One more week.


That’s right. One more week to go until the most intense 4-week time band of the year, perhaps even the decade, arguably even a lifetime, is completed. It’s the Grand Cardinal Cross, where Mars retrograde, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto all fall in 13 degrees of cardinal signs, conjunct Vladimir Putin’s natal Sun as well as the natal Sun-Saturn square of the United States founding chart (July 4, 1776).


The most obvious correspondence between this rare planetary configuration and world events is the tension between Russia and the USA, which is at its highest peak since…. well, maybe since 1968, shortly after the Uranus-Pluto cycle began in the mid-1960’s. Now we are in the first quarter phase of that cycle, typically a time when the issues of the conjunction are revisited and found to be fraught with problems that were never resolved when the cycle began. The Cold War of the 20th century may have technically ended in 1988-89, but it wasn’t emotionally resolved for many who opposed the demise of the Soviet Union, or the switch to the USA as the sole military superpower of the universe. That change of status is up for challenge now, concurrent with the middle part of this 33-month Uranus-Pluto waxing square, which is the first quarter phase of this 122-147 year Uranus-Pluto cycle.


How will the leaders of the world handle this issue of potential military conflict between the most powerful nations on earth? I am not sure, for no one in the USA wants to even think about it, let alone do something about it (they seem more interested in racial and gender issues and allegations, now that we are heading into the mid-term elections). Talk of international tensions is not part of the election-year script. It’s too inconvenient to think of “bad guys” other than the opposition party. Europe seems equally paralyzed about what actions to take in regards to the prospect of military confrontations brewing between Russia and Ukraine, and possibly other places soon as well. Yet with Uranus so highlighted now, there are apt to be more unexpected surprises and bold actions taken by…. somebody. With Mars, there may be an urge to act too hastily. With Pluto, a rash decision can carry powerful and lasting consequences if there is not a consensus. To say that this is a time of a serious dilemma between the path of world peace or war (cold war or otherwise) is an understatement, given the nature of Uranus, Mars, and Pluto.


This is the Easter and Passover holiday season, a time for renewal and rebirth, which are also symbols of Pluto. Maybe the leaders will agree that this is the time to “Give Peace a Chance.” Almost everyone on the planet wants it. And, as former President Jimmy Carter once said, the only impediment to this wish for world peace are the leaders of the world. Here, in the midst of the most potent planetary gathering of a lifetime, is the chance for world leaders to step up and work together as part of a truly connected world body. There is a “line in the sand” now for all of us. Whichever way we cross, I think that will be the direction of the next 40+ years. Peace or war? The empowerment of the individual, or the final grab for power by central government leaders? [link to www.mmacycles.com]