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:

1. )
     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.
2. )
    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.
3. )
    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.
4. )
    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.”
5. )
    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.
6. )
    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.
7. )
    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!

Full Moon at 29 degrees Taurus on Nov. 12^th trine Pluto; New Moon at 4 degrees Sagittarius on Nov. 26^th inconjunct Uranus; Mercury retrograde in Scorpio goes direct on Nov. 20^th, is trine Neptune on Nov. 27^th and is sextile Saturn on the 29^th; Mars square Pluto on Nov. 6^th and is sextile Jupiter Nov. 14^th; Venus is square Neptune Nov. 14^th, is conjunct Jupiter Nov. 24^th; and in trine Uranus on Nov. 28^th; Mars in Scorpio is opposition Uranus Nov. 24^th.

Scorpio and its servant Pluto – Endings and Beginnings:

The ancient God of the Underworld in Greek mythology was Pluto – the God cast out of Olympus and forced to guard all souls in the “afterlife” whose fate rested in his hands and at his “discretion”. People in the ancient world often brought gifts to graves in order to intercede in the fate of their dead relatives and, perhaps, to incur favor with him so their own passage into the next world would be easier. He was famous for “making deals.” Thus, arose the notion of making a “bargain with the Devil” and negotiating a “settlement” with him, whose wealth was enormous from all the wealth donated to him by so many people through all the ages. In return. Pluto helps them accrue wealth in their lifetimes, paves the way to an easy death, but now “owns” their souls.

Pluto was also the god who kidnapped Persephone, the beloved daughter of Demeter, the Goddess of Nature. He took her into his underground kingdom and made her, against her will, his wife. As a backlash, Demeter, “brought Winter over all the earth” (an ice age) which neither humanity nor the gods were happy about. Thus, came another negotiation. Pluto and Demeter worked out a “custody” agreement in which Persephone would rise up at the Vernal equinox in the Spring to be with her mother and ascend underground to be with Pluto at the Autumnal Equinox, bringing on the Fall and the Winter. Thus, nature dies in the Fall and is resurrected in the Spring.

For all my astrologer friends and associates, currently, Mercury, the communicator, is transiting Pluto ruled Scorpio, is retrograde and goes direct Nov. 20^th, transiting through the sign until Dec. 8^th. Mars goes into Scorpio Nov. 19^th, transiting through the sign until January 2^nd, 2020, immediately preceding the Pluto/Saturn conjunction on Jan. 12^Th, right after the Lunar Eclipse in Cancer on January 10^th. How many souls will Pluto capture in this time period?

We may turn to the analysis of the Sabian Degrees of the Zodiac put into a more modern context by Martin Goldsmith in his book “The Zodiac by Degrees.” This significant Pluto/Saturn conjunction takes place in the 23^rd degree of Capricorn, which Goldsmith describes as: “A respected leader pushes his way to the podium and delivers a rousing oration to a group of citizens.” I cannot think of a better description of what we all know lies ahead in the United States2020presidential election!

We are already seeing the “dark side” of politics emerge as accusations, scandals, secret bargains in exchange for favors, are all emerging as the “dirt” flies on the media landscape. More horrors are emerging in the Middle East as Turkey got the “go ahead” from Pres. Trump to bomb and secure its border, eliminating the long established protection for the Kurds, who fought valiantly with American soldiers for years to shut down ISIS and now hate the US, seeing us as having betrayed them. Turkey considers the Kurds “terrorists” and do not distinguish between those who fought with us from other sects. Trump then threatened Turkey with “sanctions” that were withdrawn, and the flip-flop drama goes on and on. Meanwhile, the US military found Aba Al-Hassan Baghdadi, the international head of ISIS, who blew up himself with his children while fleeing. The military also now claims they killed his “successor.”

There are clear “winners” in all this. Russia, a Scorpio nation, and its leader, Vladimir Putin, who has Scorpio rising in his astrological chart, continue to expand their power and influence in the whole region. President of Turkey, Erdogan had a meeting last month with Putin and established control over the Syrian border, completing their goal without any interference of the US who, under Pres. Trump, has capitulated and given up any control over this region except for a smaller military presence to “protect the oil fields” from ISIS. Putin’s ally, Assad, has cemented his control over Syria, and both of these nations are allied with Iran, our supposedly, declared enemy. Trump, once again, is handing power over to his pal, Putin, and allowing Russia to become the most powerful nation in this region that, in case we have forgotten, controls the price of oil globally. This has been Putin’s plan ever since he interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help get Trump into office, creating chaos and dissent in the US and immobilize the United States as a world power. All this plays out as “The Art of the Deal” with the Devil.

Meanwhile, the House movement toward impeachment continues as more people reveal Trump’s attempted “deal” with the Ukrainian president to dig up “dirt” on Biden’s son Hunter and threatening withholding funds for their war on the Russian front. In a court of law, this is referred to as “extortion.” He sees Biden as the biggest threat in the 2020 election and who knows what he will try to dig up on other Democratic candidates. Trump on national television openly admitted he will also attempt to “get” Biden and his previous connections in China. Using his power to solicit help from foreign nations for his personal political gain the Democrats consider an impeachable offense. His private “consigliere”, Rudy Guliani is now being exposed for his lies and corrupt practices.

Pres. Trump has an ongoing mighty “saga” with his so-called deal-making with China. Financial markets shoot upward when he “announces” progress, and fall sharply down when no real progress is made. Chinese President Xi Jinping has consolidated his power into a dictatorship, suppressing all dissent as their economy worsens because of the imposing of US tariffs, their enormous unpaid debts, pig farmers there who have suffered their animals being hit by a Swine Flu that has decimated their pork markets, and the appetite of China’s customers for exports that have diminished. As history has taught us, their failing economy will only make them more aggressive and militaristic. They will not “give in” to Trump’s strong- arming technique.

The Federal Reserve recently purchased huge amounts of US Treasuries, not seen since 2009 emergency following the crash of 2008 as “near zero” interest rates are threatening the bond market. On Oct. 22^nd, the Fed pumped $99.9 billion in temporary liquidity into the market to “ease stresses” brought on by a tightening credit market. On Oct. 24^th, the bank upped that to $134 billion. The reverse yield curve, the fall of the manufacturing sector, softening of the real estate and the auto sectors and massive federal and private debts at all time highs, is a “dark” Plutonian underbelly of this so-called prosperous economy.

Pluto and Politics:

Trump has raised over $300 million at this time for his campaign, since the global financial cartel of monopolies, “banksters”, and oligarchs secretly want to see Trump win the election in order to hold onto their tax breaks and insure that the currently corporate controlled not-affordable-for-most healthcare system will remain rich and prosperous. I am of the opinion that they have also made a “deal with the Devil” that may help Trump win the election. Trump’s “base” sees him as a “messiah” no matter how corrupt his practices clearly demonstrate he is. They think he will make them rich like he is – their version of “Make America Great Again.” They are more than willing to blame people of color, immigrants, Jews, Muslims, Liberals, or anybody other than those they would see in the mirror. This evokes John Kenneth Galbraith’s famous quote about the financial system that will produce “private opulence and public squalor”.

We are well on our way to this outcome since the Democrats are worried that none of their candidates are “super media stars” that could “sweep” the election and that too many members of their party will simply not vote at all, which is why they lost the 2016 election. Their real problem is that past Democratic presidents Clinton and Obama held onto and promoted the neo-liberal, “bankster” and giant corporate controlled policies that outsourced manufacturing and labor abroad, lowered wages and reduced public infrastructure programs, which led to the impoverishment of what was the middle class and the betrayal of what once was the Democratic Party.

The notion brought to mind that it is not the evil but those “indifferent to evil” that will bring about disaster is most appropriate here.

Rebels against Pluto:

Meanwhile, at this time, massive protests continue in Hong Kong, Lebanon, and Santiago, Chile. Planetary pictures point to upheavals in Libya and Saudi Arabia. These demonstrations are all about the suppression of Democracy and wealth inequality. Here in the US, the United Auto Workers strike has brought about some agreement and they may reach a settlement but without any manufacturing sites returning to the US from Mexico. There is a huge teachers’ strike in Chicago which will unlikely be resolved until after Nov. 19^th when Mercury goes direct. I see more protests in many regions arising between now and the end of the year and very few, if any, effective deals being made to reverse the course of wealth inequality growing throughout the world.

The Economy:

No matter what our philosophical ideals and notions about human civilization are, economics is at the bottom of it all and we need only follow the money to know where our future lies.

An online article posted at ‘The Guardian’ is entitled “The sluggish global economy needs to reform – and fast.” It reports: “The world is sleepwalking towards a fresh economic and financial crisis that will have devastating consequences for the democratic market system, according to the former Bank of England governor Mervyn King. Lord King, who was in charge at Threadneedle Street during the near-death of the global banking system and deep economic slump a decade ago, said the resistance to new thinking meant a repeat of the chaos of the 2008-09 period was looming.” The article goes on to report: “Giving a lecture in Washington at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, King said there had been no fundamental questioning of the ideas that led to the crisis of a decade ago. ‘Another economic and financial crisis would be devastating to the legitimacy of a democratic market system, he said.’”A friend of mine who is an economist commented: “I have a feeling Boomers retirement will set it off, with a cascade of knock-on effects (including muni bond defaults). Banks tied to US banks through derivatives will take hit also – like they did in 2008.”

Many of my friends and readers have grown weary of my forecasting a market “correction” and serious recession. My prediction in Jan. 2019 was that this would take place between September and December of 2019 since the unsustainable core of this global economy would continue to be propped up by the Trump/Republican tax breaks, massive buy-backs by corporations of their own stocks, and the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates to near-zero. There has also been an unprecedented giant spin machine that has continued stoking the bubble investor economy. This is all about putting lipstick on a pig. The alarm bells may go off between November 19^th and November 24^th, under the Mars/Uranus opposition and Mercury going direct, plus Jupiter reaching the traditional “crash” degree of 27 to 29 degrees Sagittarius between November 29^th and Dec. 2^nd. The pig may have run out of lipstick!

Meanwhile, the “real economy” is rearing its battered head. The Social Security Administration recently released the following: 38% of all American workers made less than $20,000 last year; 51% of all American workers made less than $30,000 last year; 62% of all American workers made less than $40,000 last year; and 71% of all American workers made less than $50,000 last year! The so-called middle class in America is becoming extinct. The federal poverty level for a family of five is $28,410, and yet almost 40% of all American workers do not even bring in $20,000 a year! Reports from homeless shelters point out that a large percentage of homeless people are actually employed and cannot afford housing. In addition, many families are finding themselves sinking deeper and deeper into debt. Credit Suisse estimates that at least 25% of Americans are in this situation of having a negative net-worth. According to the US Census Bureau, 49% of all Americans now live in a home that receives money from the government each month. Since Pres. Trump was elected, the national debt has gone up 25% because, the giant tax breaks for corporations and billionaires have bilked the budget. Most of corporate profits are going into the stock market and into the pockets of the super rich – not into public infrastructure or workers wages. Plutocratic Capitalism has made a series of “deals” that has cost us the ‘soul” of the American people and the Devil will soon come to claim his due!

The Climate and Mother Nature:

An article in the Nov. 2019 issue of Scientific American by Mark Fischetti entitled “Climate Clincher” puts to rest the notion that global warming is part of a natural cycle. He reports: “People who dismiss climate change often claim that the earth’s warm-up is simply part of ‘natural climate variability.’ A paper published in July in Nature puts that argument to rest. The authors show that warm and cold years were regularly interspersed during the past 2,000 years, and that even the warmest and coldest periods were experienced only by isolated regions at a given time – never across the entire globe simultaneously. For example, the so-called Little Ice Age occurred in the 1400s across the central Pacific Ocean, in the 1600s across northwestern Europe and in the mid-1800s in other places. The warm Medieval Climate Anomaly occurred in the Pacific in the 900s, in North America in the 1000s and in central South America in the 1200s. But the current warm-up has taken place across 98% of the globe at the same time, from about 1900 through today. ‘It’s completely different,’ states lead researcher Raphael Neukom of the University of Bern in Switzerland. All regions have heated up relentlessly, in unison.’” The article shows graphs that historically demonstrate all this.

This month’s Mars opposition Uranus may trigger a significant earthquake and possible tornado or hurricane activity. With Mars in Libra, last month’s record-breaking wild fires in California are likely to continue through the middle of this month. Last month a giant tornado hit Arkansas and the Dallas, Texas area.

Final Thoughts:

In these most challenging times, the question raised is whether we will choose to engage ourselves in a series of dramatic reforms or simply sit around with our heads in the sand, as everything around us collapses. Once we have lost our institutional support systems, it may be too late to initiate the change we need in the world – or – we may pick ourselves up, dust off our hands, and get to work.

Each and every one of us needs to envision the kind of world in which we wish to live with a clarity of vision seldom seen today. People are criticizing the government, the press, the healthcare system, and are frightened by the suicidal trends of our young people in the midst of the opioid epidemic, climate catastrophes, and domestic gun violence never seen before. I would ask: What do you wish to see instead, and who to you wish to lead us to it?

I am talking with young people who really see all of this clearly. They have the strength to acknowledge all this and are willing to engage themselves in an effort toward a balance of economic power between government and the private sector, between economic prosperity and the natural environment, between human beings of all colors, sexes, races, and religions, between “our neighbors and ourselves.” A new economic and political ecology that sustains us rather than destroys us needs to emerge that may be nothing like what history has presented to us in the past.

The magnificent Blue Light radiating from the soul of the earth itself calls out to us to heal ourselves and all the most cherished life on this threatened planet. It’s a big job. We can do it together. Let’s get going!

The Full Moon is at 20 degrees of Aries Oct. 13 and the New Moon is in 4 degrees Scorpio on the 28^th; Mercury goes into Scorpio Oct. 2^nd, is sextile Saturn on the 14^th, is trine Neptune on the 15^th, is sextile Pluto on the 19^th and goes retrograde on the 31^st. Mars goes into Libra Oct. 4^th through Nov. 18^th, is inconjunct Uranus Oct. 11^th, is square Saturn the 27^th and is inconjunct Neptune on the 28^th. Pluto goes direct at 20 degrees Capricorn Oct 2^nd.

Libra – Venus – and the Aquarian Age

Since the Copernican Revolution from the Age of Enlightenment through the Industrial Revolution on to the Digital Internet Revolution, science and technology have unleashed innovations that have made the lives of those fortunate enough economically to have a standard of living undreamed of since humans first walked the earth. We have surveyed outer and inner space from the behavior of subatomic particles to the surface of planets at the edge of the solar system and devised machines to do our work for us on a scale never before imagined. In the process, our civilization has damaged the global climate, poisoned and killed off multiple species of plants and animals, and is bringing human life itself to the edge of extinction.

There are a substantial number of highly intelligent persons who actually think that the robots we are creating may be “superior” to us and may actually, so to speak, “inherit the earth”, or what is left of it. Many of these people are processing their thoughts in a digital world framed by algorithms – a world of “dots” or “sound bytes”. This, along with a philosophy that revers a cold “objectivity” – seeing a universe filled with “separation” of things that are distinguishable from one another and even in competition with one another, i.e. one cannot survive unless one extinguishes the other or, the predator/prey world that sees only “winners and losers”. The logical outgrowth is the production of bigger and bigger buildings, giant wealth engulfing corporations, enormous output of fossil fuels to power more industries, and larger weapons of mass destruction –, because it is okay” to dominate nature and be a “winner” in this cold objective unforgiving universe. This is the Age of Aquarius gone amok indeed!

Along comes Libra:

Libra is an astrological “sign” ruled by the planet Venus who represents the ideal of love, marriage, societal covenants such as the law and justice, and an appreciation of the beauty of the natural world. In short, Venus represents the notion of a “meaning” in everything, a striving for “balance” in nature and human affairs. Libra would forge a connection between and among all things, an investment in one another leading to the notion of “united we stand, divided we fall”. It is capable of seeing patterns and cohesively moving forms within the context of the evolution of life.

The position of Saturn in the birth chart of the U.S. is in the sign of Libra. Hence, our constitution provides for a “separation of powers” a reverence for the rule of law, and equal power for the executive, legislative, and judicial divisions of government.

What Now?

On September 24, 2019 at 5:05 PM EDT in Washington, D.C., Speaker Nancy Pelosi officially announced an “impeachment inquiry” with regard to Pres. Trump’s conversation with the president of the Ukraine in an attempt to “get dirt” on former Vice President Joe Biden’s son doing business in this country, supposedly due to Biden’s influence in the Obama years. Independent agencies say there is no truth to this.

Earlier this year, The Mueller Report pointed to election interference by Russia in an attempt to get Trump elected and probable obstruction of justice by Trump and his allies. However, Mueller pointed out that he had no authority to indict a sitting president. Trump has refused to cooperate in any way, including a mandate to submit his tax returns that were requested by the congress. He has tried to divert funds from essential military installations around the world to build “the wall” between the U.S, and Mexico, subverting the congress who holds the purse strings in government. The Congress recently voted to block this effort. Those surrounding Trump have refused to testify before congress with regard to the Mueller Report and have repeatedly expressed overt contempt for the legislature. Trump, as usual, calls the whole process a “witch hunt” in his tweet storms He has repeatedly lied, “shape shifted” and avoided real confrontations with the truth so many times, the nation has been “numbed down” with respect to anything he says. The transits in Scorpio through the end of this year pose serious conflicts and revelations in Trump’s astrological chart. This nation’s government is not founded on a dictatorship and it is the duty of the legislature to investigate in a checks and balances system. The looming question is: Will justice be done? The chart I constructed on this “announcement” indicates momentum will continue on through July/August of 2020 when the political conventions for the presidential election take place.

The looming question is whether this nation is allowing a wannabe dictator, who subverts the rule of law, to take power, bypassing checks and balances, and, effectively ending any semblance of democracy. The transits in Libra and Scorpio this month will reveal far more than many people are prepared to fully face.
 

The Economy:

With Libra planets square both Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn this month and a Mercury (communication) transiting Scorpio, going retrograde the 31^st of this month and not going direct until November 20^th, we are in for a wild and bumpy ride, including major “corrections” in financial markets. Everyone, including the Feds will rush to try to prop the markets up. Interest rates have been heading downward to near zero levels that would remind us of what created the Zombie banks of Japan. The vain hope that China will make a deal with Pres. Trump with respect to tariffs will simply not happen. Most of this stock market bubble consists of the stock buybacks by corporations executed when they got the “billionaires tax cut” instituted by the Republicans in 2017. The reverse yield curve, the massive amounts of government and private debt, and the emergence of the “real economy” all will not play well on Wall Street. Jupiter reaching the end of Sagittarius and entering Capricorn in late November, early December, has coincided with market corrections through the years.

Hold onto your hats!

Science & Technology:

Posted online on “Marker” September 24^th, is an article entitled “Tesla May Have Invented a Million-Mile Car Battery”. Crazy genius Elon Musk, in spite of some past illegal maneuverings, has developed technology for vehicles to last 76 years. The article reports: “The carmaker has filed patents for a battery system that could last one million miles, enough for 76 years of driving for the average American motorist.” The article goes on to say: “Leading battery researchers in the United States and Europe, while uncertain about the cost of the Tesla system, say a new academic paper describing the million -mile battery is rigorous and convincing.” There is also an indication that this could all evolve into a future fleet of driverless automated taxis. This development will take a lot of time because it would take a dramatic shift in the entire highway infrastructure throughout the country, eliminating the “mixture” of human operated vehicles with automated ones.

I have written many times on my newsletters and in my books that two of the grandest inventions for the 21^st Century will be nuclear fusion and the near “perfect” battery. We are on our way to both becoming a reality.

The “dark side” of the technological genius of the Age of Aquarius is also presenting itself to us at this point in time. An article by Sigal Samuel on vox.com posted August 30, 2019, issues a warning to us framed in George Orwell’s dystopian novel, “1984” published in 1949. The article reports: “Over the past few weeks, Facebook and Elon Musk’s Neuralink have announced that they’re building tech to read your mind – literally. Mark Zuckerberg’s company is funding research on brain-computer interfaced (BCIs)O that can pick up thoughts directly from your neurons and translate them into words. The researchers say they they’ve already built an algorithm that can decode words from brain activity in real time. And Musk’s company has created flexible ‘threads’ tha can be implanted into a brain and could one day allow you to control your smartphone or computer with just your thoughts. Musk wants to start testing in humans by the end of next year.”

How would we kike to have our brains “hacked”? Will we allow this to take place? This, among many other questions about mad science and technology, are ones we should be asking.
 

Nature and the Environment:

The courageous and compelling leadership and speeches of 16 year old Greta Thunberg at the UN last month is launching a global initiative by young people around the world to reverse corporate backed fossil fuel production, poisoning the environment with plastic and chemicals, and invading natural habitats; all of which is propelling all life on earth toward extinction. Mars in Libra hits squares with Saturn and Pluto between the 20^th of October and the 10^th of November and will likely bring home to all of us how fierce the hurricanes both in strength and number, are upon us. The global temperature has risen this year to the highest in recorded history.

Pres. Trump has called global climate change “a hoax” in an attempt to support his corporate oligarch friends in the fossil fuel business, and is trying to undo every significant piece of environmental legislation to clean up our water, air, and earth that multiple presidents and parties have put into place. He will fight with state legislatures this month who wish to continue the progress they have made, and all this may even go into the courts. A coalition of 17 states are suing the Trump Administration for its rollback of the Endangered Species Act that would protect imperiled plants and animals.

Other Nations:

Island nations around the world are experiencing more frequent and larger hurricanes and the rising of sea waters Coastal waters are eroding beaches and moving inland. Last month, the Bahamas were all but demolished by a hurricane that reminded us of the one that previously hit Puerto Rico and Houston, Texas. Global climate scientists are appalled by the rapid melting of glaciers at the North Pole and the rising of temperatures there beyond record levels.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel: These nations are headed toward a possible military conflict as the U.S. abolishment of the nuclear treaty with Iran, our sanctioning their oil trades and our recent stationing of military forces in the region looks ominous. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu’s party lost their majority last month, weakening his coalition and policies. As I have said in the past, I am afraid we are headed into a war in the region that nobody wants.

Russia and Vladimir Putin: The current and ongoing impeachment process of Pres. Trump with regard to bribing the Pres. Of the Ukraine to get dirt on his possible opponent, Biden, fits right into the Putin playbook. Putin’s directed interference in the 2016 elections to help Trump was intended to exploit racial, religious, and ethnic hatreds and economic insecurities and create chaos as a backlash to the U.S.’s part in breaking up the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 90s. Putin is a Libra with Scorpio rising whose chart is strongly activated this month and through the end of this year.

Final Thoughts:

Life on our beautiful planet is in a struggle for its existence. The planetary pictures tell us that we are experiencing endings and beginnings – an entrance into a new age that could represent either an extinction or propel us into a new birth of something beyond our present understanding of what it means to exist and be alive.

As I look around our nation, I see far too many people nestled in a fogbank of self-absorption – a “denial” of the rising emergencies – a refusal to engage in or commit themselves to the issues of our times. There are those, however, who are passionately engaged either as scientists, inventors, social activists, spiritual leaders, or just simply reaching out with kindness and concern for their friends and neighbors in an attempt to make a difference. There are no unimportant people.

The universe contains within itself all the information and inspiration we need. We only need to open our hearts and minds to receive it. I will testify to this as the wonderful embracing blue light presented itself to me a short while ago when I had reached a low point and was wandering around in the dim and the dark recesses of my soul. This great gift is here for each and every one of us who simply call out for help as eternity opens the door. We need only to walk through together.

Full Moon September 14 at 21 degrees Pisces conjunct Neptune; New Moon September 28 at 5 degrees Libra inconjunct Uranus; Mercury in Virgo is trine Uranus September 1, is conjunct Mars Sep. 3, is trine Saturn and square Jupiter Sep. 5, is opposition Neptune Sep. 7, is trine Pluto Sep. 8, goes into Libra Sep. 14, is inconjunct Uranus Sep. 18, is square Saturn and the Nodes Sep. 22, is inconjunct Neptune Sep. 24, and is square Pluto Sep. 26; Venus in Virgo is trine Saturn Sep. 1, is square Jupiter Sep. 2, is opposition Neptune Sep. 4, is trine Pluto Sep. 6; Mars in Virgo is trine Saturn Sep. 8, is square Jupiter Sep. 11, and is trine Pluto Sep. 19; Venus goes into Libra Sep.14, is inconjunct Uranus on Sep. 19, is square Saturn on Sep. 25, is square Neptune and sextile Jupiter on Sep. 24; Jupiter is square Neptune on Sep. 21.

Virgo Rising – The Devil is in the Details:

The sign of Virgo has long been associated with the Harvest Goddess who, in ancient times, was the constellation that presided over the season when agricultural societies carefully and laboriously harvested and stored the crops that would feed their families through the winter months and protect their people from starvation. It was critical that the harvest be clean and pure in order to avoid disease and sickness and required that those who labored in the fields work long and hard so the food would not spoil. This required that people be well organized and meticulous since there was a timeline to be met.

In our highly advanced society today, we go back to school and back to our jobs as the constellation of Virgo lights up the night sky reminding us that vacation is over and there are a million things that have to be done before the coming holidays preceding the Winter Solstice. The end of September, the Autumnal Equinox presents us with the beauty of the Libra foliage, as we pause from the work frenzy and all the details of the tasks we have to get done under the Virgo timeline.

We all know the sharp criticism and careful scrutiny our Virgo friends apply to every project that can, at times, drive us a little crazy, but without which nothing would ever get accomplished. Without these hard workers, the details the rest of us frequently miss would, frankly, derail multiple objectives. In every Virgo office, the sign should hang on the wall that says: “The Devil is in the Details!”

Speaking of a lack of knowledge of the “details”, Pres. Trump’s chart is highly afflicted this month as the Virgo grouping of planets is square his Gemini placements, demanding that he be accountable for his statements. Many persons are observing that he is getting more and more unstable, and this month will likely bear this out. At last month’s G-7 meeting, his lack of cooperation with our allies and disgruntled behavior is pushing the Europeans to ally their economic interests with each other and nations in Asia – moving their long term investments away from the U.S.

With Mercury, Venus, and Mars all in Virgo this month, the blatant lies, generalizations, sound bytes, and “spin” will not pass by the Virgo eyeballs as uncomfortable truths will be exposed, especially in Virgo fields such as healthcare, pollution of the natural environment, food inspection and distribution, workers’ rights, global trade, and the implementation of the political process. We will face the fact that our healthcare system is in disarray and prohibitively expensive, global climate change and pollution can no longer be ignored as storms hit coastal regions, agribusiness is spraying crops with chemicals that are effecting our health negatively, and many of the political campaigns are filled with lies and weapons of mass distraction.

It was recently announced in an article posted on Aug. 2nd on Common Dreams.org by Julia Conley, that: “Millions of Americans are still suffering the consequences of the 2013 Supreme Court decision that loosened restriction of the Voting Rights Act, giving states with long histories of voter discrimination free reign to purge voters from their rolls without federal oversight. The Brennan Center for Justice released a study (Thursday) showing that 17 million Americans were dropped from voter rolls between 2016 and 2018 – almost four million more than the number purged between 2006 and 2008.” The article went on to reveal: “The Brennan Center said that while there are legitimate reasons for removing names from a state’s voter database, such as a relocation to another state or a death, many voters’ names – especially those of minority voters – are purged even though they meet the state’s requirements for casting a ballot. Voters often do not realize they have been purged until they try to cast a ballot on Election Day – after it is already too late.

The Economy:

After all the stock market wild swings up and down in August, September points to increased selling as the realities surrounding the China “no trade agreements”, recessions developing in Europe, decreases in corporate earnings, a decline in manufacturing and RV and auto sales, global currency devaluations, an inverted yield curve, and problems in labor markets all rear their ugly heads. Even the Fed lowering interest rates to “near zero” will not bail us out of this one! With planets going into Libra that will be square Saturn and Pluto, we are entering a Bear Market that will likely extend to the end of this year and beyond.

The prognosticators will likely say we are” not really” in a recession. However, the planetary pictures are pointing to serious dangers that lie ahead in 2020 as the Jupiter/Saturn/Pluto conjunctions suggest global banking and financial crises that can no longer be denied. Lowered interest rates “pushing zero” will negatively affect the bond markets. Many investors are moving their money into Bitcoin, gold, silver, and Treasuries as a safety play against currency weakness, massive amounts of sovereign and private debt accumulation, and will likely move into anything that they believe will “conserve” their capital against significant long- term losses.

The current “spin” on the part of the Trump administration is that the problems in China and Europe do not pertain to us or influence our economy. In August, Trump lashed out at China and China instituted more tariffs, exposing, once and for all, the inability of this administration to work out a deal with the Chinese. The Dow, Nasdaq, and the S&P immediately tanked. The Chinese are not going to let Pres. Trump and the U.S. dictate trade rules to them.

Back in July, Deutsche Bank, the biggest bank in Europe, announced layoffs and it is known they are in serious trouble on many fronts. It has been reported that The German economy is currently sliding into recession as their manufacturing sector declines. An article posted July 8, 2019 by economists Pam Martens and Russ Martens entitled “Meet the JPMorgan Whale that Ate Deutsche Bank’s Stock Trading Business” reveals the sizeable advantage JPMorgan has in its stock and derivatives trading since, according to CEO Jamie Dimon in his 2014 letter to shareholders, they employ 30,000 programmers and information technology people. The authors report “Since the majority of today’s stock trading is all about algorithms, artificial intelligence, co-location of bank computers’ next to the stock exchange computers to provide a speed advantage in trading, faster and faster trading data feeds that only the budge bracket banks and hedge funds can afford, and dark pool trading out of the gaze of regulators – 30,000 techies can really give one and edge.” However, there is a serious downside to all this as the authors report: “ But before you get too comfortable with the notion that it’s okay if an American bank is beating the socks off a German bank, you need to remember two things: Deutsche Bank is a major derivatives’ counterparty to most of the big banks on Wall Street according to a 2016 report from the International Monetary Fund – its health, or lack thereof, could spill over onto Wall Street; and, secondly, there’s nothing to prevent another London Whale-style trading fiasco from blowing a hole in JPMorgan Chase’s federally-insured bank – putting you, the taxpayer, at risk.”

This is only one of the multitude of connections and dependencies nations and global banks have with each other, demonstrating that the U.S. cannot consider itself a “lone wolf” as some Americans would prefer, and the current administration in Washington suggests.

I have discussed in my books and previous newsletters the prediction that there would be a global digital currency, based on blockchain technology, that would replace” the dollar in global trade and commerce.. In August, Bank of England Governor Carrey suggested implementing a new global “virtual currency” to replace the dollar which many see is a response to the economic and financial chaos instituted by Pres. Trump. The coming planetary pictures in high tech Aquarius suggest the arrival of all this in the 2020s and will not be such a shock since remote lending and online money transactions have already been taking place for many years and the system has “embraced” it.

As my readers will testify, I have forecast a stock market “correction” and a severe recession starting now through the end of this year and encouraged people to opt for safety and be out of stocks and to hold some positions in gold and silver.

Other Nations:

North Korea’s birthdate this month will be activated (September 10, 1948) by Mercury, Venus, and, most importantly, Mars (the God of War) with all three Virgo planets opposing Neptune. Kim Jong Un will likely test more nuclear armed missiles as he “plays” the Trump administration. This will concern nearby nations that the U.S. has sworn to protect, such as Viet Nam and Japan.

China will still be battling protesters in Hong Kong and suffering from the tariff wars, while having to deal with their national debts surfacing in spite of their attempts to keep them in the dark. Any attempts they make to quell the Hong Kong protesters will make things worse. They may use the only power they have left and that is the exhibiting of their paramilitary might.

Venezuela ‘s government will be challenged again this month as accidents in their oil fields, the starvation of their populace and storms hitting their shores further complicate their increasingly collapsing economy. Russia continues to support Madero and the U.S. continues to attempt to sabotage him.

Brazil was in the headlines last month as fires set by ranchers, loggers and miners burned the already devastated Amazon – the “lungs” of the world. Pres. Jair Bolsonaro supported these people and stated that criticisms from other nations would “ruin” their economy. It will soon be apparent that they are already on the road to ruin. This is a global environmental tragedy.

Guatemala’ s chart gets hit this month on many fronts (April 17, 1839) as the Virgo transits hit planets on their financial axis and Saturn repeats its square to its Pluto in November. Their financial, governmental, and environmental failures are behind their population pouring across the Mexican border into the U.S.

Iran’s chart is getting hit this month as the sanctions imposed and enforced by the U.S. are taking a toll on their economy and they may be driven to take more desperate military measures to control the Gulf.

Italy’s Head-of-State has left and they have to elect a new one. They are fiscally bankrupt and reflective of many indebted nations in the Eurozone, as the European Union is coming apart at the seams.

Syria’s Assad government will further solidify their control of the nation this month. They will take control of a devastated landscape, a ruined economy, and a reduced population.

Nature and the Environment:

With Mercury, Venus and Mars in Virgo square Jupiter and opposing Neptune between September 1^st and September 13^th, there will likely be high winds and storms around the country. July was reported to be the hottest month on earth since temperatures started reporting. September 22^nd through the 30^th, Mercury and Venus will square Saturn and Pluto which usually coincides with hurricanes on the coastal regions. The safety of our environment will be challenged and exposed this month as the Virgo planets highlight the contamination of our food systems and the many nations severe droughts. Last month, it was reported that Svalbard, Norway at the North Pole, one of the coldest places on earth, is melting – another indicator of the massively serious increase in global warming. Another theme coinciding with transits in Virgo is the emergence of cold or flu epidemics, bringing out public discourse over the need for vaccines.

Final Thoughts:

Every day, as I survey the news that is being reported on multiple platforms, it is obvious to me that people are overwhelmed, as they are watching many nations facing environmental and economic devastation along with a lack of active intelligence, an availability to face truths, and the will to summon effective movements toward the changes we need to make in the world. Last month’s remembrance of the 1969 Woodstock gathering of 450,000 young people to listen to their music and take a stand for getting out of wars, racial and economic opportunity, and movement toward world peace – all seem “quaint” in today’s darkening world. It would seem that the global military and financial cartel has won out by buying out governments, influencing most of the mass media to go along with the world’s money moving continually into the hands of the 1%, and the media drugging and “dumbing down” of much of the nation’s young people, who normally would be making change happen.

In an article published on August 17^th in The New York Times by writer, Kim Brooks, entitled “We Have Ruined Childhood”, the author reveals our society’s rigid restrictions on children by taking away arts and music and free play in the schools and neighborhoods, forcing kids in 1^st and 2^nd grade into hours of homework, and strict supervision of play are all destroying the lives of too many. She reports: “According to the psychologist Peter Gray, children today are more depressed than they were during the Great Depression and more anxious than they were at the height of the Cold War. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology found that between 2009 and 2017, rates of depression rose by more than 60 percent among those ages 14 to 17, and 47 percent among those ages 12 to 13. This isn’t just a matter of increased diagnoses. The number of children and teenagers who were seen in emergency rooms with suicidal thoughts or having attempted suicide doubled between 2007 and 2015.” It is worth reading the whole article to understand the trends that have been underway for decades that make life “not worth living” for what should be our most cherished children.

Just as I was feeling sad and hopeless, I had a session with a young client who is a new public school educator. She described to me how excited and inspired she is to teach science to her new classes in a manner that instills passion not just for the information, but for the human spirit behind everything. These children are responding to her as if they were waiting for her to come into their lives throughout their childhoods. They are the next step in human evolution – the longed-for advanced consciousness – the new light on earth. Just then, my new “companion” – the Blue Light emerged again, overpowering my soul with hope and deepening my faith that we all have a shot at disturbing what seems to be fated – and simply changing everything!

Stay tuned!

July 2 Solar Eclipse at 10 degrees Cancer with Saturn conjunct the Lunar South Node, July 16 Lunar Eclipse at 24 degrees Capricorn conjunct Pluto, July 31 New Moon at 8 degrees Leo conjunct Venus and square Uranus, July 7 (through July 31) Mercury goes retrograde conjunct Mars and square Uranus, Mars goes into Leo July 2 through Aug. 17 conjunct Mercury July 8 and is square Uranus July 12 and is trine Jupiter July 27, Venus goes into Cancer July 4 (through July 27) and is opposition Saturn July 16 and opposition Pluto July 20 and is inconjunct Jupiter July 15 and is trine Neptune July 18.

The U.S.A. Eclipsed – Endings and Beginnings.

(Birth Chart used is the Sibley July 4, 1776, 5:10 PM LMT, Philadelphia, PA 75W09, 39N57)

When eclipses hit our astrological charts, we are confronted with challenges and “forced” into awakenings whether we volunteer for the ensuing insights or not. If there is a serious “flaw” in our vision or perception, we will see it, or even experience it with the diagnosis of an illness, an accident, or simply the disappearance of something structural in our lives that needs to be replaced. The point of all this is not destruction, but recognition of what is no longer workable, and replacement with what is.

The Solar Eclipse on July 2^nd is near the USA Sun and the Lunar Eclipse on July 16^th is near the USA Pluto. Both involve transiting Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn – all pointing to people and institutions in positions of economic and political power. In short, people “ruling” our world are being exposed for all their strengths and weaknesses; their flaws and efforts to hold onto their old constructs or their courage to make the changes we need to make as we move through a planetary wide apocalyptic period in human history never seen before.

Childhood’s End:

The mandate, at this time, is to recognize that our childlike naivety must come to an end – that, like it or not, we must assume the mantle of adulthood, putting our self-absorbed avoidance of responsibility to an end and acquaint ourselves with the major themes and issues of our times front and center. This requires that we “get clean” of addictions of all sorts, get physically and emotionally fit, and join whatever it takes to solve the looming issues of our day. New leadership is on the horizon and we need to support those who clearly are honest, committed, and have carefully thought-out solutions.

Interestingly, my husband and I have been increasingly engaged with our adult grandchildren who are being confronted with a world that previous generations have thrown at them to “fix.” They are acutely aware of the coming environmental devastation of climate change and the planetary wide pollution causing mass extinction of species. They are facing an economic landscape of wealth concentration in the hands of a very few with the rest of the population stagnant or going downhill. They have little or no interest in accumulation of vast amounts of wealth. They simply want to make a decent living, live in communities in which people look to assist each other, and make it possible for a fair distribution of opportunities linked to a wider access to healthcare, education, and housing which does not presently exist. Most importantly, they are reaching inward and tapping a spiritual strength and understanding of a higher reality that has been abandoned by many for decades. In short, these “children” are assuming the mantle of adulthood. As an illustration of this, there is currently pending a lawsuit entitled Julianna vs. The United States, in which an Oregon attorney is representing a group of young people who are suing the U.S. government for the disastrous results of climate change due to their subsidizing and expanding the fossil fuel corporations for decades, ruining lives and economies, and possibly moving the earth toward mass extinction of life.

Obviously, not all young people fit this pattern. Many are caught up in the world of mechanistic materialism and self-absorption, are fighting addictions to substances, and suffering family breakups, poverty, and lack of personal and social support. This brings us to the need of all our societies for a quality of leadership that is less influenced by giant corporations and families whose personal wealth rivals the monarchies of previous centuries. However, these privileged people, because of the reality of their wealth, will have to be involved in a transformation of necessity that will firstly affect the very poorest and will spread to the very richest.

We all inhabit this planet together and will all go “down with the ship” together if a major economic and environmental transformation does not take place. My take is that the United States, with all our historic flaws, is still best positioned to lead the way because we still have some semblance of democracy and people power, we are the richest nation on earth, and because we have the most fortunate geography to combat climate emergencies if we so choose.

The Economy:

The eclipses are a warning that the “bubble” stock and real estate markets are at a tipping point. My take is that these bubbles will still be growing into the month of August. This pattern historically has long pointed to the expansion that usually takes place before a fall. The period between September and December will likely see a giant “correction” on Wall Street that is, frankly, long overdue. Tax breaks for billionaires and huge stock buybacks from the corporations themselves will not protect them this time around.

Facebook has created a new digital cryptocurrency named “Libra”, which will be backed by hard assets. Following the success of block chain technology behind Bitcoin, they are marching forward with the all- digital currency movement I have been discussing in my newsletters and books for years. Currently, Congress is saying “whoa” and will probably take its time approving this. Since we all now know that the Russians used Facebook to influence the 2016 election, their “own” currency could make future posts in the interests of our enemies much easier to implement. Interestingly, Libra is an astrological sign whose purpose is justice, balance, and cooperation. My take is that an all -digital blockchain currency will broadly take hold in the 2020’s.

Finally, after many years, the media is recognizing the epidemic of homelessness in this country which is actually worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s. In LA County, California alone, the most recent count was 60,000 people living in the streets. Many of these people are employed at such low wages, they cannot afford the high cost of housing. San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR, New York, NY and other cities throughout the U.S. are experiencing this tragic trend. Broadly, economic inequality is the worst it has been since the age of the Robber Barons at the beginning of the 20^th Century.

Mercury will retrograde in Leo (conjunct Mars on the 8^th) and will go direct on July 31^st. This placement reactivates last July’s eclipse and is a warning about confusion and “irrational exuberance” leading up to Jupiter’s direct station on August 11^th in Sagittarius (the sign of optimism). With its square to Uranus, there may be a run of accidents and technological glitches.

Gold (as well as silver) rose last month and passed a number of support points, hitting a six- year high. The dollar has been falling to much lower levels. However, the metals are subject to manipulation by the giant banks, especially J.P. Morgan Chase, so even though I think this is a good place to be in these uncertain times, I am cautiously optimistic about investing in the metals. Bitcoin is another area people are investing as international crises escalate and uncertainty climbs. There is a “frenzy” on Wall Street about keeping interest rates low to fuel the bubble market, leaving the Feds little in the way of options they would have left in an economic emergency. They will be hesitant to do so this month under Mercury retrograde and should save this option for later this year when we are likely to have a real correction.

There is a lot of news coverage about corporations considering transferring their manufacturing locations to Vietnam. This nation is not as highly technologically trained and their population not nearly as large as China, so it is unlikely to replace them. China considers this nation to be within their “territory” and they will not like this trend. I do not think any progress will be made with the tariffs and uncertainty will remain high. Notice, that nobody is considering bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. where wages are higher and environmentally protective law still exist. Companies are only interested in the bottom line and their philosophy is the “financialization” of industry which has led to an economy that no longer shares its wealth with about 80% of the American population.

Immigration:

We now know that immigrant children separated from their parents by our policies are being detained in “concentration camps” at the border without even the basic sanitation and cleanliness, blankets, etc. Reporters who have observed this are horrified by the basic inhumanity and our system’s inability to deal with this without a comprehensive immigration policy, especially for people seeking asylum. The acting head of border control just resigned, and Congress is scrambling to pass a bill funding the border operations and set standards for those seeking asylum. These nations from which they are fleeing have failed economies, failed states, and are confronted with climate catastrophes consisting of droughts so severe they can no longer grow their own food.

The politics of “hate” will only make the situation worse and with the coming transits in Leo (children) this month through the end of August, we will no longer be able to look the other way.

Climate, weather, and the environment:

The first two week of July we will see Mercury retrograde, conjunct Mars and square Uranus. This suggests fires, accidents, high winds, and earthquakes. I would advise against extensive travel in this time period and to drive very carefully. This month’s transits in Leo, continuing into August will likely correspond with extreme heat waves and fires in the western US. Record breaking temperatures have already hit Europe.

Foreign Relations:

China has been said to be the biggest economic growth miracle in human history. Usually, with more wide- spread wealth comes more power to “the people”, yet this nation is controlled by an autocratic government, suppressing all dissent. The constant rebellion by Taiwan and the recent historically giant anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong show how vulnerable the government really is as their people are more educated and demanding more freedom to make their own decisions. The recent trade wars instituted by Pres. Trump is hurting their economy, but their leadership seems constitutionally and culturally unable to make a “fair’ trade agreement with the U.S. Their most obvious moves have been to strengthen ties with Russia and North Korea, their old Cold War allies and escalate the cyber war with America. Meanwhile, farmers in the U.S. are taking a big “hit” since about 40% of their profits depend upon China. I think that as big planetary movements into Aquarius in the 2020s hit the ascendant of China’s chart, a form of democracy may replace their present form of government, but the present regime will go on imposing its absolute control in the short term.

Iran has responded to our abandoning the nuclear treaty and imposing sanctions on their oil with targeted attacks on the U.S., which resembles their age- old technique of state sponsored terrorism. They have not historically been known to have actually started wars or invaded other nations. Trump wisely pulled the plug on attacking Iran. He is a constant “verbal warrior” – not an actual warrior. It would be disastrous for us to get into a war here – even more than the terrible mistake we made in Iraq, which Pres. Trump has openly opposed. However, he may have unleashed a situation that gets out of control. His staff inhabited by John Bolton and Mike Pompeo are known for their hawkish pro-war opinions. I am more concerned about our getting caught up in a war with them next year under the Mars retrograde cycle in Aries. This is a prediction I have discussed in previous newsletters.

No. Korea is still building their nuclear arsenal and China has recently had a friendly meeting with them and has released them from some sanctions. The grouping of planets in Virgo in September, hitting their chart, will likely stimulate more weapons buildups and threats of conflict, now that their alliance with China has been strengthened. This will weaken any attempt on the part of the Trump administration to contain them.

Africa: The charts of Algeria, Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and Zaire are all being hit by this month’s eclipses. Severe droughts, government corruption and unrest, and food and water shortages plague these nations who are being affected by climate change. Civil war and rebellions are likely to escalate.

India is in the midst of a terrible drought and ensuing water shortages. The growing population of this nation and its culture of enormously ancient tribal dissents plague the country and make it difficult to deal with the global climate emergencies they help to create since they are among the biggest polluters. This nation’s problems will only grow worse.

The UK will likely move toward a “hard BREXIT” and elect the most divisive prime minister, leading to economic emergencies emerging in 2020.

Politics:

Another woman has come forward accusing Pre. Trump of sexual assault and she joins multiple other women who have revealed his behavior. If any of us can remember the “Access Hollywood” tape we all heard before the 2016 election, it becomes clear that he has felt “entitled” to this illegal, devastating, and harmful behavior.

Trump’s presidency has consisted mainly of fighting, polarizing, and attacking anybody who opposes his views. He has demonstrated no ability to run the Department of State with his multiple firings and “acting” replacements who quickly resign from their posts, plus many posts are still unfilled. He refuses to work with Congress and demonizes anyone who has disagreed with him, as indicated by his disgusting behavior in connection with Senator and war hero, John McCain. He has complimented racists, White Supremacists and dictators. He has no understanding of foreign policy, has alienated our allies, broken treaties, imposed tariffs rather than making deals, and offended most heads-of-state throughout the world. He has little understanding of economics and how our separation of powers works as he tries to override the legislature and judicial systems and even “threatens” The Federal Reserve Chair. Those with a real concern for this country in both political parties have been appalled; have written articles and books and appeared on radio and television protesting what he has done to the nation. Make no mistake, there is a segment of our population that is fine with all this and we need to wake up to why this very angry populace put him in office.

Congress is struggling to pass legislation to fund the immigration crises on the Mexican border. I think that with Mercury going retrograde and conjunct Mars in July, there will be little likelihood that they will settle on something that will work.

On the day of the Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn conjunct the U.S. Pluto, Robert Mueller will testify before Congress with regard to his report which neither condemned nor exonerated Pres. Trump. Hopefully, this will clarify the Trump campaign’s relationship with the Russians who we know used social media to influence the 2016 election.

Why – why – why are we in this morass?

I believe that over the past approximately 40 years, many economic and societal trends have led to this nation’s polarization and discontent: the “finacialization” of the economy and destruction of the labor force, the dominance of families with enormous legacy wealth and giant corporations holding most of the nation’s money, the impoverishment of minorities on all sides of the racial spectrum, and the breakup of the family unit to the point children are getting little or no economic or personal support. The veritable worship of large corporations and deregulating them away from any kind of responsibility to the people-at-large has led to the opioid crisis and a suicide rate among young people never seen before. Civics was taken out of the public schools long ago and many people have no understanding concerning the mantle of citizenship in a democracy. Trump’s election, in my mind, is a symptom of a greater darkness and demise of a willingness to work respectfully together for a greater good – to listen to dissent and work out compromises – to respect the rule of law – to forge a balance between capitalistic enterprise and social safety nets that benefit everybody. The Trump presidency is both a symptom and an outcome of all this. It is time we recognize how this happened and summon the determination to “fix” it.

The Supreme Court ruling on the Trump requirement that the U.S. Census include a question about citizenship was bumped down to a lower court, refusing to insist on this “requirement”. This is a backlash to the extreme right and points to the Roberts Court as being more moderate. However, in a nod to the right, they ruled that they will “stay out” of the issue concerning “gerrymandering”, stating the court should not “interfere with mapping” in election districts. It will be up to Congress to pass a law forbidding gerrymandering and I do not think this will happen until the 2020s.

I am reserving my comments on the coming presidential election for the time when the Democrats choose their nominee. The biggest problem for the Democratic Party is to avoid “eating their own” and dividing their allegiances at a time when they need to unite around the nominee to win the 2020 election.

I also wish to state that, as a voter, I am a registered Independent.

Final Thoughts:

“The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.” Leonardo da Vinci

I am increasingly aware that the “human condition” inhabits two worlds. One is the mechanistic materialistic world of physical challenges, political and financial power mongering, economic conflicts, and the personal biological imperative to “just survive”. The other world and, arguably, the greater reality, is the universe of creation itself, that divinely creates and destroys and recreates within its constant evolutionary journey toward a higher manifestation of its own experience.

The big question is this. What is reality? This is a question that human beings have been asking for thousands of years. Plato wrote that what we can see is equivalent to the “shadows on the wall of a cave”. The “Seth” books by Jane Roberts suggest that we are all part of “all that is” and are always creating our own reality whether or not we are aware of this capacity. Many of us yearn to know these mysteries and understand not only the science that has expanded our knowledge, but the deeper mysteries of how we get the great insights that could implement the creation of a new and greater world.

As an astrologer, I am certain that we are on the threshold of a change in human consciousness that could either propel us into an age of miracles or outline the most effective means of our collective self- destruction. I have opened my mind and heart to what is greater than “the shadows” that we see in this moment. I have made my choice. Have you?

Stay tuned.

June 3 New Moon at 12 degrees Gemini and Venus in Taurus is trine Pluto, June 7 Mercury in Cancer is sextile Uranus, June 14 Mars is trine Neptune and opposition Saturn and Jupiter is inconjunct Saturn, June 16 Mercury is trine Neptune opposition Saturn and inconjunct Jupiter,  June 17 Full Moon at 25 degrees Sagittarius, June 19 Mercury is conjunct Mars and is opposition Pluto that is also conjunct the Moon, June 24 Venus is square Neptune.

Cancer vs. Capricorn

The Common People vs. the Ruling Elite.

Since the early 1980s, there has been a societal movement away from the notion of equality of opportunity, a balance of power between government and business, a strong middle class, and a  veritable “worship” of those who accumulate massive amounts of wealth at any cost.  In recent years,  corporations have “bought out” governments and been allowed to pollute the planet without restraint.  Oil companies continue to get government support and are allowed to put in environmentally threatening pipelines.   Big pharma has gradually been deregulated and permitted to disperse opioids and charge mega prices for widely used prescriptions at the expense of public health.  Billionaires have become “Gods”.  Respect for people who are considerate of one another, devoted to sharing and caring for the less fortunate, making sacrifices of immediate gratification for the long term good, have been “scrapped”.  Mother Theresa as an icon has been replaced by Jeff Bezos.  Yesterday’s heroes such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandala seem to have been forgotten by a public whose focus is to “get rich”, buy products, consume whatever they find online like candy, and have the “freedom” to do whatever they please at the moment.  This is starting to change.

The Cancerian Dilemma:

The sign of Cancer’s concern is survival and all that that implies – reproduction, nourishment, the products of nature, fighting for the “homestead” and protection of one’s tribe or family.  It has been said that this sign, ruled by the Moon and female deities, symbolizes the origin of humanity itself, the history of the human species and its creativity, growth, and expansion as well as its near extinctions.  Its element is water which is necessary for all biological life as we know it.  It ranges from expressing itself as violent emotion to tenderness to an instinctive knowledge that is amazingly accurate.  It does not want to fight, would rather stay home and cook up a storm and rest comfortably with its family in front of the fire.  Interestingly, the Dalai Lama is born under this sign, as was former Pres. George W. Bush and So Africa’s former president, Nelson Mandala.

However, if its family, tribe, or country are threatened or attacked, our Cancer person will fight fiercely and “to the death” to protect them.

In reality, this sign’s qualities reside fundamentally within all of us.  Without it, we would have “died out” eons ago.  The astrological chart of the U.S. A. contains the Sun, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury in this sign.  We fought courageously for our own independence from the British monarchy (Capricorn) to forge a new nation “with liberty and justice for all.”

The conflict within this sign is: “Who is the all?”  Does it consist only of the descendants of the White Christian Protestant European men who wrote the constitution and framed our nation?  Does it include the African Americans, the Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, women in general, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh people and immigrants from abroad who not only populated and contributed to this nation for the past two centuries, but continue to come here?

There is a worldwide tendency to separate each nation into a unit only unto itself as if “national interest” means disliking everyone else.  Each nation has a sovereign governance within its own territory and it is in its interest to protect itself, but it has been the transnational corporate giants who have shipped labor and manufacturing abroad to places with no environmental protections and poverty wages and the giant banks have financed all this.  The need to “survive” involves reaching beyond our “own back yard” and forge relationships with people, governments, and businesses around the world or, with the dominance of our massive technologies that, without restraint, damage the climate and life on earth, we will most certainly all go “extinct” together. The ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster is moving radioactive material to our shores and India’s and China’s continued use of coal and fossil fuels is affecting the global climate.  A newly fueled Cold War by the U.S. with Russia, China and No. Korea will put the safety of all humankind at risk.   

The Capricorn Crisis:

Since 2008 (until 2024), Pluto, the planet of crisis, death and rebirth has been transiting the sign of Capricorn and we are witnessing the rise of a “ruling elite” whose policies in both government and industry have moved capital and power into the realm of giant corporations, transnational banks, and a billionaire class of individuals not seen since the “Age of the Robber Barons” in the early 20^th Century.  This process has been going on for a long time, but we are finally facing the consequences of a massive inequality of wealth and opportunity on a global basis and most certainly here in the U.S.  I have been discussing these trends for years in my books and newsletters.  It was recently announced that the generation of Americans born between 1981 – 1996, commonly referred to as the Millennials are the worst positioned generation economically since those of the Great Depression of the 1930s.

According to author Patrick Wood: “Today, four companies produce 84% of our beef, four companies control the world’s grain market, 6 corporations control 90% of the media, 10 companies control everything we buy, 14 companies control the entire global auto industry.”

Capricorn is a sign that encompasses the “elites”; people who, through talent, ambition and persistence have risen to the top sector of their societies and are able to exercise control over them for good or for ill.  Jeff Bezos is a Capricorn sun as was Pres. Richard Nixon and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Bezos, CEO of Amazon, the richest man on earth, is now setting up a corporation that will “put us back on the Moon”, so that we can mine the mineral resources there.  Has anyone wondered about disrupting the orbit of the Moon on which life on earth currently depends, by removing its substances?  Are there any “limits” on this kind of power?

The current fixation is 5G; i.e. spreading computer access throughout the globe and erecting satellites around the planet that would likely surveil and control media access, military might, and an uncontrollable influx of information about everyone on the planet.  There is fierce competition, especially between the U.S. and China to gain this control.  Currently, there is a merger of T-Mobile and Sprint to get this foothold, a federal judge ruled that another big player for this presence,  Qualcom, violated anti-trust laws.  China’s Huawei is moving toward dominance in spite of Pres. Trump’s efforts to restrain them.

Capricorn’s element is earth, coinciding with a very stubborn temperament and a nature that sticks to the “existential reality” of most decisions it makes.  Often, early limitations and responsibilities in the life of a Capricorn may lead to holding “grudges,” but can also motivate the individual to achieve a later success that goes far beyond the scope of its family of origin.  The looming question is: what limits must be placed on this power and how would it work?

 Previous historic transits of Pluto in Capricorn brought the Protestant Revolution in Europe, the invasion of Cortez in Central America wiping out the Aztec Empire, and the American Revolution.  We have been witnessing the toppling of  “establishment” powers in governments all over the world, a crisis in the Roman Catholic Church, a polarized political environment in the U.S., and dictators getting elected throughout the globe and entrenched to an alarming extent.  Democracies only work when people are informed and engaged intelligently in what is going on in the economy and governments.  They do not work when people want a “strong man” who promises a ‘quick fix”.

 A ray of hope lies in the fact that even the powerful CEOs of corporations are questioning their own prior direction and acknowledging the inequalities in the world today.  Billionaire Robert F. Smith, the richest African American in the U.S. paid off all the college loans of last month’s graduating class of Morehouse college.  Many of the Democratic candidates running for president are presenting well thought out ideas concerning how there may be a balance between the prosperity of Capitalism and social safety nets to support the national infrastructures that make it all possible.

What Now?

This month’s oppositions between both Mars and Mercury in Cancer and Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn highlight the conflicts between the concerns of these two signs.  Saturn is conjunct the South Node of the Moon and the South Node of Pluto this month.  The last time this occurred in a similar way was the Cuban Missile Crisis in which we came close to a nuclear conflict with Russia.  The conflict in Venezuela is similar in that Russia supports the Maduro regime and we do not.  The Trump administration has threatened military “intervention” in this conflict.

We will likely see an increase in storms and floods (Cancer) around the world, but particularly here in the U.S. as global climate change is magnifying storms and monsoon style rains.  The earth (Capricorn) will erode into mudslides and result in buildings going down and the farming industry suffering losses of crops.    Food prices (Cancer) will likely rise and the government (Capricorn) will be increasing its fiscal debt by trying to fix a failing infrastructure.

Emergencies will highlight inadequacies of people in power to address these emergencies, resulting in more fighting between political parties and an accelerating of the “blame game”.

There are two significant eclipses that lie ahead in July.  July 2^nd, there is a Solar Eclipse at 10 degrees Cancer near the Sun of the U.S.A and on July 16^th there is a Lunar Eclipse on Pluto in Capricorn, conjunct the Pluto (those in power) in the chart of the U.S.A. The failures of our government here in the U.S. to address these crises will be highlighted.

The economic fallout that no meaningful “deal” may be made with China at this time will have negative consequences for financial markets.  Pres. Trump’s temper tantrums and waving flags of war at Iran will begin to register on the U.S. populace, who does not want another war in the Middle East.  While Pres. Trump was visiting Japan, No. Korea tested more nuclear missiles that are dangerously close to Japanese shores.  The president  “complimented” ruthless dictator Kim Jong Un , sending a message that our protection of Japan as a primary ally is now not assured.  Last month, Robert Mueller made a public statement that it was not the job of his investigation to indict or impeach the president, since that decision goes to Congress.  He repeated that Russia illegally invaded and attempted to influence the 2016 election.  However, he could neither exonerate the president nor assure the public that a crime had not been committed.    As Mars is opposition Saturn between June 13^th and 19^th, all these crises will be amplified as Mars is opposition Saturn and Pluto, conjunct the north node of Pluto.

The Economy:

The problems with farming industries as a result of the Trump tariffs on China and massive floods wiping out their lands will increase this month.  We will begin to see food prices rise.  We will become increasingly disillusioned with respect to the gap between corporate wealth and the public at large.  The Communication Workers of America (CWA) reported last month that AT & T has slashed 23,328 jobs since Congress passed the tax break bill in 2017 ($21 billion in tax cuts for AT & T) including 6000 workers in the first quarter of 2019.  They boosted executive pay and then cut capital investment by $1.4 billion.  This is just one example that blows up the “myth” that these tax breaks benefit most of the U.S. population. There will be more that lie ahead.

Last month, Uber, who is not profitable, went public (May 10, 2019, 11:51 AM, New York, NY) with Venus square Pluto.  I would avoid this stock.  Luckin Coffee made its IPO on May 17, 2019, 9:30 AM, New York, NY with Mercury trine Pluto and Venus sextile Uranus which bodes very well for this stock.  It will compete with Starbucks in China.  David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs bought United Capital. I think he will have cause to regret this decision. Richard Branson moved his Virgin Galactic Spaceport to New Mexico, a real boost to the economy and optimism for the region. 

What is rarely discussed with respect to our economy is the fact that China overwhelmingly controls the world market in “rare earths” or minerals necessary for most of our technology to function.  With this in mind, the continuance of our trade war with them could have serious consequences.

Both stock and bond markets will be negative and uncertain after the first week of this month.   However, all this is only a preview of what is to come in the Fall of this year.

Weather and the Environment:

It was recently announced that one million species on earth are on the verge of extinction and that ¾ of all the lands of the earth (excluding mountains and undersea areas) have been paved or mined.  Interestingly, a jury recently ordered Monsanto to pay a record $2 billion in a Roundup cancer trial.  Let us hope that Roundup will be banned here as it has been in multiple other nations.

There is a severe and ongoing drought in No. Korea threatening starvation to millions.  No. Korea has now started up their nuclear missile program again, as all deals went dead between them and the Trump administration.  This reminds us that global climate emergencies are behind so many political and military upheavals in the world, including the nations of the Middle East, where temperatures are rising and whose rivers are drying up.  As I previously forecasted would likely happen, there was an 8.0 earthquake in Peru whose effects caused landslides in neighboring Ecuador, 9 tornadoes struck Oklahoma, severe flooding hit Arkansas, and Ohio suffered extreme hurricane damages.

This month’s storms and floods here in the U.S. will remind us of the critical need to eliminate our dependency of fossil fuels and focus on solutions that many scientists are examining.  Earthquakes will likely increase in the areas located in the “ring of fire”.  Last month there were over 500 tornado warnings within the span of 30 days. Trump’s refusal to work with Congress to pass legislation for infrastructure and aid to those struck by natural disasters will only make things worse.

Other Nations:

The U.K:  Last month, Teresa May announced her resignation as Prime Minister due to the lack of a BREXIT deal.  Things will go from bad to worse this month as the divisions in this nation will worsen.

Japan:  This month’s Mars and Mercury oppositions to Saturn and Pluto activate the chart of Japan that have not been seen since their stock market crashed in 1990.  The important G-20 meeting is being held there in June.  Their emperor recently abdicated.  The Trump administration has insulted them by praising No. Korea’s violation of the U.N. agreement by firing off missiles close to their shores.  There may be some serious weather or natural event taking place this month.  A mass stabbing just took place in this nation, who has historically the lowest crime record in the world.  Times are rough for Japan.

Venezuela:  Things are getting more dire in this nation, but not enough is in their chart to overthrow Pres. Maduro.  Unfortunately, this nation will not likely make the changes it needs until later in 2020.

Syria: Assad will likely win the civil war and consolidate his power with more bombing of his civilian population.  Russia is behind his administration and most of the groups that organized against him have been obliterated.  

Saudi Arabia:  This month’s oppositions between Cancer and Capricorn (the dominate cluster of planets in their astrological chart) symbolizes conflict from within the royal family and challenges to their power as, surprisingly, Iraq may be moving toward siding with Iran, their old sworn enemy.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo:  The recent outbreak there of the Ebola virus may get worse this month as the diminishing infrastructure for global public health is not working to help them.

Final Thoughts:

Many people ask me how I hold onto my sanity as I survey the big crises and issues that haunt us throughout the world.  I answer this concern with the fact that my passion is to track down truths, no matter what the cost and no matter how difficult they are to discern.

The planetary positions point the way to the looming issues, but do not determine the outcomes.  By continuing this effort, there is a continuum of hope in my heart that humanity will make the decisions it needs to not only save itself, but to ally itself with a higher and more meaningful reality.

Every person does not have to be “on board” to accomplish this.  History is rarely changed by the majority of the people,  but has continually been changed by a passionate committed minority, for good or for ill.  There are many who have grand ideas, great energies, and a willingness to commit themselves to this effort.  I know because I have been fortunate enough to hear them.  The younger generations at this point are more about making these changes for all than their self-absorbed predecessors.

When I am quiet and at peace within myself, the most wonderful feeling about the future inhabits my mind and fills my heart.  We can do this and we can do it together!

May 4 New Moon at 14 degrees of Taurus sextile Neptune; May 1 Mercury is sextile Mars and is trine Jupiter May 2; May 5 Mars is opposition Jupiter; May 8 Mercury is conjunct Uranus while Venus is square Pluto May 9; May 14 Venus is sextile Mars and is conjunct Uranus May, 18 during which there is a Full Moon at 27 degrees Scorpio; Mars goes into Cancer May 16 through June 30) and is sextile Uranus May 22; May 29 Mercury in Gemini is square Neptune.

Saturn in Capricorn sextile Neptune in Pisces – Jan. 2019 through Nov. 2019.

Authority embraces Fantasy or . . .

Is the Holy Grail filled with Poisoned Kool Aid or Spiritual Enlightenment?

As astrologers looked ahead at this planetary picture in 2018, we theorized that the pleasant aspect between Saturn (authority and structure) and Neptune (creativity, compassion, fantasy) has some very nice possibilities. We hypothesized that both government and business backed structures (Saturn) could be put into place that would implement our highest ideals (Neptune) and help people who need help the most – the working poor, the abandoned children and elderly, the disabled, the disenfranchised, immigrants fleeing starvation and death, those racially and religiously discriminated against, and those who are dying rapidly of drug addictions.

I have to admit that Neptune has both seduced and confused my sensibilities throughout my life with his promises of blissful solutions to complex issues. Like most Americans, I watch a lot of television, with multiple dramatically loud presentations from politicians and economists, after which I escape into the movies with their simple heroes and heroines and villains and then – fall asleep consoled that, somehow, the “good” will prevail.

I honestly think that all the ads that appear about every 10 minutes on every televised program, “pop-up” on our emails and face book pages that tell us we “deserve” the miracle cosmetic, the drug we should “push” our doctor to prescribe for our various and growing chronic illnesses, the fancy arrayed- with- electronics car, the newest complex app for our smart phones, the high-end renovated house, the filled- with- sugar- and- fat fast food, and that even our deserving cat should have the high priced vegan cat vittles – all inundate (Neptune) us to the point we are willing to make the billionaires even richer and move most of the rest of us deeper into a self-absorbed fantasy, so to speak!

Will the real Saturn stand up?

The structure (Saturn) of our society is most frequently ruled by the “established” rich, whose wealth depends upon fantasy (Neptune) to convince us that we should join the “cult” that we ‘deserve” to buy anything we desire and that those who do not have the wealth to buy anything they desire should be put in ghettos, sanctuary cities, barbed wire, homeless shelters, and, even as many of the mentally ill emerge in the streets, in jail. A badly presented Saturn tells us that our race, religion, association with elites, or income level makes us “superior” to everybody else. This system operates both at the corporate level and within the hierarchy of the government itself. Historically, this was entrenched within the old monarchies and, presently, lies in the outlying frameworks of both political parties.

I am reminded of an extreme example of the consequences of this pathway. The infamous Jim Jones cult of the 1970s gathered vulnerable disenchanted people together to “worship” Jones, hate everybody outside their community, and immigrate to Guyana to separate themselves from the rest of society, and live a fantasy life. In reality, Jones was a narcissistic psychopath who asserted such fear and intimidation over his followers, they were afraid to leave. He finally, and tragically, led them to commit mass suicide that included their babies and small children, drinking poisoned laced Kool Aid and were found dead by Americans who flew there to find them.

The present administration in the White house, at this time, has convinced its ‘base” that all these people of color, immigrants, and the marginalized in society have “stolen” their jobs and should be subject to the cruelest treatments while those presently in power will “make America great again.” The passing of a tax break for the richest Americans suggests that these are the people who ‘deserve” it. The “relaxing” of government regulations of the oil and gas industries promotes the notion that they deserve to continue their massive global warming and polluting, even as we enter the point of no return for the survival of life on earth. The Mueller Report has revealed that Russia has launched sweeping systematic cyber attacks on the U.S. and, although the president is not accused of collusion, he was aware of all this and tried to get his staff to “fire” Mueller, as they testified.

The political “spin” behind all this promotes an economy and a way of life that is no longer relevant in the world as it is today– in which considerable wealth and a specific ethnic background gives them the privilege of superiority and the “right” to suppress everyone else. It leaves out the fact that American corporations themselves moved factories and jobs out of our country to avoid environmental restrictions and hired cheap labor from abroad. It ignores the rise of technology that is automating jobs out of existence and increasing stock values for the very wealthy who already have billions in giant hedge funds. It ignores the giant banks have been “complicit” in all this. It deviates people’s attention away from the very “real” issues we face today: oncoming climate and environmental devastation, failed states all over the world that are giving birth to mass migrations throughout the globe, dictators taking military control over multiple nations, an economic model that rewards about 1% of the human population, entrenched poverty, and an overwhelmed health care system that is leading to the sickness and death of hundreds of millions of people.

International Repercussions:

Terrible failed states and civil wars are ongoing at the present time in Syria, Algeria, Libya, Mali, Yemen, and the Sudan, steeped in religious tribalism and threatened by military dictators. In the UK, it has ignited, through the BREXIT movement, the divisions in Northern and Southern Ireland. It has reactivated the old division in Spain with the Catalan people. No. Korea’s Kim, an absolute dictator, is back to increasing his nuclear capabilities. Putin is in absolute control of Russia while we are currently moving backward in our relationship with this nation to the era of the Cold War. The two dictators recently had a summit with each other, releasing essentially no information about what they discussed. Egypt has voted in a referendum aimed at extending their current military President’s rule until 2030. Venezuela is in shambles and many nations in Central and South America are under the control of drug lords, dictators, and street gangs while their economies are failing. This accounts for the mass migration of these people, running for their lives, coming over the borders of the U.S. to escape death.

Saturn, Neptune and the Roman Catholic Church:

Through the centuries, the promise of “salvation” for the faithful (Neptune) has been contained within the structure (Saturn) of the Catholic Church. It has been controlled by an unassailably rigid male hierarchy of unmarried popes and priests. It has been historically encompassed by layers of secrecy and unaccountability. Some historians see the church as an ‘extension of the old Roman Empire” and many millions are leaving, declaring themselves independent of any affiliation. The sexual assault scandals that have haunted the church for the past 30 years are now being revealed and too many excuses have been contrived to try to cover up what has now been undeniably uncovered. On top of everything else, the great Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was accidentally set on fire and burned last month, a tragic symbol of the loss of its former magnificence. Sadly, the Catholic Church, that has brought a profound spiritual solace to billions for nearly 2000 years, is at risk. I am of the opinion that The Church must dramatically transform itself into a more all- inclusive and publicly accountable and more democratic institution or it will go down “in flames” as the Age of Pisces ends and a new Aquarian Age dawns.

Terrorism, Neptune, and Religious Fundamentalism:

In the U.S., we have witnessed attacks on synagogues, the most recent in Poway, California where a shooter killed a woman who was shielding the Rabbi of the temple on the last day of Passover. In New Zealand, it was the mass murders of Muslims in midst of their religious services. In Sri Lanka, the attacks by ISIS on Christian churches and hotels killing over 400 people on Easter Sunday are continuing as we speak. All of these are part of a long list tragically playing out in our world today. The rise of globalism, the breakup of societies’ institutions, and millions of young people who have lost a sense of identity and purpose have resulted in a hatred and blaming of what they see as “the other”. Religion as “tribe” has filled the gap for people whose economies no longer serve them and whose communities are threatened. The rise of the internet and hate mongering websites and chat rooms throw fuel on the fire.

Choices:

A destructive Neptune whispers into our ears the lie that we can “escape” all this through self-absorption, addiction, and ignorance. However, a more positive Saturn may be finally stepping up to the plate as many people running for president, environmental organizations, and even some powerful corporate heads are presenting and framing viable possibilities and inspiring (positive Neptune) solutions that, if incorporated, can change the trajectory of this civilization, and lead the way to saving and elevating the human presence on planet earth.

It is all about choice. Which pathway will we choose? Time will tell.

The Economy:

There are very mixed signals about the economy this month. Mars in Gemini is square the Neptune of the U.S.A., is opposed Jupiter, and inconjunct Pluto between May 1^st and May 6^th and Venus is square Saturn and Pluto between the 6^th and the 8^th, all which suggest that comprehensive truths about the financial markets are absent or confusing. In the second half of the month, Mercury in Taurus will trine Saturn and Pluto and Mars will sextile Uranus leaning toward a more optimistic projection, especially in the job market.

There is a lot of talk about 5G – or the monumental increase in the speed and scope of the internet. Right now, and in the immediate future, China is considerably ahead of the US in this effort and we need to scramble to catch up. The Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in Aquarius on the ascendant of China’s astrological chart in December 2020 points them squarely at the future. There is likely some kind of trade deal between the US and China unfolding at this time. In spite of China’s “stealing” our technology through the years and their hacking practices, we must have an ongoing and constructive relationship with both our economies that includes environmental solutions, or march toward irrelevance and continued ignoring of global climate emergencies.

There will be a pickup in construction (Taurus) of roads and housing that will look positive for that sector for now, but, overall, the housing market is going into a decline that will be very clear by the Fall of this year. Under last month’s positive planetary connections, April was a big month for IPOs including Lyft, Zoom, Levi-Strauss, and Pinterest. I expect more to be announced this month. As I have posted many times in this newsletter, I am of the opinion that this stock market will grow bigger through August and begin a decline September through December.

The harsh facts about the economy include the fact that US debt now is greater than the annual GDP and is expected to grow by 8% in 2019. The majority of U.S. citizens struggle just to survive paycheck to paycheck. and the healthcare system is in trouble. Homelessness in the major cities throughout the U.S. is finally starting to get attention. It was recently reported that Medicare and Social Security are in fiscal jeopardy and new legislation will be necessary to correct this.

Foreign Relations:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was re-elected in a close contest last month, after a very public endorsement by Pres. Trump. Between his ongoing declarations that Iran is a terrorist threat and Trump’s trashing the nuclear disarmament treaty negotiated by the Obama Administration, I am of the opinion that the possibility exists that these two may engage in a war with Iran in 2020. Mars will retrograde back and forth in Aries in 2020 from June 28 through January 6, 2021. When our nation goes to war, the president tends to regain support politically and this may be involved, in a recessionary economy, with Trump’s attempt to get reelected. I sincerely hope that this possibility does not play out.

Weather and The Environment:

On spaceweather.com news for April 11^th, it was reported: “Solar Cycle update: An international panel of researchers led by NASA and NOAA has released a new prediction for the solar cycle. According to their analysis, the current solar minimum is going to deepen, potentially reaching a century-class low in the next year or so. This will be followed by a new Solar Max in the years 2023-2026.”

As many of you already know, I have quoted experts in solar cycles in this newsletter. Many of them think that this Solar Minimum may last much longer, as it did in the Mini-Ice Age in the 18^th Century.

In an article published on April 3^rd on www.commondreams.org, writer Jessica Corbett reported: “A group of activists, experts, and writers on Wednesday launched a bold new campaign calling for the ‘thrilling but neglected approach’ of embracing nature’s awesome restorative powers to battle the existential crises of climate and ecological breakdown. Averting catastrophic global warming and devastating declines in biodiversity, scientists warn, requires…  by not only rapidly decarbonizing economies, but also by ‘drawing carbon dioxide out of the air by protecting and restoring ecosystems. By defending, restoring and re-establishing forests, peatlands, mangroves, salt marshes, natural sea beds, and other crucial ecosystems, very large amounts of carbon can be removed from the air and stored.” This information is encouraging and will require huge economic and political commitments. It may be our only hope.

Young people throughout the world are launching movements and demonstrations for humanity to save the ecological system. Sadly, too many are presently saying that they do not want to have children, who would be forced to face the climate devastation that lies ahead if we do little or nothing.

Southern Africa was hit last month by another cyclone, as I predicted in last month’s newsletter. High winds and flooding will likely continue this month. Mars is going into the sign of Cancer May 15^th and will transit there through June 30^th, opposing both Saturn and Pluto in June. These placements may be associated with earthquakes and massive flooding.

The Mueller Report & Politics:

It is amazing how the Trump administration, especially Attorney General Barr, have “spun” this document to say the President is innocent of all charges. In fact, Mueller specifically said that it “does not exonerate the President.” What we know about the report (even though much of it is redacted) is that Trump wanted Mueller fired and ordered his staff to do so, even though they refused. It outlines a White House in angry disarray, confusion, and lies, pointing out four times when Trump ordered “false records”. The document has substantiated Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and, although it stopped short of trump’s “collusion” with them, it pointed to the stamp of his approval. It is not within the framework of the law for Mueller to indict a sitting president. It was his job to bring this before the Congress and the American people and for them to decide.

I do not think the Congress will impeach Pres. Trump. Instead, I think they will focus on defeating him in Nov. of 2020 and they have their work cut out for them, since he has a lot of planetary support at that time. The Democrats will have to unite behind a candidate who can win this election and a key will be not just the presidential candidate, but an attractive vice- presidential candidate. So far, the two best announcement charts are Sen. Kamala Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigieg. The announcement chart for Vice President Joe Biden has some positives, but with the Moon conjunct Saturn, is getting him off to a late and slow start.

Final Thoughts:

As I stroll along our streets and navigate our landscapes, I often feel like I am in a movie entitled: “The Jetsons meet the Apocalypse”. Crowds are standing on corners and walking across the streets with their faces buried in their smart phones completely detached from each other and the natural environment around them. I enter a restaurant where couples and friends are gathered together and notice they are hardly having a conversation as their eyes are glued to their screens and their fingers are texting somebody remote from their present location. Most of their companions seated there have adapted, as they are also busy on their laptops.

At home, people walk in the door to talk to “Alexa”, while they have their giant flat screen television sets on in each room tuned to different stations. The Jetson kids are eating the pizza they ordered out on their cell phones and are now back to texting their friends again or accessing multiple crazy websites so they can avoid doing their homework or even having a conversation with any of the members of their family.

There are those exceptional people who have traveled around the country and, indeed, the world, enchanted by the amazing beauty of the oceans, the mountains, and the magnificence of the natural world, teeming with life. Some persons are truly devoted to salvaging all this and have chosen professions in which they are trying to stave off disaster from the melting of glaciers at the poles, the plastic filled dead zones in the seas, the toxic pollution from radioactivity and chemicals deposited on every continent by humans motivated only by personal profit and the accumulation of wealth. These persons are gathering together in communities and actually making friends with each other, sharing ideas, constructing green buildings and spaces. These are the curious and contemplative humans who use technology wisely and carefully. Many take the time for meditation each day to “tune in” to the places in the universal consciousness that may bring them to the “peace that passeth understanding.”

The Jetsons will not solve the mysteries of life itself, nor will they stop the Apocalypse that we have already set in motion. The answers will come from the deepest part of our being – the universal soul of humanity itself. And we will find it together.

New Moon at 15 degrees Aries square Saturn, Pluto and the Lunar Nodes (conjunct the South Node of Pluto) on April 5; Full Moon at 29 degrees of Libra square Pluto on April 19; Mercury in Pisces is sextile Saturn April 6 and is sextile Pluto April 10; Venus in Pisces is conjunct Neptune April 9, is sextile Saturn April 12, and is sextile Pluto April 14; Mars goes into Gemini March 31 transiting the sign until May 15and is sextile Mercury in Aries April 30; Jupiter goes retrograde April 9 and is square Mercury April 12 and is square Venus April 15.

(Chiron enters Aries (through April of 2027))

The Struggle for Identity:

We have experienced, since 2011 until now, the transit of Uranus, the rebel, through the sign of Aries (the warrior) and square (in conflict) to Pluto (concentration of wealth and power) in Capricorn. This has corresponded with civil wars and revolutions throughout the world, expressed within different contexts, but, combined with climate emergencies, has resulted in upheavals around the globe. As a consequence, mass migrations out of nations of origin have expanded to levels not seen since WW II.

Similar to its historic transit through this sign in the 1930’s, we have seen the rise of racism, xenophobia, and narcissistic dictators who use “hate” to further their exploitation. We have seen a tendency toward selfishness and lack of sense of the “greater good”. We have seen religions move toward their ancient ethnic warrior tribal frameworks demonizing and fearing “the other” and moving away from the tolerance and collaboration that are necessary for democracies to function in the modern world. The rise of globalism and corporate decisions made over the past 40 years has clearly created an “identity crisis”. People see their jobs threatened, their cultures shattered, their institutions no longer serving them, and their governments “bought out” by large financial interests that lay outside their realms. The BREXIT crisis illustrates all these tendencies framed within the culture of the UK whose people and parliament seem to choose fighting and fragmentation over agreements and compromises.

CHIRON’s transit in the sign of Aries will bring all this into focus in a different sense. The mythology around Chiron’s birth tells a story of a profound “identity crises.” He was born as a centaur – a hybrid of an animal, a human and a god. His legend is one of the “wounded healer”, the part animal, part human, part divinity, whose painful wound by a poisoned arrow he forged for Hercules, was accidentally self-inflicted. His wound was impossible to heal, yet, because of his divinity, he was unable to die. He came to understand that his mission was to heal the wounds humanity has inflicted on itself through a willingness to sacrifice selfishness for wisdom and self -knowledge. Thus, he became a teacher and a healer. Chiron’s identity is as an “outsider” who does not fit in with animals, humans, or the gods forced him to sacrifice fragmentation, and, instead, accept and embrace all his component parts through his service to humanity. At this point, Zeus took pity on him, he was allowed to die, and to be reborn into a new unified organism (the constellation of Sagittarius) that is symbolic of an evolutionary leap forward.

Aries the Warrior:

Without the fiery energy of Aries, most people would not have survived the great challenges of existence through the ages as most tribal societies simply lived at a subsistence level from day to day, hunting, fishing, and farming to stave off starvation and fighting off local “tribes” for control of territory. Our ancestors observed a natural world in which animals preyed off each other and, it was quite simply, a “eat or be eaten” contest. Thus, they developed hierarchies of “alpha” men (warlords) rarely including women, to govern their tribes and nations. They quite simply “killed off” their competition for power and control of their assets and formed the primary societal order. Author Howard Blume in his book “The Lucifer Principle” demonstrates that these “hierarchies of dominance” were present in the animal kingdom and within human societies since they began at the dawn of history. Great climate changes such as ice ages, ice melts and ensuing great floods, and volcanic eruptions all forced people to migrate across continents and oceans to places where they could survive. Their energy and ingenuity is why we still exist and sustain an unprecedented population of around 8 billion people alive on planet earth today.

Since the great wars of the 20^th and 21^st centuries to control energy assets and territories have played out in history, we have developed weapons that threaten to destroy all life on earth. The Lucifer Principle has brought us Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and Mao and continue to this day to present multiple dictators who retain power by coercion and often genocidal massacres. Blume suggests that the ancient models for societies now threaten our existence and must change to something else. Under this model, we have created an escalating climate catastrophe due primarily to the massive use of fossil fuels to power an industrial and technological revolution never seen before. It is now clear that the Warrior must become the Healer or the selfish short- sighted infantile Aries will evoke wounds that will not heal on himself and all who live together on the planet today.

The New Necessity: Collaboration

Democracy is still a revolutionary idea within the context of human history. It means we have the right to vote for our leaders. It requires a respect for the individual’s rights and opinions combined with a willingness to work together to implement big projects, create and compose successful civilizations containing public works for all, and make economic equality of opportunity a reality – not just a fantasy. This requires intelligent debate, cooperation, and collaboration. The fiery energy of Aries can be used to innovate new solutions to crises rising on today’s horizon, inspire young people to become involved in massive projects, and learn to work in teams to implement them.

All of us are in this together. Our neighbor is ourselves. A destroyed landscape means we will sicken and die together. Respecting and honoring all the aspects of ourselves – animal, human and divine, could result in a miracle – a renewed green and sustainable environment for all of us – our children and grandchildren to inhabit, living together, on an earthly paradise.

The Economy:

Between April 1^st and April 12^th, Mercury and Venus are sextile both Saturn and Pluto, promoting a fantasy that the economy is still working as markets are trending upward. Mars in Gemini will square Neptune on the 26^th, ending many financial delusions. First Pluto, and now Saturn and the transiting South Node of the Moon are transiting the South Node of Pluto and will be joined by Jupiter by Feb. of 2020. This is a highly unusual set of transits, threatening power structures, economies, and institutions around the world. We are seeing this already.

For many years in my newsletters and all three of my books, I have recommended cyber security as a major economic investment. I have also recommended water containment and purification stocks, or funds. I have suggested “green” technologies that would solve massive pollution problems and build sustainable energy infrastructures. Now, finally, the media is starting to reveal the importance of these areas of the economy that are essential to our survival. Up to this time, frankly, I feel I have been “shouting into the wind”. These are ideas whose time has come.

The truth is that we are entering an economic recession that is truly worse than many of the elites on Wall Street tell us. We now have an inverted yield curve. Oil and gas prices are starting to rise, especially since Venezuela, who has the biggest oil deposits in the world, has been “sanctioned” by the U.S. and is in the midst of a societal and economic collapse. The massive floods I have previously predicted in my newsletters have hit the Midwestern states, right in the middle of the farm belt and in parts of the South. These areas have already been financially hit by the Trump tariffs on China. I am hoping that he will make some kind of deal this month with Mercury sextile Pluto. Soon, food prices will skyrocket. All this will create a significant inflationary spiral that the corporate “cartel” has previously controlled by purposely keeping people’s wages down.

Low wages and high housing prices have kept about 47% of our nation living at or below the poverty line. About 48% of our population is known to have cardiovascular disease. We have an epidemic of obesity and ensuing millions with diabetes. Our young people are overdosing on opioids and there has been a 30% increase in suicides. Pres. Trump wishes to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, leaving about 30 million people uninsured and all losing the protection of its “pre-existing condition” clause. Neither he or the Republicans in Congress have a plan to replace it.

We will soon be forced to “print” money to pay our historically high (over $22 trillion) sovereign debt. We will see more defaults on auto loans as this market is beginning to decline. We will see problems with credit card debt. The US trade deficit is the largest since 2008. The Feds, under pressure from Pres. Trump and the business cartel, will likely either stay put or lower interest rates by the Fall.

Interestingly, even Jaime Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase is publicly commenting on the major economic disparities between the 1% and the rest of the population. Those who occupy the ruling elite are beginning to be concerned about the consequences of a societal collapse whose effect would be a blowback effecting their own lives. Last month’s scandal involving wealthy and privileged celebrities bribing colleges to admit their children is actually just a confirmation of what most of us have been observing for years, as many universities are being run like profit-driven corporations. In March, the tragic accident in a “hybrid” Boeing airplane highlights the tendencies of corporations to put profits before lives. As Ralph Nader recently wrote, “Boeing’s sales driven avoidance of producing effective manuals with upgraded pilot training was courting disaster as was the outrageously leaving of many of the pilots in the dark.”

By the Fall of this year, we will be in a bear market and a serious recession. Now is the time to get into a cash/gold position as a safety play and wait on the sidelines. Gold and silver markets are highly manipulated by the central banks, who have been buying gold and storing it for the first time in many years. However, we are reaching “peak gold” as there is very little left to extract.

Politics:

Mars (combat) in communication-oriented Gemini (March 31 through May 15) will assert a major influence in the charts of both the U.S. and Pres. Trump. The candidates in the Democratic Party will have a heyday lashing out at the president as he lashes out at the Congress, the press, the Democrats, and any single person or organization who disagrees with him, as he promotes dissent, fragmentation, and conflict in his multiple tweets. Last month, he even attacked deceased war hero and long- time distinguished Senator John McCain. I assume he feels safe attacking a person who is dead and cannot speak out for himself.

The UK is dealing with a similar inability to reach a consensus and their parliament has voted down every proposal for BREXIT that Prime Minister Teresa May has proposed. Something will be decided this month as Mercury is sextile Saturn and Pluto – with or without them.

I have long asserted that Trump will not be impeached. The publishing of the Mueller Report confirms that that step will not be taken. The report was announced with retrograde Mercury (communication) conjunct Neptune (confusion) in which Mueller said he could not find direct “collusion” but that it also did not “exonerate” the president. Mercury conjunct Neptune is awash with confusion! The report is supposed to be released to Congress and the public this month with much of it “redacted.” Trump sees this as a victory and is now back to eliminating health care coverage for about 30 million Americans by trying to trash Obamacare, even though it is law. He is trying to extract money for his “wall” by taking money out of the funds designated for military operations. His “proposed” budget outlined last month cuts Medicaid, Medicare, and provisions for Public Health, among other things. He has proposed nothing to replace existing systems. His Secretary of Education, Betsey De Vos has proposed removing funds from the Special Olympics to fund her private religious schools. Neither Trump or De Vos actually have any authority here as Congress holds the power of the purse.

All this should be a gift to the Democrats, who ran and won on health care in last Fall’s elections. Democrats who “announced” their candidacy last month under retrograde Mercury will likely run into delays. Astrologers require dates, times, and places of birth for us to study the charts of candidates running for office and cannot comment until we get this data.

As to the 2020 election, I will comment once the nominee of the Democratic Party has been decided.

Weather and the Environment:

The massive floods we have seen in March will likely continue until April 20^th, as both Mercury and Venus are transiting Pisces. I previously predicted serious storms and floods in March. We saw record setting floods in the Midwest farm belt and the Missouri River is still flooding these regions. We will see food shortages and higher food prices as a result. This kind of weather will likely continue through the 20^th of this month.

The biggest catastrophe in March was historic cyclone Adai that hit the southern Coasts of Africa destroying infrastructures of three nations: Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique where millions had to flee their homes. A terrible cholera epidemic has broken out there. Mars transiting Gemini this month through the middle of May will likely present huge winds and high pollen counts. Watch out for accidents while travelling as Mars is square Neptune the 24^th through the 27^th.

Final Thoughts:

Navigating through the storms and waves of Pisces last month and this month sometimes makes us feel like victims of the circumstances surrounding the planet as a whole and the limitations of our own individual perceptions. Pisces is a sign that makes us more aware of what we do not know than what we know. Trying to combat this is like shouting into the wind, punching at the waves, or stopping a hurricane as it sweeps through the sky.

On a personal level, I have found that I simply need to pause for a while and stop the battle I am waging within myself. The stillness, the quiet, the decision to not intervene, brings me to the surface of the water where I float, surrounded by a light that illumines my soul and reminds me of the immortality that surrounds our mortal lives here on earth.

The stars speak to me that this is not all there is; that the darkness and the cold will subside of its own will; that out of destruction, creation emerges and surprises us over and over again. The arrival of Spring and with it, Easter and Passover bring us a celebration of victory, hope, rebirth, and quite simply, one more chance.

Have a beautiful and meaningful holiday season!

New Moon March 6 at 15 degrees Pisces conjunct Neptune sextile Mars and Saturn; Full Moon March 20 at 00 Libra ( on the World Point) semi-sextile Uranus; Mercury goes retrograde March 5^th at a critical 29 degrees Pisces, is trine the North Node on the 14^th, is sextile Pluto on the 15^th, is square Jupiter on the 15^th, goes direct conjunct Neptune on the 28 ^th and is in this sign until April 16^th; Venus goes into Aquarius on the 2^nd sextile Jupiter on the 21^st, Mars in Taurus until March 30^th is trine Saturn on the 13^th and trine Pluto on the 19^th; Uranus goes into Taurus March 5^th and is in this sign until April of 2026.

(Mercury retrograde in Pisces)

Water – Water Everywhere!

Swimming through the Waves of Mass Confusion:

Astrologers frequently advise their clients not to sign a contract or start a new venture under a Mercury retrograde cycle. This is especially true this month as Mercury goes through Pisces, a placement that tends to get caught up in Ponzi schemes, attracts con artists, produces escapism and flights of fancy, or simply feels confused and distracted. Because of its positive aspects to Saturn and Pluto, financial markets may reach highs that are unsustainable later on when the investor may say: “What was I thinking?”

Pisces is a sign associated with health care, chemicals (oil), the fine arts including the media and film industries, drugs and alcohol. This may present a scandal in any of these industries that will have wide ranging effects. This would include health care corporations, oil companies (spills and pollution), media corporations, cannabis industries and, possibly, another revelation about the opioid epidemic in our nation.

Corruption in government will be a major theme as the Mueller investigation of Trump and the Russian involvement in the 2016 election gains “steam.” Last month, former Acting Director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe published a book and was interviewed on 60 Minutes revealing that, after the firing of Comey, there was a consideration of evoking the 25^th Amendment to declare Trump unfit for office. Michael Cohen’s recent testimony before Congress points to fraud, lying, cheating, etc. of Pres. Trump, but still does not demonstrate that he colluded directly with Russia which would be an impeachable offense.

Most of all, and most importantly, Pisces is a symbol of global water – the source of all life on earth.

Mercury retrograde in Pisces, combined with the transit of Mars in Taurus (land), will increase the danger of tsunamis, storms, and massive flooding. The rain/snow I predicted for the winter season in past newsletters is accelerating this month through the middle of April and set new records for one of the wettest winters on record! This includes the formerly dry areas in California and much of the western U.S. In addition, I am particularly concerned this month about the possibility of flooding in Japanese territory. Finally, the facts and projections of global climate scientists are being taken seriously. Our march toward destruction of species and what awaits life here on earth is terrifying! Recently, a book worth reading has been authored by David Wells, entitled “Uninhabitable Earth”, outlining how every aspect of life is being threatened by climate change.

I am inspired by a recent article posted Feb. 14^th on the blog, scientificamerican.com entitled: “Bold Plan? Replace the Border Wall with an Energy-Water Corridor” by Mark Fischetti. He reports: “Instead of an endless, inert wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, line the boundary with 2,000 miles of natural gas, solar and wind power plants. Use some of the energy to desalinate water from the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean and ship it through pipelines to thirsty towns, businesses, and new farms along the entire border zone. Hire hundreds of thousands of people from both countries to build and run it all. Companies would make money and provide security to safeguard their assets. A contentious and costly no-man’s-land would be transformed into a corridor of opportunity.” He goes on to say: ”A consortium of 27 engineers and scientists from a dozen U.S. universities has developed a plan. Last week they delivered it to three U.S. representatives and one senator.  ‘Let’s put the best scientists and engineers together to create a new way to deal with migration, trafficking—and access to water. These are regions of severe drought,’ says Luciano Castillo, a professor of energy and power at Purdue University who leads the group.”

Conservation, purification, and containment of water will be one of the grandest issues of the 21^st Century. This month’s retrograde Mercury in Pisces will demonstrate to us just how big, and sometimes incomprehensible, this subject really is. Here lies a real and present challenge in connection to environmental issues being raised, particularly at this time as the 2020 election is looming on the horizon, and so many have announced they are running for office. We are caught between the “climate deniers” and corporate giants who do not want to pay taxes — and proponents of the “Green New Deal” which contains a lot of inspiring ideas, but lacks many of the details around how to pay for them.

Democracy in trouble:

A major problem with reaching voters and with the democratic system in general is the fact that people tend to respond to “simplicity”: they want one-liners and short phrases to come from clearly defined party positions, i.e. “Left” vs. “Right” or “Capitalist” vs. “Socialist.” I am startled at how many people tell me they don’t read books any more and seldom read scholarly articles. The critical thinking required to maintain a healthy democracy is in seriously short supply! It is easier to get caught up in the schemes of autocratic dictators who use “name calling”, hate mongering, and “fear of the other’ to get into positions of power. This month’s Pisces retrograde Mercury makes this difficult to navigate and we all need to be vigilant concerning lies vs. truth, exaggeration vs. precision, schemes that tempt us to gamble with our assets, vs. patience and holding off decision making until things become more transparent. Many issues will clarify on or shortly after March 28^th, when Mercury goes direct and sextile both Saturn and Pluto.

The Economy:

I am seriously aware of how the media is constantly talking about this “great prosperous economy”. I think the stock market is going higher on a frothy upswing before a major correction in the Fall of the year. We now know that the landscape of the economy in America works very well for the One Per Cent and is simply a struggle for many others. Recently, it was announced that default on auto loans is the highest since 2010 during the Great Recession. Our sovereign wealth debt has risen to over $22 trillion and personal credit card debt is the highest in our history. The abuses of the giant banks that led to the 2008 crash have not been corrected. All this points to a serious decline by the end of this year. Those more far-seeing individuals will likely be buying gold and silver as a safety hedge for the future, especially as Mercury goes direct sextile Saturn at the end of this month. Another place fitting the current themes would be water ETFs.

A looming economic issue at this time is our trade agreement with China, their “hacking” our data bases, and the disruptive arrest of the CFO of Chinese tech giant, Huawei. For the U.S. to control the massive 5G rollout, institute some kind of control of China’s stealing of our technology, and prevent them from “hacking” into our data banks, it will take massive and detailed negotiating power. There may actually be some kind of agreement right after Mercury goes direct on March 28^th, sextile both Saturn and then Pluto into early April.

One of my clients emailed me an insightful and startling article in the March 2019 issue of The Atlantic entitled “Russian-Style Kleptocracy is Infiltrating America” by Franklin Foer: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/how-kleptocracy-came-to-america/580471

It carefully outlines how, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian oligarch money got into international banks, most of all, American banks, and was “laundered”. In both Clinton and Bush administrations, there was an attempt to pass legislation to stop this and it actually happened in the Patriot Act passed after the 911 attack. Following this, the Russians began a massive money laundering operation through American real estate, including that belonging to Donald Trump. All this may very well be behind Pres. Trump’s fulfilling all of Vladimir Putin’s wishes by weakening America’s position in NATO, withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, withdrawing troops from Syria where Putin and Assad are allied, and taking Putin’s “word” that Russia had nothing to do with the 2016 election in spite of U.S. security (FBI, CIA, and Homeland Security) all confirming how they hacked into Social Media and used Wikileaks to release dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Obviously, Trump was not “alone” in all these illegal machinations, that included Deutsche Bank and parts of our own U.S. banking system. Americans have been sensing for a long time that corruption has had its way in this country. Historically, we have witnessed a collaboration between giant banks, corporations, and the “bought and paid for” federal government. The origin and core of our trouble lies in this dark and often hidden concentration of wealth and power. Americans are very suspicious of this and for good reason. Pres. Trump ran on a promise to clean up the alligators in the swamp and he may now be the king of all the alligators. This is not a great month for the president, and the planets place a great deal of stress on his astrological chart. Having said all this, I still do not think the Republicans will impeach him.

Foreign Nations:

Venezuela is in a meltdown of monumental proportions. Currently elected President Maduro has control of the military while his competitor Guaido is supported by the legislature and has received recognition by the U.S. and many other nations. Maduro is keeping massive aid to starving Venezuelans from crossing the borders. Haiti is also trying to expel its dictator president for a crooked collaboration involving Venezuelan oil. The U.S. and western nations have a long history of intervening in multiple nations over many years in the Southern Hemisphere, mostly due to our vested interests in oil and mining, frequently leaving these nations with devastated environments and no essential economy outside of corporate oil. When oil prices plummeted, Venezuela lost most of its revenue and the economy tanked. As has happened before, this helped Hugo Chavez to get elected who, afterwards, got rid of private property and the nation experienced a government takeover. After Chavez came Maduro, massive inflation of their currency, and people exiting the nation. Pres. Trump has threatened to “invade” this nation, which would be a monumental mistake. This month’s Mercury transit in Pisces will worsen the confusion until it goes direct at the end of the month sextile Saturn and is sextile Pluto in early April, giving this nation some hope for reorganization, although the fundamentals in their broken economy are still present.

Northeastern Nigeria is being invaded by ISIS that hopes to establish a new Caliphate there. This nation is so torn apart by a lengthy and horrible civil war that they may actually welcome ISIS that ”promises” to be more friendly to civilians. This is a terrible irony. ISIS is like a virus that enters these devastated countries that have failed states. It makes it impossible, for all practical purposes, for America to go chasing all over the world to combat these insurgencies.

India/Pakistan are in conflict again over Kashmir, which has gone on since the civil war in India that divided the nation and created the nation of Pakistan for Muslims. Is there an end to this any time soon? The answer is no.

Israel is being caught up in the conflict connected with this month’s transit of Mars in Taurus. Anti-Semitism has raised its ugly head over the past several years and is currently expressing itself in France, Germany, and the U.S. The Middle East is caught in the destructive wars between Iran’s Shia governance (supported by Russia) and Saudi Arabia’s Sunni dominance (supported by the U.S.) and the multiple failed states in the region. As Uranus enters Taurus this month, Israel will be in an even greater struggle for its existence between now and 2026.

Japan may have some issues this month with flooding, earthquakes/tsunamis or volcanic eruptions.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Pres. Trump are currently meeting that, due to this month’s retrograde Mercury in Pisces, will be a morass of lies and confusion. Sociopath Kim has ruthlessly assassinated anyone, including his own uncle, who he perceives is his “enemy” and has been starving his populace in a ruthless dictatorship that uses fear as its main tactic. Trump has “praised” Kim for discussing “deals” involving nuclear disarmament, although, even though Kim has not been testing nuclear weapons, he has been accumulating and storing them underground. His only negotiating tool on the world scene is his nuclear weapons stockpile. Thus – no deal!

Russia has announced its new nuclear capabilities and Pres. Trump has “withdrawn” from the nuclear disarmament treaty of the 1980s, since Putin has been violating its mandates. As I have predicted in previous newsletters for years, we are now in a new “Cold War” with Russia.

China is busy negotiating a new trade deal with the Trump administration. By the period between March 28^th and April 10^th, there may actually be some kind of deal, as Mercury is sextile Saturn and Pluto. They are suffering far worse than the U.S. as their economic growth is seriously in decline. The art of working with this giant economy that is government controlled will be like walking a tightrope.

The UK will get a BREXIT agreement on time with the Mercury sextile Saturn on the 28^th right before the projected deadline on the March 29^th. .

Final Thoughts:

This month, I am reminded of the ancient scriptures and myths around the “Great Flood” that demolished all life on earth except for Noah and his family or those described in the great Epic of Gilgamesh whose survivors lived to build a new civilization. The stories of creation, destruction, and creation again, permeate our collective history and point to ice ages, volcanic eruptions and massive glacier meltdowns that were likely behind these events. There was always a “remnant” of the human population who survived and lived to begin again.

As we navigate our way through the changing of the ages that is upon us at this critical time, we need to know that we have scientific knowledge and technologies that no previous civilization had. If we do not ”make it” to the other side of this, it will be because humans remain a selfish, predator/prey species that cannot climb out of the darkness into the light revealing an advanced intellectual and spiritual consciousness.

The constellations await us within a universe of possibilities. The choice is ours!

Feb. 4, New Moon at 15 degrees Aquarius conjunct Mercury and sextile Jupiter; Feb. 19, Full Moon at 00 degrees Virgo trine Mars; Feb. 8 Mars in Aries squares the North and South Nodes and is conjunct Uranus on Feb. 13; Mercury in Aquarius is sextile Uranus Feb. 9, enters Pisces on the 10^th, is conjunct Neptune on the 16^th, is sextile Saturn on the 20^th, is sextile Pluto on the 23^rd, and is trine the North Node on the 26^th; Venus goes into Capricorn Feb. 4^th, is sextile Neptune on the 16^th, is conjunct Saturn on the 17^th, is conjunct Pluto on the 22^nd, is conjunct the South Node on the 25^th, and is square Uranus on the 28^th.

-Uranus/Mars conjunction at the end of Aries –

Shock and Awe:

The transit of Uranus in Aries since 2011 has coincided with a “revolutionary” landscape here in the U.S. and throughout the world, resulting in civil wars, global alliances and negotiations breaking up, polarities in politics resulting in “extremes” battling with each other, and an advent of “populism” at war with itself.  

Unfortunately, Uranus has mimicked its previous transit in Aries during the 1930’s, congruent with the rise of the Third Reich in Germany and widespread racism and xenophobia, extreme nationalism, and ethnic hatreds that ushered the world into war.  There has been an escalation of war and division between Shia and Sunni Islamic nations, led in the region by Saudi Arabia (Sunni) and Iran (Shia).    There has been a re-emergence here in the U.S. of “white supremacy,” anti-immigration movements here and in Europe, and a rise in autocratic governments that include Turkey, Egypt, Venezuela and Brazil.

The recent battle in the U.S. over Pres. Trump’s desire to finance a giant physical wall between Mexico and the U.S., claiming that it is a “national emergency” leading to a government shutdown and no paychecks for 800,000 government workers, bears no resemblance to the kind of compromise it takes to work with the legislature and run a government.   His relationship of accommodation with dictator Vladimir Putin, along with the Mueller investigation into Russia’s hacking into America’s social media to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, raises questions more about Trump’s imitating Putin’s absolute rule in Russia, than representing the interests of democracy and the American people.  So far, Trump has threatened to make all Putin’s wishes come true.  He has threatened to pull out of NATO, is pulling out of the Nuclear Disarmament Agreement made by Pres. Reagan and Gorbachev in the 1980’s, has already left the Paris Climate Accord, and has announced that he is pulling out of Syria leaving the nation to be ruled by Putin’s ally, Assad.  Pres. Trump has arguably increased and highlighted the previously existent polarization and historic racial and ethnic hatreds that shatters this nation’s cohesiveness.    All this reminds us of the old adage that history does not necessarily repeat itself, but it rhymes.

Aries, at its worst, is self-serving, infantile, aggressive, warlike, and impulsive.  At its best, it is enthusiastic, energetic, pioneering and willing to take risks that lead to great innovation; even venturing outward into space.  Like Star Trek it “goes where no man has gone before”.  Its last transit saw the splitting of the atom, leading us into the nuclear age. During this current cycle, we substantiated the existence of the “God Particle” and proved the theory of “entanglement” that Einstein called “spooky action at a distance”.  Presently, our ventures into space and extraterrestrial planetary exploration are accelerating through Space X, NASA, and, recently, China’s successful effort at landing a vehicle on the Moon.

This has also been a period of significant earthquake activity and volcanic eruptions; not necessarily more in numbers, but more intense and destructive. Climate related emergencies have escalated during this period including hurricanes and typhoons, droughts, and fires in areas most vulnerable.

As transiting Mars goes over this final placement of Uranus in Aries from Feb. 1^st through Feb. 13^th, we will have the opportunity to witness a highlighting of all these types of events, especially violent and destabilizing on the 1^st as Mars is square Pluto and on the 8^th when it is square the Moon’s Nodal Axis.    Mercury will sextile Jupiter on the 3^rd and sextile Uranus on the 9^th, emphasizing notable scientific discoveries and breakthroughs.

The sextile to Uranus could give us hope of passing a budget rather than facing another disastrous ‘shutdown.”  Another shutdown could paralyze our governments functions, especially our airports and do long term damage.  However, the Trump administration will likely continue its aggressive posture, emphasizing and increasing the polarization of our political system, demanding his “wall”, and continuing to proclaim the press as “an enemy of the people.” Recently, our own highest intelligence agencies have proclaimed the president has been wrong in his proclamations about ISIS (alive and well), Russia, Iran, and No. Korea.

Sadly, since 2004, 20% of all major newspapers have closed.  Radio and television stations are owned by giant corporations, pushing products more than content and abbreviating stories that would require critical analysis.  Many truth-telling online newsletters are fighting to survive by asking for donations, and some have disappeared.  In January, it was announced there will be 1000 layoffs in the news business.

Our political landscape is all over the place!  Multiple Democrats have announced they are running for president and even Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks has announced he may run, throwing everything up in the air.  The most promising announcement astrological chart, so far, happens to be Kamala Harris (Jan. 20, 2019 at 7:20 AM EST, New York, NY).  Expect the unexpected!

Mercury in a fogbank:

Mercury goes into Pisces Feb. 10^th, will retrograde in this sign March 5^th, goes direct March 28^th and goes all the way through the sign until April 17^th.  This placement tends to be uncertain, confused, and is like a driver navigating at midnight in a fog!   Mars will go into Taurus Feb. 14^th through March 30^th.  These transits will make hard angles to the president’s chart that could be translated as confusion (squares and inconjunctions), highlighting conflicting components of his personality, and leaking information   that he will want nobody to know.  Pluto will also be in opposition to his Venus/Saturn conjunction from his 5^th house to the 11^th house, involving revelations of suspicious activities around his “friends” and his children.  Although I do not expect he will be impeached, this period may be the most difficult for him since he came into office.

Venezuela (chart: September 22, 1830, 12:00 Noon, Caracas, Venezuela) is especially affected by this transit, as Maduro’s disastrous dictatorship is being challenged by Juan Guaido, who the Trump administration has announced we will support.  He is not the only American president who has done something like this as we have “interfered” multiple times in Central and South America throughout the 20^th Century.  Russia has declared its support for Maduro.  Some may argue that this resembles the Cuban crisis we confronted with Russia in the Kennedy administration of the early 60’s.  The crisis in the Ukraine a few years ago is similar in that we sided with the government there who is fighting Russia.    The Cold War has revived itself and is alive and well, especially as Russia, China, and the U.S. have placed satellites in orbit around the earth with the explicit purpose of spying on each other and being prepared to use nuclear weapons.  China and Russia are allying with each other as they did in the Cold War years.

The Economy:

Financial markets may look better the first week of Feb. as Mercury is sextile Mars and Uranus.  This looks like an upswing in companies who manufacture airplanes and weapons of war.  This is also good for tech industries.  When Mercury in Pisces is square Jupiter on the 18^th, there may be some excessive selling.  This precedes the March through May period of wild fluctuations that will make our collective heads head spin!  I think gold and silver will make a “comeback” this year as a safety play.

We are witnessing severe downturns in retail industries, especially the “brick and mortar” stores, as Sears has declared bankruptcy, and J.P Penny and Macy’s are in serious trouble.  The retailers that continue to be successful are Walmart and Target who have also tapped into the online part of this business , competing with giant Amazon.   P.G. and E. has filed for bankruptcy because they cannot afford to pay for the law suits against them connected to last year’s California fires and repair their infrastructure. However, it has been found that it was another company that may have been liable.

≈ Not so easy to understand but very important! ≈

A major area of concern in the financial world that has been, in my opinion, purposefully “neglected” is the derivatives trade.  One of the major causes of the crash of 2008 that threatened the banking system, was caused by the digitalization of finance, turning positions over to computer generated algorithms, leading to an explosion in computer-generated Derivative financial instruments that drove the global system to the edge of collapse.  Does anyone remember “credit default swaps”?  Following the tax payer supported bank bail outs, absolutely nothing was done to correct or regulate these practices, that, when there is so little human intervention, could take trillions of dollars down a “black hole”.  Regulated or unregulated derivatives, some highly complex and varied, are largely a gigantic highly leveraged “bet” on a stock, commodity, that it will go up or down and each placement needs another counter-party gambler to bet in the opposite direction. In the case of Unregulated Derivatives, the nature of the “bets” are in most cases unknown since they are not required to be publicly reported.  When there is a huge loss on one side, the loser may not be able to pay the winner so everybody loses.  The public-at-large knows little or nothing about these dealings. The total estimated notional value of these regulated and unregulated derivatives is in the vicinity of a quadrillion dollars… that is more than all the money in the world!  Back around 2004 Warren Buffet called derivatives “Financial instruments of mass destruction”.  More recently almost nothing has been mentioned about derivatives… especially the unregulated type.

Risk is no longer spread out among many and varied financial institutions.  Black Rock, State Street, Vanguard and Fidelity have the largest investment and retirement accounts.  In the U.S. and around the world, J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank hold and control trillions of dollars.  This leaves everyone vulnerable in the event of a serious downturn. 

Inequality of wealth has not been this wide since the early 20^th Century.  Most people are living paycheck to paycheck and few have more than $400 in their checking accounts.  Why?  The cost of housing is so high, salaries have been kept so low, and families have gotten themselves into the highest personal credit card debt in history. We also have a “gig” economy in which many are working part time or temporary jobs just to keep their heads above water.

l have predicted in many issues of this newsletter that by the end of this year, we are in for an economic crisis not seen since 1929.  With all the craziness in Washington, the massive government, corporate, and private debt at all time highs, there will be no more doubts in the period between September and December, that our economy is in major trouble.  The global economy around the world may be even worse.  China has suffered a major downturn since the imposition of tariffs. Major Chinese corporation, Huauei suffered the arrest of their CEO in Canada, and the Chinese have been accused of the giant Marriott hack invasion and may have been behind the giant Equifax hack. They have accumulated major amounts of sovereign wealth debt.  Many Central and South American nations are already failed states and suffering collapsed economies.  Some have been taken over by drug cartels, which accounts for thousands of refugees coming to the U.S. to escape all this. Brexit in the UK is, undeniably, a catastrophe since they cannot agree on how to accomplish the feat.  For some time, I have been predicting a possible “falling apart” of the European Union.

While we are witnessing an escalation of enormous gaps in wealth, funneling most of the money into the coffers of the 1%, recent research tells us all this has led to an escalation of “deaths of despair” such as suicide and opioid overdoses. The so-called high rate of employment includes about half of the nation’s population that lives at or below the poverty line and excludes the millions of homeless families.  What shocked me, personally, were the recent interviews of suspended government workers during the shutdown that are living paycheck to paycheck and have no savings as a bridge against losing everything!

The present administration in Washington has done absolutely nothing to address the global casino controlled by the banking/corporate cartel that has been in control through multiple administrations and both political parties from the 1980’s until the present.

There will also be major storms and weather events, past and future that will strain our already troubled budget, as there will be very little money to repair the major infrastructure damage.

What Next?

I am of the opinion, as I have said in past newsletters, that there will be vast reforms and changes in the structures of economies in the 2020’s.  This great recession will likely last until about 2024, during which there may be a huge “jubilee’ or debt forgiveness and it is possible we may “start over” using an all- digital dollar and use block chain technology to create it.  Since about half of the jobs available today will likely be eliminated by technology, we will have federal single payer health care, an income for life that will prevent destitution between jobs, and a “Green Revolution”, concentrating housing in cities and moving organic gardening and farming close to these metropolitan areas.  Local governance will outweigh federal governance in many areas. All this seems remote and unlikely at this time, but as planets move into Aquarius, there will be a major shift in consciousness, especially as climate emergencies will initiate a global wake up call.

Recently, the push for the Equal Rights Amendment has been revived.  There will be opposition to it at this time, but I think it will eventually be passed.  Women’s movements and rights have been strong for the past couple of years and I do not think their supporters are going away soon.

It has been reported that a Transnational Alliance Green New Deal has been formed among many European nations.  They are moving forward without the support or leadership of the government of the U.S., but their efforts are encouraging.  The urgency of all this is highlighted by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists statement in January that the Doomsday Clock remains at two minutes to midnight, “the closest it has ever been to apocalypse.”

Nature and the Environment:

(I wish to apologize for a mistake I made in last month’s newsletter.  The Alaskan earthquake was not a 9.1 but a 7.1 on the Richter Scale.) 

The transit of Mercury in Pisces from Feb. 10^th through April 16^th (because of the retrograde from March 5^th through 28^th), plus Mars transiting Taurus from Feb. 14^th through March 30^th will likely result in massive storms – snow, rain, sleet, and massive flooding.  As I have reported before, I think we will see an increase in earthquakes, particularly those under the ocean, that will likely produce tsunamis, especially in the Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes California, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.  Indonesia has suffered these catastrophes for the past several months and I am concerned about something like this hitting Japan.  

Final Thoughts:

So many people have been revealing to me that they are feeling overwhelmed: that they are only one person confronted by so many challenges in our world today; that there is so little that can be done. I think all of us have faced these seemingly insurmountable barriers and felt burnt out and worn down, especially while dealing with the many personal issues we have with our health, our families, our financial solvency or the lack of it, and a society that has “run away from us” and become depersonalized to the point it is unrecognizable.

This is the point at which I am so grateful that I have been a “stargazer” for most of my life; have lifted my eyes to the heavens and recognized grand constellations that portend a vast sea of possibilities for the human presence on earth.  We have been “created” out of a possibly conscious universe.  Its divine potential is accessible by our going within ourselves and experiencing something very mysterious – the “peace that passeth understanding”, and a love that is so great that it created all of us out of itself.

Will we fail?  I think not.

Blessings to all.