Jupiter in Scorpio: Wisdom Drawn from the Still Depths of the Soul

Jupiter in Scorpio: October 10, 2017 to November 8, 2018 

This 5,000+-word article delineates and interprets the year-long Jupiter in Scorpio transit. It is available in its entirety to Willow's Web Astrology patrons, or it can be purchased for $10.50 by PayPal or email money transfer.

Until the end of 2017, all new patrons will receive the Saturn in Capricorn article as a bonus ($11.25 value).

The Diminishing and Marginalization of "Those Types" of Astrologers Within the Astrology Establishment

A couple days ago, I was guided/urged to share a link to my recent article, "Hurricane Harvey, the Total Solar Eclipse, and This Era of Unnatural Disaster," on a Reddit.com astrology board, which is a public message board. 

This isn't something I normally do. I've actually never posted a link to this site, and I don't frequent it. Another astrologer kindly posted some of my articles there a few years ago, and I believe I made two comments in total at the site before now.

The link to my article stayed up at the Reddit page for a couple hours. I could see on my StatCounter that people were navigating to my site from that link.

But soon after, the link I posted disappeared from the page.

So I posted it again.

Again, it was deleted.

I thought maybe it was stationing Mercury that was messing with me and asked a friend to check the site for my link. She couldn't find it, either. 

I wanted to know if this was censorship based on the subject matter of the article (which was certainly astrological in nature, involving a fair amount of transit and astrological research) or whether this was a general blackballing of me as an astrologer.

So I tested the waters, posting a link to this other recent article, "The Push for Standardized Astrological Education As a Pluto in Capricorn-Era Control Mechanism." 

In it, I outlined a level of discrimination I've experienced and felt against intuitive astrology (the type of astrology I practise) coming from the astrological establishment. 

The experience I had after posting this link amusingly (and aggravatingly) illustrates exactly what I'm talking about, which I will share here.

Posting the second article had an immediate large and backlash-y reaction with a few people shit-swarming me in the comments section. This included a couple of the more establishment-friendly astrologers trying to dominate my perspective out of existence.

"Your experience is not your experience because I say it's not and because I haven't experienced that myself, so that means it's not happening." 

(Is this what they call gas-lighting?)

I was called "hostile," "skewed," "dogmatic," "objectively incorrect," and was said to be promoting a "narrative that is garbage," among other pleasantries. 

All this because I refused to be brainwashed out of my own (15+ years of) experience, and I refused to be bullied into accepting their more establishment-friendly reality in place of my own.

One commenter seemed to be particularly incensed by my article and perspective, launching into paragraphs-long commentary trying to dominate my viewpoint out of existence. In his mind, his experience as a more establishment-accepted astrologer negated my (very different) experience. The classic, "I haven't experienced that, so it doesn't exist" thing. 

It's common for the dominant paradigm to insist that it is the only paradigm - or the only paradigm that really matters. 

This commenter said full-on that he believed it was correct that astrologers whose work involves conspiracy research should be censored from that message board. That was fairly mind-boggling to me.

Then in the second breath, he demanded to know what made me think he was more establishment-friendly than I am. (You can't make this stuff up, folks.)

Another commenter turned his nose up at sociopolitical astrology ("exhausting!") and stated his preference that astrology be just a "fun personal interest." (This view, depressingly, probably represents 90% of all astrology enthusiasts these days...)

Excessively-long comment section shitstorm short, it turns out that the guy who was so obsessively trying to force his establishment-friendly views down my throat was the moderator who censored my article in the first place! Ah, it all makes sense now.

Except, he claims it's not censorship and that, again, I am pretty well a wingnut if I think that is the case.

The stated reason for my article being deleted (twice) from the Reddit astrology board:

"Resources that discuss conspiracy theories are discouraged in much the same way we discourage palmistry, numerology, and general occult things like that."

So in a fit of absolute and utter cosmic perfection and beauty, we see a clear example of the type of marginalization of "certain astrologers" within the astrology establishment that I wrote about in the article and that I then reiterated in the comments section of that article. 

As this guy is so vehemently insisting that I'm making all this up and this discrimination/experience/perspective does not exist, he is illustrating the very dynamics I'm writing about.

The reason the article had such a huge and backlash-y response from these people is that it hit the nail squarely on the head. 

Now, most astrologers I know are not opposed to palmistry, numerology, tarot, psychic abilities, conspiracy research, etc. It would actually seem insane to us to be opposed to those things. If we aren't into them ourselves, we're certainly not going to make it our mission to discredit them and stamp them out (so long as they are being legitimately practised by skilled and ethical people). 

So if this is the policy of that Reddit astrology page, they need to make that bias known up front by stating it as a rule on the front of the page. 

As I said in the article on forced standardized education/certification, I don't mind being treated like a second class citizen. What I mind is not knowing why I'm being treated that way. What I mind is everyone pretending it's not going on, pretending everything is so inclusive and evolved, when the reality of how things function is far from that.

This Reddit page moderator is taking his cues from the astrology establishment, which believes that it has to distance itself from "those types" of astrologers in order to gain mainstream acceptance (and salaries). 

This type of discrimination against and marginalization of intuitive astrology and astrologers (which, yes, can involve things like palmistry, numerology, psychic abilities, divination tools, conspiracy research, etc.) is unfortunately far from uncommon within the astrological establishment. 

Well, I'm one of "those types" of astrologers. The astrologers I roll with are "those types" of astrologers. The astrologers I respect are "those types" of astrologers.

And we're one potent motherfucking crew. We exist. We practise astrology, we do readings, we write, we teach, all from that potent motherfucking perspective that only we can bring.

And the astrology establishment is just going to have to get over it. Pretending we don't exist or pretending that we're just "secondary astrologers," marginalizing and shutting out our practise of astrology while pretending that is not going on - it's all so very, very last era.

And it's all very clearly a Pluto in Capricorn-era control mechanism, a power move designed to create prestige and financial reward for those who play the game while diminishing and shutting out those who do not.

Let's bring it all out into the open, friends. Jupiter in Scorpio is on its way. 

Hurricane Harvey, the Total Solar Eclipse, and This Era of Unnatural Disaster

Considering what we know about weather warfare and geoengineering, we have to seriously question whether Hurricane Harvey was an intentionally-created or -enhanced storm. Harvey devastated Houston, Texas and many other areas of the state as Saturn stationed direct at 21 degrees Sagittarius on August 25, following the total solar eclipse August 21.

The related flooding is something that has never been seen before in U.S. history. It is being called a 1,000-year flood, with an estimated 100,000 homes and 1 million vehicles destroyed. People's lives have been detrimentally disrupted for years and potentially decades to come.

Houston is the home of former U.S. President and known member of ruling elite secret societies, George Bush, and this fact sticks out to me like a sore thumb.

We're in an era when the powers-that-be are creating "biblical" unnatural catastrophes that are then blamed purely on climate change or other factors ("Revelations is coming true!").

Unprecedented rainfall and flooding, as well as extremely violent storms, have been experienced around the world with increasing intensity over the past decade. Even before Harvey, the United States had been hard hit with recent massive floods. 

This all plays into the distorted symbolism being intentionally manifested and played out as we shift astrological eras. 

The deluge myths that are being played upon now with these man-made events are cross-cultural, not limited to Noah's Ark in the Christian Bible. From a January 16, 2011 article, "Jupiter at Tail-End Pisces, the Deluge Myths and the Implanting of the Serpent":

"Fragments of cross-cultural deluge myths are suddenly becoming (sur)reality as we traipse through fin-de-Pisces - set off as part of the long-term plan by a version of "God" that is strictly man-made and a version of life on Earth that is strictly symbolic...

If we hone in on North America and the Lenni-Lanapi or Delaware River Indians' version, after the deluge, a period of snake-worship is secretly brought to Earth. Under worship of the God of the snakes, Wakon, this period brings evil, crime, unhappiness, bad weather, death. Just what the doctor ordered for those looking to rid the Earth of 'excess' humanity while controlling the remainder."

If you think weather modification, control of the weather, and weather warfare are strictly wack job conspiracy theory, think again: John F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke about the ability to control the weather to the United Nations General Assembly in 1961. You can't get much more "New World Order/Illuminati-Official" than that.

Rutgers University climatologist Alan Robock blew the whistle on the CIA's interest in weather warfare in 2015, claiming his department was contacted by the agency about the subject. (Source: "Spy agencies could be funding geo-engineering research in pursuit of weaponising the weather, scientists claims" by Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith, February 15, 2015, The Independent)

Robock pointed out that the U.S. government/armed forces has used cloud seeding against Cuba in an attempt to increase rain and ruin the sugar harvest.

Robock also pointed to geoengineering during the war against Vietnam, when the United States government/armed forces seeded clouds over the country from 1966 to 1971 to produce an excess of rain and prolong the monsoon season. This secret mission was called Project Popeye, and it ended only after it was exposed by journalist Jack Anderson. (Source: "Controlling the Weather" by Paul Simons, September 24, 2001, The Guardian. Thank-you to Washington's Blog for the research.) Project Popeye was also exposed in the Pentagon Papers, reported on by The Washington Post in 1972.

The Guardian article "Controlling the Weather" also reports on historical tampering with hurricanes. In 1947, U.S. meteorologists seeded the clouds around a hurricane out at sea in a stated attempt to kill it off, but the next day, the hurricane gathered strength and did major damage in Savannah, Georgia.

In 1969, when Hurricane Debbie was 700 miles out at sea, three cloud-seeding missions were flown around the eye of the hurricane. Each time, the hurricane's winds were initially reduced but then picked up again.

We have to wonder what the U.S. government and its scientists have learned since then...

In the video of Hurricane Harvey's path, presented by YouTube vlogger Moe Othman, the hurricane gathers strength and then disappears, gathers strength and then disappears about five times, which is not usual for a hurricane. This unusual path provides evidence of some type of manipulation. 

(Update: this video shows Hurricane Harvey being "refueled" by a technique called in-place sequential water vapor generation, WeatherWar101: Hurricane Harvey: Refueled Three Times = 50 Inches)

Even more evidence of potential manipulation: as pointed out in Othman's reporting, Hurricane Andrew occurred exactly 25 years prior to Hurricane Harvey and had the same type of path - gaining strength and then disappearing, gaining strength and then disappearing. 

Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Florida on August 24, 1992.

August 24, 2017 was the day Harvey began to intensify, being upgraded from a tropical storm to a hurricane.

With Saturn currently gaining speed direct in Sagittarius, let's establish (Saturn) what we know (Sagittarius):

We know that numerology and certain dates are utilized by the powers-that-be because of their symbolism and occult power. 

We know that governments around the world have the ability to use weather as a weapon, including seeding clouds to create torrential rainfall.

We know that the spraying of chemtrails creates a blanket of cloud cover - a continual and daily practise in many countries around the world, including the United States and Canada.

We know that the HAARP project (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) and other technological tools have the ability to create violent weather events.

(Update: some recent research I've found claims Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were created via a technique called In-Place Sequential Water Vapor Generation. A particularly chilling detail is that Hurricane Irma, being called the largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, is said to have originated over Central Africa on August 24 - the same date Hurricane Andrew made landfall in 1992 and the same date Hurricane Harvey began to intensify to hurricane status in 2017.)

I've written on the blog before about the fact that I feel the earthquake and tsunami that set off the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis were man-made, potentially via HAARP activity. The clouds seen over Japan immediately following the earthquake certainly appeared suspicious.

I also believe that these unnatural disasters (as well as more traditional war manoeuvres) are being timed according to astrological events.

From a previous article:

"The Fukushima disaster occurred on March 11, 2011, on the very same day that Uranus moved from the last degree of the zodiac (29 Pisces) to the first degree of the zodiac (0 Aries).

Uranus (sudden events, shocks, uranium) + Pisces (ocean, energetic connection of life, end of era/cycle) + Aries (attacks, war, new cycle).

As Uranus entered Aries March 11, 2011, it moved into position for a seven-square series to Pluto in Capricorn (running June 2012 to March 2015) - a square series we last saw during the Great Depression and the lead-up to World War II when Uranus was transiting Aries and Pluto was transiting Cancer (1932 - 1934).

History was about to repeat, Aquarian era depopulation-style.

As soon as I saw the astrology, I knew.

See, naturally-occurring events don't happen that pat. They don't happen that precisely. They rarely follow the astrological symbology to a tee like that - at least, not on that large a scale.

The events that caused the ongoing nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan were planned to coincide with Uranus moving from the last degree of the zodiac (29 Pisces) to the first degree of the zodiac (0 Aries) - a shocking and traumatic (Uranus) event symbolizing the end of the astrological Piscean era and the beginning of the astrological Aquarian. One era ends, another begins - in a forced, unnatural, and horrific way.

As Uranus entered Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, the first sign of the new cycle, we entered a new era of energy weapons, technology used to attack, and a transhumanist agenda that is attempting to alter the very identity of human beings as natural, biological organisms.

They kicked it off with a bang, to say the least.

As Uranus and Pluto moved into square position, these events were designed to pick up right where World War II left off: a depopulating nuclear war against Japan and against the whole of humanity. But this time it was being waged covertly. In the same way that nuclear attacks have gone undercover with the use of depleted uranium munitions, we are now experiencing sabotage of nuclear reactors as covert nuclear war."

I have experienced unnatural weather events and unprecedented rainfall and flooding first-hand, though on a much smaller scale than the poor residents of Texas.

I've seen flooding of the agricultural zones of the prairie provinces of Canada over the past seven years, particularly in my home province of Saskatchewan. This is recurring flooding that has destroyed crops en masse, as well as property and homes, and it is flooding that has not been experienced before in remembered history.

I wrote about the unprecedented wild weather in Saskatchewan in late July/August of 2010 under the massively potent cardinal t-square involving Jupiter-Uranus in Aries, Mars-Saturn in Libra, and Pluto in Capricorn. That flooding led to 114 communities declaring themselves disaster areas, as well as widespread crop failure.

The next year was more of the same - widespread flooding of southeastern Saskatchewan in May 2011, when only one-third of the crop land in the area could be sowed. The cardinal t-square between Uranus in Aries, Saturn in Libra, and Pluto in Capricorn was still strongly in effect at that time.

Then in June 2014, the Saskatchewan village I was living in (as well as many other communities) was almost entirely flooded after receiving torrential rain for around 48 hours straight. This was a type of rain and a type of flooding that we do not get in the prairies, outside the past number of years. I can't remember a single other time when my area flooded in a similar fashion prior to these events, and neither could my father, a lifelong resident of the area.

I wrote about that flood in this article from July 13, 2014, "The Cardinal Configurations and Orchestrated Disasters in Major Food-Producing Areas." The flooding in 2014 occurred right in the thick of the Uranus in Aries - Pluto in Capricorn square series (2012 - 2015). Transiting Mars was in Libra at the time of the flood, and the Sun and Moon were in Cancer, creating a Cardinal Grand Cross formation with Uranus and Pluto. (All WWA articles related to weather modification can be found under that label on the right side of the page or at this link.)

This is just the tip of the iceberg, of course - people from areas around the world could chronicle similar patterns and anomalies in weather in recent years. 

The flooding of some agricultural areas has coincided with severe droughts in others. Coincidental?  Droughts in California, Texas, Montana, and North Dakota in recent years, to name a few, have prompted massive sell-offs in livestock, as there is no feed for the animals.

To be blunt about it: the Great Depression was just a warm-up for these fucks.

There's no better way to control people than by starving them out or destroying their homes and businesses, their ability to make a living. This has been a historical practise of establishment wealth and power against those with much less wealth and power, and it goes across races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. This includes people being "tractored off" their farm land during the Great Depression of the 1930s, often leading to starvation or malnutrition and being forced into what amounted to slave labour.

Three hundred-year floods...500-year droughts...1,000-year floods...

"Unprecedented," "largest natural disaster in history," "unseen before in our lifetimes," "record-setting rainfall," "record-setting flooding," "most powerful earthquake ever recorded."

And all happening within the past ten years. Does this seem a little suspicious? Do you notice a pattern?

It's orchestrated.

Nostradamus may have predicted this stuff, but he didn't finger the people responsible. Yes, there are actual individuals responsible for this. We're being ruled by straight-up psychopaths with no regard for human life. In fact, they desire to drastically depopulate the Earth and are following plans to that end. It sure would be nice to expose them in a way that could not be refuted... 

There are so many devastated lives and broken hearts in Texas right now. It's monstrous in scope, and I'm so sorry to everyone affected.

But this is the power structure of Planet Earth. This is what's being intentionally brought down upon us. We can't be happy to just go along with this system as long as we have a reasonably comfortable life, as long as it doesn't affect us or our loved ones directly. We all need to see it. We all need to know in no uncertain terms who's responsible. With that awareness comes real power.

I've come to understand, after more than a decade of intensive observation, that the nefarious crimes of the big-league power players on this planet are often planned to coincide with astrological events. They are harnessing nature's energy to assist in their vicious deeds, and they are also employing a sick occult symbolism that has become a trademark of this corrupt web of power.

Hurricane Harvey was timed to coincide with the over-the-top Leo New Moon total solar eclipse on August 21.

Harvey made landfall on August 25, just as Saturn stationed direct at 21 degrees Sagittarius. This was followed by days of torrential rainfall. Saturn (establishment, the father) stationing in the sign of religion, culture, and myth indicates a concrete "deluge myth" event tying in to the occult symbolism/mythology used by the power elite.

Anyone who picked up on the obscenely excessive hype around this eclipse might have guessed that it was being pumped up in the collective psyche for a reason. There was something monstrous in the works - yet another unnatural disaster unleashed on the people of Planet Earth by the psychopathic rulers at the top of the illegitimate pyramid scheme of power.

Which particular psychopathic rulers? It's hard to say. This is a move out of the General Pyramid Scheme of Corrupted Power Playbook, and any or all of the pseudo-elites could be involved. It's an interwoven web that spreads worldwide.

The people need to understand that these are not just random acts of nature. These are not just inevitable consequences of climate change. As bizarre as it may sound (though likely not to my regular readers), these are intentional acts being committed by very sick and very terrifying individuals in order to control the populace. Harvey is (most likely) another horrific orchestrated event in a long line of  horrific orchestrated events. 

Another great video by Moe Othman reports on a set of Illuminati Cards manufactured in 1975 that foretell many of the orchestrated events and disasters we've experienced over the past few decades. This includes control of the weather, as well as the tsunami and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. 

In other words, no reduction in carbon emissions is going to stop this stuff.

Communication/media planet Mercury stations direct at 28 degrees Leo on September 5 in a conjunction to Mars and in a trine to Uranus at 28 degrees Aries. The Mercury-Mars conjunction was exact early this morning at 28 degrees Leo. Both the Mercury direct station and the Mercury-Mars conjunction occur on the same degree as the New Moon total solar eclipse August 21.

My hope, as always, is that people sharing information, putting two-and-two together, making connections, and scrapping together as much of the truth as we can will take the wind out of the sails of these nefarious pricks (male and female) who erroneously call themselves our leaders.

My hope is that we continue to create (Leo) our own powerful (Mars) and independent (Uranus) media (Mercury), bringing to light the powerful truth that will eliminate these illegitimate power structures and set beneficial change in motion. 

This article and this blog, in general, are my offering toward those ends.

May the power of all that is good keep you safe and protected. May the power of all that is good assist and comfort those whose lives have been adversely affected by Hurricane Harvey and by all the orchestrated unnatural disasters.

Saturn Inches Forward in Publishing-Related Sagittarius

As Saturn (consolidation, concrete efforts) inches forward in publishing-related Sagittarius, I have a few interesting things to report.

First, the wonderful Jeremiah Moss, author of the fabulous Jeremiah's Vanishing New York blog, now has a book out titled, "Vanishing New York: How a Great City Lost its Soul." You can check it out online here, but it is being widely distributed and sold, so check your local book shops. (Jeremiah would encourage local, independent book shop patronage!)

For the past ten years, Jeremiah has chronicled the horrifying gentrification of the Lower East Side of New York City, in particular the doubling and tripling of rents on retail spaces to make room for stores, restaurants, and pubs directed toward the rich and trendy. This practise has put hundreds (thousands?) of much-loved and much-patronized small businesses out of business or forced them to move out of their neighbourhoods. This practise has changed the entire landscape of New York City (not just in the Lower East Side), removing a lot of the heart and soul and quirky independence by which it was once characterized.

Jeremiah lovingly documents the vanishing businesses of the Lower East Side - that so many people patronize and love - before they disappear. And I love him for it!

(Aside: I also love Jeremiah's Vanishing New York blog because it's still a blogspot. Blogspots represent!)

The hyper-gentrification Jeremiah has so heartbreakingly and painstakingly chronicled in New York City for the past 10 years is a ubiquitous Pluto in Capricorn-era theme, displacing people from homes and businesses around the globe.

It's the abusive and coercive power of all mighty fiat currency  - a type of phony and corrupted power too often worshiped on Planet Earth and never so blatantly as during the Pluto in Capricorn years (2008 - 2024).

Entire cities are being re-made as playgrounds for the rich and trendy, driving rents and real estate prices up to the point that lower income people are forced out. Make no mistake about it - it's socioeconomic cleansing, a fundamental characteristic of the Pluto in Capricorn agenda.

My own beloved Art of My Heart store (seen to the left in its second - and more orderly - incarnation on the ground floor of the mall) was gentrified out of the TD Square Mall in Calgary, Alberta in 2009. This beautiful, soulful, independent, and utterly unique store was pushed out by the Pluto in Capricorn steamroller to make way for such thrilling and unique high-end chain stores as Brooks Brothers. 

The end of Art of My Heart broke my own heart into a million pieces and threw my life into a state of chaos. At the same time, I knew that what happened there was going on all over the place. The owner and I were far from alone in our unceremonious displacement. 

This article is from May 23, 2009, at the point when I realized Art of My Heart was dead and that it wouldn't be resurrecting in a new location due to sky-high rents all over the city. The article is full of grief and rage and Plutonic horror, and it's bang-on as far as what was going on (and is still going on) and what it was doing to the people involved.

"R.I.P. Art of My Heart":

"I'm just waiting. Inside the fortress that is me. The only place that feels good.

I'm waiting for this wave of hyper-gentrification to run out of steam, so that I can properly assess the situation. At the moment, even walking down the street feels like a blast from an overexposed dystopic imagery furnace. Fake light and happy, grinding its pointy high heel into my eye. A nouveau rich nightmare. Teenagers in brand new, sickeningly overpriced clothes designed to look "lived in." Street-tastic! Carrying Chanel purses (yes, high schoolers with Chanel), cell phones and iced coffees.

They look straight out of the pages of InStyle (Star/People/US Weekly) magazine, so I can see why they feel entitled. That takes a lot of effort. 

Mount Royal Starbucks where you'll get the snobby once-over just for going in to get a take-out coffee. They can sniff out non-upper-mid-class-yuppie status.

 It's a fucking wasteland. Sorry, but it is. 

The so-called alternative crowd drinking overpriced beer, eating overpriced breakfasts in pseudo-retro diners, sitting around in carefully chosen "styles" being all alternative and shit. Talking about how to market their band. Hoping to be noticed, to get famous. Even the indy crowd in this town has this marketing veneer lacquered over everything. 

No one just living their lives. It's all an agenda. Gotta be someone. Gotta get somewhere. Gotta play the game. 

Calgary, Alberta. Schlepping phony Western Canadiana for kicks, but the mean, mean underlying vibe is always there. Vicious millionaires bulldozing soulful establishments and people's livelihoods in favour of clean, cleansed luxury for its clean, cleansed luxury-deserving patrons. A city run by and for young souls. You can throw in a few newly-minted mature souls just to give it that fake "artsy/cultured" thing. Garbage. Trying to lure the people who don't know any better into dropping their money on overpriced drinks and food, clothing and accessories. Paying for fake experiences with fake money.

The downtown mall has kicked all the real stores out in favour of luxurification plans handed down by Torontonian property management overlords.

Brooks Brothers is coming to town! How thrilling. 

Spaces are empty all over town. All over the country. All over the world. Bulldozed livelihoods. Lost our lease. Lost our lease. We're closing shop. And in a way, the independents are relieved. Because trying to keep your head above water in this increasingly corporatized climate is bloody exhausting. They tighten the vice little by little. Priced out. Squeezed out. And when the death of the business finally comes, it's accepted with a sigh. 

And so I wait for the bulldozer to run out of gas. Or to at least take a fucking coffee break. 

I can see it starting. "Luxury" stores aren't lining up to fill those empty spaces. The spots are sitting empty. Stalled monster condo projects all over town. Massive, gaping holes left in the ground with fences all around. They got ahead of themselves, trying to build on phony foundations.

And here I sit. I'm not sure what things are going to look like or if there will ever be a place I can stand being in again. 

Art of My Heart is dead. And every fucking brainless weasel in this town can go to hell."

My little beading zone at the second incarnation of Art of My Heart, TD Square Mall, downtown Calgary, Alberta

(All Art of My Heart articles)

The funny thing was that after the richy-rich gentrification of much of Calgary, the oil bust came along! They poured millions into renovating the TD Square mall, putting in fancy sky lights, and booting all the independent retailers in favour of high end chains. And then people couldn't afford to shop there anymore!

From what I hear, downtown Calgary has been pretty much a ghost town for the past number of years - compared to the oil boom days, anyway. That city really could have used the oasis of soul that Art of My Heart provided. They blew it!

Second of my publishing-related announcements: my recent article on Leslie Demeniuk and pharmaceuticals-caused violent crime has been published in the Ripe with Rage zine out of Nashville, Tennessee. You can check the 80-page zine out here. This is the second issue of the Ripe with Rage zine and has a theme of Asylum.  

My own self-published zines are also available in some interesting places at the moment. They can be found at Spartacus Books in Vancouver, B.C., at Camas Books in Victoria, B.C., or at the University of Victoria Zine Library. 

I have to say, I'm most excited about the zine library. When my own local library accepted Hexagon Astrology Magazine onto its shelves, I had a little 'squee' of delight, and when I noticed that someone had actually checked it out, that 'squee' was magnified even further.  

 WWA zines

My own zines are also available online through this blog or through my Etsy shop. 

My efforts will continue to be focused on writing articles for the blog and for WWA patrons, but it's nice to have a physical medium to work with like zines. They create some cross-pollination and get the writing to people who may not come across it otherwise.

 

Saturn Direct with Dispositor Jupiter in Some Juicy Territory

 Photos: Willow

The engine for concrete progress in the material world, Saturn, turned direct early this morning at 21 degrees Sagittarius, and we're ready to take on a new chunk of growth, development, and achievement in the public sphere. Plans slowly start to solidify and take form. Our positions have been fortified, and we're now setting our sights on the next leg up the mountain.

Saturn will now move through the last decan of Sagittarius in one sweep before entering its own sign of Capricorn at December solstice. More on the Saturn in Capricorn transit is available in this article, "Saturn in Capricorn: An Astrological Overview for Long-Term Strategic Planning."

We're ready for one final push toward achievement and greatness in the sign of scholarly Sagittarius, structuring our lives according to our own truth and guiding philosophies, making commitments and decisions under the ultimate authority of our own wisdom and knowledge.

Achievements in academia, medicine, law, or publishing are particularly highlighted, but again, the greatest Saturn in late Sagittarius achievement may be the commitment to living by our own truth, our own ethics, and our own philosophies, even when they are not aligned with those of the society or collective around us. 

There's a bit of a shake-up indicated in the status-quo-as-you-go as Saturn moves through the last leg of Sagittarius, and our wild-and-free spirits lead the way on this.

The dispositor (key influence) of Saturn in Sagittarius is Jupiter, currently transiting relationship, society, and justice-oriented Libra. 

Jupiter in Via Combusta Libra is heading into some mighty juicy territory as Saturn gets going direct again in Sagittarius, and this indicates some sparkle and flash in the social/relational realms this September.

You may recall from previous articles that Jupiter in Libra is currently in air-fire kite formation with Mars in Leo, Uranus in Aries, and Saturn in Sagittarius. This kite will be activated again by transiting Venus in Leo September 12 - 17.

Jupiter in Libra is also just about to form its final opposition to Goddess of Discord Eris at 22 degrees Aries (September 1 - 5), which brings Eris themes strongly into the kite formation party. This contact to Eris brings up the potential for some social discord and shuffling over the next month, and we have a re-triggering of themes from this February 15, 2017 article, "Necessary Discordant Notes as Uranus Makes Its Final Conjunction to Eris in Aries":

"The most well-known story about Eris involves a big social snub. Eris was not invited to a prominent wedding that was going on, despite the fact that all of Olympus had been invited. The social roster was not complete. Eris had been shut out of the proceedings. As a result, the big smiles and boisterous glad-handing were too phony for her to bear, and she stirred up some drama at their little party to make things seem more fair.

Queen Shit Disturber, that one is.

Eris tossed a golden apple, referred to as the Apple of Discord, into the party. The apple was inscribed with "To the Fairest One," (ingenious) and three goddesses there, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, immediately started quarreling and vying for the prize. They stripped naked for the judge, Paris, and offered him bribes.

Eris played on the vanity of the women involved to great effect, making them look like fools, and, unfortunately, a war was even started over it.

The discovery of dwarf planet Eris in 2005 created discord in our solar system classifications, as well, resulting in the 2006 re-classifications of Pluto, Ceres, Haumea, and Makemake as dwarf planets by the International Astronomical Union. Here again, we have things being stirred up by Eris, but finding a new and more fair structure. That reclassification put feminine Ceres and masculine Pluto on an even playing field, rather than classifying Pluto as a planet and Ceres as an asteroid...

There's a prominent theme here of a person initially being warmly welcomed into the social fold, but his or her presence creating unexpected disruption and discord to the point that the individual is then expelled. The inadvertent golden apple...

The turbulence associated with Eris may come as a shock to those who fit more neatly into standardized social constructs...

The influence of Eris in Aries opposite Jupiter Rx in Libra indicates that discord in relationships and social scenes could have elements of:

-- big snubs and the aftermath of those snubs
-- standard female competitiveness and jockeying for position, especially around looks, appeal, and social and career positioning
-- the benefits of belonging socially versus the difficulties of being left out
-- the difficulties of belonging versus the benefits of staying independent
-- justice, fairness, and balance in social settings
-- the results of shutting certain people or perspectives out of society - anger, upset, disruption, violence, imbalance, injustice, ineffectiveness, skewed ideas of reality
-- the reasons people are left out and whether they are warranted
-- doing your own thing, balancing it with inevitable social disruption
-- disruptive elements (golden apples) brought into social structures that change the game
-- acts of raw individuality and personal will altering how people are viewed or thought of socially
-- the weight of social mores and customs stirring rebellion
-- social shuffling
-- social breakdowns
-- feisty or even violent changes in social status and position, including on the world stage...

Individuals may find themselves compelled to act as Eris figures, providing necessary "discordant notes" in social settings when bringing new voices and perspectives to the standard discourse and decision-making tables.

Following in the Eris mythology, many (most) of us haven't been invited to the current decision-making tables. But under these aspects, with the spirit of Eris in Aries so strong, we're going to show up anyway. We're going to plunk ourselves down and take our places, extended via formal invitation or not.

On the other hand, we may decide we don't even want a place at the stinky old table. We may be counting our blessings that we didn't get an invitation to their stuffy party. We may decide to say "to hell with it" to the whole kit and kaboodle and do things our own way. This is a distinct possibility under these aspects, too...

Under these aspects, there's a stronger understanding of our natural-born rights as sovereign human beings, and most of us understand, at least on an intuitive level, that the way things are going on this planet - including in many supposed alternative circles - infringes on these rights considerably.

There is a desire and an effort under these aspects to achieve greater independence, autonomy, and personal freedom - for everyone who wants these things. There is a drive to doing things on our own, under our own steam, by our own rules - but also to join with others who live by similar ethics.

Things are breaking wide open now. The rules are changing because they just don't work for the full social spectrum - and never did.

Overall, we can expect some dissent, discord, and disruption under these aspects, as well as a social shuffling and re-classification process as things shake out under the agitating energies.

We have a whole new rezoning process underway as far as personal and social "lines in the sand." We don't want our toes stepped on, and we don't want to step on the toes of other people."

So as Saturn grinds back into forward motion again in last-decan Sagittarius, there is the potential for some golden apples to be tossed into the social ring, creating a little necessary disruption in the standardized way of things. There could also be some ripple effects emanating from previously-thrown apples...

The potentially disruptive social/relational element carries through the month of September with Jupiter in Libra moving into its final opposition to revolutionary Uranus in Aries, exact on September 27. We're looking for new-era relational dynamics, win-win social scenarios, and the most productive and meaningful of social connections. This may indicate some breaks from standard social orders and rules for relating.

The winds of Aquarian change may not go over so well for those who like the standard social orders and rules for relating just fine.

The trick is to maintain regularity, tradition, and social structure wherever this is beneficial, but to also bring in new ways of relating and doing things where they are needed and where they make sense.

We aren't going in guns a-blazing, alienating those of a more conservative or structured nature. But we also aren't circling the wagons and shutting out new people or ways of doing things that would ultimately be beneficial to the scene.

Successfully striking this balance keeps Saturn, Uranus, and Eris happy - not an easy feat.

Ultimately, a social structure that does not work for all members of the society is not a fully successful structure. Keeping certain people shut out of society, on the outside looking in, can breed hatred, resentment, and even violence.

We are looking to broaden things a little in ways that make sense. We're looking for the next logical step to take that can be agreed upon (or at the very least, allowed/tolerated) by all involved.

In between its opposition to Eris in early September and its opposition to Uranus in late September, Jupiter in Libra will receive a little cosmic assistance from conjunctions to highly fortunate fixed stars Spica (September 6 - 11) and Arcturus (September 12 - 16). This indicates that socially discordant notes will be kept to a manageable level, as long as the necessary adjustments are made within the established social order.

If not...well, there's plenty of cage-rattling energy here. The universe will likely do its thing with or without our assistance. 

Our social contributions are in the spotlight over the next six weeks as Jupiter completes its transtit of Libra, and this particularly involves social contributions that lead the way into new-era social energy and dynamics. Make sure the contributions you make are meaningful to you and that they are a true reflection of who you are and what you're about. These are the contributions that will have the strongest and most long-lasting impact.

A Neptunian Mercury Retrograde in Virgo: Refining the Channel From the Spiritual to the Material

This article is available in its entirety to Willow's Web Astrology patrons. If you regularly find value in the writing and interpretations here, please consider becoming a patron. Patrons receive full articles to their email inboxes that are not available on the blog, as well as other fun offers throughout the year. Patronage ensures that WWA will continue through these bumpy and amazing times on Planet Earth. 

An excerpt from the article:

The friction I run into with most anarchist groups is that I consider anarchy a way of being, a way of life that naturally occurs, rather than a political movement or a scene. So right off the jump, there's a difference in the way I define and understand things.

There's much talk in anarchist circles about the supposed failure of the "anarchist movement," and I've never understood this. How can a way of life and a way of being inherent in most people (non-hierarchical, non-coercive free association; running our own lives; making our own decisions; helping those who need it; do-it-yourself problem-solving on individual and societal levels) be a failure?

There is also much talk in these circles about what people "should" do in order to be considered a "real anarchist."

"If you don't trainhop, shoplift, and live out of dumpsters, you're not a true anarchist."

"If you don't live in a squat, hop from summit to summit, and bust out Starbucks windows on the regular, you're not a true anarchist."

"If you pay rent and bills and have some sort of employment that pays you money, you're not a real anarchist."

"If you aren't involved in the ___________  issue/protests, you aren't a real anarchist."

I've even seen the question posed: "Can someone be called an anarchist if he/she doesn't interact with other anarchists?"

It's mind-boggling to me that that would even be called into question, that that would be yet another scene-imposed "requirement" to being a "real anarchist."

This type of posturing is bizarre to me (perhaps driven by teens and early twenty-somethings?) because there is no policing of behaviour/lifestyle/actions and there is no moulding of oneself to the dictates of the group with true anarchy/anarchism - not with my version, anyway. In my mind, trying to enforce a certain lifestyle or a certain set of political views on an entire group of people is antithetical to anarchy. (IE. non-coercive, non-controlling, non-authoritarian, each person is in charge of him or herself)

Recently, with Mercury in Virgo opposite spirity-weirdy Neptune in Pisces, I had an odd moment where my computer basically sent me, of its own volition, to an anarchist site that I'd had both rewarding and frictional interactions with in the past. I found the commentary of one particular individual interesting because it described the difference in definition that I've outlined above.

Long story Virgoan-short, I came to realize that my version of anarchist is more an adjective or adverb describing a way of being, while the other version, more often used in “the scene,” considers anarchist a noun, a definite thing, a concrete label, an identity that has come to be associated with these certain lifestyle markers (all the "shoulds") that I find so aggravating.

This may seem like a small distinction - and it is.

(The only real reason I declare myself an "anarchist astro-reporter" is to give people fair warning as far as what my writing/stance is going to be like. It heads off misunderstandings and social friction.)

But this small distinction removes me from much of what I find problematic with the "anarchist scene." We are working with different definitions, and understanding this small distinction saves me (and those I come into contact with) a lot of unnecessary frustration. 

These are the types of small distinctions and refinements that we can expect to make with Mercury retrograde in Virgo.

Chiron in Late Pisces: Spiritual Solidarity with Leslie Demeniuk and Those Unjustly Imprisoned, Past, Present, and Future

Photos: Willow

This is a call for spiritual solidarity with Leslie Demeniuk and for all those unjustly imprisoned on Earth, past, present and future. 

Leslie is a 48-year-old woman currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole at Lowell Correctional Institution, a women's prison in Ocala, Florida.

(Lowell Correctional Institution has been described as "a special hell for women," where it is common for female inmates to die under suspicious circumstances. There have been accusations by prisoners of sexual exploitation, beatings, and torture of inmates by guards.)

Leslie is a victim of the pharmaceuticals industry – of their dangerous and deadly drugs, of their lies, of their cover-ups, and of their diabolical greed, which places profit over human life. Leslie is a victim of the patriarchal hierarchy known as the medical establishment, where doctors and medical professionals often refuse to listen to patients, arrogantly (or at the very least, ignorantly) continuing with practices that contravene the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm:

"I will apply diatetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice. 

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect."

It is the pharmaceuticals executives of GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer Inc. who should be serving this prison time, not Leslie. Leslie – like millions of others around the world  – is a victim of a reckless and irresponsible industry focused on profit, rather than real care and consideration for human beings.

In 2001, Leslie was going through a divorce and custody battle and was experiencing depression - a natural reaction considering the circumstances. Leslie saw a nurse practitioner at a local clinic and was given trial samples of the new generation anti-depressant Zoloft (manufactured and sold by Pfizer Inc.), as well as the anti-anxiety medication Xanax. 

(Of course, the instant reaction from the mainstream medical establishment is: drugs.)

After she began to take the pharmaceuticals, Leslie had an immediate adverse reaction, which involved swelling and hives. She called the clinic to report the symptoms and was told to continue taking the pills. After two more weeks on the drugs, she experienced hallucinations, suicidal thinking, and an overwhelming urge to drink alcohol. The suicidal thinking went to the extent that she picked up a gun and was very close to killing herself. 

Leslie attempted to report these side effects to her doctor but was not able to book an appointment for three weeks. Instead, she went back to the nurse practitioner who originally gave her the samples of Zoloft and Xanax, and he immediately switched her to Paxil (manufactured and sold by GlaxoSmithKline), another new generation anti-depressant. This was done despite Leslie questioning the nurse practitioner about the safety of such a switch.

New generation anti-depressants are also linked to a side effect involving an overwhelming urge to drink, and Leslie experienced this, as well, abusing alcohol at the time that she was taking the pills. 

Three days after starting the Paxil, in a state of drug-induced chemical psychosis, Leslie shot and killed her sweet babies, twin 4-year-old boys, and attempted to overdose herself on pills.

By all accounts, Leslie was a very loving, caring, and devoted mother, and this terrible act was completely out of character.

Leslie was tried in a Florida court in 2006, before the full extent of the side effects of these drugs were known in the mainstream public.

In 2004, GlaxoSmithKline won a motion in court that allowed it to keep information about studies, trials, and investigations regarding the risks and safety of Paxil out of Leslie’s trial.

Chemical psychosis and violent behaviour now linked to anti-depressants like Zoloft and Paxil were not well-known side effects in the mainstream public at the time, and this court ruling barred Leslie’s lawyers from bringing the company's own data in as part of her defense. In a case that could have set a much-needed court precedent in situations of drug-induced psychosis and violence, this ruling protected the drug companies. 

Despite the defense presenting an internal memo from 2000 in which a company scientist for GlaxoSmithKline acknowledged a link between antidepressants and homicide, the knee-jerk public reaction to a mother killing her own children resulted in Leslie being convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Since Leslie’s trial in 2006, it has become much more widely known that SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) drugs like Zoloft and Paxil can cause suicidal thinking and actions as well as violent/homicidal behaviour in people having adverse reactions to the drugs.

Leslie is but the tip of the iceberg, representing many more victims who, in a pharmaceutical-induced state of chemical psychosis, have committed suicide, assault, or homicide.

How many other victims of the pharmaceuticals industry are spending time in prison under similar circumstances? The real numbers would be staggering. I suppose these can be called iatrogenic (physician-caused) prison sentences...

A list of other examples of SSRI-related homicides committed by adults can be found in this article, "Precription-Only Homicide and Violence" by Dr. David Healy.  

The link between violence and SSRIs (as well as other pharmaceuticals) has been well understood through anecdotal evidence for many years. The pharmaceuticals corporations, mainstream medical establishment, government regulatory agencies, and media have been much more reluctant to acknowledge the link, however. 

A Swedish study released in 2015 studied more than 850,000 individuals taking SSRIs and found that individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 had a 43% increased risk of committing violent crimes while taking SSRIs versus when they were not. (Source.)

Many mass shootings in recent years have involved people on SSRIs, particularly young people. "In the last 28, years, there have been at least 47 acts of violence committed by those on or withdrawing from psychotropic drugs, leaving 194 wounded and 133 killed." (Source: "Psychotropic Drugs: A History of Violence," Citizens Commission on Human Rights) 

(And remember - these only represent the incidents that have been conclusively linked to psychotropic drugs like SSRIs, not the real numbers.)

As early as 1990, researchers and psychiatrists were warning of increased risk of suicidal thinking and actions when taking SSRIs. Victims of these drugs have been screaming about side effects ever since. However, there has been a concerted effort by pharmaceuticals corporations to downplay or cover up potential side effects.

In 2004, SSRI manufacturers were forced to place a black box warning on the drugs about the increased risk of suicidal thinking and actions in young people only. (In one of those "cosmic coincidences," this black box warning was added the same year GlaxoSmithKline won the right to keep safety information about Paxil out of Leslie's trial.) This black box warning, of course, does not go nearly far enough, merely scratching the surface of the true risks associated with these drugs, which affect adults and young people alike. 

In a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline in 2017 over the suicide of Illinois man Stewart Dolin, evidence was presented showing that people taking antidepressants like Paxil (the SSRI Leslie was taking at the time that she killed her sons) were almost nine times more likely to exhibit suicidal behaviour. Stewart's widow, Wendy, was awarded $3 million from GlaxoSmithKline in 2017, though the ruling is being appealed.

Since Leslie’s trial in 2006, the entire climate and the entire body of public knowledge around this subject has changed as the truth about the dangers of these drugs has come out.

At this point, millions of people have experienced similar side effects, millions of people have been victimized and have lost their lives or the lives of loved ones because of the irresponsible and reckless prescription/dispensing of pharmaceuticals like Zoloft and Paxil.

On December 8, 2009, I finished the last of three antibiotic pills prescribed to me by a walk-in clinic physician for what was believed to be a mild urinary tract infection.

By the next day, I was crawling around my apartment on my hands and knees because my tendons had turned to mush and I could not put weight on my Achilles.

I was having an extended, drug-induced panic attack with morbid and suicidal thoughts coursing through my brain without cessation. I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t sleep. There was intense pressure in my head. I had a severe headache to the point that I could barely move my head off the pillow. My ears were ringing loudly. My vision was not lining up correctly. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw colours and shapes and figures and flashing lights, as if I had a strobe light going off behind my eyelids. I couldn’t use artificial light or look at my computer screen without pain. I had fatigue so crushing that crawling to the bathroom and back took a couple hours to recover from. My entire body felt poisoned, and eating food made me feel worse. I was so weak, I could barely lift my arm to my mouth to feed myself (subsequently losing 30 pounds in three weeks). I was convinced I was going to die.

Like Leslie, taking a pharmaceutical prescribed to me as harmless by a medical professional (in this case, the fluoroquinolone antibiotic Cipro) had transported me into a living Hell.

That Hell has involved years of debilitation and pain that continue to this day.

Like Leslie, I experienced chemical psychosis induced by the drug I took. Suicidal and morbid thoughts ran through my mind constantly (remaining with me for years until I smoked marijuana medicinally for a period of time, and they mostly stopped). My body and mind had been turned into a living Hell by the drug. The world around me seemed like Hell. And I was being convinced by the effects of the drug that suicide was my only hope, my only escape, from this intolerable Hell I was experiencing.

By extension, it is not difficult to imagine that in the state of chemical psychosis Leslie experienced, killing her boys and herself was the only way to release them from this Hell-world they were inhabiting. 

Leslie Demeniuk is a victim of the pharmaceuticals industry in one of the most heinous ways possible. She has lost her darling sons and also her own freedom. She has not received justice and is now paying for the crimes of others with her own life. 

Perhaps equally, however, Leslie is a victim of a culture that pathologizes natural human emotions in times of trauma and crisis. She is the victim of a culture that drugs people with potentially dangerous pharmaceuticals rather than providing any real support or assistance through traumatic events.

Why are people not referred to counselors or therapists, for example, before they are put on potentially dangerous drugs? (Answer: the money)

Someone to talk to, someone to help with child care, cooking, or cleaning, someone to cheer her up, someone to make her laugh – these simple, human acts are not being provided within the medical establishment or by the fragmented and stressed society at large. This leads to a treacherous disconnection from the basic support that could mean the difference between health and breakdown, between life and death, for a mother (or anyone) feeling desperate, depressed, overwhelmed, anxious, and alone.

It is an entire culture that failed you, Leslie, and it is failing all of us, too, in one way or another.

You, sweet lady, with your Darkest Moon, your Black Moon Lilith point, in Cancer. The vilified mother, tossed to the wolves by a society that cannot stand to see its own reflection, its own failings, its own hypocrisies. You hold that mirror up, Leslie, and you're banished because of it.

Transiting Ceres (nurturing) and Venus (women) are currently conjunct your Black Moon Lilith in Cancer, and we can see how the shortfalls that failed you are failing all mothers, all caregivers, all people. We can see the suppression of natural emotions as people - particularly mothers - try to keep up in an insane and inhumane system, and we can see the dysfunction that inevitably results from this emotional suppression. We can see the hidden shame, the dark feelings, the emotional extremes (Black Moon Lilith) of over-taxed mothers (Cancer), doing their best within this insane and inhumane system. 

The mother who drinks one too many glasses of wine every night, the mother who takes one more sleeping pill or pain pill or anti-anxiety pill than was prescribed. The coping mechanisms.

Your North Node dharma path on the final degree of the zodiac, 29 Pisces, conjunct natal Chiron. A supremely karmic path to walk. Institutions, prisons, drugs, smokescreens, obscuring of reality, individuals victimized by collective circumstances. The end of the line where all the chronic problems, all the loose ends, all the leftover dysfunction and pain and shameful understandings are dumped. A pain that has no discernible beginning or end. Bearing the burdens of victimhood, devastation, and loss for the collective. Walking a path that illuminates the victimhood of us all via your own story, weaving invisible threads, connecting dots, joining hearts and spirits through time and space. Walking the path of the mercilessly abandoned, of the supreme scapegoat, of the psychically tortured and imprisoned. 

But eventual redemption, transcendence – if not in this world, then in the next. Natal wounded healer Chiron in early Aries is walking with you on this path, conjunct your North Node, blazing you through this brutal pain for an ultimate understanding of the love that sustains and binds us and for an ultimate understanding of yourself as a person within this broader context. Walking this path under the painful (Chiron) identity (Aries) of a murderer, wearing the mark of a heinous criminal. But that's not who you are.

Leslie Demeniuk is not a criminal. Leslie Demeniuk is a good and loving mother who lost the most that any mother could ever lose – her darling children. The loss of a lifetime of freedom most likely pales in comparison to that.

Leslie is a victim of a greedy and evil industry, just like the hundreds of millions of others who have been adversely affected by dangerous pharmaceuticals, kept on the market and prescribed daily without adequate warning or precaution. This group includes me. 

Let’s hold that Dark Moon mirror up to the real criminals – the ones in suits and ties sitting in corner offices at pharmaceuticals corporations, the ones in white coats recklessly scratching death sentences or life sentences on prescription pads, the ones behind pharmacy counters dispensing horror and hell in little bottles, the ones in governmental offices giving it all a green light.

Leslie's story can be seen in the series Women Behind Bars, Season 1, Episode 11, available for viewing on Netflix.

Though the tone of the Women Behind Bars series is quite sensationalistic and somewhat blood-thirsty in your standard "American (In)Justice" sort of way, it also illustrates just how many people (in this case, women) are in prison, enduring terrible conditions, who should not ultimately be there. At the very least, who should not be serving such lengthy sentences considering the circumstances. Women snapping and killing their long-time abusers, women who are present when their abuser kills another person, women who have few to no viable options for getting out of the bad situations life has dealt them, often since childhood.

As wounded healer Chiron transits the final degrees of Pisces (institutions, prisons) from 2017 to 2019, this issue comes to a head. 

Individuals are bearing the burden for intentionally-engineered social conditions that divide us into the fortunate and the unfortunate, the haves and the have-nots, the success stories and the failures. Individuals are bearing the brunt of an intentionally-stratified, fiat currency-driven, and unequal society. Ultimately, this social structure is a toxic failure driving people into anxiety, depression, and ill health.

One of the primary reasons for the breakdown of Leslie's marriage - leading to her depression - was her husband's service in the U.S. military, which involved long periods of time away from home working in war zones. Leslie's ex-husband Tommy Demeniuk is also a victim in the worst possible way of the pharmaceuticals industry and of the military industrial complex, two industries which are intricately connected. Though he likely doesn't see it this way, Tommy is a victim of a society stratified by class where poor and working class people are paid (relatively very little) to fight the wars of rich men and women. In this skewed system, the poor and working class are forced to supersede their own best interests, risking everything to secure wealth, resources, and territory for the rich. 

I’m so sorry, Leslie. I’m so sorry you didn’t get the support you needed when you needed it and that this toxic culture filled the void in the horrific way that it so often does. I’m sorry so many of us are being victimized in this way, that so many of us are not getting the support we need within these Pluto in Capricorn-era patriarchal hierarchies, driven by money and illusions of success rather than caring, consideration, mutual support, basic common decency, and respect for human life.  

And so we must reject this culture that keeps us so stretched and stressed, so isolated and exhausted, so depleted and at-the-brink. So disconnected from each other in fundamental ways.

We must reject a culture that fails the caregivers, the mothers, the nurturers of society (Cancer) - those who have given so much - when they need some of that care themselves.

We must hold the hands of those at the edge, on the verge of tipping into the bleak. And we must courageously reach out for a hand when we find ourselves at this point.

The establishment does not care about us. It was not designed to care. Caring wastes time; it cuts into profit margins; it gives competitors the edge. 

So we must care for ourselves and for each other – radically and lovingly, fiercely and fully, gently and sweetly.

We must do better. We must make up for the failings built into this system to harm us. We must warn each other about the traps designed to ensnare us.  We must link our fingers into a net - so strong - to catch us when we fall. We must create asylum, refuge, secret pockets of sanity and humanity stumbled upon magically when we most need to find them.

We deserve better. You deserve better, Leslie. So we must make it better, together.

Transiting wounded healer Chiron forms conjunctions to Leslie's North Node on the final degree of the zodiac, 29 Pisces, in 2018 and 2019. This is followed by her Chiron return at 4 degrees Aries in 2019 and 2020. The healing cycle is coming full circle. The healing Leslie needs as an individual is the healing we all need. 

Please support the freeing of Leslie Demeniuk and all those serving prison time for the crimes of the pharmaceuticals industry.

Please research the potential side effects of any pharmaceutical (or even herbal remedy) before you take it. Do not take your physician or pharmacist's word for it.

In the hearts and minds of those who seek real justice and equality on Earth, we know that the social structures as they exist cannot go on. As transiting Jupiter in Libra forms its final square to Pluto in Capricorn (exact August 4), this could not be more apparent.

Until our efforts bring about the grand-scale changes needed, we stand in spiritual solidarity with those unjustly imprisoned on Planet Earth, past, present, and future. We link arms, we hold hands, we join at the heart with anyone who has been unjustly imprisoned and with anyone in a state of socially-engineered desperation or isolation who feels as if he or she is in prison. 

A better world is not only possible - it's necessary. Thank-you for being here and for helping to make things better.

This article has been published in Ripe with Rage zine, Issue #2, Asylum and is available for purchase online. Thanks to Veronica Leto of Nashville, Tennessee for accepting this submission and for putting the zine out. 

New Moon on Zero Leo: Go Fly a Kite!

A beautiful customer in her beautiful Weeping Willow Design - and it looks fabulous with her tattoo!

We're currently moving to a zero-degree New Moon in fiery and fantastic Leo on July 23 (2:46 a.m. PDT). This New Moon will be conjunct blazing Mars, which is transiting Leo as of this morning. 

The Mars effect on this zero-degree New Moon amps up what will already be a smokin' hot lunar cycle within a smokin' hot summer of 2017. (Literally and figuratively where I'm from - we're experiencing way above normal temperatures as well as terrible forest fires.)

I know the astro scene is buzzing about the second Leo New Moon this summer - a total solar eclipse at 28 degrees Leo on August 21 - and it has been for a while now.

But! We can't look at any astrological event as an isolated thing. Nothing exists in a bubble.

The energy around the 28-degree Leo New Moon eclipse on August 21 (11:30 a.m.) is very, very juicy, to be certain. But the entire summer of 2017 is very juicy! We can't put too much focus on a single event, lest we lose sight of the big picture and the ripe opportunities that are opening right in front of our faces. 

This zero-degree Leo New Moon conjunct Mars is the opener. It's the motivator. It initiates situations, connections, and turns-of-event that take us into the full-on social and creative splendour indicated by the astrological aspects of the summer.

This zero-degree New Moon may appear more low-key and small-scale, a little less impressive than the Total Solar Eclipse Leo New Moon!!! in August. But underestimating the creative potential of this one would be a mistake. Skipping the social event, passing on the show, holding back on the release of your own creative output or expression - this would all be a crying shame under the powerful initiatory energy of this New Moon conjunct Mars on the very first degree of creative powerhouse Leo.

Small, creative connections, low-key bits of fun, entertainment or art produced to a little less fanfare, some everyday glam, some everyday style, the injection of a little humour or playfulness - these are all seeds to be sown now, in the immediate, right where you stand. Keep it a little more small-scale, sure, but don't hold back. Don't focus all your mojo on that eclipse just because you know it's up ahead. Doing that generally has a bit of a build-it-up effect followed by a let-down, not to mention - eclipses are often quite karmic with a bit of an edge or a bite to them. Trying to make something happen in alignment with an eclipse may have unexpected results - the universe has a mind of its own!

This zero-degree Leo New Moon conjunct Mars certainly opens us (in a more low-key and perhaps accessible way) into the juiciest part of the summer of 2017, and oh boy, is this summer juicy!

For all the details, I've covered these juicy-as-a-perfectly-ripe-raspberry astrological aspects in this patron article, which includes the broader context of the North Node in Leo transit: "The North Node Enters Shiny, Happy Leo, and There's Almost Too Much Goodness to Contain in One Article!"

We have Grand Fire Trine configurations forming all summer with the personal planets (conjunct the North Node of the Moon) in Leo, Saturn in Sagittarius, and Uranus in Aries. 

Jupiter in Libra will then make the Grand Fire Trines into dynamic kite formations in August and September, forming an opposition to Uranus in Aries and sextile aspects to Saturn in Sagittarius and the personal planets in Leo. The 28-degree Leo New Moon total solar eclipse on August 21 activates one of these kite formations, kicking off a very powerful lunar month for creativity and social connection.

The involvement of Jupiter in an air sign (Libra) provides dynamism and friction for the Grand Fire Trine formations, increasing their energy and productivity, especially socially and within relationships. The kite formations indicate that we are building and developing the social fabric in highly beneficial ways this summer, particularly in August and September. There is an emphasis on teamwork, mutuality, common ground, and finding ways that work for all involved.

Air (intellectual, social) and fire (creative, passionate) elements will be feeding each other and playing off each other this summer, boosting energy, creativity, inspiration, and action. In short, good things will be happening! It shouldn't be arduous to get things moving, especially when plans involve other people. The air is ripe for creative and social flowering.

The zero-degree Leo New Moon on July 23, conjunct Mars, occurs with communication planet Mercury in Leo in Grand Fire Trine formation with Saturn in Sagittarius and Uranus in Aries. (Jupiter is not yet within range of the kite.) This flowing Mercurial influence at the time of the New Moon indicates a month of beneficial networking - "being seen," making connections, and sharing ideas in ways that lead into the full creative and social blaze indicated in August and September. 

This summer is a great time for creative self-expression of any kind - art, speech, writing, media, social media, humour, style, fashion, comedy - and it can all be done in an everyday way, bringing some Leo glam and colour into the scene.

The Sun in Leo will follow Mercury through these dynamic and high-spirited aspects, activating the first kite formation August 10 - 20. 

Action and direction planet Mars in Leo will activate the kite formation yet again August 20 - September 2. There will be a huge amount of energy coursing through this kite as we close out August and begin September. We'll have to watch the dick-swinging egos a little here, as well as any unintentional slights or insults. Hurt pride is a strong possibility when energy and personalities are running this high. 

Lesser Benefic love planet Venus is in Leo as of August 26 and moves into kite formation September 12 - 17. At the time, Greater Benefic Jupiter in Libra will be forming the final conjunctions to highly fortunate fixed stars Spica and Arcturus. Venus and the Moon - the two feminine planets of the zodiac - will also form a potent and creative conjunction at 27 degrees Leo on September 17, within kite formation. 

All kinds of good stuff going on mid-September...

Just remember, though - with Jupiter transiting the Via Combusta (protected September 5 - 16 by the fixed stars), there is also a potential edge to our social scenes and relationships. Things can become socially combustible quite quickly under these heightened and colourful energies, and we'll have to draw on the full social wisdom, knowledge, and grace we've gathered during the Jupiter in Libra transit (since September 2016) to maintain peace and harmony.

There are strong cultural influences involved with these aspects, also, particularly artistry that is drawn from our ancestry. Artistic pursuits are one way that we can bridge cultural and social divides, as the appreciation of art, music, and beauty knows no particular nationality or race. Whether it be painting, carving, pottery, song, dance, drumming, writing, beading, quilting, weaving, leather work, the spiritual arts like astrology, tarot, or tea leaves - every culture has its own rich artistic history. Many of these artistic traditions overlap, even without the cultures having come into physical contact with each other. Acknowledging and appreciating this shared human artistic history connects us at the hearts across time, space, location, and cultural background.  

Taking back our own artistic pursuits and our own artistic heritage, as well as the shared enjoyment of these things, rather than accepting the pre-packaged versions spit out for us by the multi-billion dollar "entertainment industry," could prove very healing and joyful this summer.  

The period between June solstice and September equinox 2017, involving Grand Fire Trines as well as air/fire kite formations, appears to be a very socially beneficial time with plenty of creative inspiration and strong potential for collaborations. Things should be coming together in some pretty wonderful ways. 

And all this gets its initiatory boost as we move through the zero-degree Leo New Moon conjunct Mars on July 23.

If there's one thing all these juicy astrological aspects want us to keep in mind, it's this: celebrate who you are, exactly who you are, and do it right now, right where you're standing!

Put yourself out there a little in small-but-satisfactory ways. Smile. Crack a little joke. Dress up a bit. Don't wait for an audience. Don't wait for the spotlight to swing your way. Don't wait for that souped-up (yet likely over-hyped) eclipse next month. Start now. Create and encourage the things that make your heart sing, and, with Jupiter in Libra strongly involved, this includes lovely social dynamics, mannerly exchanges, and productive teamwork. 

Shine on, fire spirits! Inspire us with your fun and fierce selves. The light of your blaze leads the way.