Tag: Pluto In Capricorn

Pluto in Capricorn & Healing Ancestral Trauma

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

In one of my recent newsletters (February 2022), I have been discussing the USA’s Pluto Return in the sign of Capricorn; what it is, why it’s significant, and – most importantly – what we can each/all do to help this crucial turning point be one of resurrection for our nation.  When speaking of Pluto, I have often mentioned the concept of bioluminescence; the ability to generate our own Light from within, even in the darkest of places.  Interestingly, many bioluminescent species are found in precisely such environs, and yet still they thrive – I think they have much to teach us at this decisive period in our nation’s history.

The strength of a nation is measured in the spirit of its people; more precisely, in their resilience.  These have been dark times indeed, but we need not fear them when have deep and unyielding confidence in our ability to recover.  It is this idea of recovery I wish to speak to now, for this is what is in greatest service to our nation and its people.  America’s Pluto Return is its “Scarlett O’Hara” moment in “Gone with the Wind” – silhouetted in the dawning of a new day, she says the following: “As God as my witness; they’re not going to lick me…..as God as my witness; I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again!” You will note that I have very deliberately left out the part where she vows “If I have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill…”, as this is Lo-Fi Pluto and – rather than give into more ignoble impulses where we try to make the ends justify the means – I wish to inspire us instead toward Pluto’s higher potential.  For the purposes of this post, the point of the quote lies in Scarlett’s indomitable will to survive any crisis that life throws at her.

Recovery can happen in many ways, but I want to talk about one of the most impactful levels as it is a topic germane to all Americans now.  Because Pluto is associated with both trauma and healing, perhaps one of the most salient points to mention involves Capricorn’s connection with that which is “old” in addition to this sign also having ties to history, our forefathers, and our “pedigree” or “lineage”.  In understanding Pluto’s deepest healing potential, we know that when it Returns in the sign of Capricorn we (as a collective nation) will be dealing with themes that involve gaining insight into old, possibly generational traumas (or perhaps “curses”) for the sake of banishing, cleansing, and renewing on an energetic level.

Ancestral trauma can come in many forms – most (if not all) of us alive on the planet here today have ancestors who “had it hard” in one respect or another; sometimes in several areas at once.  We may live with the energetic residue of things like poverty, famine, war, slavery, or even genocide metaphysically encoded in our DNA; even if we ourselves haven’t lived through such events.  Traumas such as these can hold particular power over us if we are not conscious of their potential trickle-drown effects.  Sometimes there are actual learned (dysfunctional) behaviors that we might inherit as a result; like the hoarding tendencies one might have as the child of parents who stockpiled more food than was necessary in the wake of living through the bread lines of The Great Depression.  This is not a judgement whatsoever; intense experiences understandably leave a mark.  But best now to direct energy toward old scar tissue to see if we can transform what was once a curse into a point of empowerment.

A large part of healing the “curses” of our forefathers lies in the naming of these demons and symbolically casting them out – let us dig into the roots of our family trees to understand and resolve that which causes our ancestors’ spirits to have unrest so we can stop this from affecting future generations.  What this looks like for each person is going to be very different; especially with respect to whether these kinds of impactfully disturbing experiences happened from the victim or perpetrator’s (or perhaps our ancestors were both, à la hurt people hurt people) side(s).  But investigating with a spirit of integrity, humility, and an earnest desire to straighten things out gets us far….sometimes we are the ones left holding the bag for our parents’/grandparents’/great-grandparents’/etc., and it is better to work constructively on clearing out the mess than to curse the burden that now rests upon our shoulders.  Heal what they couldn’t; willingly take on the responsibility for straightening out their (energetic) legacy.

03/16/2022

The Mars/Venus/Pluto Mashup in Capricorn

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

As if the world doesn’t have enough to deal with right now; just in time for Thursday’s  approaching conjunction of war god Mars with volcanic Pluto 🙄  Venus is in the mix too, though, and here’s my geopolitical take on this alignment:

Vladimir Putin is a Libra Sun with three other planets located in this sign as well; he is strongly influenced by the planet Venus, which is (and has been) debilitated by its recent retrograde in Capricorn.  This is also important because Venus rules money, and I’m not sure that Putin weighed the economic ramifications of his decision to invade Ukraine nearly enough – the ruble has plunged 30% in recent days and the Russian Central Bank jacked rates to 20% to keep pace with the resulting economic fallout.  Capricorn is a stern sign that demands both self-restraint and that we do the right thing or we will face the consequences, and this has been a very bad business decision for Putin. Economic punishment is, IMO, the right move here; it hits where it hurts most.

Mars has been tagging along with Venus very closely the last few weeks; serving as an astrological catalyst for Putin’s naked aggression.  Mars is a pushy, aggressive, agitating kind of energy but Venus suffers from its influence; particularly whilst already curbed by Capricorn’s heavy-handed nature. Venus also represents one’s allies, and it seems Putin is lacking for friends at the moment – even the famously neutral country of Switzerland has dropped its non-involved status to impose sanctions.  Social isolation is another consequence of a lonely Venus in Capricorn, but the friends that do remain under this influence are truly ride-or-die (see: Belarus) due this duo’s approaching conjunction with Pluto.

Venus remains in post-retrograde torpor until tomorrow night, and even once she’s free of this she will quickly find herself slammed between Pluto and Mars.  Ancient astrologers called this condition of being sandwiched between malefic planets “besiegement”, and it’s generally indicative of something “going from bad to worse” – being that we have Putin’s ruling planet astrologically “getting it from both sides” like this, IMO he would be wisest in the long term to broker a peace deal since all he is doing now is unifying his (powerful) enemies while losing financial and relational support.

Slava Ukraini!

02/28/2022

 

The USA’s Pluto Return

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

2022 is a big year for the USA; it is the year that Pluto will have made one full lap around the zodiac wheel to return to the point where it was located on July 4, 1776 when the early British-American colonies declared independence from England.  I feel it necessary to discuss some important things about the use of this date in complete deference to all the Indigenous Peoples that existed on this land mass long before European settlers came along.  The reason astrologers use this date as America’s “birth” in order to calculate a chart for the nation is fairly simple and isn’t meant to disregard at all the history and the peoples that were here since time immemorial.  Indeed, every land on Earth is ancient and obviously came into existence eons before humans even existed; think of Pangea! So using July 4,, 1776 as the “birth” date of America is a bit of an overly simplistic misnomer; rather it would be more accurate to say that we merely use this date to calculate a similar chart. Did you know that businesses and relationships can have charts, too?  What do we use to calculate these?  What makes it “official” on paper?

For example, we might have the idea for a business and be working on it long before we file for our LLC and receive our tax ID.  We were “gestating” it months or perhaps even years earlier; having a concrete date when it becomes a legally recognized entity in no way de-legitimizes the vision and all the work put in up until that very exciting moment.  The technical stuff essentially just functions as a “scalpel” cutting the umbilical cord so the business becomes an entity in its own right; albeit just not a human one.

Or perhaps we look to the “birth” of a relationship; again, a misnomer.  Maybe two individuals have known each other forever and were friends long before they ever dated, so it can’t be when they first met each other, right?  So what “counts”?  Is it when they went out on their first date together?  Perhaps when they were first asked out/asked the other party out?   Sometimes things aren’t clear-cut or there’s nothing “official” recorded to mark the “birth” and in such cases one must use their discernment.  Most couples remember their first date and refer to that as their “anniversary”, so we could use this if we wanted to look at the ins and outs of that relationship from an astrological POV.  But again, a couple could have met years prior or could have had romantic interest in each other for some time prior to going out with each other; using the pair’s first date merely allows us to have a concrete point in time to which we can refer and does not de-legitimize the history between them.  This lack of date consensus is also why most astrologers might opt instead to draw up a Synastry or Composite chart rather than a “birth” type of chart.

Though America and its First Peoples existed for literally thousands of years prior to the British colonies declaring their independence from The Crown and revolting against King George III’s rule, the signing of the Declaration of Independence is something we can refer to that – for better or worse – is snapshot of a “scalpel” moment when these young colonies started to function as their own entity.  Contextually, it is important to understand that First Nations Peoples were cultures that relied entirely upon oral histories; hence there were no earlier written dates of America’s “founding” to refer to, nor did Europeans exactly care to ask about such things whilst they were busy taking land and food from this nation’s original inhabitants.  Even if they had, how would communication of this information have been possible given the language barrier?  Forget the fact that First Nations Peoples would have no concept of or use for the Europeans’ Gregorian calendar!  How could one possibly hope to find a more accurate “birth” date for a nation in such circumstances?  Unfortunately, as is so often the case, the date we have for reference is sadly the one written by the “victors”.

In a heated sociopolitical climate, it is especially important that as astrologers we try to approach the use of this date with sensitivity and awareness; acknowledging its Eurocentric roots while also understanding the context that we simply don’t have other options that aren’t rooted in this same POV when it comes to calculating a chart for the USA; this is really all we have to work with.  I’m not sure that it would be an improvement to use, say, the date in 1492 that an Italian conquista “explorer” got lost and bumped into a large landmass in the Atlantic Ocean by mistake because he was seeking a shortcut.  Or the date the first wave of European settlers landed at Plymouth Rock, for example – both instances do not acknowledge that there were others living and governing their communities here long prior.  But perhaps it would be of service to compare this situation to conception vs. the moment the umbilical cord is cut.  Life starts long before a child exits its mother’s womb – 9 months prior, sperm met egg, cells multiplied, a heartbeat flickered into existence, and before long a growing human being was formed; nobody can deny the entire process was started well in advance of the child taking its first recorded breath.  And perhaps if we could pinpoint conception and use that as the basis of a chart instead, this would be the more valid – and far more culturally sensitive – tool for the job.

02/11/2022

The Capricorn Stellium: Root Down To Rise Up

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

We have a decidedly grounded vibe on our hands for the foreseeable future with Pluto, Saturn, and now Jupiter all currently traversing terrestrial Capricorn.  While this earthbound vibe may feel like bit of a slog for some, the key in utilizing this energy to its highest capacity lies anchoring ourselves in uber reality, leaning heavily upon the virtues of personal responsibility and accountability, and connecting to a hidden subterranean reserve of inner strength, constancy, and resiliency; even in crisis.  This energy symbolically represents the firm and deep establishment of roots that anchor a large and ancient tree; its sprawling branches growing ever-upward  even as it remains planted in place.  We feel connected to the Earth, to our bodies, the lowest two levels of need in Maslow’s Hierarchy are fulfilled, and we have good & healthy boundaries with others where we are firm in knowing exactly where our responsibility for things both starts and ends.

At this point the yogis among us reading this are probably envisioning Vrksasana (better known as Tree Pose) and the sacred energy center Muladhara – more colloquially known as the Root Chakra  – this asana is often prescribed for.  For me however, it calls to mind the Family Tree; our own personal Tree of Life from which we ascend.  Some might say descend, but after spending the last year of my life delving deeply into my own personal genealogical history I’ve come to prefer seeing my Ancestors as the foundational pillars and myself functioning as a sort of bridge (perhaps part of the trunk?) helping to pave the way for the successive upliftment of future generations who hopefully grow to greater heights than all previous successors. Given some of the darker matter the seed of my creation germinated in, I’m understandably partial to viewing family “line” as spreading upwards rather than the reverse.

But how can one truly accomplish this; choosing to be the upward trend in the line rather than a downward one?  In a phrase, “Root down to rise up” – digging down deep into the matter (specifically, the Shadow material) from which we come, centering the Self, and choosing to be the point of accountability where dysfunction stops. In recent months, I have been discussing the concept of using the energy of the Saturn/Pluto conjunction to straighten out gnarled roots in the family tree from an energetic point of view; even if posthumously.  Nobody likes to think of their family gene pool as being “tainted” but the fact is many of us are living with the heavy-duty residue of things like abuse, war, slavery, or even genocide lingering in the shadows of our lineage.  Doing everything we can to clean up whatever karmic “messes” our predecessors may have left behind so our line can come correct from an energetic standpoint and honor can be restored is work well worth undertaking at this time. In fact, I’d argue it’s eternally worth the effort to do our best to clear up any negative karmic debts our Ancestors may have incurred but having 3 slower-moving planets hanging out in Capricorn for a while certainly makes the sense of responsibility for doing so considerably more prevalent. When so many of our parents have not yet learned the lesson of accountability, it only makes sense that eventually someone’s gotta do it; might as well be us.  There’s no time like the present to rectify the past/our personal history and set right what we can – time’s a-wastin’…..

02/02/20

The Saturn/Pluto Conjunction, Aggregated

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

We are now just 10 days away from one of the more heavy-duty astrological alignments we’ve seen in decades: The conjunction of Saturn with Pluto in Capricorn on January 12, 2020.  I’ve spent well over 2 years prepping clients for this event since we haven’t had one like it in almost 40 years and won’t see another for a good 30+ more, but as this energy will be peaking during the next week and a half it occurs to me that it would benefit my readers to have all the information in one place.  For your consideration then, I submit the following:

Excerpt from my November 2019 newsletter on the Saturn/Pluto Conjunction

All posts tagged Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn

If you read only one thing, do make it the excerpt from my newsletter because it both dissects how this energy works and discusses how to best manage/direct it. Strength through adversity, my friends – tough times are temporary, but tough character is permanent 💪 Whatever manner of fuckery you may be dealing with at the present moment, you’ll outlive all of it.  ALL.  OF.  IT.

01/02/2020

Saturn Conjunct Pluto In Capricorn: Some Old-School Blacksmithing

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

If you’re reading this post then you’re probably well aware by now that we’re currently heading toward a major astrological alignment that has been almost 40 years in the making: The conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, which occurs on January 12, 2020.  If I had to describe this vibe in a nutshell with regard to how it functions, one good way to look at this energy is as if there’s some old-school blacksmithing going down in one part of our chart.  First we have the smelting of the ore where intense white-hot heat is being applied to burn off impurities – sounds super FUN, right??? That part would be Pluto, and this is something that has been a long time in the making ever since Pluto started grinding its way thru Capricorn in 2008. At least one area of our life is undergoing a prolonged purification process where the dross is being slowly and carefully burned off.  Then Saturn came on the scene at the tail-end of 2017 to hammer out this base metal.  Blow after blow lands, and as Saturn edges closer and closer to Pluto this pressure gradually gets more intense; shaping the ingot purposefully while hopefully not distorting its function.  We have to be careful that it doesn’t warp on us at this stage; ever mindful we must be of straight vs. crooked – it can be easy to get bent out of shape (resentful) over the definite impressions being planished in.  If we can withstand this process as the eye of this conjunction passes over us between now & January, we’ll be left with something strong, resilient, and useful; an empowering, vulcanized tool that has survived time, heat, and powerful forces.

10/28/2019

Saturn Conjunct Pluto In Capricorn: Peak Dysfunctional Patriarchy

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

“You! Yes, you! Stand still, laddie!”

When we grew up and went to school
There were certain teachers
Who would hurt the children any way they could
By pouring their derision
Upon anything we did
Exposing every weakness
However carefully hidden by the kids
But in the town it was well known
When they got home at night
Their fat & psychopathic wives would thrash them
Within inches of their lives

~Pink Floyd, The Happiest Days Of Our Lives

The above soundbite is crucial to listen to if you want to understand a particularly dominant note of the upcoming Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn. From this clip we get a dark & sadistic feeling; one of oppression and subjugation by so-called “authority figures”.  It’s no coincidence at all that Saturn in Capricorn is an energy very much associated with teachers – put dysfunctional Pluto nearby and we can see these figures taking on a twisted countenance; one that firmly adheres to the old axiom “Spare the rod, spoil the child”.

Though I cringe in contemplation of the above, it is absolutely critical we have awareness of how this astrological alignment reflects a deep-seated underlying social sickness – that sickness, my friends, is Patriarchy. Saturn in Capricorn represents The System; it’s the quintessential Daddy State, and with Pluto nearby this takes on a decidedly screwed-up tone. Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn = tyrannical legislature designed *by* men *for* men in order to quash resistance from all deemed “lower”. Under the guise of imposing providing “order”, “protection”, and/or “setting the bar”, of course.  No matter how restrictive, impositional, or just plain fucked up these standards are, unless you are one of this privileged class the chances are high you’re probably going to experience this conjunction much like the schoolchildren in the above song.  Authority is particularly dangerous these days – we have low people in high places and these men in power have absolutely no qualms about kneecapping others by whatever means necessary to maintain control.  When Saturn joins Pluto in Capricorn, it is wise to distrust male “authority”.

Though this astrological influence isn’t  exact until January 2020, Saturn has been “in the neighborhood” of Pluto since about the beginning of April and this has given us a little preview of some of the the things we might expect to see out of this conjunction.  Here in the USA, it’s manifested as sweeping legislation banning abortion – even in cases of incest or rape – in several states.  There’s no better marker that we’ve hit Peak Dysfunctional Patriarchy than when a woman – whose bodily autonomy has already been violated by a man via incest or rape – is then forced by law to carry a resultant pregnancy to term. In the era of #TimesUp & #MeToo – when women are already publicly crying out about the abuse they’ve suffered at the hands of men – women are now taking to social media to share their experiences with abortion while the men who impregnated them are allowed to sit privately and peacefully in shadow because it’s not their bodily autonomy being legislated.  Somethin’ ain’t right here, ya think? 😒

06/04/2019

Saturn Conjunct Pluto In Capricorn: The “Crash Course”

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

With Saturn and Pluto both currently sitting in a near-standstill just a few degrees away from each other, the astro-vibe du jour serves us a little taste of the upcoming Saturn/Pluto conjunction; a major astrological alignment culminating in January 2020.  Metaphorically, if you have a rather sour taste in your mouth at the moment, you’re certainly not alone – this is some dense, dark, & heavy energy we’re dealing with, so the effects upon our lives tends to be anything but light-n-sweet.  The conjunction of Saturn with Pluto in Capricorn is like a stale cup of extra strong dark roast served straight-up and cold – there’s nothing to mask the bitterness, but from a utilitarian standpoint it gets the job done if you can stomach such a no-frills brew.

In a somewhat similar sense, Saturn in Capricorn as the archetypal Great Cosmic Taskmaster reminds us that we’ve all got something to learn while crisis-oriented Pluto tends to bring things to a head – at present, we all seem to be getting a crash-course educational intensive in some area(s) of our life as these two planetary titans merge their energies.  There’s a definite impression that we have a very limited amount of time with which we must attain an intense level of proficiency at something.  To get an idea of what this might be, look at the House this duo is occupying in your own personal astrological chart or examine any aspects they may be making to any of your natal planets.   This combo is dead-serious; there’s a real sense there is no time left for fucking around and the stakes are high, so this can constitute some pretty intense pressure.  But if instead of being scared we can see this as a challenge to attain a deep level of mastery in an area where we were previously deficient, we’ll see how we can in fact use this energy to fortify ourselves from the inside out. Look at where the cracks are now; where the crises arise or where weakness is exposed.  The challenge is to be dipped into the river Styx entirely so that we no longer have an Achilles’ heel in that particular regard. Baptism by hardship; a trial-by-fail.  A difficult Initiation. You’re going to grab the controls and figure out how to land that plane safely, though, come hell or high water – step up and dig deep.

04/25/2019

Destiny Derailers

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We have an interesting astrological setup playing out during April – Pluto just crossed the Moon’s South Node at the beginning of the month and now Saturn is about to do the same at its end. The South Node symbolizes a “path of least resistance”; attitudes, traits, and behaviors that represent an unconscious habitual rut we may be inclined to fall into on our soul’s evolutionary journey that don’t serve its growth.  When a planet passes over this point we have to be especially careful not to misuse its energy by aligning with the Lo-Fi end of its vibrational spectrum, because this can have the potential to derail our individual and/or collective destiny.

Pluto symbolizes power, sex, and corruption.  It is a destructive principle as a first order and while under ordinary circumstances sometimes tearing things down is necessary and warranted, when this planet crosses the South Node we do have to be careful this doesn’t veer pathological. Abuse and misuse of power or sex must also be avoided and it’s generally good policy to abstain from anything sleazy or underhanded when Pluto hovers around the South Node.

Saturn represents control, authority, hard-heartedness, ambition, status, and business.  Its hardworking nature can create hazards for us when it joins up with the South Node; particularly from the angle that it can veer workaholic and “all business”.  Saturn hovering around this point means that collectively we’re learning lessons pertaining to that which we can/can’t control; this planet puts us in touch with our limitations one way or the other.  It also cautions us against being overly authoritative or using status/prestige as the benchmark of “success” to the exclusion of other metrics – for example, one can have a very successful professional life and yet because they were consumed by this “end-all, be-all” tunnel vision they may have wound up lonely or depressed because they failed to put time or effort into family, friends, and relationships.  One real hazard of Saturn conjunct the South Node is that we’ve failed to weight things properly; that we’re assigning a level of importance to something that we shouldn’t and have our priorities askew.

On a more transpersonal level, this combination of astrological influences makes April a crucial month for examining the power corruption has in causing the steady and gradual derailment of our leadership. It represents a sloping downward pitch on a graph; I see this very much as an inglorious, undermining type of influence that degrades the pillars of society and the very framework of our governments.  Saturn concerns itself with hierarchies; it represents delegated officials as opposed to the Divine Right of kings.  When you place it in proximity to Pluto and the South Node, this might be thought of as a power vacuum where all sorts of unseemly influences can gain control – low people in high places seems to be a theme.

This energetic effects of this triple alignment unfortunately do not terminate in April; we’ll see the residuals of this for quite some time and it should be thought of more like a slow lead-in to the big Saturn/Pluto conjunction of January 2020.  While this means we’re going to be wading through some pretty dense, heavy energy for the foreseeable future, no matter how grim reality may look at the time we mustn’t fall prey to negativity and pessimism; two of Saturn’s other downfalls.  We *will* need to recognize, however, that corruption has corporate – or perhaps even State – sponsorship.

While we’re deconstructing this, we must remember that when the world is run by cruel authoritarian/totalitarian regimes, dysfunctional Patriarchy, and/or unfeeling corporate entities, it takes audacity to care.  In these sorts of screwed-up conditions, rather than hardening over, shutting down our emotions, and easily defaulting to giving our power and authority over to apathy, the key is to fully engage with our feelings and dare to give a damn; particularly when it comes to that which we wish to protect and nurture.  It may feel a bit like David going up against Goliath, but this is how we staunch the flow of poison leeching its way into The System; with passionate purpose and true patriotism in contrast to heinous hardline nationalism. It is possible to love your country and yet still be deeply disturbed by what it is – or maybe isn’t – doing; remember that as you carve out internal space for tenderness and caring.  With the Moon’s North Node in Cancer for the foreseeable future, we all do well to tap into Maternal energy now; to meditate upon the Universal Mother archetype and how we can embrace or embody facets of this protective, nurturing energy.  Think: Elephant Medicine 🐘

04/16/2019

Saturn Conjunct Pluto In Capricorn: Nihilistic

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

“On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero” – Unnamed narrator, “Fight Club”

It’s been a while since our last discussion of the Saturn/Pluto Conjunction; a major incoming astrological alignment coming to a theater near you in January 2020.  But I think it’s about time we resumed coverage seeing as it’s only about a year away now.  In understanding the essence of this energy and its many manifestations, the above soundbite seems to so perfectly set the tone for this vibe. And make no mistake; this *is* – by definition – some dark and heavy energy we’re dealing with here, so this post will not be a light read.

Before I proceed, let me clearly state the above quote most certainly isn’t in any way alluding to the Saturn/Pluto conjunction signifying some kind of mass extinction event; rather, it’s a statement meant merely to be illustrative of this conjunction’s ability to 1) acknowledge ugly – or perhaps even grim – realities and 2) crunch the numbers in these sorts of scenarios. Ideally, the latter leads to the formulation of some kind of “plan”.  Prevention, of course, is the best plan; focusing time & energy how to stop things from ever getting to that “worst-case” scenario.  But sometimes we don’t always have control over the outcome – such as the inevitability of time marching on regardless of our finite lifespans – which can lend itself to the adoption of a nihilistic slant.

Setting that angle aside for just a moment,  speaking of what we *do* have control over, an important keynote of upcoming Saturn/Pluto conjunction regards how this energy is a qualified expert at crisis management – Saturn in Capricorn is the quintessential “Executive” archetype for a reason (able to respond well under pressure, architects plans, pragmatically lines things up & puts them in order, and is superb at controlling/managing/delegating). Pluto energy, however, catastrophizes.  Pluto is where the proverbial crap hits the fan – it represents powerful and often destructive forces over which we have no control; save our response to those circumstances.  Merge those two energies and you have someone who reliably and consistently keeps it together when things are going to pot; just ask the kids born circa 1982/83 (preferably the Scorpio or Capricorn Suns/Risings) how they do “crisis management” – they were born with a Saturn/Pluto conjunction in their natal chart.

Now regarding the Saturn/Pluto Conjunction’s potential nihilistic slant, this combo is very Nietzsche-esque in a sense for a number of reasons.  For one, the “will to power” that so much of his philosophy was founded upon – the psychological drive for ambition, achievement, and reaching the highest possible position in life – is so very Saturn/Pluto mashup. Saturn in Capricorn is ambition & achievement in spades while Pluto symbolizes power & the compulsion of unconscious drives. For two, Nietzche’s own thoughts on nihilism (coming to us from “Will to Power”) were as follows:

“Nihilism is…not only the belief that everything deserves to perish; but one actually puts one’s shoulder to the plough; one destroys”

Putting the shoulder to the plow and doing the work is very Saturn in Capricorn, while the destructive principle is once again symbolized by Pluto. When we think of true nihilism, we commonly think of it within the context of a destroyed sense of purposefulness; unless that sense of purpose is to destroy. (Are we seeing shades of Tyler Durden here yet?)  Nietzsche’s views on the subject of nihilism were intriguing – he saw it as both inevitable and as a means to and end: The “Ubermensch”.

“I praise, I do not reproach, [nihilism’s] arrival. I believe it is one of the greatest crises, a moment of the deepest self-reflection of humanity. Whether man recovers from it, whether he becomes master of this crisis, is a question of his strength. It is possible….”

This statement is incredibly resonant when contemplating the Saturn/Pluto Conjunction; a “great crisis” (Pluto), deep self-reflection (Pluto again; it loves to make us look at our own Shadow), the mastery (Saturn) of crisis (Pluto) being a question of his strength (Saturn). What I find hopeful about this, though, is Nietzsche does seem to think it possible.  It is my astrological opinion – at least as we simultaneously face down the barrel our Pluto Return in government-oriented Capricorn here in the USA – that as this conjunction perfects there might just be a place for some degree of political nihilism; the notion that we have to scrap and rebuild the very framework of a broken, compromised democracy and construct an “Ubergovernment” upon superior, more functional foundations. Along a similar vein, collectively we’ve seemed to hit peak Dysfunctional Patriarchy; patriarchy of course being closely tied to paternal Saturn and Pluto symbolizing the corrupting principle.  I truly hope the current socio-political nightmare is enough to provoke deep and lasting collective self-reflection upon what got us to this point and that it is – as Nietzsche postulated – a catalyst for serious and lasting transformation for the better.  One can certainly hope, anyway.

12/28/2018