AUGUST 2006 FEATURE ARTICLE

[Ed Note: because of the tremendous importance and scale of the social and physical transformations occurring now, Maya is rerunning April's article "The Road to 2012" with added introductory comments.]

The world is heating up in a number of ways. Physically, the climate is warming at a rapid rate—faster than the computer models predicted, and faster than anyone expected. There is a real urgency to stop using fossil fuels—“ancient sunlight,” as Thom Hartman calls them.

Socially, people are no longer willing to obey the traditional hierarchical orders of society—often backed up with a gun. Those old hierarchies are crumbling everywhere. Notable is a gathering of 2.5. million protestors in Mexico City on July 30, many of them with tents, and ready to camp out in the streets until there is a complete vote recount. Talk about a sit-in!

Battles are quickly heating up between the old and the new, between the outworn past, and growing ideas of self-determination and social justice.

We are undergoing an enormous transition, and people are caught in the middle of it. The past survives only in ghostly forms. “Suits” are an example. Look at the symbols of status and authority, and you can see right through them. Sometimes the justice system helps us to do just that, as they did with Enron and with Tom Delay.

The value of the dollar, another illusion of power, is decreasing rapidly. It seems to be kept viable only by wars, and their prodigious use of weapons.

We have not yet established our new world, and the world in which most of us live is crumbling. The transition process is chaotic, confusing, and for too many, tragic and deadly. We are entering the dark tunnel of transformation, which includes catharsis, death, and rebirth.

It IS very frightening.

But it is also an opportunity to hold the light, to develop courage, strength, and compassion, and to take actions to help midwife a better world. Perhaps our main work is to be aware, and to remember that every decision we make during the day has a context. Remembering is difficult! It takes practice.

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THE PLAYERS…

We are in the midst of great social change, and it’s time to review coming planetary highlights.

The three outer slow-moving planets form the backdrop for these times. These planets are Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus. They are the energies which correspond with deep changes in consciousness, and major social change. They are makers of history.

Pluto, for example, has a 250-year orbit, which means it energizes any given degree of the zodiac only once every 250 years. Think of a Pluto cycle starting on any given degree of the 360-degree zodiac. 250 times 360 means that it takes at least 90,000 years to complete Pluto’s cycles through the zodiac. I call Pluto the Lord of Evolution. Birth and death are his realms.

In addition, the combination of the cycles of the three outer planets is always different. We can see that the outer planets take us into new spaces and unknown places.

These outer planets are in a special space right now. Since Pluto entered Sagittarius (the sign of religion) in 1996, all three of the outer planets are traveling through universal signs. These are the last four signs of the zodiac—Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces—and they are connected with the wider society, e.g. with universal ideas, the zeitgeist, climate and earth changes, inventions, and movements which affect society at large.

An example of their work is the Pluto-Uranus conjunction which occurred during the 1960’s. Here we see Pluto, the Transformer, joined with Uranus, who breaks the bonds of conventional paradigms. A social revolution was born then.

And so was its reaction. Entrenched interests, fearful for their survival, strengthened their grip. This struggle has been intensifying during these turbulent decades—the 70’s, the 80’s,the 90’s, and now the 00’s.

Pluto transforms and regenerates. Crisis, destruction, and new life are its purview. It works with extremes, and carries things to their limits, which may be annihilation if necessary.

Neptune universalizes. It connects us all so that we can understand that we are all one—the Family of Humankind. It is connected with the rhythms of nature and of the universe. Neptune rules oil, which connects our time to a time of ancient forests. As Tom Hartmann says, when we use oil, we are using Ancient Sunlight.

Uranus is the Enlightener. With it we connect to sudden flashes of brilliance and insight. We open to new ideas and inventions, often in an explosive way. Uranus can decisively separate us from the past, as it thrusts us into new paradigms.

This combination—three planets which take us into new spaces plus four signs which give those energies universal distribution—sets the stage for… big-time world-wide CHANGE.

We have another Joker in the pack. In the U.S. chart, progressed Mars is now turning retrograde for the first time in U.S. history. This denotes a major change in how the U.S. uses its energy. The progression lasts about 80 years, and it is a time of review.

How can we deal with this great mass of uncertainty? Clues are offered by the Wheel of Fortune Tarot card, where fortune is found by exercising the qualities of objectivity, creativity, and flexibility.

And, as always, we need to remain centered in our own integrity, follow the guidance of our hearts, and know that spirit is always working with us.

THE ACTION…

What happens in this outer planetary pantheon between now and 2012, when the Earth’s Solstices match up with the Galactic Center? This is prophesized by many to be a time of huge change. The Aztecs and Mayans, for instance, have said that we end one world and begin another.

Perhaps most significantly, many of the planets, including Pluto and Uranus, enter cardinal signs in the next few years.

Why is this significant?

Cardinal signs are where we begin things. They are the four signs which begin the four seasons: Aries-Spring, Cancer-Summer, Libra-Autumn, and Capricorn-Winter. Planets in cardinal signs move full speed ahead towards their goals. “Action” is the key word for cardinal planets.

Furthermore, each of the cardinal signs is square or opposite to each of the others. There is built-in stress and challenge amongst them.

We have just seen that the outer planets in the universal signs are stirring things around, creating chaos, and setting the stage for major new social developments. Now comes the cardinal energy to set new things in motion—but not without conflict, for cardinal squares are coming up. Both square formations and cardinal signs are in themselves pushy, and the combination—particularly with outer planets—means grand clashes.

In addition, we will have particularly significant eclipses occurring from 2008 through 2011. Eclipses are potent catalysts for change.

THE TIMING…

January 2008. Powerhouse Pluto begins the cardinal parade by entering Capricorn, which is both a universal and cardinal sign, thus starting a new mode of power for the world. Capricorn is a business-government sign, and it is the sign of the U.S. Pluto. This placement shows U.S. power in the world. An immature Pluto can be heavy-handed, ruthless, and dictatorial. Pluto is slow-moving, and remains in Capricorn through 2024.

February 2008. We begin the Aquarius-Leo eclipses, which last through 2009. These eclipses activate the Great Solar Eclipse of August 1999, whose notes will reverberate for centuries. This first one conjoins my Sun, on my 80th birthday! Exciting!)

November 2009. Saturn enters Libra. Saturn is about structure, and firm grounding. It is particularly associated with government and with authority. Saturn moves ahead quickly, and will square Pluto from November 2009 through June 2010. Government will meet active challenges during that period. A Saturn-Pluto square in January 1994 accompanied the imposition of NAFTA and the Zapatista uprising.

May 2010. Uranus enters Aries. Here we have innovative energy entering the first sign of the zodiac. The urge to birth new movements and new ideas is now irresistible. Furthermore, Uranus has an incredibly long square with Pluto, from 2011 through 2015. This is the big transformational period of the 21st century.

June 2010. Jupiter enters Aries. Jupiter works with Saturn to grease the normal wheels of society. It is in each sign only one year, and expands whatever it touches. Jupiter will oppose Saturn in August of 2010, indicating social struggle between opposing forces. This occurs at the same time that Saturn and Pluto are squaring one another. Aries, Libra, and Capricorn are all now occupied by major planets, in stressful square to one another. Fireworks!

2010-2012. Eclipses in the Cancer-Capricorn polarity. This is the major polarity in the U.S. chart, and this eclipse season (about every nine years) is always associated with big events in the U.S.

July 2011-April 2015. This is an amazing period. Freedom-loving Uranus in Aries squares (i.e., fights) powerhouse, control-freak Pluto in Capricorn. During this entire period, they are in close orb, and they square exactly eight times. Exact squares are like lighting matches. Normally two planets square one another, at most, over a period of 18 months. This length of time, four years, is extraordinary. It portends a long period of deep social struggle, and major consciousness change. This is the breakthrough time of the revolution begun with the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in the 60’s. During this period, the seeds planted in the 60’s can break through to expression. Those people born during the 60’s will have special parts to play.

Dates of exact squares between Uranus and Pluto:

July 2011
June 2012
July 2012
May-June 2013
October-November 2013
April 2014
November-December 2014
January-February 2015

By 2012 we will indeed have a changed—and changing world.

In October of 2012 Saturn enters the powerful fixed sign of Scorpio. But that’s another story.

As the reader can see, these enormous changes in the world are coming very soon. NOW is the time for us to prepare to participate positively in the dynamic process of evolution—spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. There truly is very little time. We are, in fact, fortunate to live in such an intense period of tremendous challenges, and tremendous opportunities.

This is our chance to create a new and better world.