“As Above, So Within”

Rick DiClemente’s

Astrology Newsletter

Volume 63, April 2011

(Download a printable .DOC version here)

Don Juan to Carlos, “Carlos, no one wants to hear anything.”

Let’s give a shout out and welcome new readers in Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Hawaii, BC, Belgium, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Isle of Wight, Norway, Venezuela, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Greece, Romania, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, South Africa, Philippines, Egypt, Croatia, Cambodia, Thailand, Cyprus, Switzerland, Alaska, Dominican Republic, Finland, Estonia, France, Uruguay, Argentina, Hong Kong, India, UAE, Samoa, Czech Republic, Mauritius, and Mexico

There is this One Prediction….

I’ve been trying to find something to write about that isn’t redundant. The pressures from the Cardinal T-square have been immense. (Pluto in Capricorn, Jupiter and Uranus in Aries, and Saturn in Libra). Now, for the first 18 days of April we’re going to get a lovely visit from MARS through ARIES agitating the whole T-square starting right away on night of April 1. This will be no April Fools.

As with all the planets, each have several attributes, but Mars, in particular, urges us to action. Since Japan had such a huge catastrophe exactly ON THE DAY when Uranus entered Aries, Mars is now coming over that exact degree and demanding action. I don’t know how that will manifest. Could it get worse, yes, it could get much worse. Could it get better, yes, that too. But, it’s not the kind of transit you want to deal with when you are trying to suppress radioactivity (Uranus).

Mars is very hard to predict but is essentially a one-trick-pony. Aggression, assertion, get something done. Given the precarious nature of Japan, Egypt, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, on and on, Mars has a lot of situations to stir up. And that’s what it does. Don’t be surprised if it doesn’t take until the 19^th to subdue these nuclear reactors in Japan.

We foresaw all the nuclear issues years ago, as Pluto has been tapping around to find weaknesses both in our nuclear reactors but also in our nuclear policies, etc. As Mars spends it first week of April in Aries, it will square Pluto in Capricorn. Look for this to be very explosive and dangerous. Mars is not a peacemaker – moreover, the God of War.

Here is a chart of the main dynamics of the planets now:

Just what do these planets “want?” What do they have to say? It is very complex as we combine 4 and now 5 major planets into one tense right-angled triangle. I’m going to go over this, but only briefly, for a few reasons: you’ve heard it all before and I want to take us down a new direction this month.

Remember, these energies pertain to all 6 billion+ alive on the planet + all the animals + businesses + governments, etc., etc. Two talented astrologers can only look at one another right now and say, “Can you believe all of this is happening at once?!” This is not your imagination; the planets are in an extremely RARE configuration right now; one that is very volatile.

These energies SYMBOLIZE the same exact energies within each of us, our partnerships, families, communities, countries and the whole collective. These competitive, sparring, powerful archetypal forces can completely blow us apart, or, we can accept the challenges and finally realize that ALL THINGS WORK AS ONE THING – ALL TIED TOGETHER – ALL INTERRELATED – AND INTERDEPENDENT.

Just consider the rarity of such current positions:

PLUTO – Is in the earliest degrees of one of the most powerful signs there is, Capricorn, 13 more yrs

NEPTUNE – Enters its home sign on April 4 after 180 years being away, 15 more yrs

URANUS – Need I say more, it entered Aries, a new zodiac the day of the tsunami, 7 more yrs

CHIRON – It just changed signs and is sticking with Neptune in early Pisces

SATURN – It’s been home in it sign of exaltation, Libra for over a year now, 1 to go

JUPITER – It entered fiery Aries recently, 1 year

Phew, and most of them are in a T-square, right angle formation = tension, and lots of it

So, what do they “want,” what are they “saying?”

PLUTO – is here to remove the decay; uncover it and get rid of it; including all things corrupt or without substance, on every level – and hopefully here to rebuild it with strength, courage and integrity.

NEPTUNE – The sleeper – did you notice how quietly it slipped into Pisces? That’s how it moves; furtively. But, never underestimate its power. It is stripping all of us naked in terms of our real spiritual selves to see what’s really there at our soul level. How pure are we? It rules oceans, seas, spills, floods, tsunamis, drowning, erosion, etc. On the other hand, it rules great spiritual upliftment!

URANUS – Much has been written about the “revolution” this past year. Yes, there are all kinds of revolutions. And as I said, good ones and bad ones. It wants us, in the sign of Aries, to wake up individually and as a group and take action to set things right! We have to take it upon ourselves individually! (Aries!)

CHIRON – Chiron is heroic, it wants us to step up (just like the sign it rules: Virgo), quit whining and fix what’s wrong. (Virgo is Greek for: “Stop whining!)

SATURN – Just imagine how many cases are backlogged sitting on his desk. Saturn in Libra is the Judge of the zodiac, very stern but fair. It wants us to make new regulations that work. Not to hold anybody back, but to cure the problems of deregulation and excessive waste, and get new laws made that are fair for all and that are practical.

JUPITER – Traveling with Uranus in early Aries wants us to get on with it! Let’s get past all these yucky laws and treat each other right, and have fun doing it. Yeh.

MARS – He doesn’t care, he’s just going to kick the next butt he sees.

So, isn’t all of this just one Vegetable Happy Family?

Now, imagine all of those forces working in a relative way inside of you! That is what is happening on a microcosmic level. Inside/outside; same thing. Just look how interrelated it all is!

What are you supposed to do with all of this powerful, universal energy? I got to thinking. Could this be the end of us all as many people have “predicted?” Yes, it could be. It’s almost too much energy, stress, & strain for any entity or group of entities to handle at once.

Could we shoot through all of this and become a much greater, stronger race? Yes, indeed, we could.

Too many people look to astrology for concrete prediction, that’s not what it’s meant for

So, like I said, I started thinking and thinking and thinking about all of this massive cosmic pressure. And then, I realized that old saying, “as above, so below.” We’ll, I just KNOW that that is true. And I KNOW that that is the very heart of astrology. I don’t know WHY, but it just has to be the case especially in this new wonderful, uncertain, holographic, quantum world.

Then, I thought, it must be reversible too! “As below, so above!” Think about that!

In other words, the PLANETS ARE EXACTLY WHERE THEY SHOULD BE! And, since there really is no such thing as “should,” therefore, the planets are where they are because that’s where they are.

NBA stars understand this: “It is what it is man!” That’s French for “there are no accidents.”

So, what does all of this mean?

It means that we are ready. As I came to discover the past few years, astrology is a map and mostly a calendar of our own readiness.

Therefore, we are ready to handle these massive energies. Exactly how? Well, here it is explained for you, itemized, on the collective and individual levels. You should be feeling these various energies. Some of these are confusing if you’re not used to tracking them, because they’re overlapping each other and causing confusion. That’s why things have been crazy up and down lately.

Artists and musician almost always pick up these energies way ahead of time because they are very open and sensitive to these shifts in the wind. If you are not feeling the following energies, it can be because, 1) you have much of that planet in your natal chart and you are used to it. 2) You are being preoccupied with other primary planetary energies. 3) You have blocked energies and are simply numb to it or are mislabeling it.

On the two levels, (don’t worry about your particular chart, this is general info for us all)

Pluto is affecting the Collective: It is THE planet of the masses. All the way from holocausts to dust-storms, to tsunamis, to World Wars, to epidemics, to movements West, to the 60’s revolution, to the sexual revolution, etc. It moves the masses. It’s not always bad, but definitely needs to be treated with great respect and breadth of vision. It’s giving us the bravery to face our own corruptions, and internal weaknesses in order to transcend them. If you are feeling a great need to clean out your basement and throw the junk out, that is the #1 symbol I look for to see if a client is ready to let go of their non-working past.

That’s the key to Pluto. See what’s not working, what’s holding you down, and getting rid of it. I’m not going to talk about what happens if we don’t, because the intention of this newsletter is an optimistic one, one to show us that we have hope and can do – can overcome. Better nuclear plants will come of this too, and hopefully a reduction in nukes too.

Pluto means, “to get with it!” Period. I don’t need a long treatise here. We’ll feel like not hiding anymore and facing the music. We’ve been going through this for 3+ years already and have 13 more to go. We’re unearthing corruption all around us in an attempt to purify our society. (Remember once again, this is happening in all countries at the same time.) We need to meet Pluto halfway, and claim ownership to our bravery. This means putting up with temporary, scary discomfort of the “surgery” until our collective client is healed. We all know that waggling finger that points at us and says, “One day, I’m warning you…!” That’s the point, we know it, we see it, now, we’re accepting the truth of it, facing it and dealing with de-corrupting our world. That’s the ticket. That’s our way out. Why do you thinks it’s become time to hire these decluttering-organizational services? A coincidence?

Pluto is affecting the individual: For many of us over the past 3 years, we’ve been feeling the need for sweeping changes and have been brave enough to separate from toxic elements in our lives. Many people I’ve talked to have simplified their lives at the same time ridding themselves of shallow or even unhealthy relationships. Pluto brings suppressed matters to the surface. Look at the Catholic Church and Wall St. More and more clients of mine are assisting Pluto’s efforts mostly by a feeling of readiness to clean up. That means the home, the body, one’s language, one’s habits, etc. I see great progress in this realm. And, clearly to me, it just seems like in a rather sudden quantum leap - people are getting smarter.

Neptune is affecting the Collective: Sleepy quiet Neptune (water). The one no one notices. She’s been having a HUGE impact on earth. Besides all of the residual water-related catastrophes, such as Japan, the Gulf, Katrina, the melting Polar cap, etc., Neptune is awakening the human race spiritually at an unprecedented rate. I used to try to talk about cosmic terms to people back on my radio show in 1982 and, sad to say, it was like talking to a blank wall. People get it now. It’s that simple. People are treating their religions with more of a grain of salt now too. Keeping the faith but throwing out the dogma. People want truth. The Pope is not down the street with soldiers anymore, doing what is best for you. People want God, but they don’t want the ________. You fill in the blank.

Of all the planetary changes going on, this is probably the most promising with Neptune going into its home sign of Pisces on 4/4/11. Sit back, inhale, it’s real, it’s not nutso – we’re in a quantum, holographic world now. What does that mean? It means that now we know that EVERYTHING we do directly affects everything else. And there are so many who are so ready to put down this thing called Political Correctness. I too see how absolutely silly it CAN be. But, look at how it has become a sign of our raised consciousness. That’s what matters. Political Correctness came from evolution. It’ll take a while till we can get real with it. It’s new. No, it’s not life-supportive to bully a little kid till he is injured for life. That’s turning around too! (PL/Saturn)

When Neptune is a predominant factor in the global consciousness, it affects us all at the God level, if you will. I don’t care if your god is called Xakxoyo, as long as we’re working toward one loving God, we’re on the right track.

Neptune is affecting the Individual: Never before have I seen so many people focus closer on their own spiritual growth. We’re tired of suffering. Peace only comes from within no matter what you left in Vegas or how much you put in Sunday’s platter – get real. We’re getting that. More people are meditating and doing Yoga. Psychics are coming out of the woodwork. Congregations are growing at Spiritualist churches. Whatever it is – we’re seeking truth like we never have before. And that, directly, expedites the demise (Pluto) of corrupt churches, corporations, leaders, institutions, policies et al.

Neptune calls from within. She is the quiet still voice that leads us to God, not INSTEAD of God. The goal of astrology is to help free you to be more attentive and in tune with your God, the Oneness of life. We all know this stuff, so let me move on….

Uranus is affecting the Collective: Especially since 3/11/11, the day of the tsunami. And in February’s newsletter, the breakthrough of the collective mindset to our new quantum acceptance. Uranus is one amazing planet: very powerful. It invents and leads all of us to new technology, faster, quicker, more personal and electrifying. It spurs us to revolt against restrictive oppressive governments, including our own. IT IS THE REVOLUTION OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE. As with any revolution, some stray bullets hit unintended targets. We must be careful since Uranus is in wild Aries AND alongside reckless Jupiter! These two can get into the Wild-West fun of shooting a gun just to shoot it. That’s not the ticket here. The revolution should be for the freedom of the self, not through irresponsible raucous behavior.

Uranus is the collective energy that is at the center of talk of freedom and democracy and equality. Lincoln and FDR got this urge from somewhere! (Both were Aquarians ruled by Uranus.) Even so, we must not let ourselves get too radical (Uranus) and want everything overthrown overnight – it’s just not healthy. Uranus wants change, yes, but mostly it wants us all to work together as one. If we can justify bombing and fighting to help the people of Libya, why couldn’t we have done the same thing in Rwanda or Sudan? Must not have been in our best interest?

Uranus is affecting the Individual: This is the free spirit inside of ourselves that wants OUT! Period. If you can’t get it out because it’s been too suppressed, for whatever reason, please seek professional help now. It will find its way out whether in a healthy or explosive manner. That’s why people say, “I’m coming out of my skin!” “I’m becoming unglued!” “I’m losing a grip!” While one must be careful of one’s emotional stability, these statements do indicate the breaking up of old patterns, (Uranus vs Saturn). The idea is to overcome the controlling, suppressing intellect and free up the emotions. But, this must be done in a healthy, gradual manner. Also, this bears repeating: if you are going through a personal revolution, make sure you’re seeing clearly - that you’re not projecting your own blockages onto someone else.

Uranus’s function is simply this: Pardon our dirt and noise while you are having dinner tonight so we may expand and beautify your favorite restaurant. Go through the chaos, then you get to eat at a real pretty place. Uranus renews and MUST NOT BE SUPPRESSED.

Chiron is affecting the Collective: Amazing Chiron, the Virgo powerhouse. Boy is it ever affecting the collective. Chiron is about healing, and healing all things. It doesn’t care if you are on welfare, have insurance, are lobbying for new health care plan, or what your sign says while you picket the White House. It thinks of all of us, it, like Virgo, wants things FIXED. It cares. Chiron is about Caring. It is pretty much still unknown but do not underestimate this Centaur. He drives us to perfection and purity without prejudice. Thank God it is here now, especially traveling alongside God-oriented Neptune.

Neptune/Chiron is our biggest hope now

Chiron is the healer. So many charts I see today show prominently placed Chiron’s in their charts. This means that we have so many healers amongst us! Really! We do. Due to its wild elliptical orbit, Chiron traveled exactly opposite Uranus from 1952 to 1989! That’s 37 years! And all the millions born with that Chiron opposition to Uranus have built-in new-age sensitivities to high-tech, high-minded healing techniques. Energy healing. This is no joke. I’ve SEEN people instantly healed in one city while their “healer” was hundred of miles away in another. It is here and it is real. The last ones to find out will be the AMA. We KNOW that healing is in belief and in prayer. Welcome to the quantum, holographic present. It’s all thought. God works in mysterious ways. There is only one brain.

Chiron is affecting the Individual: In my new book, which will be out soon, I focus heavily on Virgo’s new ruling “planet,” Chiron. Didn’t you ever wonder where Virgo gets its label for being perfectionistic? Where does it come from? From being an Earth sign? I think not. From being mutable and flexible? That makes no sense. From ruling planet Mercury? Mercury knows nothing about being a perfectionist. It’s way too busy delivering the mail and chit-chatting.

From Chiron, that’s where.

Chiron drives all of us towards purity and perfection. It drives Virgo to go the extra mile even as they drive us all crazy with their “high degree of selectivity.” Virgos are PURIST, not perfectionist. Chiron is very noble and symbolizes our destiny. Because of Chiron (ignited within us all in 1977 during its discovery) we are a new people. We can solve problems on a worldly basis now that we couldn’t have before. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Saturn is affecting the Collective: Good old Saturn, the Dad that gets taken for granted. Bitch all you want to about this ringed planet. Without it, we wouldn’t heal, we would have no order, no police, no system of government or for delivery of food. No hospitals, no green and red lights, no cement, or even a small piece of duct tape. You get the point.

Saturn is now transiting the sign of Libra. That’s THE most powerful place it can be. What Saturn does is give us the collective willingness to make things fair for all. To make things work. To fix what is broken. Without Saturn, we wouldn’t care; we wouldn’t want to touch the responsibility. Without Saturn we would have made no progress to overcome and repair the credit and economic disaster left to us from Pluto’s trip through Sagittarius from 1995-2008.

We bite the bullet. We rebound. We rebuild. We face things head-on with sweat. It’s in us. It’s called Saturn.

Saturn is affecting the Individual: Well is it, or isn’t it? You “should” be feeling like taking responsibility for your life, but maybe you aren’t. I don’t sit in judgment. This is why Saturn is not a transcendental planet. It has to do with everyday life. Argh. Many people have just had enough and anyhow, Saturn’s always around, isn’t it? It’s hard to get inspired by this planet because it’s more of the grind-it-out type. Glamorless. All I can say is that in one way, Saturn rules the zodiac. ? If you take responsibility for your life, usually life gets a lot better. If you don’t…. That’s Saturn - like him or not, but you do have to answer to him. He is Father time.

But, it is in Libra now as it was in the United State’s birth chart. That means that the good ole USofA is going through it’s 8^th Saturn return. O joy. Another reason things are hard. But, we have to get to work, we have to get to work. What was that Greek word for “Virgo?”

Jupiter is affecting the Collective: Jupiter is optimistic and is making us feel as if “we can do this!” Jupiter affects how we think of society – it wants to make more lenient, life-supporting laws. Yes, it opposes Saturn. It gives us an overall sense of well-being that we probably take for granted. It’s idealistic and won’t listen to anyone who wants them to lower their arrow’s aim. It gives us hope.

Sure, it says, the corporations can monitor themselves too.

It also gave us this great big lovely monstrosity called the Internet. That was the great gift of Sagittarius. We can talk to each other. It’s harder for those who might be tempted to pull wool over our collective’s eyes. And Jupiter is blunt. It’ll expose disingenuousness the instant it appears. Social sites, chat rooms, web sites, blogs. We’re all talking. When Saturn and Pluto line up with it over the next few years, you’ll see big-brother attempts to corral and regulate the Internet. It has already started. Let’s be strong enough to keep it free. That’s the only way Jupiter knows how to work. OMG, that sounds so radical.

Jupiter is affecting the Individual: This red giant is giving us hope. Hope for ourselves and hope for each other. You wouldn’t want to live in a solar system sans Jupiter. Jupiter bestows grace upon us all merely because we live. You don’t need to take prerequisite classes for the benevolent King of the Planets.

….Oh, there is this one prediction…

On Friday, March 14, 2014. As that date approaches, Pluto will be getting closer and closer to exact opposition to the USA’s Sun in Cancer. That means that slowly, we’re going through an ever-increasing identity crisis. It will take years to process this. It has already begun with slow-moving Pluto. No longer can we rest on our laurels of Iwo Jima or Grenada or Normandy. No longer can we identify solely with the Statue of Liberty.

Other countries don’t see us as we have become accustomed to seeing ourselves. This would be a very easy place to take off into one long lecture, but I’ll spare you that.

Europeans have voted the USA to be the most dangerous country on earth. Ouch

Pluto is simple.

Just like Scorpios, who are ruled by Pluto. They look at you as if they are looking right through you. And they are. But, most Americans are Cancers via our July birthdate. Cancers are not comfortable having someone staring at their innards.

Not all of us will be able to respond to these massive forces appropriately. That’s ok, they don’t have to. But, if enough of us do; start the ball rolling, it’ll pick up it’s own stragglers and momentum. That’s how the collective works. Do you remember, not long ago, most people were FOR the War in Vietnam. I do. The collective changes.

We are being tested to be who we are, not who we say we are or what some piece of paper said we were. Now is the time to become it. I hope we can collectively find the courage to meet those qualities.

Pluto stares because it wants to show us every single bit of our own impurities. Every tiny ounce of our cowardice. Pluto is relentless. It accepts only truth and bravery and has no excuse for anything weak. If we summon the courage to withstand this period we will become a much greater nation than Jefferson ever imagined.

4/1-3 MARS CONJUNCTS URANUS – This whole period where Mars piles on with Uranus and Jupiter adds fuel to the flames. Nothing pretty here, aggression, war, aggression. In a personal way, you need to act upon what you have been feeling. Keep it mild, keep it under control; it doesn’t have to explode into ugliness. Blessings.

4/2 MARS ENTERS ARIES 12:51am – More of same. Take action. Don’t think about it. Take action.

4/3 New Moon 13°^30’ 10:32a, while Sun is opposite Saturn and Mars conjuncts Uranus – Same theme, a New Moon in Aries means act for you own self-interests. Don’t step on other’s toes, but act. Man, this is one fiery month.

4/4 NEPTUNE ENTERS PISCES 9:36a – For the first time since 1861. Sound familiar? Oh boy, sounds like the opposite! Wonderful Neptune returns home after all this time. It’s subtle, so you won’t notice it all at once. It’s the grace being bestowed upon us to love. Say it how you want it… call it whatever ism you want, call it ismism, it’s love for the whole planet. Spiritual channels spread wide open. Start channeling, testing your psychic, intuitive skills.

4/9 Pluto goes Retrograde 4:49a – Slowly it turns, massive Pluto. Don’t mind him; he’s not up to anything. Ha! Massive Pluto takes off the next 5 months before he reveals the new power structure in the world. This is nothing less. He’s watching to see who “gets it.” In the fall, those who have misused power will pay for it. You cannot bs this planet that isn’t even a planet. Use the energy wisely to renovate your life and it will pay you back a hundred-fold.

4/10-11 Mars squares Pluto – Here we go again in this month of aggressiveness. 2 days, watch out. Mars-Pluto combinations are violent. Be careful; don’t play with matches or guns. Watch political wars continue out of control. Refuse to be a pawn in people’s misdirected anger.

4/17 Full Moon 27°d44’ 10:44p – With the Moon near transiting Saturn, we will be trying to get a grip on sanity after all the April blowups. Libra, calm down, come to the table, talk, discuss, be civil.

4/18-20 Mars opposes Saturn 12:02p – Frustration abounds when these two combine. It’s time to examine the past month; have you been too passive, too assertive, too aggressive? It’s time to take stock in all of this. This is the time for peace-making. Don’t challenge authority now.

4/20 Sun enters Taurus 6:18a – Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Nice, quiet, peaceful Taurus. Have a drink. Have two.

4/23 Mercury goes Direct 6:04a – Blah blah blah, after 25 days, now it goes direct, it is such a pain in the glutes.

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May the planets be with you as you find your Starself!” - Rick

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