A new blog project: The Neptune Cycle and Petroleum

First, a quick update on the winter solstice gruit- good carbonation, clean drinkability, but the wintergreen gave a flavor reminiscent of root beer or Robitussin. Juniper Berries next time I'm thinking- but still, a successful completion start-to-finish.

So, as we continue to discover more and more the affects of the Horizon oil spill on the Gulf, the topic of petroleum is of increasing interest. Not that it's been ignored over the past couple of years. The unique aspect of petroleum- as a substance, a movement, a resource- is that it has managed, over the past 150 years or so, to seamlessly work itself into the machinery of our society. The functioning of modern society as we know it is absolutely dependent on cheap, abundant oil. As we have come to depend upon oil, the range of technologies, of science and medicine, have expanded as if fueled by some magic power. The ability of modern society to move people and cargo, to grow more food, changes to our foreign policy- completely dissolved the old barriers of what humans thought possible, and the ideal of what we can expect of modern technology has blossomed into an ever-growing, ever-consuming engine of development.

These themes- magic, dissolving of boundaries, building an ideal not before thought possible that transcends our current world- are shared, in astrology, by the planet Neptune. Neptune, the god of the sea, represents the misty transcendence of physical limitation. Like ocean waves and churning currents, Neptune dissolves, mystifies, and opens up the idealistic and metaphysical senses. This paves the way to creativity, new ideas and understanding, spiritual development... as well as delusion, idealism, and the temptation of that which intoxicates further (such as alcohol and drugs). It's no coincidence that many critics of modern oil reliance use the phrase, "we're drunk on it". It is an intoxicating substance. In this series of posts, I hope to explain why in more detail. I'm also working to show the cyclical connection between oil and Neptune over the past few hundred years, and the current developments within the oil industry that reflect a new cycle of change.

Astrology helps us learn about ourselves. The outer generational planets often show us lessons on bigger scales. My belief is that the era of Petroleum is approaching a time of great change. I capitalized petroleum because it's more than just a substance- it's a phenomenon, a cultural mechanism, whose importance we may not really be able to comprehend until it's no longer available.

I know all of my posts are about the generational planets; I'm trying to work my way in. The hardest challenges in astrology for me are actually the cycles of the inner planets and their importance in individual charts. Hopefully some day soon I'll post about them too, however. 2011 should be an exciting year!