Astrology on the Web: Chiron in Capricorn

Year of the Water Horse: part 1 | part 2 | Daily Forecasts | Eclipses | Your Year Ahead

Richard Giles, writer, astrologer and Feng Shui consultant, was born in Adelaide, South Australia, spending his childhood in sunny bliss in the climate of the City of Culture. The Vietnam war and conscription turned him towards another way of life. Spiritual journeys in Thailand, India and Indonesia with Buddhism and meditation led him to a new analysis of the world. He took up the study of astrology and more recently Feng Shui.

Richard lives in sunny Queensland in the cool mountains in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast, where he works as an astrologer and Feng Shui practitioner doing consultations and continues writing for various magazines and newspapers.

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Chiron, Capricorn and Corporate Corruption

Richard Giles, astrologer and feng shui consultant, has contributed this piece (written for the August edition of the Maple Street Coop newsletter) about the effects of the ingress of Chiron into Capricorn -- a key function of this stressful period of our lives. Business confidence has been shaken, financial giants are toppling -- and the warlords are on the move.

In July 2002, US media giant WorldCom hit the dirt, following on the earlier collapse of energy and oil multinational Enron. It was a huge shock, especially for smaller investors, shaking confidence in the integrity of the markets. The repercussions are still being felt.

This year has seen revelations about finances and accounting in at least seven major US corporations, many of which are now in commercial shambles. At the time of writing, the multinational drug company Merck announced it had falsified its sales records to make them look better than they actually were, and the copying giant Xerox came clean on concealing a multibillion-dollar loss from investors. I have no doubt there are more shocks to come.

So what is happening? Can we find an explanation in astrology for all this breakdown? The answer is certainly, yes. It's a trend that's going to be with us for several years, and it's coming from our old friend Chiron.

Chiron, the Wounded Healer

Chiron moved into the Earth sign of Capricorn in December 2001. It will remain there until February 2005, returning briefly to Capricorn from August until December 2005 before moving on to Aquarius. The Enron corruption scandal broke on 2 December 2001. During the lead-up, Chiron was at 29° Sagittarius, in the anaretic (the last and most critical) degree of that sign, before moving into Capricorn on 12 December.

Capricorn is the sign of responsibility, management, authority, superiors, officials, formal structures, systems and the capitalisation of resources. Chiron is the maverick planet (thought to be a small asteroid or spent comet) that introduces healing, learning, questing, turning points, wholeness, synergy and wise teaching. From these key words you get the message that, with Chiron in Capricorn (the master of the capitalist system), something is going to give.

We live in a capitalist system that's based on the exploitation of natural resources and products. When a source of natural energy, resources or secondary products is available and, along with it, the rights to mine or develop, exploitation inevitably follows. Natural resources and even people become commodities. And those who maintain the system and keep track of its accounts can also be bought and sold. It's not surprising, then, that this is about underlying corruption.

Astrologically, greed is expressed in a combination of Jupiter (excess) and Pluto (maximising resources). Since late 1995 when Pluto entered Sagittarius (ruled by Jupiter), tension has been building up in issues surrounding sport, religion, education and international relations. Intertwined are the moral issues, beliefs and attitudes that we have learned in our lives.

The accounting/auditing firm Arthur Andersen conspired with Enron to falsify their books. None of this is probably new, but what's different now is that it's on the front page of every newspaper. Enron has been followed in quick succession by corrupt company after corrupt company. And both President Bush and Vice President Cheney are under pressure to explain their past financial activities in the oil business.

A Higher Purpose

Chiron asks us to understand that there is a higher purpose in life for all of us. Its action in a chart is to help us connect to our higher selves, to our true, original purpose for being here. Capricorn rules the system of money and business, and with Chiron passing through, it's natural to expect that the system will be asked to examine its higher purpose. Only through exposing corrupt practices in business can this be sorted out. Today it's obvious that the system has totally lost its way. It needs to find a way back, but first the corruption must be uprooted.

During January 2002, as Chiron passed in opposition to America's natal Venus position (values, finances, money), the scandal deepened as Enron insider Sherron Watkins came out and told the truth. By February, as Chiron moved into opposition to America's Jupiter (faith, justice), the full extent of the corruption and embezzlement became apparent. During July, the opposition to Jupiter was repeated and more companies collapsed, including WorldCom.
From late August until early October, Chiron will again sit in opposition to America's Venus. And the lunar eclipse on 25 June 2002, at 3° Capricorn, was exactly on the US Venus position, putting a harsh spotlight on the entire financial system for the next six months.
Next February and then again from August to October 2003, Chiron will sit in opposition to the US birth chart Sun in Cancer (4th July). Then we'll see the full impact of these debilitating corporate collapses and the exposure of internal corruption to the world. Soul-searching will indeed be the order of the day.
In late April 2002, Chiron went into retrograde phase (an apparent backwards motion as seen from the Earth). As a planet goes retrograde, it asks us to reflect on our inner selves, so in Capricorn it asks the system to examine itself. It became apparent then that deeper corruption could be found in many levels of US and world business corporations.

When this Chironic period is finally over, we'll have seen many heads roll and a new attitude to business and honesty come into place in the world.

Thanks to the Maple Street CoopNewsletter. Richard Giles is a Feng Shui practitioner and astrologer and is available in Australia for consultations on your home and business. Click to contact Richard Giles.

Year of the Water Horse: part 1 | part 2 | Daily Forecasts | Eclipses | Your Year Ahead