Pluto Arrives in Aquarius

Pluto Arrives in Aquarius - A New Reality

"You say a new era in art is preparing; you sensed it coming; continue your studies without weakening. God will do the rest."

— Paul Cezanne

The structures that we associate with Capricorn (ruled by Saturn) are generally considered to be the laws and boundaries of cold, hard reality within which we must constrain ourselves, while the visionary dreamworld of Pisces (ruled by Neptune — along with Jupiter) is generally associated with illusion — or even delusion and deception. Between Capricorn and Pisces there is Aquarius, associated with the revolutionary rebels, smashing through the barriers of Capricorn to find a New Truth and build 'New Structures' to replace the old. But what if the 'reality'of Capricorn's structures — Saturn — is actually the illusion? Saturn (ruling Capricorn) is generally seen as the voice of hard, cold, Reality, while Neptune (ruling Pisces — along with Jupiter) is considered to represent the ethereal, illusionary realm of dreams and visions. In between Saturn and Neptune lies Uranus (ruling Aquarius — along with Saturn) which shatters our assumptions and crashes through our expectations of what we believed to be true Reality — and somehow frees us to find a New Reality. So what do we learn when we 'arrive' in Aquarius and begin to rebuild Capricorn's 'Old Structures' in a 'New Way'. The transition from Capricorn to Aquarius might be compared to the action of 'the People' (Aquarius) storming the fortress walls (Capricorn) of the French Bastille. The barriers are broken down and the foundation of a new order is laid. But were the old barriers actually the reality? Is a new order actually a 'New Reality'? Or is the drive to create a 'New Reality' actually firmly rooted, structured, and created within the realm of an ethereal dream stirred by Neptune (and Pisces)? Once we 'arrive' in Pisces, we are faced with the question of what exactly IS reality. What if the dreams that we associate with Neptune are the true Reality and Saturn's 'structures' are simply the playthings of our dreams and visions?

Pluto arrives in Aquarius at the end of this week to begin a 20 year era when we will find ourselves faced with questions such as those posed above. Pluto will make a short dip back into Capricorn later this year, from September 3rd until November 19th — just enough time for tying up 'loose ends' and a quick review of 'old structures'. But essentially, this week's ingress of Pluto into Aquarius sets the stage for a brand new era — A New Reality. The Sun conjuncts Pluto at 29° 59' Capricorn and the Moon trines the conjunction from 29° 59' Taurus only minutes before the Sun arrives in Aquarius and the Moon enters Gemini early Saturday morning. Pluto's ingress into Aquarius occurs later in the afternoon. The last time that Pluto was in Aquarius the fortress of the Bastille was, in fact, stormed by 'the people'. The United States Declaration of Independence was written while Pluto was still in Capricorn but the decaying British Empire, under the questionable rule of King George III, was finally defeated by 'the people of the United States' in 1783, when Pluto was in Aquarius — and a 'New Reality' was being established. The Sun and Moon's highlighting of this Pluto ingress is notable and likely to signal significant individual, personal involvement in the effect of these transitions. Also quite notable in this week's equations, is the presence of Saturn in Pisces — the structures of Saturn are being slowly dissolved in the dreamworld of Pisces. As well, bringing more individual, personal involvement, Venus makes a square to Neptune in Pisces from idealistic, 'belief-driven' Sagittarius on Friday, capping off a series of Sagittarius-Pisces squares — Mercury's retrograde motion took it through 3 squares to Neptune, one of which involved Mars, and the Sun also squared Neptune back on December 16th. These aspects all suggest a swirl of belief-driven idealism. Our 'Reality', tied closely to that idealism, is shifting in deeply personal and extremely hard to define ways this week. Pluto's move into Aquarius within this context may be quite jarring and disillusioning for some while others may experience the shifts as extraordinarily liberating. The intuitive and intellectual support is actually quite stabilizing. The Aquarian influence encourages and supports making new connections to our community and those around us. There may be some tendency to defensiveness surrounding our idealism and our beliefs. Nonetheless, we are certain to find extremely important insights by actively seeking out and strengthening connections with those around us. As well, there is little doubt that taking tangible, material actions based upon the idealism in this week's atmosphere will serve to help us avoid seeing our dreams and ideals 'evaporate'. But perhaps the real tangible, material essence of 'Reality' offered by Saturn and Capricorn is found in the principles of honesty and responsibility. Ultimately, we are beginning an entirely new 'learning process' this week and nothing less than our understanding of 'Reality' is on the table for review.

There is extraordinary sensitivity in Sunday's environment. We feel the need to protect our thoughts and ideas from skeptics and naysayers. Intuition is powerfully important on Monday. We may continue to feel protective of our ideas but we find more stability to effectively 'clear the air'. We may feel encouraged to 'push the envelope' on Tuesday. We aren't inclined to 'suffer fools', which may lead us to set aside diplomacy or compromise. Aggressiveness is softened on Wednesday with a boost in confidence. There is some promise of a new direction which eases our sense that we need to stay on the defensive. Intellect helps to stabilize our position on Thursday. There is hope that we can move our idealism into a tangible, definitive 'plan of action'. We may face a new bout of stubborn but unrealistic idealism or overoptimism on Friday. The atmosphere may seem disorienting or unfamiliar. Nothing less than 'A New Era' is ushered in on Saturday. Old ideas are to be set aside — but not forgotten — in order to make new discoveries. The 'freedom to learn' is emphasized.