The Libra Festival 2021

THE LIBRA FESTIVAL 2021

20 OCT 2021

© Malvin Artley

Topics (linked to paragraphs): Libra and decisions Venus and integration Venus, chakras and energy Decision and the ajna center Uranus and decisions How we decide matters What’s in a life? The full moon A quick word on Lebanon Going forward from 2025 2025, capital and labor The concentration of media ownership To other news The rising public consensus The EU is losing its mojo The way the West was lost What choices will we make?

Greetings Everyone!

The first bite of winter is in the air here in Rovereto. Going out with our oldest dog, the princess of the house, for her morning sniff, my breath is visible for the first time since last winter, the latter faded from memory. Meanwhile, back in the house, Biscotino (now called “Piccionino”) has settled in. Life continues. Going out in the mornings now it is still dark, the brown leaves fast falling from the trees, crunching under foot as the princess and I stroll along. She doesn’t walk quickly any longer and her days are spent sleeping for the most part. We figure she must be about fourteen years old, and the elderly don’t walk very quickly. The silence in the streets before the sun rises is a good time for a walking (strolling?) meditation or reflection and the pace of the princess aids the practice. It is a good time to recap the night’s experiences in the dream world, to get a sense of what was conveyed in the deepest sleep and to prepare for the day as the first light of the sun begins to break the spell of darkness. Time for coffee and for the day’s labors ahead. Nature, too, is entering into sleep, and with the approaching cold of winter, there is some concern for the months ahead here in Europe. This winter will be different from the last. It’s not going to be like Jumpin’ Jack Flash, but it is about gas, gas, gas. And as to whether or not it will be allright now, who knows?

You may have heard, but Europe is in the midst of an energy crisis, with a shortage of gas and generating plants that had been mothballed due to usage of coal being re-fired. Industries are shutting down or scaling back due to skyrocketing costs. So much for the Green New Deal. The lack of wind this summer has taken the wind out of the sails of that initiative, at least temporarily. We will have a look at all this later in this letter. And then, since the last letter, we have seen the emergence of the AUKUS ruckus with its carry-on effects in the EU and blowing an icy wind through the NATO alliance. The Russian elections were held for the Duma, with predictable results and the usual recriminations from Western news outlets. The German elections were held, too, with the coalition that has ruled over Germany with Merkel losing its pride of place. The coalition that will take its place will probably take months to be formed. But much to many people’s relief, the Greens in Germany failed to win enough votes to be a real power broker, for now. Then, Pandora’s box was opened with revelations about off-shore tax havens and the Pandora Papers trumpeting claims about leaders, celebrities and billionaires Washington doesn’t like. Western media, in its usual fashion tried to make the data dump all about Russia, whereas Putin was not even mentioned in the papers. The Papers were hardly a surprise. The US, of course, is pure as the driven snow when it comes to tax havens. That is sarcasm, by the way.

Then, just after the release of the Pandora Papers, the world was returned to the state of affairs we had before social media was a thing. And we realized how dependent we had become on communication in an instant. Our lonely landline phone in the house here suddenly took on a peculiar glow of familiarity. Pandora’s box was opened again with the Facebook outage, an incident that has all the appearance of a cyber-attack. But, it was just a glitch, you know? A previous nobody named Frances Haugen is now a world celebrity, exposing some of the dirt that goes on in Facebook HQ, and she has been rolled out as an exemplary whistleblower. Perhaps HQ has their doors repaired by now. Meanwhile Assange, Snowden and Donziger are either in prison or in exile for their efforts. And finally, with a bit of intriguing news, the Russians have just launched members of the first film crew into space, to spend time aboard the International Space Station, to film footage of the upcoming Russian film, Vyzov (‘Challenge’). There will be more news to report later in this piece.

There is a larger picture to the news items above, though, and it relates primarily to Europe, minus Russia and the UK. The UK has its own problems, a few of which will be discussed here. But, what has emerged since the last letter and the Libra ingress of the Sun is that we find Europa scorned and forsaken by Washington, who no longer view the EU as a serious strategic partner. And that raises many questions for NATO, for Western Europe in particular, for the orientation of Eastern Europe and for the wider Western world. The Anglo nations have circled the wagons. The EU now finds itself in an unenviable position, facing existential choices. And that leads us into the main theme for this letter – Libra. The leadership in the EU is looking down the road of the lower Libran motto and soon it must take up the theme of that motto: “Let choice be made”.^[1] The same applies to the UK, whose status has sunk considerably on the world stage during the pandemic. With all this in mind, we move on to our main theme, Libra, and what it represents for us this year.

Libra and decisions: The sign Libra is famously associated with decision-making, more famously for not being able or taking a long time to decide on matters. It is a false stereotype, of course, but it is a popular belief in modern culture. In general, Librans are no more decision-challenged than any of the other astrological signs. Instead, Libra represents a balance pole in the zodiac – a place of careful pause and reflection^[2] – an interlude that can appear to be like sitting on the fence and refusing to decide, but which is instead a point of intense concentration in its spiritual aspect. In this, it is said that the sign Libra “…is one of peculiar interest, but in a most paradoxical manner, for much of its interest is based upon the fact that it lacks spectacular interest of any kind – except in the case of disciples or those nearing the Path.”^[3] We will cover this more presently.

Another side of Libra that garners much of interest in the realm of public opinion is its aesthetic aspect. The orthodox ruler of Libra is Venus, a ruler it shares with Taurus. Venus is associated with finery, with the feminine, with beauty and with justice. Venus is also associated with money. Without enough money, for instance, there is no hope of obtaining the finery associated with Libra and Venus. It is a great glamour that has been foisted upon that planet over the centuries that Venus is associated with presentation more than substance, as in adornment over character. And while there is truth to the notions just stated the public has regarding Venus and Libra, the underlying theme of Venus has more to do with judicious choice than simply chasing after life’s comforts. But this also brings in the element of relationships, because Venus is associated with partnering. Libra is the sign most associated with marriage and with partnerships in general. But the wider picture is one of integration, with which Venus should be more associated.

Venus and integration: The theme of integration is central to understanding Venus and Libra. Partnering with someone, whether romantic or mundane, involves choices and integrating new qualities into one’s life. Partnering is a fast track to understanding oneself, because one’s partner(s) is/are constantly mirroring qualities back to us in many ways. However, consciously seeking a partner to help us to see ourselves clearly is not normally how we choose with whom to work and live. There is karma to consider, chemistry, shared interests and a host of other factors that enter into partnerships. And most often, we come into contact with our significant others through our group involvements, which most always involve karmic factors. We come into this realm of existence in waves and together, because we have all been together before and share the same karmic currents. This brings in the ultimate (hierarchical) ruler of this sign, which is Saturn. Saturn represents karma^[4] most profoundly among the planets and as such is intimately involved in the choices we make. In the case of Saturn, the choices are often forced upon us as a result of our karma – the result of past choices and actions – and thereby represent opportunities to change our ways of thinking.

In the case of most of humanity, our relationships with people along any line ‘just seem to happen’. Call it fate or destiny, we all have our stories to tell about how we met and began to interact with everyone we know. And if we interact with those people on a regular basis, we have a sort of partnership with them. They can be fruitful or not, loving or antagonistic and all shades in between, but each relationship represents an integrating factor in our lives. We must adapt to people, and likewise, otherwise antagonisms and misunderstandings set in, and more negative karma accrues. We share destiny with every one we know and influence each other, which is a big reminder that we should choose our words and actions carefully. We can act soulfully or personally (as in selfishly), and thereby we choose the paths for our own destiny into the future. This is not to sound fatalistic, but instead to remind ourselves that we always have a choice in how we behave, regardless of how others behave toward us. And this dimension brings in the bodily relations of Venus and Libra.

Venus, chakras and energy: Venus has rulership over two major centers (chakras) in the body – the base and the ajna. The former chakra may seem at odds with what we are familiar, but Libra rules the kidneys in astrology and Venus has a rulership over that chakra by extension. In Chinese astrology, Venus is the ‘Metal Planet’, and Metal (in their five element system) is connected with the animal spirit, with fortitude and with courage. The kidneys are the organ that carries the jing (kidney essence), one of the Three Treasures or Three Jewels. Jing is the “nutritive essence, essence; refined, perfected; extract; spirit, sperm, seed”, noting again the Venusian expression of refinement. The function of jing is to govern growth, representing our genetic heritage and thereafter our experience. It has a direct bearing on the length of one’s life. It can be replenished through breathing exercises (Venus rules the lungs in TCM, traditional Chinese medicine), through correct food and through meditation. Further, along with or aside from qigong, jing can be enhanced through:

“…the internal martial arts T’ai chi ch’uan, the Circle Walking of Baguazhang and the middle path of Wuxingheqidao [all of which] may be used to preserve pre-natal jīng and build post-natal jīng, if performed correctly.”

“If performed correctly” refers to the mental attitude taken through the practices cited and the proper use of the breath in doing them. Fear and stress are the great enemies of jing and will deplete it rapidly. Jing is said to be exhausted at the moment of death. The kidneys in TCM are thus very closely related to the life force. A study of TCM gives us many clues into the structure and functions of the etheric body and human subtle energy system. So, there is an intimate relation between the Eastern and Western roles of Venus in our subtle energy systems. When the breath stops for too long, life ceases. Jing is also associated with the growth and development of the body during childhood and the maintenance of it thereafter, and that brings in the Venusian rulership of the ajna center, which has the pituitary body as its outer expression. The pituitary body is the ‘master gland’ that governs all the body process, especially growth. The ajna center is the great integrating center in the body, and the lowest seat in the body of the soul. And this brings us to the last consideration with Libra and Venus – the relation between ‘body and soul’, or more correctly, personality and soul. The ajna center by itself is more closely related to form^[5], or the physical body, until it is activated by a still higher force.

Decision and the ajna center: The ajna center (located between the eyebrows) is a directing center for the development and maintenance of the human body and finds the 5^th ray (concrete knowledge and science) expressed there,^[6] via Venus. That ray governs the mental plane, and this is where the work and the challenge of Libra along the worldly path is most effectively felt. Decision is partly a mental process, is it not? But there are different types of decisions, or ways of making decisions. One can either do so through reason, or via intuition, the latter coming from the realm of the higher Self, the soul on its own plane. For people beginning to make efforts toward a more spiritual mode of living and leaving more worldly desires behind, this brings in the esoteric ruler of Libra, which is Uranus.^[7] Wherever Uranus is active, we find the urge to better conditions – i.e., living spiritually – imposing (by conscious choice) a new, more refined rhythm on one’s life. Here again we have the action of Venus in terms of refinement, in concert with Uranus, which in Libra eventually gives quite a refined expression and an enthusiasm for wisdom instead of the things of this world.

Uranus and decisions: Uranus is active wherever there is an effort to live a life more spiritually oriented. It is the occult planet.^[8] Uranus expresses, “…The will to be and to know simultaneously on all planes of manifestation.”^[9] In the body, its normal area of operation is in the crown chakra^[10] at the top of the head. But Uranus can operate through any chakra, where reorientation along spiritual lines is indicated. It was stated Uranus has a rulership of the sacral center/chakra,^[11] but this should probably be read more in the nature of a hint than a hard and fast statement. To be certain, any planet can work through any chakra – depending on the consciousness that is being directed through a particular chakra and the changes needed. We will not go into that here, save to state the obvious. But to close off the examination of planets and Libra, we have two more statements about Uranus:

“Uranus gives innate spontaneous activity and this produces evolutionary development – both natural and spiritual. It is the urge to better conditions.” Uranus, “…causes the great transference in the human consciousness from intellectual perception to intuitive knowledge.”^[12]

The bolded points are the keys to understanding how choice is made in Libra and the actions of Uranus in fostering that activity. Mention was made before of the two main modes of decision-making – through the reasoning mind or through intuition, the latter also known as a ‘conscious choice’, esoterically considered. I have heard it said it matters how we make our decisions. There is a ‘yes’ and a ‘no’ answer to that. But inherent in considering the ‘yes’ and though ‘no’ is the idea that Libra is connected with the ‘reversal of the wheel’^[13] through the zodiac, which itself is just another way of stating that one chooses the worldly path through the reasoning mind (the lower mind) or chooses instead to ‘tread the upper way’, the spiritual Path, according to one’s inclination and karma. And in Libra, one is faced with an interlude ‘between the two great lines of force’ (material and spiritual) while the direction forward for the next series of lives is decided. Libra has been called the ‘master of no-man’s land’^[14] for that very reason.

How we decide matters: On the spiritual path, it does matter how we make our decisions. But both methods – reasoning and conscious – are available, still. That said, the method that should win out every time would be the method of conscious choice, and that requires stillness of mind and emotions along with contemplation in every moment and circumstance. How do we recognize conscious choice, though? It has been described as a ‘knowing’, but really, it is a perception that grips one in a moment of crisis or tension, where the way out of or forward from a situation is known without doubt. The nature of reasoning choice is to weigh pros and cons, that is to say, to weigh certainty and doubts. ‘What if?’ enters the mental conversation in a reasoned choice. This is the action of ‘the mind slaying the real’. This is not a ‘knowing’. That act of weighing is the scales of Libra in action, and the scales represent the more worldly expression of Libra. From a recent online conversation with a colleague, my musings on the matter of choice:

“It does matter how we make decisions, then again, it doesn’t. On the Path, it is very important. Otherwise, people choose based upon their circumstances, instead of creating their own circumstances. For the average person, karma determines choice. It’s the slow path. Roadblocks (karma) are placed in our way and we have to choose how to deal with them, or our good karma puts us in contact with old loves, of all sorts. On the Path, we see a need for service and choose to live our lives accordingly, but that often upsets the status quo of our existing conditions. It’s the difference between a ‘conscious choice’ and one made with the ‘reasoning mind’. Conscious choices are made at the soul level. Reasoned choices are at the mental/personal level. Conscious choice involves the will and pushing through obstacles. Reasoning choice is a corrective measure.”

As the old familiar song goes, “Yes, there are two paths you go by, but there’s still time to change the road you’re on.” We can choose to stay on the slow path and let the fates play with our reasoning mind and buffet us about, or we can choose to master our own destiny. One is the path of supposed worldly comfort (how quickly that can pass and change!) and the other, though to the reasoning mind being uncertain, brings us quickly to the Path of Seeing, the ‘Very Joyous’. But be aware, that if we consciously choose the latter, our old, familiar life will change in unexpected ways, some painful, some joyful, but always more fulfilling.

What’s in a life?: At the end of our lives we are all given a review of the life just passed. We see it in clarity, and it will be what it is, warts and all. Some of what we remember will be cringe-worthy, some of it joyful. At the end of the review we will know if we had lived well or not. And we will receive a vision of our future. How do we want to remember ourselves? What sort of future are we making? Because when it comes to it, it matters not one little bit what others thought of us. If we went chasing after approval, we didn’t live well. We are not here to be loved, primarily. We are here to express love and to learn to do it better. Every waking moment matters in that regard. It is the very dynamic and meaning of ‘being fully in the moment’. In Libra, symbolically, we learn to first use of conscious choice. Then we decide whether or not to act on it. We develop the will to choose correctly and thereby to act. We choose the way which leads between the two great lines of force,^[15] and thereby make a conscious, viable partnership between our personal and spiritual selves. With these thoughts in mind, we move on to the full moon and more worldly matters.

The full moon takes place on 20 Oct 2021 at 14:57 UT (00:57 AEDT, 21 October). The Sun is conjunct Mars in the figure, with the full moon axis forming a t-square with a Pluto apex. This denotes a possibly explosive period. But there is more beneath the surface. Included with the full moon axis is a partile t-square (all factors within a degree of angular orb) formed by the Mars/Eris opposition with the Pluto apex. Eris was said to accompany Mars on the battlefield whenever there was war. Mars is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god of war, Ares, the brother of Eris. It is one of the most combustible configurations we have seen in a while. Ameliorated only by a trine of Jupiter to the Sun, or perhaps exacerbated by it, this month will be one to watch for violent events.

A quick word on Lebanon: As of this writing, Victoria Nuland is in Lebanon speaking with President Aoun, and where she goes, unrest has a habit of following. Nuland has her Sun square to Eris, and semisquare to Uranus. She is an inveterate firebrand. This is the same Victoria Nuland who was instrumental in the Maidan coup of Ukraine in 2014 and who politely declined the help of the EU (not) in the matter. Ukraine in 2014 was a US project. Now in Lebanon, there were reports coming in of snipers shooting Shia protesters in Lebanon, stoking unrest and possible wider violence. For the moment civil war has been averted. There were snipers on the rooftops in Ukraine, too. Lebanon is in a very difficult situation now, due to US, Israeli and Western meddling. Hezbollah is prepared to expel the US from Lebanon. This is no idle threat. And soon after that announcement was made, the snipers began shooting. We can probably lay ‘coincidence’ aside with Nuland’s visit. Lebanon could erupt at any time now, with Iran selling it fuel through Hezbollah, the US trying to squeeze Hezbollah out, the Israelis causing their own mischief, and so on. This brings us to something we need to consider, as we are at a breaking point worldwide (which is a good thing).

Going forward from 2025: Keep in mind in the following quote, ‘Christ’ refers to the World Teacher, as represented in all the world religions under various names, for readers who prefer to approach such matters subjectively. What is called ‘Christ consciousness’ is in reality the conscious (not reasoning) recognition of responsibility and service^[16]:

“…you can freely aid in the reconstruction work which the Christ proposes, if you will familiarise yourselves and all people whom you can contact with the following facts:

1. That the return of Christ is imminent.

2. That the Christ, immanent in every heart, can be evoked in recognition of His appearance.

3. That the circumstances of His return are only symbolically related in the world Scriptures; this may produce a vital change in the preconceived ideas of humanity.

4. That the major required preparation is a world at peace; however, that peace must be based on an educated goodwill, which will lead inevitably to right human relations, and therefore to the establishment (figuratively speaking) of lines of light between nation and nation, religion and religion, group and group, and man and man.

If you can succeed in presenting these four ideas to the world at large, thus overcoming the intelligent criticism that all that is said is too vague, prophetic, and visionary, you will do much. It is possible, surely, that the ancient truism, “the mind is the slayer of the real” may be fundamentally true where the mass of humanity is concerned, and that the purely intellectual approach (which rejects the vision and refuses to accept the unprovable) may be far more at fault than the anticipations of the Knowers of God and the expectant multitude.”^[17]

The emphasized bits in the last paragraph of the quote point to exactly what was discussed above in our examination of Libra. As to a world peace based on an educated goodwill, that can come either through altruistic service or it can come through tragic realizations, provoking learning. But it is coming, and the mass of humanity is quickly beginning to catch on to what is happening in the West, witness by growing labor unrest and strikes, the Global South pulling away from the West, protests against COVID measures and so on. There is historical precedent, in that sort of activism picked up very quickly when the Great Depression hit and led to sweeping changes in the US. Uranus was making its transit through Taurus then, too. We can probably expect the same over the next couple of years. Uranus is only halfway through its transit of Taurus. With all these thoughts in mind, what are we looking at now, since our examination of past letters?

2025, capital and labor: Before diving into our look at the world and what is emerging, it might be helpful to read through a compilation of what is to be emerging after 2025 and what presages that at present. To start, then, there is a video worth considering in part that lays out the root cause of what we are seeing in the West. It tends toward the conspiratorial in the 2^nd half, but there are several main takeaways, some of which we have touched upon before in these letters. Firstly, the incredible concentration of wealth in the hands of a very few is stoking most of the world’s troubles. There are ample examples through history to support the claim, and revolutions have been born from them, along with the decreasing power of the aristocracy, incrementally over time. The concentration of wealth is largely a problem for the West, as in the struggle between labor and capital. There is a dynastic aristocracy of wealth built in, but now hidden, in our Western nations that has held influence over our politics, society and media for many centuries. This is in process of crystallization and breaking. We will have more on that presently. And we do see this struggle between labor and capital, as forecast from the 2025 material, taking place primarily in the United States and secondarily in the UK and a few Commonwealth nations, like Australia and India.

The concentration of wealth works through the vehicle of the stock markets worldwide and this is the financial sector, ruled by the 3^rd ray. This ray in its lower manifestation is the great manipulating ray, which has been used to spin the spider’s web of financial influence and political power across society. It has also been used, more positively, to grow our Western societies into what were once the envy of the world. Now that system is being challenged, the old dynasties facing the demise of their financial and political power, despite appearances to the contrary. This wealth has been concentrated in families throughout history for the most part, and many of the old surnames are familiar to us – Bush, Gates, Soros, DuPont, Rockefeller, Windsor, Murdoch and so forth. These are only the tip of the financial iceberg.

Most of these wealthy families run under the radar of public scrutiny, preferring to wield their influence behind the scenes. The more familiar names have their public faces, such as Bill, “W”, Charles, George and so forth, whereas the real influence is built upon family and clan influence and consensus, with the public figures standing as their mouthpieces. They all know each other or about each other, though, and they run in circles of familiars, away from prying eyes and ears. The Davos and Bilderberg crowds are more familiar such circles. They also compete for influence, though they can combine forces when it suits their interests. We know their plans via the media, which they own. This brings in the second point – how we receive our information. This is a most important point to consider, especially in these days when media ownership is so concentrated in a few hands.

The concentration of media ownership has produced a dead letter among our news services, which parrots scripted ‘news’ that furthers the viewpoints of these wealthy interests.

This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. (Watch the video and you’ll get why it is dangerous.) The corporate, mainstream media has become the mouthpiece of the media owners. They have become the fake news they often rail about. As a result, our mainstream news is replete with ‘threats to democracy’, the ‘malign influence’ of the chosen enemies and so on. Why is everything seen as a threat, then, when we turn on the media? It is not simply about ratings. There is a particular reason certain nations are seen as threats, and it has precisely to do with the wealth that has been concentrated in the few hands and the efforts of emerging nations to distribute wealth more fairly among their peoples and to encourage national pride and sovereignty. We need not name them, as we have covered them copiously in the past. They are constantly rolled out as ‘threats to our democracies’ and ‘Western values’. The primary reason they are seen as threats is because the controllers of Western wealth and our media see their hold on their model of finance, economics and thereby their ability to concentrate more wealth in their dynasties being blocked by those unsaid nations and thereby unable to extract any further wealth from abroad.

Finance capitalism does not work in the East and is increasingly shunned, and this the Western elites simply cannot tolerate. Finance capitalism, via the stock markets and control of corporations, governments, retirement accounts, media and virtually every aspect of modern Western culture, all the way down to the food we eat, is at a dead end, and people are fed up. There are three huge finance capital firms that have controlling interests in every major corporation – Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street. Thus we have our current crisis. The pandemic, along with all the supply chain disruptions, has been gamed by the Western elites to affect a sort of final end game for finance capitalism, and it is starting to fail fantastically. As a result, we hear dire warnings, first about the pandemic (which is on its way out), now about climate change, and so on. And instead, we hear nothing about stories and events that run counter to the story lines our media constantly drones on about.

To other news: As examples of other news, about which we will hear little if anything, China just launched its first intercontinental and direct railway between Shanghai and Hamburg, Germany. How many people have heard about it? This is the first step in bypassing the Malacca Straits should the need arise, thereby rendering AUKUS increasingly obsolete, unless the Europeans decide they would rather ‘counter’ China. Have you heard that Venezuela and Iran have struck a win-win deal to exchange Venezuelan heavy crude for condensate, thereby boosting Venezuela’s economy and bypassing US sanctions? Probably not. But if so, why not? It is probably because the US government-controlled ‘free press’ would rather misinform to the point of disinforming. Democracy surely does die in darkness with all the mainstream ‘news’ that is unfit to print. How many people have heard of the human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, who was just sentenced to six months in prison by a corrupt judge in the pocket of Big Oil? Or have we heard that the key witness in the extradition case against Assange was just arrested in Iceland on charges of sexual misconduct with minors, after he admitted he had given false testimony in the Assange case? Crickets from the mainstream press. Then, there was the story about the CIA plots against Assange. Nothing to see here. Move along. But Russel Brand is gobsmacked (video) that Trump was right about Russia-gate all along, that it was a bogus conspiracy by the Democrats to oust Trump. Wonders never cease. No fan of Trump myself, if people read independent open-source news, the truth of such matters would stand out boldly. There are, in fact, still good journalists in the world.

The rising public consensus: The Washington establishment is making a very concerted effort now to counter the rising consensus among the American people that our current capitalism needs to be reined in and regulated for the good of the whole, that Big Money needs to be kicked out of politics and that we need to stop our militarism across the globe. Those points are for starters. We have looked at many similar issues across past letters. Recent examples of these attempts at misinforming the American and Western public by extension are the Pandora Papers and the recent testimony before Congress of a Facebook ‘whistleblower’, who actually has strong ties to the Democratic Party and is pushing the latter’s wish list of controls over social media. Those articles were linked in the first paragraphs of this letter. We live increasingly in an illiberal liberal democracy. And just to note, the so-called ‘right’ in America is just as illiberal as the liberals along their own line. Yet, we hear all the time about the rise of autocratic regimes – outside the West, mind you – while having our attention diverted from the creep of authoritarianism going on under our noses.

There are practical examples of how the elites have gamed the globalist capitalist system to concentrate yet more wealth in their hands at the expense of the public. Since the Western armies are no longer able to take over lands militarily, the only remaining wealth lies in the hands of their own public. Two examples of placing the public at the mercy of the system are the farcical nature of the effects of Brexit in the UK, with shortages of gasoline, collection bottles for blood samples, with empty supermarket shelves and so on. This is all due to mismanagement, willful and otherwise, by the Johnson government and Conservatives, with Labour as controlled opposition, and the British public paying the price. The British elites on the other hand, do as they like and suffer no shortages.

The EU is losing its mojo: Then, there is the EU and its energy crisis, again due to poor policy and mismanagement, all the while being blamed (at least the media tries to) on Russia, whereas the crisis is partly to blame on the United States, who has been shipping LNG to Asia instead of to Europe. That, too, is a farcical situation, and Putin recently called it out at the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week, a session that was moderated by a talking head of CNBC, one Hadley Gamble. During the question and answer session, Putin got quite exasperated with her with her lack of understanding his statements or her pushing of EU/US rhetoric. Watching the video one can plainly see her doubt about what Putin is saying, showing she knows little about the situation or about energy supplies. It is a rather interesting video if you want to know what is going on in the world of energy and it makes for a good evening’s viewing. Given the control of the media by the Western elites, Gamble’s puzzlement is understandable, but it brings up another point: Our Western elites are out of touch with the populace and the emerging world, and this poses a particularly troublesome trend in world affairs. It is also a signal that the breaking point is upon us and that very significant change is coming quickly. It is also clear such change will involve some discomfort for the Western public for a time until greater sanity and common sense can again prevail in the halls of power.

The way the West was lost: The Russians, for instance, look at what is going on in the US and Europe and shake their heads. The Chinese have similar concerns about Australia. They see Western policy as rank stupidity. And looking at realities, seeing that China’s and the West’s economies are so intertwined, it makes no common sense for the Western powers to be so antagonistic towards nations like Russia, China and Iran – unless one realizes the fears the moneyed classes have about losing a big chunk of their dynastic wealth to more socialist policies. This is probably the main reason ‘communism’ and ‘socialism’ are painted in such black terms across the Western nations, and especially in the US and UK. It is why politicians like Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn are sidelined and smeared. It is why Gough Whitlam was removed from power in Australia and why Latin American countries see constant meddling in their affairs by Washington and moneyed expats from those nations who fled north when left-leaning governments took power. Looking at the US and the West from outside, what the Global South sees is a culture in decline, if not accelerating collapse.

For the same reasons just outlined, though, when people have fears about a ‘new world order’ about ‘cabals’, ‘secret societies’, about the WEF, Davos, social credit systems and so on, remember that the people associated with those bodies are disassociated from reality to varying degrees. When Herr Schwab says, “By 2030 you will own nothing and you will be happy” – call it ‘Happytalism’ – how many people do you know who would be happy under such a system? (I couldn’t find the title in other booksellers.) Not many, I’ll bet. Statements like Schwab’s show how disconnected he is from everyday reality and human nature. We overcame serfdom a long time ago. When green energy and a green new deal are rolled out in the media, spare a thought for Europe, who will shiver through the winter because the windmills did not generate enough electricity to store the gas during the summer and politicians drag their feet on certifying Nord Stream because those gas molecules are not ‘Freedom Molecules’ from the good ‘ol U.S. of A. “We can’t buy Russian gas! It’s against our ideals!” You will hear such rubbish bandied about. When you hear all Italian workers are now required to have a green pass to be able to work, or they go without pay, think about which nations are more autocratic. I don’t think Italians are going to be happy owning nothing. My wife just sent me a video from Trento, where a large and vocal protest is taking place at this moment against the green pass. Large protests against the measure are planned nationwide for this weekend. There are now transport and dock workers’ strikes across Italy for the same reason. And then there are the large and violent protests in Australia against COVID measures. You don’t see those protests in supposed ‘autocratic’ nations, where vaccines are not required.

What choices will we make?: Before I started this letter I had a page-and-a-half of hyperlinks I was going to include. But what we have here is sufficient for our purposes. The point to all the above is that choices are being made and we have to decide what sort of life we want to have going forward. The Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn and subsequent eclipse on that point of last year signalled the pandemic and the end of the road for Western capitalism, i.e., finance capitalism. We see it in the widespread disruption to all our daily activities and the infringement on our movements, our livelihoods and our well-being. We can see clearly the confusion and apparent ignorance of many of our political class, and the wealth that has been generated for a very few as a result of the measures taken over the last 18 months. We also see the dreams that our elites have for their future – a future that means wealth and ease for them and servitude for us. How do we know they want servitude? Look at all the strikes by workers in the US and Europe that are beginning to pick up speed. People have had enough. The ‘new normal’ we keep hearing about, or when we are told there will be no return to ‘normal’, these are the musings of ‘experts’ who do not know any better. Life will return to normal, eventually, but it may take a couple more years yet. We don’t need to ‘build back better’ when all we need to do is have more sensible economics and governments that act for the people rather than autocrats. Let the elites eat cake instead. Their world is about to change in a big way, to our favour. Count on it. Believe in it. If you really want a meditation that would change the world, meditate on proper distribution of wealth.

Libra is commonly represented as shying away from conflict. But Libra is not a sign of peace-making, contrary to popular belief. It is a sign that represents decisions, and that means litigation and debate in its lower aspect, moving toward a conscious, willful choice for the good when Uranus is more active in the Libran’s life. There is no sitting on the fence for the conscious Libran. What is misconstrued as sitting on the fence is instead finding the place in the middle of conflicting forces, ‘rendering unto Caesar what is due Caesar and giving God what is due God’ until the consciousness of what is to be done on one’s path is ascertained. In other words, Libra should exemplify the enthusiastic pursuit of wisdom, all the while fulfilling one’s karmic and societal obligations. These ideas are helpful to keep in mind as we move through our present conflicts across the world, whether dealing with the realities forced upon us by the pandemic, the plays between great powers, the increasing cyber-warfare that is developing and the conflicts produced by these last days of the Stage of the Forerunner. Tensions over the next few years will be great, especially across the West. It is beholden upon us to find and keep our inner equipoise and not be distracted and swayed by the massive cloud of information and misinformation, of scapegoating, of fearmongering and blatant stupidity we have paraded before us every day. A conscious choice is a wise choice. Let us all choose wisely.

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