Security checkpoint seen Sunday at an intersection along CA Route 62 in the middle of the Mojave Desert. There was a time not so long ago -- before Neptune in Aquarius -- when this kind of bullshit did not exist. Do you feel safer than before you saw this picture? Photo by Kelly Cowan.
So, this is new: a “security checkpoint” in the middle of the Mojave Desert, just in case you have a suicide vest big enough to blow up that mountain. Or something. This week I’m going to be reviewing the befores and afters of Neptune in Aquarius, which ends after 14 years on Friday.
One thing about Neptune is that it has a way of blurring or completely transcending boundaries. That boundary might be the ego (inspiration comes in through the cracks) or it might be your house (a flood fills your basement). And as so often happens lately, it might be the difference between truth and lies. But I can tell you this: before the events of Neptune in Aquarius, which begin with a fake impeachment, a stolen election and a fake terrorist attack, you would not have a security checkpoint in the middle of the Mojave.
I think we can finally agree this is ridiculous. It was bad enough having my mini-Leatherman taken away the last time I boarded the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, you know, so I couldn’t hijack the ship with a little pair of pliers. We can agree that it makes some sense to search people as they board airplanes, though the whole shoe examination thing is getting tired. But having to produce ID to drive across a road in the middle of the desert would count for the government having no boundaries. If you want to know why the framers of the Republic designed the Bill of Rights as a thing that limits the power of government, here you have all the evidence you need.
A study in boundaries is fully appropriate, in light of Neptune in Aquarius. Many things have happened, nearly all of which fall under the general heading of boundaries. For example, I can publish information and have it end up in your house with no other editors, publishers, printers or any time delay involved. That’s pretty quantum.
On the other side of that proverbial coin, someone with the talent or resources can hack into anyone’s private information and have access to just about anything they want. Someone can start a rumor that can gain as much traction in Google as any true fact. Rick Santorum’s name can come to mean, well, santorum.
To me, though, the most meaningful review of what has happened since 1998 would involve what it means to feel safe. Aquarius would count as the realm of the public airwaves and all electronic communication media — nearly all of which is used to spread fear, and to rationalize the use of extreme methods to violate our privacy. This is never done by truthful means; there is always an agenda. I would leave you with a question: can you see that agenda in operation?
The confusion of trust and violation is something that happens in the course of any abuse pattern. Abuse usually comes at the hands of those who are in a position of being responsible for protecting us. To confuse the two can lead to deep confusion, psychic and emotional scarring and the impulse to tune out and shut down.
If you’re old enough to remember, how are you doing with regard to fear, trust, your sense of privacy and your sense of exposure to the world, now as compared to 1998?
