Remember... You heard the sad news here first...

As Uranus heads towards Aries, we are beginning to get a sense of what the planet will have to offer in the way of mass media, and, I am sorry to report, it looks like it’s going to be about pirates.

Yes, although they were wildly popular only a few years ago, it is all too apparent that the swarthy devils are making a comeback. Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (or is it 40?) will be coming out, the Tea Party is dressed in their finest eye patches, and the Food Network was featuring unshaven guys saying “Arrgh!” tonight.

Pirates are, of course, a respectable symbol for Uranus (the planet of independence) in Aries, the sign of the warrior. Not the best, and certainly not the “highest” symbol we could imagine, but appropriate on a mass media level. Pirates are independent warriors, for sure. And they are out for themselves, certainly a Uranus-in-Aries theme. The last time Uranus was in Aries, from 1927 to 1935 saw a spate of popular pirate films, including Treasure Island (1934) and Captain Blood (1935).

At best, Uranus in Aries represents what I like to call “creative selfishness” (you’ll be hearing a lot more about this as time goes on), the courage and the will to follow our own star, recognizing that we can’t really be there for others if we aren’t first there for ourselves. But “at best” ain’t always the order of the day, and the other side of Uranus in Aries can be plain old selfishness, the inability to give a hoot about who you hurt on your way to get what you want.

It won’t be just about pirates. You have to allow for all kinds of updated versions of the pirate theme... in outer space, futuristic wasteland cities, and so on. But pirates.

Let’s hope some of those pirates have hearts’a gold... Aarrrgghhhh....

With the sun/Pluto square on Thursday, the natural prediction was a power struggle, and sure enough, the Senate sent the Health Care bill back to Congress for revisions. Meanwhile, the Tea Party wants to oust Democratic lawmakers who voted for the bill, which seems to suggest that another word for Tea Party is “Republican.” Health care coverage is, of course, a “liberal” issue that was championed by such famous progressives as Kaiser Wilhelm and Richard Nixon.

Buying some wine tonight, I overheard a customer in conversation with the liquor store owner. They were lamenting the bill. That insurance companies cannot drop them if they get sick did not impress them, and they seemed to actually feel bad the preexisting conditions would not be quite the same problem they have been. But the customer was most worried about pharmaceutical companies, who he feared would not have enough money for research and development. Such concern was touching...

At any rate, the Tea Party is just skimming the surface of the Plutonian anger which is brewing over this and many other issues. The sun/Pluto square asked the question: Who really has the power? And the answer, on a deep level, is “no one.”

Except Pluto, of course.

It’s not that lots of things haven’t been happening in the last week, but I’ve had a sense that waiting until the sun was in Aries was the polite move.

Over the last ten days or so, the collective ice has been melting and things have started moving again. President Obama started pushing for Health Care again just after Mars went direct on the 10th, and the vote is probably going to be today.

As the sun clicked off his last few minutes in Pisces yesterday, the unseen were seen, as Immigration Reform and the 7th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq were protested. Pisces is often about victims, and the Pope’s apologies to victims of sexual abuse were received rather poorly, as might be expected with a Mercury-Pluto square in the sky.

On a more personal level, projects seem to be moving much easier, and a degree of optimism is in the air. That could be the balmy Spring weather, of course...

With Mars moving up to speed again, we are seeing things start to get moving. You can notice that many things which were put on hold back in late December are now gearing up for action. I’ve been seeing this in the personal lives of many of us, but we can also see it in the news.

For example, the somewhat bizarre Tiger Woods story broke just after Thanksgiving, and after a few weeks (Mars went retrograde on the 23rd of December), Tiger decided to take a hiatus from golf. That hiatus last almost exactly as long as the retrograde (Mars went direct last week, on the 10th), as he announced he will be playing in the Masters tournament.

I don’t hold out much hope for President Obama’s health care overhaul, even if they manage to get a bill passed. But what looked like a complete dead stall at the beginning of the year is certainly in action again. The bill was initially ready for a vote just around the time of the compassionate Jupiter-Neptune conjunction on December 20th, but Republicans vowed to delay the bill, and delay they did, while Mars was retrograde.

Then there is the Tea Party Movement, a nondescript group of renegades which got its kick-off while Mars was retrograde - not a good time to launch an aggressive attack on government. But yesterday they were allowed to start collecting signatures to recall a New Jersey Democratic Senator (the national office). The Constitution doesn’t provide for recall of representatives by the people (although the Senate itself can expel a member with a 2/3 vote). My guess is that the recall won’t be allowed to go through - it is a national, not a state issue. But in these Plutonian times, it isn’t a safe bet either way, regardless of Mars retrograde.

itchy eyes, itchy ears... achy...

A lot of people just now are experiencing a minor cold-like thing, although my nephews, for whom I will babysit later today, have had a stomach virus. Why mention this in the Astroblog?

Well, Mars stationed on Wednesday, and that was what I would call the epicenter of this itsy-bitsy pandemic. Around Mars and Saturn stations, you frequently see people coming down with minor colds and such. Saturn depresses immunity and saps energy, thus allowing the germs in. Mars rules infections, which is self-explanatory.

All of which does nothing to make me feel much better. I think I will go have an Advil....

In the mean time, I have added a “Comments” option, below. Now you’ll be able to share your experiences of having a cold and such!

Two very different manifestations of the Venus-Pluto square took place yesterday, with women squaring off against the powers-that-be.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was criticized by China (which is kind of a badge of honor) for remarking about the “many brave Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom.” The Chinese think that Pelosi ought to keep quiet about their “internal affairs.” It’s kind of like a female Davey up against a very weird Goliath.

But it didn’t make big news even in the realm of U.S.-China relations, which was sparked up in the midst of the tense Mars station. That’s because the U.S. listed China up there with North Korea and other human-rights violators. China shot back that the U.S. has a terrible human rights record itself.

The Chinese did mention our world-leading domestic incarceration rate, but they put their focus on the sub-prime lending debacle and the ensuing economic problems for the world economy. Apparently making bad loans is not only bad business according to the Chinese, it is a human rights violation on par with the Chinese’ own practices of executing people (for all kinds of things) and harvesting their organs for sale while the victims are still alive.

The other Venus-Pluto manifestation that I caught was the bizarre story of “Jihad Jane,” a Pennsylvania suburbanite with no apparent religious leanings, who began making friends (and plans with friends) on the internet. Just plain weird...

You may have noticed over the last few days how... energized, you’ve been feeling. There’s a desire to get projects off the ground and moving forward. Ideas are flowing fast and furious, and you’re ready to go.

Problem is, our enthusiasm isn’t being matched by the world. You put it out there, all right, but it’s hard for the flame to catch.

This is a good example of how retrograde planets work. When a planet is retrograde, we feel its energy intensely, but in a more inner way. That is, we recognize and are moved by the energy of the planet in a more conscious way, but we find it hard to act on that energy.

Mars is slowing down... really slow, in fact... and he’s stopping on Wednesday. Mars rules drive and ambition of all kinds, and assertiveness and even aggression. So, with Mars retrograde - and especially right now before the station - we feel the impulse to go forward very strongly, but getting things moving is somewhat difficult.

The moon is waning, with the new moon on the 15th, and that also slows down the energy. And the sun is in Pisces, the “last” sign of zodiacal calendar. So things should pick up over the next few weeks, as Mars goes direct, the moon begins growing and the sun enters Aries.

President Obama’s “last push” for health care reform is perhaps symptomatic of Mars retrograde. He really wants to get the thing passed, and he feels energized and ready to fight for it. Obama even joked that the fight for health care reform has contributed to his elevated cholesterol, a symbolic “blocking of the arteries” and an impediment to the free flow of blood (which is ruled by Mars, particularly when it is “boiling”).

As for the rest of us, it’s a similar situation. Revved up and rarin’ to go... but too much traffic to really hit the accelerator....

This past week, as Venus met up with Uranus on the 3rd and as she prepares to move into Aries on the 7th, a wave of news has been generated about women in the U.S. military. And the news is hardly good...

Time magazine reported on Captain Holly Graf of the Navy, referring to her as a Captain Bligh who was known for her cruelty and demeaning attitude towards those in her command. She was relieved of duty, a story which broke on the day that Venus conjuncted Uranus.

But before we judge Captain Graf too harshly, we might look to a story which is posted as March 8th on the Time website. This story is about women in the military and the great risk of sexual assault that they face, particularly those who are serving in Iraq. Venus of course represents women, and Aries is the sign of Mars, the Warrior, so the story will be “official” on Monday when Venus is in Aries. But it is posted now, when Venus is still in Pisces.

Venus in Pisces is often associated with a compassionate, caring attitude, one of universal love. But the shadow side of Pisces is victimhood, and it is apparent that women in the military are being victimized - by their fellow soldiers - at a horrifying rate. So perhaps we can understand why Captain Graf acted the way she did.

Tags: Venus, Aries, Pisces