The Fifth Sacred Thing and Water Wars
In 1993 Starhawk, an early spokesperson for the neo-pagan movement, wrote a book called The Fifth Sacred Thing. In this post-apocalyptic novel, set in San Francisco, a theocratic dictatorship has seized all of the assets of the earth: air, food and water, and is the sole source of pharmaceutical antidotes for the ecological poisons they themselves create. The Fifth Sacred Thing is Spirit, after the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
It is a scenario that is not so far-fetched today, but in 1993 a world such as this seemed far in the distant future. In the 20 years since then, and in the 20 years hence (the story is set in 2048), Pluto will have traveled through fire (Sagittarius, 1995-2008), earth (Capricorn 2008-2023), air (Aquarius 2023-2043) and then water (Pisces 2043-2066). And the world’s population will have increased by 2.5 billion, most of these in the poorest countries with the fewest resources.
Pluto’s journey through Sagittarius (expansion and foreign cultures) globalized the planet in a way no one could have imagined previously. Pluto is now in Capricorn (capitalism and society) where it is breaking down the structures upon which humanity has relied for hundreds of years. When Pluto moves through Aquarius (technology and revolution) we are likely to see the kind of technocracy and rule by machines that have been imagined by science fiction writers for years. And Pluto in Pisces (ocean) is likely to bring the water wars.
Humans can live without food for a while, but we cannot live without water. When water becomes scarcer than gold, it becomes a precious commodity. Wars over water are nothing new, especially in the southwestern United States where water was diverted from rivers to fertilize the barren deserts […]