Therapeutic Predictive Astrology in Action
Prediction can be dangerous, and like all projections (or assumptions about reality) are best handled with a balance of curiosity, skepticism, and humbled ownership of the imaginative faculty that is responsible for both genius and such folly.
This week Mars approaches Pluto in the sky. Astrologers warn of potential impending violence and aggression (acutely and more than usual). Like all transits in the sky, this is a global phenomenon. Barring large scale violence, which we can all work and pray against daily regardless of the transits, the best way to metabolize a collective transit is to notice where it falls within your personal birth chart. Pluto has been squaring my personal Mars for awhile which means that Mars is coming in to accentuate the square. Mars/Pluto square Mars is a LOT of volcanic fire energy (like a lot).
Even one of these planets on its own can weild a strong impact. Pluto is a slow fire, causing deep and permanent change wherever it transits the birth chart. Because it moves so slowly, this transformation tends to be most clearly seen after a period of a few years. Mars, however, is quick and aggressive, obvious in the moment of impassioned action and quick to move on (hopefully leaving harmony in his wake although this is not his top priority). When I saw this aspect in my chart I wondered if I should take the week off and stay in. But instead of being astrology's bitch (or more specifically the bitch of speculation), I decided to observe.
First thing's first I am practicing caution- particularly around fire, automobiles, and strange men. "Hide your kids, hide your wife" is an apt chant for a Mars/Pluto square.
Second point up: do not avoid the energy! This is where the curiosity and imagination come in. We believe in astrology because we have seen the synchronicities. But we can never say exactly how these themes will materialize. A popular concept amongst skilled astrologers is the understanding that if one does not embody and express a certain influence seen in their chart, it can very likely show up in the person's environment. The worst case expression of a Mars/Pluto square is something like a homicidal maniac. But this energy could also show up as control issues, arguments, and all sorts of conflicts of power and will. I would much prefer to embody and harness aggression than be on the wrong side of it. This requires active internal inquiry. Perhaps I will stay attuned to politics, and actively express my anti war sentiments. Or maybe I will take the opportunity to show respect to familiar warrior deities (like Kali or Ogun) asking for them to fight my battles for me and to show me my most protected expression of these energies. I might also look out for opportunities to advocate for the victimized or look more closely into current anti-violence movements such as #metoo and Black Lives Matters. (All the while still hiding my proverbial kids and wife.)
My final point is to remain open. After all, Pluto and Mars might offer qualities that can get lost in the sensation. While we know to practice caution, peace and patience during such this transit, Pluto has less violent correspondences as well, such as our subconcious and minds, and Mars can refer to creative expression. Similarly, while a square does indicate conflict it is also the best aspect for motivating action. Looking more closely at my personal chart, Mars is pretty happy yet itself - ruled by itself in Aries and residing in the fifth house of creativity. My Pluto is more chill than the usual archetype, in Libra, and snails around in the eleventh house of community. So to give myself a high vibrational path for this energy, I hypothesize around how I might put my energy into, say, my subconscious role in balancing community energy and what bold creative expressions might be aroused that could effect this. Since the Pluto/Mars in the sky transits my second house of resources, I would definitely want to notice how my physical assets plug into this equasion, remaining especially measured and strategic in decisions regarding finances and my body.
I'll update this post in a week. Blessings of safety and peace to my soul, body and the Earth until then and for always.
Update: Initially I was focused on whether to more avoid automobiles or walking at night. My first car ride across town had me fearful (which I soon realized speaks a lot to my personal phobias, as I was overfocusing on this. Pluto ruling the shadow and also considering that all of this is simultaneously T squaring my Moon in House 8, I thought that was noteworthy.) So on the car ride I ended up talking to my Lyft driver who told me not only that I should not have invested in bitcoin (!) and that my astrologer was "fake" (!!), but persuaded me to let him read my palm at the end of the ride and basically insinuated that some harrowing bad death event was upon me (at which point he told me to "talk to my astrologer" haha). Although his reasoning didn't make sense from a palmistry perspective and his "professional ethics'' were clearly off in being so fear mongery, I freaked out because this worry was honestly already on my mind. The triggered anxiety forced me to look deeply into why I worry about that (in short, the thing that feels "off" inside is my recent egoic and even arrogant pretending that I don't want a family or companionship when the underlying truth is that I have always been terrified of losing love and losing loved ones to death/abandonment- causing me to finally see the role that the 8th house Moon -in Cancer- must play, particularly in the longer Pluto transit but to the acute Mars influence as well. For awhile now, I'd been having trouble picturing a future for myself which was troubling). So, despite the questionable character of the Lyft driver, the anxiety from this interaction compelled me to implement immediate changes in my values, outlook, and self-honesty and now I feel more secure spiritually, knowing that I am truly doing my best to be healthy on all levels. After that anxiety dissipated, I made some additional notes: 1) emotional manipulation is probably my biggest vulnerability and regardless of his predictive capabilities, this man went right for my vulnerability, teaching me more about Pluto (double thanks to Sukdeep for that) and 2) if Pluto/Mars was going to be strong in my field for the time being, I had better try to BE it so that it doesn't have so much reason to catch me unaware. So, last week I slapped a man who had just paid me for trying to cross my boundaries, threw an over the top fit to my employers were consistently not prioritizing my needs, and willed two annoying shit-talking girls out of the sauna with my aura alone. As they walked out, one was like "bitch" and while normally that might concern me, I laughed because that's when I knew I was on the right track. I also have been more savvy to the detection of "frenemies" than ever before because even though it isn't how I consciously choose to move through the world, it is how other people roll and sometimes frenemies can be helpful (I should identify them and not necessarily cut them off BUT I shouldn't trust them). Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I made a point to be more conscious of wars in the world and realized that regardless of what the future has in store for me personally, if my only problem to date is worrying about problems, while our "leaders" continue to take lives in other countries for no good reason, I really have no sensible business feeling anything but highly healthy and free. Make no mistake , I will continue to honor and maintain my health on all levels to the best of my ability (particularly considering Uranus coming up on Taurus, my 6th house, AND my Venus). But this Mars/Mars/Pluto/Moon T square energy seems to hold a lot of charge mostly around emotional health, and fear - and the power that can come from deep self review and a rising above that fear. Initially I was focused on whether to more avoid automobiles or walking at night. My first car ride across town had me fearful (which I soon realized speaks a lot to my personal phobias, as I was overfocusing on this. Pluto ruling the shadow and also considering that all of the is simultaneously T squaring my Moon in House 8, I thought that was noteworthy.) So on the car ride I ended up talking to my Lyft driver who told me not only that I should not have invested in bitcoin (!) and that my astrologer was "fake" (!!), persuaded me to let him read my palm at the end of the ride and basically insinuated that some harrowing bad death event was upon me (at which point he told me to "talk to my astrologer" haha). Although his reasoning didn't make sense from a palmistry and perspective and his "professional ethics'' were clearly off in being so fear mongery, I freaked out because this worry was honestly already on my mind. The triggered anxiety forced me to look deeply into why I worry about that (in short, the things that feels "off" inside is my recent egoic and even arrogant pretending that I don't want a family or companionship when the underlying truth is that I have always been terrified of losing love and losing loved ones to death/abandonment- this is when I finally acknowledged the role that the 8th house Moon (in Cancer) must play, particularly in the longer Pluto transit but to the acute Mars influence as well. For awhile now, I'd been having trouble picturing a future for myself). So despite the questionable character of the Lyft driver, the anxiety from this interaction compelled me to implement immediate changes in my values, outlook, and honesty with my heart and spirit and now I feel more secure spiritually, knowing that I am truly doing my best to be healthy on all levels. Following this I realized two things 1) emotional manipulation is probably my biggest vulnerability and regardless of his predictive capabilities, this man went right for my vulnerability, teaching me about Pluto (double thanks to Sukdeep for that) and 2) if Pluto/Mars was going to be strong in my field for the time being, I had better try to BE it so that it doesn't have so much reason to catch me unaware. So, last week I: slapped a man who had just paid me for trying to cross my boundaries, threw an over the top fit to my employers were consistently not prioritizing my needs, and willed two annoying shit-talking girls out of the sauna with my aura. As they walked out, one was like "bitch" and while normally that might concern me, I laughed because that's when I knew I was on the right track. I have also been more savvy to the detection of "frenemies" because even though it isn't how I consciously choose to move through the world, it is how other people roll and sometimes frenemies can be helpful (I should identify them, and not necessarily cut them off BUT I shouldn't trust them). Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I made a point to be more conscious of war and realized that regardless of what the future has in store for me, if my only problem to date is worrying, as our leaders are taking lives in other countries for no good reason, I really have no efficient reason to feel anything other than extremely healthy and free. Make no mistake though, I will continue to honor and maintain my health on all levels to the best of my ability, particularly considering Uranus coming up on Taurus, my 6th house, AND my Venus. But this Mars/Mars/Pluto/Moon T square energy seems to hold a lot of charge mostly around emotional health, and fear - and the power that can come from deep self review and a rising above that fear.
Side note: how amazing is it that, while the astrologer whose scary words inspired this activity warned of extreme warlike potentials as Mars crossed Pluto last week, instead we saw this :
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-offers-to-give-up-nukes-if-us-promises-not-to-attack-south-korea-says-2018-04-29