Mercury Direct: In the Thrall of our Thoughts

 Mercury's 2011 Aries retrograde pattern...plus a few items

(and indications of blogs) yet to come!

Telling people that Mercury is going direct always gets a big ‘whoo-hoo!’ Especially for those born with Mercury direct in their chart, it feels like getting out of school early with no homework on a warm early summer day with money in your pocket and nobody telling you what to do.

Whoo-hoo! Mercury’s going direct! And since it’s going direct at 10:05am (UT/+0) its even April 23rd pretty much everywhere. We all go direct together!

Whoo-hoo times two!

EXCEPT….

(Oh, don’t tell me you didn’t know this was coming! Is there ever NOTHING we need to deal with? Cammon! This is Earth! This is reality! Wake up and smell the responsibility!)

Look…this really isn’t SO hard. It’s easy to make it hard, but it’s really not so difficult to make this station/direct period really positive and productive.

And just so we have the disclaimers out of the way, here they are:

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Any planetary station is a ‘turning point.’ I won’t go into all the science here, but there is science behind this fact (discovered some 5,000 years after astrologers figured it out but what the hey…) and events which occur during the couple of days just before AND just after any station should be taken seriously.

 /

Events prior to the station have yet to play out…events after the actual station are the playing out of something which has already happened.

If you are waiting for information our some decision, it generally will happen on or a couple of days after Mercury’s station…as soon as the planet picks up ‘relative’ speed again. (In actuality, no planet ever slows down – retrogrades are about relative solar system positions of other planets vis-à-vis Earth.)

 /

As for where exactly Mercury is going direct, that would be at 12 Aries, a degree known for an egocentric sort of energy which cares a lot about ‘me and mine’ with some difficulty when it comes to balancing out ‘my aims’ with those of others. The confusion which results here can incite rebellion or attitudes which sound a whole heck of a lot like a kid having a tantrum.

 /

For many, this energy is SO strong they end up  drive themselves right over a cliff trying to prove they’re right, they’re right, it’s so all about that idea in their head!

And with Saturn in opposition here…can we say PUT THAT IN BIG AND BOLD? 

(By Jove, I think I just did!)

Mercury is going direct at 12 Aries. As it does that, Saturn is at 12 Libra, a degree known very much for trumpeting the good in the idea but not having the conviction to follow through on anything.

In abstract, Mercury in Aries opposition Saturn in Libra should be about a moment of considering how well what we choose (or have chosen) to do is working out. Are we getting the reception we had hoped for? The Saturn side of this is sort of the ‘applause meter’ – our gauging how well the actuality of reality is against what we had hoped life would be at this point.

And given that this is Saturn we are talking about, there’s always room for improvement (oh please – really? Do we HAVE to?) …AND this is also a good time to make those course corrections. Or when you can have that profitable ‘aha moment’ and set to work improving on whatever needs improving on so that by the time Mercury exits the shadow of its retrograde come May 10/11, you’re in much better shape – at least mentally.

Why not entirely? Well, some things take time. If you’re rebuilding a car or editing the Great American Novel, that may take longer than a few weeks, right? For you, by that May date you’ll be ‘in your groove’ and have an idea of how long things will take and what you need to do first, next and finally.

For others, you will – providing you put in the (Saturn) effort – be at least in the process and on your way to getting where you want or need to go. Results (as they say) are individual of course – those we would see in individual charts and most any astrologer will tell you that one of dangers of prophesizing any date based on effort is that there are WAY too many clients in this world who will figure out how to drop the ball.

Funny, isn’t it…? It’s far easier to predict release dates for hit movies or who’s going to win an election than it is to tell someone when they’re going to get a job because that sort of comment implies they’re going to make the effort where the others are based on efforts obviously already being made.

Anyway…this Mercury/Saturn opposition is a typical sort of ‘decision point.’ But because Saturn is in a public/worldly sign (not to mention because Saturn is Saturn) this can be a really motivational time. Like as not you’ll hear all sorts of decisions getting made – you may even make one yourself! It’s also a likely moment for exhortations – people trying to get you to go along with what they believe right.

And therein lies the decision and the seeds of possible confrontation…even rebellion.

In other words, it’s all the same “I/me + you” energy equation, but there are several general ‘formats’ in which this energy can play out. You can reflect on where you’re going and change that…or refuse to change that. You can do so as a matter of personal drive or you could do so in response to positives or negatives being dealt, handed (suggested, sold, etc.) to you by others. Or by life!

There’s one more symbol on the day here…Medea entering Cancer at 1:49am (UT/+0). And what’s that rule…? Things which happen prior to the actual station have yet to play out. So here we have Medea going into Cancer, sign of homeland, family, house (construction, real estate, etc.), tradition, culture, ingrained habits, childhood…

…all in advance of Mercury actually going direct.

 /

 Medea by Evelyn De Morgan (1855-1919)

For one, this sounds like news soon to come. And considering this is Medea, it might be news which is problematic (such as the abuse of children) or news which prompts that over-focus we just talked about with Mercury’s degree of station…or something which halts plans we had been formulating in its proverbial tracks.

Why? Call this reason 'the Medea Factor.' Medea’s is a story of a sorceress and madness and self-defeating, self-undermining love – a love which will drive one to doing the unthinkable.

Focused on Cancer, Medea spells a passionate devotion to all things emotionally defined as “mine”…and maybe to the point of self-destruction.

Okay, not maybe…rather assuredly!

And combined with Mercury’s degree of station and it’s tendency to focus on ‘my idea of right’ and Saturn’s “relatively” weak placement at 12 Libra?

Can you say ‘uh-oh’?

Und yet, yet, yet, yet….there is that eventuality of life. When we look at the relative size, placement and importance of the three players in this drama, though we tend to think of Mercury as the star here (both because Mercury is symbolic of thinking and because it’s the one going direct!) …the end-of-the-line truth here is Saturn.

So let’s review: this year’s Saturn cycle started with its station/retrograde at 17 Libra, a degree which is both theoretical, logical, gentle (at times) and quarrelsome. There is a quality of the ridiculous here (which we sure have seen a lot of!) and an implied necessity to work on our emotional position with an eye to reconciling what we may think so brilliant with a world which may or may not be so accepting of our sense of ‘rightness.’

Saturn’s station/retrograde of January 26 was the beginning of all the turmoil and violent events currently going on in our world. From economic and political uproars in the United States to uprisings and a demand for greater freedom in the Middle East and across North Africa to Japan’s nuclear problems, everything falls under Saturn – mostly in its role as ruler of Capricorn (commerce/commerical structures, governance/national structures, rulers, functional/responsible limits)….but also in the sense that with Saturn transiting Libra, now the good and bad of all such things are going to be brought to us to deal with. 

Saturn goes direct in June, another time we can count on as being full of upheaval as the June/July period includes two solar eclipses and one lunar eclipse – amidst which Saturn goes direct.

Can you say ‘handwriting on the wall’? That’s part of what this Mercury direct is about. But don’t think of it as just global or ‘big picture’ ….it’s also about the details and the nuances of life. Mercury always is!

The bottom line here is to be aware. The urge to be self-protective and maybe ‘think the worst’ or simply want what you want so, so much is obvious.

The better part of valor – and your future – is, however, wrapped up in your ability to take the bigger picture into account. Saturn is a ‘cold’ symbol (and a pretty cold place to be – brrrr!) …the point with Saturn is that in the end, facts and reality rules. You can’t escape that reality, no matter how much you want to. In fact the more that you do escape (or try to escape), the worse of a mess you will get into.

And yet, here we are faced with the problem that we can’t just ‘throw out the baby with the bath water.’ There will be wholesale calls for sweeping change – Uranus is here running with Amphitrite, Venus and Black Moon Lilith telling us that those who have the least to lose are urging that the masses just ‘get used to it.’

Mars at 16 Aries forming a bridge between Mercury at 12 Aries and Jupiter/Eris at 20/21 Eris tells us there is harshness in the mix now. There will be those who ‘draw the line in the sand’ and they’re likely to be highly emphatic about it. If they take a truly universal view, they may prevail. Those who are shortsighted or simply seeing things from their own point of view however, are likely to encounter some serious backlash(ing). Maybe not immediately, but soon enough.

Neptune is in Pisces. And not only is Neptune in Pisces but at this moment, Chiron is conjunct fixed star Fomalhaut, a star which promises success ONLY when one’s dream is not corrupted.

Corrupted by what?

By our own emotional longings.

That means facts and Saturnine realities rules. Neptune is not about my dream, its about our humanness…and how we all dream. The important word here is all…which means we cannot negate others. They are as entitled to be them as we each are entitled to be who we are, different though we may be.

An x-ray photograph of Saturn with a grid overlaid to show where

the planet is. And you thought Saturn was a regular, solid planet?

Think again! As one description put it, by the time you were

standing on Saturn's surface you'd be under it.

photo credit: JPL/NASA 

The challenge is figuring out what will work for all of us…even though that may well mean we each – universally - have to give up a few things.

Or maybe even our dream that we can have life our way, or go on thinking we actually know and/or are entitled to say what’s ‘right.’

Venus in Capricorn: Beauty in Pragmatism or Rebellion Against Realities?

 Painting "Venus and Mercury" by Bartholomaus Spranger (1585)

Given that Venus enters Capricorn on February 4 at 5:58am (UT/+0) and thus not much over a day after the New Moon, this influence becomes part of the amalgamated Aquarian lunar cycle image.

Beyond that, it also has an absolute nature of its own.

So what is Venus in Capricorn? Venus is all about what we do (or present) in order to achieve desired reactions. It’s the essence, the thing we are - or put out into this world – in order to make something happen, or come into being. A lot of people think of Venus simply as ‘beauty’ – thinking the Aphrodite gorgeousness is simply the sweetness, the honey which attracts all the admiration, adulation and adoration.

But let’s be real about how much work it takes to be that ‘beautiful creature’ which gets ogled at and swooned over. Women – are you with me? Isn’t it some fable that she rolls over in bed with makeup perfectly in place, hair just so, eyes glistening, and never a groggy blink to those eyelashes?

It’s pure movie mythos. Real beauty takes work. If you’re an artist, you labor to create it. If you’re a flesh and blood female over the age of 14 (and often, even under 14!) you choose the right clothes, you make sure your hair looks just so …and let’s not forget what it takes to find that right shampoo!

(Men know nothing about the search for the perfect mascara. Or maybe wish they didn’t!)

Anyway…Venus is that magical effort/non-effort – the old ‘oh, I just threw this together, no biggie…!’ sort of allure. It’s the ability to bring something into being and then be gracious and devoid of angst about it.

As for Capricorn, it’s a sign of leadership. Of social status. Of pragmatic choice – and sometimes doing the hard thing today to build that better tomorrow. It’s a sign about achievement, personal and public. Capricorn represents our place in the world, what we want our place to be, and the kind of world we want to be being in.

Ruled by Saturn (time, dedication, reponsibility, commitment) wherever in a chart we see Capricorn, we know that’s something we reach for and have to  earn.

So while there is an odd sort of compadre-ness between Capricorn and Venus (they both aim at valued aims), Venus is all about ‘effortless mastery’ where Capricorn is doughy, weathered and deserving.

Simple synthesis of these two gives us working to get where you want to go…or maybe getting rewarded for what you’ve already earned. 

Yet there’s a stingier side to this combination which at many levels may be more likely than not – and what we may see especially from those who aren’t used to ‘doing without.’ While it may make sense for them to relinquish something immediate for a better tomorrow, it’s unlikely they will want to do so with any amount of grace.

And thus comes the struggle. Being that Capricorn is the natural ruler of the ‘top’ (10th) house of the horoscope, Capricorn has a whole striving quality to it. Capricorn seeks to ‘be on top’ – which is why we see it as leadership, government, social standing, career and achievement.

Thinking about Saturn applies here too. First of all, it’s ruler of Capricorn, so we properly should give it a nod. But how to you think planet Saturn got all those rings? Those rings are particles – mostly ice, some rock – and they are both “ground down'” and “held in place” by Saturn’s enormous planetary mass.

Saturn's rings - photo credit: NASA/JPL

Here and there in astrology we discuss Sagittarius (and Jupiter) as being all about ‘justice.’ But don’t be fooled: the law – the rules of life, are Capricorn. Sagittarius is a fire sign. Fire signs are all about the theoretical. Capricorn is an earth sign. Earth signs are about the tangible. The fact of the thing. So while you can debate whether something is fair or not (which is why Sagittarius rules trials) once the verdict is in, once the debate on what should be a law is over, the Capricorn actuality of the law (as a rule, a limit, a regulation, a structural facet of society and life) comes into being.

And when a law gets broken, the discussion of who is guilty of the infraction is again Sagittarius. But the punishment? That’s a fact. That’s Capricorn.

All of which suggests that Venus in Capricorn is not just working for what you want…but also what you have coming to you. That can be legal, that can be karma, that can be the reward for what you have earned. So there’s a whole range of pluses and minuses which go along with Venus’ just-shy-of-a-month transit of Capricorn.

Venus enters Capricorn February 4th (February 3rd if you’re in the Americas of Pacific Basin arena). Venus exits Capricorn on March 2nd. Or 1st, again depending on where you are.

During this time we should all be mindful of a couple of things. One is that the Saturn which rules the Capricorn Venus is in is in Libra – a sign Venus rules. This back-and-forth rulership circuit is something astrology calls a ‘mutual reception’…in practice, it’s either the rock/hard place ‘better of the devils I dislike’ sort of choice….or a sort of internalized conviction on what works, what can work, what people should recognize as good and quality.

And sometimes – yes – both things apply.

Saturn being perfectly conjunct in Drakonia at the moment of this transit suggests there’s some ‘play’ in the mix. It could be something which needs to 'play out’ or a bit of allowance which needs to be ‘played out.’ It could be playing others, or others playing you. It could even be the fact that you or others (or everyone involved) could be so involved in some sort of ‘game’ being played that who the heck can bother being realistic!

That Saturn is opposition Eris as part of a several year-long cycle suggests we are all in a bit of a pickle internal and external as well. A couple of years ago Saturn did a little dance with Uranus, symbol of change. Now it’s doing one with Eris, a ‘use it well or lose it all’ sort of vibe which here would seem to be asking us to stop ‘playing around’ in every sense of the word.

The problem is that with Saturn – the personal end of this aspect (Saturn being a planet ever you and me of the world can touch and Eris being one of those ‘no one controls it’ life qualities) – with Saturn in Libra, we’re all likely to be ‘playing’ ourselves by thinking ‘it’s them, not me!’ who needs to change.

The reality? We all probably need to change.

If you aren’t familiar with Eris, this would be a good time to read up on Goddess Discord. (LINK to article) And as you’re reading up on her remember – in metaphysics, nothing is predetermined to be good or bad. Discord in the metaphysical sense is the shaking up of a status quo. But that can lead to good things. If slavery is the status quo, shaking that loose so that people can live free – isn’t that a good thing?

The Judgement of Paris

 

And yes, there are those who live to shake things up. They can do good. If Eris is at your Ascendant or Descendant, we would hope you go around shaking things up for the good. Of course, Eris in either position could also be someone who goes around getting shaken up – or who accuses everyone else of their own discordant attitudes or activities.

That’s the two-way door which astrology always is. One of my favorite metaphysical sayings comes from a really great astrologer (and nice guy) named Robert Hand, who famously (in my world, anyway…) once said use the energy wisely, lest it use YOU unwisely! 

We all face Venus in Capricorn for the next few weeks – almost a month. We all will also embody Venus in Capricorn for the next few weeks – almost a month. And we will all also see what we have wrought, as Venus in Capricorn shows us what we have (or haven’t) earned. Good and bad, yes.

During this time, the North Node will be finishing its transit of Capricorn. We all hate North Node stuff – you know it as the ‘should do’ of life. Blech, right? Yes, well….we all like South Node, we all hate North Node. And yet we have to do it anyway. If/when we don’t, we pay a big price.

The South Node has been in Cancer for the past couple of years. This has not only been about family and home life and culture and personal history, but also about acting a bit like children in the spouting off as we had wanted to because we wanted to!

There’s a whole method of using planets as life timetables in astrology known as ‘Profection.’ Using this as regards human maturation, Cancer corresponds to age 7 1/2 to 10.

Know any quiet, well mannered, responsible citizens of this age? Of course you don’t – kids don’t know that life has real consequences yet!

Capricorn, on the other hand, is older. Corresponding to 21 1/2 to about age 24, Capricorn is all about that point in early adulthood where we get the clue that what we are and what we know/don’t know has some real and actual cause/effect in our world.

The personal world and the worldly world, that is!

Venus conjuncts the North Node on February 5th, calling out the whole 'should/don't want to!' dynamic. Or maybe the 'I can't do that - don't tell me to do what I can't do!' dynamic. Adding to this...we will have the North Node moves through zero Capricorn from February 19th through March 3rd.

This all becomes prime territory for all the Venus/Capricorn +/– Saturn/Drakonia (Eris) energy to surface in our lives...and in life all around us.

Bottom line, there’s likely to be a whole bunch of reasons you would rather not ‘have to’ deal with something. Or some things.

But maybe you should. We all pay the piper sooner or later…and do we all want to go down a pipe or pipe up and not only stand up for what we know is right, but be the person we know we should be in standing for something we believe in?

The oldest known image of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, taken

from the Market Church of Hamelin, Germany (c. 1300-1633)

painting by Augustin von Moersperg (1592)

Juno/Uranus being perfectly opposed in this picture with everybody’s most rejecting, least liked fixed star Scheat on the Uranus side says it’s easy to reject. It’s easy to be self indulgent and to not give a darn about anyone but ourselves.

But should we?

Augh! So much to think about!

And speaking of thinking....maybe you noticed that as a basis for this ingress I used a paining of Venus and Mercury? You remember Mercury - the Greek god of missives, thinking, cleverness, trickery, and all-around general note-taking and keeping details straight?

Well, there is a reason for my citing same in the image. And here's the astrological clue:

Venus enters Capricorn

Okay...so if you're not into reading charts, maybe that's a bit oblique. But the point is that this is a chart of the ingress, showing Mercury (in green) at zero Aquarius.

That's an exact semi-sextile to Venus...the very essence of good news/bad news. The good news is that we can learn what we need to do in order to make our world and the world work better. The bad news is that it's likely to come through a little ego bruising.

The thing to understand here is that this ego-bruising isn't about 'them' - it's about our having expected for things to go all our way. Remember? Saturn/Drakonia? Saturn/Eris? Saturn in Libra is incredibly strong. If you use it (or to the degree that you are able to use it) to communicate or relate without bias - by just presenting bare facts without any 'this is good, this is bad, this works, this doesn't work'...then Saturn in Libra is your very best friend and tool for getting things done.

It can also be a bludgeon. We can expect many to use this next year or so to bang others over the head.

And yes, sadly, in it.

So...what do we want to do? Are we willing to entertain there might be a better way? That we might be wrong? That maybe cause/effect includes us - that we can't be exempt from the ultimate rule of reality?

Looking ahead, as astrologer I would re-coin Rob Hand’s phrase roughly: Change your outlook or have changes force a change of outlook upon you. 

It’s a great moment to be heroic, when stopping all the theoretical talk and dealing with the reality of life makes sense.

Even better than that – for the next month or so, doing just that can have some excellent short term results.

So! Do you want to choose your own payoff – or keep playing the odds?

Apparently it’s up to us. And considering this is an Aquarian lunar cycle, the ramifications of what we do and what we don't do are greater than usual. We are not casting pebbles into a pond, we are the pond and the pebbles are stones we have thrown out...or maybe cast out...which are now returning to us by another means.

Pluto/North Node: Society Signs

Diagram of the Pluto/North Node

conjunction of November 27, 2010

6:36am (UT/+0)

In the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving has come to be known as "Black Friday," a day when shoppers newly fortified by a day of rest and much food descend upon malls, shopping with a vengeance. (Or at least storekeepers hope.)

Originally the name of a stock market crash which occurred in 1869, in modern times 'Black Friday' has come to be about a different bottom line, one where SO much shopping gets done (over the weekend following Thanksgiving, now including 'Cyber Monday' online sales)....that this is when retailers traditionally "go into the black" for the year.

In other words, it's when they finally get out of the 'red' (debt) and begin clearing profits for the year.

Anyway...that's the tradition. You know - in your basic 'pretty good' year. But this year has been anything but - and not just in the United States, but in many places around the world.

And we're not just talking retail - we're talking about this having been a hard year for Earth (and its inhabitants) in general. So when we say that the US goes shopping this weekend as we contemplate Pluto conjuncting the North Node, that's not a specific issue. It's more of a bell-weather. And it's not just about money - it's about how we feel about our life. How life, as a whole, is reacting to the pressures being put upon it.

We all together now on that? This is not about shopping or consumerism except as that is one form of human expression of obligation, wish fulfillment, escapism and/or the ever popular concept of the holidays as the time to 'give the gift' but have it be something useful.

No, I'm not sure how many people are delighted with strictly utilitarian gifts. But sometimes, when life is hard, to have what you need actually is a delight. Yes, even if it's socks, weatherstripping, a new shower head or a vacuum.

(And don't get me started on how much vacuums cost. Never was I ever so happy as when the carpet was removed from my house, taking with it the need to have one. We all have things which just irk us. The price of vacuums is on my list. Petty? Maybe. Honest? Definitely.)

That said, what about this Pluto/North Node conjunction which as we have now noted, is happening late on the USA's biggest shopping day?

 Kyoto's Nishiki market

photo credit: Kazutaka Nakano (March 2009)

The North Node is what we should do. And the simplistic reaction to North Node dictates when astrologer mentions them to client? NO! UGH! BLECH! I've ever seen people get up and walk out of the room when confronted with North Node 'musts.' 

But here's the lore: if we will 'do' our North Node thing, then we can have all the South Node we want. And everybody likes the South Node part of the deal.

So let's start there, with the South Node positioned in a degree of 'garbled messages' which tend to be so unclear that we ignore them. This is a metaphysical signal for 'being isolated in my own thoughts and feelings' which doesn't help matters - whether it's a family budget, a national agenda or a company looking at its own bottom line regardless of the general market or societal trends.

Meanwhile, the North Node and Pluto are both in a degree which is about 'curiosity which can get you into trouble.'

Known vastly and over-simplistically as 'transformation,' Pluto is above all the experience of emotionality...and thus emotional transformations. Pluto symbolizes 'the result of the choice' and the experiences which go along from realizing what has 'come of' what you choose to do, or not do.

Coupled with the North Node, we might think this could be a moment when we go to do whatever we're doing and curiosity draws us in and fascinates us to a degree we do what we had promised ourselves (or others!) not to do. And with two Black Holes bracketing this 4 Capricorn position, the fascination and 'alternative reality' quality associated with Black Holes may do exactly that in many cases.

However...this entire dynamic could have a diametrically opposite effect. Pluto's 'transformative' qualities, often known as create, deny or destroy and which in a natal chart often signify a quality which manifests as an obsession and drive at many, many levels...that may well here represent the changing of habits.

One way we would decide - astrologically - whether this is so, or what this might mean would be to look at the ruler of Capricorn, the sign the North Node and Pluto are in. The ruler of Capricorn being Saturn, we see Saturn here positioned at 14 Libra, the 'mask' and whether we live behind it, or come out from behind it.

With Capricorn being 'the goal' and the 'upheld tradition,' we have to wonder if this combination is about changing (Pluto) the way we deal with the traditions and celebrations we share with others (Libra) and as a society (Nodes) in a very real (Saturn) way.

 United States Federal Reserve Chart

(set for noon as a governmental agency)

With a Quasar (brilliance) just ahead of Saturn and a Black Hole (alternative reality) just behind Saturn and Edisonia (the 'bright idea') in opposition to Saturn...this is if nothing else, a rethinking of what we do and why we do it.

And this may mean a change of attitude on the part of all - whether that means shoppers using cash instead of credit cards. Debt and the pressure/debates which come of same (and which are infamously known for wreaking havoc in marriages) is Pluto. It is the emotional consequence of a (Mars) choice made in a given moment.

That Mars is in Sagittarius' 3rd decanate at this moment guarantees a lot of advertising and going back to our 'Black Friday/Cyber Monday' shopping model, a genuine desire to have things be as they "always have been" on everyone's part - whether you're the merchant trying to promote sales, the buyer wanting to 'have it all' or the anti-commercial person who would like to just go back to a time when holidays were about quiet times of family or contemplation or gratitude...or however anyone thinks of them.

Then there is also a bit of 'indicator history' to contemplate here. The world-wide economic fracas which led to such anguish in 2008 happened as Pluto moved over the MC of the US Federal Reserve's noon (governmental functionality) chart.

With the great heat of the American presidential campaign (replete with name calling and mud slinging) having ignited during March/April 2008, President Obama actually took office as Pluto completed its transit of the Federal Reserve Sun. This is a mark of a previous 'round of thinking' which would have begun one Pluto orbit ago.

Pluto's orbit being 248 years long, that would put the initiation of this 'theoretical' round (theoretical since the Fed wasn't yet in existence) as being in 1761. As it happens, 1761 was the year when George III became King of England - just in time to deal with the American revolution (lucky him!).

 King George III of England in

coronation robes

painting by Allan Ramsay

In the process, the English (and general political situation) also managed to annoy an already vastly over-extended French monarchy - one then headed up by Louis XVI - into entering the war on the side of the (American) colonies. And that exacerbated France's own problems to the degree that it ignited the French Revolution, bringing about the execution of Louis XVI and his wife-of-political mandate, Marie Antoinette.

Link to article on Marie Antoinette.

In short, cycles repeat.

As noted by astrologer Ray Merriman, the US Federal Reserve opened it's doors for business earlier in the day on December 23, 1913. And that chart, I've written about elsewhere (link). But as a US governmental entity we set any applicable chart to noon - under the theory that the government is the 10th house (the uppermost house in any chart) as the Sun is at its zenith at noon and as citizens of any country, we look 'up' to the government as top dog power in our nation.

(No jokes here, please. Several names went through my head too, but we're not going to wax frivolous. At least not at the moment!)

Okay...so when you set the chart to noon, what you come up with a wheel (above) which shows 29 degrees on all four axis points: what the Fed does is critical to the country - and arguably, the world. Cycles repeat and financial controls-markets-reserve banks do not exist in isolation.

Staying with the Fed's governmental chart, the current  conjunction is taking place as Pluto is moving away from the Sun (indicating a great change/upheaval already having taken place and now in motion) heading towards 7 Capricorn, where it will encounter Ceres.

Ceres alone is a symbol of what you have worked for and earned, so you harvest. Ceres success depends on not just wanting the results, but being willing to do all the hard work such as that farmers do in raising their crops.

Link to an article which describes the nature of Ceres in more detail.

In this Federal Reserve chart, Ceres is pictured as being opposition Charybdis, meaning there has to be a constant willingness to keep after various problems. Those problems - again, as described by this chart - are about debt. But not just debt as a concept - debt more specifically as a matter of home-family-real estate and desires.

Considering the interconnected nature of world economics, this clearly denotes the 'consumer culture' as a whole. A 'dominating whole.' If this was only a matter of 'consumerism' (Charybdis ruled by the Fed's governmental 8th house Scorpio Moon), then regulation of interest would be the one key. But Charybdis is an asteroid. Ceres is a dwarf planet.

 Dwarf Planet Ceres

photo credit: Hubble - ACS/HRC

Guess which one is more important? Or to put it another way, which needs to be our greater priority?

Yes, that which we understand is necessary needs to empower the consistency of effort. This cannot be about passion or beliefs or fear - that's anti-Ceres and plainly Charybdis in negative form.

Like as not, this whole discussion comes down to a couple of questions: will we make sacrifices now or later? What does 'sacrifice mean to us? What do sacrifices made in the past which have allowed us to get where we are today - what do they mean to us?

Who are we and what do we really value? What is the difference between what we want (Pluto) and what we should want, or should want ourselves to want (Pluto/North Node)? Where do we talk the talk but totally not walk the (Pluto/North Node) walk, hiding behind our (Saturn) mask of what should be changed and done (Pluto/North Node) but which we're just as happy to leave up to others (Libra) to take on the (Saturn) hard work and the (Saturn) challenges of doing?

Pluto will arrive at 7 Capricorn - the Fed's Ceres - in spring 2011. What we are going through now is a 'lead up' to that. Given how hard it is for societies and nations to change, we all know what 'should' happen, but which won't happen until the proverbial shoe falls.

Or kicks us in some providential part.

March/April 2011 has Pluto going station/retrograde right atop the Federal Reserve Ceres. That transit ends in January 2012, describing 2011 as a year of serious change.

So you can either fiddle and dance now, or pay the piper then. And maybe you'll do some of both. How much is probably up to you, and starts now.

It will be definitely interesting to hear reports of how retailers do over this long holiday weekend. It will tell us much about ourselves...what we're dealing with and what we're choosing to ignore now, and face later.

Stay tuned!

The Astrologer's Notes: Venusian Pesonality Economics

 October by Chase William Merritt

What to say...how not to make light of anyone's difficulties? The 'I don't have any idea what to do about it' going around is so a reflection of Neptune in late Aquarius, Pluto in early Capricorn, Uranus in late Pisces, Saturn in Libra...

...and this dollop of Venus on top? It's everyone standing there saying 'look at me!', 'pick me!', 'appreciate me!', 'love me!'....We're all so starved. Some for money, some for love - and most of us (at some level) for that sense of self worthiness which empowers us. Which allows us to get out there and know how things can be done, inspire people to join in.

Venus in Scorpio is hard. It forces us to fall back on who we are in a way which makes us feel secure. Add a little

Neptune in late Aquarius and it becomes a fog, a veil of tears, a clouding of our certainties. 

We just aren't sure. That strength which would be inspiring altruism melts away into insecure unwillingness to take a risk. And because we won't risk - because everyone wants someone else to fix things - nothing gets done. Nothing gets fixed. Those what have hoard. Those what don't have, hate. It's not anybody's recipe for success.

People resist change until desperation drives them beyond where they can afford to resist. They say  desperate times may call for desperate measures - which would be why necessity becomes the mother of  innovation.

Or muthah's it, I'm not sure. 

It would be so nice if people would let go of old ways and narrow-mindedness...but they're scared to.

Talk about being scared of being broke...Neptune in late Aquarius plus a Scorpio Venus retrograde? People are scared of being stripped of their beliefs, ideals which have kept them feeling coddled and cozy, no matter how wrong they are.

Neptune in late Aquarius is so the bringing to the for of all that. And all that goes with that - the blindness to caring what really happens when you care more about the ideal than the reality.

 Volcanic Sunset by Vincent-Phillips

Then there's the whole Pluto in Capricorn thing. All the problems in people's lives? That's exactly what needs changing. Where and what we all lose is where we need to focus our effort.

But I get it...it takes effort. It's very uncomfortable. It requires sacrifices. People marvel at how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, but I bet not one in a hundred thinks about what that kind of transformation must feel like - not to mention that it's going on inside a cramped chrysalis.

Can you imagine?

Then come the moment your need to get out. Who thinks about the effort it takes for a new butterfly to break out of that shell? And within minutes or maybe an hour after that it's supposed to pump blood into its wings and take off and....what, fly?

Yes, it's instinct. But the process of doing all that? That  takes effort.

Maybe because humans think so much they think themselves right out of their ability to make things better...right until complete necessity forces them to fight to stay alive, yes.

Pluto in early Capricorn is maybe a our chrysalis phase. Part rearranging our parts - plus then forcing us to learn how to live a whole new life.

No wonder nobody's liking it!

Maybe we need to apologize to our local butterflies. We so take them for granted. We watch in wonder and delight. Maybe we should add a big "good job!"

 Der Schmetteringsjager by Carl Spitzweg (c.1840)

Then there's Uranus...rolling back and forth at the very end of Pisces. People think they can escape feeling, not realizing that what they're feeling which makes them want to escape is the whole and total deal.

And terribly unproductive. Like life is going to go away? 

We don't like being forced to deal with what we feel about our feelings - especially when our feelings are what we know we shouldn't be feeling. Or when we've been deluding ourselves that we feel good about something but we know it's wrong.

It's all about control - and Uranus says we don't have control and that scares people more than they can deal with really knowing. People know they need to change. And they know - somewhere deep inside - that what we refuse to deal with is exactly what ends up dealing with us...often in ways we don't like.

Escapism is so much more attractive than innovation. Excuses are so much easier than breaking out of our old mold, yes even if the old chrysalis is exactly what's keeping us from spreading our wings, showing our colors, shining in the sun and...yes, flying.

People say they have faith. Religious or not, they all seem to have some feeling life happens because it happens because that's what life is. I like the old metaphysical saying: unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should.

But it's as easy to fall back on Bob Dylan. You know...the times, they are a'changin' ?

The only thing which can be entirely relied upon is change. Change goes on without change. 

I wish (that being a real Pisces term) that people would get that all the instability of feeling, all the disruptions of society - it's all about getting us to let go so that as Uranus moves into Aries next year we'd be ready to do and be something new.

Think they'll get it? 

Maybe. Then again, there are always a bunch in any lot who prefer to remain sitting on a stick.

The old is on its way out. I guess it's just not going to  vamoose without a fight, though.

And then there's that Saturn in Libra...do people not get that what you give determines what you get? Those having such a hard time 'getting' need to 'get' that what they're 'giving' isn't what people what to get! 

Oh, I'm hearing that Bob Dylan thing again....

We have to think differently. Do differently. We need to think in terms of appealing to people in some new way now that the old way isn't working.

It's either that, or change our name to Outmoded. Hi, I'm little Miss Outmoded. Got anything old and unusable for me to natter around with today?

Seriously! I so wish people would get it that it's pretty apparent how its time to pay attention to working on (Saturn) what we do, how we do it and who we do it to, with, and for. Our act needs working on.

Or maybe we just need to get a new act?

Hard choices are in the works. Wherever Saturn is, ends and pruning and sacrifices follow.

For a planet with rings, Saturn is not all that well rounded. It sort of behaves like a cleaver. Or a wall. Or a big, fat dead end.

Then again, with every end comes a new beginning. Something just has to pry our grubby little mitts off whatever we're so determined to hold on to.

 The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

And there is that Saturn ruling Capricorn thing too. That so ties together the how we interact with others and the what supports our world. We're all in for some  enormous transformation and the easy or hard of that totally depends on how realistic we are, how willing we are to deal with the facts instead of resorting to our  whiny 'why can't I...!!' thing.

(sings): whoa, baby - there's a lot of whining going around.

I'd make a really, really lousy Elvis.

Whatever.

(A brief pause here while I indulge in my daily sulk....)

We've all been sinking into a morass of late. It's so Scorpio Venus retrograde. Life as a putridly stick torrent making things hard, harder, hardest...

...and oh, would you mind acting cheerful while it hails fire, frogs and hail?

People probably think I actually blame Venus retrograde for stuff when the truth is I don't. Transits only mark the time unfolding.

The fault lies not in our times (she said with dignity, striking a presidential pose) it lies in our stubbornness! Our reticence! Our desire to have someone else make the sacrifice or provide the offer or make the change SO WE DON'T HAVE TO!!!!

Unfortunately, that's just not the way it works. The job situation may be terrible, yes. But that's because nobody is giving an inch - or a damn. We're all at a Scorpio stalemate.

It's a big giant game of chicken out there. And those who retreat the most or hold on the hardest, they may well graduate from chicken to turkey.

We all need to change what we're doing or how we're doing it (Venus), who we're doing it with or the standards we hold ourselves to (Saturn). We need to get over our narrow mindedness and thinking someone else is or isn't responsible!

The truth is we're all responsible. For everything. And if everyone would give, everyone would get. Today's problems aren't about a lack of abundance, they're about a dirth of unwillingness.

And everyone wants to imagine its everybody else at fault. Trouble is, we know it isn't.

Somewhere down inside, we know we're just (Neptune) kidding ourselves. And we wish we were kidding others. Unfortunately we're not. And we hate them for knowing what we don't want to know about ourselves (Venus). 

 The Moon at Crescent Phase over Kingman Arizona

photo credit: Beth Woodrum (November 27, 2007)

Change is upon us (Pluto). We can either get with it or get gotten good by it (Uranus). That which is lost to some is lost to all, and the sooner we start thinking in terms of what IS instead of what should be (Pluto), might be (Neptune), could be (Uranus) and what we just plain want (Venus), the sooner we can all get back to doing what needs doing, reignite the engine of stability and productivity...

...which is - in the end, I mean - the genius of human accomplishment at its beautiful (and actually? Saturn) best.