Uncertain Times

By Cal Garrison

This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Pisces Moon. In the astrological community, this week’s ‘big news’ surrounds the upcoming Jupiter-Pluto conjunction. This aspect will be exact on the 4th of April, but will be within orb of exactitude by the 29th of March.

Jupiter and Pluto form conjunctions every 12-13 years or so. This time, it is a relatively big deal because, due to the retrograde and direct patterns of both planets, the conjunction will be in play, off and on, from now until the middle of November, 2020. Loosely translated, this means that human consciousness is undergoing a process, a transformation if you will, that is impacting all of us.

It won’t be an overnight thing; it will take time.

Interpreting aspects involves multiple variables, so let’s start by looking at the nature of both planets, consider the sign and degree that they occupy, and try to figure out how the two archetypes will behave when they’re in the same room together.

Pluto is always a bit of a drag in the sense that he is deep, dark, and lethal. To give you a sense of the type of energy Pluto likes to mess with, this planet was discovered in 1930 — the year that Hitler came to power, the year that marked the onset of the Great Depression, the year that Edward Teller developed the hydrogen bomb, and right around the time that Sigmund Freud’s theories became all the rage with the intelligentsia.

As the governor of the forces of life, death, and the hidden recesses of the mind, in any situation, if humanity is awake and aware Pluto has the capacity to illuminate us and carry mankind to the next level. If we are too asleep to see the light, he gives us Hell to pay. Not one to suffer fools, he can be ruthless and cruel.

In the same way that human beings are subject to peer pressure, and known by the company we keep, like any other planet, for better or worse, Pluto is impacted by the nature of the planets he aspects. Paired with Mars, or Uranus he can dole out nothing but trouble. Fortunately, his conjunctions with Jupiter stand a good chance of having all things turn out for the best.

Why is this so? Jupiter happens to be one of the nicest guys in the zodiac. Generous, high-minded, optimistic, kind, compassionate, and just, Jupiter is known as ‘The Greater Benefic.’ On his worst day he might overeat, overspend, or waste his time but mostly, Jupiter elevates and expands whatever he comes into contact with.

In a conjunction with Pluto? Picture a Mafia chieftain sitting down for a cup of espresso with Santa Claus. With anyone else the mob boss might be inclined to bust heads, but with Santa? What would be the point? These two planets get along well whenever they’re in the same room together.

The way I see it, this Jupiter-Pluto conjunction presents us with an amazing opportunity.

In Capricorn? Essentially, the two planets are opening the space for humanity to restructure the way the collective unconscious defines the concept of ‘Power.’ Capricorn is all about the patriarchy, the male principle, and the status-quo. How human beings understand and express the concept of power on this planet has gotten really messed up in the last 13,000 years. At this point? All of the power on the planet has been perverted in ways that put it in the hands of 1% and that do nothing to support the greater good of the planet, or the people.

With this conjunction holding sway right through mid-November, and with the 2020 election one of the burning questions of the day, don’t you find it interesting that we are teetering on one of those do-or-die moments where the forces of good and evil are meeting eye-to-eye? Will they find a way to reconcile their differences? The Santa-Mob Boss analogy is apt; we are looking at the last battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness.

How will things turn out? Remember what I said about how interpreting astrological aspects involves multiple variables? The Jupiter-Pluto conjunction by itself isn’t enough to give us the answers. Let me break it down into layman’s terms:

The Mars-Pluto conjunction was essentially a meeting between the collective ego (Mars) and its higher self (Pluto). This conjunction happens every two-and-a-half years or so. It marks a moment in time when the collective ego gets a wake-up call from the higher mind and an opportunity to fall in line with whatever is in the best interests of mankind (Or not). Ordinarily Mars, or the ego, is like an out of control teenager who is hell bent on doing whatever he feels like doing. Mars happens to be ‘exalted’ in Capricorn; this means that the collective ego is feeling less selfish, more mature, and more willing to follow the dictates of the higher self – this is a good sign.

As soon as Mars is done with Pluto, he will conjunct Jupiter. This means that right after Mars gets his instructions from ‘Mr. Big’ he will hook up with Santa, the forces of light, a.k.a. Jupiter and say:  “I have just had my regular pow-wow with Pluto. Do you have any advice for me? Can you add anything to my ability to act in the highest and best interests of mankind?” In astrological terms, Mars will confer with Pluto, ‘collect light’ from Jupiter, and move on. By the last day of March, Mars will meet with Saturn.

Saturn is the warden and the time-keeper in this dimension. I find it interesting that what first appeared to be just about Jupiter and Pluto, has turned out to be a beautiful mixture of archetypal forces, doing everything in their power to make things work. So, now that Mars has been straightened out by Pluto and uplifted by Jupiter, he is in good shape to deal with Saturn. Saturn is the foreman here. He will most likely help Mars organize his course of action and come up with the best possible plan for humanity.

With Saturn ready and waiting to install a new set of rules, and Mars more than clear about the fact that he has to act in the best interests of mankind, the higher forces that watch over this planet are 100% there for us. All we have to do is wake up, smell the coffee, and start walking our talk.

Jupiter and Pluto will be dancing around and holding space for all of the above through Nov. 12, 2020. This gives us close to nine months to rub the sleep from our eyes and birth the new paradigm. Our current state of affairs, with the coronavirus and all? Like so many other things, it is exactly the opposite of what it appears to be. We are in a gestation period. This quarantine is akin to the space between the in breath and the out breath, or the great void out of which all things emerge and begin again. It would be great if we could pull ourselves together, eliminate all distractions, and prepare for a whole new ballgame – because we are moving out of the darkness into the light – and no matter how the gap between faith and fear calls us to spin it, the best is yet to come. Let me leave you with that and invite you to take what you can from this week’s ‘scopes.