No Rest on This Pisces Moon

Gotta wash this nightmare outta my hair:
The world in flames, our planet's last dawn
People gather as witnesses to silently bear
Bloodred ember-studded sky looks so wrong
We can only take baby sips of air
Mars opposing Saturn, civilization gone
Malefics playing Truth or Dare
Our house is on fire, keens humanity's swansong
If other species could speak, they'd say it's not fair
Life can no longer soldier on
And it's too late for us to productively care

It's Not the End of the World As We Know It (And I Don't Feel Fine)*

*Apologies to R.E.M. for such cynical paraphrasing of one of the finest anthems created by the Pluto-in-Virgo generation.

Were you relieved or disappointed or perhaps a mixture of both emotions when you woke up this morning to discover that the world was still spinning on its axis, that life was still going on?

Bar none, the most annoying question I've had to contend with as an astrologer this year is the end-of-the-world scenario due to occur on December 21, 2012, predicted by those mystical Mayans all those years ago. Never mind that the Mayans themselves have long since put the kibosh on this prediction, which was as out of context as one could get, a literal fragment.

(Next year, winner of Most Annoying Astrology-Related Question will most likely revert back to a tie between "Oh, you seem so smart, how could you believe in astrology?" and "Ha, what exactly did you just say about your anus, ha-ha?")

Back to the question I posed. I can't pretend to speak for everyone; I wouldn't want to, and everyone is not the same anyway. But as someone so strong in the water element, I do pick up on other people's moods, and what I have gotten from so many people this year, both in person and from news articles, is a desire for apocalypse. As if the only action that will stop the madness symbolized and manifested by the Uranus-Pluto square I keep going on about is spontaneous global combustion. Fire? Ice? Bombs? Death by Chocolate? (Sign me up for that last one.)

Something I find truly interesting and disturbing is not that so many people have major thanatos (death wish) during these topsy-turvy times, but that apocalypse literally means "uncovering," as in a lifting of the veil. Disclosure. Knowledge.

Perhaps many of us want both: to be in the know and to die. Heightened consciousness can indeed bring bucketfuls of pain. Ignorance may not always bring bliss, but a willful unwillingness to follow current events may also keep you from feeling like there is just no point in going on...unless, of course, your personal circumstances are such that you want to die anyway.

The last time the mood was this apocalyptic was during the late 1960s, an era triggered by Uranus-Pluto conjunction -- a handful of years when I was a concept, a tie-dyed-in-the-wool hippie, or my uncle (who died in January 1970, six months before I was born). Peaceful flower power and civil disobedience waned as violence and black-and-white thinking became more commonplace and accepted; you were either on one side of the fence or another; no shades of gray were tolerated. Change would have to occur, as Malcom X warned before he himself was gunned down, "by any means necessary." Time horizons shrank as events sped up and seemingly out of control. As Jim Morrison of the Doors sang on their very first album, "The future's uncertain and the end is always near."

On the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the first day of Capricorn, the midst of the holiday season, and most assuredly not the end of the world, my only cosmic prescription is to find something to ease any pain you might be feeling that does not hurt you or anyone else. Laughter is a safe bet; find something to tickle your funny bone. If you find that solitude is more comforting than company right now, by all means shut the door and indulge in some downtime. But remember that Capricorn, for all its standoffish, CEO airs, is still a sensual, hands-on earth sign, and still needs to be held close sometimes.

Are You Ready for the Rapture?

Those who believe that the world will end tomorrow, on May 21, 2011, will be sorely disappointed.

Not only does this wisdom come from some Christian-come-lately dude with a funny name as opposed to the Bible (for nowhere in the scriptures can one learn exactly what day Jesus will drop by Earth and beam the faithful up to heaven while the rest of humanity and life forms all perish in various ghastly plagues). And not only have scores of other end-of-the-world predictions failed to come to pass. Whatever your religious beliefs happen to be, the world will certainly keep on keeping on with such lovely planetary aspects as a Venus-Pluto trine (indicative of the transforming power of love and sex -- rapture of a life-affirming kind). Here in New York City, and I'd imagine in other cities, there are many underground "Rapture" parties planned for tomorrow night, which also goes well with the Sun-Moon trine from communicative, social-butterfly Gemini to group-oriented Aquarius.

We will have a Sun-Neptune square in the wee hours of the 22nd (3:32 a.m. EDT) so please take responsibility for your waking dreams and fantasies, as well as any mind-altering substances you may be partaking of on Saturday night.

The Sun-Neptune square could also indicate delusions and illusions forced into consciousness, but since doomsday types never seem too thrown by their constant miscalculations and instead blithely mark another end-of-the-world date on their calendars, I imagine it will only trigger awareness in those individuals who are ready to experience a rude awakening from various pipedreams.

Tune in for a similar eye-opener regarding the true meaning of the year 2012.