• PLUTO ENDS HIS RETROGRADE PERIOD AND MARS MOVES INTO CAPRICORN

  • aurora consurgens….the soul-searching is over, time to transform!

    On the 26th September Pluto will station direct at 14°55’ Capricorn after just over 5 months of being retrograde.

    Pluto has been in the sign of Capricorn since 2008 and this is his eighth retrograde period since then.

    Pluto is concerned with power, regeneration, survival, transformation, sex, obsession and possessiveness. Pluto is the god of the Underworld. Pluto in Capricorn (ruled by Saturn) is concerned with the deep-reaching transformation of social order, laws and hierarchies. He often works subtly (in our psyche) but always relentlessly and he can be an over-achiever, by using his power and persuasion for his own means, in this Saturn-ruled sign.

    During the Pluto retrograde period, matters that were previously too painful to face may have bubbled up from our unconsciousness and we may have met these in the physical realm where we were forced to deal with them. Pluto only forces us to confront and transform that which is in dire need of change. This period may also have provided us with the opportunity to find some of the latent sources of power inside ourselves allowing us to harness them in an appropriate way. Pluto shows us the reality of our limitations and even more so since it moved into Capricorn. The retrograde period has really been a huge invitation to become more fully aware of the resources we hide in our inner depths. Failure to do this could have led to external events that may have puzzled and/or distressed us as we took on the role of victim.

    Pluto is also in the astronomical and astrological news for another reason. The planet will be crossing the ecliptic plane* sometime in 2018 and now it has been going back and forth over the mid-degree (15°) of Capricorn for several months, representing a turning point as it crosses its own South Node1. What this might mean in the practical, we are unsure but all agree that it will be pivotal in some way particularly on a global level. Let’s see how things unfold…using optimism rather than pessimism for the transformative nature of this planet.

    On September 27th 2016, the day after Pluto stops in his tracks so to speak, there is another important astrological event. The planet Mars leaves Sagittarius and enters Capricorn, where he is exalted and feels more than fine! If Mars in Sagittarius was the noble-minded crusader then in Capricorn he becomes determined and headstrong.

    And let’s not forget that Mars is still out-of-bounds (OOB) in the Southern hemisphere at 25°53’. OOB planets “do their own thing” and when Mars is allowed to do that then it usually spells trouble. He will re-enter from his outer orbit trip on the 5th November this year. Venus will also be going OOB on the 23rd October until the 7th December…but that’s another story.

    On the 19th October Mars will meet up with his big brother Pluto at 15°04’ Capricorn. Not a two-some to under-estimate or take lightly even when they’re in a good mood since together they wield tremendous power (psychological Pluto, physical Mars). Capricorn could make them both very intransigent, severe, demanding as well as very determined to reach some kind of deep transformation for the best of all.

    On a personal level, as well as the houses where Pluto and Mars are transiting in your chart you should also look to the houses which are ruled by Mars and Pluto (Aries and Scorpio) and the relative planets or angles.

    The Sabian symbol for 15° Capricorn (Pluto station): “In a hospital, the children’s ward is filled with toys.” Indicating the responsibility of society to ensure the welfare and total health of the new generation.

    For 16° Capricorn (Mars-Pluto rendezvous): “School grounds filled with boys and girls in gymnasium suits.” Indicating the need for physical activity and play, especially in adolescence.

    “When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings.” Dean Jackson

    HOW DID THE PLUTO RETROGRADE GO FOR YOU? WHERE ARE PLUTO AND MARS TRANSITING IN YOUR CHART?

    Bibliography

    Declinations: http://www.moontracks.com/daily-declinations.html accessed 21st September 2016

    *Pluto and crossing of ecliptic plane: intersections of plane of earth’s orbit with that of Pluto in a near perfect alignment with Earth and Sun – exact 12 July 2018, last time 1931, next in 161 years. https://blogs.nasa.gov/pluto/2016/07/22/pluto-preparing-for-the-perfect-alignment/ accessed 21st September 2016

    1 to read more about planetary nodes: http://mauricefernandez.com/planetary-nodes/ accessed 22nd September 2016

    Rudhyar D. (1974) “An Astrological Mandala: the cycles of transformations and its 360 symbolic phases”. pp  238-239, Vintage Books Edition, Random House Inc., New York, USA

    Tierney B. (1983) “Dynamics of Aspect Analysis”, Chapter 10, Retrograde Planets, pp 216-217, 249-252, CRCA Publications, Sebastopol, CA, USA

    Image: “aurora consurgens” unknown artist