I remember well the day I was writing the column for the October 2001 magazine. It was in the aftermath of the September 11 disaster. I along with many of you had a lot of emotional energy attached to that event. I was angry that our government was not prepared. I was confused about what happened to NORAD. After all, we were taught that our country is immune to this kind of thing.

Whatever the cause of this disaster, whoever is to blame is not the topic I want to talk about today. It is rather the results of this blow to our country’s best and brightest. We all felt the decimating blow of the explosion that took down the World Trade Center. We still feel it today. It is not only in this country, but in every country in the world. “When one is harmed, all are harmed.”

The blow to our morale is now equaled by the blow to our economy, further weakening our defenses. We are at a point where we as a nation are more vulnerable than ever before in our history. Tales of a railroad that will split the nation in two, tales of huge concentration camps being built by Haliburton, invasion of our privacy and violation of our constitutional rights are a daily reminder that we no longer live in “The Home of the Brave”, rather we have become a nation of sheeple who give away freedom for security. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety..”

This dastardly day has now reached a crucial point astrologically speaking. It is at it’s Saturn square, seven years, a quarter of a Saturn return. For those of you who are not educated in astrological terms, this means that it has reached a crisis point. Squares demand action. Saturn, the grim reaper, father time, the taskmaster demands payment in kind. Saturn brings rewards to those who have worked hard for them, yet snatches the glory from those who have not gotten their rewards honestly. On September 11, 2001, Saturn was in Gemini at 14 degrees. Saturn is now in Virgo – square to Gemini and will reach 14 degrees on September 22, 2008.

How will we handle the challenge?

Sherry Henderson, Editor