The Grand Cross 2010 - 2011

By Bill Herbst, Astrologer July 2010

Over the coming months, two astrological configurations stand out in bold relief — one in late June, the other in early August. Both are cardinal Grand Crosses, i.e. enlargements or completions of the Saturn-Uranus-Pluto T-square that is the dominant alignment in our heavens through 2011.   Together, they set the stage for enormous changes over the next few years.

The first configuration that relates to the changes ahead is the lunar eclipse. The second, more significant configuration is the Saturn-Uranus-Pluto T-square. The coming together of a short-term event (the lunar eclipse) and a long-term event (the outer-planet T-square) is extremely important to astrologers because its various components form a very coherent pattern - something that draws any astrologer's attention.

The Saturn-Uranus-Pluto T-square forms a "Grand Cross" in terms of its configuration and it is one of the most significant configurations to occur in our solar system in a very long time. It is significant in part because it involves so many major planetary bodies - seven in total; the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto.

The collective meaning of the current (June/July) eclipse and the Grand Cross alignment reaches back three years to 2007, when the outer-planet T-square began to form between Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto. That right triangle, which will remain in the heavens through much of 2011, gives us the basic context of meaning of the Grand Cross: sudden breakdown in the economic, social, and political institutions that govern social organization and structure commerce, with an accompanying denial through refusal to face reality.

The Fallacy of a Return to "Business as Usual"

During the T-square, and even after Humpty Dumpty’s great fall in the financial meltdown of 2008, the powers-that-be preferred to imagine that they could put Humpty back together again just like before. Despite unimaginable loss of wealth and unfolding revelations of rot at the core of our failing institutions, few if any efforts will be made to reform the system. Instead, the fantasy of “business-asusual” continues, with no one taking responsibility. The deluded fantasies of endless economic growth and easy wealth creation through massive debt hold sway, as does the continuing theft of the commons by the morally criminal (but technically legal) transfer of wealth upward from the base of the population into fewer and fewer hands, namely, those of the super-rich who own the banks, run Wall Street, and have taken control of the government.

Those among us who are horrified at the elite corruption, public malaise, and lack of active revolt against such depredations need to better understand the timing here. The Saturn-Uranus-Pluto T-square tells us in no uncertain terms that calls for reform or revolution are currently premature. Make no mistake, however: Financial, economic, social, and even political revolutions are indeed coming, but not until after Pluto and Uranus begin their seven-pass first-quarter square from Capricorn to Aries. That starts in 2012, continues through 2015, and carries repercussions that ripple out through the rest of the decade and far beyond. What we are seeing before then, in 2008-2011, is the sporadic unraveling of toxic beliefs, some of which date back 40 years (financial schemes), others of which have been with us since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (predatory capitalism). These are the sacred cows of American mythology, and their ruin challenges the great edifice of propaganda and hubris that took 200 years to build. In that context, four years of denial represent a relatively brief period. Shaking off our delusions (the American Dream) is not accomplished overnight.

The Eclipse

To this basic context, we add the meaning of the eclipse. Solar eclipses symbolize beginnings, while lunar eclipses imply culminations. The alignment of this lunar eclipse with the outer-planet T-square reveals a peak period of six months within the four years of the T-square where the “Ah-Ha!” of what’s happening flowers into realization. Does this mean that the ruling elites will recognize the folly of their efforts to restore the status quo? Hardly. They will remain in stubborn denial until circumstances of mounting collapse finally make it impossible to continue the illusion.

As oppositions, lunar eclipses represent awareness through polarity. The sign axis of the full moon shows us the subject of concern and the mirror that awakens. The Sun is in Cancer, which is also the “bull’s eye” of the T-square. That tells us the personal security is the heart of the matter in this event. The Moon is in Capricorn (conjoining Pluto), which reveals that what is bringing the awakening into awareness is the institutional and financial meltdown.

With regard to the public consciousness, most of what’s happened so far has been detached from our lives. Bank failures, trillions of new debt in bailouts, markets imploding — all this makes headlines, but doesn’t necessarily impact the day-to-day reality of ordinary people. This Eclipse/Grand Cross is the astrological indicator of a change in that status. No longer will the concern and occasional panic be confined only to Wall Street. From now on, Main Street feels the pinch, and the fear. Quality of life for individuals and families is indeed threatened by the institutional breakdown now underway. From this point on, personal security is impacted by collective insecurity.

Does this mean that we can expect earth-shaking events over the next months? Not necessarily. This shift in the archetype field is not a radical shift (as 2012 will be), but instead is a culmination of existing symbolic forces. This is the meaning of events hitting home, which could take place intangibly, through a psychological-emotional shift in perception.

Delaying the Inevitable

We might start to see the repercussions of financial bailouts playing out through rising inflation and a higher cost of living. Prices for food and fuel may begin an upward spiral as the dollar is intentionally diluted by the bankers and the government. Such a policy amounts to slow death, and the politicians and bankers know this all too well, but it is the only option to keep our massive debt at bay for awhile longer. The stock market’s downward spiral is already underway, as are the bond markets, and the dollar has held up only because of crises in the European Union. As the dollar depreciates, however, price inflation for goods and services will soar. The Eclipse/Grand Cross suggests that a significantly enlarged percentage of the public is starting to feel the pinch in their own and their families’ lives. In short, the repercussions of where we’re headed are sinking in. Over the summer, I think we can expect to see a greater outpouring of public concern and outrage over the cascade of breakdown events now unfolding, both in the media and in our day-to-day interactions with others.

At the personal level, generalizations about meaning are impossible to focus. The people most impacted by the Eclipse/Grand Cross are those whose natal charts contain significant symbols in the early degrees of cardinal signs, namely, 0-6° of Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn. These are the same people — about 40% of the total human population — who are already being bombarded by a triptych of very personal and powerful outer-planet transits.

Clues to Who it Affects the Most

Though impossible to specify a single meaning for so many individuals with uniquely individual lives and radically different circumstances, we can at least narrow the seemingly infinite range of possibilities by noting that early Cancer is the small section of the zodiac that represents the target bull’s-eye of this event. Whether or not you have one or more natal symbols early in cardinal signs, the house associated with the initial six degrees of Cancer in your chart will give a clue as to where in your life you might be emerging from denial or unconsciousness and into the “Ah-Ha!” of new awareness. Also, since the Moon is the natural ruler of Cancer, look to the Moon’s position by sign and house in your chart to see secondary but associated meanings.

New Awareness

For individuals who do have one or more early cardinal natal symbols, I think we need not anticipate new, unexpected, or unpredictable crises to accompany this alignment. Instead, my feeling is that we will more likely come to awareness and new understanding about existing issues in our lives that have been ongoing as difficult problems (either chronic or acute) over the past couple of years. This new awareness may have been begun blooming in early spring of this year and will continue to expand throughout the months ahead.

Pay close attention to your feelings. Paddle back up the river of emotion all the way to the source, then use your mind to understand the accumulated habits and unconscious expectations that produced those feelings, and let go of the past.