The Grist Mill Fire – Uranus Square Pluto

The Grist Mill is a local landmark that has been around since 1745. As the name suggests in the early days it was a grist mill where the local farmers brought grain for grinding. In my memory it has always been a restaurant.  Early Sunday morning, June 24, 2012 around 5:30 AM a trailer truck loaded with bananas smashed into the Grist Mill Restaurant in Seekonk, Mass.  The time comes from a Providence Journal report that states the owner said he received a call from a neighbor about the crash at 5:30 AM.

At 4:14 AM EDT the first of seven squares between Uranus and Pluto reached exactness.  A little over an hour later the accident occurred kicking off this series of squares with a bang.  This event embodies the symbolism of the Uranus/Pluto square. Uranus is all about shaking up the status quo, rattling the cages of the establishment. Uranus despises rigid ruts and hidebound attitudes. Uranus also rules the sudden, unexpected and the shocking. In Aries, fire is always a possibility and a connection to Pluto signals explosion.

Pluto is the great transformer, destroys in order to build something new and better. In Capricorn Pluto is digging deep into established institutions, like government, banks, and corporate entities.

The Grist Mill is an institution here in Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts, folks wept as they watched it being torn down. A friend having talked with the owner relayed the information that he planned to rebuild. If this is the case, true to Pluto’s connection to Scorpio, the New Grist Mill shall rise triumphantly from the ashes.

Like the cycle of the Sun and Moon, from New Moon to First Quarter to Full Moon then waning down to the Last Quarter, the planets have similar cycles. While the Sun/Moon cycle is a monthly one the Uranus/Pluto cycle is a long 126 years. The previous closing square or Last Quarter happened in the early 1930’s.  They moved into conjunction, together in the sky in the mid 1960’s.  And beginning now, through March 2015, they will be moving back and forth in the opening First Quarter square aspect. The slower moving planets and the aspects they make to one another signal broad social movements. The Depression of the 1930’s brought some reform, the creation of Social Security and the Security Exchange Commission. The explosive 1960’s triggered broad social change and the establishment of Medicare. The issues and movements associated with Uranus and Pluto reverberate today as they make their waxing square. The thread continues with the Occupy movement, health care issues and the economy.

If this Sunday morning accident is symbolic of the energy and events generated by the Uranus/Pluto square we can expect trailer trucks smashing into our beloved institutions. Uranus and Pluto can be very selective often targeting those institutions that have become hidebound and outlived their usefulness. They need to go, they need to be reorganized and rebuilt in a new and better way. The destruction and rebuilding of the Grist Mill illustrates this principle.  In the process of rebuilding the owner will incorporate the latest and the greatest equipment and design while retaining the historical charm and flavor that has been the mainstay of the Grist Mill Restaurant.

So don’t despair when over the coming years events shake the foundation, rattle the doors and crack the walls; if the edifice collapses something new and better will replace it.

A June to Remember – Complex Configurations and Some Tips on What to Look For In An Astrologer

This week brings the New Moon and the Summer Solstice. New Moons and Solstice/Equinox points are always important and these two are no exception. They are even more important due to other planetary configurations that are unfolding from now until the end of June. Events that take place now will have far reaching effects that we might not be aware of now. Obviously the elections in Greece and Egypt will certainly play an important role in the financial and political arenas effecting the lives of many around the world.

In addition to the New Moon and Summer Solstice on Sunday, June 24, 2012 the first of seven squares between Uranus and Pluto takes place. These planets were conjunct in the 1960’s. Prior to that, their last (closing) square occurred in the early 1930’s. Political and social unrest and upheaval accompany these two planets when they are in hard aspect. Broad social movements result. The financial calamity the world is in today is not quite as disastrous as the 1930’s because of the social programs put into effect at that time. Here in the United States particularly Social Security and unemployment insurance provide a safety net protecting many from total deprivation. During the 1960’s there was the Vietnam War, the beginning of Medicare, the youth movement, civil rights movement and the women’s movement; all serving to shake up the status quo. Echoes of those times when Uranus and Pluto were in aspect reverberate today as they again meet.

On Monday, June 25, 2012 Saturn in Libra changes direction shifting into direct motion, Mercury moves into Leo and Jupiter forms a square aspect to Neptune. On Wednesday, June 27, 2012 Venus changes direction as well, turning direct in busy Gemini. So this is the set up we’re moving into and these planets represent the energies we have to live with and live through in the months and years to come. The outer planets, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto move slow and the change they bring on a societal as well as a personal level is slow and inexorable.

The Square between Uranus and Pluto that repeats seven times from now until March 16, 2015 involves the Sun, Jupiter and Venus in the July 4, 1776 horoscope of the United States. The Sun represents the head of state while Jupiter and Venus are the money planets. The economy is a big issue in this election and will continue to be until this aspect plays out and even beyond.  The Venus direction change hits the Uranus in the US horoscope. A money surprise is in order. Venus rules money, women and diplomacy. Uranus rules things you cannot conceive of. When Uranian events occur they are seemingly out of the blue and shake us out of our complacency.  The Mars in the Summer Solstice sits on the Neptune of the US horoscope and squares the US Mars. Mars rules aggressiveness and war. Neptune in a natal chart is where we see things through rose colored glasses. My guess is the people of the United States are going to be sold another bill of goods about making war somewhere in the world, Iran comes to mind.

This warmongering Mars sits on President Barack Obama’s natal Mars. Mars goes retrograde about every 2 years and this year in January it went retrograde at 23 Virgo, right on Obama’s natal Mars and at this Solstice it reaches that point again. Warrior Mars in a natal chart is the action planet and governs how you use your energy.  Obama with Mars in Virgo is a detail man. He’s very meticulous in appearance, and probably in his thought process and how he tackles issues and problems. With Mars reaching his Mars my guess is that he will come out swinging on the campaign trail and in his dealings with Congress. The gloves are coming off folks. This week he’ll be taking a combative stance.

The celestial set up over the next few weeks is a complex one and defies generalization. On a personal level where in the chart, the houses the planets are transiting and the natal planets they aspect tell the tale. Mars traveling through the houses of the horoscope reveals where your energy focus will be. Mars traveling through the fourth house of home is a great time to do spring cleaning regardless of the season as a person with this placement puts the energy focus on the home. Jupiter is another good yearly planner as it stays in a sign for one year.  Jupiter is considered a bringer of good things but can also bring too much of a good thing. Saturn remains in sign for two and a half years and makes a complete circuit of the chart in about 29 years so you know when he comes along often life changing events occur. Uranus with an 84 year cycle entered Aries in April of 2011 and will remain there until March of 2019. When Uranus hits a natal planet he wants to shake things up. One thing Uranus hates is when he finds an individual in a rigid rut. My advice to clients when receiving this transit is usually to make a change in the area affected, be proactive. If not an outside event of a disruptive, surprising nature occurs that forces a change and while upsetting these changes often turn out to be beneficial in the long run. Neptune has a cycle of 165 years while Pluto takes a whopping 248 years. Analyzing a natal horoscope along with the current transits to that horoscope in a comprehensive manner is a complex and multifaceted project that takes time and effort. The actual time spent with the client is the culmination of hours of examination and study.

The next couple of years will be a rocky road for a lot of people. Many will feel the need to consult with a professional and some of those professionals will no doubt be professional astrologers. If you are one of those people do not be afraid to ask the astrologer some questions before you engage their services. Ask them how long they have been studying the subject, who they studied with and what, if any, professional organizations they belong to. A person is not an astrologer who read a book about astrology.  Nor are they an astrologer if they had their chart done and learned about themselves. A competent astrologer has probably read a thousand books and analyzed tens of thousands of horoscopes. A good astrologer belongs to one or more professional astrology organizations, has taken classes, gone to conferences and is continually learning and studying.

I have been studying astrology since the late 1960’s. I learned by reading books, examining horoscopes, taking classes and going to conferences.  In the 1990’s I was certified after taking an examination with the National Council on Geocosmic Research (NCGR) and began seeing clients professionally. I still go to conferences and monthly NCGR meetings to hear lectures by other astrologers. The learning process is continuous. I see clients and write an astrology column “Lunar Notes” for Motif Magazine. If you call me, don’t be afraid to ask me questions before you engage my services. I am not clairvoyant and will not wave a magic wand to make things right. I will ask you questions, get your birth data, analyze your horoscope and do the best for you that I possibly can to guide and prepare you for your personal planetary cycle.

Lunar Eclipse, Transit of Venus and all that Jazz

It’s a busy sky this week what with the Lunar Eclipse on Monday and Venus’ occultation of the Sun on Tuesday. This Venus transit of the Sun is second in a series of two that occur every 100 years or so. The first occurred in 2004. This is a momentous event often signaling social, political and cultural changes of a broad range. The Protestant Reformation began around the time of the 1519 transit. The 1631-1639 pair brought the European to the Americas while the 1761-1769 coincided with the rise of revolutionary fervor here in, what was then, Colonial America. The Eclipse falls along the Gemini/Sagittarius axis and the Venus transit occurs in Gemini, both fall in the mid degrees of their respective signs. After Monday’s Eclipse in the morning, Neptune turned retrograde and Venus squared off with Mars.  The transit of Venus across the face of the Sun occurs on Tuesday, June 05, 2012 at 9:10 PM EDT. Here in Rhode Island the Sun and Venus are in the Sixth house of workers, (unions and civil servants in particular) health, and the armed forces, emphasizing issues of public health, labor and wage conditions, and the food supply possibly involving restaurants and other venues that serve food and drink. Mercury in Gemini, on the cusp of the 7^th house of relationships still trines Saturn in Libra, in the 10^th. The 7^th house is all about relationships and the 10^th represents authority figures, heads of state, the boss and one’s standing in the community.

With all this going on remember that we are in the Lunation cycle that began on May 20^th with the Solar Eclipse in early Gemini. As previously written this cycle is all about communication within relationships. Those with planets in the mid degrees of the Mutable signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces will feel the kick more than others but the Cardinal and Fixed gang are not off the hook. The house position of the Eclipse and transit of Venus will really tell the tale.

Early Thursday morning, June 7, 2012 chatty Mercury moves into Cancer where people tend to articulate what they are truly feeling. Up to that time folks tend to intellectualize their thoughts considering it more of an exchange of information, Mercury in Gemini loves the informational give and take. Mercury in Cancer is a different kettle of fish as emotions come into play. Friday evening when Mercury gets friendly with Neptune in Pisces emotions may overflow and what is being said may not be particularly clear. Things can get foggy but there is also the opportunity for some intuitive information to surface. Any brilliant ideas that surface, it is best to write down as it will be gone as quickly as it comes.

What occurs this week and throughout the month of June offers us a glimpse of what will manifest over the next couple of years as this month is a kick off point for many planetary aspects and configurations. Hang on to your hat.