April 26th ~ May 3rd
The image of “Persephone” is by Patricia Ariel
Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better. ~ King Whitney Jr.
On Thursday, Mercury stationed Direct while conjunct the North Node of the Moon. Even as Mercury was only approaching its station you could almost feel your mind and awareness shifting to what we usually think of as normal. Communications will soon begin to flow again, the trains will run on time, and we may even get some insight into the rhyme and reason of our lives. The North Node aims to lead us on to a path of greater fulfillment, insight and understanding. And the station of Mercury serves as a vehicle to convey that understanding. Perhaps through something you hear, a conversation, something you read or see in a whole new light, your perspective may shift. In some way we are all being beckoned to pay attention to the signs that are being strewn in our path, and weaved into the fabric of our lives.
It will take some time for Mercury to regain its speed, by which time we will have a New Moon in Taurus on May 7th. This will be important, for the objectivity we regain as it does so will allow us to sort out and make sense of all of the activity that has taken place during the month of April, and which could serve as something of a turning point in our lives. Mercury conjunct the North Node is asking us this week: What new path or new point of view will help to facilitate the path of healing initiated by the Solar Eclipse on April 8th?
Meanwhile, the dark Lord Pluto has been brought to a stop for its retrograde station on May 2nd. Having recently entered Aquarius on January 20th, Pluto was unveiling a new era in our lives. One that wreaks of transformative change, and perhaps even a wistful promise of the ideals embodied in the sign: Freedom, Equality and Universal Brotherhood. But even good changes can come with a certain amount of trepidation and fear. And as Pluto stations for its retrograde phase, it will head back again to Capricorn for one very brief visit from September 1st until November 19th.
Capricorn is a Saturn sign, and as Pluto returns for whatever unfinished business that needs to be addressed, we will become more aware of the conflict between an old order and a new one that is already unfolding out of what once was. Just days after Pluto’s station, Saturn in Pisces (representing an old order) will make an exact semi-square to Pluto, symbolizing this internal conflict and resistance to the potential of the Pluto in Aquarius era.
Now we need to note, that what Pluto in Aquarius brings may not be what we anticipate. The entrance of Pluto into the various signs often bring changes of power, and shifts in the zeitgeist. And this is what will define the era to come. But Pluto also catalyzes the extremes of the sign: the ideal archetypes, as well as the more decadent and shadowy abuses of power. For as Pluto stations for its retrograde phase, we are all going to be getting a bit of a glimpse of what this 20 year transit is going to be about if we play our cards right, but also what it could be if we don’t.
When Pluto stations it digs in really deep. We become that much more aware of the use and abuse of power. Pluto can show us the power of transformation and healing through rebuilding, regenerating and renewal. But it can also show us how things can also go horribly awry, either by deliberately abusing power, or by ignoring problems and trying to kick them under the rug.
In our own lives, facing our own Pluto is one of the most challenging, but also rejuvenating and freeing experiences we will ever have. And for the months that Pluto is in its retrograde phase, we are being asked to do precisely this: to descend into Hades’ lair, that sacred place where all is hidden and also revealed, and also where nothing is sacred. By facing our own darkness, shame, guilt, hungers and fears, with utmost honesty and without remorse, we also are given the opportunity to heal.
We carry these wounds, guilt, shame and hungers in our subconscious, in our bodies as ailments, aches, pains and injuries. But rather than deal with them, we often suppress them, cover them over with a bandaid, or stuff them into a dungeon cell where we hope they will remain undiscovered, and just go away.
However the wounds of Pluto can not be healed until they are revealed for what they are. Then once discovered we are asked to go down deep to the very root of the problem and make us aware that they exist, and that there is a basis. If you are not conscious of the compulsions, the fears, or the hungers that drive you then they will be unconsciously played out in our lives in less productive or even destructive ways. Once these inner wounds are revealed, we are then asked to seek help. Find your guides, your midwives, your therapists and wise counsel. Someone who knows the way through the labyrinth of the plutonic Underworld, and who has the capacity to lead you through the process of healing, transformation, rebuilding and rebirth.
Pluto, much like all the other planets, really only has one true goal, which is to support our evolutionary growth. This begins by first revealing to us the dark tangled tapestry of our lives, but only with the mission of healing them once and for all. Whether you think of that as becoming aware of the karmic threads that weave our destiny; or even coming to realize our life’s purpose; Pluto is always much deeper than at first realized. He is, after all, the Lord of the Underworld.
But when we are willing and courageous enough to do this deep dive, we can get in touch with nothing less than our true destiny and purpose. And you will know that you have found it, because it will feel right for you. If you are hating what you think you’ve found, you haven’t dug deep enough. Pluto literally forces us to face our own darkness, to get to the utter truth of things. And then to forgive and accept who and what we are, all in all, and without guile.
And when we do this work, know that there are other things that are also buried below the surface as well. Treasures of unequal beauty and resilience, honed by life’s external pressures and the breadth of time. Gifts that are inexplicably beautiful and magical. These are the rewards that are available to us if we are willing to do this deep work. For Pluto is also the alchemist who can turn lead into gold; the phoenix reborn from the ashes of a life that once was; the magician who can transform experience into revelation. And so it is during the retrograde phase that we are not only given a greater capacity to heal and transform our lives, but to meet our own Magi who can lead us through this labyrinth to our own salvation.
When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings. ~ Dean Jackson
For this week’s horoscopes, click below: