Apocalyptic Comic Strip, Part 1
Nobody told this brain-washed Manchurian Candidate that he was supposed to shoot the president, not grab the throne for himself. — Iain Sinclair Donald J. Trump is like a figure in an apocalyptic comic strip, created for us by gods(1) who decided we were too slow to get the point via more subtle means. Up until last […]
May 2017
Thrown for a Loop
A week and a half into May, the god of surprise may appear at our window and set it rattling. Mercury conjunct Uranus is meant to unsettle our opinions and communications. It often does so by lobbing something unexpected our way. This is a cosmic trick, to force us to think differently. If we could suspend our fear of […]
Happiness Report
Have you heard of the World Happiness Report? It sounds like a children’s book, or a fantasy movie: too charming and healthy to be a real thing. But it is. It’s an annual document compiled by the U.N. (1) The most recent one came out last month on the Vernal Equinox, the first day of the zodiacal year. From this date, astrologers infer […]
April 2017
Spring Awakening
As buds pop from barren trees in the Northern Hemisphere, April is popping with planetary activity. First and foremost, the Sun is setting off the Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto T-square. As it moves through the key cardinal degrees April 8-14th, it ignites our Cardinal Cross issues (see last month’s and February’s Skywatches). By now, these issues should be pretty familiar. […]
Citizen Snowden
Originally published in The Mountain Astrologer, 2015. What makes someone risk his personal security for a public goal? Some people seem fated to embody the big, difficult ideas with which their collective is struggling. Edward Snowden, for example, was leading a remarkably unremarkable life that exploded into something extraordinary. This happened after he leaked classified data […]
Right Use of Power
The US Pluto Return Originally published in The Mountain Astrologer, 2014. None of us will live long enough to experience a personal Pluto Return. It takes this planet around 250 years to cycle through the zodiac. But Americans will experience a Pluto Return collectively, in 2022, when this tiny clump of power reaches the degree of […]
Years of reckoning
Originally published in The Mountain Astrologer, 2016. In any given period, Saturn represents the status quo, while the outer planets represent threats to the status quo. When we track the key angles between these planets, we see the unfolding of humanity’s learning curve: its growth spurts, turning points and breakdowns. Such transits are an astrologer’s best […]
People over Profit
Occupy Wall Street Originally published in The Mountain Astrologer, 2011. Throughout 2011, astrologers have watched the Uranus and Pluto square approaching like a revolutionary advance guard.1 Everywhere in the world, infrastructures are crumbling in the face of this long-awaited transit. The epochal Arab Spring has segued into winter; the European Union threatens to break apart at […]
Vive la Résistance!
Part Four: Bigger than Trump
Granted, he’s like an appalling roadside accident from which it’s hard to look away. But in the interest of choosing our battles and clarifying our targets, we need to look beyond Trump, even if the media doesn’t. The Orange One is a ruthless lightweight, whereas those lurking behind his throne are ruthless heavyweights. Mega-doners like the Mercers make the Koch brothers look […]
Vive la Résistance!
Part Three: My Country vs. Yours
The world desperately needs our intelligence right now. It needs us to keep our wits sharp and expansive. This means avoiding the conventions of groupthink that weaken and diffuse them. Such as dualistic thinking, which cramps our intelligence like a growing child dressed in tight clothes. Here vs. There We’ve talked about how every domestic issue is identified in the US […]