Friday, January 28, 2011

Pluto in Cap? Talk to Detroit



Earlier this week I was on Huffington Post and I saw a link to a photo essay in Time Magazine that was hauntingly beautiful. It was a series of photos taken by two french artists of abandoned buildings in Detroit. I could not stop myself. I poured over each photo, reading the text which indicated what was once a grand building in a bygone era was now a relic fit only for a bulldozer.

It was all evocative of Pluto in Capricorn. To me at least.


I'm not saying the decline of Detroit is tied to Pluto in Capricorn, it is not. The breakdown of Detroit began many, many years ago. The American Auto Industry began to wobble in the 1970's when Japanese imports began to flood America. At that time Pluto was in Libra. Libra like Capricorn is also a cardinal sign. The other cardinal sign is Cancer and Pluto was in Cancer during The Depression. That too not a great time for autos.
Do we see a theme?

But of course, with Pluto we need to look deeper. Was all what it seemed? A grand industry just ran its course? Maybe. But what about the behind the scenes moves made by an industry hell bent on dismantling public transportation? Oil, Gas and Auto makers got together and quietly bought up electrified street cars in cities across the nation so they could convert them to .....buses (made by you know who). And they also made the public transportation lines less reliable so people would want to buy--you got it, cars.

All very sneaky.

Okay so what is my point? I feel bad for Detroit and the people who live there and the depressed economy. And I hope that creative, dynamic solutions are found to help rebuild it. But if they rely on ONE industry to come in and be the savior, well I would hesitate. Big Industry, that is one sneaky MoFo and the costs are great not just on one city but on the world.


My husband when he saw the photos said, "Is this our past or our future?" And I said,, "With Pluto in Capricorn, both."

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