More about Mars Opposing Pluto

Monday I posted one chart for 1763 showing Pluto in Capricorn and then two showing our current Pluto about to 'return'.

The only people who experience Pluto returns are vampires or any one that lives to be 250; that’s how long it takes Pluto to make a complete circuit around (mostly) the perimeter of the solar system.   

The actual conjunction will occur in 2022, so it may seem premature to be talking about
our Pluto return now.  It may also seem strange that I have posted a USA chart for 3:10 am; right now I can’t remember where I got that time, but I do like to imagine someone finishing up the famous Declaration of Independence in the wee hours of the morning, feeling the incredible exhilaration of taking such a tender diplomatic leap, as venus and Jupiter were about to rise with the sun in Cancer.

But getting back to our nation’s Pluto return; this makes a Saturn return look like a child eating pudding.  Think of how many nations have not even survived to their first Saturn return, much less one of Uranus or Neptune.  We are fortunate in the length of time we have managed to hold together as a nation.

Saturn returns, Pluto returns; what does return mean?  It means a planet has circled all the way around and come back to the place it occupied at a designated moment.  We are taking the Declaration of Independence as the designated moment, with Pluto at 27°♑34’; and looking at an ephemeris (Thank you ASTRONOMERS!!!) to see when Pluto returns to that spot.  (Feb 2022) 

Returns are occasions that mark the repetition of cycles, just like birthdays mark a return to a special day in the year (sun/earth cycle).  So returns are like birthdays, or in the case of slow going Pluto, birth years.  2022 is our Plutonian birth year.

Now we come to the part that makes a lot of people squirm, where we talk about the meaning of Pluto.  Pluto in Greek mythology is the god of the underworld.  The story goes that he felt humans' life spans should be limited so they would have more respect for the gods.  This could be because he got stuck with ruling an obscure and thankless area of experience compared with Jupiter and the rest of the heavenly celebrities.   Can you see why modern astronomers would attach his name to the virtually invisible planet in the farthest reaches of the solar system?  

'The lines were dead.'  'Dead air.'  These are common expressions to indicate a failure in real communication.  This is the signal of the exile; too faint to be visible or audible.  This is the signal coming from distant Pluto, a planet that may as well exist in the middle of the earth considering how little we know about it.  

Monday, I posted charts that highlighted Mars opposing Pluto.  Mars is the will, or the light of the sun rising up through existence; it is animal, animus, or animated mud.  What are animals?  They are something spun out of countless revolutions of the earth the same way plants were, but these organisms animated with the energy that comes from the sun, can travel at will.  That’s mars.  It has nothing to do with following a map or morality or any soulful reflection on the cause and effect of actions.  Just an animal with the will to survive.

So what’s highlighted this month (mars opposing Pluto) is the brute struggle for survival in the face of exile; or we could say the hero (in the sign of the family) opposing the god of mortality (in the sign of institutions).  The other planets have not disappeared.  In fact the moon is visible tonight in the same sign (Capricorn) where Pluto is invisible; and Saturn, bless the souls of Libran’s everywhere, is still highly appreciated in the sign of diplomacy. 

 

Right now, there is a fear that diplomacy is failing because we feel overwhelmed with three planets in Leo stoking the Uranian bonfire in Aries.  The temporary Leonine roar is making it hard to concentrate and take a balanced, critical look at this struggle, which as rational adults we are craving.  On August 22^nd when venus leads the sun and mercury into the sign Virgo, we will see the fireworks calm down a bit and have a chance to begin sorting out the mess; all part of the real gift of still being alive.

One more thing.  Since we are still 10 and 1/2 years away from the actual conjunction between transiting pluto and its position in our national chart, this anxiety about our existence as a nation will continue building for some time.  While the martial peaks will only occur every couple of years, there are other opportunities for stumbling along the way.  Pluto appears to be moving so quickly that Uranus will not complete its square with it until 2015 when there will be three planets in fire signs for the occasion.

Now is the time to learn about the history of governments and come to a better understanding of current events.  Though fortune is indeed fickle, providence favors  prepared minds.

Mars Opposing Pluto

I wonder how many tea party activists know they are a text book example of how astrology works.

In 2009 pluto entered Capricorn, the same sign it occupied in the years leading up to the American Revolution. 

You are probably wondering what the Siege of Fort Pitt has to do with the Tea Party or the American Revolution.  I chose a chart for June 22, 1763 because, like Aug 2009, it is the first time mars opposed Pluto during Pluto’s unbroken transit through Capricorn.  246 years, that’s how long it’s taken Pluto to return to the position it held after the Seven Years War when tensions between the colonists and British authorities began the inexorable build up to the American Revolution.

Pontiac’s Rebellion was a series of attacks made by several banded Native American tribes against British colonial forts soon after the French and British signed the Treaty of Paris.  Many of the Indians in the Ohio Valley fought on the side of the French and did not like the way they were treated by the British colonists.   Meanwhile, the colonists resented the way they were excluded from service in the British war against the French and Indians; and the British resisted the colonists’ drive to expand westward fearing their growing power and the troubles it would stir up with the Native Americans.  As soon as the French were gone there was no common enemy to bond the colonists to the crown and they started to get uppity.

♇ ♇ ♇ ♇ ♇

The tea party movement comes on the plutonian anniversary of the colonists’ drive toward independence.  People all over the world are learning how to govern themselves while fighting to throw off the yoke of oppressive institutions.  This is more than the return of a single planet to a previous moment: note Uranus in Aries in the above chart, another astrological repetition from 1763 that we are experiencing right now.  So the tea party is on schedule, but something does smell fishy.

Below is the chart for Aug 16, 2009 when the protesters were breaking up town hall meetings on the health care bill.  See if you can spot the similarities and differences between the chart for 1763 and the one for 2009.

 

And now, a chart for mars opposing Pluto this month, the second of about 7 mars-Pluto face offs that will occur while Pluto is in Capricorn.

 

Venus Conjunct Sun in Leo

On August 16 venus will be facing us from the far side of the sun, or conjunct the sun, in the sign Leo.

At the same time, mercury will be passing between us and the sun, so that it too will appear conjunct the sun, but retrograde. We will have a tight-as-a-tick cluster of three inner planets in the sign ruled by the ego. 

This will be a vulnerable time for venus, the star of diplomacy, as fairness will be out shined by intractable egos.  Mercury, or the mind, whose function is to contain the knowledge of real existence, will be speaking with a powerful ruler who prefers sunny reports over reality; so this is not a good time for the messenger either.

In world events we will see the same people who in February were successfully challenged by willful crowds, rising in stature before diplomats who have become ignored adornments in flashy window displays.  Messengers who in February had the power of moral stature behind them will be reduced to caricatures. 

I am showing a chart for Aug 17 when the moon, at 5°a58’, is in line with uranus.  Passions built up during these challenging seasons are released on days when the moon is lined up with invested planets.  Uranus is the planet associated with crowds in the streets demanding radical changes in government.  Though the theatrics, for better or worse, will continue through Aug 22; the dramatic peaks will occur Aug 9, 10 when moon is conjunct pluto; Aug 16, 17 (moon conjunct uranus); and Aug 24, 25 when moon lines up with mars opposite pluto.

Regardless of theatrical displays, with mars in cancer the will is currently weak.  We all feel anger and frustration at the institutionalized cruelty of civilization (mars is opposing Pluto in Capricorn) but there is little more we are capable of doing than throwing tantrums for the next couple of weeks.  When venus and sun enter Virgo people will turn once again to the unglamorous facts of real life and we will be back on the path to rational discussions. 

 

One thing we can all do is follow our gut feelings, or respond to the moon, which is currently mar’s dispositor.  When you feel the rising urge to commit an act of kindness, in the face of obstacles which exist in the daily necessities of living, make a note of the time when you overcome the obstacle and cast a chart for that moment.  This will draw you into the philosophical meditations that give astrology its value.

August Horoscopes

Aries:  Two years ago, when mars opposed Pluto as it does this month, angry protesters were shouting down U.S. Senators at town hall meetings for health care reform.  The four way wrestling match then was government versus family crossed by technology facing compassion. (Remember death panels?) Passions will ripen every two years over the theme of family, but the tech/compassion dichotomy has morphed to marriage versus individuality.  Your task is to sniff out the truth and advocate honest debate.   

Taurus:  The party is just warming up, and peaks on the 15^th.   The love you feel among friends will warm your heart for a long time to come.  On the 22^nd, your coach turns into a perfect pumpkin; so, no worries about too much fun.

Gemini:  You’ve got some paper work through the 7^th, and though the pushy presence from last month clears out on the 3rd, Jupiter remains dogging your steps with boring stuff that fascinates neither of you.  He can’t leave you alone, but note how he makes the mundane fun with scathingly brilliant ideas.

Cancer:  When Mark Twain wrote about life as a river boat pilot on the Mississippi, he gave vivid descriptions of whole sections of land swept away by the river from one trip to the next.  Experienced pilots were indispensable as the only people with intimate knowledge of where a boat could get caught and damaged on hidden obstacles.  You will be challenged Aug 9&10, 16&17 and the 25^th to safely navigate strong emotional currents.

Leo:  Anything special happen Aug 2003? Like an amazing friendship, that out of the blue opened your eyes to new horizons?   Something a bit less dramatic is in store for you this month.  It won’t be as unexpected as 2003, but you’ll get plenty of appreciation and a sense of inner peace.  You will also get a nice boost to your idealistic tendencies.

Virgo:   With Jupiter in Taurus since May chances are good you are enjoying some new physical activity this summer.  Exercise gives Virgo a mental jolt that’s just as potent as a good book of philosophy.   You can expect to be faithful to this regimen through next May, so don’t hesitate to take advantage of the continuing opportunities for entertainment this month, especially around the 14^th.   The most spiritual thing a Virgo can do is wear something colorful and radiate pleasure.

Libra:  There is not whiskey in the water; this month people really want to hear what you have to say.  The attention of the audience will peak around the 18^th, but you have until the 21^st and then venus begins her retreat in the nunnery.

Scorpio:  The invitations to converse that tormented you last month will feel like a welcome opportunity to discover new ideas this month.   Mars advances from garrulous Gemini to prostrate Cancer, where it is weak as a critically wounded warrior.  So why do I expect this month to be easier?  Scorpio frowns on recreational conversation like society censors sex and death; but enjoys discussing the transformative power of strong emotions.

Sagittarius:   The only way to study the wheel of fortune is to board it like a carnival ride and spin until your time is up; watching others scream with delight is like reading the math book before the test instead of picking up a pencil and solving the equations.  This month you explore how people stash the fickle mover’s blessings with the amused perspective of a true philosopher.

Capricorn:   These really are hard times for Capricorn and this month the passions are peaking.  (See dates in Cancer.)  Hold your head high and know that no matter what is taken from you, you will come out stronger.   Dignity is yours; exercise your power to choose it.

Aquarius:  Whatever brought confusion and a sense of unreality to your life, from 1998 through this past March, returns Aug 4 and stays until January for a reflective epilogue. Meanwhile, your sense of humor and ability to command the audience’s attention will work diplomatic wonders.

Pisces:  You should be to the point now where you can talk about the drama instead of dealing with it.  With venus and mercury meeting the sun in Leo (Aug 16^th is the big day) it’s a good time to add some entertaining hyperbole to the telling of your adventures.  We could so use some twisted fairy tales.

Mechanics of the Chart

The chart has a fixed inner  wheel divided into twelve parts, called houses, and an outer wheel (bottom figure) which rotates clockwise around the houses every 24 hours.

The outer revolving circle is the zodiac.

.   The twelve signs of the zodiac cross the ascendent every 24 hours

Every time we see the bowl of sky rotate once from east to west, we see the sun step one degree in the opposing direction.  (There are 360° in the zodiac; twelve signs of 30°each.)   In the northern hemisphere we see the ecliptic in the southern sky, so, unlike road maps, east is on the left and west on the right:  the sun rises on the left side of the horizon, ascends through houses 12-10 to the midheaven at noon, and sets on the right side of the chart (west) in the evening.

Think of all the planets as being attached to the outer wheel as it rotates around the inner wheel of houses.  

In the hand drawn chart above, 4°♋45’ is coming up on the eastern horizon and the sun is at 25°♒58’ in the 8^th house.  If I had made the post 4 hours later, the sun would have been about to set (followed by Neptune, the moon and venus). When I did publish the post at 1:44pm, Pluto was setting.  

Pluto has been in Capricorn since 2009 and will not cross into Aquarius until 2023; it's a very distant object that takes a long time to orbit the sun.

A 5:44 publishing time would have put 24°♌43’ rising, and mars, instead of being in the first house, would have been above the horizon in the last house.

 

In the four hours after I published my first post, Mars rose, Mercury set, the Sun advanced to two minutes behind Neptune, and the Moon went from 3°Pisces 09’ to 5°Pisces 07’ and overtook Venus.

Why Planets go through the Last House First

You might wonder why Sun and the other planets go backwards through the houses; in other words why is the 12^th house the first place we see the Sun when it rises?  Shouldn’t it be called the first house?

Actually houses are a relatively modern addition to astrology charts.  Originally the planets were spaced out around a square page more or less in a circle with their zodiac signs and sometimes the degree of the sign indicated.  Houses come from the Greek ‘topoi’ which in old manuscripts could mean a couple of things.

In one usage, a planet was ‘located’ a certain number of signs from another planet, for instance the Sun in Aquarius is the 7^th sign from Mars in Leo.  This is usually translated as the Sun being in Mar’s 7^th mansion or 7^th house.  The second way ‘topoi’ is seen used is where we get the modern concept of houses;  locating a planet a certain number of signs from the ascendant.  In the Birth of a Blog chart the Aquarian Sun is in the 8^th sign from the Cancer Ascendent  (counting Cancer as the first).  Another way to think of it is that Aquarius will be the 8^th sign to rise after Cancer.   We went from a sign being located 8^th in line to ascend, in manuscripts before the Renaissance, to a sign covering the 8^th house in the modern chart.

If you find this difficult to understand you are not alone.  All you have to do is go to the Astrodienst  Extended Chart Selection area for picking the kind of house division system you want to use- the 15 choices listed will give you an idea of just how unsettled the modern concept of houses is. 

The thing to remember is that houses indicate the order in which things appear above the ascendant.   As soon as a planet or sign rises it goes to the back of the line and must follow the rest of the wheel around before it can show itself again on the eastern horizon. 

For more on houses with a couple of example charts go to Houses