Mars-Pluto-Narcissus: Everything is a Sign of the Times For a version of this letter with an active discussion, please see this link. You must be logged in as an introductory member or higher to access the page. Dear Friend and Reader: Mars is about to make a conjunction to Pluto in Capricorn (6:06 pm EST Monday, or 23:06 UTC). It makes two other aspects in the process. First, there is already a planet conjunct Pluto, a centaur called Narcissus (obviously not named for a mythological centaur).
When a fast-moving inner planet makes aspects to a longstanding generational aspect like the Uranus-Pluto square, there's the possibility of a moment of revelation. True, that's always possible, though I'm talking about one associated with learning astrology. I call these ‘proving moments', though by proving I mean demonstrating the possibilities rather than some form of scientific proof. I am borrowing the term from my first cousins next door, the homeopaths. The tendency of astrology is to predict events. I prefer to use it as an observation tool, and a means of analysis, and this is what I suggest we do with this one-of-a kind pattern. Whatever happens over the next week or so will tell us something about the Uranus-Pluto square, and about the times we are living in. Our old friend Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) observed that the environment is invisible. Using astrology and observation, we have an opportunity to see what is actually in our environment and how it's influencing us (and vice versa). As part of the environment, the times in which one is alive are notoriously difficult to see. What is happening now, whenever now may be, is almost always taken for granted. It's just the way things are; no need to really notice what it's telling us. Astrology has a different message -- pay attention and notice.
Narcissus is the lead character in a Greek myth, and in modern parlance, it's the namesake of a psychological issue (narcissistic personality disorder). Wikipedia's editors describe this as affecting someone who is "excessively preoccupied with personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity, mentally unable to see the destructive damage they are causing to themselves and to others in the process." Prevailing estimates that this affects just 1% of the population are hilarious. I think it's more like a good strong influenza; that it's close to the essence of our society's emotional plague. To unravel that all you need to do is study television commercials, movies and pop culture. Narcissism is a form of extreme self-interest at the expense of, or to the exclusion of, other people, and to the detriment of the person stuck in this place. It's also self-defeating, in the end, just like many diseases first thrive on and then kill the host organism. When you put Narcissus together with Pluto, you connect it to the evolutionary impulse that Pluto carries. This can work many ways -- through extreme experiences, a liberationist impulse, or thirst for wisdom, to name a few. Mars conjunct Pluto-Narcissus, then squaring Uranus, is begging for enlightened self-interest. I would describe that as self-interest that recognizes that we are all connected, and have common needs. Actual self-interest sees common interest, just like a smart business person knows that other people succeeding in business is essential to his or her success. Another way to conceive of this aspect pattern is an eruption of the issue that it describes. Mars-Pluto-Uranus, square Uranus, has a bonfire of the vanities sensation, a fire which may burn bright enough to see what all of this unenlightened self-interest is about. It may even burn bright enough to provice a glimpse of what lurks in the dark psychological landscape around us. Lovingly,  To unsubscribe, click here e Wiki | Friends | Editors | Contact Us Copyright © 2014 by Planet Waves, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Other copyrights may apply. Some images used under Fair Use or Share Alike attribution. |
