Hello again,
The last few days I have been reading on Facebook about a controversy aimed at one of the Big Names in the Astrological Community. It had to do with an interview where this Author, Educator and Practitioner happened to say the ‘n’-word. The issue is the context, but those who were offended were not interested in that. And the interview was with a close friend who is a Black man and who put together another video of the two, apologizing and saying there was no racist content involved.
This was also not good enough. That word was out there and should never be heard again. I don’t disagree. But the esteemed teacher was dropped from a Conference Roster. People who haven’t seen the interview or the apology chimed in with their opinion and I refrained from commenting (I know him only on a ‘say hello at a conference level’ so I had nothing to add to either support or further denigrate his character…and I didn’t see the original interview).
Pluto in Aquarius and the Celestial Basket
My first thoughts were about Pluto in Aquarius, Uranus in Gemini, Neptune in Aries – the astro-ingredients of that special basket.
Pluto in Aquarius was the first outer planet shift on the scene. It has demonstrated the truth of how in every planet and aspect combination, the potential for a positive and/or negative quality will be present.
At the beginning the ‘Special-Seekers’ describing the combination had stars of another kind in their eyes and proclaimed the New Age has come with Power To the People. We have seen that power work in certain instances, but we have also seen the opposite pole: Power Over the People.
Not long after Pluto entered the sign of Astrology we had the first and only divisive battle in the astrological community I know of: The extremely dramatic and divisive controversy over House Systems. ‘My way is better than your way.’ (Has a childlike ring to it.) And it went so far as to find people claiming theirs was ‘the way, the truth and the light.’ All I would add to any comments on those posts--which had gotten many unfriended and blocked--was that I’m keeping mine since I have used it with good results for over 50 years. But I didn’t insist everyone else use the house system that many (most) astrologers of my era originally learned and practiced.
Now Aquarius Pluto forms part of the basket, with the Aquarius ruler, Uranus in Gemini, the sign of words, communications and Neptune in Aries which can be anger from people who have been hurt and negated. To heat things up a bit, Mars entered Gemini and when Mars joined the Gemini degree where Uranus was discovered, the gun went off and the second controversy in Astrology begins. It contained a shocking comment that was known as a racial slur and the resulting anger from the offended showed how Power over Astrology had the ability to topple someone with a powerful position in Astrology. People said they will no longer buy or recommend his books. I guess this basket isn’t always positive in its expression.
The Quality of Prejudice
Where I got involved was when the subject of prejudice was being discussed. They said this person was a racist and prejudiced against this community otherwise he would have known better than to utter this word. And then I see a comment from a younger, unknown to me astrologer saying: we should understand that this happened because the astrologer is ‘an old man’ and that all older people are less tolerant. They become babies who just say whatever they want to say.
I didn’t answer him but on another comment thread I asked if prejudice was always wrong as I saw someone express prejudice against all elders. Some discussion ensued and I was told that younger, non-white astrologers, were on Threads saying how they hated the Boomers.
Boomer bashing has become a big pastime, and I feel it shows a lack of understanding history, especially the era of the 1960s and 70s. Maybe they don’t know Boomers were in the front row of new thinking, new music, the anti-war and other movements for rights they now enjoy. It’s also putting people in an ‘all of them’ category. And that is called Ageism and is a prejudice all its own. But apparently this one is okay to have and doesn’t offend or hurt anyone. Or if it does, we don’t care.
But I also think we are in a time of instant experts. They haven’t had the time to realize that “Knowledge Plus Experience Is Wisdom.” * The response to this prejudicial attitude is gaining traction and someone plans to bring the growing Ageism issue to the Astrology Board of Ethics now…oh, dear.
My first post about the life of a Boomer, It’s About Age, tells of a positive experience, which is what I usually have, when I relate to younger people. I don’t put all the generations I’ve known in the same basket as those individuals involved in the current Astrological controversy.
And I believe that if we want people to have power in this New Era**, we must unite, not divide. Even as a Founding Father of the US said, “United we stand, divided we fall.” We must be aware of those who promote prejudice, fear, and division and remember the result that comes from this and not be swayed.
See you next time!
*quote from Paulo Coelho
** We are said to have entered a New Era when Saturn Joined Neptune at 0 Aries.
Thank you for this insightful article, Shellie. The nuances of ‘boomer bashing’ has not gone unnoticed by me.