Nancy’s Blog

As the 2010 election looms ever closer, dire predictions of a Democratic disaster are sprouting like poisonous mushrooms on a boggy field. The ratings-driven media is promoting the usual political soap opera narrative, replete with multiple stories of collapsing failure snatched from the jaws of victory. Oh, the glee inspired by a media-crafted Schadenfreude.

The psychodrama promulgated by the infotainment industry is often more hyperbole than reality, although constant repetition of untruths and exaggerations does have its own procreative power. Nonetheless, the astrological indications for the coming election suggest that November may not be as harsh for Democrats as FOX News pundits might have you believe. From what I can tell, with the enormous caveat that I have almost no birth times in the charts I am using and that mid-term elections are very difficult to predict, I think the Democrats will hold both Houses of Congress although with much slimmer majorities.

With few exceptions, there is little to indicate a big wave of celebration from either party. Dick Durbin and Harry Reid, however, seem particularly happy with the election results, with numerous Jupiter and Venus transits, suggesting the Democrats keep the Senate and Reid keeps his seat. Despite some gains, it would seem Mitch McConnell will remain hemmed in by the numbers, as evidenced by the Saturn station sesquiquadrate his Sun mid-December through February and progressed Mercury conjunct his Saturn from January through July 2011.

Regarding the House, John Boehner seems quite upset with the election results due to Saturn square his Venus in early November, followed by the station of Saturn on his South Node from December through early March 2011. But Boehner will continue in his leadership position with some increased power as indicated by transiting Jupiter trine his Sun in December and sextile his progressed Sun/Jupiter in early January. Nonetheless, it seems not to be all that he had hoped.

Nancy Pelosi will have her hands full dealing with the newer, tighter numbers. She will be embroiled in significant and highly stressful wrangling due to Pluto square her Sun from mid-December through 2011. She will also feel somewhat restricted by the Saturn station of January through early February 2011 which will quincunx her Mercury.

The chart for the 112^th Congress, drawn for January 4, 2011 at noon (assuming this is the correct date), suggests a very, very difficult term. The anger and paralysis are likely to worsen, with Saturn conjunct the Descendant and square a Sun/Moon/Mars conjunction. Moreover, ideological intensity will be strong, with Pluto conjunct the Node in the 9^th house. Late March through October 2011 will be especially difficult, with Saturn transiting in exact square to Sun, Moon, and Mars in the new Congress chart. All in all, the Congressional soap opera will offer a time of intense anxiety fueled by power struggles and laced with conspiracy theories. Our real enemies are probably gleeful.

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Two distinctive, but overlapping, narratives about Iran have grown significantly over the past year. In one, Iran’s burgeoning power in the Middle East has become a cause for increasing concern in the world. No longer impeded by the scurrilous Saddam Hussein and a militantly potent Iraq, Iran has no meaningful military rival in its neighborhood. In addition, its aggressive push for nuclear weapons, despite intensifying international pressure, is alarming global leaders due to Iran’s active connection to several terrorist groups and the potential for a new arms race in the Middle East.

The parallel narrative during this time period relates to Iran’s domestic situation: internal rebellion is growing in opposition to an increasingly oppressive and vicious government. Hillary Clinton recently described Iran as “moving toward a military dictatorship”. Certainly, the Republican Guard, the military arm of the theocratic government, has become more and more abusive in its actions against the population.

We have previously discussed the importance of the transit of Uranus to Iran’s Mars (25Pisces37) from April 2009 through February 2010 as indicative of a more aggressive and willful regime, as well as of growing restiveness and rebellion within the country. This transit largely coincided with the massive demonstrations that followed the apparently stolen election of June 2009, as well as the violent government crackdown in their wake. The final surge of this agitated Uranus/Mars energy came in January and February 2010.

The 1979 Iranian chart suggests that the country’s inner agitation will continue, though perhaps not in so dramatic a fashion as in the past year. With progressed Mars quincunx the 4^th house Uranus (20 Scorpio27) from February 2010 through May 2011, the inner discontent and rebelliousness will continue to simmer, dangerously near, but not at, the boiling point. With Uranus as ruler of the 7^th house of open enemies and partners, we are also likely to see a continuation of a unilateral belligerence from the Iranian regime as regards the rest of the world.

Beginning on March 11, 2010, and continuing through mid-January 2011, transiting Uranus will be conjunct Iran’s 8^th house Mercury (27Pisces16), most potent in March 2010 and from October 2010 through mid-January 2011. This aspect suggests some significant upsets in trade, shipping, communications, and media issues. It is not impossible to imagine a general strike in opposition to the regime and/or more effective and intrusive sanctions that cause financial stress. It is noteworthy that from November 2010 through mid-July 2011, transiting Saturn will be opposite the Sun in Iran’s chart (11Aries06), suggesting great stress on the goals of the regime and the need to retreat on some of its more aggressive positions. Certainly, it will face obstacles and delays during that time.

Probably the most dramatic planetary aspects involving Iran will come during 2013 and 2014. At that time, transiting Uranus will conjunct the Iranian Sun (April 2013 though March 2014) and Pluto will square it (January 2013 through October 2014). Under the dangerously volatile Uranus/Pluto square, the regime seems likely to become increasingly oppressive, erratically unilateral, and may push to magnify its power enormously. Perhaps this period will mark the unveiling of the Iranian nuclear bomb. There is also the possibility that the regime will go too far in its domestic oppression (Pluto/Sun) and create a huge popular backlash (Uranus/Sun). The government and the country are likely to go through a radical transformation during this rather destabilizing period, although the final outcome is anything but certain.

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The seemingly endless health-care debate of the past year may, at long last, be nearing a final, dramatic crescendo. After months of torturous negotiations and purposeful sabotage, after both Houses of Congress managed to laboriously produce some form of legislation, after the unexpected election of Scott Brown upended the fantasy “filibuster-proof” majority in the Senate, President Obama has stepped in to create a last-ditch health care summit. Thursday, February 25, is the magic day when Republicans and Democrats are scheduled to come together with the president to iron out their differences. More than likely, Republicans will stick to their platitudinous talking points and their whining victimhood, while Obama attempts to hold a rational conversation with adults interested in solving one of the nation’s biggest problems. If only pigs could fly…

The bigger question is what will happen when this exercise in futility is over and the Democrats need to get serious about pushing health care legislation through its final hurdles. There has been talk of using reconciliation to amend the already-passed health care bill in the Senate, possibly even reanimating the already-pronounced-dead public option. The next month is probably the make-it-or-break- it window. Will we witness the passage of ground-breaking, historical health-care legislation or its ultimate demise? The planetary picture is mixed and suggests further deftness will be needed to thread the proverbial needle.

Although President Obama is likely to be extremely active in his aggressive outreach, (Mars station opposite his Jupiter, 00Aquarius52, and Mars station opposite Inaugural Sun/Mercury, 00Aquarius 40/46, from February 23 through March 20), there are several configurations that suggest delays, obstruction, and a need to compromise further to get anything done. Saturn will be square to Obama’s Venus (1Cancer47), square to Harry Reid’s Venus (2Capricorn), and conjunct Rahm’s North Node (1Libra48) through March 16. If anyone is listening, I would suggest no votes until after that time.

The more promising aspects begin around March 22 and continue through April 3. That is the likely window for success. Jupiter will be conjunct Inaugural Venus (17Pisces47) while Mars is opposite Inaugural Jupiter (3Aquarius32), both from March 30 to April 3. Jupiter will also be in minor aspect to Obama’s Jupiter (3/22 to 3/26) and Mercury (3/28 to 4/1), with Uranus quincunx his Node (3/14 to 3/30), suggestive of an unexpected and promising shift at the end of March.

In the meantime, we can expect a deluge of criticism aimed at President Obama during the first two weeks of March, due to Saturn square his Venus and progressed Moon opposite his Pluto. The Moon/Pluto aspect continues to strengthen through March 28, and hence the nitpicking and endless second-guessing will continue until then. Transiting Neptune will also be on his Aquarian South Node through March 20, feeding the narrative of him not being assertive enough and being too willing to compromise and seek a collective agreement. Again, the shift seems to come at the end of March, when the complaining and attacks die down, and some significant positive energy strengthens for a few days. Perhaps we may yet see a health care bill.

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Yesterday, we saw what can happen when the fiery rhetoric of paranoid, anti-government rage morphs into violence. We are being told that the purposeful flying of a plane into the Austin, Texas, IRS offices was not an act of terrorism. That is simply not true. It was a deliberate act of homicidal and suicidal brutality that terrified a city to make a political statement. There is no record of Joseph Stack being mentally unstable. But there is a written record, posted for the world to see, of his self-indulgent feelings of victimization and his fury at a government that dared to ask him to pay his share of taxes for the common good. Sound familiar?

We are living in a world where the twin flames of anger and fear on the fringe are daily doused with gasoline by a right-wing media more interested in lucrative ratings than in the dangerous consequences of its demagoguery. The false narrative being perpetrated is one of increasing victimhood: endless suffering and powerlessness at the hands of an evil government that wants to take our money, control our lives, and destroy our country. Ultimately, this smoldering victimhood leads to a volatile and self-righteous anger, which taken to its extreme will inexorably erupt into violence. While we obsess about the hapless underpants bomber, this imminent danger is metastasizing in our midst, jealously and rather ingenuously protected by “free speech”, and pandered to by conservative politicians too stupid and too cowardly to stand against it.

There are many unsettling and volatile astrological configurations coming to the US in the next five years: Uranus conjunct the IC (if you accept the Sagittarius rising chart), Uranus square Venus, Uranus square and Pluto opposite the Sun. These aspects bespeak rebelliousness, restiveness, profound transformation, and dramatic, possibly violent events. Exactly how they will manifest is anyone’s guess, although we are likely to see some combination of domestic and foreign crises before things settle down. Certainly, the charts of Iran, China, and Russia all suggest that these nations will be impacted by the disruptions and challenges indicated by the coming Uranus/Pluto square (2012 – 2015). Yesterday’s act of domestic terrorism in Austin, Texas, seems to me to be an ominous harbinger of some of what we can expect on the home front. In other words, Joseph Stack is likely to be seen as more of a precursor than an anomaly if we continue unimpeded on the road of irresponsible and incendiary rhetoric upon which we now travel.

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Amidst a frothing orgy of media attention, Sarah Palin brought her Theater of the Absurd to the center of the national stage last weekend when she did the keynote speech at the Tea Party Convention in Nashville. Inspiring a kind of horrified fascination in the still-sane, Palin’s performance was the usual jaw-dropping blend of aggressive viciousness and shallow platitude. Like a snake in the guise of a Barbie Doll, she manages to spew venom with a folksy, cutesy smile.

Much like Glenn Beck who was born the day before her, Palin has a rather symbiotic relationship with the paranoid fringe of the right wing in American politics. She gleefully feeds their fears of Obama as a dark and dangerous figure who will take away their freedom and destroy their country, and they devotedly feed her coffers and her self-absorbed delusions of grandeur. When asked in a recent interview with Chris Wallace if she would run for president in 2012, she gave a barely-hedged affirmative response:

I would. I would if I believe that that is the right thing to do for our country and for the Palin family. Certainly, I would do so… I think that it would be absurd to not consider what it is that I can potentially do to help our country.

Concerned citizens from the reality-based community anxiously wonder if she can mesmerize enough people to pull it off.

According to her astrological chart, Palin (2/11/64; Sandpoint, Idaho; 4:40 PM) may hit some bumps between now and the 2012 primaries. Already we have seen a steep descent in her poll numbers since Saturn first moved into its ten-month opposition to her Venus (1Aries22) in November 2009. This transit will intensify as it becomes exact twice more, during mid-March and early August 2010, further eroding her public image. Moreover, in late 2010 through August 2011, progressed Venus will square her natal Saturn (25Aquarius12), also indicative of some strain in her relationships and a loss of public standing. Anyone expecting her to go quietly off to the sidelines as 2012 approaches, however, had better think again.

Much of the extraordinary media attention devoted to Palin and the unceasing adoration of her disciples in the past few years may be attributed to her progressed Venus square to natal Sun (22Aquarius20) in 2008 and square to natal Mars (23Aquairus27) in 2009, both strongly magnified and made larger-than-life by the transit of Neptune conjunct natal Sun and natal Mars during the same period. These aspects bring with them great charisma and attractiveness, especially useful in our media-intensive culture where appeal is often more important than content. The Neptune component adds a dramatic flair and a tendency for the devotees to see more of a glorified image of their fantasies than reality.

Of significance for the 2012 election is the progression of Palin’s Mars to a conjunction with her natal Venus (1Aries22) during 2011 and early 2012, peaking in May. This aspect will be immeasurably strengthened by the transit of Uranus to Palin’s Venus from October 2011 through January 2012, suggestive of a radiantly charismatic political figure during that time. Her successful endeavors during primary season will also be intensified by the transit of Jupiter square her Mercury and Moon three times from November 2011 through mid-February 2012, Neptune semisquare her Jupiter in late February and March 2012, the station of Venus trine her Sun/Mars during most of May 2012, and the transit of Jupiter square her Sun/Mars in mid-May 2012. This combination indicates a very strong run through the presidential primaries, or, at the very least, an extremely active and successful period supporting her favorite candidates. From October 2011 through May 2012, she will shine with amazing star power.

Another thread running through 2012 is the incredibly aggressive attitude Palin will demonstrate. In combination with her enormously magnetic appeal through May, her efforts are likely to initially prove very potent. In January and early February 2012, transiting Mars will station in a quincunx to Palin’s natal Sun. In addition, both transiting Uranus (7-8 Aries) and transiting Pluto (7-8 Capricorn), in the first phase of their coming four-year square, will be semisquare Palin’s Sun (22Aquarius20) and Mars (23Aquarius27) during much of the year. These configurations are suggestive of a very focused and ruthless aggression, bountiful energy, and a push for power during the entire election cycle. But without the supportive glow of Venus and the popularity of Jupiter, by late spring she is likely to rapidly lose her sparkle. Instead, the voracious, opportunistic, and predatory “barracuda” will be in full view.

Whether Palin is on the GOP presidential ticket or just actively supporting various candidates, her efforts are likely to become increasingly fruitless while her appeal increasingly declines as of October 2012. Transiting Saturn will square her Mercury and quincunx her Venus (October 10 to October 19), square her Moon (November 2 through November 10), and conjunct her IC (November 24 through December 4). Her anger and irritability over the course of events, due to progressed Moon square natal Mars during November and December 2012, with transiting Pluto semisquare natal Mars, will be evident. Moreover, the entire month of January 2013 will bring her progressed Moon into a square with natal Saturn (25Aquarius12), as well as transiting Pluto into a conjunction with her South Node (10Capricorn40) and semisquare her natal Saturn, suggestive of a very difficult, depressing month and some withdrawal from public view. There is nothing to suggest any celebration or victory in her chart. For at least a few very crucial months as the next presidential term is voted on and inaugurated, the barracuda will have been thwarted.

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The Mid-Atlantic States have sunk into a state of near-paralysis under a suffocating blanket of endless snow. Estimates now range from 20 inches to three feet of this densely-packed, icy intrusion into the lives of millions, with Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia cryogenically suspended, waiting for some well-shoveled, warmer future when it will become possible to emerge. People are looking at several days of digging themselves out from under this frozen sea of white, when getting to the doctor or the store or the office will be next to impossible. Several days of no income for small businesses; several days of no heat and no technological amenities for those who have lost power.

It is no coincidence that this storm marks the beginning of the nineteen-day period during which Saturn is within one degree and waxing toward an exact square with US Venus (3Cancer06). This transit describes a time of increased burden, difficulty, and, in some cases, sorrow for some section of the US population. The recent contraction of the Stock Market, after a few months of much-welcomed growth, is another indication of a strengthening Saturn and the attendant worries and upsets that often accompany its transits. Indeed, the larger concern is that the struggling European economies may sabotage the US’ recent, rather sluggish movement out of the recession. I continue to think that some of the ongoing anxiety in the US will decrease as Saturn separates for the final time from its square to US Venus in August, and more significantly, as Pluto separates from its opposition to US Venus in late October 2010.

For now, I am going back outside to shovel, and see what I can see of the snowpocalyse.

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The Federal Reserve System is an independent central bank that conducts the nation’s monetary policy by influencing monetary and credit conditions and supervising and regulating the banking industry. During 2008 and early 2009, as the Great Recession brutally shook the US out of its bubble-induced dream state, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke led the Federal Reserve through a series of extraordinary efforts to rescue the country from the worst economic and financial crisis since the 1930’s. One can agree or disagree with the strategies taken, but it is clear that in 2009 the power of the Fed grew exponentially in the face of a critical threat. It was the largest increase in its power since the its creation on December 23, 1913 (6:02 PM, Washington, DC).

In the birth chart of the Federal Reserve Bank, there is a T-square between the Sun (1Capricorn33), Pluto (00Cancer05), and the Midheaven (00Aries22). From January 2008 through November 2009, transiting Pluto crossed the Fed Sun and activated this configuration. Pluto transits often bring a huge increase in power during a period of struggle against an overwhelming force.

As of November 2009, the contracting energy of Saturn moved into Libra and the fourth, empty corner of the T-square, bringing with it a push back against the vast increase in the Fed’s dominance. This aspect continues through early August 2010, and, with it, we have already seen congressional attempts to limit the Fed’s capacity to override other regulatory agencies, the emergence of other financial sector regulatory reforms now moving through Congress, and an unsuccessful effort to thwart the nomination of Ben Bernanke for a second term as Fed Chairman (represented by the Sun in the chart).

The next significant transit to the Fed’s chart will be when transiting Uranus crosses the Fed Midheaven (00Aries) and squares its Pluto (00Cancer05) from May through July 2010. This comes during the last months of the Saturn transit to the Fed IC, square the Fed Sun, and square the Fed Pluto, as well as during Saturn’s final crossing square the US Venus (3Cancer06), square President Obama’s Venus (1Cancer47), and conjunct the US Midheaven (1Libra53). This combination suggests some sudden, transformative changes (Uranus) to the power and reach of the Fed (MC) that seem limiting or burdensome (Saturn). It is possible that this represents new regulations going into effect that strive to restrict and define the Fed’s nearly omnipotent present status. Alternatively or additionally, it may indicate sudden, upsetting circumstances in the nations’ financial sector to which the Fed is unable to effectively or energetically respond, at least initially.

Perhaps even more significant are the planetary indicators from March 2011 through January 2012. At this time, Uranus will cross the Fed Midheaven for the final time and then move to square the Fed chart Sun (1Capricorn33). Simultaneously, Uranus will cross the US IC (1Aries53), square Obama’s Venus (1Cancer47), and square the US Venus (3Cancer06). Again, we see the possibility of upsetting, unexpected circumstances (Uranus) that impact the nation and the President, and call for powerful, decisive, and creative action from the Fed. The tie-in with the Fed chart during this period indicates that at least some measure of the unfolding drama in 2011 and early 2012, denoted by the strong Uranus transit in the US and Obama charts, will be related to economic issues.

Previously, we have mentioned the upcoming Uranus/Pluto square from 2012 through 2015 and the huge impact it is likely to have across the globe. In the US, this will be especially evident when both Uranus and Pluto are in exact hard aspect to the US Sun (13Cancer19) in 2014 and 2015. The potential for striking and seismic shifts over a wide range of issues during this double transit cannot be overstated. The push for change will be dramatic, overwhelming, and potent. Circumstances are likely to escalate rapidly (Uranus); power struggles – political, with natural phenomenon, and/or economic - will be taken to an extreme (Pluto) before leading to transformation.

In the midst of this swirling societal recalibration, and perhaps in response to some aspect of it, the Federal Reserve Bank is likely to begin a period in which it will be extremely aggressive and wielding increasing power in the face of the economic circumstances of the time. In 2014, progressed Mars will move into a six-year conjunction with the Federal Reserve Ascendant (18Cancer05) and Mars (19Cancer33). During this time, transiting Uranus will square the Fed Ascendant/Mars conjunction (April 2015 through March 2016), and transiting Pluto will oppose the Mars/Ascendant conjunction (January 2017 through November 2018). How this will play out is anyone’s guess, but it seems that challenging and sometimes unexpected economic forces calling forth a muscular and potent response from the Federal Reserve will be with us for the next decade.

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Although the short-term indicators suggest a successful and warmly received State of the Union speech, the larger frame of this winter of our discontent is far more troubling. Tomorrow night’s speech comes with Venus opposite President Obama’s Sun (12Leo33) and Jupiter moving into a square with his Moon (3Gemini21) and a quincunx with his Mercury (2Leo20). These, taken together, suggest uplifting rhetoric that reconnects him with the people.

However, the speech also comes with the tightening square of Saturn and Pluto, an aspect that brings unyielding tension, struggle, and anxiety in its wake. The exact square on January 31 is followed in February by Saturn square the US Venus (3Cancer06) for most of the month. The country will continue to brood and complain, with Obama the most exposed target.

Since mid-January, Saturn is also moving back towards its square to Obama’s Venus (1Cancer47), with the hurt and sorrow of that aspect building through mid-March. Moreover, the stress and unending difficulties and obstruction facing the President will be worsened by his progressed Moon opposite natal Pluto (6Virgo59) during all of March. The combination of Pluto/Moon and Saturn/Venus will bring him an unrelenting cacophony of carping and criticism, with very limited options. March will be an especially hard month for our beleaguered captain.

Some of this criticism will focus on the need for Obama to be more assertive and less professorial. Neptune will be on his South Node (27Aquarius19) for much of 2010, suggesting an ineffective vagueness and too much willingness to let the group decide (Aquarius). With Saturn and Pluto dogging him mercilessly over the coming months, Neptune’s weakness will be met with great derision, especially in February, March, and August. By 2011, an uplifting and more effective Obama is likely to come roaring back, as Neptune, Saturn and Pluto leave him in peace, and Uranus, his ruling planet, moves into fiery, aggressive Aries.

I have repeatedly said that the November 2009 through August 2010 period will be the worst of this four-year term for Obama, with a great deal of tension continuing though October 2010. Within that, I would say that February, March, and August are the most difficult. The nation is hurting, and there are no easy answers. Distrust, rage, and disillusionment are the norm. Tempers are short, and patience is all but gone. The heady release from the trauma of eight endless years of Bush and Cheney has morphed into the long, painful slog to patch up the shattered world they left behind. It would behoove us to frame our thoughts more carefully, with less paranoid outrage and histrionic exaggeration and more patience, understanding, and compassion for those who are trying to find solutions. It will be a long, slow climb out of the pit in which we find ourselves, and no one can change that hard, cold truth.

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One of the central themes of our time, in the US and abroad, is the uphill struggle by those who fight for the public interest against the increasing and pervasive domination of powerful corporations. The astrological symbol of this is the passage of Pluto through the sign of Capricorn from 2008 through 2023.

The planet Pluto describes an intensely focused, engulfing power that wants total control. While in Sagittarius, from 1995 through 2008, this battle was largely ideological (Sagittarius) and manifested in the global rise of religious extremism, including the growing power of fundamentalist-fueled terrorism associated with the willingness to commit suicide for an idea. As Pluto moved into Capricorn, the ideological striving of religious extremists morphed into a hunger for a more consolidated, reality-based power, and the spreading terrorist threat has seemed to take on a more political, calculated, and tactical direction.

In addition to its rulership of mass movements based on fanatical teachings, Pluto also rules hidden, manipulative, and potent concentrations of wealth, in other words, the obsessive push of consolidated wealth toward global corporate dominance. This side of Pluto is particularly well-expressed when Pluto is in the sign of political power and government institutions: Capricorn. During this 15-year period, corporate power will strive to expand exponentially through an insidious penetration into government institutions, igniting a growing power struggle of epic proportion with those who attempt to restrict this takeover, and leading to an eventual implosion emanating directly from this fanatical and overreaching grasp for control. The reign of corporate dominance (Pluto in Capricorn) will, at some point in the 2020’s, begin to transform into a far more egalitarian reality (Pluto in Aquarius), which eventually will also push too far, leading into the next phase of the cycle.

The last time Pluto crossed through the sign of Capricorn was from 1762 to 1778, during which time the British aggressively expanded their global dominance. This period began with the Treaty of Paris of 1763 in which the British dramatically extended their foothold in the New World at the expense of the French and the Spanish: the French ceded Canada and all land east of the Mississippi while the Spanish ceded Florida. The increasingly onerous rule of the British over their American colony is well known, as is the growing rebellion of the colonists which culminated in their Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Revolutionary War that followed. The Pluto in Capricorn pattern of increasingly consolidated power overextending itself and attempting to control a backlash of growing rebellion is clear.

The current cycle of Pluto in Capricorn is likely to be particularly striking due to the significant aspects that Pluto makes with other major planets during this period. At present, we are in the midst of the Saturn/Pluto square (November 2009 through August 2010) during which a fierce battle is taking place to restrict, control, or regulate (Saturn) the encroaching and omnivorous power of Pluto, manifesting today primarily in both the threat of terrorism and the growing corporate control over political institutions and governmental policy. This Saturn/Pluto configuration is particularly strong from November 2009 through January 2010. This period was initiated with the Fort Hood shootings, followed by the attempted Christmas bombing, which have brought a renewed vigilance in response to the perceived threat of terrorism in our midst. In addition, corporate money has been pouring in behind the scenes to sabotage the Democrats attempt to restructure the health care industry, the EPA’s attempt to regulate green house gases, and President Obama’s attempt to impose restrictions on the banking industry.

The most dramatic manifestation of the Saturn/Pluto square came on January 21 when the conservative majority on the Supreme Court overturned nearly a century of settled law and announced its decision to allow corporations to lavish unregulated money on the political campaigns of their lackeys. Historically, Republicans have always taken the side of big business against the rights and needs of everyday people. Ironically, they claim to do this in the name of “freedom”, usually either free-market capitalism, which they worship like a deity, or the right of free speech, which Chief Justice Roberts called upon as the basis for his egregious majority opinion.

Unfortunately, the Republicans’ obsession with “freedom” often blinds them to the larger truth of their enslavement to an unjust and rapacious economic system ruled by immoral financial behemoths. The Roberts Court blithely opened the floodgates of corporate money into the political arena in the name of free speech. But it missed the fact that it will be denying political free speech to millions of citizens whose hard-earned dollars are no longer of much value. It also treacherously weakened the voter’s tie to his legislators who will now be more dependent than ever on their corporate sponsors. In short, with their self-deluded fixation on a fantasy freedom in the face of legitimate attempts to rein in the many-headed hydra of corporate power, the Republicans and their Supreme Court stooges have become like the pampered house slaves of antebellum times, rushing to defend their masters against those who would rise up and advocate for real freedom from the oppressors.

Following this year’s Saturn/Pluto square, the next great chapter in the battle against the controlling and manipulative forces (Pluto) of our time will come with the protracted Uranus/Pluto square, which will occur eight times between June 2012 and March 2015. While Pluto represents those who would maneuver and obsessively wield their hidden and vast wealth or their overwhelming power, Uranus represents the spirit of sudden and wild rebellion or revolution in the face of restrictions that have become unbearable. The clashing of these two forces is likely to shake up the power structure of the world in a myriad of ways: political, economic, and military. How this will unfold is yet to be determined. But no matter how the saga continues, the world-wide cries for freedom against the oppressive elements of the status quo will be hard to ignore.

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On January 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake struck the impoverished nation of Haiti, with its epicenter on the edge of the country’s most densely populated city, Port-au-Prince. Although international aid has poured in, the debris-covered roads and the lack of gasoline have made distribution extremely difficult, while the people who have survived this disaster are starving, dehydrated, and increasingly agitated in the midst of a numbing and omnipresent grief. On January 12, a stationary Saturn began to turn retrograde, waxing into the second of three Saturn/Pluto squares. The building tension and stress indicated by this aspect will increase until February 1, and slowly begin to dissipate thereafter. The final square will take place in August 2010.

The Saturn/Pluto square describes a relentless and difficult effort for survival in the face of a powerful foe. This can be emotional, imaginary, or literal. A Saturn/Pluto aspect has often been present during and after a terrorist attack (9/11 and Fort Hood, for example), and it currently describes the situation in Haiti, where the population and those who are bringing aid are battling against a fierce multitude of deadly threats - dehydration, starvation, disease, untreated injuries, and civil unrest.

The first of this series of Saturn/Pluto squares brought the November 5 Fort Hood attack and its aftermath, with Saturn and Pluto reaching their exact square (1Lbra45 and 1Capricorn45) and an exact aspect to the US MC (1Libra53) in mid-November 2009. The second Saturn/Pluto square (with a retrograde Saturn at 4Libra21 and Pluto at 4Capricorn21) is conjunct the natal square of Mars (3Capricorn33) and Saturn (3Libra27) in the Haitian chart (1/1/1804, noon, Port au Prince), with the very stressful Saturn part of this transit continuing to bring extreme sorrow and burden to that struggling nation through February 2010. The ongoing impact of the Saturn/Pluto square in Haiti’s chart will continue through early November 2010 when transiting Pluto crosses natal Mars and squares natal Saturn for the final time.

Of further interest in the Haitian chart is the progressed Moon, currently in a conjunction with progressed Pluto (9Pisces16) by January 17, and also in square to progressed Mars (9Gemini33), exact by January 25. This configuration of Moon/Mars/Pluto points to the growing desperation and anger of the Haitian people (the Moon) and suggests intensifying civil unrest and violence through January, paralleling the indication of the waxing Saturn/Pluto square described above. Moreover, the transiting Mars/Sun opposition from January 28 through January 31 (9Leo41/9Aquarius41) in minor hard aspect to Uranus (24 Pisces) indicates the possibility of extreme violence and dramatic events at that time.

As the danger zone of the Saturn/Pluto square builds in intensity through the second half of January, it is possible that inherent stresses or violent weather conditions elsewhere in the world will erupt in some way. This is especially true when the Moon waxes toward 4 degrees of any of the cardinal signs during this period (January 12-13, January 20, January 27, and February 2) or between January 28 and 31, during the Mars/Sun opposition.

In the US chart, retrograde Saturn will be waxing toward the square to US Venus (3Cancer06) through February which may initiate a period of sorrow or increased concern in the US. The economic rebound may seem to stall during this period. Saturn/Venus aspects also indicate the heavy burden and forced sacrifice of weighty and unasked for responsibilities. The first crossing in early December 2009 brought President Obama’s announcement that we would be sending more troops to Afghanistan. The second crossing may be tied, at least in part, to the expensive burden of helping Haiti through this disaster period during a time of economic hardship in the US.

It is also not impossible to imagine other difficult or violent events in late January and early February contributing to the depressed mood in February. As mentioned previously, due to Saturn squaring his Venus (1Cancer47), Obama’s poll numbers are likely to be at their lowest point in his term from November 2009 through August 2010, mirroring the general malaise in a nation with both Saturn and Pluto in hard aspect to its Venus. Ultimately, it will be the acceptance of sacrifice, discipline, and the relentless investigation of ourselves and our world - the positive manifestations of Saturn and Pluto -  that will move us successfully through this difficult time. Let us hope we are up to the challenge.

REMINDER: ART OF PREDICTION WORKSHOP ON JANUARY 30, 2010.  Please contact me very soon if you are interested. Seating is limited and almost full. nancy@starlightnews.com

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