Pluto Stands Still

This week Pluto stands still, a message to settle down. Today, Pluto entered the 36th arc minute of the 12th degree of Capricorn, where it will commence retrograde motion Friday; it remains in that same degree and arc minute until next Tuesday. For perspective, there are 360 degrees on the zodiac circle, and an arc minute is one 60th of one tiny degree.

Astrology by Len Wallick

In other words, Pluto is all but standing still. Because of what it represents for astrologers, this would be a good time to emulate Pluto’s example and cultivate some stillness for yourself.

Pluto actually represents many things to different astrologers. If you were to collect all of those interpretations, meanings and functions, however, they would have at least one thing in common: that which is not immediately apparent.

If you are unsettled, you cannot perceive, understand or work with what is not immediately apparent. As Planet Waves blogger Fe Bongolan eloquently illustrated nearly three years ago, that’s how propagandists work.

It’s also possible to make yourself unsettled. You can keep the coffee coming. You can turn the music up. You can keep pushing for an answer. The self-oriented wildfire energies of Aries, where the Sun is now, would support feeling justified in doing such things. You may, in fact, be so justified. You may also miss a great deal in the bargain.

If the symbolism of astrology is any indication, there is lots to potentially miss right now. The brightest objects in the night sky, and not coincidentally those closest to us, are not immediately apparent now — precisely because of their proximity to the Sun: that object which normally allows us to see.

Venus and Mars — the closest planets to Earth, corresponding the dynamics of attraction and desire — are lost in the solar glare while traversing Aries. Most tellingly, the Moon — the object nearest to Earth and its satellite — is timed to disappear from sight tomorrow during the Aries New Moon. The Moon is emblematic of your most personal and sensitive experience. Implicitly, consciousness of self is outshining awareness of self at this time.  

The clear implication is that there is a lot going on right now, within you and around you, that you would normally be aware of, but which is not immediately apparent. These hidden things are not hidden in darkness, but in daylight — and easily missed unless self-conscious immediacy is balanced by a broader perspective of self-awareness. That is how Pluto is in a position to help based on the reality of its distance from both the Sun and from Earth.

Pluto is far away from the light of the Sun. That means it is also symbolically far away from the heat of moments, such as now, when the self can lose track of its closest components in the glare of its assertion. In addition, the great distance of Pluto from Earth translates to a slower apparent motion.

Watching Pluto move through the zodiac is like watching a high-altitude airplane, or a satellite. In both cases, you know that if you were chasing it, it would be moving a lot faster. That what you are looking at appears to be moving slower than in chase, is precisely because your distance from the object affords you a broader perspective of the background it is moving against.

Pluto’s great distance from us is how it will appear to be stationary for so long before apparently changing direction. That apparent change in direction occurs as Earth enters that broad expanse of its own orbit when it is approaching to pass between Pluto and the Sun. When that happens, like it is now, it is a good time to take some time to see these days against the years of your life, your life against the wider experience of history, and history against possibilities never encountered by human beings ever before. Possibilities not immediately apparent.

If you can do that, time will open up for you. If you can find a moment of stillness, you can find a lot more. You will go from not having a moment to spare to having eternity in the palm of your hand. You can arrive at an appreciation of what you haven’t seen yet, what nobody has seen yet, and what nonetheless can be.

Many cycles of Earth and sky repeat many times in one lifetime. There are longer cycles, however, that no one person sees to completion and in which each generation is privileged to find, and choose from, what none have discovered before. This week, you can find that perspective by starting within you and continuing through what is going on outside of you, if you simply stop chasing it for a few days and settle down.

Offered In Service    

Len is available for astrology readings. You can contact him at lenwallick [at] gmail [dot] com.

24 thoughts on “Pluto Stands Still”

  1. “For my own part, the way forward (as you put it) would appear, paradoxically, to pause and go deeper”. Thank you, Len (and whatare!). These are the words I needed to read right now. Pluto stationing right after New moon is bringing up some hellish stuff, and am pretty overwhelmed right now.

  2. whatare! I really like the idea of Eris being the seed in the center of the Aries Club Five. Isn’t it awesome how the Sabians can hone in on a degree’s meaning? Not that everyone could figure out what the pictures reveal, but Dane could.

    The goddess energy is coming in stronger with every passing day and why not Eris? She’s got feelings and maybe the Sun and Moon and Mars and Venus are cocooning her; protecting her while she metamorph’s. In fact Mars is in the same degree so maybe what has being fecundated is part Mars and part Eris and will serve as a new role model – a new form of energy that’s neither all male or all female, In a world without polarity, isn’t that what we must all become? I’ll be watching how this develops during the next two years. Thanks for sharing.
    be

  3. Len,
    …pro’lly shoulda put it another way round. The potential of the new moon is the chance to set a new intention: Sun conjoined Moon holds the potential for balanced awareness; so too, Mars conjoined Venus for compassionate, loving action. To be ’embraced’ between the two, Eris’s internal chaos couldn’t be better guided to a constructive outcome. So one might look to the horizon for inspiration. There we find ‘Fortune’ with Pluto hovering above, stationary/retrograde. Put in more Zen like terms,…”Don’t just do something, sit there.”; contemplate both within and without.
    ……maybe(?) a little less Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, on the way to the here and now?

  4. whataretheyods: First off, good work. Imaginative, creative, eclectic. Go with that regardless of what others may think. For my own part, the way forward (as you put it) would appear, paradoxically, to pause and go deeper. Please, is that useful to you at all?

  5. Len,
    In the new moon chart, stationing Pluto is rising; so taking your suggestion, I looked for the larger perspective from ‘out there’. Sitting two minutes above the Ascendent is the Part of Fortune, squaring the New Moon through Venus stelium, with Eris/Mars holding the center. Eric suggested this chart would hold insight into Eris, and to ‘look around’. Well Thatcher dies, and the world stops to react/reflect; so I thought,”what would be do?” Back to Dayne, yah? Aries 21 through 24 looks as though Eris is the ‘seed’ at the center of the ‘pearl’, Capricorn 12 the lens(couldn’t have planned that pun if I tried), and Capricorn 22 the judgement, a la the I Ching. The ‘way forward’ is inherent in the stelium.
    …anyway……..thoughts?

  6. Lunesoleil: Thank you for your kind appraisal. Thank you also for mentioning Chiron and its holistic nature.

    Chief Niwots Son: It is for us to thank you. The gentle grace you bring to Planet Waves is something i could afford to emulate.

    be: Thank you for a beautiful example of correlation, and for sharing your work with us. The example of integrity and skill that you set is something i could afford to emulate as well.

  7. The 1st time Pluto entered Capricorn (1/25/08) he was met by Venus at 2 Capricorn. Asteroid Karma was at 28 Taurus.

    At Pluto’s 2nd entry into Capricorn(11/26/08) Pallas-Athene was at 15 Gemini retrograde. The Moon was at 28 Scorpio, opposite where Karma was in the Pluto 1st entry chart .

    On the day of the Sandy Hook massacre (12/14/12), Vesta was at 16 Gemini (1 degree from Pallas-Athene in the chart for Pluto’s 2nd entry). Venus was at 28 Scorpio (conjunct the Moon in Pluto’s 2nd entry chart, opposite Karma in Pluto’s 1st entry chart). Mars at 21 Capricorn was conjunct the Jupiter (who was conjunct Venus) of Pluto’s 2nd entry chart.

    On Thursday the Senate will bring the bill on gun control to the floor for a vote. Pluto will be stationing and turn retrograde the next day. Jupiter will be 2 degrees away from where Pallas-Athene was in Pluto’s 2nd entry chart, 15 Gemini. The Moon will enter Taurus the night before and conjunct the degree where Vesta was (0 Taurus) in Pluto’s 2nd entry chart.

    On June 5, 2012, Venus made an occultation of the Sun at 15 Gemini which was squared by Mars at 16 Virgo, making him square the upcoming Sandy Hook massacre chart’s Vesta at 16 Gemini. The Moon was conjunct Pluto (occultation) and square Uranus on June 5 , 2012.

    This is a partial list of synchronistic aspects stemming from the entrance of Pluto into the sign of Capricorn in 2008. Venus’ rare and meaningful occultation of the Sun at 15 Gemini was preceded by Pallas-Athene (the Planner) at 15 Gemini in the 2nd Pluto entry chart in 2008, and followed by Vesta (what we invest in) in the Sandy Hook massacre chart last December, and now Jupiter (understanding the big picture) will transit that degree in just 9 days.

    We focus on the major planets and their major aspects but it is the minor planets, and lately, most especially the feminine symbols, who fill in the important details and clarify how those major aspects manifest. This small sample shows how the Universe (God) is giving us every opportunity to re-balance our energy by bringing more focus onto heart-centered thinking. Karma in the 1st Pluto entry chart at 28+ Taurus and the Moon in the 2nd Pluto entry chart at 28+ Scorpio (re-emphasized by Venus in the Sandy Hook chart) show us this process in action through their Sabian Symbols.

    Taurus 29: TWO COBBLERS WORKING AT A TABLE. Dane Rudhyar says this symbolizes how mature minds work in an attempt to gain PERSPECTIVE.

    Scorpio 29:AN INDIAN SQUAW PLEADING TO THE CHIEF FOR THE LIVES OF HER CHILDREN. This symbol is seen as an act of intercession to “offset the dictates of karma”.

    Through the twisting and turning of events between the people and their governments we are edging our way forward (upward) in this process of evolution. If you take notice of that process over the next week or so you may come to understand how the gods and goddesses – working together – symbolize the alchemy that transforms lead into gold. It’s quite fascinating.
    be

  8. “There are longer cycles, however, that no one person sees to completion and in which each generation is privileged to find, and choose from, what none have discovered before.”

    So much action packed into your post, then at the end this gem hit me right in the 3rd Eye. The long cycles rumble through the foundation of my life, and in what I sense moving within the people I encounter in life. Thank you Len for pointing us towards the new territory we are exploring together.

  9. Len,

    In fact it was Peter Allen, ex-husband of Liza Minelli, who said “Everything old is new again.”. He sang it at the Copacabana and I was lucky enough to see him do it!

  10. Nice article Len, you have the sense of detail, congratulations, there is something to remember and learn the lesson of the Saturnian weather in stationary energy of Pluto
    Experience that we feel more easily in the step back. The sense of vacuum is more easily accepted and Chiron guide towards a more enlightened consciousness…

  11. susan: You are very welcome.

    paola (and thank you, Amanda): You got it right the third time. When you are born, you ENTER your first year, on your first birthday, you ACHIEVE your first year and ENTER your second year, and so on. This is not a matter of ephemeris discrepancy. The way i wrote it is correct. When Pluto passed the point of 11 degrees Capricorn it entered the 12th degree, where it will station retrograde. But all that is beside the point. Exactitude is a human invention. Astrology has orbs for a reason. The only reason i even mentioned the degree and arc second is to illustrate how, for all intents and purposes (NOT exactly) Pluto
    is standing still for a week, and how it is important to have the perspective that functional stationary position affords. If astrology tells us anything, it tells us that the week of Pluto being functionally stationary is not time to chase after splitting hairs – that’s part of settling down. Thank you for addressing this issue and allowing my response, which is offered in the sincere spirit of service.

    Mia: Thank you so very much for your kind words, and for addressing how (to paraphrase Eric) Pluto in Capricorn means (among other things) that everything old is new again.

    aword: You are most welcome.

    paola: Thank you. You make a very valuable point. The opposition you feel is real and does not exclude its complement, which is implicit. The question is, which works better for you – more coffee or less coffee? Seems you have answered that to your own satisfaction. statisfaction.

    be: Thank you for bringing in Jupiter and Saturn to create a bigger picture. That’s what this blog today was about – seeing the big picture, and the vast expanse of background against which outer planets are better understood. Yes, with your informed and generous help, we will all work together to keep each other posted.

    wandering_yeti: Thank you as well for emphasizing the big picture, while showing how that translates to (and validates the importance of) current events in your life. You are part of the big picture, and an eloquent part at that. On behalf of the Planet Waves Team (of which you are also a part), please accept my thanks for your affirmation of Eric’s courageous initiative to include ALL of human experience (including sexual experience) in the human experience of astrology.

  12. I feel like this isn’t just me…maybe it’s the Capricorn vibe: I feel like my healing path is freeing a bunch of my ancestors from strange loops that kept them bound in hellish bardos.

  13. Thanks for the heads up. My natal Mercury is on the 13th degree, asteroid Eros on the 12th and Sun on the 15th of Capricorn. Been focusing on standing practice more the last few days and biophilia gains strength. Yesterday were close encounters with 2 sparrows and a humming bird that passed within inches of my nose as if to say ‘hello’ and a cat who walked right in front of my bike, looking up at me as if to say ‘I trust you not to hit me, human’.

    Tonight I’ll attend my first polyamory discussion group as the new moon crosses my Chiron which squares my Sun, and Eris which squares my Mercury/Eros. Been wandering solo since 2001 but my prog Venus just turned direct last December and Pluto is now focused like a laser on my erotic Mercury, ruler of my Moon and south node. I feel like it’s also strengthening my voice as my Capricorn stellium occupies the middle degrees of Capricorn, said to have a Venus vibe. I hope this biophilia extends to the human females, but they’re harder to read than the simpler brains of the birds, cats and dogs 😉

    I’d like to thank the Planetwaves team for having the courage to hold a discussion of masturbation here on the web. It’s been my only option for a lot of my life and having a constellation of humans who don’t consider it a curse at least in reach of my reading mind has been a great help in finding the medicine in a solo path. There was a time when I couldn’t be alone without feeling lonely, my Gemini moon shining through the 8th house feeling lost without an intimate partner. But with her ruler in Capricorn a childish grasping at relationships out of a fear of loneliness only served to revive my childhood nightmares. A long spell alone might have been arranged partly by my better, wiser self to cultivate a strong enough sense of my own being to relate to others in a real way instead of as a wounded child in a body that looks like an adult.

  14. Maybe it’s counted like the age: when you are 30 you are in the 31st year. Well, not so important!

  15. Hey Len,

    You have hit on a theme I’ve seen in an aspect Pluto has made lately – off and on – with Saturn and Jupiter, the yod. “Not immediately apparent”, “lots to potentially miss”, “disappear from sight”, “hidden things”. “easily missed” could apply to the role of Jupiter in Gemini when he has been in a difficult quincunx aspect from Saturn in Scorpio at the same time he’s in another quincunx from Pluto in Capricorn. One could be forgiven if they thought that Jupiter (meaning a large amount) in Gemini (meaning communication and data) would symbolize a lot of information; that would be astrologically logical, IF Jupiter weren’t on the receiving (apex) end of a yod aspect with Pluto and Saturn. Pluto enforces secrecy and Saturn restrains.

    With Jupiter in the sign of his detriment, the sign opposite the one he rules, he’s already at a disadvantage in expressing his nature. Pluto pushing (demanding) secrets be kept while working in tandem with Saturn’s stringent rules that must be obeyed or else. . their combined (sextile) effect on Jupiter must feel like a straitjacket. No where can this be seen more clearly than in U.S. government circles. There’s plenty of “talk” but it’s of little substance most of the time. Jupiter is known for providing a big picture or a broader perspective. I’m wondering if the Universe hasn’t designed this specific pattern (starting around 12/21/12) as a way to build up momentum for the third square between Uranus and Pluto next month.

    By not being able to see the Moon, Venus or Mars in the sky now, and with trans. Jupiter just about to square Borasisi in Pisces, your advice to stand still, and to “see these days against the years of your life” seems wise indeed. The period of May between the 20th and the 28th will include the Pluto-Uranus square, Vesta opposed Pluto and square Uranus from Cancer, a lunar eclipse, a conjunction between Mercury and Venus in Gemini followed by a conjunction by each of them to Jupiter, each taking place outside the confines of the Pluto-Saturn restraints. We wouldn’t want to be caught unprepared for what could be revealed during that time. Can I assume your finely tuned antennae will keep us posted for further developments?
    be

  16. Hi Amanda,
    all the ephemeris I looked at (serennu is one) give the arc minutes too, but 11 degrees and not 12, as is in the article…

  17. “…it is a good time to take some time to see these days against the years of your life, your life against the wider experience of history, and history against possibilities never encountered by human beings ever before.”

    “Possibilities not immediately apparent. If you can do that, time will open up for you. If you can find a moment of stillness, you can find a lot more. You will go from not having a moment to spare to having eternity in the palm of your hand.”

    Thank you for sharing this Len …this is the nugget for me. I know this potential is real.

    It’s interesting tho (or perhaps not), the timing of this lesson is happening right in time to what feels like the opposite aspect in paly. I was really feeling those wildfire energies of Aries, the Sun is touching these past few days. My heart was beating very fast. i need Yoga I told myself yesterday, and now will be heeding your warning…no more coffee this week!

  18. hi paola — not all ephemerides round up or down the same way.

    Io (my astrology software) gives 11 Capricorn 35 as the position

    Raphael’s Ephemeris gives the same

    neither of those two gives arc seconds, however, which could boost the arc minutes to 36 instead of 35.

    serennu.com also gives the position as 11 Cap 35 and 12 arc seconds — hence Len’s rounding up to 36 arc minutes:
    http://serennu.com/astrology/tendays.php

    also here:

    http://serennu.com/astrology/ephemeris.php?inday=12&inmonth=04&inyear=2013&inhours=19&inmins=35&insecs=14&insort=type&z=t&addobj=&inla=&inlo=&h=P&gh=g

    hope that helps!

    just curious — what ephemerides were you seeing with just 11 Cap listed for Pluto?

  19. When I wrote this in July of 2006 I sent it out to a group of people including Eric. He posted it on the Planet Waves blog. I was surprised to see it there. I think he thought it was a bit naïve. With the New Moon tomorrow morning, it seems now is a good time to post it again:

    7/14 Bastille Day in France 2006

    I see a world where people have stopped fighting with each other,
    where no country is at war.
    I see a world with no nuclear weapons.
    I see a world where everyone, man, woman, child, horse, dog, cat,
    tree, flower, rock, has what they need to live a joyful existence.
    I see a world where we help our neighbor, open our eyes to those
    around us and live like the brothers and sisters that we are.
    I see a world that is not polluted, where the water and air are clean,
    the grass is green, the sky is blue.
    I see a world where animals are not slaughtered for food or euthanized
    out of existence.
    I see a world where people are not dying of cancer and other disease,
    where everyone is healthy and happy.
    I see a world where we all have open eyes, hearts, and minds.
    I see a world where people are connected to themselves and to God.
    I see this world coming now, in the near future, in our current times.
    I see a world where every person on this planet has food, clothing,
    shelter, medical care and the opportunity for an education.
    I see a world where Mother Earth is happy, joyful and in balance.
    I see a world where wealth is distributed evenly.
    I see this world NOW!
    More and more people are sharing their resources and giving freely to each other.
    Foundations are giving away their principal.
    We are taking steps now to make these changes in ourselves and in our world.

    Whatever reverberations that happen because of this enormous change in
    consciousness will be as gentle as possible.

    “The times, they are changing.”

    Bob Dylan

  20. Len,

    Thank you for your timely article on the eve of the New Moon and thank you for reprinting Fe’s powerful article as well. I remember this article and appreciate the chance to be reminded of comments I wrote in response to it in 2010. Now, more than ever, we need to band together to institute change in our country. There is no time like the present to get going now.

    Mia

  21. Hi Len, thank you for the wide breath.
    I looked up in three different ephemeris, and the degree reported is 11… instead of 12. ?!?

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