Dear Friend and Reader:
Jan.В 17, 2009 at 7:10 PM EST, the Inauguration Train and President-elect Barack Obama rolled into Union Station in Washington, DC hauling 250 years of history and a whole lot of Pluto in Capricorn along with him.
Two weeks after Americans elected Barack Obama as the their next president, the dwarf planet Pluto returned for a 15-year stay in the sign of Capricorn. This is significant because Pluto has not been in the sign of Capricorn for 247 years. Since the time of America’s Revolutionary War, in fact.
In Philadelphia, where Obama began the Inauguration ride, the president-elect reminded his audience of their 18th century origins: “It was here, in this city, that our American journey began…It was here that a group of farmers and lawyers, merchants and soldiers, gathered to declare their independence and lay claim to a destiny that they were being denied.”
Obama continued to invoke the 18th century spirit at each train stop: ” ‘We should never forget that we are the heirs of those early patriots, ordinary men and women who refused to give up when it all seemed so improbable – and who somehow believed that they had the power to make the world anew,’ he told a crowd estimated at 35,000. ‘That is the spirit that we must reclaim today.’ ”
In Next World Stories, we offer a deeper look at the themes and events of Pluto’s last pass through Capricorn 247 years ago. It was an era that birthed the American Experiment — truly worth studying because the return of Pluto to Capricorn will likely force Americans to recreate the government they created 250 years ago.
Pluto reforms slowly, almost imperceptibly — and inexorably. There’s no turning Pluto away at the door; when it arrives, it feels like an encounter with destiny. Capricorn sees the big picture, the view necessary for leading huge projects. Capricorn demands steadfastness against hardship and set-backs, moving mountains of change rock-by-rock. Capricorn physicist and theologian Isaac Newton once said he was only building on the shoulders of giants of history; this is the kind of vision Capricorn is famous for — looking to and learning from the architects of the past in order to build a new reality. It’s the kind of vision that, after the job’s done, seems a little other-worldly. Who knew that moving rocks could be so profound? Yet, this is Capricorn — the practical visionary. With Pluto alongside, we can look to history and recreate visions that feel like destiny.