The Fear Factor –
A note for this moment
Image: Original photography - Oja copyright
Fear is one of the key components of a fascist regime. Chaos a close second. When they combine we have what we’ve experienced in the week plus one day since the Inauguration of Donald Trump.
When the freeze on disbursement of federal grants and loans for 90 days was announced the morning of 1/28/25, the Moon was in late Capricorn and close to the USA Pluto 27 Capricorn. Remember we, as a country, have just passed (in the last two years) the first Pluto return to its birth position which can only happen every 248 years. The sign after Capricorn is Aquarius and that is where Pluto is now fully invested and that’s the same sign as the birth Moon of the United States.
Once a month, the Moon moves through these two signs. I call this a pivotal point each month because of the aforementioned transits to those signs. As a society and culture and via Pluto’s movements (and others) we are transiting from Capricorn which generally means order, rules and regulations to Aquarius which dislikes the rules and prefers to do its own thing. That’s all well and good in some cases. For individuals it’s an important process as they mature, to discover and decide which historical constraints (first from family of origin) they want to keep and maintain as a strong foundation, and which ones to leave behind in the process of stepping into true individuality, freedom and creativity.
Capricorn also represents big government and capitalism, neither is perfect and its errors, sometimes massive ones have eroded trust over many years. However, initiatives are now operating on the extreme spectrum which is also a component of Aquarius. Ideological fervor is addictive and relentless. The sense that any one idea must fit all is the dark side of Aquarius. The concept goes something like this - I know my ideas are better than yours and I will insist that my ideas prevail. This is dangerous territory. We must have rules, laws and protections in place for all of us and the most vulnerable in our communities. Equally, we must upgrade to modern times, repair weaknesses in the system and find better solutions for the good of all. Finding the right balance is crucial. We are seeing the will to extreme destruction of our existing system of democracy and the rule of law. It’s incumbent on us to call out lies, to seek transparency and fight autocracy. Many are sounding these sentiments not the least Jim Acosta who said this as he was leaving CNN after 18 years, “Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth – and to hope.”
We are living in complex, complicated but also fragile times. Stay strong. Stay alert.
Read also Heather Cox Richardson’s excellent column today and every day.
Thank you for this excellent piece Dorothy, perspective and invitation to not be drawn into the fear and chaos.
A perfect compliment to Heather Cox Richardson‘s letter of earlier today.
Without these lights to guide us in, it is hard to imagine being talked about as we are now so I am enormously grateful to your work and in your sharing! ❤️