Saturn Aspecting Pluto, Times of Major Change

Well, we recently finished the triple square of Saturn and Pluto 11/15-16/2009 (both direct at 1 degree 43 minutes), 2/1/2010 (Saturn Retrograde, Pluto Direct at 4 degrees 21 minutes), and 8/21-22/2010 (Saturn Direct, Pluto Retrograde at 2 degrees 55 minutes).  Robert Hand says of this transit, "you may find it very difficult to make the changes in the world you would like to make. [...] Sometimes the experience of this transit is much like struggling against chains that hold you down." (Hand, Planets In Transit, 360).  At the level of the United States chart I think we clearly saw this problem in the very poor legislation that passed for Health Care and Financial Reform.  Change was certainly needed, but resisted, so our nation came away with a half-hearted attempt at reform.  Hand continues to say, "Of all the Saturn squares, this one most requires that  you get rid of the dead and useless structures." (360)  Well, that didn't happen; at least not in any controlled, higher vibration way.  We certainly saw a number of banks fail and social programs snuffed out.  Businesses restructured by going out of business, but these were handled by the forceful nature of Pluto and not the conscious choice of leadership.  The shrinking that was done did not alter the fundamental structure of banking or business, which is what this transit really wanted to activate.

On a personal level, during this time, in the areas active in your chart, you should have felt the same kind of energy.  For myself and my partner Betsy, we decided to look seriously into intentional communities and even put our house up for sale.  We were definitely ready to "chuck it all" and go with the Pluto transformation., but as you can guess, it was the worst time to try to make a move of this kind.  The binding chain was actually our mortgage, now even more restrictive in a plunging real estate market.  In the end, the universe had a different plan, which we were both open to and happy to accept.  To put the house on the market we cleaned it out and had three entirely empty rooms, just enough space for a friend from high school and her 3 daughters to move in with us this past June.  Now our home (and the structure of our life) is getting its "full use" and we could not be happier.

Saturn and Pluto, to put it bluntly, kick us in the ass when they join forces.  That is most apparent when the two transiting energy points are conjunct, a transit approaching all of us January 13, 2020 at 22 degrees 45 minutes of Capricorn.  This transiting conjunction will be quickly followed by tSaturn conjunct nPluto on February 24, 2020.  Both energies will be direct and will only conjunct once.  Again, quoting Hand, "this transit often causes financial problems or other kinds of shortages." (359).  In the section on this transit, he talks about restrictions from government (police state, increased taxation, fewer services).  Whatever the particular results, the transformation will come through restriction or limits, and it will apply, if using the Sibley US chart, in the area of Values, Needs, and Personal Resources (2nd House).  The belt tightening will peak or hit bottom, depending on your metaphor during the years before and after the exact conjunction.  In a materialistic society, this information probably does not sound very good, but it is so very necessary and offers a real opportunity to look past material concerns and into the hearts of our spirituality and connections with others.  This transit will provide a great shake down.

On a personal level, I can attest to the massive change this combination brings about.  In my life I have had two Saturn transits over my Natal Pluto.  Both times the transit occurred three times thanks to Retrograde motion that threw tSaturn across my nPluto on 10/8/1979, 4/27/1980, 6/17/1980, 11/28/2008, 2/4/2009, and 8/14/2009.  In each span of time I experienced fundamental and massive changes, the most recent a spiritual awakening that really forced me to come to a nearly dead stop in my life (anxiety strong enough to simulate a heart attack and send me to the hospital in September of 2009).  The 1979 to 1980 period brought me from Massachusetts to North Carolina in the fall of 1980 at the age of 12.  Below are the three charts of that period of time (click to enlarge):

The other energy points playing strong roles during this time included  tJupiter conjunct nJupiter (1st Jupiter Return), tPluto conjunct nMoon, tChiron conjunct nMars, and pMoon moving over my Aries Stellium.  I remember the significance of this move because it brought us back to the state where our family lived (both sets of grandparents lived in Winston-Salem, NC) and (though, not known at this time) I entered a Junior High School and High School (Southeast Guilford) that I would attend from 7th grade until 12th grade, the first time I stayed in a school for more than 1 or 2 years.  The Jupiter Return meant the end of a cycle of expansion and the beginning of a new cycle of expansion.  In short, it was a BIG year for me.

In 2008 and 2009, the seeds were being sown for a mental breakdown, which finally occurred on August 28, 2009, just 14 days after the last tSaturn conjunct nPluto.  During this time the powerful energy connections running parallel included my Uranus Opposition, described by Barbara Hand Clow as the natural time of Kundalini Rising.  Since I was ill-prepared for the energies of this time, I was basically "struck down" (Uranus) and reduced to a small, confined space (basically my home), as I was unable to get out much without overwhelming anxiety.  As I have worked through the energy, I have now come to label my experience as a Spiritual Awakening instead of a mental breakdown, even though breaking down was what I need to wake up spiritually.  Below are the three charts for the three conjunctions (click image to enlarge):

As you can see my pMoon is once again traveling through all of Aries, entering Taurus just before my shift.  tJupiter, tChiron, and tNeptune are all conjunct in my house of Family and the Deep Self (4th).  tPluto and pAscendant are conjunct in my 2nd House, reshaping my Values and Needs.  The journey to explore intentional communities became intense as I felt the strong urge to get away.  I think I was also feeling the tremendous shift worldwide as the economic crisis began a tremendous awakening process.  If you want to know about a time of powerful change in your life, and the life of nations, look to the times of the tSaturn over nPluto to see what they were.

In the US chart, the conjunction previously occurred in January of 1991, generally considered the year the Cold War ended (click image to enlarge).

As you can see from the chart, the other key energy in play included tSaturn conjunct tNorth Node and tChiron conjunct nPart of Fortune.  This time was one of the recorded recessions in the US, occurring: "After the lengthy peacetime expansion of the 1980s, inflation began to increase and the Federal Reserve responded by raising interest rates from 1986 to 1989. This weakened but did not stop growth, but some combination of the subsequent 1990 oil price shock, the debt accumulation of the 1980s, new banking regulations following the S&L Crisis and growing consumer pessimism combined with the weakened economy to produce a brief recession." (Wiki List of US Recessions).  Pressures from other energies did not and will not match the kinds of pressure we will see in January and February of 2020, when tSaturn, tPluto, tJupiter, and pMoon will all be approaching or conjunct nPluto that year!  Progressed Ceres, tLilith, and tChiron will be conjunct in Aries in the 5th House and pSun, pVesta, and tNeptune will be conjunct in Pisces in the 4th! Much ado about something in 2020.

Making Sense of Aspecting Transits - Saturn and Pluto

Your birth chart represents a snapshot of the energy points in the sky at the time of your birth.  When you took your first breath, you initiated a new consciousness into the drama of the universe, carrying that snapshot energy with you throughout your life time. As the universe continues to unfold the cycles of energy impact your birth story through moments of energetic impact when the energy points of today align by certain angles (aspects) with the energy points of your birth chart.  When you are around the age of 7, Saturn in the sky would have been approximately 90 degrees from your birth Saturn position.  So, if you had Saturn at 5 degrees of Aries when you were born, then at 7 Saturn would be at 5 degrees of Cancer.  It would have transitioned from your birth to the current location at the time of 7 years of age.  An astrologer would say, "Transiting Saturn is square your Natal Saturn."  Transits are extremely important because they alert us to key moments in life when energy is spiking for us and how we can face the particulars of the energy spike.

At times, two transiting energy points can form their own aspect, as happened recently when Saturn in Libra was square (90 degrees from) Pluto in Capricorn.  Saturn is the energy of restriction, the past, and rules.  Pluto is the energy of transformation.  So its not hard to imagine that when these two energy points align by aspect there is some serious energy spikes occurring.  Saturn resists change and Pluto brings about change.  And Pluto is STRONGER.  Change, as the paradox goes, is the one constant in the universe.  When Pluto initiates a change by entering a new house and sign, the world and the individual are forced to take notice.  Pluto entered Capricorn in January of 2008 ... notice anything?  And in the US chart that meant that Pluto entered the 2nd house, the home of personal wealth, needs, and values.  Capricorn is about paying dues, and guess which energy point rules Capricorn ... Saturn!  With Pluto in Saturn's sign we can expect fundamental changes to our most long standing and long lasting structures.  The claim that anything in this world is "too big to fail" is hubris in the face of life's ever changing and evolving energy.

So what can happen when Saturn and Pluto connect energy via the energy cord of an aspect?  Old structures begin to crumble in order for new structures to emerge.  However, as with any process involving these or any other energy points, there is always a continuum of negative to positive expression.  Saturn's positive expression is "the right structure or rule at the right time."  Its negative expression is "to resist change at all costs."  Pluto's positive expression is to embrace necessary change and help facilitate it.  Its negative expression is to manipulate change for subversive or selfish gain.  The change, however, is going to happen.  Keeping in mind the positive/negative expression of energy, let's look at three aspects between these two energy points that started in November 2009 (with Saturn/Libra square Pluto Capricorn) and that will end March 2020 (with Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn).  During this transit period, both energy points will oppose the US Venus, Jupiter, Sun, and Mercury.  As a nation we will be facing some of the most fundamental and structural changes of our history.

From November 2009 to October of 2010, we have felt the influence of Saturn and Pluto squaring one another.  Squaring energy is highly conflicted and difficult to manage because the two players involve very different kinds of energy.  In this case, the air energy of Libra and the earth energy of Capricorn are both trying to take the lead and have control.  As I stated earlier, Pluto is stronger, so the Plutonian drive has the greater impact on reality.  Consider the financial crisis; the government and private sector attempted Librian solutions (tax credits, bailouts, new financial rules); however, they did not do so in the spirit of the deep change brought on by Pluto in Capricorn.  They have tried to save the system that caused the problem and hope to revive it in the nearly same form as it was leading up to the problem.  They have played a language game (Air, communication), calling this shift a recession instead of a depression, and talking about slow growth instead of steady contraction and shrinkage.  They are trying to use laws to keep the existing system in place (bonuses for CEOs, increasing the size of the few remaining big banks, transferring tax money to debt institutions).  The square provided an opportunity and, I think, we saw essentially the negative expression of both Saturn and Pluto in our leadership.

The positive expression would have possibly looked something like this: only fixed loans would be available for new home purchases and new buyers would have to come with 20% to closing.  Bad loans would fail and properties seized and transitioned onto the market, causing a nearly 50% drop in home values (or a return to basically the tax value of a home).  Derivative markets would be closed; the stock market would be closed and only private investment would be allowed.  Banks would no longer be usury institutions.  Lobbyists would be removed from contact with political leaders.  That's the kind of radical change in structure that is possible with this energy in play.  We are a nation overburdened with debt and it is beginning to unwind and piling more debt on top will not bring about fiscal health.

Up next will be a sextile or 60 degree relationship between Saturn and Pluto beginning in December of 2012 until October of 2013.  This relationship is more harmonious than the square and will involve an interesting situation called mutual reception.  Saturn will be at 9 degrees of Scorpio when Pluto is at 9 degrees of Capricorn.  The energy points will mutually receive each other because they will be in the ruling sign of the other: Saturn rules Capricorn where Pluto will be and Pluto rules Scorpio where Saturn will be.  They will each receive energy from the sign placement of the other that will amp up their energies.  Pluto in this case will be even stronger than during the square when it was connecting with Librian energy instead of Scorpionic energy.  Now again there will be a chance to express positive or negative energy in helping to use structure to facilitate change.  Now we have Saturn in the sign of deep truth, emotional commitment, and transformation.  Pluto will still be chugging along with the unwinding of our world and US economy, but now Saturn will show and see the New Normal for what it is and will be.  Major institutions will again face a chance to make significant changes in line with the Plutonian transformation or ... bury our heads even deeper in the sand and grab what power we can in our respective roles and lives.

Note that this transit aspect will be in full swing after the next US Presidential election.  The first 6 months of the new President will either show great courage or intense fear.  We will get either Churchill/FDR/Lincoln or Mussolini/Hitler/Stalin.  This time will set the tone for the biggest transit aspect of them all, the conjunction, when the energies actually merge and show us the new structures for the next 35 to 40 years.  Saturn/Pluto were conjunct in 1947 and 1982.  Consider the shifts of American power for both of those times shortly after (our rise to power as one of the superpowers and then our move to become the lone superpower).  With these two energies conjuncting nearly opposite the US Sun, those of us living in this country can expect a full reckoning of our nation's activities.  If we arrive at that time as a nation in deep debt, we may find ourselves "bankrupt" and out of options.  If we arrive having made significant changes asked of us by Pluto that require new structures and, in all likelihood, new frugality and humility, then we will continue to be a nation that leads in this world.  We have a lot of work to do between now and 2020.  Some of the work will be foisted upon us by newly emerging realities (resource shortages, deflation of assets, limited work opportunities, a large aging population, overpopulation), which will require some very honest assessments and innovative problem solving (fortunately, Uranus will be in Aries and again we will have an opportunity to express/leverage the positive energy of this transit).  And, as it so happens, Uranus and Pluto will be square from 2012 to 2015.

If you are alive now, then you have chose to be born in one of the most dramatic and exciting times in human history.  We may easily surpass both World Wars, The Great Depression, and the Revolutions of the 60s in this next 10 years alone.  We could make a massive leap forward or backwards; it will all depend on our intentions, our thoughts, and our actions.  I am glad you are all here sharing the journey with me. 

Cycles and Patterns in Astrology

Astrology is filled with cycles and patterns.  Every energy point makes its way around the circle of the horoscope.  A birth chart, whether a person's birth or the birth of an event (the day you got married, opened your business, the US declared its independence), marks a starting point in the infinite cycles of the universe.  When I was born, my Sun began its journey at 23 degrees of the sign of Aries.  And every year, though not exactly at the same time on the same day (the universe is circular, but not precise), the Sun will return to 23 degrees Aries and I will have experienced one solar cycle.  At the time of this writing, I have experienced 42 solar cycles.  Other energy points move more slowly.  Saturn, for example, does not completely cycle from my birth until 28 to 30 and I will not live to see my Pluto cycle (247ish years).  The US, on the other hand, will and in fact, right now, is experience its first Pluto cycle, referred to in astrological terms as a Return.  Every energy point Returns to its original degree and restarts the cycle anew.   My Solar Return occurred last year (April 12, 2009) on the same day as my birth (April 12) at 8:48PM (pretty close to my birth time of 9:39PM).  My first Saturn Return (hopefully I'll live past 60 and have two Saturn Returns in my life) occurred in May of 1997 when I was 29.

Returns are very important because they represent "renewal with knowledge."  Every year of my Solar Return I add new knowledge and experience, which, hopefully, I convert to wisdom.  Each energy point is a source of certain kinds of wisdom.  The Sun is the energy of our Life Path and it make sense for this energy to re-cycle yearly while the rest of the energies of the chart take longer.  Saturn teaches us about restrictions and limitations and the first Return often requires us to evaluate our lives to see if all the key elements are on track or not (work, relationship, health, and so on).  Saturn likes to follow the conservative path; so in the first cycle we can often find ourselves living lives handed down by our family and our culture instead of ones we chose from our inner guidance.  If those two "realities" clash, we will either begin the unwinding process (divorce if a marriage is involved, moving if living in the wrong place is involved, a change of career if we're doing the wrong work) or we will do our best to keep the square peg going into the round hole, but we will now forever know that the peg and the hole do not match.  If you want to get a good measure of Astrology and its usefulness for yourself, then consider getting or casting your charts ahead of the cycles of your energy points:

• Sun - Yearly
• Moon (if you want to keep a Moon journal) - approximately every 28 days (13 times a year)
• Mercury - Yearly (more or less; it has an erratic orbit)
• Venus - Yearly
• Mars - every 2 years
• Jupiter - 12 years
• Saturn - 29 1/2 years
• Chiron - 50 years
• Uranus - 84 years
• Neptune - 166 years
• Pluto - 247 years

Not everyone will make it to a Uranus Return and no one will see their Neptune or Pluto Returns.  It is, however, well worth it to cast charts looking back (if certain returns have already past, say a couple of Jupiter Returns) or forward to key Returns.  If you want to delve deeper into your chart, you can look at key angular relationships that occur between the start and conclusion of a Return - 2 squares and 1 opposition.  These angular relationships are important markers in the journey of the Return, when the energy point conjuncts itself and Returns to its origin degree.  In the case of my Saturn, the Return or 0 point of the 360 degree cycle is 16 degrees Aries.  Along the way around, Saturn will be at 90 degrees, then 180 degrees, then 270 degrees from the 0 point and exert serious energy on itself at those times.  In our life times that means roughly 7 to 8 years old, 14 to 15 years old, and 21 to 22 years old.  See any significant pattern in your own life with those times in terms of your personal and our cultural development?  How about 3, 6, and 9 (the square, opposition, square of Jupiter)?  Chiron ignites itself at 12 to 13, 24 to 25, and 35 to 36?

For each of us, these returns and other connects are significant and for many of us certain of these energy returns and connections are extremely important depending on the configuration of the energies in our charts.  Saturn is a massive player in my chart because it is right next to my North Node which is right next to my Sun and (on the other side) right next to my Mercury which is right next to my Venus.  As you can imagine any time Saturn squares, opposes, and squares again I get a big energetic hit on my chart.  My next super infusion of energy from Saturn will occur in September of 2011 when it will oppose from Libra at 16 degrees.  The meaning of that energetic relationship will be defined by the nature of a opposition, which is to find balance, and its placement by Sign (Libra) and House (12th - Spirituality).  I will be working to balance my Spiritual (12th House) affairs with my Work and Service (6th House) affairs using the energy of Analysis and Decision-Making (Libra) and my birth energy of Action (Aries).  When squares occur, you face energy of challenge and disruption from the energy point.  Your Jupiter challenges itself at the ages of 3 and 9, 15 and 21.  And so on with the energy points that Return throughout your life time.

Since Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto have such large cycles and you may not (Uranus) and will not (Neptune/Pluto) experience the Returns, the squares and oppositions become important.  As you begin to get a feel for the 1st Square, Opposition, 2nd Square, Return pattern, you will also begin to see overlap at key times.  Take the age of 21 for example.  You get both the 2nd Saturn Square and 2nd 2nd Jupiter Square (that's not a typo ... Jupiter is in its second Return cycle so the 2nd Square of that 2nd cycle falls in the same year as the 1st 2nd Square of your Saturn cycle).  For this reason, certain ages in our lives are "amplified" astrologically speaking.  With Uranus, you get your 1st Square at, yes, 21.  21 one is a big deal!!  The Opposition occurs at 40 to 42 and the 2nd Square at 61 to 63 (just on the heels of your 2nd Saturn Return).  Your 1st Neptune Square is around 42 ... yes, look out for 42, its a barn burner! and the Opposition occurs in the mid-80s of life.  The one major Pluto on Pluto relationship is the 1st Square somewhere between 47 and 55 (a wide range because of its elongated orbit).  It will fall for some right at the same time as your Chiron Return; make sure your seat belt is fastened if that's the case.

Astrology is a tool for use and reuse in  your life.  If you want to understand your story, looking back if you are well into life (say past 35) or looking forward (perhaps a teenager who has found astrology or a parent looking in on your child), then there are predictable key times to have charts cast (or cast forward for those times).  Below is the timing list worth casting (approximate time ranges 1 to 2 years around the time listed):

• 12 years old (1st Jupiter Return, 1st Chiron Square)
• 14/15 years old (2nd 1st Jupiter Square, Saturn Opposition)
• 21 years old (2nd Saturn Square, 1st Uranus Square, 2nd 2nd Jupiter Square)
• 25 (Chiron Opposition)
• 28/29 (Saturn Return)
• 35/36 (2nd 1st Saturn Square, 3rd Jupiter Return)
• 37/38 (2nd Chiron Square)
• 41/42 (Uranus Opposition, 1st Neptune Square, 3rd 1st Jupiter Square)
• 48 (4th Jupiter Return)
• 50 (Chiron Return, 1st Pluto Square)
• 60 (2nd Saturn Return, 5th Jupiter Return)
• 62/63 (2nd Uranus Square)

A professional Astrologer can look at your birth chart and identify other key hot spots in the story of your life as well as tell you which energy points play the more significant role.  For some of us, it may be Saturn is at the top of the list, for others it may be Neptune.  Some people may have charts where several energy points vie for positions of dominance.  Astrology really is your personal story unfolding.