A regional blackout, along with freak tornadoes and a lightning spectacle, put a disorienting spin on the St. Patrick's celebrations this past weekend. It happened under a Cancer Moon, and as Venus (in Pisces) and Saturn (in Virgo) met in opposition. Around 10 pm, the slightly tipsy party girl (Venus) was suddenly in a dark, silent pub full of strangers. Our town's biggest, most touristy night of the year was thrown into chaos. No traffic signals, no cash registers going cha-ching, no street lights. A mellow evacuation ensued, with people wandering around aimlessly. Some were spellbound by the dramatic lightning or the eerie tornado siren. In our little circle of friends, someone told a ghost story, and another brought up aliens. In this historic town, already known as haunted and heavy with the past, it was like we slipped into a timeless moment. Saturn's usual markers of order and reality were overshadowed that night by the many planets in time-warpy, illusory Pisces (Uranus, Venus, Mercury, Sun).

Was this a taste of what we're heading for with the Saturn-Uranus opposition this fall and into 2009? Being an outer planet, Uranus transits are like a power surge to the collective. Uranus is associated with electricity, and like a blackout, it requires that our eyes adjust to what we're seeing. There's tension when this new sight meets up with the established ways of doing things (Saturn). It's the transition period that's the most bewildering, between the old and the new. In his article on the Saturn-Uranus opposition, Mac McLaughlin says we're now in the dark before the dawn. Change is unsettling, and there are leaders all too willing to play on our fears of uncertainty. The first opposition happens on election day, and as Mac points out, it's a chance to make a different choice about the future.