Earth Signs: Virgo and Taurus Face the Music Together:
We have all heard and used the words: “Let’s get real.” We have also given and received the good advice: “We need to come down to earth.” The sign of Virgo (mutable earth) symbolizes the quintessential curious person who comes face to face with pragmatic reality — and Taurus (fixed earth) has its back! Whether we launch the questions: “Where’s the beef” or “What’s the cost?”, we are now tuning into the Virgo section of our charts and Taurus evaluates the entire system presenting an accounting of profits or losses.
Since this is the season of harvest in the Northern Hemisphere, historically, the Virgo’s job is to sort out and harvest the crops, evaluating whether the food is safe to eat or must be thrown out. Cleanliness and order are important to this sign, which is why health and medicine are often fields of interest for the Virgos. They are not afraid of work. In fact, many Virgos work so hard, that they have to pay attention to their own health and consciously make an effort to organize their time to include rest.
When it comes to investing in financial markets, this is not a sign concerned with “luck” gambling, or speculating, which is why September is generally a “down” month for the stock market which reveals all the economic flaws and stumbling blocks. In short: the Devil is in the details!
The Virgo New Moon this year (Sept. 15) happens to trine Uranus in Taurus, pointing to profits in residential real estate and new technologies, possibly installed within private housing. The Sabian Degree (quoted from “The Zodiac by Degrees” by Martin Goldsmith) associated with this New Moon is: “A coat of arms over the stone gateway of a manor with a prominent Latin motto. Standing in the gateway, the woman of the house gives a warm welcome to a visitor.” But its opposition to Neptune (the stuff dreams are made of) a few days later will reveal that fantasy does not necessarily equal reality, so watch out!
Venus in Leo (fire) is square Jupiter in Taurus (earth) on the 17th and is square Uranus in Taurus on the 29th. Unfortunately, this points to the possibility of more fires, extreme heat, and catastrophic storms.
Mercury goes direct on the 15th, moving projects forward that have been held up or put aside. By the first week of October, it will trine Pluto, which, along with Venus sextile Mars, will settle some of the worker strikes. Including the writers-actors strikes in Hollywood that have been going on during the Summer. This is the time to make deals and settle conflicts.
The Virgo (health) emphasis points to possible viral epidemics returning, so it is important for persons in the high-risk category to get their vaccinations. Virgo rules the intestines, so it is important for people with disorders in this area to get the medical care they need.
Weather and Natural Events:
The dangerous weather events I discussed in last month’s newsletter presented themselves in the horrible, massively destructive fire in Lahaina, Maui, HI, the worst fire in the US in over 100 years. Severe heat, drought, and extremely high winds, combined with an electrical fire are thought to be behind this tragic event. The highly unusual hurricane that moved up the coast of the Pacific from Mexico into California has not been seen in this locale since 1939. As mentioned above, Venus goes direct in Leo and is in this sign through early Oct., Severe heat waves continue, increasing the danger of fires. Storm systems, likely on the East Coast, are moving forward again from the end of this month into the first week of October.
The 60th Anniversary of of the March on Washington promoting the Civil Rights Act, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. was celebrated last month. It is a sober reminder of the fact we have not come very far as racism, entrenched poverty, and failed efforts at education, are all still with us.
Trump – Indictments and Trials:
The Trump Cartel is using all this publicity (including his mug shot) to keep the Trump Reality Show going on the media, i.e. hate the government, prosecute and investigate the prosecutors, and promote their motto: “Keep hate alive!” Between November and December, things will be getting darker for the Trump campaign.
The Economy:
The hawkish Fed raised interest rates again last month in another effort to slow inflation and the effects will be felt this month. Financial markets historically tend to move downward in September and October. Uncertainties in stock values, real estate, and wobbly regional banks will come home to roost this month. Last month’s newsletter reported on the massive amount of debt this nation’s population has assumed. It was officially reported by the government in August that the collective personal debt of US citizens has risen to over $1 Trillion!
On Aug. 9, CNBC Finance reported: “A new issue highlighted by Moody’s may cast a pall over banks. They’ve been forced to pay customers more for deposits at a pace that outstrips growth in what they earn from loans. The boost from higher rates was fleeting, evaporating in the first quarter of this year, when bank failure jolted depositors out of their complacency and growth in net interest margin turned negative. In company-specific reports, Moody’s said it had placed US Bank under review for a downgrade for reasons including its ‘rising deposit costs and increased use of wholesale funding.”
We also need to confront the rising waves of online lending institutions, competing with the banks, that are not insured by the FDIC, and would not be able to insure or support themselves if borrowers cannot pay their debts.
Overall, crises will present themselves into a November climax that may present a high probability of a crash on Wall Street. However, there will likely be a recovery between December and January, when bullish Sagittarius planets present themselves and ward off recession.
With Neptune’s transit in Pisces making multiple aspects, be prepared for confusion!
Foreign Relations and the Multi-polar World:
Pres. Biden made an effective and most important move last month to forge a strong alliance between the US, Japan., and South Korea. This, along with strengthening and enlarging NATO, has been done to discourage invasions that have been launched by Russia and those threatened by No. Korea and China, whose giant military capabilities loom not only over Taiwan, but over most of Asia.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine should remind us of the necessity of these coalitions. With Uranus in Taurus, it would remind us of the 1930s when Hitler rose to invade European nations. With the weapons of mass destruction that have been developed, strong coalitions involving the US may discourage matters from getting worse, without which vulnerable democratic nations in these regions could be invaded and conquered. It was announced last month that the US, The Netherlands, and Denmark are all shipping F-16s to the Ukrainians, but extensive training has to take place before they can be used. This month into October, there may be attempts made to make a peace agreement. Last month, Putin eliminated Wagner Group leader and rebel, Prigozhin, reasserting his control over all factions. He is not making progress in the war. The new F-16s he knows are coming to the Ukrainians and the Russian economy is suffering from the sanctions. Another blow to their national pride came when Russia’s attempt to land a lunar rocket failed last month. Putin’s chart is suffering Uranus square his Pluto in the 10th House of Career and Neptune is square multiple progressions into Sagittarius in his second house of finances.
Nations all over the African Continent are suffering. With the recent military takeover of Niger, overthrowing their democratically elected government, we are reminded of failed states in Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia (now run by a dictator), Mali, Burkina Faso, Libya, and the horrible civil war in Syria, still under the dominance of Assad, who has murdered over a third of his population. Russia is behind many of these national disasters. They supply military weapons to terrorists and rebels. In addition, the Islamic State is still a presence in these regions.
China’s Premier, XI Jinping skipped his speech at the recent BRICs meeting. The current transits in Virgo are not health-friendly in his chart (Sun in Gemini) this month. The transit of Pluto into Aquarius next year, crossing the Ascendant and Moon of the chart of China would present huge changes and crises in leadership on the horizon.
Japan announced last month that they are releasing previously stored and contaminated water from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, into the Pacific Ocean, claiming it has been cleaned up. The question remains how you clean up nuclear pollution that essentially remains for hundreds of years.
India launched a successful rocket to the moon last month. Their economy is growing. However, the gap between the super-rich and the very poor is larger than ever in this nation. Prime Minister Bodi is increasingly autocratic. Massive flooding and severe droughts due to climate change are taking a major toll on this nation.
The nation of Israel is still showing signs of a major civil conflict with regard to the powers of their Supreme Court v. their Prime Minister. They need to actually create a constitution but are so conflicted with one another, that this would seem impossible at this point. Uranus in Taurus points to all these upheavals.
Science and Technology:
It was recently announced to the media that “US scientists achieve net energy gain for second time in nuclear fusion reaction.” The Laurence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility achieved the feat by using lasers to fuse atoms. This is the site that was used to make the hydrogen bomb back in the Cold War years and is now being used to achieve the “holy grail” of clean, infinite energy.
Physicist Michio Kaku has formed a term: “quantum supremacy” to describe the move from digital to “quantum” computing. AI (artificial intelligence), which has been with us for some time is now expanding beyond anything we have ever seen or contemplated before. In the September Issue of Scientific American, there is a very interesting article by George Musser entitled “An AI Mystery.” They report: “Researchers are struggling to understand how artificial intelligence models know things no one told them.” This article is worth reading as it answers some of our questions as to how a machine “thinks”. In recent decades, as the internet has expanded into an AI capacity never seen before, we have seen the result of non-examined or unregulated information posted online on social media and “dark websites” that are frequently behind criminal activities. Much of this has resulted in violence, hatred, attempts to overthrow the government, mass shootings, and even suicides passing over our nation in massive waves. The looming question is: How can we be assured that all this “quantum” information is reliably constructive and absolutely true?
In the May 2023 Issue of Scientific American, an article by Philip Ball was published entitled: “Designing Life”. It reports: “Synthetic morphology is enabling scientists to coax living matter into shapes and forms never seen in nature.” There is a lot of speculation with respect to non-living entities “taking over the world”, such as quantum computers and robots. These realms of scientific achievement transcend all this and would remind us of Aldous Huxley’s famous novel, “Brave New World”. The article reports “Much of synthetic biology involves genetic engineering to introduce networks of genes that give cells new functions, such as manufacturing enzymes to make a nonnatural molecule. Synthetic morphology works at the next level: controlling the shapes and forms into which many cells will assemble. Using the cells of multicellular organisms (like us), the technology might allow scientists to design entirely new tissues, organs, bodies, and even organisms by exploiting the tremendous versatility and plasticity of form and function that seem to reside in living matter. “ The coming breakthroughs in medicine that are predicted with Pluto going into Aquarius and Uranus going into Gemini (2025-26) are so spectacular we can barely conceive of what lies ahead.
In the September 2023 Issue of Scientific American, an article entitled Next-Gen CRISPR and the Future of Gene Editing” was published, about Emmanuelle Charpentier. “As a chief architect of formative CRISPR research, Emmanuelle Charpentier shared the 2018 Kavlre Prize in Nanoscience with Jennifer Doudna and Virginjus Siksnys – followed by a 2020 Novel prize with Doudna. Charpentier talked with Scientific American Custom Media about how to harness the full power of CRISPR to fortify crops against the impacts of climate change; how to accelerate the treatment of infectious and genetic diseases; and what lies ahead for science itself.” It is worth your time to read this article in full. All this reflects the profound promise of the Age of Aquarius!
Final Thoughts:
This is the time when we are indisputably confronted with a fact. Human nature is now a threat to nature! The consequences of our release of greenhouse gases and massive amounts of chemical pollution into the environment; the infantile, selfish, and short-sighted behaviors that create economies for the super-rich only, the subversion of critical thinking, and electing really bad leaders; the looming threat of wars brewing with massively destructive weapons in multiple nations throughout the world, are all signs that our current “nature” doesn’t work anymore. We are confronted with two choices – extinction or evolution!
I am of the belief that we can actually change our so-called “nature.” The better sides of our minds and hearts are intrinsic and have expressed themselves nobly for centuries through the contributions of great men and women. It is time for an evolutionary leap in human consciousness that produces societies that are healing, constructive, intellectually advanced, and spiritually attuned to the greater reality.
The world awaits us!
Blessings to all,
Linda
Important Points of Reference for Astrologers:
New Moon at 21 degrees Virgo trine Uranus and opposition Neptune on Sep. 15; Full Moon at 6 degrees Aries Sept. 29; Venus in Leo is square Jupiter in Taurus Sept. 16 and is sextile Mars in Libra Sept. 28; Mercury goes direct in Virgo Sept. 15, is trine Jupiter Sept. 25 and is trine Uranus Sept. 30; Mars in Libra is inconjunct Jupiter Sept. 16 and is inconjunct Uranus Sept. 30; Neptune is semisextile the North Node and inconjunct the South Node Sept. 1; Venus is trine Chiron Sept. 24: The Autumnal Equinox
