A reader emailed me a few months ago asking if there was a correlation between the rise of pet abuse cases and Saturn in Virgo and while I dismissed it at the time the recent news about abuse of small children by UN peacekeepers (Saturn = authority figures) caused me to rethink this connection.

Because Virgo breaks things down into parts and then analyzes them, along with the sixth house it is associated with relationships that involve unequal power (classically, “master servant” relationships or those between employers and employees). The Virgo nature is typically very fond and protective of children and small animals.

Saturn went into Virgo last fall, and since then there has indeed been a rash of animal abuse cases beginning with the arrest of sports star Michael Vick for dogfighting which resulted in the signing last week in Georgia of legislation officially banning that cruel sport from the state. In May, with Saturn stationing direct (virtually standing still as its motion changes from retrograde to forward) the news has been filled with large scale animal cruelty cases. Earlier this month rapper DMX was arrested in Phoenix for animal abuse that related to dogfighting. Hundreds of animals were rescued from a “puppy mill” operation in Minnesota.

And that’s just the animals – then we have the abominable case of Josef Fritzl which erupted at the end of April just before Saturn’s retrograde turn. And this week a study by Oxfam found rampant child sexual abuse among humanitarian workers around the world.

Clearly these events happened long before Saturn went into Virgo, but the planetary cycles create a catalyst that opens up the mass consciousness to be more receptive to certain qualities. It’s almost as if there’s a cosmic radio station that becomes tuned to a particular channel during that time. There seems to be a rash of local child abuse cases as well – here in North Carolina a task force reports that caregiver homicides are rising across the state. With the economic downturn widely expected during Pluto’s sojourn through Capricorn this is likely to increase with increased stress on families suffering from economic woes.

At times like this it’s more important than ever to build (Saturn) strong communities and alliances of protection, which is what Virgo is all about. Before real change can happen the chinks in the mortar must be exposed.