The Coronavirus As A
Metaphor
for Pluto
In the last month or so, our attention has been turned to the emergence of coronavirus into our lives. I have wanted to write about the Pluto Return for the United States of America for some time, but it is a heavy topic to write about.
In the birth chart for the United States of America, natal Pluto is at 27 degrees of Capricorn. With transiting Pluto currently at 24 of Capricorn, the Pluto Return for the United States of America is being energized (it will take place in 2022).
In the light of emerging circumstances,
it is a good time to begin exploring
the
Pluto Return
for the U.S.A.
and the
transformation
of the
Soul of the Nation
.
With the emergence of the coronavirus, many if not most of us have turned our thoughts and prayers to someone we know who has become ill. Our personal and social patterns have changed as we endeavor to keep ourselves and our community virus free. We have experienced loss, dramatic and sudden changes from shops closing and the significant loss of jobs, to the historic volatility in the stock market.
As powerful as these events associated with the virus feel right now, they are like the opening scene in a movie, with the main story to unfold as history is written over the next couple years. Astrologically, viruses are ruled by Pluto and the emergence of coronavirus is introducing Pluto as playing a starring role at this time.
The language of Pluto helps us to recognize the metaphor of a virus. No one consciously welcomed the coronavirus into their lives, a virus sneaks in like a spy (Pluto represents the suppressed unconscious).
The virus works in the shadows, using deception to infect its victims (Pluto wears a helmet of invisibility to remain unseen outside Hades).
From a broader perspective, the metaphor of a virus contaminates whatever aspect of life it touches, from our body, to our thoughts and emotions, our ability to perceive the truth and to trust.
At the same time, Pluto also brings hope. “Really?”, you might ask.
Pluto also rules the detectives that look in the shadows to expose the existence of the 'virus' and uncover the potential for new vaccines that provide inoculation against the 'virus'. In this regard, Pluto can bring healing, transformation and re-birth.
The coronavirus is a metaphor for Pluto &
is connected to both
the cause of the 'virus'
and its cure.
Astrology of Observation and Correlation
Astrology is most practical when we embrace observation and correlation. The movement of the planets is not the cause of events that are fated in the stars. While not being a cause of events, there is a synchronicity between the movements of the planets and real-life circumstances.
The outcomes we experience are not determined by the stars, but by the quality of our responses to those events. Our goal, therefore, is to observe current events and experiences and correlate them with the planets both in the present moment and in previous cycles.
In this newsletter, we will consider and bring awareness to current events in relation to the chart of the USA during the Pluto Return.
This is
not
an article about
politics or a debate,
but an astrological exploration.
While we will explore current events,
we are not seeking to make
political judgements or
to project outcomes.
While events and astrology are connected
in the quantum universe,
there is no one fate
that is mandated by the stars,
rather a guide to
making choices with clear awareness.
The Cycle of Pluto
In this newsletter, we will take a look at the star of the show – Pluto. In 2022, the USA chart will experience its Pluto Return. This is a truly powerful transit, but one that no individual can experience because Pluto takes 248 years to complete his journey around the Sun and no individual lives long enough to experience the entire cycle of Pluto in one lifetime.
By comparison, Saturn takes approximately 29 years to orbit the Sun and most individuals will experience a first Saturn Return around 29, a second Saturn Return around 59 and for some a third Saturn Return around age 87.
Nations, however, are not limited to a normal human lifespan. When we consider transits, particularly powerful transits like Pluto, but also Neptune and Uranus, we look at the transit in three steps.
First
, what is the intention of the transit. As George Harrison once sang, “If you don’t know where you are going any road will get you there”. We need to identify the intention of the transit in practical terms so that we have our eyes on the goal.
Second
, there is a period when a transit is “in range” or in astrological terms in orb. For transits of Pluto (and Neptune), these periods can last from 3 to 5 years. During this period, we will experience circumstances connected to the intention of the transit. These circumstances are like messages that tell us either, “Keep up the good work” or “Hey, you should take stock and reconsider your actions”. So, the “in orb” period gives us feedback and allows time for us to make any adjustments that are necessary for us to achieve our goal and not miss the intention of the transit. Keep in mind, that while individuals never experience a Pluto Return, we all experience transiting Pluto impacting planets in our natal chart over the course of our lifetime.
Third
, due to the fact that Pluto moves in retrograde motion once every year, there are either 3 or 5 times when the transit is exact, which will occur over either a one or a two-year period. These exact dates are times when the tension contained in the transit is most intense. The last time the transit is exact is somewhat like the final exam for the transit. When we reach the last exact pass of a transit, circumstances will “tell” us if we have successfully embraced the transit or if we have failed.
The USA will have its Pluto Return, transiting Pluto conjunct natal Pluto, three times in 2022: February, July and December. However, the Pluto Return will be “in orb”, meaning its influence will be felt from 2020 to 2024 as Pluto dances around his natal position in the USA chart at 27 degrees of Capricorn. So, as a nation, we are already feeling the intention and experiencing some of the messages of this powerful transit.
In the USA chart, Pluto plays the role as the unconscious “soul of the nation”. The Pluto Return is a test of the degree to which the nation is honoring the core of its identity or the degree to which a metaphorical “virus” has infected the nation. The goal of the Pluto Return is transformation and the rebirth of the soul of the nation that will take place starting now and culminating in 2022.
The Founding of the USA
The USA was founded in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence (think of the main author Thomas Jefferson) and later organized into the Constitution (think of the first president George Washington). These documents embody an intention for the USA that would differentiate it as being the first great democracy since the days of ancient Greece. In the Federalist Papers, which explored the structure of the constitution prior to its drafting, key figures used pseudonyms from ancient Greece and Rome, like Publius and Cincinnatus.
The USA was established at the culmination of the Age of Enlightenment. By the way, the Age of Enlightenment was mirrored in astrology with the discovery of Uranus in 1781. Enlightenment principles embraced in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution include democracy replacing monarchy; embracing science, freedom of religion and freedom of the press.
Additionally, the Founding Fathers enshrined into the nation’s DNA the principal that all men are created equal. Related to Pluto, the nation was founded on the principle that success should be based on individual effort and merit and not on inherited wealth. Democracy rejected monarchy and the inherited wealth of monarchs and aristocrats, and since the Pluto Return is based on Pluto, on modern-day plutocrats.
A Democracy puts power in the hands of the people, while Plutocracy puts power in the hands of those holding wealth.
Pluto as the Evolutionary Driver of the Nation
Naturally, the ideals enshrined in the founding documents of the USA are a work in progress. Over time, the nation has moved both forward and, sometimes backward, in its efforts to live up to its principles.
The primary intention of Pluto is transformation in order to promote becoming what the nation was meant to be and honoring the “soul of the nation”. At key times, the nation has taken steps toward fulfilling its intention. The nations great monuments, from the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and Mount Rushmore which adds Theodore Roosevelt, celebrate their contributions to making progress toward fulfilling the nations intentions.
It is important to note, that these most celebrated presidents came from different political parties. Historically, progress in the USA has been a bi-partisan matter.
Looking ahead to the Pluto Return in 2022, Pluto wants the nation to embrace the next steps required to honor its founding principles. With the upcoming Pluto Return, we will find Pluto making a demand – change and change now.
Pluto As A Virus
Pluto’s manner can be challenging – very challenging. As a malefic planet, Pluto has a negative or challenging quality to his efforts. In this regard, the emergence of the coronavirus is an excellent metaphor.
Pluto rules both the virus that destroys and transformation that hold the potential for rebirth.
In myth, Pluto employed his helmet of invisibility, so that his efforts could be hidden from our mortal eyes. Pluto’s negative role as a virus attacks his unsuspecting victim without being seen. In this role, the virus infects and spreads almost in secret.
Pluto As The Detective
Pluto has a positive role as a transformer that begins with his role as a detective. In his effort to find clues to the virus, Pluto loves to ask questions, powerful questions, that often feel uncomfortable and are resisted, because these questions will challenge the unconscious of the nation.
In his efforts to uncover the truth,
Pluto brings the potential for the truth,
inoculation, healing, transformation and rebirth.
Pluto and Evolution via Transformation
But as Pluto probes and begins to reveal the truth of the existence of the “virus”, he will engender powerful resistance to that truth. A vaccine is taken only when a virus is recognized. So, particularly with Pluto in Capricorn, resistance may take the form of a facade that attempts to hide the “virus”, to keep its existence hidden in the shadows.
Here we are using the term “virus” to imply that we may be at a crossroads in our history as a nation.
Pluto in Capricorn can go to great lengths to suppress and deny the truth, all the while using the pretense of protecting society. But with the Pluto Return in 2022, resistance will be futile. Transformation is coming, one way or another.
Just as The Traveler’s Well Astrology believes that each individual is the “architect of their life”, as noted in the pre-amble to the Constitution, “We the people” will determine the outcome for the nation.
The Story Unfolds
In the next few newsletters, we will explore four powerful transits of Pluto, Uranus, Neptune to the USA chart over the next two years. Historically, transits of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto have come together at a major turning points in the history of the nation in the past and we will explore those turning points.
In exploring these transits, we will explore the intention of each transit, how current circumstances are connected to these transits, and how the nation responded to similar transits in the past.
The four topics are:
First
, transiting Pluto oppose natal Mercury in the USA chart and the intention of the Founding Fathers for the nation to have a free press and informed citizens.
Second
, transiting Uranus square the North and South Nodes in the USA chart and marking this time as a turning point for the nation.
Third
, transiting Neptune oppose natal Neptune in the USA chart and the potential for compassion and coming together as a nation or confusion and disillusionment.
Finally
, the Pluto Return and the transformation of the Soul of the Nation. How will the nation heal from the “virus” and experience transformation?
