The Saturn in Scorpio-Pluto in Capricorn Mutual Reception: Part II

(Read Part I here.)

By now you've seen (and will continue to see) the harbinger of the next two and half years of Saturn-Pluto mutually recepted courtesy of Mars' current transit of Scorpio.  It's going to magnify what any progressive has known for years: corporations and their profits are more important than people, and you get to live the harsh consequences of that in your own life, whether it's higher taxes, low-wage jobs, debt, etc.

The SuperPACs created by the Citizens United vs FEC decision (basically, corporations are people with free speech rights and can contribute anonymous and unlimited donations to a fund backing a specific candidate), and who are funding the 2012 election, are only the tip of the corruption and democracy-gone-haywire iceberg. Thomas Frank of Harper's magazine describes the process intelligently and intricately in his excellent article, "It's a Rich Man's World: How Billionaire Backers Pick America's Candidates." Saturn in Scorpio mutually recepted with Pluto in Capricorn goes way beyond the November 2012 election, by the way. The election will likely be the first full-scale, formal, gross example of money and power corrupting absolutely.

Further, Elizabeth Warren, in her DNC speech said the unspeakable truth progressives have also known for years, right there on live, prime-time television: the system is rigged against you. Only the U.K. trails the U.S. in industrialized nations in upward mobility. Lewis Lapham in his May 2012 Harper's article, "Ignorance of Things Past," is far more clear: 

"But, but, but..." you say. "Occupy Wall Street stated all of that long before Saturn and Pluto mutually recepted each other." Yes, but #OWS was a Uranian response to Pluto in Capricorn a la the ongoing Uranus-Pluto square. When Saturn ingresses into Scorpio, it entrenches the power and corruption of the goverment-corporate alliance even deeper and more absolute. Lapham again:

Saturn represents justice (even when it's not in Libra), and so you will see over the next couple of years enormous examples of injustice, where bad behavior gets rewarded repeatedly, and money and power—Saturn and Pluto hallmarks—will be able to do as it pleases without regard to consequence. So the basic Saturn/Pluto mutual reception theme, with apologies to Lord Acton, is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and no institution is going to help you when it's your world that gets stomped on by the heel of the plutocracy.

One microcosm example is an article I came across about a wealthy retirement home (old people vote in substantial numbers, remember) that didn't like their corporate overlords of a holding company bleeding them dry (no, it wasn't Bain Capital), and filed suit to gain their independence. The judge struck it down immediately (a deal's a deal, and we own you, so we can do whatever the hell we want to you, was basically the gist of the decision) and the corporate overlords proceeded to fire most of the board of directors who sympathized with the residents, as well as the executive director. 

So under the Saturn-Pluto mutual reception, the plutocrats will continue their bad behavior of crushing people and property under their boot heel not only unabashed, but with even more backing and complicity by government (this will not by any means be limited to the United States, by the way, nor limited to one specific political party). Their financial orgies and looting and pillaging the country, to your detriment and at your expense, and with the government's ample help, has only just begun to kick into gear. You will be too busy trying to hang onto your home and your job (homelessness and food stamp use has skyrocketed the last four years) to do much about it anyway. And when someone does (Uranus in Aries), the plutocrats will crush it. For awhile.

But in 2.5 years, when Saturn enters Sadge around Christmas of 2014, it will eventually move up to trine the rebel planet Uranus at 12 degrees Aries (with Uranus inching closer to its conjunction to Eris), and as always, the pendulum will swing the other way. As for reform and restitution, well, you'll have to wait for Pluto in Aquarius for that. 

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9/9/12 Update: With the Uranus-Pluto square in the middle of all this, you can only expect the plutocrats to double down on the crazy. It would be funny if it didn't actually, you know, affect people's lives.

9/13/2012 UPDATE: The one year anniversary of #OWS will be #S17. See this flyer for details (http://s17nyc.org/files/2012/08/trifold0911201201.pdf) and the website (http://s17nyc.org/schedule/s17/) and the event chart below:

With the mix of late degrees rising (and on the angles) and a critical cardinal degree significator, the movement is starting Phase II while trying to hang on to some of its former glory.

Mercury ruling the ASC/protestors, is harshly aspected and still combust the Sun, and also moving up to T-square the Uranus-Pluto square, with the outlet leg in the 10th house of government/elections. So the pressure will be on as the candidates won't be able to ignore the movement so easily. The T-square will also coalesce the usual violence and inability to generate concrete change immediately. 

Mercury disposits Venus and the Sun, with Mercury as the final dispositor in the chart, so while better cooperation and organization will work in their favor, the plutocrats, as expected, still hold the upper hand. They are represented by Neptune retrograde with an out of sign trine to Saturn, and sextiling Pluto, so the status quo remains for now and they can sit back and watch with amusement and without consequence.

Makemake right on the ASC with the Sun in the 12th shows the movement is resurgent (Mercury at a 0 Libra is a critical cardinal degree) after a lengthy period of dormancy, ready to re-emerge to prominence (Gemini MC). The regenerated movement is going to have an effect on the U.S. election from here on out, as with the Moon trining Jupiter, people are still connected with the core themes the group stands for, which remain absolutely unaddressed by the Coke-Pepsi candidates running for president. Moon conjuncts Saturn before going void-of-course, so the candidates will have no choice but to listen, even as they quash the movement yet again.

Pluto is stationing direct in the chart as well, so watch the media's tightly controlled message and coverage (ruler of the 3rd in the 4th and intercepted) as they scrutinize the protester's motivation and question their relevancy yet again.

Horary Charts Can Show Much More Than The Specific Question Inquired About

Some horary astrologers claim that a horary chart can only answer the question exactly as asked, and no further information can be gleaned. This is completely untrue. 

In Joan McEvers' horary text, The Only Way to Learn about Horary and Electional Astrology, Vol. 6, she calls several questions asked at the same time about the same matter compounded questions, while describing questions about different subjects gleaned from the same chart as multiple questions. Both types are valid and return reliable answers, and she provides case studies of each in her text.

Always be on the lookout for details in a chart that give information about matters unrelated to what the querent is asking. They will literally jump out at you in spite of the storyline of the main question.

Below is an example of what McEvers would call multiple questions, though technically only one question was asked. The querent asked if her co-worker would take over the legal messenger business they both worked at, as the husband and wife co-owners were dealing with health issues due to advancing age. Since the subject of the question is about the co-worker, not the business, the eleventh house would be used as the co-worker's significator. 

With the Sun/Leo rulership as the co-worker's significator applying to sextile the Mars-Saturn conjunction in the derived 3rd house of contracts, and with Venus ruling the derived 3rd and derived MC, the deal was as good as done. The icing on the cake is the Moon's applying sextile to the Sun, and then its applying trines to the Mars-Saturn conjunction before going void-of-course. The only real complications were that the co-worker did not have the money to buy out the owners at that point in time (Venus-Pluto-Uranus T-square with the outlet leg in the derived 2nd house.) But with the Sun and Moon both in excellent shape, the co-worker would eventually be the business' successor.

Ooops. But wait a minute <sound of vinyl record being violently scratched>. Look at the ASC and the 1st house. The situation of the querent is literally screaming at the astrologer. While all looks well and good and profitable for the co-worker, THE QUERENT IS IN IMMINENT DANGER OF BEING FIRED! So who cares about who is going to run the place when the querent is in trouble!?!?!

The cardinal grand cross between  MC-Venus-Pluto-Uranus-ASC spells immediate trouble, as does Haumea applying to the ASC and on the Mars-ASC midpoint—something is about to be shattered. Makemake in the twelfth shows a time of repose after the damage is done. Eris in the 7th house (opposing Mars/1st) and Uranus retrograde on the 12th house side of the 7th house cusp shows she is likely to be abruptly dismissed by the wife/co-owner. 

So what was the outcome? Two days after the horary question was posed, the querent was fired. Why? Pluto and Venus/Querent in harsh aspect almost always involves triangles. It turns out the wife didn't like a comment (Pluto in the querent's 3rd house) the querent had made while joking (Jupiter-ruled 3rd house cusp) with the co-owner's husband about health issues during a company lunch (Mercury rules the derived 3rd of the wife/7th house, with Mercury in fall in Leo).  But with the Mars-Eris opposition forming a T-square with Varuna, and Jupiter and the Moon in Gemini in the wife/co-owner derived 3rd house, the joke wasn't the real reason given for the dismissal (to avoid a lawsuit, of course). The wife stated that the querent's work was flawless (Virgo ruling the derived sixth of employees), but her personality wasn't a good fit for the small Mom & Pop shop (Mars/7th house ruler/wife in detriment in Libra in the querent's first house.)

Shortly after the termination, the owners began leaving the co-worker inquired about in charge, as medical appointments and subsequent treament increased their absences. 

But, but, but...what about those lovely Moon aspects co-ruling the querent? And exalted Saturn ruling the 4th house? Wasn't all's well that ends well for the querent? Well, the querent joined some of her friends (Sun/11th) and volunteered for a high school summer program (Gemini/9th; Sun sextile the Moon) that the querent thoroughly enjoyed and wouldn't have been able to do had she not been fired. She also confessed that she didn't like the job or the co-owners, and stated she would have quit anyway if she hadn't been fired. 

So the bottom line here is that if a chart is screaming more information than the question asks for, pay attention and relay the information to the querent, especially if an unpleasant surprise (Uranus/Eris) awaits. 

Quick Answers to a Duo of Employment Horary & Event Charts

Modern horary technique provides a much faster and easier way to arrive at a correct conclusion than traditional astrology techniques can. Below is an employment horary question and job interview event chart that can be accurately assessed at a glance by ignoring traditional rules.

In the first chart, the question "Is there any employment imminent?" was posed.

Chart #1

With Neptune retrograde in rulership in the 12th, and the Moon trine the ASC in 5th, the querent has been happily ensconced at home,working on creative projects. But Venus squaring the ASC as ruler of the 2nd indicates that financial necessity is showing the need for employment to finance the creative projects.

A quick look at prospects shows that there's not a lot of options. The querent will not find a career-worthy position with Jupiter, ruler of the MC, in utter detriment by sign and house, and at the South Node to boot. Looking at the 6th house, ruled by Leo, Orcus is in there squaring MC ruler Jupiter, while the Moon is approaching a conjunction to the Sun after interference via square by intercepted Saturn in the 7th. The querent will clearly have to accept a position beneath her. This is affirmed by retrograde Mercury in the sixth in Fall in Leo, but rulership by house.

But with Quaoar in Sadge exactly conjunct the MC, and sextiling Saturn, she definitely will find employment soon. As far as timing, the Moon is a focal point of action in this chart more than Neptune, because all of the job or career significators in it (Jupiter, Venus, Sun, Quaoar, Saturn) disposit to the Moon in rulership.

So the timing the querent was given was this: within 11 days of the time of question [7/17/2012 was the date of horary question + 11 days (Sun's 26 degrees minus the Moon's 15 degrees leaves a difference of 11, and with both in cardinal Cancer, it would be days) = 7/28/12], a job would show up. This seemed impossible, as she had zero leads.

On 7/20/2012, three days after the time of the question asked in Chart 1, a job lead showed up. She pursued it and was invited to an interview, with the event chart for the interview as follows:

Chart #2

Makemake in late Virgo in the 1st house with Mars shows it's time to return to work after a very long (3+ years) repose without a traditional "day job", while she worked on her creative projects. Right away, three facts stand out in this chart:

1) Moon and Saturn conjunct in the 2nd means the pay will be awful.

2) The job, ruled by the 6th (since it's not a 10th house profession) house and Aquarius/Uranus, trines the querent's significator Mercury, in detriment and retrograde in the house of its exaltation, and combust the Sun.

3) Moon Ptolemaically void-of-course signifies it's a dead-end job, somewhat affirmed by the combustion to the Sun as ruler of the 12th and Mercury's fall/retrograde debilitation, all of which shows the desperation of the querent to be in that position to begin with.

So without a whole lot in this chart looking very good, as in a debilitated significator in Fall and retrograde, and a void-of-course Moon, you have to look to secondary indicators to draw the proper conclusion. This is where modern horary shines.

So, first of all, the Moon is Ptolemaically void-of-course according to traditional astrology. In reality, it's going to make a semi-sextile to Makemake in the 1st before it leaves its sign, signifying the end of the time off. Moon also disposits to Venus in the 10th, meaning the employers like her, since Venus disposits to Mercury, which disposits to the Sun in rulership by sign, but detriment by house. The Moon-Saturn sextile to Quaoar in the 4th house of outcome bodes well, too, to take the edge off the Uranus-Pluto square.

But most importantly, the querent was told that she was the first interview, and that interviews would also be held the following day, and a decision would be made at the end of that day. Talk about a quick turnaround! A quick look in the ephemeris shows the Moon void of course in its fall in Scorpio for most of the next day, when the other candidates would be interviewing. None of the other candidates would come close to touching the querent from a qualifications or experience standpoint (Moon-Saturn conjunction with Saturn exalted).

So what was the outcome? The querent was offered the job (and she accepted) on July 26 — nine days after the time the horary question in Chart 1 was asked, and one day after the interview event shown in Chart 2 — even though it's not a perfect situation or position. Interestingly, the Sun squared the querent's natal Jupiter (ruler of her natal 10th house) while simultaneously conjoining her 6th house cusp on the day the offer was extended. Sometimes the parallels of horary and natal charts are simply sublime, so never let any astrologer tell you that one type is better than or supersede's the other. A skilled astrologer can correctly predict an outcome with either.

Neptune in Pisces Points to the Solution of the Uranus-Pluto Square

When slow-moving planets (or other slow-moving bodies for that matter, such as KBOs) enter a new sign, it takes awhile for them to get their footing and establish the core paradigm that will play out during the era they are transiting that sign. Between 0 and 5 degrees, the planet is still laying the ground work and "introduction" for the drama yet to unfold in later degrees and years of the transit. 

With a lot of astrological attention currently focused on the seven partile Uranus-Pluto squares over the next few years, along with Saturn and Pluto's mutual reception beginning in October (remember, Pluto is not a planet, but does rule Scorpio in modern astrology), Neptune's transit through its home sign of Pisces can disappear into the background and therefore be seriously overlooked. 

Big mistake. It's front-and-center by hiding in plain sight in the intense outer solar system drama currently unfolding. Neptune in Pisces is pointing to the core issue that needs to be addressed in order to RESOLVE the turmoil of its more malefic neighbors on either side. Namely:

“Imagine the problem is not physical. Imagine the problem has never been physical, that it is not biodiversity, it is not the ozone layer, it is not the greenhouse effect, the whales, the old-growth forest, the loss of jobs, the crack in the ghetto, the abortions, the tongue in the mouth, the disease stalking everywhere as love goes on unconcerned.

Imagine the problem is not some syndrome of our society that can be solved by commissions or laws or a redistribution of what we call wealth. Imagine that it goes deeper, right to the core of what we call our civilization and that no one outside of ourselves can effect real change, that our civilization, our government are sick and that we are mentally ill and spiritually dead — that all our issues are crises are symptoms of this deeper sickness.

The problem is that we cannot imagine a future where we possess less but are more.”

                — ©1995 Charles Bowden, from his book Blood Orchid, as reprinted in Adbusters "Big Ideas of 2011" issue.

 Or, another way to put Uranus square Pluto, Neptune in Pisces artistically/visually:

Image of police battling Greek rioters courtesy of and © Crimethinc.com

Transiting Neptune in Pisces is beginning its Orcus opposition in the U.S. Sibly chart (below) in the 3rd-9th house axis. This will ultimately form a grand cross with the U.S. natal Orcus-Uranus-Haumea T-square, which shows that the themes of Uranus-Pluto (economic exploitation, oppression, and plutocracy) aren't even new or recent, but INHERENT in the lifeblood of the country with roots in the days of slavery! In cadent houses, they swirl like a mist in the background until harsh transits blow an ill wind through the country's history. Or present and future.

So the outer solar system is going to be calling the (heavy) shots astrologically for a long time to come. (Talk about having to give up the illusion of having immense personal control in life!) Fear not, though, as oases will spring up in everyone's lives as the inner solar system planets fleetingly come to the rescue periodically with their transits. It's already starting to spark as a potential solution to the foreclosure situation that bypasses Wall Street entirely is gaining momentum.

More to come...

How to Get Through the Seven Partile Squares of Uranus-Pluto (Through 2015) Without Really Trying

Forewarned is forearmed through the changes and upheaval ahead. In some ways, both personally and on a larger scale, it won't be as bad as originally thought. And in other ways, it will be far worse than anyone could have imagined. It's a wild swing of extremes. But there's no need to fear; as old-time radio personality Paul Harvey once noted, "In times like these, it is good to remember that there have always been times like these." 

If it's true that predicting the future is nothing more than making a realistic assessment of the past, then you don't really need astrology to see what's ahead. Just take a clear and honest look at the problems in your own life, in your community, in your part of the world, and in the world at large. And what needs to be done about them. And the gap in between, meaning the resistance to making the changes to resolve them. Here is a perfect example on the larger scale:

"The United States today lacks the policy postures necessary to address climate change, migration, and conflict in a systematic and proactive manner."

Scientists and analysts at the Pentagon agree. (See also: http://bit.ly/dZT12w and http://bit.ly/Xd8Gr)

At its simplest, the Uranus-Pluto square is economic havoc—plutocracy, debt, market rigging and crashes—and the battle against them, as well as the struggle to survive and bounce back from it all at the individual level. It's a rude awakening and living life on the edge with no going back to the old ways of life. Ever. Not even after 2015. It's an enforced march forward into the unknown, and not always for the better.

Since you won't be free from the cyclone around you (no matter how rich you are, or how many cans of food you have stored), you'll have to find a way to find peace within the storm via whatever your preferred method of handling turmoil (meditation, heavy drugs, etc.). Below are ten keys to understand, cope with, and eventually prevail over the Uranus-Pluto square.

1)  Realize that you are not in total control. Circumstances will often dictate the moment and the response. This is especially true financially. Expect permanent, long-term changes in your life that are not comfortable or necessarily for the better. This can range from foreclosure, job loss, etc., to loss of earning power, increased debt or bankruptcy, lower standards of living and relationship endings.

2)  Here's a crystal-clear idea of what Pluto troubles look like up close and personal, courtesy of astrologer Anne Beversdorf, via her article entitled "Meeting the Pluto Archetype," which originally appeared in the Mountain Astrologer in 2009:

You don’t need an astrological chart and an ephemeris to know you’re dancing with Pluto.    Here’s a short list of Pluto Symptoms:

IF YOU FEEL LIKE THIS IT MUST BE PLUTO.

1. How DARE they! 

2. It’s Not Fair.  It’s Not RIGHT.  I WILL make them stop.

3. Obsessed.  You can’t get this issue out of your mind.

4. They WON’T get away with this.

5. 40 jillion get-even fantasies.

6. 30 jillion get-it-back-to-how-it-used-to-be fantasies.

7. Boiling blood each time you think about it (which is all the time).

8. Freezing blood when you think there’s nothing you can do.

9. How DARE they!   …

So expect to feel like that a lot for a few years. And just know it's perfectly normal.

3)  Uranus in Aries is the battle against compliance, as astrologer Michael Lutin has so aptly put it. You want to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, but Pluto's in the way compounding the obstacles as fast as your frustration level can rise. Interestingly, Lutin calls attention to using the midpoint of the square (a.k.a. a semisquare, currently 23 degrees Aquarius) as the outlet for the square. So wherever you have 23 Aquarius natally, that's a refuge point from the tension. Unless of course, it triggers other parts of the chart harshly (e.g., Moon 23 Scorpio, a square which makes the stress unbearably intense and personal, such as a relationship betrayal.).

4)  Activations by transit. Every time a planet travels through a cardinal sign over the next few years, the Uranus-Pluto square will activate a flash point, both personally (when the Moon hits it four times a month) and in the world (when planets transit). A cardinal grand cross with the Sun and Moon joining the Uranus-Pluto square in late June dialed up the anxiety for everyone, as a harbinger for the upcoming Mars-Uranus-Pluto T-square over the coming week. Expect a jolt in late September when planets transit Libra to form another T-square, with the outlet leg again in Cancer. Power struggles will really intensify at the end of the year when planets transiting Capricorn line up behind Pluto, and with extra zing because Saturn will be mutually recepting Pluto when it begins its Scorpio transit.

5)  At the personal level, the Uranus-Pluto square will force you to make changes you would normally eschew because they are outside of your conditioned comfort zone.

6)  Expect loss. Pluto in Capricorn disposits to Saturn in its final months of Libra. It's about endings, not new beginnings. Then, when Saturn ingresses into Scorpio in October, it will both mutually recept AND sextile Pluto. But there's a catch: Saturn will still be via combust for awhile. So there will be enforced, constructive changes, but at a stressful cost.

7)  Face the fact that things cannot continue as they were. There's no going back. The changes are long-term and permanent. Grieve and move on; don't wallow.

8)  The stress will NOT last forever; just a few years intensely, and at times, very uncomfortable. And as the Uranus-Pluto square transits closer to Eris at 22-23 degrees Aries, things will get worse before they get better. That's how tremendous, slow, deep, permanent change works. There are no overnight results. Check out astrologer Bill Herbst's thorough and in-depth histories of this specific type of transit in his archives.  (Note these especially: http://billherbst.com/News120.pdf , http://billherbst.com/News80.pdf , http://billherbst.com/News81.pdf ).

9)  The ray of hope, the saving grace throughout it all, is Neptune in Pisces. At home, in rulership, it's above it all, sextiling Pluto and semi-sextiling Uranus. Hold on to your dreams and keep the faith in spite of the turmoil, and when you're down and out, Neptune will send a ray of light out of nowhere to give you hope. It can also bring an outright miracle, or an enormous desire to escape, depending on other factors in your natal chart. Know that there will be days of peace sandwiched in between the strife.

10)  Look back on your life pre-Pluto in Capricorn; before January 2008, and after. How is your life better, and how is it worse? What did you have to part with that you thought you couldn't live without, and are now glad to be rid of? Remember the pain and anguish?

Now imagine that on a larger, worldwide scale for awhile and you'll have the essence of the transit.