The Pluto in Virgos Take Position and Pluto Square Pluto for the Pluto in Libra Generation

New Catalytic Position for the Pluto in Virgos

Throughout 2012, potent transits are placing members of the Pluto in Virgo generation in new catalytic position as the Transition Team out of the structural set-ups currently held in place by Pluto in Leos (born 1937 to 1957), now entering retirement and semi-retirement.

Certain members of the Pluto in Virgo generation are working, literally, to change (Pluto) the system (Virgo). Others are doing their damnedest to support and lock down more of the same male-dominated hierarchy and illegitimacy in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Recall that there is a whole crop of current Global Governors with natal Pluto in Virgo (born 1956 to 1972), with many more clamouring to rise within the ranks, and they all have their prudent and practical plans (always involving many, many sacrificial lambs) out of the chaos we so conveniently find ourselves in.

Members of the Pluto in Virgo generation are responsible, in part, for analyzing and addressing deep, systemic dysfunction. Virgo is a sign with a highly-sensitive responsiveness, and it generally requires the same in return. As we are currently working within Pluto in Capricorn structures almost entirely unresponsive and non-adaptive to input, the difficulties for this generation are clearly apparent.

The Pluto in Virgos who would like to see a free humanity and improved living conditions on this planet will work to create new systems, transforming human work out of current variations of drudgery, slavery, toxicity, and eroding inhumanity and into something meaningful, integrated, and healthful. The true transformative power (Pluto) of the workers (Virgo) comes to the forefront with this generation.

True-to-the-core members of this generation are assigned the task of applying holistic principles to our ways of doing things, especially in work and business. A tall order. They have the immense job of bringing the lofty, often theoretical, and mostly dissipated (or at least latent) ideals of the 1960s into concrete, practical, functioning reality, and if any generation has the specialized skills to do this, it's Pluto in Virgo.

As stated, individuals and groups from this generation will be embedded in new catalytic position within the systems beginning this year - or within systems of their own creation. However, as is always the case with Pluto, only a rare few will go as deep as is truly necessary, penetrating to the core of the dysfunction and dishonesty, rather than wasting time and effort on more superficial, diversionary layers.

The Pluto in Virgos work the Virgo-Pisces polarity, and the efforts of a good many will, unfortunately, be swallowed by a sea of Piscean distraction, illusion, and dead ends as Neptune in Pisces opposes their natal Plutos over the next 14 years.

Many will squander their effectiveness by working to reform around the edges systems and structures that need to be completely gutted and reworked. Others will focus on perfecting their personal lives from privileged positions with little progress made as far as broader, sociological understanding and change. Many will refuse to deepen a real transition out of the current structural set-ups, continuing to wield power and control in similar ways and reinforcing the same pyramid schemes with, again, small reforms around the edges.

Many more will remain caught up in the New Age paradigm - or whatever they decide to call it now - erroneously believing they are working for real change, when, in fact, they are reinforcing and feeding energy into more of the same meaningless and illegitimate hierarchical control.

There's still a lot of guru-itis in this generation - it's just a little more on the down low than the Pluto in Leo version.

A rare few, though, will really get the job done, applying soul-directed, life-supporting efforts with laser-like precision and efficacy and peeling away the detritus keeping things dysfunctional. These are the real movers and shakers of the Pluto in Virgo generation. These Pluto in Virgos are not going to fall back on the quick fix of slash-and-burn sacrificial lambs, preached by their less skillful members. No mass kill-offs are required to put their plans into action.

It's always so nice and clean to just sever the problematic issues/people from the scene altogether, isn't it? Creating your own little "enlightened" bubble realities from positions of social privilege. It reminds me of the sentiment that arose that "Occupy Wall Street was so fun and rosy and ideal until all those yucky, mentally ill homeless people started showing up and mucking it up."

(Reality check, assholes. It's about more than your ideals and your amputated version of "community." Those mentally ill homeless people have the most to be upset about as far as your cause goes. Your scope should have widened to include them, rather than making them pesky irritations that ruined your good time.)

With Neptune in Pisces opposing the natal Pluto in Virgos over the next 14 years, missing the point altogether will be a common theme. A sanitized and superficial version of reality, including only those aspects considered manageable, will be put forth regularly.

It's only the rare few Pluto in Virgos who will refuse that superficiality and really work with what's before them. These people understand the real meaning of Pisces and put it into action. They get that every piece matters, that nothing and no one is expendable, and that a plan that doesn't work with every bit of it is a pretty poor plan, indeed.

For a long while, masses of people have understood that something is fundamentally wrong - many somethings. They just didn't know what to do about it. With the potent "fixer solver" Pluto in Virgos gaining influence, gears start turning and grand-scale practical avenues start opening. Solutions can start to become accessible en masse, rather than to the specialized and privileged few.

Pluto Square Pluto for the Pluto in Libra Generation

With Pluto transiting Capricorn, the Pluto in Libra generation (born 1972 to 1984) is experiencing transiting Pluto in Capricorn square natal Pluto in Libra at various times from 2008 to 2024.

All Pluto generations experience this Pluto square Pluto transit. The Pluto in Virgo generation was the last to experience it as Pluto transited Sagittarius (1995 - 2008). The Pluto in Leos experienced it as Pluto transited Scorpio (1983 - 1995), and the Pluto in Cancers experienced it as Pluto transited Libra (1971 - 1983).

An interesting point about the current crop of people on the planet, written about by astrologer Erin Sullivan, is that the Pluto in Leo through Pluto in Sagittarius generations experience this transiting square at a younger age than both previous generations and generations yet to come.

Our feet are being held to the Plutonic alchemical fire in our late 30s to late 40s, whereas other Pluto generations both past and future experience it in their late 50s to early 90s.

As the Pluto in Virgos move into new position this year, individuals from the Pluto in Libra generation will be coming to the table to catalyze a new social structure, bringing their own special brand of social justice, which, with Pluto in the sign of relationship, is not always a socially pleasant brand.

With the cardinal Grand Crosses (2011-2014) along with the ongoing square series between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn (2012 - 2015) occurring at the time of their Pluto square Pluto transit, members of the Pluto in Libras - responsible, in part, for transformation into right human relations - are propelled into new social leadership capacity. From September 18, 2011: New Social Authority For the Pluto in Libra Generation and Blazing the Plutonic Trail Through Relationship Constructs Past

Certain members of the Pluto in Libra generation will be placed quite immediately within new positions of long-term influence and social authority - both legitimate and illegitimate.

Again, Pluto can be used to move into legitimate forms of power but it can just as easily, probably more easily, be used to reinforce and continue the current violent, coercive, inhumane, and unjust forms. Pluto is both liberator and oppressor.

Many Pluto in Libras, as with those in generations both preceding and following, will take their places within the current illegitimacy, reinforcing a social structure and forms of leadership that maintain the power of the dominant paradigm.

The Charming and Bullshitty Politico/Celebrity Type with gleaming, bleached-and-bonded teeth will be played to a fine art within the Pluto in Libra generation by both men and women. And there will be a new focus: the Charming and Bullshitty Politico/Celebrity Couple. We'll be getting double teamed on the charm and bullshit front. A false egalitarian Aquarian facade mixed with potent Pluto in Libra social literacy will be used to maintain a smoothly-functioning status quo while the real issues remain seething, unaddressed and unresolved, underneath.

Social prowess, attractiveness, popularity, and connections will be primary weapons of control. The ability to create and drive obsessive social trends, tapping into Aquarian era technological and virtual reality desires, will continue as a major source of social engineering power over the masses. The use of beauty to enchant, entrance, manipulate, and dominate will go to extremes. New allegiances and alliances, making for shiny photo ops, will sustain oppressive and regressive regimes of all levels. Flash, flash, flash go the cameras, creating false memories, false history, a very pretty and touching manufactured reality of important moments, indeed.

Those fighting for real relational change and justice have their work cut out for them, as usual.

The Pluto square Pluto aspect forces a deep examination and unearthing of layered power dynamics, particularly generational power dynamics. This includes the power other Pluto generations hold, as the Pluto in Libras determine legitimate power from illegitimate and natural skill and leadership from authoritarian hogwash. A new balance and sharing (Libra) of power (Pluto) emerges with this generation, for good or ill.

Pluto square Pluto is a tense, frictional aspect that will eventually make the cardinal Pluto in Libras stronger leaders, more concentrated in their own power and influence, by forcing confrontations with the current Pluto in Capricorn power dynamics and structures.

Throughout the Pluto in Capricorn transit, the Pluto in Libras will come to a deeper understanding of the source of their own personal power, connected to broader, generational impetus, as well as the sources of their motivations and the motivations of others. Certain people, places, emotions, psychological states, or ideas, particularly relationship-related, that hold a disproportionate amount of power over the Pluto in Libras will be examined. In many cases, the hold over them will be broken, though this can create terror.

As this aspect happens around mid-life, it leads to the realization (for those still unaware) of how short a human life on this planet really is, which can give individuals the courage to take on new areas of authority, power, and leadership in these times of crisis. Death is examined and any fear of it can be confronted through this transit, which can result in an often dramatic reorientation of personal lives, directions, and goals.

Personal Plutonic crises compel various examinations and confrontations.

Until the Pluto in Capricorn children come of age, the Pluto in Libras will be the only cardinal (initiation, new direction) Pluto generation in the works. Many Pluto in Libras will work through a fear of their own authority within new positions of social leadership throughout this transit. Libra is a sign that often prefers to defer to others, but with Pluto in Libra forcing the strong development of the Aries polarity point (transited by Uranus in Aries for the next seven years), sitting back and deferring to others can be catastrophic both personally and collectively.

These transits will force often fence-sitting Libra to choose, once and for all, which direction it is taking as we move fully into a new astrological era. The Pluto in Libras will be brought to a point where to refuse new positions of power in their own lives and societies, within their generation, is death to the soul.

The successful use of the Pluto square Pluto transit means taking on a new and powerful role in a position of vital influence or forever being under the thumb of others who have.

New Social Authority For the Pluto in Libra Generation and Blazing the Plutonic Trail Through Relationship Constructs Past

From October 2009 to October 2012, Saturn transits Libra. During that time period, all members of the Pluto in Libra generation will experience the Saturn conjunct Pluto transit. 

I won't go into all this transit indicates, as it's complex, but in basic terms, the people who have natal Pluto in Libra (roughly from 1971 into 1984) come into their authority within the structures as they exist through this transit, and this relates in particular to social authority. 

A big part of the Pluto in Libras' generational authority is leadership into new social/relational standards. These involve the development of a more honest, just, and power-balanced framework from which to relate, along with more mutually supportive, freely-loving and workable relationship constructs. 

Libra is a cardinal sign. It starts things in a new direction. 

As the Pluto in Cancer generation passes off the Earth, the Pluto in Libras will be the only cardinal Pluto generation in the works until the Pluto in Capricorns being born now become adults. The youngest members of the Pluto in Libra generation are soon to be heading into their Saturn returns, and this generation as a whole comes of age under the Saturn in Libra transit. 

The "deferring to others" quality of Libra gets a big check here by Saturn as the Pluto in Libras are challenged to own their authority on this front. 

As the Uranus in Aries - Pluto in Capricorn squares and cardinal Grand Crosses continue to form in the cosmos over the next years, this generation is going to have to step up. 

That said, since Saturn began its transit of Gemini in August 2000, all Pluto generations currently alive on Earth have been, in succession, experiencing transiting Saturn conjunct natal Pluto. The upcoming transits of Saturn through Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn until December 2020 pretty much bring everyone on the planet into the mix. 

Astrological Aquarian era egalitarianism. 

From March 26, 2010: Pluto in Capricorn: All Hands on Deck. 

The new millennium brought us into some serious, tipping point times on Planet Earth, and Saturn is attempting to make us aware of our responsibilities, generation by generation. 

Saturn is ensuring that anyone with the ability to do so stays right at the white-hot, Plutonic cutting edge, keenly aware of what we're meant to morph and change generationally through personal efforts. 

The mutable Pluto in Virgos (born roughly 1957 into 1972) came into their own authority in this way as Saturn transited their natal Plutos September 2007 into October 2009. This recent transit of Saturn through Virgo coincided with a Saturn in Virgo - Uranus in Pisces opposition series that was last experienced in the mid-1960s when Saturn and Uranus were in opposite signs (Saturn in Pisces, Uranus in Virgo). 

Many Pluto in Virgos were young children or were being born at that time, and the energy and impetus of the radical 60s permeates a lot of the generation. Working with the oppositional tension between security and structure (Saturn) and revolutionary freedom (Uranus) as well as coming up with just the right mix along the polarity is part of the challenge and authority of the Pluto in Virgo generation.

Saturn, Mars and Venus in Libra and the Second Cardinal T-Square of the Summer

July 21 finds us with Saturn re-entering Libra - this time for the remainder of its transit until early October 2012.

July 26, it opposes Uranus in the fifth and final Saturn-Uranus opposition, this time at zero Libra/Aries, completing a 2.5 year cycle of oppositions that has rattled and shaken our structural realities to the point that they are now barely recognizable. A smooth and gradual transition it was not.

Between July 26 and August 20, Saturn will be moving to its third and final square to Pluto in Capricorn, also completing that cycle which began in November 2009.

So we have all these cycles completing at the same time as we're experiencing a second very powerful cardinal t-square - this one much longer-lasting - coming at us from Libra now instead of Cancer. Cycles are completing while we simultaneously have potent frictional impetus to actions initiated, new directions taken, new allegiances formed and underway - all in light of the stresses and difficulties of these transitional and transformational (for good or ill) times on Planet Earth.

The summer of 2010 is a big summer in the scope of things, to say the least.

Saturn in late Virgo has always been within range of these squares, but I was unable to call the configuration in late June a "Cardinal Grand Cross" because Saturn was not in a cardinal sign. It was an energetic Grand Cross - within degree but not by sign.

The cardinal t-square we experienced around June 26 (coinciding with the Full Moon Capricorn eclipse) involved the Sun and Mercury in Cancer opposing Pluto and the Moon in Capricorn squaring Jupiter-Uranus in Aries. Saturn in Virgo created the fourth leg - again, an energetic Grand Cross but not a full Cardinal Grand Cross. Virgoan details.

The Sun and Mercury are fast-moving planets, so the time frame of this initial cardinal t-square was very quick. An insanely intense energetic configuration in a tiny window of time - like a warp speed imprinting of energetic potential, with ripple effects for the next five years of cardinal squares but also for the next 2,000+ of the astrological Aquarian era. So you see why our full awareness and informed actions/decisions were and continue to be so important.

When Saturn re-enters Libra in a couple weeks, the Sun and Mercury will be out of range of their square from Cancer, but it will shift into full cardinal t-square alignment opposing Uranus and Jupiter in Aries and squaring Pluto in Capricorn.

Jupiter in Aries is stationing in exact square to Pluto Rx in Capricorn, increasing the potency of this energy and configuration.

I know it sounds like a broken record about how powerful these configurations are, but they really are. Layer after layer, aspect after aspect. We're ticking the seconds off of an entire 2,000+ astrological era (Pisces) and transitioning into a new 2,000+ cycle (Aquarius). Intuitively, I like Carl Johan Calleman's date for the actual ending of the Mayan calendar - October 28, 2011. This seems to fit the intensity and the acceleration we're experiencing, indicated astrologically.

To be honest, I'm not sure if human beings will be around for the full Aquarian cycle considering the state of things currently and the direction things seems to be taking straight out of the gate (at least, the human beings who share aspects of my personal spiritual lineage and energetic reason for being on this planet). But we're here now, so present we shall stay, fighting for our right to exist on this planet despite those doing everything in their power to make things inhabitable for us here.

So they think they can do this planet without us, eh? Hmm...

We're personally invested in what goes on here. God is invested in us. What we do with our time here matters - especially, at this point, in what we do with others, the quality of our relationships. And Mars and Venus, soon to be entering Libra, are coming to the table within this cardinal t-square to bring that point to full awareness.

Mars enters Libra July 29, opposes Uranus in Aries July 30, conjuncts Saturn July 31, and opposes stationing Jupiter and squares Pluto Rx in Capricorn August 3. Whew! Seriously.

As if that action weren't enough, Venus enters Libra August 6 and does the same dance Mars did in the cardinal t-square configuration. It opposes Uranus in Aries August 7, conjuncts Saturn in Libra August 8 and opposes Jupiter in Aries and squares Pluto Rx in Capricorn August 9. Whew squared!

This brings us personally into the proceedings. We're not just along for the ride with the transpersonal and intermediary planets (Jupiter and Saturn) acting upon our lives. The personal planets are involved; we're invested. We want and need things to go a certain way here, in more ways than one.

With all the Libra influence, this especially involves our relationships. Considering the context of the times, we no longer have a lot of time (Saturn) to waste in relationships that do not truly honour us or meet our needs. There isn't much room for do-overs now. We're craving quality human beings and quality relationships that we can build upon, invest ourselves in, develop our full potentials within.

What this planet needs are people willing to commit to the sometimes difficult process of harmony-creation and love-building between two people that will start to bring things back to an energetic state of balance. Reaching for the fullest, truest potential of ourselves and each other within relationship, despite the difficulty of the circumstances. Our highest selves, interacting. Every break from that is a break in the chain that the planet (and we) cannot afford at this time.

It's time for a new level of maturity, respect and responsibility toward others.

Our relations, especially romantic love relations, have gone pretty far afield in many cases from the mutually supportive, soul-and-spirit-honouring interchanges they're meant to be. Many people have bought into the idea constantly advertised to us that sex and love are cheap, easy and expendable. Easy come, easy go. Run into a problem? Just toss it into the heap and onto the next. Fast food love.

Now with Saturn entering Libra, things shift. That type of interaction is no longer going to sustain - just as a diet of Big Macs or Whoppers will not sustain. Fast food love and sex will be seen as the toxic energy exchange they are, and we'll crave (and demand) something deeper, better, more befitting who we really are as human beings. Something we can count on. People we can count on.

Maturity, fidelity and seriousness - being serious about each other - are about to get very sexy.

All this summer Libra action is a precursor to the Venus in Scorpio retrograde this fall (October 8 - November 18) when relationships will either end or fuse. Be shed or merge. And we'll be left, post-retro, in a much more real, authentic and raw place from which to relate - soul-to-soul, heart-to-heart, no BS - just how Scorpio (mature Scorpio) likes it.

Pluto and Ceres will finally meet in conjunction during the Venus retrograde in Scorpio, adding to the mythological/archetypal layers and underlying intensity of this time period. We need to clear unfinished business. It's now or never. This is my hope - renewal and restoration in love matters for all of us this fall. The cycle completing and falling away.

We're building on the work of the Pluto in Libra generation here - their stripping down of relationship constructs past their prime, abusive control and power dynamics, and relationship set-ups that deprive us of love, intimacy and closeness while keeping us from reaching our full potentials, together, within them. Stripping the Neptunian illusions and delusions around love and love relationships that set us up so painfully for disappointment and disillusionment.

The relationship constructs going forward will be much more alchemically fluid, dynamic, catalytic - creating an energy that is above and beyond the energy of the two individuals within them. We're not going backward here to relationship dynamics that stifled our love and development in the past - we're drawing the solid, valuable aspects of relationship through time and space into our current relationships. We're moving forward, but we're not leaving any crucial basic foundational tenets behind. This is the conserving influence of Saturn in Libra.

There is a lot going on as we head more fully into a summer, fall and winter that bring our relationships right to the forefront.

Saturn in Libra July 21 will be just the beginning.

Pluto in Capricorn: All Hands On Deck

Photo: Willow

And next up: the Pluto in Libras.

Since Saturn (Capricorn's ruler) entered Libra at the end of October 2009, it has begun to call on the Pluto in Libras to take their full, adult places within the Capricornian structures so as to further the Plutonic process in that sign. People with Pluto in early Libra (1971-1974) have more than likely felt the weight of this responsibility being placed squarely on their shoulders in the past few months, with an understanding that this is just the beginning.

Libra is a cardinal sign, and this Pluto generation is a pivotal one in maintaining a balance and a modicum of harmony and decorum throughout the cardinal t-squares over the next decade (with Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn). Within this generation lies important new leadership.

This is a generation that will not sit idly by and allow love, justice or human beings themselves to be diminished and consumed by mega-corporate machinations or global warfare. Pluto in Libras know how to go to the mat to keep people together. We know how to get down and dirty and fight for the crucial objectives of the soul within relationship. And when our best effort can't make a go if it, we know when and how to cut our losses and sever ties. There's method to our madness, even when it gets nasty.

Capricorn relates to concrete, collective progress. Rather than the glorification of the figurehead we associate with Capricorn these days (possibly due to the reign of the Pluto in Leos, currently begrudgingly exiting positions of power), the responsibilities and effort taken on with Capricorn are meant to further the group. Because of this group focus and the hardcore flipping mess we're in on this planet currently, we're going to need the whole team playing its A-game to accomplish the Herculean tasks of restructuring the way we do things.

It seems to me that Saturn's transits over the next decade, during the thick of the initiating cardinal squares while dispositing Pluto in Capricorn, do just that - activate the whole team, from the late Pluto in Virgos to the newest Pluto in Capricorn baby being born, and integrate them into the structural morphing process. We need a grand-scale effort to turn things around here, and the Saturn transits of late Virgo through Capricorn give it our best shot.

Leo is a fixed sign, and the Pluto in Leos have held fast to positions of power and their way of doing things. The Pluto in Virgos have often been employed, so far, to smooth things over and clean up messes and keep things functioning as the Pluto in Leos did their thing.

But now there is a massive power shift. There has to be. It's the only way we can right this ship as it heads rapidly for the rocks.

Pluto is a planet that enters a sign and brings with it a deep, often gut-wrenching process of excavation and examination, confrontation and release, digging and purging, stripping down and regeneration so as to completely transform constructs and dynamics that would hinder or stop human soul development on this planet.

Pluto enters a sign at the point when the expression of that sign has become so hideously constricting, toxic, soul-stifling and laden with energetic booby traps related to its past expression that without the Plutonic process, the continued corrupted expression of that sign would bring about soul death, or even literal death, within the collective.

Garbage sticks. And a sign gets so weighed down with detritus (held emotion and remembrances of betrayals of trust, nasty, underhanded dynamics, dishonesty, manipulation, abuse) that it can no longer express in a functional way. It can no longer achieve necessary objectives and gets stuck in the same loops, experiencing the same unpleasant set-ups over and over again until, with Pluto, we go right to the core of the situation and become fully aware.

The clear and true expression of the sign becomes more possible as we go through the Plutonic strip-down process where we burn away all that is false and regenerate the experience and expression of the sign into something with real integrity for the long haul.

Pluto rules a force of generational evolutionary commitment - what a particular Pluto generation is here to collectively accomplish.

Wherever Pluto lies in your chart, rest assured that after you and your Pluto generation get through with it (or it gets through with you), it will be stripped bare and transformed into something more suited to human soul development for the next 248 or so years.

Pluto triggers the alchemy of the soul, applying immense pressure to turn coal into diamond. Yeah, sounds empowering. Feels like hell.

Pluto's transformational process can be called many things: painful, brutal, hellish, cruel. It breaks down energetic constructs, often forcing us to emotional, physical and psychological breakdown in the process. But it's a process that must go on to facilitate the continued survival of human souls. We're here for a reason, for a limited amount of time, and Pluto won't do us the disservice of letting us forget it.

I don't completely know why Plutonic experiences have to be so brutal, and I hope this is not the case in the future. It's something I ponder quite a lot: why we have to go through such traumatic experiences in order to further this process.

All I can come up with is that trauma has a certain energy about it that makes us dig deeper within ourselves and reach further spiritually than we ever could or would without it. It makes us confront things we would often rather die than confront - including the inevitability of our own physical death. Being creatures that enjoy comfort, I suppose we would not willingly break down the energetic constructs or dig into painful emotional and psychological territory without Pluto's impetus.

So we all do the collective soul work of our Pluto sign - whether consciously or unconsciously. And those who have Pluto in close aspect to personal planets will generally be taking on more of the collective work personally and consciously. For example, I have the Sun in Libra loosely conjunct Pluto, so this is a constant in my day-to-day. My whole self-expression is thick with it. Just being me in the world (Sun) brings collective Pluto in Libra dynamics and the required energy work into my life.

And what are Pluto in Libra dynamics?

In basic terms, the Pluto in Libras are here to experience, examine, break down, and process out stultifying, abusive and "just not right" relationship and partnership dynamics, attracting many relationships (especially before we are conscious of this) designed as vehicles to do so.

We're here to create right human relations on the planet, and it's a big job.

We experience many nasty tricks through our relations with others. All the denied realities of relationship held in the collective come up for us to deal with. Pluto doesn't leave any stone unturned.

We're also here for justice, especially social justice, and equality. Many Pluto in Libras make human rights their life's work.

We're here to create a new balance of masculine and feminine energetic exchange within ourselves and within partnership, as well as a new balance on the planet, in general.

It's our job to find a point of harmony and balance even in the most tumultuous of times (these). To uncover and display the beauty in the ugliest of circumstances.

The end result of this Plutonic processing will be a more free and true exchange of love. Creating deeply satisfying, soul-nourishing relationships - the most beautiful, deeply loving and meaningful relationships this planet has ever seen collectively. And not just the romantic ones.

Yes, we've set our sights high, but these are epic times. As they say, we're the ones we've been waiting for, and if we work our little hearts out and achieve our goals, we bring forward human relations and love relationships truly befitting us and this beautiful planet - ones that allow for our further mutual soul growth, rather than following patterns and forms that bring misery and dissatisfaction.

In order to get to those relationships with that beautiful level of trust, openness, and soul-sharing, we have to figure out what is keeping us from that - the areas that lack integrity and honesty. And there are a lot of those.

Many of our parents have Neptune in Libra, a placement that set them up for rosey, Neptunian idealism around love and romance and then massive disappointment and disillusionment when the reality of their relationships didn't measure up.

Being able to tell reality from illusion in relationship is a big thing for Pluto in Libras. Getting to the nitty gritty and then working from there, stripped clean of false expectations and realities left unspoken.

And as our generation brushes away the ashes left from the breakdown and razing of relationship constructs past, we find the raw potential for something real. We understand what it really means to love and be loved when it's not easy, when the chips are down, when things are crumbling all around us. And through this Plutonic process, we heal the crushed hopes and dreams of every disappointed lover who came before us. We connect at the raw, vulnerable, immensely strong collective heart, through the ages, and start again.

Saturn transits Libra until early October 2012, and Saturn conjunct Pluto will be the beckoning call for Pluto in Libras to fully enter the fray.

Saturn Enters Libra and Starts a Series of Squares to Pluto in Capricorn

Well, folks. It's a point in time many of us have been waiting for. Saturn enters Libra at 11:09 a.m. MDT Thursday morning.

The Saturn transit through Virgo has been painstaking, and combined with a series of oppositions to Uranus in Pisces, it was at times overwhelming, exhausting, depressing and frightening.

Saturn in Virgo has a strong "reality check" function, as well as showing us where the structural set-ups are improperly constructed, eroded or unsustainably functioning. The transit of Saturn in Virgo coincided with the orchestrated Pluto in Capricorn collapse of the world economic system. There was a focus on workers (Virgo territory) who were thrown out of work, as well as anxiety, stress and overload of the system, in general, related to the breakdown of our business and economic structures. There was a struggle to maintain mental health for many people (myself included).

With Saturn in Virgo, we went over (and over) all the systems in our lives, including our personal physiological systems, working out every last detail and smoothing every last rough edge that could throw us off track over the long-term. We brought things into Virgoan moderation, cutting the extraneous and getting very, very clear on the areas that were lagging and keeping us from optimum health in our lives - hopefully doing what we had to to correct things.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that what has been done is enough and that there aren't any nasty forgotten details waiting in the wings. If there are, they will certainly come out of hiding during the Saturn retrograde back into Virgo in the spring of 2010.

There was a lot of "keep on keeping on," just doing what you're doing during Saturn in Virgo. Keeping ourselves going with mundane daily tasks in an effort to stay grounded in the midst of some very intense energetic dynamics.

With Saturn heaviness keeping us in check, at times the smallest of daily tasks felt like a Herculean effort to complete.

At this point, we've very precisely defined our Virgoan personal standards and made sure that we, personally, meet them. Phew.

And now, Saturn moves from a transitioning, adjusting, adapting mutable sign to an initiating, leading, let's-get-this-show-on-the-road cardinal sign. We move forward into relationships and relationship dynamics that reflect the precise personal standards we further developed while Saturn was in Virgo.

Virgo is the last of the zodiac signs that focusses on the development of the self. Aries through Virgo relates to that development process, and by the time we make it to the end of Virgo, we had better have a firm understanding and mastery of ourselves. Maturing into this understanding and mastery of ourselves was a big part of Saturn in Virgo. Analyzing our triggers, our self-sabotaging behaviours, our weak points, our blind spots and the areas where we just needed to improve was not all that comfortable, but it was very necessary. Virgo doesn't mess with anything that isn't necessary.

Now Saturn ingresses into Libra, and we turn from a focus on the self to a focus on the self interacting with other people. We open ourselves up to the other here. Relationships. And maaaaan, do they need a lot of work. ;-) Saturn has entered Libra just in time.

Relationships are always a spicy topic, a crowd favourite. So Saturn in Libra should at the very least hold people's interest. Whether they're willing to do the Saturnine work associated within their relationship set-ups (and the remaining work within themselves) will be another story. A lot of nagging, squirm-worthy relationship issues, both personal and collective/archetypal, will come under the cosmic thumb during Saturn in Libra.

Saturn in Libra immediately begins a series of squares to Pluto in Capricorn, part of a six-year series of cardinal squares. The first Saturn in Libra - Pluto in Capricorn square is exact November 15 with the third and final square exact on August 20, 2010.

The relationships and partnerships we enter into and commit to now (especially potent around November 15) are strategic, both personally and on a broader level. There's a sort of "keeping your eye on the prize" vibe. Relationships we enter into or solidify now are designed with long-term goals in mind, especially related to career ambitions, public advancement and reaching our potentials as human beings.

The key will be to form relationships and partnerships with people whose long-term goals are compatible with your own. Partnerships that can help both parties cover ground they could not cover alone. Fully understanding what both you and the other person bring to the table and offer is very important. No selling ourselves short or buying into image over substance. It has to be a fair deal.

With a long-term square between Saturn and Pluto involved, I expect many ugly splits and broken alliances as the true ambitions and characters of both people and groups/institutions continue to come to visibility.

And here is the Libra-Capricorn square tension. Libra doesn't want to sully the experience of love, relationship harmony and the pleasure of another's company with the requirements of the hardcore Pluto in Capricorn agenda. And Pluto in Capricorn doesn't want to have to temper ambitions and adjust agendas to accomodate things like...other people! Or what's fair, just or harmonious.

The people at the top of the power hierarchies these days commit crimes against humanity to further their agendas...they don't bother with such concepts as human rights and dignity.

So these dynamics are inevitably going to cause discomfort because we certainly must keep in mind the Plutonic morphing of our structures and the various competing motivations and goals for long-term collective progress. The power plays, the strategic partnerships, the surface-level diplomacy hiding bared teeth. And as we restructure, the Libra demands for justice, peace and fairness are going to be fighting for inclusion as primary considerations in the long-range agendas. Saturn in Libra is now the dispositor (major layer of influence) of Pluto in Capricorn...

Allegiances and alliances that were once hidden will be pushed to the surface by Pluto's relentless rooting around and penetration to core reality, especially within structural hierarchies and power dynamics.

All that is going to place some strain on our Libra energy as it seeks to maintain balance and equilibrium - another great Saturn in Libra challenge. Keeping the peace, as well as a state of inner peace, as the structural set-ups and institutions are in a state of Plutonic turmoil and uncertainty.

Keeping our calm little centres in the midst of a beyond-our-control Plutonic shitshow is a major theme of Pluto, in general. With Saturn in Libra squaring Pluto in Capricorn, our challenge will be to keep things from upending completely, struggling at times to keep the scales balanced - or at least in the process of balancing. Maintaining our relationships. Being aware of what is going on beneath the surface but maintaining the hard-won Libra truce whenever possible.

We'll have our Libra sense of injustice triggered many times during this transit as people strive to dominate and control and come out on top in the Capricornian hierarchies. We'll be challenged to get serious, get real and become more effective with our efforts to expose tyranny.

The possibility of bitter Plutonic betrayals and dramatic meltdown splits (especially career-related) will be lessened if we did the work related to the most recent Venus retrograde in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn. If we learned our lessons then about staying true to who we really are in our relations with others and if we battled for that when necessary as Venus opposed Pluto from Cancer and then squared it again in the closing square from Libra, this should ensure that we enter into only suitable relationships at this point.

Other Saturn in Libra themes include: maturing our relationship dynamics, restructuring into relationships of true equals, using the structures of our relationships as a vehicle for personal maturation, growth and success, growing up related to culturally-reinforced expectations of relationships and the people within them. Fulfilling our responsibilities to the people with whom we are in relationship. Maintaining a state of inner equilibrium no matter what is going on around us. The struggle for justice, particularly social justice. Human rights. Peace, fairness and equality - and making those at the very least equally important as power, money and image within our structures. Art as a catalyst for social and structural change.

Saturn in Libra will also involve facing and maturing the slippery Libra qualities like social artifice, telling people what they want to hear - not what you really think or feel, passive aggressiveness, inability to ask for what one wants, codependency and basic underhanded social tricks.

With Saturn in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn, the Pluto in Libras have their first real initiation into leadership roles within the public power structures. (God, help us.) This continues throughout the next 15 years of the Pluto in Capricorn transit as it squares their natal Pluto in Libras.

As the Pluto in Libras take on positions of more responsibility and power within the crumbling structural set-ups, they will be challenged to use their "cutting the crap in relationship dynamics" skills while maintaining as much harmony as possible. I'm sure the horrific ways many people interact with each other these days, especially in the business world, will bring many a Pluto in Libra to meltdown-level frustration. (They already do.)

The growing lack of common decency and erosion of human dignity will be big issues for the Pluto in Libras. Transforming out of the hideous state of human relations and levels of injustice into right relations is going to be a long, often difficult process. But there's hope that taking on this Plutonic process can head off World War III, no matter how hell-bent world governments are to instigate it.

As Saturn moves through Libra, strong leadership in the breaking down of outdated, crystallized relationship dynamics that stifle the human soul and the ability to love ourselves and others is a responsibility that rests on the shoulders of the Pluto in Libras. We're between 25 and 38 years old now, so I guess it's time. We've been doing this generational Plutonic soul work behind the scenes, mostly undetected, and now as Saturn transits, we make it more publicly visible.

The Pluto in Libras will have their work cut out for them attempting to bring the the whole of the structural set-ups to a state of equilibrium in the midst of continuing collapse, as well as creating new social systems and ways of doing things with equality, fairness and justice at the forefront.

With Pluto, there is the possibility of using its power to further dominate in already-existing power dynamics or to break down the domination/subjugation constructs so that something better can regenerate. We should be aware that both these dynamics will be going on, depending on the root motivation of the person.

There is the ability to choose the egalitarian track and sever ties with as much of illegitimate hierarchy as possible, but there is also the choice to fit into the hierarchical structures as they exist and use the social wizardry of Pluto in Libra to pull the wool over people's eyes.

From a previous post related to the Libra-Capricorn square:

"Restructuring within hierarchical power structures, new balance of power, new relationships, new allegiances, all with big, old "brotherly love" grins on their faces. Showing a surface level of Libra peace and cooperation while the root motivations and strategic actions remain hidden to the people. Look beneath the surface, when the cameras are off, to see what's really going on behind our backs, in our names."

The rebalancing of masculine and feminine is also a big challenge, especially within the career/home continuum. The feminine is coming to the table as a full partner, nothing less.

On a global scale, we've seen an initial restructuring of power relations at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh during the last weekend in September. We saw the G20 nations take the reins from the G8 on world economic issues, a process of which most citizens were (and still are) ignorant. New power players coming to the table, fusing agendas.

At that time, the Sun was in Libra (diplomatic relations) squaring Pluto in Capricorn (hidden strategic manoevres within power hierarchies) on the first degrees of those cardinal signs. The Saturn-Pluto square on November 15 will structurally cement the new allegiances and power relationships begun then, as the world leader personalities met behind closed doors guarded by 4,000 riot police.

So to recap: the Saturn in Libra - Pluto in Capricorn square we're heading to on November 15 is the first of the big cardinal squares we will experience over the next six years. Grand-scale leadership shifts, advancement of agendas and jockeying for position on a global scale. And corresponding new directions, partnerships, relationship dynamics and allegiances on a personal level with an eye toward reaching our full potentials, especially in the public/career realm.

I must say, this post is very dry! But it's Saturn. What can you do?

Regardless, the shift of Saturn into cardinal energy and solid movement out of such a transitional time feels like welcome news...

Venus "Affliction"

I got an e-mail about the last post, and I thought I would clear a few things up...

When I talk about my "afflicted" Venus, I really should put that in quotation marks. I was being a bit cheeky there in the previous post. I just think it's an amusing way to shut people up when they ask me why I'm not married with kids.

"So...why haven't you gotten married yet? No men in your life? No kids? Why is that?"

I mean, how do you really answer that, anyway?

"Afflicted Venus in the 4th," seems as good an answer as any.

Or maybe: "I'm a Pluto in Libra, and my generation has a lot of soul-crushing, crystallized relationship dynamics to break down. Instead of attracting karmic relationship after karmic relationship into my life to break the old, toxifying constructs down, I choose to process it on my own until I've cleared enough collective debris and the timing is right for a real, long-term dude." Better?

Or how about: "Well, I sense that you and your significant other have about another six months, tops. You're really just buying into what you think a relationship should be and letting some serious problems fester, there, rather than building on true compatibility. I just want to avoid situations like that."

Yeah, "afflicted Venus in the 4th" it is.

It's not actually the definition of afflicted, so that was a bit of a misnomer. Afflicted generally refers to a heavily stressfully aspected planet. My Venus is what they call "in detriment" - in the sign opposite one it rules. Venus rules Taurus and Libra, so it would be considered in detriment in Scorpio or Aries.

(The Sun is considered in detriment in Aquarius, the Moon in Capricorn, Mercury in Sagittarius or Pisces, Venus in Aries or Scorpio, Mars in Libra or Taurus, Jupiter in Gemini, Saturn in Cancer, Uranus in Leo, Neptune in Virgo and Pluto in Taurus. Sort of like a concentrated oppositional energy. Trying to find expression through a sign it lacks compatibility with in certain respects.)

My natal Venus has also just turned retrograde, almost stopped in the sky, so I consider in detriment + just stationed retro to be "afflicted," if only in the general (not astrological) sense of the term. Retrogrades can bring delays and a feeling of going back over old territory to finish off situations begun previously, so there you go. Then being a Sun/Pluto Libra, with Venus as the dispositor of that - it's very influential.

I can see the possibility of someone holding the idea that he/she has a "bad placement" and that causing problems, but for me, it's the opposite. I've lived these dynamics my whole life and wondered why, and the astrological symbol just clarifies what is going on. It helps me to work with the process, tailored to me, instead of trying to set my life up according to the usual rules.

I don't read things in a fatalistic way or tell people, "Oh, you're being punished for past lives. It's your bad karma." *cough* bullshit! *cough* (Although there is often an element of necessary personal growth or adjustment, collective karma is the overwhelming battle these days.)

I believe everything in a birth chart is purposeful. You just have to look deeper sometimes to see the purpose (and benefits) of difficult aspects and placements. That is not to say they're easy or fun things to deal with. My Venus is a bitch, but I sure do love that bitch. I don't go overboard with the supposed "negative" aspects of placements, but I don't believe it's helpful to sugar-coat them, either.

The people I know with the strongest character, morals, integrity and will to help and do the right thing - the people I admire the most - have lived very challenging, often difficult, sometimes hellish lives. They've dealt with knock after knock, and they came out the best stuff humanity has to offer.

From my experience, afflicted planets or planets in detriment are somewhat difficult placements involving a process that requires more time, effort and challenge to master the themes. They're not easy, flowing placements. They're a bit of a bitch and a bit of a mystery, and you have to give it your all to really understand and work with the dynamics. They relate to working out some really tight knots that have existed in the collective for a very long time now.

But these are also often advanced placements, for people with the mad skills, and come with big rewards if they should be mastered. And if not, well, at least we did everything we could, and the next comrade can take it from there.

It's the idea of whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Although with Scorpio/Pluto involved, you often feel that it will end up killing you. (Or sometimes wish it would?) Warning! Super off-colour humour up ahead ---- For Scorpionics/Plutonics, if you haven't fantasized about sucking on the business end of a shotgun before, you're not doing it right.

My particular Venus "affliction" (Venus Rx in Scorpio in the 4th House) has to do with "going back for people" on a soul level, so it's a meaningful placement. A lot of completions of the soul, so to speak. I've travelled to some very odd outposts to reactivate people who had become lost in the set-ups of it all. The interactions triggered necessary endings, transitions or transformations. They got things moving in that alchemical Scorp way. And it was often energetically dangerous stuff because those reinforcing the set-ups don't want people reactivated on that level.

So from an outside perspective, this looks unfortunate to a lot of people. And in a way (on a personal level), it is. But the conditions have been such that I had to give it my all to try to tip the tipping points. My energy up until now went into other things rather than the traditional life with a husband, home, family. I know these things will come if they're meant to. I trust cosmic timing. But this situation does come with it's frustrations. I just try to be completely honest about it and put it into words on the blog for myself and anyone who has similar themes to deal with.

As far as it being a choice to do this work (or to live under any particular conditions), again, these are decisions I've made while taking the collective circumstances into consideration - so considering the conditions I live within on Planet Earth, my particular skills to deal with those conditions, and how things need to change, the amount of "choice" involved is highly limited.

For myself, I know that choices are often made for long-range progress/to assist the collective whole that aren't necessarily the choices that would be made if free will and immediate personal gratification were the only forces at play. (Which is one of the reasons I'm not a proponent of The Secret or the so-called law of attraction.)

I don't believe we're born into a blank slate. I believe we're born into and are connected to what has come before on this planet, what exists at the moment, and what is yet to come. For myself, I know that I have to work with the circumstances as I understand and experience them. I have to understand my own personal context in order to do what I came to do with this life. It's not strictly about me...

I guess it comes down to the fact that the majority of people on this planet seem to think soul or spiritual direction is in the realm of "make believe." They don't understand this type of work or this type of motivation and think I'm just putting off becoming an "adult" and taking my place in the rat race. Not so.

For those who think this isn't work or that it doesn't take any particular skill, I'd suggest they give it a whirl themselves, and then they can make their judgements. As far as astrology, they can learn it, gain some mastery of it, start their own astrology blog, start doing readings and see for themselves.

That's a problem with Virgo energy - it makes things look too easy, as if anyone could do them. Again, have a go at it, and then we'll talk.

As far as dealing with these dynamics, I love myself deeply, and I love the people I'm here for equally as much. That's why I work hard for us.

I'm guilty of helping people who didn't deserve my help in the past. I've also been guilty of continuing to try to help people when they didn't want or maybe didn't know how to use the assistance I was trying to give. I've been bitten in the ass in that way many times. But that's something you have to live and learn and adjust accordingly - also a strong Virgo-Pisces polarity theme.

I'm not actually sure why, but I find that a lot of very good people (the best people, really) are often treated badly by others. I don't think it's a lack of self-worth that "creates" the dynamics. I think it's actually a very strong, unshakeable sense of self, purpose and self-worth that triggers other people, somehow. If you're not insecure in the ways that they are and living life in the ways that they are, they want to somehow make you that insecure. Break you down or push you down.

I think in a way, people are threatened by those who live by their own values and internal guidance/sense of right and wrong. And by those who have simple motives to help and do the right thing.

I'm not sure if it makes THEM feel badly about themselves/resentful and they lash out. Or if it's just that they try to attack what they don't understand. Hard to say, but it sure is irritating.

Inferior Superiors...How Unusual!

I got this question about the Venus in Aries Retrograde and Anger as a Guiding Force post, and it's a perfect example of what I was talking about regarding Pluto in Libras and the role of Aries/anger, in general, so I thought I would respond in a post. (Hope this is OK with you Anonymous. Since you're Anonymous, I thought, what the heck.)


So Anonymous wrote:

"What if the person you are feeling these flickers of anger towards is a person who got a position that you had applied for, but were denied, and then, that person ended up supervising you, and they have no management experience? What do you then? You can't express your anger...even though it is totally valid...and fueled by many people at your workplace and partner agencies/workplaces who are all saying "you should have got the job, it was totally political." What do you do then? Because you're pretty angry. You really are.

PS...I love your blog and read it all the time. I'm really tryuing to synthesize the lessons of being a Sag Rising/Leo Sun/Gemini Moon/Pluto in Libra/Pluto conjunct midheaven and north node/sun saturn conjunct in 8th house and you are helping me do it so thank you!"


Yes. Well then. There's one of those Pluto in Libra lessons all stirred up as Venus in Aries opposes (Venus leaves Aries June 5). And with Pluto in Libra on the MC (MC = Midheaven - the 10th House cusp and most visible area of the chart), it's unfolding in the business world, within the work hierarchy. In a very visible, public area.

When Pluto in Libra is activated, it often has something to do with a person's inherent sense of injustice being stirred up by the experience of oppressively unjust circumstances. We can see that here. Someone who was not qualified for a position of authority over you got the job due to shifty office political reasons.

So you just got burned by this situation in the typically Plutonic method...and continue to be singed on a daily basis. You can't get away from it. It's right there, in your face. Also fits the Plutonic modus operandi, as it tries to work the thorn out. It's not going to let you forget this is there and unresolved.

OK. So, what to do about it.

Well, first off - don't deny that you're angry about it because everyone already knows you are. This situation is playing out on your MC, so it's out there for all to see in your workplace. The ugly feelings Pluto stirs up are not generally things we want to air in our workplace...but here you are. The people who know about the situation know that you got screwed and that you're pissed about it. So pretending it didn't happen or stuffing it down is not going to work. At the same time, maintaining professional dignity is crucial. You have to work the balance here. People are going to be watching to see how you react to/interact with this person, how you deal with this hateful new power dynamic and how it affects your professional performance.

Right now, you are oppressed by the situation. You, ostensibly, did not come out on top and now have an inferior in a position of authority over you. Ugh. But, yes, there is a reason this is happening. Your Pluto work. So this is evolutionary desire (what the universe wants) trumping personal desire (the promotion). You have to think of your personal situation in the larger context of evolutionary imperative on the planet. There are millions of situations just like your's going on right now, triggering people to make moves, create changes. There is pressure building (Pluto) in these situations, and when there's enough pressure, complete transformation happens. Coal turns to diamond and all that crap. The pressure of injustice forces people to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle their way out from under it and over the long run, people reacting, making moves, making decisions, following impulses, following their guts will create justice, balance and equality. Basically, we hope to get to a point where this kind of political hogwash doesn't happen because people see through it and won't tolerate it anymore.

More context: we also currently have Pluto in Capricorn (rules the 10th House). So there is SO MUCH of this invalid, bullshitty hierarchy stuff going on it could choke a horse. (I was born in the Year of the Horse, and I can say yes, it does choke me.) The lack of integrity inherent in these structures brings about their downfall eventually. This is what we're seeing en masse in the U.S. business/economic world. And it exists in varying degrees right now in any business/workplace. Pluto in Cap is doing its work...on us and through us.

So basically, there's Plutonic gold in your situation waiting to be mined. It's just a bitch to get to it. Working through it successfully will take you to the place where you need to be.

OK. So how to get to it. I'm not sure if your Pluto is actually on the 10th House side of the MC? I'm making an ass out of u and me here and assuming.

So the polarity point is Aries on the IC on the 4th House side. So going right back into your fiery, angry centre to get through this. Babying yourself a bit. Telling yourself that you are you and everything is OK regardless of what is going on in the backdrop of your work life. Knowing that your feelings here are righteous. That person ISN'T qualified. It's not fair that that person is in a position of authority over you. But it exists. So accept those very basic ideas as a grounding point. But also understand that with Pluto involved, there are reasons for these conditions that are not yet understood.

Don't downplay, squash or invalidate any of your feelings about it. Do your inner work so that you don't have a Plutonic volcano of hell erupting in your work life over this every week or so. Make it all about you and getting you through this.

It's imperative to get some distance from the Plutonic process, and the furthest point away is that Aries in the 4th. This is how you can separate YOU from the process seemingly happening to you. This is happening TO you, but it's not you. You're still you regardless of what happens. Hold your core.

Process as much of it as you can inside yourself. Take action in your life in other ways, also. Do peripheral things. Trust your anger to show you what needs new direction.

You know that dumping the angry emotions on your co-workers is just not professional and will do nothing but hurt you in the long run. Sure, some hashing over with allies during coffee break can be ever-so-therapeutic. Go ahead. But at a certain point, it no longer does any good. You also have to realize that true allies are (generally) few when dealing with Pluto in the workplace, so make sure you don't vent to the wrong person. Pluto lessons just beg for us to misuse our emotional energy and bring inappropriate people into the loop so that we get our asses nailed for it.

There is an emotional independence here (Aries in the 4th) that has to be cultivated.

At the same time, you have to actually feel the emotions being stirred up and get to the exact root of each one. So every time you are triggered by the situation with the Inferior Superior, you have to go back into yourself and figure out exactly what it was that rubbed you the wrong way and take some sort of action on it, no matter how tiny. Just make a move out of the situation. Follow your impulses and channel them properly...or you will have a totally toxic Passo Aggro Fest on your hands, which no one wants. You have to get to the point where you can at least work around this person and interact, even if you think the person is a complete dumbass. And if the person IS a complete dumbass, it will more than likely come out on its own.

So speak up when you know you have to, but don't have a vendetta against this person. It's best to let nature run its course rather than getting involved yourself and running the risk of it backfiring on you.

Things aren't fair. It sucks. But we're working on it.

With the Sun and Saturn in Leo in the 8th, you have more fire emphasis. Getting through these tough times means shining the light of who you are in the world, taking charge of your creative process and being the star you are in whatever circumstances you find yourself in. The power of your personality and who you are lead you to better circumstances.

Also ask yourself if you are creatively happy in this job...

You were up for a promotion, so obviously you are craving some movement in your position...some new responsibilities, new creative challenges, new goals.

Look at what you can do from your current position. Forget about the position you were passed over for and try to work with what you've got.

If there is no way to progress in the job, you might have to start looking elsewhere. If this political bullshittery runs throughout the organization, it might be a losing battle. Only you know that.

You have a huge power of transformational creativity within you that wants to be utilized. Demands to be utilized, actually. And you need a vehicle for it befitting such a grand power.

Tell yourself that you will try to turn these lemons into lemonade, but give yourself permission to leave the situation if it proves to be intolerable/hopeless.

Good luck, and I hope this is helpful.


Willow

Venus in Aries Retrograde and Anger as a Guiding Force

Anger is helpful. There is nothing unspiritual or shameful about anger. It's there to guide us, as an impetus to action. Anger flares up to tell us something is not quite right and needs to be addressed, to be made right.

There are many situations and circumstances on Planet Earth where anger is necessary, vital. To not feel anger/irritation/annoyance in these situations and circumstances shows that the spirit is broken in some way.

Retrograding Venus in Aries is here now, in part, to strengthen our relationship with our own anger. To help us use it properly, to follow its constructive impulses and to learn to love its wisdom.

Venus in Aries is also making sure we're tapped into the raw power of who we are. That we're not compromising ourselves too much or dulling our flames in any way within our relationships or social settings.

So many times in our relations, we ignore the little warning flares of anger. Libra (ruled by Venus) likes harmony and doesn't want to rock the boat. It will often downplay its own feelings for the supposed greater good of the relationship. The problem is - this is not actually good for the relationship. It creates a level of falsity, and over time those flickers of anger we've ignored and internalized become big resentments.

Those flickers of anger are actually meant to be the impetus to action. They're there to tell us to exert our will and make a move, in whatever direction feels right. When we ignore these signals and subvert our will, even in the tiniest ways, we don't get where we need to be within our relationships and in our lives, in general. We end up in a place that doesn't feel right and isn't what we really, truly want.

Every tiny flicker of anger is purposeful and is trying to tell you something about a move that needs to be made.

We're getting a second chance now with Venus retrograding in Aries to work with these co-mingling forces of love and war and to align with the guiding flickers of annoyance, irritation, and anger within our relations with others. No pretending they're not there!

These themes are especially important for Pluto in Libras (1971 - 1984). Our evolutionary work of "cutting the shit" in relationships and creating true equality hinges a great deal on our mastery of Aries within those relationships. Developing the polarity point to our Pluto placement is crucial to our success.

Because I understand the importance of Aries energy for Pluto in Libras (and being one myself), I feel that there is a misstep within the "spirituality of the day" regarding anger. It is the promotion of the idea that "enlightened" people don't get angry. That we have to purify ourselves of anger and "transcend" anger-inducing circumstances.

Horse hooey.

The anger is there to show us what needs to be changed. Anger is our ally when we align with its raw, constructive directional potential and channel it in productive ways.

It's when we deny our anger, ignore it, and cover it over day-by-day - and maybe more importantly, when we are denied our legitimate anger by others - that it becomes dangerous and spills out in less constructive ways.

Instead of listening to people's frustrations, respecting the perspective, and working to understand and address what is causing the anger, there's a New Agey knee-jerk reaction to talk people out of it, to explain it away according to some motto or creed (that often involves a requirement to become "more evolved" or "more enlightened"). It all just needs to be healed with a cup of medicinal tea and a big old group hug!

Uhhh...no. Healing can only happen when the root causes of the pain and anger are addressed. Anger is a symptom. Again with the treatment of symptoms rather than the more difficult work of getting to the nitty gritty root causes.

When people try to talk me out of my darker feelings and show me the "error" of my ways, all I can think is: the only thing that might help is you being less of a dumbass. Instead of dumping superficial and unsolicited "healing advice" on me, try going a little deeper. Take on your fair share of the consciousness and do something constructive to try to improve circumstances, or honestly, just step aside because we're pretty much done.

So many people seem to instantly feel "more evolved" or wise than a person who is expressing anger, and there is a lazy tendency to write people off as "angry" and "negative," as if this is actual meaningful analysis. The fact that the individual is supposedly fundamentally flawed in these ways creates the problems, they say, not the other way around.

Well, isn't that convenient? Again, this lets the collective off the hook for any group, systemic, or institutional responsibility for righting wrongs. It also lacks any sort of understanding that an individual could be taking on difficult life circumstances in order to understand and bring things to light that the collective has been denying or ignoring for too long. This turns the canary in the coal mine into the problem itself.

We don't move on until these things are addressed. Got it?

When we don't take action on anger's instructional impulses, or when we are made unable to take action due to systemic/institutional set-ups, anger becomes toxic to our systems, creating roiling, resentful rage and/or depression. That's when things can get ugly. Think of a kid being bullied in school who has his initial complaints constantly ignored or downplayed - and then one day just erupts into violence.

I would argue it's the constant writing off of other people's frustrations and anger, and the resulting continuation of the root circumstances, that takes things to that next level - rage.

This is why I am choosing to hammer home this point. The denial and condemnation of anger within the "spirituality of the day," and particularly within New Age ideology, is actually dangerous. Those puppies and unicorns have box cutters, y'all.

But honouring our feelings of anger, listening to them, getting to the root of what is making us angry, and then taking action on it - and making space for this process in relationships and social settings? That's a beautiful thing, and we get a chance to experience that beauty right now.