Swine Flu and Epidemics

Looking at the New Moon chart in Mexico City on the 24th of April, we see Saturn Retrograde in Virgo (health/illness) high and in close conjunction to the Midheaven of the chart. Over the past week there has been much in the news (3rd House) about the Swine Flu outbreak there, that has affected not only the elderly and infirm, but the young and hardy as well. And although the flu virus has spread to other countries, it has not had the dire consequences that it is having in Mexico, where many, many people are being hospitalized for pneumonia. Saturn on its own, limiting and constricting, can indeed be a harbinger of health concerns for a country, when it sits on an angle, especially in the sign of Virgo. Saturn on an angle suggests having to put other concerns aside in order to deal with the situation that is presented right in front of you.. and in this case it is the public health.

On the day of the New Moon, Mercury was exactly square Neptune/Chiron. Much has been made of the Jupiter/Neptune/Chiron conjunction which spans many months, and reaches culmination in May and June of this year. In Aquarius it points to the vast and furious growth of instant information, technology and reception through the air waves, or the internet highway (as in the Twitter and Facebook explosion). It also suggests a lot of misinformation, and difficulty sifting out relevant information... kind of like an overload of information. This is a good thing. But Neptune/Chiron has a decidedly illness biased relationship. And Jupiter makes things grow, sometimes out of proportion, out of containment. It implies a potential for pandemic.. and this is certainly the fear of epidemiologists as they turn their watchful eye towards Mexico.

Neither Jupiter, nor Neptune have a respect for boundaries, and this virus is a reflection of that. This particular strain of flu is a polyglot of different viruses, which normally only affects pigs. People who have had close contact with pigs could get this strain of flu. In the past though, it was rarely transmitted from human to human. Now it is easily being passed around. And with the easy accessibility of travel (Jupiter/Neptune in Aquarius) world wide, the potential for pandemic rears its head. So we see the boundaries broken down geographically, between different species (combination bird/swine flu thing), and between humans.

In the New Moon chart for the US, Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron fall in the 2nd House of finances. The health industry, including certain Pharmaceutical companies, are already looking at ways to cash in on the Swine Flu. It may also be that the danger of this epidemic may be grossly exaggerated (Mercury square Jupiter/Neptune), or also that the severity of the flu cases which seems to be limited to Mexico, may be due to something else, or some other factor that is not readily apparent. One of the advantages to Jupiter/Neptune in Aquarius is the easy access to information and sharing of this information with other countries, health departments, etc., that can help to stem the tide of the spread of disease. However, this same ease of information can help to blow things out of proportion. Even so.. the potential for the easy spread of disease is inherent in this configuration and needs watching.

Saturn opposite Uranus has been seen before associated with mass casualties, either due to catastrophic weather, earthquake or health epidemics. This includes the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 which killed millions of people world wide. This Saturn and Uranus opposition will be exact, once again, in September, followed by a square between Saturn and Pluto in the cardinal signs. So, although the severity of this flu seems to be limited to Mexico presently, it would seem that the potential for growth, and spread exists... kind of like a wild fire being blown by a heavy wind.

The Passion

New Moon in Taurus

April 24, 2009; 10:22 pm edt

The New Moon in Taurus initiates a time to promote stability, endurance and positive affirmations concerning the economy, and developing self-worth. It is a time to work on re-building solid foundations that can be depended on. There is a desire to portray the country as reliable and trustworthy, as well as being an inspiration for others. This is a time to create the first steps towards reform, change and transformation.

Pluto sits in the 1st House, the planet of change and transformation. A great deal needs to be reformed, from the ground on up, and this is an excellent month for taking the necessary steps, in order to make those changes possible. Therefore, this can and should be a positive time to make intentions manifest. To re-shape our world.

Pluto can also represent power, violence and ruthlessness. So although this is a cycle for initiating positive change and transformation, with Venus and Mars having just entered Aries, and squaring that Pluto, there is also a lot of potential for violence and abuse. And a conviction that the end justifies the means. Venus/Mars in Aries is extremely fiery, passionate and potentially combustible. With their square to Pluto, these can symbolize rape. And with Uranus thrown into the mix, in the same house, we could also be reading about conflagrations, explosions, accidents. The 3rd House represents the media, the news. The 3rd House also represents our neighbors, immigration, and contention concerning these. The border violence in Mexico, fed by an illegal, but lucrative gun trade, is bleeding over the border into Arizona. Rape trees, kidnappings, and gang violence have instigated a great deal of backlash against immigrants in that state... which could even threaten Senator McCain's political standing, due to his involvement in an Immigration bill which promoted allowing millions of illegal immigrants, to, yes, become legal.

The 3rd House also represents transportation. General Motors just announced that it will close its plants for 9 weeks this Summer. They're feeling pressured by the government (Pluto in this case), to come up with a restructuring (Pluto) plan by June 1st. This would be just the time to create such a plan, due to the easy aspect between the New Moon and Pluto, but the 3rd House (transportation) planets, are short sighted, and at a loss to make ends meet (Venus in Aries).

Then there's the singleton Saturn taking all the attention this month... Retrograde in Virgo in the house of foreign countries, judgments, and morality. President Obama has been sitting on the fence when it came to prosecuting those who would apparently be responsible for authorizing and "legalizing" the use of torture on foreign detainees. Saturn retrograde indicates that we are being held back and prevented from establishing trust and building relationships with partners overseas, because of atrocities committed in the past. President Obama said he didn't want to lay blame for the past, but the past has come to bite us in the butt, and the only way to remedy the situation is by first acknowledging that these acts are immoral (Saturn in the 9th House), and then prosecuting those responsible for these crimes committed. Saturn, Retrograde and unaspected, indicates that there probably won't be very much done about this over the next several weeks. At least not yet. Yet Saturn sits as a thorn in our side... preventing us from meeting others half way and gaining the trust and cooperation that Obama went to great pains to court this past month. The public sentiment is changing, as is Obama's fence-sitting stance, now that reports have been declassified, and the extent of the abuse has come to light. Prosecution is back on the table, and under consideration in Congress:

Coming on the heels of the "torture" memos, the Armed Services Committee report puts enormous pressure on the Obama administration and Congress to immediately launch a full-scale inquiry into the Bush administration's policy of torture, in violation of federal and international laws.

On Tuesday, in a departure from statements he has made since his January 20 inauguration, Obama said he was open to the idea of a 9/11-type commission to probe the Bush administration's torture policies, but he said he was concerned "about this getting so politicized that we cannot function effectively, and it hampers our ability to carry out critical national security operations."

We have a lot of work to do. And this month is the first step towards re-making our image, from that of an evil Darth Vader type empire, imposing its 'values' on the rest of humanity... into a country that realizes that we are all in this together (as personified by the ruler, Jupiter in Aquarius), and in order to make this New Order of Humanity work, we have to take into consideration the needs of everyone, everywhere...

Chicken Little

Full Moon 

April 9, 2009; 10:55:30 AM, EDT

Washington, DC

It's not so much that the sky is falling, as the ground is shaking, quaking and trembling, the winds are blowing.   Somali Pirates (Mars/Uranus in Pisces) commandeered, unsuccessfully, an American freighter, taking the captain as a hostage.  North Korea shot a rocket/missile (Mars/Uranus), unsuccessfully, into space.  It fell into the ocean (Pisces).  Tempers are simmering and Republicans are filibustering... over and over and over again.  Once again, Saturn, sits alone, all Retrograde, resistant and determined to keep the changes that are inevitable from occurring.  It's one thing to preach bipartisanship, it's another thing to get cooperation.  Venus is still in Aries, still Retrograde... although about to skip over into Pisces and station there before it turns back around into Aries again.  But in the mean time, it's still in Aries, and there's no sense of cooperation, or attempting to meet anyone half way.  The G20 meeting in Europe ended with no real plan for global recovery or even a commitment to increased fiscal stimulus.  

Yet Obama has gone half way across the world, culling favors and trying to undo the damage of the past 8 years, trying to revive our status as a country of prestige, and re-create our image.  It's a Full Moon in diplomatic Libra.  President Obama pledged to repair damaged relations with Europe, saying the world came together following the 2001 terrorist attacks, but then "we got sidetracked by Iraq."  "We must be honest with ourselves," Obama said.  "In recent years, we've allowed our alliance to drift."  Even as he spoke, he begged favor for his Pakistan/Afganistan adventure, whilst drones rained down along the Pakistan border. That's Mars/Uranus high in the Washington, DC chart, opposing Saturn... War, deceptively veiled in peace (Mars in Pisces).   Mars and Uranus are high and passively aggressive, just waiting to explode, like some underwater volcano, while also subversively undermining our own authority.  Is there such a thing as righteous war?  

Saturn is still Retrograde in Virgo, the sign of Labor.  Back home the unemployment rate jumped to 8.5%, the highest it's been since 1983, as a total of 663,000 jobs were lost in March.  The realities at home have still to be addressed.  Yeah, Jupiter is trine this Full Moon, and Obama's efforts overseas are flourishing, as he and Michelle are greeted by throngs of well-wishers.  There is no doubt that the Obama's are superstars.. even as Americans are struggling to keep their heads above water.... People are jobless, homeless, and without medical insurance... Saturn Retrograde in Virgo.  Venus will station Direct on the 17th of April, in exalted Pisces, one week before the Taurus (financial security) New Moon.  Maybe these will help to jump start the economy...if only slightly and temporarily.  Then in May, Saturn will turn Direct, and maybe then, finally maybe we can move forward with the business at hand: nothing less than putting our country together, fixing our workers, fixing our health care, and fixing our economy.  Because right now it's running on empty.