PSYCHICBABBLE^SM

     Introduction

     Greetings loyal readers! As I write this at the end of June there are five planets in retrograde – Mercury, Mars, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Mercury is retrograde in Gemini, Mars and Pluto are retrograde in Sagittarius, and Uranus and Neptune are retrograde in Aquarius. These five planets have been retrograde for the past few weeks. People have reported feeling “stuck” and confused. Things have not been moving smoothly. Fortunately Mercury went direct on June 29^th, so some things have been opening up.

     Writer’s Block

     Although the new Moon occurred on June 21 (I endeavor to write these columns on the new Moon preceding the cycle each column covers) I was not able to write until the first quarter. Granted, there was the usual number of things on my schedule (and as we all know, objects on the calendar are closer than they appear) but I could have made the time to write. I just couldn’t get “unstuck!” This morning I realized that Mercury is going direct very soon, and I can already feel the energies moving back toward their normal configuration. Not only that, but Mercury is currently trining Uranus. Uranus is the great awakener, providing flashes of insight and genius. Uranus has an erratic orbit, thus representing the eccentric and unusual. Thus Mars trine Uranus facilitates the communication of flashes of insight and/or unusual information. (I don’t guarantee any such flashes, but we’ll see what the spirits have in store as I write the rest of this column.)

     In addition, Pluto and Mars are conjunct. Pluto represents reorganization and regeneration, as well as power. Mars represents our desires and aspirations, as well as how we direct our energies toward achieving those desires and aspirations. The Pluto-Mars conjunction facilitates the reorganization of societal structures toward achieving our desires and aspirations. Since 1% of the world’s population holds 57% of the world’s wealth (a frightening statistic), the current power structure has organized society to dominate, control and exploit the other 99% of the planet’s inhabitants. With both planets retrograde, the energies of restructuring society toward common desires is held back. Thus these retrogrades are a time for the other 99% of us to think about how we can restructure society more equitably when these planets return to direct motion. Pluto will go direct on August 23 and Mars will go direct on July 19^th. The new Moon in Leo occurs on July 20, so this is an excellent time to meditate on what we want and how we can go about achieving it.

     Emerging Social Change

     One does not have to be psychic to know that people are organizing all over the world and demonstrating vocally. The WTO demonstrations in Seattle, Washington D.C. and Prague and the FTAA demonstrations in Montreal are just the tip of the iceberg compared to what is coming. Look for much more of this activity in the fall, after Pluto goes direct. People want change and they’re organizing for it. People know they are being exploited and they are tired of it. The Teamsters and other unions recognize that trade with China not only means doing business with a totalitarian regime that exploits labor, they recognize that it means the export of well-paying US jobs to a place where people are paid pennies a day. However, there is a lot more organizing going on in China than will be reported in the corporate and advertiser-controlled global media. In fact, it is entirely possible that large demonstrations have taken place that we will never hear about until after the fall of communism.

     By the way, the fall of Communism in China is a foregone conclusion. I have been saying this for over twenty years. Of course, twenty years ago no one believed me. Then the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union collapsed. So when people express skepticism over the end of communism in China I simply reminded them that twenty years ago they wouldn’t have believed the Soviet Union would collapse overnight, but it did. After having this pointed out, the prospect of the fall of communist China seems less unlikely.

     China is home to one quarter of the world’s population, yet very little reported about China in the western press. Very little of what does get reported is credible, so it is difficult for westerners to know what is really going on there. The China reports I have seen in the alternative press suggest that things are much worse there than anything that gets reported in the mainstream press. Thousands of people have been displaced by floods, and the harvests have not been good. If this summer is as bad as some meteorologists have predicted, the famine could become even more widespread. Chinese cities are so badly polluted that the Chinese government has finally recognized the need for such things as emissions and pollution controls. Maybe now folks will switch to alternative energy?

     All of the hardships faced by the Chinese people, along with years of living under a totalitarian regime, will explode within the next few years. The Chinese government could fall as soon as the end of the year. There are Chinese resistance forces planning and organizing in secret, taking advantage of the Mars and Pluto retrogrades as the time to think instead of act. In addition, Uranus goes direct on October 30, and Neptune goes direct on October 17^th. So watch for some serious action in China sometime in November, when these four planets have been direct for a little while.

     Ghosting the Fed

     Being unemployed has given me more time to attend daytime demonstrations I would have missed had I still been working a day job. Some of the most enjoyable and entertaining ones I have been to this summer were sponsored by an organization called Jubiliee Amendment (http://www.jublieeamendment.org). This group of independent-minded and freedom-loving souls wants to use the Internet to achieve economic justice. We have been employing an old Quaker protest technique called ghosting. Ghosting started in the 19^th century. It was usually done by one individual walking up and down the street in front of the organization he or she was demonstrating against with a sign. The signs were usually scriptural quotations (e.g. “The love of money is the root of all evil,” etc.) and bore no identification of the sponsoring individual. The “ghost” would walk silently back and forth, speaking to no one.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

-Matthew 5:5

THE MEEK ARE GETTING READY!

     As I come around the back of the building, I always make sure to hold my sign up right in front of the security camera. It is always fascinating to observe people’s reactions. The tourists either stare or laugh, the working class people smile and give us the thumbs up, and the rich folk look either stone-faced or annoyed. (I particularly enjoy turning to show my sign to the folks riding in the back of limousines.) During the last event some of the demonstrators saw New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani (also known as “Adolph Guiliani,” “Rudy Crueliani” and “Rudy Fooliani,” among other things) walking by. (I was on the other side of the building at the time, so I missed seeing Hizzoner.) Back in May, the group ghosted outside the New York Hilton where Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Alan Greenspan was a featured speaker before an audience of 2,300. I was not able to make that event (I was still employed at the time), but I’m told people were really freaked out by the ghosts. They had no idea what to make of it.

     It is important to remember that the vast majority of rich white folks actually believe they are entitled to hog the wealth and exploit the poor, because they are they truly convinced of their own entitlement and moral superiority. (I know this because I grew up in Fairfield County Connecticut and got to observe many of them at close range for many years.) Because these people tend to socialize only within their own deranged social class, they are totally out of touch with ordinary people. These folks genuinely cannot understand why anyone in the world would be opposed to free market economies and the capitalist system of exploiting labor and raping the planet. Imagine how entertaining it must have been to see hundreds of them, all dressed up for a dinner at a fancy hotel to honor a famous capitalist, being thoroughly puzzled by people walking around with signs painted with biblical quotations about helping the poor and the evil of loving money.

     You may want to tell everyone you know about the Jubilee Amendment website and the group’s ghosting activities, since we’re not likely to get any mainstream media coverage.

     What’s Next?

     This summer is going to be hotter than usual (at least here in the Northeast) and people are going to be bogged down by retrograde planets. The good news about retrograde planets is that they bog down our opponents as much as they bog us down. Have you noticed how much trouble Spurious George has been getting himself into lately? By the way, if you want to have some fun go to the Hobbit name generator at http://www.chriswetherell.com/hobbit/default.asp and look up George Bush’s hobbit name. I promise you’ll be entertained.

     I began this article on the last day of Mercury retrograde and am finishing it on the first day of Mercury direct. As of yesterday I could already feel an opening in Mercury’s stuck energies, and today is substantially clearer. Things will be fully back to normal in a few weeks – from Mercury’s perspective, that is. Watch for a greater sense of control over your life when Mars goes direct on July 19^th. You will feel much less stuck and life will appear to be proceeding much more smoothly. You will experience an even greater sense of freedom when Pluto goes direct on August 23^rd. And remember, Uranus and Neptune will go direct in October, so the pace of things will acquire much more speed come November. By then they may be going too fast!

Copyright 2001 Marcy J. Gordon. All rights reserved. The author wants you to know you are free to copy and distribute this article for noncommercial purposes, provided you reproduce it in its entirety and credit the author. For quotation permission, please contact the author at mgordon@pipeline.com.