Just Measures
Libra is derived from the Latin word meaning a weighing up of matters. Even in commercial transactions, the symbol for the pound weight, lb, is an abbreviation of Libra. Astrologically, Libra represents the midpoint of the zodiac, effectively dividing it in two. At its best Libra represents a symmetrical equilibrium, and at its worst division and faction. The greater truth is that the zodiac is but one, but the dichotomy of difference can also deliver delusions that divide people.
This year from October 30, until October 5, 2012 (with a brief hiatus between April 7 and July 21, 2010) the controlling administrative planet of Saturn will be heading through the balance scales of Libra. Saturn represents the sagacity of wisdom that can’t be acquired; it has to be lived. Saturn delivers cold objective judgment born of experience, and is the senior judge in Libra’s court. Saturn's substance helps us to recognize and repair situations of imbalance, by harking back to life’s essentials. The reality checks of Saturn, individually and collectively, guide us toward a new sense of values as we collectively rewrite the Libran Book of Law.
Saturn and the USA
Historically, Saturn in Libra has a particular relevance for the USA. It marked the signing of the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. The widely accepted Sibley birth horoscope of the USA, timed for 5.10 p.m. Philadelphia LMT, shows Saturn occupying the administrative Tenth House, and placing a challenging square to the leadership's Cancerian Sun. Saturn, returning to Libra, inevitably brings greater tests to the acting President.
Following the birth of the new nation, on Saturn’s first return to Libra, the Louisiana Purchase officially came into effect. Acquiring all the land west of the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, (over two million square kilometers), effectively doubled the size of the country at the bargain basement cost of only 3 cents per acre.
In financial terms, Saturn represents land and agriculture, along with traditional blue chip stocks. Its sojourn through Libra may return realistic real-estate valuations, although not without some pain along the way. Saturn’s testing square to Pluto, the deity of wealth, points to the leveling out periods, from November this year until February of next year, and recurring again in mid August 2010.
Presidential Pressures
Following their geographic expansion, the subsequent Saturn in Libra cycle of the mid 1830’s brought an act that would have great ramifications on future US politics—the English abolition of slavery. President Andrew Jackson was also embroiled in a massive battle with the National Bank. He believed that “moneyed men” were holding the country for ransom and dismantled the bank charter. On January 30, 1835 an assassination attempt, the first on a US President, was made on Jackson. Despite the assassin having two derringers, (they both miraculously jammed) Jackson lived to tell the tale. He went on to become the first and only US President to pay off the national debt.
Direct attacks against the leader are not uncommon to Saturn in Libra. Its last visit marked the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, and previous to that Abraham Lincoln was killed in office. For when Saturn returned to Libra in 1862 the US was embroiled in a Civil War that remains to this day their most deadly conflict. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, following England’s lead in the abolition of slavery, exactly one Saturn cycle after the mother country.
Today President Obama faces the great challenge of reviving the American economic powerhouse, which was unbalanced by systemic corruption. The US is amassing huge debt. Jackson’s answer was to dismantle the powers of the Federal Reserve, as it was then—today the opposite applies—and yet there are plenty who would legislate to weaken its powers. Jackson’s own “wisdom born of experience” told him that government bureaucracy needed a revolving door model, to prevent nepotism and profiteering. Barack Obama’s mandate was also to change Washington, and not have Washington change him. Their backgrounds could hardly have been more different, but their challenges echo a familiar theme.
The Great Divide
That tradition is ready to be changed is written in the cosmic blueprint of 2010. Saturn’s turbulent ride, as it enters Libra, involves encountering revolutionary Uranus again in July of next year. It also faces off with judicial Jupiter in August, and wrestles with reformative Pluto from November until February of next year, moving on finally in mid August. Of all the imbalances to be addressed the greatest political divide is in the Middle East.
Saturn hooked in with both Jupiter and Pluto when last in Libra and they marked dramatic events in the Middle East. Following a Lebanese militia slaughter of PLO refugees and activists sanctioned by Israeli defense minister Ariel Sharon in Beirut, the US became a target for revenge. The US embassy was bombed, followed by the US Army compound at Beirut airport, resulting in troop withdrawals. The start of this dovetailed with the beginning of the current Saturn-Pluto cycle, two planets that connect to both territory and control.
Advancing this cycle to its first square of 1993 saw the initial bombing of the World Trade Towers, and the opposition phase marked the homeland terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The recurring motif is aggression against the US, which is directly connected to their Middle East involvement and unwavering support for Israel. Counterbalancing this is the US plan to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq right by the final Saturn Pluto square of August 2010.
Duel of the Nile
Henry Kissinger (born with Saturn in Libra) once said that “You can't make war in the Middle East without Egypt and you can't make peace without Syria.” Egypt, like the US, is particularly sensitive to Saturn in Libra.
The founder of modern Egypt, Muhammad Ali, gained power on May 17, 1805 with Saturn in L
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ed Tamplin is a consultant, writer and researcher of astrology specializing in mundane. He is a regular lecturer on the Australian circuit and co-hosts an astrology talkback show on Sydney radio 2GB-AM every Saturday night.
With partner and fellow astrologer Sherrynne Dalby he teaches at the Sirius School of Astrology and maintains an active personal practice.
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