Saturn Closing Semisquare with Pluto

It’s been awhile since I talked about any aspect other than a conjunction.  Today Mercury lines up with Saturn while Saturn is in a very special point in its cycle with Pluto.  First a chart for Mercury conjunct Saturn.

 They are close enough for lots of target points right now, but the nearest to bull's eye will be 2:37GMT Nov 26. 

Now a chart showing the houses for Pluto.  

I drew a circle with the houses marked off starting at 12degrees Capricorn (Pluto's current location), and numbered them.  You can see Saturn and Mercury are smack in the middle of the 11th house.  It is called a closing semisquare with Pluto because it is 45degrees behind Pluto.  If Saturn was at 27degrees Aquarius it would be in an opening semisquare with Pluto.  It was at 27 Aquarius in April 1993, but back then Pluto was in Scorpio, so it was a full 90 degrees out front instead of 45.   

Once you spin the wheels history starts jumping out at you.  Above is the conjunction of Uranus and Neptune in 1993 which makes me think of the conjunction of Saturn and Neptune.......

Astrology is such a distraction.  We were talking about when Saturn was in an opening semisquare with Pluto and now I'm reading about the Iran-Contra affair which Wikipedia says began Aug 20, 1985 when Saturn was wrapping up its conjunction with Pluto. 

Ok I've got to get back to the subject at hand.  Saturn opening semisquare Pluto vs. Saturn closing semisquare Pluto.  It is the closing semisquare we are in today, near the end of the cycle.  Here is the opening:

One last note about that chart up there---Saturn was in that opening semisquare with Pluto from Jan -Aug 1988.  It takes a long time to get from one stage to the next in its doe C doe with Pluto.

So let's take a little breath.   Ahhhhh.  What we've gotten into is a discussion of the 38 or so year cycle of Saturn lining up with Pluto.  It all got started when I saw that Saturn is now in a closing semisquare with Pluto.  I took the opportunity to show how planets can be related to each other by aspects (conjunct, square, trine, etc) or by the number of houses the faster moving planet is from the anchor planet.  Saturn is now in the middle of the 11th house from Pluto and will hover in that stage of their relationship until Sept 2015.  It has Pluto's number.  It knows the deal.  The 11th house from the anchor planet is its Aquarian house, or its place of absolute knowledge.  Saturn has reached that point of fully understanding Pluto and is able to work with that knowledge.  Neptune on the other hand is still in a very immature place with Pluto and will be for more than another century.  Uranus is about to enter Pluto's 4th house.  Most of the violence we've been seeing these last 4 years is associated with that opening square between Uranus and Pluto and the coincidence that the tender period in their cycle is coming while Uranus is in the sign of exploding seeds.

The chart that started this historical wandering among the planets shows that Saturn entering this mature step in its cycle with Pluto is joined for a few days by Mercury.  Mercury is logistics and perception.

Here's a chart for the Moon meeting Mars late tonight. The Moon lining up with Mars in Capricorn is healing waters of tradition bathing the exalted hero.  Not a spring tide, just enough to lighten the load in the fight for survival.

Depression and the Moon conjunct Pluto

The Moon is in Capricorn now.  It lined up with Saturn in Scorpio Friday night and lined up with Pluto in Capricorn early Tues morn (Raleigh time).  One of the most helpful meditations in astrology is following the Moon.  It is not hard to do.  You can find its location on the homepage at Astro.com.  Just scroll down and look to the right and you should see it in the box that says Current Planets.  Knowing when the Moon is in Capricorn is really helpful if you struggle with depression.  The Moon is in its detriment in Capricorn and so it is nice to know when it is passing through this difficult period.  These years while Pluto is in Capricorn the period is even more spiritually challenging.   

It is also good to know when the Moon is in Scorpio, the sign where it is in its fall.  Just this past Friday, the 16 or so hours while Moon was lining up with Saturn in Scorpio were a period of special interest.  Charts for the Moon conjunct Saturn this past Friday night and then Pluto Monday night and Tuesday morn are at the end of this post. 

Notice that Mercury is almost caught up with Saturn, that’s the trickster in the sign of secrets, lining up with the planet of time.  Saturn is existence ruling over the soul, and its symbol is a cross over a crescent.  The cross is existence and the crescent is the soul.  The cross of existence is the limit of only being able to exist in one place at a time.  We cannot physically be in two places at once. Modern astrologers say Saturn is karma.  A short phrase for Mercury meeting Saturn in Scorpio is the trickster meeting karma in the sign of secrets.

It is good to read what you can to learn about the planets, but seeing them in action from day to day is even more therapeutic.  Reading what astrologers or mythology says about planets is like reading a guide of the Appalachian trail, it's hard to believe there is really a spring just beyond such and such a fence on the far side of a field if you never hike the trail and drink from it.   If you follow the planets you get to see for yourself why the myths were invented in the first place. There are more things to look for than conjunctions with worrying planets, but I suggest them first because worry about the future focuses our attention and conjunctions are easy to spot in the chart.  So when you feel like you are climbing a steep spiritual incline, look to see if the Moon is in a mature sign, or near a mature planet.  

I started writing this post last night at about 7pm and now the Moon has passed Pluto.  My trial as usual was giving time to my surrogate grand child.  Just like clock work I did not want to help with school work and stomped down to his house this morn because the guilt would not leave me alone.  He whipped out the assignment in 12 minutes.  No worries.  But the story was all about worry last night and this morn until the business was taken care of.  Moon conjunct Pluto in Capricorn- moving more than mountains of water, moving mortals to help each other out.

I hope people will check out Astro.com.  Scroll down, and on the right side of the home page the Current Planets box will tell you where the planets are at Greenwich Mean Time (which is 5 hours ahead of Raleigh time).  An even better way to watch the Moon is to do a chart for a moment.  On the home page of Astro.com click Free Horoscopes.  

Then click Chart Drawing Ascendent under Horoscope Chart Drawings.   It might look like this:

 Or if the drop down menu gives you fits like it does me, scroll down till you see this (remember you are scrolling down the Free Horoscope page, not the home page):

You do not have to log in.  You do not have to be a registered user.  I use this service all day every day and never log in.  

 Then you should see this:

I typed in a u for the first name.  You can leave last name blank and leave country blank.  When you type in a city it will give you several states to choose from.  Try it!  Then click continue and see your chart for a moment you are curious about!

If you have any problems send me a message or please leave a comment.  Getting a chart from Astro.com should be easy and fast.  These are your planets and you have a right to know where they are. 

 This chart above for Fri night is a good example of the little break times we get during these sobering passages.  There is usually a good bit of doubt and worry when the Moon is near Saturn.  But during the couple of hours that Jupiter is coming up we get a little lift and positive thoughts bubble up for a while.  

I am a firm believer in not expecting anything from the planets.  Just because I see this does not mean you will.  Also, I do not look at the Moon approaching Saturn and expect to be depressed.  But when I am down and see the Moon near Saturn or Pluto it is very comforting.  Then if I notice my thoughts brightening I check to see which planet or sign is rising.  The main thing is to get your mind focused on heaven.  Don't expect heaven to make sense.  Just pay attention to it like it really is an extension of Earth, like it really was there long before we came along.  Just give heaven a little respect and see what happens.  You might find yourself going Wow!  That's why they told all those stories about Jupiter!  

And these are a couple charts for the Moon Monday night and early Tuesday morning.  

Saturn Making Traveling Plans

It is still a month away but since the Moon is in Scorpio (today and tomorrow) let’s talk about Saturn about to get sprung from the darkest circle of hell.  This has been a really tuff time. 

I’ve gone through this before, but let’s go over it one more time.  In fact let’s get real specific.  Jan 1985.  Look at the chart for the wee hours of this morn (Nov 20, 2014) and see Saturn at 26degrees Scorpio.  Then look at the ephemeris grid for Jan 1985 and see Saturn at 26degrees Scorpio. 

A lot of things are different now, aside from the fact that we are all 29 years older than we were the last time Saturn was in the sign of shadowy futures. 

Looking ahead, we see Saturn advance to the next level Dec 24.  It’s got a star around it in the Dec 2014 grid.  But remember there will be a regression to Scorpio in the summer of 2015, just to make sure we get that deep stuff all worked out.  

In the zodiac Scorpio is where the loss that began in Cancer, loss of energy that is, as the Earth’s north pole shifted away from the Sun, the center of our planetary system- -Scorpio is where that loss finally turns around.  It is where the giver finally gets control over the giving.  In the Serious Attention to the Light meditation Cancer is where we first see the outgoing energy, the loss, the giving.  Every sign after that the giving just increases.  In Leo the increase slows down a tad, but the overall generosity is still way up there.  By Virgo the rate of energy loss is reaching plateau, it is like the old Chinese guy in Wild Swans confidently pouring tea to the very lip of the cup without spilling a drop.  In Virgo there is so much experience behind the giving, an unsurpassed knowing of where the next offering should go.  In Libra it is just a banquet, a feast for all.  Libra is the big show of giving before the recession into austerity.  All through Scorpio that outgoing energy is turning around.  The generosity is pulled back.  The seed develops a leathery coating to protect it from the elements.  Who knows where it will go, how it will travel.  The Scorpio period, much like the Aries period, is the stage where plants display characteristics of animals.  In Aries the sprout comes out like a chicken from and egg, and in Scorpio it goes back in.  It says no one is home and suggests supplicants look elsewhere for nourishment.  By itself it is virtually useless.  Unlike the stalk it grew on, it will not perish.  It carries the flame of future life.   In Scorpio the plant no longer offers itself to feed the world. 

 


I've written and talked about this so many times in the last two years, now it is almost time to compose a page about Saturn in Sagittarius.  Almost, but not quite.



The Moon is now in Scorpio. Tomorrow it will contact first Mercury, then Saturn and the Sun.  In the Dec 2014 ephemeris grid above you can see the Moon again in Scorpio on Dec 18; that will be the last foot washing of the fallen leader before the journey through the highlands. 

Of course the planets themselves are not climbing, they are only advancing around the ecliptic.  We are the ones who will climb higher to reach Saturn for the next 2 or 3 years.  

Think back to Jan 1985.  Had someone you admired come down from a pedestal?  Was your perception of them less glowing?  A more honest bond with a mentor or institution is the kind of experience associated with the much longer cycle of Saturn.  With its 29 year orbit Saturn marks the life stages of organisms that survive intact through many cycles of the Earth circling the Sun.  It is perseverance building from one year to the next.  While Saturn is in Scorpio we see how even the best examples of unbowed strength are subject to the forces of nature.  Soon we will see Saturn without the baggage of unyielding conviction.  After such a prolonged period of doubt and uncertainty about the future, whoever or whatever was a revered institution for us will have something better than our admiration.  When we stand with our representative of integrity we have knowledge of their weakness that we once lacked.  We know from experience what they cannot give and our choice to stand by them is based on a better perception of reality.