Now that we are back in the 17th Century, metaphorically if not literally speaking, I thought it might be good to read up a bit on the topic and then of course attempt to see if there was any astrological correlation between the situation we find ourselves in today, in the early years of the 21st Century, and the mid 17th Century of Puritan-ruled England. Perhaps the best analogy I know of for Ashcroft, Rove, Dobson, Bob Jones, etc. is with the Puritans and that most famous of all Puritan, Oliver Cromwell.

Looking at the life of Oliver Cromwell I noticed some parallels to the life of our illustrious leader, GWB, and of course to the ideas and opinions expressed by our President's minions, supporters and fanatical adherents. Oliver Cromwell was born into an affluent family on April 25, 1599, although he had nowhere near the vast riches at his command as he did at the end of his life, after he had redirected the religious existence of England.

Just prior to the English Civil War, which started on August 22, 1642, Cromwell had a religious conversion experience (some historians call it a mental breakdown) that led him to believe that he and his supporters had been chosen by God to perform God's direct divine will towards the people of England. (Sound familiar???)

When Cromwell became Lord Protector in the 1650s, after a long brutal Civil War, he instituted a program of 'Godly Reformation' aimed at reinforcing his and his supporters strict Puritan religious beliefs throughout the region.

Abolishing Christmas as a pagan rite was one of the Puritans major achievements: "in 1642 the celebration of Christmas was outlawed by the Puritans at the beginning of the Civil War. Anyone caught enjoying Christmas was prosecuted; there were no church services on Christmas Day and shops had to stay open. In 1644, the Puritan Parliament published an 'ordinance for the better observation of the Feast of the nativity of Christ' it wanted Christmas day to be a fast day and not a feast. 'when Charles II came to the throne at the Restoration in 1660, Christmas feasting and gaiety was allowed to return" (Christmas, A Cooks Tour by Ingeborg Relph and Penny Stanway)

Cromwell also decided to 'Muzzle The Press' (www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon48) as another of his gifts to the spiritual well-being of the English people of his time. Once the military dictator in England, Cromwell instituted a cruel campaign against the people of Ireland, among other things, and he turned England into a haven for extreme religious conservatives like himself. Cromwell legally closed all theaters and any form of merriment was suppressed. Sunday was the Lord's Day and as such it became a day for prayer, and prayer alone. Amusements were strictly outlawed.

Sadly, burdened with wars he couldn't pay for and competing claims and obligations to the different Protestant sects, one notably named 'Praise-God Barebones', Cromwell's party was unable to keep his religious theocracy going a mere two years after his death in 1658. At that point, Cromwell's corpse was exhumed and dangled from a gibbet at Tyburn and his head was displayed for over twenty years there. (BBC History).

So much for the theocracy. Back to today. What transits were taking place during the time of England's Civil War (1642) and during Cromwell's term in office as official Lord Protector i.e. religious dictator until his death in 1658' That to me is the best place to start; to look at the transits that were surrounding England during its time of religious Puritan reformation.

The most commonly accepted chart for England is the date of the coronation of William III, which was on December 25, 1066. A noon chart is used. Just to go over the basics for the natal chart, there is an 8 degree Aries rising in place, along with a Capricorn Sun at 3 degrees and Capricorn Moon at 1 degree.

At the time of the initiation of the Civil War, August 22, 1642, transiting Neptune and Uranus were in Scorpio along with Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces. Pluto was in Gemini. Just to focus on the flavor of the signs involved one can see what a large watery confluence there was. Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces would certainly lend itself to religious fervor and strict fanatics along with the intensity and deep ferocity and passion of Scorpio in Neptune deluding the masses as to how far and ruthless they would be in 'defending' their faith. Uranus would certainly encourage the extreme thinking and again reinforce the delusional fanatics of the population at large.

A word about Pluto. Pluto went from 4 degrees of Gemini on August 22, 1642, to 20 degrees of Gemini around the same time in 1658, the effective end of the time of Cromwell. Pluto is now in the opposite sign of Sagittarius and is conferring its deep ruthlessness in the religious aspects of the lives of the world's peoples. Gemini, its opposite sign, certainly confirms the polarity theory in astrology; that the two signs opposite each other have more in common then we think.

Certainly Pluto was causing the Gemini idea of free speech and thought to be examined ruthlessly and brought to bear on the idea of thinking for oneself, something so important to the Geminian. Sometimes Pluto cannot rebuild until it utterly destroys what was already in place. Perhaps Pluto could not allow the free thought that followed during the Restoration unless the English people at that time had truly seen just what happened when free thought was prohibited and controlled by a group of religious zealots.

Another thought about Pluto, perhaps Pluto is not always the 'good guy'. I know it is no longer popular to think of planets and energies as 'good or 'bad' since we know good comes from bad and learning experiences cannot happen without the suffering that teaches us, etc. But perhaps, and this is a thought, the ruthlessness and destruction Pluto can be known for does not always manifest itself in a good way. The utter fanaticism of the religious zealots around Bush may now be exhibiting the true colors of Pluto, and allowing that planets dark energies to run rampant.

At least, we can take heart in the fact that after the Puritan Reformation came the Restoration, when people were again allowed to 'make merrie' as the Olde English saying goes.

Of course, once that happened, those determined Puritans got on a boat and sailed away. Sadly, they picked the coast of the land of the Native Americans, which they promptly christened New England, to set up shop. C'est le vie, as our friends the French would say.