2:28 AM PDT

9:28 PM UTC

March 24, 2020

The Power of Pluto 

In some ways, this annual New Moon in Aries is the beginning of the New Year. In some cultures, the spring equinox marks the celebration of New Year’s Day. And as always, the equinoxes and solstices are marker points for what lies ahead, like a birth chart; they hold the seeds of a new beginning. So the New Moon in action-oriented Aries is a beginning of a time when we can turn the corner away from the dark, watery depths of Pisces and toward beginning to get things done, things that have been awaiting our attention. But given our global sequestering, these “things” may be personal ones, what’s been ignored in favor of our attention toward our overly harried, hurried lives.

For quite some time, I’ve been writing about the intensity and transformative power of the recent Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, and how it will affect the global dynamics of how we do business on this planet. Now, with the addition of the planets Jupiter and activator Mars also in that sign, we are really, really in it deeply. I’ve liked to refer to the influence of Pluto as “transformational” but astrologers also know that Pluto also rules the heaviness of death and things which are under the surface of our constructed consciousness. Pluto, strengthened now by its surrounding “gang”, brings these deeper realities powerfully up to our awareness. We begin to see how our human-created reality is a fragile construct, subject to the whims of Nature and archetypal forces larger than us. We like to think of ourselves as powerful, having agency to change the world, but at times like these we are reminded of Pluto’s lessons: there is an underworld of Great Power and we would do well to humbly pay attention to our relative place in the order of the universe. We’re on a tightrope, balancing between darkness and light, between our old paradigm and a new one beginning to take shape.

This New Moon chart shows us how these larger influences are at work. The Sun and Moon in Aries are also conjoined with Chiron, the symbol of the wounded healer, as well as another astrological point, Black Moon Lilith. This is not a planet but a point in the sky which represents the other gravitational center that the Earth and Moon rotate around; she is the mirror-shadow of the personal emotional content which the Moon represents, she’s the more impersonal, archetypal influence. Mythologically, Lilith, among many other representations, is the symbol of the ancient Goddess energy which was predominant on Earth for thousands of years before the patriarchal religions and governments were developed. 13^th Century Christian writings depict her as the first wife of Adam, made equally of the same clay, who refused to be subordinate to a man and left the Garden of Eden. Her symbology under patriarchal influences later degenerated and she began to be associated with demonic forces. Clearly, we feel the wounded feminine strongly now with feelings of vulnerability in regards to our present epidemic, Pluto symbolizing the presence of death all around us. However the presence of death in our lives is a transformational influence: nothing is the same as it was after Its appearance. Our world view is forever altered; we cannot go back to the way things were. And clearly it is time for us to pay attention to our Mother, the Earth, and to heal our bodies as well as Her body.  

Also in the mix is the asteroid Athena, representing the feminine wisdom, the fearless warrior who has joined the Capricorn stellium, adding to it a sensibility that we are in a battle for our lives, and for the life of the planet, but that if we use the practical awareness that our wisdom brings, we emerge from the battle victorious, meaning with gained wisdom and respect for these larger forces around us.  

The more personal feminine astrologically, Venus, (now visible as the "evening star") is also a key player in this New Moon chart. In the grounded sign of Taurus, she forms harmonious trines to the entire Capricorn stellium. These powerful aspects show us how our social distancing and retreat time now can be used to do some important healing work within ourselves. Though we must pay attention to the voices of authority that tell us how to physically navigate the potential spread of disease, we also now have the time and space to look at the more receptive portions of ourselves, that is, we can pay more attention to introspection, to feelings, observing how our internal emotional states also affect our immune system, and to practicing the kinds of meditation that observe and witness these states moment to moment. This includes time for prayer as an appreciation of what we do have, the gifts of our lives so far, the beauty and reverence for the Earth around us. Each glass of water or tea we drink, every action we take, can be a meditation on grateful, thankful appreciation for the miracle of our moment to moment existence. Even the suffering and pain we experience is a part of the tapestry of our lives, and somehow can give us gifts, allowing us to rest and recoup our energy, or to connect with others in our community to receive their attention and kindness.  

Pluto’s lessons and presence now present a doorway we are all walking through together. The last time Pluto was around this degree in Capricorn was the years just before 1776, a time of great stress, when alternative forms of government were being forged and developed. We are at that time again. Part of what Pluto also rules is megalomania, the obsession of using power to dominate others. Everything is being pushed to the limit. We must be extremely cautious and observe what is happening, now that mass gatherings and our most vocal forms of protest have been proscribed. Yielding to fear only strengthens those who profit from it.

Saturn has left the Capricorn stellium and made its entrance into Aquarius on the 21st, travelling in that sign now the first time in 29 years. This signals a time when the deepest principles that govern our behavior are up for grabs. (See last blog entry).  Aquarius rules the principles of humanitarianism, the spirit of freedom for all people, no matter their class or income level. When Pluto hits the natal position of the US birth chart (its Pluto return in February of 2022) Saturn will also conjoin the US’s natal Moon in Aquarius. This certainly portends a time when the country will go through massive changes. Let us hope that Saturn’s influence over the next 2-3 years as it travels in that sign will help to expose the graft and corruption that runs this country, and make room for our vision of a planetary healing, a world that shifts its paradigm toward helping its people rather than exploiting them. It’s not just the “right” thing or “good” thing to do: it’s our only option for survival. I believe what’s happening now is the beginning, an initiation of that path toward our awakening. It certainly fits Pluto’s style.