As Saturn grinds through the last degree of Scorpio, we are collectively engaged in sorting through issues about sex, death, finances, and other Scorpionic matters that have been prominent over the past two years. Wealth discrepancies and sexual crimes, along with the power of the police, are examples.

But one group has had a special time of it with Saturn in the sign of the scorpion. Those who were born with Pluto in Scorpio (late 1983 - 1995) have had to consider the role that their generation will play in the deep changes that are taking place in the world during the era of the Uranus-Pluto square.

While only the earliest members of this generation have begun having their Saturn returns (Saturn was in the sign late 1982 - 1985), Saturn’s passage through Scorpio has put pressure on them to declare where they stand as a generation. It isn’t a matter of personal reckoning - that will have to wait for individual Saturn returns. Rather, this has been a time for the Pluto in Scorpio cohort to determine their direction at the collective level.

Pluto in Scorpios have a deep desire for commitment. Being part of a larger reality, connecting organically to something beyond themselves, is key to this generation. Yet the somewhat goth energy of Pluto in Scorpio pervades the generation. Tattoos are an example of the lifetime commitment this group seeks, although tattoos are also somewhat arbitrary and of the moment. This is the generation that made vampires sexy, in part because becoming a vampire is a lifetimes-long commitment.

With Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Scorpio since 2012, the Pluto in Scorpios have been key players in the transformative processes taking place. They fueled the Occupy movements, but also staffed the police forces that brutally broke up peaceful protests. They have been the soldiers and terrorists on every side of every conflict. They have shown their allegiances to high ideals and low dogmas.

To one extent or another, this generation may find that they have been used by the powers that be. Some will find comfort in the idea of being the good soldier, but others will rebel against the machine that has sometimes used them like expendable commodities. And it is not just in literal battles that this generation has been used - for example, they have racked up massive student loan debt with fairly dismal job prospects to help them pay off their loans.

In many ways, Pluto in Scorpios have been asked to commit themselves. Both making the commitment and refusing to do so have their prices. Saturn will be back in Scorpio for the summer of 2015, but this generation will be working on Scorpionic issues for their entire lives. The past two years have been a time when they have consolidated their collective image.

Saturn at the last degree of Scorpio...

There’s a lot of big news in the skies this week (December 14 through the 22nd), including the sixth of seven exact hits of the Uranus-Pluto square, the winter solstice on a new moon and the station of the planet Uranus. As the year winds down, the skies are heating up and things are going to be quite intense through at least mid-January of 2015.

The planet Saturn’s ingress into the sign of Sagittarius after a two year stay in Scorpio is getting a lot of attention, and it surely will mean some profound changes in the spheres of higher education, religion, law, and other Sagittarian realms. But before we get there, the Cosmic Timekeeper is going to trudge through the last degree of Scorpio over the next week.

When a planet leaves a sign, we get a review of what has taken place during its visit, and with Saturn there is often a kind of judgment on what has happened, a final accounting for his time in the sign. In Scorpio, the sign of sex, death, and regeneration, Saturn has asked us to focus these often-difficult topics. Now, he’s asking for our decisions on some matters.

In the collective, we can see the scandal around Bill Cosby as bookending the one around Penn State and Jerry Sandusky (who was sentenced when Saturn went into Scorpio in October of 2012). While the allegations around Cosby go back some time, the preponderance of claims has even diehard Cosby fans deeply skeptical of the comedian’s innocence. Saturn in Scorpio brings us to account for sexual conduct, and in both the Penn State case (which involved iconic coach Joe Paterno, who died shortly after stepping down in disgrace) and in the Cosby fiasco, we see that it was the most wholesome images of Americana that were brought up for examination.

Also in the United States, the growing backlash against police violence has been another manifestation of Saturn leaving Scorpio. With Saturn and Pluto in mutual reception (Scorpio-Capricorn), powerbrokers and politicians have been able to exercise their muscle, but are now called to account for it. Even mainstream media outlets like Time magazine have questioned whether the police in the United States are really there to protect and serve. Worldwide, the immense disparity in wealth has been a topic throughout Saturn’s time in Scorpio, and we will probably see some more reflections of that in the coming week.

Personally, we may hope to avoid such dramatic confrontations as Saturn leaves Scorpio. Yet each of us individually feels something of this energy in our lives, too. Saturn leaving Scorpio asks us to be upfront about our sexuality, to stand up for who we are and accept the decisions we have made. This need not be problematic, but honesty isn’t always the easiest policy where sex is concerned, as we recognize there is a lot of judgment around this issue. Yet the process of changing society’s judgments begins with each of us standing up for who we are – as the acceptance of gay marriage in recent years has demonstrated.

We may also have to account for ourselves financially, and overspending or realizing we have accrued too much debt could be areas where we have to stand trial before our consciences (and perhaps a judge). Issues around inheritances, unpaid taxes, and banks could come to a head in the next week.

If these things aren’t entirely cleared up in the next week, don’t worry (or stop worrying, depending on where you stand) because Saturn will be back in Scorpio to wrap thing up in the summer of 2015.

As Jupiter moves into Leo for the next year (July 16, 2104 to August 11, 2015), here are a few things to keep in mind for each sign. The following work for sun signs and also ascendants.

Aries - It’s go time, and the brakes are coming off as your ruler Mars gets out of the shadow of his retrograde and out of Libra while Jupiter enters your fifth house of creativity. Keep in mind that you don’t have to do everything on day one - things will be moving for you for a whole year.

Taurus - Jupiter in Leo can help to make home and family life brighter, but may also indicate some changes, and even changes for the better can be stressful. Keep in mind that your comfort zone can change and expand, and if you get (temporarily) kicked out of it, you can view it as an opportunity for growth.

Gemini - You’ll feel the energy of Jupiter in your third house resonating very well with your daily life. Keep in mind that your routines can be updated and improved so that they don’t become ruts.

Cancer - Finances are an important part of the security that you seek, but keep in mind that not all opportunities are golden, and those that are may require some work.

Leo - Jupiter’s energy in your sign will give you a boost of faith, courage, and optimism that should be very helpful. Keep in mind that you may still need to slow down around some of life’s curves.

Virgo - Knowing for sure has it’s value, but keep in mind that some of life’s greatest benefits come from unseen quarters. Jupiter in Leo asks you to take a leap of faith now and then and believe that hands will be there to catch you.

Libra - One-to-one relationships may predominate for you, but Jupiter in Leo asks you to keep in mind that friendships, groups, and associations are also important for making social connections.

Scorpio - Jupiter in Leo should open up career opportunities, but keep in mind that you have to add your own effort to see results.

Sagittarius - One facet of your sign is travel, and Jupiter in your ninth house suggests that this year will be great for getting on the go. Keep in mind that all kinds of learning and exploration feed the need to expand your horizons.

Capricorn - Staying down to earth is appealing, but keep in mind that this year will give you the opportunity to explore emotional issues in depth - Jupiter in Leo is a bright light to take into a dark cave.

Aquarius - Keep in mind that relationships with individuals matter! Take a look at the people who are in front of you, without categorizing them.

Pisces - Jupiter in Leo can give you a boost at work, and potentially your health as well. Keep in mind that your efforts will be appreciated to make the most of this auspicious time!

Throughout the past year, we’ve seen two powerful configurations in the sky. The Cardinal Cross, which is an extension of the Uranus-Pluto square, and the Grand Trine, which was especially strong in 2013.

Briefly, the Cardinal Cross is all about the push for deep transformative change, and also the resistance to it (resistance increases the power of the transformation, the way stretching a bow further back makes the arrow fly farther forward). The champion of change in this configuration is revolutionary Uranus in the impatient and impetuous sign of Aries. The other planets are of course also part of the process in one way or another, but Uranus is pushing forward without reserve.

The Grand Trine in Water Signs, as it is poetically called, involves easy aspects among Neptune in Pisces, Saturn in Scorpio, and Jupiter in Cancer. This emotionally-charged cosmic pattern favors a more conservative and cautious approach, although when riled up the emotional tone can also go to extremes. I credit the Grand Trine with helping to keep financial markets buoyant in otherwise challenging times, and also with helping the powers-that-be stay powerful (where that has been the case).

There have been two points of connection between the Square and the Trine. Most obviously, Jupiter in Cancer has been part of both configurations, helping to rally energy towards the group, the clan, the country. It is an energy that helps to maintain stability, although that may not last and may not be what is needed at the moment. The other connection has been an easy sextile between Saturn and Pluto, an aspect that has helped Plutocrats everywhere (especially since the planets are in mutual reception).

The friction of the Cardinal Cross has been greased by the oil of the Grand Trine. It’s very complex, because the Cross and the Trine both work themselves out over time, but we can say that there has been a drop more stability over the past couple of years than we might have otherwise seen.

It’s not that deep changes aren’t occurring, but they have perhaps happened more behind the scenes than we may have expected. Rather than the overt revolutionary energy of the Occupy Movement, which quickly fizzled, we have seen more protracted and less obvious conflicts, at least in the Western world.

In July of 2014, there is a subtle but powerful aspect in effect all month, the quincunx between Uranus and Saturn. The planet most associated with revolutionary energy and the one most conservative and traditional are in this awkward relationship. With a quincunx, it is not a matter of overt conflict, as when two people disagree on an issue. The traditional astrologers explained a quincunx by saying the two planets do not see each other. That is, they are coming from totally different perspectives.

On both the personal and collective level, we see both the desire to move forward (Uranus in Aries) and a desire to be safe and secure (Saturn in Scorpio). Start the revolution, but don’t touch my retirement account. Let’s try something new in our partnership, but have dinner ready when I get home. Become an entrepreneur, but have financial security. Perhaps the operative phrase might be, “Give us our freedom!” (for after all, who is giving you what is yours to begin with, and if it is given it can be taken away).

From the 8th to the 12th of July, we have opportunities to bring these conflicts to light, to see them more clearly. What has been operating under the surface will become more obvious. That process may be challenging in some ways, but hold onto the insights of these days, for they will help when the energy of the quincunx peaks around the Uranus and Saturn stations from the 19th to the 21st (and a few days on either side).

Listen to all the voices in your head. Note that while they may disagree at some points, it is also the case that they are each saying separate things without really addressing each other directly. It isn’t so much a matter of yes/no or this/that decisions, but more like trying to move in two different directions at the same time.

Listen also to all the voices of those around you. Each individual may be offering a unique perspective, although you may notice that others are no more consistent than you are.

In our collective lives, listen to the disparate voices in politics and on social issues. Do they even hear each other?

While the Cross and the Trine have thus far managed to work out a cozy agreement, the quincunx between Uranus and Saturn makes maintaining the status quo more difficult. To the extent that we bring awareness to the emerging conflicts in our personal and collective lives, we can influence the course of change in a positive way.

The United States solar return on July 4th features a tense sun-Pluto opposition. This suggests a transformative year ahead for the country, and the particulars of the opposition, the sun (leader) in the 12th house opposed by Pluto in the 6th (both very close to the ascendant-descendant axis) suggest an opposition to the President from the moneyed interests of the Plutocracy.

Indeed, the news this week reinforces this interpretation. A poll showed that Obama is considered ‘the worst president since the Second World War’. The poll is a bit ridiculous, as Obama is still in office and Americans are notoriously poor with their own history, but it does show that the president is unpopular now. At the same time, the Supreme Court’s decision on Hobby Lobby seems to reinforce the idea that corporations are people, capable of having moral beliefs that would be offended and hurt by the beliefs and needs of actual people. And to top it off, the U.S. stock markets climbed to record heights this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average topping 17,000, a true milestone.

President: 0, Corporations: 2

The president also lost a Supreme Court decision on his appointments when congress was in recess, and is being sued by House Speaker John Boehner (maybe). Meanwhile, immigration is heating up as an issue along the southern border, as a nation of immigrants tries to stop the next generation from entering the country.

The solar return chart has the moon in Libra, approaching the natal U.S. Saturn in Libra (14 Li 48). With Mars having finished with this degree for a while (the Cosmic Warrior is up to 20 Libra), we might expect a bit of a reprieve for the U.S. congress, but Uranus and Pluto are not letting go.

The presence of Venus at 14 Gemini, just off the descendant and trine to U.S. natal Saturn suggests prominent women in the country’s politics in the coming year. Of course, Hillary Clinton would top that list, but there may be more than one female presidential candidate, or perhaps another woman will become a kind of anti-Hillary (Gemini works as both twins and opposites).

Mars, Ceres, and Vesta are conjunct in Libra, adding to the theme of contention and opposition among women over the coming year.

I know that Venus in Gemini could mean many things besides prominent women in politics, but the U.S. is a traditional country in many ways, and so traditional interpretations work well.

The solar return chart for the country (here relocated from Philadelphia to Washington, a minor change) seems to say more about what divides the United States than what unifies it. There is certainly some hope in the chart, but transformative processes are at work, and transformation is rarely easy - especially for powerful countries.

Ann Coulter hates soccer. Or, more precisely, she hates that the United States has a growing interest in the sport. Or so she says.

According to Coulter, soccer is for sissies. But on closer examination of her... argument is too sophisticated a word... it seems like the real problem is that soccer (football to those of you not in the U.S.) is a sport supported by immigrants.

I don’t know if Coulter really hates soccer. Most likely, she’s never thought about it, and is irked that something other than her is getting attention. She’s something of an attention-grabber, and they don’t like competition as a rule.

But that’s not my point. Coulter is known for her vitriolic, thinly-disguised hate speech, which makes her a big draw among a certain faction of ultra-conservatives. She has an opinion on everything, and her opponents are stupid (If Democrats Had Any Brains They’d Be Republicans is the title of one of her books).

Astrologically, Coulter (December 8, 1961, New York City, time unknown) has a strong stellium in Sagittarius than includes the sun, moon, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. The sun and Mars are within a degree of each other, perhaps explaining the fiery anger that Coulter directs at... well, pretty much everyone and everything.

The bright side of Sagittarius, I always like to say, is the search for truth. The dark side is the illusion that its been found and the subsequent need to preach it to everyone. Ann Coulter seems to have chosen to go over to the dark side of the sign. She certainly embodies many of the neutral characteristics of Sag, including a boisterous outgoing personality and a tendency to move on to the next thing quickly.

Coulter’s chart seems to me to give her a unique ability to appeal to the lowest impulses of the populace of the United States. Her sun-Mars conjunction falls in the U.S. first house, about 4 degrees away from an opposition to the volatile U.S. Uranus. Her Mercury falls just behind the ascendant, demonstrating a unique ability to voice the otherwise hidden aspects of the collective psyche.

Jupiter, ruler of just about everything in Coulter’s chart, is conjunct the U.S. south node in Aquarius (her own south node is also in the sign of the water bearer), and so she really manages to exploit the basest aspects of popular sentiment. Her Capricorn Saturn is in partile conjunction with the U.S. Pluto, which would seem to help explain her prominence during the Pluto-in-Capricorn years (although of course she was also supported while Pluto was in Sag), and also her embrace of Plutocratic forces.

Looking at her chart in relation to the U.S. chart, it is easy to see how Ann Coulter makes such an efficient spokesperson for the darker sides of both Sagittarius and Aquarius in the country. She has found the truth, and there is no need for fact-checking, taking perspective, or listening to others. It is difficult to know whether she actually believes herself, but my guess is she does, passionately.

When I first looked at the chart of the November 3, 2013 solar eclipse, set to New York City, I wasn’t overly impressed. The eclipse was in the 12th house, and of course it was in Scorpio, so it seemed that whatever was going on would happen behind the scenes and be well covered (or covered up), at least for a while. I assumed it would be a while before we saw any direct manifestation of the eclipse, if the public got to see it at all.

Still, a twelfth house eclipse got my interest, so I put the eclipse onto the chart of the city (January 1st, 1898 at midnight). The chart comparison proved to be more illuminating. The eclipse landed in the city’s second house, suggesting financial issues, and Pluto, the dispositor of the eclipse, was in the third house. My expectations were that the city’s already strained public transportation system would get even more stressed in some way. Uranus transiting in Aries was also opposite the city’s twelfth house Jupiter (hiding less than a degree behind the ascendant). That, I thought, spoke to the certain election of Bill DeBlasio, the city’s progressive new mayor who was elected just two days after the eclipse and who clearly represents a challenge to the city’s fat cat power brokers.

On December 1st, a Metro North commuter train derailed in the Bronx (within the city limits), killing four people and injuring 65. This accident was dramatic and troubling, even by the standards of public transportation in the area.

The Capricorn ingress in December of 2013 represented another challenge to the city, with the sun and the MC again in the city’s third house, with Pluto close to the IC and Mars approaching the city’s Jupiter. Surely, though, the effects couldn’t be as dramatic, and they weren’t. Yet Metro North was again affected, with a power outage stopping all service on the night of January 23rd for two hours. A federal report on Metro North was scathing in its assessment of the railroad, and by extension the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that oversees all public transportation in the area.

Yet it isn’t just the city’s public transportation, but the public’s transportation that has been affected. In what has probably been the region’s biggest story of the year, it was revealed that people working close to New Jersey Governor Chis Christie intentionally created a traffic jam for several days on the George Washington Bridge, which connects the city to New Jersey. Those who don’t live in the congested traffic of the city can scarcely appreciate the ire aroused by an intentional traffic jam. The fallout has all but scuttled Christie’s chances for the presidency in 2016. Christie, a large man, has Jupiter opposite his sun-Pluto conjunction. While not technically a New Yorker, he certainly represents some Jupiterian energy.


New York is again in the crosshairs of the Aries ingress, with Mars retrograding in the city’s first house, and the Mars station less than one degree from the city’s ascendant as Uranus hangs around the descendant. A rash of dramatic fires has hit the city, and a building explosion... stopped Metro North for a day, once again.

I don’t practice allopathic astrology.

That little phrase came to me yesterday while watching a TED video made by a physician (Lissa Rankin) who left the world of Western medicine to become more holistic, but found herself prescribing herbs instead of pills. While recognizing that remedies from outside - whether pills or herbs - have their place, she eventually realized that the health of the body is a reflection of the health of the mind, heart, and soul. At the deepest level, change needs to come from within.

An astrologer can offer insight into almost any situation, a description of the dynamics taking place within an individual or between people. However, to really be functional, insight has to take root within the client. That isn’t something the astrologer can do, but rather something that is up to the client almost entirely. In fact, astrologers can point in various directions, suggesting the client look here or there in order to gain some perspective on a situation, but can neither make the client see what the astrologer sees, nor fully know how it looks from the client’s perspective.

An allopathic approach to astrology would be one where the astrologer and client both assume that the astrologer knows more about the situation than the client, and so can direct it towards ‘the best possible outcome’ (whatever that is) from without. The client comes in with a set of issues and the astrologer decides what the client should do, and when.

Such an approach is ultimately disempowering for clients (although it no doubt does the astrologer’s ego some good). All of us need to make our own decisions and decide what is best for ourselves. Helpful information and a new perspective - things that astrology can legitimately offer to people - are invaluable. But each of us needs to use the information in a way that allows us to take responsibility for our own lives.

The astrologer has to maintain a nonjudgmental stance with regard to the client's situation, in order to allow them to reach their own decisions. That's one of the things I emphasize in Separating Aspects, that we don't know if a breakup or divorce will be traumatic or empowering for a client, and in fact even a very difficult period of time can be healing and an opportunity for growth.

Ironically, it is probably the expectations of the client as much as the attitude of the astrologer that often leads to an allopathic astrology. It is at the times of greatest vulnerability that we seek others' input and guidance, and are most ready to cede power and control over our lives. Avoiding that is a top priority, but admittedly tricky territory to navigate.

I’ve recently been reading James Fadiman’s excellent book, The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide, where he revisits a concept that Stanislav Grof and others have talked about before, high dose versus low dose psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Briefly, it shakes out like this:

High doses are great for helping people to see a much larger picture, for relativizing the value of ego and recognizing one’s identity with a larger cosmic process. Low doses are great for helping people gain insight into the dynamics of their personality, and particularly with shadow work.

Astrologically, I think we could relate this to the Saturn boundary. Low doses are within the bounds of Saturn (hence we hear about shadow work!), facilitating different ways of seeing the same issues and problems with which people have been struggling. In other words, low doses can take a person on a tour of their chart.

On the other hand, high doses are trans-Saturnian, transporting people into the realms of Uranus, Neptune, and (gulp!) Pluto, for a look at a much broader picture. To the extent that the experience relates to one’s particular life story, it tends to be liberating and reorienting towards the transpersonal (once again, the role of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in the chart).

Just a musing for Mercury’s entry into Pisces...

Tags: psychedelic, therapy, astrology, LSD, mescaline, ecstasy, MDMA, psylocibin

The Libra moon heads towards a meeting with Warrior Mars today. Communication and action is likely to be more direct and encounter less resistance than in the past few days. This energy is the perfect opening ceremony for the movement of the nodes of the moon into Libra/Aries.

The nodes of the moon (the points where the orbits of sun and moon cross) will be on the Libra/Aries axis for about the next 18 months. The nodes determine where eclipses occur in the zodiac, and subtly color our collective experience. The position of the nodes suggests a balance (or tension) with the planetary energy of the Grand Cross.

The south node is in Aries, pulling us towards more independent but also more selfish perspectives. The south node in Aries is likely to bring out more of the darker side of Uranus, who is also in this sign. At extremes, there may be more of individuals and groups going rogue and off the rails. As tension and pressure builds on us all, the tendency to explode is a predictable result, and a strong sense of selfishness (as opposed to a strong sense of self) may yield very poor results.

The north node pulls us towards Libra. At the core, this is about balancing the extremes, letting off the pressure slowly and with fairness. With Mars also in Libra for the first half of 2014, we may see more overt 'fighting for fairness' in our personal and collective lives. On a personal level, this could be about developing what I call creative selfishness, or the recognition that we can only do for others if we have first taken care of our own needs. Collectively, it will manifest as a more direct push for social and economic justice. The recent debates about minimum wages in the U.S. are a clear example of this.

The nodes have left Scorpio/Taurus, where they encouraged tighter clinging to material possessions and the status quo. While questions about who or what has power and how legitimate it is were an important part of this time (government spying became an issue, for example), the south node in Taurus put the emphasis on personal and collective economics. Holding on to mine was prominent for both individuals and businesses, and although there was criticism of how wealth and income are distributed, the default setting was to hold on to every dollar, euro, or pound.

Today's cosmic energy - and in a sense the ongoing Libra emphasis - suggests riding a bicycle. You go forward only to the extent you can maintain your balance, and the faster you move, the more challenging that is. Yet fast motion is indicated if you need to get to (or away from) someplace in a hurry. Pluto and Uranus are shifting the ground beneath us, and pedaling fast seems a good idea.

Catch a video version of this astroblog on YouTube by clicking here.

You may appreciate this synchronicity. Last weekend, I got one of those email petitions to sign, from a woman who asked me to help her to get her father out of jail. She said that because of pressure from her addicted mother, she had lied and said that her father sexually abused her. He has been in prison for 15 years for the crime.

Later that day, the Dylan Farrow/Woody Allen story broke in the news.

Child abuse is a hot trigger issue, and I hesitate to write about it. People are so justifiably incensed at the thought of a child being sexually harmed by an adult that they cannot listen to the most basic plea to stop and think for just a moment. It is a topic that conjures up the two most dangerous words in Western society: Zero Tolerance. Accusation is conviction.

Many astrologers, including some from whom I would have hoped for better, were quick to dive into the analysis of Woody Allen’s chart, in a search for factors that might make him a hopeless pedophile. I saw no one who stopped to consider the larger picture, and to review the story without convicting Allen of child abuse on the basis of Dylan’s claims. Because, once again, accusation is conviction.

The astrologers related this story to Saturn in Scorpio, the bringing up and exposing of hidden sexual actions. Allen, they said, was being called to account for himself by Saturn in the sign associated with sexuality.

It seems to me that is a wildly simplistic assessment. For one thing, the sexual abuse of children has been a hot trigger issue since Pluto was in Scorpio. The barrage of stories - many of which have been substantiated - against the priests of the Catholic Church has been in the news for decades. The Jerry Sandusky/Penn State scandal broke while Saturn was in Libra (although Sandusky was sentenced when Saturn was at 0 degrees Scorpio). The accusations against Michael Jackson happened years before Saturn entered Scorpio.

One thing we might notice, and it has little to do with astrology, is that the substantiated cases of sexual abuse that get media attention have to do with large institutions, the apparent foundation of society - churches and universities. The unsubstantiated (and, as Allen pointed out in his letter to the New York Times, deeply investigated yet unsubstantiated) accusations have been against people who we tend to see as peripheral and ‘not normal.’ Like the witch hunts of yesteryear, society is ready to convict those who appear a little different, a little ‘off’ from the rest of us.

Both Woody Allen and Michael Jackson have the kind of personalities and lifestyles that make it easy for more normal folks to say, “Oh, yeah, he’s so weird, I’m sure he did it.” Yet the public cases that are substantiated tend to involve people who not only present as normal, but as role models of normality. Perhaps that is what we should be thinking about. Perhaps that is what Saturn in Scorpio may be asking us to consider.

And if we as a society have been so determined to root out and convict child abusers, we may consider why we find this crime both so common and so heinous. Saturn in Scorpio may get us to ponder our approach to children.

When Jonbenet Ramsey was murdered, after Pluto left Scorpio, she was regularly referred to as a “child beauty queen.” Pictures of the seven year old decked out like an adult were everywhere. Few people stopped to question what kind of society would even consider having children as ‘beauty queens.’ When seven year olds are dressed up like adults, not for Halloween or a party, but as part of their identity, there is something deeply wrong with our collective psychic economy. Perhaps we as a society are so sensitive to child abuse because we recognize that we have, in so many ways, taken childhood away from children.

During the Pluto in Scorpio years, stories about child abuse were commonplace, although not so much among celebrities as among more everyday folks. It was a dangerous time to have a daycare center in the United States. The fallout of that time is still with us today - a teacher hugs a crying first grader at their own peril. School is a no-touching zone, and a few years ago two second graders were suspended for kissing. We are raising a generation (or more) of children for whom virtually any human contact will seem strange, dirty, and bad. Generations of new Victorians who really believe in the inherent wrongfulness of contact with anyone outside of tightly prescribed guidelines. All for their own good, of course.

So, I would say that Saturn in Scorpio is asking us to consider and reconsider our attitudes. To get to the truth. But not simply the truth behind the allegations of abuse: The truth behind our society’s attitude towards children, sexuality, and the fear we associate with it. To think that Saturn in Scorpio is about exposing perversions in ‘the other’ is simplistic - it is about exposing the perverse attitudes that are accepted as common sense.

Heeeeere's... Some other guy who's name begins with a 'J'...

Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and now Jimmy Fallon. Lots of J's! (Conan and Steve Allen are anomalies)

Jay Leno said goodbye, again, last night. This time around, the show had an air of finality, something that was missing in Leno's 2009 leaving. The network's botched attempt to move Leno to primetime and replace him with Conan was dripping with the failure to understand one of its own greatest assets. This time around, there was again a sense the NBC had spilled the glass with which it should have been saying 'cheers', but the feel was more of transition than crash-&-burn.

Leno took over The Tonight Show from Johnny Carson on May 25, 1992. From the start, his job was impossible in the sense that he was replacing an American institution that stretched back to the very start of the 1960s. Americans had been through so much with Johnny, who held the post for 30 years - a complete Saturn cycle. It seems fitting that Leno's 22 years on Tonight is 3/4 of the Saturn cycle - point of recognizing what has been accomplished and then deciding (or having network suits decide) whether to continue or move on.

A look at the chart for Leno's first show as host is interesting. The midheaven is 15 Scorpio, which makes the 10th house Pluto ruler of the chart. Transiting Saturn entered the 10th house - destiny, public image, role in the world - last fall, and is only one degree away from the chart's Pluto today.

Saturn is also the chart's ruler, as Capricorn is rising. With such a Saturn/Pluto emphasis in the chart, it is no wonder that we see Saturnian timing so prominent, particularly as it conjuncts Pluto (for a television show, the MC may be more important than the Ascendant). It also says something about the show as an institution.

But wait - did I just say 'institution' again? Looking forward, we may well wonder about the future of The Tonight Show. After 22 years, Leno was still 'the new guy' to many Johnny fans. Jimmy Fallon will be playing to an audience that may largely be unaware of who Carson was, which is freeing for him, but it raises questions about Tonight as the late-night talk show. It's all a level playing field now. With the Uranus-Pluto square (check out the positions of Uranus and Neptune in the chart) so prominent now, institutions are up for review, for sure. If Fallon makes it seven years (1/4 of a Saturn cycle), that would be impressive in our faster-changing world.

Venus was retrograde in Capricorn from December 21, 2013 until January 31st, 2014. Yes, the usual Venus retrograde things happened - old relationships may have been reheated, or at least there may have been some connection in order to reach a feeling of resolution. New relationships that began in late in the fall may have started bright, only to fizzle just as quickly.

But Venus was in the sign we associate with business, government, and institutions, and we shouldn’t overlook how those things were affect. For example, the stock market shot upwards early in the period, then tumbled lower throughout January.

The 40 days of Venus retrograde is associated with the 40 days of the flood, Jesus’ time in the desert, the Lenten season, and many other examples of going inward and not indulging in outward pleasures. It’s interesting that it occurred during the time of year we usually associate with indulgence and spending.

One particularly interesting aspect of this Venus retrograde was that it occurred in a sign associated with business during the time of year when many businesses get their biggest boost due to holiday shopping. It sure seemed like people were going crazy on Black Friday (after Thanksgiving in the U.S.), but apparently holiday sales were somewhat weak. Each of us is both observer and participant (or nonparticipant) in the phenomenon. We watch and see what other people are doing, and note how it will affect the economy. But we also have to make our own spending decisions, and in that sense participate in the outcome.

It seems like this Venus retrograde was a time to not only revisit and come to some resolution about relationship issues, but also a time to make resolutions about our spending habits and participation in our consumer economy. Nothing is resolved in a day - or 40 days - of course. But perhaps the retrograde brought some awareness about our spending habits.

Today would have been the 85th birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

It is shocking, in a way, to think that a man whose assassination has been part of our history for so long might actually have lived to see this day - just a year past his Uranus return. Last year, Time magazine called Dr. King 'the architect of the 21st century' and one of the founding fathers of America.

I've never looked at the astrology of Dr. King, probably because his message, his intention, and his effect on the United States all seem so clear that no further analysis is needed. That he was assassinated - like progressives in the country from Lincoln to Kennedy to Kennedy (even John Lennon didn't survive here) - speaks volumes about the challenges the U.S. faces.

But I thought I would have a look, and it turns out to be pretty interesting. First, Dr. King's sun is just approaching a conjunction to the U.S. (Sibly chart) Pluto. More telling, I think, is that his Uranus, the planet of revolution and change, is in Aries conjunct the U.S. chart's IC (the base of the chart, signfying home, roots). And perhaps most telling, his Mars is in Gemini in exact (half a degree) conjunction to the U.S. Mars. He certainly that both role in the country - he was an seen as an enemy by many who wished to maintain the status quo.

As we approach the next Uranus-Pluto square in April, it is interesting to look at the chart of his assassination. The sun is tightly conjunct Saturn in Aries. The angles of the chart, the ascendant and midheaven, are at 11 and 12 degrees of cardinal signs. Today, Pluto is less than a degree from the IC of the chart for April 4, 1968, and Uranus is two degrees away from the descendant. Jupiter is resting one degree from the midheaven. Significantly, the U.S. sun was on the midheaven at the moment Dr. King was killed.These are virtually the same degrees as the upcoming Uranus-Pluto square.

What does that mean? I don't know that there are any direct messages for us. Eleven to 13 degrees of cardinal signs are sensitive degrees in the U.S. chart, as that is where the sun is. Dr. King's message and his fate are tied to the fate of the country. But we knew that.

If you ask children of a certain age where babies come from, they may offer that mothers produce them through defecation. Although to an adult that may seem both crude and absurd, considered from a child’s perspective it makes a certain amount of sense. After all, we tell them that mother has a baby ‘in her belly’ and children have more familiarity with the productive capacities of the colon than the uterus.

My neighbors for many years were of German heritage, and in their house they had a plaque of a child sitting on a toilet, with a gold coin above his head. This, they explained to me, was the geldsheisser, literally the gold shitter (Google it for a variety of great images).

In Spain, it is the custom to eat lentils on New Year’s Eve. Now, due to the fibrous nature of lentils, they pass through the digest tract relatively intact. As a result, one can count on producing a pot of little coins on New Year’s Day, beginning the year with an indication of prosperity.

If it all seems a little second grade to you, remember that these things date back to a time when second grade was pretty much the high water mark of human understanding. But it is clear that what is most and least valued are tied together in our psyche in some ways.

A slightly different approach comes from the alchemists. In the photo, you can see that the bird - a symbol of birth and generation - is gilding the sleeping woman, simultaneously covering her in gold (albeit gold ex alimentum) and inseminating her. This moves the creative process back one step, yet continues the relationship among feces, gold, and creative power.

In popular culture, we continue the relationship between that which is most and least valued. Passing around some potent cannabis, one may proclaim “this is really good shit.” When my band was first starting out, we asked a professional musician to help us out with some musical direction. On those occasions when we got into a good groove, he would boom through his microphone, “Yeah! That’s the shit!”

The relationship between gold and feces may seem ironic to us, but a more sophisticated understanding is also possible. We can see that even the most valuable things eventually decay and are made base, as Chris Griffin reminds us in one episode of Family Guy as he pointedly tells a pastry, “I’m turning you into poop!”

Each New Year’s Eve, the Saturnian image of the white-bearded Old Year standing by the newborn New Year must make us aware that in 365 days that infant will have its turn at age and decrepitude. The awareness that all things are ultimately transient can move us towards a spiritual perspective, seeking after that which is not subject to decay and change.

We can also move in the other direction, along with the alchemists, who sought to change base substances into gold, which does not tarnish. The alchemists sought to save matter, to infuse it with spirit and thus make it into gold, which is as near to an eternal substance as they knew. Today, we have mountains of plastic and stockpiles of refined nuclear material that offer a very different view of matter as eternally enduring, and we may be like Midas, questioning the wisdom of everlasting material.

Why begin 2014 with a discussion of these things? The New Year coincides with the Capricorn new moon, which is closely conjunct the planet Pluto. Astrologically, we would say that this configuration sets the tone for the coming year.

Pluto is associated with the sign of Scorpio, and the image is of death and rebirth, of the transformation that comes from the cycle of life and death. Pluto is also associated with both the colon and the reproductive organs (elimination and generation) and also with money (gold). We can use waste as fertilizer, and decaying vegetation provides the food for future plants. Life grows out of death. Scorpio is also associated with healing, where a trip into difficult territory is often needed. As Jung said, it is in the muck of the unconscious, with all its past emotional wounds, that we find the gold of healing and the self.

Capricorn is an Earth sign, bringing us into the material realm. Yet the sign of the seagoat (whatever that is) is not about raw materials so much as product, the end result of careful planning, planting, harvesting, and then fabrication. It is the sign of the farmer, not the hunter-gatherer. It is Saturnian, and thus it is industrious. Capricorn is also about our institutions, to which we turn our attention when our basic needs (Cancer) are met.

The rulers of Capricorn and Pluto are in each others’ signs, forming what astrologers call mutual reception. This cooperative aspect has fueled a great rally in stocks over the last year or so, and has also helped Plutocratic powers like banks, government spy agencies, and other power brokers. Yet Pluto works by intensifying that which needs to change, bringing things to an extreme so that they can begin a counter-swing of the pendulum in the opposite direction.

New York City recently elected progressive Bill De Blasio after two decades of Plutocratic rule by Rudolf Guiliani and Mike Bloomberg. De Blasio was elected after an eclipse in which Uranus opposed the Jupiter of the city’s chart, and he was sworn in less than an hour before the sun’s conjunction with Pluto. Perhaps he represents this turning from one extreme to its opposite.

On a macro level, 2014 is likely to be another year when we see a struggle between Plutocratic and progressive forces. This will be intensified, particularly in April when the Uranus-Pluto square hits the U.S. sun. Change is needed, and this new moon signals that further changes (for there have been many already) is on the way.

On a personal level, we are also in a position to rethink our relationship to money. Sure, it is fine to want change for the other person, but you don’t want anything to happen to the corporations that make up your pension portfolio, do you? What is your ultimate disposition towards possessions? Are you competitive? Cooperative?

Saturn encourages us to consolidate. Look to where you spend both your money and your energy. What can be winnowed away from your life to create new space for more valuable projects to grow?

Pluto demands the we go deep in the process. What do we really value? What are we really about? If we could create a world where we were could be more concerned with being than surviving, would we do so?

2014 is a year to roll up our sleeves and dive into the depths, finding the gold coin, in whatever form it takes for us. Most new moons are about setting intentions, about deciding where to go - they look to the future. This new moon is more about setting priorities: given the time and resources available to you, where will you devote yourself? Where do you find your true self in the world?

Where is the real shit?