Hopefully your solstice, the beginning of a new season, has infused you with a sense of initiative, because ‘the’ aspect defining 2012 – the square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn – makes its first exact contact this Sunday. Pallas Athene, an asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, is conjunct Uranus for this event, adding the theme of law and justice.
This is one of those aspects that future astrologers, looking back and trying to figure out what was going on back here in 2012, are going look at and say, “Gee whiz, that’s interesting.”
Let’s back up a moment and consider Uranus. Rick Tarnas, in his 1981 book Prometheus the Awakener, postulated that Uranus was probably misnamed. Rather than being associated with the deposed sky god Uranus, he thinks the planet — which has a provocative and inventive quality — should have been called Prometheus. Rather than being a member of the old generation who was defeated by his son, Wikipedia describes Prometheus as “a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who in Greek mythology is credited with the creation of man from clay and the theft of fire for human use, an act that enabled progress and civilization. He is known for his intelligence, and as a champion of mankind.”
If you recall, he is the one who stole fire from the gods and gave it to the people he helped create. Prometheus/Uranus (the planet) shows up prominently in the charts of many inventors nd inventions. As an astrological factor, it’s inventive and surprising. That said, it requires awareness and foresight to work productively and positively with what Uranus brings, since the energy can throw you off center. With Pluto rumbling through the foundations of our lives (personal and cultural/institutional) and Uranus/Prometheus potentially hiding a little fire up its sleeve, where might Pallas Athene channel all that energy?
Well, a quest for justice. One sector to watch is the U.S. Supreme Court, which happens to have so many pending cases hey are considering extending the current term by a few days.
The justices are due to release a number of decisions on high-profile cases fairly soon (June is one of their scheduled times to do that). Two of the best known are the Arizona immigration law and the 2010 health care plan derisively called “Obamacare” (which should be called Heritage Foundation Care, since it was invented by them and not by Obama) by those seeking to reinforce the negative connotations attached to Medicare — and bring the president down with both.
Now, it’s possible that the justices of SCOTUS could surprise us with their inventiveness. This does not necessarily mean their inventiveness will be progressive, however. The silver lining is that any regressive moves by the court could lead to a progressive response by the public. (And by that we don’t mean little stunts like sending a case of Pallas Athene soap to the SCOTUS judges, so they can scrub themselves clean after their dirty rulings – though that would be fun.) Having the ability to act is why we all need to be looking sharp, feeling grounded and centered, and get that we really are the fire that powers the engines of our own lives – and by extension, in tandem with others, our communities.