Gaining Saturn and Pluto’s Wisdom: Astrological Keys for April 25-May 25
Welcome to the day of Pluto’s station, which happened late this morning, April 25, Pacific time. Earlier this morning Mercury squared Pluto, and we also have Mercury square Jupiter today, with the sun conjunct Uranus tomorrow. Keep in mind that the moment of the exact aspect does not necessarily mean the peak of its intensity. Often that arrives after the fact and Pluto stations are a process that requires weeks, not days.
From the week that has past, through the first several weeks of May when Saturn stations, we have a difficult time as the two great malefics that heralded the pandemic, as they have heralded pandemics consistently in the past, including the Spanish Flu and AIDS, slow down in tandem to turn retrograde, intensifying the challenges and opportunities we face. They will do this again as fall arrives, so handling it well now will help us then.
Helplessness, grief, regret, sorrow, disappointment, discouragement, exhaustion, fear of aging and mortality, futility and failure are the lower spectrum of Saturn themes. Pluto’s darker shade brings us paranoia, suspicion, encounters with painful endings, or the threat of death, mass events such as natural and political disasters that influence all of us, leaving us little understanding or sense of control. Together these planets ensure we face our shadows, individually and collectively.
But we can decide to get the best out of Saturn and Pluto. We must not turn away from those feelings. We must face them, go through them, and emerge on the other side wiser and reborn. From Saturn we learn patience, simplicity, dedication, discipline, thoroughness, and the wisdom of experience. Pluto gives us a new world, a new sense of identity and purpose, a spiritual tranquility and depth of healing that makes the formerly impossible possible.
With Saturn now in Aquarius the future may seem doomed. With Saturn squaring Uranus most of this year the battle between old and new resumes. A battle between generations, yes, but also between the conservation of the past and the rush to the future. Saturn in Aquarius afflicts social gatherings and makes the future look like a victim of the past. But it has also indicated scientific breakthroughs. and the the moment when a society realizes how precious democracy and equal opportunity truly are.
Here are some pointers for getting through the next month or so.
1. No one knows exactly what is going on with the virus and no one knows exactly how this crisis will end, or what the long term results will be. Contradictory studies proliferate. Clickbait headlines take shocking statements out of context, and since most people don’t bother to read further they never realize they’ve been duped. On the left, mysterious declarations are made about how now is the time, that the lies can’t be believed anymore, yet what advice is given? To send memes to others? To post more? To go out in public perhaps putting self and others at greater risk? On the right the same sentiments flourish with diametrically opposed conclusions, except that both seem to agree the lockdown is worse than the pandemic. A great experiment is ongoing with a two week lag in results. We will find out what works and what doesn’t at the cost of more sickness and more lives. As always the truth is most likely somewhere in the middle.
2. Who are you posting alarming facts for? Who are you trying to convince? Do you imagine for one moment that someone will magically turn right to left, or other other way around, because a well timed post changes everything? Do you think posting your skepticism about bad news and making statements about the necessity of the lockdown will do any more good than posting conspiracy theories about Bill Gates and demanding we all defy the orders? Perhaps we reassure ourselves when our friends agree with such posts. But we still don’t know what’s really going on. Who trusts Bill Gates anyway? No one who uses Windows, that’s for sure.
3. Instead of soaking up the latest and highly misleading statistics, how can we use our time wisely? How about some evening yoga? What about creativity? Is there a book you’ve always wanted to read? Can you deepen your meditation practice? What can you plan with your friends and compatriots? Where can you reform and repair? By taking the long view of your life, with the pitiless power of perception that Saturn and Pluto bring, can you see where you can make better choices going forward?
4. Manly Hall once taught me the Pythagorean Recollection, one of his favorite forms of meditation. One looks back on the day just before sleep, moving slowly backwards, observing actions and thoughts, and questioning ourselves as to how we could do better. This practice is quite appropriate for this period of stationary Pluto then Saturn. It can be applied to our entire lives. Where have we been too ambitious or not ambitious enough? Where have we tormented ourselves and others because we would not face an ugly truth? Where have we put our own selfish preferences over the true needs of others who deserved our support? Why have we ignored opportunities and problems that did not fit our rush to achieve, or to earn, or to be adored? Where did we go all in on things that had no future? Why did we allow foolish enthusiasms to cheat us of the wholesome joys of love and wonder? By facing these painful questions we can gain wisdom, and find a better way of life. We can avoid unnecessary troubles in the future, and salvage some of the past and the present.
5. As for sun conjunct Uranus on Sunday April 26, take that urge for something new and learn something futuristic and exciting. Explore the vast world of information at your fingertips, don’t get stuck in the muddy shallows of social media and the clickbait news industry. Sun conjunct Uranus sent tens of thousands to the beach in Newport today. Were they right to do so, or were they wrong? Each of them will find out for themselves and we will have new statistics to ponder. Choose what is comfortable for you. Don’t demonize the people who disagree. Certainly those of you who must prove your courage and faith in life by going to the beach can understand that others are afraid that you risk their lives, and the lives of their loved ones. There’s no way to rationalize that humanity out of existence with a conspiracy theory. Those of you who stay home taking all necessary precautions, certainly you must be able to understand why someone might want to demonstrate that life is stronger than death, and that their own truth matters, especially in the face of government orders, after all, such perspectives founded our country. You can disagree, but don’t pretend you can’t sympathize no matter how wrong you think the opposing viewpoint.
6. For those who have suffered loss, treasure the experiences that you shared. Take to heart the wisdom grief teaches, and the comfort of sorrow. But don’t give up on the future. Think back to other losses when it felt like the world would never be the same, and it wasn’t, but it became something else equally grand. Remember what the Secret of the Golden Flower teaches us. That the lower soul, embroiled in the aggregates that make up our bodies, wishes only for escape, yet is afraid of mortality. Then our bodies revolt with aches and pains, our minds run wild, and our emotions overwhelm us with pain. Even imagination can turn against us providing dreadful scenarios to react against. But the higher soul, the eternal consciousness of your being, loves life, even the agonies and tragedies take on a rich golden hue in the light of the flower of the soul. It is not that there are two souls, there is only one. We forget ourselves. We have only to remember. Remember and fall in love with life again, with hope for the future, and cherish every moment.
