Maggie comes fleet foot, face full of black soot

Talkin’ that the heat put plants in the bed, but

Phone’s tapped anyway

Maggie says the many say

They must bust in early May

Orders from the D.A

Look out kid, don’t matter what you did

Walk on your tip toes, don’t tie no bows

Better stay away from those that carry around a fire hose

Keep a clean nose, watch the plainclothes

You don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows

Verse 2 of Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues

In 1965 Pluto-in-Leo generation singer Bob Dylan released Subterranean Homesick Blues a paean to a generation of youth focused on Leo self-expression and rejecting the traditional and historical paths of rural and family life. The Pluto-in-Leo generation is better known to non-astrologers as the “Me Generation.”

The Me Generation did not want to be like their parents, to follow in their footsteps to farm, run the family business, or determine at a young age their entire futures. Newly developed radio and television were the forces that fed images of self-expression. Without these two devices, would this incredible change have occurred?

You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows evokes the sentiment of Leo, a fire sign. Fire is intuition and trust in the self. To know which way the wind blows, one must have a sense of self, a sense of place and a sense of direction. It’s also a rejection of authority and the belief that we need another to explain that which the body can sense on its own.

Pluto is now at the tail end of Capricorn and soon to move into Aquarius. In spring in 2023, about a year from now, it will make its first, but short, ingress into Aquarius, the sign opposite to Leo.

For the Pluto-in-Leo generation, a weatherman wasn’t needed to know which way the wind blows. Now as Pluto moves into opposite-sign Aquarius, we do need or at least want a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. In fact, we now have apps for that.

Leo-Aquarius Polarity

The six polarities of astrology (six times two equals the 12 signs) are of the same mode but compatible element. Leo is fixed fire and its opposite Aquarius is fixed air.

Leo is “me” and Aquarius is “we.” Fire believes in self. Air, in contrast, is looking outside of itself for completion. Mutable air Gemini is the first air sign represented by the twins. “We” for Gemini is the many aspects of its multifaceted self. How can one person, one job, one house, one  . . . anything satisfy a multifaceted self?

Libra is the cardinal air sign represented by the scales. Its primary goal in life is partnership in all domains from romance to business. It’s rare to find a loner Libra. While we all form identity through perception and reaction to others, for Libra this is a life theme.

Aquarius is the third of the air trine and fixed. It’s looking for community of shared ideals and is quite determine (aka stubborn) about it. The ideals can be religious but generally for Aquarius it’s an intellectual belief of how things “should” be in the perfect society or the perfect anything. Family isn’t a choice and is the domain of Cancer, not Aquarius. Aquarius is friendship, those you choose to be affiliated with.

Head in the clouds

In 1965 we didn’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Now, half a Pluto cycle later, we rely more and more on technology to tell us what our senses can also perceive.

The rise of technology occurred during Uranus (innovation) and Neptune (glamour) in Aquarius in the 1990s. It was fun! We met folks from across the globe! It was stimulating and mind-expanding – all Aquarius traits. It was pure Aquarius, unsoiled.

As Pluto moved into Capricorn in 2007-2008, technology was embraced by those that like to control the masses and now we are both forced into technology and increasingly dependent upon it. Even if you wanted to be a Luddite, it’s increasingly impossible.

Take GPS for example, an amazing aid to drivers, especially those like this writer who are “directionally-challenged.” That GPS is heavily relied on is no wonder; the shift that is concerning isn’t that GPS aids or that we use it more and more to navigate even close to home.

The subtle shift is not the dependence on GPS but the relinquishing of the desire to even know where one is, to even question the GPS programming. It’s fascinating that a nation that prides itself on freedom is so willing to hand over personal sovereignty to technology.

If I was a conspiracy theorist – and I swear I’m not – I’d also suggest that the GPS model is how all other technological behaviors are modeled. No need to look at our utility bills – just pay them. No need to know when your consumer products need maintenance or refills – we’ll tell you. No need to get up off the chair, just tell me what you need.

And should these behaviors negatively affect your body, simply run in place and wear a tracker that which instruct you on how long you need to run in place to maintain your ideal body weight.

All of our information in “the cloud” is really just another means of consolidating data, which is consolidation of power. There is no “cloud” just larger servers that are now targets for hackers.

Pendulum

Balance (which Libra represents) is the challenge of third dimensional reality. From Leo to Aquarius the Pluto transformation pendulum has swung between the extremes.

The self-expression that Pluto in Leo promoted has not been extinguished. Aquarian technology gave us all a platform (or two) for self-expression. The drug use of the 1960s is now institutionalized in pharmaceuticals. And the self-absorption that fire often expresses became a consumer culture with an amazing amount of waste and negligence of the environment.

Likewise we’ll see both positive and negative aspects of Aquarius. The negative is exhibited by the dereliction of sensation (earth) and intuition (fire) – knowing which way the wind blows – by allowing excessive air function to disassociate from experience. Feeling the wind and understanding the wind speed through an app are two entirely different experiences.

The positive side of course is the convenience technology offers and also the Aquarian ideal to form “a more perfect union” of like-minded individuals. Technology-in-service versus technology-in-takeover is very much an Aquarian struggle.

What is freedom? How do awareness and freedom interact? In this “open book test” lifestyle, do I ever need to hold anything in physical memory? Who will make sure the information is accurate? What if I can’t access it someday?

What happens if the electricity goes out?

Hopefully we’ll still know which way the wind blows.