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“E Pluribus Unum:” Travels with the Sibly progressed lunar cycle, part 2

(Read part 1 here)

The Civil War was fought during the nation’s 3rd progressed cycle, 2Q phase, a very fraught turning point that was turbocharged by the 1850 Uranus-Pluto cycle in fiery late Aries. The war began (outer wheel, Triwheel #2 below) with the Sibly PSun (Libra) exactly opposite the PMoon in Aries — grand-squaring the Sibly 7th house Cancer stellium (Sun, Jupiter, Venus) opposite Sibly Eris (Capricorn). The war challenged the nation’s very being, but in keeping with the entire 3rd progressed cycle’s focus, business thrived.

Triwheel #2

Labor riots and…
The PSun moved into Scorpio in May 1886, ten years into (1Q phase) the 4th progressed cycle that launched at 19°+ Libra and fell exactly trine the PMoon in Pisces. The nation was settled from sea to sea by then (often controversially), so this Scorpio ingress signaled a consolidating mood in D.C., but it took a little convincing for the people (Moon) to cooperate. All that year, the PMoon had been energizing the Sibly radix Moon (27+ Aquarius) on its way into Pisces — this period was known as the “Progressive Era,” after all. There was labor unrest and growing interest in Socialism — a system that was catching on in Europe and the future Soviet Union at that time. Neptune and Pisces are often equated in mundane astrology with “left-wing” politics; whereas Uranus and Aquarius are equated with “right-wing” politics. This sometimes seems over-simplified, but in that volatile 1880s period, it applied pretty well.

On May 4th of that year, the Chicago Haymarket Riot pitted police against workers and ended in several deaths, just as the PSun finished up its last 24 days in Libra and the PMoon had already reached Pisces. Transiting Saturn (4+ Cancer) fell snugly between the Sibly Venus-Jupiter conjunction, and was exactly squared by transiting Uranus (4+ Libra). “Negotiations” were carried out with billy-clubs and guns, and several demonstrators were tried, judged and executed with little due process. Transiting Moon and Neptune were conjunct in down-to-earth Taurus — this was a dispute over horrendous workplace conditions (including for children) and the obscene income gap between “haves” and “have-nots,” a theme that has repeated over time.

No laws safeguarded employees from toxins and other dangers, and employers were not required to compensate workers for injuries or death: activism and drives to unionize were the only protections workers had. In keeping with the times, women also rose up for workplace rights and suffrage, a parallel stream of discontent.

The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) was founded in 1905; an eight-hour workday was one of their demands. They were immediately seen as a threat to capitalism. The right to demonstrate was repressed in many places, but the mass movement was too big for DC and the corporate class to ignore; the PSun’s entire tour of Scorpio was marked by violence and deepening class divisions. Thousands of striking workers were essentially martyred (Pisces Moon) to the cause of improving conditions, in such events as the Colorado Ludlow Massacre in 1914. In 1917, Montana vigilantes tortured and killed IWW organizer Frank Little, hanging his body from a railroad trestle.

That same year, despite his initial determination to remain neutral in WWI, president Woodrow Wilson used the German sinking of the Lusitania (ostensibly a passenger ship, but carrying arms to Britain) to justify entering the war. The PSun had just entered Sagittarius in March, 1916, (1Q, 5th progressed cycle) with the PMoon in bellicose Aries, so these were fiery times. Compulsory military training for all American males was discussed in Congress that summer.

Triwheel #3

When the U.S. entered WWI (outer wheel, Triwheel #3 above), transiting Mars-conjunct-Venus (Aries) formed a fiery grand trine with PSun (Sag) and Sibly North Node (Leo) — the nation needed a cause it could unite around (grand trine), so why not put those volatile Aries PMoon energies to that purpose? More to the point, the world had to be made safe once again from protesting workers: the economy was depressed, with serious unemployment in 1914; by early 1917, things were starting to hum, with more than $2 billion in goods sold to the Allies. U.S. Steel reportedly made $348 million in profit in 1916 alone. Historian Richard Hofstadter wrote: “America became bound up with the Allies in a fateful union of war and prosperity.” (1)

We lost relatively few soldiers in WWI (116k+) compared to our European allies and others, but the so-called Spanish or Swine Flu epidemic, which followed immediately, took another estimated 500,000-850,000 in the U.S alone. When people started dying from it in February, 1918, Saturn and Neptune were conjunct in Leo, and Chiron in Pisces (disposed by that Neptune) tightly squared the Nodal Axis (Sagittarius-Gemini) and opposed Sibly Neptune (Virgo). Sibly PSun (Sagittarius) formed a yod between PMoon (Taurus) and radix Venus-Jupiter (Cancer). Then-president Woodrow Wilson contracted the flu virus during the Paris Peace Conference at the end of WWI, which knocked him out of the negotiations. He suffered a massive stroke the following year, which historians think may have been related.

All this, before this progressed cycle’s 2Q. It was like the world had gone mad and “We the People” were along for the ride.

The greater context

I hope it’s become clear that the greater planetary context contributes to understanding how a progressed lunar cycle tracks with history. We saw this with Jupiter during the go-go 3rd progressed cycle and with Uranus-Pluto in the run up to the Civil War. Not to be ignored, Pluto sign ingresses reliably signal important turning points in our history, as well, and no surprise, they often work in significant ways with the lunar progressed cycle.

This was especially evident in Pluto’s ingress into Libra in October 1971 (outer wheel, Triwheel #4 below). We’ve already seen that the 70s were a period of serious leadership corruption challenges and war, but what may go unnoticed is that the 1970s marked the onset of a new hyper-conservative economic worldview. The decades between the 1930s Depression to then were marked by a more liberal, Keynesian economics, so in some ways the nation was primed for the major sea change that took over. Notice that at Pluto’s ingress, conjunct Sibly MC (Libra), PSun (middle wheel, Capricorn) almost exactly conjoins Sibly Pluto and the PSouth Node; these Capricorn points are squared by a dignified Libra Venus opposite Aries PMoon, exactly conjunct the transiting Moon that day.

And those aspects were just part of the amazing confluence of go-go Cardinal energies at that ingress: falling further into Libra than Pluto were Mercury, Sun, Uranus and Venus. Jupiter was within 2° of Neptune in Sagittarius that day, with both opposing Gemini Saturn and t-squaring Pisces Venus. Great change was gestating (Jupiter-Neptune over Sibly 12th) and the nation was ready for it on some level (transiting Uranus conjoined Sibly PMars (Libra), but workers would feel the pain (Saturn over Sibly 6th) soon enough, through developments like NAFTA and other “free trade” agreements that sent jobs overseas. That day, in retrospect, was like the cosmic conception moment for what we now call globalization.

Triwheel #4

Fast forward to 2021

Flashing forward to the present, we’re in the final three years of a mutable 3Q (of the 8th Sibly progressed cycle that launched in 1994 at 19°+ Aquarius). The Biden/Harris administration’s plate is overflowing, of course, especially with two major, persistent threats: the COVID pandemic, and what the FBI has recently red-flagged as the rise of “domestic right-wing extremist terrorism.” (1) Add to that the perennial flow of people seeking asylum at our southern border that only seems to complicate the other two crises and we can get a sense of just how difficult a progressed 3Q phase can be. All these issues may seem unrelated or just woven into each other by happenstance, yet deep planetary connections exist. And, as always, the Sibly progressed lunar cycle is implicated.

Triwheel #5 is cast for the Biden/Harris inauguration this past January 20, 2021 and set against the Sibly radix and progressed charts for that moment. This chart marks not just the shift from one administration to the next, but perhaps also the tone of events we might expect going into the coming 2022 election cycle and the new progressed cycle in 2024.

Triwheel #5

Notice the heavy emphasis on the Sibly lower hemisphere in this triwheel: Inauguration Sun, Jupiter and Saturn all conjoin PMoon in Aquarius and both trine Sibly Uranus in Gemini; this suggests that we can perhaps count on institutions and technologies to cooperate (Saturn and Jupiter trine Sibly Uranus) in addressing People’s challenges. Yet, with all this Aquarius energy afloat, the possibilities for shocking, even volatile events increases. The current drive among Amazon workers to unionize in Bessemer, Alabama could qualify: this $1.5 trillion dollar giant didn’t get that way by supporting unions, so something to watch.

That FBI threat assessment points to plenty of other volatile possibilities: a serious rise in hate crimes and right-wing extremism is well documented these days, as conspiracy cults like QAnon vie for attention with white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups. We’ve already discussed the possible right-wing leanings during Aquarius-dominated times, but this is complicated even further: Neptune t-squares the transiting Nodal axis from Gemini-Sagittarius, with Neptune also conjunct Sibly PSun in Pisces. The sensation that toxic conspiracies are spawned and perpetuated in a sealed-off alternate reality with cult-like qualities speaks to Sibly Neptune (Virgo) forming a 4th leg to this mutable configuration.

That today’s extremists are armed and dangerous is obviously a concern; we haven’t heard anyone “connect the dots” between all this, but since January, Saturn (Aquarius) has moved into its waning square with Uranus (Taurus) and we’ve seen a rash of mass shootings this March that could very well be connected. Notice that PMars Rx (middle wheel) trines 7th house Sibly Mars and its midpoint with Sibly Uranus (all Gemini) — the volatility may continue to flair up during the PMoon’s square from Aquarius to transiting Uranus in Taurus. This is a month’s-long aspect that will be exact in May and then linger on for a few months of after-orb, so we could be in for a volatile summer.

Final thoughts

The good news is, Neptune is now transiting out of square with that Nodal axis, so that hermetically sealed conspiracy world could deflate a bit. We may not get too big of a break from this, however: Jupiter and Neptune are now in the final 30° of their 2009 cycle that launched at 26°+ Aquarius, conjunct Sibly Moon, but their new cycle, which begins next year, will put both in Neptunian Pisces. Probably not especially helpful for tackling misinformation and conspiracy-mongering.

Clearly, all this Neptunian energy also relates to the ever-morphing COVID pandemic. Perhaps we’re approaching a critical turning point, with Neptune transiting opposite Sibly Neptune, but giving into pandemic fatigue at this critical juncture also risks a serious relapse. The volatility that’s unfolded along with the pandemic is clearly related; the Neptune-Neptune opposition t-squares Sibly Mars (Gemini) and grand squares the transiting Nodal axis, so we’re pretty much caught in a global trend that has triggered our pre-existing tensions. And it’s no wonder that we’re seeing a surge of asylum seekers at our southern border — people flow like water to “find their places” in the world; Neptune! Unfortunately, with the energies falling the way they do, these people who — are entitled by international law to at least our consideration — are perceived as the “enemy.”

Trump and those who want to pick up his mantle will leverage these energies to stir up discontent; my hope is that Biden will find lighter uses for this potentially redemptive Neptune “half-return.” That it’s happening at the same time as our Sibly Pluto return (first exact on February 20, 2022) raises the stakes: PMoon will still be in Aquarius, conjunct transiting Saturn and nearly midpoint between transiting Venus-Mars (Capricorn) and transiting Neptune (Pisces), but trine Sibly Mars (Gemini). I suspect our best hope will lie in business interests and government leaders (especially Congress-Saturn) rising to the challenges of the day. This may relate to the massive infrastructure (Saturn) plans afoot, but it appears there will also be some role for the military in this. To my mind, if there’s one good use we could make of all this Neptunian energy, it would be to get ourselves vaccinated, and to help everyone around us do the same!

Be safe, be well!

Footnote:

(1) Archives: FBI

Bio: Raye Robertson is a practicing astrologer, writer and former educator. A graduate of the Faculty of Astrological Studies (U.K.), Raye focuses on mundane, collective-oriented astrology, with a particular interest in current affairs, culture and media, the astrology of generations, and public concerns such as education and health. For articles on all these topics, see her blog, at Diary of a Mundane Astrologer. See the Publications tab there for a list of Raye’s recent E-books on current topics, including the newly-released title, The Mundane Moon: an evolving cosmic story for “We the People”,  available from Amazon.

For information about individual chart readings, contact: robertsonraye@gmail.com.

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