The Scrying Game
An Irregular Feature
This Edition brought to you by Garry Phillipson
For a group whose study is the interconnectedness of things in the world, astrologers often make a poor fist of interconnecting between themselves. This column is one small attempt to encourage more interaction, in the form of discussion and evaluation built on existing work. Its basic idea is this: in astrology journals everywhere, astrologers make statements, which can be evaluated in the light of subsequent events. Unless they prove to have been amazingly close to the mark, these are often just forgotten. Which is a waste; by looking back, seeing what was said in the past and evaluating it against 'what actually happened', we should be able to learn a great deal about the workings of astrology.
There is a lot of knowledge in the astrological community, and by turning astrological comments and judgements into discussion pieces in this way, we hope to provide a forum in which this knowledge can find expression. So if you are aware of another angle, or see mistaken or incomplete information, or feel that you could contribute something altogether new, then please get in touch.
This feature is 'irregular' because it is open to anyone who wishes to contribute - and, if nobody contributes, it won't appear. But the hope is that it will stir up interest, and function as both a place for full articles and a forum for comments and clarifications. You can contribute, either by submitting an analysis of some natal, national, business, electional or horary chart; or if you don't fancy writing it yourself, by letting us know of something that you would like to see covered. If you plan to write a long piece, it's recommended that you contact Editor Kim first, to make sure that you won't be duplicating a piece of work which is already in the pipeline.
We kick off with this look at Uranus's passage through Aquarius:
Uranus in Aquarius: Revolution? What Revolution?
"Once the technical means of control have reached a certain size, a certain degree of being connected one to another, the chances for freedom are over for good. The word has ceased to have meaning." - Thomas Pynchon1
"…any time you find a form of authority illegitimate, you ought to challenge it." - Noam Chomsky 2
With Uranus's passage into Pisces, the last issue of the Journal carried a range of opinions about what this might portend. But in looking forward, perhaps our vision will be clearer if we also look back and take stock of what Uranus in Aquarius amounted to. What expectations did people have at the time, and what light can subsequent events throw on the astrology behind those expectations?
In The Mountain Astrologer, Steven Forrest 3 observed that it was during Uranus's transit through Aquarius that Newton "did the experimentation that led to his theory of universal gravitation", and "Einstein published his General Theory of Relativity". He also mentions Darwin (who embarked on the Beagle when Uranus was in Aquarius), as well as Messrs Jung and Freud, as exemplars of "the Uranian signature".
On this basis, he wrote, he was expecting new 'heretics' to arise under the latest passage of Uranus through Aquarius; exactly which pillar of established wisdom was going to be demolished, he said, could not be foreseen; "…the whole point is that we are about to be given unforeseeable gifts…" So, two questions: Where are those gifts; and, should we even expect to know what they are yet?
When Do Things Happen?
Because
there is an issue to be addressed, here, about whether we would necessarily
know about the Big Uranian Thing of the last seven years at this point.
Steven Forrest takes the significant time for Newton's work on gravitation
as being the period when he did most of the work which led him to the
idea - circa 1666, when Uranus was in Aquarius. But Newton didn't publish
his findings, in Principia Mathematica, until 21 years later. So under
this view of things, someone could have discovered a major Uranus-in-Aquarius
type thing in the last seven years, and we might not find out about it
for another generation or so.
So when do things happen? Are we yet in a position to even start evaluating the significance of Uranus's passage through Aquarius? What do astrological factors signify - the time when an idea takes shape in someone's mind, or the time when humanity starts to recognise that idea's existence? Or can it be either?
At the risk
of going off at a complete tangent to the current theme, I'd like to look
at the chart for flight. Astrologers have generally, so far as I know,
found the commonly accepted chart for the Wright brothers' flight to work
well. There are, however, all sorts of doubts concerning the validity
of this as the actual first moment of flight. Even if we leave aside Montgolfier's
excellent adventures with balloons, there are still a number of problems.
For instance, Wilbur Wright himself acknowledged that Hiram Maxim had
already flown a steam-driven biplane with a three-man crew in 1893. There
are also claims from Gustav Whitehead and Richard Pearse to have flown
before the Wright brothers. Added to which, Wilbur Wright himself flew
for 105 feet on 14th December, 3 days before the date of the 'first flight'.
Then, even
if we resolve that the Wright brothers do deserve the crown of first flyers,
and that 17th December 1903 was the date on which they first flew, a further
issue exists over which of the flights they made on that day should count.
It seems there is a good case for saying that the first 'flight' at 10.35
am, normally taken as the significant one, was a case of gliding rather
than flying, and that the first time the Kitty Hawk actually flew under
her own power was 1 hour 25 minutes later, at noon.
Data-U-Like
So have we astrologers been taking the wrong date, or the wrong time, all these years? Nick Campion makes a crucial point, suggesting that all may not be lost: "… astrological significance often coincides with those events which people in general select as having the greatest public, symbolic importance." And the event which has gone into public consciousness, as 'man's first flight' was the Wright brothers' first flight, at 10.35 am.
Charts for the history of flight aren't a particular interest of mine, so I can't argue a case for or against this chart's validity on a basis of research. But working from first principles, I want to suggest that the basics of astrology may offer some insight here. In regular, geocentric, astrology we are dealing, not with things as they actually are (which is that the Earth revolves around the Sun), but rather with a subjective perception of how things look from our own standpoint (from which the Sun revolves around the Earth). Given this, it is symbolically consistent, when we look at the astrology of an event, to find that it refers, not to the time that something first happened or was discovered in some objective sense, but rather to the time when most people saw it as beginning. The subjectivity of our own perspective is woven into the astrological fabric, therefore - no matter how we might yearn to stand outside as objective observers. On that basis, we would expect the things signified by planetary movements to announce themselves to the world at around the same time as those movements take place.
Obviously the ideas that you have about what astrology is and how it works will have a bearing on how happy or unhappy you feel about this 'take' on things. If it makes you unhappy, don't grumble in silence, please write in and share your thoughts.
Jupiter-Uranus Conjunction
Let me just note, before leaving the issue of flight, that there was a fascinating article by Keith Magnay in the May/June 1995 issue of the Journal entitled New Flight in the Age of Aquarius. Unfortunately space doesn't permit a detailed analysis of the arguments that Keith gives, starting from the (conventional) chart for Kitty Hawk's first flight , for predicting that the 1997 Jupiter-Uranus conjunction would signify the development of a high-tech replacement for the jet engine. I don't know of any such development having been made, so suspect that the technological leap that he anticipated took place in a different arena, not related to flight.
To characterise that development a little more, let's bring in another of Mountain Astrologer's contributors to its Uranus-in-Aquarius forum. Like Keith Magnay, David Solté also focussed on the conjunction of Uranus with Jupiter (15th February 1997) - going so far as to say of the chart for the conjunction, "In my opinion, it is the most powerful planetary configuration of this century." In beginning to analyse what could be expected from this conjunction in '97, Solté gives a useful analysis of some of the things that happened on the previous occasions when Uranus and Jupiter were conjunct in Aquarius:
1831
- Faraday's discovery of electromagnetic induction, which led to the first
electric generators; the burgeoning of the anti-slavery movement; and
Brown's discovery of the nucleus of a cell amongst them.
1748 - Laws of the conservation of mass and energy; mathematical explanation of the precession of the equinoxes; de la Mettrie depicting humans as machines without free will.
1665 - Robert Hooke discovers the living cell.
Send in the Clones
He remarks
that the "perpetual theme" of Jupiter and Uranus is Aquarius is "the programmed
electro-mechanical humanoid vs the human soul", but doesn't develop this
theme any further in terms of what might be expected from the conjunction
in 1997.
However, thanks to the wisdom of hindsight - always a trusty ally - we can see a couple of notable candidates. Dolly the sheep was born on 5th July 1996, but her birth was not made public until 7 months later, on 22nd February 1997 - one week after the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. And EU regulations which came into effect in May '97 required special labelling for foodstuffs containing GM (genetically modified) ingredients - the whole GM debate was becoming big news by that point.
Both these developments seem to fit well with the issue of human-made-life versus natural life that David Solté described, so I think he could reasonably claim to have registered a respectable 'hit' here. If anyone has any further input, either of their own or references to work already published, on the astrology of GM and cloning then it would be interesting to know about it. In particular, are there any events that can convincingly be taken as 'birth moments' for these disciplines?
Big Brother v The Heretics
We haven't finished with David Solté yet. In his already-quoted article, he goes on to list some crucial political/humanitarian crises and breakthroughs which have come under the opposition of Uranus to Jupiter:
The Cuba Crisis in 1962
The Berlin Airlift of 1948
The Saigon Airlift of 1975
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
And he remarks that the Jupiter Uranus conjunction of '97 should "bring these oppositional issues to a head, demanding resolution". He goes on: "The Aquarian Convergence will create a new era of governments and institutions around the world, with the masses rising to their feet." This rising-to-the-feet, he adds, will owe "special thanks to the… Internet". And if it doesn't work out, then "an externalised Big Brother-style New World Order will be created to… decide our destiny for us, promoting external solutions and treating humans as machines." There are echoes here of Steven Forrest's comments about the arising of 'heretics' who would challenge the establishment.
So what actually happened? Taken at the most literal level, you could decide that there have been neither major revolutions nor a "Big Brother-style" takeover. But this would be to expect that modern revolutions would follow the pattern of the past. And this is a key problem for astrologers - events always happen in a new context, meaning that the events themselves look substantially different to previous iterations of 'the same thing'. Looking at the world political scene, I think there is reason to believe that we have in fact seen the beginnings of a new type of revolutionary struggle.
The concept of 'globalisation' has been around for about ten years now. At the most basic level, it refers to the idea - suddenly plausible after the Soviet Union's implosion - of building a world whose economic and cultural management would be governed on the basis of what was best for everyone; the ending, in other words, of narrow national self-interest. Its critics - the anti-globalisers - argue that this idea, noble though it may sound, is in practice no more than an excuse for the rich countries, especially the USA, to further the interests of their major corporations: "…these 'reforms' restore colonial patterns, bar national planning and meaningful democracy, and undermine programs which benefit the general population, while establishing the framework for a world of growing inequality, with a large majority consigned to suffering and despair in the interests of narrow sectors of privilege and power" in the words of Noam Chomsky, a leading critic of globalisation. An article such as this isn't the place to venture an opinion on the rights and wrongs of the issues at stake; I am simply sketching the battle lines which have been drawn up, and suggesting that this is an area we need to look at in order to understand Uranus's impact on the political scene.
The anti-globalisation
movement first came to public notice in a big way on 30th November 1999
when protesters blocked access to the World Trade Organization's buildings
in Seattle. In 2003, anti-globalisation issues have not gone away, but
the arguments for and against have become more emotionally charged, more
complex, more tainted with religious extremism, xenophobia, and issues
of patriotism.
One recent book states: "America has constructed a vision of an 'axis of evil', a hostile, inimical perversion, endemic and hiding not just within a few nations but in communities spread across much of the world. Terror, terrorism and terrorists have become one single, simple, indistinguishable scourge of all humanity, shorn of political, social, historical or cultural roots and distinctions. This form of grand absolutism has its reflection; it is mirrored by a vision of America as a hostile, inimical perversion, endemic and operating within other nations all around the globe. This is a recipe for disaster. It is the basis for dehumanising and demonising relations in a world that is growing ever more interconnected. The only security and hope can come from learning and knowing ourselves and the rest of the world afresh…"
This is certainly not revolution as we know it, Jim, but the usual issues are clearly there: the distribution of power and wealth, the best way to organise for the benefit of the majority, suspicion of the motives of those in power, doubt concerning the capacity of the established order to change and improve itself. This is why I am suggesting that globalisation and anti-globalisation are the political issues which David Solté was pointing towards when he referred to a "Big-Brother style new world order" and to "the masses rising to their feet". And given this, he was certainly correct in identifying the Internet as a major tool for disseminating information and organising group activities. Without the Internet, the anti-globalisers would have been relatively powerless to organise their members and disseminate their ideas.
Although it is perhaps not immediately obvious as such, Uranus in Aquarius has (I believe) signalled the advent of a new chapter in the book of revolution. But this 21st-century revolution has arisen because of the erosion and dissolution of national boundaries and identities, and is bound up with religious intolerance and fundamentalism. Did anyone mention that Neptune has been in Aquarius, and Pluto in Sagittarius?
Napster
Of course
we would expect to see any major planetary configuration operating at
different levels. Having focussed mainly on the political scene, it may
be interesting to just mention 'file-sharing' sites on the Internet. The
first of these, Napster, was conceived in 1998 and incorporated in May
1999. Napster (and its successors, such as Kazaa) made it possible for
anyone with a reasonable Internet connection to download music, films
and software without paying for them. Here, again, we might want to see
"the masses rising to their feet", rebelling against the levels of profit
which music, film and software companies make, and striking blows for
a more enlightened future. Or shortsighted people grabbing what they can
whilst they can get it, without thought for the consequences. As in the
world of politics, there are significantly different perspectives available,
and the moral issues at stake are complex. And whilst, as befits Uranus,
technology has provided the means, so, too, a Neptunian blurring of edges
has also featured. Time was when you either owned a record or you didn't;
now, if you have downloaded the tracks as mp3's from the Internet, you
both have the album and do not have it.
Conclusion
My suggestion has been that the revolution is being televised, it's just that we didn't realise what we were watching. I hope that the ideas here will generate some interest; please remember that this is intended as a discussion piece. I have made a few suggestions about the way in which Uranus in Aquarius has expressed itself; doubtless there are many more which will occur to you. When they do, please be sure to let us know about them.
Garry Phillipson is the author of Astrology in the Year Zero. His website is at: www.astrozero.btinternet.co.uk
Notes:
1. p.539, Gravity's Rainbow; Picador/Pan (London) 1973 (London) 1973. return
2. Noam Chomsky, Chronicles of Dissent- interviews with David Barsamian, Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1992, p.xiv. return
3. The Mountain Astrologer, Feb/March 1996, p.12-13.
4. 10.35am EST; 17 December 1903; Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina (from: p.504/chart 443, Nicholas Campion, The Book of World Horoscopes (Bristol, Cinnabar Books, 1995)
5. See: first-to-fly.com (all websites checked 21 April 2003). This is a useful source for information on the who-flew-first issue, and includes pages dedicated to the claims of Gustave Whitehead and Santos Dumont.
6. Campion, op cit, p.503.
8. Campion, op cit, note 1725 on p.711.
9. It is worth remarking that the problems concerning the exact time of the flight are reduced if one works with the chart for the New Moon on the day following the flight - cf Charles Harvey's comments at p.264-6, Baigent/Campion/Harvey, Mundane Astrology (2nd Edn) (London, Aquarian, 1992)
10. Campion, ibid.
11. NB that the date given in the article is "17th October 1903", but this appears to be a typo as the chart is correct for 17th December 1903, the correct date.
12. The Mountain Astrologer, Feb/March 1996, p.13.
13. Dates from: wikipedia.org There is some confusion over the exact date that Dolly's existence was made official; e.g. p.436 The Hutchinson Chronology of World History (Compact Edition) gives 27th February - I believe 27th was the date of publication of the official report, with the story reaching the newspapers a few days earlier. It was carried by The Observer on 23rd February (source: www.observer.co.uk/science/story/0,1596,896655,00.html ) which means that the story must have reached the Observer sometime in the preceding week.
14. For definitions of 'globalisation' and useful links see The Globalization Website
15. Comment on back cover of Chossudovsky, The Globalisation of Poverty (London, Zed Books, 1997) For a useful source of Chomsky information, see: The Noam Chomsky Archive
16. For other events in the early days of anti-globalisation, stretching back to 1994, see: http://www.burn.ucsd.edu/~mai/rants/rebellion.html
17. p.13, Ziauddin Sardar & Merryl Wyn Davies, Why Do People Hate America? (Cambridge, Icon Books, 2002)
18. Source: http://virgo.bsuvc.bsu.edu/~jescott2/nap.htm - see this page for other significant dates and events in the life of Napster.
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