Survive the Financial Crisis and 2012

An Interview with Barbara Goldsmith

Barbara Goldsmith (M.B.A., CeFA, CeMAP, Cergi) is an Astrologer and a qualified professional Financial Advisor who works with clients all over the world. Her combination of skills, knowledge, experience and passion makes her an extremely attractive person to interview and I was delighted that Barbara took me up on the invitation.

In order to preserve the integrity of her message, I have chosen to present it as a transcript of our conversation.

Welcome Barbara. Thank you so much for speaking with me today. I’ve read about you on your websites, but tell us about what you ‘do’.

I’ve been doing Astrology for the last thirty years. I had my first reading when I was 19 and then went on to study it in detail. I run workshops; I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of readings and have recently written a book about Astrology. I’ve got another three books I’m working on at the moment.

What attracted you to Astrology?

Astrology for me has the scientific bent as well as the artistic side, so it really stretches me. I needed to understand mathematics, astronomy, cosmology, psychology and the planets. It brings together so many different disciplines. Astrology can be studied on so many different levels: medical astrological, financial, relationship, mundane- which is looking at world events and what’s happening now. Cycles very often repeat themselves and Astrology can help us be a little bit more prepared in our personal and global lives and prepare for what’s really coming ahead.

You’re a qualified financial advisor – to what extent does this merge with Astrology?

The financial part started about 10-12 years ago when I had my own property investment and financial business in London. It was successful and I undertook all of my financial exams: my financial advisors, mortgages etc and got all the qualifications I thought I needed to drive people, including studying stock markets. I’m fascinated by everything to do with finance and how to help people avoid it ruling their lives. So we’re not a slave to finance but we can be the master of our finance both on a personal and a global level.

I can do astrological finance, which combines the two disciplines, so I’m accomplished at helping people on an astrological basis in a financial way. My other hat is being purely a financial and business advisor and very much keeping my eye on what’s happening around the world. I help to protect people’s wealth and also advise people who don’t have so much finance as to what they can do, so the global financial change isn’t a whole doom and gloom thing for the planet. It doesn’t have to be that way – that’s how I see it anyway.

How are finding the take-up of Astrology in business? Are there many businesses using Astrology to inform their business?

It depends where you are and who you talk to. Very small businesses certainly have an interest, particularly in the UK. There seems less resistance there and in the US and Canada. With regards to large Corporates’ using astrology, I wouldn’t know as that isn’t my area of focus.

From a global perspective, let’s talk about the financial crisis. From an astrological perspective, can you see why and how this is happening?

Absolutely. Most definitely 100%. We had Pluto in Sagittarius for the last 13-14 years. Pluto was only founded in 1930 so it hasn’t done its full orbit yet. It will take 250 years to do its full orbit right around the sun so we’ve only had certain cycles so far. However, this planet is very significant to do with global events. It’s the slowest moving planet in our solar system that we are aware of. Because of that it tends to have a global effect. Planets like Mars and Venus affect us more personally.

Looking at Global Astrology, this is the time the atom split, we realised we had the power to destroy ourselves if this energy was not used in a productive way. Pluto is the planet that can utterly destroy, to build anew. In the last 13 years we’ve had Pluto in the sign of Sagittarius. Sagittarius is very much the energy of going over the top, of over-doing everything, of putting rose-tinted glasses on and saying “everything is just fine” and creating all of these bubbles: the housing bubble, the real estate bubble the debt bubble – all of these various bubbles have been created during the reign of Pluto in Sagittarius.

November 26th last year (2008) everything changed. The vibration changed when Pluto moved into Capricorn. The vibration of the energies of these planets always happen a few months before they actually move into the sign, so the whole banking system worldwide around September 15th was a significant date in Astrology. This was when the whole world banking system was in danger of utter collapse. Astrologically, for the next 16 years until 2024 we are in a period where integrity comes to the fore. For example: what has happened with Bernard Madoff – all things that have been sick have to come out to the surface and honesty and integrity have to prevail.

This period is about pulling your horns in – no more extravagance, no more mad debt, becoming more self sufficient. We’re coming to this age now where we’ve also got an interesting configuration of two planets. For the last year Saturn has been opposite Uranus. Saturn is currently in Virgo, opposite Uranus in Pisces. This is two extremely different energies.  Saturn is about government, world business, banking, structure of our world economy, and of our governments in general. This energy is about how the world is run. Opposite that we’ve got the planet Uranus. Uranus is all about change and everything to do with revolution, the new, bringing in humanitarianism, everything to do with your life design system. All of these things that you’re doing (The Life Academy of New Zealand) is about the planet Uranus which is ruled by the sign Aquarius – which is everything about bring fairness and a sense of community to our world.

Uranus tends to do it in shocking ways. In ways that are so different and so new so that very often the old – the governments, the people, the powers that want to put their stamp on it say “no you can’t do that”. So we have this strong opposition from the government and powers that want to keep the status quo and you’ve also got this uprising of the average people – and there’s going to be more uprising. I’ve been saying it for a while.

Within the last three months we’ve had over a million workers in France go on national strike. Throughout America we’ve had various demonstrations in various cities – we’re going to see much more of this.

Come August 2010 we have a very big configuration astrologically and this is going to be when Pluto in Capricorn is making a square aspect between the Saturn and Uranus opposition. This is a very, very powerful aspect. Nothing similar has been seen since around the time America came together in 1776. This is massive, massive global change. I’m not a doom and doom person but there is going to be massive natural disasters such as massive earthquakes, massive volcanoes - nothing like we’ve seen before.

What’s the way through these changes?

The way through this is that people will come together in communities; get more self-sufficient and those that do remain will be creating a whole new world. In a way it is incredibly exciting, and in another way, incredibly frightening. Again represented by Saturn which represents people fear, opposite Uranus which is the new, the exciting, the technologically advanced. We’re going to find whole new answers to medical issues, breakthroughs that we never thought we could do. I think we’ll go to a whole new level with healing the body that we never thought we could do and I think much information is going to be available freely in every way for people on a massive basis. But before we get to that, there’s quite some pain and issues that need to be resolved because of the mishandling of the situation so far.

Do you think that people are picking up on the need to be self sustaining by longing for a sense of community that we’ve lost? I wonder whether our self-survival mechanism is kicking in…

By 2012, by all looks of things (which is why 2012 is a key date with the Mayan Calendar) and this is the build up that you are seeing at your community building , as we’re not far off 2012, there will be a critical turning point in the awareness and then the large majority of people will become aware. Yes, people are longing for it. It has been in our dreams but it hasn’t been our reality.

You must be noticing it in Tauranga but here in Christchurch, we’re starting to come together in communities where I live. There are 320 people coming together to try to create something – we’re trying to grow our own food – we’re helping each other. It’s amazing. It’s happening in England, in transition towns – its starting.

There are far too many people who are not aware. In New Zealand what concerns me more than anything, financially, is that I feel the average New Zealander is unaware of the severity of the financial crisis here. When I speak to the press, when I speak to the media, they don’t want to hear what I have to say. I’m not popular.

What’s the main thing you want people to know?

I really want people to know that the banking system in New Zealand is really, really unstable. The press that is being put forward is that its ‘okay’ and we’re not printing money yet like the US – and suddenly because the banks have gone around the world, and our banks are in the top 15 of the world, I feel there is a lot of misinforming going out to the general public. I feel very frustrated about this because people need to know how unstable this system is.

I feel its going to come under severe threat. It will happen suddenly and it will have a Uranian feel and people could lose incredible amounts of money, incredible amounts of pension and I feel its terrible vulnerable. I would say to people – at least have some cash on hand, not in a bank. And if you do have your money in bank, spread it around. I don’t know which ones are going to go, but they are not all going to be standing. I know it sounds drastic but I don’t know how to get it through.

Considering the average person doesn’t have access to the knowledge and expertise that you have, on what basis do you feel, understand and know how unstable the banking situation is? 

You can’t quite compare the two but looking at what happened to Iceland, and looking at the size of the country and looking at New Zealand, there are certain similarities that can be drawn. Look how suddenly the entire banking system, in what was a prosperous country, just went suddenly down. To give you a small example, their interest rates was coming down to 2-3%. Now only a matter of months later Iceland is at 16% interest rate. Right here in New Zealand, various companies are offering bonds – they want people to buy debt so they can borrow more money and they’re offering something like 6-7% which looks fabulous today, doesn’t it? So I can see many people in New Zealand, potentially losing money.

If NZ gets downgraded as a country, downgraded in terms of its viability to buy debt from overseas, (to trade money overseas if you like), which it could do, then we are potentially going to be in a similar position as Iceland was.
It may not be as bad, as I do feel New Zealand has huge advantages over Iceland in that we have arable land, rivers, agriculture, we have animals, and so I do feel we could be very self-sufficient here. I’m very positive about how I feel about New Zealand. I do feel that New Zealand has really come together and I’m hoping that when this time comes, which I don’t think is far off; we’ll have had the opportunity to be prepared.

I’m concerned about people who have saved all of their lives such as pensioners, people investing their money and then finding it worthless. I want people to be warned in advance and know in advance so they’ve got a chance to salvage some of their futures and not feel they’ve worked 20 – 40 years in vain.

Have you considered writing some sort of survival guide such as a community survival handbook (thinking I’d like to read it if so..)?

This is the handbook I’ve written called ‘Surviving the global financial crisis’. It’s a tiny book that covers what has happened, how I think things are panning out, what you can do to protect yourself, a bit of survival ’stuff’ and then some hope for the future – how I see that there is hope and how it is not doom and gloom.

When you are looking at things astrologically, is it always from a global perspective? Can you see how New Zealand differs from other countries or is that where you financial knowledge of systems and how one system influences another comes in?

 There is a form of Astrology where you do look at the country. You can look at when it was founded, you can look at what’s happening astrologically for that country – I do it frequently for the United States because the US is the world power at the moment and what is happening there affects the rest of the world. So yes you can and I have looked at New Zealand astrologically but for the most part I’m drawing my conclusions financially through my knowledge of financial markets.

Daily, I am keeping up with what’s happening around the world in every area such as the currencies, commodities, in the gold and silver markets, in China, Asia, the G20 countries – they are coming together and they will change the rules. We are in are in Venus retrograde - Venus rules finances - not only personal finances but global finances so when it goes retrograde there is the power to change it and to do something different.

What about small New Zealand businesses that are concerned about the recession? How much of a positive mindset to create a business with a higher purpose – one  that is honest, integral and is service-orientated will help survival?

We are in a global depression (I feel), not recession. Depression - a severe time of contraction. During these periods there will always be people who can make money – who can survive and do very well. They are in the minority however. People like Richard Branson, people who can try different things, people who are able to adapt to the varying circumstances. However during this downturn I feel there is going to be certain industries that will thrive better than others.

If you are in the food industry, agriculture, growing and food I would think this is a growth – especially if you are local. I would also think a growth industry is related to the tax system which is going to be more and more complex. Anyone who is good at book keeping, who likes figures and wants to do bookkeeping and accounting – I don’t think they will be out of work. Certain businesses involving technology can do well. It’s just going to be dependent on what is happening around us, so anything that is sustaining, that can be bartered.

We’re going to have different barter systems (and its already happening) where we are not dependent on world currencies. We will have a new reserve currency. The US will not stay the reserve currency of the world. This will change. Within that, within our communities, we are going to have complimented currencies. That is, currencies that we use within our communities that are outside of the tax system - and outside of government. It’s already happening, particularly in the UK and to a small extent around me here but only a little bit. It’s about using peoples time. More and more people are unemployed. In the UK, a client I spoke to a couple of days ago was telling me about 4000 people applying for one janitor’s job. What are the 3999 people going to do? We need to find ways in which they can contribute in terms of hours – its very exciting and having looked at your website I think it ties in a lot with you are looking at and where you are going.

At the Life Academy of New Zealand we have an alternative exchange system where people can give of their time in exchange for a class. The exchange involves a Business Sponsor who covers the costs of the class. So in future, based on your model, we might see more ways of exchanging…

Yes and I think you’ll probably have a mixture of both (money and time) and of being much more adaptable and reaching out more to people around us. For example: not having food flown in. Let’s grow our own – what’s the matter with us? There are some simple solutions and we need to relearn how we come back to being a community which I feel many people want.

With regards to personal development, would you advise people not to focus on skills just to get a job and making money but to learn how to contribute, learn skills and knowledge that will sustain them and allow them to be given in exchange?

Very much so. We’re going to need to live by the ‘seat of our pants’. The change is going to come so rapidly. The days of staying in the job for 20 years have gone. The more skills you have and the more adaptable you are, the more you are going to survive in this environment. Yes, I agree with you entirely – widen your horizons.

How can we become better a managing our resources? What vital ingredient have we lost in our lives?

This is a time now as we move into the Age of Aquarius. We’re on the cusp of the New Age. This is now about taking personal responsibility for your life, for your decisions, for everything. This means no longer allowing governments and people in power to do it for us, and to trust them. This is not the age for it. This is the age for us to do our own thinking, and to take responsibility for that thinking. We’ve allowed the government to take our power away (this is how I see it).

What role do you see organised religions playing – will it come back into our community or will we see more personal self-realisation.

I want to see much more of the self realised people. What we are also going to see is that huge discontent and uprisings in the religious areas. This is because we are coming to the end of the age of Pisces which is all about religions. It’s already happening in the US since President Obama has now granted federal funds for stem cell research. I don’t know if you realise quite how much discontent and discord in the United States. Particularly right-wing, fascist people are coming out with guns and are going to be very violent.

I think we will have the extremes of the people. If you look at the glyphs for the sign of Aquarius there are two waves – there will be people who will live on one wave – the self realised people who live for community and want to create a better world and connect with the higher consciousness and you have the other portion of the populus on the other wave which is a very destructive and a powerfully violent wave.

How do you see your role in the future?

To the best of my ability, my skills definitely lie with simplifying the world of finance for the lay person, making it understandable and reachable. It’s the same with Astrology, making it personal and approachable to the every day person. I do feel the earth changes are coming and I feel as though I’m here to help and give guidance as I can, as I am sure you are too. Many, many of the predictions have happened – there was an event only yesterday, what just happened off the coast of Tonga where the volcanoes erupted – to me this is a very serious sign that we are now into the massive earth changes.

On a lighter note, on April 9th, we are going to have a moon meditation (with the Full Moon being April the 10th). It’s our first at The Life Academy of New Zealand. Any advice you’d like to share?

The full moon in Libra is a time of harvesting all the energies you’ve been putting out and bring them to a culmination so with a full moon in Libra it’s all about sharing. Sharing and talking about ideas, socialising and having some fun.

Great – we’ll make sure there is time for socialising! Thank you so much Barbara for your time. It’s been an extremely fascinating discussion!

You can read Barbara’s blogs on our website!

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