Going as
far back in history as it's possible to go, economic activity has constantly
undergone changes. In the distant past, crop abundance or scarcity depended
on weather conditions. In the 1950s and 1960s, prosperity depended on
what economists call "the virtuous circle."
This
was a self-perpetuating prosperity created by a balance between the
interests of owners, workers and consumers. It meant that owners could
reap satisfactory profits while workers were paid satisfactory wages,
which enabled them to buy those profitably produced goods, perpetuating
the circle.
In
this virtuous-circle economy, the average American father made enough
to support a stay-at-home mother and children. Around 1970, economic
activity indicated that this virtuous circle had been broken, and we
were entering a new, transformative time economically.
The
Astrological Explanation
The accompanying chart shows what was happening astrologically as this
transformation was seeded and developed.
The
inner wheel shows a birth chart for the U.S. It assumes that our Founding
Fathers finalized their decision to establish a new nation in the wee
hours of July 4, 1776, a time astrologers continue to debate.
This
transformation of the economy was seeded back in the 1960s, when, as
shown on the middle wheel, Pluto and Uranus came conjunct in Virgo,
with both conjunct the U.S. natal Neptune-square-Mars configuration.
This is a very sensitive economic aspect in the U.S. chart.
During
the virtuous circle economy years, from the late 1940s into the early
1960s, the transformative planets Pluto, Neptune and Uranus were out
of major aspect or forming positive aspects with the U.S.' economically-sensitive
planetary positions. This changed in 1965, with the Uranus-Pluto conjunction
in Virgo.
Changes
and Surprises
By
the oil embargo of 1974, shown on the outer wheel of the triwheel chart,
Neptune had moved into an opposition with the U.S. Uranus and Gemini
Ascendant, while transiting Uranus at 24 Libra squared the U.S. Mercury
at 24 Cancer. Pluto's trine to the U.S. Ascendant from 4 Libra didn't
help, because at this point Pluto was also square the U.S. Jupiter in
the Second House, called "the house of money."
By
1989, a transiting conjunction of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn
formed an opposition with the U.S. Sun in Cancer, and the American economy
bifurcated, showing definite movement in opposite directions. Corporations
restructured and downsized, and stocks began a rise that, except for
a few glitches, lasted through the 1990s. Meanwhile, working class Americans
discovered, family by family, that it now took two paychecks to make
ends meet.
The
Solar System Clock
In
brief, the virtuous circle economy declined and the new global economy
arose as Pluto, Neptune and Uranus moved around the zodiac into adverse
aspects with the U.S.' most sensitive points economically: the U.S.
Gemini Ascendant, Mars-square-Neptune and Sun-square-Saturn. The slowest-moving
hands of the solar system clock moved from reading “good times” to “mixed
times.”
From
an economic perspective, what broke the virtuous circle is still debated.
In the old industrial economy, mass-produced products kept the prosperity
rolling. By around 1970, the economy was in a new era of cheap imports,
triggering the urge to work smarter and customize products to meet increased
competition. As profits were squeezed, owners of capital were forced
to cut back wages.
Another
Explanation
Another
version of what happened is that owners stopped sharing gains with workers
when they discovered they could do so. Owners acquired the power to
weaken labor's bargaining position by funding politicians and political
causes. This was seen as a more efficient way to use profits.
The
Rust Belt is the term now used to describe what was left in the wake
of this migration.
Soon,
dad could not support mom and kids by himself, and wives went to work.
Eventually, a husband and wife team might have four or more jobs between
them and still not be able to make ends meet.
The
Economy Goes Global
Corporate
managers argue that they were not to blame for this "increase in the
number of jobs" and concurrent decrease in the average family's quality
of life. Corporate managers were driven by global forces beyond their
control and had to adapt to the post-industrial world, in which a greater
variety of products, imported cars and other goods flooded American
showrooms and stores.
The
computer revolution began in the early 1980s as Uranus moved opposite
the U.S. Gemini Ascendant and natal Uranus. Transiting Uranus is now
in Aquarius, forming a beneficial trine aspect to the U.S. planets in
Gemini, and American companies producing electronics and cyberspace
products are thriving. As Uranus inches into Pisces in 2004 and 2005,
a new time will show on the solar system clock, and a new economic phase
will begin.
Getting
More for Less
Most
moms no longer stay home with children in this new global economy. In
Silicon Valley, rents are so high some workers sleep on public buses
after rubbing elbows all day with dozens of new millionaires. Families
with enough income send their little ones to daycare centers. The inability
of many parents to afford daycare is a worldwide problem.
Even
among young professionals, more money results in less leisure and amenities.
Instead of waving goodbye to the kids and communing with nature while
they stroll to work as their counterparts in the 1950s did, today's
young, upwardly mobile frantically drop off their kids at a costly daycare,
rush into traffic jams and jabber into cell phones.
Yet,
collectively, we are much better off at the dawn of this new cyber age
than we were at the dawn of the industrial age, when children worked
beside both parents in mills and factories.
The
solution to new problems brought by time and/or ever-changing planetary
configurations is the same: new ways to create the virtuous circle are
needed. And history indicates we will find these new ways to balance
and harmony.