Pluto and the 35 to 57 years old
(Vancouver, August 1st, 2004)
« Know thyself! » These commanding words conveyed by the sacred scriptures open the door to an endless journey. We easily know our name and address but does the story end here? As one enters the path through thousands of inner veils there will be no return to ignorance. One will only go on deeper into the mysterious merging into dimensions. This is the irresistible pull of the immortal Soul to find its way back to the Source of its existence. It is as if we were created only to perform such an endeavour. Pluto represents the changes in the mortal self from this Soul’s evolutionary journey.
In Astrology, it is said that a new planet is discovered when there is enough people able to respond to its energy. A new paradigm takes place in cultures and group tendencies around the time of such discoveries. Pluto was found in 1930 by American astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. After hundreds of suggestions for a name, the newly found space body was named Pluto as proposed by 11-year-old Venetia Burney of Oxford, England. For her it was the name of a favourite Disney character. For astronomers, it was the Greek god of the Underworld; the brother of Jupiter, Neptune, and Juno; and third son of Saturn, who was able, when he wished, to render himself invisible.
The long and narrow orbit of Pluto can take from 13 to 19 years to travel through a zodiac sign. Where your natal Pluto is has to do with your ability to transform and expand your awareness of yourself, to “know thyself”. Pluto’s method is to create chaos in order to build a new order. It is intense, dramatic, radical, cathartic, dark as well as luminous. It carries life through its metamorphosis. It is the master of death and rebirth. When a person, an animal or a plant dies the decaying process isn’t necessary attractive. It is a necessary step though to bring about a regenerated form of life. Pluto RECYCLES. We walk upon a lovely soil made of the corpses of so many before us and, yet, fresh fruit and vegetable are coming of it in the most appealing form. Thanks to Pluto’s style of energy.
Here are Pluto positions for the current generations on Earth:
· In Cancer: September 10th 1912 to June 14th 1939 (with a brief brush into Leo from August 4th 1938 to February 8th 1939)
· In Leo: June 14th 1939 to June 11th 1958 (with two brief brushes in Virgo from October 19th 1956 to January 15th 1957, and from August 19th 1957 to April 12th 1958)
· In Virgo: June 11th 1958 to July 30th 1972 (with a brief brush into Libra from October 4th 1971 to April 16th 1972)
· In Libra: July 30th 1971 to August 28th 1984
· In Scorpio: August 28th 1984 to November 10th 1995
· In Sagittarius: November 10th 1995 to November 28th 2008 (with a brief brush into Capricorn from January 27th to June 15th 2008)
It would be too complex to address all Pluto positions so I’ll only speak about two groups ranging from 35 to 57 today.
The Pluto in Leo generation is called the “baby boomers” and the Pluto in Virgo one is the “generation X”. When a “slow” moving planet hooks up with Pluto it colors the nature of the experience that age group is dealing with.
“Baby Boomers”
At the moment, people born between September 1945 and September 1951 are experiencing two major transits: Pluto in Sagittarius and Neptune in Aquarius. A transit is the current position of a planet in the sky in relation to a planet’s position at the time of birth. I am trying to keep things as simple as possible here, yet giving enough information for you to play with. That is to say there is a lot more happening and it can be refined even more when looking into one’s natal chart.
One single Pluto orbit around the Sun will take 248 years. As a result it will not return on its natal position during a person’s life and will hold a connection with any of the natal planets long enough to manifest a major transformation in that person’s life.
The above mentioned age group (1945 – 1951) is experiencing a Pluto trine transit roughly from 2000 to 2005. This means that not only are they experiencing a deep transformation as individuals but they also are changing as a group.
“Baby boomers” came after the Pluto in Cancer generation which had experienced the First World War (1914-18) and the big depression in 1929. Pluto in Cancer people were hard workers and did tend to sacrifice personal needs to survival needs. They have learned to suppress their feelings and have been great survivors. They certainly are the makers of a greater comfort in the society in terms of general structures and services. They have sacrificed a lot and it was not in their culture to take holidays. Long working hours was so normal that they didn’t request anything else.
Their children on the other hand – the “baby boomers” – came into the world with a spoiled attitude somehow. They refused their parent’s lifestyle. They requested shorter hours of work and are responsible for the 35 to 40 hours working schedule, as well as paid yearly holidays, to name only this. This was certainly a first! Because of the hard work of Pluto in Cancer generation, the Pluto in Leo people were able to rearrange everything to inject more time for fun in it. This was not possible before a solid foundation was established. We need to roll our sleeves and really get busy to build something significant. Once it is done we have more freedom to remodel it and that is what the “baby boomers” have added to the Pluto in Cancer society.
With the current Pluto trine to “baby boomers” natal Pluto, there is a deeper awakening in the works. It is so current that it is hard to detect the full extend of this process which will become more visible in the years to come. Leo rules glamour, glory, stardom, refinement, arts, children, the heart, and love. Sagittarius (where Pluto currently is) rules the higher mind, philosophy, belief systems, large institutions, the law, and religion.
The September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre was inspired by strong religious beliefs, as well as the reply by the Americans (Pluto in Sagittarius). Global information and disinformation have never been so available. People grow more aware of this and one of the effects of the Pluto trine for the “baby boomers” group could very well be to take a stand for individual thinking. As a group they have influenced lots of changes to bring about more comfort for the individual. They will probably continue to do so. It becomes more and more obvious that if we go on thinking as we are inspired to by the media and the style of our culture, we are in great danger of general destruction. Manipulative tactics are just about to be out in the name of Leo integrity. Leo is the sign of kings and queens. The “baby boomers” are going to leave an empowerment for the individual. The time to be lead by mass influences is coming to a close as people are encouraged to take a stand for their own individual power. Do your own research and test everything to make sure you get the truth. The society as a whole will become a lot less easy to influence as people are gaining more individual power. This seems to be the metamorphosis as a group the above mentioned “baby boomers” is just about to reveal to the world.
Now, Neptune in Aquarius is also in opposition to their natal Pluto roughly from 2000 to 2006. Neptune represents spirituality, inner peace, aspiration, inspiration, addictions, fog, deception, mirage, and confusion. In the process of encouraging citizens to become stronger and more independent individuals, “baby boomers” are also searching for the right formula. The whole world being more visible through television and Internet, there seems to be no end to the confusion and chaos. Neptune is THE planet for peace in the world. It is as if a peace effort here creates more war there. Where to begin might be their biggest dilemma. On the other hand we also see the emergence of more spiritual awareness in the corporate world. Vancouver author and teacher, Tanis Helliwell (http://www.iitransform.com/) to name only her has devoted years to that sort of teachings and she has published the best seller “Bring Your Soul to Work”.
What is important to remember when dealing with the energy of slow moving planets is that a person will respond to their slow grinding their way into one’s consciousness but the whole piece is played by all of one’s generation. The end result is the one of the group, not of the individual.
“Generation X”
This age group was born with Pluto conjunct to Uranus in Virgo. Uranus represents intuition, inner freedom, originality, rebellion, unpredictability, newness, and group consciousness.
The “generation X” came after the freedom and fun oriented “baby boomers”. For the first time in a long time the reality of a very uncertain future came about. Technology and new inventions took over and lots of people were replaced by machines. For “generation X”, there seems to be more anxiety proneness than in other generations because of the constant uncertainty of their becoming. Everything changes fast and faster for them.
“Generation X” shows a very resilient character though and, as a group, they value healthy relationship to food and nature. They tend to be more frugal than “baby boomers”. They are very independent and quite perseverant in the life directions they choose. In the long run they stand out by some sort of self made style. They are reluctant to be lead by others but they can be very committed and disciplined in what they value. Their mission could very well be to “rebuild after”. After what? The current weather pattern changes and their consequences, the increase of population on the planet and the massive dying of AIDS for people in Africa and Asia, to name only this, are not going away. “Baby boomers” are now preparing for retirement. Who will be left to deal with Earth conditions? The “generation X”.
Pluto in Virgo gives an understanding and a valuing of basic principles of living in harmony with nature, while Uranus offers a very new and original way to reform the society. Virgo is an Earth sign. Being practical is more interesting than being visionary for them. The world is in a state of metamorphosis and “generation X” will hold the lead to direct its landing.
Those born between March 1964 and March 1965 have natal Saturn in Pisces in opposition to their natal Pluto-Uranus in Virgo. For that age group there is an important coming of age in 2004-2005 while Uranus transits in Pisces and conjunct their natal Saturn. This is also midlife transition for them which is a maturity turning point inevitable and necessary. The incredible pressure by Uranus upon “teacher and karma master Saturn” in opposition to their natal Pluto-Uranus makes it paramount for this age group to maintain FLEXIBILITY and FAITH in the process. This group has an exceptional reservoir of wisdom and spiritual power which they tend to resist. Taking a stand in the society with that much inner knowledge doesn’t always feel safe – at least for them. If this age group isn’t embracing a spiritual view of compassion, tolerance and acceptance now, they could suffer lots of despair and powerlessness with the current state of the world. For this age group it is necessary to take care of their three lower chakras (root chakra; sexual chakra; solar plexus) as it is through a perfectly stable foundation that they’ll be able to own all of their inner wisdom. The line is thin between full enlightenment and enslavement into darkness. For the individual the difference rests upon the strength of the lower chakras. There are wonderful healers apt to help in that matter and I strongly recommend that this age group takes advantage of their expertise.
There would be so much more to say but it would require an entire book. My goal is to keep it as simple as possible for people who are not expert in Astrology but like it enough to benefit from such an article.
With love and respect!
The Self is as it is, sparkling, ever steady,
unmoving and unchanging. First realize the Self.
(Sri Ramana Maharshi)
Marielle Croft, Astrologer
Phone: (604) 873-5963, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Website: www.croftastrologer.com
Email: marielle@croftastrologer.com
