What to Tell Astrology Clients about Pluto in Capricorn

A BUM KNEE, SCALY SKIN & ROOT CANALS…Pluto in Capricorn as the Apex of the Transiting Cardinal T-Square

©3-7-2010 by guest blogger, John Marchesella

 Astrology is ruled by Aquarius, and one of the myths that is associated with Aquarius is Pandora’s Box, involving the brothers, Prometheus and Epimetheus. Prometheus, of course, was given the gift of foresight, and surely, astrologers can relate to that, especially when faced with such “interesting” trends to interpret such as the approaching transiting T-square.  However, when our Inner Prometheus figure says, “Huh?” to the forecast of such transits, perhaps we should turn to our inner Epimetheus figure for help.  He was given the gift of hindsight!

In other words, look back to the past for similar examples of such planetary combinations.  This can take the “edge” off the anxiety that might come to the astrologer when faced with such difficult energies to interpret, as well as to the client, who has make sense of it with us! 

After all, if we lived through such planetary trends in the past, then we can survive them again as they recur in a similar formation.  Looking back helps us to put the future into perspective.

 This is especially helpful when faced with very long trends such as Pluto in Capricorn.  For instance, if we tell our clients, Pluto in Capricorn means the fall of Corporate America, what are they left to think?  That Corporate America is going to fall every day until 2024, and then all of sudden, there will be a new economy?!  It’s hard to imagine how Pluto in Capricorn is a long, evolving process.

A practical tip for astrologers when working with clients:  Look back in order to see forward. 

For example, Pluto in Scorpio,  starting in the early 1980’s, symbolized the advent and spread of  AIDS.  And those of us who are old enough to remember those days, Pluto in Scorpio began with panic in the streets about the disease.  Such unanswered questions!  Where did it come?  How did spread?  Do I already have it?  Is it in the blood bank?  And on and on.

 Well, of course, as Pluto pushed through Scorpio like a Sherman Tank, people died like flies in devastating ways.  Likened to the plague it was. Eventually, no one was unaffected in some way by this horrible disease.

 Now, did Pluto just make His rampage for a dozen years in Scorpio, and then, everything about sex and death was suddenly reinvented?  Of course not! Through those years, yes, people continued to drop left and right, but  we also became empowered and aware.  We formed support groups, such as GMHC. Organizations, such as AmFAR, came into existence to raise money for medical research.  The FDA changed its codes so that drugs could be released more expediently and effectively.  We created safe sex guidelines and education programs, and on and on with the solutions and measures around the globe.

In other words, Pluto is both-and, not either-or.  He “detoxes” the sign where He is transiting, and by doing so, what is wrong with the sign is brought to light and eliminated, and simultaneous with that process, comes a new and regenerated experience of that sign.  It’s transformed, never to go back to the way it was before Pluto.  Just ask those who are old enough to remember, “Will sex ever be the same as it was before the 80’s?”  For that matter, will the process of dying ever be the same?  After all, AIDS encouraged the spread of the hospice movement and supported more compassionate paths to death.

And so many years later, there’s still no cure for AIDS.  However, “coincidentally,” very soon after Pluto left Scorpio, we saw the cocktail of medications that can contain the disease.  Now, AIDS is a manageable disease, like diabetes, and people with AIDS can live long and fulfilling lives with it.

 As Pluto moves through Capricorn, surely, measures to improve (reinvent, really) the economy will continue to be tested and tried.  Some will work. Some not.  More corporate executives will get their bonuses and more Bernie Madhoff’s will come to light.  And the process continues as a brand new concept of economy emerges, and along the way, we adapt (“morph,” really).

By the way, Capricorn also rules the actual planet, Earth, the rock that hurdles through space while all of us going about our daily lives.  That, too, will transform.  Just as the AIDS cocktail evolved as Pluto left Scorpio, let me be the first to predict, shortly after 2024, when Pluto leaves Capricorn, a report will be published to announce the first signs of the reversal of global warming.  You heard it here first!

Pluto-Saturn-Uranus Combinations in Other Historical Eras 

Now, back to our transiting T-square.  In the recent century, there were two similar combinations of planetary trends. In the 1960’s, Uranus and Pluto conjoined in Virgo, and both of them opposed Saturn in Pisces.  Anybody recall the Counter Culture Revolution?  The tumult of the time?  The upset of the Civil Rights Act as well as the miracle of the Civil Rights Act?  What a world it was…and what a world it became because of that time!  This perspective can help the client cope with the changes of the time as we go forward into the transiting T-square.

The variation on this combination of planets in 1930 represented just as much tumult, but it gave birth to some remarkable names:  Edward Kennedy, Sandra O’Connor, Harvey Milk, Ray Charles, Stephen Sondheim, Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood, Francois Trauffaut, Barbara Walters, Neil Armstrong and Harold Pinter.

By the way, the 1930’s were not the first time to see the T-Square of Saturn, Uranus and Pluto.  The configuration also took place in the mid-1870’s!  That variation gave birth to the likes of Albert Schweitzer, D.W. Griffith, Ravel, Rilke, Mann, Aleister Crowley and the astro-beloved Carl Jung!

 Movers and shakers are being born in the tumult of our day too.  Such  planetary configurations are embodied by the natives of those times, and those individuals impact society accordingly.

Practical Advice for Astrology Clients

For more practical advice to our clients while Pluto is in Capricorn, sure, watch your deep knee bends, de-clutter your homes, use lots of skin moisturizer, and be sure to floss. 

But even more sensible advice is to experience your life in the moment, keep your drama in perspective, remember it’s more of a comedy than a tragedy, and for yourself and your clients, use astrology to deepen the experience of life, not to avoid it. 

Take it one day at a time.  Maybe that’s what the end of the Mayan calendar means.

 About the Author:  John Marchesella practices astrology in New York City, where he also teaches.  He is Education Chairman for NCGR-New York and Director of the Mentor Program for NCGR-PAA.  And for as long as Pluto is in Capricorn, he intends to keep regular check ups with his dentist.  Visit his website, www.astrojohn.com.

NOTE: This is part of a collection of articles about Pluto transits for the International Astrology Blogathon, March 19-21, 2010.  The rest of the collection will be here:  Pluto Problems Got You Perplexed? Here’s What Helps!