Haymarket Was a Riot - Part 1

Labor Day & the Fight for 8-Hour Workdays

Today marks the Labor Day holiday here in the U.S., which is always celebrated on the first Monday in September, but do you know how that came about? (HINT: it was a riot, but not the ha-ha kind!)

Labor Day is about way more than back-to-school sales and the unofficial end of Summer. It’s a day to honor the long and often bloody fight for workers’ rights, which began with the push for an 8-hour workday. So, let’s flip back through the history books and astrology charts to see how the labor movement went from national nuisance to federal holiday!

Welcome to the Jungle

We’re going to fire up the Wayback Machine and head to the late-1800s. Working conditions in the 19th century were bad. I mean, like, HELLA BAD. Child labor, no overtime, no minimum wage, no benefits, no safety precautions - the list goes on and on.

Huh, that remind us of A Certain Person’s administrative agenda. What was that thing called again… Project 1825? Something like that. ;) Anyway…

Fun fact: this was also the rise of the Industrial Revolution, and with the end of slavery (at least on paper), factories needed a new source of cheap labor to employ exploit. No problem!

Word of the American Dream had spread far and wide across the Seven Seas and soon “[the] tired, [the] poor, [the] huddled masses yearning to breathe free” were teeming on our shores in a brave attempt to create a better life. Factories had all the human resources fodder they needed to fuel their rapid growth with these recent poor immigrants, most of whom spoke little English and were otherwise considered “undesirables”. 

Another (no-so) fun fact: simply having light-colored skin did not automatically make one “White” at that time, at least not as we view the term today, nor did it exempt these immigrants from degradation, exploitation, and discrimination. Social class, financial status, country/culture-of-origin, and especially religion, were how privilege was granted or denied.

For example, the Irish were absolutely not considered White, and while we may think that “No Irish Need Apply” signs were exclusive to the early 20th-century, anti-Irish sentiment actually can be traced back for nearly a millennium. Jews were also not considered White, and anti-Catholic sentiment ran high, too. Italians were definitely not considered White, and believe it or not, there are still people today who hold these same views, but I digress. These are important, albeit tragic, stories that have been lost to modern history, so we promise to explore them in future posts!

Anyway, the moral of the story is that this was high-risk/low-pay work that only the “others” were willing to do, but it was the chance that many had to take in order to feed themselves and their families. If you want some graphic insight into what work environments were like at this time, we highly recommend “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, which can be read for free in the public domain at Project Gutenberg.

Set against the bloody backdrop of the meatpacking industry, socialist Sinclair wanted to highlight dangers faced by the exploited working class. His work was met with outrage, claims of sensationalism, and unfortunately, an outsized focus on the very real food safety issues he raised. Although contrary to Sinclair’s intent, popularity of “The Jungle” did lead to passages of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food & Drug Act, as well as the agency that would eventually become the Food & Drug Administration. However, the sought-after changes to working conditions lagged.

The Great Upheaval

In a natural pushback to these deplorable and often deadly conditions, labor movements began to coalesce, and trade unions formed to create collective bargaining agreements. This was not appreciated by the employers, who often brought in the local police or hired “security teams” (READ: thugs and enforcers) to deal with this activism.

This led to violent and bloody altercations, and more than a few anarchists found a place for themselves on either side of the strike line, but yet the labor movements persisted. Of course, unions employed tactics of their own which were sometimes, uh, “less than legal”. It was a “fight fire with fire” mentality. 

This was also a time of great economic volatility. The United States did not have a central bank (The Federal Reserve would not be created until 1913), and financial panics, crashes, recessions, and depressions were frightfully common. We’re going to discuss these topics in-depth on this month’s Patreon along with “All the -Flations”, so if you are not already a member, join today!

Additionally, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) would not be created until 1933, so if a bank went bust before you withdrew your funds, you were up shit’s creek without a paddle. One could be financially wiped out in a minute, and many were, creating tremendous collective anxiety (hello, Money Wounds and inherited financial trauma).

Post-Civil War reconstruction had led to speculation and high investment in the railroad industry. However, those markets became oversaturated and when the bubble inevitably burst, the Panic of 1873 began and banks that held those funds started to fail. Like, fail on an epic level. 

This panic created a domino effect that temporarily shut down the New York stock market and would eventually lead to the Long Depression - 65 months of national economic pain that saw a 14% unemployment rate, wages and steel prices cut nearly in half, and business debt defaults amounting to over $1billion. Thousands of businesses, banks, and individuals went bankrupt.

Of course, some corporations always choose to be on the wrong side of history. Instead of supporting workers, John W. Garrett, president of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (or “B&O Railroad” to you Monopoly fans) decided to cut workers’ pay by 10% so he could - wait for it… - increase shareholder dividends by (you guessed it) 10%!!!! WHERE THE ENTIRE FUCK HAVE WE SEEN THAT BEFORE???? 

Needless to say, railroad workers said, “Miss me with that shit,” and began the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. This stoppage started in Martinsburg, West Virginia, on July 14, and had spread to multiple states including Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, Maryland, and Missouri by the time it ended on September 4.

Over that period, 1,000 people were arrested, 100 were killed, and over half of U.S. freight ground transport came to a halt. Tens of thousands of ordinary citizens had also joined with striking workers to protest the dangerous railroads that disrupted daily life in their cities. 

Ultimately, workers did not succeed in getting a pay increase, but they did bring national attention to their issues, as well as kick off a movement known as the Great Upheaval. Pluto was in Taurus at this time, so the revolution of resources is not a surprise! We’re going to look closer at those generational changes in our series “Plutocracy - The Progression of Power”. 

Haymarket Was a Riot

One of the most notable incidents in the Great Upheaval was the Haymarket Riot, AKA: Haymarket Massacre, which occurred in Haymarket Square of Chicago, IL, on May 4, 1886. It should be noted that while this event was more the impetus for founding International Workers Day (May Day), which is held on May 1 every year, that holiday was the precursor to establishing Labor Day.

The Haymarket Riot is also one of the few pivotal moments in history for which we have a reliable date and not one, but two times for defining actions. It also occurred as the Great Upheaval reached its feverish peak, making it a seminal event in the labor movement.

Worker dissatisfaction had been growing for some time. On May 1, 1886, tens of thousands of workers across the United States went on strike to demand an 8-hour workday. Chicago was the nexus of this fight and if you know anything about Chicago politics and history, you can already guess how this will go!

Although there were a multitude of workplace conditions that needed improvement, the fight for an 8-hour workday was one that seemed relevant to all industries and was realistically attainable. It was not uncommon for people to work 10+ hours per day, 7 days a week, all without overtime pay - a fast track to the grave. A popular work anthem of the time called Eight Hours was a rally cry for "Eight Hours for work. Eight hours for rest. Eight hours for what we will."

On May 3, protests held at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company turned deadly. Protesting workers confronted strikebreakers, at which point police began to fire into the crowd. The result was at least two of the McCormick workers being killed and many others injured.

In response, outraged labor organizers decided to hold a “meeting” at Haymarket Square at 7:30pm on the night of May 4, 1886. Original flyers called for the “Workingmen [to] arm [yourselves] and appear in full force,” but that instruction was removed from a later printing of the flyer. The community leaders who were scheduled to speak self-identified as anarchists and socialists, but they were adamant that this be a peaceful gathering despite the prior day’s violence. 

Although the speeches were full of conviction as they advocated for the 8-hour workday, the meeting actually began quite calmly. Several on-duty police officers stood watch, but the large crowd had begun to dissipate due to bad weather by the time the last speaker took the stage. All in all, this seemed to be a peaceful protest for workers’ rights, so what happened to change the energy?

Let’s look at the astrological chart for when the meeting and speeches began at 7:30pm, and then we will compare that to the chart for the actual riot, which began about 3 hours later. Many of the aspects will be in play for both events.

Calm Like a Bomb

The Sun was at 14° Taurus, the sign of resources, in the 6th House of labor and trade unions. This is also a world point, indicating a significant event was taking place. Mercury, the communicator, was in fiery cardinal Aries, giving this meeting a “let’s goooooo” energy. Sitting in the 5th House of social gatherings, people were eager to hear what these speakers had to say.

The meeting itself has a 22° Scorpio Ascendant, as well as a Scorpio 12th House, an instant warning that something deeper and darker is at work. As Scorpio has co-rulers, we can look to the dual energy of both Mars and Pluto for their influence on this chart.

Mars is at 7° Virgo (another world point!), in the 10th House of government, corporations, and national reputation. This is a huge energy. In fact, that house has a powerful stellium with Mars conjunct the 5° Midheaven (MC - and also on the world point), 13° North Node, 26° Jupiter Rx, and Uranus Rx at 14° Libra. Note that both Jupiter and Uranus are retrograde. Though not uncommon for these signs, it is an indicator that we are revisiting previously trod territory in the quest to correct.

Mars governs the military, police force, political tension, and conflict, all of which are present and accounted for! Expansive Jupiter is the sign of judicial systems, and Uranus represents strikes, riots, labor unions, explosions, and protests, as well as conservative politics. When amplified by the energy of Mars, there is powerful change at hand by any means necessary.

Pluto, the dynamic planet of wealth, government, and transformation, is sitting at 2° Gemini in the equally packed 7th House of foreign affairs, national defense, and victims. We generally use a smaller orb for world points, but it is applying to that 7.5° mark as we know that Pluto is big energy in a little package. Also in that house are 22° Descendant, 14° Chiron, and the Moon at 25° Taurus conjunct Neptune at 24° Taurus.

The Moon and Neptune are both conjunct fixed star Algol, AKA: the Beheading Star - THIS IS IMPORTANT!! You can read more about Algol’s impact in our CrowdStrike Outage post.

Taurus is fixed Earth energy and the sign of our resources. The people (Moon) were tired and hurting (Chiron); they wanted fair pay and reasonable working hours - not too much to ask! Neptune, however, can be deceptive, making it hard to discern fact from fiction. It is associated with subterfuge, socialism, lawlessness, and financial loss.

Co-chart-rulers Mars and Pluto were both in mutable signs and squaring one another with a 5° orb, with one directly on a world point and the other just in-range. When we combine the dynamic and combustible energies of these two planets, we have a veritable powder keg just waiting for a spark. Uranus is also trine Pluto, as is Jupiter, a recipe for big sudden change on a generational level.

These challenging aspects alone were a recipe for violent conflict, but they’re not the only ones at play! Restrictive Saturn is sitting at 4° Cancer (the sign of home and family) in the 8th House of power conflict, oppressed groups, and death. Saturn is a malefic and associated with national tragedies. It was also making an exact square to quick-change Uranus, adding to that powder keg energy.

These two planets create a loose T-square with exalted Venus at 28° Pisces in the 4th House of home and family, but also rebellion. Venus is the planet of harmony and money, and she usually likes to keep the peace, but these aspects to Saturn and Uranus are enough to make any diplomat choose violence.

The real doozy, however, is our friend whose inner tensions are sealed inside a calm demeanor. Everyone, please meet Mystic Rectangle!

What is a mystic rectangle, you ask? She is a complicated little aspect pattern created when two oppositions (180°) are sextile to one another (60°), creating trines (120°). The easiest way to visualize this is to look at the pattern created by the back of an envelope.

Mystic rectangles are a juxtaposition of favorable and challenging aspects that present a harmonious exterior for all the world to see. Meanwhile, an internal hidden tempest is brewing, waiting to burst forth at the seams. In this case, we have our Scorpio ASC in opposition to that Taurus Moon and Neptune on Algol, and Jupiter Rx in Virgo opposite Venus in Pisces creating the latent turmoil. The candy-coating is comprised of:

• Scorpio ASC sextile Virgo Jupiter RX,

• Venus sextile Taurus Moon and Neptune,

• the Moon and Neptune trine Jupiter, and

• Venus trine ASC.

What does this mean? The energies at play are big, secretive, and laden with misinformation and subterfuge. They are focused on the people, specifically around their money and families. If our other aspects are the powder kegs, this mystic rectangle is the smoldering ember just waiting to blow the roof off. She just needs to wait for the right moment, which comes a mere 3 hours later.

Thanks for reading! Join us for Part 2, where we see how just a few hours can change astrology and the energy of events in an explosive way. We also look at the initial and long-term impact of the Haymarket Riot, and how it eventually led to Labor Day!