Shortly after press time last month, Richard Tarnas, author of Cosmos and Psyche, sent me a link to an article from 1965 written by the late, great Dane Rudhyar, wherein Rudhyar explains the conjunction that was about to change the world—or, by some metrics, already had, since by the time he was writing, JFK had been assassinated and the Beatles had already shown up in New York City. Both of these events were points of origination of the Sixties era, and are described by the Uranus-Pluto conjunction that was then in the works.
I mentioned Rudhyar, who was perhaps the most influential astrologer of the 20th century, helping to bring astrology out of medieval thinking and into a useful, contemporary context. He is best known for his book An Astrological Mandate.
Writing about the first of three meetings of Uranus and Pluto that would take place later in 1965 and into 1966, he said in an article, "This should hardly be news to any person interested in astrology as the magazines have spoken for a long time of this aspect made more disquieting by an opposition to Saturn.
So—now we have a direct reference to a discussion that was developing at the time.
"We therefore are confronted with an extensive and prolonged situation, and it would be rather foolish to expect that this first Uranus-Pluto conjunction on October 9th, 1965 will end a process. It is more likely to begin one."
He refers back to the Uranus-Neptune conjunction of 1821 and the immediately ensuing Uranus-Pluto conjunction of 1850-51, which "paved the way, as it were, for what has slowly been unfolding until now."
Then Rudhyar wrote, adding his own emphasis in italics: "These two cycles were preludes; they marked critical states, the periods of transition between the old and the new. Now the real thing is about to happen, and obviously many people will not like it.
"The institutionalized minds of political leaders, university regents, and boards of trustees or directors will fight against the change, just as classes and groups owning privileges and special positions have always fought against inevitable social, political, and cultural changes. But the new always wins in the end, tragic as may be the victory." Yes indeed. He may as well have been browsing ahead into the next eight years of the New York Times.
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This month's column marks 20 years of consecutive monthly articles and horoscopes for Chronogram. I started writing horoscopes when the founders of this magazine, Jason Stern and Amara Projansky, were just getting their idea for a monthly events magazine going. My column in Chronogram has grown into something of an international phenomenon, and I've written your horoscopes and articles from many countries and regions of the US over the years.
All during these years Chronogram has provided me with a steady place to publish, an educated audience, and the feeling of a solidly grounded home base for my work. Of note, this year is also the 20th anniversary of Chronogram's editor, Brian Mahoney.
