Virgo New Moon: August 30, 2008 View Chart

Virgo New Moon: August 30, 2008 View Chart

The New Moon in Virgo completes a cycle of three eclipses-the Leo New Moon partial solar eclipse on Aug. 1; the Leo Full Moon total lunar eclipse on Aug. 16; and now the Virgo New Moon partial solar eclipse. During eclipses, the lunar influence is much stronger and long lasting, and so we must review the whole eclipse cycle, especially to see what actually happened during the first three weeks of August. For those who follow my analysis of time acceleration according to the Mayan Calendar, isn't it fascinating that these three eclipses occur during August 2008 as we enter The Fourth World of the Galactic Underworld? [See The Mayan Code: Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind by Clow.]

I am happy to report that world events during the summer have been consistently reflecting Calleman's August 15, 2008, timing for the planet's entry into the Fourth World of the Galactic Underworld. [See The Mayan Calendar: Transformation of Consciousness by Carl Johan Calleman.] This is very important because if movement toward peace in the world is not discernable during summer 2008, then either Calleman's hypothesis is wrong and/or my interpretation is wrong. As most of you know, I've already described in detail a significant turnaround in world politics during July 2008 in my August 1 New Moon report. This was when Western powers were forced to stop pushing the East into more confrontations as, for example, when the US agreed to have direct negotiations with Iran. Like rooks on the global chessboard, Iraq, Afghanistan, Georgia, and even Israel were making changes to issues that source back to the archaic National Underworld (3115 BC through AD 2011), a time period when the futile struggle between East and West began.

The game has changed, and Bush's State Department is losing control; the Galactic Underworld time acceleration has done its job very well. For those of you who believe the failure of "America as Empire" is a disaster, it's time to face the fact that the US has been using fear tactics to bully anyone who is in its way, and these policies have made our world extremely unsafe. [Also recall that the US took on the mantle of processing the Planetary Underworld (1755-2011) because it formed itself during 1755-1776.] So, let us trace what actually happened during August under the influence of the first two eclipses. Then we can envision how this upcoming third eclipse might influence the new order on the global game board.

As it turns out, we have much to look forward to in early September, even though the US will be unspeakably tense in the weeks leading up to the November elections. Let us not lose sight of the fact that we enter Day Six of the Galactic Underworld on November 12, when those who have thoroughly processed the darkness within throughout Night Five will be feeling quite jubilant. So, regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, please at least notice the great change in world affairs this summer that is showing us the way of the future.

The events in August were like a panorama movie of a reversed Cold War, and America lost more influence in many places on the planet. We begin with Georgia, a small country just below the Caucasus Mountains south of Russia, a tribal region populated by many very ancient indigenous people as well as by Russians. In early August, a conflict erupted that seemed to be a dusty, scratchy replay of the First and Second World War tank invasions with Cold War tensions thrown in. Such peculiar reruns of old conflicts that seem to just come out of the blue bear all the marks of Galactic Underworld processing of unresolved National and Planetary Underworld history. The conflict between Georgia and Russia is especially instructive about the Galactic Underworld (1999-2011) because it mirrors the 1999 Kosovo conflict in Yugoslavia in many ways. Yet, it appears the outcome will be very different. This year, I have been keeping a close eye on events that seem to echo the events of 1999 when the Galactic opened, since Night Five is the deepest processing phase of the Galactic. That is why everything feels so intense for everybody.

During 1999 in Yugoslavia, the Bosnians were in conflict with the Serbians (as the Ossetians have been with the Georgians), and NATO forces intervened. Then widespread ethnic cleansing, population displacement, and genocide were the order of the day. War crimes trials are still going on around these horrific events, and recently a major bad guy in the conflict, Radovan Karadzic, was captured and put on trial. Many believe this situation revealed significant weakness in NATO, which is heavily dependent on US troops and arsenal.

Here we are nine years later, and the events in Georgia show how much the world has changed. The President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, educated at Columbia University, is an elite puppet that the Bushites use as a thorn in the side of Russia. In July during the tense Mars/Saturn conjunction in Virgo, Condoleezza Rice emboldened Saakashvili while making a supportive visit. Then on August 7-8, Mars in Virgo attained an opposition to Uranus in Pisces, and Saakashvili invaded South Ossetia, a part of Georgia that is mostly populated by an ethnic population that is deeply connected with Russia; Soviet peacekeepers protect the Osettians against Georgian interference.

Georgia slaughtered at least 2,000 people, and the Russians immediately responded by sending in more troops to defend the terrified population. Apparently, Saakashvili believed for some reason that NATO and/or the US would come to his rescue by opening up a new war front, but the US and NATO do not have the manpower! So, the Russians crushed the Georgian army and their military facilities, negotiated a ceasefire, and so far have been keeping hostilities to a minimum. But, they will certainly increase their influence in this region. However, the way the conflict played out was a great improvement over the ferocious outbreak of violence in Yugoslavia in early 1999, the first war of the Galactic Underworld.

Now it is Night Five of the Galactic, and instead of a tinderbox exploding into a nuclear explosion in Ossetia, the Russians worked to avoid a wider conflict while they negotiated a ceasefire. The violence is minimal, Saakashvili licks his wounds, and his people will have to deal with him next. Thus, American influence was reduced in the region, so on August 13 the US found another way to jab at the Russian bear. Observing the conflict in Georgia, frightened Poles concluded a deal with the Americans to locate an American manned "missile shield" in their country. Meanwhile, for years the Russians have stated they will not allow a US missile shield in Poland, and the Poles had been resisting the US proposal. The US Congress is fighting to block this quick aggressive move by Bush, and perhaps they can stop it. Creating this shield close to Russia is like a reverse Cuban missile crisis, when Jack Kennedy faced down Nikita Krushchev in 1963 over Russian missiles being placed in Cuba.

As these conflicts come up during the Galactic, more and more of them are being resolved with less violence and more diplomacy than during the Planetary and National Underworlds, and they are processing these old wounds. The "coalition" is close to losing the war in Afghanistan, and many Afghanis complain that the war against the Taliban ought to be carried out in Pakistani terrorist camps and not in their villages; they want the troops to just leave. Meanwhile, the government in Pakistan is in chaos because the US puppet-Pervez Musharraf-was thrown out by the Pakistani people.

It is incredible to watch US influence falling apart all over the world. For example, as the energy was building for the entrance into the Fourth World of the Galactic and we reached the first quarter to the New Moon on August 8, two senior officials close to Prime Minister al-Maliki leaked information that al-Maliki was pushing the US to agree to a total pullout of US combat troops by October 2010! (Buffalo News, August 8, 2008) After returning from Lily Dale where Gerry picked up this paper, I watched the New York Times each day for more news about this, but there was a news blackout. Think of what the world would be like if the troops just came home during the end of the Mayan Calendar!

Well, coming to the end of the August New Moon period as I write this column, now there is more news about Iraqi desires. In the August 26, 2008, New York Times, al-Maliki publicly announced his views to Shiite tribal leaders about foreign-troop removal. He is under intense pressure to take a hard line against the Americans or he, too, will get thrown out. So, as we go into this next solar eclipse, let's look at the chart for signs of major shifts in American public opinion regarding the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as support for the US Congress to get Bush to stop provoking Russia and meddling in Pakistani politics.

I realize that it might look like I am biased about these events, yet I am simply tracking things that show significant diminishment of global respect for America. I am watching this building anti-Americanism (like in the 1960s) because we are moving closer to the first Saturn/ Uranus opposition since 1965-67, when the US was in turmoil over the Vietnam War and racism. Back in the mid-1960s, Saturn was in Pisces opposing Neptune in Virgo, and now Saturn is in Virgo moving to an opposition to Uranus in Pisces. In the coming months, I will have much to say about this opposition, which will be close all the way through 2010. I will address the fact that the Saturn/Uranus oppositions in the 1960s and the ones coming in 2008-2010 significantly aspect the USA Neptune in Virgo, which squares Mars in Gemini. For now, let us note that the first Saturn/Uranus opposition, which will create significant tensions between authority and freedom, will occur on November 4, 2008, the day of the US Presidential election! What are the chances this is just a coincidence? Considering this building opposition and the great shift in world power during July and August 2008, let us examine this New Moon Virgo to imagine how it might sculpt these changes that have already started.

First, looking at just the geometry of this New Moon chart, we can see there is a huge shift from the Leo/Aquarius oppositional structures of the Leo New and Full Moon charts. After a whole month of radical change and demands for "what's mine," suddenly the field shifts to a preponderance of trines and squares with no oppositions. It feels like somebody released a cog in the solar system that changed the gears. And, many other aspects suggest an unstoppable shift into practicality, earthiness, recognizable values, and even some authentic good luck for a change! The New Moon in 8 Virgo eclipsing the Sun is close to Saturn in 11 Virgo, the most practical and reliable placement of Saturn. Saturn and the New Moon trine trustworthy Jupiter in 13 Capricorn, so the resource crisis will soften for just a little. This will give you a bit of time to improve your situation in practical ways before winter comes.

The mocking master of change, Uranus in Pisces, is not aspected, so pressure for change and revolution backs off for a while. This gives us time to prepare ourselves for the opposition of Saturn to Uranus on November 4, 2008, and during 2009 and 2010. When Saturn opposes Uranus, we are challenged to move beyond rigidity, while order collapses around us, forcing us to create new systems for support. This societal restructuring is hard on everybody's nervous systems every forty years or so, so we can be sure that the US presidential election will express the trauma and stress of deep change. This great opposition will be noticeable during the Libra New Moon, when you will begin to clarify your true beliefs about leadership in the world in early preparation for Pluto going back into Capricorn in late November. Now it is time to feather your own nest, make significant practical gains, and enjoy the respite after all the oppositional stress this past summer.

With Uranus briefly out of the way, Saturn in Virgo trine Jupiter in Capricorn is going to support some short-term financial and personal gains. Jupiter goes direct on September 7, so it is stationary during this New Moon. Projects that have been on hold since May 9, when Jupiter retrograded, can be launched. Pluto goes direct right on the Galactic Center less than a day later on September 8, and you will feel tremendous personal power during these two releases. You have probably been immersed in deep thought since Pluto went retrograde on April 2, and now suddenly a new integration with the underworld will emerge out of that deep thought. The second Saturn trine Jupiter occurs September 8 (the first was January 21, 2008, and what was "on top" for you at that point?), which will offer you clear ways to structure your power so you can manifest projects that have been simmering on the back burner all summer. This would be a great time to start a new career or business endeavor based on new thoughts that have come forth for months. I also think this combination of two planetary directions and the trine to Saturn from Jupiter also suggests that people working for peace behind the scenes during 2008 will find they have a public voice. This is an extremely positive combination, and we can all use it after a very rough period living with the vagaries of Night Five since late November 2007.

Regarding how to use these new possibilities, we have a lot of help from the other planets as well. Venus, Mercury, and Mars are gathered together in early Libra in a potent square to Pluto on the Galactic Center. With Mars, Mercury, and Venus in Libra, everyone on the planet will long for peace and harmony and will find themselves demanding these qualities with Pluto on the Galactic Center pushing them. We will see the desire for peace building into a wave like the great movement during the "Summer of Love" in San Francisco in 1967. These combinations could start a harmonic tsunami of the heart during the New Moon that could overwhelm almost any counterforce until at least the Full Moon on September 15, when changes based on the people's desires could strike like lightning with Uranus right on the Full Moon. We still have Chiron traveling on the Lunar North Node softened by Neptune in Aquarius. Chiron on the North Node for so many months (May through November 2008) has been giving us courage to heal ourselves and to be honest while all the unhealed wounds from the Planetary and National Underworlds get processed. The astrology at the end of the Mayan Calendar is truly awesome.

I'd like to finish with a few words, mostly for Americans, about Saturn's opposition to Uranus on November 4, since you may lose your mind unless you prepare yourself for this great shift now. The basic idea is that you must realize that who you are as an individual and your participation in your own communities is your most important and influential reality. You must master your own frequencies during this wonderful harmonic in September, since the astrological field on November 4 is going to be chaotic and potentially extremely destructive. While Saturn opposes Uranus (structural change conflict), Venus in Sagittarius (liberation of the feminine) forms a T-Square to this opposition, which means most of the structural change will occur within male/female relations. Jupiter in Capricorn is still in trine to Saturn in Virgo, and so the material world will support you if you are careful and sensible. Mars in 21 Scorpio (manipulation and greed) exactly squares Neptune in Aquarius (fantasy-ridden rapid change or spiritual ecstasy), and then Neptune is stationary and goes direct the day after the election.

This all means that in early November the US will be wallowing in CNN/Fox TV media madness, making people screaming crazy. Yet, this is just the passing scene in an electronic box. It is time to master grounding, no matter how chaotic the world seems to be. November 4 looks like it might be a day that many people withdraw their consciousness from the collective mind and take back their personal power. So now, September is a time for significant new levels of self-understanding, so that the fertile field of the Fall Equinox can set in balance and harmony for the months ahead. Be sure to tune in on the Fall Equinox on September 22 for an in-depth analysis of how to prepare for Saturn-opposite-Uranus during 2008 to 2010.