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Esoteric Astrology for the week of August 21 - 27, 2008
One Day as a Lion
Voices of Reason
I’ve been listening to and watching Democracy Now and Free Speech TV. And it seems, in most cases, to be one of the few voices of reason in our strange and present world-in-upheaval times. I’ve also been wondering where the countercultural edge and champions of revolution are hiding out, where the rare leader of radical politics is, unstoppable in the pursuit of gathering intelligent and clear thinking people to stand up against the present worldwide political situation. We are in a “crisis of balance” which Libra brings forth as Libra (Ray 3 of Divine Intelligent and Economics) is the sign that emerges during transitions. This is most important to understand as our intelligence seems assaulted by the continual “non-news” and as we seem our economy, worldwide turning somersaults.
Where is the Protest?
Radio and TV are Gemini, gathering and dispersing information (or should be though much of our media is based on entertainment and shock which dulls our brains and sells continuous ads). In the midst of this, I am asking where are the bodies, groups and communities of people in protest? Where are the unions and the revolutionary folk music? Protest leaders and political artists seem to be laying low. Perhaps they are no more. However, we cannot go back to nor maintain the old way of politics.
Rage Against the Machine Zack de la Rocha
Against the backdrop of several Free Speech TV programs was protestor, musician, rapper, poet and activist Zack de la Rocha, previously of Rage Against the Machine. His distinctively gravelly voice formed the appropriate soundtrack for the harsh realities we must face concerning the choices made by our present government in the last eight years. As the sign Leo (leadership, lions) ends this week and turns to Virgo, a new musical project by de la Rocha (and drummer Jon Theodore) called, “One Day as a Lion” (Anti-Records) appeared in the news. The title comes from, “It’s better to live one day as a lion, then a thousand years as a lamb.” Themes interwoven in the new music are, “a picturesque fabricated cultural landscape masking brutal socioeconomic realities and that of religious being co-opted to justify inappropriate power. Listening carefully one’s perspective is altered, awareness is expanded and frustrations are articulated." The track “Wild International” can be heard on Myspace.
Rocha (Zacarías Manuel de la Rocha (born January 12, 1970, Long Beach, California) is a Capricorn (Sun, Venus, Mercury) with Moon, Mars & North node in Pisces, Vesta in Leo and Pluto in Virgo. He clearly sees the state of our present political field and is called to serve, save and transform it.
A Social Movement Today
Highlander Research & Education Center (www.highlandercenter.org) is an organization working in the Appalachia and southern parts of the U.S. concerned with justice, education and grassroots organizing. From Wiki, we read: Highlander played a key role in labor struggles in the 30s, 40s and 50s - especially supporting the United Mine Workers and communities against the ravages of strip coal mines. In the 1960s, Highlander played a crucial role in the Civil Rights movement. Martin Luther King and many other leaders spent time at workshops at Highlander. Rosa Parks attended a training at Highlander just before her important action in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
From 1991 Highlander developed "Global Economic Literacy" workshops for poor communities in the southern US as they struggled (and still do) with the economic and environmental damage caused by NAFTA and the WTO. Highlander was a primary inspiration in the founding of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) in Occidental, CA (see oaec.org), an intentional sustainable farm and community (which includes the arts) in Northern California, east of Hwy 101 and Sebastopol.
This is Highlander's 75th anniversary, and three of its organizers are on a rare trip to the Bay Area for an anniversary fundraiser in SF and visiting OAEC to share Highlander's history and their current work in social movement history, strategy and organizing.
What Highlander does in their own words: "Highlander serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South. We work with people fighting for justice, equality and sustainability, supporting their efforts to take collective action to shape their own destiny. Through popular education, participatory research, and cultural work, we help create spaces -- at Highlander and in local communities -- where people gain knowledge, hope and courage, expanding their ideas of what is possible."
Entering Virgo
As we enter Virgo, we remember that is the sign of service and that Los Angeles is Virgo Sun (thus so many endeavors and realities to choose from in that southern California town basking in the blazing Sun—Solar Logos), and the heart center/chakra of the United States.
The week of Aug. 21-27 (Pacific time zone): Thursday is void-of-course (v/c) from 9:34 am till 11:37 am when Moon enters Taurus. From the fires of Aries to the sustainable earth of Taurus. Mercury and Venus join together in the sky in Virgo. Try not to gather and gossip and criticize. Instead we radiate and communicate Goodwill, which creates Right Relations.
Friday Sun enters Virgo, and we become sense the need for organization and order. This creates the correct environment to serve. Mercury in Virgo is opposite Uranus in Pisces. Our thinking and communicating may be erratic, uncontrollable. We may be seeking revolution over there somewhere, realizing we can ourselves be the revolution by our thoughts and actions.
Saturday the planets are very busy interacting among themselves. A twelve hour v/c begins at 2:19 am lasting till Gemini Moon at 2:48 pm. Venus now opposes Uranus (we wonder how our relationships and the monetary situation are faring) and Mercury inconjuncts (no elements match) Neptune. Careful with communication and relaying belief systems from dinnertime and through the evening.
Sunday Venus inconjuncts Neptune and our relationship and money questions overshadow the day. We try to talk about them. Monday everyone’s chatting freely till 2:52 pm when a v/c begins, lasting till Cancer Moon at 5:18 pm. We’re hungry for nourishing and nurturing food, people and experiences Monday night through Wednesday afternoon at 5:13 when a v/c begins and lasts till 7:51 pm with Leo Moon.
Wednesday evening is difficult. Mercury in Virgo (criticism) squares Pluto (transformation talk). Don’t be the harbinger of ill will, or critical talk. Imagine the opposite…
Something (event, news, etc.) is building (since August 9th) and will surprise us (transiting Uranus square U.S. natal Mars) around September 6th concerning the United States. The Democratic convention begins this weekend and Obama will choose his running mate. We all know who we think it should be. The Hierarchy and the inner esoteric group look on silently and with great interest.
Note: Check back here later this week for a new article from Risa about Virgo.
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