Category Archives: Pluto

Pallas Into Taurus: the Wise Earth

19 Monday May 2008

Posted by in aspects and placements, astrology, current events in the sky, Pallas, Pluto, Saturn

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We’ve seen startling transformations to the solid structures of the Earth, whether man-made or natural, in the earthquakes in China, with the unseasonal tornadoes across the United States, with the massive cyclone in Myanmar, and I’m sure there have been many other instances of destruction of the current reality, figurative and literal, in many many places. Saturn and Pluto have been showing their willingess to embrace each other; destruction and the solid easily combine, and humankind loses what they count on in the process. With Pallas entering Taurus, we’ll witness a Grand Trine for approximately one week, from the 20th to the 27th. What can we expect when Pallas puts down her shield and spear, and looks to plowing the field? 

The spirit of Taurus is of the Earth itself; when the Warrior Queen enters the sign of the Bull, she puts aside her armor, leaves the battlefield, and returns to the source of sustenance and creation. This is represented by Taurus as the sign of the fields, of gardens and growth (though agriculture is Virgo–why?–because Taurus is the seed, the act of planting that is akin to faith, while Virgo is the gathering in on a large scale of the product); as well, Taurus is the actual soil things grow in, and as such she is the sign that represents those crafts and artisanal skills that are quite literally of the Earth and its products, such as sculpting, pottery, cooking, the fashioning of jewelry, and use of stone and wood to build.

Pallas steps onto the fertile Earth, and a set of talents entirely different than those we’ve seen during her time in Aries come forward. Pallas is an indicator of practical and artisanal abilities herself, and when in Taurus she becomes the pair of hands that deals skillfully with all that the Earth produces. She is also a businesswoman, and as such will deal in Taurus with the material, the tangible, with the real estate (in its most expansive sense) of each one of us. She will help us re-build, help us find a home, bring us to fertile ground, in one sense or another.

When she enters Taurus she creates a Grand Trine with Saturn and Pluto, and should aid in recovery from all the devastation that the Earth and her inhabitants have been experiencing. This aid will be practical and beautiful; Pallas is nothing if not wise in her choices. To respect Pallas is to honor our own wise inner voice, as well as our most useful skills and abilities. For this week long period, we’ll see some of the most meaningful steps being taken in building, planting, with energies rising Phoenix-like from Mother Earth. Check the House in the natal chart where this will occur for you to know where best to apply your Taurus and Pallas oriented efforts–you can make significant strides during the week long trine, and can exercise the wisdom of Pallas Athena in all Earth-related matters as she helps us move forward toward a productive and bountiful summer.

My 12th Comes to Life

10 Saturday May 2008

Posted by in aspects and placements, astrology, current events in the sky, Pluto, Saturn

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Though I’m loathe to talk about myself (1st House Pisces Moon–see my previous article on how we want to hide!) it almost seems a disservice to relate to my readers, and to astrology, as if it’s all an abstraction, ‘out there,’ and of course part of my job is to apply astrology to real life–so sometimes, as when I spoke of my own recent health crisis, it seems appropriate to share. Almost two weeks ago my husband was told his job would no longer exist as of July 1st. This was more than a shock (and Uranus is conjunct my natal Moon! I was warned of this by an alert reader months ago, but my response was, “Yes, but I think this has already come about with ‘x'” Boy was I off!)–the situation didn’t make sense–my husband’s the guy who actually supervises everyone else, does all the paperwork, keeps things in compliance and running–what were they thinking? That leaves the people who deal directly with the clients, and the big-wigs who do . . . I don’t know what. On top of this, we’ve always been the ones to do the leaving, to wave good-bye to one circumstance as it recedes in the rear view mirror and to head off toward another–no one’s ever said, “You can’t have this job anymore” to either of us. So setting aside the blow to the ego, we’ve both gone through the five stages (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) in lightning-quick speed, largely because we’ve both got an extremely strong belief that the Universe is to be trusted, that this is happening not just with good reason, but with our consent. I look at the transits to my chart (and maybe this is a weakness for me, that I’m not constantly ruminating on my own chart) and of course see that one of my greatest fears (held for me in the subconscious 12th, which is Saturn-ruled), the fear of extreme impoverishment (and of course it’s extreme, my Libra Sun must swing to radical ends before it balances itself out) and destruction (my packed 8th House) has come to reality (T Saturn just 13 minutes from N Pluto in the 7th of spouse, the other, the audience, Art–Pluto rules the 9th, which contains Venus and the North Node–Saturn also squares the Midheaven, sextiles Neptune, semi-sextiles Mercury).

Or has it? The more time that passes, the more this seems like an obvious blessing. My husband’s workplace is not just dysfunctional, it seems to be imploding (and there’s some question as to whether his position received the ax because he pushed strongly for compliance with federal mandates, and the powers that be were highly resistant–likely because the obvious analysis would have displaced one or more of them). It has challenged us to move toward what we say we want–and though I love my life here, there are things I want to do that will not happen in this spot. It’s pushed us both to make choices, and I’m grateful for the wake-up call to move us forward in so many ways. Yes, we could still lose our house, could still find ourselves in tough straits–but as I work to live in the moment, what I find is that everything is really going very well–and I’m challenged to trust that whatever the future brings, even if it appears disastrous, is right for us.

Silly me, when I first contemplated the possibilities of the Saturn to Pluto transit, I skimmed over the idea of job loss for my husband (7th House location). Saturn and Pluto have always been my friends, and the idea of him losing his position didn’t make logical sense, so I actually looked forward to this. And now, almost two weeks after revelation, I finally am once again anticipating that this contact will, eventually, be a positive one. One last aside, as an astrologer I of course have done some horaries related to possibilities–and had to laugh, as in three separate charts asking three separate questions and cast at totally different times/ dates, the indication has consistently been that resolution (likely in the form of a new job) will manifest May 20th. I’ll keep you informed!

The Long, Slow Effect: December’s Jupiter/ Pluto Conjunction

04 Sunday May 2008

Posted by in aspects and placements, astrology, Jupiter, Pluto

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I thought a re-print of this in reference to current activity in the sky and our previous discussion of the Jupiter/ Pluto cycle might be of interest; it first appeared at Yahoo 360 December 12, 2007

For the last few days I’ve been looking into the real life effects of the last Jupiter/ Pluto conjunction as experienced by myself, and by friends, relatives, and clients. I wasn’t just curious about what to expect; I wanted to know about that most illusive of astrological subjects, timing. Did your Jupiter/ Pluto experience occur immediately, as the aspect perfected? Was it a single event or change, or did the transformation come over time? Was the change within, from without, or some of both? These were some of the questions I’ve been asking, and the answers for the most part were surprisingly consistent: it seems, rather than a big, splashy trauma, most people described the effects as spreading out from the point of the conjunction like ripples on water. Though the conjunction itself was fraught with tension, not much in terms of immediate change occurred; only later did the reverberations come in waves that pushed people to make major decisions or commitments, to decide life-altering or life-determining alternatives, and to go forward in ways that made for deep, permanent, and fundamental change in the way they view themselves. All this came from compelling inner energies interacting with the individual’s current circumstances. This is the most important part of what I heard: that the changes springing from this time were ones that shaped Self-concept in a major way–that we saw ourselves, our abilities, and what we are capable of in a new light; not necessarily what we’d expect from a textbook reading of transiting Jupiter and Pluto conjunct.

Last night I saw a movie again that I had seen many years ago when it first came out, and looking into the subject of the movie, I drew a possible connection to the Jupiter/ Pluto conjunction at 20 Cancer of late 1930 through mid-1931, with an orb lasting either side of these points. The movie, ‘Carrington,’ centered on a member of the Bloomsbury circle, painter Dora Carrington (born 29 March 1893, no time available, Hereford, England) and her relationships, particularly her interaction with live-in gay companion Lytton Strachey. Even by the open standards of their social circle, which preached acceptance of all sexuality and no jealousy, these two had an unusual relationship. Despite any number of lovers for either, each behaved as the partner of the other, with Dora clearly in denial of the lack of potential for a full physical relationship, right through to Lytton’s death January 21, 1932. Always in precarious health, Lytton Strachey hid the seriousness of his illness as long as possible, with it becoming evident in the period of Jupiter conjunct Pluto. The day he died Dora had transiting Neptune sextile Uranus, ruler of the 7th, quite literally dissolving the partnership; the conjunction had occurred in Dora’s 12th, perhaps compelling the need to eventually face up to the true domestic/ emotional state (Cancer) that she likely was aware of all along but hid from herself (12th House). Lytton’s illness and death triggered a long-brewing despair in Dora, who had been feeling more and more the outsider as others found relationships with those for whom they had a true passion, while it became more and more evident that she was missing something that she would never have with Lytton, despite their feelings for each other. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt (she was saved by her husband, who was in residence with his mistress), she finally succeeded in ending her life March 11, 1932. At her death transiting Neptune was conjunct her Moon exact, Jupiter was exactly trine natal Mercury, Saturn had just moved up above the Descendant and sextiled her natal Venus at 00 Aries (and this placement itself suggests a newness to her expression as a female that would have made rough going in a Mars ruled sign–in fact, she many times expressed a wish that she were a man). Though a terribly unhappy example, this is a version of the kind of major changes, both internal and external, that can emerge, sometimes only reaching fruition months down the line, with Jupiter/ Pluto.

In my own case, the Jupiter/ Pluto conjunction of 13 years ago brought major change for me with the purchase of our first house, the decision to look, choosing, and making an offer proceeding at lightning speed, with initial action coming about a month after the conjunction and huge change put in place (the actual move) less than a month after that. We ended a nomadic existence that had taken us across continents for the previous 10 years, changed our views of ourselves by becoming suburban dwellers, and setting the stage for enormous financial changes over the next year.

And in other news: I’ve noticed a few attempts to access Personal Page #1; this is password protected because the individual has arranged for an ongoing horoscope detailed to their natal chart, transits, and Solar Arc directions. You can have one too! See pricing and conditions at ‘Want More?’ Contact me if interested at juliedemboski@hotmail.com  Thank you!

Pluto Transforms Us All

01 Thursday May 2008

Posted by in aspects and placements, astrology, current events in the sky, Pluto

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It seems that tremendous change, if not disaster, has come to everyone in one form or another. What gives? Weren’t all these Grand Trines supposed to bring earthly nirvana, wonderful bounty, and make it really easy to get what we want? Apparently not. Of course, I read trines as an ease in expression; I don’t necessarily see this as positive. So, I’m not surprised by the many traumas and major life developments all around me; I am surprised, shocked, even, by the extremity of the manifestations, by the sheer magnitude of the events. We’re not just seeing death in the vicinity, we’re seeing the life-altering death of parents or siblings or spouses; we’re not just seeing the loss of a job or position, we’re seeing the security and income of entire families wiped out; we’re not just seeing the disintegration or severing of relationships, we’re in the midst of bruising alterations of vital relationships, the kind we use as an emotional refuge, now gone from the face of the earth with a tsunami-like influx of change–but what’s really driving this?

The nature of the change shouts Pluto, and with it sitting at 00 Capricorn we may be seeing Pluto’s blunt introduction of what its time in Cap will really be like: paring everything it touches to the bone. Why didn’t this happen when it first entered Capricorn last winter? Possibly the effect was downgraded somewhat, particularly by the encounter of Pluto and Jupiter in December; that set up the origins of what’s occurring now, but so subtly that we didn’t take those tiny tremors for anything we couldn’t handle, and didn’t already have figured out. We met what came, adjusted, and felt we’d weathered the storm, patting ourselves on the back and thinking we’d come out of that with barely a nick–silly mortals!

As I mentioned in writing about this pairing at the time, this conjunction has the habit of triggering major changes that take some time to surface. Look back twelve years, and tell me there wasn’t a similar, irretrievable shift in your world then, too. The unfortunate part is that currently we are both extremely capable of handling these crises and even making the most of them, but we are also simultaneously incapable of discerning exactly where the correct path lies, and fear is a major factor here (Neptune, North Node, Chiron conjunct; Saturn conjunct the South Node; Mars quincunx Neptune/ North Node, Mars opposed Jupiter, for a touch of exaggeration!)

It reminds me of what was my basic theory of the situation on the show ‘Lost,’ before the story shot off in a thousand different directions: I thought each character was in a netherworld where they encountered their deepest, most secret fear; a fear of not being able to step up to the task or the challenge or the responsibility, to be honest, to walk away from the addiction, to keep someone important to you alive and safe, to love. I suspect that’s the mechanism here; we’re meeting a form of our worst fear, and we must call up from our best selves all that the situation requires. 

What can we do to cope? Hang tight, and even if you’re a born pessimist, become both a realist and an optimist; the combination of clear seeing and faith in the positive is in my opinion the ticket out of this. I’m not talking about hope–that’s something we offer when we are able to, or intend to, do nothing–I’m talking about an attitude that trusts the Universal wisdom and the rightness of all things and pairs this with a willingness to do, to be inventive, to allow inspiration, quite literally, welcoming the Universal spirit, and  continuing to dream, to live, to become.