searching for a new vision

the december 2002 forecast

note:

saturn is retrograde.

all dates are based on pacific time.

after the definitive events of the fall, december’s advent finds us stuck “in-between”. we’re between two planetary patterns, between two eclipses, and between two worlds. what’s going on with our economy, our political system, our values? will the u.s. go to war against iraq? how does the war on terrorism stand? is homeland security making us less secure and inviting big brother into our living rooms? are we sure we want to deal with the consequences of the actions we (individually and as a people) will take next?

these are questions that it will take years to answer, but the coming months will give us growing and useful insights into their answers, and we will make far-reaching choices based on what we understand. on the largest scale, we are dealing with the effects of western civilization on the world. the global economy, that money-driven beast that renames citizens as consumers and bids us to “buy, buy, buy”, is now coming into question. it is fraught with greed-driven corruption and the problems that ensue, from loss of jobs (due to corporate lay-offs and bankruptcies) to creation of a soft, sated, jaded culture to environmental disaster. the environmental issues are perhaps the worst and longest lasting, manifesting in such forms as global warming (yes, it does exist), pollution of air and water and land, and depletion of natural resources, perhaps the worst of which are the losses of nutrient-rich topsoil, oxygen-giving forests, and the contamination of crops by genetically engineered species.

when neptune, uranus, and saturn conjoined from 1987-1992, we entered a historical epoch which in the past has been characterized by the fall of dominant civilizations. although not all civilizations fall under these transits, the most inflexible ones topple under their own weight through lack of vision and stubborn adherence to old, disastrous values. if western civ cannot morph into something more flexible and post-consumerist, it too will fall. its path to “doom” has even been spelled out by various prophets, from william greider (of the nation) to ralph nader to the evidence of the planetary cycles, but they are simply stating what every economic and political leader knows: that the current system is corrupt and needs to change. the response of the “pro-business” current government-in-power is to grab as much as they can quick before it crashes and burns. this will surely happen if the current course is continued.

however, it is happening even faster than i imagined. after “black friday” (the day after thanksgiving, when retailers hope to go into the black for the year), some reports said sales were off. cnn reports that the malls were bare on saturday after the bargain-hunting of the day before (then recanted the next day). it made me think “what if they gave a (consumerist) christmas and nobody came?” what if people individually decide that they prefer an alternative to the post-partem january depression, when the glut of compulsive holiday buying hatches into the whopper credit card debt of the new year? what if they decided to return to a life of simple values where valuing each other’s presence is more meaningful than a new gotta-have gadget?

perhaps one by one, i have seen more and more people return to these simpler values, if only out of necessity. as they have removed the burden of knee-jerk gift-giving from their shoulders, they have felt freer and enjoyed their holidays more. the pundits call it a dip in consumer confidence. i call it a rise in post-consumerism. if this is a trend that takes hold, it may provide the way out of the inflexibility of the current system that could cause its crash.

jupiter, neptune, and pals

now, as we are in between planetary influences and perhaps hurting as a result of the bust economy, it gives us a pause in life to re-evaluate our direction. when we do this, the big issues come to the surface. the planets are pointing this way to all of us, but it’s only an opportunity. it is certainly the perfect time for it. mars enters scorpio on december 1^st, beginning its dance with venus, jupiter and neptune. now, if you recall, venus has already been cavorting with jupiter and neptune — soon to be three times, in fact, as a result of its retrograde transit from october 10^th to november 20^th. since jupiter and neptune only interact in this way once about every 13 years, and venus connects with them in such a meaningful way with much less frequency, this is a novel experience for all of us and presents the time-honored themes of human experience and growth in a new light.

jupiter and neptune are halfway through their cycle, now interacting by opposition, across the heavens from each other. this means that earth is monkey in the middle, with us trying to figure out which way the wind blows between them. jupiter, the planet of enterprise, education, and exploration, is now in leo, the sign of the fiery use of will. neptune, planet of inner reality and illusion, is in the opposite sign of aquarius, the social reactionary and innovator. i have spoken of these before as representing the interaction between idealism, possibility, and the perception of truth, since both planets have to do with these parts of our reality and perception. in this interaction, idealism that covers up the truth and leads to disillusionment will cause problems and be revealed. venus has been the timer for the events that will show how this is working for us, both as individuals and in larger cultural events, movements, and issues. but now, mars heats up the action by bringing bolder, more decisive events and experiences. the clue to what we will experience comes from the dates on which venus triggered the pattern already. these dates are september 19^th and 24^th; october 10^th, 17^th, 20^th, 30^th, and 31^st; and november 9^th. in december, venus will make its final passes over both neptune and jupiter, on the 13^th and 24^th respectively. in the meantime, because venus is still slow after her retrograde, mars will nearly catch up with her. he will contact neptune on the 15^th and jupiter on the 27^th. we can also expect clues to the events to come in both december and the coming year on december 4^th (give or take a couple of days), when jupiter turns retrograde.

there are so many contacts, it is likely to be difficult to sort out what happened in your life at those times — what stands out. however, i think on the world scene it’s very clear that this has to do with the fulfillment of political idealism as expressed through patriotism, also called nationalism, and religious righteousness of any denomination. we will learn over the life of this transit how we as humans are allowing themselves to be controlled by such sentiments, as well as the consequences of those choices.

now, just like in a badly written movie, some of us already know the end of the story — where it will lead — and that is to open conflict and lingering animosity. for some, it is enough to know these consequences to wish to avoid them. others, however, need to play them out, and (unhappily if we happen to dislike war) we find that these people are in control of the u.s. government at this time. soooo, will we go to war against iraq? jupiter and neptune will reveal the truth of this, where the “patriotism” of our current leaders will lead us. it is worth noting that jupiter and neptune are contacting the same sensitive degrees that triggered the persian gulf war. because it is these planets which trigger them, however, it leads me to believe that there are certain illusions about what such a war will accomplish.

jupiter and neptune can also represent the removal (jupiter opposite) of chemicals and toxins (neptune). there is little doubt that much has been hidden in iraq. when mars and venus make their aspects, we may find evidence of hidden substances revealed in the media (if authorities don’t suppress the information).

in our personal lives, we may find our own foibles and façades revealed on these dates as well. these will be both easier to see and to remedy, since we are more in control of situations which concern ourselves and our personal relationships.

the other planetary front

meanwhile, saturn is still out there, lurking untriggered. it will be touched off on december 17^th, when the sun opposes it. this is the culmination point of its yearly interaction with the sun. because the sun lights up the entire sign, it also increases the intensity of the moon transits when they hit saturn, once every week on wednesday-thursday until the 20^th. in addition, the sun will conjoin pluto, revisiting the energetic pattern of 2001 (including 9/11) by carrying pluto’s energy to saturn. there is an eclipse in pluto’s sign of sagittarius as well, but it is satisfactorily far away from pluto and saturn to suggest that there will not be one major culminating crush of planetary energy to escalate a major event such as a terrorist attack or natural disaster. after the winter solstice on the 21^st, all this vapor dissipates, and we may have a yule/christmas/new year untroubled by new reports of corporate corruption or scandal (the signature event, besides terrorism, of the here-mentioned planets).

all these planetary patterns are contributing to the dampening of our former certainties. in an age of so much excess, surely there is a need to shift our values and spend some of that extra cash on tax-deductible contributions to people who really need it. as we search for a renewed identity in the u.s., we are running the risk of (happily) becoming a post-consumerist culture and (unhappily) inviting big brother to watch our every electronic (and perhaps physical) move. the consequences of the homeland security act will be revealed in slow, excruciating lessons during saturn’s transit through cancer (the sign of the “home”), which begins next june, and it will not all be pretty. our civil liberties are certain to take a beating.

at the same time, it is possible — and important — to know that the human spirit will triumph on the side of good in the long run, and, for whatever reasons, some must learn about the consequences of the course they are now on (and take the rest of us along with them in the case of those in positions of power). it is a lesson for us all, because we will all learn from these transits in one way or another.

the planets seem to know that we need a soft landing just now, so their moments of maximum impact are spread out in time and location. they present no grand culminations during december, and we have weathered worse. still, there will be difficult, if not disastrous, events in the world this month, just as there is every month, especially with just that small percentage of people on the planet so willing to wreak horrible havoc. it helps to remember that the percentage is small, very small; that most of us are good-hearted and well-meaning; and that we are all looking for the truth, even if we consider some people’s efforts to be considerably misguided. in this time of thanks and renewal, it’s vital to see the good around us and to value every moment we have with those we love. life in the physical realm is a gift on loan to our souls; every moment we have of it is one more moment to treasure.

the greatest of blessings to you and yours now and in the coming year!