Saturn Clause: Who's Been Naughty or Nice?

A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us
-Albert Einstein
As the holiday season is in its full pandemonium splendor, blizzards and all, one can't help wonder what Santa would think of the bizarro news lately and all of the naughty children making the headlines with one outrageous story of fraudulence after another.
Astrologically, Jupiter is most linked with the Santa Claus archetype--the big jolly guy with presents for everyone, seemingly even those Madoffesque children who have been naughty. But since Christmas falls under Capricorn stars, and Jupiter is actually in the sign of Capricorn for just a few more weeks, along with the Sun, Mercury, Pluto, Juno and in just a few days, Mars--this year Santa feels a little more Saturn--not only checking that list twice for who's been naughty or nice, but actually holding the accountability nutcracker. As the crazy year of 2008 comes to a close, Saturn's helpers are rallying up the list for the naughty "bailout" kids and the nice list of the "accountability" types: you know those who recycle and don't try to extort millions of dollars like it's their job.
On a collective level, in order to make this giant leap of consciousness that the Capricorn archetype (literally the Piper) is demanding of us over the next fifteen years, it's time to pay our own inner Piper and look to where there are still gaping holes in our own integrity before casting the first stone. When Saturn or Capricorn energies are unconscious, they create heaps of judgment hurled at others, especially those closest to us or in the tabloids. Case in point: MTV just decided to launch 16 new Reality TV shows to get its ratings up. Why are Reality shows still such an American addiction? Is it because it gives us a comfy place to sit in judgment while others knock themselves out trying to get a little moment of fame? Or do we really need to know who Paris will choose as her next B.F.F.? It is a guilty time-sucking pleasure that I am guilty of myself--no stone casting here!
It will be interesting to see if these Reality shows survive the new Capricorn shift. The unconscious and lower octave of Capricorn is social comparison and status, so on that level it may still hold appeal. But the higher level working to eradicate the negative "isms" seems to be working its way to the collective by hook or by crook, thanks to Pluto (but there's a reason it takes fifteen years for Pluto to complete the decomposition process).
We just passed the darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and it's a time of year when we may start pondering if we have been naughty or nice in our own lives. It's easy enough to get obsessed with all of the fraud going on in the news lately, keeping the projection of duplicity "out there" on the external Santa-blacklisted naughties. But what about our own internal con artists? Who among us can say that we've never asked or needed a bailout as a result of living selfishly or without integrity? If we didn't, there wouldn't be a global credit crisis in the first place. We quickly blow through our money and then look for the nearest Santa to bail us out.
As the emphasis on brotherhood and sisterhood prevails during the magical moments of this season, one of the best gifts we can offer the world is to take accountability for our part in the collective on a psychological level before shirking off responsibility and resorting to judgment as we watch the news and perpetuate any more hatred or negativity. We are they.