Not So Fast

By Len Wallick

I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy”

—Rabindranath Tagore

By the time you read this, Venus will have conjoined Pluto in the early degrees of Capricorn. By this time tomorrow Vesta, a goddess asteroid, will have completed its own Plutonian conjunction. Those two aspects and some loose ends will be the subject of today’s blog.

We’ll start with a look back. In the astrological long run, this week will almost certainly be remembered for Chiron’s second ingress to Pisces. The first crossing was less than ten months ago. This time, the centaur will stay for eight years or so. That period that will take us through the historical transition implied by the assembly of outer planets on the cardinal points.

By the time our inconvenient benefic is ready to move on for an even longer stay in Aries, Uranus will be preparing to enter Taurus and Pluto will be two-thirds of the way through Capricorn with Saturn and Jupiter coming up from behind. If the past is any indication, we will be winding up this current decade with the awareness that Chiron is no less, or more, strange to us than we are to ourselves.

Little noted nor long remembered by comparison are the two cases of mutual reception. One, between Venus and Saturn, short in duration and pronounced in cardinal aspect. The other, between Uranus and Neptune, lengthy and subtle, subject to the sort of evaluation that only posterity can provide. Both occurrences, each in their own way, demonstrate that even foundation principles of astrology are not as simple as a computerized cookbook analysis would lead us to believe. Beyond that, the comparison and contrast of these pairings may lead us to this conclusion: everything we take for granted is subject to review and revision —  appropos for what appears to be a new set of paradigms for life on this planet.

We are now presented with an accessible summary of recent themes. Typically it’s a little less than a year between Venus-Pluto conjunctions. That frequency, combined with the canned cachet possessed by both objects leads to standardized interpretation — something having to do with sex, of course. Not the plain vanilla, endorsed-by-community-standards type of sex. Something more along the lines of an assignation — furtive, perhaps forbidden — all the more passionate and ephemeral for being so. Would that it were.

However, the implication does make for a powerful sales pitch this time of year when large amounts of chocolate are consumed — a vain attempt to make up for the gratification that often does not measure up to advertising’s stimulus. If you are an exception, good for you. Please send photos.

Just as delicious as the narrow marketed fantasy is the rich variety that a combination of Venusian and Plutonian energies can reveal once you step away from the stereotype. That is especially true this year when retrograde Saturn is part of the equation. It is as though the combination and location of three planets is sending us a message. We have a personal planet, Venus, cycling with a time frame on a human scale. In turn it is literally merging directly with Pluto, which returns to the same point only after two and a half centuries. Mediating from a distance, through aspect, is one of the most reliable monitors of generational evolution — Saturn. The cardinal signs connect us to the threshold of change, personally experienced and commonly felt. But, as with most things astrological, there is a double edge.

An exclusive focus on the planetary energies could bring to mind the concept of tough love and the fact that it is often driven by an agenda as it is by compassion. There is also the potential of obsessive or pathological behavior waiting like a troll under a bridge of sighs. Then there are the things we consider not to be a pretty picture just because they don’t conform to the conditioning we receive from being constantly exposed to advertising. Those are examples of edge that push in, ones that we may find ourselves driven over with destructive results.

Expanding the viewpoint to include Libra shifts things a bit. There is the idea of reciprocal action that can transform even the most cynical personality and motivate the most discouraged. The concept of affirmation as a first principle rather than ulterior motive comes to mind. Add to that the metamorphic potential of Capricorn under the influence of Pluto and you can find fresh inspiration in unexpected people and places. Witness the Egyptian corporate executive (that’s right, corporate executive) leading a revolution with words like “We love Egypt… and we have rights.” How long has it been since we have heard that sentiment expressed by leaders of the established order in the so-called democracies? What can we do to help make that happen where we live? That’s an edge you can create with by pushing out.

This particular Venus-Pluto conjunction is a demonstration of potential. A personal planet (Venus) interacting directly with a potent historical object. This interaction shows us  that we are not here to be acted upon. We are here to act. Rather than being the helpless victims of fate, we are its co-creators. It is almost as if we are being presented with a simple picture that links our daily passions to the development of a common character. That will determine the pattern of what will someday be called history.

The question is one of discernment. What gracious presence will help us distinguish between the destructive edge of self-involvement and the sharp tool of creative of self-awareness? What object could act as our retainer, symbolizing the same link to Chiron as Venus’ receptive relation to Saturn? We sure could do a lot worse than Vesta — an historical lesson in and of itself, teaching us that the most durable paradigm is one that is subject to daily devotion. That something so ephemeral as a flame can be sustained indefinitely by conscious and continuous service.

We have three objects conjoining separately over as many days to form a continuum of sorts. This compounding of time and space allows us to break from the standard interpretation of a common aspect and distinguish ourselves. Rather than creating an expectation we cannot meet regardless of how much we spend on product, we can instead be inspired to serve the greater creation of a common future that will reflect our collective and empowered choice.

In a way, the common thread through this week has followed the blog titles utilized by your faithful correspondent, each beginning with “not so.” In other words, don’t believe the hype. Don’t allow a marketing campaign create the structure of life. Choose a devotion other than acquisition. Why should you dedicate yourself to that which does not truly gratify but only depletes you of precious time and energy, leaving you without the power we all so urgently need to reclaim?

That includes the astrology. When we choose to follow Chiron into the shadows, it is not so strange. That shady area is ours, and choosing to own it makes us less of a stranger to ourselves. Extrapolating from rulership to mutual reception is not so simple and is an example of how theory should be subject to experience, not the other way around.

Finally, we should not so be so fast to accept familiar interpretations so that we can avail ourselves of what makes each day and our era a unique opportunity to push out past the edge of what we have been. Then we can become what we need each other to be.

Offered In Service