We’ve heard the phrases “fight against poverty” and “fight against hunger.” Often our fight is to help those with not enough have enough or those with less have more.

While the US has both poverty and hunger, often Americans are fighting the opposite – abundance.

What percent of your friends and family are currently trying to lose weight or constantly watch their weight?

Rather than not enough food, many of us have too much food (which doesn’t necessarily mean, I hear, that we have adequate nutrition).

Our banks have gained weight as well.

In this article “U.S. Banks Too Big to Get Bigger?” there is a quote from Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher on the large size of US banks:

“Perhaps the financial equivalent of irreversible lap-band or gastric bypass surgery is the only way to treat the pathology of financial obesity, contain the relentless expansion of these banks, and downsize them to manageable proportions,” he said.

Fischer calls the mega banking system “financial obesity.”

Why isn’t abundance always a good thing?

Abundance versus Scarcity

Abundance, according to Dictionary.com is “an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply.” The opposite of abundance is scarcity which is “insufficiency or shortness of supply.”

The planet in astrology associated with abundance is Jupiter. The planet associated with scarcity is Saturn.

We all want abundance and none of us wants scarcity, right?

At an AFA convention back in 1992, I saw astrologer Jan Snodgrass who explained to the class that Jupiter isn’t a simple benefic planet. What Jupiter does, she explained, is “expands what it finds.”

While all of us would love an expansion of money, few of us want an expansion of the waistline. Expansion like all energies is neutral it’s what it “finds” that can be the problem.

One common chart of the US has a Sagittarius rising. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter. If you meet a person with a Sagittarius rising, that person may be corpulent because Sagittarius is about abundance and exuberance and is clinically unable to say “no” to an additional goodie (a goodie being anything from a slice of cake to a bottle of wine to an extra quarter in the slot machine).

Scarcity, on the other hand, is generally seen as bad but a scarcity of termites and rodents in your basement is a good thing. Restriction and limitation, ruled by Saturn, are also neutral qualities.

A ballet dance needs to restrict certain foods to have a lean body for optimal performance. Saturn, then, provides discipline.

Saturn gone bad becomes a person who allows him/herself no pleasure and fears being “bad” for having an extra slice of pie. Saturn gone extreme is controlling and rather than restricting diet for optimal performance, in the case of the ballet dancer, the person may restrict food to be “perfect” and threaten the health of the physical body by shedding too much weight.

Jupiter (abundance) and Saturn (restriction) are energies needed at different times and at different places. Balance is the key.

As I get older I see balance as the key to all energies. To me, the US is a dualistic society that constantly splits the world in half and forces us to take sides. So we become Jupiter or Saturn (and a host of other dualities).

Pluto in Sagittarius and Capricorn

Pluto transited Sagittarius from the mid-1990s until 2008. Remember that time? The roaring 1990s of dot.coms, sign-on bonuses, escalating house values and ping pong at work?

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter. The transit of Jupiter brought financial and physical expansion. The Center for Disease Control writes:

“During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high.”

Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn. Remember anything that occurred about that time? Like maybe a housing crisis?

Our house values “lost weight.” I’m guessing that Americans will also be slimmer by the time Pluto enters Aquarius in 2023.

I’m guessing that by 2023 our banks will also be slimmer. They got huge during Pluto in Sagittarius and will probably slim down during Pluto in Capricorn.

After abundance and scarcity cycles

If Pluto is creating the abundance / scarcity extremes, we can look to its next stop to see where this leads.

After Capricorn comes Aquarius, the fixed air sign ruling ideals and humanitarian goals. I’m expecting a more deliberately egalitarian financial system when Pluto moves into Aquarius.

I’m wondering if we will have more sharing of property and financial systems.

Aquarius is a fixed sign, so there is a rigidity to belief. The downside of brotherhood is that if you don’t consider me a brother, I’m banished.

While Aquarius relates to individuality, it can also devolve into tribalism. We may see more shared assets in groups, but dueling groups.

Pluto in Capricorn may be a good time to start a small bank. And maybe you can do something crazy – like only lend money on actual deposits. You won’t be as huge as J.P. Morgan Chase, but you will be solvent.