As I write this, the US markets are gearing up for the opening bell and doom and gloom are all over the airwaves. “Panic of 2008” shrieks Drudge. “Profits Plunge.” The Fed has lowered interest rates by 3/4 of a percentage point in the hope of staving off a stock market panic. Asian and European markets continued their downward slide as well.

Today we have Mercury conjunct Neptune in Aquarius, where our most visionary (Aquarian) ideas can become fuzzy and incomplete under the thumb of Neptune. Neptune can erode our confidence, or it can entice us into a dreamland of imagination and creativity. Either way, the sands are shifting under our feet for the next few days as we navigate the imminent move of Pluto into Capricorn.

Pluto seeks empowerment and destroys anything in its path that doesn’t assist in our ultimate evolution. After a long night of Sagittarius partying (no offense to you Sag types out there!) the Saturnian influence of Capricorn is demanding that the bills be paid. The initial shock of Pluto is always the most dramatic – then we learn to adjust to its intensity and make the changes he requires. Saturn’s travel through Virgo since the fall has given us a hint of what is to come, demanding a more conservative lifestyle that conserves energy and capital.

In order to navigate the panic in the markets, we have to think more like Saturn/Capricorn than like Jupiter/Sagittarius. Jupiter/Sag says, bigger is better! Let’s have more of everything! The sky’s the limit! Saturn/Capricorn says, what is practical here? Have you thoroughly researched these stocks? Do you have money in the bank? Do you really need that 7,000 square foot house?

This is particularly interesting for me because of the work that I do in assisting clients to expand their views and increase abundance in their lives. Expansion is a wonderful thing, and all things are possible. But Saturn/Capricorn teaches that there must be a limit, and will impose those limits on us if we don’t.

Governments want us to keep spending money, because this is how the economy grows. But nothing can keep growing and growing forever, and we are in a time of contraction. Under Saturn/Capricorn, it is better to save and to avoid overspending. This is how we will successfully navigate these first few years of the Pluto trip through Capricorn.