The Merging of Participant and Observer

In the 1967 movie Barefoot in the Park, the extroverted young wife (Jane Fonda) becomes angry with her introverted, lawyer husband (Robert Redford) for his reserve, his inability to appreciate “the ridiculous.”

How anyone can get angry with Redford’s face is a different blog.

After an evening of unexpected new food and culture (and a freezing February ferry ride to New York’s Staten Island), Fonda is ready for more spontaneous fun in her eccentric-filled Greenwich Village apartment complex.

Redford is angry and wants to sleep (he has a court case in the morning).

Off the effects of a wild-and-crazy night, Fonda has a wild-and-crazy meltdown seeing that she and her newly betrothed are opposites. She informs him that he is a “watcher” and she is a “doer.”

In 1967, watching and doing occurred in the same physical space. Fifty-plus years later, watching and doing are not so discrete.

Physical Existence

The zodiac has 12 signs yet we have only 10 astral bodies to assign to each (includes the moon and Pluto). Taurus and Virgo – both earth signs – get assigned a planet that is also assigned to air signs.

Taurus gets Venus (ruler of Libra) and Virgo gets Mercury (ruler of Gemini).

As an earth sign, I could complain here that earth signs always get the short shrift, the extra work, the sharing of a ruling planet.

But I won’t.

Personally, I believe Taurus is “ruled” by the earth itself. Virgo, some distant helper planet. Chiron the asteroid is included in some astrological readings as the “wounded healer” and Virgo seems fit for this.

We’ll take a vote on that later.

Taurus is the focus here, the fixed earth sign. Of all zodiac personality types, Taurus is the most present, the most truly involved in physical existence and true enjoyment of physical pleasures (Venus is pleasure but relies on “others” in some way).

Taurus is the “here and now” while the rest of the zodiac is living in relation to others in mind or emotion. Taurus is the stationary mountain while water, air, and fire are in constant motion. (Note that mountains do change but it takes a long, long time.)

Aries competes which requires a “loser.” Gemini explores which requires stimulation. Cancer belongs which requires a family. Leo performs which requires an audience. Virgo serves which requires the helpless or rich. Libra reflects which requires a partner. Scorpio penetrates which requires intimacy. Sagittarius explores which requires foreign people and places. Capricorn controls which requires social infrastructure. Aquarius idealizes which requires cults and conventions. Pisces sacrifices which requires dire situations.

Folks with sun, moon, or lots of planets in Taurus are one of the human personality designs and, of course, need other people. But this sign and those with second house sun (second house ruled by Taurus) are the most self-reliant with focus on material acquisition with enjoyment of those material objects without need for them to represent abstract desires.

Most materialism is for the requirements of the mind or emotions to keep up, to impress, to keep stimulated, etc. We’ve all had these Taurus moments, when a delightful thing – flowers and nature often capture this feeling – enthralls us with its beauty or function.

Mental and Emotional Existence

Visiting any of the Disney parks, I’m always stunned by how little is there. What brings us there, and me as five-year-old, are the mental and emotional images evoked through media. My five-year-old self simply wanted to see the Cinderella ball dresses in real life. No wonder I now subscribe to Vogue.

We bring to Disney to the rest of our lives as well with mental and emotional images. Marriage is a perfect place to see the mental and emotional images clash with the physical reality. Cinderella’s story ends with marriage; it doesn’t begin there.

There is no Taurus reality at Disney. We don’t see Cinderella dealing with the enemies that always want to assassinate the prince. We don’t see how she treats the servants. We don’t see her dealing with the British press . . .

We see the image before the reality.

Pluto-in-Leo to Pluto-in-Aquarius

In 1967 when Barefoot in the Park was released, the Pluto-in-Leo generation were challenging the rules of culture including rebellion from parental control of life. And what started that trend?

Television.

Radio came first bringing the same information at the same time to masses of people. The first World War was a direct result of having a “world” (and a Federal Reserve, I know, I know). At that time, there were still countries and groups of people isolated from “the world.”

Television brought the same images at the same time to masses of people. Early photographs of television show families sitting together in the living room watching the same show.

How often do we do that today?

In the US today, the only messages shared by masses at the same time are sports and politics. The rest is individual.

Is there anyone out there besides me reading an old copy of Marie Brenner articles? Maybe a journalism student somewhere . . .

The Merging of Participant and Observer

Pluto in Leo folks sat in parks, together, sharing experiences. That, of course, still occurs today. Some far away may choose to participate via social or news media.

Is that participant or observer?

Emails and social media posts provide links to one’s senators. Click the link, send the note. And then the politicians have auto-generated responses.

Did anything really occur in physical reality?

Am I really a participant in anything when I do that? Or am I simply an observer of my own desire to impact change?

Many years ago in new age circles, there were predictions of the earth “splitting” into two earths. A crazy thought then, it comes back now as having some odd validity in the merging of participant and observer, something, I hear, quantum physics is exploring.

From a pure Taurus perspective, it’s ironic that some folks have replaced Taurus physical interaction solely with digital interaction and feel it’s an equivalently satisfying experience.

From a non-Taurus perspective, most of our experiences are mental-emotional so the need for an actual energetic being in the experience has been removed – maybe it was never needed in the first place. The fears of Artificial Intelligence (AI), ironically again, created by AI, are nothing new but a reflection of our true nature that we are often not mentally or emotionally present.

Our bodies may be in physical reality but we “live” in our minds and emotions. With hand-held technology, we know the person across from us is no longer paying attention to our story. In the past, it probably was the same but instead of looking at the text they were thinking about what to make for dinner.

Here and now

Much of the here and now – now – is interaction with digital reality. Here, where I am, soon nothing will be done without some digital interference. My apologies to the techies but it was easier (and cheaper) to simply put some coins in the meter.

In the early days of digital, it was sold as convenience and was. Today, digital is a scammer playing field with each interaction a battle of wits – is this a valid website? Am I ordering a plane ticket or a bus tickets? Which portion of all the text is important enough to click on and read?

I’m the participant-observer in an interaction with nobody, and nobody wins.

Thirty-Something’s Heed the Call

Starting in the mid 1980s, the outer planets Neptune (15 years in a sign) and Uranus (7 years in a sign) transited the authority-loving Capricorn then the technology-loving Aquarius.

And now we have authority with a love of technology. Or technology as authority. Or love of authority that creates technology.

The foot-washing messiahs have given way to the tech-creating messiahs.

If you were born with Neptune and Uranus in the Capricorn/Aquarius mixture, these are your times. Interesting times, as the old Chinese saying goes that refers to potentially chaotic, rather than truly interesting, times.

Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus are outer planets representing “the times” or era in which one lives with all its focus, obsessions, interests, and value systems. Capricorn and Aquarius created a world that was both larger and smaller: larger in that we could connect with anyone on the globe and smaller because we can become self-absorbed in narrow interests (ironically, a “symptom” of autism, a disease of increasing volume).

If you were born with Neptune and Uranus in the Capricorn/Aquarius mixture, your early years were filled with buttons and images and information – very stimulating for developing young folks.

And then came Pluto.

Pluto in Capricorn

At the end of 2007, Pluto entered Capricorn for a 20-year transit. If you were born with Neptune and Uranus in the Capricorn/Aquarius mixture, life suddenly changed. Your parents might have lost their homes in the global financial collapse due to investor overleveraging, primarily in the housing market.

Capricorn rules social structure and now those born to embrace technology discovered that “brick and mortar” was being eradicated. Who needs a house? Why shop in a store when you can have all stores available to you online?

Compulsive by nature, Pluto didn’t waste a moment in the evolution of social life starting with houses, then moving to finance and government. “The Cloud” was launched during these times to move away from the physical and tangible to the intangible and permanently accessible by those who know how to make keys, eventually if not already, for every digital house.

At the very end of Pluto in Capricorn, technology was cemented into daily life and so that when a new illness emerged on the planet, governments (ruled by Capricorn) were able to create a “lockdown” situation where needs could be met by fewer people and digital communication.

Capricorn and Aquarius merged.

Pluto in Aquarius

Capricorn’s key phrase is “I use” and government and other types of non-elected authority are using technology to maintain authority. Aquarius’ key phrase is “I know.”

Pluto in Aquarius – it entered in 2024 – is now asking if technology can replace humans. And humans don’t particularly like this. But technology “knows.” Increasingly we technology users believe “we know” when we don’t have foundational or challenging information due to the highly manipulative nature of visual media and the comprehensive responses of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Aquarius is also the traditional sign of the humanitarian, concocting ideas for the benefit of the whole due to a love of ideas and perfect societies rather than as a means for acquiring wealth and status – think of the brilliant scientist lost to history as a colleague was able to sell the idea first. The scientist seeking knowledge for its own sake is Aquarius. The one making money on it is Capricorn.

In these early stages of Aquarius energy, there is response against the negative effects of technology on people such as withdrawal from social media, parent challenges to social media companies, and, of course, the outsourcing of humans to technology.

Thirty-Something’s Heed the Call

Thirty-somethings, you with Uranus and/or Neptune in Capricorn and/or Aquarius – it’s your time, your era, your culture to shape and shift.

What will it be? Humans or machines? Or what combination?

Text me when you figure it out 🙂

Related blogs:

Gods in the Age of Aquarius
Through Capricorn to Aquarius – The Current Pluto Cycle
Born in the Air: The Progression of Aquarius

Neptune in Aries: Fire!

Since the sun entered Aries this year, there have been a lot of fires.

There was a big fire at the Kimberly-Clark distribution center in California on April 7. On April 8, an Amazon warehouse in West Jefferson, Ohio caught fire. Then a week or so ago Columbus, Ohio news reported an uptick in fires across Central Ohio. Looking up Fuyao Glass America in Dayton, Ohio yesterday after seeing a documentary on the company, I read they had a fire on March 23 (early Aries).

What a coincidence!

I’m not one of those ‘spiracy people. I simply study patterns.

And the pattern is fire.

The Trouble with Patterns

There’s always a fire, or a flood, or a storm, or an illness, or a war going on. And everything else that can go on, goes on. And we get more information now – some useless to our survival. If a boy is bitten by an alligator, why would I care in Ohio?

Are there more alligator attacks now or am I just getting more alligator attack news because I clicked on a link?

While we’re taught that man is rational “animal,” I’m an astrologer because what I see is that we are patterns and motivations. I just caught myself repeating an old pattern I thought I’d ended years ago. And the motivation is the same. I caught this one in time.

Those that make up the rules believe they are rational so teach that man is rational. The reason is the same for doing something that can be rational or a rationalization. The reason is valid, but may not be the underlying motivation. Men are taught to be separated from their feelings so to me tend to rationalize – hide feelings behind “reasons” – more than women (although women who are proud to be “unemotional” tend to do this too).

These recent fires appear pattern-like because of the companies involved. These are very large organizations that must have more than one camera on the place, probably even have the most advanced technology for monitoring the sites for both foul play and environmental risks. In a surveillance culture, how can these foul-play fires occur?

Accidents happen, sure. But there is a movement occurring against the large data centers and warehouses used as makeshift prisons.

And warehouses are catching on fire.

Neptune’s Hazy Glow

Neptune idealizes what it touches. Idealization motivates us to be better humans. Yet if the reality is far from the idealization, we get into escapism and delusion.

Neptune is in Aries idealizing our sense of self determination, the Aries within us. Idealization of the self is positive – intrinsic self-worth; and negative, me first, me only.

Wars are associated with Aries, two or more parties in a struggle for self-determination. Wars have always existed. In recent times we like to create narratives, or long stories in the news for week or months, before attacking or invading a foreign nation.

Recently, a week or two of snippets of reasons – often with no cohesive narrative – before an attack that post facto folks seem to explain from past narratives. Ubiquitous digital information streams invite personal narratives – we don’t even need to agree as a country about an invasion (“war” is also a misleading term here).

It’s Aries at its worst, a self-centered honesty. Empathy is about other and that is the polarity of Aries-Libra. Polarity in science states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In spirituality, it’s karma of resultant challenges to learn from past experiences. In regular language, we say “what goes around comes around.”

The US invades a country under the premise that it has weapons that will destroy us. But are other countries creating weaponry to attack us or to defend themselves against us?

Smokey Bear

Smokey Bear campaign was created in 1944, appearing first on August 9. His “Only You can Prevent Forest Fires” was first rolled out in 1947. Public education on negligent causes of forest fires (cigarette, campfires, etc.) was the goal.

“Born” in August, Smokey is a fire sign, Leo, with a couple other planets in Leo and moon possibly in the final degrees of Aries. Astrological fire is energy, enthusiasm, and passion. Smokey is engaging and persuasive. He’s fatherly – I can imagine him at the head of the bear dinner table on Thanksgiving carving the turkey.

Should Smokey Bear expand his campaign for Neptune in Aries malicious fires? How about, “Only YOU can change the world without setting fire to it first”?

Fight Fire with Fire

“Fight fire with fire!” is another of life’s parables.

Neptune in Aries is starting in a quite fiery way. Will fire conquer fire? Or will we all become ashes?

It will be 15 years before Neptune moves into the earth sign Taurus where we will idealize stability and structure. In the ashes that are left from Neptune in Aries fires, the mythological phoenix may rise.

And the phoenix may embrace Taurus simple pleasures: a log cabin and a field of grass. And leaving others alone to live their lives.

Spitting in the wind: Ohio’s Boredom Law Faces Uranus in Gemini

Empowered by their thrice-married, twice-impeached, sexual-predatory, felon president, Ohio Republicans are generating egregious bills aimed to heighten morality, very much like countries we profess to dislike and sometimes invade.

Some of the morality is simply medical fantasy such as bills requiring the replanting of ectopic pregnancies and abortion reversal pills. My own gynecologist entered Ohio politics to assist these politicians in understanding the female body. Recently she had to explain to them – as she did to me once – the role of progesterone.

In other morality plays, Ohio’s obscenity laws were updated to clarify rules on cabaret. At face value, it makes sense, times have changed, juveniles are exposed to much more adult behavior today than in the past.

Yet when an Ohio man lures a 12-year old girl from North Carolina into his car and drives out of state, why are we passing laws about cabaret rather than social media?

If protecting juveniles is truly the goal, targeting cabaret rather than social media is like trying to cure cancer by banning the eating of uranium. Yeah, that will help but no one is doing it. Our ingestion of chemicals via food and medicine may be the problem, something much larger to solve.

Much developed-world unhappiness could be linked our idealized versions of the world compared to reality of daily life. For example, holidays are promoted as a time of family harmony and joy, yet American families have one of the highest rates in the world of children living in single-parent homes. It’s the disconnect between the media-created images and reality that causes undue sadness during the holidays.

Likewise, American morality is idealized and does not exist in pure form except at a theme park in Florida.

Which is worse – seeing an areola or a newscast showing tens of thousands of people dying by the hand or help of one’s government?

Boredom in the US

Much of our idealized views of the world comes through media, television. Foreigners often see the United States through media as well and expect a US to be a New York-Miami-Chicago-Los Angeles experience when moving here. They are surprised by the reality, especially if living in northern climates during the winter.

The indie flick Frozen River is a better representation of a single mom trying to make ends meet in a small town. Or the indie flick The Florida Project where we see what happens when you don’t have enough money to put first and last month’s rent on an apartment. These are realities not portrayed in Hollywood movies. While they present dire situations, they contain realities that are part of living in the United States – choices between rent and other necessities, for example.

Is there a movie about people working long hours, getting stuck in traffic, and then falling asleep on the couch early?

Uranus in Gemini: Fun Times

In just a couple weeks transiting Uranus will move from fixed, earth-sign Taurus where it took down the toilet paper supply (being concerned with body and tangible items) and will now move into mutable, air-sign Gemini which is more interested in socializing, exploring, and having fun.

Gemini’s negative reputation involves these very elements: shallow, superficial, and constantly changing. Yet these very traits could be said to apply simply to human behavior.

Uranus is stimulating with sudden events. The more earthy types don’t care for this type of unexpected behavior. Fire and air signs seek it out.

Humans are hard-wired for stimulation. In the great debates about monogamy, we forget that we are applying a fixed quality inherent in mountains and rocks to a human being designed to learn, grow, and change. Extramarital affairs aren’t always about sex. Routine is known to cause boredom and the old-fashioned “rut.” Sex is a powerful stimulant and game changer.

Uranus in Gemini will not be bored, much like our Gemini president. In his recent invasion, the results were not quick or easy. It’s clearly fun for this man to invade a country. Not so fun to have intervention last longer than a few moments, like monogamy.

Cabaret in pure meaning is “a form of theatrical entertainment performed in restaurants, nightclubs, or specialized venues featuring music, dance, song, and often comedy or drama. It typically features a more intimate, informal atmosphere than traditional theater, often including a live band and tableside service.”

Is cabaret always men dressing as women or women displaying their areolas in public? (It’s good to know that Ohio lawmakers do know some parts of a woman’s body.)

Cabaret is fun. Maybe that’s the real concern.

Ohio’s Boredom Law: Spitting in the Wind

Updating obscenity laws to specifically target challenging entertainment is an attempt to hold in place an idealized past. I’d say “Ohio past” but Ohio was once the wild west. Our idealized morality comes from a mythologized founding.

Uranus in Gemini will not be bored.

The “pandemic” occurred with outer planets in earth and water, more homebound and introverted by nature. Since that time, these same planets have moved into fire and air. Getting folks to “shelter in place” with media and intoxicants will no longer be effective.

Now folks want to go out and play, like children kept inside during the winter. They go out, they run, they laugh, and they do, of course, forget to watch for oncoming cars.

Protect juveniles during Uranus in Gemini using its strengths: communication, learning, increased knowledge, exploration, and a fun and diverse playground.

Neptune in Aries: War and Courage

When Aries energy becomes pronounced in the heavens, astrologers warn of war, Aries being ruled by Mars, the God of War. In March 2025 when Neptune entered Aries, astrologers warned of war.

And there’s war.

And there’s always war on this earth, right?

What’s different here is that an outer planet creates a generational effect – apologies to those that believe the energy will pass quickly. Neptune has a 15-year transit through a sign and just left Pisces which it rules and which is the last sign of the zodiac. It’s kind of a double ending in this way.

Neptune in the last sign of the zodiac appeared to dissolve consensus reality in favor of personal, idealized reality.

Neptune represents collective beliefs, collective idealizations, a halo effect on the object of focus. Think of those old clips of early Beatles performing in front of screaming, crying, light-headed teenage girls.

Today watching the Beatles and crazy fans I think, why? Four average looking guys playing simple songs in black suits.

“Beer goggles” represents Neptune-ruled intoxicants creating the hazy glow of loveliness on the undeserved. Neptune goggles come through intoxicants, media, music and other “lose yourself” activities. Neptune releases us from the day-to-day humdrum of existence. Spirituality does this too, interpreting life in a more meaningful way.

Pisces Andy Gibb did this for me in the 1970s. I still feel the Neptune.

Neptune in Aries: Men and War

If we idolized Mr. Rogers with Neptune in Pisces, we will idolize “General Rogers” now. While writing this blog, a commercial for the military appeared on the television (ruled by Neptune). This blog is blessed by the God of War.

“Men are from Mars,” you’ve read. Men have been the dominant gender for most of our known earth history. In contrast, “Women are from Venus.” Venus is focused on relationship and compromise, not domination. This is an astrological polarity.

Our recent generational shifts merging gender identities may pause until we balance our Mars (Aries) “Me” energy with Venus (Libra) “We” energy.

Aries with bold confidence does not avoid conflict to ask for what it needs. Venus will adapt, will go with you to the movie it doesn’t like, attempt to please.

Any activation of one side of a polarity will create the opposite and equal reaction from the other side. Neptune in Aries assertion will meet Libra/Venus accommodation.

We’re seeing that in our US invasions of sovereign foreign nations (propaganda translation: “war”) forcing accommodation on the other side to maintain relationships. Those on the accommodating side sometimes become aggressors themselves.

It’s a polarity see-saw.

The lesson of astrology is balance and in the early stages of Neptune in Aries, there is no balance. In 15-years we must re-balance our mutually dependent relationships. The US going “Aries” will push the global community to go “Venus.” The US will be learning Venus.

Neptune in Aries: Courage

What astrologers may forget to remind is that Aries is courageous. Spring begins in Aries with flowers busting through soil, bunnies multiplying, children playing. Flowers don’t worry about pesticides; bunnies don’t worry about healthcare; children don’t worry about retirement plans. They are programmed to be in the present, in purity and integrity.

Likewise, Aries courage can come from this naïve innocence. And because of that very lack of wisdom and discipline, will openly challenge an overwhelming, all powerful foe. And the fire energy of Aries can win! Aries moon in particular knows no fear as the courage and valiance is reactive.

While today’s focus is larger, global wars, smaller wars are fought during the regular challenges and injustices of life. Individuals challenging racism and persecution occurs daily – we don’t see the millions of stories in the news. Courage is everywhere. Living takes courage. Living with self-respect when someone is attacking you for no reason takes courage.

While the power brokers will glamorize negative Aries invasions, conquest, and destruction, the positive Aries courage is on the other side.

More OHA Neptune in Aries blogs

https://ohioastrology.com/?s=neptune+in+aries