Baby Boomers: A Faustian Bargain

Last updated on: July 26, 2006 at 10:02 am by Lynn Hayes

Baby Boomers: A Faustian Bargain 2006-07-26T10:02:00-04:00 Lynn Hayes

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Drawing by David Michael Friend

While we’re on the subject of the sign of Leo, let’s talk about the Pluto in Leo generation. My friend Jon sent me this article:

My cohort of early baby boomers has been called a lot of names in its nearly six decades of existence—we were the insolent teenagers of the 1950s; the self-centered Yuppies of the 1980s; now we are the aging spendthrifts who will bust the federal budget and bankrupt our children with unreasonable demands for creature comfort in old age.

But maybe it would be more appropriate to think of us as the Faustian generation. We didn’t exactly sell our souls to the devil—not collectively, anyway—but as we jog toward senior status, it’s hard to escape the sense that we were complicit in our own unique kind of unholy bargain.

“The dull ache will not depart,” Faust says in the first part of Goethe’s epic, as he laments the cozy tedium of his cloistered life. “I crave excitement, agonizing bliss.” That does pretty well as a mantra for the best and brightest of the early baby boomers as they reached mid-adolescence in the early 1960s. [Baby boomers found themselves with] ever-expanding choice—the freedom to make important life decisions and then unmake them at will: new locations, new spouses, new careers, all subject to endless re-evaluation out of a concern that something more exciting might lie around the corner.

This article perfectly characterizes the “baby boomer” generation, so-called because they were primarily born when Pluto traveled through Leo during the post-war years (generally between 1939 and 1957). Pluto is a slow moving planet – it takes approximately 20 years to pass through each astrological sign, and although it is a small planet it has the most powerful effect of any of the planets. Because it deals with issues of death and rebirth, Pluto force us to come face to face with our mortality and transform our lives, to regenerate and recreate the area of life that is signified by the sign Pluto falls in.

The period during which Pluto traveled through Leo witnessed major social, cultural and political upheavals – beginning with the end of World War II, which forever transformed the way wars were fought and marked the beginning of the a totally new kind of war: the Cold War. Leo is not only about personal self-expression, it is also the sign of royalty and demand for power. While Pluto was in Leo, the nature of power changed completely as the world’s previous superpower Great Britain yielded to United States and Russia which became the two world superpowers. Pluto, with its destructive and compulsive nature, is associated with the atomic bomb which was invented roughly at the same time as Pluto was discovered, and the specter of the bomb haunted the post-war period.

The generation born under Pluto in Leo have a compulsive (Pluto) need to live life in their own way, to “do their own thing.” The frenzy to be completely and totally authentically true to one’s Self (Leo) has in fact resulted in a generation that has not want to be tied down to the expectations of others. There is as we’ve seen a sense of entitlement in Leo – the underlying psychological premise of royalty and righteousness. Not every Pluto in Leo person displays this arrogance – much depends on the balance found in the rest of the chart. But the need to live a life that allows freedom of expression (Leo) will always be one of the underlying principles in these people. In doing so, it is true as this article says that every phase of life is “subject to endless re-evaluation” but the concern is not so much that something will be better right around the corner as that one’s current lifestyle does not accurately reflect the “me” that I have now become.

The Pluto in Leo generation has been called the “Me Generation,” and this is astrologically accurate since Leo bestows the gift (or the curse under Pluto’s compulsive application) of self-expression. There is indeed a Faustian price to pay for this freedom, and for Leo it is the threat of losing the respect and admiration from others that often results from Leo’s need to pursue one’s own path at the expense of others.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

July 25, 2006

A new beginning?

Next Post

July 27, 2006 Mercury turns direct tonight

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2012 Age of Aquarius Astrology Astrology in my world Astrology in the news Astronomy Business Celebrities Consciousness Conspiracy Crime Death Ecology Events Fate Favorite posts Featured posts Financial Markets Future Shock Generations Health & Healing Holidays Inspiration Jupiter in Leo Lessons Life Lynn's favorite posts Mercury retrograde Miscellany Money and markets Moon Mysteries People Planetary cycles Planets Podcast Politics Popular Culture Predictions Psychology Relationships Religion Saturn in Scorpio Saturn Return Science Signs Skywatch Sports Sun Sun signs Technology Uncategorized Uranus square Pluto Wonders of the universe

Select a Month September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 August 2000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What king sought Isaiah's prayers when facing Assyrian invasion?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Josiah Hezekiah Manasseh Rehoboam