7:54 am  AHST  01/25/2024
  9:54 am    PST  01/25/2024
  12:54 pm    EST  01/25/2024
   5:54 pm   GMT 01/25/2024

We’ve entered the very first days of a 20 year progression of Pluto’s new journey into Aquarius. Last there in 1788, Pluto’s journey through the zodiac can be seen historically as a marker of periods of great changes in society, since Pluto’s by-word is transformation. And since Pluto is an extreme outer planet, it is the kind of transformation that happens very slowly, yet inexorably.

If we look closely at our time from the eyes of Pluto’s 248-year cycle, we can get a glimpse of how the changes happening are a part of a much larger cycle. As Pluto goes through the different signs, each age has its particular transformational emphasis. This one has Aquarian-type evolution as the overarching theme, highlighting the exploration of a unification of all of humanity, unity within diversity. Most of us can see the kinds of changes that are necessary now for the survival of the human species: the end of forever wars, the end of the kind of capitalism that manipulates the system, and continues to make the rich richer, like a pyramid scheme that sends those not “playing the game” into poverty. John Lennon’s “Imagine there’s no countries…” is at the heart of the Aquarian ideal, especially the part that says “nothing to kill or die for…”. Having a country and a cultural identity is one thing. Making it the currency of domination is another. In the next 20 years we will see an establishment of a new global set of values, ones which emphasize the universality of the human experiences, no matter one’s race or status or ethnicity, for an equitable global sharing of the Earth’s resources.

How is this all to happen? Slowly. Even so, a revolution is surely brewing, mostly now in the deeply unconscious realms of humanity, but Pluto will eventually take down the structures based upon greed and the making of money, and instead will embrace an awakening in people’s actions, ones that make a difference in the world. Humanity is beginning to see the reality in the phrase that was coined recently, “there is no Planet B.”

This Full Moon in Leo is the culmination of an extremely powerful and yet challenging previous New Moon lunation. In this present chart, half-way through the Moon’s cycle, the Sun and Moon are at a 90˚ angle (a T-square) to Jupiter, the planet in this case of great excess. Part of what humanity is realizing is that we are in a place now where there is a narrowing down, less and less, of resources, of opportunities to simply take from the planet what we need, without restoring or honoring what we obtain. We’ve already altered every single ecosystem on the planet, such that the miraculously balanced ecosystem that once was, is now subject to great instabilities. No one is unaffected thus far, and this year and next will be pivotal in the presentation of the evidence of our collective folly.

So many of our lessons are about learning where we are taking in more than we need. The Sun is also still conjoined with Pluto (and thus opposed the Moon), so we are all feeling the squeeze of this Plutonian signature of energetic intensity. Our unconscious contents are being stirred up. Each of us will experience this in our own way, but we’re all feeling a kind of overwhelm, whether it’s based upon events in our lives or not. Certainly, because we are all deeply connected, when many on the planet are suffering from war, starvation, catastrophes, all of us at some deeper level feel their anguish. And that’s the level at which Pluto is stirring the cauldron of the feeling tones deep within us to face what must be faced.

How do we keep the cauldron from spilling over into our daily lives, onto our partners, our friends? Jupiter trine Venus (harmonious 120˚ angle) in this chart is part of the answer. Both are in earth signs, Venus just having entered Capricorn, and Jupiter in solid and reliable Taurus. So we’re to get as grounded as possible with our loving energy, and take things slowly, watch our reactivity, and settle in for the long haul. Jupiter trine Venus is expansive love, with a big dose of compassion, knowing another’s pain is where you’ve been (or will be), too.

Mercury and Mars are together in Capricorn, with another boosting trine from Uranus in Taurus, which I see as an advisement to stay grounded and do your research before getting into heated arguments over politics, but stay true to your beliefs and your inner sense of ethics. This is the time to see through the falsehoods (of which there are so many) and speak your truth in ways that can be heard, without denigration or condescension. Uranus will also guide us to look for a larger truth, one that is inclusive of polarities, beyond the “us or them” of present day discourse.

The winner of the most exact aspect (angle) in this chart (other than the Full Moon) is Mars in a square (90˚) to Chiron (exact to one minute of a degree). Here’s the kind of situation where we may find that something that’s been said or done has somehow triggered an old wound, either from our past, or in someone else’s past. With a Moon in Leo it’s surely about someone’s hurt feelings around being seen or appreciated. Be gentle with yourself and others, and use this opportunity to engage compassion. If some issue comes up, it’s asking for the time and attention to heal it.

Leo also rules the heart, and Leo energy reminds us that our hearts must wake up to our “interbeing” as Thich Nhat Hanh called it. Each of us exists only because we are in relationship to everything and everyone else that sustains us, all that brought us here, which brings us everything in our lives, every moment of our days. Try as we might to do anything else, the only way to solve our problems is to learn to deepen our love, for ourselves, and for others, in order for healing to happen. Connecting with the Earth beneath our feet encourages this kind of awareness.