Saturn-Uranus and the Congressional Bust-Up; The Current Outer Planet Configurations

Saturn and Uranus are now seriously approaching an opposition, and will be exact on US election day, which points to the unusual significance of that election. So I’ve been watching out for manifestations of Saturn-Uranus, and of course the punch-up in the US Congress over the proposed $700bn bailout of Wall St is a perfect example.

On the one hand you have Uranus, the ideologues who believe in a free market at any cost, in which the government does not interfere, and that includes not bailing out banks that have cocked up. On the other side you have Saturn, those who emphasise the responsibility of government to prevent systemic failure and to weigh the issue from the viewpoint of society as a whole.

Those who scuppered the Bill were mainly Republicans of the Uranian type. Mind you Nancy Pelosi, the House leader, did not help when in Aries fashion she attacked the Republicans when summing up the debate. You can clearly see the weakness of Aries here: you have a major national crisis, a bi-partisan approach to leadership is needed, and the Aries is not able to step outside of the ‘rightness’ of her own point of view. That is why Aries, like all signs, needs its opposite, in this case Libra.

This punch-up in Congress was, I think, of huge significance. It was about much more than the $700bn bailout. It was drawing lines in the sand for a big debate that is yet to be had about the way the country is run, Saturn versus Uranus. And it shows how divided the 2 principles are at present, that agreement could not be reached at a time of national crisis.

The movements of Saturn and the outer planets between them describe the main themes we find in the world. At present we have the following transits as applied to the world economy:

Uranus square to Pluto.
This transit is only just starting, like it was in the Wall St Crash of 1929. I’ve been banging on about it in my last few posts, because I think it is now the overarching astrological theme, and will be for many years. At present it represents the dramatic shocks (Uranus) to the economy (Pluto, god of riches) that are deeply destructive yet transformational (Pluto). I think these shocks will intensify, on and off, for a while yet, whatever the outcome of the $700bn bailout, as Uranus and Pluto approach each other.

Pluto’s entry into Capricorn
We would be having the seismic shocks whatever sign Pluto was in, but his entry into a new sign emphasises that we are entering a new era, and Capricorn shows the direction of the change: from profligate Sagittarius to responsible Capricorn, from optimistic and booming Sagittarius to pessimistic and recessionary Capricorn, from free-market Sagittarius to regulated Capricorn. Astrologers (including myself) have made a lot of the immediate effects of Pluto’s entry into Capricorn this year, but on reflection I don’t think Pluto works in this immediate way: it is the square to Uranus that has made the big difference.

Saturn opposite Neptune
Yes, just when you thought we’d left that one behind. But with outer planet transits you often continue to see the effects a year or two later, after the transformational work has been done and had time to percolate through. This was the case with the Saturn-Neptune opposition of 1971-2. It wasn’t until 1973-4 that we had the oil crisis followed by a worldwide recession, both classic hallmarks of Saturn-Neptune. Last year, in the immediate aftermath of the recent Saturn-Neptune opposition, the price of oil began to soar and continued to do so. And now we have a recession (OK, that is said to be debatable. But I ask, if this is not a recession, then what is?)

It is quite remarkable and eerie the way that, economically, the present Uranus-Pluto square is mirroring in such detail the previous square of the 1920s/30s; and the way the recent Saturn-Neptune opposition has mirrored the opposition of the early 1970s. It makes you realise that astrology works!

Saturn opposite Uranus
Uranus is finding his way into the world not just from the approaching square to Pluto, but from the opposition to Saturn, which is enabling him to manifest in concrete form (Saturn). Pluto is our wealth and the power we get from it, hence its connection to Wall St. But Wall St is also Saturn, for it is the financial establishment. So Uranus currently has 2 routes through to Wall St, and look at the result! And the Saturnian route has a whole year to run.

I think that from recent events we can begin to see why Saturn-Uranus will be exact on US election day. The election is occurring at a time of grave crisis for the USA – and probably Europe as well – and this gives added significance to the election. The economic Saturn-Uranus theme is becoming clearer, and will play a major role in the next Presidency.

The bigger Uranus-Pluto economic theme is perhaps impossible to comprehend at this stage. But Saturn is closer to home, so Saturn-Uranus is more comprehensible. It is about 2 opposing principles in the economy, as we have already seen in the Congressional bust-up. It is about free-market ideology versus practical responsibility. We usually think of Uranus as progressive, as forward-looking. But he is also an archaic, backward-looking, brutal god, and I think it is this aspect of him that the free marketers now represent.

What oppositions also tend towards, however, is a creative resolution, rather than one side defeating the other. Yes, a more regulated economy (Saturn) is needed. But Uranus also has a part to play, so that we move into the future with new ideas (Uranus) while learning from experience (Saturn), rather than retreating into a protectionist, over-regulated economy (Saturn). Uranus in particular represents the new ideas needed in a world where the old sources of energy are less available, and where environmental considerations are more important.

It is interesting that Saturn-Uranus has a resonance with Uranus-Pluto, for Pluto is entering Saturn’s sign of Capricorn. So this will intensify the transit, and intensify the debate which began in Congress over the bailout, but which as I said earlier will turn out to be about much more than that. It is about the way the economy and the US itself is run, and this was just the opening skirmish.

The next President will have to contain these 2 sides, as the election chart forcefully informs us. The next President cannot therefore afford to be partisan as Bush was. (It is strange that Bush was unusually non-partisan as governor of Texas, and this was part of his Presidential platform, yet ended up more partisan than most.)

It looks like Obama will win, and historically it is tempting to compare him to Franklin D Roosevelt, who became President with the Great Depression well under way. FDR had Sun in Aquarius square to Neptune in Taurus, and Obama has Sun in Leo square to Neptune in Scorpio. This Sun-Neptune synastry forms a Grand Cross, and they are both inspirational (Neptune) leaders, with FDR only being a few years older than Obama is now when he became President.