May 27, 2001, Sausalito, CA (Gemini new moon of 5/22). Reread Calendar entry for May 22. I noted that this New Moon was the halfway point of the Sagittarian year which began last Nov. 25, the day that Katherine Harris certified George Bush as winner in Florida, and he declared himself President-elect.

Sagittarius is about philosophies and beliefs. Gemini is about facts and information. After noting the facts of the Bush Administration, Senator James Jeffords of Vermont resigned from the Republican Party, saying it was too ultra-right for him. This will mean a huge realignment of Congress and of national politics. The Republicans’ unprecedented capture of the 3 branches of government was short-lived.

Pluto in Sagittarius transforms politics, and Chiron in Sagittarius realigns it. Mars now retrograde in Sagittarius is doing some political repair. Sagittarius is a sign of politics, and it is being thoroughly stimulated as we move into this new century.

This was a Saturnian New Moon. Saturn refers to business and government—as well as all structures. Saturn concentrates and builds With Senator Jeffords’ defection, the structure of Congress is changing radically.

Congress passed an enormous tax cut. For all the propaganda, it is another way of transferring the peoples’ money to the rich. It’s a 10-year program, and it is certain that the consequent structural changes in government will hurt the little guy and help the big one.

The other major New Moon move was Citigroup buying Banamex to create (1) the biggest bank in the world and (2) a direct route for a U.S. corporation to gain leverage to acquire Mexican assets, such as savings which amount to $42 billion, as well as other bank investments.

Citibank is one of the largest banks in the U.S.—perhaps the largest—and it is well known for laundering drug money. (High profile cases were the Salinas brothers, Carlos—one-time President of Mexico—and Raoul.) (Other large well known U.S. laundering banks are North Carolina’s Bank of America and Florida’s Bank of Florida.)

Saturn is also about creating foundations. Saturn starts at the bottom, and builds soundly, step by step. Its structures endure. The two cornerstones mentioned above, tax cut and bank merger, are laying a foundation for another giant step in the ongoing transfer of wealth and resources to the most wealthy.

Hopefully Senator Jeffords’ defection is laying another kind of foundation for reconsideration and slowdown of the nation’s pell-mell rush over the cliff.

In California the frustration level continues to rise in regard to the power situation. Perhaps this is a foundation for the people to take charge, as they watch their money disappearing along with gouging power companies and fearful legislators.

As for me, this Saturnian New Moon squared my Pisces Mercury, and I’ve just been working away—writing and reading. Gemini is my North Node sign, and immersion in the information highway in all its forms is clearly my life path.

Sausalito, CA, May 20, 2001 (last quarter moon in Aquarius, May 15.) We are in the last quarter of the Taurus Moon cycle, the end, the letting-go. (Reread the Calendar entry for May 15.) My heart is indeed feeling a grieving good-bye. Yesterday I saw my new little grandson with his mommy and daddy walk away down the aisle towards their plane for Mexico City, where they live. Christopher is filled with a vast sweetness and light, and I greatly miss his dear little presence.

As the chaff blows away at the last quarter, the kernels of grain are exposed. This allows us to see our reward. We can also see future possibilities. My reward is dear Christopher in my heart, and I think much of his growth and development

The national scene is also making a big turn now. Bush unveiled the Cheney energy plan in Minnesota, where he has Vesta in fire sign Aries on his midheaven. Vesta shows where we dedicate ourselves, and Vesta in Aries finds security in fiery action, in GW’s case perhaps burning up the world through fossil fuels.

The national press—at least in California—has called Bush on his outdated thinking, and is calling for him to let go of his fossil fuel, nuclear power, power guzzling approach.

In California angry consumers have been slapped with big rate increases. At the same time several investigations (by the state, the media, and consumers) are uncovering blatant manipulation of the market over the last several months by the big generators, and even close-to-the-chest Capricorn Gov. Davis is beginning to talk about what he’s learned about their price gouging during his months of close negotiation.

The hypocrisy of the energy suppliers is being uncovered and publicly released, and the kernels of truth left are about corporate greed and lying.

Now come new visions for the future. For example, San Francisco has passed legislation to set in motion a solarized city. Both San Francisco and East Bay cities are moving towards public utilities. Legislators are calling for a western states cartel to curb power costs.

The whole energy fiasco is, in California at least, a catalyst to raise public consciousness and to take some big steps towards embracing renewable energy.

It may well signal the end of our old wasteful energy system.

And it may well be the beginning of the end of worldwide respect for the Bush administration, particularly due to its flagrant disregard of global warming.

This Aquarius last quarter Moon conjoined Uranus in Aquarius, which is all about energy itself. The Israelis drastically upped the firepower with which they attack Palestinians, bombing Palestinian neighborhoods with U.S. F-16 fighter planes. And Allan Greenspan ticked the energy stream of money by cutting short-term interest rates to 4%, the lowest they’ve been since 1994.

Events and attitudes occurring this last week carry consequences into the long-term future.

May 14, Sausalito, CA. Full Moon in Scorpio of May 7. Scorpio turned up the heat for a few days here on the Coast, and the utilities, about to ask for a rate raise, gave us blackouts. It’s like clockwork. Whenever the utilities have a request for a concession in the works, they give us blackouts for the few days preceding actual negotiations. It’s a protection racket which seems to work. The process reminds me of all the gangster movies I saw when I was young. The gangsters (large power companies) rake in the profits while ordinary businesses and people pay. Low level Taurus-Scorpio.

This was a very potent Moon, and again, the Administration has moved quickly ahead with so many actions destructive to the Earth and to all life that it is hard to keep track of them all. I am continually reminded that Scorpio is quite ready to raze conditions which are in the way of evolution. Evolution appears to be towards total control of global resources by U.S. multinationals.

"A tax cut would help pay fuel bills," said Bush. And Congress obediently passed the budget, including a huge tax cut, "so Americans can have more money in their pockets to pay higher fuel prices," exhorts GW. Intentional policies to channel money from ordinary people to corporate pockets continues, with very little opposition.

GW has made many nominations this past week to administrative posts, all of them from or paid by corporate America, most of them from energy/defense industries. Here is just one of dozens of examples: Vice-chairman Thomas White of Enron was appointed as Secretary of the Army. Enron, principle architect and a principle profiteer of the failed California energy deregulation, has energy interests worldwide, and is pushing to privatize water supplies.

White will be in charge of sending military support to "protect U.S. interests," which means training local security troops and instructing them in the use of the sophisticated arms which we sell them. A current example is the Colombian paramilitary fighting the Ua Indians who are trying to protect their ancestral lands now being mined for oil by Oxnard Oil Co.

Taurus is about form, and Daddy Bush’s "new world order" is quickly taking shape.

We have several powerful configurations at this Taurus-Scorpio Full Moon. Taurus-Scorpio itself is all about resource use, This major survival problem is now becoming refocused in consciousness.

We also have the Jupiter-Pluto opposition, which is about expansion on a grand scale. The Mars-Chiron conjunction of the month is about rushing ahead into uncharted territory, especially space, a Chiron bailiwick. Uranus opposes Transpluto during both May and June to show the resurrection of technology. And finally, Saturn makes its first conjunction in Gemini with the planet Saturn, an energy of structure, government, and tradition.

Overlooking everything now is Neptune, energy of dreams—and of fantasies. Oil is under Neptune’s jurisdiction, as well as the seas.

All of these aspects, and more, are combined in Bush’s current pushing of "missile defense." This is but one layer of a mission to dominate space (see article) with weapons. The cost of this "Star Wars" system will be hundreds of billions of dollars, paid for by the taxpayers. Taurus is about priorities. Is this energy-eating venture a priority for use of scarce-and becoming-more-scarce resources? (The Chinese say it is like dropping a huge stone on one’s own foot.)

And me? I’m doing a lot of thinking about how to balance all the things I love in my life, and realizing my resources are limited. This Moon was a grand cross, and I feel that fixed cross pressure—knowing that something must give, but resisting change.

Family is important. On Mother’s Day Susan came over and helped me spring clean my garden of many pots. We had a lovely, earthy time, and I am so happy to be with my pretty, fixed-up garden. Very Taurus-Scorpio.

What shifts are you making in the use of your resources?

First Quarter Moon in Leo, April 30. Do reread the April 30 Calendar entry, and apply it to your life during the first week in May. For me it was a great learning period, especially in regard to Neptune and Juno, planets particularly aspected by Moon and Sun at this Quarter.

In watching myself, clients, and people around me this week, I realized that in my writing I usually leave out the most common expression of Neptune: getting involved in a victim-savior-persecutor situation. In this scenario, one is either the "savior," a victim of persecution, or willing to sacrifice self for others. This is, in fact, often a culturally acceptable way of being, and not necessarily considered a problem. This makes it very insidious.

It is a problem. It has been a major problem in my life, and I leave it out of my writing because I want to deny that it still exists. Massive denial is another of Neptune’s specialties, easy for us Neptunian types. Neptune tends to operate on subconscious levels, not conscious ones.

This last week I saw in myself the contrast between my unwillingness to set firm boundaries, a part of this complex, and my willingness to take charge and set them—which worked much better for all of us. Another time I saw myself allowing myself to be co-opted by a situation that was unhealthy, and thereby play victim, another Neptunian specialty. I tried to play helper, and atone, but found myself being persecuted. This is a typical Neptunian mess. Abused women, children, schoolmates, and workers know it well.

Another time this week I turned down such a situation, and later found much greater helping power on my terms.

Juno and Neptune can combine to create victim dramas because Juno also has a talent for getting into abusive situations. However, in contrast to Neptune, she is generally conscious of the lack of justice in the situation, and eventually becomes angry with it and finds a way of fighting back. Neptune, on the other hand, feels a kind of self-righteousness in being a victim—"look what they did to me—" and continues to maintain the illusion of righteousness while acceding to an inherently destructive situation.

I feel that Juno stepped in and rescued me from the self-sabotage into which I let myself be drawn by Neptune’s lures of potential "sainthood." (Neptune can be very seductive.) Yes, at this First Quarter, Neptune closely aspected both Sun and Moon, but of the two, Juno was the one with the invigorating exact conjunction with Sun.

In one sweep I saw not only my personal allowing of abuse, but I also saw the depth of the abusiveness of the culture in which we live, mostly invisible, and very difficult to combat because of its pervasive insidiousness. The corporate culture is but one expression of the cultural destructiveness to life. For the most part we blindly go along with it.

With Juno by my side this week, I felt a strong resolve to end "victimhood" in my life. I am seeing more clearly than ever how indulging in victim roles is very disempowering.

Another major aspect at this First Quarter was Mars conjoining Chiron, the Wounded Healer, to demonstrate to us our wounds in how we apply our energy so that we can work on healing them during the 10-week Mars retrograde period about to begin. Again, the universe gave me demonstrations in applying my energy well, and poorly, and I was able to firm up some constructive choices to work on.

How the Bush Administration directs its energy in ways which abuse the Earth and the social network was prominent at this powerful First Quarter Moon. Vice President Cheney announced the long-awaited Federal Energy Program strategy—which is—to tap more oil, gas, and coal.

The next day, G.W. Bush says the U.S. is discarding the ABM (Antiballistic Missile) Treaty which, since 1972, has prevented a nuclear war by keeping nuclear weapons in check. And instead, it is building a "missile shield," thereby threatening the rest of the world.

And the following day, Bush appoints all Wall Street proponents to the Social Security Committee, which is touted as an impartial panel to decide the fate of Social Security.

The world, like Juno, is protesting United States abuse. The following day the U.S. was ousted from the Human Rights Commission of the UN. This is a very big rejection by the world. The U.S. has been the major member of the Commission since its founding. This is big news, and I saw nothing about it in the papers, although it could have been on TV.

Among the reasons given were U.S. refusal to okay an International Criminal Court, U.S. opposition to an International Treaty forbidding the use of land mines, U.S. unwillingness to make AIDS drugs available at lower prices to developing countries, U.S. defense of Israel’s continual breaking of UN agreements, U.S. lack of support for reduction of global warming, U.S. support of the death penalty, and U.S. insistence on Iraqi sanctions.

This Taurus month is about basic resources, and issues of growth and survival are its focus. It’s a bottom line month. The slow and retrograding movements of many planets now give us the chance to re-evaluate both present and long-standing conditions which block our best use of energy.

(Read Calendar entry for April 23.) Mercury and his friendly sign, Gemini, dominated this New Moon in Taurus, and the cycle did indeed begin with lots of talk, ideas, and moving around.

I rested on my laurels for getting the May download finished, and did some errands and history reading before returning to the computer. That’s my story—the Taurus worker on communication, reading, writing, phone calls, and answering e-mail.

Nationally, the unbrave new world is taking form. Here are just a few of the many formative events from the first three days:

In Colombia, the military starts a for-real war against the rebels (now that they have plenty of U.S. equipment and training).

In Puerto Rico, Gov. Calderon brings suit against the Navy, due to resume bombing Vieques in one week.

In Chicago, scientists at Northwestern University install a living eel brain in a small robot to call the shots.

In New York, business begins a pro-nuclear energy campaign.

In California, Chevron shareholders vote to drill in the Arctic.
Also in California, a judge says that the California Coastal Commission, which has been protecting the California coasts for 30 years, is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court says the police don’t need a warrant to take someone in for a casual infraction. The case was brought by a mother of two young children who was handcuffed and arrested for not using her seatbelt.

Also in Washington, Senator Kerry goes public about participating in a massacre of women and children in Vietnam.

GW says they will drill for oil in the Arctic Refuge. He also says the U.S. will use force against China if China threatens Taiwan.

Most importantly, the FTAA agreement has just been negotiated in Canada.

This is just a sampling. Yes, power is on the prowl.