Sunday, Dec. 18, 2005 THESE HAVE CERTAINLY been some remarkable days in the story of the world, or at least our little chapter. Just how meaningful they turn out to be, we will see in time, because there is more to come; whatever may transpire over the winter, the dates March 28-31 are vibrating out of the ephemeris. But addressing the immediate past, note the sequence of the astrology: Mercury stationing direct in Scorpio; then a short pause before Mars stationing direct in the opposite sign, Taurus (in concert, setting off the Taurus-Scorpio axis); then Thursday's Full Moon with the Sun conjunct Pluto; exact Sun conjunct Pluto Friday; Sun crossing the Galactic Core on Saturday. Next the Sun reaches solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (which connects us with the 2012 message, because whatever 2012 involves, it connects with the direction in space where the Sun is on the winter solstice). In the midst of the current wave, Chiron, Pholus and Nessus changed signs and took up residence in Aquarius, Sagittarius and Aquarius respectively -- signs that are driven by energy, ideas, a touch of chaos and the potential for real change. And perhaps most significant, the Inauguration chart (Jan. 20, 2005, noon, Washington DC) has been very active lately and this -- among other things -- is what points to the timing factor in late March (along with an eclipse and Pluto stationing retrograde on the Galactic Core). This weekend, I have been watching the unfolding story outside the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong with some real admiration for the guts of the people who are there. It was a WTO meeting in normally sleepy Seattle in late 1999 that set off the current (long) wave of activism, showing us the first ever mass protests against corporate capitalism in the West -- which came concurrently with a one-time-only (for this cycle) conjunction of Chiron and Pluto in Sagittarius. The Sagittarius New Moon about two weeks ago came within two degrees of that conjunction, and yet again protesters have inscribed their message on the meeting of the world's market capitalists. For those who are wondering what the big deal is, we would do well to ponder why farmers are willing to travel all the way to the city to come out to a demonstration and be covered with pepper spray foam (first time I've heard of that), be blasted with fire hoses, and face beatings, arrest and prison sentences. We cannot chalk this up to a little youthful adventure. Rural men with families to take care of tend to lean toward the conservative side of life; clearly they have something to say to the ministers of the global marketplace, or they would not have showed up. Everyplace the capitalist caravan goes these days and for many years now, there are rather emphatic protests, including the early November summit of 34 American presidents in Argentina (which rendered the summit useless). These were concurrent with riots in Paris, and lately we've been seeing riots in Sydney, Australia. It is easy to say the natives are getting restless, but what, exactly, are they getting restless over? What is equally interesting is how quiet the United States is at the moment. Right now it could be a stunned silence, rather than one of apathy (but keeping people stunned is a good way to keep them apathetic). Every state secret kept locked behind six levels of security clearance (though discussed in what used to be called the 'alternative press') has come spilling out in the past two or three years, with the majority in the past two months. From Abu Gharib to photos of all the coffins of American service men and women becoming public in 2004 to the hacked election to the torture flights to the bust of Scooter Libby and now the revelation that Bush ordered spying on civilians, we are certainly living in an environment of shock and awe. Yet as long as the most important thing in someone's life is how much foam they want on their latte, we're not going to get a particularly meaningful response. On the other hand, people who have ever less and work ever more seem to be only dimly aware that something is being taken from them -- but I'm confident that the former residents of New Orleans know perfectly well. I am confident that most of the families of American service men and women are figuring it out, but it's really too grievous to think about, because many families and communities are being torn apart by the loss of loved ones. And for what? to do the same thing to the families and communities of Iraq. I've been missing my CD collection lately and yesterday, so I roamed down Rue des Ecoles to Crocodisk records, visited the amazing dog Dagobert, and picked up a used copy of the album Infidels. Here's what Bob Dylan was trying to get our attention with 23 years ago. The song is called Union Sundown. Have a look, the riots will make a lot more sense. Union Sundown by Bob Dylan, 1983 http://bobdylan.com/songs/union.html Here is a 1999 WTO memory: http://www.planetwaves.net/wto_grosso.html A current set of dispatches from Hong Kong http://www.alternet.org/story/29487/