February 10th ~ 17th

We live in a transitional era of profound pain and tragic identity quest, but the agony of our age is the labor pain of rebirth. The beginning is near. ~ Marshall McLuhan 

We begin the week with a conjunction between Mercury and Pluto just as they both are entering the ‘anaretic’ (29th) degree of Capricorn. Whenever one of the major slow moving planets, such as Pluto, reach the 29th degree of a sign, we get this gut feeling that something is impending. Pluto has been in the sign of Capricorn since 2008, and by moving into Aquarius in March it could feel like we are reaching the end of an era. And like all impending transitions, what that can also bring is a feeling of urgency.

This is when we come to realize that there is only so much time left to finish out this Pluto in Capricorn cycle and what that represented for us. Pluto rarely goes out of anything without a certain amount of drama and intensity. We are at the very end of a cycle, and any loose ends that have not yet been tied up and completed will need to be taken care of. We have done all we can within the previous cycle, and now it is time to pack up all of our Capricorn belongings and move on. 

You can see the impending realizations within our society. The major shifts, the changes in leadership and governing. Even the political parties are not what they used to be. But beyond all the external chaos and changes there are internal changes that are even more relevant. For we have outgrown the structures, rules and standards of a now bygone era, within which we are trying to now find new footing. We are an evolving society with new needs and new expectations. As a result we are going to have to evolve the systems we depend on, in order to keep up with the needs of a more diverse and evolving society. 

But even as society continues to evolve, the old order doesn’t want to bow out. It’s like that with ourselves in our own personal lives. We cling to our old habits and ways of doing things. We long for a time that once was, but which we have long since outgrown. We fear that all that we had built up over the years is doomed to destruction. And yet, out of the ashes of what once was, a new reality is already giving birth to itself. And we are being drawn along for the ride. Know that during these periods, what can feel like the destruction of an old way of life, can also be a catalyst for a whole new renaissance. A rebirth. A renewal. 

Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. ~ John Donne

So as Mercury comes along to tag Pluto this Friday, it’s trying to show us what still needs to be resolved from the previous cycle. Information comes to light. We stop to read the fine print. Someone explains the details, and allows us to get to the very root of a problem. That is all Mercury/Pluto. 

Mercury/Pluto can also bring devastating news in its wake. The sort of news that can send shock waves across the globe. We were reminded of this with the terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria that left so many lives destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people displaced. But the planet of destruction is also a planet of renewal and rebirth. And therefore hope. And as it stands on the threshold of Aquarius, it is also here to remind us, that humanity as a whole is so deeply and intricately interconnected, that when even one is placed in harm’s way as so many were in that unstable swath of land between Turkey and Syria, we all are. 

Pluto in Capricorn has been trying to show us which structures we have outgrown and no longer support us, from monarchies, governments and political parties; down to the very mundane structures: the roads and bridges and foundations of our homes and our very lives. This can also be true of anything that we had taken for granted and relied on at one time. If it failed to support us, limited and prevented us from growing or even surviving, then it was an indication that we needed to build better, more sustainable structures in our lives. 

It’s not easy to change. It can sometimes be painful. Especially if we are forced to change due to circumstances beyond our control. But perhaps the most important message that Mercury/Pluto can bring us this week, is the realization that in some area of our lives we are needing some sort of renewal. Know that the transition to do so is imminent. And all we can do at this point, is to make our way through to the other side. The beginning is near. 

For this week’s horoscopes, click below: 

HOROSCOPES