Sun-Pluto, Mercury-Pholus: Focus your mind

Today is Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. We are nearing the end of the last week of 2011. This week can often feel a bit like limbo: People talk about the year that’s ending as though it is already gone, drafting New Year’s resolutions while still grazing leftover Christmas cookies. It’s almost as if these days exist somewhere out of time. But astrology, despite how it lets us look forward, does not let us exist anywhere but the present moment. And right now, it wants us to stay focused – courtesy of the Sun conjunct Pluto in Capricorn and Mercury conjunct Pholus in Sagittarius.

Sun-Pluto is an annual event, though each year it occurs in a slightly different place. It’s an aspect that focuses the will into a laser, and it’s advising you to use your creative power carefully. Actions speak a lot louder than words, and focusing your mind before you take action will go a long way toward ensuring the right outcome.

Since we’re in the zone between solstice/New Moon and the New Year, you can let this process work through both your short-term agenda for any given day as well as any intentions you set for the coming year. As you focus your mind, work from the outside in: How do the actions you take spur or stunt the growth of your soul? As you take action, work from the inside out: How do you give your highest Self expression in the world with integrity?

This current astrology raises the stakes. Mercury is making a conjunction to a potent minor planet called Pholus, which has two notable effects: it can cause a release that’s difficult or impossible to contain; and it warns against misjudgments when the mind is impaired by any intoxicant, especially alcohol. Keep this caution in mind New Year’s Eve. Words spoken now can have effects far beyond what you understand or intend. Be fully present in the moment when you speak, but take a moment to consider your tone, intensity, word choice and true intention if possible. If you’ve already made such a misstep, take responsibility and remember to use ‘I’ statements if you try to rectify things.

Today Mercury also conjoins Hylonome (collective grief; cry of the poor) and Ixion (anyone is capable of anything; what we do with second chances). Where do you feel impoverished, if at all, within yourself? Consider how that sense may undermine your interactions. In particular, look for ways in which you may do or say things that squander the second chances others give you in their lives. Not everyone has necessarily had this experience. But if you have, you know how painful and confounding it can be. It’s something worth rooting out as far as you can now, and with a good therapist in the coming year.

Put these factors together with Sun-Pluto and there is a potentially volatile combination that urges awareness, conscious decision-making and sobriety. ‘Sobriety’ includes proceeding from motives that you actually understand, as well as following thought patterns that are guided by logic — stop and verify that when necessary. As the 2012 astrology develops, we will need to use these tools as if it really matters.

The Moon today adds one last thing. It is in Pisces, and makes a conjunction to Ceres. This speaks of cycles of letting go and receiving. What can you release in order to allow abundance? More concretely, how are you feeling about food, family food traditions and your mother today? Holidays can throw our eating patterns out of whack and suck us into family dysfunctions around food. Gently recognize this if it’s where you are. That this conjunction is in Pisces offers creative possibilities for new avenues for nourishment, and you can carry what you discover with you into 2012.

Looking for insights on how this week’s astrology affects your personal Sun and rising signs? Try out Planet Waves Light, our streamlined horoscope service. For deeper cultural context and astrological investigation, the premium Planet Waves subscription includes the same horoscopes, plus extensively-researched articles on Fridays.