Venus Squares Pluto

Venus Squares Pluto — Increasing Pressure

"The hatchet must fall on the block; the oak must be cleft to the centre. The weight of the world is on my shoulders."

— Virginia Woolf
The Waves

There is a 'fate-like' heaviness in the overall atmosphere this week that feels increasingly oppressive. The waxing Moon reaches a chaotic 1st quarter phase of the current lunar cycle on Friday, bringing forward the 'process-driven', methodical determination of last Thursday's Virgo New Moon (8:26 PM PDT 18° Virgo) but also some internal doubts or 'second-guessing'. There is an increasing sense of destiny as Venus squares Pluto along with a deep desire to communicate the intense weightiness of our feelings to others. As Venus slows down to turn retrograde next month (October 3), there are pressures building. Venus squares Pluto and forms a quincunx to Neptune on Wednesday. (Venus will also make two more exact squares to Pluto and quincunxes to Neptune in October and December). In Scorpio, under the challenging aspects and the looming retrograde period, Venus is carrying quite a significant 'burden' — a heavy weight that is not particularly well suited to the generally 'amiable disposition' of Venus. Neptune and Pluto complete another in a series of important, 'exact' sextiles this week — a series that began in 1950 and will not begin to finally separate until 2032. The extended involvement of Venus with the 'tight' Pluto-Neptune sextile brings our 'personal', individual involvement into focus within the context of the broader cultural and societal shifts and challenges connected to the outer planet connections — in other words, we're more likely to see and feel those shifts in our daily lives with more intensity. Once past the square to Pluto and quincunx to Neptune, Venus heads toward a quincunx with Uranus that will complete at the beginning of next week — forming a somewhat loose 'YOD' involving Neptune. The forming Venus-Uranus quincunx — which becomes more intense near the end of the week — suggests a tendency to second guess ourselves, undercutting our 'resolve' to maintain orderly, methodical progress. We may find ourselves overwhelmed by the building pressure without an ability to maintain a clear sense of purpose. In this atmosphere, the distinctly 'fate-like' sense of direction isn't easy to explain to others but we still feel compelled to keep trying to make tangible headway despite the challenges. The involvement of Venus certainly suggests that we may have the feeling that many of the obstacles we're facing are apparently caused by others. The involvement of Neptune in the 'equation' keeps our level of confusion or uncertainty somewhat troubling while the involvement of Uranus in Gemini carries the distinct possibility of producing elements of chaos that don't allow us to communicate our deepest intentions to those around us. Nonetheless, the determination this week remains quite strong. Chiron returns to Aries on Thursday to make one last pass before getting back to Taurus next April — further strengthening our individual 'resolve' to use whatever means are necessary in order to follow through on our intentions, goals, or aspirations despite the challenges.

Our confidence wanes on Sunday but we are at least somewhat encouraged to keep innovating and trying out new ideas. However, any significant follow-through won't really gain traction for most of the day. The challenge on Monday is to set aside insecurities and instinctive rebelliousness, while quietly and humbly speaking our own truth or following our own path — listening to the beat our own 'distant drummer'. It's likely that the challenges and obstacles that we're seeing aren't quite as complicated or serious as we may believe. There may be some irritability or 'crankiness' in Tuesday's atmosphere but also a rather fated sense that there is no escaping the work that must be done. By the evening, we get a 'second wind' that keeps us focused on making productive headway. We are offered some degree of philosophical perspective on Wednesday. Our minds stay extremely active, possibly overwhelming our ability to effectively process our thoughts. There is a 'fate-like' heaviness in the overall atmosphere on Thursday which begins to feel rather oppressive, challenging us to attend to any number of conflicting demands. Nonetheless, there is also an indomitable will-power and enduring 'spirit', providing a determination to 'stay with it' — even if we're not sure that we're really 'up to the task'. We may or may not have a clear 'vision' of what we're trying to accomplish on Friday but the weightiness of the situation seems unmistakable. We are encouraged to define terms or otherwise clarify our intentions in order to let others better understand what it is that we're trying to accomplish. A weighty sense of responsibility is increased on Saturday. The heavy sense of responsibility keeps any sense of freedom seemingly 'out of reach'.