One of the obvious and infuriating consequences of the governmental shutdown in the U.S. (basically an act of terrorism and sedition) is that it will hurt the poor most of all (both ‘working poor’ and those who depend fully on government assistance). When you’re already struggling financially, there is a fine line between ‘hitting a rough patch’ and ‘spinning out of control’.
One of the ways the sky is describing this is through today’s square between Ceres in Virgo and Pholus and Ixion in Sagittarius.
While the significance of Ceres the goddess goes far beyond her association with grain, agriculture, food and nourishment, those are some of the obvious associations at play in this situation. Also, the signature Ceres myth centers on her choice to stand up against he lord of the Underworld (Pluto) to negotiate for the return of her daughter.
Consider for a moment that Virgo is the sign of ‘service’ when you think about some of the services being diminished or indefinitely cut outright by the shutdown that have to do with food and protecting children:
— WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, a program ensuring that new and expectant mothers are able to access nutritious food)
— Head Start (one of the longest-running programs to address systemic poverty in the United States, it provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families)
— Welfare (or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which administers the food stamp program — something some states are taking on themselves, at least till the end of the month)
— NIH (the National Institutes of Health funds clinical trials of new treatments for children with cancer — though that funding has been declining steadily in recent years)
If Congress can’t get their shit together before the deadline to raise the debt ceiling, the resulting economic tailspin goes from cruel to inhumane in terms of how it would hurt those already struggling.
That Ceres is square to Pholus and Ixion is a warning to all of us to put our energy, light and actions behind getting the situation resolved. Pholus is the centaur planet of ‘small cause, big effect’ — the experience of the runaway reaction. Ixion is a minor planet associated with the potential for anyone to be capable of committing unethical acts, and the squandering of second chances. In Sagittarius, both planets are speaking to the twisted religious dogma fueling the far political Right — collective spiritual shadow material if ever there was any. Something poised to run away with the entire country’s ability to function.