Back in January, I wrote up a 3 part examination of US Saturn returns, along with some interpretation of what the current Saturn return may bring. Interesting things have abounded over the last 3 months, many of which have been seriously downplayed and all but ignored by the mainstream media, but have still had the effect of bringing us to what I would have to call the proverbial edge of national catastrophe. Between the pro- and anti- union protests of February here in the US ("Valentines Day Protests" anybody?), ongoing revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, etc, the new war in Libya (sorry, the "Kinetic Military Action"), and the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and multiple nuclear meltdowns ("partial meltdowns", sort of like being partially pregnant in my opinion), things have been shaping up to be some of the most interesting of times witnessed in modern history internationally. It's times like these that I like to take a step back, review what has been written, and then make some projections of the outcomes...so that's what we'll do.
As I outlined in The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 3, Neptune is currently transiting the US 3rd natal house in Aquarius, and has been conjuncting with the US natal Moon placement since the early summer of 2008. The US natal Moon is often thought to denote the "American Dream" and "the US as a melting pot" ideology. Neptune here has been causing lots of confusion surrounding these aspects of the "American personality", and, as March progresses into April, we're finally seeing some of that confusion fall away.
As I noted, it was during this time of "confused devotional fanaticism" that Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (before completing even a full year in office). Today, we can clearly see some of this "false glory" fading, as actions begin to speak louder than words, with international calls for Obama's Peace Prize to be stripped. This issue will be raised in the international arena again in the near future, likely around early May when Mars sextiles the US natal Moon from late Aries, but by this time I think there will be other issues taking the main headlines.
Also noted was the imminent move of Uranus from Pisces and the 3rd natal house into Aries and, eventually, the 4th house. Today, March 24th, Uranus is at approximately 0 degrees and 45 seconds of Aries, and in approximately 3 days will enter the 4th natal house of the US. Placed within a 1 degree orb of the MC/IC axis, there is a strong dynamic being brought to the surface, showing clearly the dichotomy between the US public appearance and what is going on "behind the scenes". It was just this morning that the video of Obama himself being locked out of the White House surfaced...I can only say to read between the lines on that one.
Also with this movement of Uranus into Aries came an increased risk of natural and unnatural disasters worldwide. It's interesting to note that on very day that Uranus moved into Aries, the world's most costly natural disaster to date began occurring in Japan. I say "began" because, to date, the nuclear reactors and spent fuel rod storage pools at Fukishima Daiichi are STILL not fully under control. Already, due to the damage throughout Japan from this horrifying triple-disaster, US auto plants have begun laying off workers, food imports from Japan have been halted and such things as "potassium iodide", "millisieverts" and "cesium 137" have become part of the national lexicon. Uranus will remain in Aries through to 2018 before moving into Taurus and the US natal 5th house - between now and then I believe we can expect continued disasters involving nuclear power and radiation that threaten the US mainland. Also on the front-page will be more and larger earthquakes along with the most catastrophic fires, flooding and wind damage seen to date. This is a large window of opportunity, but do expect most of these events to happen during 2011 and early 2012, while Uranus traverses the first 5 degrees of Aries.
Looking to the more personal planets during the second conjunction of this Saturn return, Mars was noted to be in a strong opposition to the natal Neptune placement and loosely squaring its own natal position in Gemini and the 7th house. This is a warlike aspect, and I noted that, though war itself was rather unlikely, posturing and rhetoric were to be expected. Also, oil issues would be in the headlines throughout this period. Both of these have come to pan out, with oil today hovering around $106/barrel and the unpopular, US led military intervention in Libya making front-page news over the last week.
As Mars conjuncts Uranus and the US natal IC, and enters the first degree of Aries, over April 2nd through April 4th, expect a "heating up" of these issues as "oil fears" are realized and "war" begins to spread beyond the borders of Libya.
I had also noted that the Moon was seen transiting the US natal 11th house and Scorpio during the hours of conjunction on March 22nd, bringing a woman into the spotlight on "international affairs", while "distancing" herself from "domestic issues". This woman, of course, represents Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, same as during the first of this three part return back in November and December. Also of note was Venus becoming conjunct with the US natal Moon, signifying confusion being brought to light over "an issue of immigration or humanitarian aid". On March 26th, as the Moon transits the US natal Pluto placement and Venus conjuncts the transiting Neptune, expect some sudden and tragic news to break. This looks to be related to something already in the headlines, but will allow us to see it in a new and disappointing light.
Another key aspect was seen as Jupiter being loosely opposed to the natal and transiting Saturn placement, and squaring the natal Sun, as the transiting Sun conjuncted with Uranus and the IC in the first degree of Aries. I noted that a likely interpretation would be a man coming into the public eye through some form of accusation of corruption by either the US government or big business. Interestingly, on the 18th, Bernard von NotHaus was convicted on spurious counts of counterfeiting US currency and conspiracy against the United States. Meanwhile, a bill to begin the process of having the state issue its own currency of gold and silver has been introduced in North Carolina and Ron Paul introduced the Free Competition in Currency Act to Congress, which would repeal the very laws used to convict the so-called "architect" of Liberty Dollars. Though this issue hasn't seen major street protests and rallies as of yet, I certainly have a feeling these will be front page news in a matter of weeks (especially as April 15th approaches).
Also related to all of this is the release of photos showing members of the US military posing proudly with dead Afghans just this Sunday. Hopefully this will prove to be a fairly isolated incident and not the sort of widespread abuse seen at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
The New Moon of April 3rd will be loosely conjunct Jupiter, still in opposition to the natal and transiting Saturn placement and square to the natal Sun (setting up a powerful T-square aspect), and could signify new developments of government and big business corruption issues. Perhaps a planning phase will begin for a national movement against the Federal Reserve system or the IRS, or perhaps some related information will be brought out through the mainstream media. Either way, the days surrounding the 3rd look to be full of fireworks.
We're only beginning the second phase of the US Saturn return, and already we're seeing some of the most chaotic times in recent memory coming to pass. It should come as no surprise that much is yet to be decided in the near- and long-term fates of the US, with another "stop-gap" spending bill pushing the big issues back another couple weeks, but so far we can see that things have only escalated. That's never a good sign when dealing with a Saturn return, as the worse things seem to be, the worse they will inevitably get.
During the weeks preceding the final conjunction of this Saturn return on August 28th, we should see things calm down significantly on the domestic front. This will be noticeable once Jupiter transits into Taurus on June 4th and stability, renewed optimism and a sense of direction take shape nationally.
Leading up to that time, the big news stories to hit headlines will likely deal with many of the same issues of last fall, specifically those of October and November. As Americans continue to wake up to the various forms of corruption and criminal mischief at the highest levels of government and big business, many of the same debates of 2010 will be replayed, this time with a new sense of clarity and purpose. The big fight, delayed over and over again, will finally take place in Congress as the fiscal irresponsibility of the last 7 years is exposed to some sunshine. The officials elected to office in November will be called upon to perform the toughest task of our times, and a high level of anxiety will hang over the debates taking place in Washington. The chaotic scenes of February in Wisconsin and Ohio will be seen again, likely at every state capitol, and perhaps even in DC before middle July.
Probably the most interesting thing to NOT develop thus far, in my opinion, is the promised WikiLeaks "bank data" release. The release will likely play the role of "biggest game-changer" when it finally does develop, possibly sparking massive banking reforms or even a sort of popular revolution. This may happen as soon as April 6th during the Sun/Jupiter conjunction, or as late as May 23rd as Mercury goes direct.
In any case, the next few months look to be chock full of "interesting times".
Showing posts with label astrology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label astrology. Show all posts
2.28.2011
When Mars and Saturn Conjunct, Expect Disaster
Something intriguing, and truly terrifying, happened last year from July 29th through August 2nd, and I am sure I'm not the only one who's noticed it. It's like everyone lost their friggin minds and the universe itself became hostile to life. People were quick to anger and nothing seemed to get done. Everything blew up in your face, all at once. It became a Hell on Earth, and it seemed to come out of nowhere. At least, that's how I experienced it.
You see, the two "big bad guys" of astrology, Mars and Saturn, went conjunct in the first degree of Libra. They formed a T-square with the Uranus/Jupiter conjunction on the Aries cusp in opposition and Pluto in Capricorn at the apex. Anyone paying attention should have seen it coming, and with my own natal Mars just beyond 1* Libra, and my natal Saturn at about 17* Libra, I definitely should have. But who would have thought a "silly conjunction" could lead to what transpired?
While this conjunction was happening, a friend and I were RVing our way out to New Mexico. We were on our way through Alabama on the 2nd, taking what I believed to be the more relaxed and scenic route. A severe, record-smashing heatwave was in progress, with temperatures soaring over 110*F and humidity beyond anything I thought was possible on this planet, so we had been driving at night. Each day, when the roads got too hot to drive safely, we'd pull off and either find a motel or pull into a rest area. This particular morning, we had pulled into a rest area and had fired up the generator so we could run the AC. When the generator would overheated and quit on us, which happened at a fairly regular interval, I'd wait a little while before running out to fire it back up. Meanwhile, we were kicking back and enjoying the AC, chatting about trivial things and what had been on the radio that night. I remember my friend telling me a story about something that had happened that morning which struck me funny in a bad way. I knew then that it was important, but I had no idea that it was foreshadowing the week-long living nightmare that would have us actually fearing for our lives.
She had gone to get a couple gallons of water from the restrooms. On her way up to the restrooms, a young shirtless man, American Indian, pointed her toward an old style water pump. Not thinking much of it, she went over and started pumping like crazy trying to fill the jugs. Barely anything was coming out. She gave up and went into the restroom to use the sink at this point, if memory serves. After getting the water and on her way back to the RV, an old man (I think she said he was wearing all black) was walking down the steps next to her and had said something to her. For the life of me, I can't remember what he said to her, but it struck me as a sort of admonition or judgement, whatever it was.
I had immediately remembered that Saturn and Mars were conjunct in Libra, and connected it to that - the young shirtless man represented Mars as "Warrior" (with a mean sense of humor evidently) and the old man was Saturn as "Judge". We both got a bit of a chuckle out of it, but didn't really know what to make of it.
It was only a little while later, on one of my trips out to fire up the generator, that I realized we had sprung a massive leak and gasoline was pouring out from under my friend's RV. An urgent call went in to her roadside assistance service and before we knew it, all hell seemed to be breaking loose. They had called out the fire department, police and hazmat. The entire rest area was being cleared out for fear of explosions. For people who don't like to be in the spotlight, this was becoming humiliating.
Hours were going by as we waited for a tow truck to show up, and temperatures were already soaring over 110*F in that unshaded parking lot. My friend and I were overtired and hungry, and quickly becoming severely dehydrated and sunburned. Nothing was going right. In my attempts to figure out the cause of the leak, and hopefully stop everything from pouring out of the tank, my whole upper body and most of my face had become covered with dirt, melted tar and gasoline. It felt like my skin was on fire as the gasoline burned the surface of my skin. A second call had gone in to roadside assistance...A third... "Someone should be out there in about 45 minutes," they kept saying.
The police and hazmat team had left after a little while, but "fire and rescue" stayed waiting for the tow truck to show. Their "chief", or whatever he was, continuously quizzed me, asking pointed questions as if probing for dirt and honestly looking to piss me off. This guy wanted to pick a fight with me for whatever reason. It was a miracle I didn't knock the guy's teeth down his throat, honestly - I was stressed right to (what I thought was the breaking point) and this guy was purposely, and very obviously, trying to throw me over the edge.
After about the 5th call in to her roadside assistance (it all got pretty blurry after a while), we learned that they had been waiting for an "all clear" phone call from the fire department before they could send out a tow truck. "Wow, what a mess," was all I could say. Once we were told they were waiting for this, and they were told in no uncertain terms that the fire department had been waiting for hours with us, we were finally able to get our tow.
When the tow truck had arrived, the driver insisted that it was ok for us to leave my friend's car on the tow dolly attached to her rig while he towed it. This way I could follow with my rig and my friend, who was in no shape to be driving, with severe dehydration and sun poisoning setting in, could just ride with me as we followed him to the shop. Everything seemed great until he got it on the highway and commenced driving at speeds over 65 miles per hour. I could barely keep up, hauling my rig with my undersized truck, and we could see the car violently bouncing all over the road behind him.
And that's when then the next series of disasters began. You see, the roadside assistance service called him to come out and haul the rig to a closer shop where another company would fix the gas leak. We ended up getting towed miles further, into what seemed the middle of nowhere, to the "shop" run by the towing company. But this "shop" was not a shop at all - it was a scrap yard. We found ourselves standing inside a barbed wire fence and surrounded by busted up cars and trucks, rusty and falling apart, replete with bullet holes and smashed up windshields, in the middle of Central Alabama, miles from the nearest town. The place was truly like something out of a horror film.
They asked me to pull the car off the tow dolly so they could back up the rig into the shade and start working on it - no problem...but as I put the car into gear, a loud grinding sound erupted from underneath. The car rolled back off the dolly and the driver's side wheel went sideways! The ball joint had snapped, quite obviously from the violent 70mph towing, and now nobody wanted to fix it!
At this point, trying to handle all the pressure, as I argued angrily with the people that ran the scrap yard, I found myself shaking all over and on the verge of hysteria. All I knew was someone had to fix this. We couldn't even put the car back on the tow dolly the way it was! My friend, at this point, was beginning to pass in and out of consciousness, and was becoming delirious, because of the extreme heat and dehydration combined with sun poisoning from severe sunburn. My keys had gone missing and the pets were locked up in my 5th wheel, baking in the full sun.
I found myself in the middle of a literal Hell on Earth.
I don't know who made the call, but somebody decided to cut me a bit of slack. Someone was sent out to fix the car. A small miracle. Of course, they weren't going to fix it for free - we would have to pay for parts and labor. They had no idea how that ball joint broke and assumed zero responsibility for it. Being stuck the way we were, I said no problem...I just wanted things fixed so we could get away from there ASAP. Interestingly, the timing of this small reprieve coincides with the Moon coming within a 3* orb of my natal Sun in Taurus.
But then a new disaster began. Yes, another disaster. Evidently, after arguing with the woman in the "office" (if you could call it that), she had decided to call her brother to come "beat me up". It was suddenly like a fight scene from a grade school playground - this guy comes walking over and starts pushing and shoving me. Six others come out from nowhere and begin circling. I remember the guy having some kind of long metal tool in his hands - a tire iron? I'm yelling at this guy to calm down - that I don't want to fight anyone - barely believing this is happening. He's in a fit of rage, yelling about something to do with his sister and me threatening her, and can't even hear me. My friend suddenly appeared in the middle of all this, pushing the guy back and yelling at him. Absolute chaos.
Honestly, I remember so very little, and everything was basically a blur, but no punches were ever thrown and nobody got hurt. It's like another small miracle occurred. Next thing I remember was that I was trying to help the guy who was tasked with fixing the gas leak, handing him tools again. I assume I was starting to black out because of the extreme stress, both physical and mental. A good portion of the day is nothing but a hazy fog.
Anyway, the "shop" was proving itself completely incompetent at this point, and was unable to fix the gas leak. We ended up spending the night boondocking (no water/electric/sewer) in their dirt "parking lot" and once everyone left the scrap yard for the night, we contacted the roadside assistance service and told them all of what had happened. They seemed extremely concerned and informed us to call the next day if they weren't getting it fixed right away, or if there was any more trouble whatsoever. I had some water still in my tanks and a fully charged battery, so I was finally able to get the gasoline and other filth off my skin. At this point, though, I was pretty numb all over and wasn't feeling any pain. We settled in and talked about the events of the day in utter disbelief. Needless to say, we waited all night for someone to show up looking to "disappear" our bodies in that scrap yard.
The next day we were woken at 7:30am and informed they wanted to start on fixing the leak "first thing". Hours went by as the temperature increased and nothing was touched. At noon, we gave the roadside assistance another call to let them know that nothing had been done. They replied, in a somewhat snotty tone, that they couldn't do anything about it and we'd just have to wait. I can tell you, the look on our faces must have been priceless.
About an hour later, however, the "shop" decided to send someone out to begin working on it. Less than 2 hours later, they told us it was fixed and we owed them some outrageous amount of money. They claimed to have adjusted the carburetor, replaced hoses and all other sorts of unnecessary and non-approved work. We happily payed them and left that place as fast as we could.
On our way to the highway, we pulled off to wait for the roads to cool down as it had been another scorcher with temperatures around 110*F. We couldn't afford to ruin expensive tires on hot roads, especially now. Besides that, we desperately needed a mental and emotional break before we got back on the road. The ordeal of the last two days had been rough on both of us, so we got some fast food and sat in a grassy spot under a shade tree, relaxing for a couple hours.
As the sun got lower in the sky and the roads began to cool, we made our way back to the rigs to get ready for the road...and we found another puddle of gas starting to develop.
Another call in to the roadside service - and we flat out refused to have the same people work on the leak. After some arguing and talking with supervisors, they called the place we were supposed to be towed to originally who showed up in record time to tow the rig. The story of what had happened at the last place had been told, so this shop went the extra mile to make sure we were comfortable - even going so far as to get us water and electric hookups so we could shower and run the AC...but then the waiting game began...
Hours went by...and then days...without any work being done on the leak. The one mechanic they had on duty was being called over and over to on-site truck repairs, one after another, until he could barely stand up straight. We didn't dare complain. The mechanic was friendly, plus we had water and AC now, so we felt that to complain or seem impatient would be insulting...if not to him, then to the universe itself.
Days went by as we waited patiently for him to have time. Each night we spent there, we found ourselves keeping our ears perked, listening for the people from the scrap yard looking to get revenge for our complaints. We started to feel like prisoners - like we'd never get out of Alabama without leaving my friend's RV behind.
Finally, as Venus conjuncted with Saturn on the 9th, the mechanic found a couple hours in his day to fix the leak. He told us that he felt bad we had to wait so long, and gave us a deal on labor. And that night, we were back on the road.
I'm wondering if anyone else out there had an experience last summer coinciding with that Mars and Saturn conjunction. If you did, what happened? Was it related to heat? Combustion? Anger? Broken metal or bones? Delays?
I, for one, will never underestimate the power of transits again.
You see, the two "big bad guys" of astrology, Mars and Saturn, went conjunct in the first degree of Libra. They formed a T-square with the Uranus/Jupiter conjunction on the Aries cusp in opposition and Pluto in Capricorn at the apex. Anyone paying attention should have seen it coming, and with my own natal Mars just beyond 1* Libra, and my natal Saturn at about 17* Libra, I definitely should have. But who would have thought a "silly conjunction" could lead to what transpired?
While this conjunction was happening, a friend and I were RVing our way out to New Mexico. We were on our way through Alabama on the 2nd, taking what I believed to be the more relaxed and scenic route. A severe, record-smashing heatwave was in progress, with temperatures soaring over 110*F and humidity beyond anything I thought was possible on this planet, so we had been driving at night. Each day, when the roads got too hot to drive safely, we'd pull off and either find a motel or pull into a rest area. This particular morning, we had pulled into a rest area and had fired up the generator so we could run the AC. When the generator would overheated and quit on us, which happened at a fairly regular interval, I'd wait a little while before running out to fire it back up. Meanwhile, we were kicking back and enjoying the AC, chatting about trivial things and what had been on the radio that night. I remember my friend telling me a story about something that had happened that morning which struck me funny in a bad way. I knew then that it was important, but I had no idea that it was foreshadowing the week-long living nightmare that would have us actually fearing for our lives.
She had gone to get a couple gallons of water from the restrooms. On her way up to the restrooms, a young shirtless man, American Indian, pointed her toward an old style water pump. Not thinking much of it, she went over and started pumping like crazy trying to fill the jugs. Barely anything was coming out. She gave up and went into the restroom to use the sink at this point, if memory serves. After getting the water and on her way back to the RV, an old man (I think she said he was wearing all black) was walking down the steps next to her and had said something to her. For the life of me, I can't remember what he said to her, but it struck me as a sort of admonition or judgement, whatever it was.
I had immediately remembered that Saturn and Mars were conjunct in Libra, and connected it to that - the young shirtless man represented Mars as "Warrior" (with a mean sense of humor evidently) and the old man was Saturn as "Judge". We both got a bit of a chuckle out of it, but didn't really know what to make of it.
It was only a little while later, on one of my trips out to fire up the generator, that I realized we had sprung a massive leak and gasoline was pouring out from under my friend's RV. An urgent call went in to her roadside assistance service and before we knew it, all hell seemed to be breaking loose. They had called out the fire department, police and hazmat. The entire rest area was being cleared out for fear of explosions. For people who don't like to be in the spotlight, this was becoming humiliating.
Hours were going by as we waited for a tow truck to show up, and temperatures were already soaring over 110*F in that unshaded parking lot. My friend and I were overtired and hungry, and quickly becoming severely dehydrated and sunburned. Nothing was going right. In my attempts to figure out the cause of the leak, and hopefully stop everything from pouring out of the tank, my whole upper body and most of my face had become covered with dirt, melted tar and gasoline. It felt like my skin was on fire as the gasoline burned the surface of my skin. A second call had gone in to roadside assistance...A third... "Someone should be out there in about 45 minutes," they kept saying.
The police and hazmat team had left after a little while, but "fire and rescue" stayed waiting for the tow truck to show. Their "chief", or whatever he was, continuously quizzed me, asking pointed questions as if probing for dirt and honestly looking to piss me off. This guy wanted to pick a fight with me for whatever reason. It was a miracle I didn't knock the guy's teeth down his throat, honestly - I was stressed right to (what I thought was the breaking point) and this guy was purposely, and very obviously, trying to throw me over the edge.
After about the 5th call in to her roadside assistance (it all got pretty blurry after a while), we learned that they had been waiting for an "all clear" phone call from the fire department before they could send out a tow truck. "Wow, what a mess," was all I could say. Once we were told they were waiting for this, and they were told in no uncertain terms that the fire department had been waiting for hours with us, we were finally able to get our tow.
When the tow truck had arrived, the driver insisted that it was ok for us to leave my friend's car on the tow dolly attached to her rig while he towed it. This way I could follow with my rig and my friend, who was in no shape to be driving, with severe dehydration and sun poisoning setting in, could just ride with me as we followed him to the shop. Everything seemed great until he got it on the highway and commenced driving at speeds over 65 miles per hour. I could barely keep up, hauling my rig with my undersized truck, and we could see the car violently bouncing all over the road behind him.
And that's when then the next series of disasters began. You see, the roadside assistance service called him to come out and haul the rig to a closer shop where another company would fix the gas leak. We ended up getting towed miles further, into what seemed the middle of nowhere, to the "shop" run by the towing company. But this "shop" was not a shop at all - it was a scrap yard. We found ourselves standing inside a barbed wire fence and surrounded by busted up cars and trucks, rusty and falling apart, replete with bullet holes and smashed up windshields, in the middle of Central Alabama, miles from the nearest town. The place was truly like something out of a horror film.
They asked me to pull the car off the tow dolly so they could back up the rig into the shade and start working on it - no problem...but as I put the car into gear, a loud grinding sound erupted from underneath. The car rolled back off the dolly and the driver's side wheel went sideways! The ball joint had snapped, quite obviously from the violent 70mph towing, and now nobody wanted to fix it!
At this point, trying to handle all the pressure, as I argued angrily with the people that ran the scrap yard, I found myself shaking all over and on the verge of hysteria. All I knew was someone had to fix this. We couldn't even put the car back on the tow dolly the way it was! My friend, at this point, was beginning to pass in and out of consciousness, and was becoming delirious, because of the extreme heat and dehydration combined with sun poisoning from severe sunburn. My keys had gone missing and the pets were locked up in my 5th wheel, baking in the full sun.
I found myself in the middle of a literal Hell on Earth.
I don't know who made the call, but somebody decided to cut me a bit of slack. Someone was sent out to fix the car. A small miracle. Of course, they weren't going to fix it for free - we would have to pay for parts and labor. They had no idea how that ball joint broke and assumed zero responsibility for it. Being stuck the way we were, I said no problem...I just wanted things fixed so we could get away from there ASAP. Interestingly, the timing of this small reprieve coincides with the Moon coming within a 3* orb of my natal Sun in Taurus.
But then a new disaster began. Yes, another disaster. Evidently, after arguing with the woman in the "office" (if you could call it that), she had decided to call her brother to come "beat me up". It was suddenly like a fight scene from a grade school playground - this guy comes walking over and starts pushing and shoving me. Six others come out from nowhere and begin circling. I remember the guy having some kind of long metal tool in his hands - a tire iron? I'm yelling at this guy to calm down - that I don't want to fight anyone - barely believing this is happening. He's in a fit of rage, yelling about something to do with his sister and me threatening her, and can't even hear me. My friend suddenly appeared in the middle of all this, pushing the guy back and yelling at him. Absolute chaos.
Honestly, I remember so very little, and everything was basically a blur, but no punches were ever thrown and nobody got hurt. It's like another small miracle occurred. Next thing I remember was that I was trying to help the guy who was tasked with fixing the gas leak, handing him tools again. I assume I was starting to black out because of the extreme stress, both physical and mental. A good portion of the day is nothing but a hazy fog.
Anyway, the "shop" was proving itself completely incompetent at this point, and was unable to fix the gas leak. We ended up spending the night boondocking (no water/electric/sewer) in their dirt "parking lot" and once everyone left the scrap yard for the night, we contacted the roadside assistance service and told them all of what had happened. They seemed extremely concerned and informed us to call the next day if they weren't getting it fixed right away, or if there was any more trouble whatsoever. I had some water still in my tanks and a fully charged battery, so I was finally able to get the gasoline and other filth off my skin. At this point, though, I was pretty numb all over and wasn't feeling any pain. We settled in and talked about the events of the day in utter disbelief. Needless to say, we waited all night for someone to show up looking to "disappear" our bodies in that scrap yard.
The next day we were woken at 7:30am and informed they wanted to start on fixing the leak "first thing". Hours went by as the temperature increased and nothing was touched. At noon, we gave the roadside assistance another call to let them know that nothing had been done. They replied, in a somewhat snotty tone, that they couldn't do anything about it and we'd just have to wait. I can tell you, the look on our faces must have been priceless.
About an hour later, however, the "shop" decided to send someone out to begin working on it. Less than 2 hours later, they told us it was fixed and we owed them some outrageous amount of money. They claimed to have adjusted the carburetor, replaced hoses and all other sorts of unnecessary and non-approved work. We happily payed them and left that place as fast as we could.
On our way to the highway, we pulled off to wait for the roads to cool down as it had been another scorcher with temperatures around 110*F. We couldn't afford to ruin expensive tires on hot roads, especially now. Besides that, we desperately needed a mental and emotional break before we got back on the road. The ordeal of the last two days had been rough on both of us, so we got some fast food and sat in a grassy spot under a shade tree, relaxing for a couple hours.
As the sun got lower in the sky and the roads began to cool, we made our way back to the rigs to get ready for the road...and we found another puddle of gas starting to develop.
Another call in to the roadside service - and we flat out refused to have the same people work on the leak. After some arguing and talking with supervisors, they called the place we were supposed to be towed to originally who showed up in record time to tow the rig. The story of what had happened at the last place had been told, so this shop went the extra mile to make sure we were comfortable - even going so far as to get us water and electric hookups so we could shower and run the AC...but then the waiting game began...
Hours went by...and then days...without any work being done on the leak. The one mechanic they had on duty was being called over and over to on-site truck repairs, one after another, until he could barely stand up straight. We didn't dare complain. The mechanic was friendly, plus we had water and AC now, so we felt that to complain or seem impatient would be insulting...if not to him, then to the universe itself.
Days went by as we waited patiently for him to have time. Each night we spent there, we found ourselves keeping our ears perked, listening for the people from the scrap yard looking to get revenge for our complaints. We started to feel like prisoners - like we'd never get out of Alabama without leaving my friend's RV behind.
Finally, as Venus conjuncted with Saturn on the 9th, the mechanic found a couple hours in his day to fix the leak. He told us that he felt bad we had to wait so long, and gave us a deal on labor. And that night, we were back on the road.
I'm wondering if anyone else out there had an experience last summer coinciding with that Mars and Saturn conjunction. If you did, what happened? Was it related to heat? Combustion? Anger? Broken metal or bones? Delays?
I, for one, will never underestimate the power of transits again.
1.29.2011
Those Damn Web Bots...Again and Again...
Thought I'd put a little bit up on the progress of the web bot predictions and how things have come to play out since the last update I posted, Latest Updates from Web Bots and Assange's Plan B. In that post I noted firstly the imminent "dam" near-disaster, related to it "nearly collapsing" or "scooting off its base", and being caught in the nick of time by "sharp eyes". As we know, just days later, 4,500 people were evacuated as water began seeping under the large dirt levy that held back the massive flood waters. Not quite a dam, per say, but it might as well have been.
Moving forward, I hadn't actually posted anything about the update Clif posted on January 4th about [logical frank] and the [testing] of [the Irish] [face]. In this update, stressing was done about the importance of the temporal marker nature of the "wild colleen" meme and the appearance of the "logical Frank" meme, along with the little red book. On this "logical Frank", Clif writes:
He goes on to write that the linguistics specifically point to the period as being seen, from a future perspective looking back, as "monumental", though through our eyes as it unfolds as "epic".
The real key to all of this becomes "the Irish" being somehow "tested". Specifically, the "face" of "the Irish". This should take shape as we approach summer and be apparent around midsummer and heading out toward this fall, but I think we might get a serious taste of this in the next few weeks as things continue unfolding in this "global revolution" already well underway. For those of you living under a rock - yes, UNDERWAY. UNDERWAY, UNDERWAY, and UNDERWAY.
Of course, this started with protests in Tunisia on January 6th and 7th that led to the total revolt and ousting of government by the 14th.
Clif goes on to state that a woman will be the center of this "Irish face". Go figure. As I looked over the current US Saturn return, I picked up on a possible woman (signified by Venus with Neptune conjuncting the US natal Moon) being at the center of some controversy, and thus coming into the spotlight, occurring toward the end of March. I can't help but think this may be the time period where the final "wild Colleen" herself, acting as the "face" of "the Irish", comes into the spotlight. I mean, honestly, with astrology we see markers...get a general idea of things...and the general idea is that some form of political dissent will be brought forth over human rights issues, and these are tied inextricably with the "melting pot" and personal freedom loving natures of that US natal Moon. This is a unique marker in the progress of the US Saturn return and seems to point to a significant shifting on what we Americans think about over the next 7 to 14 years. If I'm right, the first signs of this would show up around February 14th in what could become called the "Valentine's Day Protests", as the Sun, Mercury and Mars transit this point.
This Saturn return is about a national face lift here in the US, but it has significant international ramifications as it's painfully clear that the spirit of the US is no longer confined to our tiny quadrant of the world. The "American Dream" has spread throughout the world and, in a very real sense, the fate of the world is directly tied to challenges we face in the US. Will we all come together in a great global protest against un-American ideals, or will we, the American's, take a back seat and let the rest of the world achieve what we once upon a time achieved, letting our own domestic situation degrade into what they face today? I suppose we'll find out soon.
Moving forward, I hadn't actually posted anything about the update Clif posted on January 4th about [logical frank] and the [testing] of [the Irish] [face]. In this update, stressing was done about the importance of the temporal marker nature of the "wild colleen" meme and the appearance of the "logical Frank" meme, along with the little red book. On this "logical Frank", Clif writes:
the [logical Frank] would have a [direct] and [leading] role relative to the [great global awakening] a2bka (also to be known as) from the point of view of the ThePowersThatWere, the 'great revolution'...It is the [great global awakening] that will define the underlying emotional 'tone' of this year, 2011. From our work, the data seems to be forecasting 2011 as a year of some significance, that is to say, a year of recognized, and fundamental, change.
He goes on to write that the linguistics specifically point to the period as being seen, from a future perspective looking back, as "monumental", though through our eyes as it unfolds as "epic".
The real key to all of this becomes "the Irish" being somehow "tested". Specifically, the "face" of "the Irish". This should take shape as we approach summer and be apparent around midsummer and heading out toward this fall, but I think we might get a serious taste of this in the next few weeks as things continue unfolding in this "global revolution" already well underway. For those of you living under a rock - yes, UNDERWAY. UNDERWAY, UNDERWAY, and UNDERWAY.
Of course, this started with protests in Tunisia on January 6th and 7th that led to the total revolt and ousting of government by the 14th.
Clif goes on to state that a woman will be the center of this "Irish face". Go figure. As I looked over the current US Saturn return, I picked up on a possible woman (signified by Venus with Neptune conjuncting the US natal Moon) being at the center of some controversy, and thus coming into the spotlight, occurring toward the end of March. I can't help but think this may be the time period where the final "wild Colleen" herself, acting as the "face" of "the Irish", comes into the spotlight. I mean, honestly, with astrology we see markers...get a general idea of things...and the general idea is that some form of political dissent will be brought forth over human rights issues, and these are tied inextricably with the "melting pot" and personal freedom loving natures of that US natal Moon. This is a unique marker in the progress of the US Saturn return and seems to point to a significant shifting on what we Americans think about over the next 7 to 14 years. If I'm right, the first signs of this would show up around February 14th in what could become called the "Valentine's Day Protests", as the Sun, Mercury and Mars transit this point.
This Saturn return is about a national face lift here in the US, but it has significant international ramifications as it's painfully clear that the spirit of the US is no longer confined to our tiny quadrant of the world. The "American Dream" has spread throughout the world and, in a very real sense, the fate of the world is directly tied to challenges we face in the US. Will we all come together in a great global protest against un-American ideals, or will we, the American's, take a back seat and let the rest of the world achieve what we once upon a time achieved, letting our own domestic situation degrade into what they face today? I suppose we'll find out soon.
1.26.2011
The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 3
As we found in the study of previous Saturn returns (The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 1 and Part 2), every 28-30 years, the US is challenged by the transit Saturn over the US natal position. During each past occurance, problems with the structure of government were pushed into the public spotlight and the future course of the nation was decided by a single generation. The US was, in a sense, challenged to "grow up" and take on greater responsibilities through drastic reform in government structures. Often, there was also a cosmic call for humility.
The current Saturn return is likely no different, and the fate of the US again hangs in the balance. Today, we are in the midst of what may become known as the worst depression in US history, with prolonged and record levels of unemployment, blatant fraud and corruption running rampant throughout the highest levels of our economy, and sweeping policy changes, such as health care, being made (and possibly undone) in a mere matter of months. The US is entrenched in what has been dubbed a "global war on terrorism" at the same time as the nation has become intensely divided amongst itself over a veritable laundry list of political, social and economic issues. We are bombarded daily with headlines that scream at us the extreme importance of making the right choices today, and the dire consequences that await our nation if we don't.
In the conclusion to this extended three part posting, I will take a closer look into the current Saturn return. I'll begin by first analyzing the global and generational forces, namely those of Pluto, Neptune and Uranus, that give us clues to the forms of challenge the US currently faces. This will establish a sort of framework that was put forward during the initial transit of the Saturn return on December 3, 2010. I will then take a look at the more "personal" aspects of this return, taking into account other planetary transits, and the various aspects to the US natal chart, at the subsequent transit points of the Saturn return. This should give us the detail we need to "flesh out" the framework established.
In January of 2008, Pluto began it's 18 year long transit through the sign of Capricorn, which will culminate in 2022 with the first Pluto return to be experienced by the US. This sign placement has, as it did last between 1762 and 1777, turned the global focus toward revolutionary transformations in both government and "big business". The flavor of this transit has an organizational quality, lending to the structural, Saturnian nature of Capricorn, where new organizations are brought forth from individual desires for transformation.
Currently, Pluto is transiting the US natal 1st house, placing its influence on matters of personality. In fact, the nature of 1st house transits on the US chart could be said to define the "face" of the nation, both domestically and internationally. The 1st house acts as a dividing line between "self" and "other", represented in the opposing 1st and 7th houses. Activation of the 1st house by any planetary transits tend to focus a spotlight on this dividing line. In 2000, when Pluto entered the 1st house in Jupiter ruled Sagittarius, issues of personal freedoms and of philosophical or ideological conflicts, all Sagittarian issues, were dragged into this spotlight. The US quickly found itself at war with opposing ideologies all over the world through the expansive "War on Terror". Since entering Capricorn, however, this "expansive" nature of the war has been under constant public attack. A more conservative, Saturnian desire to define and restrict the line between "self" and "other" has taken the spotlight. Focus has turned toward the individual's place in the world, and toward the governmental structures that directly represent him. In a sense, the John Q. Public is being compelled to literally transform the "face" of the nation into a more accurate representation of himself.
Looking to Neptune, and the role it plays in defining the "American Dream" (see Part 2 for more on this), we find it conjunct the US natal Moon placement in Aquarius and the 3rd house. The US natal Moon here has often been thought to represent the "melting pot" mentality of the public, the high ideal of "equal rights", as well as the "Don't Tread on Me" attitude that the US has always held in high regard. Neptune in this place, however, is said to create a fog that causes confusion, and potentially delusion, surrounding the functioning of a natal planet. Neptune first moved into Aquarius in 1998 while in the US natal 2nd house, and it transited into the 3rd house, making its current conjunction with the US natal Moon, back in the early summer of 2008. This was just as the presidential election campaigns were reaching their fever-pitch. Neptune's transit here had led to a sense of confused devotional fanatiscism surrounding the campaigns, especially that of Obama who was heralded on more than one occassion as a messiah and was subsequently awarded a Nobel Peace Prize before he had even completed a year in office. Obvious, too, was the effect it has had on the campaigning of Sarah Palin and the continued frenzied support of Ron Paul.
As Neptune transits the rebellious sign of Aquarius and the 3rd house of mind, a push for more open and high-minded ways of thinking has, in fact, become important to the individual. The American Dream today is to actively stand up and fight for the highest ideals, including personal freedoms and the rights of man himself, rather than to stand by while a greedy and powerful elite strip these freedoms away. This placement of Neptune in the early 3rd house, however, is also a harbinger of lost direction and mistranslations. Neptune confounds the sense of logic while in the 3rd house, causing rational decision making to become difficult. With Aquarius considered the sign of the masses, this confusion becomes most apparant when looking at large groups of people.
A more intuitive approach to thinking is required under this placement, as Neptune is capable of revealing hidden truths while in this house. It can be expected, however, that neither will the books balance nor the truth be spoken with any sort of elloquence. Poetry, art and music become more effective means of communicating with this placement, and deep meditation or occultic research will prove fruitful. Public speeches and the figures of accounting will suffer. George W. Bush, with his natal Neptune placement in the 3rd house, shows us how difficult it can be to say what you mean under this influence with his countless blunders ("Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.").
Uranus, the planet of revolution itself, also is seen transiting late in the 3rd house, near the cusp of Pisces and Aries. It was last in Pisces during the Saturn return of the 1920s, which manifested as a sort of "drunken revolution". Since it entered Pisces in early 2003, it has called for a return to a conservative balance in all things, and to avoid the decadence of extremes that forever challenge planetary placements in Pisces. Just as it did then, it shows we are in a time of fiscal extremism where the money supply has been increased beyond all reason. The threat of the wrong decisions with this placement are clear, as 7 years after the Saturn return of 1922 and 1923, with Uranus transiting early in Aries, the US found itself experiencing the Great Depression.
So our framework is established, as Pluto tells of a time where the symbolic face of the nation is being transformed through radical adjustment of governmental structure and big business, and Neptune of a time where the American Dream itself has become an irrational, confused frenzy of devotional fanatiscism, personal freedoms and high ideals. Uranus tells us that the time of Piscean extremes and the "too much is never enough" mentality are nearing an end, that we may be about to experience an Aries induced financial hangover.
As we look to some of the aspects of these generational influences, we do find a spectacular opposition from Pluto to the natal US Jupiter and Venus conjunction at the first transit of this Saturn return. These planets, often considered the Greater and Lesser Benefics, respectively, play an integral role in international relations by their placement in the 7th house. Specifically, these planets lend a pleasantness to international affairs, and help ensure the US is held in high regard by our closest allies. With Pluto making an opposition to them, however, the very nature of these alliances is being pushed to transform, and the "self versus other" paradigm is again brought to mind.
The 7th house, however, defines all close relationships, both "good" ones and "bad". This opposition, then, also marks relations with US enemies. The placement of Jupiter conjunct with Venus has given the US an appearance of almost mystical strength to such "enemies" throughout much of American history, but this opposition is highlighting every weakness of the US on the world stage.
We also find a sextile from Uranus in Pisces to the natal Pluto position in Capricorn and the 2nd house. In this relationship, an easy exchange of energies between the revolutionary nature of the transiting Uranus and the transformational nature of the natal Pluto is being manifest through the push we see for revolution in our monetary policy. Debt has been called front-and-center, as it becomes the biggest hurdle to American progress. The US public has found itself shackled with credit card and mortgage debts that it simply can't pay, and big business is drowning in their pools of "troubled assets". Debt relief is on the ticket and Uranus is daring us to go for the ride.
Jupiter, itself loosely conjunct with transiting Uranus, is seen in a loose opposition to the natal placement of Neptune. This is marking a time when the American Dream is itself seemingly opposed to our own philosophical ideals and direction of growth. This can also be seen manifest in the financial troubles afflicting the country. Americans have found themselves unable to save, barely making it paycheck to paycheck, when they know that's exactly what they should be doing.
With Venus and the Moon transiting the 11th house in Scorpio, we glean an important element of how the return initially manifests itself. Specifically, we see a feminine energy, likely a woman, brought into the spotlight in the international affairs of the 11th house. This relates to secrets, which is the domain of Scorpio. The Sun is also seen conjuncting the natal ascendant, a time of world attention being focused, for better or worse, on the personality of the US itself.
Interestingly, on November 29th, just 5 days before the first transit of Saturn to its exact natal degree, WikiLeaks released the first group of US diplomatic cables. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was seen frantically traveling the world trying to minimize damage to international relations leading up to the release of what was subsequently dubbed "Cablegate". Since this time, of course, the US government has been publicly pursuing various ways in which to charge Julian Assange of WikiLeaks for espionage.
Also of note is the sextile aspect of transiting Mars in Sagittarius and the 1st house to the US natal Moon. This speaks clearly of anger relating to human rights, and matches nicely to that caused by the increased security at airports nationwide during the latter half of November. This reached it's climax just before the first transit of the current Saturn return, marking it as another key event in deciphering the root challenges facing the nation.
On March 22nd, the US will experience the second, retrograde transit of Saturn over the natal point. At this time, we find the Moon again transiting the 11th house and Scorpio, bringing a woman into the spotlight on international affairs, though it appears she's in effect "distancing" herself from domestic issues, signified by a striking lack of accompanying aspects during the hours of closest conjunction.
Venus, this time, is seen conjunct the US natal Moon, along with transiting Neptune, showing some form of confusion being brought to light surrounding an issue connected with immigration or humanitarian aid. This could signify Obama, as well, with his election under this placement and the continuing debate over his official birth certificate. Also likely here is a public outburst of political dissent, organized by a woman of some prominence, over a personal rights issue.
Mars is in a strong opposition to the natal Neptune placement, and is loosely squaring its natal position in Gemini and the 7th house. This, I hate to say, is a very warlike aspect, showing outward hostilities against the US and the "American Dream". Though war is unlikely, rhetoric and posturing is to be expected with this placement, and issues relating to oil (Pisces) will be likely to make the headlines on a daily basis.
Jupiter is seen loosely opposing the natal (and transiting) Saturn placement, and squaring the US natal Sun, as the transiting Sun conjuncts with Uranus and the IC in the first degrees of Aries. This portends an especially heated time domestically, when national security is on a literal knife's edge. It's likely that we'll see a man come into the public eye at this time who is vehemently indicting the US on the world stage, through the exposure of some form of corruption in the highest levels of government or big business. This, in turn, causes public outcry. Protests and demonstrations, domestically and internationally, are very likely. Another possibility is that this man is actually being tried in the court system by the US government on charges that are contrary to the public opinion, thus sparking the protests and public outcry.
Synthesizing these aspects and placements with the framework we established earlier shows us that late March and early April will most assuredly become the pivotal point in this Saturn return. Protests, political dissent, posturing and rhetoric will be grabbing headlines. The US will be domestically, and maybe also internationally, challenged to take a conservative, face-saving approach. It will be called out to rectify political and financial excesses of the last 7 years as the confusion that has surrounded issues of individual human rights and immigration, and even delusional political divisions, will begin to be lifted. The exposure of corruption, human rights violations and what look to be "decidedly un-American practices" by government or big business, through trials or public hearings, will cause public outrage, civil unrest and protests.
With Uranus entering the first degree of Aries, and conjunct the IC, the threat of a sudden and violent uprooting of domestic life and culture in the US, through natural or unnatural disasters, and possibly a complete collapse of the financial system, is a looming threat throughout both the spring and summer. It also shows us that the only good solution to the challenges of this return are in reforms that bring us back to our roots, as represented by the IC. Truly conservative, constitutionalist or libertarian policies will be debated on the floor of Congress and in the Senate for the first time in a more than century, almost certainly with support from the majority of Americans.
On August 28th, the third and final transit of the Saturn return will likely take place without much fanfare. At this point, Neptune is in retrograde, moving back into a tight conjunction with the US natal Moon placement, and thus bringing confusion back to the masses until late spring of 2012. With the Jupiter in Taurus and the 5th house, however, a sense of optimism is possible as there appears to be a clear direction established. This placement of Jupiter shows an increase in creative innovation for the nation, and a likely time of material stability, that should also last until late spring of 2012.
The current Saturn return is likely no different, and the fate of the US again hangs in the balance. Today, we are in the midst of what may become known as the worst depression in US history, with prolonged and record levels of unemployment, blatant fraud and corruption running rampant throughout the highest levels of our economy, and sweeping policy changes, such as health care, being made (and possibly undone) in a mere matter of months. The US is entrenched in what has been dubbed a "global war on terrorism" at the same time as the nation has become intensely divided amongst itself over a veritable laundry list of political, social and economic issues. We are bombarded daily with headlines that scream at us the extreme importance of making the right choices today, and the dire consequences that await our nation if we don't.
In the conclusion to this extended three part posting, I will take a closer look into the current Saturn return. I'll begin by first analyzing the global and generational forces, namely those of Pluto, Neptune and Uranus, that give us clues to the forms of challenge the US currently faces. This will establish a sort of framework that was put forward during the initial transit of the Saturn return on December 3, 2010. I will then take a look at the more "personal" aspects of this return, taking into account other planetary transits, and the various aspects to the US natal chart, at the subsequent transit points of the Saturn return. This should give us the detail we need to "flesh out" the framework established.
In January of 2008, Pluto began it's 18 year long transit through the sign of Capricorn, which will culminate in 2022 with the first Pluto return to be experienced by the US. This sign placement has, as it did last between 1762 and 1777, turned the global focus toward revolutionary transformations in both government and "big business". The flavor of this transit has an organizational quality, lending to the structural, Saturnian nature of Capricorn, where new organizations are brought forth from individual desires for transformation.
 |
| December 3, 2010 |
Looking to Neptune, and the role it plays in defining the "American Dream" (see Part 2 for more on this), we find it conjunct the US natal Moon placement in Aquarius and the 3rd house. The US natal Moon here has often been thought to represent the "melting pot" mentality of the public, the high ideal of "equal rights", as well as the "Don't Tread on Me" attitude that the US has always held in high regard. Neptune in this place, however, is said to create a fog that causes confusion, and potentially delusion, surrounding the functioning of a natal planet. Neptune first moved into Aquarius in 1998 while in the US natal 2nd house, and it transited into the 3rd house, making its current conjunction with the US natal Moon, back in the early summer of 2008. This was just as the presidential election campaigns were reaching their fever-pitch. Neptune's transit here had led to a sense of confused devotional fanatiscism surrounding the campaigns, especially that of Obama who was heralded on more than one occassion as a messiah and was subsequently awarded a Nobel Peace Prize before he had even completed a year in office. Obvious, too, was the effect it has had on the campaigning of Sarah Palin and the continued frenzied support of Ron Paul.
As Neptune transits the rebellious sign of Aquarius and the 3rd house of mind, a push for more open and high-minded ways of thinking has, in fact, become important to the individual. The American Dream today is to actively stand up and fight for the highest ideals, including personal freedoms and the rights of man himself, rather than to stand by while a greedy and powerful elite strip these freedoms away. This placement of Neptune in the early 3rd house, however, is also a harbinger of lost direction and mistranslations. Neptune confounds the sense of logic while in the 3rd house, causing rational decision making to become difficult. With Aquarius considered the sign of the masses, this confusion becomes most apparant when looking at large groups of people.
A more intuitive approach to thinking is required under this placement, as Neptune is capable of revealing hidden truths while in this house. It can be expected, however, that neither will the books balance nor the truth be spoken with any sort of elloquence. Poetry, art and music become more effective means of communicating with this placement, and deep meditation or occultic research will prove fruitful. Public speeches and the figures of accounting will suffer. George W. Bush, with his natal Neptune placement in the 3rd house, shows us how difficult it can be to say what you mean under this influence with his countless blunders ("Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.").
Uranus, the planet of revolution itself, also is seen transiting late in the 3rd house, near the cusp of Pisces and Aries. It was last in Pisces during the Saturn return of the 1920s, which manifested as a sort of "drunken revolution". Since it entered Pisces in early 2003, it has called for a return to a conservative balance in all things, and to avoid the decadence of extremes that forever challenge planetary placements in Pisces. Just as it did then, it shows we are in a time of fiscal extremism where the money supply has been increased beyond all reason. The threat of the wrong decisions with this placement are clear, as 7 years after the Saturn return of 1922 and 1923, with Uranus transiting early in Aries, the US found itself experiencing the Great Depression.
So our framework is established, as Pluto tells of a time where the symbolic face of the nation is being transformed through radical adjustment of governmental structure and big business, and Neptune of a time where the American Dream itself has become an irrational, confused frenzy of devotional fanatiscism, personal freedoms and high ideals. Uranus tells us that the time of Piscean extremes and the "too much is never enough" mentality are nearing an end, that we may be about to experience an Aries induced financial hangover.
 |
| December 3, 2010 |
The 7th house, however, defines all close relationships, both "good" ones and "bad". This opposition, then, also marks relations with US enemies. The placement of Jupiter conjunct with Venus has given the US an appearance of almost mystical strength to such "enemies" throughout much of American history, but this opposition is highlighting every weakness of the US on the world stage.
We also find a sextile from Uranus in Pisces to the natal Pluto position in Capricorn and the 2nd house. In this relationship, an easy exchange of energies between the revolutionary nature of the transiting Uranus and the transformational nature of the natal Pluto is being manifest through the push we see for revolution in our monetary policy. Debt has been called front-and-center, as it becomes the biggest hurdle to American progress. The US public has found itself shackled with credit card and mortgage debts that it simply can't pay, and big business is drowning in their pools of "troubled assets". Debt relief is on the ticket and Uranus is daring us to go for the ride.
Jupiter, itself loosely conjunct with transiting Uranus, is seen in a loose opposition to the natal placement of Neptune. This is marking a time when the American Dream is itself seemingly opposed to our own philosophical ideals and direction of growth. This can also be seen manifest in the financial troubles afflicting the country. Americans have found themselves unable to save, barely making it paycheck to paycheck, when they know that's exactly what they should be doing.
With Venus and the Moon transiting the 11th house in Scorpio, we glean an important element of how the return initially manifests itself. Specifically, we see a feminine energy, likely a woman, brought into the spotlight in the international affairs of the 11th house. This relates to secrets, which is the domain of Scorpio. The Sun is also seen conjuncting the natal ascendant, a time of world attention being focused, for better or worse, on the personality of the US itself.
Interestingly, on November 29th, just 5 days before the first transit of Saturn to its exact natal degree, WikiLeaks released the first group of US diplomatic cables. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was seen frantically traveling the world trying to minimize damage to international relations leading up to the release of what was subsequently dubbed "Cablegate". Since this time, of course, the US government has been publicly pursuing various ways in which to charge Julian Assange of WikiLeaks for espionage.
Also of note is the sextile aspect of transiting Mars in Sagittarius and the 1st house to the US natal Moon. This speaks clearly of anger relating to human rights, and matches nicely to that caused by the increased security at airports nationwide during the latter half of November. This reached it's climax just before the first transit of the current Saturn return, marking it as another key event in deciphering the root challenges facing the nation.
 |
| March 22, 2011 |
Venus, this time, is seen conjunct the US natal Moon, along with transiting Neptune, showing some form of confusion being brought to light surrounding an issue connected with immigration or humanitarian aid. This could signify Obama, as well, with his election under this placement and the continuing debate over his official birth certificate. Also likely here is a public outburst of political dissent, organized by a woman of some prominence, over a personal rights issue.
Mars is in a strong opposition to the natal Neptune placement, and is loosely squaring its natal position in Gemini and the 7th house. This, I hate to say, is a very warlike aspect, showing outward hostilities against the US and the "American Dream". Though war is unlikely, rhetoric and posturing is to be expected with this placement, and issues relating to oil (Pisces) will be likely to make the headlines on a daily basis.
Jupiter is seen loosely opposing the natal (and transiting) Saturn placement, and squaring the US natal Sun, as the transiting Sun conjuncts with Uranus and the IC in the first degrees of Aries. This portends an especially heated time domestically, when national security is on a literal knife's edge. It's likely that we'll see a man come into the public eye at this time who is vehemently indicting the US on the world stage, through the exposure of some form of corruption in the highest levels of government or big business. This, in turn, causes public outcry. Protests and demonstrations, domestically and internationally, are very likely. Another possibility is that this man is actually being tried in the court system by the US government on charges that are contrary to the public opinion, thus sparking the protests and public outcry.
Synthesizing these aspects and placements with the framework we established earlier shows us that late March and early April will most assuredly become the pivotal point in this Saturn return. Protests, political dissent, posturing and rhetoric will be grabbing headlines. The US will be domestically, and maybe also internationally, challenged to take a conservative, face-saving approach. It will be called out to rectify political and financial excesses of the last 7 years as the confusion that has surrounded issues of individual human rights and immigration, and even delusional political divisions, will begin to be lifted. The exposure of corruption, human rights violations and what look to be "decidedly un-American practices" by government or big business, through trials or public hearings, will cause public outrage, civil unrest and protests.
With Uranus entering the first degree of Aries, and conjunct the IC, the threat of a sudden and violent uprooting of domestic life and culture in the US, through natural or unnatural disasters, and possibly a complete collapse of the financial system, is a looming threat throughout both the spring and summer. It also shows us that the only good solution to the challenges of this return are in reforms that bring us back to our roots, as represented by the IC. Truly conservative, constitutionalist or libertarian policies will be debated on the floor of Congress and in the Senate for the first time in a more than century, almost certainly with support from the majority of Americans.
 |
| August 28, 2011 |
1.20.2011
The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 2
In The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 1, I reviewed the previous seven US Saturn returns and the events that coincided with them in order to illustrate the nature of Saturn returns in the US natal chart. In this, part 2, I will review some of the planetary placements during these previous returns, hopefully shedding some light on the other factors that shaped the events and gave each return it's own unique flavor of challenge.
To avoid too much analysis, and keep things more to point, we'll look specifically at the 3 outer planets beyond Saturn: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Pluto, the slowest moving of the 4, plays the largest role in each Saturn return, especially when looking at national charts, coloring the events of each return with both it's sign, on a global level, and by house placement for entire generations of Americans. The transit position of Pluto during each of the Saturn returns tells us exactly what area of life, and through what means, the US itself is being challenged to transform.
Neptune, also, gives us important generational markers, showing us what the "American Dream" looks like during a given time. For example, its natal placement in Virgo tells us that the original "American Dream" was that of structured work ethic and a more conservative spiritual or religious ideal. The highest ideal was a job well done. Being in the 9th house, this also gives us clues about a more joyful, freedom seeking spirit, with deep philosophical undertones, through the eyes of which the words "pursuit of happiness" make much more of an impact. As we follow Neptune's travels through the houses and signs, we can see the attitudes and values of the masses shift on a national level, giving us a barometer with which to judge the public sentiment and, for lack of a better term, cares.
And Uranus, the revolutionary of the chart, also gives us some key details in deciphering each of the returns; namely, its placement shows where the new systems, to replace the old and outdated ones, are rooted. The natal placement of Uranus, in the sixth house and at approximately 9 degrees Gemini, tells us that when the Constitution was signed, the revolutionary spirit of the first Americans dealt directly with a new type of or approach to work, or service, itself. A different way of thinking, about communications and the philosophies of science, was necessary to bring forth a new paradigm. The darker side of its placement, however, tells us also where dangers may lurk or what the wrong decisions to make may be. By tracking the progress of Uranus through the houses and signs, we can further pinpoint the source of the challenges faced during a Saturn return, as well as divine the new systems that may evolve from them.
The Saturn return of 1804-1805 was hallmarked firstly by Pluto's transit of Pisces, showing a certain interest in the secret affairs of the ruling class. This also highlights an attitude of heightened public awareness of the original Neptunian "American Dream" itself, which would not only be in danger of being dissolved through controlling power structures, but also would be primed for a transformation into something greater and more powerful in itself. In transiting through the 3rd house of the US chart, Pluto was emphasizing the need to transform areas dealing with communication as well as organizational structures, and the way of thinking that underlies them. Combined with Neptune's transit through Scorpio and the US natal 12th house, much of this was brought to a spiritual, though unconscious, level. The values of every day Americans had a more open, mystical or spiritually "transformational" tone. The people wanted to know the truth, by whatever means was necessary, and were willing to put in the hard work to discover it.
Uranus, transiting Libra and the 10th house, was pointing to a need for judicial reforms specifically, as well as a visible revolution in the existing political structure. This was exemplified in the ousting of the Federalist party, which had become predominately bankers and businessmen, by the much more popular "Jeffersonian Republicans". The Revolution of 1800, as it was later called, led to the major reforms during the Saturn return which were largely founded upon issues of the elitism among the Federalists as well as a push by them to stifle dissent, especially from the newspapers of the time. Darker paths for this Uranian drive would have been for a restructuring of the existing party, providing a false paradigm shift, or for the newly empowered party to take a tyrannical or monarchical approach themselves (which, in fact, almost did occur through the "witch hunt" impeachment trial of Justice Chase).
As we reach the second US Saturn return, we find Pluto in Aries, traversing the 4th house. Pluto here signifies a truly global time of struggle in forming a new beginning, if need be through extreme actions. The fear of relying on other nations became a real concern, and a drive to return to the principals of the "founding fathers" through complete reformation was at play. Of special concern would be homes and property, as well as family and traditional values, as signified through Pluto's 4th house placement. Neptune's placement in Capricorn and the 2nd house, loosely conjunct the natal Pluto placement, showed an even stronger drive to reform monetary policy to that put forward originally by the US Constitution, the literal "birth" of the nation. There was a sense of disillusionment with the economy and government finances, with the American Dream being an individual's own accumulation of wealth and property, guaranteed them as a God given right.
Uranus is seen transiting the 2nd house as well, but placed firmly in the sign of Aquarius. It showed a strong need for revolutionary reforms specifically in money and wealth of the individual, especially relating to the debts of the masses and the establishment of a humanitarian aid of sort. The failure of the US to fully restructure the financial system, instead opting to just pull government monies from the Second Bank of the United States, allowed the bank to "call in" all its loans led to the "popping" of the debt bubble. The ensuing "Panic of 1837" was followed by a severe, 5 year long depression and massive unemployment.
Moving forward to the Saturn return of 1863-1864, we see Pluto in Taurus and the 5th house, Neptune moving through the 4th house in Aries and Uranus transiting the 7th house in Gemini. Pluto's placement in the 5th house shows a lot of issues regarding gambling or speculation, and it's placement in Taurus shows issues regarding monetary systems in general and agriculture specifically. Neptune's placement in Aries gives us signs of people working toward anarchic goals as well as a blurring of the lines between religion and war. The American Dream was being "born again", in a sense, as something entirely new. From the synthesis of these factors, it's truly hard to imagine a nation going to war with itself, but that's exactly what had happened as the South gambled it's money and property to hold on to the traditions of their fathers.
Uranus placed in Gemini tells us of the needed revolutions in not only communications and new ways of thinking, but in learning to deal with opposing points of view. It took a revolution in the approach to waging battles, as well as the way of thinking by those in power, for the North to finally win the war. However, both sides had aggrandized the respective battles won and their war heroes to the point of blurring the lines between that of religion and war, making it harder to find common ground even after the war was over. The new way of "dealing" with one-another, 14 years later, still was not acceptable by many.
The Saturn return of 1893 has Pluto and Neptune conjunct on either side of the US Descendant in Gemini. This placement of Pluto shows a chronic, long-term "illness" that has built up over the years becoming an acute problem. Specifically, this illness dealt with ideas and ideologies as they related to work ethics, much of which was legacy from the Civil War period and the Reconstruction Era. Neptune here screamed of the want for scientific breakthroughs, industrial revolutions and the geniuses that rose later to prominence. Americans all wanted to be the next great inventor. However, the past 15 years had been full of Neptunian issues regarding the avoidance of monetary issues. The culmination of this resulted in the Panic of 1893, who's resolution lay in the placement of Uranus as it transited Scorpio in the 11th house.
Specifically, Uranus here foretold the need to use its political allies in a truly unusual way to regain footing. The US needed to firstly become more outspoken, and secondly to give up the resentment it had held for European countries up to this point. By preferring to stay isolationist and not tapping the resources of its allies, breaking the paradigm seen up to this time, the US quickly fell into another panic. Before the next return of Saturn, the US will have had to endure its place, finally step up on the world stage and becoming a key player in one of the most horrific and bloody wars to date.
The fifth Saturn return, in 1922 and 1923, placed Pluto in Cancer and the US natal 7th house. Here, it showed an absolute need for transformation of both home and family, as well as the security of the nation itself, through relationships to other nations. Neptune, moving through the 8th house in flamboyant Leo, warned of dramatic issues with taxes and "other people's money". At the same time, an illusory, theatrical "dreamer" mentality was given free range to run amok throughout society. The American Dream had transformed into a drunken collage consisting of art, music and just "having fun". This, at a time of prohibition, was an explosive thing. Even the Federal Reserve, set up in 1913 during the first world war, inflated the money supply by some 60% during this period. Many of these added dollars went directly into the markets, which inflated stocks to truly unprecedented levels and gave the whole nation a false sense of wealth and optimism.
Uranus at this time was moving through Pisces, showing itself as another sort of drunken revolution where too much was never enough. It called for a return to tried and true systems, and conservative attitudes, to avoid too much excess. The challenge of Pisces is always to find a balance in the middle rather than allow yourself to live in the extremes. As well, Uranus traversing the 3rd house called for a renewed sense of concentration and maturity. These struggles presented in every arena of American life, and the failure of the US government, as well as the Federal Reserve System, to renew a sense of conservative responsibility, led the country down the path of hedonistic decadence. The crash of 1929 and the start of the Great Depression occurred 7 years later.
In 1952, upon the sixth return of Saturn to its natal US placement, we find controlling and transformational Pluto has taken Neptune's place as it traverses Leo and the 8th house. Here in Leo, it sows the seeds of extreme nationalism, and placement in the 8th the seeds of secrecy. Indeed, the times were that of intense political drama and power plays. Neptune is seen making its way through Libra and the 10th house, putting its emphasis on careers made up of the illusion of justice. A sort of Neptunian dream fog had fallen over the country's public image and it was hard to tell what was really up and what was down. Neptune's American Dream was that of being in the spotlight and being important - of becoming the boss and shaking all the right hands. Idealism can run rampant with this placement of Neptune, and deception is not only easy, it's expected.
With Uranus moving through Cancer and the 7th house, we can see a great need to start going it alone when it came to public image, and to become much more "choosy" when it came to close allies and partnerships. In fact, any allies or partners of the US should have been allowed to do as they would during this time, as a large allowance for freedom was called for. This allowance for freedom was most emphasized in the domestic sphere, in order to avoid potential hysteria. As we know, however, the "Second Red Scare", McCarthyism and even "blacklists" came to the forefront during this time. From the proxy war in Korea and the first joint military exercises with NATO, to 7 years later, Vietnam, it's clear the correct path was not chosen. Covert and dishonest wars were fought, the people were lied to, and the hysteria eventually brought the people of the US to a fever-pitch of anger and resentment that nearly resulted in a revolt 14 years later.
And finally, when we look to the last US Saturn return, in 1981, we see this time Pluto in Libra and the 10th house. This signifies a time when being "top dog" is of the utmost importance in the US. Balance in relations, justice and cooperation, however, also took on a sense of urgency. The potential for power plays was high, but more likely was just outright sabotage in efforts to "level the playing field". Neptune, transiting the 1st house in Sagittarius, gave the American Dream a renewed sense of optimism about the future and a strong yearning for individual freedoms. Dreaming big became the norm, and this was to be expressed in every aspect of the American life. However, it also gave many the option of fanaticism in regards to spiritual or emotional matters, and it made it difficult to discern where the US ends and the rest of the world begins. This gave the US public a feeling of obligation to help the rest of the world, along with a lack of true sense of self.
With Uranus in Scorpio and the 12th house, there was a need to be truly focused as a nation, like the stinger of a scorpion, and to dig up the truth wherever it lies, by whatever means necessary. This was the proper resolution to the problems put forward during this return. Instead of this, however, investigations were half-hearted. The fraud and corruption was allowed to continue, leading to much larger problems down the road with politics, the markets and the economy. The corruption later uncovered throughout big business during the late 80s and early 90s should still be fresh in the minds of most of us.
In The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 3, I take a closer look at the current Saturn return, including the US natal "personal planets", which I have left out here for sake of brevity, and offer an analysis of what challenges may be in store for the US, as well as potential solutions to the problems the nation faces.
To avoid too much analysis, and keep things more to point, we'll look specifically at the 3 outer planets beyond Saturn: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Pluto, the slowest moving of the 4, plays the largest role in each Saturn return, especially when looking at national charts, coloring the events of each return with both it's sign, on a global level, and by house placement for entire generations of Americans. The transit position of Pluto during each of the Saturn returns tells us exactly what area of life, and through what means, the US itself is being challenged to transform.
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| US Natal - July 4, 1776 |
And Uranus, the revolutionary of the chart, also gives us some key details in deciphering each of the returns; namely, its placement shows where the new systems, to replace the old and outdated ones, are rooted. The natal placement of Uranus, in the sixth house and at approximately 9 degrees Gemini, tells us that when the Constitution was signed, the revolutionary spirit of the first Americans dealt directly with a new type of or approach to work, or service, itself. A different way of thinking, about communications and the philosophies of science, was necessary to bring forth a new paradigm. The darker side of its placement, however, tells us also where dangers may lurk or what the wrong decisions to make may be. By tracking the progress of Uranus through the houses and signs, we can further pinpoint the source of the challenges faced during a Saturn return, as well as divine the new systems that may evolve from them.
 |
| December 16, 1804 |
Uranus, transiting Libra and the 10th house, was pointing to a need for judicial reforms specifically, as well as a visible revolution in the existing political structure. This was exemplified in the ousting of the Federalist party, which had become predominately bankers and businessmen, by the much more popular "Jeffersonian Republicans". The Revolution of 1800, as it was later called, led to the major reforms during the Saturn return which were largely founded upon issues of the elitism among the Federalists as well as a push by them to stifle dissent, especially from the newspapers of the time. Darker paths for this Uranian drive would have been for a restructuring of the existing party, providing a false paradigm shift, or for the newly empowered party to take a tyrannical or monarchical approach themselves (which, in fact, almost did occur through the "witch hunt" impeachment trial of Justice Chase).
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| October 15, 1834 |
Uranus is seen transiting the 2nd house as well, but placed firmly in the sign of Aquarius. It showed a strong need for revolutionary reforms specifically in money and wealth of the individual, especially relating to the debts of the masses and the establishment of a humanitarian aid of sort. The failure of the US to fully restructure the financial system, instead opting to just pull government monies from the Second Bank of the United States, allowed the bank to "call in" all its loans led to the "popping" of the debt bubble. The ensuing "Panic of 1837" was followed by a severe, 5 year long depression and massive unemployment.
 |
| November 25, 1863 |
Uranus placed in Gemini tells us of the needed revolutions in not only communications and new ways of thinking, but in learning to deal with opposing points of view. It took a revolution in the approach to waging battles, as well as the way of thinking by those in power, for the North to finally win the war. However, both sides had aggrandized the respective battles won and their war heroes to the point of blurring the lines between that of religion and war, making it harder to find common ground even after the war was over. The new way of "dealing" with one-another, 14 years later, still was not acceptable by many.
 |
| September 30, 1893 |
Specifically, Uranus here foretold the need to use its political allies in a truly unusual way to regain footing. The US needed to firstly become more outspoken, and secondly to give up the resentment it had held for European countries up to this point. By preferring to stay isolationist and not tapping the resources of its allies, breaking the paradigm seen up to this time, the US quickly fell into another panic. Before the next return of Saturn, the US will have had to endure its place, finally step up on the world stage and becoming a key player in one of the most horrific and bloody wars to date.
 |
| November 8, 1922 |
Uranus at this time was moving through Pisces, showing itself as another sort of drunken revolution where too much was never enough. It called for a return to tried and true systems, and conservative attitudes, to avoid too much excess. The challenge of Pisces is always to find a balance in the middle rather than allow yourself to live in the extremes. As well, Uranus traversing the 3rd house called for a renewed sense of concentration and maturity. These struggles presented in every arena of American life, and the failure of the US government, as well as the Federal Reserve System, to renew a sense of conservative responsibility, led the country down the path of hedonistic decadence. The crash of 1929 and the start of the Great Depression occurred 7 years later.
 |
| January 10, 1952 |
With Uranus moving through Cancer and the 7th house, we can see a great need to start going it alone when it came to public image, and to become much more "choosy" when it came to close allies and partnerships. In fact, any allies or partners of the US should have been allowed to do as they would during this time, as a large allowance for freedom was called for. This allowance for freedom was most emphasized in the domestic sphere, in order to avoid potential hysteria. As we know, however, the "Second Red Scare", McCarthyism and even "blacklists" came to the forefront during this time. From the proxy war in Korea and the first joint military exercises with NATO, to 7 years later, Vietnam, it's clear the correct path was not chosen. Covert and dishonest wars were fought, the people were lied to, and the hysteria eventually brought the people of the US to a fever-pitch of anger and resentment that nearly resulted in a revolt 14 years later.
 |
| October 22, 1981 |
With Uranus in Scorpio and the 12th house, there was a need to be truly focused as a nation, like the stinger of a scorpion, and to dig up the truth wherever it lies, by whatever means necessary. This was the proper resolution to the problems put forward during this return. Instead of this, however, investigations were half-hearted. The fraud and corruption was allowed to continue, leading to much larger problems down the road with politics, the markets and the economy. The corruption later uncovered throughout big business during the late 80s and early 90s should still be fresh in the minds of most of us.
In The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 3, I take a closer look at the current Saturn return, including the US natal "personal planets", which I have left out here for sake of brevity, and offer an analysis of what challenges may be in store for the US, as well as potential solutions to the problems the nation faces.
The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 1
In my last post about the US natal chart, I concerned myself specifically with the solar eclipse of January 4th. This time, I'd like to share some insights into what the US, as a nation, may be going through during this, it's 8th Saturn return.
In part 1 of this 3 part, extended post, I will first review the previous Saturn returns and the events that coincided with them so we can better understand the nature of what Saturn returns mean to the US natal chart. In The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 2, I also review some of the other planetary placements during these previous returns, specifically Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. In part 3, I will take a closer look at the current Saturn return, including the US natal "personal planets", and offer an analysis of what challenges may be in store for the US.
With the first return, which occurred over the period from December of 1804 through to September of 1805, we see circumstance similar to the one we are experiencing this time. It was a 3 part event where Saturn retrogrades over the natal Saturn placement after making the first transit, and thus makes the transit a total of 3 times over the course of less than a full year. Returns that behave this way are quite interesting as it seems to spread out the "main event", giving the native first a taste of what's to come during the initial transit, then a refresher course as Saturn transits again in retrograde, and finally a sort of "final exam" on the 3rd and final transit. Many of the returns experienced in this way see the majority of their effects during the first two transits, with the third either proving a right solution to the problems brought to surface by revealing a resolution to the issues of the day, or the third shows a sort of stalemate scenario where the issues are not resolved but instead are left to fester over the following years.
The first transit of this particular Saturn return occurred on December 16th in 1804. On November 30th, at about one degree of orb, the first wave of the Saturn return was beginning to take hold as 8 articles of impeachment were served to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase. One of these charges apparently went right to the matter at hand - he had, in 1803, publicly spoken out against the repeal of the Midnight Judges Act (the Judiciary Act of 1801). Chase, being a Federalist, had quickly found himself in a minority as Thomas Jefferson's "Democratic-Republican party" (usually known as the "Jeffersonian Republicans") took hold of the US Government, and as it turned out, the impeachment was more or less just a witch hunt to rid the Supreme Court of it's one remaining Federalist.
On March 4th, Jefferson was sworn in for his second term as President, this being 2 days before the second transit, and on March 11, just 5 days after the transit, Samuel Chase was acquitted on all charges by the Senate. This was the only impeachment ever tried against a Justice of the Supreme Court in all of US history.
The third and final hit occurred on September 6th and passed without much fanfare. These transits, as a whole, however, marked the end of the Federalist parties power and the beginning of the control by the Democratic and Republican parties that are still with us today. They also marked the first presidential election to be carried out with the newly ratified 12th Amendment, fixing many of the embarrassing issues with the electoral procedures. Another point of interest is this transit marked the beginning of the tensions with Britain that eventually led to the war of 1812.
It's said that the first Saturn return marks the point of maturity, and that's exactly what happened for the US during this first return.
The second Saturn return of the US occurred in October of 1834, during the rise of the Whig party. The US public debt went to $0 - the only time in US history. However, this was also a time of extremely high inflation and speculation in real estate, spurred by the use of debt monies issued by the Second Bank of the United States, directly leading to a debt bubble that burst, causing the Panic of 1837, along with 5 years of economic depression and record high unemployment.
Again, on November 25, 1863, Saturn made the first of a 3-part return to the US natal position. This period, of course, from roughly 1861 through 1865, was the time of the American Civil War. The first transit of this return marked the beginning of a great turning point in US history, including the infamous Gettysburg Address in November 1863. Saturn transited in retrograde on April 3rd the following year and then direct on August 19th, marking the beginning of the end for the war as first President Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as commander of the Union Armies, along with the subsequent appointment Major General Sheridan by Grant to command the Army of the Potomac. This Saturn return arguably marked the most chaotic and important periods in all of US history, deciding the literal life of the nation in a way not seen since the nation's birth.
September 30, 1893, the US experienced it's fourth Saturn return along with the Panic of 1893, the worst depression to hit the US to that date. Over 15,000 companies and 500 banks failed and unemployment rates climbed to between 17% and 19%. Homeowners began walking away from their mortgages. Eventually, the Alaskan gold rush did help to bring the economy out of the depression, but yet another panic quickly followed in 1907.
The fifth Saturn return, occurring in 3 parts on November 8, 1922, May 4, 1923 and July 29, 1923, marked the beginning of a time of economic prosperity dubbed the Roaring Twenties. The prosperity was spurred by reduced taxes, less government intrusion into private businesses and immigration reforms. However, the US Federal Reserve, established in 1913, quickly inflated the money supply by about 60% during the decade, sparking the enormous amounts of speculation in the markets and easy debt that lead to the market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression.
The return of 1952 began with Saturn going stationary only 10 seconds of arc beyond the US natal placement, marking a prolonged period of "return" transit from January 10 through February 6. Saturn then revisited the point on September 15th, completing the full return. This period marked the middle of the Korean War, considered a proxy war between western powers and the Soviet Union, as well as the first NATO military exercises and the tail-end of the height of anti-communist sentiments in the US.
The last of the previous Saturn returns occurred on October 22, 1981, and marked the middle of yet another major recession in the US, highlighted by the beginning of the Savings and Loans Crisis.
Each of these returns marked important milestones politically, economically or militarily. Each coincided with a challenge put to the US to "grow up" and take on new responsibilities while asking it to reject a system that wasn't working. When the right choices were made, the new system that manifested would endure and prove fruitful, but if the wrong choices were made, the system would fail, resulting in dire consequences being felt before the following Saturn square, approximately 7 years later, or approximately 14 years later during the Saturn opposition.
In the case of the first return, a whole new political mentality, seen through the Jeffersonian Republican party, came into power. It endured and shows signs of it's presence even today. Through the acquittal of impeachment charges by the Senate, a potentially disastrous precedent was avoided during the earliest years of the nation's life. However, we can see the seeds planted by some decisions made during this return that 7 years later sparked the war of 1812.
The third return, after a couple of smart decisions and right moves, led to the end of the American Civil War and a full reunification, ensuring the nation's survival for the many years since. Echos of this time still ring today, with President Lincoln still held as one of the most honored men to sit as president. By 7 years after the return, all southern states had been readmitted to representation in Congress, and over the 14 difficult years following the return, the Reconstruction Era steadily ground forward.
In the case of the second, fourth and fifth returns, however, the fiscal irresponsibility of the day had led to debt bubbles, market crashes, "panics" or bank runs, and economic depressions. The seventh return, also, led to a continued financial and economic turmoil due to the Savings and Loans crises, with its effects lasting for more than a decade thereafter. The sixth return proved only partially successful as new military strategies and alliances may have helped prevent nuclear war, but at the cost of calamitous wars like Vietnam 7 years later and the following half a century of tense "mutually assured destruction" mentality.
In The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 2, I take a look at some of the other planetary transits and how they affect the flavor of each of these Saturn returns. In part 3, I take a focused look at the transits of the current return and make projections of what may be in the cards as the remainder of it unfolds in the coming year.
In part 1 of this 3 part, extended post, I will first review the previous Saturn returns and the events that coincided with them so we can better understand the nature of what Saturn returns mean to the US natal chart. In The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 2, I also review some of the other planetary placements during these previous returns, specifically Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. In part 3, I will take a closer look at the current Saturn return, including the US natal "personal planets", and offer an analysis of what challenges may be in store for the US.
With the first return, which occurred over the period from December of 1804 through to September of 1805, we see circumstance similar to the one we are experiencing this time. It was a 3 part event where Saturn retrogrades over the natal Saturn placement after making the first transit, and thus makes the transit a total of 3 times over the course of less than a full year. Returns that behave this way are quite interesting as it seems to spread out the "main event", giving the native first a taste of what's to come during the initial transit, then a refresher course as Saturn transits again in retrograde, and finally a sort of "final exam" on the 3rd and final transit. Many of the returns experienced in this way see the majority of their effects during the first two transits, with the third either proving a right solution to the problems brought to surface by revealing a resolution to the issues of the day, or the third shows a sort of stalemate scenario where the issues are not resolved but instead are left to fester over the following years.
The first transit of this particular Saturn return occurred on December 16th in 1804. On November 30th, at about one degree of orb, the first wave of the Saturn return was beginning to take hold as 8 articles of impeachment were served to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase. One of these charges apparently went right to the matter at hand - he had, in 1803, publicly spoken out against the repeal of the Midnight Judges Act (the Judiciary Act of 1801). Chase, being a Federalist, had quickly found himself in a minority as Thomas Jefferson's "Democratic-Republican party" (usually known as the "Jeffersonian Republicans") took hold of the US Government, and as it turned out, the impeachment was more or less just a witch hunt to rid the Supreme Court of it's one remaining Federalist.
On March 4th, Jefferson was sworn in for his second term as President, this being 2 days before the second transit, and on March 11, just 5 days after the transit, Samuel Chase was acquitted on all charges by the Senate. This was the only impeachment ever tried against a Justice of the Supreme Court in all of US history.
The third and final hit occurred on September 6th and passed without much fanfare. These transits, as a whole, however, marked the end of the Federalist parties power and the beginning of the control by the Democratic and Republican parties that are still with us today. They also marked the first presidential election to be carried out with the newly ratified 12th Amendment, fixing many of the embarrassing issues with the electoral procedures. Another point of interest is this transit marked the beginning of the tensions with Britain that eventually led to the war of 1812.
It's said that the first Saturn return marks the point of maturity, and that's exactly what happened for the US during this first return.
The second Saturn return of the US occurred in October of 1834, during the rise of the Whig party. The US public debt went to $0 - the only time in US history. However, this was also a time of extremely high inflation and speculation in real estate, spurred by the use of debt monies issued by the Second Bank of the United States, directly leading to a debt bubble that burst, causing the Panic of 1837, along with 5 years of economic depression and record high unemployment.
Again, on November 25, 1863, Saturn made the first of a 3-part return to the US natal position. This period, of course, from roughly 1861 through 1865, was the time of the American Civil War. The first transit of this return marked the beginning of a great turning point in US history, including the infamous Gettysburg Address in November 1863. Saturn transited in retrograde on April 3rd the following year and then direct on August 19th, marking the beginning of the end for the war as first President Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as commander of the Union Armies, along with the subsequent appointment Major General Sheridan by Grant to command the Army of the Potomac. This Saturn return arguably marked the most chaotic and important periods in all of US history, deciding the literal life of the nation in a way not seen since the nation's birth.
September 30, 1893, the US experienced it's fourth Saturn return along with the Panic of 1893, the worst depression to hit the US to that date. Over 15,000 companies and 500 banks failed and unemployment rates climbed to between 17% and 19%. Homeowners began walking away from their mortgages. Eventually, the Alaskan gold rush did help to bring the economy out of the depression, but yet another panic quickly followed in 1907.
The fifth Saturn return, occurring in 3 parts on November 8, 1922, May 4, 1923 and July 29, 1923, marked the beginning of a time of economic prosperity dubbed the Roaring Twenties. The prosperity was spurred by reduced taxes, less government intrusion into private businesses and immigration reforms. However, the US Federal Reserve, established in 1913, quickly inflated the money supply by about 60% during the decade, sparking the enormous amounts of speculation in the markets and easy debt that lead to the market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression.
The return of 1952 began with Saturn going stationary only 10 seconds of arc beyond the US natal placement, marking a prolonged period of "return" transit from January 10 through February 6. Saturn then revisited the point on September 15th, completing the full return. This period marked the middle of the Korean War, considered a proxy war between western powers and the Soviet Union, as well as the first NATO military exercises and the tail-end of the height of anti-communist sentiments in the US.
The last of the previous Saturn returns occurred on October 22, 1981, and marked the middle of yet another major recession in the US, highlighted by the beginning of the Savings and Loans Crisis.
Each of these returns marked important milestones politically, economically or militarily. Each coincided with a challenge put to the US to "grow up" and take on new responsibilities while asking it to reject a system that wasn't working. When the right choices were made, the new system that manifested would endure and prove fruitful, but if the wrong choices were made, the system would fail, resulting in dire consequences being felt before the following Saturn square, approximately 7 years later, or approximately 14 years later during the Saturn opposition.
In the case of the first return, a whole new political mentality, seen through the Jeffersonian Republican party, came into power. It endured and shows signs of it's presence even today. Through the acquittal of impeachment charges by the Senate, a potentially disastrous precedent was avoided during the earliest years of the nation's life. However, we can see the seeds planted by some decisions made during this return that 7 years later sparked the war of 1812.
The third return, after a couple of smart decisions and right moves, led to the end of the American Civil War and a full reunification, ensuring the nation's survival for the many years since. Echos of this time still ring today, with President Lincoln still held as one of the most honored men to sit as president. By 7 years after the return, all southern states had been readmitted to representation in Congress, and over the 14 difficult years following the return, the Reconstruction Era steadily ground forward.
In the case of the second, fourth and fifth returns, however, the fiscal irresponsibility of the day had led to debt bubbles, market crashes, "panics" or bank runs, and economic depressions. The seventh return, also, led to a continued financial and economic turmoil due to the Savings and Loans crises, with its effects lasting for more than a decade thereafter. The sixth return proved only partially successful as new military strategies and alliances may have helped prevent nuclear war, but at the cost of calamitous wars like Vietnam 7 years later and the following half a century of tense "mutually assured destruction" mentality.
In The 8th US Saturn Return - Part 2, I take a look at some of the other planetary transits and how they affect the flavor of each of these Saturn returns. In part 3, I take a focused look at the transits of the current return and make projections of what may be in the cards as the remainder of it unfolds in the coming year.
12.23.2010
The US Chart and the January 4 Solar Eclipse
Many people don't give much credence to astrology. Many of those that do only look at superficial sun signs. Many read a horoscope daily that tells them of all the good fortune they can have based on some loose and generally perverted form of true astrology.
Me, I give astrology its place in the grand scheme. Specifically, God put these planets and stars in particular arrangements and told us that we'd know the seasons according to their passage. Astrology, to me, is a grand cosmic clock in the sky.
And you can glean a lot of information from the timing of the seasons, especially when it comes to major events or changes in perception and consciousness.
In looking over the January 4, 2011 solar eclipse transits on the "US natal chart" (July 4, 1776 at 5:10pm, Philadelphia), I'm noticing some interesting patterns. Of course, I searched around the web to see what others have said, many of which use fixed stars and obscure asteroids in their readings. Some say "Ooooh - this is a good one!" while others rant about how "bad" the transits are.
There are no good or bad transits. They are merely markers on a calendar - what you do on a given day is up to you.
First thing I notice here, however, is the striking opposition between the placement of the eclipse in Capricorn to the US natal Sun in Cancer. This opposition marks a time of struggle between egos. Another possibility here is that the "great spotlight", i.e. the focus, perception and consciousness of the masses, will be divided between two camps: Capricorn being a material focus dealing with moneys, hard work and wealth; Cancer being a more fluid emotional, patriotic and "security of the home and hearth" type of focus.
Add to this opposition the placement of Saturn, generally thought to denote such things as rules, law and judges, making a return to conjunct the US natal Saturn in Libra, and you have the makings of a tense struggle of the opposing Sun energies trying to divide our focus with Saturn caught in the middle, forming what's called a t-square. A Saturn return is a difficult time to begin with, often associated with being forced to "take responsibility" and, in turn, become mature. Throughout US history, Saturn returns have marked difficulties such as the Civil War and The Panic of 1893, the worst depression to hit the US before the Great Depression in the 1930s.
This sounds like major court battles are brewing (Saturn in Libra), likely over problems with the US economy (Capricorn) and overbearing "homeland" security (Cancer). Overtones of screaming pressures from the masses for "someone" to take responsibility for the mess we find ourselves will appear on both fronts, and the two sides will have only the rule of law to guide them.
Another interesting and significant transit, that's been occurring since middle 2008, is the Neptune conjunction to the US natal Moon in Aquarius. The Moon placement in Aquarius generally is thought to signify the "melting pot" aspect of the US, with many cultures, ideologies and skin colors merging into one great nation of people. This placement also signifies a particular rebellious streak, and a person, or nation, with this placement will absolutely refuse to be told what to do.
But Neptune, often considered to cloak whatever it touches in a bank of "dreamy" fog, transiting here has been causing a lot of confusion, and even delusion, for this part of the US chart. In the summer of 2008, during the presidential election campaign, many Americans suddenly found themselves lost in a sea of smoke and mirrors, a trend that is only beginning to break with this eclipse and wont truly be over until December of 2012 (there's that date again). Between the eclipse and early summer, it will be as if we are seeing the world clearly for the first time in years, as Neptune moves out of the conjunction, only to return again, in a loose orb, around the summer solstice.
Lifting the fog of Neptune will shock this nation of independent free-thinkers after having spent years with the proverbial wool pulled over their eyes, and this eclipse marks the beginning of it. This is likely to be a time of a lot of anger toward media and government, large corporations and institutions.
Venus, often thought to sort of "bless" the place where it resides in a chart, is found in the US natal 12th House. This house is often associated with dreams and subconsciousness, and often fear itself, but in ancient times is was considered more of a wastebasket of placements...that anything present in this house would be flaccid and ineffectual. Venus here would thus lose all its ability to "brighten" the chart with benefic qualities, allowing only the tension present to make the front page. No helping hand will come from the skies.
Pluto, known for explosive, sudden destruction of "old ways", has been slowly transiting through Capricorn, opposite the US natal Jupiter in Cancer. This represents a time of fragility in relation to philosophy and religion. Old ways of thinking are being stripped away in sudden firestorms and media frenzies (Wikileaks certainly comes to mind) and those who try to hold on to those old ways are stripped away with them (Tea Party?). This trend will continue for some time, and will only be exacerbated by the eclipse. Eclipses mark the end of something old and the beginning of something new, and this is exactly what Pluto does best. In Capricorn, Pluto's focus is on institutions and corporations, economy and hard work. Opposing the US natal Jupiter in Cancer shows the plan is to destroy our false beliefs about home, family and security.
The result is the rebellious, angry replacement of our collective "Neptunian delusion" with ideas and systems that are both more realistic and more economical. We will be required to expend copious amounts of elbow grease as we hold on to constitutional principals and reject the failing systems we find ourselves suffering with today.
It's that or face the global power vacuum as corruption, at the highest levels of our largest institutions, is revealed and we do nothing about it.
So the stars are marking a very difficult period emerging for the US. It's not a "bad" period, but one full of challenges and tension. In fact, if we respond to the cosmic call to arms, this may be one of the most important and benefic periods in all of US history! For the three months leading into early spring, we the people become the masters of our nation's fate. What we do during this important time of court battles, revealed secrets and failing institutions will form the foundation of a new future for the US. The eclipse, acting as a delineation between seasons, will turn our focus to these issues and will not let us ignore them.
It's up to us what we do with the day, and this eclipse is marking the beginning of a new planting season. The real question is, will we the people get out of bed in time to sow the seeds of our own future?
And what seeds will we plant?
Me, I give astrology its place in the grand scheme. Specifically, God put these planets and stars in particular arrangements and told us that we'd know the seasons according to their passage. Astrology, to me, is a grand cosmic clock in the sky.
And you can glean a lot of information from the timing of the seasons, especially when it comes to major events or changes in perception and consciousness.
In looking over the January 4, 2011 solar eclipse transits on the "US natal chart" (July 4, 1776 at 5:10pm, Philadelphia), I'm noticing some interesting patterns. Of course, I searched around the web to see what others have said, many of which use fixed stars and obscure asteroids in their readings. Some say "Ooooh - this is a good one!" while others rant about how "bad" the transits are.
There are no good or bad transits. They are merely markers on a calendar - what you do on a given day is up to you.
First thing I notice here, however, is the striking opposition between the placement of the eclipse in Capricorn to the US natal Sun in Cancer. This opposition marks a time of struggle between egos. Another possibility here is that the "great spotlight", i.e. the focus, perception and consciousness of the masses, will be divided between two camps: Capricorn being a material focus dealing with moneys, hard work and wealth; Cancer being a more fluid emotional, patriotic and "security of the home and hearth" type of focus.
Add to this opposition the placement of Saturn, generally thought to denote such things as rules, law and judges, making a return to conjunct the US natal Saturn in Libra, and you have the makings of a tense struggle of the opposing Sun energies trying to divide our focus with Saturn caught in the middle, forming what's called a t-square. A Saturn return is a difficult time to begin with, often associated with being forced to "take responsibility" and, in turn, become mature. Throughout US history, Saturn returns have marked difficulties such as the Civil War and The Panic of 1893, the worst depression to hit the US before the Great Depression in the 1930s.
This sounds like major court battles are brewing (Saturn in Libra), likely over problems with the US economy (Capricorn) and overbearing "homeland" security (Cancer). Overtones of screaming pressures from the masses for "someone" to take responsibility for the mess we find ourselves will appear on both fronts, and the two sides will have only the rule of law to guide them.
Another interesting and significant transit, that's been occurring since middle 2008, is the Neptune conjunction to the US natal Moon in Aquarius. The Moon placement in Aquarius generally is thought to signify the "melting pot" aspect of the US, with many cultures, ideologies and skin colors merging into one great nation of people. This placement also signifies a particular rebellious streak, and a person, or nation, with this placement will absolutely refuse to be told what to do.
But Neptune, often considered to cloak whatever it touches in a bank of "dreamy" fog, transiting here has been causing a lot of confusion, and even delusion, for this part of the US chart. In the summer of 2008, during the presidential election campaign, many Americans suddenly found themselves lost in a sea of smoke and mirrors, a trend that is only beginning to break with this eclipse and wont truly be over until December of 2012 (there's that date again). Between the eclipse and early summer, it will be as if we are seeing the world clearly for the first time in years, as Neptune moves out of the conjunction, only to return again, in a loose orb, around the summer solstice.
Lifting the fog of Neptune will shock this nation of independent free-thinkers after having spent years with the proverbial wool pulled over their eyes, and this eclipse marks the beginning of it. This is likely to be a time of a lot of anger toward media and government, large corporations and institutions.
Venus, often thought to sort of "bless" the place where it resides in a chart, is found in the US natal 12th House. This house is often associated with dreams and subconsciousness, and often fear itself, but in ancient times is was considered more of a wastebasket of placements...that anything present in this house would be flaccid and ineffectual. Venus here would thus lose all its ability to "brighten" the chart with benefic qualities, allowing only the tension present to make the front page. No helping hand will come from the skies.
Pluto, known for explosive, sudden destruction of "old ways", has been slowly transiting through Capricorn, opposite the US natal Jupiter in Cancer. This represents a time of fragility in relation to philosophy and religion. Old ways of thinking are being stripped away in sudden firestorms and media frenzies (Wikileaks certainly comes to mind) and those who try to hold on to those old ways are stripped away with them (Tea Party?). This trend will continue for some time, and will only be exacerbated by the eclipse. Eclipses mark the end of something old and the beginning of something new, and this is exactly what Pluto does best. In Capricorn, Pluto's focus is on institutions and corporations, economy and hard work. Opposing the US natal Jupiter in Cancer shows the plan is to destroy our false beliefs about home, family and security.
The result is the rebellious, angry replacement of our collective "Neptunian delusion" with ideas and systems that are both more realistic and more economical. We will be required to expend copious amounts of elbow grease as we hold on to constitutional principals and reject the failing systems we find ourselves suffering with today.
It's that or face the global power vacuum as corruption, at the highest levels of our largest institutions, is revealed and we do nothing about it.
So the stars are marking a very difficult period emerging for the US. It's not a "bad" period, but one full of challenges and tension. In fact, if we respond to the cosmic call to arms, this may be one of the most important and benefic periods in all of US history! For the three months leading into early spring, we the people become the masters of our nation's fate. What we do during this important time of court battles, revealed secrets and failing institutions will form the foundation of a new future for the US. The eclipse, acting as a delineation between seasons, will turn our focus to these issues and will not let us ignore them.
It's up to us what we do with the day, and this eclipse is marking the beginning of a new planting season. The real question is, will we the people get out of bed in time to sow the seeds of our own future?
And what seeds will we plant?
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