Thanks to JM for the link to this article by astrologer Barry Orr about the unease surrounding the upcoming election day. Orr writes primarily about the opposition between Saturn (status quo) and Uranus (the revolutionary) which will be exact on election day in 2008. He quotes an essay from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“There is a fragment of old fable which seems somehow to have been dropped from the current mythologies, which may deserve attention, as it appears to relate to this subject.

Saturn grew weary of sitting alone, or with none but the great Uranus or Heaven beholding him, and he created an oyster. Then he would act again, but he made nothing more, but went on creating the race of oysters. Then Uranus cried, `a new work, O Saturn! the old is not good again.’

Saturn replied. `I fear. There is not only the alternative of making and not making, but also of unmaking. Seest thou the great sea, how it ebbs and flows? so is it with me; my power ebbs; and if I put forth my hands, I shall not do, but undo. Therefore I do what I have done; I hold what I have got; and so I resist Night and Chaos.’

`O Saturn,’ replied Uranus, `thou canst not hold thine own, but by making more. Thy oysters are barnacles and cockles, and with the next flowing of the tide, they will be pebbles and sea-foam.’

`I see,’ rejoins Saturn, `thou art in league with Night, thou art become an evil eye; thou spakest from love; now thy words smite me with hatred. I appeal to Fate, must there not be rest?’ — `I appeal to Fate also,’ said Uranus, `must there not be motion?’ — But Saturn was silent, and went on making oysters for a thousand years.

After that, the word of Uranus came into his mind like a ray of the sun, and he made Jupiter; and then he feared again; and nature froze, the things that were made went backward, and, to save the world, Jupiter slew his father Saturn.

This may stand for the earliest account of a conversation on politics between a Conservative and a Radical, which has come down to us. It is ever thus. It is the counteraction of the centripetal and the centrifugal forces. Innovation is the salient energy; Conservatism the pause on the last movement.

I love this last statement – it captures the ongoing dialectical process that seems to be required for transformation. Statis (Saturn) and innovation (Uranus), this is the Saturn/Uranus dance. The need to let go of the old is crucial to the process of evolution, and nowhere is this seen more than in the combination of Saturn to Uranus. On election day, and for several weeks leading up to the day, both Saturn and Uranus will be squaring Mars (aggression and drive) in the US chart, signifying pressure for change that generates action.

Orr notes other negative planetary dynamics on Election Day, including a square of Neptune to Mars which can erode our sense of progress and confuse the Will, but Neptune will also make a trine to Mars in the US chart, indicating a positive harmonization between action (Mars) and our ideals (Neptune). Another negative dynamic mentioned by Orr is the Moon in its detriment in Capricorn, but he fails to add that the Moon will conjunct Jupiter, planet of abundance and opportunity.

There’s no doubt that change is coming, but there’s no need to spend the next few months mired in doubt and fear. The key to successfully navigating any difficult transit is to understand that change is coming, and to prepare for change. The more we hold on and try to control the process, the more difficult it is. Understanding the astrological cycles gives us a clue as to what to expect, but whenever Uranus is involved we must expect the unexpected!