It’s a time of adjustments and like 'em or not and the whole world gets to play. As the Sun slipped into Cancer in June, the Moon's nodes had just finished their backwards run thru Aries/Libra creating a very tight square to the Solstice suggesting that the efforts and adjustments we (the whole world) need to make towards realising our goals may be hampered by misunderstandings and many will be feeling rather alienated in this burgeoning environment (the Brave New World thing again). The Solstice chart was also dominated by that fixed grand square, involving oppositions from Mars/Saturn to Chiron and Jupiter to the Moon, sensitive degrees—8 to 11 of the fixed signs. Change will not be easy but we’re stuck in this mode right into autumn.

Amongst other things, the world’s economy is shaky and although there are some robust company profits, for energy and water companies in particular, they are not accurate reflections of international fiscal affairs. In fact, if China stops investing abroad (they’ve gotta spend all their money somewhere) and if Japan stops pumping money into the financial markets (to hold off a deflationary spiral - they only just got out of a near economic melt-down) the entire world economy could hit the skids. Sound much like Jupiter in Scorpio square Saturn in Leo? And those two giants squaring off also describe other multiple international challenges, the problems of diminishing natural resources.

 

Yesiree, the s**t’s hit the fan! The very scenario the baby boomers never thought would arrive. After all, we grew up in a time of plenty, probably more plenty any generation on earth has ever known. But those dwindling resources mean we’re well past the contemplative stage now, adjustments will be made on a global basis and no-one and nowhere will be immune.

According to reporter Andrew Rawnsley in the Observer 21 May, "The Age War is here-and the young are losing it to the old." Here we go…the baby boomers (in the West) have all the money and the property (so 'they' say), and the youngsters are 'getting old before their time.' He says division and conflict between the generations are going to become defining features of our society in the years ahead. Well, he's right. Just another manifestation of Jupiter square Saturn and, 2nd Saturn returns notwithstanding, the silver surfers get to play the part of Jupiter in Scorpio, spending the inheritance. We didn’t expect this, did we? We thought we’d be able to provide a much better future for our kids but, sadly, it doesn’t look like turning out that way and they’ll have to carry Saturn in Leo all the way up the hill.

However, children not yet born will have something else to look forward to-a relationship with technology from birth. The 'baby.com revolution' is on the way. Babies would have a web address instead of a National Insurance number (Social Security number in the US). And as they grow, all personal information gets added. Myself, I find it all quite scary. It seems the future will remove our privacy, whatever we still have, until information about everything you do from birth to death will be available, online, 24/7. In May, almost 2000 delegates from 46 countries attended the 15th Int'l WWW (World Wide Web) Conference in Edinburgh, hosted by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, widely recognised as the father of the web. So, your digital footprint (already being created) is turning into your digital profile and these WWW delegates are the ones who will make sure future generations will be part of a global database. Should make identity theft quite comprehensive…be afraid, be very afraid. Neptune and Uranus in mutual reception share the responsibility …information about every person on the planet is soon coming your way.

 

Overcrowded and under-resourced on Earth? Physicist Stephen Hawking suggests 'it’s time to populate space.' He says, if humans haven't killed each other off in the next 100 years, the technology exists to create new homes on the Moon in the next 20 years, or maybe Mars in about 40 years. He believes life on Earth has become so risky what with global warming, potential genetically engineered viruses or nuclear war, and so on, that we’d better get a move on to spread the human race elsewhere in the universe. In which case we should all read the Outer Space Treaty in preparation (my suggestion, not Hawkings'). The treaty, effective from 1967 (not that long before we landed on the Moon), protects and shares the rights to planetary bodies. So far nobody 'out there' has objected but that could change if we actually start packing up and moving our garden furniture and children to Europa. It occurred to me that there must be interesting connections between Hawking's chart and the OST. How's this? Assuming the OST was effective from midnight on the day, it's Asc is 19 Cancer, Hawking’s Sun is 18 Capricorn. His Mars is 28 Aries, the exact position of the OST's North Node. And his comments come just as the tr South Node is about to conjoin his natal Neptune at 29 Virgo 52! There’s more but no space here…excuse the pun.

Stephen Hawking: 8 Jan 1942, Oxford, 51 N 46, 01 W 15, time unknown. Data: Wikipedia.

Outer Space Treaty: 10 Oct 1967, Washington, DC, 38 N 54, 77 W 12. I used midnight.

 

Let there be Light! Headlines in mid-June read, "Cuba declares blackouts over after 15 years." Now that’s got to be good news in a country that’s suffers from particularly hot, humid weather and has had daily blackouts since the 1990's when Cuba's Sun in the 3rd house at 11 Capricorn got hit, first by tr Neptune then by tr Uranus (and it’s energy supplier, the USSR collapsed and stopped helping). But the US mission (embassy of sorts) in Havana, complained that Cuba's been bullying it by deliberately cutting off electricity and water supplies, as the transiting south node - in the last 20 minutes of Libra - moves through Cuba's 12th house, ready to square natal Saturn in the 3rd. The US cried subversion, Cuba said that's ridiculous. Sigh. Apparently a $1 billion programme-invested by the US - to link hundreds of Cuba’s generators to the energy grid hasn't quite achieved it's goal.

Cuba: 2 Jan 1959, 1:00, Havana, 23 N 8, 82 W 22. Asc. 17 Libra 12.

 

Japanese Traditions on the move: For 2600 years, imperial succession has been entirely masculine. Ironically, their emperors are believed to have descended from the Sun goddess Amaterasu. Meanwhile, there is no boy child, yet, to assume the monarchy so a once unthinkable discussion has begun to consider changing the laws of succession to permit daughters to inherit the throne. This discussion is mandatory, tr Pluto is about to oppose Japan’s natal Moon, whether you use the Meiji Constitution chart (the 1st modern chart of Japan) or the chart for Japanese Sovereignty following the end of US occupation, Japan’s Moon is 27-29 Gemini! One can’t rule out the possibility of the birth of a prince but the rules regarding the line will still need to be re-defined, Pluto says so. Much more, too.

Japan-Meiji: 11 Feb 1889, BWH uses Noon (LMT -9:19), Tokyo, 35 N 42, 139 E 46. Asc: 9 Gemini 50.

Japan-Sovereignty: 28 April 1952, 13:30 (GMT), Tokyo. Asc: 0 Capricorn 31.

 

Jobsworth? If you’re under 30 you probably haven’t experienced looking for a job by visiting a recruitment agency or searching the classified ads. In any case the internet has revolutionised the way we find work, in the middle of 2006 we don’t even have to leave home until an interview is scheduled—there are already more than 850 internet job sites in the UK. One, 'Totaljobs,' has adverts for 100,000 at any time. Most recruiters believe that before long most jobs will be found exclusively online. Don’t tell me nothing ever changes! Chiron in Aquarius opp Saturn?

 

Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius opposite Saturn in Leo. Fake goods of every description are flooding the world-wide markets (the Chinese are quite good at this) and if you’re shopping online you’re especially vulnerable. You name it, products from makeup and prescription drugs, to sun-cream, cigarettes, DVD’s, designer clothing and accessories and loads more. There are ways to identify fake products but DeBeers, the diamond sellers, are piloting a hallmarking process that can add a microscopic diamond symbol and serial number to every one of their gems. Ah, the wonders of modern technology.

 

Invisibility: Harry Potter fans take note, your cloaks are almost ready! Researchers at Imperial College London have created a prototype material capable of cloaking objects against radar waves. Sir John Pendry, professor of theoretical physics at Imperial says their cloaking system would render anything inside it invisible. Umm. It’s to do with photons you see (or, well, you don’t). The material could be coated onto warships and tanks (what to do with their tracks is another problem). But Pendry’s project is only one of several around the world, astronomers at St Andrews Univ (Scotland) and researchers at Tokyo University are working with different techniques towards the same result. We can be sure that the military will be first to use this new technology. Mutual exchange of Neptune in Aquarius/Uranus in Pisces, anyone? With lashings of Saturn opp Neptune?

Time Travel: So, you’ve ordered your invisibility cloak…now, where would you like to go? Think carefully, your options are growing. How about a different time? Not a different time zone, a different time! This research is to do with neutrinos, please don’t ask me for an explanation, and scientists are enthusiastic about the possibility of finding out the shape of space (sorry Einstein, it may or may not be flat - cosmologists raise your hands) for that’s when the worm holes in newly discovered dimensions of space/time will apparently be found. Heavy stuff, no? But it seems that these new dimensions are a whole lot closer to being found than you might think…like later this year? Gotta be Saturn opp Neptune, innit?

 

Source of HIV?: A study, by Beatrice Hahn from the Univ of Alabama and her colleague, Paul Sharp of the Univ of Nottingham, shows convincing evidence, based on chimpanzee faeces, that the crossover of the HIV antibodies originated in south-eastern Cameroon (east of Nigeria). Why now? Glad you asked. Cameroon’s natal Neptune is 9 Scorpio, North Node is 28 Virgo, Mercury is 25 Sag and Moon 9 Aquarius. As you read, they’re all being hit by exact degree, of transiting Jupiter, Node, Pluto and Chiron. As good a time as any, I told you the s**t hit the fan.

Cameroon: 1 Jan 1960, 0:00 (CET -1), Yaounde, 3 N 52, 11 E 31. Asc 6 Libra 30.

 

Night Flights Aggravate Global Warming: New Scientist magazine 14 June reports that Nicola Stuber at the Univ of Reading, UK and her team used computer models to study the warming effects of contrails created by airplanes entering the North Atlantic flight corridor over SE England. The results showed that not only do flights heavily impact global warming, night flights were the worst, making a 'disproportionate contribution' and especially in winter when the weather is ideal for the formation of contrails-streams of water droplets and ice that form when hot exhaust meets cold, moist air. They persist for hours and spread more than 2k before dispersing. Maybe there’s hope for those living near airports, that night flights will not be allowed to increase. The New Moon which preceded publication of this report was at 5 Gemini 48, exactly opposite the 'degree of flight'!

 

USA begins to kick oil addiction: But only because gas (petrol) has rapidly got very expensive, Yanks think that $3/gallon is a lot (hahahahaha), the UK pays almost $7/gallon and most of the oil used in the US comes from the Middle East, round-robin petro-dollars anyone? This is all going on as tr Saturn moves up to it's first opposition to tr Neptune on 31 August. There's gonna be big changes round there, the Moon's nodal axis has just crossed the US MC/IC. Keep watching, Saturn and Neptune will be facing off throughout 2007.

USA: 4 July 1776, 17:10 (LMT), Philadelphia, PA, 39 N 57, 75 W 10. Asc 12 Sag 21.

 

Multiverse Update: You keeping count? If not, I thought you’d like to know that astronomers (bless their soulless take on the universe) have now discovered 170+ extrasolar planets and 40+ of them belong to systems containing 2 or more planets. This information comes to you courtesy of tr Pluto via postcards from the heart of the Galactic Centre, as the Sun reached 25 Gemini and opposition to Pluto (and my deadline). No, we are NOT alone! Any other questions?

 

All country charts: Book of World Horoscopes (BWH) unless otherwise noted.