-from Rick Riedel
Sunday, December 13, 1998
During the two days of August 17 and 18, 1999, one of the most powerful and fearsome configurations known to astrologers will make itself shown in the heavens. This configuration involves the participation of all the major planets except Pluto and two minor asteroids in one of the four fixed signs of the zodiac. This forms a "Grand Cross", where all of the planets are either square or opposite each other.
Although apocalyptic prognosticators get excited about big conjunctions, like the one approaching in Taurus on May 5, 2000, these have historically been markers of a changing of the guard, rather than precipitators of actual events. The conjunction is classically the mark of the end of one cycle and the start of another. The massive "Super Conjunction" of February, 1962 was an example of this. Not much happened on the conjunction itself, but within 18 months, John Kennedy was shot, then the war in Vietnam escalated and soon, people were walking on the Moon. The Grand Cross is, instead, a configuration found in the middle of the cycle; the power point of the cycle.
The likes of the configuration that will be occurring in August of 1999 has not been seen in recent times. It will take someone with more sophisticated computer software than I have to research how long it has been since this configuration was last seen. It will affect everyone and everything. The Grand Cross can occur in any of 3 modes; cardinal, fixed or mutable. These correspond to the 3 gunas of the Vedas or rajas, tamas or sattva. This one is in the tamasic, or fixed signs. These are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. Here is the lineup:
In the earth sign of Taurus, we have Jupiter and Saturn. These two giants classically rule the everyday, down-to-earth concerns of society. The stock market, housing, crop abundance or failure, money and the sense of comfort or anxiety over these things are under the influence of Jupiter and Saturn. In the Grand Cross, they represent the Earth and her relationship to humanity. All of the planets can operate in positive or negative ways. Here we have either the reverence for Mother Earth and her resources or the final destruction of plant and animal species, the fouling of air and water and, possibly, Her revolt against this disrespect.
Opposite these two, in the water sign of Scorpio, we have the Moon, Mars, Chiron and the asteroid Juno. Here we see the pressures brought about by the New World Order. The police state. Repression, control, the wounded psyche of a frustrated, confined society in fear over crime, change, and the reluctance to part with the "old way" of doing most everything. Even though this may be the area that precipitates the crisis envisioned by this planetary configuration, there is the least amount of staying power here. It may be that some action by the ruling elite will trigger the situation, but there is little here to sustain it. On a positive note, here we have the courage to pour forth energy and healing from the millions of light workers out there, and the inclination to step forward to teach and heal those who are feeling fright and suffering.
Square to this opposition, we have Neptune and Uranus in the air sign of Aquarius. The two slowest-moving and influential planets in this configuration are here representing the New Age. The Age of Aquarius. This is the social awareness, the group-conscious energies that today can be seen in reams of channeled material, world meditation days and the trend away from consumerism, materialism and the quest for power. At their worst, these two planets represent fixedness of thinking and reluctance to move on. At their best, they fuel the paradigm shift, the jump to the next quantum level, the leap to the next dimensional awareness.
Opposite this is a stellium in the fire sign of Leo. The Sun, Mercury and Venus occupy the sign of self-conscious identity. Here we have the leaders of our governments and religious organization. Here, too are the creative abilities of light workers everywhere. The self-assurance that comes from connection of the personality with the soul. This is the self-confidence that comes from hours spent in meditation; from lessons learned via discrimination and experience.
All of these planets are involved in a configuration that forms a cross, the arrangement of stress, tension and power. In the cyclic view, this is the position like that of a person pedaling a bicycle when the pedals are perfectly parallel to the ground. This is the time to apply maximum power to the pedals. It is here that the champion asserts himself and the pretender finds that there is not enough strength to turn the crank another turn. This is the eye of the needle, the point of focus for all of the cosmic energy, both entering and leaving our lovely planet. We all have to go through this funnel; the New World Order and the New Age; both will find this as the make or break moment that will decide the destiny of us all.
The one notable exception in this configuration is the planet Pluto. Motionless in Sagittarius, Pluto is ceasing its annual retrograde motion, a position of great power. In 1978, Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune, and, for the next 20 years, from this unusual vantage point, has traced out its defining pattern of evolution for society as a whole. This phenomenon happens once every 250 years or so and these periods have been remarkable in human history. The birth of Jesus Christ took place during one of these periods. Pluto will be emerging from its inner position at the time of the Grand Cross. It is the one light of hope during this configuration. Hopefully, it signals the growth of societal consciousness to the point that world destruction or enslavement will be eschewed in favor of enlightenment, discrimination and brotherhood.
Seers have had some things to say about these two days.
The California psychic, Charles Jeron Criswell King , popularly known simply as "Criswell", says that, time and time again, he has dreamed of a day when people will speak to one another, and when they talk about tomorrow, nothing will come out of their mouths. That same day, Criswell predicts, what he calls a "black rainbow" will encircle the earth, and will slowly suck away most of the air in the atmosphere. Men everywhere will die in the streets. But the disaster will last only a short while, with survivors coming back afterward to rebuild the earth. Criswell says this day will be August 18, 1999. Criswell knew nothing of astrology and it's anyone's guess as to where he came up with this date, as he made his prediction sometime in the 1950's.
Nostradamus, usually vague and metaphorical, comes right out and says: "The year 1999, in the seventh month There will appear in the heavens the sign of the King of Terror When the great leader of the Mongols (Orient) is reborn And Mars (war) reigns supreme once more" X, 22
Although moderns would see the 7th month as July, the writings of Nostradamus were translated from Old French and the term "sept" is involved. First and foremost Nostradamus was an astrologer, and possibly stuck to tradition, counting months as "moons" or lunation cycles. In 1999, the Grand Cross occurs a week after the 7th Moon of 1999, an eclipse at 18b21. This is the "sign of the King of Terror" referred to above. The "leader of the Mongols", in the opinion of many, refers to a "Lord of Darkness" or non-physical being. In any case, the old prognosticator sees this time span as being important.
It always seems like prophecies are gruesome, but because of free will, and because of the rapid changes going on here and now, predictions are always suspect. It is safe to say, however, that the planets will continue on their present track and enter into this Grand Cross configuration no matter what else comes to pass. It is best, then, to be prepared and watchful as the time approaches. We could be talking about anything from a pole shift to political upheaval.
Personal experience tells me that political tensions are more likely than physical cataclysms. The observation of synchronistic events helps, too. With regard to the political situation I had an experience that, to me, was prophetic. On the day that Bill Clinton was inaugurated as president in January of 1992, we had a tremendous storm blow in off the Pacific. Without delving into the astrological implications of alignments on Inauguration Day, suffice it to say that events that day provided, for me, an insight into the Clinton era that was born then. I rode my bike to work that day, as the weather service just predicted "rain", not a near-hurricane-strength storm. As I began the ride to work, it was merely cloudy and a bit windy. At about 1/3 of the way, the rain began in earnest, and I stopped to put on my rainsuit. Once past halfway, the wind took on a life of its own and I was headed straight into it. At about the 3/4 mark I saw what looked like lightening, with accompanying booms that pounded on my eardrums. It turned out this was not lightening, but rather the wind blowing high-tension power lines into each other, setting off powerful short-circuits. As I approached the final miles, I passed through an area which is where the local Indians say is the place where the North and South winds got married. There is a long, broad hillside here that funnels the wind through the Duwamish River valley and has sort of a wind tunnel effect. I had the bicycle in its lowest gear as I approached the overpass that vaulted over the main mass of switchyard tracks used by the railroad. As I started up the grade, it took all of my strength to move forward at all. It seemed like I was climbing up the sheer face of a cliff. After a hundred yards or so, I could not force another inch against the raging wall of wind and I knew I would have to dismount and walk the rest of the way to the summit of the overpass. As I swung my leg over, the wind tried to wrench the bicycle from my hands, like a common thief, and hurl it some 50 or 60 feet to the train tracks below. I wrestled with it, trying to get the bike over the low steel wall that separated the roadbed from the sidewalk. I managed to hang on, and got the wheels firmly on the pavement so I could walk the bike safely to the apex of the overpass. Once to the top, I could ride down the other side. From there, the road found the shelter of large, brick warehouses and I finished the last bit in relative shelter. Later, I found out the wind was blowing at 62 mph through this area. If I had known it was the strongest storm in 30 years, I would have turned around and ridden home, with the magnificent wind at my back.
Extrapolating the journey to the timeline of the presidential term that was commencing that day, the thunderous booms from the power lines shorting against each other corresponds to the nuclear explosions recently set off by India and Pakistan. The peak encounter on the overpass corresponds to August, 1999, the final 5 months of the 8-year term. Based on this experience, I would say that the New World Order blows hard, tries to wrench freedom from our hands, but is thwarted by the determination and strength of Lightworkers everywhere. The helping hand comes via the trine from Pluto.
Keep in mind that these two days are not a flash in the pan. Rather, the planets assemble, one by one and tension builds as another planet enters a fixed sign. These two days are simply the peak of the energy push. Anyone born under any of the fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius will be profoundly affected during these two days. Some interesting political/economic leaders born under fixed signs are:
Bill Clinton (Leo)
Hillary Clinton (Scorpio)
Saddam Hussein (Taurus)
Tony Blair (Taurus)
John Howard - Australian Prime Minister (Leo)
Prince Charles (Scorpio)
Bill Gates (Scorpio)
I'm sure there are more, I just don't have their birthdays.
When confronted with challenges such as this, there is a tendency to react with fear and trepidation. If indeed the New World Order will use this opportunity to make their final moves towards power and control, fear is their primary weapon. The magnificent trine of the powerful Pluto to the "personal planets" of the Sun, Mercury and Venus in Leo will be felt by each and every individual who honors light and freedom as a connection to their inner spark, their own soul. Be it in silent meditation, or via caring, encouraging contact with close friends, it is the self confidence and optimism of individuals everywhere that can distribute the transformative power of the Divine energy presented through Pluto, the one planet that stands apart from the strife and pressure of the Grand Cross. Just as I was able to hang on to my bicycle using physical strength and an inner certainty that I was not going to sacrifice it to the wind, so we can all hang on to our personal connection to The One Creator. If ever there was a time for a "world meditation day" this is it. All we can do is realize that this powerful astrological configuration is going on and be ready, in body, mind and spirit.