the truth is out

the march 2004 forecast

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jupiter and saturn are retrograde.

mercury opposes jupiter	13°59' pisces/virgo	march 3
sun opposes jupiter	13°58' pisces/virgo	march 3
venus enters taurus	0°00' taurus	march 5
full moon	16°43' pisces/virgo	march 6
saturn returns to direct motion	6°17' cancer	march 7
mercury squares pluto	22°10' pisces/sagittarius	march 8
venus sextiles uranus	3°42' taurus/pisces	march 8
venus sextiles saturn	6°18' taurus/cancer	march 11
mercury enters aries	0°00' aries	march 12
sun squares pluto	22°12' pisces/sagittarius	march 12
mercury squares saturn	6°21' aries/cancer	march 15
venus trines jupiter	12°19' taurus/virgo	march 16
venus conjoins the north lunar node	13°36' taurus	march 17
venus squares neptune	14°27' taurus/aquarius	march 18
sun enters aries	0°00' aries	march 19
new moon	0°39'aries	march 20
mars enters gemini	0°00' gemini	march 20
pluto enters its retrograde period (stationary retrograde)	22°15' sagittarius	march 24
sun squares saturn	6°37' aries/cancer	march 26
mars squares uranus	4°45' gemini/pisces	march 28
mercury enters taurus	0°00' taurus	march 31

all dates are based on pacific time.

despite the long list, there are really two major planetary events this month. the first is saturn’s return to direct (forward) motion. last month i spoke about saturn’s role in our lives when it transits cancer. now that it has turned direct, we have completed the lesson-learning process that accompanies the retrograde period. since it turned retrograde last fall, we have learned more about what it is like to live in fear, and it isn’t going down so well as it did when saturn was situated across the heavens from pluto, which it was in 2001.

more on saturn in cancer

if you recall from last month, i delineated briefly what occurred on the last two saturn transits through cancer. in each one, we (collectively and individually) had to symbolically climb out of the pond which we considered our universe and march onto land — a big task for the crab, who, until it ventures forth, is not sure that the universe of land is not for it. we, like the crab, have to overcome our fears in order to do so. when nixon was in office, at first it seemed that the world was going crazy, that the foes of truth could not be overcome — they were too large. yet, by the end of the transit, nixon had resigned. once again we are beset by fear, and the thing we fear seems too large to grapple with.

while in the 1970s it was manipulation of the election process (and it remains to be seen how much of that will go on at this fall’s election), now it is also, and perhaps principally, about our relationship with the nations of the world. this saturn in cancer transit could be tagged “the ‘we’re all in it together’” saturn transit. the trouble is, the current administration is not getting the message, nor are many people in the u.s. who are afraid of leaving their pond. they, like the neo-con “establishment”, are afraid of losing what they have. the trouble is, the more you grasp at it, the more it slips away. this is very lesson that has been so blatantly illustrated by the war in iraq — the best way to alienate people is to try to rescue them according to your values and your methods, without reference to them; the best way to make sure that terrorism is a problem in iraq is to remove the existing power structure, which, bad as it was (no argument there), did not have ties with al-qa’eda. however, since the war, every terrorist group in the middle east has swarmed the country because of the anarchy and power vacuum that are found there.

meanwhile, the u.s. has become a rogue state, refusing to cooperate with the international community that the neo-cons consider unnecessary to this great world power which will never fall. we’ll see. michael moore claims that the reason these people are so rabid about their cause is because it is essentially lost, and they are clinging to the sinking ship for dear life. combined with short-sightedness as it suits them and an “it doesn’t matter if it happens after i’m dead” attitude toward the deficit and things like destroying the environment, this is the only thing that makes sense. psychologically, the whole movement is baffling. but, just as an infant soils its trousers until it knows better, these men will soil the earth that supports them (and us), and they’ll be back in another lifetime to undo what they’ve done.

saturn foreshadows our future

what has me concerned is the big picture of what we’re dealing with. first, in 1988-1993, we experienced a very unusual planetary configuration. a triple conjunction of saturn, uranus, and neptune occurred then, part of a 1450-year cycle. there are three phases to the cycle, and without going into details, the phase of the cycle that we entered then has to do with the fall of civilizations. in looking over history, a “fall” is relative. some civilizations have successfully morphed into something similar but going by another name, while others have crashed and burned, taking most of their inhabitants and their way of life with them. i can reasonably say that we stand near the brink of the fall of “western” civilization as we know it — that fossil-fuel-guzzling, addicted-to-modern-conveniences society that doesn’t know how to live a simpler life.

i say this because i know the oil is going to run out (someday), and because saturn substantially triggered the point where this triple conjunction occurred over the past year, foreshadowing what’s to come. what are we doing to prepare for that day? are we doing anything to mitigate the fall? create a transition? well, maybe we have plenty of time to do that, but no matter when it occurs, it will be too soon. there are those who predict we will run out of viable oil (affordable to recover) as early as 2009, while other reports give us as many as 15 more years. in the meantime, gas prices will rise and rise and rise. even so, we need to start preparing now. this could be the root of the fall of this civilization — if the powers that be over the next so many years fail to heed the warning signs and reports. this phase of the big cycle lasts about 180 years, so the time of the fall is brief in society’s terms, but long in human terms. a crash can come at any time that we collectively fail to handle the challenges that accrue given the weaknesses of the culture. if we can wean ourselves off fossil fuels, we could make a soft landing. given the planetary patterns of the next 20 years, i’d say it will get dicey by 2010.

the truth is out

however, now the truth is out. the media, at least some of them, are no longer the bush lackies that they were up until the end of last august. (remember that tremendous planetary pattern in the heavens around the 28^th? read about it here. this was when the bushies first had to admit that the u.n. was necessary.) daily, reports are coming out about people who are resolutely holding the line against the bush administration. yesterday, it was that the guantanamo detainees that were held for more than two years without rights were released to the u.k. government, who questioned and then released them (presumably because there was no reason to). several other similar reports coincided with the return to saturn to direct (forward) motion on the 7^th. i can only think that more is yet to come.

the other big planetary event

the other big event occurs as pluto turns retrograde on the 24^th. patterns that were set up since december 11^th relating to deep-seated transformative processes are going to become apparent around this time. they will reveal themselves in terms of the problems that they pose, perhaps through steps of progress that must be dealt with over the coming five months. this is true for us on a personal basis no less than for those in prominent positions, although for those with power, it is especially tricky to make it over the hurdles. when pluto’s cycle began last december, the nominal event of note (a few days later) was the “capture” of saddam hussein. (there are reports that the kurds had been holding him since summer, until a propitious time for the release of the information, but i don’t know what to make of them.) since then, the u.s. has emerged as ineffectual in rebuilding iraq, not the least because of haliburton’s abuses, but also because the administration refused to deploy enough troops to effectively manage the post-war transition. now, it appears that the u.n. is needed once again. i expect terrorist events (pluto rules terrorism) to mark that day, but how that would different from any other to the iraqis or in the israeli-palestinian conflict, i don’t know. march 12^th and 28^th also tie in to the 24^th as dates with higher volatility.

in our personal lives

in our personal lives, we will experience the same development process but apropos of our own circumstances. think back on what you observed in your life back in mid-december, because those are the seeds that you will be cultivating for the rest of the year. the pluto cycle is most likely to affect you if you have planets in the mutable signs (gemini, virgo, sagittarius, and pisces), and if you were born in 1966–69 (any sign). now that saturn has returned to direct motion, you will feel a burden lifted from your shoulders — if you’ve done the work to discharge the responsibility. of course, there may be some leftover tasks to do, which will likely occupy your time until saturn starts its new cycle in july. saturn will be a strong influence in your life if you have planets in the cardinal signs (aries, cancer, libra, capricorn).

it’s not all difficult

on the 16^th and 17^th, venus makes harmonious contacts to jupiter and the transiting eclipse points (the lunar nodes). until the 17^th passes, we can take advantage of this energy to smooth our way a little. this means that if we encounter difficulties, if we can connect with other people, they will be willing to help us out.

what can we do?

in this pluto-flavored month, we can look for areas that need change in our lives, areas in which we have wanted to create bigger things for ourselves. we need to think in large terms, out of the box. if there are obstacles holding us back from something we really want, pluto will shake us loose from those things, because chances are, we are holding on to them even though they hinder us. it is said, “beware what you ask for under the energy of pluto, because you will get it.” this is meant as a caveat against idle wondering and wishing, as well as for wise planning. more than anything, this reminds us that what we focus on is what we create.

as we approach the coming (u.s.) election, become informed about the issues at hand. try to see through the sentimentality of advertising (which you won’t see unless you’re in a “key” or swing state) and just look at the facts. the facts of what bush is about are out there now, abundantly reported (albeit not on mainstream tv news). learn as much as you can about the record and values of each candidate so you can make an informed judgment, then vote!