Introduction to Saturn Pluto

Hey, I’m back.

It’s been a while since I wrote any astrology and there is so much to catch up on but let’s start with the most important stuff first.

The really big news is that there is a meeting of planets early next year in the sign of Capricorn. Those two planets are Saturn and Pluto, we still consider Pluto a planet in astrology. Saturn takes around 30 years to make it around the zodiac and Pluto takes nearly 250, they are building towards a conjunction, which happens on the 12th of January next year. That is just over three months away. Although the pressure of this aspect will build in the coming months we have been “in the zone” of this energy for a while.

We can consider ourselves most definitely in the zone between now and then.

The last time these two planets got together was 1982. That is nearly 40 years ago. This is a rare event – a once in a generation event – and in astrology the rarer something is the more meaningful it is.

Saturn – Pluto meetings are important markers in history. They usually coincide with what the wider culture calls an era.

For example, ever heard of the phrase “post-911 era”? Well, 911 coincided with Saturn opposed Pluto nearly 20 years ago, halfway through the cycle. The last conjunction in 1982 happened at the beginning of the Reagan era, we call it Thatcherism in England; the right-wing neoliberal revolution that finally put the kibosh on the counterculture movements of the 60s and 70s.

Sounds like a bit of a bummer energy … but energy that we seem to be living in now, right? We are currently living in a world where radical right wing politics seem to be the norm and it feels as though there isn’t much we can do about it. Trump, the ridiculousness that is Brexit, far-right parties gaining prominence across Europe and the rest of the world. The End of the fucking World that “business as usual” neoliberal capitalism is seemingly set on bringing about.

I think one of the great lessons astrology has to teach is how wider events in history and the world are symbolically intertwined with each of our personal feelings and struggles. How does it feel to be alive right now? How have the last couple of years felt inside of you?

For me personally, and from what I can tell from many people who I interact with, there appears to be this rising tension. A kind of intractable pressure, like our time is running out and we still have so much to get done, and seemingly no time in which to do it. Stuck between various obligations, responsibilities and time-sinks the things that really matter are the things that seem just out of our grasp.

One of the other great lessons of astrology is showing how rich and deep symbolic set-ups can be. Saturn – Pluto may at first seem all doom and gloom, however, there are positive outcomes and energies within this symbolism. One of them is realising what is important and working tirelessly, overcoming obstacles and making deep transformational changes to yourself and your life that seemed impossible just a few months ago. Who do you really want to be? What do you really want to do? What really matters to you?

It’s still not an easy energy, something people often come to astrology looking for, but it is an energy that says: “Change is gonna happen whether you like it or not, but if you really put the work in you will reap the benefits for decades to come.”

It may not be something that is particularly pleasant to hear – especially in the current climate – but it’s a real opportunity that will not only benefit you personally, but the whole world.

Seeing as she is in the news so much right now, it is worth taking Greta Thunberg as today’s Saturn – Pluto mascot. When she was born her Sun and her Moon were in Capricorn right around where Saturn and Pluto are right now. In a way she is experiencing the energy of this aspect about as much as anyone can.

She has shouldered the seemingly insurmountable challenge of taking on the establishment, the powers that be and demanding change. She is a force to be reckoned with. She understands the critical state of our world and cannot believe that no one is doing anything about it. Rather than waiting for someone else to do something she has taken on the responsibility to do it herself.

One part of the reason why the right-wing has gained so much ground in the last few years and why our society seems so utterly incapable of doing anything about the climate crisis, is due to us all being lulled into this kind of digital stupor. As we have been staring into the blue-light of our phones and computer screens a shadow has been growing around us. Saturn and Pluto represent the necessary step of facing that shadow. This is not easy work, but it is necessary work and anyone who takes on the task of facing their shadow will be rewarded.

This is not hippy hyperbole, in fact it is anything but “love and light and positivity”, it is facing the parts of ourselves that we so ingeniously hide from our waking consciousness, from day to day, week to week and year to year. There is often a lot of uncomfortable stuff to work through in there, but there is often beautiful stuff too that we don’t believe ourselves capable of until we face our negative thoughts. There are blind spots of our personality that we are only partially aware of, or in some cases completely unaware of. The reward of doing the work is personal transformation, we will come out of this process stronger, more resilient and most importantly more ourselves. 

And as each one of us goes through this process, either consciously and voluntarily or dragged kicking and screaming, so does the society around us. Greta Thunberg is what the process looks like done voluntarily. Trump is what it looks like to go kicking and screaming into the future and resisting the changes that we all know are so needed. There is a better way, but it may not be as easy, and there certainly isn’t an app for it.

And if it all sounds like too much hard work; take Greta as inspiration. She is taking it upon herself to face the shadow of our society. If each of us take on the task of just facing our own shadows, we will all be making her job a little easier and the world a little more wonderful to live in.

All the best.

I’ll be back soon very soon with more.