The tension builds again this week, and duties and obligations must be met. In short, it’s not chill.

However, those who value hard work, commitment, and integrity will find that events this week have their own rewards, and confronting difficult situations head on could be quite productive. Moreover, there are subtle energies at work this week that could manifest as sudden flashes of inspiration, intuition, and insight.

The most intense configuration of the week is the conjunction of Mars and Pluto on Monday, followed by a Mars-Uranus square on Wednesday. We’re likeliest to experience this one on a collective scale, and in fact there are early signs of its manifestations. Uranus and Pluto are moving closer to another exact square in mid-December, the sixth in a series of seven from 2012 to 2015. That alone is enough to indicate increasing global conflict, revolution, financial meltdowns, and general unrest. But now Mars carries forward the energy of Pluto to Uranus, hastening events relating to this epic planetary cycle. With Mars, events are likely to be more abrupt and jarring.

Even without Pluto, Mars and Uranus in harsh aspect literally can be explosive. But with the planet of destruction and transformation also in aspect, events likely will be even more dramatic. Mars also happens to be the planet of war, and he’s at his best in Capricorn, sign of the military. Already, we’re seeing classic manifestations, including fiery student protests in Mexico, and protests in Israel over the shooting of an Arab citizen, along with the aggressive response by the Israeli government.

At every step of the way in these conflicts, there are opportunities for deep transformation and healing, as represented by the continuing sextile between Chiron and Pluto. Chiron energy is powerful right now, as he’s stationed to return direct at the end of next week. We’ve got time to stop and think about how we want to respond to difficult people and situations. It’s a choice each of us can make, at least in our personal lives. It starts with recognizing behaviors and being willing to change. Unfortunately, awareness for many comes with a crisis of some kind.

The other heavy aspect this week is Wednesday’s Venus-Saturn conjunction. This is more sobering than anything else, and it will pass relatively quickly. But for most of this week, we will be reminded of our commitments to loved ones, family obligations, and the demands of long-term partnerships. “For better or for worse” means just that. Life is messy, and that means relationships are messy, too. Reality can be terribly unromantic, but it’s real, whereas the idea of the perfect romance is an illusion.

In addition to ruling relationships, Venus also has a role in money, finances, and material assets. Scorpio is associated with great wealth, but Saturn is about limitations and restrictions, although he also can represent discipline. Look for news headlines about economic recovery – or the lack thereof – and spending cuts. In our personal lives, circumstances might force us to reassess our budget.

It’s interesting to note that the aspects with Mars and the Venus-Saturn square are indirectly connected, via the mutual reception between Saturn and Pluto. Mutual reception occurs when each of two planets is in the sign ruled by the other, and it reinforces their strengths and weaknesses. In the case of Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Scorpio, there’s a constant back-and-forth between building new structures and tearing down old ones that are decaying and rotten. And there’s a bit of a catch, in that we can’t build sustainable new structures until a certain amount of social transformation has taken place. That applies to our individual lives as well. Pay attention this week to your relationships to see whether a certain part of it is dying in order to rebuild in a way that is stronger and more durable. Likewise, watch to see whether a change in your finances is forcing you to take a new direction that you’ve been resisting but know you need to make.

Incidentally, in response to last week’s forecast, a long-time reader wrote to remind me that the real “secret” of abundance is giving. In hard economic times, we tend to cut back on giving to charity or donating to our favorite causes, out of concern that we don’t have enough. Fear of lack, as I wrote last week, is draining. Conversely, if we continue our charitable giving even when faced with tightening our budgets, we put out a powerful vibration of love and trust, which rebounds as abundance. So, if you have to make some cuts, start with wasteful spending and then look at what else you can do without, but please don’t automatically stop giving to your favorite causes. I was glad for the reminder and made three donations last week that were long overdue.

After meeting up with Saturn, Venus speeds into merry Sagittarius late Sunday (November 16). The mood should lighten noticeably next week, even though the difficult aspects continue.

The Sun’s square to Jupiter on Thursday could help offset some of the week’s conflict and heaviness. Although it’s a square, it’s the kind that is motivating. Just keep in mind that a little motivation goes a long way. Being overly enthusiastic could result in trying to tackle too much, which defeats the purpose.

The flashes of insight I mentioned above come with Neptune’s return direct on Sunday after five months of retrograde. With Neptune’s station in Pisces, we have a window on other dimensions of reality, and it will be opened for some time. If you’re a writer, artist, or musician, this is a good time for incoming ideas. Tuesday is an especially good day, with Mercury in sextile to Neptune. Your muse is in top form, and her messenger is working overtime! Likewise, Mercury sextiles Pluto a few hours after Neptune changes motion. Mercury-Pluto aspects are good for deep insight, as well as hunches that lead to discovering secrets.

Speaking of other dimensions of time and space, I’ve been reading a biography of Cissy Patterson, a newspaper heiress who came of age at the turn of the 20th century. It’s a remarkable story for many reasons, not the least of which is its perfect description of her astrological sign. Born on November 7, 1881, she was every bit a Scorpio, preoccupied with sex, money, and power. Her movements were described as “feline,” and she was a magnet to men, of whom she had many. Her main claim to fame was becoming a newspaper editor and publisher in 1930, at a time when women just didn’t do that sort of thing. Her male colleagues gave her six months. Not only did she prove them wrong, but she doubled the paper’s flagging circulation and made it a must-read among the nation’s power brokers. As I said, quintessential Scorpio.

The main reason I bring it up, though, is that I was struck by a passage in the book that reminded me so much of the political and social issues we are facing now – not surprising, since there was a major buildup of planets in the cardinal signs in the early 1930s, with a Uranus-Pluto square. That was the beginning of the Great Depression. As editor of The Washington Herald, Cissy was interested in reporting what was really going on. Toward that end, she dressed as a poor woman, stayed overnight in a homeless shelter, and looked for work. After ten days of working on the series, she wrote, “The Grand Canyon of Colorado yawns no more dizzily that the pit of gold between the lives of the rich and the poor.”

Here’s the excerpt from Cissy: The Extraordinary Life of Eleanor Medill Patterson, by Ralph G. Martin:

Cissy poked her nose into all kinds of problems. An Army of unemployed World War veterans came to Washington from all over the nation, demanding their promised bonus. The Government shunted them aside to Anacostia Flats, where they lived in tents and makeshift shacks. Cissy went to see the bonus marchers. …

“We come here to get our bonus and we’ll stay here until 1950 if we have to,” a veteran with a battered face told Cissy. “All the money went to the bankers, didn’t it? We can’t borrow ten cents anywhere. … The banks keep right on grabbing up our homes, throwing us out and keeping the money. …

“Every man jack of them believe they’ve been gypped,” wrote Cissy. “Right now they’re being fed. But supposing these men get hungry?”

A friend went with Cissy, and they were so moved that they went to the nearest restaurant and brought back a thousand sandwiches and coffee. Cissy sent clothes for the children and even converted one of her homes into a temporary shelter. She was furious when President Hoover sent troops to burn the veterans camp and disperse them. The detail was led by General Douglas MacArthur.

The only thing missing today is a major newspaper editor who would stick up for the veterans instead of pandering to the government. Maybe someone like Bill Gates would send clothing to the children through his foundation, but can you imagine the executive of any major media outlet personally buying food and clothing for, say, the Occupy Wall Street protesters, let alone reporting the real news?

On another historical note, we just passed the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. As it so happens, that also occurred during a major cardinal configuration – not a T-square, but an opposition of Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Venus in Capricorn, opposite Jupiter, Chiron, and Ceres in Cancer. Ceres was on the Ascendant by exact degree at the moment the announcement was made.

Between the Uranus-Pluto square in mid-December and the seventh and final phase of the cycle in mid-March, the new Republican-dominate Congress will take office. To say that big changes are on the way is the understatement of the century.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

© Pat Paquette, RealAstrologers.com, 2014.