Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Economic Cycle of Jupiter and Saturn

Jupiter-Saturn Cycle
Jupiter and Saturn are considered the planetary pair that most closely relate to economic factors in a person’s chart. Their relationship by phase (more below about that) and aspect can relay information about a person’s attitudes, prospects and habit patterns regarding “success” in the “real” world. On a mundane scale—i.e. global/political, they have a cyclic relationship that correlates with worldwide economic conditions which can be very helpful in assessing current events.
It was 1974 in San Francisco at an AFA convention that I first heard about this. Marc Robertson gave a lecture on the topic, and in fact, you can read more about it in his succinct book, “Engine of Destiny” published by AFA. I don’t know if it’s still available, but it’s a wonderful little gem of a book with enormous information packed into less than 100 pages. He covers not only the Jupiter/Saturn cycle, but five other pairs, as well.
The synodic cycle of Jupiter and Saturn is twenty years. That is, after Jupiter and Saturn align (conjunct) in space, it will be roughly twenty years before they do so again. Within that cycle there are eight phases. We are used to the Sun and Moon having phases and are familiar with four: new, first quarter, full and last quarter. Those are the times when the Moon has moved, in relation to the Sun, a quarter of a circle (90 degrees), half a circle and the last quarter of the circle before becoming new again.
You can divide each of those four phases in half again. This makes each of the eight phases 45 degrees in space. All planets have phases with all the other planets, and it is a bedrock concept in Astrology holding profound meaning. With Jupiter and Saturn, regarding our global economic cycle, the new phase, which is at the alignment or conjunction (they appear to be together in the sky although one is farther out in space than the other), is when we tend to act instinctively. The beginning of this current cycle, was in late May/early June 2000. We believe we have pretty good sense about how far to go with spending or not, we think, but it is instinctive and without a plan. This initiates an approximately ten year period of optimism and spending—and if misused, greed. Note that ten years ago we in the USA had a surplus when Bush took office. Lots of optimism, so Bush gave it back. Then we had a rising bubble of housing prices and debt accumulation over the next ten years. Whoever was amassing debt was looking at expansion or profit and not at the responsibility of the results. The waxing phase of the Sun and Moon, remember, is when the Moon appears to get bigger and bigger.
After the new phase comes the crescent phase, which is when the two planets are 45 degrees apart with the faster planet ahead of the slower one. This is when there is an urge to break new ground and depart from old structures. We started a war.
Then there is the first quarter phase, around five years from the conjunction, and it is here that there is a crisis, a battle. Usually, it is a more aggressive period. In the current cycle, this was when Bush entered his second term where he aggressively announced he would spend his political capital.
The next phase is the gibbous. Jupiter is now 135 degrees from Saturn in the sky. This is the time the global community begins to analyze what has been going on and to try to be more efficient. There is a danger of degenerating into criticism and “blaming” during this time. It has a “Virgo” flavor.
The ten year marker, or full phase, is where we are now in this cycle. It was exact the last day of March/first day of April, which is why I was inspired to write this. The full phase is when we “see the light.” That is, if we use the Sun/Moon analogy, it is full Moon time, and there is full realization of the results of the last ten years’ economic choices and activity. We are heading into the waning phase for the next ten years, and during that time, historically, economies are more austere. We reap what we have sown in the waxing phase—positive or negative depending on whether it was wise or not.
The disseminating phase is next, starting in October 2012, and may be the most important of all. This phase is about assessing what we have learned and teaching others, although most of the time we as a species don’t use its highest function. It is about making laws to insure the future will be wiser from our mistakes.
The last quarter phase, starting August 2015, is when we reach a place of responsibility and act on what we have learned, preparing for the future. In the last cycle, Clinton was in office during these last couple phases. It wouldn’t have mattered who was in office, though. The same energy would have been prevalent. The difference is that some can use it better than others.
And finally, the Balsamic phase, which is the most spiritual of all. On some level of our global psyches we realize, whether we’re conscious of it or not, that we are all one. It is an internalizing of what has gone before, digesting it, and preparing for the new cycle which will begin this next time just before Christmas in 2020 at zero degrees Aquarius. Every time I see these cycles unfold, I’m awestruck again at how orderly God has arranged our growth. If we don’t learn the lesson in one cycle, there will be another one right behind it!

Friday, April 15, 2011


Since I use Medicare, I am very concerned about attempts to end it or alter it in a way that makes it no better than forced health insurance via the insurance industry. Therefore, today I researched the date and time Medicare was signed into law and was delighted to find that Lyndon Johnson’s itinerary for that day, July 30, 1965, was archived at (You will have to copy and paste) On this page are links to the four pages of his schedule for the day along with the exact times he did each thing. Note that he finished opening remarks and “moved to the signing table” at 3:09 p.m. He was in Independence MO at the Truman library for this occasion, and the log also mentioned on page two that it was CST. It mentions that he and Truman, along with others, walked to Truman’s office in the library at 3:20 p.m. Therefore, since the last act was to present Truman with the first SS card at the end of the signing, I set the chart for 3:19 p.m.—a logical time for the signing to be complete.
Amazingly, the Sun is conjunct Hygeia, the asteroid we associate with health, in the ninth, the sector we associate with legislation. Also in the ninth is a stellium in Virgo (also associated with health) of Venus, Moon, Uranus and Pluto. Mercury is also in the stellium, but in the last degree of Leo. We are all familiar with Medicare’s abuses, which is shown by Neptune being in the 12th and widely square the Sun, but more closely square Hygeia. Just the process of vigorously investigating and prosecuting those abuses would go a long way to making Medicare more solvent! As a recipient of Medicare, I’ve found the process of using it most efficient. They send the patient a statement of treatments and what they paid, and I caught a fraudulent charge one time by just looking at the statement. I’ve also had years of dealing with health insurance coverage, and I prefer Medicare and the single payer process hands down.
Right now there is quite a bit going on in this chart. First, as one would expect, Neptune is not only an active trigger, but also is being acted upon. One of our greatest problems right now is being deceived and misled by the media and corporations who have a vested interest in controlling government. Masses of people are being deceived and manipulated into supporting things that are not in their own best interests. This is shown in this chart, as well. Mercury in the chart rules the 7th—the public. It also rules the MC, which represents those in control of Medicare. Neptune is transiting opposite Mercury all during this year, and since it is coming from the 12th house, you can be sure it is deception of the public, and even those in control, on a scale none of us could imagine. This is further emphasized by secondary progressed Mars moving to conjoin natal Neptune as well. It is now within one degree, which is how close it needs to be to be active. It will go on to conjoin progressed Neptune showing that it will be in effect for quite some time. The progressed MC will catch up to this long influence in ten years, which is when I anticipate Medicare will not resemble its present form any longer.
You might wonder why it would take ten years. Well, it’s a strong chart with Pluto at the MC—tenacious. And transiting Pluto is going to be trine the stellium in Virgo and the MC until 2021. After that, it will be out of range and not effective. Plus, in 2021, not only will the progressed MC be conjoining Neptune, but transiting Neptune will be opposing the natal MC. If the signing of the law was finished a minute or two earlier, then this could be earlier as well. That literally means the base of the program is “dissolved.” One would hope we replace it with another strong health system after that dissolution. Right now, though, I don’t believe anyone will succeed in dismantling this very popular program.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Why a chart tells us what it does

Last week a client, who received an annual forecast recently, called with a question. It reminded me that no matter how long someone has sought the services of an astrologer, it helps to go back to the basics and explain some things from time to time. When people come to an astrologer, it is usually because they have a drama in their lives and are looking for immediate answers. They are not interested in what led up to it or how they may have been the cause of it themselves. They are in the moment and looking for results.
The lady calling wanted to know why a chart would show circumstances coming up that are a repeat of a chronic situation that had permeated her life for as long as she could remember, and what she could do about it. Since I had been doing her chart for several years, I thought she would know the basic premise behind the “why” of events in our lives, but she didn’t remember. Or, perhaps I did not make it clear at the beginning. In a highly charged emotional engagement like a chart interpretation, people will not hear all the details. One client wrote me that she didn’t fully “hear” it all until she listened to the tape again ten years later!! Then she said it changed her life. Knowing why things are happening is the heart and soul of spiritual growth—besides, of course, faith and prayer.
My teacher used to say, “Character is destiny; change your character and you change your destiny.” The birth chart shows why you are here, what character traits need attention and what your habitual patterns are potentially going to be. I say “potentially” because you have free will to change whatever is not working for you. When the transiting, progressed or directed planets contact the pattern in the chart that shows where improvement is needed, you can count on situations or events to come together to remind you to improve them.
For instance, if your chart shows an addictive personality, and you have given in to it for years by smoking, eating or drinking excessively, then when the transits, et al, align with the pattern that shows that, you might have a health issue emerge if you have not curtailed habits that are unhealthy. We learn by seeing and experiencing cause and effect.
Further, nothing comes from nothing, and underlying that will be psychological issues that may be the trigger for such a personality. That leads to the question, “Where did that come from when it’s shown at BIRTH—BEFORE you have had a chance to be affected psychologically?” If some of you doubt reincarnation, please read carefully John 9:1-3. The disciples asked why the man was BORN blind…HIS sin or his parents’? Jesus did not say, “Are you crazy? How can someone sin BEFORE he’s born?” Instead, he replied as though it was a perfectly reasonable question. And I might add, the fact that he was born blind for some other reason does not negate the disciples’ question as valid. Origen, an early Christian leader, wrote about this, but his works were largely discredited by Justinian and Theodora during one of the Ecumenical Councils of Constantinople.
Steven Forrest’s work about reincarnation as shown in the birth chart is worth pursuing. He states that we come into life with engrained, often negative, habits that had a “pay off” before, but which now may not be appropriate. Most people will persist in trying to make them work for four or even five decades before finally striving to find out why it isn’t “paying off” anymore.
Some people will be in denial about their traits and exhibit the famous psychological phenomenon of projection—usually those with fixed sign squares, and the astrologer has a choice. You can enable them by going along with the denial and even excusing it, or tell them as much as possible what the traits are that are causing pain or discomfort. This does NOT mean it has to be done cruelly or extremely directly, but that you point out the events leading up to the current drama and how the person was a contributor. If he or she reacts very strongly—especially to something that is not that huge, then you can be sure, (as all my teachers have said) you have touched the truth. The subconscious (or as the Course in Miracles calls it, “the ego”) does not like to be found out or to have to take responsibility, so it will react strongly to hold onto its illusion. You cannot do anything about the way a person will use what you tell them or how they will respond, once it’s out of your mouth, but it might be the best thing you ever did for that person even though you take a lot of heat for it and they blame you for their problems—which I call, “letting the chips fall where they may.” You can control nothing but yourself.
My most gratifying times have been when these people call to thank me for being forthright with them. No one had explained cause and effect to them on that level, and if someone had not, they could have wasted many more years beating the same drum and getting the same results.
Please note that there are many very disturbed people out there. Discernment is needed to determine when to refer someone to a professional psychologist.
I have worked with many social workers and psychologists, who would never tell anyone they use an astrologer, who found the insight invaluable, as did Jung. Someday, probably not in my lifetime, we will see giant strides taken to help people with their spiritual journey when we get over our knee jerk negative reactions to this magnificent gift God has given us to do just that.
Next time: The Saturn/Jupiter cycle.