As you know if you follow my Facebook page, over the past week or so we have seen a challenging alignment of these three planets which culminated on December 13th.  Mercury just turned retrograde on the 10th so it is still moving pretty slowly, and will remain within five degrees of Pluto for the next few days.  All planets are in Capricorn, the sign that represents structures, governments, tradition.

Uranus, the radical revolutionary, also changed direction on the 5th, and its influence is very visible in the dramatic events that have transpired over the past week or so, beginning with the arrest of Julian Assange and the explosion of the Wikileaks documents – (the radical (Uranus) exposure of information (Mercury) that reveals the secrets (Pluto) that are rocking the stability of national governments (Capricorn).

Mercury presides over communication and learning, but also transportation and messages.  Mars is the fiery god of war and Pluto the god of destruction so any alignment of these two planets can get pretty intense.  When Mercury joins in, there can be a heightened chance of arguments, disputes, and traffic problems.

The explosion of  a city bus in my hometown of Chapel Hill North Carolina yesterday, for apparently no reason, is eerily reflective of this triple conjunction since it involves the element of transportation, explosion and fire. 

Then there are the riots.  Rioters in England last week attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla when they drove too near a demonstration against university tuition hikes.  This occurred just as Mercury was preparing to turn retrograde in conjunction to Pluto.

Two days later, tensions in Russia flared after the shooting of a football fan that resulted in violence against ethnic minorities.

Yesterday riots erupted in Greece in fiery protests against that government’s austerity measures that favor the wealthy.

In Rome yesterday after Prime Minster Berlusconi won a no-confidence vote, an anti-austerity protest ignited a firestorm of violence from masked and hooded protesters. 

Garment workers in Bangladesh have for days been rioting over unfair labor practices, with over 25o people being injured and several deaths.

Other riots over the past week have been reported in Argentina, Jordan, and Haiti.

The astrological underpinning for much of this radical behavior has to do with Uranus, which in its change of direction is creating a powerful force for rebellion against the status quo.  The triple conjunction of Mercury, Mars and Pluto is acting as a spark to ignite the conflict that inspires this rebellion, but as Uranus and Pluto begin to align in their square formation next year these riots and violent protests will escalate.  

Uranus in Aries is about fairness (Uranus) for the individual (Aries), and the violence (Pluto)  will be against the governments and corporations (Capricorn) that hold most of the world’s wealth.  This conservative commentator sees the same situation that I do, but has a different take on it than I do:  “[W]e’ve created a dependent class: a herd of cattle, beholden to government for its very existence, the individual cows of which have no grasp and no concept of principles, ideas, values, property rights, our past or our future. And, given the absence of such critical education, when it should be the producers who are revolting to protest their status as the looted lambs compelled to fund it all – it’s the parasites taking the lead instead.”

No matter which side of the divide you are standing on, there’s no question that the chasm is growing wider and deeper, and revolution is coming.  Hold onto your hats!