One of the things that astrologers look for to discover short-term themes is whenever a planet changes direction. The reason is that for several days or weeks that planet is either completely stationary or barely moving at all. The effect of this is amplify the nature of that planet’s effect on human behavior. This week Pluto becomes stationary on Tuesday, April 6th and will be affecting us more than usual all this week. Also, Venus is in trine (a harmonious and flowing aspect) to Pluto so let’s see what this might look like. Pluto intensifies whatever it touches while Venus rules love, relationships and values, finances and money. Venus is in Taurus, which it rules and Pluto is in Capricorn, so these two planets are in earth signs, focusing our attention on tangible and practical things. A small example for me is that I’m intending to buy a high quality blender as I’m in the process of changing (Pluto) my diet and want to add juicing to my new way of eating. Another way it could be manifesting is that it can make it easier for a person to get a loan or financing for something one wants. Things are ripe for opportunities to appear that can mark relatively harmonious changes for us. Pluto rules the many forms of transformation, both physical and psychological, so if you’ve been waiting for something to happen so you could buy something you want or get a good loan, this may be a good time for that.
About the Matter of Love
Pluto and Venus, as a planetary pair, are often written about as ‘intense attraction.’ It can certainly be that, but then it can also sometimes be viewed as ‘fatal intense attraction.’ That’s Pluto’s way of turning things into black/white or all or nothing situations, which can lead to very negative emotional states. This does not have to always be the case. The moment we decide to enter our own ‘underworld’, and become conscious of the nature of our ‘obsession’, Pluto changes from being just plain crazy to something potentially very deep and transformative. The present transit is most likely to be too short for this to occur, but it’s worth mentioning as a red flag of warning and simultaneously, a potential great opportunity for growth. It’s always best to take a deeper look when attraction becomes so intense that we can’t think of anything else. It means that a projection is occurring. If we can discover the nature of this projection, it can lead to a release of charges that brings the Life force into us.
Another way to say this is to look at Pluto as a great force of release of the false and inauthentic in favor of the real and authentic. That’s what happens when we let go of the projection. It also means that one becomes able to truly see and relate with another person. So often in life, we think we are in relationship when we are not. It is as if the relationship with our own projections have taken over and blocked us from seeing the one we love. Pluto can assist us to create real relationships when we are willing to see the projection and let go of them. Finally, the ‘Plutonic process’ is about destroying the armor that most of us have encased around us.
The Cardinal T-square of this Summer
Although I’ll be writing more about this as we get closer, it may be helpful to begin to take note of what is coming beginning this summer. This very difficult transit runs from June to September of 2010 as well as in early 2011. It is composed of Pluto squaring an opposition between Jupiter/Uranus and Saturn. This type of transit last occurred in 1931. It is likely to affect our financial system, especially the huge banks and the problems created by our huge debt. But it also will force us to look at the fundamental tension between the Aries and Libra polarity. This polarity is two sides of a set that can be described as self/other, me first/ we first, my needs/our needs, etc.
Aries is the archetypal sign of the individual with an adventurous spirit looking for every opportunity to express itself dynamically and spontaneously. It hates it if it feels blocked or opposed in its attempt to do what it wants, when it wants and where it wants. This is the explorer seeking out unchartered territory and finding itself through its having to face real challenge.
Libra, its polar opposite, is concerned with ones desire to and be in relationship, the aesthetics and subtleties of that wondrous art of connecting and partnering with another person. Libra is the archetypal principle of justice, fairness, balance and the seeking of solutions to relationship or societal issues.
This opposition is going to create great challenges for this nation in particular, especially given the state of things already. Oppositions have the potential of bringing people or a nation together, but only after the tension is used to resolve whatever conflicts are emerging. Individuals can take on the task quite readily, but nations usually go through a much more difficult process as the initial stages of the transit brings about more polarity, not less. The purpose for this is to enable everyone to concerned to become more aware of what the dividing issues are. When there is true discourse, discussion and debate, creative solutions that neither side could find on its own, are discovered. When there is no attempt to see the viewpoints of the other side, obviously the opposition will result in stalemate, frustration and anger. Is this not the state of things right now in our political system?
I’ll be observing and commenting on this much more in the coming months and hope you will choose to join in with me. It should be very interesting times that are approaching.
I want to encourage readers to respond to the article you’ve just read. I will be making more of an effort to write responses to your questions and comments whenever I can, so I also want to invite my readers to check back and see more reader comments as well as my own. This forum is not meant for people who agree with me only. It is important nowadays for people to air their different viewpoints, especially if it furthers discussion and debate. The purpose of discourse is to reveal something new, whether it be new information or a new way of looking at some idea or concept. This is the great value of any opposition.
However, please do not post ‘ad hominem’ attacks (attacks against a person rather than an idea) against me or any person making comments. There is too much of this in the national discourse and it blocks real discussion. I will not post any comments of this type. Stick to the issues and this blog can become interesting and fun. Thanks in advance for your comments.
I was born on November 17, 1952 in Toronto, Canada…a Sun and Moon in Scorpio and a Virgo rising….the past two years have been transitional in every aspect of my life, particulary in my work area, but also in my home life, and spiritual direction…things are still in flux….I feel a real urge to totally reinvent my life…basically getting rid of everything….however I am also faced with certain financial obligations….It feels like I am between two very opposite forces…ie Uranus and Saturn and with Pluto in there, it really adds a punch!….I’m feeling quite tired of all of this..hoping that things will sort themselves out soon….it is all very intense!
To Kerrith:
Thanks for your kind words. Glad to have you involved. Hope you feel free to comment in anyway you feel moved to express.
I don’t know enough about astrology to make any good comments, except to say that I have been feeling “change in the air” for about 18 months now. I so deeply appreciate the loving, open comments posted here – it just feels GOOD to read these notes. I’m going to join, even if I have little to offer, simply because this is such a lovely group of people and I know I can learn from you all.
Kerrith
Jim,
great article as usual. Something else of significance that I would like to hear your thoughts on (in an article)…Uranus coming to the 0 degree Aries point and opposing Saturn (at 0 degrees Libra point)…yikes! and add Pluto at 3 degrees Cap. This has to be something really big…when has it ever happened before? Look forward to your take on this as you are always original and deep.
jen
I’m feeling so grateful to finally take the step to go into a profound study of astrology… I’m amazed of how life can be changed in the comprehension and acceptance of our self thru astrology. This Pluto/ Venus relationship for me is an opportunity to take the powerful word LOVE in our everyday life as an expression of beauty and transformation.
Thanks Jim for this wonderful article,
Mirtha
Hi Jim,
In support of your astrological analysis are cycle studies (which look at short and long term economic and historical patterns) that show 1) the stock market beginning to head down in the second half of 2010 (matching the T square effect June-September 2010) 2) U.S. economic growth going negative in early 2011 3) the stock market zigzagging downward throught 2011 and 2012 and 4) the U.S. economy and the stock market hitting rock bottom in mid-late 2012.
The scary thing is how eerily similar what is going on compared to 1929-1930. In 1929 the market fell about 55%. It then rallied about 50%. When it rallied, all the economic, political and business leaders of the day were saying that the worst was over, the crisis had passed, and everything was hunky-dory. Sound familiar? Then came 1930-1932 when the market, in a downward zigzag pattern, dropped 89%. This was followed by the Great Depression.
It will be interesting — and scary if you aren’t expecting it — to see how the planets foretell all this.
To Dominique:
Getting to our ‘essence’ is the challenge for all of us, but especially for the artist. It seems that once the blockage is removed, that the natural ALIVE, authentic state emerges as a result. The key is discovering the nature of the blockages themselves. To simply see them, witness them, is the first step.
Your question goes beyond astrology itself, but is a most imnportant one. Its answer may be the real reason why acting is such a compelling force for you.
Jim
To Waldo:
Hope Linda’s response helped you out. Another metaphor for what’s happening is the image of two trains moving forward but at different speeds. If one train is going 60mph and overtakes one that is going 40 mph, if you are the faster train, it will ‘appear’ that the slower train is moving backwards, when it is not.
Jim
@Waldo:
Due to the differing orbits and speeds of the planets, they sometimes “appear” to be standing still (stationary) or moving backwards (retrograde). They really aren’t, but the appearance and perception of same…the interpretations that have arisen from our observations over thousands of years have proven quite accurate. Does this clarify it?
Linda
I’d been “blaming” Neptune for the Fantasyland aspect of a “forbidden” relationship, since the other party is Pisces. Now I can see it’s also hugely a projection of his Scorpio Moon. I think/believe it’s a question of being in love with the “idea” of the other person as we would like each other to be and not seeing each other clearly as we really are (which is totally opposite and NOT compatible). Your observations really clarified this for me, Jim. Thanks! Should be interesting to see how it plays out when the RotoRooter goes retro…to be followed by Mercury…every significant happening in our relationship is linked to a retrograde Mercury. And yes, he IS somebody from my long ago past!
To Chris:
I do pay a lot of attention to the entire Mercury retrograde cycle, including the ‘shadow’ period. I intend to go into it in the next article.
If you do a search for Mercury Retrograde, you can find previous articles on the subject.
Thanks for writing in.
Jim
To Margaret:
1931 marked the real beginning of the Great Depression. I do not know whether this will happen this time or not. The biggest issues this country must deal with is the huge and growing size of debt and the emergence of such huge banks. Four banks control 40-45% of the nations economy. This is unprecedented.
To Jacques:
No, I don’t think that anything that big will happen this quickly. However, the seeds for that possibility have already begun. Many are seriously questioning whether it is their interest to be a part of this nation. The Governor of Texas has openly used the word ‘secession.’How far this will go is unknown, but the transits coming between 2011 – 2015 are capable of putting such things directly on the table.
Hello Jim –
While I continue reading to absorb all you write about a given mention of planetary movements, I am jolted into a mixed state of mind by such statements as “This week Pluto becomes stationary on Tuesday, April 6th…” In my understanding, Pluto, and all planets of this universe, do not even for the slightest moment “become stationary.” All objects are in motion relative to other objects. A “stationary orbit” is possible, but very difficult to achieve in the case of our man-made satellites, but that obviously is relative to the center of the body around which it circles. A pendulum might stop for an infinitesimal instant at the end of its arc trajectory, but it cannot be described as being “in orbit” unless it is transported to the Moon for example, but once there and set up as an experiment it would surrender its primary gravitational description to that of the Moon. Our Earth, for example, in addition to rotating about its axis, describes a small “circle” with its axis that produces the seasons. I’m sure you know this as well as most of your readers.
This kind of referencing as generally used in writings on the subject of astrology neglects to express to me the true motions, or situations when planets move relative to other celestial bodies.
If I am mistaken about this, please set me straight and I’ll be attentive to your view. It has long bothered me as friends have often brought astrology to my notice only to “give up on me.”
–Waldo.
I find it interesting as pluto goes retrograde.
The external circumstances have certainly represented a massive change in lifestyle and how i appear to others.
My moon is at 2 degrees virgo and so i look forward to this retrograde to process and integrate what i have learned since october 2009.
So much has happened for me.
I am working on my first big film as an actress and I am stressing!
but, i think because of pluto, the answers are coming…
and the change is occuring.
I am travelling back to myself through an internal progression and self discovery i made today.
So much of me does not focus on what has to be done, but rather how others want me to do it… i have felt major blockages recently and have even considered not acting.
I am constantly asking things of myself on a level in which i cannot create.
i know i am here to create– but i need to go back to my roots and discover the best way for me to create my life//my characters// in an authentic way to myself and in truth.
Any suggesstions Jim??
Good evening
I am responding to the new discussion, on the Mercury retro this April 2010. I had been reading and studying the outline for this Mercury retro-grade and some very important facts have been pushed into the arena that must be discussed or at least programmed into our understanding concerning planets in retro grade fashion. This is the study of the “Mercury Shadow” or Planet shadow(s) that are entering the retro grade stage and futhermore, just days away from Mercury going into retro. The cause and effects of this Shadow is more intense to the deeper effects of the human energy level than ever before in our history of astrology.
So with this, now in the mix, when has ever the retro grade planet’s shadow(s) of other planet been so intensive and the collective been more adhere to the energy level that are being propelled for the current placement that seems to be riding against the human race and planet earth. This all seems surreal, so in “The Other Limits” era.
Thank you
Chris Smith
Wonderful accessment of the very powerful Pluto movement. Love hearing it from another(: Insightful and far sighted(: Thx, Marilyn
What happen in 1931? In what way does it compare to the Present? I am a Taurus and I would like to know how it fit into the scheme of things. I enjoy reading your forum and I think it is very informative.
Jim: Do you see civil war or revolution emerging this summer for the US?