I’m not going to say anything brilliant here, but I do want to reinforce the thought that Mercury is retrograde during all the Fed flurry to resuscitate Wall Street. It is in Libra along with the Sun, heightening indecisiveness (“and what do you think???”) as investors continue to waffle in spite of government’s increased willingness to intervene. The bottom-line problem with mattress-stuffing, is in spite of a temporary feeling of security, it further decreases the dollar’s (or the krona’s or euro’s) value.

The weight around our necks is symbolized by Jupiter (faith) in Capricorn (frugal, cautious) and Saturn (limitation/fear) in Virgo (precise). “What exactly is going to happen?” people are asking. These two planets are indicators of how the market will do and in earth signs, people want to see tangible results, they feel restricted and they act on what seems real to them. They do not act on faith (unless of course, that is what feels real to them).

Mercury will go direct on the 15th, after which time corrections can be made for what has derailed over the past couple of weeks. It does not mean that we will return to the way things were before. I remember when I was a kid, I loved to see-saw so much that I would accept my brother’s invitation even though I knew the inevitable result. At some point I would be in the air and he would be on the ground. He would get a devilish look on his face and I knew I was sunk. He would deftly leap off and I would crash to the ground.

Mars in Scorpio is racing toward a sextile with the Jupiter and Saturn. It won’t ever be exact, but towards the end of October it buttresses “faith” and “discipline” with “warrior” energy. At the same time, Mercury passes out of the shadow of the retrograde. This test of fire we’re going through in the economy is a precursor to the lessons coming with Pluto in Capricorn. The dwarf planet symbolizes transformation through the darkness in the sign of responsibility.

Yes, I would fall on my bottom from that see-saw, but I knew full-well the hazards of playing that game with my brother. In the future investors will be more sober in their speculation and government will be playing a greater role as moderator. Teddy Roosevelt has come up several times on the stump in the U.S. presidential race. Interestingly, he knew corporations were here to stay and he instituted government departments to keep an eye on them. The introduction of the Department of Commerce and Labor with a Bureau of Corporations were examples of many ways he oversaw big business.

It’s important to keep perspective on what looks like terrifying change (yea, who wants to look at their IRAs, etc). On the other hand, even though there is no quick fix in sight, the present situation ends the discussion about Social Security going to individuals to invest. Teddy Roosevelt, a Scorpio, understood very well what it was like to be on either end of the see-saw. And what he saw was that a responsible government might need to be the fulcrum.