a time of remembrance

the september 2002 forecast

contact me if you would like to have my latest forecasts sent to you automatically via email as they are published, free of charge.

all dates and times are based on pacific time.

previous forecasts

chiron, uranus, and neptune are retrograde.

mercury trines neptune	8°44' libra/aquarius	september 4
new moon	14°20' virgo	september 6
sun squares pluto	14°57' virgo/sagittarius	september 8
venus enters scorpio	0°00' scorpio	september 8
jupiter opposes neptune	14°58' leo/aquarius	september 11
mercury turns retrograde	13°15' libra	september 14
venus squares neptune	8°27' scorpio/aquarius	september 19
harvest full moon	28°25' pisces/virgo	september 21
sun squares saturn	28°44' virgo/gemini	september 21
mars squares pluto	15°06' virgo/sagittarius	september 22
sun enters libra	0°00' libra	september 22
mercury trines neptune	8°24' libra/aquarius	september 23
full moon	29°39' leo/aquarius	august 22
sun enters virgo	0°00' virgo	august 23

last year at this time we experienced the end of innocence in american culture, if not personally. it was an innocence that was not known elsewhere in the world and defied knowledge; it was only a matter of time before someone with the will to do so found a chink is the u.s. armor and exploited it. there is no doubt that the september 11^th attacks were horrifying, executed by individuals with twisted hearts and minds. however, it was the first time that the u.s. shared in the experiences the rest of the world has been having for the past thirty years, some places on a routine basis.

the roots of terrorism

terrorism has always existed; however, until our global age, when communications, travel infrastructure, and internationalized financial markets increased mobility to global proportions, it was confined to relatively local conflicts. now, just as corporations have created multi-national business entities, people with maverick political ideals have created their own multi-national networks on the same model. osama bin laden, son of an internationally successful saudi businessman, learned his lessons well, and al qa’eda is the result. however, this is not the only terrorist network. nor are arabs the only people who have threatened the peace of the u.s.; we have as much to fear from within our own boundaries from the timothy mcveys and david koreshes of our own citizenry.

even when bin laden is no more, there will be others to take his place. still, this doesn’t mean that we can’t do anything to stem the tide against normal, law-abiding people. the reasons terrorism exists are complex — everything from abuse or neglect in early childhood to living within a dysfunctional political or religious system. we can combat terrorism by becoming less of a target. this doesn’t mean to hide or to compromise what we believe to be right. it does mean to ask questions and become better informed, then change who we are as we see fit.

few of us in the u.s. realize what kind of image our country, our leaders and our citizens have outside our borders. even fewer of us realize how businesspeople from the u.s. have treated the people and governments of other countries. in some instances, cruel exploitations have been perpetrated. innocent citizens become the indirect objects of foreign misunderstanding and hatred when those in other countries become strong enough to copy the techniques of those who took advantage of them. exploitation has become the worldwide model for success, and it is being copied everywhere. perhaps it has always been so, but i don’t think it has been as universally experienced by such large groups by a single group or action as it is now.

terrorism and the planets

terrorism is ruled by pluto generally and by saturn-pluto more specifically. (there are other things associated with these planets as well, of course, and many of them are good.) when saturn and pluto come into play, the huge powers of the human world show their colors and engage in battle. since saturn and pluto have been around since the beginning of time, we can assume that this phenomenon is not new. however, the stakes got higher once pluto was discovered in 1923 and the global economy began to be created.

large corporations became possible with the technological advances that came in the last half of the 19^th century. by 1900, powerful monopolies and trusts existed which wielded great control over politics, government, and commerce in the u.s. since then, the system we live in has been built up around these titans. minor restraints have been placed on such giants, but often they decided to operate off-shore in order to continue their wily ways. we have gained great benefits from the infrastructure they built, but it has also been at our expense. they could have chosen to use gasoline without lead (as well as other products without toxins), but they didn’t. the world we live in now is so controlled by these large corporate interests, we can’t even see it — or we couldn’t until the past two years.

the titans reveal themselves

these super-powerful men (and women) and business entities prefer to work in the background, unnoticed. however, they have exposed themselves through more and more flagrant abuses in recent years. the manipulation of the energy markets, which has always gone on, has come out in the open when “deregulation” created new loopholes for abuse of power [pun intended]. the recent flagrant abuses of accounting practices have caused the complete collapse of several companies which were thought to be solid, healthy concerns.

the actions of the terrorists in september 2001 have given us the opportunity to find out what went wrong, and perhaps our questions will lead to the discovery of what these same power brokers have been doing in other countries. if we ask enough questions, we may find out why our country is so hated, so we can change who we are as a nation and truly contribute to international well-being. if we see ourselves through their eyes, we may be able to find the middle path to a new way of being, a way to reinvent our culture in a deeper, more realistic, humble, and spiritual way.

a little background

in the years between 1987 and 1993, a triple conjunction of saturn, uranus, and neptune took place. this is a rare occurrence which occurs in a cycle of three. it has to do with the rise and fall of civilizations. the part of the cycle we are in now, lasting 176 years, is the part where civilizations fall. the civilizations which rose on the last conjunction were the western imperial cultures and the cultures based on muslim beliefs (the ottoman empire). while not every documented fall of civilization is dramatic and devastating, some are. we can avoid such a fall over the next 176 years by gradually morphing our culture into something more sustainable, more world-friendly, both in terms of how we treat non-citizens and their nations and how we treat our planet.

we still have time, but not a lot. it would be refreshing if our leaders would take us on a trajectory toward these goals instead of directly away from them. the leaders of other countries see the handwriting on the wall and are doing just that, with the kyoto agreement and its follow-up meetings and accords. sadly, the u.s. is becoming a pariah when it comes to global cooperation and planetary health.

remembering september 11^th

if we can use this time of remembrance not just to share the sorrow of those who lost loved ones in the attacks but as a time to share the sorrow of all who have lost loved ones in any attacks, any earthquake-shaken building, any volcanic eruption or mudflow, any flood, any war, any plane crash — we will be responding to the trauma in an even deeper, more powerful way — one which can lead to healing.

september’s planetary menu

if the planets are any indicator, there will be no repeat of last september’s events this year, but there will be a replay in the form of memoria and reverent celebrations of life. the heavenly bodies are interacting with more gentility this month than last, even though there are some planetary events that promise color, even drama.

the challenges begin on the 6^th, and they are likely to be felt mostly in terms of all the plans, activities and advertising that we will be exposed to with respect to september 11^th. the 11^th itself has a genuine spiritual tone as jupiter opposes neptune and once again people are reunited in their sharing of this tragedy and bonded by their grief and mutual support. on the 14^th, mercury turns retrograde. although this is a phenomenon dreaded by many, on the overall scale of planetary events, it rates a 2 (out of 10). this should be a mild retrograde, as the planets that mercury is contacting are relatively harmonious, both with it and with each other. the biggest is a trine that it makes to neptune three times, the first of which occurs on the 4^th. watch what is happening in your life on that day to see what may come during the retrograde. it is about communication about spiritual matters or creativity drawn from unseen worlds (spiritual or imaginal). since it is a trine, the energies will flow. on a large scale, this defines the remembrance period for the attacks, both on september 11^th and the anthrax attacks after it. the other dates of the trine are september 23 and october 18. this can be a great time to focus on a creative project if you have one before you. it can also bring a deeper feeling of spirituality, as well as compassion toward others.

venus sends signals.

on the 7^th, venus enters scorpio. at the same time, it starts sending signals as to what you will experience when it goes retrograde on october 10. venus’s retrograde occurs every 18 months and gives us the chance to re-evaluate our relationships and our financial arrangements. we see what needs to be changed in the way we are relating to others and rework our agreements (conscious and unconscious) with them. in addition, we may decide to make some major purchases or begin to save for or work toward new financial goals. from september 7, we will begin to feel what is coming in these regards. since venus will square both jupiter and neptune during this fall-winter, we can expect larger economic issues to come to the forefront in the news, and perhaps in our own lives as well. this can be a time of possibility and opportunity as well, so don’t assume that you will suffer as a result of this transit.

mars and saturn give us clues, too.

on the 21^st, we get a preview of saturn’s coming retrograde. saturn retrogrades once every year and gives us a relatively long-term project or task to fulfill. there’s usually a lesson available for learning as well, and on the whole, we’re better off if we belly up to the bar and eat what’s on our plate. whatever you experience on the 21^st will give you clues to the coming five months where constructive activities are concerned. on the 22^nd, mars squares pluto. this may come out as a spurt of terrorist activity or violence somewhere in the world. it can also represent the expression of anger, and generally rage and anger are closer to the surface during mars-pluto contacts. this is a good time to be your own best friend and steer clear of conflict, as others who are unaware of the planetary events may be more volatile.

on the whole, this month promises to be easier to enjoy than august, and perhaps better than many in recent months. each of us, however, has our own unique context, our own chart within which we will experience it. may your september be blessed with joy and healing!