Category: Astro-Musings

Energy Cleansing, The Pluto Way!

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

Let me begin this tale by stating that Pluto thrives on renewal – its energy IS symbolic of The Phoenix after all; that mythical fire bird that was consumed in the flames of its old and dying self only to rise up from its ashes anew.  Pluto eliminates what’s stagnant or dead and vaporizes that stale energy in our life in order to make room for something vibrant and vital to take hold in that vacant space.  I was therefore tickled when – under a recent Pluto transit to my Venus (Venus being symbolic of money and earned income, of course) – I found myself burning old paycheck stubs from a former and unhappy profession as if they had been letters from an ex-lover.  There was no bitterness or resentment; just the recognition this was a part of my life that was (thankfully) over and incinerating the evidence was merely a symbolic gesture to The Universe that I had indeed moved on and cut ties.  I was quite surprised to find that I still had them – I found myself cleaning out a file cabinet when I unexpectedly came upon a file of years-old pay stubs that represented a time in my life where I felt disempowered and at the mercy of…well…assholes, LOL.  There really is no other way to say it, and besides, Pluto would frown upon any attempts to put a pretty face over it anyway.  😉   I’m sure many reading here can relate when I say there have been more than a few times during the course of my existence where I endured some screwy employment situations because I “needed the paycheck”.   Adding to this was the fact that, in this particular industry, sexism – if not outright misogyny – is the norm, so having a strong sense of self-worth made you somewhat of a liability if you were a woman, LOL. In retrospect, from the very beginning this was never quite a recipe for a “happy marriage”…

From the Robin Wood tarot - note the strong Pluto symbolism!
From the Robin Wood tarot – note the strong Pluto symbolism!

Needless to say, upon being faced with a tangible reminder of this period in my life, I was unable to shake the feeling that stack of paper probably had some pretty bad juju attached to it.  It was immediately after this realization that I was seized by a random impetus to burn the pile of check stubs, though not reactively so as there wasn’t really much emotion attached to the thought at all.  It was more along the lines of an immediate recognition that the burning would represent an energy cleansing of sorts – all the negativity attached to that time in my life would literally go *up in smoke*, and it wasn’t until I watched the hungry flames licking the papers’ edges and the printed numbers fading into blackness that it struck me this was indeed a *very* literal manifestation of the Pluto transit to my Venus!  I felt not only a palpable sense of closure at this symbolic act, but a sense of confidence in choosing to burn an energetic bridge that had led down a trail of financial enslavement; I would never again allow myself to be in a disadvantaged position like this where someone had financial leverage over me.  The warmth of the fire washing over me on such a chilly autumn night was comforting – I took a few deep breaths, inviting the heated air into my nasal passage and down my throat into my lungs to fully envelop me from within as well.  I smiled as the blaze cooled and the embers slowly died to ash, pausing to pick up a few pinches of the soot to scatter over my next deposit slip to the bank.  If it’s one thing about Pluto transits, it’s that the literal and figurative ash left in its wake makes one hell of a potent fertilizer for the seeds we plant with conscious intention.

For anyone else reading and who is dealing with a Pluto transit to their Venus, I highly recommend a ritual energetic cleanse similar to this if you’re looking to purge negativity and clear any funky or stagnant vibes that may still be lingering in the wake of this period.  If we’ve been through any situation where we’ve been “a slave to the money” or through relationship hell of one kind of another (because Venus represents love as well as cash), first we do well to invest lots of time & energy unraveling the layers of how this came to be the case.  We must go deep; be willing to look at any underlying dysfunction, address anything that affects our sense of self-worth, and fully investigate the “Hows” and “Whys” of what got us sucked into this undertow in the first place.  Then once we feel like we’ve hit the root of it (and I mean ALL of the various, spreading tendrils that tend to come attached to the complex situations symbolized by Pluto), it’s time to distill it down and level with ourselves so we can take our power back.  We may then consider a symbolic act of burning; an offering to The Universe that affirms we have indeed come out The Other Side of this energy. Most importantly, before doing so we must wait until we’re no longer raw about the situation anymore.  Emotions like resentment or bitterness have no place at such a ritual, as we cannot truly “let go” if we’re still holding on inside.  If it’s a bad relationship we’ve come through, maybe we burn photos, gifts, or love letters associated with that partnership.  If it’s a period of financial enslavement we’ve gotten out of instead, perhaps we burn old credit cards, past due notices, pay stubs, or anything else we no longer need to hold onto after this major transformation.  Clearing out the dead, negative energy in this manner can help to raise our own vibrations, and the void subsequently created by such an act allows us to hold space for the inevitable renewal that’s sure to follow ❤

11/21/2014

Saturn In Sagittarius: Veritas, Aequitas, & “The Indifference Of Good Men”

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve ever watched the cult classic “The Boondock Saints”, you’re probably familiar with the words “Veritas” & “Aequitas”. The film’s twin protagonists each have one or the other tattooed upon their trigger fingers, and the words in question represent the Latin concepts of truth and justice/equality, respectively. These terms came to mind while mulling over Saturn’s entrance into Sagittarius next month – a sign he will visit for the first time in about 29 years due his turtle-like orbital speed. There is something quite heavy-handed about this energy when it comes to the enforcement of what is (subjectively?) “right” – to me, it says “Hammer (…or is that gavel?) of God”. When reflecting upon this placement, it brought to mind the topic of theocracies & also caused me to ponder the related subject of enforcing morality via legislation even when “the G-word” isn’t involved.

Connected to this, one of the effects of Saturn in Sadge is that – on a macro level – it may also correlate to a period of stiffer legal penalties and stricter adherence to the letter (rather than the spirit) of the law overall, so I found myself with some good literary fuel for a (forthcoming) newsletter article when the words “veritas” and “aequitas” suddenly popped into my mind in relation to this energy. Not wanting to sidetrack my newsletter piece, I decided to write a post about this connection on the blog instead, because these terms do seem pretty fitting given the iron-fisted (and yet justified?) nature of Saturn when it arrives in this sign of truth & righteousness on December 23rd. Now if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about re: the heavy-handed enforcement of “principles”. But those who haven’t might not know what the hell I’m talking about, LOL, so naturally the next thing I did was to go looking for a clip from this movie. Fortuitously, I happened to stumble upon this scene instead, which cracked open a whole other perspective on Saturn in Sagittarius’ energy. Have a look, because I think it gives a very good angle on another lesson associated with this transit:

 

 

I want to talk specifically about the preacher’s cautionary tale of Kitty Genovese and how he says there is one kind of evil to fear most: The indifference of good men. This theme struck me as quite relevant when considering the implications of Saturn’s movement through Sagittarius, because this is a sign closely associated with “righteousness” and “judgment”. What exactly do we consider “right” and “wrong”, anyway? What do we judge as “good” or “bad” – where exactly is the dividing line in our moral boundaries and how black-and-white do we see things in this regard? And how do we fortify our principles – do we lead by example? Do we impose our sense of morality upon others? And what happens if we abdicate our sense of righteousness instead and pass the responsibility of “doing the right thing” (in accordance with our supposed principles) onto someone else? Is there not some onus to bear on our end if we believe ourselves to be good people?

This is what the monsignor was addressing in his speech about a 28 year old girl who was stabbed to death in 1964 by an assailant outside her crowded Queens, NY apartment building despite the fact that close to 40 people heard or saw *something* in relation to her stabbing, subsequent attempted rape, robbery, and eventual murder. Her assassin even had time to leave the scene – with Kitty critically injured, yet still alive – and come back 10 minutes later disguised in an oversized hat to finish what he had started.

This gruesome story provides an eye-opening look at what can happen when we fail to follow the dictates of our conscience and “let the other guy handle it”. Especially back in an era when being a “Good Christian” was a more common parlance, it’s stunning to think that such a thing could happen with no one stepping in to call the police (Saturn) until it was too late. As we approach Saturn in Sagittarius, this tragic tale can serve as cautionary reminder of the consequences (again, Saturn) that can arise from a failure of conscience. Sagittarius only represents our principles of morality; it does *not* show whether we’re inclined to practice what we purport to believe or preach, which is why one Lo-Fi facet of Sadge is hypocrisy. Hi-Fi Saturn – on the other hand – represents the self-regulating principle and whether or not we adhere to certain standards, codes, etc. of conduct and behavior – it’s doing what we “should” do and staying on the straight-and-narrow, even if/when we might not necessarily want to. It could be fear of repercussions from our parents, teachers, law enforcement, god, or whathaveyou that keepsUltima5 us “on track and out of trouble”, but once we’ve reached a certain level of maturity and/or personal development, most it’s often our own conscience that informs us of what’s “right” or “wrong” in a given scenario. And internally enforced morality is far better than the externally enforced variety, don’t you think?

The bottom line is that if we believe ourselves to be good people, on some level this means we have to be prepared to be “Our Brothers’ Keepers” regardless of whatever particular creed we do or don’t subscribe to. Hi-Fi Saturn is about protection, and when resonating with the higher side of Sagittarius, he does so without regard to things like race, culture, socio-economic status, age, gender, or sexual orientation because we are all a part of the HUMAN race. Saturn in Sagittarius can largely deal with the reality that – as members of the global human race – each person has an individual responsibility toward the collective good. When we’re firm in our principles and seeking to live an upright life, there really isn’t room for “The indifference of good men”, because our goodness and virtue only extends as far as our willingness to protect what is right, true, & just when presented with a test such as the one bystanders faced the night Kitty was killed.

Boondock Saints association aside, perhaps the concepts of “Veritas” and “Aequitas” might inspire us to realize that truth & justice are more than lofty ethics that we only pay lip service to. True righteousness can be a difficult path to walk and may involve challenging choices and hardship; particularly if/when it means standing tall and overcoming our fears about doing the “right” thing. During Saturn in Sagittariusthings will come along that will not only test our faith, but also how we’re applying the principles we allegedly believe in, so being congruent with whatever Path we profess to be on is an absolute *must* for the next 2 1/2 years!  Because if there is a real disparity between the two, The Universe will be sure to let us know. Think of all the witnesses to the Kitty Genovese murder – history has indelibly marked this lot as “bystanders who just sat by”, forever used as a textbook social psychology example of the phenomenon known as “diffusion of responsibility” even to this day, 50 years later. The Universe seems pretty clear about there being more than one wrong perpetrated on that day, and that “the indifference of good men” is indeed an evil to be feared.

11/13/2014

A Saturn In Sagittarius Theme Song?

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

Saturn enters Sagittarius for the first time in approximately 29 years on December 23, 2014. Saturn is the Celestial Taskmaster, charged with teaching us important life lessons surrounding our ability to set limits for ourselves and tell ourselves “no”. Ergo, one effect this placement will have upon all of us is to present lessons about curbing excess. Sadge is *the sign* of excess, and there’s nothing quite like Saturn to teach us how to set limits, suck it up, & grow the eff up, is there?  On that note, this could possibly be an unofficial theme song for “What *NOT* to do” during the next roughly 2 1/2 years while Saturn makes its way through Sagittarius –


“Too Much”, by Dave Matthews Band

Lyrics:
Straight in, suck up and go,
cool it, swallow, swallow
Breathe deep, take it all
it comes cheap
Push it through the doors
because in between the lines
I’m gonna pack more lines
so I can get down in

Ooh traffic jam got more cars
than a beach got sand
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up
fill it up until no more
I’m no crazy creep, I’ve got it coming to me
because I’m not satisfied
The hunger keeps on growing

I eat too much
I drink too much
I want too much
Too much

I’ve got to get it somewhere
I mean, you never know, maybe
you’re dreaming
Who do you think you’re watching
Who do you think you need
Play for me, play more.
ten times in the same day
I need more. I’m going
over my borders
I’m going to take more, more
from you, letter by letter

I eat too much
I drink too much
I want too much
Too much

I told god I’m coming
to your country
I’m going to eat up your cities.
your homes, you know
I’ve got a stomach full
it’s not a chip on my shoulder
I’ve got this growl in my tummy
and I’m gonna stop it today
I eat too much
I drink too much
I want too much
Too much

Suck it up, suck it up
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up, yeah
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up,
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up, suck it up, baby

I eat too much
I drink too much
I want too much,
too much…..

Gotta get it somewhere….

 

So the million dollar question is: How do we know when something is “too much”?  Saturn’s about to help us figure that all out, because we can rest assured if we’re going overboard in any respect and *not* checking ourselves, Saturn will send someone along to do this for us.  It could be a parent, teacher/mentor that we respect, law enforcement, or some other “authority figure” getting on our case, but if we get a tap on the shoulder from anyone requesting that we cut back or tone it down (whatever “it” is), we should do ourselves a favor and take the first warning that comes along.  If we don’t, it’s highly likely that it will only get progressively harder from there because that’s how Saturn works – in degrees of incremental difficulty.  If instead, however, we take the first cue we get and figure out how to self-regulate whatever it is we’re overdoing, we’re golden – Saturn only whacks us with the ruler when we fail to get with his program and keep on goofing off!

11/04/2014

Begone, Mercury Retrograde!

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

MercRxIf everyone followed astrology, I’m firmly convinced the world would run a whole lot better! Major telecommunications providers would know better than to schedule a buyout of another competing telecom co. during a Mercury retrograde phase – ESPECIALLY on the days when Mercury transitions from direct movement to retrograde motion or vice versa (called the “stations” in astro-lingo) if they want things to go smoothly! Why? Telecommunications is a field completely under Mercury’s dominion and thus is heavily affected by this planet’s movements, and all kinds of technology & communications-related mayhem can ensue on these days. Now obviously if a telecom company is trying to break into a new market area, they would want to start off on a good note and *not* have any major service outages or issues on the phone, TV, & internet services they’re providing to their brand new customers. In fact, if one was to consult an astrologer expressly for this purpose and say “Hey, I own this telecommunications company and am looking for an ideal day to seal the deal on the buyout of this other company – what would be a good date for me to do this?”, rest assured the very LAST day an astrologer would EVER recommend for this purpose would be a day where Mercury was stationing!

So I chuckled heartily to myself and with more than a touch of underlying annoyance when just such a thing happened – a few moments after wondering what was going on with my internet service, it dawned on me this was exactly what had happened! OF COURSE this would happen today of all days, sheesh! Of course these companies decided to make this big transition on a day when Mercury was stationing – it was a textbook example of astro-ignorance at its very finest (or is that very worst, LOL?). At this moment, I should also take the time to mention there are other fields likely to be strongly affected by Mercury retrograde:

Publishing & printing – Whether you’re a sign maker, have a printing press company that produces tangible things like business cards & flyers, own a social media marketing firm, run an editing company, have a publishing company, or if you’re a blogger, note that Mercury has dominion over the written word. This means during a Mercury retrograde (particularly when this planet is stationing), we could be plagued by things like typos, layout issues, font problems, autocorrect fails, and random weird tech issues like hyperlinks not working the way they should. Mercury signifies the details and it may be little things we might not notice at first, so it pays to either come back later to take a second look at something we’re writing or else get a second pair of eyes to look it over.

I.T. – The I.T. field is very affected by Mercury retrograde as a whole and is likely to be hoppin’ during these phases – we’re much more likely to encounter computer issues such as viruses, corrupt data, our computers just plain freezing up or crapping out, etc.. Ahead of these periods, I always advise triple checking that we’ve backed up our data “just in case” – at least then if there’s an issue, it’s not likely to be catastrophic. Also: Unless you HAVE TO, Mercury retrogrades are NOT times to buy new computers or tech gadgets on a whim! If you have no other choice because your computer died, it’s one thing, but if it’s not an absolute necessity it’s better to wait until well after Mercury turns direct because the chances are higher that we’ll either have issues with this new machine as well or else have difficulty getting used to this new unit. This would especially not be a good time to do something like, say, transition from a PC to a Mac or vice versa because it’s likely to be headache city!

Media/journalism – Double and triple check the facts if we’re in these fields, because the tendency is to *not* have all the information when Mercury is retrograde. Rather than risk speaking out of turn, it’s important to perform our due diligence to make sure we have everything straight, because the tendency to speak without thinking is increased. These periods are when we’re likely to see things like newscasters so in a rush to get the hot scoop, that initial reports are often disproven, disputed, or not what they first appear. Sources might not be credible, something gets taken out of context, or misinformation is given, for example. It’s rather like a game of telephone – as the story goes along it can change and there’s a good possibility what’s initially reported is not what actually happened – this is why waiting & making sure we’re covering all the angles becomes so important.

Transportation – Whether we’re a cab driver, a mechanic, or a commuter, Mercury has dominion over our day-to-day modes of transport like cars, trains, subways, and busses. Traffic jams and travel delays are more common during Mercury retrograde, so it’s good to leave extra time to get where we’re going. Accidents – especially from distracted driving – are more commonplace as well, so definitely make it a point to put down those devices during the 3 weeks Mercury backtracks to help avert this possibility. Car problems can act up at this time as well (and it’s entirely possible to get a wrong diagnosis on whatever mechanical issues you’re experiencing at this time, which can be pricey!) – this is another one of those instances where it’s best to bring your car in for regular maintenance well before the retrograde phase, because if we don’t and have been neglecting our cars, the likelihood is higher that something will surface then.

Sales – Mercury is the wheeler-and-dealer of the zodiac since he has the gift of gab, so the sales field is where he shines! During Mercury retro, however, we may find ourselves tongue-tied, our prospective customers might not know what they’re looking for or later change their minds, and it’s harder to make handshake deals that work to everyone’s advantage where each party walks away from the deal satisfied. During Mercury Rx, we’re better served re-visiting old sales leads, calling up old accounts and seeing if there’s anything we can do to service them, and generally expending effort re-connecting with people rather than trying to use that gift of gab to bring in new customers – this also applies to advertising.

Healthcare – Aside from the normal hiccups that can occur from double-booking, over-booking, people forgetting about or otherwise missing their appointments entirely during Mercury retro, taking extra care to arrive at a correct diagnosis is important during this phase. Patients may be more inclined towards unusual presentations, there may be a piece of the diagnosis puzzle that’s missing, or it winds up being the proverbial “zebra” diagnosis, for example. Patients may also be inclined to do things like leave out pertinent info when describing their symptoms or think another issue they’re having is unrelated and thus not bring it up during consultation, or forget to disclose what other medications/supplements they’re taking – things like this. Also? If a paper script is given out, make sure the handwriting is legible and double check the pharmacy gives the correct medication AND dosage amount – mixups like this can happen during Mercury retrograde!

Customer service – This is a tough field during Mercury retrogrades, because people are more inclined to experience problems with products or services and thus more likely to have complaints. Long phone wait times (also due Mercury Rx) can obviously add to a disgruntled customer’s annoyance, so it’s important to let customers know their frustrations are heard & understood and to be able to think of outside-the-box solutions to remedy the problem if conventional means are not resolving the issue.

That’s a quick (but not exhaustive) list of fields highly impacted by Mercury retrogrades! Hopefully going forward, if we work in these fields or are involved in them for any reason we can refer back to this list to understand the possible implications the next time Mercury is retrogrades in order to help things run a little more smoothly – the next Mercury retrograde is January 21st, 2015, so let’s make it a point to get our ducks in a row well before then!

10/27/2014

A Neptunian Tale In Preparation For Saturn In Sagittarius Square Neptune In Pisces

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

CountingSheep

 
I’ve found myself placing an unusually high value on “restorative time” these days, whether this is time spent unwinding in yoga class or simply catching some good zzz’s at night, so I recently decided that I was in the market for a new mattress, naturally. I was searching for something supportive and yet soft enough to make me want to leap into the bed with glee at the end of a long day, but before making this investment I decided to do some investigating – there’s so many bedding options out there these days that looking into the pros and cons of all the different varieties on the market only seemed sensible. Inner spring, pillow top, pocketed coil, latex, memory foam, gel foam, air cushioned……the array of sleep possibilities are simply dizzying!

Now this got me thinking, because Neptune is the Lord of Dreamtime, so of course mattresses fall under his domain. And no matter where we turn, it seems everyone is trying to sell us on this ideal of “a perfect night’s sleep”. But I have to wonder if such an elusive, mythical creature even exists or if it’s simply a vague yet enticing concept cooked up by marketing gurus, designed to drive us in sleepless droves down to the mattress stores. And what does “perfect” entail, exactly? Because what’s perfect to you, me, or the guy next door are likely to be very different things indeed!

During the course of all this information filtering, I came upon an eye-opening statistic: Did you know that in a consumer report survey conducted regarding mattress manufactures, most brand makers only had customer satisfaction ratings around the 50% mark? That’s just crazy to me – especially when you consider the average person’s willingness to shell out good coin to get that “perfect night’s sleep”. In my research, I came across models that were 5, 7, 10, 20+ THOUSAND dollars – now when a mattress costs more than a new CAR (which has complex engineering that goes into all those moving mechanical components), something fishy (yes, that’s a Neptune reference) is most certainly going on!

Neptune is a planet of fantasy – it tries to sell us a dream. And that’s what happens when we go a-mattress-shoppin’ – everyone is trying to convince us the dream is real and that it too can be ours for the low, low price of just fill-in-the-blank. A friend worked in this industry years ago and once told me the markup on these products was something like 1000% (yup, you read that right) – I don’t think he was …Read More…

Black Moon Lilith In Leo Asks:

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

….”When was the last time you let your inner Black Magic Woman out to play?”

 

 

If it’s been a while, it might be time to give her some proper attention.  Black Moon Lilith is the quintessential “witchy woman”, and when her energy is active in our charts we may start seeing portents everywhere or make offerings unto the Spirit World.  We listen to our intuition; hear whispers on the wind.  We might enjoy the company of animal “familiars” and weave spells or brew “potions” by pale light of the Moon.  Under Black Moon Lilith’s energy, we’re also more likely to choose a path of (voluntary or involuntary) exile rather than one of submission – indeed, this vibe is fierce and anything but servile!  Lilith would much rather be an outcast than a lesser/subordinate – reference the fact that as Adam’s first wife she was cast out of Eden when she refused to take a subservient sexual position under him.  Speaking of sex, there’s a seductive, sexually empowered facet of BML’s energy as well, which we closely associate with the root chakra and the kundalini that lies coiled at the base of the spine.

"The Love Potion" by Evelyn De Morgan.
“The Love Potion” by Evelyn De Morgan.

So how can you conjure her up?  With Black Moon Lilith currently traversing Leo, you might summon her through the slinky, undulating movements of dance – think Shakira-esque bellydancing complete with gyrating hips as you playfully beckon a would-be lover onto the dance floor.  You could express her by getting into character and really playing up this “enchanting” vibe to the hilt through creating some potions or jewelry infused with magical intent during the night of the Full or New Moon.  You might also connect to this energy through finding some sort of inspirational or creative muse in strong, defiant, regal female figures.  For example, BML in Leo reminds me of the mythical Queen of Sheba – the beguiling pagan queen of old whose leadership savvy allowed her to remain sovereign unto herself (which was virtually unheard of during such a vastly patriarchal time), even when matching wits with the likes of King Solomon. You could also do something to honor the “outcast” facet of BML, say by adopting an unwanted feline companion as a familiar since Leo energy is all about the kitties (double bonus points if it’s a black cat). However you choose to express this energy, give your inner Black Magic Woman some free reign and let her play!

09/02/2014

 

Planetary Archetypes In Nature

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment
Photo by Jason Quinn: "Cedar Waxing August 14, 2014 Newfoundland, PA"
Photo by Jason Quinn: “Cedar Waxing August 14, 2014 Newfoundland, PA”

Just this morning I had a little visitor outside my window – much to my delight, a lovely Cedar Waxwing was sitting in my Rhododendron, gathering the bush’s flowers with its beak!  Yes, it was quite the sight to behold….I was wondering why on earth it would be picking flowers…?  Was this some weird nest-festooning thing it liked to do, like the bowerbirds of Australia?  Were there bees or other insects inside the flower gathering pollen/nectar, and the bird was using the blossom like a net in order to catch its prey?  What exactly was the deal with this?

Referencing my handy Audubon Society field guide on birds (yes, I *am* a nature nerd if you haven’t figured that out by this point in the story, LOL), I found out some cool facts about my little buddy:

Waxwings are apparently super-social creatures, usually hanging out in large flocks.  They have a habit of lining up in a tree or bush and passing berries to one another in a chain, so they seem to enjoy sharing and are “polite” enough to feed their friends before stuffing their own beaks with berry goodness.

Hmmmm..interesting behavior for a bird – loves companionship, seems to have a penchant for flowers, and likes to share?  I’d say this bird has some very Venusian energy going on!  It was pretty cool to see an animal’s energy resonate so strongly with a planet’s.  My shamanic healer friend, Deana, once told me that she and I both do similar work as we both deal with archetypes – mine are the heavenly kind (the planets), hers are the earthly manifestations (animals/totems).  Something clicked when she told me that – I’ve never looked at animals the same way since.  Now I pay attention whenever I have an interesting animal encounter and look at the “energy” (read: message) the critter in question carries, much in the same way I see the planets expressing their energies in everyday life and decode the memos they send out. It’s all symbolic & the signs are there – whether we read them through the planets or the animals, it’s all the same.  It’s all energy.

08/07/2014

Pluto As The Anti-Hero

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

We often hear about Plutonians (those with Pluto, the 8th house, or the sign of Scorpio dominantly emphasized in the chart) cast in the role of “villain” by their detractors. It’s not a new story and the whole “Plutonian as evil-doer” astro-aphorism certainly is a tired old trope that could benefit from a revamping of sorts. While it’s true that Plutonians do look good in black, I’d like to put a slightly different spin on this energy and talk instead about the Plutonian as The Anti-Hero.

My perspective on this topic was spawned from once hearing someone utter the words “Be a hero”, as if it were a call to arms meant to inspire us toward superhuman feats of goodness & purity. Now any Plutonian reading here is probably having some sort of bile-inducing reaction to this proposal right about now, LOL, as this is probably about the worst thing you could say to one of this ilk. You see, Plutonians are not the sort to portray the image of the gleaming White Knight – their version of the best possible lead is usually much more reminiscent of an anti-hero than any of that Sir Galahad business! The Plutonic star is considerably darker, possessing strength of character as well as considerable depth & complexity but often a certain moral ambiguity that make them richer and more compelling as protagonists. Now it’s possible these character traits may stem from some sort of trauma or they may not, but for those who don’t see the world entirely in black & white and who appreciate grayscale and nuance, the Plutonian anti-hero provides something to really sink your teeth into. We might consider the original Dark Knight himself, Batman, as a muse of sorts – particularly as portrayed in the recent Christian Bale -era reboot of this series. Or perhaps if the whole “fighting crime” thing still lands him a bit too far in the “goody-two-shoes” category for your personal liking, consider some of these other fictional characters that also resonate strongly with this archetype:

Captain Jack Sparrow, Jason Bourne,“V” in V for Vendetta, Tony Soprano, The Bride in the Kill Bill series, John Constantine, or – from TV – Don Draper, Cullen Bohannon, or Gregory House, M.D. just to name a few.

Now one could argue these characters are villains in their own right, as we have liars and thieves, vigilantes, killers, and those looking to sate a burning vengeance among this cast of characters. But such an attempt to boil it all down to a common denominator amounts to painting with a very broad – and very black – brush that completely disregards how popular the anti-hero archetype has become and why it’s so resonant to our collective consciousness. Many find a bona fide “hero” challenging to relate to, and although we may still cheer when we see one, the squeaky-clean persona this entails often denies the reality that life is messy and that it’s real easy to get your hands dirty somewhere along the way. The anti-hero seems more relatable, as they make no bones about their shadow – they own it and it is precisely this kind of self-possessed authenticity that makes this archetype so appealing. Few are willing to gaze at their own grimy underbelly, and as a viewer/reader it’s particularly intriguing to watch when an anti-hero struggles against their darkness or wrestles with scenarios where they have to make the ends justify the means….

06/12/2014