THE SOOTHESAYER INTERNET NEWSLETTER

June 2011

Eclipsed!

June 1^st Partial Solar Eclipse at 11 degrees Gemini; June 15^th Total Lunar Eclipse at 24 degrees Sagittarius; Partial Solar Eclipse July 1^st at 9 degrees Cancer.

June 1^st Eclipse is conjunct U.S.A. Uranus, June 15^th Eclipse is opposition U.S.A. Mars square Neptune, July 1^st Eclipse is on U.S.A. Venus/ Jupiter/ Sun conjunction and is sextile transiting Jupiter, opposition transiting Pluto, square transiting Saturn and transiting Uranus.

These are watershed times for America.  The second American Revolution has started in the Middle East, whose people are demanding the same freedoms and self-determinations that began here in the U.S.A. in 1776.  Ironically, we are compelled to be extremely cautious with respect to our support there because of the world’s massive dependence upon oil. 

Here in the U.S., the American Revolution has been “eclipsed”.  After virtually ignoring the manipulations by the very rich and powerful for years, “we the people” are waking up to a country controlled by a cartel of global transnational corporations whose criminal banking and casino derivative trades and operations have crashed our economy, outsourced labor to virtual contract slavery abroad, and are now promoting investment in growing Asian economies.  Our nation is going bankrupt and the Congress is putting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on the chopping block in favor of continuing to finance a “black hole” war in Afghanistan.  Our military expenses now comprise about 47% of our national budget.  The dollar is falling in value and the only reason it has not fallen further is that the Euro is in trouble because of the insolvent nations who tragically participated in our “bubble” lending economy, i.e. Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy.  Our infrastructure of bridges, highways, water systems, energy matrices, police and fire departments, and schools, are steadily falling apart.  But the richest Americans, the upper 2%, possess more than 50% of the nation’s wealth and are paying little to nothing in taxes, allowed to “off-shore” their accounts and make use of countless tax breaks and loop holes.  The small entrepreneurial businesses, our nation’s economic engines, are stuck paying taxes the billionaires do not pay.  These very same billionaires openly continue, with the consent of the Supreme Court, to finance the election campaigns of our government officials.  If things keep going along like this, as Thomas Jefferson warned, our democracy is headed toward extinction.

Waves of Change:

This unusual sequence of eclipses that is hitting crucial parts of the U.S.A. chart symbolizes a sea change in our way of thinking.   The “green and sustainable revolution” is beginning to happen at the grass roots, in communities around the nation that are focusing on organic rotational farming, conserving of local water sheds, and inter-local government cooperative efforts.  The State of Vermont has passed into law a statewide healthcare insurance plan.  North Dakota has its own local state bank.  As people give up on a federal government paralyzed by corruption, stupidity, and extremism, they are paying attention to their local situations.  The people in Wisconsin staged huge protests and are “recalling” officials who have betrayed their interests by eliminating collective bargaining rights.  The July 1^st Eclipse is opposite Pluto and, once again, calls our attention to environmental disasters which may be on the rise again   The nuclear crisis in Japan has not been fully solved at this point. On a local level, more people will be moving to “invent our way out of these crises” and get away from our addictions to fossil fuels.

As I said in last month’s newsletter, we are in the process of moving away from massive warfare in favor of “special operations” strategies  like the Navy Seals who killed Osama bin Laden.  I would suspect the military in America is engaged in a valiant effort to redefine itself.  Aspects and lunations connected with the U.S.A. Mars (the ancient God of War) point to raising questions about how we enter and exit conflicts.  NATO forces in Libya are engaged in a limited fight there to oust Gaddafi while avoiding intervening in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen.  As I predicted in past newsletters, Gaddafi is losing ground as his generals are defecting.  With the Lunar Eclipse connected to the U.S. Mars, we are looking for a way to exit Afghanistan and the pathway out of there is riddled with complexity.

The eclipse paths emphasize U.S. relationships with the U.K., Japan, Russia, Israel and the Middle East, as would be expected. 

The Economy:

The July Solar Eclipse is near the U.S. Venus (currency) and the status of the U.S. dollar is up in the air.  The Republicans in Congress are holding back from extending the federal debt ceiling and there is fear that we will default.  They are ready to throw the elderly and infirm under the bus with draconian cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and are holding the Obama administration “hostage” to these threats.  These possibilities are very serious and although I think we will ultimately extend the debt ceiling, these uncertainties will scare people.     The Solar Eclipse on Uranus (chaos) adds to the anxiety.

This month is filled with wild economic fluctuations.  Jupiter’s entry into Taurus and its ultimate trine with Pluto the first week of July may ultimately hold the worst at bay.  However, that same trine of Jupiter to Pluto occurring throughout the year points to more giant corporate mergers and acquisitions, increasing the power of the monopolies and their hold over government policies.  The lunar nodes continue to square the U.S. Neptune emphasizing more severe weather conditions.  FEMA is running out of money to pay for all the massive tornado and flood damage.  The planets in Gemini suggest high winds and the danger of heat and wild fires in the western U.S. costing both state and federal governments money they do not have.  By the second half of September, the nodes will harmonize with Saturn and stabilize things for a while.

Ceres, the “dwarf planet” is the ancient harvest goddess of grains and is transiting Pisces.  This points to difficulties with crops, especially grains, due to all the flooding and extreme weather conditions throughout the world.  It is likely food prices will rise, especially around the 13^th through the 16th of June as Mars in Taurus is sextile Ceres.  We are living in a time of climate change which really means extreme fluctuations in weather conditions.  Commodities may be the best investment over the long haul.  The increases in oil prices are driven by derivatives traders and really bad for an economy that is in trouble in other respect and is likely to decrease the tourist trade this summer.

The Grass Roots:  Jupiter into Taurus (June 5, 2011 – June 11, 2012)

Taurus is a sign associated with a fertile earth, farming and gardening, and the love of nature.  A new focus on local organic gardening and farming is a tide that is rising in our nation.  Eco villages, community gardens, cleaning up lakes and water sheds, and a general consciousness that we need to go “back to the future” and away from the destructive industrialized, fossil fuel based society are emerging in neighborhoods and communities throughout the world.  Due to the economic depression, people are moving in with each other, as foreclosures and bankruptcies increase.  Living cooperatively may stimulate growing food in the back yard or in neighborhood block gardens.  Rising oil prices are causing people to use less oil and gas and pool their resources.

In the recent past, loose credit masked the fact that real wages have been declining for most people in our nation.  A kind of “ruthless individualism” has been the order of the day as singularly powerful CEOs became deified in our culture; people who moved away from healthy capitalism into a kind of Plutocracy.   A few boats rose and most boats sank.  The notion of a “greater good” has been subsumed.  Real creativity and inventiveness by individuals has frequently been discouraged by bottom line economics that works to eliminate as much of the labor force as possible.  Social networking sites like Facebook and Linkedin  have their value but create very few jobs.  New economic paradigms will eventually rise and redefine how we work and earn, but things appear to be bleak at this moment in time.

We are rapidly cannibalizing the planet’s resources.  The geometric rate of rising global temperatures will force us into an entirely new way of thinking about how we may survive together on earth.  A movement toward “sustainability” will be the new prevailing direction; the new pathway our children and grandchildren will be compelled to take.  This short transit of Jupiter in Taurus may lend a real note of encouragement and optimism that we are beginning this process.      

Final Thoughts:

In times like this, it is easy to become discouraged.  Months of watching areas devastated by tornados, floods, and fires on television and hearing about the toll this great depression is taking on families here and around the world would seem to be overwhelming.  In addition, our leaders are coming up with little or nothing to correct the injustices and imbalances; social and economic inequities that are getting worse rather than better here and around the world.  It appears that the bad guys are winning.  Not so!

I am watching the emergence of groups of young people who are declaring themselves independent from the culture of greed, selfishness, and predatory practices.  They are dedicated to helping each other in the spirit of cooperative communities, sustainable energy production, entrepreneurship, and the recognition that investing in the “greater good” is also an investment in the creativity of each individual.

Even more significantly, I am feeling a new resonance of hope that sings to us through the ages.  I am seeing a vision that is forming itself in the constellations of stars that through time and space is lifting us to the realms where the greatest among us reside.  The time is now.  The choice is ours.

  Linda

Linda Schurman