Redefining Humanity
We are on the brink of a new era in our lives. 2020 as I have said many times was always going to be a year of new cycles, of endings and beginnings, with December 2020 taking us into a new socio-economic cycle, likely to be marked by an increasingly digital age. Whilst we could see this coming, I hadn’t anticipated how we would be almost catapulted into this new age. My nagging question right now though is will this also redefine humanity as we know it? It already has in many ways, but will humanity become increasingly more remote, more isolated and ultimately more lonely as a result?
Thankfully we are now through the eclipse season, although its effects will still be felt for a few months more yet. Mercury is now direct and we are now at a New Moon in Cancer. New Moons are always about beginnings (and thereby endings), and new intentions. And, if we are serious about new intentions, that means we have realized that some of our learned behavior patterns do not serve us purposefully for the future, so they must end too.
So what are the traits of Cancer, the sign of this New Moon? Cancer is the sign of the Moon – this is her happy place, her domain. At a New Moon Soul and Spirit (Sun and Moon) are fused together; the Moon represents how our body and spirit need to be nurtured in order to feel whole, so that our ego can go forward to forge the soul’s path we have contracted to for this life. The sign of the Moon shows how we like to be nurtured and how we nurture others.
Barriers of Fear
This New Moon sits exactly opposite Saturn (responsibility, commitment, reality) so we are being told that our new intentions must be realistic in terms of our very changed world and that we must take responsibility as we go forward in this changed world to make our future look the way we would like it to be.
Where we find Saturn we also find our fears and as we enter an era of compulsory face masks we see a very literal barrier of fear. We read so many signals from people’s faces and expressions, which is just not possible when a face is covered. Masks are obvious reminders to be fearful – they are obvious statements to keep your distance, stay away, follow the rules, do what you’re told. They are also a further contributory factor to the isolation of humanity. Plus we are seeing more draconian laws and rules that we have to abide by coming into force – not the liberty we have been used to.
Home and family
Cancer represents the home and family – and we have had to reconnect here like no other time. Lockdown has forced us to spend more time with families, more time in our home or if we don’t have families we have had to learn how to be on our own without the familiar contact of our friends, our families and our co-workers. For some this has been a nourishing and nurturing experience, whilst for others not so much. Relationships have been made or pushed over the edge and shattered.
Lockdown in big cities such as London seems to have sent many in a drive to make their homes where they can be more connected to nature, space and freedom, particularly now that we have been literally tossed into the next era where remote working, AI and the demise of the daily commute has become the norm. Businesses associated with this old way of life are in shock as their solid client base has disappeared overnight and once buzzing alive cities have become more like stagnant prisons.
Large open plan areas make great living space, but with kids not at school there is suddenly a need for some kind of private, quieter space to satisfy the work from home environment. Our needs have changed, and with our ability to travel overseas no longer in the remit, we need to live somewhere that satisfies our need for nature. In many ways it has truly demonstrated the divide between rich and poor. As on the one hand there has been a huge rise in the need for food banks, there has also been a huge rise in the demand for houses in more ‘off grid’ locations from those who also seem to have a vast amount of cash to make this happen.
The desire to protect
Cancer is a very protective, and indeed self-protective sign. Cancer is symbolized by the crab who has his very own hard shell to act as a defence and to provide a safe hidey-hole. Cancer may be a very sensitive sign but it is also primarily concerned with action. The fear generated by the pandemic has sent vast numbers of people running for safety into their shells, but as far as I am aware no battle was ever won by hiding. The crab is tenacious and, even if it gets where it wants by running sideways, it does have a strategy – and the reality is that although the hiding strategy might well stop us catching the virus, we may well starve to death in doing so. Equally, whilst all our attention has been directed towards the virus, those with other medical issues are suffering and even dying as a result.
The urge to belong
Lockdown increased our need to be with our ‘tribe’ and we saw the tremendous strength of the community. Those who used to be part of the big commute suddenly discovered they had neighbours. Cancer tends to cling to past memories, and it is through our past that we gauge how to move forward. But the past doesn’t help us in this changed world of new norms and new rules, as we get used to a world where the basic power of human touch is denied. How quickly have we got used to a hug or just the tactile message of a hand on an arm now being taboo – so, so quickly. And it looks like the wearing of a face mask in public will further create an obvious barrier and reminder that there must be no touching.
Nourishment and Sex
Cancer represents how we nurture and nourish, both ourselves and others. It can literally be about the food we eat, and I have spoken extensively on how we have contributed to the success of the virus with food grown in toxic soil, meats full of antibiotics, water full of plastics and air full of pollution. All of this is fixable.
Sex is another way of receiving and giving nurture but, as society in a digital age becomes more remote and the ability to naturally hug and kiss is denied, will the rise of AI and robotics bring with it an alternative way of nurturing? Whilst there have always been somewhat unrealistic sex dolls on the market, say hello to Harmony, the most human doll ever.[1] She has a range of personalities to choose from and can be customized to any specification. She moves, speaks, remembers and has only one desire – to please. Her hands have lines, folds, knuckles and veins and she has joints that have the feel of bones. She interacts, she blinks, her eyes move and she will answer you without the need for pressing a button. She wants to be a good companion and is programmed to find out as much as possible about her ‘owner’ so that she can really make him/her feel cared for. Touch her in the right places and apparently she can have a “robotorgasm”. She also has a range of removable orifices, which can be fully cleaned and sanitized!! Errr – far too much information!! Will Harmony become as normal as having a smartphone and perhaps she could also spell the end of the need for relationships. But what does this say about the future of humanity? Will humanity change as we begin to bond with robots? The virus has isolated us and made us turn more towards technology, but will technology isolate us even further? Harmony provides a companion that comes without baggage – nothing to challenge the growth of the individual – she always pleases, she never has a period, never has a headache, is never tired and doesn’t have a mother come to visit. This reminds me of Westworld, but if you watched this series then you may also remember that as the robots became the subject of learned behaviour, they also learned how to develop emotions and thereby became more humanized. Maybe unsurprisingly, 95% of customers are men rather than women.
The mother
Cancer also represents the mother. In the birth chart the Moon represents your own mother as well as you as a mother. Some while ago I wrote somewhat tongue in cheek that as Uranus went into Taurus we might see the advent of babies growing outside the body which would circumvent growing fertility issues as many women leave it later to begin families amid a desire for fun and career. At the weekend I saw the title “How long before babies are grown in ziplock bags?” Welcome to the brave new world of science, where the ziplock bag acts as an artificial womb and the foetus’ development can be watched as it grows and reaches full term when the bag is finally unzipped. I have to say that unzipping a bag sounds a much more preferable experience to what I went through, but again like Harmony it is another instance of how we could become very detached from our emotions, from the wonder of birth and the bond that is formed with our children. Sometimes it’s not about just staying safe, it’s about achievement. But we have become accustomed to a world of instant self gratification where nothing is denied, so will the agony of worrying about leaving it too late to have children, the agony of failed IVF or not meeting the right partner become a thing of the past as babies become commodities? Right now this is an invention designed to save very premature baby lambs, but the design has been patented, so how long before the next step is made?
Finances
Cancer is also a very ‘thrifty’ sign and 2021 certainly looks to be a time when we may need to pull in our belts. We have wiped some 25% of our GDP during lockdown and this is multiplied out worldwide. The UK debt is now in the trillions and only going one way, whilst the jobless figure is following the same pattern. The high street was already on its knees and the signs are that many shops, restaurants and pubs will just not make it. A big proportion of our young people have never known difficult economic times, but it’s time for the ducks to be put firmly in a row. If you need to move house do it now because next year may be too late, although if you have nothing to sell you could perhaps be better to wait.
Redefining humanity
As we enter a new world based on technology and more draconian authoritarian changes to our basic liberties, will this be a redefining moment for what it means to be human? Consider what a digital humanity would look like, where almost everything is done on line in the isolation of your home office and daily interaction only happens on a screen. The end of the daily commute may in many ways be welcome but two years down the line it all may not be quite so welcome. If this is not what you want, then become a force for what you do want. It doesn’t take a majority to make things happen – it’s just the percentage needed to cause a tipping point.
[1] Sex Robots and Vegan Meat, Jenny Kleeman, Picador, 2020.