Planetary Shifts and Changes

‘News You Can Use’

Change is a natural rhythm of life.  Astrology deals with the cyclical nature of time as we experience it here on planet earth and this month into early November we will experience an especially large number of planetary shifts and changes as part of the ever changing dance of players in our own solar system.  Jupiter turned direct on October 13th, and Mars entered Leo on October 16th for a long 7 1/2 month stay due to its retrograde phase once every two years.  Saturn will enter Libra on October 29th followed by Chiron turning direct on October 31st, and Neptune turning direct on November 4th.  In this article I will look at the first three of these changes:

Jupiter Turns Direct at 17 Aquarius

On October 13th Jupiter turned direct and now will be moving quite rapidly through Aquarius until January 18, 2010 when it says goodbye to that airy sign and enters the oceanic realm of Pisces, one of the signs it classically rules.  It has been clustered with Neptune and Chiron for most of 2009 and will have the last dance with Chiron in early December, and with Neptune December 20th through the 25th.

Jupiter has represented some buoyancy and hope for the American people symbolized by the Moon in Aquarius at 27 degrees in the United States of America’s birth map.  As Jupiter leaves that 27th degree by early January of 2010 much of the bubble of hope will gradually dissipate leaving the malaise and wounding of a Chiron/Neptune to continue to linger for another year dissolving and draining away the sense of security that Americans had ‘hoped’ would be restored.  Words of promise carefully crafted will not be enough anymore, for hope is the proverbial carrot that keeps one thinking it will happen tomorrow, always tomorrow.  Will Americans get the health-care reform originally promised?  Will their economy be restored to pre-2007 levels?  Neptune is a smoke and mirrors illusion when used by politicians and media spin-meisters.  Jupiter has blown it sky-high and one more bubble will dissolve away as it leaves.  With the gradual dawning of clarity may come disappointment, disillusionment, and anger as the draining of the ‘people’ becomes more self-evident.

Strangely enough there have been wake-up calls and warnings from various documentary films such as Michael Moore’s ‘Capitalism, A Love Story’ which with humor and pathos told a tale of the dismal discrepancy between the haves and the have nots in a country where 1% now owns 95% of the wealth.  The inside report by Goldman & Sachs to their constituents especially caught my eye as they labeled themselves the ‘plutocracy’.  This plutocracy as symbolized by Pluto in Capricorn in the US birth map has certainly used the media to further camouflage their behind-closed-doors manipulation for total control.  The revolving door of corporate executives moving in and out of strategic political positions of power is also seen in the film ‘The Future of Food’ where the same theme has been played out by Monsanto executives moving into such agencies as the EPA and the FDA.  These documentaries are probably more Uranian than Neptunian.  Television is the preferred Neptunian vehicle of the spin-meisters.

The good news is that more and more people are realizing the big picture of what is going on now, and they are taking greater responsibility to act locally right where they are, or to take greater responsibility for their own health and safety by becoming more holistically oriented in their lifestyles and health habits.  New discoveries of all kinds have flourished under the Neptune/Jupiter/Chiron union in Aquarius, and quantum leaps have been made in consciousness where the body/mind/spirit links show us ways to bridge dimensions.  We are all one.  Yes, we truly are.  With inter-net access and DVDs now available, the teachers of these vital truths are now more globally available.

What can you do personally with Jupiter in Aquarius between now and the end of the year, but especially this month?  It’s always fun to create a ‘treasure map’ or ‘vision board’.  Simply cut out and paste pictures and images of whatever you’d like to bring more fully into manifestation in your life onto a large poster board.  You can write phrases or paste quotes as well, but it is really the Neptunian images that go deep into your subconscious where that energy then goes to work to bring about the co-creative changes you desire in your life.

Mars into Leo

On October 16th Mars moved into Leo for 7 1/2 months. Think of it!  Mars in Fire for all that time.  Finally, we get some fire into the mix of what have been primarily Earth/Air energies. Rather dry, don’t you think?  Mars does a retrograde turn-around once every two years, and this time it will start December 20th at 19 degrees of Leo moving backwards to 0 degrees before turning direct on March 10, 2010.  It will not enter the next sign of Virgo until June 7, 2010.

Mars in Leo is known for its superior strength and optimism.  It may bring to many a life-affirming and spirited movement forward.  It may bring greater self-confidence to bring about necessary changes.  Mars in Leo is playful and will encourage greater creative ways of achieving results.  All of you with planets in Fire signs may feel this verve and lift of energy as Mars triggers your own fire and propels you forward, especially now until December 20th.  No need to wait to be ‘rescued’.  Mars in Leo isn’t interested in being a victim, so the energy is there somewhere in your chart to take some type of initiative and go for it.  Take a stand for your own rightful place in the Sun!

The down-side of Mars in Leo, however, is arrogance and too much ego.  There may be a lot of posturing and theatrics in evidence with those who already feel entitled to being the top-dog.  Hierarchical paradigms may get worse with the lords and masters taking more control in imperialistic ways.  This can show up in individuals as well as collective bodies, like corporations, cities, and countries with strong fixed energies, so be aware of the dark side of this energy.  Mars can be raw aggression.  The militaristic model is still a predominant form on this planet.  Power plays may get more dramatic over the next 7 plus months.  Countries with exaggerated ‘egos’ will be posturing and demanding without allowing for dialogue or debate.  Mars in Leo can bring out the despots, but let us work to bring out the more heart-centered warriors who wish to champion their brothers and sisters.

In the United States’ chart transiting Mars in Leo will be moving through the 8th and 9th houses this coming year.  The passage through the 8th will trigger more money crises as well as the need to transform the economy as increasing pressure builds.  The 8th house deals with life/death issues and confrontations with power.  It is also the house of hidden power, so expect some rather dramatic moves on the part of the plutocracy as well as other nations challenging the power of the US.  Mars moving into the 9th house by mid-November will involve our nation even more with international issues as well as legalities.  The specter of expanding our militaristic conquests seems likely.  We probably won’t see the folly of this until Mars moves into earthy Virgo.  The United States has Mars in a tight square with Neptune natally.  The ‘fog of war’ drives us and keeps us in endless wars that go nowhere, like Viet Nam.  We truly do get muddled in foreign messes which are often none of our business in the first place.  Cancer, and the US is a very big Cancerian, often makes the mistake of meddling in other’s affairs.

Saturn into Libra

Saturn enters the sign of Libra on October 29/30th.  It will briefly move back into Virgo between April 7th and July 21st, 2010, and then finally settle down for a solid two more years in Libra.  As soon as it enters this Cardinal gate it locks horns most tightly with Pluto, who has been transiting the early degrees of Capricorn since the ‘melt-down’ in 2008.  Saturn aspecting Pluto is an intense contraction which means that the world’s crises are far from over. The historian Richard Tarnas in his scholarly book, Cosmos and Psyche, Intimations of a New World View’ spends several chapters describing the grim periods of historical crisis and contraction correlating with Saturn/Pluto configurations.  We last experienced this type of crisis in 2001.

Will we finally get to the bottom of what really happened with the 9/11 incident when Saturn was opposite Pluto?  We will soon be experiencing the waning square aspect of Saturn to Pluto, which may bring further evaluation and facts to light because this great crime against humanity has yet to be solved and certainly appears to have been covered up.  Many astrologers have deduced from the actual horoscope of 9/11 that the ‘causal’ factor was much closer to home than foreign terrorists, and that these primary instigators were probably ‘highly regarded business and/or political leaders’ with international inks in multiple countries.  Intelligent people, like the hundreds of architects and engineers at www.AE91truth.org are asking these questions.  It will be time to ask even more questions and not blindly accept media-fed propaganda.

As Richard Tarnas states in various ways, the Saturn/Pluto crises “…tend to involve the deployment of massive, highly disciplined, carefully organized destructive power, and a widespread sense of victimization and suffering under the impact of cataclysmic and oppressive forces.”  Pluto is often about hidden powers that have been entrenched for long, long periods of time.  The actual truth is kept under layer upon layer of subterfuge.  Totalitarian impulses are usually at work within the framework of Saturn and Pluto.  World War I began with a Saturn/Pluto conjunction.  World War II began with a Saturn/Pluto square.  Some researchers have unearthed factual evidence to indicate that both wars were funded on both sides by the same bankers and super-wealthy individuals.  Bringing clarity to today’s international climate, we need to keep asking who profits from war?  We have to keep our eye on the money to learn the truth.  Pluto in its darker form is about hidden, secret wealth and power. Divide and conquer is an old theme of the plutocracy. This same Plutonian force, however, can be used to reveal the truth and like Hercules with the Hydra, the corruption can be lifted into the light and thus rendered impotent.  Transformation can only begin when truths are revealed.

Saturn in Libra wants fairness and justice.  Establishing balance, harmony, and peace are worthy ambitions for the next 2 1/2 years.  Is that going to be possible with Pluto in Capricorn?  It will be a challenge and a struggle just as it has always been.  The atmosphere of Saturn/Pluto is usually one of gravity and tension.  There will be some end to innocence or just plain blind naivety.  Saturn will press for some kind of a conclusion and some definition of finitude.  Saturn tends to bring out the problematic potential of whatever it touches and then moves the events toward a critical and defining cross-roads.  We are entering one of these cross-roads now and 2010 will be a decisive year.  As we re-evaluate what is happening to us and our beloved planet we each much act according to what our conscience shows us is the right thing to do or we become mere puppets of manipulation.  This will not be a time for hoping or waiting to be rescued.  We all need to wake up, get conscious, and determine for ourselves what course of action to take.  I think of the wonderful story of Pinocchio, the puppet who grew to be a real boy with the help of a celestial ‘fairy/star lady’, an animal guide (Jimmy Cricket), and the deep love of his creator (Geppetto).  We all have our own special helpers, guides, and those who love us to support and sustain our own journey through the year ahead.  May we have the wisdom to take positive action towards a better future wherever we find ourselves.