Whether you were up late or are just finding out now, there should be no surprise in the headlines. No, not the sports star misbehaving headlines. Not even the shocking celebrity revelation du jour. What is truly not surprising is that the more things change, the more the U.S. government (in particular, but not exclusively) stays the same.
One century to the day after the U.S. military entered a war the president vowed to avoid, another campaign promise was broken. Once again, yet another American president has played his one trump card early in his term. Now, the rest will almost certainly be a long effort to distract from an obvious truth.
Somebody (probably a man) once asserted that the business of America is business. At one time, somebody may have believed civilian commerce and private enterprise were the prime movers in the economy of a nation distinguished, for many, by its implicit (albeit false) promise of prosperity for all. If there is one blessing to living at this time, it could well be that nobody paying attention can be fooled anymore.
Abraham Lincoln (perhaps the last U.S. president to in fact be in command of the military) famously justified the American Civil War as an effort to preserve a nation unique in its founding principles. Maybe he was lying too. We will probably never know.
Now, however, it should be clear that the government Lincoln captained has been of, by and for war (and not “the people”) for a very long time. Even more to the point, one other practical (if not formal) fact should now be evident: every four years U.S. citizens vote to elect somebody who ultimately acts to keep the business of war going strong.
The zodiac chart for the U.S. cruise missile attack in Syria last night has a feature not often seen. It has to do with Mars. Interestingly, that feature has two sides.
Mars is one of the “traditional” or “classical” planets we have been aware of ever since human beings started paying conscious attention to the sky. For that reason alone, the mythical character of the same name cannot be denied or dismissed — especially in a civilization that traces at least some of its origins to the cultures that gave rise to the mythology.
For ancient Greeks and Romans, Mars was the god of war. While modern astrologers can legitimately say Mars also means a lot more than war (and that alternative interpretations are frequently more correct), it would be sheer denial to ignore the original meaning as a matter of policy.
Assuming you keep the mythical personality of Mars in mind, the current astrology says a lot, which should be no surprise at all. With the exception of the two luminaries (Sun and Moon), Mars is now advancing around the zodiac faster than any other tangible celestial presence.
To have Mars be the apparent speed demon of the planets is not exactly a common event. It should therefore not be surprising if Martian corollaries (including the original one) are being advanced ahead of others at the same time. Yet, there is another side, which could ultimately correspond with our modern masters of war finally being shown the door.
The other side of any single planet’s position, movement and aspects is the context represented by the rest of the zodiac. Mars will never move faster than the Sun (which can be said to correspond to your conscious awareness) or the Moon (which, among many other things, has to do with dreams). By the same token, those who have sold out to the perpetuation of war cannot either fool you or displace your dreams of a world without war unless you at least give your silent assent.
In addition, Mercury (representing your mind, among other things) will not always be as slow as it now is, just prior to its retrograde station on Sunday. The same can be said for Venus (emblematic of love and related values) which is currently in the midst of its first retrograde since 2015.
Just as with the relative speed of planets on the zodiac, things will change. By next month, Mercury will return to a direct motion much faster than Mars, after painstakingly revealing some truths during its April review. By the time the Sun enters Cancer to start a new season in June, Venus too will have resumed direct motion and started to catch Mars from behind. Nothing stays the same for long in the sky.
Even so, when it comes to events on Earth, the lessons of the sky are sometimes either denied or ignored. This has been especially true of war. Some have remained resigned to its inevitability. Others somehow remain convinced war is necessary. Then there are those who actually think of war as a wholesome family value that puts food on the table and kids through school.
Yet it need not always remain so. It is not necessary for anything to stay the same. It is possible to say no. It may take a while, but the destiny of the most audacious national founding in human history can still be changed to finally conform with the letter of its initiating documents.
The American Revolution initiated as a war, but the results are still not final. The final battle is now being fought within Americans, as we decide who and what “the people” will in fact be.
Offered In Service
“Probably a man” indeed! This was such a profound piece Len, thank you. Vesta is the last planet I would associate with war and yet, transiting Mars was conjunct the U.S. Vesta in Taurus last night. Our U.S. Vesta of course, is in a trine with the transiting Pluto now so, I guess, as goes Mars, so goes U.S. Vesta.
More appropriate might be the U.S. solar return chart’s Moon at 19+ Cancer which the transiting Pluto now opposes. The pictures on our TV’s say it all: seeing suffering or dead babies requires a response in kind, right?
Today the transiting Jupiter, named for the Roman god of the same name was conjunct transiting Zeus, named for the Greek god of the same name and at 19+ Libra they were square transiting Pluto at 19+ Capricorn. These two gods, one symbolized by the largest planet that circles the Sun, the other entity, a hypothetical spot invisible to the eye or telescope, were both square transiting Pluto in Capricorn who is opposite the U.S. Solar Return chart’s Moon in Cancer.
Today the Sun at 19+ Aries created a grand cardinal cross of it all. As you say Sun symbolizes consciousness.
From myths we understand Jupiter (and/or Zeus) to be a protector of his people and yet in Libra war would surely be the last resort. But provoked (squared) by Pluto, who knows what lengths a god will go to, especially when the transiting Sun in Aries is opposing him as well. Add to that a transiting Mars in Taurus who rules Aries for Pete’s sake, trine transiting Pluto (and don’t they both rule Scorpio?), on top of a Solar Return Moon in Cancer and the pressure to act becomes impossible to ignore I suppose.
But about that transiting Mars conjunct the U.S. Vesta at 19+ Taurus who happens to also be sextile the U.S. Solar Return chart’s Moon at 19+ Cancer; all that emotion and all the U.S. People needing reassurance and a sense of safety – is that not the province of Vesta? Is she, along with transiting Mars, providing an outlet for the grand cardinal cross energy that has mounted to a breaking point?
I believe that historically (as you point out) the atmosphere as described in the present astrology, points to violent rebuttal. But are we not in a transitional time, when humanity is leaving a polarized level of development for a higher and more unified level? Would not some of us react – not with satisfaction but with chagrin – to a retaliation of bomb throwing just to make a point?
Perhaps, my mind tells me, the grand cardinal cross made up of transiting Pluto, Sun, Jupiter/Zeus and the US solar return Moon, in concert with U.S. Vesta and trans. Mars, is offering an alternative course through to a higher-level-of-consciousness way of dealing with frustration, anger and grief. I will be watching to see how the U.S. population, the Masses, respond to the impulsive behavior of this President. Mercury goes retrograde, Saturn has gone retrograde, and soon so will Pluto go retrograde. As Venus stations direct conjunct trans. Chiron there will be much to consider in hind sight.
Something you are probably aware of is that transiting Nessus in Pisces will – in one year from now – be square the U.S. Uranus in Gemini while also being conjunct the U.S. Ceres who is conjunct the U.S. Nessus. If a Nessus transit suggests a time of endings and of opportunity to transcend the old patterns then maybe this moment, as U.S. Vesta provides a release point (trine trans. Pluto and sextile U.S. Solar Return Moon) is a start toward recognizing what must end once and for all.
Vesta’s “U.S. natal return” last year suggested as much. For starters, that chart had the Sun (consciousness) in the Chiron degree of 3+ Taurus, a Uranus-Venus conjunction (same day), a Mars in Sagittarius opposite the U.S. Uranus, and Vesta herself was conjunct Mercury who was fresh from an occultation of the Sun. (They were opposite the Moon in Scorpio) The more things change the more they stay the same, right? Maybe not this time. Maybe this time we will be the change.
be
uh oh, some of those “19’s” should be “18’s”; the transiting Sun, Jupiter and Zeus. Transiting Pluto and the U.S. solar return Moon are for real 19’s and so is U.S. Vesta and yesterday’s Mars. My bad.
be
Thank you for your wonderful, uplifting reflections, Be. The more things change the more they stay the same, right? Maybe not this time. Maybe this time we will be the change. And “Mars, is offering an alternative course through to a higher-level-of-consciousness way of dealing with frustration, anger and grief.” This seems to be happening to me on a personal level – am finding myself back in tough work situation experiencing things I thought I’d finally overcome some years ago. Frazzled, frustrated and a little down – but when I woke up this morning I realized that I’m going through this stuff again, because it needs releasing. Saturn takes no prisoners….(take heart any of you who are also being whacked right now!).
Thank you for this wonderful piece, dear Len. Listened to Odetta’s wonderful cover of Dylan’s Masters of war again after reading it. As you so rightly say, the more things change, the more things stay the same:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38dOYW7-B0E
Thank you, Len, be, Lizzy, Dylan and Odette for some serious uplift on this sobering Saturday.
I’ve never been able to imagine the Age of Aquarius starting with anything other than a revolution: it just wouldn’t be appropriate. Now, however, I think perhaps we need to revolutionise the concept of what constitutes a revolution. If war is business, shouldn’t we be manning the check-outs rather than the barricades?
A wise man once said that war is legalised theft. How can that be? Didn’t God itself tell Moses thou shalt not steal? So I just had to follow on with Odette’s version of Dylan’s With God On Our Side. My penchant for Spoonerisms and punnery soon came to the fore and it wasn’t long before I was thinking our present situation could better be described as With Sod As Our Guide. Apologies, Mr Z. Incidentally, spell-checker didn’t like the word punnery and substituted gunnery instead. Damned AI is getting too I.
I guess I should be thankful it’s still all quiet here in the trenches, no bombs or gas on England’s green and pleasant so far.
Just had my Saturday morning reverie interrupted by Jehovah’s Witnesses proclaiming the wonderful news of Jesus’s death. Normally they get short shrift from me, but today I saw the two little old ladies as the current target of Putin’s wrath and I felt sympathy for their earnest evangelical endeavours. Then Bob butted in again: Everybody’s shouting which side are you on?
To which I can only reply: There are no sides, the planet is round. Vote Green.
Ha ha! Love ya, Geoff!
Cheers, Lizzy. Love U 2. Hope all goes well and, as Mary Whitehouse once said to Gay Liberation, more power to your elbow. It’s unbelievable, but true!
<3
Thank-you Len and company.
Geoff- Me too… always thought of the Age of Aquarius as more of a re-volution. So far the transition certainly doesn’t seem to be a picnic or a rave or a love+light-in as many had predicted… Now, a laugh-in does seem, at times, to be of assistance. Much appreciated.
Thanks, Ramona. Let’s r-evolve.
Yes Geoff, and didn’t intend to be so cryptic with my etymology. I was thinking revolution: to make another turn (re-volute). Seems as though this time the revolution may be an inward one … in-volution.
Thank you everyone!
B : The more things change the more they stay the same, right? Maybe not this time. Maybe this time we will be the change.
…. i kinda get the feeling that maybe this time … we will be … got changed (know what i mean?)
Blessings
Oups missed 1 part.
See you in 1 (one) year from NOW
Ramona makes a great point “this time the revolution may be an inward one . . .in-volution.”.
Involution describes something that spirals back within itself and the U.S. progressed Mars in its long retrograde trek is doing just that. We must go back to where the problems began in order to fully understand how to correct them. Astrology teaches us that repeated cycles describe the slow evolution of all living things and if those cycles fail to achieve the necessary growth then Life will recede.
Here we see the U.S. population at war with itself; this division created by unequal growth of all its parts. This has forced an inward examination of how and when that growth jumped track. Looking at the U.S. progressed chart we see progressed (retrograde) Mars in Libra approaching the degree of the U.S. natal Saturn but it won’t get there until about 2031, and it will still be retrograde when it does get there.
Meanwhile other U.S. progressions are also having an effect on the U.S. psyche. Right now the U.S. progressed Sun at 12 + Pisces is joined by the transit of Neptune so we see/feel the eroding effect of Neptune and Pisces on the U.S. consciousness as they approach their trine with the U.S. natal Sun; all the better to allow absorption of new concepts and experiences.
On the other hand, as transiting Jupiter continues his retrograde back through Libra he will conjunct the natal U.S. Saturn at 14+ degrees. It won’t stop and station direct until it reaches 13+ Libra (squaring the U.S. Sun at 13+ Cancer) in June. From there it will move forward and again cross the degree of the natal U.S. Saturn, just in time to be included in the U.S. solar return setup in July. I see this as symbolizing part of the “understanding” and “correcting” process that will take many years to complete. the U.S. Saturn seems to be the target for transiting Jupiter as well as the progressed U.S. Mars and Saturn symbolizes the Establishment.
Looking at the chart for that U.S. solar return there are challenges for the U.S. and then there is promise. Uranus will square Mercury and one will sextile the U.S Moon while the other one will be quincunx it. Moon symbolizes the People. While the chart itself holds a Moon in Scorpio that trines the chart’s Mercury in Cancer, that solar return Moon also squares the U.S. natal Moon. The squares push for action.
There is also in the new solar return chart a minor challenge between retrograde Pholus in Sagittarius who sextiles the U.S. natal Moon but is opposite the solar return chart’s Ceres in Gemini who trines the U.S. natal Moon. This might be suggesting the U.S. People (U.S. Moon) must find a way to reconcile the difference between saving foreign children from a cruel dictator and rejecting the children’s parents out of fear of them. All in all this chart has Chiron, Uranus, Ceres, Mercury, the Moon, Pholus and the nodes in aspect with the U.S. natal Aquarian Moon.
If we are here for a reason as so many of us believe, it could be because we are the change and we are getting changed as Linda suggests.
be
Good for you Lizzy, as each of us grapple with our own issues in a positive way we are part of the growth and that leads to change./be
Yes! Thank you, dear be.
Wow Len, thank you ! One of the reasons I susbscribe & read PW and it’s comments are because of you, all of you! Your insight penetrates my soul.
Trump is like quicksilver, although he be a Gemini Leo Rising (Mars conjunct his Ascendent) he also seems to be personifying the dark side Aquarian (US natal Aquarian Moon?) at the dawn of the Age of Aquarius: self-absorbing, willful, erratic and unpredictable while lobbing missiles halfway across the world in the morning, playing golf the next day with the leader of a nation that he has repeatedly chastised for meddling in our trading affairs (and other international affairs, e.g., Chinese involvement in the south Pacific Sea and towards Vietmanese fishing vessels) but now he is embracing the Chinese leader as a buddy/friend, all in admiration, in Donald Trump’s true Gemini Sun fashion. As a human, things do remain the same, particularly if the person has not evolved by involving (thank you for that Be. Lizzy, et. al).
Prez DT is incapable of involving believing his own delusions that we can’t expect him to change. But our votes do change and we must cast them everywhere for change. We wouldn’t do it BUT FOR Donald. I think that is the point of who he is. He is to make US act. If we can’t be moved by him, what else would it take?
Len, this article is so insightful. Thank you!
Cheers, Pisces Sun, you make Trump sound just like a politician!
My take on his presidency is that it should make us all aware that if our planet’s ecology is compromised, it won’t matter a fig which party you vote for or what you believe. It will simply come down to one question: Do you own a Kalashnikov or not?
We have an opportunity between now and 2020 to understand the fragility of our island home. Who wouldn’t protect their patch of the universe? There is, as yet, no Planet B. Involute.
Thanks Geoff, I don’t own a Kalishnikov but I take the expression to mean that’s when we all can just bend over and kiss our ass good-bye! And since not owning a Kalishnikov (and having an ass), I’d rather not kiss it or anyone elses, and act to involve to help the earth evolve!
Thanks, Pisces Sun. I think I know what you mean.
In my lifetime, there have been several occasions when it seemed likely that the world was coming to an end. In all cases, that never happened, so don’t despair.
I have an underlying feeling that us humans will, perhaps undeservedly, survive. Me feeling is that we need neither Kalashnikovs nor catastrophes.
Teach your children well
And know they love you.