Four Moons Astrology- Donna Woodwell, Austin, Texas

This is the fifth in a series of articles on Green Astrology, originally published in NCGR Enews, April 5, 2008.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting around a campfire stargazing with a group of astrologers at our first-annual Texas Astrologers Retreat. The conversation meandered into politics, but despite a colorful diversity of red-and-blue opinions, the group’s camaraderie and good-humor endured.

Since then, I’ve found myself pondering one of my favorite subjects: what does it take to transform a group of individuals into a community? What creates a bond between people that is more than the sum of its parts?

According to Wikipedia, the word “community” comes from the Latin root communis, a combination of the prefix con- (which means “together”) and the munis (which has to do with performing services). Social scientists have suggested the ingredients of community include: a sense of membership or inclusion, personal investments of time and energy in the group, the shared experience of events, fulfillment of group members’ needs, and emotional bonding. For astrologers, the sign most often associated with community is Aquarius.

Quixotic Aquarius has been linked to both “listening to the beat of one’s own drum,” as well as friends, social groups, networks and humanitarian causes. It is a sign that explores the tension between independent thinking and the need to identify with something larger than oneself.

It’s a paradox the American colonists struggled with the last time Pluto ventured through Capricorn from 1762 to 1777.  Spread in small semi-autonomous settlements across hundreds of miles before the age of mass transit and communication, colonists were naturally independent and self-reliant.  However, as the years went by and British rule rested more heavily on the minds (and wallets) of the colonists, many began yearning for a new kind of independence.

In 1754 Benjamin Franklin used the image of a snake cut into pieces to represent the colonies’ need to pull together for a common purpose: the overthrow of British power. “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately,” Franklin is reported to have said at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Franklin’s snake reappeared, united and powerful, on Revolutionary War banners, with the motto “Don’t Tread on Me.” As a symbol, the flag reflected not only the colonists’ independent nature, but also their realization that a people united in common purpose are far stronger than a people divided.

Here we are again, with Pluto at Capricorn’s doorstep. This time our crises are global – A UN report cites poverty, infectious disease, climate change, war, genocide and crime as just some of the challenges we face in the 21st century.  The sense of looming catastrophe breeds fear and uncertainty, and activates the human instinct for survival. How-to guides for surviving social and economic collapse are available on survivalist sites across the internet.

But, at the same time, counterpoint ideology is emerging, one that focuses on the need to form “intentional communities” for mutual aid and assistance. In an article “Why the Survivalists Have Got it Wrong,” transition culture advocate Rob Hopkins writes:

This is “our personal and collective call to power. This is the time when we truly find out what we can do when we collectively apply our genius and brilliance. … The irony is that these survivalists who have the insight into the urgency of [our circumstances] who decide, in response, to head for the hills, are, ironically, most needed in the places where the rest of the people are, sharing their skills and their insights.” Transition culture “is a process of reweaving the connections whose disintegration is partly responsible for the mess we are in now, of rediscovering our neighbors and our surroundings, rebuilding relationships between individuals and groups.”

In a time of global crisis, the challenges are too big for isolated individuals to solve. Hopkins’ words are the diachronous expression of Franklin: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Not surprisingly, the chart for Pluto’s 2008 ingress into Capricorn features a strong Aquarian signature, with the Sun, Mercury, Neptune and the North Node, Chiron and Vesta crowding this sign.  Sun, Mercury and the North Node suggest that our energy, thought process and destiny are following the path of the Waterbearer. Neptune suggests a loosening of ego-boundaries that enables tolerance and compassion toward others.  Chiron presents an opportunity for healing the tensions inherent between “me” and “society” to create a new vision of “me within society.” And Vesta is about finding self-actualization through sacrifice and service to the community.  Used wisely, this powerful stellium bodes well for our collective response to Pluto’s transit through Capricorn.

During the past decade, experimental ecovillages, intentional communities utilizing techniques from ecological sustainable design, renewal energy sources, permaculture and cohousing, are have begun popping up around the world. We can expect architects and urban planners to focus more on sustainability when designing human living spaces.

But we don’t have to move to an ecovillage to begin creating “intentional communities” in our own lives. We can go out and meet our neighbors, or establish networks with other like-minded people.

As astrologers, a logical place to begin making connections is with other astrologers. Create an astrological study group, get involved in your local NCGR chapter, or form a chapter in your area. If you are going to UAC, take the time to converse with astrologers with diverse points of view, remembering that the holistic, cosmic vision that unites us is more compelling than the things that divide us.

Life is filled with everyday opportunities to practice the community-building skills we’re all going to need to face the challenges of the next decades.  Light your own campfire, and invite others to share the warmth.