Following four days after today's New Moon in Scorpio, the first exact opposition of Saturn and Uranus in the sky shows us where the structure of our individual and group living has to change.
However, Saturn is also transiting Neptune's longitude at the birth of America. This combination induces mass confusion and volatility in major markets as already observed. Bi-polar extremes are indicated for many in the rather more difficult weeks approaching December solstice. In many situations, optimal outcomes hinge on quick recall, "reckoning in the moment" and remembering that objectivity is counter-indicated in the mass mind for now. Most of us will have moments of pessimism later to be revealed in hindsight as skewed awareness.
In early July of 1776 Neptune would have been transiting in 22+ Virgo in the Tropical Zodiac.
When Saturn stations 31 December 2008 it will be less than one degree from Neptune in the US birth chart.
Last orbit, Saturn passed US natal Neptune in late October 1979, the following March, and July of 1980, when morale was also at a low. In the Iranian Hostage Crisis, 52 US diplomats were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981.
This time around, Saturn transits the longitude of US Neptune in a single pass 27 August '09. However, the 31 December '08 station of Saturn in 21+ Virgo definitely counts as a "direct hit".
December '08 through Summer '09 brings the core effect of Saturn transiting US Neptune. This interval is indicated to feature a pronounced "fear bubble".
Pessimism may become so pronounced that it enters the public dialog as an issue in itself. Some may have especially grim thought-space to reconcile and move through, involving a lot of emotional work. Surfacing anxieties bring closer the unwinding and resolution of cultural "conditioning overlays". Objectivity is counter-indicated.
Brief text recommended for reference throughout 2009: Saturn Conjunct Natal Neptune.
During the transit of Saturn conjunct natal Neptune, Robert Hand's Planets in Transit advises us to watch for...
"...negative moods that can be quite upsetting..."
"...confusion, self-doubt, uncertainty and a general tendency to look at life from the worst possible point of view..."
"...perception of reality at this time is quite different from what it normally is..."
The worst week ever for the S&P 500 Index occurred during the recent Merc retro. The two greatest one-day gains also occurred during retro.
On the possibility that the Autumn '08 Merc retro would be important, it was mentioned a month ago:
: Mercury's apparent station began the Retrograde episode
: September 24, mid-day EDT. Retro ends Monday October 13
: around Sunset in DC.
That post closed with a positive note:
: Experience shows that very often the contrarian view turns out
: to be a far more accurate description of outcomes than the
: prevailing sentiment.
Part of the basis for interpreting/anticipating optimism:
: [Mercury's] initial point of station on September 24th
: and the October 31st return to that point is very significant
: because it occurs so very near the very important "Fixed Stars"
: Arcturus ("The Way-Shower") and
: Spica ("Innovative Genius" or "Being Gifted").
Spica and Arcturus are a fraction of a degree apart in longitude close to 24.0 Libra in the Tropical Zodiac. After closing almost within a degree of Spica at the September 24 station (when Mars was in the next degree, that of Arcturus), Mercury returns to that point as October becomes November (in DC).
This suggests important guidance can be derived in preparation for the December-September '09 interval, especially during the current Lunar cycle that opens with the New Moon in Scorpio. Emotional work that happens to come up in the Halloween-Thanksgiving interval may lead to very useful clues about the Change of Mind indicated by Saturn-Neptune.
A very unusual cluster of six planets in Tropical Capricorn in late December indicates that the transit of Saturn across the US Neptune begins in an atmosphere that is somber.
When the Sun moves out of Sagittarius at December solstice '08, Pluto is in 1 (0+) Capricorn. The Sun passes the longitude of Pluto 22 hours after solstice. This brings Pluto effects into awareness throughout the closing days of 2008: Pluto brings Transformation, sensed approaching with the inevitability of a freight train.
December 27th brings the New Moon in 7 (6+) Capricorn. In another two days Mars moves through Pluto's longitude in 2 (1+) Capricorn, with Moon still in Capricorn.
Cap's central concern is culture-building, complex structures of relatedness that stand and endure through "tests of time". At the close of 2008 the mass awareness registers change manifesting at the foundational level for a multiple of society's biggest infrastructure components.
Apparently, Life now asks Earth Humanity to realize that the ultimate assurance of stability and continuity rests upon we the people, the network of relationships.
The keynote of the coming culture: Optimal cooperation of the individual with the environment, resulting in the optimal harvest, being the result of human cooperation with natural forces and cycles.
The oppositions of Saturn and Uranus in the sky occur November 4, February 5, and September 15 2009. The transit of Saturn past America's natal Neptune plays out in the same time frame.
Looking back in review afterward, the pessimism of Autumn 2008 will be considered with much greater objectivity.
Serving Freedom
and Liberty
