Monday the Moon ingresses Capricorn at 3:29 am EDT and makes a conjunction to Pluto at 4:04 pm. Each time the Moon meets up with Pluto these days, that’s an occultation rather than a normal conjunction — it’s an alignment on two planes of space (longitude and declination) rather than just one. Said another way, the Moon eclipses Pluto rather than just breezing by, and the theme of this series of events (which we’re in the midst of, and which will go on for about another year) is emotional habituation.
Humans often react to their environment in ways that make robots seem creative. Much of what we do, we do in automatic mode. The combination of Moon + Pluto + Capricorn, expressed with precision, is a way of saying it’s time to get past that. Many of our automatic reactions are based on habits that have been built around past reactions to past experiences, and have nothing to say about what we’re looking right at, today.
The challenge being offered is to respond to the sensory information, the feelings and the interpersonal experience that we’re having right now. Said another way, know when you’re coming from a past perception, update your files and act as though what is true now is true now. This will help you out of old emotional habits and into new ones.
This may be a bit challenging, with Mercury retrograde — though Saturday we passed the tipping point of that process, as the Sun and Mercury formed the interior conjunction that is the peak of the cycle. Mercury stations direct on Aug. 8, in the second degree of Leo — that’s to say, almost back to the beginning.
To me, that describes a relationship to some inner truth that you may be working to uncover, or to express. That’s one way to think of Mercury retrograde — and in particular, the moments when Mercury changes directions (at the beginning and the end of the retrograde). Many times I’ve noticed an experience of ‘the truth comes out’ — whether the context is personal or collective, it’s like we get a perk of reality as Mercury appears to stop.
The last days before that happens can feel like the buildup to a mystery, though with Leo involved at the moment, that mystery is deeply personal. Are you seeking some deeper truth about yourself? Are you trying to figure out your involvement with someone or something? I suggest you go deeper than you think you need to; that you consider your initial discoveries to be steps along the way to something more significant.
This week we’re also under the influence of the building Aquarius Full Moon. That happens late Wednesday in the EDT zone. I’ll have more to say about this as the week develops, though in summary, the Aquarius Moon is about seeing our common interests. I don’t mean those of the whole society, I mean those of small groups, families and anything vaguely organized (from the book group to the local Occupy movement). The quest with this Full Moon is to look at the needs that we all share, and creating the means for a way to make the solution accessible to everyone.
Yowee, right on the nose with this one, Eric!
I’ve been playing with the idea that many of my habitual emotional reactions are tied to the same one or two negative core beliefs I have about myself. I’m in the process of homing in on them. Part of the process has been to hold a space between my reaction and either 1) expressing it inappropriately, or 2) letting it lead me to the next incident/situation (in memory, generally) that “proves” that belief — you know…thinking of every other situation/incident that upsets me in this way and getting all righteously indignant and angry. All of this stems from those core beliefs/wounds. I’m working on getting out of the habitual emotional reaction so I can find the truth underneath. Or some version of it, anyway. 😉
Today I learned something at work that really lit me up. Boyohboy, I felt angry and as if I had gotten smacked in the forehead. I reacted in a restrained way then shut up about it. I had a couple opportunities to discuss with my boss it but elected not to so I could consider it further overnight. I also think it was just not the right time to delve into it today…lots of things occupying said boss.
In the past I would have been unable to hold that space and would have spewed a disproportionately intense reaction all over everyone (this reaction being fueled by those *other* recalled incidents as well as the incident in the present). I’ve regretted that on more than one occasion, alas.
Today’s “incident” was yet another revelation, another piece of the truth of a situation that was going on at my workplace — secretly — for over 2 years. The collateral damage has been significant, and it has also brought about some much-needed change. I’m very interested to see what comes out of my discussion with my boss.
Eric: Your cogent description and useful prescription for emotional habituation is a true service to awareness. Proposing emotional habituation as the theme for the lunar occultations of of Pluto is a resonant service to astrology. Then, with your advice that we go the extra mile deeper, past the initial discoveries to be expected during the Mercury station, well, that’s just brilliant, dare say unequaled among astrologers. It seems as though the force of Chiron is strong with you at this time. Thank you for raising the bar to Olympic heights.
” Learning to be more forgiving and finally seeing that my side of the street is all that matters. If I keep it clean, I don’t have to distance you or anyone else.”
Oh, starrynight3, I like how you put this!
I have Moon conjunct Pluto in the 8th natally (Leo) So this is something I am familiar with. Have struggled with my emotional nature all my life. I don’t do surface or superficial well. And I take it all very personally! Once I am (Deeply) offended, I will cut you out of my life in a heartbeat. Learning to be more forgiving and finally seeing that my side of the street is all that matters. If I keep it clean, I don’t have to distance you or anyone else.
OMG! is what comes out every time I read your posts…
This one in particular makes so much sense right now.
Thanks for sharing!!!
Very interesting Eric your reflection on the occultation of the Moon and Pluto, the latter being very little used in my astrological practice for five that I begin has reconciled me with the soul of Pluto which my live is a crossing of the desert with its transit in my house.
I have known an astrologer who has abandoned all these books on astrology with the passage of Pluto in his house 8, I don’t know if it the regret later, I that I know that I could not do… Sacred Pluto 🙂
Thanks Eric. And many thanks to Chris, too.
We are having a memory issue on the server that Chris is working on. I will take down the “jump” so the whole piece appears on the scroll.
Burning River has mentioned this elsewhere, and I’ll write it here, too. Some of us can’t get in to read the rest of Sarah’s lovely piece, and comments. Many thanks!
Eric, sorry dude, of course you went into the occultation! My bad. Just wondering about how the other 3 work into “one event”. Sorry, having a merc rx morning.
…sorry 4 aspects!
Thank you Eric! This occultation, the Full Moon, Sun trine Uranus and Venus trine Saturn seem to be all happening at once, and could be considered (as you say) one event. How to make sense of these 3 aspects. Will there be an opportunity for you to go into that?
Again, astrology, for me, reflects my physical reality more than emotional. “Humans often react to their environment in ways that make robots seem creative. Much of what we do, we do in automatic mode.”
With my health being what it is, I *need* automatic mode. I need the continuity of each day having the same rhythm, or everything goes to sh*t, and I slide backwards, fast.
Amazed I can even be online now, posting this as Merc. Retr. has bashed me for the past 2 weeks. Mac on the blitz, refuses to be repaired, refuses to stay booted, laptop has no working ethernet port. I cannot do my work w/out my Mac. This stress I did not need (I can’t handle *any* stress any more), landing just after I had to take a week off to care for hubby after his surgery. Once again, things conspire to mess me about, keeping me from doing what I need/want to do – my work. 10 more days of this? I don’t think so.
Yes, I have had quite a few conversations about this with friends the last few days after people have gotten mad at them for things that used to be true, or for not living up to the myth they’d built up in their minds about them.
Thanks Eric. This is great. ’emotional habituation’, yes. As well as your piece, had a bit of a wake up call because of an email I received from my bro early this morning, wishing me a happy birthday, over a week later. We’d had a bit of a bust up, and I was convinced that this was why he hadn’t contacted me on my birthday, and was feeling a bit rough about it. Instead, he had forgotten, as one does when one is overwhelmed by life, as he has been these last months. Once again, I was given a sharp but very welcome reminder of how much so many of us suffer because we are the centre of our own little universe.