Dear Friend and Capricorn:
SO MUCH has happened since your last birthday. And so much has not happened. With Pluto about to enter your sign, you may be wondering what is going to happen. I will tell you this, many astrologers don't understand how to interpret Pluto positively, so when you're reading you need to be careful what you take on board. You may ask what difference an interpretation makes, when "what's going to happen is going to happen." But is it, really?
Or do we exist in a co-creative process with the universe? That is the question that you need to ask yourself as you experience Pluto in Capricorn -- or as anyone who follows astrology.
Be aware, however, that 2008 is a transitional year. Pluto will walk back and forth across the Pluto/Sagittarius line, which in the kind of astrology we are doing -- Sun-sign astrology -- is symbolic of your ascendant. The ascendant is the borderland of consciousness.
And what, exactly, is that? It is the ultimate boundary, the one between you and everything and everyone else. The process of Pluto entering your sign is about redefining not only your concept of self, but also how you define but also how you define the world around you because as you do one, you do the other.
We are talking about something remote and strange -- how a little planet about 3,000 million miles from us is going to affect you. But a mundane metaphor comes to mind -- that of figure-ground contrast. You are the figure. The rest of the universe is the background. The distinction between you and it is not as simple as you think. True, you have a body, but the discussion is a lot more complicated. The real issue is where your mind ends and the collective mind begins -- or the other way around.
In case you're wondering why things feel so strange; why there are all these questions that involve 'self' versus 'other'; why (at times) you may feel like you're adrift on the cosmic ocean and why (at others) you may feel like you actually exist for the first time -- now you have your answer: Pluto is dancing around the most sensitive line in your solar chart.
In the most practical, superficial terms, this means that you will be redefining what you might describe as a role in the world. Even if the entire world is a stage, you have more than a role. You actually exist. And Pluto is taking you on a little tour of exploring that existence. What influence do you have? Do you matter to others, and what does their existence really mean to you?
Part of the way this may play out is in some very basic power struggles -- all of which are optional. The thing to do in a power struggle, assuming you don't want to be in it, is to get the message and move on. The problem is that most people like a fight: it teaches them they exist. This is exactly what I am getting at. Once you figure out you exist, you can set aside the whole game of doing things to discover or insist that you exist. Rather, take the cosmic cue and define yourself, or explore the concept of definition, from the inside out.
As I've been ranting elsewhere (and it was Jude who pointed this out), so much involves self-esteem. One of the reasons that self-esteem is so tricky is that we don't have many models for it. We confuse it with egotism -- with the people who are so sure they can do no wrong; they tear up the world as they march through it. Or, we count it as a form of meek humility because of course, the meek shall inherit the Earth so that must be good.
What I suggest is that you get yourself two or three models for self-esteem, but that they are people you know or get to know individually, not as a group. The problem with groups is that they set a kind of market value for this commodity -- how we're supposed to feel about ourselves -- is determined by the group. That group could be a family, a company, a social network of some kind, or a few close friends -- but there are rules and the rules either set limits (more likely), or push everyone higher (less likely).
Here, we come back to the theme of figure-ground contrast, and also how you relate to others. The short of it is, these are the seasons in which you will define yourself, and I suggest you make that definition flexible. I also suggest you do a study and figure out the ways in which you have actually succeed, create a way to size up what you have accomplished, and assess whether how you feel about yourself matches. Of course, you might not be in a position to assess what you have accomplished because you wonder how much it really means. And if you are doubting, you might want to inquire as to why that is.
By all rights, you're feeling amazing about yourself these days. You have so much going for you. But I am aware of subtle influences that might lead you to ask questions, or to doubt the obvious evidence. And if you find yourself in a frame of mind where you're doing that -- ask yourself what is up. Ask who and what is influencing you; and most of all, ask why.
Remember that most people define their personality through some form of conflict, tension or aggression. To those who have values they believe in and live for, some other method of self-definition is necessary. Let it be based on what you create, who you love, and the ways in which you live as if to hold the world together.
WE BEGAN
our week with a feisty Aries Moon adding a little pep to the Capricorn Sun in the first quarter Moon. Though astrologers don't usually write book chapters about the quarter moons, they are handy turning points, and we likely turned some kind of a corner yesterday.
Planets in the later degrees (the Sun is in its last week in Cap, so that counts) are both spiritualizing and actualizing. Whatever project you've put your hand to in the last weeks should be well on its way. Our recent New Moon in Cappy (about a week ago) will help us keep momentum, although expansive Jupiter might urge us to bite off more than we can chew. Try to remain realistic about your goals. January's energy has always been the natural place for us to come up with a list of New Year's resolutions, with Capricorn's sober turn of mind leading the way to correct the excess of December.
The word janus means door. This time of year really is a threshold. Let it work for you now -- if we had that same sense of determination for all twelve months of the year, our lists would be completed in no time.
Mercury's recent move into Aquarius may well gift us with moments of brilliance, so pay attention to your thoughts -- they pass through our minds like butterflies, so get your net out and capture the good ones, or rather, anything that sounds like a good one (sort it out later). Write stuff down and review your notes from time to time to keep a finger on your innovative pulse. Neptune, the North Node and Chiron, also in the sign of the water bearer, will buffer a tendency toward being too cool, too much in our heads. Works without love are dead, so it's said -- Aquarius wears its clarity most successfully when it's colored with compassion and social consciousness.
There will be plenty of conversation in the coming week with four planets in mutable signs -- Venus is in Sagittarius, providing us opportunities to kick up our heels but with a wide square from Uranus in sensitive Pisces, surprises could erupt on the playground. That flippant quip that amused us so could end up causing a fist fight, and with Mars retro in Gemini for a couple of more weeks, we will probably be forced to look at the other side of the picture. That is always a good thing on our planet.
Meanwhile, Saturn is moving backwards in Virgo, asking us to knock off the shenanigans and get back to business -- and it's also responsible for that little voice in our head demanding that we PUT DOWN THAT DONUT. No nutrition there! And absolutely against the Cappy "resolution" rules! It may be a little glum, going over old territory, but this hypercritical energy is leading us to discover the psychic potholes in our self-esteem; this is 'essential work' and until we can rid ourselves of the self judgments and old decisions about our 'worthiness', we cannot stand in our own power, seize fresh opportunities or take charge of our future. This is a Saturn cycle destined to take us through that ring of fire and out the other side. Cooperating with it may feel like crunch time now, but the reward will be -- oh, the bliss! -- liking ourselves, perhaps for the first time. Imagine the possibilities!
Gemini Mars is still in a wide opposition to Pluto, and the opposition will be back soon enough. But it's retrograding at the moment and giving us a bit of a breather. Mars seems oddly placed to me, in the sign of the Twins -- Gem is already internally frenetic, with two separate thought processes competing with one another constantly. Mars may pit them against each other in uncomfortable ways, with a kind of unwarranted urgency.
Depending on your own planets and placements, don't go to war with yourself during this transit; try a little of what the nations of the world could use -- dialogue. If you end up in an arm-wrestling contest of indecision within yourself at some point, try making a list of pro's and con's. Pluto's opposition will make you dig for it but with Gemini leading the way, you should be able to fill up both columns, and Mars won't be going direct until early next month -- plenty of time to argue it out with yourself.
With so many voices, internal and external, competing for our attention this week, it would be wise to take quiet time at some point, just to sort it all through. The multidimensional layers of challenge going on outside of us are going on inside too; giving ourselves frequent breaks takes the pressure off and helps us keep balance. Make an appointment with yourself every day to relax and let the information sift down, even if it's just a few minutes -- it is always more productive to respond thoughtfully to a situation than react to it out of adrenal overload.
On the big screen, Pluto continues to occupy the challenging, somewhat odd 29th degree of Sagittarius, bringing up the last of the dark waters its stirred these last years. The chaos of the coming planetary shift swirls around us, but -- as always -- we have a choice to enter it, or step aside and watch it pass. Spend more time catching butterflies and making lists this week than attending the whirlwind -- the payoff will be impressive.
