The Meaning of the Moon
Previous Moon Reports:
April 2002
March 2002
Feb 2002
Jan 2002
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M A Y A ' S M O O N R E P O R T , M A Y 2 0 0 2 FULL MOON IN SCORPIO, LAST QTR IN AQUARIUS—look up April 26 and May 4. Both of those Moons are dominated by Neptune, master of illusions. The news has focused on Israel’s armed, destructive incursions into Palestine, especially in Jenin, Bethlehem, and Hebron. A big issue has been the Israelis trying to keep out journalists, ambulances, international helpers and witnesses, aid workers, etc., with limited success. There have been daily eye-witness reports from many in occupied Palestine, so that there is a record of Israeli crimes against humanity. Israel refused to let a UN fact-finding team in, but there are already reports from unofficial bodies like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The siege of Bethlehem continues. But Arafat, held in his quarters for weeks, has been released under an Israeli agreement with the U.S. that the U.S. back up Israel in turning down the UN fact-finding commission. Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visited Bush in Texas, where they had some private talks. After that, Bush called for an international peace-making conference, and told Sharon that he must negotiate with Arafat. Sharon refused, and visited the team in Washington to tell them so. His visit was cut short by another Palestinian suicide bombing. Sharon acts like the alpha dog, even telling Washington what to do. It’s a revelation to me... makes me wonder what’s up. (Ask and you shall receive. Just after I wrote that last sentence, I read my mail, which included Mike Ruppert’s journal, From the Wilderness. He has been investigating U.S. foreknowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks, and speaking about it all over the country to packed audiences. There is clear evidence that many countries warned Washington of the impending attacks, including Israel. Ruppert believes that "Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government may be blackmailing the Bush Administration, because the Israelis have evidence that the Americans had foreknowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks and did nothing to stop them. This blackmail has given Sharon the leverage he needs to try to destroy Palestine." Oh. Now we know why a personal trip to Washington was necessary.) (I also just read in today’s May 9 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle that the FBI did not follow up on a recommendation last summer from a Phoenix, AZ, FBI agent to canvass flight schools for suspicious Middle Eastern students. The same article said that the CIA also issued a warning last summer that there was a heightened risk of terrorist attack on U.S. soil, also not followed up.) Neptune, indeed! Are we beginning to see through Neptune’s veils? In Oslo, nations pledged $1.2 billion to help reconstruct Palestine. Germany announced it was ending its "special relation" with Israel. The U.S. Congress did a special resolution of support for Israel, while Malaysia voted to aid Palestine. Congress signs farm subsidies for large corporations. Congress passed a Bush-supported huge, huge farm subsidy bill—at the same time as a terrible drought is devastating the old Dust Bowl states. This bill undermines the Bush Administration’s trade-opening agenda, reversing two decades of U.S. policy urging lower global farm subsidies as a way to increase U.S. farm exports, on which the U.S. farmers depend. Analysts say it creates a huge mess from every standpoint. The bill is basically a give-away to large corporate "farmers" of five commodities which are grown in the Midwest and in the south. U.S. continues to isolate itself from the world community. The Bush Administration pressured the UN to sack its very active and outspoken Human Rights Commissioner, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland. They don’t like it that Ms. Robinson calls the shots as she sees them—and she does travel around to get firsthand knowledge. The Bush Administration also pressured the UN to get rid of its very excellent head of the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Jose Bustani. He was targeted because he was getting Iraq to sign the Treaty, which opens the way for inspectors, thus depriving the U.S. of the excuse it plans to use for invading Iraq. This commission has been very popular. They’ve carried out thousands of inspections, and destroyed great quantities of chemical weapons. Another U.S.-sponsored removal is the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control, which reports on global warming. An Exxon-Mobil memo emerged, asking the White House to have him removed. They did. And of course we have Bush taking the unprecedented action of "unsigning" the Treaty for the first International War Crimes Tribunal, which all other democracies have signed. It will go into effect July 1, but without U.S. participation. The U.S. will not even provide information to help prosecute cases. For instance, if they were prosecuting Milosevich and wanted information from the U.S., the U.S. would not provide it. This Criminal Court, years in the making, is considered the biggest peace initiative of modern times. It certainly diminishes the credibility of the U.S. expressed concern about international terrorism. Right-wing politicians dominate news from Europe. In France, the right-wing candidate, LePen, surprisingly ranked number two for the presidency, setting off protest demonstrations all over Europe. LePen has been speaking out virulently for years against immigrants. Eventually his centrist opponent, Jacques Chirac, won by a landslide. At the Hague, Netherlands, Pim Fortuyn, a leading right-wing politician, was assassinated. A few days previously he had given a hate speech against Muslims. And in Asia… Pres. Musharraf of Pakistan "won" re-election by a landslide, in a vote widely known to be fixed. In Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, pro-democracy leader, was released from house arrest by the military junta which governs Burma. She calls it a New Dawn, and expects to travel around Burma to talk with the people about democracy. In Gujarat, India, Hindus and Muslims rioted, with many killed—especially Muslims. Enron, and other power companies, are emerging as bigtime market manipulators. Surprise, surprise! Smoking gun memos have emerged with such names as Death Star and Get Shorty to describe Enron’s schemes to manipulate California energy markets. The net effect was explained in a memo as "Enron gets paid for moving energy to relieve congestion without actually moving any energy or relieving any congestion." In Canada electricity officially becomes a tradable commodity rather than a public service. People are on the move. There were big May Day marches on behalf of workers in all big cities in the Western world. People mobilizations continue all over the world on a daily basis. On April 30 Germany’s biggest union, with 2.5 million workers, voted to strike in May. Catholic sex scandals continue. The Pope scolded U.S. prelates in a special meeting at the Vatican. However, most Catholics consider the remedies which the Pope prescribed as too mild and ineffective. However, the State has stepped in. Cardinal Bernard Law, at the top of the U.S. hierarchy, is being deposed in court. He has tried to brush off his responsibility with comments such as it was the victims’ (age 6) fault, his aides handled it, etc. The House supports Yucca Mountain for waste dump. In Washington, the House over-rode the veto of the Governor of Nevada to vote for classifying Yucca Mt. as the national nuclear waste dump. All scientists are against this idea. Yucca Mt. is 40 miles north of Las Vegas, it contains aquifers which will carry radiation right into the ground water, it has many fault lines, and it has a history of earthquakes. The Shoshone Indians who live there consider it a sacred mountain, and have been campaigning for years against this designation as a nuclear dump. Bush on swing to promote "education." What GW is promoting is standardized testing for the nation’s schools. McGraw-Hill makes these tests. They are major contributors to Bush and the Republicans, as well as personal friends of GW. He does take care of his friends. But what about good education for children? Single-sex schools are the answer, he says. GW is now running a double dose of Neptune dominant—in the sky and in his chart. It shows. Congress is following right along, transfixed by what appears to be the glamour of power. All of the above action—and much more!—occurred in less than two weeks! Stay tuned for the New Moon in Taurus report. What about Neptune and me? I’m still recovering from a virus attack, and my energy is low. This is a common Neptune manifestation...because one is supposed to be attending to the non-material side of life, not the material. Neptune draws our attention to the hidden side of life. So with low energy, I’ve allowed myself to do a lot of reading—all types—and it’s been wonderful. This is Neptune—letting your imagination roam. I’ve also had much good sharing with friends. And a very special gift has come my way. My computer friend, Dartanyan, installed Starry Night Backyard for me, and I can see the stars, and the planets, and much else besides, anytime! I can roam the Universe—like Neptune does! New Moon in Aries, April 12; First Quarter Moon in Leo of April 20. Reread the Daily Success Guide for April 12 for New Moon in Aries and April 20 for First Quarter in Leo. Those descriptions tell the story of these two fire moons. Aries begins a new assertive cycle, and this time has been very active. On the New Moon weekend, in Venezuela the military plus the old guard created a coup against Venezuela’s democratically-elected president, Hugo Chavez. However, the coup was reversed by a combination of popular pressure, and pressure from other Latin American countries who did not want to see democracy, tenuous at best, denied. Venezuela is a big oil country, and Chavez does not toe the Washington line. In New York there was a huge pro-Israel rally. At the same time there were demonstrations in most major cities of the U.S. against the $400 billion military budget. Sec. of State Powell, on a leisurely trip to the Mediterranean area, met with Arafat, imprisoned in his quarters in Ramallah in the West Bank. U.S. policy, as articulated, has been chaotic. However, in fact it is to simply allow Sharon to plow ahead with killing, destruction, and ignoring international law, under the Bushy rubric of anti-terrorism. When Powell returned to Washington, Bush called Sharon a "man of peace." Very well respected UN Sec. Gen. Kofi Annan has proposed an international fact-finding team, and the Israelis are now protesting it. Word from the Arab press is that there are daily anti-American demonstrations all over the Arab world, including in the streets of U.S.’s "friends," Egypt (second biggest recipient of U.S. arms aid, next to Israel), Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. (This is security?) In Rome a million strikers marched, and all over Italy 12 million workers struck at the same time (in a country of 55,000,000), in opposition to Prime Minister Berlusconi’s anti-worker policies. India also had a nationwide strike that day against globalization. Intertribal fighting picked up in Afghanistan, as did U.S. attacks, and the old Afghani king returned to his country after living 30 years in Rome. His role is to be a figurehead. In Washington the Senate voted down a favorite project of the Bush Administration—opening up the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The Quarter Moon brought large mobilizations for peace and for a cessation of the Palestinian pounding. There were perhaps 100,000 in Washington, and 35,000 in San Francisco. The Catholic Church sex scandals have dominated the news. Pope John Paul called the U.S. Cardinals to Rome to receive a scolding. His speech, however, although condemnatory, left many murky areas which will take some time to clarify. The weather here was gorgeous on the day of the New Moon. I felt very honored to participate in a native American "going home" ceremony, to put to rest the native American spirits here in Sausalito. The ceremony, conducted by a Miwok elder and his wife, was warm, earthy, beautiful, and inspiring. We held it on grassy turf, beside San Francisco Bay, where a creek flows into the Bay. This was surely once a happy spot for the Miwoks, full of life. After the ceremony, we sat together and leisurely enjoyed a delicious potluck meal, and one another’s company. My heart and spirit were much enriched by this special day. |
