Saturn and Swine Flu: Making Us Sick to Make Us Well

Any student of Saturn knows that he brings down his big black boot in order to whip us into shape. If he tries a few times and we don't get the message, he'll pull out the big guns. It's not fun or pretty, but it gets the job done in most cases. The savagery of the global agribusiness industry is something that has long needed exposure. Not since Upton Sinclair's The Jungle have we seen a well-publicized take-down of this industry. Since he called for reforms of the meat-packing industry, it's gotten far worse. He was in his Saturn Return when he wrote the book, and Saturn was in Pisces, the sign opposite Virgo, where it is right now. This is how astrological cycles work -- we face the same issues when the planets go over these critical points. Virgo rules animals, health, and hygiene. Maybe a new Upton Sinclair will rise from the ashes of the Swine Flu fury. We're getting sick, but perhaps it's just a wake-up call to treat our animals (and our bodies) the way we should.

It's the perfect moment to review what we predicted when Saturn first entered Virgo in 2007. Saturn is just doing what he does best -- now we have to live up to his wise counsel.

Side note: Pluto, as we've mentioned, is now in Capricorn, exactly opposite (to the degree) of where it was in 1918, when the so-called Spanish flu killed millions. In March of that year the flu was first discovered when Pluto hit 3 degrees of Cancer, but it wasn't a deadly scourge in the first round. What is truly alarming is that when it came back the following fall, the real damage was done. Don't get panicked by the media's hype-machine, but do heed the wisdom of the stars.

Tea Bagging with Pluto in Capricorn

The "tea party" movement currently being promoted by Fox News and Co. is mildly hilarious. Rachel Maddow, The Daily Show and Keith Olbermann have skewered the Republicans for being too square to know how to use Google and thus avoid making total fools of themselves. What no one has talked about is the eerie connection it all has to the Pluto in Capricorn era. As we've discussed in this space previously, the years between 2008 and 2023 are sure to be trying for all of us. The collapse of the economy is just the beginning of a long process of degeneration, breakthrough, and rebuilding. This "tax revolt" (even if it is a thinly veiled attempt to rally the base) comes 273 years after the Boston Tea party, the signature event of the last Pluto in Capricorn era. These issues are coming back to haunt us now.

It may great fodder for comedy, but it's important to be aware of the implications. All the talk from the right about second amendment rights, and the rise of right wing militias is a rather alarming indication that in more ways than one, we truly are revisiting the American Revolution. The governor of Texas is even talking about secession. There is a right way and a wrong way to get through the years ahead. In this particular moment, Obama is leading us in the right direction. The question is, will the lunatic fringe follow? Or will they go their own way, dragging the rest of us into a Pluto in Capricorn morass that we can't escape? It's up to all of us to not just follow the leader, but to get in touch with our own inner power and wield it with an eye toward sustainability and compassion.