We Knew It Was Coming

11.25.08


At moments like this, when the world finds itself in dramatic newsworthy transition, astrology makes a stronger-than-usual case for its believability.

While global financial indicators fall and rise, then fall some more, many folks are looking around at each other, confounded by how quickly the house of cards now appears to be coming down.

Talk to any intermediate-level-or-above astrologer, however, and you won't encounter a single surprised face. We actually knew all this was coming. In fact, it arrived right on time, like clockwork.

We astrologers have been expecting this profound deconstruction and reconstruction of our economic fabric all along… ever since each of us individually happened to notice the intense combination of planets that would begin to arrange itself by the second half of 2008.

Those of you who've been following my work for a while have already heard me speak of this, and will again. That's because we're in the process of redefining history, people. It's a major headline that demands repeated mention.

As of tomorrow (Wed Nov 26), Pluto is back in Capricorn to stay. To review, Capricorn is a sign of structure and authority, symbolizing that which we build and sustain over time as part of our strategy to realize the goals we set. Only, when left to concretize and harden too crustily over time, such structures become way too inflexible, punitive or unfairly weighted to benefit one group at the expense of others. Enter Pluto, destructive and transformative force, to dig up the rotting foundation boards upon which our central authoritative systems are resting. Over the coming decade-and-a-half, Pluto will force us to glare straight into the face of all the inequities, the sweat labor, the exploitation and violence that fueled these massive accumulations of wealth and power among a select few.

At the same time, Saturn and Uranus continue their opposition, first exact on Election Day and remaining within orb another three years. As we've already seen, the Saturn-Uranus opposition pits pragmatic conservatism against radical freedom… a dialogue that we all share responsibility for keeping in balance, lest one side dominate and crush the other's legitimate voice.

But these astro-events don't exist in a bubble... and as 2008 feeds into 2009, we'll begin to see the convergence of (1) Pluto-in-Capricorn's intensifying pressure on governments and financial institutions to purge their shadowy dark sides and (2) the Saturn-opposing-Uranus need to incorporate revolutionary change into our traditional way of life, without going so far as to topple whatever tentative stability we're able to maintain.

During the second half of next year, Saturn will move onto the cusp between Virgo and Libra—and enter into its potent (and potentially painful) square with Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is actually quite strong in Libra, the sign of its exaltation, where he's patient and considerate enough to put in the hard labor required to eke out sincere agreements. Up against Pluto, Saturn will try to argue the rational approach of weighing all sides. Yet, Pluto (representing those in power who are 'running the show') is liable to fight mercilessly for its own position, with little interest in giving up large amounts of its booty to 'even the score'. Meanwhile, by the middle of 2010, Uranus finds his way to the Pisces-Aries cusp… crossing over it while under the sway of his square with Pluto, a mega-astro-affair that stays within 5-degree orb through 2017. And as if that weren't enough, Jupiter also ends up in Aries by mid-2010—just in time to add extra electrifying energy to the Saturn-Uranus-Pluto t-square.

The exaggerated effect of Jupiter conjunct Uranus near the Aries Point (the first degree of Aries, and the beginning of a new zodiac cycle) is like the turbo-charged icing on the cake that ensures 2010 will be a memorable year. The addition of Jupiter, an expansive presence, to Uranus's side of the delicate Saturn-Uranus balance can't help but tip the scales away from Saturn-in-Libra's steady moderating influence…and toward the sudden, irrational, explosive 'power to the people' movement birthed by Uranus in Aries. Jupiter also boosts Uranus's liberating ferocity in his square-off with Pluto, fueling the fire of its 'war of independence' against the overlords of global capitalism that seek to keep the underclasses in their place.

As I see it, the events of 2010 onward will be a direct response to how adequately we can include genuinely progressive innovations into the existing social contract, with an eye toward giving the people more personal benefits education! health care! a clean environment!) from the manners of governance… rather than, say, continuing to rob money and labor from the average worker to pay for top executives' luxury goods.

Civilized society is, at its base, an agreement—each citizen provides his piece, and the governing bodies provide something in return. And at any point, one party can dissolve the agreement if its needs aren't being met by the terms. The less amount of real people-power change we actually put into practice over the next year or two, the more devastating the consequences to the centralized authority, once the people vent their hostile fed-up-ness.

All this, my friends, is to make the following point: While the politicians and businesspeople, the pundits and experts struggle to comment on how low the markets will go or how long the recession will left, they ultimately don't know the answer. They've begun to recognize, publicly or quietly amongst themselves, we are in the process of redefining history… and thus cannot know very confidently how to proceed. (Even neo-con idol William Kristol confessed just such ignorance in his latest NY Times opinion piece.) They think, perhaps, we're another several months from 'the bottom'. They whisper that, just maybe, this crisis will degenerate from 'recession' to full-on 'depression'. (After all, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto were also in a t-square during the early 1930s.) And still, they perform surprise.

But we astrologers know this much: It will get worse before it gets better. By merely rereading the broad astro-brush-strokes I painted in the above paragraphs, you can see it too. The circumstances we currently find ourselves in are slated to continue escalating through mid-2010 at the very least… if not stretching beyond that, as we finesse a recovery over the several succeeding Uranus-Pluto-square years. In this day and age, it clearly pays to be astrologically knowledgeable.

I say this not to scare you, but as part of my duty to call it like I see it. In challenging times, we also confront amazing experiences, opportunities for creativity and connection, and the chance to alter our most self-sabotaging patterns. I, for one, am not fearful… but rather excited, with hope that the oncoming challenges will ultimately yield greater freedom and possibility for a larger number of people, even if the short-term brings its share of confusion and turmoil to many of us.

Deepak Chopra: How to be happy in a recession (SF Gate)