Category Archives: cycles

Edgar Cayce and the Magi

Who were the Magi that traveled to see the baby Jesus, and what was the star they followed?  The Edgar Cayce readings support and add to the scientific and historical record and also give us personal insight into some of the people involved. 

Matthew tells us in the New Testament that the Magi asked Herod, the king of Judea, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him… and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.” (Matthew 2:2-10)  This report suggests that the Magi already knew of the birth and that the star led them to their destination.

Most translations of the Bible refer to the visitors as wise men.  Some use the term “magi,” which suggests priests or magicians.  The Good News Bible calls them “some men who studied the stars” and Wycliffe’s Bible literally uses the word “astrologers.”  Maybe some of the signs they followed were astrological.

The Christmas “star” has been seen as a comet, a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction and a supernova.  Many believe it was simply a miraculous event.  The Jupiter-Saturn conjunction has gotten the most support from astronomers, astrologers and historians, and a conjunction was recorded by Babylonian, Chinese and Egyptian astronomers before Herod died around 4 BCE.

The 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler, who famously formulated the planetary laws of motion, knew that the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions repeated every 20 years.  As an astrologer, he also knew that they bring notable changes to humanity, often relating to new regimes or rulers.  They complete a full circle around the zodiac every 800 years, a cycle initiating more significant turning points, often called World Ages.  Projecting the cycles backwards, Kepler identified a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction from 7 to 6 BCE in the sign of Pisces (the fishes), which is associated with Jesus and Christianity.

Well before Kepler, when astronomy and astrology were intertwined, a tradition had already developed around these cycles.  The ancient Persian astrologer Gjamasp al Hakim had written an important book on the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions by the 6th century BCE.  The Jewish Persian astrologer Mashallah studied the conjunctions in Baghdad in the 8th century, as did the Muslim Persian astrologer Abu Mashar a century later.  These prominent historic figures passed on a longstanding tradition that pre-dated the birth of Jesus.

Many today believe that the Magi were Zoroastrian priests from Persia (ancient Iran), who are known to have used astrology to understand history and cycles.  In a 1937 reading, Cayce said, “The entity… was among the Persians who had been of the teaching class, and… [his son] became among the Wise Men.” (1378-1)

According to the readings, Zermada, a Syrian-Persian astrologer, had independently concluded “… that the looked for changes were coming in the Holy or Promised Land… and … there came more communications and interpretations of those records or signs that eventually brought the journeys of some of the Wise Men, of which we have records.” (2880-2)  Perhaps like Herod, she knew of the prophecy recorded in Micah 5:2 stating that the child would come from Bethlehem.  But since Zermada was an astrologer, the records she studied could have certainly been astrological as well.

In a reading for the reincarnation of Thesea, Herod’s third wife, Cayce stated that “There was more than one visit from the Wise Men… They came from Persia, India, Egypt and also from Chaldea, Gobi and what is NOW the Indo or Tao land.” (2067-7)  So there were more learned visitors and more visits than in the Bible account.  There were notable astrological traditions in India, Egypt and Chaldea.  The same could be said of China, perhaps what was meant by the “Tao land.”

Some of the Magi seem to have been Persian priests who were knowledgeable about astrological traditions and cycles.  It appears that the “star” was a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction that foretold significant developments for the world.  Even if the star itself occurred miraculously, Cayce suggests that the Magi had studied the skies and expected a momentous event.

I wrote about the Magi and the Dalai Lama here.

My review of Courtney Roberts’ Star of the Magi

I wrote more about the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in America in my book Tecumseh’s Curse.

Morrison on Pluto in Aquarius

In June, 1991, Al H. Morrison’s article, “Two Centuries of Pluto in Signs” appeared in The Mountain Astrologer magazine.  He began with a backward look at Pluto in Gemini through Scorpio, then added a forecast of what he considered likely with Pluto in Sagittarius through Aries (ending in 2097).  Here’s his take, over 30 years before the fact: 

Pluto will enter Aquarius on November 21, 2024. Traditionally, Aquarius is ruled by Saturn. In modern times we assign it to Uranus, the most reactionary of all planets. The action of Saturn is to hold everything as it is or was, in stable order. The situation/structure is a return to a vacuum, an empty space with perhaps some clutter of shattered bits and pieces of what has been.

The action of Pluto is revolution, mutation of individuals, and changes of consensus caused by such mutation. Aquarius has been thought to rule science, individual intellectual freedom, logic, fixed systems of rules, and independence (for individuals as well as groups or nations). It follows that Pluto arriving in Aquarian territory will upset our entire culture and change the way people think (or permit computers to manage everything). Aquarius is a very dry sign, not a very propitious environment for projects based on emotional or sentimental concerns.

We may have a planetary totalitarian regime during this tour of Pluto in Aquarius, perhaps required to cope with climatic changes, global nuclear and chemical pollution and other environmental problems. The most serious problem has not been addressed in the west in this latter part of the 20th century: what to do about overpopulation. First raised by Malthus early in the 19th century, it was countered by religious dedication to maximum birthrates. The mandate is yet to bring forth children “to fill the earth” in most religious groups.  The basic question comes to such crisis as to force world action while Pluto tours Aquarius…

It is even probable that scientists will discover while Pluto is in Aquarius that time itself is not constant or uniform, but merely another confusing variable.

(Pluto enters Pisces on March 1, 2043.)

The article above is an excerpt from The Best of Al H. Morrison.

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Kamala Harris 2024

Kamala Harris has some compelling astrological influences that should help her win the 2024 presidential election.  Her progressed Moon is Out-of-Bounds, her progressed Sun conjoins her Descendant, and her progressed Sun is also parallel transiting Saturn in declination, all influences that have helped others achieve the presidency in the past.

The progressed Moon’s cycle Out-of-Bounds in declination usually marks a significant turning point in life, with the ability to find a notable public response.  Former president Trump was at the top of this cycle in 2016, and Hillary Clinton had it in 2008-9.  While she didn’t get the presidential nomination, she was appointed Secretary of State, the highest achievement of her career.  Harris is also at the top of this cycle, currently reflected in the millions she has raised for her campaign, nearly twice as much as her competitor.

Harris’ progressed Sun in late Sagittarius conjoins her Descendent this year, showing her rapport with the  public and how she’s benefited from notable partnerships like Joe Biden and the Democratic party.  (Trump’s progressed Sun was conjunct his Ascendant when he was elected.  Now, still in his 1st house, it only indirectly aspects his 10th house through rulership).  Harris’ Sun was near an exact conjunction with her Descendant when she was elected Vice President in 2020, but closely sextiles her natal Saturn (5’) at the time of the election, and will go on to sextile her MC over the next 4 years.

Her powerful Saturn, dignified in Aquarius and her most elevated planet, specifically relates to her career since it conjoins her MC.  Her natal Sun and Mercury are trine Saturn and the Midheaven, showing her steady path to success.  As the presidency is the next upward step, and her progressed Sun activates the natal, it signifies advancement.

Charles Jayne determined the outcome of presidential elections by comparing transiting Saturn’s declination to the candidates’ natal Sun, and Ann E. Parker analyzed this technique for all previous presidential elections in the Summer 2001 NCGR SIG newsletter The Other Dimension.  She confirmed that 69% of winners had transiting Saturn approaching a parallel or contraparallel with the birth Sun.  Transiting Saturn will actually station within less than 2 degrees in an approach to parallel Harris’ Sun in November of 2024, closer than many of the presidents Parker studied.  (Trump also had this combination in 2016.)

In addition to the above, I believe that the 2020 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction and Pluto’s transition into Aquarius help her since Harris represents a new generation.  See my earlier post for more.

Harris’ numerous close progressions to her own chart and the U.S. are also more favorable than Trump’s (outlined here).  Very close aspects include her progressed Moon in Cancer parallel her Ascendant and North Node, her Ascendant parallel Jupiter, and Mars parallel Venus, classic patterns we associate with success.  Progressed Uranus moves extremely slowly, but on November 5 it will be stationing within 2’ of her natal Moon, signifying new experiences.

Similarly, Harris’ progressed Sun contraparallels the U.S. progressed Jupiter and the natal U.S. Ascendant, Venus and Mars, while paralleling the U.S. Pluto, extending their rapport.  Her progressed Mercury is exactly parallel the U.S. progressed South Node, linking her destiny with the country, as Mercury rules her 1st house (herself).

In longitude, the candidate’s progressed Moon in Cancer is very helpful in its own sign.  It closely activates her natal Venus-Uranus-Pluto sextile Neptune pattern with a trine and sextiles, while also closely conjoining U.S. progressed Jupiter, and trining the U.S. progressed Sun and Moon in Pisces.  This is about as good as it gets!  The Moon functions more tellingly for her as she has been campaigning on women’s reproductive issues.  Her progressed Moon will even trine the Inaugural Venus and Saturn as it sextiles her own progressed Jupiter conjoining the Inaugural Ascendant and opposes Mercury – creating a sextile-bowl pattern.

In addition to Charles Jayne’s transiting Saturn to natal Sun technique outlined above, Harris’ progressed Midheaven (career) conjoins U.S. progressed Venus in Taurus, solidifying her advancement, while closely opposing U.S. progressed Saturn (11’).  Donald Trump’s progressed Ascendant closely conjoins U.S. progressed Saturn, which I judged as blocking him personally.  For Kamala, with a strong and helpful Saturn in her birth chart, as well as years of experience in public service, I believe this shows assuming more responsibility.

Kamala Harris has an advantage, to my mind, in that her Ascendant closely aligns with Evangeline Adams’ Gemini rising U.S. Ascendant and Mars.  Transiting Jupiter’s station in late October conjoins her Ascendant and North Node, and  give her a boost.  While Jupiter won’t exactly trine her natal Sun and Saturn until April-May of 2025, its station is within 4 degrees of her Ascendant on election day.  Jupiter exactly sextiles her Mars throughout October (and conjoins U.S. Mars, which closely sextiles Harris’ Mars), channeling abundant energy into her efforts.

Transiting Saturn is also angular through Kamala Harris’ birth chart  (her 10th house).  She experienced the end of her second Saturn return while in office in early 2023.  Both show a period of time when one can capitalize on experience and move into a new phase in life.

The rest of Harris’ transits have a Uranian flavor which can be difficult to predict.  Kamala’s 10th house ruler Jupiter in Taurus forms the corner of a T-square with 3rd house Mars and Saturn conjunct her Midheaven. Transiting Uranus exactly conjoined her 12th house Jupiter in late April, leading up to Trump’s negative court judgments in May and Biden’s withdrawal from the race in July.  These surprising events and reversals were very much in keeping with Uranus’ energies.  As Uranus approached a square to her natal Saturn at the beginning of September, many of her polls had risen from their levels with Biden.

Similarly, transiting Saturn stations as it opposes natal Uranus from October to December; transiting Uranus will conjoin Harris’ Jupiter again in December, disruptive aspects that bring change.   But which way?  Adams described Uranus conjunct natal Jupiter as “an extremely powerful aspect which only occurs once in a lifetime, and which can work out advantageously or just the reverse.  If you confine yourself to your legitimate business, then you will do the right thing, for you are more likely to be in harmony with yourself and the constructive forces of the Universe than you have been in many years.”

While Harris may be promising the public more than she can realistically deliver, she seems to be following long held precedent.  She has been on an upward trajectory, but much could develop in the coming weeks.  The Uranian aspects might relate to the historic nature of a woman of color being elected U.S. president for the first time.

Due to the strength of Kamala Harris’ birth chart and her many significant progressions, I think she will win the 2024 election.  Though there may be some Uranian twists and turns before she gets to the White House.

2024 Election Overview

The 2020 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction cycle heralds a notable generational change, as it initiates a new 800-year phase of conjunctions in air signs.  In Aquarius, it’s combined with Pluto’s final entry into that sign, after the presidential election in November 2024.  These markers may help us consider the results of the election.

Many American voters weren’t pleased to see either Trump or Biden on the ballot again, reflecting the natural cyclic need for change.  Candidate Joe Biden was also beginning to remind me of the weakened father figure on the Maya Temple of the Cross at Palenque, which commemorated the hand-off of power from one generation to the next at another Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.

Kamala Harris’ entry into the race seems to signify the younger person who’d be the new leader as the Jupiter-Saturn metaphor suggests.

Pluto will return to the sign of Capricorn for the final time from September to late November and will be in Aquarius for the 2025 inauguration.  Pluto at 0 Aquarius conjoins the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of 2020 and accentuates the new and different phase for the country.  Some of the current political slogans amplify and reiterate the Jupiter-Saturn themes.  Harris supporters repeat “We’re not going back” echoing forward-looking Jupiter, while Trump’s followers continue to repeat “Make America great again,” which harkens toward a Saturnian look back.

As we might expect from the astrological symbolism, polls and statistics show a changing electorate.  Pew Research in April 2024 noted that well over 50% of voters age 18-39 affiliate with Democrats, while over 50% of voters aged 60-80+ lean toward Republicans.  Gen-Z voters are more socially and politically conscious than previous generations, and 47% of them are people of color.  (In the south and west, a majority of newly-eligible voters are people of color.)  And for the last 60 years, more female voters have turned out for presidential elections.  All may give Kamala Harris an edge in the race.

Donald Trump’s legal challenges can’t help but lower his chances with a portion of voters.  His difficult progressions with the U.S. chart continue through around 2027 (see my 2022 post on this topic).  The erratic nature of his 10th house Sun-North Node-Uranus conjunction shows his attention-grabbing newsmaker abilities, but also the ups and downs of his career.  I also felt that his assassination attempt in July didn’t especially augur a win in November.

In strong contrast, Kamala Harris’ Ascendant and North Node in Gemini trine her Saturn near her Midheaven, showing someone who slowly and surely moves forward in her career.  We can see her progress from D.A. to State Attorney General to Senator to Vice President.  President would be the next step forward.  (I covered her chart in 2020 when she was a Vice Presidential candidate.)

Both candidates have some challenging aspects coming up and we’d need to look further for the outcome of their 2024 contest.

Planetary cycles and generational change take years to play out, especially when indicated by the Jupiter-Saturn Great Mutation and Pluto moving into Aquarius.  But these shifts are major astrological indicators that will reverberate for many years to come.  In exactly what election will the change definitively manifest?  Kamala Harris clearly represents a newer generation of political leaders.  But we need to analyze the birth charts to confirm if she’ll actually be elected president in 2024, which I’ll be doing in the coming weeks.

Biden’s Saturn Cycle

I expected Joe Biden to be a one-term president.  If we look at the Saturn cycles of past presidencies (of which Biden is the most recent), the astrological limitations imposed on him are obvious.

Biden’s 2021 Inauguration horoscope has a close (3 degree) Sun-Saturn conjunction, so I reviewed charts for previous administrations with the Sun conjunct Saturn.  This is important because they reiterate the close Sun-Saturn square in the U.S. horoscope.

Zachary Taylor was inaugurated on March, 5, 1849, almost a decade before the Civil War, and he faced contentious issues between the north and south over slavery.  With the Sun conjunct Saturn (in Pisces) he overate cherries and milk at a 4th of July party, suffered stomach pains for almost a week, and died after only a little more than a year in office.

Rutherford B. Hayes also had the Sun conjunct Saturn in Pisces in 1877.  He came to office in a disputed election decided by Congress in the Reconstruction period.  He pledged to serve only one term and did so.

John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Jupiter-Saturn inauguration had Saturn in Capricorn conjunct the Sun in Aquarius (about 8 degrees apart).  He served during the post-World War II Cold War and the beginning of military involvement in South Vietnam.  Civil rights issues and Martin Luther King’s rise to prominence again showed issues of racial justice coming to the forefront during this time.  He was assassinated in November of 1963.

Civil rights and racial justice continued to be important during Joe Biden’s administration, common themes in all these Sun-Saturn election charts.  He pointedly selected Black women for Vice President and Supreme Court Justice.

But the Sun-Saturn pattern also showed two presidents who died before completing their 4-years in office, and a third who chose to serve only one term.  I didn’t know exactly what would happen this time, but concluded in my 2020 book Tecumseh’s Curse that “An inaugural Sun and Saturn has correlated with…  administrations that were limited in time and by circumstances.”  I had also noticed in 2020 that “Pluto in Aquarius will also square his Moon throughout 2024. Joe Biden had suggested he will not run again, and this transit coincides with a move or departure after four years. “

At my writing in 2020, there was that suggestion, which was supported by the astrological patterns, though the candidate later changed his mind.  The inaugural Sun-Saturn conjunction symbolized the entire term and did not change.  Of course we know that Biden stepped aside on July 21, 2024 in favor of his Vice President Kamala Harris.

Parallel Shootings

Former president Donald Trump was campaigning and hoping for a comeback win after leaving office nearly four years earlier.  He became the victim of a failed assassination attempt and was superficially wounded.  We can say exactly the same of Theodore Roosevelt 112 years before.  Roosevelt was shot in Milwaukee and it seemed an odd synchronicity that Trump would soon address the Republican convention in Milwaukee, too.  What similarities are there in the horoscopes?

Teddy Roosevelt had endorsed William Howard Taft (his Vice President) for the 1908 election, but became disillusioned with his policies during Taft’s administration.  When TR didn’t receive the Republication nomination, he formed his own, more progressive party, and went on the campaign trail.  He arrived in Milwaukee on October 14, 1912, had dinner and was leaving the hotel for his speaking engagement when he was shot.  The bullet may have killed him but was slowed by a steel eyeglasses case and the 50-page speech in his breast pocket before lodging in his chest.  (The bullet was never removed and didn’t create problems.)  The former president went on to deliver his speech before seeking medical aid.

The event chart shows Gemini rising.  The Moon was angular, conjunct the 7th house cusp and conjoined Jupiter in Sagittarius, but both were setting, so not as strong as they otherwise might be.  Mars closely squared Uranus, showing the sudden violence of the act.  A total solar eclipse had occurred at 17 Libra four days before.  And we have heavier planets changing signs, with Uranus at 29-1/2 Capricorn and Pluto at 0° Cancer.  Both Pluto as well as Saturn at 3 Gemini were retrograde, and both would soon enter their previous signs by the time of the election, showing a changing situation in the outside world.

Roosevelt also had Gemini with Jupiter rising in his birth chart, so the transiting Ascendant conjoined his Ascendant, and transiting Moon and Jupiter were setting in his birth chart as well.

Trump’s shooting chart shows some similarities.  He was probably more fortunate than Roosevelt since only an ear was hit by the bullet.  He was immediately surrounded by Secret Service agents who rushed him to a local hospital for treatment.

Sagittarius was rising, opposite the sign of 112 years before, and Jupiter was once again setting, in the opposite sign of Gemini.  The Moon was again angular (in the event 10th house), once more showing a notable public event.  Mars conjoined Uranus in Trump’s shooting chart (by a little more than one degree, similar to TR’s shooting chart).  A total solar eclipse had occurred at 19 Aries three months before the shooting.

We once again have some heavier planets changing signs, showing how the outside world is poised on a new phase.  In July of 2024, Neptune is near 30 Pisces and Pluto at 1 Aquarius, both retrograde, and Pluto will return to Capricorn (conjunct the TR shooting Uranus and near U.S. natal Pluto) at the time of the November election.

The transiting Ascendant of the shooting chart conjoined Trump’s South Node and Moon, with transiting Jupiter, Mars and Uranus angularly placed in his 10th house.

What’s unusual about the two shootings is that both repeat and echo natal placements from mid to late Gemini and Sagittarius.  Nodes in both shooting charts were 10-12 Aries/Libra, with only about 2 degrees difference in the two charts.

In 2014, historian Gerard Helferich talked about his book on the TR shooting, saying that, “During the election campaign of 1912, the major issues included the growing divide between rich and poor, the overwhelming influence exerted by the corporations in the political process, a feeling that the political system was broken and needed to be fixed and a split in the Republican Party. Does any of that sound familiar?”

Obviously, both former presidents were campaigning and hoping to return to office.  Roosevelt, running independently, had split the Republican ticket and Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected in 1912.  Trump was nominated by his party, though we have yet to see the results of the 2024 election.

To my mind, the synchronicities in these charts suggest that Trump may not win.  A shooting, no matter how fortunate, does hold the symbolism of danger.  But an omen is not astrology, and we’ll need to look at many more charts before coming to a definite conclusion.

Theodore Roosevelt was shot on October 14, 1912 at about 8:00 pm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to the Providence RI Evening Bulletin the following day.

Donald J. Trump was shot on July 13, 2024 at 6:11:33 pm according to a CBSNews.com timeline taken from live video footage.

My book, Tecumseh’s Curse: Indigenous Wisdom, Astrology and the Deaths of U.S. Presidents, analyzes the background and cycles of presidential deaths.

2021 Inauguration Revisited

No, I don’t think that President Biden will die before the November 2024 election.  But I do want to re-visit the 2021 Inauguration horoscope and compare it with actual events.  In my book, Tecumseh’s Curse (2021), I studied the inauguration charts of all the Jupiter-Saturn presidencies to see what information the planetary cycles conveyed. 

The 2021 Inauguration had quite a challenging horoscope.  We tend to read charts with the archetypes in mind, but much is guesswork or conclusions based on different types of charts.  I analyzed the chart by identifying the types of events that had actually occurred on previous cycles – hard aspects between the Sun and Pluto in inauguration charts, Sun-Uranus, Saturn-Uranus and Sun-Saturn.

Much can be gained by this kind of study, though it’s time consuming and not detail-oriented.  And I’ve always felt that accurate forecasts will, by their nature, tend to be somewhat generalized.  The more specific we try to get, the more often we’ll be wrong.  Narrowing down the considerations with a framework – in this case a presidential term – will also narrow down the possibilities.

The original text from Tecumseh’s Curse is in regular font; actual events are in italics.

Forecast:  “Sun-Pluto charts represented notable victories for the presidents, who sought to unite the country. (They included some of the most memorable chief executives in history.) The political parties themselves underwent change. Developments in the country’s territory, alliances and antagonisms came to the forefront. Financial affairs were often highlighted, with important changes in policies and trends. (In 2021, the country faces a recession and an exponentially rising national debt.)”

Actual events:  Common ground was found in the approval of the American Rescue Plan in 2021 (for economic stimulus), and the 10-year bipartisan Inventory and Jobs Act.  The Republican party is now dominated by “MAGA” adherents, and extremists on both sides of the aisle continue to make themselves heard, with stark ideological divisions.  Ukraine’s and Israel’s wars affected the U.S.  Fears of recession continued with inflation and rising interest rates affecting everyone.

Forecast:  “Hard aspects from Uranus to the Sun in Jupiter-Saturn inauguration horoscopes created unforeseen circumstances in the corresponding administrations. Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt faced tempestuous and chaotic years, and the 2021 administration also has indications of unpredictability and the prospect of involvement in overseas conflicts, with the country potentially re-evaluating its relationships.”

Actual events:  Biden withdrew American military from Afghanistan, a move that was roundly criticized (he began his term with over 50% approval, and spent much of it closer to 40%).  Ukraine and Israel’s wars escalated contention among various factions in the U.S. (most notably campus protests in 2024).  Billions in aide was sent to both countries, and economic sanctions were imposed on Russia (also in keeping with Pluto).

Forecast:  “Uranus squaring Saturn in the tenth house in the 2021 inauguration highlights the breakdown of old structures and the opening of a new phase. (Biden reversed many of his predecessor’s executive orders in his first days in office.) Change and progress should be inevitable, but as before, the president could be limited to some extent by public opinion, opposing parties and international relations. Popular movements should impact the coming years, leading to reform or even some sort of crisis or upheaval that shakes up the country in a significant way. Uranus and Mars conjoining the first house in 2021 suggest a new identity and perspective for the country. Mars also holds the possibility of volatility or perhaps even violence.”

Actual events:  Joe Biden was the first president to walk a union picket line with the UAW.  His climate change and clean energy bill failed to gain enough support.  Perhaps most notably, the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade caused legislatures in various states to limit women’s rights to abortion.  In six states, voters reversed abortion restrictions, with up to 11 more state ballot measures expected in 2024 elections.

Forecast:  “An inaugural Sun conjunct Saturn has correlated with contentious issues and administrations that were limited in time or by circumstances. In the past these have brought civil rights and racial injustice to the forefront, and it seems likely that these issues will continue to be addressed.”

Actual events:  Many in 2024 feel that Biden has aged-out of his job, and his more liberal policies were blocked (a voting rights bill failed in Congress, and the Supreme Court ended consideration of race in college admissions).  The Supreme Court’s July 2024 decision on former president Trump’s immunity helps him evade prosecution in the courts.  During the term, Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black female Supreme Court justice, Juneteenth was made a national holiday, and recognition of same-sex and inter-racial marriages were signed into law in December of 2022.

Ideological contention is nothing new, but there are many questions about both presidential candidates as I write this in the spring of 2024, with important developments expected as Mars conjoins Uranus in mid-July and Jupiter squares Saturn at the time of the election.  Pluto also dips back into Capricorn for the final time from September through November right before the election, bringing up lingering issues before moving forward. 

Original forecast text from Tecumseh’s Curse pages 167-169.

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Linda Goodman on the Aquarian Age

Linda Goodman was a true believer in the Age of Aquarius, perhaps because it was so obviously connected with the astrological signs.  As Pluto is still near the 0 degree Aquarius point of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of December 2020, Goodman’s observations on the New Age may have some resonance today.

Although an accomplished astrologer herself, Linda rarely wrote about astrology beyond Sun signs.  She was a product of the 1960s and ‘70s and used the modern rulership of Uranus over Aquarius, sharing some cogent thoughts on the polarity of Aquarius and Leo, the latter symbolizing the youth culture and sexual revolution.  An Aries with Mercury in Taurus, she was impatient with the technical arguments about when (or if) the Aquarian Age had begun.  She also disliked scientists and expressed her feelings strongly.

The piece that follows was published in her book Gooberz in 1989, though it was most likely written earlier.  Goodman references a  John Lennon song from 1969, campus protests in 1970, and uses slang that was outdated by the ‘80s.  I have edited the piece and regularized punctuation for clarity.

Challenge

Do not listen to those smug prophets and Cassandras who argue endlessly and monotonously that the Aquarian Age is technically not yet upon us, and who babble and quarrel among themselves about the stern astronomical Precession of the Equinoxes, ignoring the Procession of Children with lighted candles chanting Peace.  All we ask, is give Peace a chance.

We are well within the orb of those unpredictable Uranus vibrations, sounding the chords of humanitarianism and individualism, and yes, the flat notes of insanity too.  Once again, under the ancient Law of Polarity, feeling the reflected influence of the sign opposite Aquarius: Leo, the Lion of Love, of Idealism and Youth.

Aquarius, the Water Bearer: Seeker of Truth, the unpredictable advocate of Change, whatever the cost (through violent revolution, if necessary) as a means to justify the end – of prejudice.

The eccentric, half genius, half mad Uranus vibrations of Aquarius, blending a compulsion for Progress with the hot rays of Leo’s ruling Sun, reflecting back the Lion’s firm hold over Youth and Love.  “We will have Change!  We will have Brotherhood!” rings out the clarion call of the individual’s right to do his or her own thing, and “let’s make love, not war!”  “Let’s worship Youth!” roars the fierce, hot-blooded Lion as he rolls in sensuous ecstasy with his mate.

Is it any wonder, then, that we’re having a sexual revolution, that we shake under the Uranus-Aquarian thunder of individuality of hair styles, clothes, politics and religious convictions, with riots on campus introducing the Seventies, taking their toll?

Didn’t you see it all coming, Mister Gallup and Mister Poll?  Didn’t you feel Kent State coming?  Or do you scoff at the stars and ignore the planets too, as blind astronomers and other scientists are wont to do?’  Einstein might have made it all more clear than any similar peer who knocks and raps astrology if it’s fashionable to do so.  Or than the shrinks and sociologists, stubborn astronomers, and the frightened astrologers themselves, who wrangle with one another, in unceasing competition refereed by prejudiced, pre-judgmental, know-it-all science wearing the dark glasses of dogma.

I see them squatting in their Kindergarten of Knowledge, the professors and the shrinks, the scientists and astronomers, the sociologists and poll takers, and an occasional politician, playing with Truth as children play with colored blocks lettered A B C for Apathy – Blindness – and Cop-out.

Then, when their blocks topple over, they rage in childish petulance and bang each other over the head with the offending chunks of wooden facts.

Do not bang me over the head with you’re A B C blocks colored with half-truths, you disciples of Thomas, the Doubter.  You will not break the Ram’s tough horns!

The Aquarian Age is here!  And its pulsating, powerful, unpredictable orb, mixing with the Sun rays of the roaring Lion, is ominous, if not heeded.  Locking the New Age in your scientific closets with boring, tiresome technicalities will not make it disappear.  Yes, the vibration of Aquarius is here, and much too close for comfort.

It burns my soul and sears my mind with unanswered questions.

Linda Goodman’s horoscope is on Astrodatabank.

From Gooberz, p. 184 to 185

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Eliminate TV?

Jerry Mander’s 1978 book, Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television is a counter-culture classic that analyzes the negative effects of television and advises against its use.  Mander spent many years handling TV ads for huge corporations, became disillusioned with the “establishment,” and turned to helping promote non-profits and those he considered more worthy.  But he ultimately felt their voices couldn’t be effectively communicated through the medium. 

Mass media is limited in many ways, as anyone can see from how astrology has been conveyed to a wider audience for more than 100 years.

Mander believed that human-created environments had already replaced real experience, and that television in particular narrowed perceptions (reminding me of Plato’s allegory of the cave).  TV limits the use of our senses, as well as instinct, intuition, feeling and thought, and replaces them with a hypnotic, addictive experience.  People and the environment are “dimmed out,” and we’re separated from others, the community and ourselves.  Knowledge that’s not based on direct experience becomes the norm, and aided by TV, is replaced by the influence of science, technology and industrial proof.

On the other hand, television is best at being an “advertising delivery system” since the confining experience of TV can easily implant simple, clear ideas. Programming choices are in the hands of the techno-scientific and corporate elite, whose power is enhanced by their technology, resulting in the “loss of virtually everything that qualifies as meaningful.”

Those interested in history and cycles would tend to agree with some of his arguments.  The needs of the market are contrary to human needs since “unlimited economic growth is a planetary impossibility.  It could only have been conceived by minds out of touch with natural limits.  It is dependent on a suicidal over use of resources and an impossible rate of commodity consumption.”

Artificial light obscures natural rhythms.  Like food, living things need natural light for nourishment and growth.  We’ve learned much more about how ultraviolet light is essential for synthesis of Vitamin D, and how blue light from screens can interfere with our circadian rhythms, but Mander wrote about these topics over 45 years ago.  He believed that new technology should be considered “guilty until proven innocent.”  Television was rapidly adopted, with little review or testing, and not much study of it was ever done.  Over a 7-year period, the author found only 20 articles that critically looked at the effects of television, some of which included epilepsy, eye damage, heart rate changes and exposure to X-rays (electromagnetic radiation).

Television is only able to present us with “drastically reduced versions” and distortions of nature, the arts, religion and non-western or non-materialist cultures, since they demand the interplay of the mind and senses to understand fully.  Instead, TV causes us to lose a sense of grounding in time and place.

Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television doesn’t touch on astrology, but while astrology proliferates on mass media today, much continues to be superficial.  Like other uncommon subjects in the western world, one needs time to study, experience and understand astrology.

These days, television is very different, and we’re dominated by the Internet.  But our social media platforms have become updated “advertising delivery systems.”  Jerry Mander died in April of 2023 at the age of 85, and would have seen the popularity and power of the Internet as the next stage for advertisers.  He was very prescient, if not prophetic.  But in 1977, even he admitted he didn’t know how to eliminate TV.

Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television is available second-hand on Amazon and elsewhere.

Transition Time

The Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on the winter solstice of 2020 ushered in a new era as the planetary pair moved into Aquarius.  The conjunctions set the stage for 20+ year developments, and have a long history with the U.S. government and presidency, as I wrote about in my book Tecumseh’s Curse.

Since early 2023, Pluto has likewise been moving back and forth between the last degrees of Capricorn and the first degrees of Aquarius, bringing its own momentous changes, at a much slower pace.  But this is especially so as it’s been crossing the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction degree over a 2-year period.

These transits have provoked contentious issues and some extremism in government and elsewhere.  We might metaphysically see it as growing pains, but there are many challenges ahead.  We are at a turning point with the presidential elections now less than a year away.

Many events are developing which resonate with Pluto changing signs and the Capricorn old guard transforming into something new and different.  We seem to be turning a page, as old authorities, organizations and associations face a changing landscape, and the past falls away.  Some of these notable events include:

Rosalyn Carter’s death on November 19, 2023 and her husband Jimmy, 99, in hospice care, symbolic of a generation passing.

Court Voting Rights Act decisions are set to empower Black and Native American minorities in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Dakota, with other redistricting suits developing elsewhere.  The slim minorities in both the House and Senate could easily be reversed in 2024.

Various court rulings have been made in Colorado, Minnesota and Michigan as judges consider removing former president Trump from 2024 ballots in violation of the Insurrection clause of the Constitution.  Some will certainly progress to the Supreme Court.  Trump of course also has several ongoing legal battles, with trial dates set for the spring and summer of 2024 (see my overview forecast from August 2022)

As many question the age and wisdom of leading presidential candidates Biden and Trump, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is polling with greater support than any independent candidate before.  And the No Labels party of more moderate values may put Joe Manchin or another forward as a 2024 presidential candidate.

These are striking developments taken individually, but altogether show a major transition.  Things will change and move forward.  Pluto will station within half a degree of its return to the U.S. July 4, 1776 chart in October, moving into Aquarius for the final time in mid-November of 2024.

It’s no coincidence that this occurs right at the time of the next presidential election cycle.  We can expect a re-set somehow, with the U.S.A. in a very different place by 2025.  Unfortunately, it looks like the transition will be slow and messy.  But that’s the nature of Pluto, who drags things out before moving on.