingness generally indicates ill-health or death.

[7] From an astrological perspective, the huge surveillance industry shows Saturn coopting Uranus, a process with strong mythic roots.

Astrology, Politics, and History:

An Astrological Perspective on the Viral Outbreak – Part I

                  Tim Lyons — timlyons1106@gmail.com; 720-338-3658

This link will take you to a video presentation of some of the material in this blog:

Let’s look at the astrological signatures for the current viral pandemic – and let’s do so in (probably) four installments:

1. Two installments on the viral pandemic per se (i.e. without reference to its development in various nations):

   Looking at the various archetypal relations between Saturn and Pluto, with an emphasis on Pluto penetrating into Saturnian realms.

   b. Looking at the current situation from a cyclic perspective: as Saturn moves away from Pluto, we find ourselves in a new Saturn-Pluto cycle, with Saturnian forms (often social or hierarchical ones) growing out of matters-Plutonian.

2. Two installments on the interactions between the horoscopes of nations, with particular emphasis on the United States, and the matters discussed in #1 (above).

The recent Saturn-Pluto conjunction serves as the major astrological signature of the pandemic. The first announcements of the virus we now call COVID19 emerged from China in December; the Saturn-Pluto conjunction took place on January 12 at 22+ Capricorn. The chart below shows the dates and zodiac placements of all conjunctions and oppositions between those two planets during the 20^th century. Because the events associated with the archetypes appear some time before the precise aspect, we should feel surprised that the events that carry the archetypal energy (so to speak) will appear before the precise conjunction. I often liken these situations to the periods preceding hurricanes on the East Coast where I grew up: the waves would begin to get bigger and bigger long before the first clouds appeared in the sky, and if you didn’t get your boats out of the water before the storm hit, you’d regret it later. In the present case, I suspect that the virus made its jump from animals (chickens, apparently) to humans some time before the first announcements came out of China, with the delay due not only to the actions of the Chinese power-structure (Saturn-Pluto), but also because the virus had not spread enough for doctors or epidemiologists to recognize it as a problem. (See discussion below of the basic Pluto-dynamics.)

1/12/2020                        conjunction       22+ Capricorn

8/5/2001                          opposition         12+ Gemini
11/2/2001                        opposition         13+ Gemini
5/25/2002                        opposition         16+ Gemini

11/8/1982                        conjunction       27+ Libra

4/23/1965                        opposition          13+ Pisces
8/17/1965                                                       15+ Pisces
2/20/1966                                                       17+ Pisces

8/11/47                            conjunction         13+ Leo

2/17/1931                        opposition            19+ Capricorn
7/8/1931                                                           20+ Capricorn
12/13/1931                                                       21+ Capricorn

10/4/1914                        conjunction           2+ Cancer
11/1/1914                                                          2+ Cancer
5/19/1915                                                      0+ Cancer

A few technical notes: 1. Sometimes, due to retrogradation, these aspects recur three times (possibly more) within about a year. 2. The zodiac degrees refer to Saturn’s position; with the conjunctions, these will coincide with Pluto’s; the oppositions find Pluto precisely opposed to Saturn (for example, if we find Saturn at 12+ Gemini, we will find Pluto at 12+ Sagittarius[1]). 3. All degree-measures refer to the tropical zodiac. 4. Michael Tarnas’ research strongly suggests that the events associated with these planetary interactions and bearing their archetypal signature, extend through the period when the planets remain within 15 degrees of each other.5. Note that the cycle runs for about 35 years, with the exact duration varying because Pluto moves at various speeds through the zodiac (due to its eccentric orbit).

Pluto rules viruses, among other things and processes; Saturn rules the structures or containments of society, among other things and processes. Saturn has a lot to do with national boundaries, which viruses do not respect. Pluto, ruler of the underworld, undermines and/or infiltrates things-Saturnian; plutocratic enterprises, whether viral or plutocratic (for Pluto, not surprisingly, rules plutocracies) have no respect for, and suffer no limitation from, such things as laws, national boundaries, hierarchies, or people’s sense of who they “are” or of their own importance.

Not surprisingly, the Saturn-Pluto alignments coincide with attempts by plutocratic elites to expand their influence within and through the status-quo arrangements of society; Michael Tarnas’ research (see Cosmos and Psyche) certainly suggests such an interpretation, among many others. Developments of that type might remind us, too, of Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine, in which Ms. Klein provides abundant evidence that when a national government experiences a shock – with 911, closely coinciding with the previous Saturn-Pluto opposition; see above – offering an excellent example – plutocratic forces will do what they can, sometimes seeming to operate solely out of survival instinct (as with viruses), and sometimes driven by the careful planning of rapacious humans seeking to take over more of the public sector and restrict (Saturn) human freedom– the plutocratic process, also driven, it seems, by unconscious complexes, also ruled, at least in part, by Pluto. s

So in brief: Plutonic things or processes, whether driven by human rapaciousness or the drive of viruses to survive, undermine or penetrate Saturnian limits and boundaries. In fact, it seems that Saturnian hierarchies, insofar as we find them within highly concentrated human populations, often present excellent fields of operation for these of these Pluto-driven processes, as plutocrats find hierarchical societies excellent fields in which to flourish, and as viruses seem to thrive when hosts congregate together. None of this means that all Saturn-Pluto conjunctions bring viral outbreaks, but only that such outbreaks serve as symbolically-relevant means for the aspects’ expression in the world..

Why do astrologers say that Pluto rules viruses? Let’s look at four reasons:

1. Like viruses, Pluto moves in secret, going among mortals unseen, with what seems mysterious intent. In Greek mythology, Hades, the Greek version of the Roman Pluto, ruler of the underworld, wore a helmet when moving among humans; that helmet conferred invisibility. Viruses, too, move in secret. We can’t see them, and in many cases, even the results may initially remain invisible, for in many cases, a person can carry and transmit a virus for some days, even weeks, before symptoms appear.

   Interestingly, the secrecy may also suggest questions about Pluto’s gender, for though the Greeks and Romans saw Pluto as male, many other cultures had females as rulers of the underworld. I prefer not to say that Pluto either “is male” or “is female,” as Pluto’s nature does not seem describable in either-or terms (or in terms of what it allegedly “is”). Pluto’s “real” gender seems hidden perhaps difficult to express in either-or forms – and, in general, we should abandon either-or logic when dealing with Pluto, thinking instead in terms of both-and. For example, we can see Pluto as both male and female. The planet we call “Pluto” actually qualifies as a double planet: two bodies rotate around a common center; “Pluto” refers to both bodies, though they go by different names.[2] The “two genders” may, so to speak, act similarly.

2. Also, like viruses, the mythic Pluto’s injunctions could not be altered. Humans have had great difficulty finding cures for viral problems, and in many cases, even a temporarily successful vaccine becomes much less effective as the virus transforms itself (see quotation below) – reminding astrologers of Pluto’s connection with transformations, particularly those that seem inherent in the natural world.
3. Here we see a third reason: Pluto and viruses both transform themselves. Pluto, ruler of Scorpio, rules major natural transformations, often involving death and rebirth patterns: organic life dies and enriches – with Pluto as a natural plutocrat– the soil, empowering, beneath the surface, the next spring’s rebirth. (Many astrologers, including yours truly, feel that Pluto has its exaltation in Aries, the sign of the spring equinox.) And, of course, just as Pluto rules transformations that seem integral to the continuance of organic life, so viruses transform, making it difficult for humans to come up with effective vaccines. It seems that many seasonal flu viruses change enough that last year’s inoculation may not work for this year.[3] In Plagues and Peoples, William H. McNeill writes,

   The problem [of creating a vaccine for viral influenza] is complicated by the fact that the influenza virus is itself unstable and alters details of its chemical structure at frequent intervals. Any new and widespread epidemic is therefore almost sure to originate with a virus that has changed enough to escape the antibodies last year’s vaccine can create in human bloodstreams. (p. 255 of the 1976 edition)

4. Pluto has to do with processes that begin with something small yet, via a chain-reaction, have widespread effect. You don’t need all that much plutonium, for example, to bring about enormous and long-lasting destruction; and as we can see from the present world-pandemic, viruses, small buggers that they are, and even if they get started in what appear insignificant ways, can wreak significant havoc for a long time, as chain reactions appear not only in the extensional effects of influenza, but also in the internal processes of the virus itself.

Viral epidemics seem to achieve world-wide status quickly and readily now due to the crowded and mobile conditions of modern life (particularly since the discovery of Pluto in 1930), the quickness and readiness apparently arising at least in part because of the speed and pervasiveness of modern transportation – through, one might say, the processes we associate with globalization, with that term thinly veiling myriad plutonic processes – i.e. rule by the plutocrats – that William McNeill would surely describe as “macroparasitism,” a term that plays a major role in his study – and which he distinguishes from “microparasitism,” the kind associated with viruses and other microorganisms. We will return to these matters in a future installment.

Sources:

Plagues and Peoples, by William H. McNeill
Cosmos and Psyche, by Richard Tarnas
Tables of Planetary Phenomena, by Neil F. Michelson
The People’s Chronology, by James Trager
The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein

[1] Note that this one fell right on the US ascendant-descendant axis, a matter we will discuss in a future installment.
[2] BTW: these remarks have relevance to whether Pluto “is” a planet or “is” something else entirely.
[3] Some of the preceding may also apply to bacteria, and I would agree that Pluto also has at least partial rulership over those critters.

Horoscopes: note that the Sanders horoscope is set for midnight; I do not have an accurate birthtime.

Bernie (Midnight) Sanders

Joe Biden __ Natal

DonaldTrump_Natal

ASTROLOGY, POLITICS, AND HISTORY — 03-12-20   TIM LYONS

You might not believe this, but sometimes people ask me to give them some insight about the upcoming election. For example, my friend Ballyhoo accosted me in the street yesterday – distantly, though, for he has a fear of the coronavirus, a subject we can look into in the next installment – by saying, “Dude, whaddya think about this upcoming presidential election?”

I, possibly in a fit of pique, said, “Look, Ballyhoo, just read Ambrose Bierce and leave me to my Chinese green tea.”

“Who?” he said.

“Ambrose Bierce, lad: author of The Devil’s Dictionary, a book everyone should keep on his or her bedside table. Bierce referred to elections as, if I recall correctly, ‘auctions of stolen goods’ and to an elector as one who ‘enjoys the sacred privilege of voting for the man of another man’s choice.’ He referred to a vote as an ‘instrument and symbol of a freeman’s power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country,’ and he saw politics as ‘a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles; the conduct of public affairs for private advantage.’ What more do you need to know?”

“No, no,” protested the infinitely bothersome Ballyhoo. “Be serious. I mean from an astrological perspective, dude. Like, you know, who’s going to win?”

After telling him in no uncertain terms that, really, no-one would win, that everyone has ended up losing in all elections since who-knows-when, I finally relented, still somewhat upset that he had       interrupted my reading of The Condition of Man, and, as he had asked me to “be serious,” responded more-or-less as follows:

Before the 2016 election, I warned some people that Trump looked stronger from an astrological perspective than the media gave him credit for. I had offered a series of reasons:

1. The Donald had, in 2016, his progressed Sun closely conjunct his Leo ascendant and natal Mars. The progression surely suggested that the fellow would emerge strongly, aggressively, and with a good chance of success from whatever back closets he had recently and not-so-recently spent his time in.
2. The Donald also had transiting (TR) Saturn moving upward in his horoscope (i.e. moving from the 4^th house toward the 10^th), while his opponent, a career politician of a somewhat (in my opinion) unpleasant sort,[1] had Saturn moving downward in hers. Usually the candidate with Saturn moving upward defeats the one with Saturn going downward. (Actually, this principle, which I think I got from Grant Lewi, arises from an interesting assumption that may no longer hold up in all cases, but a discussion of that matter would take us rather far afield.)
3. He had strongly supportive aspects from TR Uranus to his natal (N) Sun-Moon opposition (a sextile to his Sun, a trine to his Moon). Surely this augured well, particularly considering the next item. [2]
4. That same TR Uranus formed a square to the U.S. Mercury in Cancer. Thus Donald’s (I have adopted Ms. Clinton’s way of referring to him, remembering that the two had at one time surely qualified as “thick as thieves” (a saying I use advisedly). And besides, hadn’t Donald said of Republicans that they were, and presumably remain, ‘so stupid that they’ll vote for anyone?) Uranus transits put him in step (so to speak) with the national zeitgeist).

Let’s note two points about all of that.

First, none of those factors remain in effect in 2020. Thus Donald seems a much weaker candidate this time around, a statement I will support (though not in this installment, as I want to get back to my reading) in at least two ways: he doesn’t have the beneficial transits that he had last time; and he has some major challenges that he didn’t have last time. Hold onto those thoughts.

Second, regarding the national zeitgeist, we should note that the facts I will now discuss have also hurt Bernie Sanders’ candidacy (and that of Ms. Warren, but let’s try to keep things simple for now). With TR Uranus squaring the US Mercury in 2016, the people found themselves in the mood for a change. Uranus symbolizes revolutionary change; it represents what I sometimes call the Jack Kerouac Approach to Existence, a phrase referring to something Dean Moriarity (I think) says in On the Road: we don’t know where we’re going, but we’re going; and we don’t know what it’s like there, but it’s not here; and we’ve been here, and we don’t like it.[3] In other words, people wanted a change, and they wanted it at any cost.

Donald Trump certainly promised radical change. So, of course, did Bernie Sanders, but the hidden powers of the Democratic Machine saw to it that we got an old stand-by instead of someone advocating substantial change. Sanders, after all, had that same TR Uranus conjoining his Mars: he seemed fully capable of riding the wave of radical, or at least across-the-board progressive, change. Thus the strategy of the Democratic Party Power-Brokers made what seemed to me then, as it does now, a colossal blunder, at least if they wanted to get their candidate elected – a questionable assumption, that last, I realize, considering the actions of those power-brokers in recent years. At the time, many polls showed that Sanders had a good chance of defeating Trump; this hardly seems surprising, given the astrological data from the time.

However, TR Uranus no longer squares the US Mercury; TR Uranus has moved into Taurus, while TR Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto have moved to oppose that same Mercury and conjoin the US N. Pluto. I will put off discussion of those oppositions until another installment, merely noting that we no longer find the country in a revolutionary fervor. We find, instead, fear and various assumptions about hierarchy (Saturn and Capricorn respectively).

As we will see next time, those same transiting planets in Capricorn also oppose important planets in Trump’s horoscope; and Mr. Sanders has had more difficulty surfing the radical wave: TR Uranus has moved on from his Mars, and TR Pluto has moved to square it. Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

But what of Joltin’ Joe Biden? Like Hillary Clinton, he has TR Saturn going downward in his horoscope. This does not seem like good news for him, and I would see it as enough to count him out if I didn’t see Trump as seriously weakened this time around. The TR planets in Capricorn do make helpful aspects to Joe’s Sun-Venus conjunction, and even to his Mercury; and note long ago, he had TR Uranus conjoining his Moon, so some see him as capable of making a progressive turn – though we should note that TR Uranus in Taurus (now) behaves rather differently than does TR Uranus in Aries (then). We should expect a much more muted progressivism.

Further, and quite problematically, Joltin’ Joe has TR Neptune conjoining his nadir, suggesting that he will have trouble getting a firm footing in any activity in which ego plays a major role. It can also suggest vagueness, dissolving, and confusion. I will not pass judgment on whether Joe has shown signs of dementia, as some writers have suggested; not everyone receiving a challenging transit from Neptune suffers from that condition, after all, though most go through periods of bewilderment. Yet dementia and Neptune have many qualities in common, and at the very least Joe runs the danger of having someone kick the props out from under him, an approach that a certain orange-headed chap often likes to take.

That should suffice for now. Besides, my friend Ballyhoo seems to have disappeared, or at least to have wandered off, no doubt “sniffing drainpipes, or else expecting rain.” It seems I’ve been talking to myself this whole time, alas.

[1] Actually, I have difficulty thinking of any career politicians who strike me as pleasant sorts, but let’s put that aside.

[2] Between April and December 2016, Uranus moved between 20 and 24 degrees of Aries.

[3] Quoted, hopefully with something resembling accuracy, from memory.

Horoscopes: Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, The Donald (Note that I’ve set Sanders’ horoscope for midnight; I do not have an accurate time.)

Bernie (Midnight) Sanders

Joe Biden __ Natal

DonaldTrump_Natal

ASTROLOGY, POLITICS, AND HISTORY — 03-12-20   TIM LYONS

You might not believe this, but sometimes people ask me to give them some insight about the upcoming election. For example, my friend Ballyhoo accosted me in the street yesterday – distantly, though, for he has a fear of the coronavirus, a subject we can look into in the next installment – by saying, “Dude, whaddya think about this upcoming presidential election?”

I, possibly in a fit of pique, said, “Look, Ballyhoo, just read Ambrose Bierce and leave me to my Chinese green tea.”

“Who?” he said.

“Ambrose Bierce, lad: author of The Devil’s Dictionary, a book everyone should keep on his or her bedside table. Bierce referred to elections as, if I recall correctly, ‘auctions of stolen goods’ and to an elector as one who ‘enjoys the sacred privilege of voting for the man of another man’s choice.’ He referred to a vote as an ‘instrument and symbol of a freeman’s power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country,’ and he saw politics as ‘a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles; the conduct of public affairs for private advantage.’ What more do you need to know?”

“No, no,” protested the infinitely bothersome Ballyhoo. “Be serious. I mean from an astrological perspective, dude. Like, you know, who’s going to win?”

After telling him in no uncertain terms that, really, no-one would win, that everyone has ended up losing in all elections since who-knows-when, I finally relented, still somewhat upset that he had interrupted my reading of The Condition of Man, and, as he had asked me to “be serious,” responded more-or-less as follows:

Before the 2016 election, I warned some people that Trump looked stronger from an astrological perspective than the media gave him credit for. I had offered a series of reasons:

1. The Donald had, in 2016, his progressed Sun closely conjunct his Leo ascendant and natal Mars. The progression surely suggested that the fellow would emerge strongly, aggressively, and with a good chance of success from whatever back closets he had recently and not-so-recently spent his time in.
2. The Donald also had transiting (TR) Saturn moving upward in his horoscope (i.e. moving from the 4^th house toward the 10^th), while his opponent, a career politician of a somewhat (in my opinion) unpleasant sort,[1] had Saturn moving downward in hers. Usually the candidate with Saturn moving upward defeats the one with Saturn going downward. (Actually, this principle, which I think I got from Grant Lewi, arises from an interesting assumption that may no longer hold up in all cases, but a discussion of that matter would take us rather far afield.)
3. He had strongly supportive aspects from TR Uranus to his natal (N) Sun-Moon opposition (a sextile to his Sun, a trine to his Moon). Surely this augured well, particularly considering the next item. [2]
4. That same TR Uranus formed a square to the U.S. Mercury in Cancer. Thus Donald’s (I have adopted Ms. Clinton’s way of referring to him, remembering that the two had at one time surely qualified as “thick as thieves” (a saying I use advisedly). And besides, hadn’t Donald said of Republicans that they were, and presumably remain, ‘so stupid that they’ll vote for anyone?) Uranus transits put him in step (so to speak) with the national zeitgeist).

Let’s note two points about all of that.

First, none of those factors remain in effect in 2020. Thus Donald seems a much weaker candidate this time around, a statement I will support (though not in this installment, as I want to get back to my reading) in at least two ways: he doesn’t have the beneficial transits that he had last time; and he has some major challenges that he didn’t have last time. Hold onto those thoughts.

Second, regarding the national zeitgeist, we should note that the facts I will now discuss have also hurt Bernie Sanders’ candidacy (and that of Ms. Warren, but let’s try to keep things simple for now). With TR Uranus squaring the US Mercury in 2016, the people found themselves in the mood for a change. Uranus symbolizes revolutionary change; it represents what I sometimes call the Jack Kerouac Approach to Existence, a phrase referring to something Dean Moriarity (I think) says in On the Road: we don’t know where we’re going, but we’re going; and we don’t know what it’s like there, but it’s not here; and we’ve been here, and we don’t like it.[3] In other words, people wanted a change, and they wanted it at any cost.

Donald Trump certainly promised radical change. So, of course, did Bernie Sanders, but the hidden powers of the Democratic Machine saw to it that we got an old stand-by instead of someone advocating substantial change. Sanders, after all, had that same TR Uranus conjoining his Mars: he seemed fully capable of riding the wave of radical, or at least across-the-board progressive, change. Thus the strategy of the Democratic Party Power-Brokers made what seemed to me then, as it does now, a colossal blunder, at least if they wanted to get their candidate elected – a questionable assumption, that last, I realize, considering the actions of those power-brokers in recent years. At the time, many polls showed that Sanders had a good chance of defeating Trump; this hardly seems surprising, given the astrological data from the time.

However, TR Uranus no longer squares the US Mercury; TR Uranus has moved into Taurus, while TR Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto have moved to oppose that same Mercury and conjoin the US N. Pluto. I will put off discussion of those oppositions until another installment, merely noting that we no longer find the country in a revolutionary fervor. We find, instead, fear and various assumptions about hierarchy (Saturn and Capricorn respectively).

As we will see next time, those same transiting planets in Capricorn also oppose important planets in Trump’s horoscope; and Mr. Sanders has had more difficulty surfing the radical wave: TR Uranus has moved on from his Mars, and TR Pluto has moved to square it. Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

But what of Joltin’ Joe Biden? Like Hillary Clinton, he has TR Saturn going downward in his horoscope. This does not seem like good news for him, and I would see it as enough to count him out if I didn’t see Trump as seriously weakened this time around. The TR planets in Capricorn do make helpful aspects to Joe’s Sun-Venus conjunction, and even to his Mercury; and note long ago, he had TR Uranus conjoining his Moon, so some see him as capable of making a progressive turn – though we should note that TR Uranus in Taurus (now) behaves rather differently than does TR Uranus in Aries (then). We should expect a much more muted progressivism.

Further, and quite problematically, Joltin’ Joe has TR Neptune conjoining his nadir, suggesting that he will have trouble getting a firm footing in any activity in which ego plays a major role. It can also suggest vagueness, dissolving, and confusion. I will not pass judgment on whether Joe has shown signs of dementia, as some writers have suggested; not everyone receiving a challenging transit from Neptune suffers from that condition, after all, though most go through periods of bewilderment. Yet dementia and Neptune have many qualities in common, and at the very least Joe runs the danger of having someone kick the props out from under him, an approach that a certain orange-headed chap often likes to take.

That should suffice for now. Besides, my friend Ballyhoo seems to have disappeared, or at least to have wandered off, no doubt “sniffing drainpipes, or else expecting rain.” It seems I’ve been talking to myself this whole time, alas.

[1] Actually, I have difficulty thinking of any career politicians who strike me as pleasant sorts, but let’s put that aside.

[2] Between April and December 2016, Uranus moved between 20 and 24 degrees of Aries.

[3] Quoted, hopefully with something resembling accuracy, from memory.

USA_Rudhyar_Natal

USA_Natal_Transits_011120

DonaldTrump_Natal

Trump_Natal_Transits_011120

ASTROLOGY, POLITICS, AND HISTORY – TIM LYONS – 01.11.2020

PREAMBLING

              I don’t know if this happens to other astrologers, but almost every time I go out in public (a word that refers to, among other things parties, visits to music venues, and situations in which people come running up to me in the street, breathless and anxious), people ask me questions about some astrological matter or other. These questions generally involve personal issues (e.g. “Saturn’s on my Venus; will my husband/wife leave me and move to the Riviera with a dancer?”), but lately, those questions have involved the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, an event that is in progress as I write, with the exact conjunction taking place today (Sunday 1/13/20). So, in honor of that conjunction, let’s have a look.

But let’s begin our discussion by looking at how the conjunction, particularly the Saturn-part, affects the United States birth horoscope and the horoscope of a contemporary Twitter-Lover, Mr. Donald Trump. (See the attachments: 1. The United States horoscope. 2. A double-wheel, with the US natal on the inner wheel and current transits on the outer wheel. 3. Ditto for D. Trump.)[1]

Notable Developments:

1. The conjunction conjoins the United States natal (N) Pluto and closely opposes the US Mercury, setting off the US natal (N) Mercury-Pluto opposition.
2. The conjunction opposes D. Trump’s N Venus-Saturn conjunction in Cancer.
3. Trump’s N Venus-Saturn conjoins the US Mercury.

CURRENT AND NON-CURRENT EVENTS

I have spoken and written about the US Mercury-Pluto opposition often before. Oppositions in nations’ horoscopes generally arise through projection in which the country plays the role of one end of the opposition and projects the other end onto countries or groups who seem to stand opposed to the nation’s development, plans, or drives.[2] Usually, the country will play the role of the planet closest to the Sun and project the role of the planet furthest from the Sun. (Individuals do much the same, though, having a centralized consciousness-headquarters, so to speak, they can work on their projections, withdrawing them, in whole or in part, from the world, recognizing the projected material as part of themselves. Nations rarely accomplish any of that.[3])

In this case, the United States plays the role of Mercury, symbol of how the people think about themselves. In Cancer, Mercury will think about security, the home, and the sense of emotional well-being. Thus we see in the US a huge emphasis on security – and, of course, the US has its Sun, Venus, and Jupiter in Cancer as well, so we can justifiably change “huge” to “inordinate,” or perhaps “pathological.” People find themselves, with encouragement from the Pluto-controlled major media (Mercury as communication), thinking of themselves as home owners concerned with family, security, and so on – Cancer-matters all. Meanwhile, Pluto seems to arise through others.

The list of groups on whom the US has projected its Pluto begins with Native Americans. After that, the Pluto-hook[4] arose through black people (beginning with slaves from Africa), Germany (during both wars), the USSR/Russia (even today: witness the obsessions about “Russian interference” in our purportedly free and open elections[5]), and all sorts of Muslims and Middle Easterners, including but not limited to Iran.[6]

Despite Trump’s various blusterings, war with Iran does not seem to me inevitable. Though transiting (TR) Saturn and Pluto set off the US Mercury-Pluto in important ways, Iran’s horoscope, whether that for Khomeini’s return to Iran or for the subsequent forming of a government, do not have the major astrological connections that Iraq’s and Hussein’s did. Neither has important placements in final decan of cardinal signs as Iraq and Saddam Hussein did; thus Iran does not have placements that automatically set off the projection.[7] Though the path to war against Iraq and Hussein proved quite smooth, with the plutocratic media paving the way and both lawmakers and millions of citizens proving easy to convince, the current road seems a more challenging one. Not only does Iran not set off the projection automatically, but its recent history distinguishes it from Iraq and Hussein, for, say what we will about human rights problems in that country, it hasn’t killed millions of citizens like Hussein did and it hasn’t invaded a neighboring country as Iraq did in Kuwait. Further, most non-Trumpian sources seem to agree that Iran kept its part of the bargain on the agreement about nuclear weapons. Thus, as we have seen, lawmakers and citizens haven’t fallen into line quite so blindly. Trump’s attempt to distract everyone from impeachment proceedings may not have energy enough to succeed, despite the factors named above. In fact, the same factors could suggest a change in leadership and major problems with the economy (as the whole business takes place in the US second house, symbolizing money).

Gulf War I’s Operation Desert Storm began on 17 January 1991 with Saturn at 27Capricorn26, 4’ of arc from its conjunction with US Pluto. As noted, both Iraq and Hussein served as perfect hooks for the US projection of Pluto; Saturn affected both horoscopes. The rhetoric regarding both Iraq and its leader had had a remarkable similarity to the language used in reference to previous hooks for Pluto: the enemy found itself portrayed by the US as dark and threatening, primitive in outlook, destructive in action. Meanwhile, the country sitting on the world’s largest piles of plutonium and destructive weapons, a country that had interfered via death squads and other means into the affairs other countries, portrayed itself as occupying the moral high ground. Saturn gets to the same degree of Capricorn in the last 9 days of February 2020, before, as in 1991, passing into Aquarius for a bit before returning to Capricorn. For the foregoing reasons, though, these facts do not necessarily suggest that the US will attack Iran in about a month.

In addition, Trump has not seemed intent on invading other countries or in effecting regime change. In fact, one of the few appealing elements in his election rhetoric, at least to me, were his assertions about no more foreign wars or attempts at regime change. Because his Sun-Moon opposition connects to the US Mars-Neptune square, and because he has a N Mercury-Neptune square, he obviously plays fast and loose with the truth; US actions in Venezuela tell us that regime change remains on the US agenda. However, he has not – again, despite his rhetoric – mounted any invasions.

Major problems will arise in a few years when transiting (TR) Neptune squares the US Mars, opposes the US Neptune, and squares both ends of Trump’s Sun-Moon opposition from Gemini to Sagittarius.

That should suffice for now. I didn’t get to the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in itself. Let’s leave that ‘til next time. For homework, check the events of 1982, the year of the previous Saturn-Pluto conjunction.

FOR PERSONAL ASTROLOGY READINGS, CONTACT TIME LYONS:

720 338-3658     timlyons1106@gmail.com

[1] I use the so-called Rudhyar Horoscope. Why? Because it seems to yield accurate results.

[2] Sometimes those groups consist of US citizens. This may seem odd, but consider how Martin Luther King found himself under scrutiny not only for his efforts on behalf of Afro-Americans, but also because his opposition to US imperialism. Though a US citizen, he often received treatment generally reserved for external enemies.

[3] For more discussion of these matters, see my Your Hidden Face: Projection in the Horoscope, published by the American Federation of Astrologers a few years back.

[4] The term comes from Jungian psychology. Jung said that we hang projections on hooks just as we do coats. Notably, once the coat occupies that hook, the hook itself remains invisible.

[5] Your correspondent would find these concerns absurd if he didn’t find them so troubling. He would also suggest, if asked, that some of them have a connection to the various phobias about the USSR promulgated by various Christian millenialists and prophecy-mongers for many decades into the past. At times, many people convinced that the Bible foretold many current events seemed obsessed with the USSR, seeing it as, among other things, the “nation from the north” that would invade and overwhelm Israel. We might also remember the number of times the US has interfered in elections, including the one in Russia in 1996, or simply driven from power leaders who didn’t accept the US agenda.

[6] The term “Middle Easterner,” admittedly, demonstrates a Western prejudice. The people of Iran may not accept the designation, but I haven’t come up with a better one.

[7] For the record: Iraq has a Saturn-Pluto opposition from 28+ Capricorn to 23+ Cancer; Hussein has a Jupiter-Pluto opposition from 26+ Capricorn to 26+ Cancer.

UNITED STATES NATAL HOROSCOPE

THE SHORT OF IT

As I was strolling along the streets of Boulder the other day, feeling a tad melancholy not only because my blog doesn’t have many readers, but also because, around here, as you get closer to the mountains in midwinter, your days end more quickly than for those who have the good sense to live farther from the imposing front range of the Rockies; close-in, the cold settles on you rather early in the day as the sun drops behind the mountains, and you feel the cold impinging on your soul even if you don’t feel convinced that you even have one  — as all this was happening, I decided, acting on impulse, to pay a visit to my astrological mentor, Mountain Monsoon, who lives atop a ridge somewhat west of downtown Boulder, giving him much longer near-solstice-days and a much vaster view than what I get down here in the (comparative) lowlands. When I arrived, driving carefully on the unplowed, two-rut road that winds up the slope to his cabin, he was basking in winter sunshine on his back porch, sitting under the solar collectors that powered a small heater at his feet, smoking a fine cigar and drinking some of the (admittedly illegal but nevertheless excellent) whiskey he concocts in his home distillery. As is his habit, he said nothing as I approached, merely waving me to a chair, offering me a cup of the good stuff, toasting my presence in a manner simultaneously offhand and sincere.
            “Single malt,” he said at last. “From a single distillery: my own. What’s not to like?”

            I drank and enjoyed the sun for a few minutes, lighting the offered stogie from the proffered match.

            “What brings you up from the lowlands?” he said after a few minutes. “Problems with women?”

            “Nah,” I said.

            “Problems with – “

            “Well, my blog, for one thing.”

            “Ah!” he said. “Blog-readers are a fickle bunch. Maybe you need a different approach.”

            “Maybe,” I said, drinking and smoking.

            “What’s it called? ‘Astrology, Politics, and History’? Right?”

            “Yes,” I said. “Good memory.”

            “Well, you have at least one enthusiastic reader.”

            “You?”

            “Exactly.”

            “I’m grateful. Also for the excellent whiskey. But if I drink too much to drive – “

            “—which you probably will, am I right? Anyway, yeah: you can sleep on the cot. Glad to have you about. You bring tea for the morning?”

            “Of course,” I said. “Silver Dragon. Great stuff.”

            He nodded approvingly, gazing sunward like the captain of a ship gazing over a rolling sea.

            “You wrote about Neptune squaring the U.S. ascendant recently, didn’t you?” he said at last.

            I said that I had, but that, more recently, I’d had an entry called “The Long of It” in which I talked about the significance of the Long Count horoscope for contemporary times.

“Ah yes,” he said. “I remember. A subject about which you wrote a fine book, if I remember correctly.”

“Yeah. It didn’t sell all that much. People have not that much interest in history, these days.”

“Maybe they agree with that Joyce fellow that – how did his literary alter ego put it – what’s his name?”

“You mean Stephen Daedalus?”

“Indeed. How did he put it?”

“’History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awaken’?”

“Exactly!”

He paused, still gazing westward.  

“So, refresh my memory,” he said. “Review what you said about the Long Count; then we can talk about Neptune squaring the United States ascendant, a subject you should go back to, considering all that malarkey about the purported Russian hacking of U.S. elections, the stuff going on in Hollywood, the ongoing – what shall we call it? lack of commitment to truth on the part, it seems, of even intelligent people in this rather strange country, including that rich guy who seems convinced that he’s running the show. An osmosis of ignorance, I’d say. Sounds like Neptune, doesn’t it?”

“It does indeed,” I said.

“But first, for review. The Mayan Long Count and the present? Your conclusions?”

“Well,” I said, “here’s the twenty-five-cent version: the horoscope for the Long Count – a period that began in 3114 B.C. and ended in 2012 A.D. – points to patterns of social development characterized by authoritarian militarism, lack of requisite feedback mechanisms, and a pervasive imbalance (between, among other matters, authority and bureaucracy) led, over the course of just over 5000 years, to planetary illness manifesting now in global warming and the evident ecological imbalances of the planet, with the warming coming on us as a planet-wide fever arising in response to mentioned illness-imbalance; also, a problematic (to put it mildly) combination of delusion and aggression, driven by unconscious elements, producing militarism best categorized as psychotic even if it now seems like the norm.”

 “Yes,” he said. “Now I remember. I read your book. I think you’re right.” He paused, then said, “So that was ‘the long of it.’ And what, in your view, is ‘the short of it’?”

“Well, for one thing,” I said, puffing cigar smoke into the cool but sunny air, “what you just mentioned: Neptune squaring the United States ascendant.”

“Yes. What do you make of it?”

“Well,” I said, “I was thinking of asking you that question.”

“What do I think of it?” He laughed uproariously. “You lookin’ for new material for the blog, eh?”

“Well,” I laughed, feeling the effect of the excellent whiskey and the high-quality cigar, “people might pay more attention to a wise old sage like you, Mountain.”

He laughed again as he refilled our glasses.

“And after all,” I added, “you served as a mentor to me all those years back.” As I said this, I found myself wondering at Mountain’s chronological age. I felt certain that he had been around many more than my sixty-eight years, but I realized that I really had no idea, though I had tentatively concluded, decades ago, when he already had a full white beard and a much-lined face, that he was like a joyful Tithonus, eternally laughing and drinking in his mountain retreat, casting a cold eye on the follies of humankind. He had taught me much.

He drank and smoked for a long minute, apparently pondering but perhaps emptying his mind of all irrelevant data, which I had known him to do before.

“Well,” he said at last, “let’s look at the evidence. First, the United States’ Neptune is where in the U.S. horoscope?”

“In the 9^th house,” I said. “Intercepted in Virgo and in a close square to a 7^th house Mars.”

“Exactly,” he said. “We’ll get to Mars in a bit. But Neptune in the 9^th suggests what?”

“Deception and confusion about or in dealings with foreign countries?”

“Yes,” he said. “Now consider recent happenings: all this hubbub about Russian hacking and the like, but with very little evidence – and the so-called ‘evidence’ so far presented comes from what groups?”

“Well, for starts, the CIA.”

“Yes. They used to be called ‘the Foreign Service,’ I think. Ninth house again. It seems that we project that Neptune onto foreign countries, seeing it as symbolizing deception by foreign countries, though it seems more accurate to see it as an ongoing deception and self-deception, on the part of this country, in all relations with foreign countries.”

I nodded, taking a few notes.

“Can you think of another organization that deceives so readily, so often, and so cruelly? And do you wonder that millions of people who have never trusted the so-called ‘Intelligence Services’ before suddenly seem ready to believe what those people say about Russian hacking? The documents released so far contain all sorts of allegations, offered by so-called investigators who got hand-picked, so to speak. Hardly a trustworthy process.”

“Hmm,” I said.

“Now,” he went on, “as you know, I have no love for that monster Trump. I can’t think of a human being I consider more despicable, but I think it both troubling and fitting that during this Neptune transit, the U.S. people elected a fellow who can’t seem to tell truth from falsehood – or who doesn’t wish to do so. But we should remember that the transit-in-question has to do with the United States’ horoscope, not with Trump’s – at least not yet – so it applies to the nation as a whole. We should consider Trump a symptom of a larger problem – a national problem, one we’ve had with us since the beginning, as you have pointed out in previous blog-installments, if I remember correctly. Under such a transit, you can expect deception and obfuscation all over the place. Mars comes into the picture because the deception will have to do with aggression, or, more particularly, with the way this country does what it always does: links lies to warfare, taking foreign countries as enemies and deceivers even though a vast amount of evidence suggests that the United States takes a back seat to no-one when it comes to deception and aggression.”

“So,” I said, “you don’t believe that Russia did this hacking?”

“I take the position of that Stephen Daedalus fellow, whom we mentioned earlier, when, somewhere either in Ulysses or Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, someone asks him whether he believes in God. He says, ‘I neither believe nor disbelieve.’ I would add: I want evidence, not innuendo; I want information, not disinformation; and I want as my informant someone I can trust. All of this has to do with Virgo, the polar opposite of Neptune-ruled Pisces: what you have to cultivate if you want to navigate successfully through a challenging Neptune transit: precision.”

“Yes,” I said. “I agree.”

“Let me refill the jar here and we can talk more. Maybe we also should go inside. The sun’s going down.”

“On civilization?” I asked rhetorically.

He laughed, pointing me toward a chair by the fire.

To be continued….

ASTROLOGY, POLITICS, AND HISTORY – OCTOBER 17, 2017 – TIM LYONS

LONG COUNT — INNER=NATAL OUTER= SEC. PROG. TO END

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT – PART ONE THE LONG

By “it,” I mean our current situation, which includes the following: rapid and dangerous global warming and its results (melting glaciers, massive hurricanes, devastating droughts and floods, rapidly dying coral, apocalyptic fires, all sorts of harm happening to all sorts of creatures all over the planet); a global water-problem that worsens steadily; alarmingly depleted soils; wars all over the planet; overpopulation; all sorts of governments in all sorts of places apparently intent on all sorts of counter-productive approaches to just about anything you can think of.

By “long,” I mean what we might call “long” history, in particular the historical period known as the Mayan Long Count, which began in 3114 BC and which ended in 2012 AD, a period I dealt with at some length in The Machine Stops: the Mayan Long Count Through a Western Lens (AFA 2012). My thesis in that book, explained here in brief: patterns of social development characterized by authoritarian militarism, lack of requisite feedback mechanisms, and a pervasive imbalance (between, among other matters, authority and bureaucracy) leading to planetary illness manifesting now in planetary warming (and, it seems, the attendant factors mentioned above), which we can interpret as a planet-wide fever arising as a response of the planetary system to the mentioned illness-imbalance. The Long Count also brought problematic combination of delusion and aggression, driven by unconscious elements to produce a kind of militarism best categorized as insane even if it has developed into the norm.[1]

These factors have characterized “civilization as we know it,” a form of social organization that emerged with comparative suddenness in the 4^th millennium B.C. the period surrounding the 3114 BC birth-year of the Long Count. This period has drawn the attention of some of our most important cultural historians, perhaps most significantly Arnold Toynbee and Lewis Mumford. Of the period just described, Mumford writes, in The Myth of the Machine, Volume I: Technics and Human Development,

Out of the early Neolithic complex a different kind of social organization arose: no long dispersed in small units, but unified in a large one; no longer ‘democratic,’ that is, based on neighborly intimacy, customary usage, and consent, but authoritarian, centrally directed, under the control of a dominant minority; no longer confined to a limited territory, but deliberately ‘going out of bounds’ to seize new raw materials and enslave helpless men, to exercise control, to exact tribute. This new culture was dedicated, not just to the enhancement of life, but to the expansion of collective power. By perfecting new instruments of coercion, the rulers of the society had, by the Third Millennium BC, organized industrial and military power on a scale that was never to be surpassed until our own time.[2]

This shift appeared in the environment as a dramatic increase in the size of human institutions ranging from the large-field agriculture (that, according to Toynbee and others, made this new form of social organization possible) to the size of the buildings in which people lived, emphases that have remained with us up to the present. From the surplus came (c.f. Toynbee) hierarchy from which came rulers who controlled the surplus (and thus the people). We see, here, the beginnings of rigid social classes, reflecting Capricorn, one of the dominant signs of the Long Count horoscope, and a dominant connection between kingship (Leo, a second dominant sign), control (Leo as a fixed sign), and bureaucratic expansion (Capricorn). Mumford tells us that the “original connection between kingship and hunting has remained visible all throughout recorded history,” that the “unscrupulous use of weapons of the hunt to control the political and economic activities of whole communities was one of the effective inventions of kingship” and that, from the kingship-hunting connection, “a whole series of subsidiary mechanical inventions eventually came.”[3] From kingship also came, quickly and inevitably, “a kind of unrestrained cannibal lust in dwelling on the scope and power of the divine king. As pictured [in the most ancient pyramid text], kingship was actually a man-eating device.”[4]

Mumford refers to the new form of social organization as the “mega-machine” and tells us that in its early form, it had human beings as moving parts, with mechanical parts (e.g. made of steel) coming only much later with increased technical capacities. Mumford devotes much space to describing the megamachine and to tracing its development through the centuries right up to the present era. Even early on, he tells us, it had characteristics we can still recognized in the prevailing social order:

…the centralization of political power, the separation of classes, the lifetime division of labor, the mechanization of production, the magnification of military power, the  economic exploitation of the weak, and the universal introduction of slavery and forced labor for both industrial and military purposes. [5]

In The Machine Stops, I trace these developments by tracking progressions to the Long Count natal horoscope and by looking at the shifts occurring in connection with the Neptune-Pluto cycle of 496 years. Of the Long Count’s end, I write,

An observant person could tell, with increasing ease as time went on, that something, and perhaps almost everything, would have to change. Environmental degradation increased in a parabolic curve; war became endemic, increasingly destructive, and unending; propaganda spread everywhere controlling minds to a degree unthinkable in the 4^th millennium B.C.; the paranoia of those in power, never very rational, took increasingly psychotic forms.[6]

Of course, historical development takes place gradually; the patterns-in-question do not appear and end on a day – not even December 21, 2012, the end-date for the Long Count. So my discussion had to do with periods, not with days or even weeks. Thus though the end of the Long Count has now receded at least a little in our collective rear-view mirror as we occupy ourselves with the “short of it” (the discussion of my next installment), the astrological patterns persist. To help clarify, I will select for discussion some salient elements from my investigation. As I say in the book, “the defining symbols of the Long Count horoscope offer apt descriptive symbols and metaphors for the major cultural developments that have taken place during the Long Count’s duration.”[7]

Factor #1: the horoscope lacks oppositions.

This suggests a difficulty seeing through projections, or even acknowledging that they exist. Mr. Mumford, speaking of developments occupying roughly the same period as the one measured by the Long Count, refers to this as “a radical failure in feedback” resulting in breakdowns on all sides:

…an inability to acknowledge errors, an unwillingness to correct them, a resistance to introducing new ideas and methods that would provide the means for a constructively human transformation…[O]nce recognized, many of the defects could be corrected…but failing this, a more dire pathological situation, demanding surgery rather than diet, comes into existence.[8]  

A lack of oppositions points to difficulties recognizing projections or accepting helpful feedback from the world. Because an opposition symbolizes a pattern of thought and behavior in which unacknowledged psychological elements appear through people and events, a lack of oppositions speaks to difficulty recognizing such feedback.

Factor #2: the natal yod (sometimes referred to as “the Finger of God”) and the positions, as of 2012, of secondary progressed Saturn and Pluto.

The Long Count natal horoscope has a powerful yod from the Mercury-Venus conjunction in Leo to the Moon-Jupiter sextile in Capricorn and Pisces. This configuration consists of two quincunxes and a sextile. Because the horoscope has another close quincunx – from Saturn in Leo to Uranus in Capricorn – the Long Count has manifested partly through planetary illness. Typically, though, when an important transit or progression arrives at the “reaction point” of the yod (the point directly opposed to the focal planets), the energy of the yod ripens: having functioned at-least-partly unconsciously, it now demands attention. From an imbalance that perhaps had remained hidden emerge events and consequences demanding attention, manifestations of imbalances long-ignored: planetary illness resulting from an imbalance that has persisted for over 5000 years.

By 2012, secondary progressed (SP) Saturn and Pluto had arrived at the reaction point. Bureaucratic power (to offer one interpretation among many) resulted in a situation in which problems demanded resolution. Civilization reached a fork in the road. Something had to change – in fact, it seems, everything had – and has – to change.

Factor #3: the natal Mars-Neptune conjunction in Scorpio and the positions of the same secondary progressed planets.

This factor raises the ante, we might say, for it brings about a great danger of military conflict driven by unconscious factors and pervasive delusions. Because N. Mars-Neptune squares N. Mercury-Venus, SP Saturn and SP Pluto form a t-square to N. Mars-Neptune just as they reach the reaction point of the yod. (See the positions in second wheel of the attached two-wheeler.) Though for a person, Mars-Neptune might point to selfless action or physical activity linked to inspiration and imagination, for a collectivity it will generally manifest as delusions related to aggression. (The United States horoscope has a close square between these two planets.) Scorpio suggests unconscious obsessions and complexes. Thus the psychotic uses of military power throughout the world, easily visible in the historical record and in the United States’ apparently endless series of military interventions (and, of course, in this country’s insane spending on increasingly destructive military hardware).

The astrological material from the Long Count horoscope suggest that these problems first took root when what we call “civilization” first arose in Mesopotamia, and because the roots have by now struck very deep, we will not solve present problems by applying cosmetic solutions. What seems required is a complete reorientation to experience, not only on the part of governments and government minions, but on the part of each person. The yod points to a pervasive pattern of social organization that influences the attitudes of all people, particularly as the megamachine has taken over pretty much the entire planet. Further development along established social lines will yield only further destruction, threatening the survival of the species, and certainly threatening the development of civilization as we know it. It seems, therefore, that we must consider – and develop! – a new kind of civilization. It will probably have to begin with changes in the people forming it.

[1] I dedicated The Machine Stops to Lewis Mumford, without whose many writings I could not have written it.

[2] Lewis Mumford: The Myth of the Machine, Volume I: Technics and Human Development, page 164 (qtd. on page 88 of The Machine Stops.

[3] Mumford 168-9 (qtd. in The Machine Stops, p. 89)

[4] Mumford 184.

[5] Mumford 186.

[6] The Machine Stops, 145.

[7] P. 76.

[8] Lewis Mumford, The Myth of the Machine, Volume II: The Pentagon of Power, page 428.

ASTROLOGY, POLITICS, AND HISTORY BLOGETTE  – TIM LYONS – AUGUST 18, 2017

DONALDTRUMP_AUGUST2017ECLIPSE_DC

HOW DONALD TRUMP HAS PROVIDED US ALL WITH AN OBJECT LESSON ON HOW NOT TO DEAL WITH AN ECLIPSE

                Various dignitaries have asked me various questions about the “effect” of the August 2017 eclipse on our noble leader, the sometimes iconoclastic and often idiotic Mr. Donny Trump. I will attempt, in this blogette – a short blog-entry, if you please! – to respond to these people, for they seem sincere in their inquiries and noble in their hearts. Like a good businessman, I will use bullet-points:

• Solar eclipses take place on New Moons, with the Sun and Moon at the same zodiac degree and with the Moon on the ecliptic. The Moon comes between the earth and the Sun. (Why do we not have a solar eclipse every new moon? Because the Moon wanders from the ecliptic. Track its monthly journey and you’ll see.)
• The Moon symbolizes, among other things, habit patterns taken from childhood. (Thus, I think, Mr. Gurdjieff’s statement – which I think I got from Ouspensky – that the Moon ‘is eating you’: habit patterns can devour creativity. The Sun symbolizes the light of conscious awareness and creative possibility.
• When the Moon interposes itself directly between earth and sun, habit patterns can largely blot out the light of creative possibility. The greatest danger, here, has to do with acting blindly, for habit patterns can blind us, putting us on behavioral and psychological autopilot.
• The eclipse falls directly on Trump’s Mars-Ascendant conjunction in Leo.
• That Mars-Ascendant aspect points to what we get almost daily from Mr. DT: a kind of bombastic aggression in which Mr. Trump, blinded, in this case, by the blazing light of ego, with Mars symbolizing the tendency to get narrowly identified with his own pride. He reminds us, every day, IMHO, that we can get blinded by enormous ego-ism as readily as by habit patterns (though, of course, habit patterns too often arise as part of the ego-complex, a matter we will not discuss here and now). Mars in Leo in the ascendant, unless governed by self-awareness, will often appear arrogant, bombastic, and self-absorbed. (Note that I have given the neurotic side of Leo and Mars. Do not take my remarks as indicating that Leo or Mars always do any more damage than other signs and planets. All astrological symbols have what we might call their neurotic side and their more enlightened side. Unfortunately, Mr. Trump seems consistently to manifest the former. Even more unfortunately, we could say something similar of many people who get captured by their own ambition.)
• The eclipse on Trump’s Mars-Ascendant strongly suggests that our Twitter-obsessed leader, sitting alone in his upstairs room and perhaps talking too much to himself, will act out old habit patterns related to arrogance, stubbornness, and aggression; the Moon, in this case, seems to have blinded the Sun rather completely.
• Leo, as a fixed sign, often acts stubbornly. Of course, one person’s stubbornness may also appear as another person’s steadfastness, and Leo has a deserved reputation for loyalty. In this case, though, we seem to have DT’s loyalty to his own blindness. Alas.
• Thus Trump’s insistence on sticking to his guns – or, I suppose, his statements – regarding Charlottesville. A person manifesting Leo’s oft-observed magnanimity might act with confident generosity; however, a person manifesting Leo’s also-oft-observed self-absorption would act as we see Trump acting: inflexibly and myopically.
• If we want to know about the positive potential of eclipse-energy, we can go back to the astronomical situation. We see the Moon blocking the Sun, and thus we see, if we have the right instruments – with “instruments,” here, referring to psychological tools or approaches: means one might use to access the one’s inherent potential for insight – we can see the outline of the Moon. This suggests that eclipses can bring us (so to speak) precise understanding and clarity about the role that habit patterns and other lunar matters play in our lives; lunar matters (e.g. habit patterns, sensitivity of emotional response) can arise as a kind of lens through which to focus creative energy. Thus eclipses can bring sharpened insight and understanding about the role of habit patterns in our lives. But to accomplish that, we must look steadily and surely, and we must do so without getting blinded – with, as noted, the proper tools, which with the physical eclipse means the proper kind of lens and with the “psychological eclipse” means the discipline and courage to look at ourselves honestly.
• I don’t know Mr. Trump personally, but I see no evidence that he looks at himself honestly, or that he has developed the discipline or courage to do so. I don’t know for certain, of course, what goes on in his mind, and I admit that human beings often surprise me. So far, though, Mr. Trump has not done so.
• So: blindness, acting out of and through blinding habitual tendencies, with an emphasis on pride, what seems like intellectual laziness, and aggression, striking out, we might say, in the darkness.
• Bonus bullet-point: we can often get further insight into astrological occurrences by looking at the Sabian Symbol(s) for the degree at which the occurrence occurs. This solar eclipse takes place in the 29^th degree of Leo. The Sabian Symbol for this degree, as recorded decades ago by Marc Edmund Jones, reads like this (from The Sabian Symbols in Astrology): A mermaid. This is a symbol of humanity’s insatiable appetite for experience on the side of psychological self-assurance, and of the nascent eagerness of the soul for a private and personal participation in every possible facet of self-fulfillment…When positive, the degree is a completeness of quickening to inner instincts of the being and a real willingness to trust them, and when negative, a lack of discrimination and an awkward insensitivity.
• This symbol and interpretation applies to all of us, not just to the guy sending Tweets from an upstairs room in D.C.
• Questions?

USA_Rudhyar_Natal_SolarArc_070417

DonaldTrump_Natal_Transits_070417

After some of my earlier blog-entries, some have asked me whether Mr. Donald Trump (DT) is headed for impeachment. My basic response: it seems possible, but some mitigating factors suggest that he might survive. Though I wouldn’t bet on DT’s survival, impeachment remains a tall order, as all sorts of people of questionable integrity who rarely agree on anything must act in consort.

Let’s review some facts mentioned in earlier installments. First, transiting (TR) Saturn – which, remember, conjoined DT’s Moon and opposed his Sun right around inauguration time, a period that saw all sorts of initiatives launched against the fellow – went as far as 27 Sagittarius before turning retrograde there in early April, after which point it moved backwards, approaching its station in the 22^nd degree of Sagittarius (21+) in late August.[1] Because DT has his Sun at 22+ Gemini and his Moon at 21+ Sagittarius, that station places Saturn directly opposite DT’s Sun and precisely conjoined with his Moon.[2]

Expect late August to bring all sorts of crises to Mr. Trump; expect the intervening weeks to show steadily increasing pressure; expect the succeeding weeks to show the results. Though I wouldn’t say that every U.S. president who receives a challenging aspect from Saturn to the natal Sun and/or Moon will get him or herself impeached, with Trump such a development seems entirely possible, for he has thus far tried to ignore the demands of Saturn: he has refused to take responsibility for consensus-reality questions or the results of his actions, preferring to live in a kind of fantasy realm. It seems that those who ignore the demands of Saturn, no matter how highly those people get on the available social ladders, the more they invite Saturn’s most literal response: an imposed set of limitations. (A not-so-recent example: Richard Nixon in 1972.)

During the run-up to the election, DT had transiting (TR) Uranus trine his Moon and sextile his Sun. Thus he that he could make progress if he took up iconoclastic positions, an approach for which he has great aptitude, as suggested by his natal (N) Uranus conjoining is Sun and opposing his Moon. Though we associate Uranus with progressive ideas, we would speak more truly if we said that he lives by his ideas, progressive or otherwise; his mythic background (see below) suggests that in living by his ideas he will often ignore the immediate karmic demand and that he will eventually suffer for it. When operating blindly, Uranus will disagree with or disavow anything representing the status quo regardless of value – or, we might say, Uranus sometimes values disruption as an end in itself instead of as a way to open up creative space for further contribution. Thus DT found himself in a rather strange position, at least for him: he appeared as the candidate promising change. Many who voted for him apparently did so for Uranus-related reasons: like Uranus, they had taken on a kind of odd Kerouacian position, saying, like Dean Moriarity, ‘We don’t know where we’re going, but we’re going; we don’t know what it’s like here, but it’s not here, and we’ve been here, and we don’t like it.’[3]

In her dealings with DT. Hillary Clinton (HC) found herself cast as the defender of the status quo, a position for which she seemed admirably suited, despite her position as the first woman candidate for president. TR Uranus at that time was squaring the U.S. Mercury, so the people in this country took on variations of the Kerouacian approach, and once Sanders lost to Clinton at the Democratic Convention, the only proudly Uranian figure left standing had orange hair.[4]

However, I said at the time of the election that Saturn would come a-calling o DT’s horoscope, indicating that DT would have to deal with a) consensus reality, and b) the hierarchical powers of the government machine, probably experienced as a projection (TR Saturn opposing N. Sun[5]), and c) the results of any refusal to take responsibility for his acts.  If, during the period of Saturn’s station, DT survives legal onslaughts, he will do so with very limited power. (Some of us feel that the diminishing of his power has already occurred, as the events of early April seem to suggest that he does not call the shots in international matters, and recent events in connection to his “health care” bill seem to suggest that he’s lost much influence even in domestic matters.)

We can add a few items into the mix. The first has to do, again, with Uranus, who has moved on from the above-described aspects to DT’s Sun-Moon opposition to trine DT’s Mars-Ascendant conjunction in Leo (a conjunction that, by the way, accounts for DT’s myopic and aggressive self-absorption in all self-presentation – and possibly for the famous orange-ness of the man’s florid mug and general floridity). The trine may provide Trump with some protection, as it suggests that he can get away with outlandish (Uranus) and ego-driven (Mars-ASC) activity. His secondary progressed (SP) Moon has entered his 12^th house, though, an area of the horoscope associated with hidden enemies, sorrows, karma, and self-undoing. As it approaches his N Pluto at 10 Leo, I suspect that we will see all sorts of self-undoing going on as DT faces the results (karma) of actions initiated earlier.[6]

Conclusion? If you think that bad times for DT indicates good times for most other humans, you will conclude, as the above-described astrological factors come into focus, that “things are looking up” at least a little, meaning that some forms of unnecessary suffering get alleviated.

As all this happens, though, do not conclude that by objecting to the doings of DT you must take up arms with the status quo or what some will call the “shadow government” (which doesn’t seem very much in the shadows, IMHO). TR Neptune still squares the U.S. Ascendant, suggesting that people hereabouts have humongous difficulties trying to sort from truth from delusion these days. You can blame DT for the ongoing obfuscation and deception if you want, and he with his N Mercury-Neptune square seems eminently capable of all sorts of delusions and deceptions, but if you do that, you may miss the perhaps-larger deceptions emerging from people without orange hair.

As you consider these matters, you might want to look into the revelations of Mr. Scott Ritter, former chief arms inspector in Iraq who warned the country against invading Iraq, who spoke out against government deceptions about WMD’s, and who warned against the kind of violent miasma that has resulted from the invasion. In a recent piece in The American Conservative (admittedly a strange place to find Mr. Ritter), Mr. Ritter pretty much decimates the government’s version of what went on in Khan Sheikhun on April 4. Government deception in that case seems pretty much in line with the long line of deceptions perpetrated by our government (Mars square Neptune) over many decades. Ritter’s remarks have particular relevance now as the government tries to build one deception onto another as regards upcoming chemical attacks purportedly originating with the Syrian government.

We also have a noteworthy pair of solar arc (SA) directions to the U.S. horoscope. (See the second wheel of the triple-wheel chart of the USA: the inner wheel shows natal positions; the middle wheel shows the SA positions; the outer wheel shows the transits.) The N Sun-Saturn square has moved (at about a degree per year) to aspect the United States ascendant-descendant (ASD/DSC) axis, with SA Saturn just past its conjunction with the descendant (and thus opposing the ascendant) and SA Sun closely square the ASD/DSC.

The former aspect, read literally, suggests that the present restrictive forces of government – the hegemonic forces of the empire, we might say – arise as an enemy. Sun-Saturn suggests a restrictive chief executive; the 7^th house and descendant suggest “open enemies” (a traditional designation). Thus a chief executive arising as an enemy.

To understand the meaning of the SA positions, we must first come to terms with the natal (N) Sun-Saturn square, for the meaning and manifestation of the solar arc aspects have a close connection to the meaning and manifestation of the natal aspect. As I have probably said before, the N U.S. Sun-Saturn square symbolizes the US’s drive for authority (Saturn) that purportedly creates some sort of national security (Sun in Cancer) supported by a tendency, evident since before the Declaration was signed or the Constitution constituted, to take the resources of others (Sun in 8^th). The authority announces itself in terms of justice and equality (Saturn Libra) even as others’ resources, goods, and peoples get secured not for the benefit of their original owners, but for the American middle and upper classes (Venus, dispositor of Saturn, conjoining Jupiter and square midheaven-nadir axis (IM/IC)). Bring this tendency from the past into the present and you will grasp the significance of the SA aspects: the USA comes to a point where its drive for public authority (i.e. between and among nations) receives a block (Saturn) coming from an open enemy (descendant, 7^th house) related to a confusion, partly or possibly related to the head of State (Sun) and communications derived therefrom.  Sun-Saturn suggests the executive and his or her bureaucracy or derived hierarchy; the challenging aspects indicate difficulty; the third house (SA Sun – plus TR Neptune) indicates domestic (as distinguished from international) communication, including but not limited to communication related to the press; the interception of Pisces in the third suggests communication-obfuscation hard to get at. And read literally, SA Saturn on the DSC suggests that the authority hierarchy arises as an enemy.

With secondary progressed Mars retrograde (since 2006), the United States should not expect success from its international aggressions these days (or for the next several decades). No matter how much one might dislike DT, realize that he took up positions more in line with SP Mars retrograde than did HC. The events of April suggest that those positions have been undermined – and note the passive voice as you ask, “Who did the undermining?” In what surely must qualify as one of greatest political oddities in recent political memory, DT campaigned as the peace candidate, arguing for pull-back (Mars retrograde) in many international positions.[7]

Finally, a word or two about the mythic Saturn and Uranus, as those planets play important roles, these days, in the horoscopes of both DT and the United States. In Greek myth, Ouranus, the great and creative sky god, fathers many children (the Titans) in Gaie, the earth mother. When those children emerge, Ouranus looks at them and decides (has an idea!) that they are too ugly to remain in the world, so he tries to bury them back into the mother. Gaie takes a dim view of such goings on, and she devises a scheme with Kronos, one of her newborns, whom we know, via the Romans, as Saturn: the two fashion a sickle, which they use to castrate Ouranus (Uranus); the testicles fall into the ocean and later emerge as Aphrodite (as depicted in Botticelli’s painting); the blood falls and emerges as the Furies. We often blame Saturn for this, for one should not castrate one’s father; however, the problem starts with Ouranus, who tries to live only by his ideas and to avoid the karmic demands (his children) of his own creative activity. The myth suggests that our ideas and iconoclastic brilliance (Uranus) should give birth to tangible deeds (Saturn). DT, Mr. Uranus during the campaign, now must deal with Uranus’ child, and Saturn, that old devil, will have his due.

[1] When I say “backwards,” I mean, “backwards as seen from earth against the backdrop of fixed stars.” Astrologers call this retrograde motion.

[2] Side note: that a president or presidential candidate has a strong Uranus aspect in his or her birth horoscope provides no guarantee that he or she will support progressive policies. Witness not only DT, but a chap named Bush who got himself elected in 1988 and who seemed to have a particular dislike for anything Uranus might stand for. He had N Uranus square N Sun, with Uranus in the 7^th (“open enemies”).

[3] Your friendly blog-writer cannot vouch for the complete accuracy of the quotation. He has drawn it from memory, and quite possibly a memory a bit addled by a mind-altering substance under whose influence he read his dog-eared copy of Kerouac way back when.

[4] Though much has been made of HC’s own iconoclasm, and though she does have a Moon-Uranus square, she also has Saturn, her most elevated planet, closely square her Mercury and ASC. Thus her tendency to play the Saturn role, particularly in close (even adversarial!) relationships with men, onto whom she often projects Uranus, finding men, like Wild Bill and DT, who serve as perfect hooks. Thus she played the role of Saturn and had to deal with DT playing the role of Uranus. See chapter II of my Your Hidden Face: Projection in the Horoscope (AFA 2014), available through me, the American Federation of Astrologers, or that corporate entity named after a powerful group of women.

[5] See chapter V of Your Hidden Face.

[6] Both Saturn and the 12^th have to do with “karma,” a much-used word, though in different ways. To discuss those “ways” would take us rather far afield. “Karma,” here, refers simply to cause-and-effect.

[7] As I said earlier, though, his Sun-Moon opposition connects directly to the U.S. Mars-Neptune square, suggesting that he would line up quite nicely with the militaristic deception pattern outlined above.