The Sun is in Libra, the sign of relationships — and this is a month where relationships are a strong theme for other reasons. One of the aspects that makes October 2011 unique is Saturn opposite Eris. It’s an opposition between the planet of structure and form (Saturn), and the planet associated with the identity chaos of the modern psyche (Eris). Saturn has been around literally since forever.
This thing called 2012 is approaching fast. We’ve got just one more season and we’re there. This is one of the most predicted-about times in human history. I can tell you that there will be a lot of unemployed prophets on Jan. 1, 2013. And I can tell you that the changes that do happen to society will be the ones that were right in front of us — but which we were not expecting.
If there was a silver lining to Wednesday night’s human sacrifice of Troy Davis, it was that so many people cared — and did something tangible about it. In the days and weeks leading up to his execution by the state of Georgia, there was an unprecedented global outpouring of sadness, concern and outrage not just because of evidence that he was innocent, but also of disgust at the continued use of the death penalty by the United States. No death sentence has raised this much public ire since Karla Faye Tucker, who was executed by Texas in 1998.
As we approach the end of another calendar year, we are also closer to 2012 — a year that has been predicted endlessly, and in a sense, lived before anyone has had a chance to get there. For the next few months I will be doing the 2012 annual edition of Planet Waves. As you know, there is big astrology coming — some of the biggest of our lifetimes.
I recently mentioned a conjunction developing in mid-Sagittarius, aligned with a body called the Great Attractor. The alignment was precise to the arc minute this week, which I trust opened a door to its meaning. I associate it with a kind of toxic spirituality that is on the loose lately. The conjunction involves centaur planets, which can manifest as the desire for healing, or if they’re taken unconsciously, as some inflamed, weird behavior. The alignment also involves a little Pluto-like planet called Ixion, which I associate with the curious lack of moral or ethical consciousness in public discourse, and also in individuals.
Traditionally, the Full Moon closest to the fall equinox is called the Harvest Moon. The idea is that for a few days the light from the Full Moon allows farmers to work later, and helps them to bring in their crops. Because of the shallow angle the ecliptic (the path of the Sun, Moon and planets) makes to the horizon at this time of year, the extra natural light from the Full Moon is maximized. Normally the Moon rises 50 minutes later each evening, but at this time of year it is only about 30 minutes.
So here we are, at the 10-year mark of the Sept. 11 incident. Wars are still being fought, lives are being taken, there is chaos in the Middle East, and everyone who boards an airplane or makes a phone call is treated as a potential terrorist. Politicians will lay wreaths and many will take the opportunity to put a little more yeast in the brew of hatred and paranoia, but I wonder what we’ve learned. I wonder who is asking questions about what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, why it happened, and how.
Last month in Chiron files we looked at Mercury retrograde in Leo and Virgo, called Tales of Mercury and Chiron. The two planets are related through an association to Virgo. We often associate Chiron with the healing process. Hermes, the Greek messenger god identified with the Roman Mercury, is mistakenly associated with healing because his staff — the caduceus — is widely used as the symbol of medicine and health care in the United States. This is a classical ‘trickster’ move.
