The Power of Pluto

On January 21, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled two precedents about the First Amendment rights of corporations and said the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections. The repercussions of this ruling? According to the New York Times, this ruling will “have major political and practical consequences. Specialists in campaign finance law said they expected the decision to reshape the way elections were conducted. Though the decision does not directly address them, its logic also applies to the labor unions that are often at political odds with big business. The decision will be felt most immediately in the coming midterm elections, given that it comes just two days after Democrats lost a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and as popular discontent over government bailouts and corporate bonuses continues to boil.”

As I was listening to the story that evening on TV, my first thoughts went something like this: corporations can now fund climate change deniers and in my next life, I really will be living under a dome. The dome refers to a previous post about a hypnotic progression in which I saw myself as a tall, bald woman, living in a city completely encased by a transparent dome. The air outside the dome was toxic. This line of thought brought me to the power of Pluto.

Dissed by astronomers, Pluto was demoted to a dwarf star in 2006. But astrologers know better. Pluto symbolizes profound and permanent transformation. It’s all about power  and the abuse of power. It rules all that is hidden. In late January 2008, Pluto moved into Capricorn, the sign that rules corporation, politics, authority, government institutions. For some perspective on what this means – and what it might explain about the general state of affairs worldwide, here’s a brief foray through history.

Pluto’s last transit through Capricorn occurred between November 1762 and December 1, 1778. Unrest and outright rebellion and revolution were evident during much of this period in Europe and in the colonies. Spain acquired Louisiana from France; Catherine the Great became queen and presided over wars with the Ottoman Empire; Britain struck a deal with Spain to exchange Cuba for Florida.The first partition of Poland also happened during this period, where that country was divided into three areas owned by Russian, Prussia and Austria.The Quartering Act was passed, requiring the housing British troops in private homes. Parliament passed the Stamp Act, its first serious attempt to assert governmental authority over the colonies. It was intended to pay for the huge national debt  Britain had incurred during the Seven Years War, but created a
serious threat of revolt. The Boston Tea Party also occurred during Pluto’s last passage through Capricorn. In other word, rebellion and collapse were the norm.

Now look at this timeline:
1/25/08- Pluto enters Capricorn 

3/10 -Dow Jones Industrial Average at the lowest level since October 2006, falling more than 20% from its peak just five months earlier

3/11: Federal Reserves outlines a $200 billion loan program that lets the country’s biggest banks borrow Treasury securities at discount rates and post mortgage-backed securities as collateral.

3/16: The Bush white house announces a plan to ease credit crisis. It includes provisions that require states to tighten rules for mortgage brokers and calls on lenders to make full disclosure of payment terms to buyers. Critics say the plan is too weak to have much effect.  The Federal Reserve approves a $30 billion loan to
JPMorgan Chase so it can take over Bear Stearns, which is on the verge of collapse.  The Fed had hoped the acquisition would avert a financial panic. Bear Stearns  sells for one-tenth of its market price.
Also on 3/16, Bear Stearns  is acquired for $2 a share by JP Morgan  in a fire sale avoiding bankruptcy. The deal is backed by the Federal Reserve, providing up to $30B to cover possible Bear Stearn losses.

 3/18 The fed cuts  short-term interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point.

In June 2008, Pluto – moving retrograde since April – entered Sagittarius again, where it had been between 1995 and early 2008, and resulted in idealogical fantacism. It moved direct again on September 8, headed for its appointment again with Capricorn. Coinciding with this movement:

9/7 – federal takeover of Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac. At that point, they owned or guaranteed about half of the U.S.’s $12 trillion mortgage market, and were now nationalized. This caused panic because almost every home mortgage lender and Wall Street bank relied on them to facilitate the mortgage market and investors worldwide owned $5.2 trillion of debt securities backed by them.

9/14 – collapse of Lehman Brothers

9/18- the fed loans too big to fail AIG $85 billion to avoid bankruptcy.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke meet with key legislators to propose a $700 billion emergency bailout through the purchase of toxic assets. Bernanke tells them: “If we don’t do this, we may not have an economy on Monday.”

Late November: Pluto enters Capricorn again. Timeline?

11/18 – Treasury gives out $33.6 billion to 21 banks in the second round of disbursements from the $700 billion bailout fund. This payout brings the total to $158.56 billion so far

11/24 – The US government agrees to rescue Citigroup after an attack by investors causes the stock price to plunge 60% . They inject another $20 billion of capital into Citigroup bringing the total infusion to $45 billion

11/25 – The US Federal Reserve pledges $800 billion more to help revive the financial system. $600 billion will be used to buy mortgage bonds issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank

That’s just for starters and was topped by the election, when Obama won and the Democrats were swept into power in Congress. In 2009, Pluto went after the health care industry, insurance, the still faltering economy and everything else that has dominated the news lately. Granted, events aren’t brought about by a single planet or transit. But Pluto works on deep levels and those individuals and institutions that have abused their power will be knocked down and  will have to rebuild from the ashes.