Welcome to the COSMIC UPDATE

My COSMIC UPDATES are a way of looking at items and people in the news from an astrological perspective. And while I try to make the text as understandable as possible I realize that some of the astrological jargon baffles the general reader. 

COSMIC UPDATE: 12^th November  2001

Included in this week’s Cosmic Update: 

• Extreme measures - the Uranus-Pluto conjunction.

Extreme measures – the Uranus-Pluto conjunction

I am grateful to one of my readers, Arthur Kalder, for suggesting that I look at the conjunction between Uranus and Pluto (operative, within orb, between 1962 and 1968). Mr Kalder pointed out that the terrorist, Mohammed Atta, who steered the United Airlines jet into the World Trade Centre, was born with this conjunction in his chart, as indeed must have been many of his fellow terrorists.

I did my level best to establish the correct birth data for Atta, but since he used so many aliases, it is almost impossible to know for sure. (Indeed, the data for Bin Laden is equally difficult to establish – a June or July birth in 1957 is as near as we get.  According to some sources, Atta celebrated his birthday the night before the attack on the WTC, which suggests he was born either on the 10^th or 11^th of September. But other sources cite 1^st September 1968 as his true date of birth.

Whatever the case, given that the Uranus-Pluto conjunction was active between 1962 and 1968, and he was clearly in his mid-thirties, he will almost certainly have had this conjunction featured in his chart – and probably very prominently. Indeed, if the 10^th or 11^th September is the correct date then his sun in Virgo would have been conjunct both Uranus and Pluto.

It’s all history 

Uranus was discovered in 1781 and Pluto in 1930 so, although we can look back thousands of years to see what history can reveal about this combination, those conjunctions – and other major angles – occurring after 1930 may well be more meaningful. My reasoning here is that until a planet is discovered, we are not fully conscious of its properties. Now that both Uranus and Pluto can be seen (admittedly, with the aid of a gigantic telescope) we have a more direct relationship with and response to their natures.

Since 1930 there have been two major aspects between Uranus and Pluto – the square of 1933/34 (Uranus in Aries/Pluto in Cancer) and the conjunction in Virgo of 1965/66. In a sense, the water is slightly muddied in the mid-Sixties since Saturn in Pisces was also opposing Uranus and Pluto. Indeed, I spent some time discussing the effect of the Saturn-Pluto opposition in natal charts and in connection with global events in my Cosmic Update for September 10^th. And to save you the trouble of going into the Cosmic Archives I have put some of that text at the end of this discussion.

Ask most people to describe the flavour of the Sixties and they’ll talk about Carnaby Street, Twiggy,  JFK, the Beetles, flower power, mind-expanding drugs, rioting students and ban-the-bomb demonstrations. There was an explosion of youth in the Sixties. The younger generation – the Baby-boomers – rebelled against traditional values and beliefs; youth found its voice and decided that it could change the world. The use of drugs enabled an entire generation to open new pathways in the mind and to see the world in a new way. And more importantly to impress that inner vision onto society.

Uranus has a lot to do with breaking down barriers and replacing old orders with the new. That Pluto was closely involved meant that the Uranian urge towards innovation and revolution was stirred at a profound level – one might say at an atavistic level – so that the force of change was both compelling and compulsive, a response to a deep yearning for a brave new world. And in keeping with Pluto, it was a mass movement.

Certainly, the combination of Uranus and Pluto, uranium and plutonium, has a nuclear message to deliver and the 1962 Bay of Pigs crisis brought the threat of nuclear war into a stunning reality.

In my early days as an astrologer I would see clients who had children with the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in their charts and I would suggest to them that these children would fall into two categories – those who were part of a movement that would see or initiate extraordinary scientific, artistic, political and communication breakthroughs or those who would be so anti-establishment that they would resort to untold means to change the status quo.

And, of course, we are now seeing more and more of the fruits of this Uranus-Pluto conjunction.

In 2003 Uranus will enter Pisces thereby beginning its opposition to the Uranus-Pluto conjunction of 1962-68. (Uranus opposes its original position in a birth chart approximately forty-two years later – and it coincides with the mid-life crisis that we all suffer from in one form or another.) Thus, it may take until the middle of this first decade of the twenty-first century before we see this Uranus-Pluto conjunction in full flower. Uranus will precisely oppose the degree area of the Sixties Uranus-Pluto conjunction in 2007 /8 and the next Uranus-Pluto square (Uranus Aries/Pluto Capricorn) will be active between 2012 and 2015. However, the next Uranus-Pluto opposition will not take place until 2046 (Uranus in Virgo; Pluto in Pisces.)

Uranus-Pluto and terrorism

Quite clearly everyone born between 1962 and 1968 is not a die-hard terrorist but we can say that people born during this period will be more highly attuned to the many and varied effects of the Uranus/Pluto combination, which includes using explosive force to change an unsatisfactory status quo! And if this conjunction is placed on an angle in the natal chart (Ascendant, Descendant, Mid-heaven or IC) or one of the personal planets forges a hard angle to the conjunction, the properties of Uranus-Pluto will be directly harnessed and utilized by the individual. Sometimes for the good of humanity and sometimes aimed at its destruction.

Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma bomber who was executed this year had the moon in Pisces opposing the Uranus-Pluto conjunction on his IC. And in an elegant piece of astrology he was executed on the day the sun precisely squared his 4^th house Pluto. (For a full interpretation of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma bombing, please go to June 18^th’s Cosmic Update.)

However, the handsome and gifted actor, Johnny Depp, also belongs to this Uranus-Pluto group – and his Mars in Virgo is conjunct the dyad. Fortunately, this triple conjunction ‘sits’ in his second house and forges no hard angles to any of the personal planets. Thus, while he may be innovative and possibly radical in his beliefs, blowing up the establishment is not likely to be on his agenda.

Other thoughts on Uranus-Pluto cycles

I came across some insightful comments on the Uranus-Pluto opposition by the astrologer, Palden Jenkins, which I thought I would share with you:

Uranus-Pluto conjunctions and oppositions might bring sudden and radical changes, like a cathartic diarrhoea, yet their full integration takes ages…

Uranus and Pluto do not automatically signify forward change. They bend the bars and blow holes in the walls, leaving us to respond to the acute options presented.

There’s a close connection between genius and Uranus-Pluto energy blips. Virtually every conjunction and opposition coughs up remarkable advances in culture, invention or instigation. The hitch is that once the excitement is over, long term reality strikes again. The 1901-02 opposition in Sagittarius-Gemini brought us Quantum Theory, Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, radio, public electrical systems and flight, and the effects of these have been unfolding ever since – with a mixture of enlightening and polluting effects A previous opposition in the same signs in 774-76 saved civilization in Europe (during the Carolignian Renaissance and in the Cordoba Caliphate, Spain). Unbeknownst to Charlemagne, the foundations of the European Union  of 1200 years later were laid at this time.

Such prescient developments do happen when transpersonal forces work their magic.

I also found Palden’s comments on the history of the Mongols rather intriguing:

Genghiz Khan… set the Mongols on the rampage around the 1201 Uranus-Pluto conjunction (Cancer). By the square of 1236-39 they threatened Eurasia and by the opposition of 1283-86 they ruled much of it. The zenith of the neo-Mongol terror-merchant, Timurkend… occurred later during the… Uranus-Pluto opposition. Terror indeed.

I feel these remarks are intriguing because the Uranus-Pluto conjunction of the mid-Sixties may well have stirred the spirit of the Mongols and now, some five years before that conjunction is triggered, we are beginning to realize just how powerfully the spirit has moved!

(All the above comments  were taken from THE HISTORICAL EPHEMERIS 600 BC – 2200 AD by Palden Jenkins, which could be found by going to www.isleofavalon.co.uk and clicking on the Glastonbury Archive.

Australia – formed under the Uranus-Pluto opposition

The Founding Of Australia
01^st January 1901,  13hrs. 36 GST, Canberra
(Click For Enlarged View)

Thanks to another visitor to my website, Julie Kidd, I discovered this chart for the ‘birth’ of Australia. And while I am not going to spend time here looking at all the significant points of the horoscope I found it interesting, and certainly synchronistic, that there is a Uranus/Pluto opposition (and at 14/16 degrees Sagittarius/Gemini, which means it is currently overlaid by the Saturn-Pluto opposition). Also in a divinely coincidental way a federal election took place in Australia a few days ago (9^th November) returning the PM, John Howard for a third term in office. On accepting his victory Howard made the comment: Australia now faces some new and unexpected challenges… Wise words.

The 1965-66 period from a Saturn-Pluto perspective. (Taken from COSMIC UPDATE, 10^th SEPTEMBER. In light of the events of the following day some of the discussion is prescient to say the least. )

I noticed, from my e-mails, that I was having a rash of queries from people born in 1965 and 1966. It took me longer than it should to realize that there was a common theme – they all had natal Saturn-Pluto oppositions, which were now being triggered by the current Saturn-Pluto transit. 

To have this opposition in your natal chart not only reveals that you were born at a time when nations were divided and fearful of each other’s power but that you have a role to play in resolving this polarity. In some cases it is a part you play by becoming actively involved in human rights organizations and taking a political or public platform on such issues. In other cases, especially where this opposition makes a hard aspect (conjunction, square or opposition – see THE SCIENCE BIT) to a personal planet or an angle (Ascendant-descendant and MC/IC axes) resolving this polarity must be done in a personal way.

To a certain extent the comments that follow will apply to anyone who has a hard Saturn-Pluto angle, which means those of you born in the years 1931 (opposition) 1939/40 (square) 1948 (conjunction) 1955/56 (square) 1973 (square) 1982 (conjunction) and 1992 (square)

A natal Saturn-Pluto opposition inevitably means that during your life you will experience one or more power struggles first hand. As a child you may feel unduly oppressed by authority figures and you may resent and fear being placed in institutions, such as school, even kindergarten. There are two responses to this fear and resentment: becoming a victim or developing strategies to undermine and eventually overpower your ‘oppressor’.  This, of course, can lead to a life-time of victimization or ‘warfare’ with the Establishment – or, of course, controlling and manipulating other people.

Even if others consider your life to be enviably comfortable and successful the person with a Saturn-Pluto opposition feels they have ‘had it hard’; at some point they have been denied, abused. They are often fearful of losing their position and falling into poverty. Ironically it is this same fear that either becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy or a means by which they accumulate tremendous wealth and power.

So now, with the current Saturn-Pluto transit activating the natal opposition many people born in the aforementioned years, but especially those in 1965/66 at the time of the Saturn-Pluto opposition in Virgo/Pisces, are experiencing a life and death struggle, whether quite literally or financially, professionally and emotionally. (Note that Gary Condit has a natal Saturn-Pluto conjunction – see COSMIC UPDATES: July 23^rd and August 27^th.)

How to deal with Saturn-Pluto

Strangely enough I am not a great champion of therapy – at least not long, dragged out, years of therapy. But I do favour a short course, especially hypno-therapy, which can be very revealing and liberating.

One of the ways of unlocking the mystery and complexity of your Saturn-Pluto and transcending its inherent difficulties is to descend into the psyche and explore ancient history.  But by and large this transit simply has to be lived through as best you can. Taking each day at a time, allowing each wave of experience to wash over you – and there are many waves in a Saturn-Pluto transit – is all you can do.

You are up against time (Saturn), which is reflected in the way that the current situation will require time to resolve but also time in the sense that events have come together at this point for a purpose. A past action is being accounted for, whether you want to see this in strictly karmic terms or an event in living memory. Pluto is the transformational part of this dyad. Thus experiences at this time may appear to strip you of something you valued. You may feel you have sunk deep. But once the process is complete you will come up the other side; you will be transformed.

I came across a quote by Mahatma Ghandi just before I put this cosmic update to bed and I thought it was very appropriate, given the above discussion:

Be the change in yourself that you want to see in the world.

And also – from July 15^th's COSMIC UPDATE and in reference to the chart of the USA

Saturn’s conjunction to the descendant (the cusp of the seventh house of partners and open enemies) suggests that it is other nations and other leaders who are proving and will continue to prove to be America’s biggest challenge. America’s partners will at the very least become critical of US policies and actions and at worst there could be hostilities where once there was unity. As for America’s enemies, these leaders, nations and groups will come out against America in full force now. And if ever there was an astrological setting for war, it is this one.

Recommended Reading:

Click To Order

	The Astrologer's Handbook Frances Sakoian, Louis S. Acker
	Planets in Transit Robert Hand
	The Final Prophecies of Nostradamus Erika Cheetham