Pluto Retrograde: 12th April to 20th September 2013
by
Sarah Varcas
Pluto stations retrograde in the 12th degree of Capricorn. The Sabian Symbols link this degree to study of the natural world, in the face of which we are all mere beginners. When Pluto, planet of profound transformation often born out of destruction, lingers in this degree we are put on notice by the cosmos that we’re not the owners of this planet, but the inhabitants, along with all other life forms, known and unknown. We do not, therefore, have a divine right above and beyond everything else, to pursue our own pleasure and satisfaction regardless of all other considerations. And yet, as a race, we continue to do so, and with alarming intensity.
This retrograde passage of Pluto provides us all with an opportunity to pause in this pursuit, to take stock and consider the foot print that we leave on this planet as we go about our daily lives. Not only in terms of the physical demands we make upon our environment, but also in terms of the demands we make on the world around us, to meet our needs and fulfil our desires. Each moment that we expect life to be a certain way, to deliver up certain results in return for our efforts, to shape itself in such a way that our needs get met, we’re demanding that a universe more complex than we can possibly comprehend bends itself to our will and desire. And when you look at it like that you can’t help but think…. isn’t that a bit…well..narcissistic?!
Yes…and no. We all exist to a certain extent within a narcissistic realm of ‘me and mine’, but how we manage that realm and our relationship with it is brought into question by Pluto’s activity now. This powerful planet with a penchant for making the kind of demands that we think we can’t possibly satisfy, but which in doing so we discover a whole new dimension to our existence, is turning the screws now and insisting that we sit up and take notice. Not only because we’re living on a knife edge created by consumerism, egoism and plain old greed, but also because the energies around us are such that the results of efforts we make in the coming months will be super-charged with potential and power. Our ability to recreate our life on this planet, turning it into something that nurtures and nourishes rather than uses and exploits, is coming into its own. But so is our ability to throw it all away once and for all if we make the wrong choices. Pluto’s rarely of a mind to offer second chances. It knows the urgency of a situation and forces us to wake up to it, however that needs to happen. Whatever we need to shock us awake, Pluto’s prepared to do. That’s just its way and we need to respect it for that.
Sitting at the apex of a long-standing Great Sextile for this station, prior to its dissolution in the subsequent days, Pluto is at a pinnacle moment here, and we are invited to join it and experience the heady power of standing astride a change-point in history, which is where we now find ourselves. The coming five months will show us where we need to adjust our approach to this world, and the adjustments required may be pretty huge. But the bigger the adjustment the greater the impact it will have on our collective future. Likewise the bigger our resistance to it, the bigger the impact of that resistance and of our refusal to stand aside and allow life itself to take centre stage, rather than our egoic needs and desires.
These are intense times. I keep finding myself saying it, and yet even I still forget and think I can cut corners and get away with it! The fact is, we can’t cut corners anymore. We must step up and embrace the message of this retrograde passage of Pluto, which demands that we relinquish our petty desires in the face of a pressing need for temperance and responsibility, allowing all of life to flourish and be fulfilled.
Sarah Varcas
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