Pluto Changes Direction

I've just started taking creativity essence (from the Bush Flower Remedies) and bang! 2 blogs in 3 days after weeks of not much doing.

Anway, Pluto officially began to move forward 5 days ago, after about 5 months going backwards, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the numbers: he has been at 0.40 Capricorn since 4th Sept, and won’t reach 0.41 Cap until the 20th Sept. That said, his change of direction has been reflected in changes of direction in world events over the last few days.

The US has today announced it is dropping its plans to build missile shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. If this is about anything, it is about power politics, and therefore about Pluto. And Capricorn is about boundaries i.e. shields, as well as what is proportionate. And this plan always seemed disproportionate. It was officially a defence against possible missiles from Iran. The given reason for dropping the plans is that Iran’s missile capability is less advanced than thought. But everyone knew it was about the USA, led by an aggressive President, renewing its Cold War with Russia, while Russia was understandably aggrieved by the plans.

In the UK, Gordon Brown has finally agreed to spending cuts on public services of 9.3%, just short of the 10% which he had denied planning to implement, and after months of taunting the Tories for planning 10% cuts in spending. This is again Pluto in Capricorn, bringing in prudence (Capricorn) and truthfulness (Pluto) after years of easy spending under Pluto in Sagittarius.

Also in the last few days, President Obama has been calling for better regulation of the financial sector to prevent another meltdown. Pluto is wealth, Capricorn is regulation. Pluto in Cap is also the power (Pluto) of the government (Capricorn) acting on the financial sector (Capricorn). I was glad to see this call by Obama, because with the recession seeming to be over, it was looking like we were just returning to the old ways of big bonuses and little in the way of new regulations. A call for change, however, is merely that, and making it happen to an entrenched system is something else.

At the same time, I cannot see astrologically how no change is possible, because the combination of Pluto in Capricorn and the current Saturn-Uranus opposition have to mean susbstantial change to the financial establishment, particularly as this Saturn-Uranus seems very tied up with financial change (the last conjunction in the early 90s was about political change, and the 60s opposition was about social/political change). Saturn-Uranus has nearly a year to run, so this is the time when political action will need to be taken to reform the financial system. Obama presently has enough on his hands with the healthcare system, but if he wins that battle, he will be strengthened and in a position to tackle another entrenched system.

The astrology for reform of the US healthcare system is brilliant: the new dream of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron conjunction in Aquarius, and Saturn-Uranus, with Saturn in the sign of health. It was Theodore Roosevelt, 100 years ago, who first called for reform of the healthcare system in the USA. It is an old issue which a number of Presidents have failed at. With the present astrology, it is now or never. The astrology is so good that it suggests to me that Obama will indeed get sufficient legislation passed to amount to significant reform.


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The chart for Pluto going Direct, set for Washington, reflects the healthcare and financial issues. The 2nd House of Wealth, and values around it, has Pluto right at one end, and the North Node at the other, like 2 watchdogs. Pluto conjunct the Cusp in Sag reflects the economic upturn, but the Node in Cap at the other end (and Pluto in Cap) suggest a new era of prudence and regulation being ushered in during the next 7 months of Pluto Direct.

What is most visible about this Chart, however, is the Sun on the Midheaven in Virgo, conjunct Saturn and opposite Uranus. This is about the President (Sun) using his authority (Saturn) and the institutions of government (Saturn/MC) to push through his healthcare agenda (Virgo) and break the old mould, the entrenched sytem (Uranus opposite), bringing about a more compassionate society (Uranus in Pisces).

During the time of economic freefall, and concerns about a 1930s style Depression, I did my best to hang on to the astrology of Pluto’s Ingress into Capricorn in 2008, which was very favourable: Pluto in a stellium with Venus and Jupiter, and trine to Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn. Things seemed to be getting so bad that I didn’t quite believe the Ingress Chart, but as usual the astrology has been proved right!