“The Father of Capitalism”, Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith, propagated his ideas about the wealth of nations during the last Pluto in Capricorn in the 18th Century. He laid the foundations of a free market economy replacing Mercantilism, based on restrictive trade practices, which had started on the previous Pluto in Capricorn in the 16th Century.
Pluto in Capricorn is the great tracker of all matters economic on a macro-level. You could write a history of money through the times of its appearance, roughly every 250 years. Charlemagne in the 8th Century had an important role in determining the immediate economic future of Europe and founded banking. He standardised the monetary system which unified the complex array of currencies in use at the start of his reign, so simplifying trade.
Kublai Khan two Pluto in Capricorns later: is considered to be the first of fiat money makers (i.e. paper money not gold or silver). The paper bills made collecting taxes and administering the huge empire much easier while reducing cost of transporting coins.
This present Pluto in Capricorn picked up in 2008 with the resounding global financial crash. But as yet no real indication of what the inevitable coming changes will be in trade and global finances.
Smith, born 5 June 1723 JC/OS in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, was a Sun Gemini opposition a serious, knowledgeable Saturn in Sagittarius in a controlling, determined (ahead of his time) square to Pluto. He also had a risk-taking, no-compromise Mars in Aries opposition Uranus square Mercury in Cancer so would not be backwards about expressing his views which for the time were controversial and unpopular.
His ideas did gradually come to be accepted in the late 18th century as the Industrial Revolution got underway and free trade spread via the British Empire round the globe. Though it was not an overnight switch but more the sowing of the seed of a theory, boosted by other thinkers which took time to germinate.
The age of Aquarius is still a long way off and not marked by Pluto entering Aquarius. Perhaps Pluto in Aquarius will see the advent of many jobs being taken over by A1. Obviously some positions more suitable than others. Perhaps teaching, civil service, council office workers, general administration, utilities, to name a few. These are generally better paid positions. Physical workers should not be affected, which is interesting to contemplate.
@Cassandra you are so right to say that the true age of Aquarius, the constellation of the Water Bearer. is still a long way off, the precession of the equinox not due to move into this constellation until 3000 plus when it leaves the constellation of the Fishes.
Re Twitter – “Intriguing thought that one of the key manifestations of the Pluto in Capricorn years may falter and either keel over or shrivel when the new era arrives. Facebook/Zuckerburg may be less affected at the start since he and the FB IPO are late Taurus and the FB launch chart is mid Aquarius.” Marjorie, post in 2022
Twitter is now ‘X’. Apparently Elon Musk is obsessed with the letter X. Does it mean ‘ten’, as in Roman numerals? Former? An unknown quantity? Adult rated movie? Or X marks the spot on an antique treasure map…..or a bunch of superheroes, the X Men? Bizarre.
I believe one of his son’s name is “X” or they call him “X” for short.
Back in the ‘90s I attended a class where the speaker asked us if we could imagine what it would be like to live without money. It was long before 2008 so we none of us had an idea or even thought that it would ever come to pass. The speaker went on to talk about ancient civilisations where people managed just fine without money, the Essenes being one. They traded with the Romans but basically exchanged the fruit of their labours on the land for coins which they then gave back to the Romans to keep them from raiding their settlements. They were more than able to meet their own needs. Only the Romans who couldn’t understand how they achieved so much with no slaves, bothered them. Our speaker predicted that money would ‘disappear’ within 50 years (we already see it losing its value) and we would all do well to learn tradable skills. He further predicted that central authority in the forms of Church and government would become increasingly ineffective and that by the mid-21st century we would be organising ourselves into mutually supportive communities. Many were incredulous of course. And maybe the suggested time time frame was too short, but I now live in a rural village close to the German border and definitely see signs of this reliance on community (also for own grown food) starting to emerge.
One of the things I noticed when austerity hit the UK about a decade ago and saw cutbacks in local services was communities buying their local pub, volunteers running the libraries and so on. I thought then it was where we might end up during Pluto in Aquarius. Not sure now but it wouldn’t surprise me.
We have a Saturn-Uranus conjunction in Gemini in 2032 which follows the one which occurred in 1988 in Sag. I’ve read that signalled was the beginning of globalisation and the Gemini one will bring us back to localisation.
(We’ve just had the outgoing square of Saturn in Aqua / Uranus in Taurus this past year; 2009 saw Uranus in Pisces opp Saturn in Virgo; 1999 saw Saturn in Taurus / Uranus in Aqua if anyone wants to dig into relevant events)
This speaker sounds very interesting SuHu. Do you rememebr their name and know where they are now? Do they publish in any form?
@Valerie: see http://www.mostwondrous.com/ordertranscripts.htm
Here is a transcript of a longer class on the Essenes than the one I did. The facilitator is not that active anymore (we are all getting on!) and the website is not well maintained, so may be best to make contact first.
Now based in Henderson, Nevada, I believe. I always found the teachings to be very insightful and useful to me in a practical sense.
@Valerie: Look up mostwondrous dot com, under transcripts The Essenes.
Thank you SuHu:)
Modern capitalism requires endless growth. In part that is predicated on their being more consumers with more money to spend tomorrow than today. It is no accident that the rise of industrial capitalism occurred at a time of increasing population first in the west and then in the rest of the world. The problem is that despite the headlines about overpopulation that demographic growth has now started to falter. Peak human fertility was in about 1970 and much of the rapid rise in the world population since is simply down to people living longer particularly in the developing world. The decline in fertility is partly explainable by increasing urbanisation, growing employment and the economic empowerment of women which are known factors in inhabiting family size. The other more insidious influence is the decline in male fertility which seems to be a by product of industrial pollution and other environmental factors. The process is most advanced in places like Europe and Japan but the evidence is that Asia and particularly China is catching up and will be hitting the same demographic brick wall in a few decades. Even in Africa the process is notable in the north of the Continent. It is only sub Saharan Africa that still has a big fertility surplus but that is likely to be impacted like the rest of the world eventually. The question then is what is going to happen to Capitalism when it’s demographic base starts to shrink possibly post 2050.
These are really hard trends to track astrologically as there is no single chart that can be used so trends can really only be surmised from the slow dance of the outer planets and the dates they make key aspects. One thing to note is the on and off Pluto Neptune sextile which has run on and off from the 1940s will finish in the early 2030s. The last phase will see Pluto in Aquarius and Neptune in Aries from 2026. I believe the last time this set up of aspect, planets and signs occurred in this phase of the Neptune Pluto cycle was in the 1530s. That period launched a series of religious wars in Europe that lasted over a century until the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.
Hugh. The 16th Century was the beginning of more commercial travellers. As people like Sir Francis Drake brought new food types and other commodities to Britain. Bringing into contact many different religions and countries. Perhaps fear of commercial wars, brought religion into play. If your read the Silk Roads, it is a comprehensive argument about trade, religious power and war. I am fascinated by how the Universe works, especially our Planets. As they do appear to regulate. What we see as a catastrophe or unfair, the Planetary cycles may see as normal regulation. As Religion and War accounts for regulation in many ways. The Western World has virtually discounted Religion and demoted God to being hypothetical. Perhaps 2026 is the beginning of the “Second Coming”? As why does the planetary system exist at all, if not to create cause and effect?
The irony is that communist China has beaten the USA – and the UK for that matter – at their own game, which is full blown, free market, winner takes all, devil take the hindmost, globalist, no borders, no limits, Friedmanite capitalism.
The great big crash of 2008 – which the deindustrialized and financialized UK has never really recovered from – is a symptom of this new paradigm.
Capitalism will always exist in some shape or form, as it alwayd has done throughout history, it just takes on different guises for the times being lived in.
What irks me is people who complain about it and protest against it. If they had intelligence, and looked at their life and living ci ditions, their leisure pursuits and free time hobbies, etc, even down to the food in their kitchens, they would realise that capitalism has provided them with literally everything they possess and depend on, from the roof over their heads, to the clothes on their backs, even the smart devices they use to spout their ignorant comments, capitalism has provided everything. Unless they are prepared to go hungry, naked and homless and give up all other possessions and live in caves like the neanderthal people did, they are nothing but hypocrites.
Capitalism is just going through another modification phase – maybe – but it certainly isn’t going anywhere l, in my opinion, amd I for one am incredibly glad about it. I have always been a capitalist and a supporter of it and long may it continue I say.
Agree Helen on the point you made re Pluto in Aquarius ‘some sort of mythical Peace on Earth’. Reminds me of the mass hysteria re the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in Aquarius, and the Neptune/Jupiter conjunction in Pisces, whereby popular astrologers reported the deliverance of mystical experiences.
However, as an Australian R.N. have always felt my wage most satisfactory, that is when I see it in my bank account- by then have forgotten about the slog, the unpaid overtime, the dangerous staffing levels, the constant demands of the hierarchy to pay for courses to upskill. All of this with a humble smile, so as not to upset the public. I work alongside Doctors, and I believe that what we are really asking for is rational staffing levels, – levels that reflect what the human brain and body can cope with in order to deliver quality care.
With Aquarian Sun, Moon, Venus, Chiron, have had Pluto traversing 10th house for years, and I do wonder what this change of Pluto’s sign will do. I tend to believe it brings the dark to the surface, and it will do what it will do, and life goes on.
It is very hard to say exactly what will arise as a result of Pluto moving into Aquarius.
I note in the London chart for its appearance into Aquarius that it quincunxes Mars, which suggests that whatever other benefits moving into Aquarius may offer, it will not be without some strife.
Uranus is famously related to capitalism, market economics and entrepreneurial activity, just as Neptune relates to socialism. Capitalism has been around for thousands of years and is not going to disappear overnight, even when Pluto moves into Aquarius. Aquarius has many failings (such as being doctrinaire, unfeeling, intolerant, more interested in the greater good than the individual, eccentric, difficult, unpredictable, etc) but it is also on the whole interested, or at least likes to give impression of being interested, in honesty, clarity, and transparency. If I may say so, I think one thing arising out of Pluto in Aquarius is that in business and politics, it is going to become increasingly difficult for money to be going where it shouldn’t. Accounting is becoming more and more digitised and recordable as cash becomes less and less used. Syphoning funds out for bribes, slush funds, under-the-table activities, money laundering and other criminal activities will never go away, but it is going to get harder for those who do it. No paper-trail, no double-entry? Don’t expect repeat business or future grants. Business and politics will have to become more transparent, and this won’t come easily to some forms of business or politics.
I suspect also that business is going to have become smarter about how it deals with environmental responsibilities, as we all become aware that yesterday’s problems dumped into the future become our problems and need to be accounted for.
On a political level, I suspect, notwithstanding the use of AI and ChatGPT etc, that it is going to become harder for authoritarian and Capricornian governments to keep control of the information agenda. The gap between what governments want people to believe and what can be ascertained online will become harder for the authorities to control.
But who knows? It will be interesting indeed to see what happens.
Jupiter/Saturn in air signs, Pluto in Aquarius. Commerce moves online, brick and mortar banks change drastically or disappear, and paper money gives way to digital currency.
I feel this will be our evolution as a collective, too. People power, changes to government structures and institutions (I highly doubt George will become Prince so the monarchy will change in our lifetime), and we will most likely see an end to patriarchy. We can expect women to come forward- perhaps a new female champion or women banning together.
Another factor to consider is that the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions that happen every 20yrs were in earth signs from 1840 – 2000 – the final one being in Taurus. This may be considered part of the focus on consumerism and owning material goods.
They’ve now moved into the air signs with the Dec 2020 conjunction in Aqua – although there was also one in Libra in 1980 signalling the changeover – and these will continue well into the 2100s.
Of course it may be that consumerim / capitalism continues. After all books, films, music are now moving from physical copies to digital / streamed versions. I’m just not sure the generation coming up care that much about having all this stuff as much as the generations before.
Once Uranus moves out of Taurus in 2025-26, the outers don’t land in earth again as much. There is an overlap from 2046 when Uranus will go through Virgo while Neptune is in Taurus (2040-54).
@ Helen
I live in the US
be careful what you wish for
even having ‘great’ health insurance
($600 per month) I have to worry if I’m covered
so there’s that anecdote
the doctors should be paid properly and
nurses too. sure it’s tax payers money
that’s why we pay taxes. To organize and protect all of us. The strong protecting the weak etc. it’s the right thing to do. i did not begrudge it when I was a UK tax payer. It made me feel good to be part of a system where I felt I was sharing my good fortune. I was well paid, I was successful. I was fortunate to be talented and to have opportunities. Not everyone works hard. Some people maybe are lazy. So what? Some people inherit wealth and start a handbag line or intern at Vogue
good for them. Some people work hard and are not noticed, some rise to the top. Some people are just lucky. The world is rich with all the kinds. I hope we can develope systems that give all of us a sense of well being and promote
health and happiness. The only thing that limits us is our imagination and our dedication to high standards of kindness.
Mary. I fully understand what you are saying . What we have in England is no comparison with other countries or America. The NHS is a fully nationalised facility. There is very little additional help. The Doctors and Consultants are holding this country to Ransom. As they are paid completely by the Tax Payers, which is everyone, yet demanding Corporate Wages. Consultants are acting like Managing Directors, with our Health. With Doctors like Directors. Every time they asked for a raise – we all pay through our Taxes. Which is a National Insurance, or at least that was how the NHS was started through our National Insurance system. They are not poor in comparison to many in this country. Furthermore, how can they justify telling sick people “you wait for your operation, as I need more money than most in this country are getting”? In America Doctor’s are held to account for negligence, as they can be sued. I don’t like suing people, yet without any caveat on their work, or money they want, or their attitude. They are beginning to push the innocent, the poor and the most health needy around. They are demanding and using the people in the U.K. as a bartering tool. Many country’s use options. This is not cruel, it is not putting all their eggs in one basket. Right now in Britain people are becoming ill because they cannot get help. Surely you are not advocating making taxes payers poor to facilitate the Doctors?
Helen People in this country are being made sicker and not getting the help that they need because this government has deliberately underfunded the health service and held its staff to ransom.
Consultants, like the rest of the people working in the NHS are highly trained. Have you forgotten the pandemic when public servants were lauded by the government and then cynically denied wage rises?Medical staff are leaving in their droves for better working conditions abroad. By all means complain if you think that they should be denied pay rises unlike the private sector and watch the service collapse for lack of staff.Do you really believe staff in a privatised health service would command lesser salaries or enable poorer people to afford health care? Apologies for the lack of astrology.
Trish. I had six operations in five years once. During the 21st Century I have a 11 hospital admissions. I have seen the NHS at is very best and at its very worst. The NHS did not function properly during lockdown. I am very grateful to the NHS for saving my life, yet I have had a very nasty experience with one Consultant as well. So have others; as some horror stories have been in print over the decades. The rest of your post is your opinion; as is mine. There are many highly qualified people with Doctorates on many subjects in this country. To elevate Medical subjects above all others in this country, is not a Democracy; it is making people subservient to one strata of society. Which I vehemently disagree with. The NHS Medics are now holding people to ransom – it is abhorrent. Perhaps look up how much NHS Consultants and Medics earn. As it is well above 90% of this country’s wage earners. To compare them with the top 2% earners etc, without comparing what they earn to most in this country, is not looking at how much the poorer in society will suffer. They can ill afford the exponential taxes which are needed to just pay the staff and some of the equipment needed. This is without finding the money to build more Hospitals, which will come from taxes. A balance is needed. As the NHS is one of the biggest employers in the world. Most people can see something has to change.
Helen I am so sorry that you have such poor health. It is hard when we look to astrology for answers and it can’t make it all go away. I wish you well.
I remember reading something the astrologer Michael Lutin wrote about the times we are entering, it had something to do with Regulus and the rise of the common woman, the working woman, the woman getting up at five am, for example and catching the bus, to the city to clean the offices before the white collar workers get in
to work…
and that has stayed with me.
as for capitalism / Pluto in Capricorn etc. for me the question is will the fundamental dance ever change?
Will we humans here on earth, playing out our self involved psychodramas, justifying our behaviors and being oblivious as we deem ourselves and our ‘stuff’ the most important thing?
Will we continue to pursue our selfish accumulation of things and money? While leaving others to suffer?
Will we in our vulnerability
blame others?
Will we use our honor, our kids, our families, as an excuse?
will we stop and really try to listen.
To really pay attention?
Will we practise loving compassion to all beings? Will we stop our fake devotions and think deeply and hold
ourselves accountable?
will we just stop for
a minute and say,
I’m sorry, I was wrong,
and mean it?
Isn’t the age of aquarius about erasing the individual in favour of the collective? Individual wants and needs are to be stamped out if need be by force in favour of what is mandated as the collective good. Thus aquarian ages represent the exact opposite of the Adam Smith self interest principle.It all feeds nicely into the age of algorithmic diktat.
I have only one thing to say about this… #Bitcoin!
Yes, I also thought ….. and now enters digital currency with Governments creating/have created their own CBDCs.
I think the theoretical equiavalent today would be the French economist Thomas Piketty with his ideas on global taxation of the rich published in his major work Le capital au 21e siècle published ten years ago. Pluto in Capricorn planted the seed after the excesses of inequality, transnational investing and tax avoidance. Pluto in Aquarius will make it grow.
Pluto going into Aquarius could split the Groups vying for money. It may be in the 11th house of friendships and groups; yet Uranus does not conform to the norm. It rotates in the opposite direction. Most have got it into their heads that the Age of Aquarius in some kind of mythical Peace on Earth. Uranus is impervious to feeling and will not necessary feel others pain. It is an innovator and an Air sign. Pluto task is to dissolve, it rules the eight house of money, sex and politics, just about everything that makes the world go around with those in charge! As we are bombarded daily with a juicy story about some politician or other, getting called out for one of Pluto’s covert delights. All the signs are that cohesiveness is splitting; not coming together. It is also opposite Jupiter in Leo in the UK 19801’s Chart. Leo is also seen as the self and the King. Perhaps this opposition will question why others are continually bailing out the NHS and other UK socialist Public Services, yet have ended up not getting a real service, just paying the wages and for equipment, not necessary getting much else. In England our Doctors and Consultants are striking. They are paid by the country’s taxes – Capricorn in UK’s fourth house of home and authority/parents, yet constantly compare themselves to the private sector pay strata. Tenth house aspirations. Asking the country to pay for them to live a life well above what the country can afford, or else they will not save our lives. If that is not like a greedy capitalist – what it? Hardly what is perceived as Aquarian egalitarian is it?