Well, when it rains it pours. I now need furnace repair. No heat or water until I come up with the cash. My unemployment won’t come in for a few days. I am literally counting pennies now. Have been looking for temp work, and still am waiting for replies. So if you can, please hit the orange button.
Welcome to Sagittarius Week.
Starting with the New Moon in Sagittarius, this is a powerful week for Sagittarian energy.New Moons are the beginning of the monthly energy cycle. At the New Moon cosmic and emotional energy is concentrated, therefore, it’s a good time to begin projects. What kind of projects? Sagittarius likes to grow and explore, so this is a good time to start those projects that expand the mind, such as reading philosophy, or meditation. Actually, any time is good for meditation, but this time is excellent for dealing with the more devotional, philosophical kind of meditation. This may also be a good time to explore higher education or to learn a foreign language.
This beginning of the monthly cycle has once again brought us news about religion, international affairs, higher education and speculation. There’s the climate conference in Bali, the granting of the Nobel Prize to Al Gore, the upcoming withdrawal of troops from Basra by the British, the international effects of the housing market decline, and the shootings at Ted Haggard’s church in Colorado.
Next comes Jupiter and Pluto combined in Sagittarius, (1:26 pm EST, 28 Sagittarius December 11, 2007), the culmination/end of a 12-year cycle of great expansion and high optimism. When Pluto and Jupiter last conjoined back in 1995 it was in Scorpio, and it ended/culminated a period of economic contraction where what grew was mostly decay: the drug trade, and the rot of the end of Communism. There were positive things: the quiet growth in reproductive technology, the exploration of the human genome, the growth of hospices. What then began was a great deal of speculation and expansion, a growing interest in international matters fueled by terrorism and the internet. That period is ending, and a more pragmatic (Capricorn) approach is coming to many matters. Suddenly the rhetoric of fanaticism is cooling down, atheism at least gets a hearing, and people now realize just how diverse we really are and that we need to at least try to get along for the sake of the planet. Another end of a cycle.
So just what is going on here? The gambling isn’t so much the usual kinds, although places that specialize in that should do pretty well this season. With the influence of Pluto, Vegas is exploring its darker side. There is a mobster’s museum that is being proposed for Los Vegas. For years, Los Vegas has tried to play down it’s mob origins. But the growing self-exploration of Capricorn allows for no such dishonesty, so now the museum is coming to life.
The other kind of gambling, the stock market, is facing near melt-down as the housing speculation and the shady deals are coming to light-Capricorn demands honesty here too.
Religion is also going through similar probing and exposure. Indeed, religion seems to be a big issue right now with Huckabee’s “optimistic fundamentalism” and Romney “apologize for being a Mormon” speech. Another, more darker side, is the church shootings in Colorado, the investigations of several tv ministries, and the growing scrutiny by skeptics of church claims. The Church of Scientology is going to be banned in Germany. The church is now having to explain itself when for so long they have taken acceptance-and indeed massive political power- for granted. During this long Sagittarius period it has had to deal with the massive scandals of the pedophile priests, televangelists, and the exploitation of the needy. Now society as a whole (Pluto) is now talking back and asking questions. Just who is the church serving? What is it supposed to do with its power and resources? While society,
thanks in part to the internet, is trying to distribute information and power (Aquarius Neptune), the church has stood off, refusing to decentralize, demanding that those who do not share its doctrines must obey, not through joining the church and becoming members, but by forcing legislatures to pass laws that enshrine its doctrines into law. Think about all of the amendments to state constitutions outlawing gay marriage.The objections were purely doctrinal. The state would simply have issued a few more marriage licenses, and perhaps needed a few more judges on its part. The churches would have divided doctrinally, but since people can choose what religion they can practice, folks who agreed or disagreed would have simply gone to their respective corners. There were other attempts to enshrine things such as creationism, prayer in school, whatever. The result? Pushback, emptying pews, and assertiveness on the part of minority religious viewpoints. It looks like religious fundamentalism is winding down a bit in favor of more “help the poor and the planet”. Religion must now work for people in their daily lives, not simply talk about the rapture. The emphasis on the Apocalyse will go away in favor of a religious consciousness that has a more present-day emphasis on character and dignity. character. Indeed, I expect a new and growing emphasis on stewardship, and the revival of some traditional liturgical practices as part of the character training. Once again, Capricorn demands honesty.
While I don’t expect the megachurches to go away, some of the glitz that helps nobody, including the planet itself, definitely will. The megamall church must now become a real community with real links to the community and a real purpose for being. Examples of the upcoming changes: There is a small but growing “green church” movement that will pick up speed as the months and weeks go by.
People will have to remember fundamentals of both economics and politics to get by. For years the assumption here in America was that we could all do each other’s laundry: foreigners could do the hard work of actually making and growing things. We could have what no country could ever have before: an entirely service-oriented economy. Never mind that we never invested in the free education, healthcare, and infrastructure that could have made such a thing workable, nor the regulation of imports that could have made sure they were at least safe. The manufactured goods have not lived up to American standards, many are proposing immigration restrictions and reforms that end the cheap labor that some businesses have used to keep costs low ,and thanks to 9/11-induced hypersecurity measures and xenophobia, many foreigners are bypassing the United States for tourist destinations that are less oppressive and nasty, like Cuba.
Now America-and the world-will now once again have to deal with the actual physical process of living, loving, and growing. It will once again have to deal with real need and real suffering. It is about to go from tweed back to flannel.
Birthdates This Week
10 December 1898
Cuba(Old Cuba)Indiana
December 11,1816
Pennsylvania
December 12, 1787Alabama
December 14, 1819
United Arab Emirates
December 16, 1971Suriname
December 16, 1991
Mississippi
December 18,1817New Jersey
December 18,1787
The party’s over. The party’s beginning. The champagne party is winding down, but we’ve got great punch in the church basement, and a big warm bowl of chili. On to Capricorn!
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This year I’m dreaming of a Green Christmas. Why? Because last year there wasn’t a White Christmas.The first real snow where I lived wasn’t until February, and the only real cold days of the year was in February. Long after the Christmas lights were packed away, there was finally a reason to put them up. And there is more. We are starting to have to rely on winter snowfall for a water supply, spring and summer rain no longer being all that common.
There have been too many Winters like this. So, after more than a few years when you could celebrate Christmas and step outside in a jacket, it’s time more than a few of us decided to have a Green Christmas so that there can actually be a White one from time to time.
Nobody doubts that Christmas these days has become more than a hazard for the Earth.
But we don’t have to throw out the holiday along with its trash because of the hogs. Here are a few principles to help you celebrate both the Earth and the Holiday: Reuse, Recycle, Repair.
Don’t throw out your perfectly good Christmas cards and decorations just because they seem a little dated to some people. Use them as long as you can, and if you no longer need them, give them away to someone who could. A Christmas find: about a year ago I went to an old second-hand store and found perfectly good Christmas cards. The people there practically gave them to me. Why were they there? Some people buy but never send their Christmas Cards, or they buy too many of them to ever send. They wind up at secondhand stores. It’s easier to give them away than face another guilty holiday where they will never get around to sending them. I have sometimes found other Christmas stuff at the secondhand places, flea markets, from friends who are downsizing, what have you. Someone moves from a house to an apartment and no longer has the space for a large tree. Others buy newer things. As for gifts: Do you also have perfectly good items just gathering dust that you are certain you will never use?
Wrap your items in reusuable bags, Holiday canisters, cloth, or other items that can also serve as a gift. You can put a bow on very large items instead of wrapping them in paper. Give things that need no wrapping, like extra chores or an evening out. If you have skills, make something. Even here secondhand can help (the recycle part again). If you are into making things yourself, those places are also good sources for craft supplies, especially if you sew or knit. Look for half-used balls of yarn, old neglected craft kits. Picture frames that can be painted, fabric and ribbon remnants, old buttons, tablecloths that can be dyed or cleaned. Free instructions can be found on the net.
If not crafty, look for antique tableware, cloth remnants, cloths, vintage books, knicknacks, curios. Ebay has reconditioned electronics. Pawn shops can have some surprises as well.
Local artisans can also be a source of gifts as well. People who love what they do, and certainly need the money. Plus, it is cheaper in terms of energy to buy local whenever possible. Ebay also supports individual artisans as well, if you can’t find anything you like locally.
If you don’t need extra decorations, and you are all thumbs or very busy, there are Green Gifts you can buy:Reusable Bags, Fluorescent Light Bulbs.
Food is almost always welcome (Check to make sure the recipient doesn’t have dietary issues first, though). Gift cards and coupons and gift certificates (If you are sure they will be used by the recipient) are also gifts that come in handly long after the snow has melted.
Wondering about that artificial Christmas tree? Artificial trees take up a great deal of energy to make, but on the other hand, natural trees, while renewable, mean considerably more energy used in transport and that’s one less tree to clear the air. What to do? If you already have artificial, keep it as long as possible and let the natural trees grow. Natural: find something that could be planted or recycled after the season is over.
So don’t just dream of a White Christmas, make sure there is many more to come by having a Green One.
Pluto is not only the great transformer, but the great leveler. Pluto in Cancer ended the old autocratic forms of family in favor of a more scientific approach, the old Victorian mansion was
replaced with the suburban house of just two stories and a family room, the extended family became nuclear. Pluto in Leo ended the old colonial system, took entertainment from the strict hierarchies to do it yourself, made child psychology a true profession. Pluto in Virgo ended the
old strict toil of work and replaced it with the consultant and the computer aided work. There was the health food movement, the self-help movement, the move towards more individualized health care. Pluto in Libra brought women’s liberation, the paralegal, and pro bono law, no-fault divorce, and the growth of interest in eastern philosophy.
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What is Pluto in Capricorn likely to level? The Corporation, for one thing. Technology now makes it possible to do business without building immense structures both physically and socially. The skyscraper, with its inefficiencies, is likely to be the pyramid of the 21st century,becoming housing instead of business entities. A small central business (as fancy asone wants) will network with an army of home clerks, consultants, and a distant factory (if they
are in manufacturing). The skyscraper, after all was built to house all of those clerks and consultants under one roof. But thanks to the internet, it is possible to simply e-mail or use a
central site where a clerk recieves a rough draft of a paper, downloads it, makes corrections until the executive is satisfied, and the promply e-mails the finished product to the recipient, allwithout anyone leaving their house.
Hierarchy, for another. The last round saw the beginning of the end of monarchy and the rise of legislative power and a constrained executive who ruled not because of blood lines but through elections, and only for a limited amount of time as determined or not by the voters. This time around, the revolution may be more into localism. More states and regions may have cross-border relationships themselves. localism,
more matrix power than central power. Churches become local again in a transnational context. There are generational tasks ahead for the generations who were born with Pluto in previous signs.
Pluto in Leo Generation: The task in to finally engage in those institutions that so long were run by the endless Pluto in Cancer generation. As the last of the Pluto Cancers make their exist, Pluto Leos have the task of making the big institutions finally work under their ideas and ideals,
and turn into brick and mortar and legacy the 60’s ideals. Ideally, this should be the time that the ideals of social equality become a matter of Basic Constitutional Law rather than simply legislative law that
could be overturned by retrograde legislators. An example of what I am talking about: Hugo Chavez attempted to put many socially progressive items into the Venezuelan Constitution along with the end to Presidential Termlimits. I suspect that will be just the beginning of making Constitutions more progressive. Many Constitutions have retrograde parts that don’t necessarily fit modern concerns very well.
Pluto in Virgo-Good God-We’re Fifty? You 1960’s born tech people will now have the entire institutional sandbox to play in. The last of the pre-1960’s tech will be booted out on your watch.
The manual typewriter, a relic. Those last few Univac 360’s, gone. You get the idea. The challenge for you is to end the “digital divide” of all kinds now, to finally wire the last of the world, and make technology available to the most remote and poorest people now. Many of you are already working on renewable energy, medical technology, et cetera.
Pluto in Libra-Pluto in the sign square to yours is one of the signs of the classic “Midlife Crisis”
The challenge will be making those really permanent connections in life and keeping them. The opportunity for your generation is there to make new laws that codify the changes. I expect there will be real
challenges to all those “No gay marriage” amendments now. The idea that people should be deprived of the protection of the law merely because of the combination of genders will not appeal to you. Eastern religions may struggle to finally become a solid part of the institutional religious landscape, as second generation believers start organizing their families and traditions.
Pluto in Scorpio-the opportunity exists to transform the marriage and dating scene with new insights on death and sex and reproduction. You will demand cures for AIDS and other chronic diseases, no longer content with the slow pace of change and the underfunding.
Pluto in Sagittarius-You were born in a time of both immense contacts with the world and immense fanaticism. You are entering the big world of high school and college, and may find the pressure to be a bit more pragmatic and conformist and to fit into the world of bosses and lecturers a bit hard to take at times. Your generation likes to range widely, and sitting around a desk may not appeal to you all that much.
You will probably be the first generation that a majority of college students take their entire college course online in order to remain free to travel.
In short, Pluto in Capricorn does mean a another new world. Not born of fire, but through work and restructuring. Pass the hammer, we’ll build it.
A repost of an old post: (I edited considerably)
Old Antique Lace
Things weren’t always like this. When I was a kid, the frost came around Halloween, and more than a few of them were chilly. The heat would come on in November, the radiator starting to make its familiar knocks and pings which let you know that it was the time you could wash out a pair of socks, and hang them over the radiator all night to dry. And dry they would by morning. By the time November turned into December, the heavy, quilted covers would come out, along with the boots. The days would turn gray and raw and cold, with flurries that settled on the grass and threatened the easy walk on the sidewalk. By Christmas, it was a settled cold-you knew that it was winter and were accustomed to pulling out the gloves on a regular basis. There were some warm days, but they were like gems, singular and cherished, because you knew the next day it would snow or turn cold and damp.
Now, I almost feel like a fraud, wearing a lined coat. True, the temperature dips to something more seasonal, but at a time when I wouldn’t be out anyway.
A few principles to help you celebrate both the Earth and the Holiday: Reuse, regift(give something you already own), and be creative. The more we use what we already have the more we make things ourselves, the less emissions there are needed to manufacture and distribute newer items. As for me, I’ve become a freecycler: the joy of finding out that something you already own and no longer need is someone else’s treasure is gratifying.
Decking the halls can be green too. A Christmas find: three years ago I went to an old second-hand store and found perfectly good Christmas cards. The people there practically gave them to me, they cost a dime apiece, some just a nickle. They were clean with no writing and envelopes still with them. Why? Some people buy but never send their Christmas Cards, or they buy too many of them to ever send. I’ve sometimes have seen old boxes of Christmas ornaments, left by people who have upgraded to fancier ones, tree skirts, even half-used boxes of tinsel. Don’t buy the strings of lights-not only are they the old incandescents, but they may be worn with use.
For the people who like to make things, old second-hand stores are also good for some supplies, especially if you sew or knit. Look for half-used balls of yarn, old neglected craft kits, half-used bolts of cloth, toys that can be repainted-all can be a very cheap source of craft supplies, old packs of buttons, ribbons, tablecloths, art supplies-all can be excellent sources of materials for the do-it yourselfer when it comes to making gifts. If all thumbs, look for local artisans who are making things that are interesting.Local artisans can also be a source of gifts People who love what they do, and certainly need the money, especially at this time of years. For the busy, there are ecological gifts: Reusable Bags, Fluorescent Light Bulbs. Food is almost always welcome (Check on dietary issues first, though).
A common source of Holiday confusion: natural or artificial tree? Things are a bit mixed on the subject. On one hand, Artificial trees require a great deal of energy to make, are often made of non-renewable plastic, and are imported from overseas. However, they do last from year to year and can be passed to someone else if the owner wants a larger or smaller tree. Of course, they eventually end up in the landfill, but that can be several years or even decades depending on the quality of the tree. I’ve even seen old 1960’s tinsel trees in antique stores. On the other hand, natural trees are renewable, but you have to buy one every year-and trees are needed more than ever to filter the air and add oxygen, provide habitat for birds and so forth. So there’s no clear answer as to what to do unless someone offers a tree during a move, decides to leave the old artificial one behind. Save it from the landfill.
So, give the earth a gift, and have a Green Christmas. Reuse, recycle, regift, and be creative. Not only will Santa love you, the Earth will love you too. And I can actually get some real use from all that winter gear I own.
Other People Sitting Around the Table