First, I need to apologize for my prediction last month, and I apologize especially to those who received hope from my words, and whose hopes were dashed. I realize now that I wasn’t at all objective. In fact, I couldn’t conceive of a Bush win, and so I didn’t allow myself to interpret the data in that way.

It did look good for Bush, but it also looked good for Kerry, so I concluded that positive aspects would be more meaningful to the latter. But he sure conceded fast enough. Maybe he was relieved. My sense is that he did actually win the election, and we can see this from the discrepancies between the vote count and the exit polls. But for whatever reason, he didn’t have the stamina to fight further.

I also have to admit that I was under the influence of a very positive aspect myself, the Jupiter/Venus conjunction. The only rotten day I had in November was the day after the election. Before that, I spent five sunny, leisurely days on the Ecuadoran coast, playing mahjongg with friends and winning more than half the time.

We didn’t hear anything definite on election eve, and the next day we had to drive home. It started raining sometime early in the morning, and we were all quiet as we loaded up our friend’s car. I was depressed. Was it just the end of the beach time, or was my psyche getting ready for the worst? About one o’clock, my lover and I got home and turned on the TV, just in time to hear Kerry concede. We turned off the TV immediately, looked at each other, and said, “I guess we’re not going to live in the U.S. any time soon.”

Five days after that, I had temporarily shelved my depression, and was on an airplane flying over the Atlantic. It was a birthday gift to me, the chance to be a tourist for two weeks, while my lover did some work-related things in Europe. With lots of frequent flyer miles, a rental car, and many bus tickets, I was free to roam. Just what your roving lesbian astrologer likes best to do.

On my first day in Switzerland, I was sitting on a red park bench in front of a beautiful mountain lake. Small gulls flew overhead, and an old guy walked by, talking to his dog. Another guy was fishing over the low stone wall, making a whirring noise as he cast his line. The lake and the craggy hills absorbed the traffic noise from the busy street behind me.

I felt so happy to be there, free to explore, and yet in such a safe and quiet place. The centuries felt like a smooth stone, absorbing time gradually, no rush for anything. I know that Europe has seen its atrocities, some not so long ago. But now it seems like a place of reason, in contrast to the U.S.’s headlong flight into folly.

While we were there, the dollar sank, day by day, and we had to keep readjusting our budget. It echoed the quagmire into which the U.S. has sunk, the interminable war with Iraq. My country is throwing away money as though it still has worlds to pillage. Perhaps in Europe, they’ve had enough experience with imperialism to realize that it costs more than it offers. When you start a war, its orphans always show up on your own doorstep.

In December, most of the aspects to the U.S. chart are difficult ones, and the most challenging is Pluto in Sagittarius opposing the U.S. Mars. In an individual’s chart, this can signify violence - a mugging, an accident, an angry exchange, or a power struggle. This aspect was also strong in November, and a great deal of blood was shed by U.S. forces. I read in our local paper that more than 2000 Iraqis were killed in Faluja, although I’m not sure that was reported in the U.S.

Pluto, the planet of power and transformation, is strong in December, since it’s only a degree away from the new moon (on December 11). The Sagittarius new moon stands for a strong commitment to principles, including community traditions and religious thought. As we’ve seen, ever since Pluto moved into Sagittarius in 1995, passionate moralistic thinking has been a strong force in the world. And this new moon will underline that.

Throughout history, Pluto in Sagittarius has been a force for destruction, in the hands of those who are intolerant of differences. When Pluto moved through Sagittarius in 1011, heretics in Germany were prosecuted for the first time. When it returned to Sagittarius from 1257 to 1270, medieval inquisitions were well established, and Pope Clement IV reaffirmed the use of torture to convince heretics to confess.

When Pluto went into Sagittarius from 1503-1516, there was widespread persecution of Jews. They had been forced out of Spain, but many thought the Messiah was about to come and so went no further than Portugal. Thousands were massacred in the streets of Lisbon. And in Persia, the Shi’ite majority was in power, and the Sunnis were executed and persecuted. It’s strange to think of the way that these currents have moved us to the present historical moment.

Pluto in Sagittarius can be a force for renewal and positive transformation, however. Historically, it’s been a time of preparation for major philosophical and political changes, such as the Reformation and the U.S. and French revolutions. Many of the people who have had pivotal roles in these events have been born with Pluto in fiery, freedom-loving Sagittarius. Perhaps there’s a connection between the persecution that is a recurring theme in the Pluto-in-Sagittarius decades, and the breakthroughs that come immediately afterwards.

Whenever there is a major historical change, it brews for a while first. And this is the brewing time. During the first half of December, Mercury will be retrograde, and so the coming month will be a time for reflection, for dwelling on the past and learning its lessons. With Mercury retrograde at the new moon, things will move slowly throughout December.

At the same time, Jupiter in Libra is making harmonious aspects to all the Sagittarius planets at the new moon. Libra is the sign of justice and idealism, and so perhaps this will modify some of the fierceness of Pluto.

At this time in history, there are many people who want to remake the world according to their fierce visions of how it should be. They speak in various tongues, but their messages are the same. They say that there’s only one way, their way. They carry symbols in one hand, and real weapons in the other. Lately, a particularly useful tool for them is the crooked voting machine.

I would like to issue my own passionate cry - for peace, for dialogue, and for true democracy. Meanwhile, I’ll keep roaming, looking for the traces of peace I find in the world.

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