Important Points of Reference for Astrologers:
Full Moon at 19 degrees Gemini square Neptune on Dec. 12; Lunar Eclipse at 4 degrees Capricorn conjunct Jupiter and the Lunar South Node and is trine Uranus Dec. 26; Mercury in Scorpio is sextile Pluto Dec. 1, enters Sagittarius Dec. 9 and is square Neptune Dec. 19; Mars in Scorpio is trine Neptune Dec. 13, is sextile Saturn Dec. 19 and is sextile Pluto Dec. 22; Venus in Capricorn is sextile Neptune Dec. 8, is conjunct Saturn Dec. 11, and in conjunct Pluto Dec. 13, Venus goes into Aquarius Dec. 19 and is square Uranus Dec. 22 and is inconjunct the North Node Dec. 26.
The Coming Great Conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn Jan. 12, 2020 (joined by Jupiter and Mars in March 2020)
The Grim Reaper or the Gate Keeper
The astrological “sign” of Capricorn is an area to be taken very seriously. Being “earth ruled”, It sees reality through the lens consisting of deciphering exactly who is in charge; in control; holding things together; the very structure and foundations of governance, the top levels of corporations, banks, political circles, its symbolism encompassing the “architecture and structure of everything.” Along with the sign of Aquarius, it presides over the various fields of science in the sense of analyzing, weighing, measuring, determining and proving the boundaries encompassing what we call material reality. Capricorn substantiates the “establishment”. Yet, it is also capable of testing what is broadly accepted in its particular realm and actually upending those who were previously in charge, bringing about revolutions in society that soon will be followed by the “maverick” sign of Aquarius.
The last time Pluto transited Capricorn, the American Revolution took place and with it, ushered in the “Age of Enlightenment” and the inventive and scientific components of the Industrial Revolution. Great Britain lost its American colonies, and a valiant attempt was made to create a democracy; a government by and for its people; a nation no longer governed by monarchies. It was also a nation whose economy depended upon slave labor, who justified killing the native tribes that were here before, and whose women were not allowed to vote or hold office. As Pluto moved into Aquarius, America won the Revolutionary War. This was followed by the French Revolution which happened, in part, ironically, because France bankrupted itself by helping to finance the American Revolution. In the end, the establishment became disestablished!
History Rhymes!
Our “parent nation”, the UK, is currently going through a painful “Brexit” in order to leave the European Union. This decision is threatening its own cohesiveness with England, Scotland, Northern and Southern Ireland- all disagreeing about the conditions of this decision- with their legislature and prime ministers seemingly at odds with one another. Faced with a modern global economy that some see as being at odds with the interests of the nation itself, the people are in a revolutionary mode and are finding it difficult to agree on anything.
Here in the US, we are waging a similar battle with ourselves. Since the 1970s, our economy has been taking a series of “hits” as jobs have been lost to cheap labor in nations abroad, automation has eliminated entire sectors of the labor force, and the largest corporations became global. The advent of the internet and all its ensuing technology has amplified and expanded corporations moving away from local economies. Long term decisions on the parts of heads of corporations have moved us in the direction of the “financialization” of the economy, abandoning making high quality products, supporting a workforce, and investing in research and development. This has resulted in American companies currently sitting on a record $15 trillion debt, roughly equivalent to about 2/3 of US GDP. The debt has been used to jack up stock prices through dividends, stock buybacks and acquisitions – not used to finance business expansion. All this has created a billionaire class that owns over 80% of this nation’s wealth, yet has lowered wages and the standard of living of the vast majority of citizens. It also risks a general collapse of the economy due to unsupportable debt.
Homelessness is the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s. We have historically low unemployment, yet, nearly half of this nation’s population lives at or below the poverty line. Many people work two jobs, both at such low wages they cannot afford housing or health insurance. CBS News recently released a new study that found that 70% of US citizens are struggling financially. Personal credit card debt is the largest in our nation’s history, that includes and encompasses college loan debts never seen before. Auto loans are going into default.
Our infrastructure involving roads, highways, sewers, waterways, public education, and health care are falling apart due to the loss of tax revenues, and there is currently legislation being written to cut Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.. The opioid addiction epidemic (created by big pharma) is the worst crisis of drug abuse in our history. Suicides and overdoses have actually lowered the average life expectancy in the US for the first time in modern history.
Giant banks that precipitated the crash of 2008 and the so-called Great Recession were bailed out by taxpayers. They continue to finance the greatest corporate debt in our history in order to “prop up” a stock market bubble that consists mainly of corporate stock “buy backs”. Huge mergers in financial services have been happening for years, as illustrated by the recent merger of Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade. The tax reduction for billionaires passed two years ago is bankrupting an already stressed government system of social safety nets like Social Security, unemployment insurance, disability, Medicare, and Medicaid, thus our nation’s sovereign debt is the largest in our history.
Global climate change looms over us as our use of fossil fuels and unrestrained chemical, nuclear, and plastic pollution threatens life as we know it. This is a reality never seen or confronted before by any human civilization. As a result, many are so overwhelmed by the magnitude of all this, they prefer to deny it altogether!
The Big Question – Should we reform the system or blow it up?
The Trump administration is implementing policies that clearly comes down on the side of “blow it up.” Imposing huge tariffs on China, breaking up all previous trade agreements, multiple violations of the Constitution and imposing autocratic rule, bowing out of the Paris Climate Accord, refusing to enforce all environmental laws ensuring clean air and water, imprisoning immigrants and refugees, stoking racial and ethnic hatreds, refusing to collaborate with the most important NATO alliance, and withdrawing from our support of the Kurds paving the way for Russia to dominate the Middle East and control the global price of oil – all point to moving us toward a collapse of America’s influence and credibility.
Many people who have worked in the Trump administration are speaking out about what they think is his volatility and mental instability. This would bring back memories of “Mad King George”, the monarch of England at the time of the American Revolution. All this is surfacing as the impeachment process is going on in Washington with regard to Trump’s “extortion” of the Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden’s son, Hunter’ who served on the board of an oil company there – in order to help his re-election in 2020. My take is that this will all fall apart in the Senate and that those who support Trump will not change their positions. Capricorn is a sign that holds onto its position, tends to divide itself into “tribes” and, frequently, thinks in “absolutes.”
Trump supporters believe in his promise to “make America great again.” His emphasis on blaming “the other” whether is is immigrants, people of color, people of different religions or people from other nations, give his words great appeal and is right out of the propaganda handbook of 20th century dictators.
The Democrats sold out their traditional positions years ago, supported the banking giants and their “speculative ventures” and the mega-corporations. They have too often been “tone deaf” to the millions that have lost their jobs, their economic security, and support for their children’s future. They are fighting among themselves with respect to those who wish to be “moderate” and those who are firmly in the camp of Progressives concerning health care, social support systems, infrastructure repairs, and education.
Many citizens in America believe they should simply have access to the success of their parents’ generation enjoyed and are not interested in “handouts”. The recent backlash tariffs on our farm products from China, along with flooding and climate catastrophes, have bankrupted many of our farmers, but all they want is not subsidies but the ability to sell what they grow. Their position in electing Trump is understandable simply because they were angry and fed up with Washington, which seemed totally corrupted and no longer acting in their interests. This brings up the old revolutionary cry ‘ taxation without representation.”
My predictions as we march into the 2020s:
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The Age of Fossil Fuel will come to an end as nuclear fusion becomes a reality in both large and small chambers all over the world. It will be complemented by near perfect batteries, solar technologies, hydrogen fuel cells, windmills and wave technologies, but fusion will ultimately produce pollution-free, virtually limitless amounts of electricity all over the world. I think we will see this come together by 2026. - )
Due to climate changes, there will be more civil wars, and more mass migrations from nations turned into deserts, island nations sinking under the ocean, and economic crises will make it increasingly difficult to absorb immigrants in the safer locales. We have been witnessing this trend (I predicted in my first book, “What Next” published in 2007) in recent years and it has, unfortunately, led to hatreds and resentments of migrants by the citizens of these nations. Economies will be in major trouble. There will be a reduction of the human population globally for the first time in over a century. - )
The ideal of democracy will be tested and will move away from a federal centralized control to local governments with greater citizen participation. “Green” cities will develop in locations inland, to a place of elevation, that have inland supplies of fresh water and tracts of fertile farmland. The old model of tract houses in impersonal suburbs surrounded by ugly malls and parking lots will be replaced with more compact communities giving more personal attention to passive architecture, solar arrays, and well designed public parks. Since technology will replace over half of this nation’s workforce, local smaller businesses will thrive. Our currently de-personalized and warehousing education system will move away from training only for corporate employment toward training people to be self-employed and more personally self-actualized. - )
The current economic giants are the US and China. I do not see them “making a trade deal” of consequence. Many people see China overtaking America because of their huge population and massive technological development. They are run by an absolute military dictatorship and, as illustrated by the recent revolution and democratic voting in Hong Kong, this will be challenged. Their recent detention and persecution of the Uighurs illustrates their forbidding of the practice of any religion since the Communist Revolution. China has been building Capitalistic enterprises within a Communist (government controlled) framework. They have also incurred massive sovereign wealth debt, as has the US. Both nations will likely go through a severe economic recession, upheavals within their governments, and will be battling the effects of pollution (especially China) and climate emergencies. Their current rulers will eventually have to go, but for now will be holding on to the “bitter end.” - )
Russia under Putin has been implementing a master plan” to throw the US into the chaos that in the 1990s broke up the Soviet Union. Pres. Trump has withdrawn from nearly every agreement led internationally by the US since the end of WW II, as I described above. Russia is now the most powerful nation in the Middle East region that controls the global price of oil. Ironically, as we eventually move out of the Age of Fossil Fuels, this region will become less consequential and climate catastrophes (temperatures rising and rivers and aquifers drying up) that have already begun there will take their toll. Russia’s only economy is based on oil and their failure to move in different directions will eventually lead to the overthrow of their present leaders. Russia will have another “revolution” of its populace in the 2020s. - )
I believe that we will see the end of the age of “super powers” in the 21st century. With massive technological developments continuing to evolve, the assured “mutual self destruction” that accompanied Cold War nuclear weapons development will likely emerge as we are already seeing a new high tech Cold War between China and the US that will force us to stop and take stock of where we are all going. The protests we are witnessing now throughout the world to displace current corrupt governments and institute climate change solutions will accelerate. - )
I will continue with my analysis of the 2020s in the January 2020 Newsletter!
Final Thoughts:
This is the season of endings and beginnings. Hanukkah, Christmas, and the Celebrations of the Winter Solstice have been with us for centuries and seek to unite people around the world to join hands and hearts to make peace and radiate hope as all the lights come on, reminding us of the stars in the cosmos and the wondrous miracle of life on earth. In an age of chaos, we are reminded that we are all united by the gift of life and all created and recreated out of the universe itself.
The divine consciousness is here within each and every one of us. The pain and suffering; the seemingly impossible decisions we must make to save ourselves; the waves of fear and darkness we all experience individually and together – is known and understood by all that is greater than ourselves. By reaching out and giving the gift of love to all those we know, we suddenly find ourselves embraced by a light where it all becomes so clear and almost too beautiful to comprehend.
Have a wondrous holiday season!
