"In an unsettling reversal of my teenage years, I am now yelling at my parents for going out."
--Tweet, dated Mar. 15, 2020
It’s impossible to read the latest
news in regards to COVID-19 without being reminded that seniors – anyone over 60,, that is—are the most vulnerable to its
viral “charms.” This creates an intriguing dilemma—while it’s been pretty
well-established (although not 100% scientifically proven) that younger people
and children are far less likely to fall seriously ill with the virus, the key
to “flattening the curve” probably depends upon the willingness of these
younger age groups to modify their own behavior for the sake of the older
individuals around them.
Not that all Millennials have been ignoring the extent to which they can be
passive carriers of the virus to those around them: I’ve personally benefited
from conscientious young people who seem to have fully embraced CDC and local
guidelines, and as the tweet cited above suggests, many of them are actively trying to protect their parents from themselves! Boomers are famously slow at admitting they've aged into being "seniors," but the inescapable bottom line reality is, everyone needs to take responsibility for protecting themselves because by doing so, they’re protecting everyone.
In fact, I can’t think of a better example about how we’re “in this together”
than the horrifying news being reported today (Wed.) about the viral fall-out
from Mardi-Gras in Louisiana.
Louisiana went from zero cases to
over 1200 since that time: it’s now
documented that the virus was celebrating right along with the people in the
streets of “NOLA,” and that many of those partiers of all ages returned to
points unknown, carrying it home to other states. This should be fair warning
for anyone wanting to loosen
restrictions on large gatherings right now—no matter the economic fall-out.
Then there are those like
newly-tested positive Senator
Rand Paul, who could be the poster child for reckless indifference to his
colleagues’ wellbeing. Was he not aware that 48 of our 100 senators are over
the age of 65? Paul has reduced lung capacity due to underlying issues, so we
wish him well, but we also need Congress to be available to do the nation’s
work right now—not in quarantine or worse! He was a medical doctor before
running for office; he should have known better than to swim in the Senate pool
and work out in the gym while he was waiting for test results! Astrologically,
his case reminds us that we need to monitor the health outcomes of that 1960s Virgo
generation cohort born with Uranus conjunct Pluto—a story for
another day!
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| Sen. Rand Paul tested positive for COVID-19, sparking a furor. |
For now, however, let’s stick with
the precarious relationship that Boomers have with COVID-19, considering
they’re more likely to have underlying health issues: I thought it would be
interesting to see how this reality shows up in their generational chart, cast
for Pluto’s ingress into Leo in October, 1937. Logically, it
should show up as a challenge to the generation’s vitality—as a factor that
accelerates our aging at least, if not worse. Little did I know the
virus would spark a sizzling
discussion, laced with death threats, about the value of the “unproductive” senior population—more on that to come!
Just so we’re considering it from a
couple different angles, Triwheel #1 below
places the generational chart—for the moment Pluto first ingressed
into Leo
in October, 1937—against both the progressed
generational chart and the COVID-19 origins chart discussed in the last post here. And since I’ve set this
generational chart for Washington, D.C., the COVID-19 origins chart represents
the virus’s first appearance in this country, as well.
Please note that what we see in
these charts in no way reflects a
prognosis for individual Boomers—generational charts are demographic exercises,
so they represent a broad trend rather than individual characteristics or
experiences. We already know from the medical experts that Boomers are at
increased risk—this exploration will hopefully tell us something we don’t already know!
Let’s begin.
Triwheel
#1: (inner wheel) Pluto Leo
ingress, October 7, 1937, 6:42:08 a.m. ST, Washington, D.C.; (middle wheel) Pluto
Leo ingress, progressed to December 31, 2019, 12 pm GMT, Washington, DC;
(outer wheel) COVID-19 in U.S., January 20, 2020, 12 pm ST, Washington,
D.C..
Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
COVID
Jupiter squares Pluto in Leo (PL) Sun, conjunct PL ASC (Libra); Progressed
(Prog) MC conjoins PL Sun. This suggests that as a generation, Boomers are
at a crossroads when true maturity and leadership are being demanded; happily,
these qualities should be supported and even be rewarded (COVID Jupiter), although Jupiter
has a little less vigor than usual in Saturnian Capricorn—it’s
“aged,” a bit. No surprise, the Leo generation’s urge has always been to shine
forth (sign ruler Sun at ASC), and its reputation as the “Me” Generation
certainly fits the image here. Today, that image has a thinning shock of silver
hair!
 |
| One Boomer who's been "OK" with Millennials. |
The fact is, Boomers have held the
reins of power in this nation for a long time (10th house PL Pluto
trine Saturn in Aries have something to do with that)—perhaps even too long. Since the Clinton presidency, and
then the G.W. Bush presidency, Leo administrations haven’t always
lived up to that challenge very well, either—denigrating the dignity of the
presidency, basically dismantling the middle class and enabling the onset of
radical wealth inequality, not to mention getting us into “forever” wars that
have done little that is constructive, but have certainly fed multinational
corporations.
Pluto in Leo favors
ostentatious wealth, although as a generation it took awhile for us to
reconcile with our parents’ post-WWII materialism (the “Establishment”) and to
fully embrace our own drive for big money and the power associated with it.
As our children’s generations have
struggled with the economic crunch caused by globalization and other
wage-suppressing policies, we (as a general trend) have remained a prosperous
generation.
In fact, the Clinton and Bush, Jr.
Boomer administrations presided over the breakdown of important support systems
underpinning not just our economy, but American democracy itself, paving the
way for the megalomaniacal fix we’re in today. When allowed the chance, Leo leans
towards ego-driven, authoritarian-style control—a style that’s been “growing on
us” for some time and one that we’re seeing on full display with the Trump
White House.
Trump is our third Boomer
president, of course—one who is determined to ignore health care experts and the
mounting dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic for his fellow Boomers so he can get
“his” economy back in motion. It’s apparent that he believes “wealth = power”
is the winning equation for Election 2020, and he never misses an opportunity
to remind us how
many “billions” it cost him to get elected.
COVID Saturn-Pluto (Capricorn) conjoin PL
Jupiter (Capricorn) and oppose PL Pluto (Leo). These “Saturn-heavy”
aspects (Saturn rules Capricorn) highlight the aging of
the Boomer generation—indeed, almost everyone
in leadership positions in DC today is over 70 years old—a reality that can
feel like part of the problem, not the solution. Our two Democratic challengers for the
presidency are in their late 70s, House
Leader Nancy Pelosi turns 80 this
week, and Senate Leader McConnell isn’t far behind!
Obviously, these are “productive”
players in our democracy (I’ve seen Pelosi speak for hours, standing at the House podium in her high heels to promote an important bill), but we might also
argue that Boomers have, overall, had too much of a strangle-hold on the nation’s
democratic institutions.
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| The power of big money in politics is nothing new, but Boomers have excelled in it. |
PL
Jupiter (Capricorn) squares PL Sun-ASC (Libra), too—Big (or “Dark”)
Money in politics has become the modus operandi under Boomer rule, poisoning
our democratic processes and leaving the nation open to grandiose abuses of
power. Somehow the progressive hopefuls who have tried to run campaigns that resist
this abusive culture run aground—this PL Jupiter also trines PL Neptune (Virgo)—there’s
a subtle, but very powerful “undertow” at work with money and politics that has
so far prevailed.
We’re seeing this inertia manifest in
clear view these days, under the COVID-19 threat, of course: Trump made a show
of calling for a national state of emergency, but he’s clearly regretting the
action and
hoping to reverse it soon, as soon as Easter Sunday (he wants “packed
churches”), even though health experts are cautioning that this would be a very
reckless move because the pandemic is likely to continue spiking in the coming
weeks, not declining.
Nevertheless, Trump has clearly
recruited the Fox network to plead
his case—using older commentators like Glenn Beck, they’re promoting the
message that older Americans surely prefer to die rather than allow the economy to continue being shut down for
everyone else, in their words, “killing the country.” So this is the new
partisan divide, it seems—we’re now supposed to blame the elderly for not getting out of the way so the rest of the
country can get back to business as usual? Maybe older conservatives in high
places would like to lead the way over the cliff for the rest of us “lemmings?”
Who dreams up these insidious ways of dividing the American people?!
Thankfully, religious leaders like
Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission,
are calling out the false choice and ethical pitfalls at the heart of such
arguments:
“The economy is, of course, important in terms of human life
and flourishing, but human life is paramount,” Russell Moore, president of the
SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said Tuesday.
“He said he’s concerned that some people seem to be talking
about human lives as expendable, while others are talking about rationing health-care resources. Such ideas go
against basic Christian tenets, and Americans must uphold the dignity of every
human life, Moore said.
‘We cannot define people in terms of their age or their
perceived usefulness,’ Moore said.”
Hopefully such leaders will get that
message across to Trump and his Fox mouthpieces, but this discussion
opens up some important points about the transits we’re seeing in this chart,
as well. Saturn is all about developmental cycles and aging, so its alliance with Pluto
here, transiting the generation’s 4th house (the end of
things) opposite our generational Pluto (Leo) could reflect the
precarious situation Boomer-aged seniors are in right now overall.
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| What's wrong with this picture? |
That we’re seeing discussions about
seniors that pit the value of their lives against the nation’s economy is not
entirely surprising, either. It’s certainly reflected by Saturn-Pluto’s tightening
conjunction to Sibly Pluto (Capricorn)—our national chart’s chief signifier
for the (big “E”) Economy. And it’s true that Saturn-Pluto may end up “culling
the herd” by the time this all ends, but to consider that an “acceptable” loss disregards the fact that everyone is vulnerable to COVID-19. Hospitals
are seeing deaths from this virus from all
age groups, even if the odds of severe illness in younger individuals is still
considered lower than in older populations.
Even more importantly, however, as a
society, we’re receiving a very loud wake-up call here about our national values.
This issue of “productivity” is a gnarly beast: in our capitalist system, a lot of people doing wonderful things for
our collective good aren’t considered “productive” because they aren’t earning
a wage: stay-at-home moms or dads (who are worth their weight in gold, if you
ask me); those who volunteer (many of them seniors) in thousands of
organizations across the country; those who offer childcare and/or elder care
to family members (again, many over-60 types here), and so on. Yes, the wheels
of our consumer economy need to be greased with consumer dollars, but that
doesn’t negate the value of these alternative contributions to society.
This discussion is worth a
digression, in fact, because it segues with the very important passage
represented by our looming Pluto return (exact in February,
2022). Former Harvard Economics
professor and the president of Living Economies Forum, David Korten, attributes
these skewed value judgments to the cultural “story” mainstream economics has
imposed on society over our history. He calls it the “Sacred Money and Markets”
story, and is summarized briefly below:
“Time is money. Money is wealth. Material consumption is the
path to happiness…Economic inequality and environmental damage are a
regrettable but necessary and unavoidable cost of growing the GDP. GDP growth
in turn eliminates poverty, drives technological innovation to free us from our
dependence on nature, and brings universal and perpetual prosperity for all.
There is no viable alternative to a profit-driven free market economy.”[1]
Korten also points out that by surrendering to this “story,” we’ve
compromised what is best in humanity and have related to the “Earth as if it
were a dead rock for sale.” We don’t need experts like Korten, of course, to know that this
“sacred story” isn’t working out very well for millions of people. It has never
delivered what its proponents promise—poverty is never “eliminated” and “perpetual
prosperity” is a mirage.
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| Similar to the Happiness Index. |
There’s no becoming less dependent on nature, no
matter what the story, and being
solely focused on the GDP as an economic barometer in the face of the human and
environmental destruction such focus often produces is deeply flawed and counter-productive.
The so-called opioid epidemic was a net GDP positive,
while taking care not to infect each other during this pandemic would be
considered GDP negative. Maybe it’s
time, as Korten says, to “change the story” that directs our economy, and our Pluto
return may be forcing that need on us. If so, it could be a very productive exercise!
Bottom line, if Boomers can provide a reason for society in general to slow down and seriously
reconsider that toxic “story” that directs our lives (Sibly Mercury opposes Sibly
Pluto), that’s a worthwhile contribution!
PL Mars squares PL Saturn (Aries); COVID
Uranus trines PL Mars (Capricorn) and sextiles PL Saturn. These aspects
point to ways in which Boomers have been part of the problem, too: Mars and
Saturn
are in mutual reception here (inhabiting each other’s ruling signs), so
the
square between them powerfully reflects the drive Boomers have always
had for prosperity and success. The transiting influence of Uranus
could be disruptive, although the “soft” aspects suggest that any
damage may be manageable.
There’s a bit of dissonance, however, between these
soft aspects and the COVID Uranus (Taurus) square to Prog PL
Jupiter (Aquarius). Even if stimulus packages help, there are bound to
be financial ups and downs for Boomers who depend upon the stock and/or bond
markets for their retirements.
Notice also that this COVID
Uranus falls trine PL Prog Sun-Mercury (Capricorn): maybe
the disruptions we experience getting through all this will inspire a productive
change of hearts and minds. Again, this could impact perceptions of that economic
“story” we’ve all perpetuated.
PL Pluto in 10th trines 6th
house PL Saturn-Eris-COVID Chiron (Aries). Clearly, generation Leo has
fully embraced its power and authority over the past few decades, but that
power, exercised as public servants (6th house Saturn-Eris),
appears to now be “wounded.” It’s hard to say if this will be reflected in the
COVID death toll, or if it’s more about a loss of trust in Boomer leadership. More on this in a future, election-related post!
 |
| Yes, this is an election year, isn't it? |
This Chiron
also squares PL Mars, reflecting the hit that Boomer vitality is
taking, so this wound could work both ways. It’s instructive that the one
leader everyone seems to trust these days is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo—a
member of that early 1960s Virgo generation alluded to earlier
with Senator Rand Paul, with Pluto conjunct Uranus and both opposite
Chiron (Pisces).
Interestingly, Neptune (Pisces) is now opposing
Cuomo’s Jupiter/Pluto (midpoint, Virgo, chart for Dec. 6, 1967 birth not
shown)—it’s
no wonder he’s faced with the seemingly insurmountable task of dealing with
both the pandemic (Neptune) and the vagaries of a Neptunian White House response
that talks a good talk, but never quite gets the job done. He’s challenged to
calmly exercise the highest form of public service and political power (Jupiter/Pluto)
in the midst of overwhelming circumstances.
COVID Chiron (Aries) conjoins PL Saturn-Eris
(Aries) and squares PL Chiron (Cancer)
– both the radix aspects and the
transiting Chiron-Chiron square reflect the love/hate relationship Boomers
have had forever with the so-called “Establishment”—except,
they became the Establishment and Chiron
is now ripping open old wounds. Wounds related to the tortured
relationship this generation has had with authority and the right (as opposed
to the arrogant) uses of power, with
our responsibility for leaving the planet in better shape than we found it, and
so on.
The criticism lurking behind the “OK Boomer” phenomenon probably has
something to do with these reopened wounds: despite some accomplishments that younger generations wouldn't want to do without these days (cell phones, the internet, open heart surgery, etc.) we do owe future generations better than we’ve given them to date—hopefully
there will be time to work on that!
 |
| Let's not hold back, Millennials! |
COVID Neptune (Pisces) opposes PL Venus
(rules chart) conjunct PL Neptune (Virgo-rules 6th). Remember all those
pot-smoking Hippies holding “Love-ins” and calling for “all natural health food”
diets once upon a time? Well, we’ve come full circle with broad societal
acceptance of “food-to-table real food” diets and marijuana (in Michigan, our Governor deemed access to marijuana
delivery an “essential need” in her pandemic response). This radix Venus-Neptune
conjunction in earthy Virgo certainly had something to do
with that signature Hippie ethos, although the dark side of that was the
potential for serious drug abuse, as well.
This potential still exists among
aging Boomers, of course: whatever happened to the so-called “opioid epidemic”
that was in the news so heavily until recently? Folded in there is an awful lot
of prescription drug abuse by Boomers and
non-Boomers! When the dust settles from this pandemic, perhaps we’ll be able to
sort through these various Neptunian issues more clearly.
PL Venus also trines PL Uranus (Taurus). The
Boomer generation also manifested in Radical Anti-War Peaceniks, like the
Chicago 7: There were, of course, more strident rebels who were willing to lash
out violently to make a point (such as the Students for Democratic Society (SDS)
and the Black Panther Party).
We see that potential here with the PL
Mars-PL Uranus trine. This
aspect makes me wonder how invested the Boomer generation has been in the “death”
industries that profit from violence and terrorism—great fodder for GDP and
stock market growth, of course! I do believe the generation’s early anti-war
sensibility lives on in some form: it surfaced during the run-up to the Iraq
war, although the priorities of Boomer-led corporations like Halliburton heavily
outweighed any protests. Obviously, this generation has expressed itself in a multitude of ways and continues to do so.
Grand
Earth trine: PL Venus-Neptune trines PL Uranus
(Taurus) trines PL Jupiter-Pallas (Capricorn). This just reinforces
what we discussed earlier: as a broad aggregate, the Boomers have been the
wealthiest generation since the late 19th century Robber Barons (Pluto
in Taurus), and while Boomers benefited from the frugality and
diligence of their Pluto in Cancer parents,
they also benefited from the Reagan
years, which swayed many to adopt a more conservative or “centrist” ideology
(their Capricorn Mars and Jupiter), in
the case of those who supported moderate Bill Clinton. This very prominent generational wealth factor assured that
Boomers would be influential on the Supreme Court (Jupiter-Pallas) as well.
 |
| Is Trump taking COVID-19 seriously? |
Final
thoughts
In the last post here, I mentioned
that we might attempt to take an educated guess about when the COVID-19
pandemic would wear itself out and subside. In fact, I’ve rethought that idea
since and am convinced that trying to predict anything about this could be irresponsible and hazardous to
people’s health, so we won’t even go there. It’s more important at this point
that we listen to the guidelines that health experts are putting out there and
that we err on the side of extra
caution.
Why would Trump decide to name an
arbitrary date like April 12th on which he’d like to see the country back up and running, despite protests
from the health community? Because he has a vested business interest in seeing things up and running—a business
interest that frankly, may overwhelm whatever true dedication he has to the health of
Americans (anyone heard any condolences from him at the podium?). This conflict of interests
illustrates exactly why former
presidents have always voluntarily
divested themselves of business interests: the American people shouldn’t have
to wonder just which priorities are
driving a president’s decision making.
And we certainly shouldn’t have to
listen to presidential mouthpieces telling us how seniors should be willing to
get sick and die for the sake of the economy—the fact that anyone would even
say this out loud in front of cameras suggests that there’s no limit in some
minds to how ruthless our economic system should be to preserve and perpetuate
itself. Boomers (and other generations, for that matter) have seen this
before—especially those who fought in Korea and/or Viet Nam and were treated
like expendable materiel.
Countless examples come to mind, in fact—our history is
littered with examples of people being treated as meaningless ciphers (or even property) for economic priorities.
Could it be that this long toxic
history is coming home to roost during these Capricorn Saturn-Pluto times?
The good news is, thanks to Neptune demanding our attention, we’re
being forced to act more as a united collective, capable of subsuming short-term
priorities to the long term collective good of mitigating the spread of the
pandemic. Of course, we haven't done this for the sake of mitigating the other great challenge of our times--climate change--and it's high time that we design an economy around doing just that! These are choices we can make!
So I hope that people will simply
ignore Trump’s call for everyone to “get back to business” until the health
experts say it’s safe to do so. We’ve been seeing that phrase “the cure is
worse than the disease” perpetuated by Trump and the right-wing media, but
thankfully there are others calling out the false choice implied by this phrase.
From the New
Yorker:
“Is it the disease or
the cure that Trump doesn’t understand? In his briefing, he said that one of
his motivations for rushing to reopen the country is new research into the
mortality rate—this is ‘a big factor’ for him. And he doesn’t think that the
numbers on the table are that big. There had been talk that the rate might be
three, four, or five per cent; now it looked like it might be one per cent, or
a little less. He might do the math on what one per cent amounts to in a
country of more than three hundred million. Think of whatever group of a
hundred or more you like—your office, your school, your wedding-invitation or
holiday-card list—and now imagine yourself or someone you love as the one. And
that number may not even be right, not even in ideal conditions of limitless
medical resources….What he [Tucker Carlson, speaking on behalf of Trump] was
suggesting is not decent; it is not too strong a word to say that it is
barbaric. It is the bullying instinct of Trumpism taken to its extreme. Such an
approach would cost the country something that, unlike restaurant sales, could
never be regained.”
Enough said—our hearts go out to
those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. Please, be well, be safe!
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.
© Raye Robertson 2020. All
rights reserved.
[1]David
Korten, Change the Story, Change the
Future: A Living Economy for a Living Earth, Berrett-Koehler Publishers,
Inc., Oakland, CA, 2015, pp. 23-24.
