Among this week’s central events is a square between Vesta in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn, exact today at 8:54 pm EST. This is Vesta engaging with the Uranus-Pluto square (Vesta opposed Uranus on Friday), bringing a sense of purpose to the upheaval we’re witnessing in the world around us (and the world within us).
It may be no coincidence that Nelson Mandela’s death and our collective celebration of his life accompanied this astrology, and that his memorial service is today.
While squares (a 90-degree angle between planets) are generally thought of as internally felt tension that must be resolved through action, Eric has pointed out that squares can also be about the integration of the themes represented by the planets involved.
In this case, we get the progress of Pluto and the total devotion of Vesta. As we know, Mandela was absolutely devoted to his cause of ending apartheid — tackling institutional racism and poverty as a young activist; then while a prisoner; and finally when released from prison, as the president of South Africa and then continuing as a statesman.
His life also illustrates the ‘sacrifice’ aspect of Vesta, having sacrificed his freedom for 27 years. In his famous four-hour speech opening the defense’s proceedings at his Rivonia trial in 1964, Mandela stated, “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”