By Judith Gayle | Political Waves

“You can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” –Abraham Lincoln

Despite what you may have heard, the world will not end this month. Yes, there’s chaos everywhere we look, and anyone watching the debate among America’s conservative presidential candidates can be assured there’s no help there. Robert Scheer called them fools, fascists and cold warriors, and even Ann Coulter — a Trump admirer — accused them of pandering to the Zionist crowd, tweeting with signature charm, “How many f…ing Jews do these people think there are in the United States?” She later defended her remark by saying, “This kind of suck-uppery is humiliating.”

Yes, there are ominous signs. The Dow is as touchy as a wild hare, with prognosticators of world economy wound up like a cheap clock. Global migration is upon us, the needs of the displaced straining the compassion and resources of their reluctant hosts, encouraging growth of an alarming nativism that we see in our own Republican party. And let’s not forget that series of super-moons, especially the one due on September 27th aligning with a total lunar eclipse to produce a dreaded ‘blood moon.’ I know, I know. It’s downright biblical.

Even many Mormon families, who traditionally depend on their religious community to sustain them in hard times, are stocking up on essentials despite reassurance from their Temple leaders, pending catastrophic end. These folks are known as “preppers” — they used to be called survivalists — and according to the Salt Lake Tribune, a mix of “biblical prophecies, the Hebrew calendar, an unstable economy, world politics and astronomical occurrences” have convinced them that This Is It.

Those of us who deal in the larger picture know that literalism rarely tells the tale. NASA isn’t tracking any colossal asteroids headed for earth, activity from the space brothers isn’t any more evident than usual, and no nuclear power is engorged over some international slight at the moment, so life on the planet ending in the next 30 or so days seems illogical, but who knows — maybe that’s what Noah thought too.

On the other hand, like the Death card in a Tarot throw, there are ends and then there are Ends. A total lights out seems highly unlikely. Transformation, however, is another thing entirely, and if not signs of full blown transformation, there are indicators that the stonewall to reality has been cracked beyond repair, letting in light.

For instance, the Seattle teachers union has ended its strike (pending approval this weekend) having won their first pay increase in six years, but more than that, also won a series of positive policies for their students, including less testing and more assistance from counselors and therapists. Read about it here, it’s a heartening development in the push to put student welfare back into the educational system.

The U.S. prison population has dropped to its lowest level in the last ten years, although it’s still higher than any other nation, and Bernie Sanders is proposing legislation to end corporate “for profit” prisons, increasingly used by states to save money. By law, corporations must put profit above all other considerations, and Bernie argues, persuasively, that privately run jails and prisons have “perverse incentive” to increase their numbers. And because ICE is complicit in using privatized services, this strikes at the heart of the immigration issue. Considering our disenchantment with the Justice Department, this is a potent call to arms against the institutionalized power structure.

Sanders is a real mensch. He stood in front of an auditorium of Liberty University students — the late Jerry Falwell’s latest brood — to stump for political solidarity on the ethical considerations we Americans share in our Judeo-Christian tradition this week. “We are living in a nation which loves not brothers and sisters, not love of the poor and the sick, but worships the acquisition of money.” Bernie put rampant capitalism, and the meme that only the ‘worthy’ deserve riches, in the cross hairs among the fledgling Christocrats, and while he acknowledged differences on social issues, he never gave an inch on matters of democratic principle.

This is dear to my heart, in that I find politics a reflection of our spiritual principles, no matter our religious indoctrination. We are either people of the heart, or people of the wallet. We can agree that these days, it’s easy to tell who’s who.

Here’s another informative read, lining out the boggling, institutional mind-fuck — not to mention danger — of an education at Liberty. This is, I should add, the college from which Bush drew law school graduates to bolster the ranks of every government department prior to his exit, and why many of those departments do everything possible to avoid accomplishing anything meaningful at the direction of this sitting President.

Yes, there are portents to be read, tea leaves to swirl. Here in the U.S., Bernie made the cover of TIME — and about time, no pun intended. Across the pond, a rejection of austerity and Thatcheresque “tough love” is another sign of the needle moving. Comparison to the election of a dyed-in-the-wool British Socialist should tamp down the ‘oh-shit, oh-dear’ rhetoric about Bernie’s wildly leftist propositions, which are nothing more than mid-century American Democratic policies. You, know — the kind Eisenhower and Nixon would recognize as acceptable policy, if not entirely their preference. It SHOULD tamp down the hysteria, but probably won’t in Trumpworld USA.

Still, Jeremy Corbyn’s win has created as great a dust-up in the motherland as the thought of a real socialist has here (although ours has yet to win). It prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to tweet, “The Labour Party is now a threat to our national security, our economic security and your family’s security.” Cameron joins the entirety of our Pub candidates in overblown emotion, exaggeration and hand-wringing, the kind illustrated by the gutting of Planned Parenthood funding in the House today.

I’m not conversant enough in British politics to offer intelligent analysis, but I can spot a lefty when I see one and Corbyn is hard to miss, suffering spasms of guilt that he owns TWO (oh dear!) bicycles. No car, of course. Our PW reader/poster, Geoff M., sent along a link, 24 Things That Jeremy Corbyn Believes. See how many of these positions light your fire. They must surely have made Bernie smile.

There are signs that the reality community is making progress, lots of them just below the radar. Aspen, Colorado announced that it’s the third city in the U.S. to run entirely on renewable energy. California has labeled Monsanto’s Roundup as a carcinogen. After years of advocacy against actions of the U.S. Navy, a federal judge has limited use of sonar and other underwater explosives that can inadvertently harm whales and dolphins. And — coming right up — the Pope is due to hand Congress, the U.N. and a good many of the presidential candidates a “come to Jesus” moment regarding capitalism, environment and immigration. I’m pretty sure these will be remarks it’s going to be REALLY hard to argue against.

While it seems that “The Great American Stupid” — as Matt Taibbi calls those who have embraced brutish and emotionally-stunted Donald Trump as a viable candidate for this nation’s highest office — are in charge of our politics, there are millions of us dedicated to making progress, harnessing the anger and disenchantment against our failed systems by supporting positive change. Those who know their metaphysics understand that when something has been the collective intent for more than a decade, as has the reclamation of government for and by the people, fruition is inevitable. Now, it can no longer be ignored.

The world isn’t ending, but this political era is. End times nonsense has been expected so often and failed to manifest, it’s a wonder we still fall for it, but like P.T. Barnum said (and Trump depends on), “There’s a sucker born every minute.” So let the preppers buy great expensive tubs of soup mix from old hucksters like the Rev. Jim Bakker (of the late Tammy Faye) to keep them alive when the worst happens, while embracing a loop of political malfeasance that keeps them victimized and frightened. As Lincoln told us, you can’t fool all the people all the time — and sometimes the cosmos conspires to give us someone like Donald to horrify the majority of rational souls and shake us out of lethargy.

If this week has shown us anything, it’s the truth that big business has no spokesman worth a tinker’s dam in this 21st century, and no face besides the exploitation of the public for its own gain. Left and right are on notice: the status quo is old news, outdated and toothless. Robert Borosage of Campaign for America’s Future, discussing the possibilities of Corbyn and Sanders, tells us: “… one thing is already clear: The center will not hold. The old consensus is collapsing in the wake of its failures. People are casting about for a new course.” And we know how this works, don’t we? If they open their hearts, they will find their way.

A last note, regarding my computer project. I’m pleased to report that there is enough now to make repairs and even upgrade, and I’m so very grateful to those who contributed, as well as Eric for giving me the platform. Thanks first to Geoff, who originated the plan with a donation, and next my sincere appreciation for the generosity of Terri, Carol, Stephen, Amy, Lois, Barbara, Robin and Medora. You saved me and I will not fail to pass it on. Bless you all.

You’re just like crosstown traffic, so hard to get through to you.
— Jimi Hendrix

Could be you really are going to run into some actual traffic jams going into next week. Or you may have to deal with gridlock on a metaphorical level. Perhaps there has been a breakdown in communication with a relationship.

More likely, something you did (or did not do) as far back as one year ago is now showing up again, dressed up in tension.

If not one year ago, try nine months, or six, or three months ago. Think of something you might have allowed to drop through the cracks or left to simmer too long on a back burner.

Most of all, whatever it is that could have come back to hold you up, slow you down, frustrate or overwhelm you at this time, don’t get down on yourself. We are all human in times that would try a superhuman.

In all probability you did not take a wrong turn in life. It’s distinctly possible that you did nothing wrong at all. In the longer perspective there is almost certainly a reason for how things have come to this pass, however.

It’s just as possible that there is a way to avoid any worst-case scenarios you might be worried about. It’s simply a matter of realizing you can’t turn back; or that you’ll have to move through something you may have had a part in bringing on.

In addition to not throwing yourself under the bus, try to avoid blaming others as well. Additionally, if others blithely tell you to “get over it,” don’t let that set you off. Road rage is no solution, only an unnecessary complication.

Fortunately, astrology indicates more than the possibility of some sort of heavy crosstown traffic for you; it also indicates context with perspective, and a timeframe. It has to do with a symbolic traffic jam in the first degrees of Libra. Maybe you have already run into its manifestations.

If not, you could very well encounter some sort of slowdown when the Sun enters Libra shortly after 4:20 an EDT (08:20:29 UTC) on Wednesday to initiate a new season. If you do, remember that a slowdown is not a dead-end street. It is something to move through and get behind you.

When the Sun arrives in Libra next week, it will encounter a large number of objects which, taken singly, probably do not show up on the radar of your life.

First off, there will be the dwarf planet 13672 Makemake, which has been hanging out on the cusp of Libra for months upon months now. To paraphrase Eric, Makemake (which orbits the Sun in the Kuiper Belt out past Pluto) has a lot to do with how things got to be the way they are.

In this case, things may have gotten to be the way they are for you as result of something you did (or did not do) when the Sun last entered Libra about a year ago; or when it entered Capricorn (on Dec. 21 of last year); or Aries (on March 20 this year); or Cancer, back on June 21. On or about any one of those dates in the past, the Sun (which represents your consciousness, among other things) was at a challenging angle to Makemake.

Now sharing the first degrees of Libra (and also orbiting the Sun out in the Kuiper Belt) is another slow mover: 58534 Logos. Logos indicates (among other things) that the reason things got to be the way they are can be explained.

Completing the traffic jam at Libra’s on-ramp are four more objects or points. The lunar ascending node, or North Node, points toward the future. The mean lunar apogee, otherwise known as Black Moon Lilith, corresponds to doing the right thing. Asteroid Juno relates to making your needs known. Finally, there’s a center of profound gravity far away from our own galaxy, which astrologer Phil Sedgwick refers to as the Super Galactic Center (SGC).

That’s a lot of stuff that the Sun will soon encounter upon precipitating a new season next week. It may feel like a heavy burden. It’s okay to honor your feelings. The key is not to let the whole season be ruined by a traffic jam at the beginning.

Although the actual Sun itself will not be slowed down, your consciousness (as represented by the Sun) may encounter some crosstown traffic over the next week or so.

Should that be the case for you, leave blame behind. Accept only what responsibility is yours. Do the right thing. Let your own needs be known, and yield to the needs of others as much as you possibly can. You are not alone in whatever crosstown traffic you encounter. Keep moving towards the future. Don’t let a traffic jam be your life. Let it be what it is: something you can get through and see the other side of.

Offered In Service

Len is available for astrology readings. You can contact him at lenwallick [at] gmail [dot] com.

Today is a big, busy day astrologically. Much of what is happening with the planets signals just the beginning of processes that will develop over weeks, months and years. What’s great about this is that you have time to get the hang of things; to investigate and experiment; to listen carefully and apply what you learn.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

Eric Francis has covered the major aspects of this unusual day in his Planet Waves FM broadcast for this week — well worth a listen. I’m not going to try and explain in-depth all of the aspects (listen to Eric’s podcast for that), but I am going to give some highlights before I get down to what really caught my attention in today’s chart.

The central event is that Saturn leaves the sex, death and money issues of Scorpio today, and brings its emphasis on authority, responsibility, foundations and boundaries to Sagittarius at 10:49 pm EDT (2:49 UTC Friday).

Broadly speaking, over the next two years, you can expect to encounter questions about your philosophical, spiritual and religious beliefs — getting down to the ‘bones’ of what really matters to you. You can be sure Planet Waves will be developing the Saturn in Sadge story as we go along.

Also today, Jupiter in Virgo opposes Neptune in Pisces (exact at 2:54 am EDT / 6:54 UTC). If recent events have not already given you this clue, make sure you’re taking a fine-toothed comb to any important documents or negotiations. Conversely, if you deal in the creative or ‘spiritual’ realms, those could be a rewarding focus for your energies — as long as you’re not getting ‘creative’ about who someone truly is.

If someone is willfully trying to deceive you, there’s only so much you can do — though due diligence in checking their facts and trusting your intuition can get you further than you might think. It’s worth the effort, especially if the stakes are high. But how often have you met someone who indicates their true nature to you, yet you ignore the message in favor of idealizing them to fit your fantasies? Or maybe someone has done this to you?

Continue reading →

Dear Madame,

I have a Sagittarius problem, I think. I am a Sagittarius rising person and the mother of a high school-aged daughter (a sophomore this year) with a Sagittarius Sun. She’s one of those sparky kids who is bright enough to have whizzed through a lot of early years in school with minimal effort. So school has never been a real problem, but it also has not seen as relevant.

I think we took this success for granted in the past, but this year it caught up to us. Last winter was a real challenge. Everything that seemed easy before wasn’t anymore, even though she’s always been in advanced classes. Her grades dropped because she didn’t hand in assignments, or handed them in late. We had to take her out of a sport because she couldn’t keep up with everything.

I feel this was the right choice, but it was so hard on all of us. The new school year starting, and now I hear Saturn is returning to Sagittarius. I wonder if there’s anything hopeful in store for us Sagittarius types? Saturn doesn’t sound good.

— The Centaur’s Mother

Dear Momma Centaur,

You sound as if you’re mothering along well enough. These tough decisions are undoubtedly part of the parenting game, and whether it’s a sport or a friend, or a habit gone awry, we occasionally have to step in and reshape the scene. You must use that word no teenager likes – ‘boundaries’.

That’s the Saturn bit. Right? So, well done. Saturning is part of parenting, as uncomfortable as it may be.

Saggos (as you probably know already) have no particular use for boundaries, though. “Fly and be free!” they say. And bright little Saggo types who easily clear all the low-level hurdles of grammar school and sail through the higher hoops of middle years have not a clue what their apparently less fortunate peers are feeling. While the other kids struggle daily to remember their math facts and presidents, dearest Saggo is frequently the autodidact out blazing her own trail toward truth, charming the teachers, and throwing together amazing presentations on the Constitution two days before the project’s due.

The problem here is as much in natural social development as it’s in the stars. It’s ‘a stage’. As a former high school teacher, I can assure you the changes that happen to students over the course of their sophomore year are typically more obvious than those in the later years. It’s as if freshman year is just a dress rehearsal for high school, and somewhere around the second semester of the sophomore year many students figure out they’re in the building for more than gaping at one another in blatant exchanges of hormonal hysteria. Finally, the academic educational show begins.

Contrary to your concerns, I see the astrological moment of Saturn’s arrival in Sagittarius as actually very positive for both of you. Saturn’s limitations mean that Saggo Jr. can’t cruise through her class work like she used to. Why? Because the material may actually have caught up with her abilities. Like many bright kids, she may never have had to work at learning. You, as a parent, have never been forced to make strict homework time boundaries, or limit activities or friends coming over. Why? Because she has ‘succeeded’ at everything with few challenges.

Saturn might also be a teacher who won’t let her get by with easy answers or old habits. She’ll probably hate this teacher at first, but time will tell another story. In short, with Saturn’s arrival and the sophomore year ‘hump’ she’ll face more than a few opportunities this year to mature, get organized, and figure out her own limitations.

It’s time to get Saturn-friendly. Saturn always feels like a drag at first, but it wouldn’t hurt your little Saggo to slow things down, and for you to accept the added responsibility as well. Saturn will be around through the rest of her high school days. Yes. That’s right.

Saturn represents more than limitations; it is fundamentals and foundations, too — like good bones, or a strong framework. We build bodies and buildings on Saturninian principles. So take this time to get to the fundamentals of what’s wrong right now.

For instance, develop and stick to a homework routine after school. Show up at school and talk with her teachers. What’s really in the syllabus? What’s really expected? What behaviors or habits have already appeared this year? Accountability is a big-time Saturnian thing. If you’ve set appropriate expectations at home and at school and hold her accountable, she’ll mature and become more self-regulating. Never having to do this before, you might get some pointers or support from the teachers, your friends or a counselor who knows the score.

However, in your investigations you may find that your daughter’s actually missing some key skill, or masking a learning disability that’s finally caught up with her. There’s no shame or blame here. Bright kids with learning deficits or differences often slip through the usual screens that flag potential problems. They can ‘fake it’ better — until they can’t. If you’re even remotely concerned this is true, please consider getting your daughter tested through the school or with a neurodevelopmental psychologist. There’s no sense holding your kid to a standard she can’t yet reach or will need help in attaining.

And that’s how you start. No more last-minute projects. No more sliding by and charming the teacher into extra credit at the last minute. No more easy-peasy worksheets that take little time and even fewer of her brain cells. She’s playing in a different league now and has to know the rules. You are, too, Mama. Stick with Saturn and you’ll both be a better team two years from now.

Pedagogically yours,

Madame Z

The current season is nearing its formal end. For many, new activities are already underway. Most students in the U.S. have started their school year. Summer vacations are yielding to harvests in the Northern Hemisphere; for temperate and colder climates in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s getting time to plant.

On the whole, things are predictably busy this time of year, no matter who or where you are. Even as urbanized as the world has become, a change of season involves transition of some sort for nearly everybody.

You may already have started to make a transition in the type and amount clothes you wear. You have probably noticed a change in the produce most affordable and available at your local market.

It’s a transitional time in what, for many, has been a transitional year. That alone can make things seem more trying or threatening than they really are. It’s not an exceptional time so much as it’s the climax of an exceptional year, when the nature of change has changed.

The quality of change can challenge attachments you have held. To cite an extreme example, witness how municipal clerks who issue marriage licenses in the U.S. must now actually practice the separation of church and state.

Admittedly, most of you now reading are more flexible and compassionate than to impose your religious beliefs on others. Nonetheless, all of you can also probably think of something you have had to release attachment to recently; you likely have had to allow compassion for those unlike you to be the result of having to live through letting go.  

The sheer quantity of changes can make you feel overwhelmed. Not just in the U.S., either. Australians, for example, are today adjusting to their fourth Prime Minister in two years. In Europe, a crisis of conscience regarding refugees has come on the heels of financial crisis.

And it’s not just a season changing in the latter half of this month. The current astrology reflects the world, especially the next two weeks. It’s complex. It’s diverse.

We are in the ‘eclipse zone’ again, between the Virgo solar eclipse last weekend, and the Aries lunar eclipse on Sept. 27 (or Sept. 28, depending on where you live). It’s a time when you can depend on the pace to quicken. You have seen its like before. You know it will pass, and astrology gives you the extra advantage of knowing when.

In addition, as tomorrow segues into Thursday, Jupiter will make its only exact opposition to Neptune for the first and last time in a long time. What goes with that will probably be something you don’t see very often. Thanks to astrology you will be able to recognize it as such so long as you remember to make the correlation.

Later on Thursday for most of you, Mercury will begin its last retrograde of 2015. Only hours after that, Saturn will finally complete the 9-month transition from Scorpio to Sagittarius, which in many ways has symbolized this whole year. In fact, those are just some of the cherry-picked highlights. A lot is bound to be going on this week and next, but nothing you can’t handle.

Anybody who has returned from vacation to have the homework piled on (or to face an overflowing in-basket) has seen it’s like. All those who have had to quickly dig out the rain gear, sweaters and overcoats know the feeling. It’s time to let go of old and familiar patterns, and participate in making new ones. It’s nothing you haven’t seen some version of before.

Just as with any period of time when things might seem overwhelming, you know what to do. Break big problems or situations down into smaller parts as best you can. Then, focus only on what you can handle, one day at a time. Do your best, and be the first one to give yourself credit for that. If nobody else can fully understand your situation, know at least you are not alone in that. Whenever the ride allows you to be more excited than afraid, enjoy the thrill. You got this.

Don’t go for the baited hook of sensationalist pandering to panic. The world is not about to end, you can depend on that. Persevere, knowing that this phase of the astrology and your life is more lesson than test. All the anxiety over what might happen, and the reality of what does happen, will probably include at least some times you will someday miss — or at least reflect on with a different perspective years down the road.

This is your time to have. It will be your era to tell about. Participate as you can in shaping the nature of this time to give as good as you get to all that is contributing to shape you. What you learn this month and next will come in handy. Of that you can be sure.

Offered In Service

Len is available for astrology readings. You can contact him at lenwallick [at] gmail [dot] com.