completing an old pattern

the april 2003 forecast

note:

jupiter is stationary direct; pluto is retrograde.

all dates are based on pacific time.

to be honest, i would have said that war would have started in february rather than march, but we weren’t out of the woods until jupiter got well beyond 10° leo, which is a hotspot in the u.s. chart. i forgot, however, that bush views this as an action taken in response to the terrorist threat, which made the saturn-pluto interaction (active at the time of 9/11) salient in the timing of a u.s.-led war. the timing did fit the saturn-pluto pattern. he caught them just as they were about the separate, and the impetus toward war would have dissipated rapidly after that. i’ll give him a point for instinct, being the cancer that he is — he knows when to grab the energy and run with it (or someone on his staff does), because we know he’s not using an astrologer.

i have predicted from the start that the war would last longer than expected. i do not expect it to be over until sometime in may, probably mid-may or later. saddam hussein’s chart shows that he is about to be deposed. directed jupiter, which has been crossing his midheaven in its dignity of pisces, has now lost most of its dignity by crossing into aries. however, the fact that it still retains some indicates to me that he may be deposed, but he won’t be killed. he may yet end up in exile, according to his solar return chart, which has an unusual number of protective and harmonious aspects in it for the year. the chart indicates that he will find a safe haven in a neighboring country, and he may surface there right around his birthday, or negotiations may be taking place at that time (not that we’ll hear about them). i don’t think he’ll be in hiding. this is just what it looks like to me, given the current turns of events.

more translations of light

this month, we get more action through translation of light. translation of light is a traditional astrological term that refers to the transference of energy from one planet to another by a third body. the two bodies that are being contacted must move more slowly that the translating body, but that is the only requirement. they extend the life of a transit in either direction, both before and after exactitude. this is because not only does the exact aspect between the two slower moving planets occur, but the faster movers regularly light them up in the meantime. in the case of the moon, this could occur as often as weekly, giving its one-two punch with the regularity of a clock striking the hour: the hits will occur on roughly the same day each week. the moon’s translations coincide with the weekly rhythm with which some situations develop. translating planets usually represent “helpers” or mediators that have a direct impact on the situation, although the contact sometimes represents interference.

mercury, mars and venus are the triggers, picking up the jupiter-neptune contact we’ve been watching since last fall (beginning 9/11/02, oddly enough). this occurs in leo and aquarius — fixed signs — so planets in those signs as well as in taurus and scorpio will translate the energy. mercury goes first, picking up jupiter on the 10^th and neptune on the 13^th. once the moon enters into the act, there’ll be “interesting events”, which it does on the 3^rd, 4^th, 10^th, 11^th, 16^th, 17^th, 23^rd, 24^th, and 30^th. mars has been in capricorn picking up energy from chiron, but once it enters aquarius on the 21^st, it will begin to trigger jupiter-neptune. we’ll see more action from mars in may, and it will be “hot times”, because the sun will be in taurus, which also triggers jupiter and neptune.

jupiter and neptune, the proof of our beliefs

i expect this to bring us plenty of breaking news from the war front. this is the “regime change” contact — bush started his media blitz that week. (see my previous forecasts for details on what it represents and how it hits bush’s chart.) now we’re dealing with the tail-end of the three-stage process, and it’s obvious that it relates to the war. we can also interpret this as potential contact with chemical weapons. in fact, jupiter-neptune contacts are frequently found in the charts of chemists. but what about our own lives? what is happening in our own lives that ties in?

i’ll tell you what’s happening in mine! jupiter is transiting my 6^th house of work, and just as jupiter always means “more”, i have more work! i’m currently working on a new book (publishing is also ruled by jupiter, plus it is in my natal 3^rd house), while neptune is in my 12^th house. that’s harder to define, but i guess i could say that it’s now more necessary than ever to trust in my inner guidance to make decisions that lead to future successes, which must be based on what is “spiritually correct” (12^th house).

the jupiter-neptune opposition (what we’re getting now) is a time of discovering if our beliefs are working for us. it’s a time to find out if what we’ve projected for our future expansion and betterment is working. jupiter and neptune actually work very well together, because they both work with the mental plane (see june wakefield’s cosmic astrology). jupiter helps us to clarify the truth that neptune reveals to us. we’re all learning some previously hidden truths to our benefit. we know for one thing that we’re going to learn if the international community will consider bush’s pre-emptive strike on iraq to be an illegal invasion. so far, it looks as though, although public opinion is against the war (everywhere but the u.s.), the nations won’t take action against him. it sets an unfortunate precedent; what’s to stop another country from invading the u.s.(or some less powerful nation) under the same premise? still, we can hope for the best, since it is happening, and we can hope that whatever lessons are presented through this scenario are learned in a rather more gentle way than strident.

pluto-saturn, our path to the truth

venus is in pisces during most of april, and it translates light between pluto and saturn. naturally, the moon will help out. venus makes its first contact on the 12^th, and this will also relate directly to the war, since these planets were active when the war began. there may be a milestone event which occurs on that day, or between the 12^th and the 16^th, when it touches saturn. look for relevant events between the 12^th and 16^th, especially the 12^th, 13^th, and 14^th, when the moon is also a trigger.

in our own lives, we can say that, wherever gemini and sagittarius fall (in our charts), we’ll be finishing up a long-term effort. for me, this is in my houses of travel, communications, and publishing (3^rd and 9^th), so it ties in with the theme of jupiter-neptune for me because of my own personal chart. the theme of power struggle remains with these contacts, though we do not have to exhibit this or play a part in power struggles. there is still a gigantic struggle taking place between business and the people, although business is currently winning (not that we’ve ever had a chance) — the energy crisis due to deregulation, the shady accounting practices that now we know some government agencies have been indulging in, the struggles between great powers around the world. we can only watch the feathers fly, powerless to change the drift of affairs — unless we become aware and organize. fear is another earmark of this transit, and we’ve had plenty of that. others have used it against us — the government, business.

we need to find the truth inside ourselves. we must read and think and study and listen — and learn. then we must not forget (although we must forgive). we can hold to our notions of the truth, allowing them to shift (not holding them rigid) as we learn. just doing that will lead others to it too, because we all know the truth deep down inside, including george bush, enron executives, the leaders of france, and the people of iraq. don’t feel that we have to give in because no one else is speaking what we know. hold to your independence and remember — than act when you know the time is right. that’s how change will occur.

may will bring us new energies to deal with, and june even more, but for now, let’s finish up these cycles with flair. may you and yours be safe and at peace!