Barbault and the Depression of 2015

Since around 2003 I have worked with the method of outer planet cycle calculations suggested by Andre Barbault. Not wishing to repeat myself, I invite you to see my previous articles. If you don't want to just yet, I can summarize the following information:

1. Andre Barbault measured the distance between two planets in their cyclical rotation from Jupiter to Pluto. This seems to resonate with long term global economic trends.

2. The resulting positive or negative mathematical results combined indicated a positive or negative global effect.

3. The mathematical evidence of these negative results include the periods of time in the 20th century to that of World War 1, World War II and the great depression of the 1930s

Given the indication of previous experience, another large negative period of time is on the horizon from 2016 - 2020 and, given the historical coincidences of past mathematical negative results - and also that of the now known current economic debt crisis - would we not be wise to consider the likelihood that we are about to enter a five-year global depression?

It is the beginning of 2013 at the time of writing this article and the UK has not yet officially announced the reality of a triple dip recession. Back in 2009 this was merely a credit crunch. In 2011 the Government of the day announced that we would be back on track by 2015. In 2012 the Government of the day admitted that the recession was deeper than expected and that the UK would not pay its debts until 2018. I have said all through this that 2020 is the earliest we can expect to see light at the end of the tunnel. Governments have to promote optimism because the economy and its value is based largely on the lie of 'confidence' but mundane astrologers have no reason to lie and their predictions are evidence based on what one might argue to be more reliable information than that of the world's clearly inadequate predictive economic models; How many more boom and bust events will it take to work that one out?

The Euro zone is in deep trouble. Many countries, like Greece, Ireland, Italy Portugal and Spain are in economic crisis. The USA has maxed out its credit card and if it borrows any more money there will not be enough GDP to repay the interest. Quantitative Easing (QE) in many countries have done no more than served to bolster the balance sheets of insurance and investment houses, while growth in any economy has failed to materialise. Unemployment is deep rooted and in some countries as high as 25%

The beginning of the end of the matter is looming. There is much astrological evidence to support these claims, however, I have confined myself largely to pointing out some events to consider in order to keep this article simple.

There will most likely be false claims of recovery in 2013 because Barbault's yearly figure of +8 is the last gasp before we plunge into a series of annual minus figures. 2014 will scare a lot of people into taking action but the effect by 2015 will be merely activity in denial of what really must transpire and more delaying of the inevitable. By 2016 we will hit the full blown depression caused by one sided economic thinking - namely you cannot possibly have growth if the consumer has no money. We will know this year if the fate of countries in the Eurozone will opt out of the currency or if the currency collapses altogether.

The Cardinal Grand Cross of 2014 will be the trigger that sets the stage for the depression to play out. It is therefore an important chart to study. It is worth reading the conclusions of Theodore White on http://globalastrologyblog.blogspot.co.uk/ to examine the effect that the cardinal cross will have for us all. It is also important to understand that where the cardinal grand cross symbolises, among other things, the mutual activation of opposing forces, that we will each have our part to play in what we reap at the other end. The Arab Spring of 2011 is perhaps a good example of how much the old and worn out modes of life will be protected by those who must step aside to make way for what must change.

There will be no World War III but just as war is raging in many countries right now, so many more must inevitably rise up and join the clamour for old powers to make way for fair and sustainable reform. Any who hold onto power by wealth or by oppression can and will be challenged strongly in order to create a better way of life. In some cases that opposition may manifest itself in physical conflict.

By 2015 we may not realise how much of a global depression we are in because there will be many in so called positions of authority who, as they did previously, will want to play down the severity of our situation in some desperate attempt to fool us into believing that the green shoots of recovery are just around the corner and they are the political party that will lead you there. Trust me, it will not happen.

By 2016 everyone will realise that the consequences of us, the people, wandering blindly into economic ruin has been fated for some time and we have just been putting off the inevitable. We can no more avoid it than we can avoid paying our bills (Avoiding taxes is amazingly still possible for some very rich companies and individuals). Those with lots of money have already demonstrated their inability to empathise with the struggling middle class, the poorer working class, the destitute and the disenfranchised because they have never been there to experience it. Their resolve to cut swiftly the deficits created by the debt crisis satisfies their desire to put the problem behind us as quickly as possible so that normal money making business can be resumed as it was before all this inconvenience. How much this will hurt people without money is of no consequence to them and yet, amazingly, there is also no comprehension that it is essential that the very people at the sharp end that must be in a position to contribute to growth in the global economy as it is presently structured. Many people are already up to their necks in the soft smelly stuff and live with the knowledge that, despite certain claims, we are not all in this together.

The times of instant gratification are about to be ripped unceremoniously away from a generation that has not experienced hardship. It is going to hurt. The wisest of those will have already started to clear all debts before the storm of high inflation and further employment blows furiously throughout whole societies. Crime rates will rise as the cost of living becomes unaffordable for many.

The Saturn / Pluto cycle will come to a new conjunction in 2020, although the Barbault scale will still be in minus territory for another year. However, this will be the time that workable solutions can be established, for it is only when the old ways are destroyed and laid waste that transformation of new structures can truly take place. But for some the transformation may be slower, particularly larger economies where - like a super tanker - it takes just a bit longer to turn around (for example the US Pluto return 2022).

Be in no doubt that we are all heading for interesting times and those better prepared to weather the storm may come out the other side a little less battered and bruised. But all is not doom and gloom. Invention is the mother of necessity and it has been proved from the last Barbault negative periods that great drives are initiated towards new inventions that advanced technology and changed the world for the better.

We will also have an opportunity to make huge leaps in the way our society runs, especially if we maintain the freedoms of the Internet. It is up to the masses to realise that they run the world, and we can if only we are prepared to an interest and participate (political pressure groups like Avaaz are already making this happen) - and that the people the masses elect to represent them must represent the people who put them there and not be swayed or hijacked by unelected powerful groups of self-interest where money and wealth is prioritized higher than the happiness, needs and well being of the people.

More articles relating to Barbault and the 2015 depression will be placed on this blog, so please bookmark if you are interested.

Further reading: 

Feb 2009. Deep Recession Predicted long ago?

  http://shane-ward.blogspot.co.uk/deep-recession-predicted-long-ago.html

Sept 2008 The Barbault Scale

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=13254&id=42299

Feb 2011 The Barbault Warnings

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=13254&id=47637

Barbault: The Prediction Revealed

http://shaneward22.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/barbault-prediction-revealed.html

Capricorn Ingress 2012 / The End Of The World

The Sun enters Capricorn on December 21^st 2012 at 11:00am. Just 11 minutes later is the end of the Mayan Calendar and the consequent claims of the so-called ‘end of the world’.

May I be perfectly clear up front in saying that I do believe we are in no danger of global destruction; at least not on this date.

The global economic depression is set to continue until at least 2021. Wars for democracy, food and livelihoods still await us. Some of these event exist already and some are yet to come before the decade is over. But for now I want to concentrate on the Capricorn ingress. I have set the chart for Westminster but we will look later at the ingress in tandem with the UK1801 chart, the US Independence chart and the Treaty of Rome.

With the Sun in the 10^th house the light is shining on the leadership and Moon in the second relates to the resource needs of the people. Perhaps it is not surprising that the focus will be on the economy and austerity measures that seem to be the popular solution to the global debt crisis. A triple dip recession is on the way.

The Sun sextiles Neptine and Chiron conjunct the Ascendant. The big issues already in play are large institutions like the NHS. There are also concerns around unemployment, rising fuel costs and pensions. With Chiron so close to Neptune it is reasonable to assume that there will be no solution to any of these problems this year; it doesn’t matter what political party holds power.

With Venus opposite Jupiter (retrograde) across the 3^rd / 9^th house axis the forecast will be for a cutting back on day to day expenses wherever possible. However, both square into Chiron suggesting that the cuts will not be pleasant. There may be a significant number of people, however, who may suffer the illusion that borrowing more on the credit card will solve the problem (Neptune conjunct Chiron). Please consider that borrowing more money will cause you greater grief within a year, if not sooner.

Our politicians will not help us in being sensible. Their remit will be trying to reassure the consumer that the economy is on the mend and will try to foster confidence, without which it is certain that the economy cannot grow. But most people will only be able to consume using borrowed money – and there is simply not enough money to borrow to make any difference to the huge debt mountain that has to be paid back. Naturally the politicians will fear that without a return to economic growth there will be more businesses collapsing, higher unemployment and a greater recession. What the politicians do not want you to know is that the UK is heading for an economic slump. It is unavoidable and the UK citizens can personally avoid some of the future catastrophe by not borrowing any more money.

The North Node in the 9^th house sextiles Mars in the 12^th, suggesting a focus on foreign affairs, particularly hostilities and actions that may have a detrimental impact on our day to day lives. Oil is always subject to price fluctuations where conflict threatens to affect supply, which in turn can affect the UK fuel cost, including not only petrol but gas and electricity. With Mercury so close to the Midheaven, trade is high on the agenda, with the likelihood (Mercury trine Moon) that our cost of living will be squeezed at this end too.

But the power in the chart lies with the ‘finger of God’ aspect between Saturn sextile Pluto – inconjunct Jupiter.

The cycle of Saturn to Pluto is drawing to its close. We have witnessed the power of its structural transformation in connection with the chaotic Uranus (that is still in the process of making square aspect to Pluto) introducing sudden and shocking changes to the structure of our society and our collective unconscious. The Arab Spring continues with civil war in Syria and difficult reforms in many other parts of the world. As the Saturn / Pluto cycle will complete only by the end of the decade, we can be certain that this period of transformation will take longer than one short year and will leave a lasting impact on the world in general.

Jupiter is retrograde in Gemini, making up the Yod with Saturn and Pluto. So both Jupiter and Saturn, the societal planets figure in this aspect along with the demands of evolutionary change from Pluto. What was considered the established part of our structure (Saturn) is already undergoing massive change (Pluto) but our thoughts (Gemini) have yet to get our heads around it (Jupiter retrograde).

People can be resistant to change but the changes we see today are happening whether we like it or not. They are real and we had better get our heads around it or get left behind. By the time the current reformation of countries and political structures have concluded, we will be living in a very different world from today. What we must get our heads around is what we once knew that will be cast out as no longer a viable structure and what must come in if we are to meet the challenges of the future. Amid all of this will be the fear that comes inevitably with changes that threaten to rock our perceived sense of security. Those who wish to hold onto the old ways will try to convince us that they are the true power. We have already seen why this is not so in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and many others. And there is no reason to expect that these will be the only reforms the world must face.

Jupiter in Gemini focuses our minds on how we relate to every day matters but it also gives us an opportunity to reflect, indeed to challenge what we believe to be true. Right now there is a very real concern over our entire monetary system that threatens to engulf many countries in debt and destitution. Venus opposes Jupiter, emphasising the focus of a financial nature to the thinking of Jupiter. Where we cannot continue to expand our debt, either through quantitative easing (which simply defers the debt for a few more years) or greater borrowing. There has to come a point where tinkering with a busted economy has to stop, and it maybe that during this year it is decided that further tinkering is not going to stop the inevitable pain. Certainly with mercury on the Midheaven businesses will protect themselves by cutting the workforce and closing unprofitable outlets. I envisage things starting to fall apart by March when a huge stellium of planets congregate in Pisces, separating themselves from just three planets: Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto.

Aquarius on the Ascendant, conjunct Neptune in Pisces, suggests a number of rather futile strikes but also a focus on common interests. Our fate, however, is hopelessly intertwined with international economic instability and there will be little that the UK can do to stop the slide in isolation.

Now putting the UK1801 (1^st January 0:00am) chart up against the Capricorn ingress chart, we see immediately how the Yod of Saturn and Pluto places the apex of Jupiter into the UK 9^th house. I see no reason to expect the problems within the Eurozone to go away. In fact I expect them to get gradually worse, as there are no remedies for what we will witness over the next few years. By 2016 the Euro currency experiment will be all but over. Everything until then is merely delaying the inevitable.

Not that the UK leadership will have much of a chance to indulge itself in foreign politics. The Moon of the ingress chart conjuncts the UK1801 North Node. The Government will have its hands full dealing with domestic matters to get too enmeshed in Europe’s woes.

Pluto is now applying to the IC of the UK1801 chart, meaning that Pluto’s evolutionary power is applying to all national charts that began on the 1^st of January. What happens now make take many years to complete but we are now at the beginning of tremendous changes. For the UK, with Uranus firmly on its descendant, the reforms that will be demanded by the people and by the dictates of the enforced changes of many countries, will start to become apparent. Over the coming year it will become clearly obvious that we cannot continue within the economic structure that exists today. There must be a complete review of the role played by banks and financial institutions, not only within our day to day lives but also in how they impact on our global economy. Considering that the UK has a hefty interest in financial institutions, this will be very had for the UK to deal with. The necessary reforms will take some big changes of mind to enact and there is always the fear that comes with any change and a resistance by those who stand to lose. The UK must ensure that the required changes occur regardless of the fear.

The Yod configuration is also very tightly connected to the US Independence chart (4^th July 1776 5:10pm) with the ingress Jupiter conjunct natal Uranus. Given a push in the right direction (especially with Mercury on the Ascendant) there may be a possibility to use trade as a vehicle to drive the economic recovery to growth. However, one cannot expect that others will greet certain reforms with the same enthusiasm, so one must be careful not to become pushy or overbearing. For example, the US administration has intimated its concerns over certain trade practices form China. How one handles their trade partners may make the difference between some cooperation or none at all.

There is a particularly concerning aspect of the ingressed Mars conjunct natal Pluto. This is a drive to domestic changes that are most certainly an attempt to create a greater sense of personal value to the States. For example, the drive to become self sufficient with oil may resonate very strongly with US citizens but not necessarily with the Middle East. It is important to remember that the planets of Venus and Mars work in a pair, and as the ingress Venus opposes Jupiter in the Yod, one must consider with a wider consciousness the impact of any major decisions made at this time. However, the ingress Moon opposes the natal Saturn, which offsets any global consideration with the commitments made to the people of the US. But the ingress Moon at 14 of Aries is an impulsive Moon that must be careful not to innovate too quickly without considering the longer term consequences. There may also be a note of caution to avoid protectionism.

Finally we look at the EU Treaty of Rome (March 25 1957 6:30pm CET). Pluto in transit has been wobbling over the IC of the Treaty chart for some time now (7’15” Capricorn). Having made its final pass, Pluto is squarely in the 4^th house, otherwise known as the end of the matter. Saturn in the 2^nd house indicates the restriction of resources and Jupiter forms the Yod by reaching out through the 9^th house and in conjunction with the Treaty’s Mars; although in transit Jupiter will refrain from aspect, going direct at 6 degrees of Gemini. The ingress Venus in the 3^rd house of the Treaty chart shows how the EU will become absorbed with finances in every day life. The ingress Mercury conjuncts the Treaty’s Saturn in the 3^rd suggesting that, like the US, imaginative trade in exports might keep the EU wheels turning a little longer. The Ingress Uranus conjuncts the Treaty’s Sun however, and this might indicate some sudden and very painful reforms in order to keep the Eurozone from collapsing sooner rather than later. When the Uranus Pluto square returns in April 2013, Uranus will be exactly on the Treaty’s unaspected Mercury, suggesting that this will be the deciding point as to whether trade will sink or swim the Euro.

In conclusion I believe that in 2013 we have a small time window to expand our thoughts and ideas beyond that which governments have sought to make happen. Governments have sought to cure the present financial crisis with austerity measures. Some countries may survive the ill treatment but none will escape the consequences and will want to ensure that nothing like it can ever happen again. This will mean a complete rethink about how our financial system works. But some of those in power are still under the illusion that once the current crisis is over we can go back to how it was. It is those people who will now allow us to suffer until even they will not be able to hold back the need for reform. But that is a story for 2014.

People First - Not The Economy

27 Sept 2012

Citizens in Greece and Spain are once again taking to the streets. Across the whole of Europe, people are caught in the grip of recession. Unemployment is high and still increasing. The cost of living not just ‘squeezed’ on the people who still have jobs but also ripped away from those whose jobs disappear. The people of Europe are, quite rightly, angry.

The scenario is easy to understand. Governments are in too much debt and have to get out of it as quickly as possible - and the only way to get out of a debt crisis is to pay it whilst incurring as little interest as is practical.

But the people are the engines of that economy. Governments want consumers to consume, thereby stimulating the economy and bringing in more revenue. However, this is never going to happen while people fear for their jobs, if they still have one, and those without jobs are a drain on society instead of contributing.

Economic models like Keynes or even Hayek have no answers. Both viewed the economy as it was before the introduction of the credit card. If credit cards did not exist then people might have money to spend during times of a recession. The encouragement here would be to somehow entice people to take money out of their savings by offering bargains and deals on the high street that are just too good to turn down. But instead of having that sort of money to spend, people have maxed out the credit cards and, if they are sensible, will be concentrating on paying off their debt before there is a sudden hike in interest rates.

With the housing market all but collapsed because first-time-buyers don’t have enough money to lay out for a deposit, legal fees and stamp duty, those with aspirations of owning their first house are saving - not spending.

And finally, with pensions ripped apart and leaving millions facing poverty in old age, people will save money where possible for retirement.

The banks caused the economic problems by lending irresponsibly and taking risks with our money. Now they want our money to get them out of trouble. But even worse than that, the reason for trying to pay off debts so quickly is to avoid extortionate interest rates. And who decides those interest rates? Ultimately it goes back to the financial institutions and those people rich enough to lend money.

The economy cannot work on a one-way route. There has to be a time when more money comes into the wider economy than is going into the profit hoarders vault. Until this happens, the economy will be terminally ill and must ultimately collapse. 

As has always been the case in my experience; if you are struggling to make ands meet and you need to borrow money, the banks put up the rate of interest. If you have millions in the bank they will offer you an interest rate of 5% compared with 10% if you have nothing. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that raising the interest rate make it more difficult to get out of debt. Greece’s dilemma is a prime example of what millions of poor and impoverished people have experienced for generations.

The debt crisis is being made worse by institutions working on a model that threatens to plunge the world into an economic slump. What we witness today is nowhere near as bad as it may yet become.

Attempts to stimulate economies across the world has included quantitative easing and an interest rate for savers close to zero. It would therefore seem only sensible and fair to reduce the debt interest rate, held by those who are making money out of other people’s misery, to a much lower percentage than is currently demanded. At least that way Governments can relax their severe austerity measures and give the people a chance to work their way back from this headlong spiral, even plummet, into destitution.

The unreasonable demands of debt payment forced on Germany in the 1920s sowed the seeds for war. In present day terms the money masters demand unreasonable debt payment and Governments have no choice but to pay it or face the humiliation of a loss in credit rating. The parallel should not be discounted.

Still recovering from World War II, the bank manager of the 1950s was known by his prudence and the way he expounded moderation and calculated risk. There is no bank manager like that today because banks are focused solely on profit. It is right that we should split the high street bank from the casino-style stock investment banks. But until that happens, all we can do is encourage people, who still haven’t realised that the credit bubble is about to burst, to become more moderate in their consumerism.

It is a stark realisation that banks and governments believe that people can only prosper if the economy does. But only a few people prosper while the rest of us languish in the dregs of left over crumbs of cash. Even in the world’s most prosperous times, the majority of people were able to benefit only by borrowing money they did not have. It was that sort of notion that led to all this debt. The sudden encouragement of the widespread use of credit cards were seen as a solution for the 1970s that escalated into a monster that we now have to kill. The 1970s attempt to boost the economy is now failing today. Simply put, we only delayed the problem by around 35 years.

So why are we suffering all this? Everyone is focused so intently on the ‘economy’ that they have forgotten what the economy is actually for. The people are just so much more important and yet it is the people who are being battered, ignored and disregarded. The government wants the people to spend money but then make it impossible for them to have access to disposable income. The ‘Occupy’ movement points out quite rightly that 1% of the people possesses 90% of the world’s money. THIS is why the economy does not work. More then 1% of the people have to have more than 10% of the money to make the economic engine run. You cannot make a car go further by sticking less and less fuel in it.

It is necessary for governments to refocus their attention towards the people first. The economy must serve the people - not the other way around. Already we are on a road that will take us into very dangerous water. If we simply allow the current ideas to continue, then we still have two years before we reach the bottom. And we should hold money institutions to account first for their greed and governments second for their complicity.

What we can do as individuals is quite simple. Stop using the credit card and pay back all debts. Do not borrow money. Do not buy anything but essential stuff.

Also, while we are at it, we should demand that essential services like gas and electricity is administered by a not-for-profit company. People should not have to die for profit or decide when it is cold between heating of eating. I am currently running a petition for the UK, however, if you have privately owned utility companies in your country you can always consider starting a petition for your domestic campaign. For the UK petition, if you agree to paying for necessities without paying profit to a shareholder, please go to  https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Make_utility_companies_Not_For_Profit/share/ 

It is a time to focus on what is important. The people among the 90% should prosper - not the economy and just its minority beneficiaries.. 

Stop It With The Short Term Politics.

It is late summer in the United Kingdom. Politicians are off on their annual break and the silly season will soon draw to a close. We are midway between the Olympics and the Paralympics and already the clouds of gloom gather impatiently, awaiting the start of the next Parliamentary term.

As Greece requests more time to sort out its ailing economy and the rest of Europe keep their hands firmly away from their pockets, Britain sees local councils planning to introduce food banks to help those on lower incomes, where the cost of living is simply beyond their ability to keep up (Guardian 22 Aug 2012). This is David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ revealed, where volunteers work on the breadline for the poor to protect profits for the rich.

And it is all down to the economy of course, which flatter than the wafer thin expectation that the electorate are in any way considered first in a desperate attempt to rev up the growth machine. But if the masses don’t have any money, it really is a case of wagging the dog. What is the point of giving rich people and business more and more money, if all they are going to do is hoard it until their profit margins start to increase?

And what is the point of taxing big business more money, if all they do is produce less? George Osborne (Chancellor of the Exchequer) imposed a 2 billion pound tax increase on North Sea Oil. So what did they do in return? They reduced production resulting in a 2 billion pound drop in revenue. So Mr Osborne, without fanfare or big announcement, quietly cut tax levies again.

Big businesses do not have to produce more money for governments; so if shareholders receive nothing extra from tax increases there is no reason to encourage governmental greed.

The nature of George Osborne’s, and indeed the Conservatives, hubris is that they truly believed that their core supporters of wealthy individuals and influential businesses would generate jobs and growth to pull us all out of austerity. Today George Osborne knows that this is a delusion. The targets he set are now in tatters. The UK’s deficit will most likely be reduced at the end of the year to no more than Labour’s promise before the 2010 election but without the investment in jobs.

But still the politicians will argue that their method of steering us out of austerity is the right way. The fact is that no government will get us out of debt any faster than 2020 (as David Cameron already admits), by which time the economic landscape will have altered irrevocably. So why politicians are so hell bent on denial of the blatantly obvious is alarming. Can they not for just one moment stop the short term politics and pay attention to the damage all this stupid tinkering is doing to ordinary people?

It is not the end of the world if we do not pay all our debts for a bit longer than a government term of 5 years. It is more important to beat down the debt interest rate than it is to beat down the livelihoods of general populace. And we wonder about who we actually owe all this money to? The billions and billions of (select currency) is going somewhere but it sure isn’t coming back.

Is it not time to consider seriously an economic system that works for everyone? Obviously that won’t happen in my lifetime but you have to make a start somewhere. For now, however, we need politicians to stop playing politics with our lives and make sure we can all afford to put a loaf of bread on the table.

Astrology New Year chart 2013

New Year chart 2013

by Shane Ward - Written 25 July 2012


It is a date that is celebrated more than Christmas. The date of January 1st at midnight is a time to look forward to the future and hope for good things. So important was this date considered that many countries National charts came into existence on New Year’s Day.

After the 7 years war (1756 1763), Great Britain was short of money and looked to the American colonies as a way of plugging the financial whole. The Stamp Act of 1765 lasted no longer than one year when, with a change of Prime Minister, it was repealed. But it was only repealed on the proviso that the Declatory Act was passed instead, giving Great Britain the right to pass laws (and possibly impose further taxes) on the colonies. On 8 March 1766 the Act was passed, giving rise to the groundswell of resentment that led to the American Declaration of Independence. Pluto was at 9 degrees of Capricorn and its first return to that degree area, some 247 years later, includes the New Year Chart of 2013. What makes this degree area important is that the Sun is at 9 degrees of Capricorn on the 1st of January.

For European countries with a National chart starting on New Years Day, and this includes the UK, it places the Sun firmly on the root of the chart at the beginning of the 4th house. Our roots, our heritage and the subconscious aspects of our lives are all symbolically represented at this angle. It sits in opposition to the place to where we aspire to achieve and provides the very foundation upon which we build our lives. And on January 1st 2013, when the Sun once again gives us pause to consider our aspirations for the year ahead, the mighty planet Pluto will be in conjunction with that point. This symbolises a fundamental change that, if history is the benchmark on which to draw comparisons, will see the old foundation of our lives obliterated beyond recognition.

Pluto is the planet of rebirth and regeneration. The Universe demands that we burn the dross of old and outmoded functions in order to make way for inevitable change. It is the course of natural evolution that may take many years to be seen and I believe that this particular stage in our evolution is an important one.

In the New Year chart for the UK, Pluto is only a few minutes from crossing the third to the fourth house but is still close enough to be considered as ‘applying’ to the fourth house degree area. Consider how you might feel if you were standing in front of an oncoming train, how much its proximity might influence what you do next. In this analogy, the exact point of a planet reaching the degree area in question would be the same as when the train actually hits you. The only difference between the analogy of the train and Pluto applying to a degree area is that while you might sense what is coming - Pluto will take many years before what you registered subconsciously comes to light.

In secondary progression for example (where one takes the symbolic movement in of planets in the sky for one day to represent one year) Pluto will not reach the UK fourth house until June 2026. At this time transiting Neptune will conjunct the point where Uranus stands in the 2013 New Year chart. So if one considers that left wing politics (Neptune) joins the point of right wing politics (Uranus) it may take 13 years of Plutonian pressure for the regeneration of the path of evolution to strip away the partisan obstacles – none of which matters to those in need – in order to redress a greater balance between how rich and poor can co-exist without excessive power at one end and excessive poverty at the other.

Examples of the changes already in progress can be given today. The awesome power of Pluto in square to Uranus can be seen in the enormous shifts of the Arab Spring, the worldwide banking debt crisis, the Eurozone crisis, healthcare crisis, prisons crisis, pensions crisis. The need for wholesale reform seems to have touched every corner of the world. So the stage is already set but all the actors have yet to be revealed. Take Syria as an example. Bashir Assad is part of the old set up. He and his regime are the outmoded element that Pluto is set to remove – by force if necessary; Uranus demands reform and the Uranus Pluto square will still be applying in 2013. The change absolutely must happen and people will fight to the death to make it happen. So make no mistake about the rest of the list; Change WILL happen, and it is up to those involved to decide if they want it the easy way or the hard way. But equally important, it is up to us, the little people, to get involved in shaping what we want our future to become.

The Sun (in Saturn’s sign) is in conjunction with Pluto, which means that the leadership of the world are very much aware that change must happen. They must be part of the change or will have to step aside for someone else. The Sun / Pluto is also in sextile to Saturn, so from the Sun’s point of view it is already clear that the structures (Saturn) in place need changing but with Pluto in the frame they also know that plastering over the cracks of the current structure / system is not good enough.

Saturn is in a returning sextile to Pluto and is a fundamentally crucial time for any evolutionary cycle but with Pluto at the root of a New Year chart, the importance of the sextile is amplified – and it is personal to the very root of its people. It is burrowed deeply into the instinctive subconscious of the collective unconscious. Enough has already been experienced by the people for them to realise that it is in their personal interests to promote better structures. The Eurozone crisis may be particularly sensitive to this closing Saturn Pluto cycle and we may even see the Euro slowly crumble to dust.

The Moon in the Sun’s house of Leo shows the people concerned about their personal wellbeing and they want to be placed at the centre of future changes. And because the Moon is in the Sun’s house and the Sun is in Saturn’s house and Saturn is in Pluto’s house – everything comes back to Pluto. Everyone wants change. But it must be noted that not everyone wants the same change, and we must be very wary about how Saturn in Scorpio can promote secret structures, hidden agendas and behind the scenes negotiations.

A curious indicator to this lies in the connection between the Sun and Moon. The Sun is semi-square to the Moon’s North Node (The North Node is the direction the Moon is travelling in) and the Moon is in trine to the North Node. Sometimes it is easy to see where you are heading if you do nothing about it but very hard to change course if the actions required are unfamiliar to you. Sometimes the damage is already done, like the global economy for example, and the only thing you think you can do is hope that the experts can find a way out of it. But what if they can’t? What if the damage is terminal? At what point do we as individuals start to become involved? The North Node is in the sign of Scorpio, which suggests that everyone should at the very least try to understand what is happening. It is only by our understanding how we got into this mess that we can make the right decisions to ensure a more secure economic system for the future.

Neptune, normally the planet associated with fraud and deception, has started its journey through its own sign of Pisces, striking a very strong chord in tune with the awareness around Universal (or at least global) ideals. In whatever evolves at this time it is more than likely to include ideals designed not only to last but also ideals that will be of benefit to all. Finally, while Neptune remains in Pisces, we may get to realise how the entire monetary system is based on the illusion of confidence, how pensions were based on a system about as doomed as any pyramid scheme, about prisons so full that we have failed as a society and poverty so endemic that one truly does wonder whether we should consider the concept of a world without money, becoming a resource economy what would wipe out the concept of poverty and reality of starvation overnight.

Back to the 2013 New Year chart and we see that Neptune is in square to Jupiter in Gemini (Mercury’s sign. Mercury in Capricorn, Saturn’s sign, Saturn in Scorpio leading us straight back to Pluto). Jupiter’s belief systems are going to be the challenge to Neptune’s ideals, simply because individuals and nations are not in agreement as to what channel the evolution of the human race should be channelled. Huge gaps exist between religious doctrines and between political regimes.

Also Jupiter is in an inconjunct aspect to Pluto. The masses (Jupiter) of money (Pluto) is not working for the global collective. The world’s economy has run into a bit of a problem because too few people have accumulated too much money, while the majority of people, who have very little money, are expected to carry on consuming at ever greater rates to maintain the illusion of ‘growth’. Since the 1970s (just after the Uranus Pluto conjunction) the illusion of growth has been perpetuated with the introduction of plastic (virtual) money and debt. Now at the Uranus Pluto square we see the effects of unfettered market economies – especially the money market – where freedom (Uranus) to evolve (Pluto) without boundaries (Saturn) leads to chaos. Jupiter demands participation and according to this inconjunct aspect, the people are not being considered as central to any new solution or reform.

Jupiter is also inconjunct to Saturn, which should be noted as significant enough to consider within its cycle because the two planets are the societal planets and work quite visibly on the material world in their 20-year cycle. In 2010, when the cycle was in opposition, there was a time for reflection on how society should move forward. We can tell now that the politicians were not the only ones who were not being honest with us. Institutions that we have entrusted to facilitate our daily lives and the security of our old age have let us down. Our participation (Jupiter) in the general order (Saturn) of life is being stagnated rather than enriched. It is perhaps no coincidence that the International Monetary Fund has indicated austerity until at least 2020, when the Jupiter Saturn cycle starts with a new conjunction.

Venus and Mars, another planetary partnership, are important to consider in relation to each other. Venus desires and Mars acts. Without Venus, Mars has no meaningful desire to act, so the cycle is an important one to consider.

Interestingly Venus is in trine with the Moon (the people) and Mars is in trine with Jupiter (our participation) but the only link between the two is a small but very close semi-square almost midpoint to the Sun Pluto conjunction. What it signifies is very important to the people who are not powerful or mega rich who would like to keep everything as it is thank you very much.

Venus in Sagittarius is going to take a global view of any issues. It sees the world’s economic crisis as symptomatic of a huge problem – too huge in fact for the likes of an individual to have any effect or impact big enough to make a change (which is what the rich and powerful are counting on). The ease aspect of the trine expresses the ease with which we can all grumble about the state of the world but consider our individual resource (Moon in Leo) as not much of a contribution. So we give up and trust that someone else (Venus Mars semi-square) will actually do something. But Venus is in Jupiter’s sign and Jupiter is in trine to Mars, thereby offering a possible link to how the little person can have an impact. We can do (Mars) something by participation (Jupiter) particularly in writing (Jupiter is in Gemini, ruler of the printed word) and by speaking out as a group (Mars is in Aquarius).

Furthermore, Mars in Aquarius is in sextile aspect to Uranus in Aries, creating a mutual reception, giving us the opportunity (which is what the sextile aspect offers) to use the freedom of the Internet and various emerging pressure groups, like Avaaz and 38 degrees, to join our voices together in the hundred thousands – even the millions. (Avaaz, for example, has 15 million members at the time of writing this article). Even Mercury (communication) is in square to Uranus, implying that if we want our voice to be heard we have to say something where it counts. So it is time to shake off the apathy. There is no point in barstool preaching because the people who think you don’t care enough to do anything about it not in the bar. We have to act together where it will count to make the changes we want to see. The Arab Spring started on the Internet.

So the 2013 New Year chart gives the world, no – gives you the individual - the opportunity to get involved and to become part of the solution. Politics is changing and people power on the Internet is possibly why governments have been so keen to attempt slapping bans and gagging orders on it. We already know that we cannot rely on the probity, responsibility and integrity of any large profit making organisation or the associations that they donate money to. So now you must decide if you are happy for them to make changes on your behalf without consulting you – or do something about it.

If you bear in mind that changes will happen with or without us, the significant difference being that if we get involved there is much more of a chance that the changes we would like to see have a chance of happening. And if you don’t? Well let’s just say you might not like the alternatives. Pluto does not sit on the fence. You will be dragged in, so the question really is whether you do it willingly or unwillingly.

Oh yes, and Happy New Year.

Olympic Debt

I remember the moment, where I was and what I was doing, when who would host the Olympic games was announced. I recall punching the air in triumph when the announcer declared ‘London’.

I was at work, just a normal day at the office, on what was otherwise an unremarkable day. But winning the Olympic bid changed my perspective of the future.

Not everyone was happy about it. I heard complaints about how expensive it would become. I heard about how much strain the Olympics would place on the tax payer in general. I heard people whinging about what a waste of money it was and that we, the little people, would get nothing from it.

…And then the credit crunch happened.

The debt crisis that we had all so merrily participated in had finally tripped over itself in spectacular fashion. No one stopped to think about how expensive it would become. No one cared about how much strain the austerity measures that would have to follow would place on the tax payer in general. No one complained before it affected them personally.

The reason I was so pleased about London winning the Olympic bid was not through any enthusiasm for sport, or patriotism, or some strange collective fervour in support of increased business and trade. The UK Government, like any Government, would have been pleased with winning the bid for all of the above except sport. The athletes would have been pleased for the promotion of sport. The everyday UK citizens who were so pleased about the Olympics were soon discovered that any chance of actually seeing it live was going to be a lottery and they would have little choice between watching the 100 meters final and the handgun qualifiers.

The reason I was so pleased about London winning the Olympic bid was because my house would increase in value. That was it. I had plans to move out of London and wherever the Olympics had been held in the past, one of the major effects was an increase in house price. The average house price increase was about 55%. Los Angeles was only 16% and Athens was a whopping 185% but as far as I was concerned, any increase that made buying a house outside London cheaper for me was a bonus. So around 2011 might be a good time to sell up.

…And then the credit crunch happened.

With the Olympics only a few weeks away, I am still in London. Interestingly, houses in London are holding their value while in other areas they have fallen and may just be starting to rise around the Olympic area. But the effect of the debt crisis also crushed the property market by making it all but impossible to get decent mortgages (especially 100% mortgages for first time buyers). Those of working age are insecure about their jobs and are less likely to consider moving house. There is an overwhelming osmosis of protectionism that spreads from the pensioner watching the pennies of a state pension to the banks; reluctant to lend to each other or to small business. Growth needs people to spend money but it just isn’t happening.

In the years between the announcement of the London Olympics to the opening of the games itself, I can imagine that – like me – the perspective of individuals would have changed greatly.

In hindsight, and in consideration of the debt crisis that threatens to engulf all of Europe and possibly the world, I remain please that London won the Olympic bid. Not because of the value of my house, which has no value at all if there are no buyers able to offer the asking price, but because I would rather there be the potential for tourism, new business and increased trade filling up the treasury coffers at a time when all of the above may be scarce in years to come.

Had the Olympics been awarded to Paris, as splendid as I am sure it would have been, the little Island of the UK would have been marginalised consequentially because all travel would stop at France; opportunities for business, tourism and trade terminating at the coastline of mainland Europe. The UK, like an impenetrable castle surrounded by an enormous moat, would have become geographically excluded. We would be as an entity not invited to the party, sitting ostracised in an empty room next door with a curled up cheese sandwich for company and listening without pleasure to the distant music.

Because of the Olympics in London, there has been an artificial increase in jobs but, never the less, those jobs pay money and the way out of any recession is for people to spend money. If there had been no Olympics in London, it is fair to say that there would be fewer jobs in the UK and less money spent. So when the Olympic party is over, the UK may have held back the full force of austerity for just a little while longer than it would have without it.

But the party must end, and so far my mundane astrological observations (I won’t call them predictions) about the global economy and how deeply the recession is likely to get has been more accurate than all the politicians, economists and experts in the financial world (see the start of my article series on the Barbault Scale). The debt crisis we find ourselves in swamps any quibbles about the expense of the Olympic games, but I believe it is going to take a Herculean effort to solve the problems that lie ahead.







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United Nations: A Need For Reform

It is June 2012 and the Arab Spring that started in January 2011 has changed the political map in the most spectacular and bloody fashion. Everything from protests to open warfare has been required to oust old and outworn regimes in favour of a more democratically accountable government system.

Some countries have succeeded better than others so far; it is early days. However, there are atrocities coming out of Syria that it seems we, as a world, are helpless to prevent. Ordinary people are being executed by militia attached to the Syrian government. There are United Nations (UN) monitors in the region and the UN ambassador, Kofi Annan, struggles like a toothless tiger to get the oppressive Syrian regime to halt the bloodshed.

The United Nations can do no more than send out strongly worded condemnations – and Syria knows this. There are two countries blocking more stringent action, Russian Federation and China, among the five permanent members with the power of veto and they will not agree to anything more than has already been done.

Not only does this leave the other three permanent members impotent, (United States, United Kingdom and France), it effectively ties the hands of all other nations (non permanent members) who can only sit and watch the genocide in one of the most politically sensitive areas in the world.

Surely in a world where reform and the demand for greater democratic accountability is costing lives, isn’t it about time that the United Nations itself was reformed?

The world has changed greatly since the original set up by the five permanent members. Perhaps at the time it was right that they possessed the power of veto to prevent any one of them being forced to agree to something that was against the interest of their country. And yet over the last 20 years or so, all the way back to the first Iraq war in 1981, it has been clear that the interest of the permanent member states have often restricted the correct course of action.

Therefore I suggest that now is the time for the five permanent members to give up their veto and for all countries participating in the United Nations to have an equal voice. Preventing genocide in Syria should not be blocked by Russia, China or any other country with a vested interest in that country or its resources.

Yes there may be issues with majority voting and how high a majority should be before a motion is carried. Yes there may be problems with how to tackle compliance from countries that may not agree with a United Nations ruling; perhaps there should be a rule book setting this out as part of the conditions for membership. But reform is clearly needed and maybe should be demanded by the people of the world.

We have risen up against oppressive regimes. We have rebelled against capitalist greed. We have rebelled against unnecessary war and yet we are stuck with the only global council, operating a system predating the mobile (cell) phone and the computer.

The Internet has made the world a smaller place. People in the world have access to interacting with geographical areas more than ever before. And they care. And they witness atrocity and wrong doing and wonder why the powers that be tinker with ineffective gestures.

The UN representatives are OUR representatives. Maybe we need to get involved by lobbying our governments – particularly the permanent member states. Perhaps a group like Avaaz would like to take the lead. The United Nations is no longer fit for purpose and must undergo a major transformation.