The 2nd Uranus/Pluto Square: September 18-19, 2012

For a New Beginning -- John O'Donohue

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)

Monday night Pluto ends its 5 month retrograde and goes direct.  Its energy is especially potent for the next few days.  Pluto symbolizes the energy of evolution, the raw potential for growth.  But that growth has to proceed from the death of the old.  Destruction and creation go hand in hand.

A new beginning is upon us.  As the poet John Dunne says, “In out-of-the-way places of the heart, Where your thoughts never think to wander, This beginning has been quietly forming, Waiting until you were ready to emerge.”    Are you ready to emerge?

Pluto continues to use his wrecking ball, knocking down the old social structures of patriarchy, clearing out the debris so we can build anew.  Just look at the news to find out how the old powers of capitalism and imperialism are being pushed back.

A fragment of an ancient Coptic manuscript mentions Jesus saying he has a wife.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/us/historian-says-piece-of-papyrus-refers-to-jesus-wife.html?_r=1&smid=FB-nytimes&WT.mc_id=US-E-FB-SM-PIX-TGO-091812-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click

A judge just ruled that Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s law ending union rights was unconstitutional!  http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-strikes-wis-law-limiting-union-rights-17240678#.UFd5PFGA-Sq.  

This week we’re seeing the renewal of the Occupy Movement at their one year anniversary.   And while mass gatherings focus attention on the issues, I still hope that the movement will start to Occupy their home town with the arts to convince more people to join the Movement!

Shell Oil has scrapped plans to drill for oil in the Arctic this year!  After investing 7 years and nearly $5 billion, Shell has nothing to show except a series of safety mishaps and a reputation in tatters.   http://greenpeaceblogs.org/2012/09/17/success-shell-stops-arctic-oil-drilling-for-this-year/#more-10249

We have more volcanic activity, with volcanos erupting (Pluto in an earth sign) again in Guatemala this time.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/14/guatemala-volcano-of-fire-eruption_n_1881764.html

MIT scientists have discovered a new solar technology.   Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, it’s time to expand our use of solar energy.  http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html#.UFPzSUwztAh.facebook

The ugliness of patriarchy is also very apparent.  The fear of the Feminine is now so apparent that it can no longer be denied.  From state houses to Congress, men are still trying to regulate women’s bodies.  Religious beliefs that repress women are not just found in Islam but also in Christianity and in Judaism.  We have our own American Taliban trying to keep women ‘in their place’, but it isn’t working.

We also have the ugliness of the anti-Islamic movie that touched off a firestorm of protests in the Muslim world, resulting in the death of Christopher Stevens.  America has our own brand of terrorism, and using a movie is such an American way of causing trouble!

 

The other important energy abroad this week is the 2^nd Uranus/Pluto square.  Just after Pluto turns to direct motion, Uranus in Aries challenges Pluto in Capricorn to push forward with a new vision for all of us.  This is the second of seven of these “squares” through March 2015.   Then on September 20^th, Mercury, planet of communication and travel, forms a “T-square” with Uranus and Pluto, adding to the possibility of explosive and damaging political dialogues, tumultuous transportation crisis and radical new ideas that can accelerate cultural and personal change and evolution.

Uranus in Aries asks us to step into our archetypal identity, enhancing our ability to stand up for our freedom and our rights.  “Then the delight, when your courage kindled, And out you stepped onto new ground, Your eyes young again with energy and dream, A path of plenitude opening before you.”  

 

These two planets add an explosive tension to both political and geophysical events.  Riots in the Middle East, political gaffs on the part of the Republican presidential candidates, the teachers strike in Chicago are all part and parcel of the continuing challenges the world faces as we leave the old systems behind and finally focus on developing a new system for a new age. 

The Sabian symbol for Pluto at 7* Capricorn is: A veiled prophet speaks, seized by the power of a god.  This image tells us that if we turn within (being veiled) we can connect to the Wisdom of life to show us the way forward.  In this time when patriarchy is (finally) dying, those of us who can go within to touch the Source of Life will have new visions to share with the world. 

The Sabian symbol for Uranus at 7* Aries is: A man succeeds in expressing himself simultaneously in two realms.  Here the alchemical lesson is that we can unite our spiritual nature with our material life.  If we do, our visions will be True.

        With the Sun moving into Libra on September 22, more changes are on the way, as this potent square includes the Sun and Moon on September 29^th’s Full Moon.  So stay tuned!

The Uranus in Aries Square to Pluto in Capricorn 

The planets involved in the biggest energy shift this next year are Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries.  They’re bringing the 60s back in with a roar.  It seems all of us need to have a talk with Mr. Pluto.  He wants to tell us about our shadow self that is keeping us chained to the past.  Uranus wakes us up to our freedom – Pluto tells us what we need to change to achieve it.

Pluto might be asking us to take in the radiation coming at us from the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Japan and transform it into light, consciousness, good will and imagination/creativity.  It’s interesting that the US is the first country it hits.  Perhaps transforming our American ‘conspicuous consumption’ consciousness is the crux of the matter. If that’s what Pluto is demanding of us, then let’s turn all that plutonian radioactivity into Light.  

Uranus opens us to the mindset that can achieve this transformation.  It says to dig deep into Aries’ search for identity and find yours!  So open yourselves to the archetypal realms and ask for an archetypal mentor who can teach you your true name.

Astrologers have been talking about this upcoming square for many years, but especially since the summer of 2010’s cardinal cross brought these two planets in contact with a Cancer Moon and Saturn in Libra.  Cardinal signs are the action–oriented signs of the zodiac.  They stand at the beginning of the 4 seasons – Capricorn/Winter, Aries/Spring, Cancer/Summer, Libra/Fall.  They move things along and certainly since 2010 things ‘have moved along’ – the financial crisis deepening and the rift between ‘right and left’, ‘rich and poor’ widening.

Whenever these two change agents get together, we find ourselves in the midst of a crisis-oriented time, but it doesn’t have to be a violent or dangerous time unless we make it so.  The present crisis is that our financial and governing systems need to be renewed.  And as is obvious, the patriarchal system is fighting back to keep its power and prerogatives in place.  Unfortunately for them, they WILL have to go.  How that ends up happening is up to each of us. 

The planets that energize this kind of change are both collective energies, transforming whole generations - Uranus, the great Awakener, and Pluto, the great Leveler.  Uranus is the lightning bolt of divine awareness while Pluto is the underworld power of evolution. Freedom-loving, independent Uranus meets powerful, transformational Pluto in a dance of breakdown and breakthrough for the collective.  “Uranus represents the unstoppable force of ideas whose time has come. Pluto represents the raw power and inevitability of breakdown and renewal. Together they force consciousness changes in the collective that are – relatively speaking — explosively sudden.” (Jessica Murray)  Sudden only to those who haven’t wanted to see. 

These two planets move around the Sun in cycles, creating their own effects upon the Earth, as any other two planets do.  These energies are relational, just as the Sun and Moon form a monthly cycle in relationship to each other.  We can trace how this Uranus/Pluto cycle synchronistically affected society back through our most ancient history.  For a full explanation, see Richard Tarnas’ Cosmos and Psyche, a really amazing look at astrology and history.  

A quick look at history shows us that Revolution and Evolution are in the air whenever Uranus the Radical Rebel teams up with Pluto, the Underworld Lord.  (Thank you Lauren Coleman, astrologybylauren.com and astroyiayia.blogspot.com for this timeline.)

·         In 1707- 1710, Uranus and Pluto were both in Leo.  The Industrial Revolution begins. The steam engine moves us into the future.  Leo creativity.

·         In 1775-60, Uranus in Pisces was in a similar first quarter (like the first quarter Moon) square to Pluto in Sagittarius.  These were years of war over empires and trade.  The American colonists started mobilizing against Great Britain and ‘taxation without representation’.  It’s still tyranny!

·         1791-1795, Uranus in Leo opposite Pluto in Aquarius (like a full Moon).  These were years when the 99%(Aquarius) rose up against Monarchy (Leo).  The French Revolution.  The Haitian Revolution.

·         1819-1822, Uranus in Sagittarius square Pluto in Pisces (last quarter Moon aspect).  Massive global revolutions in South America, Greece vs. Ottoman Empire, European revolts.  The masses (Pisces) rise up against oppression(Sag).

·         1849-1852, Uranus conjunct Pluto in Aries (Individual freedom) (a new Moon aspect). These were the years before the American Civil War when the need to end slavery was brought to public consciousness. (SHAME ON PATRIARCHY that it’s still practiced today.)  Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto.  First Women’s Rights Convention held.  The Taiping Rebellion in China.  The Irish Potato Famine.  Aries gave rise to a new sense of individual freedom.

·         1875-1878, Uranus in Leo square Pluto in Taurus.  The energies here had to do with Empire Wars (Leo/King-Taurus/land).  Russian Empire vs. Ottoman Empire.  The last great Sioux War in North America.

·         1900-1903, Uranus in Sagittarius opposite Pluto in Gemini – stock market Panic of 1901, many natural disasters involving migrations of people.

·         1930-1935, Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Cancer (last quarter).  The Great Depression and the rise of nationalism (Cancer/homeland).  Gandhi’s Salt March of 1930.

·         1964-1967, Uranus and Pluto in Virgo (a new cycle begins).  The Vietnam War, the Peace Movement, the Israeli Six-Day War, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, The Feminist Movement, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the birth of the Environmental Movement (Virgo).   How do we use our resources?

·         2011-2015: Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn: The Inverted Power Pyramid – or bottom up civil action.  The Arab Spring, London Riots, Occupy Movement and beyond!

            As you can see, these two planets are at least synchronized to events happening within our social structures. From 1090 AD, the time of the First Crusade, to 1850, these planets have begun their cycle in individualistic, creative fire signs (Aries and Leo) – cycles where we’ve pursued our own interests without regard to others or Nature.  So when Pluto and Uranus came together in Virgo in the 1960s, they began a new cycle of transformation (like a new Moon) in more ways than one.  Having this and the next series of Pluto/Uranus conjunctions in Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) bodes well that we’ll finally get down to the job of caring for and working with the Earth.   Virgo is the sign representing workers, the environment, health and consciousness, of service and the practical mind. 

Since the new cycle was the birth of a new energy, the 60s were wild and carefree like young children.  Something brand new came into the world – make love not war!  The youth culture – trust nobody over 30!   Now these two forces are in a 90-degree angle to each other – the angle we liken to the Hero’s Journey, where we have to grow by overcoming obstacles and bringing the new insights of the 60s into our public life.  Universal health care, sustainable and healthy food production, environmental safeguards, workers’ rights over corporate rights – these are all up for renewal.  And in the end, they will inevitably be implemented.  How that happens is up to us.

Pluto can be associated with the archetypal Shadow and in Capricorn he’s showing us our collective financial shadow – we overspend, create too much waste and have unrealistic expectations.  It’s time to confront the hard truths of our way of life and perhaps even sacrifice the extraneous ‘stuff’ while we take responsibility for the mess we’ve created. 

With Uranus the original Mind in a 90* angle to Pluto the unconscious evolutionary forces of life, we have to move up to a higher level of consciousness and communications as we struggle to see both sides of the issue and find solutions to the problems we’ve created.  We cannot demonize the ‘other side’ even though they seem to enjoy demonizing us.   We need to continue to cultivate the seeds planted in the 60s in peaceful and responsible ways.  Besides working politically for change, we also need to cultivate Art and collaboration to pave the way for the change that will come at the end of this Pluto transit in 2024.    

There will be 7 exact squares between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn from June 24, 2012 to March 16-17, 2015 – occurring between 7* - 15* Capricorn/Aries.  If you have planets at these degrees in any of the 4 Cardinal signs, you’re in for big transformations.  If you have planets at these degrees in fixed or mutable signs, they’ll affect in you different ways.    But we all will be affected, because Capricorn is the sign of our collective institutions, especially our financial and governmental institutions. We’re all in this together! 

Every 248 years, Pluto goes into Capricorn.  The last time it did was right before the American Revolution.  Since Capricorn rules our collective social structures, these time periods usually signal periods of social unrest and institutional reformation.  We’re watching as Pluto in Capricorn reveals the rot at the base of our patriarchal institutions of finance and governance.  It would be funny if it weren’t so painful.  The hypocrisy of our leaders can lead us to become cynical or it can make us determined to change things.  I vote for the change, don’t you??

Because of the way energy works, Uranus in Aries’ revolutionary power will have more influence as time goes on.  This means that Uranus in Aries, waking us up to our individual power and to our archetypal identities, will push at those old patriarchal institutions, especially corporations, until they collapse and transform into institutions that work for everyone’s welfare, not just for the 1%.  But it will take WORK on our part.  Just don’t despair – have more imagination than that!

So watch out for lots of breakdown, and surprising fresh starts out of the blue.   And sometimes it’s both!   The opportunities come from the cultural break down.  Remember to turn inward, and hone your ability to hear your own guidance. Whether this guidance comes through dreams, flashes of intuition, synchronicity, or messages you receive from others, stay open to your imagination.  That’s what will help you decipher the meaning of what’s happening to you and it will give you clues on handling any situation.   

The fact that Neptune is in its own sign of Pisces, source of spiritual awakening and imagination, gives us the cosmic go-ahead to dream large and envision with love possible futures that can come into being in the cracks of our crumbling patriarchal structures.  We will salvage the wise values of the past and bring them forward into the future to be integrated with the new structures we’re building.