[Important Note DATE: February 4, 2003: This article originally appeared in our July/August 1997 edition of Welcome to Planet Earth -- over 4 years before 9-11. I am re-running it (along with a very crucial Addendum on Pluto's Discovery Chart) on the web due to the catastrophic events since September 11, 2001 -- which can now, in retrospect, be clearly seen as deeply connected to the story you are about to read that links with extreme, religious fundamentalism, and the shifting placements of Neptune (religious fanaticism) and Pluto (political power and terrorism). You may be surprised to know that our cover story this month is the 4th Part of a multi-part series. The other three articles--Pluto Inside Neptune's Orbit--I, II & III--appeared in 1993 issues of our magazine. In addition, connected to this extremely important story are four other articles on Atomic Energy and Astrology: The Story of the Nuclear Axis, Parts I-IV (from the Cancer, Leo, Virgo & Scorpio 1993 editions). Since many of you don't have those magazines or weren't subscribers-readers in 1993, I am making available the entire package of 7 reprints for $12. These 7 reprints are really necessary to understand the profound changes involved in The Forgotten Cycle and Pluto's soon-to-be-experienced "return" as the Outermost "Known" Planet in the Solar System. To receive the 7 reprints, request the PLUTO REPRINT SERIES in a letter, enclose a check for $12 (payable to: The Great Bear) and mail it to us at: The Great Bear, PO Box 12007, Eugene OR 97440. You will then have all the background to understand where we are going--Pluto-wise--in the next few years as we switch gears into the next millennium.]

I owe the writing of this present Part IV to one of you, a subscriber, who called in and asked if I'd be publishing anything new on Pluto Inside Neptune's Orbit. She said that, in her opinion, it was the most important series of features I'd ever run in the magazine!

The heart of the matter is that for a 20-year cycle--within Pluto's larger 248-year journey around the Sun--this small planetary body at the "edge" of our solar system ceases to be the outermost planet. It is closer to the Sun than Neptune is--and when that occurs, Pluto really begins to function as a "cosmic seed," planting powerful energetic waves within the solar systemic womb (Neptune) of our life in the cosmos. During the 20-year cycle, we may receive hints, feelings, flashes and promptings of these "galactic waves," but usually we are lost in the dark. Plus--this is the first time that humanity can be consciously aware of (what I am calling) The Forgotten Cycle, because Pluto was only discovered in 1930 (with Neptune discovered in 1846).

I don't want to spoil what you will receive when ordering the PLUTO REPRINT SERIES, but a major keynote in this 20-year cycle relates to FUNDAMENTALISM. This "Fundamentalist" impulse is also what we see happening with the Islamic "wave" in Iran, Afghanistan, some former republics of the Soviet Union, Eastern and North African countries, the nationalist drive in many countries, the rise in power of the militias in the USA and the "Religious Right." [Much more positive in essence are the environmental, feminist, nutritional-fitness and "cyberspace" waves or movements--gathering momentum in the last two decades.]

To some extent, what is fascinating is that Pluto starts "behaving" like Neptune and Neptune starts "behaving" like Pluto--because they have "traded places." This creates confusion, chaos and uncertainty regarding the right use of spiritual willpower (Pluto) and the expression of religious devotion-fervor-zeal-idealism (Neptune). The Forgotten Cycle helps to explain so much of the craziness of the past 20 years.

We know that it started in January 1979 and, according to Professor Dave Tholen (University of Hawaii--Astronomy Department), it will end very close to February 8-9, 1999. I spoke to both Dr. Tholen--a Pluto expert--and Dr. Brian Marsden of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Since there are complex calculations involved in the matter, you can't just press a button and receive a specific time to the second. We are dealing here with vast solar systemic distances and the change from one orbital zone to another is more of something that happens for a couple of days rather than a couple of seconds or hours. However, even Neil Michelsen's Heliocentric Ephemeris for the 20th Century (an ephemeris over a dozen years old now) reveals clearly that Pluto will return to its status as outermost known planet and guardian of the solar system sometime in February 1999.

As Pluto moved inside Neptune's orbit (Jan-Feb 1979), the Islamic Revolution in Iran became white-hot. The Shah left Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile in France, the remnants of the Shah's last government fell apart (Feb. 11, 1979) and the Islamic Republic of Iran officially began (in my opinion). We know for sure that this series of events became the symbolic seed of The Forgotten Cycle this time around (near the end of the 20th Century).

Notice that in "1979" and "1997," the years contain the same digits. The only difference is the reversal of "79" into "97." While we are still within The Forgotten Cycle, we are nearing its end, and it seems that several major events in 1997 are connecting strongly to and mirroring major events in 1979. Keep in mind as well, that there is almost a full Lunar Nodal Cycle around the zodiac of 18+ years separating these two years, 1979 & 1997. Here are the examples:

Afghanistan invaded by the Soviet Union in 1979; The Islamic Taliban Movement in Afghanistan in 1997 has almost complete control of the country. [Author's Note: Feb. 4, 2003 -- Remember that I wrote these words in 1997 -- over 4 years before our American invasion into Afghanistan following the events of Sept. 11, 2001!]

The Islamic Revolution begins in Iran in 1979; On May 23, 1997, in a surprise vote, the moderate candidate for President--Mohammed Khatami*--is elected over his much more fundamentalist foe.

Margaret Thatcher was elected as the Tory (Conservative) & First Woman Prime Minister in May 1979; Eighteen years later in 1997, Tony Blair is elected as the Labor (more liberal-minded) Prime Minister.

*NOTE: As Mohammed Khatami was elected to Iran's Presidency, transiting Jupiter (moderating influence) at 22 Aquarius was conjunct the Sun for the beginning of Iran's Islamic Republic (Feb. 11, 1979)! This may be a signal that the FUNDAMENTALIST forces in Iran are beginning to "wane in power" as Pluto comes within two years of returning as the outermost planet. However, the FUNDAMENTALIST energy in that country is still incredibly formidable, and the religious and higher governmental figures in Iran can manipulate the new President for the time being.

Time periods like 1731-1751 (births of Presidents Washington, Adams and Jefferson), 1483-1503 ("Discovery" of the New World; birth of Michel Nostradamus) and even the B.C. period (when Jesus was born) are other cycles when Pluto was inside Neptune's orbit! Many people born during these epochs are "cosmic revolutionaries," celestial agent provocateurs, individuals destined to change the course of history on our planet. Think about the souls who have incarnated since 1979. Many of us have had children or grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins born since 1979. How will they change our world in the 21st Century and beyond? [When ordering the reprint series, you will learn more about these older cycles.]

We will have more to say in a 5th Part of this series, later this year or in 1998. However, in the meantime, I would like you to meditate and investigate the following: When Pluto comes out of its "Neptunian impregnation" cycle in February 1999, it will PRECISELY cross, for the first time ever, the Sun placement for the birth of atomic energy (the First Controlled Atomic Fission Experiment) on Dec. 2, 1942, 3:25PM CST (Standard Time!), Chicago, IL (see first article in the Atomic Energy & Astrology series (Cancer 1993 issue). That placement is 10+ Sagittarius--which is also part of the larger "Nuclear Axis" which I discovered back in 1982 when I began my research on atomic energy and astrology.

You will learn all about this most crucial area of the zodiac in the reprint series, but in essence the zone between 7-11 degrees Gemini-Sagittarius is a "Nuclear Axis," where nuclear-atomic related events occur (when major planets, Sun-Moon, eclipses, etc., activate the zone). When the First Controlled Atomic Fission Experiment occurred on Dec. 2, 1942, Pluto was at 7+ Leo (trine the Sun at 10+ Sagittarius). And Pluto has never entered the Nuclear Axis, but it will do so, on and off, in 1998-1999, and also station within 4 minutes arc of the Sun from Dec. 2, 1942 in August 2000! [Note: Pluto--probably the main principle regarding atomic energy, although Chiron and Uranus are connected to radiation, catalytic forces and fission--reaching and igniting the Sun placement from Dec. 2, 1942 in February 1999 is a "turning point" for the entire field of nuclear energy.]

Add to all this the fact that Pluto in 1998-1999 will be opposing its own placement (and that of Neptune) from the enormously powerful Neptune-Pluto conjunctions (8-9 Gemini) in 1892, crossing the USA Ascendant (7+ Sagittarius) for the first time ever, opposing the USA Uranus (8+ Gemini) and squaring the USA Ceres (8+ Pisces). Knowing all this, we need to collectively prepare for the future and start shaping it NOW through positive thinking, optimistic outlooks, networking, community activism and awakening, and meditating about the harmonic-peaceful-creative world we want for ourselves--not an Earth destroyed by "fire," nuclear terrorism, global warfare, and Armageddon-like prophecies-events that DON'T HAVE TO HAPPEN!

What will happen to all the fundamentalist movements (that have developed since 1979) when Pluto shifts into being the outermost known planet again in February 1999? Will there be a release of power, a plutonic eruption (or series of earthly storms-violence-mayhem), that will dwarf the warfare of World War II, the dropping of the Atom Bombs on Japan, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War? There are also many fears rampant now concerning the changing weather, environmental pollution, nuclear terrorism, the rise of great plagues, civil wars in many countries, starvation and drought, a world-wide financial collapse, great challenges in places like Russia, the Koreas, Pakistan-India, the Middle East, the tinderbox in the Balkans, continuing tensions between Greece and Turkey, internal trouble in France and Germany, the heart problem influencing Boris Yeltsin and the uncertainty surrounding President Clinton.

Nevertheless, hope for a brighter future and faith that humanity will find a lighted way out of the current morass are still strong. My goal is to reinforce the power of the enlightenment we all seek as we approach the end of one millennium and start another. However, to make that collective jump together, we do need to coordinate our spiritual vision and meditative clarity in order to leap over the Plutonic chasm before us. It won't be simple or easy, but we can do it. Learning more about The Forgotten Cycle is one way for us to share this astro-learning experience. It is momentous as the shadowy-evil forces that destroyed the Atlantean Civilization from thousands of years ago are on the march and the only way to build a better future is to harness the light-love-wisdom and Will-to-Good in our hearts, minds and souls. Our mission is to so strengthen what is Good, Beautiful and True that whatever is not of that essence will disintegrate due to lack of sustaining power.

IMPORTANT ADDENDUM February 4, 2003: I am including the horoscope for the discovery of Pluto with this article. I will be adding a long attachment to this feature during the next few weeks. Please return to this web page in order to read and study the updated version of this article. Suffice it to say for now that Pluto's discovery on February 18, 1930 by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Flagstaff Observatory in Arizona was more than just the burgeoning awareness of a new planetary body to add to the family of the solar system. There is a remarkable story here about the evolution and challenges for humanity and the Earth over the past 73 years. Pluto is the key to creating a positive new world order in the political sphere or destroying our beautiful planet via weapons of mass destruction and unleashing a long-feared nuclear war. In the meantime, recognize that Pluto's zodiacal placement at its discovery was 17+ degrees of Cancer. This remains a potent Plutonic energy zone within our zodiac. See if this degree is situated prominently in your own birthmap or that for loved ones and friends. The link to the Pluto discovery map is just below.