"ASTRO NEWS" Special by Steve Judd As I wrote on these pages on August 6th, at this time in history there is a radical need for a world-wide redefinition of our attitudes towards truth, philosophy and religion. Many astrologers agree that the last twenty years has seen an intensification of planetary influences. This has accelerated to the point where "now", (primarily the period Aug 01 - Jun 02) is in many ways summing up our capacity to see ourselves as intelligent, compassionate and humanistic. The year long opposition of Saturn and Pluto, with its specific "active" times, is testing our resolve to transform our idea's about society, human rights and our relationship to the planet. There are three "active" times that concern me now. The New Moon on November 15th falls in Scorpio, in difficult aspect to Uranus, the planet of change and unpredictability. In Kabul, the new moon suggests behind the scenes manipulation, leading to instability. In Washington, it falls in the area suggesting complicated and none to subtle communications, with disagreements rife. In London, it suggests a refocusing of idea's, perhaps a shift in attitude towards continuing military action. Perhaps a fall out with Washington? Certainly, just after new moon, (0640am GMT) the moon leaves Scorpio and enters Sagittarius, where Friday evening it opposes Saturn and conjoins Pluto. The symbolism of this represents some type of ending, of completion. One hopes that there are no shows of triumphalism should objectives be achieved, as this will certainly alienate large numbers of the world's population. The second "active" time covers the period 19 - 29 December, with Mars in difficult aspect to both Saturn and Pluto, focusing around the winter solstice (Dec 21st). There is likely to be a lot of pressure in people's personal lives at this time, as many unresolved issues begin to be dealt with. If you've got personal planets in the first half of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius or Pisces, then please remember to count to ten first at this time! I feel at this time there will come a far larger debate than before around issues such as capitalism, religion, globalisation and expansionism, and the seeds will be sown for a new future based on equality, respect for human rights, freedom of speech and religious tolerance, and a much greater symbiosis with nature. The third "active" time I am aware of is during the late spring of next year, when some type of resolution will be achieved......and hopefully we can all breath a collective sigh of relief with a real future to look forward to. I hope to be writing more on this nearer the time. This "now", this eleven months of real pressure, is not a drill. This is the real thing that we've been anticipating for years (decades?). As individuals, it is up to us to be living our lives with a greater quality of truth, integrity and conscience than ever before, and beam it out! I want there to be a decent planet for my granddaughter when she grows up. Its up to us, folks. Steve can be contacted at astrojudd@hotmail.com