Pluto return USA – Joan Porte

“Enemies” A History of the FBI” by Tim Weiner

I did not want to read this book. What kind of summer reading is a 470 page history of the FBI? However, since it was a selection of my book club, one that we picked especially because it is so long making it a good August book. We don’t meet in August so it would give us the necessary time to plow through it. To my delight, the book is so well written that reading was a pleasure!

What really struck me most about the book was just how much work Pluto has to dig out the secrets and detritus of our history. Remember, Pluto’s work is to bring secrets to the forefront so that the “sins’ can be aired and remedied. Pluto is now in Capricorn, bringing up the “junk” of large authoritarian operations.

Spying on citizens whose only “crime” was supporting a Communist leaning group or being linked to the civil rights movement with Communists and subversives were just some of the “sins” of the early FBI under J Edgar Hoover. Thousands of lives were damaged by his need to root out homosexuals and other “deviants” from the government. The Rule of Law was just a suggestion.

Times are bad now, no doubt. We have rarely had a President so willing to subvert American ideals. However, he is there for a reason, he is here for Pluto to allow us to remember who we should be – who we were which wasn’t always the “good guys” and what we should be striving for in the future.

This book reminds us that this time is not the only time when we lost our way and we should work to make our “sins” of the past unrepeatable. Or we are doomed to succumb to them.

Somewhere Pluto is Smiling

I sent that text to some close friends last Wednesday, the day after the elections here in Virginia. Why is Pluto feeling so good? The answer is simple. We are finally doing what he wants.

I have written at length (https://joanporte.com/tag/pluto-in-capricorn/) about the effects of Pluto, the change planet in the constellation of Capricorn, which controls government and authority structures. To make matters more interesting, America is coming into our Pluto return. Pluto is coming back or returning to where it was in 1776, at our birth. Pluto is in our second house of values. The question couldn’t be clearer – what do we want our values to be?

Pluto just doesn’t want change, he demands that we look deep inside of ourselves and ask, who we are and what we need to throw off so our better selves come through. If we fail to heed the demands of Pluto, he forces us to hold a mirror in front of our faces. He makes us face our worse selves.

Donald Trump is Pluto asking us to look inside ourselves and ask what kind of country we want. He has made his goals very clear to us. Last week, voters in Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Maine and Washington State responded with what they want. Virginia now has a transgender delegate along with two Latinas and one person of Vietnamese heritage. That is quite a change from the old white men they replaced! Hoboken, NJ elected a Sikh major and Maine voted to extend Medicare.

If we continue this “voter revolt,” stay engaged and remember who we are as decent people we will have answered Pluto’s call. Pluto isn’t an easy task master. There are detriments to his lessons but we can come out better people. Will we stay the leaders of the free world? I am not sure. Will we have values for which we can be proud? I hope so.

Uranus Square Pluto Until 2015 – How Can We Forget?

A client recently sent me an email in which she bemoaned the rise of ISIS and the general nonsense in the world. She reminded me of a blog entry I made in April during the dreaded “grand cross” when I said we don’t know what evil is being brewed up now that will come to light in the near future. She asked me could this be ISIS. Yes, of course, it could. However, I don’t want to lose sight of the bigger issue here and that is the blasted Uranus-Pluto square that has been going on since 2012 and will continue until well into 2015.

Uranus is quick electric change – the desire to leap ahead and progress at all costs and Pluto is slow, grinding meticulous change. To say it another way it is radical vs. conservative, slow against fast. No matter how you put it there are two forces that don’t agree clashing up against one another. The last Uranus Pluto Square was in 1933 – 1934. Does anyone remember someone named Hitler – who rose from the German ashes of WW I and promised fast change and a new way? Yeah, it isn’t a pretty time.

With Pluto now in Capricorn, the sign of government and authority, we are seeing the clashes. The clashes are in the middle East, in the Ukraine and yes, in Missouri, where people are tired of the old way, tired of feeling marginalized and may jump at any chance to follow any movement, any person who promises a new way – now.

I refuse to predict the gloom and doom repeat of 1933. I hate astrologers who say everything must happen the same way again and again. That is absurd. We are seeing positive government changes here with the rise of the acceptance of LGBT marriages and hopefully the empowering via the voting booth of minorities and women to finally put an end to “fuddy-duddy” politicians. Perhaps out of the anger over more shootings of African American men we can see more people expressing their anger at the voting booth!

The US is in it’s Pluto return – meaning Pluto is back where it was in 1776 when we broke away from England. That is something that always brings great change – we are transforming as a nation – and no matter what people want – we will never go back. By 2040 we will not be a white majority nation no matter what the Tea Party wants. This is adding to the tinderbox.

The Middle East, the Ukraine? We are talking about centuries of tribal warfare. Will Iraq fall apart? Will ISIS take more control of areas? Will Afghanistan come under the rule of Taliban 2? Well those of us who predicted disastrous outcomes to our intervention in the Iraq kind of always knew falling apart would be a distinct possibility.

The key to remember is to keep your head together during this time and keep YOUR eye on the positive change you want to be and see. The more of us who are aware and remain centered the better we all have to get through this for the most part with positive, albeit painful, change at the end of the square.

Remember Pluto is Still in Capricorn

I was having breakfast with friends a few months ago when I said, “I don’t think the 2014 senatorial elections will be as dreadful to the Democrats as they are all predicting.” The collective response was one of “your lips to God’s ears.” I do not pretend to be a psychic nor do I believe it is going to be a necessarily pretty election cycle for liberals. However, with Pluto in Capricorn – you just never know and I believe 2014 will bring changes no one expected.

Pluto is the (dwarf) planet of change and transformation. Pluto makes us the “offer we can’t refuse.” She says, “Change or I will bring change about for you.” That little icy comet/planet packs the proverbial astrological punch.

Capricorn is the sign of government, authority figures – those structures that keep the glue of society together. When you put the two together, we get big time changes in that arena.

Of course, when the planet hit Capricorn in 2008, it did what we expected – it caused big change in the structure of society like the banking system, which almost came apart. In addition, secrets of the rich and powerful were uncovered (i.e. Penn State, Catholic Church, and WikiLeaks.) It also caused some other troubling changes such as the corporate personhood.

Pluto Capricorn also introduced his to the first African American President of the United States. In fact, on election night 2008 also saw Saturn standing directly opposite Uranus. Uranus is new change, Saturn is tradition all the way… we had the battle of the older white male and younger black male and, thankfully, Uranus won. Unfortunately, this ushered in the wave of the 2010 election: the revenge of the old white voter.

Planets sort of kick up their heels and make an impact three times during their transits, first, when they enter a sign, the second time half way through the sign and then just as they are leaving. Pluto entered in 2008 and will leave in 2023 so we are entering the midway point of this transition through Capricorn. So when Eric Cantor was defeated in a primary I said there we go – Pluto is acting up. Therefore, while I won’t pretend to know what will happen exactly, I know the 2014 – 2016 election cycle will not be what the “talking heads” foresee.

P.S. Oh and did I say Elizabeth Warren was born with Pluto in the 10^th house, the house that vibrates to the energy of Capricorn?

Saturn in Scorpio – on the USA Chart

Last time I spoke about Pluto and the Pluto return America is about to undergo. There will be more on that and the Grand Cross of 2014 later but this week I promised a look at Saturn in Scorpio. Saturn moved into Scorpio on October 20, 2012 and will remain there until December 23, 2014. (It will retrograde back in for a few months June – September 2015.)

Saturn is called the task master of the zodiac. It makes us color within the lines. Generally considered a malefic planet, we often forget that without Saturn we would live in timeless anarchy. In medical astrology Saturn controls the bones and teeth. Indeed, where would we bewithout Saturn?

With it’s turn in Scorpio, Saturn will make us delve deeply into the houses it transits rooting out secrets and bringing the hidden to light.

“Natally the United States has Saturn in Libra in the 10th house (the house of government and authority and the natural house for Saturn) conjunct the asteroid Juno, the goddess of loyalty. It is no wonder we are known for stability but also for our tendency to tell others how to run their governments (Libra loves to meddle.) Right now, transiting Saturn is on our 11th house, the house of social contacts and interactions, conjunct another asteroid, Ceres, the mother nurturer. If that weren’t enough, Saturn by progression (how it has progressed since our birth) is also in the 11th and conjunct the Moon.

I see two manifestations of this placement. The first is the sudden acceptance of gay marriage both by the public and more surprisingly the Supreme Court. What was hidden is now socially acceptable – what is a better way to express Scorpio – and Saturn in the 11th brings that to public social and government arena.

The other manifestation is sadder, that is the Trayvon Martin death and verdict. To date the verdict has brought people out of their homes and onto the streets in mostly peaceful protests to say this is no longer acceptable – a young black man’s life has value and he can’t be targeted. The racial secrets must be brought to the surface in a public arena. Hopefully, these protests will be turned into political action. Then there will be some long lasting value to this death.

Pluto Return for USA

I have to admit I didn’t “feel it” this 4th of July…it was a pretty quiet day and I didn’t even think to put my flag out, something I do every year. Things have been in overdrive for me lately but there was something more. I just wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.

It got me thinking of our country and the general sense of ennui so many of us have. We can’t get anything done, the infrastructure is falling apart, we are at least ten years behind in cell phone technology, our immigration policy sucks, we are letting other countries beat us at renewable energy and all we hear about are fat old men talking about women’s bodies and people’s sex lives.

Then it hit me. Pluto is in Capricorn. American was “born” the last time Pluto was in Capricorn, we are in our Pluto return which will hit its apex in 2020. Any “return” of a slow planet is big because that energy returns to where it was at birth and asks the question, what have you done with yourself since I last visited. People never experience a Pluto return unless they are Methuselah’s grandfather. It takes over 250 years for Pluto to walk around the Sun. Any return is a time of stress, of reassessment

Of course, when the planet hit Capricorn in 2008, it did what we expected – cause big change in the structure of society like the banking system. Secrets of the rich and powerful were uncovered (i.e. Penn State, Catholic Church.) It also caused some other troubling changes such as the corporate personhood. Pluto brings change and Capricorn deals with authority, government – the fabric of society.

So what does this mean for the country as Pluto grinds through Capricorn? Frankly I don’t think anyone knows. I have read several articles on the subject. There are the requisite number of “the sky will fall and we will all go back to a nature-based people: America will be no more” articles. I expected that. Astrology has its fair share of alarmists.

My personal take is that government secrets will continue to come out and there will be more scandals and secrets. While I don’t think America will be no more, I do think it will be a vastly different place in 2024 – aware finally that we wasted almost 2 decades appeasing the lunatic right while the world marched on and we will realize what most already know – we are no longer number one.

Pluto was retrograded when America was born – perhaps we will right that backwards movement. Maybe our government will be more responsive to the people not just the rich ones? Perhaps we will head into Pluto Aquarius with a real sense of what is important and work together to catch up what we lost when asleep. I can always hope….

Next time – what does Saturn in Scorpio mean to the US?