March 1 - 6, 2022: WE ARE IN FOR A WILD RIDE.

 

March 1 - 6, 2022: WE ARE IN FOR A WILD RIDE.

 

This is the most global and granular war we've ever seen, with non-governmental players in the tech sector (Saturn in Aquarius) making unilateral moves to help Ukraine, such as Elon Musk, Microsoft, the "Anonymous" hackers, and others. With hundreds of thousands of citizens defending their homeland with rifles and mobile phones (North Node / Uranus in Taurus), real-time reports from the front line on social media battle Russian disinformation bots (Mercury conjunct Saturn in Aquarius, Sun sextile Uranus). 

 

Hope springs afresh with the New Moon in Pisces, where Jupiter is currently expanding compassion, and Neptune is currently distorting perception.

 

Venus, Mars, and Pluto meet in a triple conjunction at 27 degrees Capricorn (the degree of the USA's natal Pluto), with the Moon in war-like Aries on 3/3, which is Rosh Chodesh Adar Bet. Mars-Pluto can be very dangerous; Venus hardly takes the edge off and in fact the oligarch angle of this unfolding story should be watched closely. In any case: these events will feel exceedingly personal even if you are half a world away. 

Regarding the outcome: THE DECREE IS NOT FIXED; IT CAN BE SWEETENED. Those who understand the power of prayer and the chutzpah it takes to make intercession, as Avraham Avinu and Moshe Ribbaynu and Dovid haMelech did, may they be strengthened at this time.

 

3/5, Shabbos Parshat Pikudei, the Sun conjuncts Jupiter in Pisces and the glory of the Lord fills the Tabernacle. Sunday 6/6, Venus and Mars both move into 0 degrees Aquarius, the exact degree of the "Great Conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn which occurred in December 2020, the doorway to the Aquarian Age. The hallmark of the epoch is the uniting of governments, NGO's, sports teams, industry, tech, and every sector (Saturn in Aquarius again) under Aquarian ideals (brotherhood, humanitarianism, scientific progress, freedom ) to defeat a global threat.

 

What time on the Cosmic Clock is it, folks? It's half an hour before Purim. 

 

THE DECREE IS NOT FIXED; IT CAN BE SWEETENED.

 

The week of Shabbos haGadol: Mars and Saturn conjunct in Aquarius; Jupiter-Pluto Conjunction and Corona Virus Star Patterns

Friends, I will cut right to the chase here. There are two huge things happening in the stars this coming week. One is the conjunction of Mars and Saturn in Aquarius on Tuesday March 31, and the other is the first of the three Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions of 2020, which happens on Saturday April 4, Shabbos Parshat Tzav. 

Medieval astrologers understood the conjunction of Mars and Saturn in Aquarius as being the signature celestial pattern reflecting the presence of plague. 

My interpretation of these two events is that the coming week will see severe spikes in infection news and the result will be a big government crackdown on personal movements - even more strict than measures currently in place.

 
I am hoping that by Chodesh Iyar ("Ani HaShem Rofecha") we will see a lot of healing. The Jewish Calendar would indicate that the plague to turn around by Lag b'Omer (May 12) with significant relief by Shavuot (May 30) but ONLY IF YOU STAY THE F*&K HOME. If you don't stay home, we'll all be quarantined until Tisha b'Av.

Regarding the Mars-Saturn conjunction, which is relatively rare: The last time Mars and Saturn were conjunct in Aquarius was March 1992, during which the "Michelangelo computer virus" ravaged DOS-based computer systems world-wide. 

The time before that was February 1964, during which the USA was in the throes of Beatlemania, an extremely contagious phenomenon. This was also the peak of the Rubella epidemic. Rubella, also called at that time “German Measles”, infected 12 million people and 20,000 babies were born with severe complications from the disease.

The time before that was January 1934, during Hitler was elected Chancellor of the Reichstag and when Nazi Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring". I don't think I need to elaborate on the contagious nature of vile antisemitic hatred - that's obvious to all.

So: Sunday March 29 and Monday March 30 the Moon is in Gemini, with the Sun in Aries, you can bet on a lot of aggressively delivered information, data dumps, and Mars enters Aquarius on Monday as well, leading up to his conjunction with Saturn on Tuesday.

The point where Mars and Saturn meet in Aquarius meet on Tuesday is 0 degrees Aquarius – the exact point of the upcoming “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn in December 2020, the one I’ve been talking about here on this podcast, on my FB page and my blog, etc. for months and months. Events taking place around the Mars / Saturn conjunction this week will be revisited, dare I say with a vengeance, at the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at the same cosmic address in December. 

The Moon moves into Cancer Tuesday morning the 31^st as well, preparing for her First Quarter Moon Wednesday. That’s what you call “reva l’Pesach” – 15 minutes before Passover – on the cosmic clock or the Cycle of Sacred Time known as the Jewish Calendar. Moon in Cancer is food, home, mother, money. These security triggers will be HUGE this week, especially on Thursday as the Moon in Cancer opposes Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn, and later in the day when the Moon moves into Leo, opposes Saturn and Mars in Aquarius. The inherit emotional volatility of this week will be a wild ride as every possible trigger will be activated. 

Friday with Moon in Leo adding a dramatic dimension to just about everything – and melodramatic in many cases – sees Venus move out of her Earth-home sign of Taurus and into Gemini, followed by Mercury’s conjunction to Neptune in Pisces. Widely varied interpretations of data and the level of distortion around the flow of information both skyrockets. 

Saturday April 4 is Shabbat haGadol, the Great Shabbat before Pesach. Venus in Gemini trines Saturn in Aquarius which might supercharge creative ways of overcoming loneliness during this time of self-isolation. Connection to each other will be the prime directive as later on Saturday Jupiter makes the first of his three conjunctions of 2020 to Pluto at 24 degrees Capricorn. Remember Jupiter supersizes and giganticises everything he touches, and Pluto is raw power, raw ambition, raw need to seize what is desired: control, and wealth. They don’t call it a “Plutocracy” for nothing – governments controlled by the wealthy. I think we will see a power grab move by controlling powers which may in the short term, or medium term, be seen as a drastic measure to flatten the curve or stop the spread of the corona virus, but in the longer term these measures will be fought against and opposed by some. 

Jupiter will make his second conjunction to Pluto June 30, at the same degree of Capricorn, but Retrograde. This week during the first Jupiter-Pluto conjunction, Mars will be in Aquarius, the futuristic sign of progress and science, at same zodiacal point of the upcoming Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in December, signaling a change in leadership or the rise or fall of a society or government. At that second conjunction in June, the retrograde one, Mars will have just entered Aries, the sign of war. It’s possible civil liberties and personal privacies superseded by emergency conditions in April will, by June, be revised with aggressive resistance. 

The final conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto on November 12 occurs when Mars is in Retrograde Aries. That conjunction, exactly on the Saturn-Pluto trigger point of January 12 which started this whole thing off (seems like a million years ago, doesn’t it?) brings the progression of these three conjunctions to a climax. But OMG, it is impossible to know what life will be like in mid-November. Will America even have an election? Will there be some big power grab by the government? Will Mars in aggressive Aries square Jupiter-Pluto reflect G*d forbid people taking the law into their own hands? A massive march on Washington? Nobody knows, and I’m not guess-estimating. 

So keep a lookout for key events this week; they’ll be revisited over and over again this year as we try hard to find a place to rest our foot during this freefall, during which the old normal is dead and the new normal hasn’t really begun.

Saturday April 4^th is Shabbos HaGadol is also Parshat Tzav, which includes the details of the "Thanksgiving Offering" brought by someone who survives great danger, as well as the warning to Aharon the High Priest & his sons the priests not to leave the confines of the Tabernacle for the entire 7-day inaugural process. We are supposed to be a "nation of priests" and this week we need to understand that we must not leave the confines of our homes. We may also take this time to contemplate what kind of "offering" we are moved to give to this world if we are blessed, please G*d, to survive this (and may we all be!). We give to G*d by giving to each other. What might be your gift? Something to think about here.

The Capricorn Hot Spot: Getting Hotter and Hotter!

I didn't know how eerily accurate I was when I wrote in December that the Solar Eclipse / New Moon in Capricorn December 25th was the energetic kick-off to an entire year of momentous global stress.

Dec. 31, 2019:
The government in Wuhan, China, confirmed that health authorities were treating dozens of cases. Days later, researchers in China identified a new virus that had infected dozens of people in Asia.

I've also written / spoken extensively about the Saturn-Pluto conjunction on January 12, 2020 and the gigantic structural changes / destruction of the old.

January 11, 2020:
On Jan. 11, Chinese state media reported the first known death from an illness caused by the virus, which had infected dozens of people.

Here are three dates coming this year for the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction which will see a lot of stress around a GIGANTIC (Jupiter) RAW, UNRESTRAINED POWER (Pluto) around "life and death issues" (Pluto, modern ruler of Scorpio, again - death and rebirth, the phoenix rising from the ashes, self-immolation to be born anew from the ashes of destruction, etc.)

APRIL 4 - Jupiter & Pluto conjunct at 24 degrees Capricorn
JUNE 30 - Jupiter & Pluto conjunct at 24 Capricorn RETROGRADE
NOVEMBER 12 - Jupiter & Pluto conjunct at 22 Capricorn

All three of these Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions happen right on top of the same degree of the zodiac where the Saturn-Pluto conjunction occurred January 12 this year.

Because these conjunctions take place so close to the USA's natal Pluto, it's possible the declaration of martial law may occur if panic, hoarding and looting set in. Let's hope I'm really, really wrong about all of this!

Pluto is the god of the underworld, of course. And fabulously wealthy (that's where we get "Plutocracy"). I feel there will be a huge (Jupiter) gap between how the rich ride this out compared with how the poor are able to (or not able to). But isn't that always the case? We see that even now with how the US government is throwing trillions of dollars at the economy to prevent a total meltdown, but most of the money is going to those who already have money. The truly poor will not benefit from this influx of cash - and it's the truly poor who need it most.

Pictured: The USA's natal chart with transits for 3/26/20. Note the position of Pluto in the USA's natal chart at 27 Capricorn, within 4 degrees orb of the the Capricorn "Hot Spot" which has been continually irritated and will continue to be so until after November.

 

The Saturn - Pluto Conjuction: Destruction of the Old, Making Way for the New

#Saturn / #Pluto conjunction (exact today after a tortuously long build-up) at 22 degrees of Capricorn. Destruction (Pluto) of systems, structures and constrictions (Saturn) which previously seemed useful but are now exposed as impeding progress and prosperity.

Decay/Death (Pluto) of structures and systems (Saturn) to make way for the new. Separation of the essential / useful from that which no longer serves. End of the cycle which began in 1982/83 - death of the last remnants of the NeoCons, for one thing (though their death-throes be nasty with long-lasting effects; they're still dying). Collective and personal grief and loss over the destruction of the status-quo; breakdown and failure of social and economic systems consolidating power and wealth in the hands of the few. 

They that are not busy being born are busy dying (Dylan, more or less). That's the theme of this transit.



The Saturn-Pluto opposition September 2001 brought us 9/11. There Saturn in Gemini (information, communications, immediate environment i.e. "our neighborhood") was opposed by Pluto in Sagittarius (religion, "foreign" people, places and things). We all know what happened.

At the conjunction of Saturn/Pluto in Capricorn we've seen the US and Iran at the brink of war last week. Iranian students are being seen refusing to trample US and Israeli flags after discovering their leaders lied about shooting down the Ukrainian passenger plane last week.

It's interesting to note than in his Sefer HaOlam, Ibn Ezra gives the zodiac signs and planets associated with certain cities and countries. He states that Bagdad (the capital of Persia during his lifetime as well as during other periods of Persian history) was associated with 21 Cancer: exactly opposite today's Saturn/Pluto conjunction. 

It's also interesting to note that in the natal chart for the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Saturn/Pluto conjunction is exactly opposite the current Iranian government's natal Vertex. I call the Vertex "the rabbit hole" because in my experience as an astrologer it's the point where, like Alice in Wonderland following the White Rabbit, one unconsciously follows patterns which lead to repeating the same mistake over and over again until the lesson is finally learned. How many times must one fall down the rabbit hole until one learns not to follow that White Rabbit? 

The Vertex has to do with unchosen but seemingly "fated" encounters, those that seem compelled. In the Islamic Republic of Iran's natal chart, the Vertex at 23 Cancer in the 8th House (values/valuables/resources & intimacies we share with others) opposite Saturn/Pluto seems to be saying: Wait a minute! Was that really a White Rabbit I saw running past me, and do I really have to follow him down the rabbit hole again?

The consequences and long term effects of this conjunction will unfold this year as Jupiter and Pluto make three conjunctions in Capricorn, enlarging (Jupiter) the Pluto effect: death/destruction in order to create transformative change. Like the phoenix rising from the ashes of his own self-immolation, Pluto (modern planetary ruler of Scorpio)  doesn't do things halfway. There is no half-death and partial transformation: it's all or nothing now. Leading up to December 2020's Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at Zero degrees Aquarius (classically ruled by Saturn; modern ruler Uranus), by the time we get to the end of 2020 we'll be looking at ourselves and our world in the mirror and asking: Who is this? What are we becoming? Let us hope the angels of our better/best selves collectively agree we're getting better, not worse, as a human race.

CHODESH TEVET: GROWING UP AND GETTING REAL

CHODESH TEVET: GROWING UP AND GETTING REAL

Capricorn "G'di" from the Hammat Tiberias Synagogue floor mosaic, 4th Century

Why is this Chodesh Tevet (December 28, 2019 – January 26, 2020) different than all other Tevets which have gone before? Tevet is the mazal of Capricorn / G’di, the mountain goat, the month ruled by the planet Saturn/Shabbtai, and associated with the Tribe of Dan. That never changes. What’s different this month is the long-awaited (and much feared by the non-Jewish astro-blogosphere) conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn which occurs January 12^th, with Mercury, Jupiter, and the South Lunar Node in Capricorn as well. This conjunction is bookended by the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius, for the first time since the year 1405, which will take place in December 2020. The entire year of 2020 is parenthetically enclosed by these two powerful, historic Saturn conjunctions! 

Medieval commentators Abraham Bar Hiyya, Abraham ibn Ezra, Kabbalists such as Joseph Ashkenazi and Abraham Abulafia, Moshe Cordovero, and a host of others all mention the planet Saturn as having a special connection to the Jewish people. In classical astrology Saturn was the ruling planet of both Capricorn and Aquarius, though now modern astrology assigns rulership of Aquarius to Uranus. 

In personal astrology, Saturn’s role is to develop maturity. Shouldering adult responsibility and accepting hard work and personal sacrifice as the price of progress is essential. The Full Cancerian Moon / Lunar Eclipse January 10^th opposite Sun, Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury and the South Node contrasts empathetic maternal energy with pragmatism so practical it’s practically heartless. Aquarius New Moon January 24 illuminates the value of compassion and tender care for the vulnerable and weak. Saturn’s transit through Capricorn into Aquarius this year is an unflinching, unvarnished, bottom-line reality check intended to ultimately develop the fully individuated, unique, empathetic and effective Self in each one of us. Growing up and getting real: these are our Tevet tasks.