January 20, 2003
Worldwide Protest Against War in Iraq
Over the weekend protestors from around the world gathered to rally against U.S. military operations in Iraq, with the biggest demonstrations taking place in Germany, London, Paris, and across the United States. Antiwar demonstrations in Washington DC and San Francisco drew tens of thousands of people, while President Bush voiced his hope that the Iraqi people could some day have the same right to protest.
From an astrological perspective, the organized international protest arrived on the Full Moon when instinct and emotions run the highest. This Full Moon took place right on the U.S. Pluto, the nation's ruling planet, and representative of U.S. power. In the U.S. horoscope transiting Saturn is simultaneously activating the natal Mars-Neptune square, bringing deep reservations about the military build-up.
For a global protest to take place, outer planet aspects are needed. The greatest social movements are born of outer planet alignments, and the pending Jupiter-Neptune opposition provides the psychic energy that pushes individuals toward transpersonal goals. This aspect will be exact on February 16 at the same time that Saturn and Pluto are still opposed to each other.
The antiwar rallies of the sixties were likewise sparked by outer planet alignments to the U.S. Mars-Neptune aspect. The greatest of these was the Uranus-Pluto conjunction that took place in Virgo, with Saturn in Pisces in opposition. All three planets aligned with the U.S. Mars-Neptune. Now transiting Saturn is in that same degree area, and Pluto will be there soon, undoubtedly awakening a similar feeling-tone of vocal citizens against their government.
Uranus in Pisces Pushes for a Feeling of Equality
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon be tackling the sticky issue of racial quotas when it considers whether or not the University of Michigan's admissions policy is unconstitutional because it favors three racial groups. President Bush weighed in on the controversy last week, urging the court to rule in favor of "race-neutral factors," such as socio-economic status.
By the time the Supreme Court gets around to making a ruling, Uranus will be in Pisces. Uranus has been in Aquarius for the last seven years, but begins a new phase when it enters Pisces on March 10. Pisces is often associated with victimization, and Uranus, as the planet of individual rights and personal freedoms, will be looking for a way to express equality in environments that foster victimization.
Uranus in Pisces becomes a particularly potent astrological phase because at the same time Neptune is in Aquarius. This unusual planetary sequence is known as "mutual reception" because Neptune is in Uranus's sign (Aquarius) while Uranus is in Neptune's sign (Pisces). They reinforce each other's standing, underscoring the basic meaning of a spiritual yearning for social equality and justice.
Neptune and Pisces may be associated with a lack of boundaries, while Uranus and Aquarius are often linked to mass media, networking, and democratic ideals. In this sense, the combination of Uranus in Pisces with Neptune in Aquarius represents the global merging of democracies, beyond local ideologies and myths. In the most hopeful view, peoples around the global village may find a way of harmonizing their visions through the internet and other global communication networks.
Elizabeth "Ma Pampo" Israel Celebrates her 128th Birthday
This coming June the tiny Caribbean Island of Dominica will be hosting the first Ma Pampo World Eco-Tourism Conference, dedicated to Elizabeth "Ma Pampo" Israel who will be celebrating her 128th birthday next week*. Ma Pampo is Dominica's most revered citizen, and besides being the world's oldest living human, is very sensitive to personal and ecological health.
Ma Pampo was born a socially aware Aquarian on January 27, 1875 according to the birth certificate issued by her local Catholic Church. She also has a thoughtful Mercury-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius, which is involved in a Grand Cross with hard aspects to Mars, Pluto and Uranus. She is living testimony that the most difficult squares may ultimately bring physical strength, integrity, and the tenacity to outlast the extremely harsh conditions of picking peas for a penny a day.
No doubt her faith is also a powerful influence in her life, shown by Jupiter in Scorpio squaring her Sun. In December 2000 transiting Neptune was conjunct Ma Pampo's Sun. For many elderly people, this transit often represents a fading away from life, and giving in to illness. Ma Pampo did have her leg amputated just below the knee then, and now gets around in a wheel chair, but otherwise she remains in good health.
With Ceres, the asteroid governing nurturing and nutrition, forming a favorable trine to her Jupiter, she believes in eating right, and attributes her longevity to eating naturally grown food. She eats fresh crab, dumplings, and fish, and drinks coconut milk regularly. "The artificial fertilizer they're using now is what is making people sick and killing them slowly…. they will never live long," she said.
* Many thanks to Joy, a NewsScope reader from Dominica who pointed out that the November 6, 2000 column erroneously reported that Ma Pampo had died.
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