Saturn Conjunct Pluto and Suspense
Suspense, we love it in movies, but we hate it in our lives. Current events resemble a feature film where new improbable challenges to the heroine show up every scene. Climate Change, renegade president, economic uncertainty, health care crisis, new virus, and there’s nothing most of us can do about any of it. Worse, our need to know what will happen is frustrated by misinformation at every turn. All we can do is wait.
Enduring suspense is the essence of Saturn conjunct Pluto, but so is existential angst. Aristotle compared the angst of the soul in the body to the Etruscan pirate torture of tying a captive face to face with a corpse, an apt image of Saturn conjunct Pluto. Saturn makes us wait. Pluto uncovers reasons for anxiety. Saturn is the suspense of film noir. Pluto is the suspense of horror films. Both planets move very s l o w l y.
So the question becomes how to meet these suspenseful circumstances wisely? How do we avoid Saturn’s bleak oppression and Pluto’s slow grind of menace? How can we best navigate all this finality, the end of so many once certain familiar comforts? Saturn can be constructive and organized. Pluto can heal and reform.
Most of us react by letting our minds run away in a frequently futile attempt to grasp the truth before it happens. Every new fact is eagerly pounced upon. Analysis and argument never end, often accompanied by righteous outrage at injustice. It gives some sense of control. It provides drama to occupy the waiting. It helps sell soap, too. It’s as good a strategy as any, but only if we pay attention to rest, play, nutrition, work, and creativity. Otherwise we can be left exhausted, and more confused than ever.
Some cocoon in a depressed malaise where forgetfulness is found in movies, TV, social media, games, alcohol, or other addictions, all of which can be used with good effect if not overdone. It’s a waking sleep, a way to disappear into a cathartic or inspiring narrative, and it can change your mood. But forgetfulness is a bad habit when it comes to souls.
If you’re a creative person you might want to consider mapping out four to eight weeks, whatever feels right to you. This time may be spent dealing with the increased isolation of the epidemic. With more time on your hands what work do you want to accomplish? Imagine how good you’ll feel at the end of May with all that work done, instead of merely fretting or zoning out.
There could not be a better time for meditation. Awareness of mortality is a primary inspiration to meditation. Dealing with suspense intelligently now helps people to prepare for future suspense about this or that aspect of fate. Meditation can happen anywhere. It can be as simple or as complicated as suits you. You can spend a moment, or as much time as possible. The key is to be regular about it. The big message from Saturn conjunct Pluto is STOP. Look around. Listen.
This is the death rattle of the 20th century. These are the birth pangs of the 21st. Suspense teaches humility, and patience. Who do you want to be in the 2020s? What do you want to do? Now’s a good time to contemplate what is most important to you from a uniquely sober perspective.
