Saturn and Pluto: a History
Saturn and Pluto are conjunct in Capricorn as of January 12th. This coincides with a meeting between Mercury, the planet of communication, and the Sun, our vitality. Saturn is all about structure, time, limitations, responsibility, and is very solid and rigid. Pluto is about death, rebirth, and transformation. It doesn’t bring transformation softly. It’s a bulldozer.
When these two planets meet we know important structures in society are going to be torn down and rebuilt. Capricorn’s main concern is building for the future, and that’s exactly what this conjunction is helping with. The intensity will increase. The constraint and division we have been experiencing for a while will likely build.
Societal structures are decaying and breaking down before our eyes. This is so we can build them anew with the future in mind. The best thing you can do is go within and overcome your inner bully. To explore your shadow side and unconscious rather than seek external achievement. Work on understanding what you deserve and what we all deserve.
This conjunction brings a gravity of graveyards, and forces a vital confrontation with issues in society we can no longer deny. Pluto amplifies the Saturn contraction. We start to separate what is essential and non-essential; sort of the way we’re doing with employees and travel right now. We do this in the face of absolute obstruction.
Consider how society would function without our service workers, cashiers, grocery stockers, janitors, and other employees we were told for a long time didn’t deserve a living wage. Like healthcare workers, they are putting their lives on the line for us. Reconsider what worth means to you personally.
This is the end of a cycle that began in 1982–83. It’s bringing up old patterns and cultural material that we have to confront, contemplate, and clear out. It initiated a new cycle with an emphasis on moving toward a forging of new structures that support the greater purpose.
This is not an easy conjunction. Yes, my goal is to bring us hope that in the end changes will be made, but make no mistake they won’t come easy. This is a cathartic intensity that forces us to endure, develop inner focus, become determined and find our courage and inner strength to fight.
It’s about resiliently persisting in the face of the opposition. We must surrender to what is out of our control, focusing on what we can control from where we are. Even the smallest details matter. We must also be aware of and nurture our feelings of grief and loss because we’re experiencing both in great numbers right now. Do not avoid your feelings.
An amplified version of this conjunction will arrive in September. There are likely going to be many polarizing conflicts still all over the world. Each side will act overly defensive and want to persecute the other side. Ultimately, it’s about bringing outdated structures up to code. Think Iran and America and Israel and Palestine.
The fact that it’s happening in Capricorn means these codes and structures have to do with governments, corporations, and the economy. This is why we’re experiencing a global shake up right now. Pluto has been on a slow roll through Capricorn since 2008.
Saturn joined on December 17, 2017. We have felt this conjunction coming with trade wars, the shifting of national alliances, and brazen grabs at power. At the same time, we’re seeing a rise in global solidarity, protests, and movements. A rising up of the people; not me, us.
This is not a gentle conjunction, but we do not have to live in fear. It really is a rip it down to the bones type energy, but that’s what we must do in order to have a rebuilt system that is fair and just to all. Pluto is known as the galactic grim reaper and demands a total transformation.
Saturn is just as uncompromising as Pluto. He is an inspector and architect. Currently he’s building a master blueprint that will help us build the new structures we need. See the Saturn in Aquarius post I did here:
This is about radical shifts of our mindset, as well as our operating systems and our social structures. The last time this conjunction happened in Capricorn was 1518. Three months prior to that Martin Luther released his 95 Thesis, exposing financial corruption in the Catholic Church.
This sparked the protestant reformation. We also saw a “dancing plague” in Strasbourg, France, and it was the year Spain became authorized to send slaves ships to America directly from Africa. This energy creates this push pull dynamic between the old and the new.
In 1982 this conjunction was in Libra. CoreCivic became the first corporation to privately own a prison. Today, it is publicly traded on the stock exchange and the annual revenue is $1.7 billion. Right now, CoreCivic is gathering up government contracts at ICE detention centers. There is a law suit going on because they used forced prison labor as slaves instead of hiring and paying employees.
The old guard, Nancy Pelosi, gave Trump the unaccounted for money he requested for the border. There were no safety measures put in place for the families and children dying and being separated. When the newer, uncorrupt members of congress called her out she got the bought media to give her a NYT spread, throwing four women of color under a bus. But corporations like CoreCivic saw profits soar because of their previous donations to people like Pelosi and Donald Trump.
If you are struggling with feelings of domination and invisibility please remember you’re not alone. We’re all going through this together. We must unite in global solidarity for the whole, rather than justify our own extreme behaviors and beliefs. We are social distancing physically, but we can stay together remotely via technology.
Consider that Capricorn is the eldest earth sign, and associated with conservation. Our natural resources fall under its care. This conjunction means the fight over our energy sources is likely going to intensify as well. Our climate needs to be saved, and the tensions are understandable and absolutely necessary going forward.
Both Saturn and Pluto are obsessed with generating wealth, and while in Capricorn that is amplified. Their meetings tend to be marked by a global shift in the economy every time. Such as in 1914–15 when the conjunction dovetailed WW1 and stretched to the next conjunction in 1947; aligning with WWII. Global powers emerged, a battle for supremacy began. In 1947 the international monetary fund (IMF) was established to encourage a global fiscal cooperation.
Consider November 16, 1914, the US Federal Reserve began operations as Saturn and Pluto, both in retrograde, united at 1 degree Cancer. Just before that, was the 1914 financial panic. Impending war threatened global markets. Investors began pulling out of the markets and chasing cash and gold. We saw the London exchange shut down for five months and the US for four. For six weeks in August and early September of that year, just as these planets made close contact, every exchange in the world was closed.
This is about inspiring new forms of money and economic models. Something will likely have to die from the old system to create a new system. We are seeing a very shaky balance between self-interest and the public benefit right now. Recall Pluto entering Capricorn in 2008 and leveling our global economy; leading to the great recession.
Pluto will remain in Capricorn until 2024. We are likely to go through some pretty tough times until it leaves. This will accelerate developments in our money models, however, and we could see a cashless form of society, as I mentioned in the Gracious Endings post regarding Saturn in Aquarius.
Trump’s win is likely a result of Pluto in Capricorn. It’s the only way we really could accelerate the exposure of corruption and rot. It’s the reason infrastructure, ruled by Capricorn, is crumbling. When Pluto leaves Capricorn it’s entering Aquarius. This means a period of sustained political transformation at profound levels.
Capricorn has been about exposing the levers of government, the inner workings of global systems, the dark money, and secret powers. Aquarius is about the people, the masses, and the larger view. We’re going to be entering an age of full transparency. First, we must suffer through the exposing of that which has remained hidden so long.
Expect global power shifts to happen. There is going to be a decline of old empires and super powers. A radical societal reform in governments and the economy is likely. A fight against rising authoritarianism continues. A continued exposure and cleansing of the rotten hierarchies and corruption at the top of our structures. A transformation of the energy industry. We may see more military coups like we did in Bolivia. All of it to be followed by a period of real, economic growth for all; not just the few.
Did you know the patriarchy is ruled by Capricorn? Its not escaping this conjunction. In fact, since Saturn joined Pluto in 2017 we’ve seen a rise in #MeToo and #TimesUp stories. Recently we learned that some of the organizations and media are protecting people like Joe Biden when solid accusations arise. Everything is being exposed and that will continue. We’re also seeing an increased attempt to restrict women’s rights.
Gender identity will remain a topic of reform. The astrology suggests gender non-conformity will continue to gain public approval and acceptance, even if the legislative gains are small for now. This will also help us end the patriarchal structures that have ruled us for so long.
In 1931 Saturn and Pluto were in opposition. The Great Depression was at its peak. Six million Americans had no job or income. FDR became elected in a landslide in 1933. We spoke in the Gracious Endings post how Saturn was in Aquarius from 1932–1935 and the reforms FDR brought about. He is the reason we now have term limits on the office of the president, as he was so popular he served four terms.
Feelings of oppression and hierarchy will continue and likely intensify before this is over, so I’m not trying to sugar coat it. This conjunction happened two days after the lunar eclipse in Cancer, and is forming a stellium with Mercury, the Sun, Jupiter, and the asteroid, Ceres. All in the sign of Capricorn.
What we are experiencing right now with economic and political structures being turbulent is a result of this astrological energy. Ceres rules our health, nutrition, and agriculture. We could end up seeing famine and hunger rise, or the food chain being changed in a drastic way. Mercury will likely be exposing the corruption of our corporate and billionaire owned media.
Keep in mind the moves Trump has made that increase likelihood of war with Iran. In September Mars in Aries forms a square to the Saturn and Pluto conjunction; just like it did before WWI and WWII. Thanks to Jupiter we may escape a full blown war, but tensions are likely to increase. This could pose true for Israel and Palestine as well.
You can sense the doom and gloom in the air, but our job is not to tap into that. Instead, sense the undercurrent of revolutionary energy beneath the surface. Do not lose hope. Yes, these times will be tough and hard, and it’s not over, but all of this death and destruction will ultimately lead to changes that benefit society and the greater good.
This is a reckoning on the personal level. We all have a social mask because we’ve been conditioned that some things make us less worthy or acceptable than others. This conjunction forces us to deal with our shadow side on the individual and global scale. The parts of us we disown, hide, feel ashamed of, or project onto others. Personal responsibility isn’t what we’ve been sold it is.
Capricorn won’t make it easy for us to drop our masks. Be prepared for feelings you swore you’d never discuss to erupt, however. There is a lot going on in astrology right now regarding our personal relationships, too. These eruptions are likely to have those who care about you appreciate you more. Raw vulnerability is attractive; especially during tough times.
I’ll likely be talking about the Pluto and Jupiter conjunction in the next post. This is about the birthing of ambition and passion that comes from the core. Until then keep feeding the side of love and not fear. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with fear or anxiety please reach out to someone you trust or leave me a comment. We are in this together.
Namaste.
