The Final Degree

Two major astrological factors are synchronous with the meltdown of the global economy -- as well as the upcoming US Presidential election.

First, Pluto -- the membrane between our solar system and the rest of the universe -- is transiting through the final degree of Sagittarius until November 26th. And on the morning of election day, November 4th, retrograde Uranus precisely opposes Saturn. How low will the campaigns stoop, how toxic will the cleansing process pollute before power transfers in the United States of America? With Uranus opposite Saturn, can we possibly expect this transfer to be smooth? Good luck!

And how low will the global equity markets go? My feeling is that there will be a rather total reformation and transformation of the way business is done on this planet. There will be short term fixes, but the deleveraging process has only just begun. Venus completed a sextile and trine to the Saturn-Uranus opposition on Friday, which could spell some temporary relief on Monday, October 13. Temporary. Infusing the banks with billions in cash for liquidity, plus guaranteeing their loans has got to loosen things up, eventually. But it's also like living on laxatives. After a while, it makes a big mess. They'll shoot enough methedrine into the corpse to revive it. But will there be unexpected consequences?

Never underestimate the power of Plutonian energy. It is the single most potent force for transformation in human psychology. Pluto is now entering the last degree of the solsticial cycle -- the Winter solstice degree -- one of the four cardinal points. Pluto only transits this degree every 248 years -- last during the years that preceded the American Revolution and also known as The Enlightenment. And I don't think it has EVER occured during a precise Uranus/Saturn opposition. This is precisely the same point that the entire age is entering on December 21st 2012 -- a once every 26000 year phenomena. The Winter Solstice (in the northern hemisphere) is the longest night and the shortest day, the point where that modality shifts. Folks, this is brand new territory.

And Pluto, ruler of Scorpio, is also known as the dark lord of the underworld, the ruler of the transformational journey of death itself. Here we are during the cusp period of the Aquarian dispensation where one world is dying while another is being born? We are vigously churning through the metamorphic process of the Grand Catharsis. McCain and Obama embody appropriate symbology for these two worlds in collision.

Fortunately, Plutonian energy also rules the dimension of rebirth and regeneration.

Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius signified a period of expansion, which is precisely what the global economy has undergone in the last 20 years. Unbridled greed and the indescriminate scramble for wealth and power has painted the dark underbelly of this expansion in shadows. Pluto is now entering the Saturnian territory of Capricorn, marked by responsibility and contraction. The financial markets have invented numerous instruments of expansive leverage during this period whose foundations are in the process of collapse. Virtually everything of value will now have to be redefined.

Uranus underlies the force behind awakening and revolution and represents the innovative and new. It spins backward to the other heavenly bodies in our solar system and is a veritable astronomical anamoly. It also represents the unconventional, novel and odd, as well as the revolutionary. It was discovered around the time of the American Revolution as well as revolutions all over the planet. Everything it contacts changes rather suddenly. Conversely, Saturn is the force for stability and structure. Currently, a retrograde Uranus and a direct Saturn are on a collision course with an exact opposition at 8:33 am (est) on November 4th, election day in the United States. What a day for this classic showdown.

The obvious interpretation of this is a battle (opposition) between the new and the old, between the young and the old, the untried and the tested. Indeed, these are precisely the themes of the presidential election. But Uranian energy is always a bit weird, bringing upsets, surprises, twists and turns, where we learn to expect the unexpected. Uranus also rules technology. So what does this portend for the outcome? Nothing will surprise me, though I will be both surprised and delighted by the process of a smooth transfer of power.

The flailing of the powers that be from crisis to crisis has all been transpiring during a Mercury retrograde period. One piece of good news is that Mercury will go direct on October 15th at 4:06 pm (est). Certain wavelengths should begin to reconnect and stabilize.

I have often referred to the period between the last degree of Sagittarius and the first degree of Capricorn to be the molten lava point of the zodiac. In these volcanic fires, elements form and transform from simple elements into complex compounds. Coal turns into diamonds, and since we are carbon-based creatures, perhaps an analogous process is forging new dimensions in our very DNA. This helps to understand the rapid economic meltdown during Pluto's journey through this intense part of the cycle. This cataclysmic evolutionary process is transforming our lives and our world on every level.

After Pluto squeezes through the final degree, we enter what I call the Cardinal Challenge: three major planets all T-squaring at the intense cardinal points. Pluto in Capricorn square Saturn in Libra opposite Uranus in Aries. We are now feeling and experiencing the transformative energy of this formation as acceleration. This period will represent nothing less or more than the most powerful shift in human history. What a thrilling time to be alive! Enjoy this ride of a lifetime. blessings, KK!