Pluto in Sag - Half Time Report - By Steve Judd MA
 

I’m an Astrologer.  I have studied astrology since the late 1970’s, using it as launch pad and central support for the investigation of many different types of anomalous phenomena, much of which is related to the period known as pre-history (pre 500 BC).  I have developed my own theories regarding eschatology and the evolution of intelligence in humanity,  which you can find out more about by looking at my web site, and I have correlated this acceleration of evolution to a kind of planetary timetable.  Over the last few decades, there has been an upsurge in the intensity of outer planet astrological activity to a quality of degree that we have not experienced for hundreds, if not thousands of years.  This timetable gives us not the outcome of events, but guidelines to the likely timings of events.  However, in order to sense the pattern inherent in the future we first have to relate to the past and understand how the messages from the outer planets can be integrated and assimilated into our lives.

I had my first astrological experiences during the last 6 years of Pluto in Libra.  Not a lot was known about Pluto in 1977 compared to now,  but it was becoming very clear that a fundamental rethink of society’s attitudes towards nuclear relationships and family tradition was taking place.  There was clear and undeniable evidence that people were no longer willing to tolerate failing relationships as much as they once had and that a change was seeping through into the mass consciousness, relating to personal space and boundaries and resulting in a major break with established relationship tradition.  As astrologers, we watched, seemingly helpless and not a little bit scared, as Pluto accelerated towards Scorpio, with Saturn catching it up fast (1982-3).  It should be remembered that at this time we were still living under the constant threat of nuclear war, which may explain to some degree the desire to eliminate old patterns of behaviour in personal relationships and try for something better whilst we still could, before the bomb dropped!

Pre 1983, influential text books were predicting that Pluto in Scorpio would be THE time for humanity.  “Transform or die” is one phrase that springs to mind from The Astrologers Handbook.  Sure enough, the transformation widely forecasted did take place, but not in any expected way .  Pluto is anything but predictable. It forced humanity and its representatives in Control and Power (good Pluto/Scorpionic words there) to face up to the realistic consequences of nuclear armaments, and especially since Chernobyl, the chances of world wide nuclear war have shrunk to practically zero.  As Pluto approached its halfway point through Scorpio during 1988, we watched Saturn and Uranus move into Capricorn within 36 hours of each other and dared to wonder if we might not, after all, just make it.  But by now, another “taboo” subject was rearing its head.  Just as Saturn, Uranus and Neptune settled down for a two year run through traditionalist and moralist Capricorn, so Pluto’s more hidden, or even repressed, side became a lot more apparent.  The upsurge in public awareness around HIV issues became a permanent feature.  The need for a transformation of individual and societal sexual awareness became an essential factor for safeguarding the future, and countries that did not take this message on board for whatever reason have suffered immeasurably.  (Currently, witness the appalling scenes of baby rape in South Africa in the mistaken belief that this practise cures HIV).

We watched with growing anticipation as the world persevered and endured through the Uranus/Neptune conjunction and the Saturn/Pluto square in 1993/94,  looking forward to the days during 1996 when with Saturn in Aries, Uranus in Aquarius and primarily Pluto finally out of Scorpio and into Sagittarius, we could expect to see changes!  And hopefully, changes for the better that would revolutionise our technology, that would transform our philosophies, and that would give us a fresh start, free from the fear endemic since the advent of nuclear weapons at the end of World War 2.

From 1996 onwards Pluto has been in Sagittarius.  What have we learnt?  We cannot realistically use parallels from the past to guide us, for two primary reasons.  Firstly, Pluto wasn’t discovered until 1930. During its two most recent times in Scorpio and Sagittarius  (around 1500 and 1750) its effects were not predicted, expected, known of, or even describable.  It is only since 1930 that words like underworld, sub-molecular and sub-atomic, unconscious and subconscious have become a regular feature in the contemporary language.  Secondly, since 1944 Pluto has been interacting in a very favourable way with Neptune.  In almost every horoscope compiled since the end of the Second World War there has been a sextile between these two planets.  An aspect lasting 60 plus years is obviously very generalised in translation, but basically the opportunity  (sextile) for imagination (Neptune) and transformation (Pluto) has been and continues to be a subtle yet powerful factor.  It’s also interesting to note that Pluto actually spent the vast majority of the 1990’s inside the orbit of Neptune – i.e. that transformation came within the boundaries of the imagination.

Pluto is seen as the chart ruler of Scorpio, in detriment in Taurus, exalted in Leo and in fall in Aquarius.  I would like to inject a note of contention here, reflecting on Pluto’s relationship with the Gemini/Sagittarius axis.  Recent information regarding the geo-physical make up of Pluto shows that it’s moon, Charon, does not so much orbit Pluto as pull it around a central point like a set of gear wheels.  Charon orbits this point twice for every time Pluto orbits it once.  Hence the midpoint of the dual planet binary system, the centre of Pluto’s and Charon’s dance, the actual point that the ephemeris delineates, is a void.  There is nothing there.  To me, this suits the nature of Gemini very well.  The idea of two different bodies, locked within their own system of organisation, both dancing around the core yet finding single direction or commitment almost too hard….

In a nutshell, the nature of Pluto is eliminative and transformational in a progressive way.  Key words for Sagittarius are law, religion, philosophy and travel.  Since 1995 there have been many attempts to redefine international and national law.  In this country, for example, there is a question to the right of trial by jury – something that has been established for centuries.  In other countries – notably, at this time, some central African countries – the law is being changed to favour the current lawmakers.

Pre 9/11 travel had become much more of an everyday thing, with more and more people using aeroplanes and the latest trains, whilst car ownership has escalated.  Pluto in Sagittarius (travel), along with Uranus in Aquarius (technology), has brought the notion of the global village to reality.  Just ten years ago, mobile phones – those few that there were – were shaped like bricks.  Five years ago, how many people were accessing the Internet or sending emails?  Two years ago video conferencing was science fiction.  We seem to be on a pathway of continually expanding our communication drives.   Since 1995 we have refined our methods and systems of communication to the point that travel at a physical level is in some cases becoming unnecessary.  We can phone, text, email, video link…..If our planet were to be seen from outer space by a visitor, it would represent a single celled  creature whose component atoms and molecules were in a high state of agitation.  Indeed, that single cell could be seen as already reaching out, sending out tendrils, gene plasma and other attempts at communication and interaction in the form of satellites and radio + TV messages.  The planet itself is reaching out, is trying to establish new systems of communication with other planets and star systems.  Pre 1995 it was being forecast that Pluto in Sagittarius would bring considerable expansionism in areas concerning space travel, and this seems to be happening.  I believe that over the next 6 years, space exploration is likely to accelerate to the degree that some type of contact or interaction with non terrestrial life forms is possible, even probable.

Our attitudes towards our ethics, morals and philosophies have gone through major metamorphoses during the last six years.  In many people, our reasons for wanting things are now no longer the same as they were six years ago.  Instead, fuelled by a media portraying global imbalance, people are redefining their needs, wants and desires according to their conscience and their integrity as opposed to just wanting more and more.  With a note of cautious optimism, there seems to be an upsurge in environmental awareness throughout society, as well as a conscious decision to moderate excess.

The origin of the word religion lies  in “re-ligare”, literally   “to tie down, to rebind”.  Looking back to 1995, it was a fairly safe bet to be able to predict a substantial change in world wide attitudes towards traditionalist religion.  It is still a safe bet to say that mainstream religion is becoming a far less effective force for change than at any other time in its history, and that by 2008 (when Pluto finally moves completely into Capricorn) it will be a bit player on the world stage.  Over the last 2,000 years religions have been the single biggest constants in people’s lives.  At a time where a low population, lack of international communication and absence of education were the norm, humanity needed a stabilising influence which provided people with a sense of being fostered, nurtured and protected.  In this day and age, with high population,  good communications and an increasingly larger proportion of the world becoming educated, the new gods are in the matrix, on the web and in the arena.  One of the clearest indications of the influence of Pluto in Sagittarius and Uranus in Aquarius at this time is the radical shift in information technology that has occurred just within the last six years.  “The web shall set you free”  is a saying that is becoming fact.  And as a direct result of the new information overload, traditionalist religion, which has sought to establish itself as the guardian of knowledge over the centuries, has suddenly found its authority being questioned.  People are finding their own religions now, and they are not those of orthodoxy.

So halfway through Pluto’s transit of Sagittarius we find ourselves in a world where the notion of  the global community is becoming reality.  Our ideas and experiences concerning words like truth, religion, travel, philosophy and the law are changing very fast.  We take the innovations and new technologies for granted, but where were we twenty, ten, five or even two years ago?  And what does the future hold?

In the Daily Mirror on August 6 2001 I wrote the following. “Saturn in Gemini (2001-03) is telling us to restructure our systems of communication, while Pluto in Sagittarius (1995 –2008) is transforming our attitudes towards truth, philosophy and religion.  The opposition of these planets occurs only every 35 + years, from last night until June 2002.  During this time, intensification, and hopefully, resolution, of religious conflict worldwide (Israel, N.Ireland, Afghanistan etc) can be expected, while extremism will rise in the short term.  The opposition hits the US horoscope powerfully, and immense changes in American political, financial and even constitutional circles are possible, even probable.”  Right now, from a heliocentric viewpoint, Saturn is approaching its only exact opposition to Pluto (Mar 30), with the final geocentric opposition coming during the last week of May.  Although Saturn opposes Pluto on average every 36-7 years, it is the first time it has done so  from Gemini to Sagittarius since May 1267 – hardly a regular occurrence!  It was at this time that the first generally accepted parliament was formed, with it flexing its power for the first time in 1275  It was also at this time that the first Islamic empire came to an end, with the Mongols invading Baghdad and killing the last Caliph in 1258.  In 1268 – 1270 Marco Polo set off for China.  All of these events have a powerful resonance at this time, which we would do well to note.

I believe that the opposition of Saturn to Pluto at this time is providing the biggest challenge of Pluto’s time in Sagittarius.  Saturn deals with form, structure, the elements of consolidation and restriction.  In Gemini it is telling us to tighten up our act regarding all forms of communication.  Communication at a global level, through journeying, media and electronics,  communication at an interactive level, through reading, writing, speaking and moving, and communication at a personal level, through systems of thought, mind and intellect.  Pluto deals with compulsion and obsession, elimination, transformation and rebirth.  In Sagittarius it is telling us to transform our philosophies, to find a more believable truth, and to take responsibility for our future.  The opposition between the two is bringing a fundamental clash between the desire to have a superficial communicative framework where everything has its (barely) sustainable place in the system, and the desire to have a clearer direction for humanity, to live life with a cleaner conscience and to have the truth told to everyone!  The tower of Babel is coming down, words are no longer enough.  I ended my prediction in the Mirror by saying “Closer to home, secrets and lies will be exposed with individuals demanding far greater accountability, commitment and truth, both personally and professionally.  Its time to revolutionise our concepts about honesty, religion and communication.  Don’t we all deserve a better future?”

  by Steve Judd MA