The phrase “doom and gloom” is in heavy use these days. As in “I’m so glad to see this front page story about rescued puppies instead of all the usual ‘doom and gloom’ stuff.” But there’s a false equation between the lines here, and we need to be wary of it.

With its every frantic pop, bleat and bang, television proclaims itself to be the wellspring of all things shiny and new. But in reality it’s the primary tool of the old paradigm. At this point in history the video screen has replaced institutionalizedreligion as the single most powerful hypnotic in the world. In the USA it serves as an efficient…

For some of us who identified whole-heartedly with the ideas of the late 1960s, this year’s Neptune, Chiron and Jupiter conjunction in Aquarius is particularly evocative. It’s a celebration of our entry into the wonderful world of astrology. And it was the sign Aquarius that held open the door. Forty years later, the hippie theme song “The Age of Aquarius”…

Everybody I know is heavy’d-out right now, which I see as very encouraging. It’s Eclipse Season. If you’re feeling the intensity permeating the atmosphere it means you’re not shut down. The first lunation of this series was at the Solstice last month, when the Sun was in its full-throttle summer dignity. (The word solstice derives from the Latin [sol]+ stare [to stand].

The Super Conjunction is about to be broadsided by the Goddess of Love and her consort. As July opens, Venus will square the conjunction from Taurus to Aquarius. On the 6th, Mars will do the same, and on the 10th Jupiter and Neptune reach exactitude again. This puts our focus on relationships; with all the heat (Mars), attraction (Venus), pain (Chiron)…

Americans have trouble understanding that what comes up must come down. The collective entity that is the USA has Jupiter (inflation, increase) conjunct the Sun. Everyone surely realizes, at this point, that what was happening before the housing bubble burst last fall was crazy and fraudulent; yet the media is still talking about “prices returning to normal.” What standard of normalcy…

Mercury, Mars and Venus are now in Taurus. This is the sign that governs things of worth. In the American mind, this archetype translates, simplistically and emphatically, as money. Meanwhile, Pluto (destruction) is still almost exactlyopposed to the US Venus (values). The country as a collective intelligence is confronting some very ugly truths about its use of resources.

Most of us have the sense that something big is happening in the world right now. What’s going on in the sky certainly spells this out, especially the part about Neptune (universality) conjoining Jupiter (expansiveness). But a closer look at the meaning of this pair suggests that this Big Something we feel happening is more than big. It’s a different…

The transit of the year is coming to a head. As the Aquarius conjunction gears up for its peak (May 27th through the 31st) on the US Moon, Americans find themselves contemplating an ethical controversy of the classic American type. Illogic mixed with outraged bluster is creating a tempest of feigned righteousness. Is Pelosi lying, or is the CIA lying?

Everybody’s talking nice aboutgreening the economic recovery (if “recovery” is the right word for the ongoing suicide of free-market capitalism). At the recent G20 summit in London there was plenty of lip service paid to emissions trading to reduce greenhouse gases. The trouble is, several of the signatory governments are getting cold feet; Uncle Sam being a notable example.