April 21, 2009

Neptune, Secession and the U.S. Moon: Last week, Texas Governor Rick Perry raised the issue of his state’s potential secession from the Union. Although he later modified his comments, Libertarian Ron Paul’s discussion of secession is keeping the issue in the news. Apart from the obvious bias of those on the right who want quit the political game just because their side lost the last election, there are significant astrological correlates to this story. Neptune, the planet of dissolution, was discovered at the dawn of the secessionist movement that led to the Civil War. This slow-moving planet is now in late Aquarius and within range of the Moon in the United States chart. Expansive Jupiter will soon join Neptune and the U.S. Moon, symbolizing this nascent movement. Although it’s highly unlikely that it will take hold—no one wants to refight the Battle of Gettyburg—these transits tell us something important about the national psyche.

Neptune is a planet of confusion and idealism. Its conjunction to the U.S. Moon, which will continue well into next year, negatively corresponds to a loss of connection and a weakening of the national fabric of identity. Despair motivates some to vague dreams of freedom that veer into the swamplands of fantasy. Yet positively, Neptune represents spiritual values that often emerge after a period of loss. We are unmoored from the illusory security and inequities of the old economic system and are redefining the complex relationships between the public and private sectors. It’s ironic that the excesses and financial chicanery that has led us to these difficult times was a result of government deregulation and a lack or oversight rather than an excess of it. Yet facts are easily fudged or forgotten in Neptune’s clouds.

Fortunately, the sign Aquarius is intellectually powerful and rich with potential for innovation. While the presence of Jupiter and Neptune here can produce exaggeration and ideological excesses, the real gifts we’re being offered are to open our minds to new visions that leap over the old political divisions to produce a new society to carry us into a more just future.

Venus Station: Attractive Venus ended her six-week retrograde period on April 17. As she slowly begins regaining forward moment after having slipped from blazing Aries to squishy Pisces we may begin to put relationships back on a more productive track. Venus, though, also refers to values, including property, money, stocks and bonds. Financial astrologers believe that this direct shift could mark a turn of direction in the stock market. The expected gloomy news of corporations’ first quarter reports corresponded with a plunging Dow on Monday, the first trading day since Venus’ forward turn. Whether we’re seeing short-term profit taking or a longer downward trend may be evident by the end of the week.

As published here on my Tarot.com blog.

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