Barred Spiral Milky Way.

I GUESS we could sum up the big news of coming winter in a few words: Pluto is entering Capricorn. So recently designated a dwarf, Pluto will have this odd new reputation tested as it ingresses the sign associated with government, big corporate interests, big science and the structure of society itself. These changes will invariably affect the structure of our personal lives, and we will have the opportunity to not only adapt but create something new.

The Pluto ingress to Capricorn occurs in late January. We might call it a system check on a grand scale; Capricorn is the sign of "the system" and all the planets aligning there, most significantly Pluto, will represent the check. The last time we had a slow-mover in the neighborhood was when Chiron arrived in the exciting winter of 2001-2002. If you are planning a calm, quiet winter, I suggest you run a hot bath right now; you may not have time by next week.

Before Pluto reaches Capricorn, however, its effect is being magnified by an alignment with the Galactic Core and Jupiter (exact Dec. 11), bringing a dozen or so years of Pluto in Sagittarius to a climax. We are now in the Spiral Door -- the alignment of Pluto with the core of our spiral galaxy, where we find the cosmic vulva sometimes referenced in modern versions of Mayan creation lore. Through this door is the 'other world', the portal to the other side, depicted as a birth canal through which human life emerged. That other side is the supposed home of the gods and the demons, and it would appear to be a metaphor for the human subconscious. This is the gestation place of our fears and our ideas, which are then born through the dark slit at the center of the galaxy.

This birth canal will be seeing a lot of action the next few weeks and months, as planets one by one align there, with Pluto as the focal point. Remember that this zone of the zodiac, where Sagittarius meets Capricorn close to the center of the galaxy, is the part of the sky associated with the 2012 phenomenon. This involves two distinct issues; one, an alignment between the position of the winter solstice Sun with the dark line down the center of the galaxy; and two, the day the Mayan calendar's 13th baktun ends on Dec. 21, 2012 (completing a 5,125 year cycle).

In essence, 2012 is a time, but it's also a place, and that place (where Sagittarius meets Capricorn) is experiencing an unusual alignment of powerful planets right now and through the winter. The essence of where Sagittarius meets Capricorn is where holding a clear vision (Sagittarius) meets the initiative and resources to build that vision into something real (Capricorn). It may also represent overcoming our deepest fears. This is the story of humanity -- rising above misgiving, responding to necessity, and going from an idea to reality; materializing that which exists in concept to something that can serve our quest for creativity, survival and the improvement of our lives.

The Aries Point Connection

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While the galactic alignment is not something that has been considered by astrology for very long, or very well, something else has -- the Aries Point.

The Aries Point is the first degree of Aries, the place the Sun is located on the vernal equinox or the first day of Northern Hemisphere spring. It is 90 degrees away from the first degree of Capricorn, thus making that same angle to the dark line down the center of the Milky Way. After years of observing the Aries Point, it does seem that corresponding angles in Cancer and Capricorn are somewhat more sensitive to planetary activity -- though the whole phenomenon is summed up with the term "Aries Point." More accurately, we would say that the cardinal points -- the first degrees of the cardinal signs -- are each hot spots in the sky, but all directly related to one another.

The cardinal points have a distinct property -- they join individuals with the collective. Developments associated with them affect many people, and individual experience becomes transpersonal. We go beyond ourselves. There is no private life that is not directed or even dictated by some larger public life; there is no individual life that does not affect the collective. Most people are aware of neither experience.

Usually, we experience this by being the hapless victim of world events, for example, the tsunami, Sept. 11 or one of many other "news" developments that have added up to a world that is changing very fast in ways we cannot really see because they are so prevalent. We live in the midst of this change like a fish in the water. The nature of the environment is invisible to normal perception. When we get an Aries Point alignment, we can momentarily see the changes for what they are.

Whatever developments 2012 might point to, we will be getting a taste of them as planets now gather around the 2012 region. It appears that the changes come on fast and strong, and we will begin to see the first rumblings of Pluto in Capricorn shake the world and who knows -- maybe even wake up a few people for a few seconds.

If you are an adventurer, pirate, public policy maker, criminal or astrologer, we are in high times. If you are seeking enlightenment, listen and you will learn a few things. If you want to assist with the world transition, now is the time. The most progress is possible in the times of the greatest change. But the winds of fortune are blowing so hard they could capsize a tug boat. Enormous profit and progress can come from the astrology you are about to experience; but remember that fortune favors the bold, and boldness is partly about staying upright.

As for specific predictions, what exactly do I see? A lot of something. Mainly, change. I see some kind of shakeup in the government/corporate structure. Some event or series of events alters the structure of our society. I see the truth coming out about something ridiculously obvious; such as where the treasury went, or the precarious state of the world. Then, I see an extremely impressive display of media footwork in its aftermath, trying to interpret, reinterpret or utterly deceive us about the events. The key to that interpretation is when Mercury stations retrograde in an exact conjunction to Neptune in Aquarius a little after the main events take place. Two Full Moons very closely aligned to the Aries Point (and thus the 2012 point) precipitate matters, on Dec. 23 and then again on March 21. Much happens in between, as we will surely discover.

When Chiron was in Capricorn

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The last time we had so much activity involving the Aries Point or the cardinal points was in 2001. In late December of that year, Enron, a Texas energy and commodities trading company intimately linked to the Cheney-Bush administration, filed for bankruptcy.

In the words of Wikipedia, Enron "achieved infamy at the end of 2001, when it was revealed that its reported financial condition was sustained mostly by institutionalized, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud. Enron has since become a popular symbol of willful corporate fraud and corruption."

With it went Arthur Andersen, perhaps the most prestigious auditing firm in the world, which helped orchestrate and conceal the fraud. Many of the nation's best respected banks were involved as well, many of whom were creditors to Enron and profited from its activities. What appeared, to all the world, to be a viable, highly profitable company in a position of leadership, crumbled into ashes and dust. It should have been a sign of the times -- it was not taken that way.

The same month, Chiron entered Capricorn, squaring the Aries Point, and opposing the degree of the powerful summer solstice eclipse that preceded the Sept. 11 incidents. Capricorn is the sign of corporations and government -- and the world financial community experienced one of the most significant corporate disasters of the century. The Bush administration's first year had not even ended and we experienced Sept. 11, the dual collapse of Enron and Arthur Andersen, the Enron-created California energy crisis and another little-remembered scandal about how Sept. 11 was preventable but that her superiors did not listen.

We met three whistle-blowers, Cynthia Cooper, of WorldCom (another corporate scandal that emerged at the time of Enron); Coleen Rowley of the FBI, who provided information on the now-forgotten Sept. 11 scandal; and Sherron Watkins, who provided inside information on Enron which furthered that investigation and helped put her superiors into jail. All were truly Centaurs within the business and government community -- being mavericks, taking enormous personal risks and as a result raising awareness of the issues. They were commemorated by being designated "Persons of the Year" by Time magazine.

THE WHISTLE-BLOWERS: Cynthia Cooper, WorldCom; (left to right), Coleen Rowley, the FBI; and Sherron Watkins, Enron.

We now have Pluto entering Capricorn through what will supposedly be the last year of the Cheney-Bush administration. My sense of Pluto in Capricorn is that it will represent, among other things, a replay of the kinds of issues that arose when Chiron was there but on a much larger scale. Chiron and Pluto are two expressions of the same idea -- evolution. Chiron works by raising awareness, and Pluto works by delivering the consequences of where awareness has not been raised, but should have.

During the years that Chiron was in Capricorn, we had called to our awareness many events that we should have noticed as indicating a problem. However, we basically failed the test: we allowed the Cheney / Bush administration to steal a second election. In summary, not enough of us saw the problem. About half of the voters cast ballots for John Kerry -- a good start; but not enough, and Kerry was not really the answer anyway.

We need to see the problems, or we will never see the solutions. The cosmos is saying it's high time to take a look. With all this Aries Point activity, it's also time to look more closely at where you fit into existence. In doing so, you may conclude that you were wasting your time and are off to a late start. This is where celestial speedup comes in. We are in the midst of an acceleration.


The Winter Astrology at One Very Complicated Convenient Glance
All dates are in Eastern Standard Time. Some may differ by one day from an ephemeris that utilizes Greenwich Time. Events indicated in purple text are Aries Point events.

Dec. 9, 2007 - New Moon in Sagittarius, close to the Great Attractor.

Dec. 11, 2007 - Jupiter conjunct Pluto and the Galactic Core.

Dec. 18, 2007 - Jupiter enters Capricorn, squares the Aries Point.

Dec. 20, 2007 - Mercury enters Capricorn, squares the Aries Point, and makes a conjunction to Jupiter.

Dec. 20, 2007 - Saturn stations retrograde in Virgo. Many people born in the early-to-mid 1960s are having a key life transit -- Saturn conjunct Uranus: the structuring of innovation. This is also significant because of how many planets are in Capricorn, and Saturn is the ruler of Cap.

Dec. 22, 2007 - Southern Solstice; Sun enters Capricorn. You have to agree, that's a shit-ton of Capricorn, isn't it?

Dec. 23, 2007 - Fool Moon in Cancer. This is a full-on Aries Point alert. The Moon is conjunct Mars square the Aries Point; and opposite Pluto, Jupiter, the Sun and Mercury square the Aries Point.

Dec. 29, 2007 - Mars in the first degree of Cancer, square Aries Point.

Dec. 31, 2007 - Mars retrograde enters Gemini.

Jan. 1, 2008 - The planets are taking a day off, but it doesn't matter - everything is still square the Aries Point and Mars is about to retrograde into opposition with Pluto.

Jan. 2, 2008 - Retrograding Mars opposes Pluto. There are three of these alignments. The first pass was Sept. 21, 2007, and the next one will be on March 7. The Jan. 2 alignment, though across Gemini and Sagittarius, occurs less than one degree exact alignment with the Aries Point.

Jan. 8, 2008 - Nude Moon in Capricorn. At this time, 11 major planets and major asteroids are concentrated in Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, plus Chiron and Nessus. This is the last lunation prior to a pair of eclipses. It is in mid-Capricorn, but qualifies for an Aries Point event because it's in a cardinal sign, surrounded by six thousand other Aries Point events. You may be getting bored of the words "Aries Point" by now but I assure you, you will not be bored in real life.

Jan. 19, 2008 - Venus in Sagittarius opposes Mars in Gemini. This is pretty close to the Aries Point, but it is an interesting aspect in any event. Mars is in Gemini. Is it bisexual, or merely bi-curious? Venus is in Sagittarius, or as my old webmaster Jordan once typed in all over the 2003 annual horoscope pages, "Sagittaurus."

Jan. 20, 2008 - Sun enters Aquarius, joining Chiron, Vesta, Mercury and Neptune. The cosmic road show now takes up residence in the sign of the Water Bearer. You can be sure it will be intellectually mature, socially conscious and perverted.

Jan. 22, 2008 - Fool Moon in Leo. Mercury, about to station retrograde, is exactly conjunct Neptune. This does not, unfortunately, bode well for the truth, and it bodes exceptionally well for pulling the wool over the eyes of the public. Science fiction authors, erotic writers, conceptual artists, photographers and filmmakers will have a jolly good time with it, however.

Jan. 24, 2008 - Venus conjunct Pluto. This occurs just as Pluto makes its move into Capricorn. In effect Pluto is accompanied by the Goddess making its sign change into Cap. When Pluto entered Sagittarius in 1995, it was accompanied by a Centaur -- Nessus, which was a somewhat less auspicious omen.

Jan. 25, 2008 - Pluto enters Capricorn for the first of two times. It will station retrograde and enter Sagittarius on June 13, and then re-enter Capricorn to stay on Nov. 28, 2008. Pluto will then remain in Capricorn until March 23, 2023 when it begins to transition into Aquarius.

Jan. 28, 2008 - Mercury stations retrograde. It is conjunct the North Node, Neptune and Vesta, and close to Chiron. There is a very close grand trine at the moment of the station-retrograde -- Mars stationing direct in Gemini, the Moon in Libra and Mercury in Aquarius. Meantime, Venus and Jupiter are close to a conjunction in Capricorn, sweetening the deal. Pallas Athene has teamed up with Uranus in Pisces.

Jan. 30, 2008 - Mars stations direct in Gemini, in a close opposition to the Galactic Core.

Feb. 6, 2008 - Eclipse of the Sun in Aquarius conjunct Chiron, Mercury, Neptune and Vesta and square Ceres; bienvenue, the Aquarius New Moon. This is an annular (not annual, but rather annular) solar eclipse at 17 degrees and 44 minutes of Aquarius. Annular means it would be total eclipse, but the Moon is too far from the Earth to cast a perfect shadow. These eclipses can be every bit as potent as total eclipses. Of the many ways to describe this eclipse, one that would not be appropriate would be chickenshit.

Feb. 18, 2008 - Mercury stations direct in Aquarius. Mercury in Aquarius is smart, really smart, and there may be one or two people aware of what is actually going on.

Feb. 19, 2008 - Sun enters Pisces, the last sign of the Northern Hemisphere winter season. It does so in an exact conjunction to Vesta.

Feb. 20, 2008 - Total eclipse of the Moon in Virgo; Virgo Full Moon. It would seem that things actually begin to settle down from here, but who knows. Another very interesting New Moon is coming in two weeks.

Feb. 22, 2008 - Birth anniversary of Edward Gorey, who said, "I realize that homosexuality is a serious problem for anyone who is -- but then, of course, heterosexuality is a serious problem for anyone who is, too. And being a man is a serious problem and being a woman is, too. Lots of things are problems."

March 4, 2008 - Mars re-enters Cancer, squaring the Aries Point. Pallas Athene is exactly conjunct the Aries Point.

March 7, 2008 - Pisces New Moon, conjunct Uranus. Venus is in a close conjunction to Neptune, Mercury and Chiron.

March 7, 2008 - Mars opposes Pluto for the third and last time of this cycle. This occurs in the first degree of Cancer/Capricorn, exactly in the cardinal points (square the Aries Point).

March 20, 2008 - Sun enters Aries; vernal equinox, which means the Sun is exactly in the Aries Point.

March 21, 2008 - Libra Full Moon with the Sun and Moon directly aligned with the Aries Point, to within two degrees of exactitude.




By Judith Gayle | Political Waves

Ice Pattern on Window at Sunrise. Photo by Sharon Bellenger.

WITH JUPITER, the big guy (enormous, actually) traditionally known as the "guru," making tracks for a hook-up with Pluto, transmutational Lord of the Underworld, you've just got to sit back and wonder what's coming next, don't you?

The vast and gaseous cosmic teacher is preparing to visit the great unknown, the shadowy unformed, the icy vistas and fiery passions, the dark tunnels of consciousness. Boggles the mind.

I'm comforted that all this will happen in Sagittarius, against the backdrop of the Galactic Core, but frankly, I can't tell you why. I'd expect you don't consider that helpful information, but as a Sagittarian myself, I've learned how to follow my intuition. If that sounds full of itself, well...the internal compass of a Sag is set to Jupiter's pulse. The music you hear is bigger, the possibilities brighter. When your ruling planet is known as The Greater Benefic, you just know there's going to be a pony in the horseshit, somewhere, and you usually find one.

Aries (March 20-April 19)
You may be feeling a bizarre combination of absolute confidence and deep insecurity. This is a clue that it's time to start questioning the way you relate to your fears. It's time to look for and have a conscious relationship to your past and what you learned there. Much of that data is contained emotionally, not (as you may expect) intellectually. Emotions have a way of taking over the mind, but other influences are at least providing stabilizing factors and focusing your awareness. You can afford to feel unstable as you reassess how you feel about your past, because you are actually living within a safe container. The best time to consider your fears is when you have plenty of reasons not to be worried. And, as it turns out, when you have plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
 
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
It may feel like others are right near you but so self-absorbed that they cannot hear you or see your face. Don't count on it. Someone in particular has good reason to be caught up in their own affairs and they are not, meanwhile, neglecting the possibilities they share with you. You are included, but it's really about much more than that, such as the potential for exchange and your ability to influence the outcome of events in the most positive ways. Yet you cannot measure your progress by the progress of others. Indeed, by many measures you are doing nothing but move forward. Do your part to keep the dialog going, and to maintain balance in your own affairs. You may on one level feel like you need a written invitation to participate in life; what you really need is to give yourself permission to do so, and to use what you learn when the world lights up around you.
 
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
You may be feeling like you're in a commitment that you don't really want, but I assure you that the greater possibilities of your life will render that feeling inconsequential in a very short time. In a perfect world, commitments would only be good for as long as they are working for both people. If you come to a point where you want to be freed from one, you can ask whether the arrangement benefits anyone at all. Based on this information, you can make some choices. We always assume that in any relationship, one party is the weaker and one party is the stronger. We typically assume that in any relationship where sex or money is concerned, someone must play the role of hapless victim. It has taken the stars and planets a long time to line up in your life, and point to the simple truth that another way of being is not only possible, but inevitable.
 
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
The door is open to a new world of possibilities, but you may need to violate your intuition in some way in order to see them. You may think that means violating your nature, but your nature is not just based on your sixth sense. But once you reason your way beyond your hunches, fears and instincts, you may notice that you get the same data no matter which way you look at it. Therefore, along the way to whatever may be developing for you, you need to hang loose. Don't take your own beliefs so seriously; don't take the brilliant possibilities so seriously; keep a mild-mannered attitude about your own successes and don't be upset if you happen to do something besides succeed on any given day. The stars and the worlds are moving, and they are moving in your direction. All you really need is an open mind.
 
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
Don't pester yourself with too many details. Of course you are always interested in the details and they seem to have a keen interest in you. I am suggesting you take emphasis off of those bits and keep your mind on the total picture, the shape of your dreams and the energy behind your ideas. That will feed your creativity and your sense of potential. What kind of potential? Well, that is only limited by your imagination. Okay, that, and your willingness to dare -- but that is also a product of being able to consider something new, something that has not occurred to you before, and which serves to change the scale you are working on. This is not necessarily financial in nature, but that may come with the territory. The real substance is an idea; the emotional substance is raw excitement, which you then gently refine.
 
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
You may not know if you're at the snapping point or the breakthrough point. Count on the breakthrough. To facilitate this, do what you must to drop excess load: karmic or otherwise. Set aside unnecessary obligations, and make room in your life. Put down responsibility for all that is not yours; take credit for the gains you have made in the world; and allow the friction you feel to light the fire of your soul. Speaking in more practical terms, I suggest you get out of the house and show your face, even if you feel like sequestering yourself in the back of a walk-in closet. Be on the lookout for an old friend who comes back into the picture and reminds you of your true place in the world. The possibilities that will manifest are the ones you make room for.
 
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
If you feel that nothing could knock you off balance, you're right. It's not like you are lacking for factors that are supposed to be laying you under pressure -- but somehow they are having the opposite effect, of pushing you to rise to the occasion. If you feel inside yourself, you may notice that two big pieces of your psychological development are finally assembling themselves. Over and over again, you have tried to make the pieces fit; there is an additional factor that has come into your life that has stretched you wide enough to allow you to make contact with yourself. One thing I can wholeheartedly advise is get enough sleep. You will do some excellent planning, healing and creative development as you do; you will let off most of the pressure that catches up with you from time to time.
 
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
There appear to be significant factors pushing you to reconsider all of your long-range plans. However, consider this. What you are really experiencing is insecurity when that is perhaps the least valid emotion. If there is some kind of 'lesson' in all of this, it's the value of that insecurity. You can allow it to debilitate you; or you can use it to fuel your determination. However, if you stick to practical matters rather than psychological and emotional ones, you will see that you are in an unusually abundant place, where your resources and self-esteem are concerned. I know I appear to be contradicting myself, saying on the one hand that you are experiencing insecurity and that on the other, your self-esteem is powerful. But think of it this way -- the two have nothing to do with one another; they are on entirely different levels. For example, plenty of people with money in the bank do nothing but worry about money. Don't fall for that one.
 
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
Sometimes momentum carries you faster than you think it's safe to go. Other times, you seem to be halted in your footsteps, and forced to make yet another set of inner adjustments. Such is life on an intergalactic journey. As Chairman Mao said, revolution is not a take-out Chinese dinner party. Indeed, there is no menu, nothing predictable, and you may at times feel you lack the very nourishment you need to keep going, and must survive on air. It is true -- you are like a star that must synthesize its own fuel. It is also true that as the nuclear fusion of your soul accelerates, you are throwing off unheard-of elements with strange new properties. When you get to a point when you fear you are progress has stopped, pause there and wait, exerting as little emotional energy as possible. If you feel helpless, ask for help and consider the possibilities; the universe will make the next move.
 
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Proceed with your work in order. Take each step as you can, attending to the mundane world rather than what some call the 'spiritual' one. At a certain point in the coming two weeks, what feels like a cosmic force will intervene on your behalf, and provide you with the additional resources that you need to complete what has in truth been an exceptionally difficult, seemingly endless process. While you are busy attending to the affairs of the world, you may notice that you are resolving one of the most daunting issues that has held you back for so long. That is, you are finally undoing whatever it was that made fear the dominant force in your life. To you who looks at the world and sees an infinite number of potential threats, look within yourself and see the simple truth that you are bigger than all of them combined.
 
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Of the many paradoxes of Aquarius is that while yours is the sign of revolutions and scientific breakthroughs, you can be burdened by a sense of limitation, disbelief and thinking so structured that it can seriously depress you. You see the potential of life, and you also see how difficult it is to get there. You are only as free as your thoughts allow you to move freely in the world. No place is paradise if you are trapped in the prison of your mind. Now is the time to break free, in grand style. Now is the time to envision not a linear step forward but a jump to another dimension of existence. Slow down for long enough to consider what is possible. If you open your ears to listen, and your heart to feel, you will get a clear picture in mind of what you can create, and how it will work for you. Take the time and effort now.
 
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
One of the greatest fears I've noticed about accepting my own potential is that the people in my life won't accept me if I have too much fun. So I spend a good bit of time encouraging others to set themselves free. I am, however, questioning the wisdom of this. It is altogether better to live not to set an example, but merely for the sake of doing so; for your own good. As a Pisces, there is only so far you can get from honoring shared reality. There is only so far you can go from honoring the impact that your experiences have on others. Now is the time to play down that factor, and to pay attention to the thing that is often most difficult for you -- what you need to do. Now is the rare moment to set the direction of events in your own favor. Trust that to the extent others need to benefit, they will.


CREDITS: Associate Editor: Priya Kale. Webmaster: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Proofreader and Fact Checker: Sara Churchville. Horoscope Editor: Jessica Keet. Associate Photo Editor: Sharon Bellenger. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Published by Planet Waves, Inc., a Washington State corporation, all rights reserved.

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