The Perfect Storm: The Auto Bail-Out, the Economy, & the Mutable Dilemma

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Feeling a little tense lately? We can certainly say that there are three men from Detroit who are feeling the love from one of the most intense planetary configurations of the year. We are sharing their angst in our own way, and if a wise solution does not come out of Washington with respect to the auto industry’s woes, we’ll all soon be feeling the ensuing downturn in the real economy.

A planetary storm has been gathering since mid-November, and now it is upon us. The storm will last from the 5th through the 15th as one after another of a set of sharp-edged planetary events reaches perfection.

The Big Astrological OMG
Considering the planets involved and the type of contacts they make with each other, is it any wonder? They are moving into a mutable grand cross, which to the astrological cognoscenti is the equivalent of a very big OMG. This grand cross is found in the mutable (flexible but sometimes spineless) signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

The key factors in this (see the chart) are: a) Saturn opposing Uranus (ongoing since September); b) Sun, Mars, and Mercury squaring them both, forming a T-square; and c) the Moon filling in the missing point to form a “box” or grand cross in the chart. While there are numerous contacts between these six points over the 11 days of their interaction, there are two peak periods, December 5–6 (today and tomorrow), and December 10–12. The first one is the most difficult of the two.

Yeah, But . . .
This pattern has the overall effect of a roomful of “yeah, but’s”. The auto industry will fail unless they get bridge loans to help them continue. Yeah, but the loans are far larger than the combined value of the corporations. Yeah, but their value to the real economy exceeds the value of the loans when we consider potential job losses across the economy and losses in parts and resource companies that are dependent on the auto industry. Yeah, but no one is buying the cars. Yeah, but they can be forced to make energy-efficient cars. Yeah, but the price of gas is down, so everyone is going back to gas-guzzlers, so the automakers have no incentive to switch. Yeah, but we have to retool to compete with foreign automakers. Yeah, but they could continue to lose money on cars no one wants. Yeah, but the earth is warming! Yeah, but the automakers can’t survive if they are forced to retool. Yeah, but if they don’t they’ll fail, and we’ll have to buy all our cars from foreign automakers. . . .

This is the infamous mutable dilemma, and we all have our own version of it in our lives. However, on the national scale, so much is at stake.

Bail-Out Today?
The first thunderclap of the storm comes today with two major contacts: the conjunction of the Sun and Mars, and Mercury squaring Uranus. On Saturday (the 6th) but very much in effect today (the 5th), is Mercury’s square to Saturn. This has the effect of leaving Washington lawmakers and auto executives very much perplexed and aggrieved as they struggle to find a way out of this perfect dilemma.

So, you want to take any bets on what will happen with the bail-out today? Even though lawmakers are under the most extreme of all pressures — an impending holiday recess — it seems unlikely that they will reach a decision by this supposed deadline despite the pressure to do so, and I hope they don’t. This one is tricky, but they still have a chance to get it right. The planetary pattern suggests that a decision won’t happen until next Friday (the 12th). If it does — such is the power of the holiday recess — the result is not likely to be as good as it will be if they wait. By next Friday, ideology will melt into pragmatism as Mercury enters Capricorn and gives us the opportunity for much better outcomes.
Even the Worst Storm Has Its Benefits.
Even if the mutable dilemma is bewildering, it has its benefits. It reveals a conundrum that existed even when we didn’t know about it. It forces us to face this conundrum and detangle its strands of cause and effect so it can be reorganized to operate in a functional manner. We could think of the auto industry as a dysfunctional family that creates false realities to distract from what’s really going on, which is a chronically corrupt culture that perpetuates its own weaknesses. Lawmakers are faced with the task of re-parenting these wayward and overgrown schoolboys so that they do not continue in their dysfunctional ways of encouraging Americans to continue their profligate gas-guzzling ways. The alternative is to further create a victim class in American society.

In this respect, the challenges presented by Sun, Mercury, and Mars are good. They say to the representatives of the status quo (Saturn - the auto execs), “You can’t operate that way anymore. It can no longer be ignored.” Uranus across the wheel from Saturn is the people and the lawmakers saying, “We won’t put up with this anymore - change!” — even as they (we) are shocked by the looming economic disaster.

Our lawmakers have to be very clever to work this out. They have to rely on monies already available to them, because George W. Bush will not sign any bill into law that offers relief to the auto industry. Even so, there is a way out, one that will draw more consensus and be more wisely devised if it happens on or after the 12th, if the planets offer any indication of timing and events. Should the situation take this longer path to maturity and harvest, the most likely day for a final resolution is the 16th or soon after. If they pull a rabbit out of the hat tomorrow, it will probably not be the best deal for the American people.

4 comments:

Diane L said...

I agree the Mercury-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn on the 12th is the key to understanding and dealing with the mutable grand cross. The party will really be over by the New Moon on the 27th . . . :-)

The auto industry's attitude mirrors many others in the corporate world and Pluto has just moved into Capricorn! The auto worker's union has a lot to answer for too.

Terry said...

I agree with you 100%, Neith! But let me explain what I meant by what I said.

I should have been more specific about what I meant by Mercury in Cap helping out. It is going to conjoin with Jupiter before the latter moves into Aquarius, so as soon as Mercury enters Cap, there are wonderful outcomes possible. This is because Mercury and Jupiter rule opposite signs in the zodiac - Gemini/Sagittarius and Virgo/Pisces. Opposite sign harmonies through rulership are crucial to most human affairs because they involve agreements and outcomes. This is important when we choose a time to take action by using an electional chart.

Electional astrology is about getting the right planets ruling the angles of the chart for so many considerations. So, harmony between the planets ruling the 1st and 7th (for agreements) or 4th and 10th houses (for outcomes) is critical. Where you really get gangbuster good results is when Jupiter and Mercury are harmoniously connecting, because it is possible to time events so that all four angles are ruled by these two harmonizing planets, so all lights are green!

The Merc-Jup ruled signs are on all four angles (for many locales) four times a day for 2 hours each. With 8 hours each day to create positive outcomes, we have greater odds of bringing about positive results.

We can really use Mercury-Jupiter harmony now, because, as I'm sure you noticed, they rule the signs that the grand cross is in. This means that all the stresses of the mutable dilemmas we face have a really good outcome. What's not to like?

Btw, note that the automakers left today empty-handed but a temporary resolution to the problem was devised late today. This permits a longer-term solution to be developed over the coming days before Obama takes office. It is expected that the new Congress, which takes the oath and comes into session on January 6, will have something on Obama's desk for him to sign on January 20. The story won't disappear until the planetary energies shift, and I'm glad that a final resolution was not devised in haste.

Diane L said...

Every day that passes this week with no final deal for the auto-makers, I breathe a sigh of relief!

Happy Full Moon, Terry! :-)

Terry said...

I am not in the least surprised at the "crash and burn" on the auto bridge loans, because the planetary pattern is ferocious and more about the process of getting clear on what to do instead of actually doing anything. All the agreements and proposals are good because they are developmental. I always hope I am wrong about these things, that people can rise above the planetary averages instead of fall into them, but that's what they're for, and everyone is playing their part. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a miracle agreement over the weekend.

Prediction: When Mercury conjoins Pluto there'll be a draconian ultimatum that will get everyone in line with some agreement or another - at least enough of them to pass something. It may be that Bush relents and permits some money from the $700bn to be used for the auto industry.

I always thought it was extremely optimistic to expect this Congress to agree on anything. i hoped that the Republicans would start playing "democracy" again, but it turns out they won't, at least so far.