“The
very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular
employment of violence.”
“A
violently active, dominating, intrepid, brutal youth—that is what I am after. I
want to see in its eyes the gleam of pride and independence, of prey. I will
have no intellectual training. Knowledge is ruin to my young men.” [1]
These lines from Adolph Hitler’s writings are cited in an intriguing study, entitled The Invisible Player: Consciousness as the Soul of Economic, Social and Political Life, by former Science & Technology Specialist for the World Bank, Mario Kamenetzky. Despite how thoroughly the media has sliced and diced everything about Hitler’s life and times, these lines are still shocking. They shock in the same way that much of Machiavelli’s thinking still shocks our sensibilities today: both men stated in a bald-faced manner what many in power (or aspiring to power) may privately think—and practice—but would rarely admit to.
As with Machiavelli—perhaps
even egged on by Machiavelli’s ideas—Hitler clearly viewed humanity
(specifically its youth) as a
resource, a pool of energy, or tool for achieving his ideological aims. As those
in many regimes have been, people targeted by Hitler were considered
“expendable materiel”—essential to the “means” described by Machiavelli’s
ruthless maxim, “the ends justifies the means.”
So, when Hitler said he was
“after” a “violently active, dominating, intrepid, brutal youth,” it reflects
the ways in which his Nazi party actively cultivated these traits in youth to
achieve his own self-serving aims. A violent, but subservient underclass,
schooled to hate and fear those unlike themselves, was as fundamental to Hitler’s
fascist project and imperialist designs as weapons and oil were.
Recent news coming out of
states where armed militia members waving Confederate and Nazi flags are trying
to force governors to ignore public health in favor of a toxic vision of
“freedom”—to infect those around them at will?—suggests that Hitler’s creed
lives on in the current D.C. regime. In fact, the protests are quite openly
doubling as Trump rallies, which is to be expected because they’re being paid
for by conservative right-wing PACs and egged on by Trump’s Twitter feed. This
transparent attempt to intimidate that we’re facing—now, at a time when we need support
from D.C., not treachery—mirrors Hitler’s
deeply pernicious use of mob violence—a toxic Neptune-Pluto dynamic to
its core then and now.
Unfortunately, we can expect
that these “protestors” will be the same thugs who show up at election
precincts in the fall as self-styled election monitors. Even if no actual violence transpires, the top-level
uses for their implied threats will,
rest assured, be many.
Let’s be real here. Left to their own natural lights, 99.9% of children are not violent, subservient and hateful—those traits must be cultivated in them through a long, focused process that both distorts and denigrates their spirits. The jury’s still out on the essential “goodness” of humanity, but I feel certain we can assert that most obnoxious hatred of the sort Hitler valued is the product of “nurture,” not “nature.” Here’s where it gets interesting, however—those who have a vested interest in creating a violent, hateful culture know that they have to tap into “nature,” as well. Nature equips us with a primitive survival instinct—what the ancients would consider Hades’ (Pluto’s) turf in the stomping grounds of the human psyche, and what Kamenetzky calls the “archaic” level of human consciousness.
 | |||
| A brave AZ nurse stands up against those protesting their state shutdown. |
Let’s be real here. Left to their own natural lights, 99.9% of children are not violent, subservient and hateful—those traits must be cultivated in them through a long, focused process that both distorts and denigrates their spirits. The jury’s still out on the essential “goodness” of humanity, but I feel certain we can assert that most obnoxious hatred of the sort Hitler valued is the product of “nurture,” not “nature.” Here’s where it gets interesting, however—those who have a vested interest in creating a violent, hateful culture know that they have to tap into “nature,” as well. Nature equips us with a primitive survival instinct—what the ancients would consider Hades’ (Pluto’s) turf in the stomping grounds of the human psyche, and what Kamenetzky calls the “archaic” level of human consciousness.
It is at this level that a
creature in nature is either cast as predator or prey, meant to feast on others
or to be feasted upon. At our best moments in history, humanity has adopted
moral precepts and passed laws to protect
the vulnerable, rather than surrendering them to those with predatory instincts;
however, tapping into this primal, aggrieved, survival-driven level of
collective consciousness was essential to Hitler’s goals. Even so,
empire-building could not happen at this primal level alone.
As Kamenetzy explains it, this
archaic level of consciousness also characterizes a distinct phase of human
evolution—the primitive level at which humans are “at one” with cosmic
consciousness: “There were no ideas of time and death. Life was a succession of
‘heres.’ This, I would argue, is the primitive Neptunian dimension of
humanity’s collective psyche. Hominids did not entertain propositions of good
and bad. There was perhaps a felt, though unexpressed, aesthetic, but there was
no sense of ethics. Hominids could not decide how and when to follow their
instinctive drives. They were guided by nature as trees are when shedding their
leaves, or as birds are when undertaking their seasonal migration.”[2]
 |
| Nurses honoring their colleagues who died from lack of protective gear. |
Kamenetzky points out that most
cultures view this nature-bound stage of human evolution as our lost
“paradise;”—quite apt when Neptune is factored into the
picture. He also says that for humans, leaving paradise was a prerequisite to
becoming fully conscious—aware of the delusions we often harbor, at least. “It
was a paradise because we could not do otherwise than just be, hence avoiding
the discontent and pain but also the joys of becoming. We left paradise not
because we were being punished, but rather because we were blessed. Humans had
to develop knowledge about the world and themselves, shaping themselves into
conscious partners of the cosmic consciousness for the task of guiding the
evolution of planet Earth, a tiny part of the awesome cosmic creation.”[3]
In
other words, we had to extract ourselves from the primal fear-driven haze of Pluto
and Neptune and become fully-engaged with the Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus realm
of life in earth-bound societies.
Because our physical beings are
genetically bound to that instinctual primal level, we are still driven to
varying degrees by the sensitive, watery “filter” of the Moon, which links us with
Neptune-Pluto’s
compelling unconscious realm on
both personal and collective levels, while shielding us somewhat from the overwhelming
force of these heavies, as well. The ability to distinguish differences between
our selves (Sun) and others was among the first conscious adventures of
humanity. This rudimentary development is reflected in the evolution of the
human brain: two of the most primitive areas (probably dating back to Hominid
days)—the “reptilian” (survival-oriented) brain stem and the amygdala—are
thought to be ruled by Pluto and/or the Moon.
In nature, these brain structures provided (and still provide) exquisitely
sensitive threat “antennae,” essential to survival. In Hitler’s manipulative
hands, they provided a blank slate on which to etch his fear-based, irrational,
compulsive agenda. As with Machiavelli’s ideas, Hitler’s techniques have been
well-practiced since his own time, though few would openly admit it.
 |
| In 1938, the nation was on edge and open to manipulation. |
As any objective follower of Trump’s
Twitter feed knows, tapping into survival fears—whether truthfully, or through
deception, distortion, innuendo and dissimulation—is the easiest way to whip
the collective mind (his “base”) into a frenzy of “Us against Them.” That’s why
Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” Halloween broadcast sparked a national panic
among radio listeners in 1938 (see Chart
#1 below); Neptune (Virgo) exactly conjoined the nation’s Sibly
Neptune, opening the door for mass deception and impressionability,
while Pluto (Leo) tightly opposed Moon (Aquarius) and Saturn
(Aries) squared Chiron (in Moon-ruled Cancer), both aspects sparking existential
fears and dread.
Chart #1: War of the Worlds Radio broadcast, October 30, 1938, 8:00
pm ST, New York, NY. Tropical Equal
Houses, True Node.
As I wrote in a July 2, 2016
piece here,
the purposes of Neptune and Pluto can be summed up quite simply:
Chaos and dissolution engenders Creation; from Death comes Life. Neptune and Pluto are partners in this evolutionary process and their
“breakdown-death-transformation-rebirth” routine performs a necessary service
to our Species, writ large, but they do not deal kindly with individual needs
and desires because that’s not their job.
As it happens, when an entity’s chart features strong personal
planet connections to these two (as we see in Chart #1), their impersonal collective energies can
overwhelm the personalities, putting them in a slow-burning state of
constant “fight or flight.” This probably explains why passages in which Neptune
and Pluto are dominant leave broad swaths of humanity
vulnerable to those who would manipulate their natural survival-focused
instinct. Welles manipulated the American people to prove the power of radio; demagogues do so to enhance their own power.
It’s up to us humans to respond
to the pressures of Neptune
and Pluto through the
institutions and societies we create (the domains of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus)—unfortunately,
the current administration has been working overtime destroying those institutions, so it’s up to those who are able to
salvage what is essential and to reimagine, reform and rebuild those aspects of
government that will need a rebirth. Needless to say, it’s also up to We the
People to deal kindly with each other and to reinvent our socio-economic
and rule-of-law institutions to reflect our better angels. Mustering the power
to do all this will depend quite heavily on our conscious participation in the upcoming election, and our ability
to think beyond whatever economic woes are dogging our steps at the time.
I can’t think of a better time
to revisit FDR’s famous inaugural maxim during the depths of the 1930s Depression:
“the only thing we have to fear is fear
itself.” A leader who can help us tap into the higher potentials of this Neptune-Pluto
passage we’re facing will be essential
going forward.
Conscious participation is essential
because it takes maximum awareness and willingness to accept observable and
verifiable facts to avoid sinking
into primitive gut reactions—Pluto’s Scorpionic tendencies,
deployed via our cardinal (action-oriented) lunar/Cancerian sensitivities. There’s a time for such “fight or flight”
reactions, of course, during true emergencies, but as accustomed as we are to
sitting on the edge of our seats while watching gut-twisting thrillers, real life is almost always far less
dramatic.
 |
| "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."--FDR, March 3, 1933 |
Even so, we’re being
conditioned to leap to dire conclusions on the basis of someone else’s self-serving
delusions, and an unfortunate number of Americans these days are embracing
those delusions wholeheartedly (“the government is out to steal our freedom for
the sake of a fake (?) crisis”) when those
complaints are not just delusional, but dangerous.
Not only is this delusional outrage being purposely manufactured and misdirected, it’s designed to
unnecessarily complicate the dangers threatening our communities. Perhaps it’s
time we wonder exactly why?
Those who remember the Bush
Doctrine of “preemptive strike” will see how it captured Neptune-Pluto’s terror-producing dynamic
perfectly. Perhaps an attempt to rationalize the irrational, Bush’s “shoot
first, ask questions later” approach to national defense would have been
laughed off the books before its ink was dry if it wasn’t for our reptilian
brain’s inability to distinguish between real
or imagined threats. Such discernment
relies upon our more discriminating, conscious minds. Hence, the reason Hitler
banned intellectual training: a well-developed intellect can call out
irrational thinking and see through the manipulations of hateful ideologies. This
should give us pause when we consider how chronically underfunded education has
been in this nation for decades.
 |
| NYTimes reports on Trump's dismantling of U.S. diplomacy. |
So long story short, while we’ve been busy
focusing on our everyday lives, the U.S. government has been effectively
dismantled and undermined, for both domestic and international purposes—sometimes quite openly and at times with less fanfare
or simply by default. Trump has done his best to undermine Congress’s sole
power of the purse, as well as its oversight authority, by simply refusing to
cooperate if he risks being held accountable for anything. His recent series of
Friday night firings of Inspectors General from various departments only adds
to the devastation and shields Trump and those closest to him (especially Barr
and Pompeo) from corruption investigations.
As we speak, the Supreme Court is due to decide
whether Trump’s tax returns will finally be
made available for oversight purposes, but it’s difficult to envision that
happening at this juncture.
There’s so much more that could be said here, but long story short, Pluto—now
just a few degrees from its exact return to Sibly Pluto and made even
more unforgiving and relentless by its transiting partner, Saturn—has presided over
the gutting of our federal government and the creation of an Executive branch
that holds the lion’s share of power (even over the purse), but accepts none of
the responsibility. So what now?
First, we have to realize that things may get worse before they get
better—for one thing, despite some progress, the pandemic still has the U.S.
and many other countries in a state of suspended animation—again, expressing a
toxic blend of Saturn, Pluto and Neptune. Trump’s chart is,
unfortunately, tightly-tied into these transiting energies, and in fact, his Gemini-Sagittarius
positions are also tied into transiting Neptune’s half-return to Sibly
Neptune. So yes, if by some cosmic wisdom that eludes us, the
destruction of our government and financial institutions was the highest use of
these transits, he has been the perfect
catalyst for that destruction.
If the way Trump's own failings regarding the
COVID crisis are colliding with this election year is any indication, he will
be in a more vicious mood than ever during this election. From the New
Yorker:
“Trump is running Facebook ads depicting Joe Biden as excessively
sympathetic to China and cognitively diminished (“Joe Biden: Old and Out of
It”). The President is above all trying to whip up a frenzy of paranoia about
the Obama Administration’s supposed efforts to promulgate the theory that the
Trump campaign colluded with Russia. “Obamagate,” according to the President,
is an affair “worse than Watergate.” The Justice Department, undermining the
rule of law, has obediently asked that charges be dropped against Michael Flynn, the
former national-security adviser, who admitted to lying to investigators about
his contacts with Russia. In 2016, Trump’s rallying cry was “Lock her up!” Now
the calls for prosecution are directed at Barack Obama and Joe Biden.”
So, toxic Neptune and Pluto, all the way. This article
also compares Trump to Joseph McCarthy, of 1950s “Red scare McCarthyism” fame, and a
key takeaway from that is that Trump, like McCarthy, excels in being able to
provoke turmoil and confusion—destructive forces that threaten not just the
coming election, but the nation at large.
The big question being, of course: once Trump is done tearing down
everything decent about this nation, who
will catalyze our rebirth?
 |
| We've been through periods of demogoguery before and it never ends well. |
Because experts think it’s likely we will still be in the throes of the
pandemic in November, with an even more severe spike in cases possible due to
the combined impact of seasonal flu and the COVID-19 virus, it’s critical that we
elect candidates who embody the highest expressions of the prevailing transits.
In a nutshell, those expressions boil down to two key dynamics: Compassion & Cooperation. Evolutionary
social scientist Peter Turchin puts this need into broad context in his study
entitled Ultra Society. An extended
excerpt is warranted here:
“The past is littered with corpses of failed states and empires.
Historians and readers of history books alike are fascinated with why this or
that empire collapsed. But a much harder question to answer is, how were huge
empires possible in the first place?
The answer is that people had to invent arrangements that would allow
them to cooperate with strangers. The better they got at cooperation, the
better their chances of staying in the game. Even as small-scale societies were
being weeded out by competition with larger-scale societies, less cooperative
large-scale societies were succumbing to more cooperative ones. There was a lot
of trial and error in this process, and there were many dead ends. But that is
typical of evolution.
And the process is not finished. The large-scale societies we live in
remain quite fragile. We typically take the functioning of the more successful
ones for granted. But even in North America or Western Europe, cooperation can
unravel quite suddenly.”[4]
For its part, The Atlantic just published an
article by Tom Montague that reinforces Turchin’s warning about the “fragility”
of our current world order. Entitled “The Pandemic’s
Geopolitical Aftershocks Are Coming,” the article surveys a number of scenarios
that world leaders and security experts have been discussing with varying
degrees of dread and concern. The picture could be quite grim if nations
reeling from collapsed oil prices like Russia and others choose aggression over
cooperation and compassion. In recent years, Europe has already been
overwhelmed by economic and environmental refugees making their way across the
Mediterranean from the southern hemisphere; the fear is, things can get much, much worse if the coronavirus decimates
developing countries in a second wave and world leaders don’t take a carefully coordinated,
cooperative approach to the inevitable challenges.
We know where our current president stands on working with the global community—even with organizations like the WHO whose expertise we desperately need during this pandemic. Theatening to defund them fits his habits to a tee, giving him someone to blame for his own failings and giving him cover when he's called upon to cooperate or show compassion. Not likely to happen!
 |
| Whether the WHO has handled the COVID crisis perfectly is irrelevant; we need its expertise! |
We know where our current president stands on working with the global community—even with organizations like the WHO whose expertise we desperately need during this pandemic. Theatening to defund them fits his habits to a tee, giving him someone to blame for his own failings and giving him cover when he's called upon to cooperate or show compassion. Not likely to happen!
To my mind, here are the questions we might want to ask at this point: 1) is
Trump’s divisiveness and staunch refusal
to cooperate with anyone who doesn’t
directly answer to him, making our
society more or less fragile? And 2) Is
a nation whose organizational and oversight capacities have been diminished so Trump
can not be held accountable for anything more
or less fragile?
Considering the pernicious way that public
health is tightly intertwined with the economic
and political health of American society these days, perhaps the most
important question is, Who will repair
the carnage Trump is leaving behind?
So, who will catalyze our
rebirth, indeed? IMHO, the transits of Neptune and Pluto to the Sibly
chart are calling forth the
heroes we will need to turn this transformative corner. There may be no one knight in shining armor that swoops in to slay our many
dragons, but many leaders have
surfaced around the country during this pandemic, and they are proving that
they have the mettle for the job. This has been especially true with the
nation’s governors, like Andrew Cuomo in New York, Mike DeWine in Ohio, J. B.
Pritzker in Illinois and yes, Gretchen Whitmer in my home state of
Michigan.
 |
| Gov. Whitmer has taken a strong, measured approach to re-opening Michigan. |
I may be biased in her favor—indeed, I’m more and more impressed with her
leadership every day as our state carefully re-opens, so let’s consider
Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who also happens to be on Joe Biden’s
short list for V.P. running mate. Three times a week she delivers a
meticulously detailed update to Michiganders about the state’s progress in
flattening the COVID curve. Her presentations are incredibly thorough,
reflecting a determined, fact-based but sensitive
response to the challenge, and she has been very wise in securing the
cooperation of Michigan’s business leaders, medical experts and regional
officials who all have a stake in the state’s successful recovery.
All while
having to endure Trump-inspired hate groups on the Capitol steps brandishing
their weapons and hanging her in effigy because she had to impose upon their “freedom”
of movement for the sake of Michigan’s overall health.
Thankfully, the vast majority of Michiganders polled to date appreciate
her measured, authoritative Saturnian approach to the COVID threat.
Her response is getting positive
results in the face of great obstacles, and if candidate Joe Biden decided to
name her as his VP pick, it is my opinion that we would all be in good hands if
something were to happen to him. Happily, we have a timed birth chart for her
to consider against Biden’s nativity—see Biwheel
#1 below.
Biwheel #1: (inner wheel) Joseph
Biden, November 20, 1942, 8:30 a.m. War Time, Scranton, PA ; (outer wheel) Gretchen
Whitmer, August 23, 1971, 8:51 p.m. ST, Lansing, MI. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
Interchart Grand Square: Whitmer Sun-Mercury (Virgo) conjoin Biden
No. Node (Virgo) and oppose Biden So. Node (Pisces); this axis squares Whitmer
Saturn (Gemini) conjoined Biden Saturn/Uranus (midpoint, Gemini) opposite
Whitmer Neptune (Sagittarius) conjoined Biden Venus (Scorpio). To my
eye, this configuration says that Whitmer has what it takes to draw out the
best in Biden’s character as a public servant. Whether that’s really the VP’s
job or not is an open question, but if the VP’s role is to help Biden shine as
president, I’d say that’s covered here, too, especially if we factor in
Whitmer’s Venus-square-Jupiter (Leo-Scorpio) tying into Biden’s Chiron (Leo)
square Sun-Venus (Scorpio).
 |
| Whitmer has endorsed Biden and is on his "short list" for VP consideration. |
She would want to make sure she doesn’t outshine the boss, with that Leo Venus of hers, yet unlike Trump,
Biden doesn’t strike me as the type who is afraid of a strong woman who knows
her mind and has the pragmatic skills to get things done (Sun-Mercury-square-Saturn). Maybe
that’s the kind of partner he needs, in fact—he’s subject to a somewhat
debilitating Neptune transit opposing his Virgo MC.
There could be potential friction in Whitmer’s Saturn conjunct Biden
Saturn/Uranus midpoint, although I would expect this to be minimal,
more a matter of style than over policy viewpoints, which should be pretty
closely aligned. This basic harmony of viewpoints and leadership styles is
reinforced by Whitmer’s Moon-Uranus conjunction (Libra) trine Biden Saturn (Gemini). It’s
also interesting that Whitmer’s Moon conjoins Biden’s Neptune
(Libra)—this suggests that they will share a level of empathy and
emotional understanding, which could be helpful, even with their respective Moons
falling inconjunct (Taurus-Libra). They may have different emotional
styles that would require some adjustment, but both Moons are ruled by Venus,
so hopefully the potential for harmony is there.
Whitmer
Mars conjoins No. Node (Aquarius), squares Biden Mars (Scorpio), trines Biden
Saturn (Gemini) and opposes Biden Pluto (Leo). Whitmer
is no shrinking violet—Mars rules her Aries ASC, which falls trine
Biden’s Sagittarius ASC. This perhaps reflects Biden’s more cerebral, yet passionate approach to
politics, whereas Whitmer’s winning governor’s race slogan was “Fix the damn
roads.” She’s clearly not backing down in the face of vicious protests and
death threats over her executive orders regarding COVID-19, so people should
not count her out when there’s a fight brewing. She may, in fact, be capable of
dealing with Trump’s pugilistic style more straightforwardly than Biden chooses
to. He’s reluctant to “bite” when Trump floats some outrageous lie or claim
against him, which is as it should be—Biden needs to demonstrate that he can restore
the dignity of the presidential office that Trump has basically trashed.
A VP candidate isn’t nearly as constrained by such concerns, so Whitmer could feel free to share her horror stories about trying to deal with the Trump administration while shepherding Michigan through the pandemic. To her credit, she hasn’t made a big deal about this from the governor’s podium, but it’s obvious what she’s been going through. Trump has always referred to her as “that woman in Michigan;” it would be poetic justice to see her on Biden’s ticket. Maybe Trump will live to learn her name.
 |
| Whitmer will also be co-chairing Biden's campaign. |
A VP candidate isn’t nearly as constrained by such concerns, so Whitmer could feel free to share her horror stories about trying to deal with the Trump administration while shepherding Michigan through the pandemic. To her credit, she hasn’t made a big deal about this from the governor’s podium, but it’s obvious what she’s been going through. Trump has always referred to her as “that woman in Michigan;” it would be poetic justice to see her on Biden’s ticket. Maybe Trump will live to learn her name.
Final thoughts
Historical periods marked by the rise of demagogues of various stripes have
much in common, astrologically and otherwise. Mundane astrologers studying such
periods over the years have known to look for the “usual suspects” among the
planets—the outer planets, most
notably, with Mars and Venus often actively involved in
triggering major events or trends. I would add that the Nodal axes of such
toxic passages in human history are also key indicators of the trends and
dynamics that materialize when the apt combination of characters and
circumstances are present.These dark times do not overtake societies overnight, but when they do invade the shores of our cultural and political consciousness, it’s often because they are riding a Pluto-infused Neptunian wave that has been unleashed upon those societies and has eroded their defensive safeguards. This erosion impacts societies on physical, economic, mental, moral and spiritual levels, producing great inequalities and instability, and inspiring the pernicious spread of polarized, “zero-sum” thinking whose basic premise serves the rise of tyrants like none other: if others gain, it must mean that we lose, so we must become ruthless about taking what we want and need from others).
Corruption and toxic individualism become virtues in a zero-sum society (I’m reminded of a recent Michigan quarantine protest sign that read “SELFISH AND PROUD”) and the rancid blend of Neptune and Pluto that makes these “virtues” seem not only normal but inevitable and human spawns a morbid fascination with death and destruction in our collective unconscious, where it rattles around like a roulette marble, seeking out the jackpot notch where stability and security, but above all, Power-writ-large reside.
 |
| While Nature is famously "red in tooth and claw," humans have a choice. |
The cynical acceptance that death and destruction are the “way of the world”—that we inhabit a “dog-eat-dog world” and that only the “fit” deserve to survive, much less thrive—is not inborn in humanity, although the more precarious and threatening one’s life experiences are, the more one is likely to embrace such a Plutonian outlook. As we’ve seen, there’s a physiological basis for this phenomenon: the unfortunate disconnect between the more recently-evolved, “frontal lobe” parts of our brain that enable us to live reasonably and cooperatively in this world, and our “fight or flight”-driven, anxiety-producing primitive Plutonian amygdalas.
Those who become fixated on their inner Plutos to the detriment of their rational, higher-thinking capabilities (ruled by Jupiter and Uranus) can feel fully justified in their aggressive “Us v. Them” thinking and actions. Even the most heinous violence will be characterized as self-defense for those who adopt such tribal mindsets.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen throughout history how this vicious mindset can also be cultivated in public consciousness by those who stand to benefit from it. In mundane astrology we look to the approximately 492-year Neptune-Pluto cycle for developments on this level, so it’s not surprising that Adolph Hitler’s 1889 nativity featured a Neptune-Pluto conjunction that was a mere two years from its 1891 cycle point in early Gemini. Clearly, his character—and the turmoil marking the early 20th century—expressed the darkest potential of this “civilization-building” cycle, and his influence has unfortunately endured far beyond his actual lifetime. Would those naïve young men waving Nazi flags on Michigan’s Capitol steps really want to carry such a mad man’s banner if they weren’t deluded and egged on by toxic rhetoric spewed online and in Trump’s manipulative Twitter feed?
Unfortunately, this particular Neptune-Pluto cycle will endure long past our natural life times, but it’s up to us to choose whether to build our societies around its lighter or darker expressions. As compelling and seductive as the “dark side” may be on the big screen and in the wrestling rings, we’ve been there through blood, tears and tyranny, and we know that it denigrates human societies, reducing them into chaos and despair.
It seems to me that through Pluto’s return to our Sibly Pluto and Neptune’s half return to its Sibly position, we’re being given a cosmic signal that it’s long past time to transcend our long karmic “dance” with the most primitive, fearful and hateful players among us—who would revel in our destruction as an intact democracy—and finally, to wholeheartedly surrender to our better angels.
 |
| Perhaps Lincoln left unfinished business? |
Raye
Robertson is a practicing astrologer, writer and former educator. A graduate of
the Faculty of Astrological Studies (U.K.), Raye focuses on mundane,
collective-oriented astrology, with a particular interest in current affairs,
culture and media, the astrology of generations, and public concerns such as
education and health. Several of her articles on these topics have been
featured in The Mountain Astrologer and other publications over the years.
She is
also available to read individual charts—contact her at: robertsonraye@gmail.com.
© Raye Robertson 2020. All
rights reserved.
[1] Mario Kamenetzky, The
Invisible Player: Consciousness as the Soul of Economic, Social, and Political
Life, Park Street Press, Rochester NY, 1999, p. 63.
[2] Ibid, p.
19.
[3] Ibid,,
p. 20-21.
[4]Peter
Turchin, Ultra Society: How 10,000 years
of war mde humans the greatest cooperators on Earth, Beresta Books,
Chaplin, CT, 2016, p. 40.
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