Phil Brown's great look at cultural trends and astrological influences.

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Product Description

What does astrology have to do with Apple computers, Harry Potter, Bob Dylan, and American Idol? According to Philip Brown, trends in technology, film, books, TV, music, and fashion are all influenced by planetary movement. Cosmic Trends discusses the startling impact Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus have had-and continue to have-on our evolving culture.  
Tracing the outer planets as they travel through the zodiac signs, Brown uncovers amazing cosmic patterns and their link to the sexual revolution, the rise in health awareness, Internet addiction, wireless technology, advertising saturation, and other cultural trends. He offers exercises that help readers develop "intuitive awareness" in drawing their own connections between the planets and world events. Profiles of William Shakespeare, Clara Barton, Martha Graham, Nelson Mandela and others illustrate how planetary forces have touched their lives and their generations. Fascinating forecasts and a glimpse of what to expect in 2020 are also included.



Finalist for the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Divination Book

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1089124 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
Philip Brown has written several articles on the astrology of cultural and political trends that have appeared in The Mountain Astrologer, The International Astrologer, and Llewellyn's Starview Almanac 2006. He is a member of the American Federation of Astrologers, the International Society for Astrological Research, and the National Council for Geocosmic Research.

Brown received his Master of Arts degree in English from California State University, Los Angeles. For the past twenty years, he has been an English teacher. He has received numerous recognitions as an educator, and was given the Golden Apple award for his work serving economically disadvantaged students in the Los Angeles area.

Brown lives in Ventura County, California, with his wife, teenage daughter, two cats, and a dog.  He is the author of Cosmic Trends, published by Llewellyn.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1

Transformational Pluto

In astrology, each sign of the zodiac has a ruler (see Appendix C--Connecting with the Zodiac Signs). Pluto is the modern ruler of Scorpio. Before the discovery of Pluto in 1930, Scorpio's ruler had always been Mars. Pluto and Scorpio have much in common, however, so it seemed natural to assign rulership of Scorpio-the watery sign of secret, hidden depths--to Pluto, which courses through the cold and distant reaches of our solar system.

This chapter will look at the major ways Pluto influences our world. Pluto intensifies and magnifies qualities of the astrological sign through which it is traveling. The look and feel of a cultural era are influenced by Pluto, elevating facets of a zodiac sign to a visible extreme.

Pluto represents the cyclic transformation of society and culture: death and rebirth, destruction and rebuilding.

Pluto exposes the darkness. It brings the hidden to the surface. Pluto has the power to dredge up concealed secrets of modern culture.

Pluto has to do with powerful forces in the world.

We don't think of Pluto as having much influence over store displays, bestseller lists, the size of blueberry muffins, or popular colors for automobiles. However, Pluto's influence is widespread. Its orbit encompasses the others. Pluto intensifies the sign it's in, so we get extra Libra or Scorpio or Sagittarius, depending on where Pluto is spending its time.

Pluto, God of the Underworld The counters are stainless steel. The food workers wear uniforms and latex gloves. The tables, floors, and restrooms are cleaned and polished. The food preparation is quick and cheap. Each burger or taco is designed and assembled with remarkable precision and little variation. McDonald's founder Ray Kroc even conducted surprise inspections, paying special attention to restaurant cleanliness and the crispness of the French fries. Today, Americans spend more money on fast food than on higher education or new cars,1 and three and a half million people are employed to prepare and serve countless ready-made meals for an on-the-go world.2

Then, in 2001, while Pluto was in Sagittarius, Eric Schlosser wrote a book titled Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the American Meal, which spent months atop the bestseller lists. Fast Food Nation fascinated readers with its behind-the-scenes look at the medical and social consequences of the modern fast food industry. Behind the shiny service counters was a brutal meat processing industry and a workforce devoid of the entrepreneurial individualism that gave rise to fast food's business successes in the first place. And for the first time, our fast food culture was seen as contributing to epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

Sagittarius has to do with expansion-including waist sizes, calorie content, and sales volume. Pluto reveals what's beneath the slick surface, in the dark recesses of the kitchens where breakfast sausages are made. It brings deep cultural secrets into the light of day. Like an exposé that reveals what has been happening behind the scenes, Pluto has the power to change our world by getting us to see the familiar in new and discomforting ways. Although small, dark, and distant, Pluto can have large, illuminating, and long-term effects.

Whether in the area of fast food, religion, or sports, Pluto reveals the darker side. As a society or culture, we begin to see a threat that was right under our noses, a threat we had failed to notice. Or that we just didn't want to see. Pluto provides the moment, the intersection of a growing collective willingness to confront the unseen monster.

Pluto is the God of the Underworld, so we often confront a facet of humanity's "heart of darkness," which manifests as the more extreme, unsavory elements of the zodiac sign through which Pluto is journeying. Pluto exposes what is happening when the soil is turned over and a nation, a culture, or a world sees something crawling in the moist loam, sees it for the first time. An initial shock, a jolt, is followed by a collective decision on a course of action.

An example is the 1997 death of Princess Diana, an event that took place not long after Pluto entered Sagittarius, often considered a sign of royalty. Her death shocked the world, causing a public re-examination of the meaning of the modern British monarchy, the cult of celebrity, marriage, and privacy. Another way to think about Pluto is as a big plow, proceeding down the field of culture and society, turning over the earth so that the land can be reseeded. While this process might be advantageous for growing new crops, it can be a problem if you've built a nest in the field. The Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, in "To a Mouse," about just such a field mouse. The mouse, seeing that winter was fast approaching, gathered nuts and seeds, and built a warm, secure nest in the field. The field mouse was prepared. But then the field was plowed under, and the mouse's nest was destroyed. The poet concludes that

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Go oft awry, An' leave us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy! 3

Like the unfeeling plow, Pluto turns over the soil. It need not, however, bring us the same grief and pain as was visited on the field mouse. In fact, maybe the field mouse will be inspired to move to a better field or to build a new nest out

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Customer Reviews

A Winner
Astrology has not been one of my interests, but I'm very glad some friends persuaded me to take a look at Cosmic Trends. This book truly accomplishes its major aim--to reach a non-technical, general audience like me. I had great fun enjoying the author's clear pleasure in, and unusual breadth of knowledge about, Western culture, the arts, society, and politics. A bonus was the excellent, uncluttered language, resonating with original and often poetic insights. I understand he is an English teacher. The communication skills show.
Let's hope that Philip Brown continues to share his ideas. His publisher, Llewellyn, has picked a winner.

Sally England

A great book on astrology for beginners or pros
I would highly recommend this book to anyone, including those who know little about astrology. It's original and written in a way that is easy to understand. I have read quite a few astrology books and feel I understand a lot of what astrology is about. Yet this book helped to open my eyes to a new perspective on our world using astrology, especially the outer planets. The writer knows a lot about astrology, but has tried to make it accessible to everyone. It is an outstanding astrology book!

Excellent Insights!
Cosmic Trends is one of the best books I have read on how the planets influence us collectively. It's an astrology book, but it goes beyond the usual astrology. It's clearly written and really connects the outer planets to cultural trends in fascinating ways. I had to re-read the author's discussion of the astrology of the sixties--not because I didn't understand it, but because it was so interesting. He discusses the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, and Janis Joplin in fresh ways that have a slightly mystical overtone. Beyond the music, though, the book covers a lot of territory. In my mind, this is a plus because it helped me to see the vast reaches and connections of astrology. I really enjoyed the author's Astro-Connection activities. They helped me to experience a lot of the connections the author discusses. It was so refreshing to read an astrology book that is grounded in the real world and makes astrology come alive in ways I could relate to.