Ethics Public Meeting: Outside of Time

The last few weeks have been a surreal roller-coaster ride. Moving forward as a city will require a reckoning with our past. I feel like this will be one of those moments.

The Sun in this chart represents the essential nature of the event. It's in Pisces, in the 11th house, conjunct Neptune. The Sun in Pisces is already straddling the mundane and the spiritual. However, conjunct Neptune, the Sun becomes timeless. Therefore, the essential nature of this event is bigger than the bit players. The 11th house is the house of the collective. As we go through this process, it's impossible to know what the long-term impact will be. It's bigger than a legal ethics problem. It's bigger than a sex scandal. Bigger even than a community oversight board. This is about our highest aspirations as a community, about breaking down the barriers of class and race that divide us and finding a way to live harmoniously together.

I feel some concern about the Nessus/Juno conjunction. If you know the story of Nessus, he was a hateful little bastard who became obsessed with a woman who was much better than him and destroyed himself trying to get her (her husband was Hercules and he gave him an epic beat down). His obsession was so great that he put events in motion that years after he was long gone, took down her marriage and killed her husband. He knew he wasn't going to be alive to see that and he did it anyway. That's how hateful and obsessed he was. Combined with Juno, who, if you know that story, was the wife of Jupiter, who fucked anything that moved and just could not be faithful. But she stayed faithful to him and, more often than not, made those bitches pay. Can you see why I'm concerned about this hookup? The good thing is that these are asteroids, not planets. But when I look what we know so far about the personal issues here, I can see that themes of obsession and self-destructive possessiveness, especially in Pisces the sign of addictions and self-destructive tendencies, could very well be hidden in the background. That's a wild card. Who knows how much is underneath there which could come out at any moment? Or maybe we'll never know. I know I would prefer not to. They are connected to Saturn and the karmic North Node. That means that no one is getting away with their bad behavior, not this time. Because, in the 11th house, their personal vices are affecting everyone.

The second biggest thing that catches my eye here are the squares between Venus and Mercury in Aries on one side and Mars and Vesta in Sagittarius along with Saturn in Capricorn. A Venus/Mercury conjunction in the 11th house is speaking to collective values and how those values are conceptualized and communicated. In Aries, we're talking about the needs of the individual within the collective, specifically the physical needs. Bodily integrity, feelings of safety, housing, having access to financial resources, work that provides enough for you to live a good and healthy life. These are definitely issues that we as a community are grappling with. 

On the other side, Mars in Sagittarius is fighting to make lofty visions and dreams real with Vesta at his side to keep him honest. I've written about the Vestal Virgins and how they, as the relatively privileged representatives of an oppressed group, served as the conscience of the larger society. They used their limited privileges in service to others. In teaming up with Mars, they have some real muscle at their disposal and in the 8th house, they are the agents of change. Mars has a tendency toward anger and can get impatient. Vesta is there to make sure that he stays true to his vision and doesn't get caught up in the fight.

Saturn in Capricorn, on the other hand, is the representative of law and order. The Establishment. The Man. But Saturn is also in the 8th house. He's going to have to find a way to accommodate those disruptive forces that are coming from the 11th house. The 8th house is the house of death and rebirth. He can't just ignore them.

Which brings us to Uranus in the 12th house. Uranus has been in Aries since 2011 and has made all of us feel entitled to the freedom to express our individuality however we see fit. In those legendary standoffs with Pluto in Capricorn over the past few years, societies all over the world have seen profound unrest. Those were the years of Ferguson, Baltimore, Standing Rock to name a few. Uranus and Pluto are having their last run in before Uranus moves into Taurus. Some of those old, unresolved issues are coming up. Not with the same punch but we're being given one more opportunity to resolve them. The 12th house is the house of endings. The house where we can put things into perspective and make sense of them on a larger level.

Uranus is also being fueled by the power of the Mars and Vesta. We need to build a community in which everyone is free to develop their full potential. This is the perfect time for us to begin to do that.

The key to making everything work is Pluto in Capricorn in the 9th house. I've said before that Pluto in Capricorn is all about tearing down old, outdated traditions and societal structures which no longer serve us well, if they ever did. In the 9th house, we're talking about our philosophies, the way we conceptualize leadership in this city. Whose ideas do we value? Who are we as a city? What goals are we aspiring to? Pluto in the 9th is cleaning house. Those old ideas about leadership got to go. Those old ideas about who controls the resources. Got to go. They have to make way for a new way of being and for new goals and a new conception of who we are. 

Pluto has a positive connection to the Moon and Jupiter in Scorpio in the 7th house. The Jupiter transit of Scorpio has revealed hidden (in plain sight) abuses of sexual power. This is best embodied by the #MeToo Movement. It was a sex scandal that brought us to where we are right now. Where we are revealing long-established abuse and mismanagement of power. The Moon's involvement indicates how those long-term abuses has traumatized us and stunted our growth as a community. Jupiter brings hope and opportunities for growth. 

Chiron's position is also pivotal here. It is combining with Venus and Mercury which means that we will find our healing by speaking about our pain. It is positively connected with the Moon and Jupiter which means there will be opportunities for deep emotional connection and growth after all that we've been through. 

Finally, the Sun and Neptune are also connected to transformational Pluto. We can step outside of the confines of time, the barriers of race, class, social status, education, whatever it is that separates us, and find a new way. Pluto is the planet of Death. But it is also the planet of Resurrection. The energy of this time makes it easy for us to reach deep within and find those new solutions. We can move past our pain and find the answers. Answers that work for all of us. All we need to do is be diligent, be respectful of each other, listen to each other, really listen, and be willing to do the work of community building. 

Yes, there has been a lot of pain. Yes, we have made a lot of mistakes. Yes, we have been angry and violent with each other. But we don't have to continue down that road. Not if we're willing to face our pain. Not if we're willing to be real and honest about our darkness. We can come together in this timeless moment and create.

Do you believe in endless possibilities? I do.

Addendum: 2/26/18, 8:51am

I've been pondering the Nessus/Juno conjunction. Nessus was a powerless little dweeb but he was able to manipulate folks more powerful, but not as smart as he, by using their weaknesses against them. He got all up in their heads. An alternative reading of Nessus energy could be the ability of the powerless to use cunning, skill, and ruthlessness to overthrow the powerful. That's very dark energy but it's energy we could use right now.