Placements & Degrees!"When you wake up on December 21, 2012 and the world's still spinning, you just need to know one thing: It's not over."
An entire industry has sprung up around the end of the world - an event that has apparently been scheduled for December 21, 2012 (allegedly the last day on the Mayan Calendar). No doubt, following the re-election of President Barack Obama, there are plenty more folks that have convinced themselves that Armageddon is just around the corner - the End Of Days! Much of what I've heard being discussed suggests that December 21, 2012 will be something like a Grand, Cosmic "Snow Day" which means we won't have to show up at school the next day or worry about having our homework ready to turn in on time.
Doubtful. But in the wake of the 2012 Presidential election, maybe it's a good time to take a look ahead.
Plenty of Astrologers (not all, mind you) had a pretty good idea that "Bronco Bama" would win a second term. Personally, I was too nervous and distracted by the election to even look at what was going on in Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's charts until last week when I finally updated my copy of Astrolabe's SolarFire software and had a look. Once I looked, I felt a little silly that it had taken me so long to just open my eyes and see what there was to see. In this case, all I had to see was that Mercury was stationary retrograde over Mitt Romney's South Node and Jupiter had stationed retrograde over his Uranus - in other words, I suspected that Mitt Romney was probably in for a pretty big disappointment.
I thought about rushing to post my assessment. But since Nancy Sommers (writing on the Starlight News Blog and who I respect immensely) and numerous respected pollsters had already made it pretty clear that a second term for President Obama was the most likely scenario, I left it alone. Anyway, I tend not to get particularly excited about making specific astrological predictions. (As far as past elections go, I was pretty sure that Al Gore would win in 2000 but what ever the outcome, he would be much happier over the following years than George Bush - but I also thought that George Bush would face impeachment if elected. I had no hope that John Kerry would become president in 2004. In 2008, I wasn't convinced that Hillary Clinton would win the Presidency, had she received the Democratic Nomination but I was pretty confident that Barack Obama would win.)
Because the infamous 2000 election notably occurred at the time of Mercury stationing to go direct, a number of Astrologers, looking at the 2012 election, pointed to the station of Mercury, turning retrograde on election day, as an indication that there would be massive voting confusion and a delay in knowing the election outcome, similar to 2000. To be honest, I suspected the same thing. However, after seeing Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, it seemed to me that the issue of confusion seemed to be accounted for pretty definitively already.
Aside from being pleased that I wasn't one of the Astrologers in the above link that predicted that Mitt Romney would win (I suppose I should be equally pleased that I don't work for Gallup), I generally believe that specific predictions can potentially limit the value of Astrology. In my opinion, there is often a good deal more to be learned from observing the aspects and transits in the context of actual events rather than attempting to predict what those events will be. If we observe events with an understanding of the Astrological climate, rather than watching for events predicted by Astrology, I believe we are more likely to be able to respond effectively based upon what we are actually seeing, instead of what we are expecting or looking for. I also think specific predictions can provide avenues for unscrupulous Astrologers to manipulate vulnerable individuals. Individuals, by the way, who may also be vulnerable to the aforementioned industry centered on 2012 Doomsday Scenarios.
Within the context of the election, instead of having an overall impact on the outcome of the Presidential Election, as suggested by many Astrologers, the retrograde Mercury seems to be more significant to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy which, while certainly likely to slow down many of the ongoing recovery efforts, may be offering an impetus for many people to return to the overall issue of global climate change and reexamine some stubbornly held views that have kept us from making appropriate adjustments based on real-world observations. That's something to watch and encourage as things go forward. We might also keep an eye on how the coasts of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey are going to be rebuilt. As I'll discuss further, rebuilding on every scale is the crucial issue to consider as we move ahead.
The retrograde Mercury is also offering significant indications that the entire issue of how we vote in the US is on the table to be re-examined in light of the long lines at various voting places. I should also point out that the apparent disarray that is currently being noted in the Republican Party establishment is probably a temporary condition. Who takes the lead in revising the GOP strategy going forward and how that strategy is implemented will be very interesting to watch going forward. Both confusion and the opportunity to re-examine our previous approach to various issues are significant elements to watch during a retrograde Mercury.
But the retrograde Mercury, sometimes considered a "trickster", is a relatively short transit, lasting only about 3 weeks (not counting Mercury's move through the 'retrograde territory) and may only serve as a temporary distraction from the overall elements at work now and through the rest of this decade that are dramatically changing the world as we know it and have always expected it to be. Mercury will station to go direct on November 27th, and the dust should have settled enough to begin to get a better idea how to move forward on whatever we have been able to take the time to reassess.
Since the turn of the century, there has certainly been a great deal more concern that unusual events might be pointing towards an ultimate cataclysmic event, beginning, perhaps, by the concern over "y2k". There's even been a term floating around that goes back to September 11, 2001: "The New Normal". At the time, I suppose, it was an attempt to reflect the rather paranoid feeling that arose in the US when we suddenly realized that maybe we could be attacked anywhere, at any time, by anyone. The Saturn/Pluto opposition at that time shattered many elements of normality and began the current "End of the World AS WE KNOW IT" process that we are undergoing now. I believe that the current process involves the transition from the Pisces to the Aquarian Age as well as some very significant planetary transits including Pluto's move into Capricorn and the long lasting Pluto/Uranus square.
The term, "The New Normal", continues to surface, again and again. Hurricane Katrina presented a "new normal" for New Orleans - before the 'new normal' of the BP oil spill that forced the entire Gulf Coast to adjust to further poisoning of the oceans. But wait! Japan was presented with their own "new normal" last year following the earthquake of 2011 and the devastatingly destructive Tsunami. Now, in New York, after Hurricane Sandy's landfall, there is suddenly another new normal in the face of a rising, warming ocean that will eventually swamp an increasing amount of the eastern US coast land.
I'm not at all fond of the this new term "The New Normal", because it suggests that there is suddenly a new baseline status quo that we can rely on. That's not very likely, especially over the next few years. We need to find ways to accept change and adjust to it on a daily basis. We need to keep our eyes open and look for ways to make the most of the changes that are occurring - changes that are clearing away many unworkable strategies. Holding on too tightly to something that isn't working can result in significant pain. But letting go of what isn't working is very scary if there isn't something better that is readily apparent to take hold of. And often, our belief systems get in the way of seeing what we need to do in order to adapt. So as we adapt to the changes, and seek to stabilize our lives within a new order, we will be better off when we do our best to take off the blinders of fear and outmoded belief structures in order to honestly assess where we are and what is required for our new order to be more successful than the old order.
The Pluto/Uranus Square is the most notable current indicator of the continuation of ongoing radical changes that we will have to adjust to. There are seven exact Uranus/Pluto squares between June 2012 and 2015. ( The exact dates are June 24 2012, September 19 2012, May 21 2013, November 1 2013, April 21 2014, December 15 2014 and March 17 2015). This major aspect brings forward the emancipatory movements (e.g., Women's Rights) from the last encounter, during the 1960's, as well as major cultural shifts in vision and scope of understanding.
And this ongoing square is also part of the nearly two-decade transit of Pluto through Capricorn - a period when governments and powerful societal structures are challenged, deconstructed and reformed. Over the next 2 years, Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, transits Scorpio, ruled by Pluto (in other words, Saturn and Pluto are in mutual reception). While Saturn's structure may feel devastated by this interchange, there will be new structures re-visioned and rebuilt out of the 'ashes' during this two year period that will be extremely strong and powerful. The next two years of transformation will lay the groundwork for an extremely powerful and durable new structure - for better or for worse. The stakes are very high. Perhaps those who feel that they have lost the most will feel the most determined to influence the design of the new social structures.
Upping the stakes even further are the significant earth changes that are apparent (the video link at the top of this post is an extremely interesting primer on this topic). In addition to the man-made challenges from global climate change, I do believe that we are undergoing significant physical changes connected to the processional change from the Pisces to the Aquarian Age. Uranus, the planetary ruler of Aquarius, transiting through Aries seems to indicate the symbolic initiatory phase of this new age. I think we will continue to see significant physical changes to the planet during the entire 7 year period that Uranus is in Aries (until 2019).
There was also a Pluto/Uranus square while Uranus was in Aries during the early 1930's. During that time, we saw the accelerated demise of many elements of agrarian society in the US, punctuated by the Dust Bowl phenomenon. Pluto was in Cancer during that time and society felt the challenges in the realm of the home and family. While Pluto is in Capricorn, the structure of civilization and society itself seems to be under assault. There should be no doubt that this is one of those extremely important, pivotal times in history. How these structures are rebuilt is the crucial factor that each of us must consider on a personal level as well as on larger, societal levels..
But there is also nearly a century long Neptune/Pluto sextile that began in the 1950's and will continue into the mid 2030's which is keeping us somewhat protected and on track for continuing progress even in the midst of these significant changes. The last sextile between these two planets occurred during the Renaissance - a period of both uncertainty and dynamic cultural evolution. This aspect is essentially the "glue' that will hold us together during these extraordinarily turbulent and uncertain times. Even as we see so much shift, change and perhaps even collapse over the next few years, it is important to remember that the real struggle is already centered on how the rebuilding process will be undertaken. Who controls that rebuilding process and how it is approached will be significant for many, many years to come.
And for those who feel helpless, dismayed or angry at what appears to be great devastation that appears to be increasing I will close with this Sufi story as found in "The Spirituality of Imperfection":
Past the seeker, as he prayed, came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them, the seeker went down into deep prayer and cried, "Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?"
And out of the long silence, God said: "I did do something about them. I made you."
Leave a Reply