The Mythology of Pluto Into Aquarius March 23 2023

Pluto entering the sign of Aquarius looks like being  the most significant cycle of the decade! This will begin on March 23 at 11.32 pm and last for the next 20 years through to March 10 2043! The last time the “demoted dwarf planet” graced the sign would have been in the transformative time between 1778 and 1798, two centuries before it was discovered.

Pluto’s ingress in the current sign of Capricorn was on January 27 2008, covering the last 15 years! He will move into Aquarius for 20 years, except for two short stints back into Capricorn due to his retrograde periods from June 12 to January 21 2024 and November 20 2024 to March 9 2025.

We have all experienced going through the last throes of the extreme patriarchal hierarchy, with its greed and materialism benefitting the privileged few and discriminating against the minority groups in the collective. It is to be hoped that we will see many of the corrupt and egalitarian systems break down break down during Pluto’s time in Aquarius, similar to what occurred when he was there last in 1778 to 1798, with all the revolutions in Industry, the US and France!

We will expect to see some last attempts to retain power during the Capricorn retrograde periods!

In Aquarius Pluto represents power to the people, transformation of what is unequal, untrue, not pure, hidden underneath, needs to be brought to light. It connects to the story of Persephone/Prosperina being taken down to the Underworld by Hades/Pluto to become his wife and Queen. Her mother Demeter/Ceres wanted her to remain a maiden forever and wouldn’t let her marry. Yes, there was a lot of initial misery and depression, but in the end she was able to divide her time between both of them and gained her power by becoming a woman and a Queen to boot!

Pluto is always about righting what is unjust and forcing us to use our power to become a truer version of ourselves. Capricorn represents the patriarchy , politics, big business, power to the elder (look at the age of many world leaders and those trying to extend the period they can stay in power like Putin and the leader of China!) Aquarius is more about the collective, the people, equality, but it is still ruled by Saturn and is a mental Air sign, not always feeling or empathic in its rulings.

March began with Pluto in the last anaretic degree of 29 Capricorn 28’, conjunct the asteroid Hygeia. The pair will be making a series of tight (less then 1 degree of orb), aspects to no less than 9 additional planetary bodies, semi-sextiles to Saturn and asteroid Circe, sextiles to asteroids Astarte and Arachne, squares to asteroids Horus and Gaea, a trine to dwarf planet Sedna, a quincunx to asteroid Hekate and a partile opposition to Black Moon Lilith! What a package of powerful, transformative energy!

There will be some pretty interesting and exact connections to the mystical asteroids I follow, making incredible aspect pattern at the time of Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius, shown on the chart below.

Pluto can be seen to be separating by less than a degree, from an exact conjunction with the asteroid Eros, named for one of the primordial Gods. His archetype represents, Life Force and Desire, that intense energetic force that impels us to act creatively, either through love and passion for another person or through the very essence of life itself, expressing our reason for being, as a manifested force. The pair go on to form the focal point of no less than four chart patterns.

1. A Fixed T-Square to asteroid Orpheus in Taurus and Apollo in Scorpio.
2. An Earth Grand Trine to fellow dwarf planets Sedna in Taurus, and Ceres in Virgo.
3. A Yod or “Finger of God” through awkward quincunx aspects to asteroid Hekate in Cancer conjunct Mars in Gemini, as well as asteroid Persephone, connected by sextile.
4. A Kite make by almost exact sextiles from the asteroid Minerva, named for the Roman version of Pallas Athena, by an orb of 00 02 minutes of arc to Pluto and Sedna.

Many of these aspects remain within orbs over the next couple of months! You can read more details in the article I wrote for the current edition of the “Timelords” magazine https://cosmicintelligenceagency.com/timelords-magazine-opt-in/

It is of no surprise that there is a decidedly Underworld flavor to the archetypes of the planetary bodies involved with Pluto, in these striking aspect patterns. The myths surrounding both Ceres and Sedna speak of grief and loss of trust, resulting in long-term spiritual benefit to humanity, in repect to the Earth and the Seas respectively. From Ceres/Demeter’s experiences on having her daughter Persephone, stolen by Pluto and taken away to the underworld; we have the gift of the Seasons, the Eleusian Mysteries and the secrets of agriculture. Hekate also played a role in the their story, helping Ceres discover what had happened to Persephone, who became Queen of the Underworld. Hekate helped  Persephone adjust to her role down there, having access to the Underworld in her role as psychopomp, helping the souls of the dead find their way. She is the Greek Goddess of Transformation and the Crossroads.

Sedna’s story from the Inuit tradition is less well known. Beautiful, she refused all suitors until a handsome and magical stranger won her hand in marriage. Only when they journeyed to his distant homeland, did he tell her that he was in fact a spirit being called “Raven Man”.   He turned out to be a poor husband, she was just another shiny possession, and he barely even provided enough food for her to eat!  Her father came to rescue her by boat, but as they sailed away, Raven Man discovered their flight and enraged, worked with the ocean to bring them back. He caused such wind and waves that Sedna’s father threw her overboard to appease their pursuer. When she tried to climb back into the boat he cut off her fingers to prevent this happening. Poor Sedna sank to the bottom of the ocean expecting to die, but instead was transformed into a great spiritual being.   Out of the blood of her severed fingers grew the beautiful mammals of the sea, dolphins, whales, and seals.   Sedna became their mother, also providing a source of sustenance to her people, providing she was treated with care and reverence. In addition, she can be thought of as the Goddess of Bad Choices, in  both her husband and her father!

The myth of Orpheus also has a strong connection to grief and the Underworld, as he managed to visit Pluto and Persephone there, to plead for the return of his wife Eurydice, who died of snakebite on their wedding day! He was a talented musician, whose music was so beautiful he could call down the birds from the trees. He charmed his way past Cerberus, the tree-headed dog, to enter Hades, and managed to enchant the rulers so much, that they granted his wish. She was allowed to follow him out, on the proviso that he didn’t turn round to check she was behind him. Alas, he couldn’t hear her footsteps and turned as he reached the exit, so she had to stay behind. Orpheus was however one of the few living entities who managed to visit and return from the Land of the Dead! Apollo could be said to be his mentor, as the God of Creativity and the Sun. His association with the Underworld and the unconscious is the most subtle through his dominion of the Earth Oracles at Delphi, and other sites around Greece. This was gifted to him, through his Titan grandmother Phoebe. Interestingly he shares this lineage with his cousin Hekate, whose mother, Asteria inherited dominion over the Oracle of the Starry Skies from her Titan father Koios.

The influence from the T-Square to Pluto, as he ingresses into Aquarius, seem likely to have a transformative impact on the manner in which we connect to music and creativity in general, in order to deal with pain and grief. The Yod to Hekate and Persephone suggests an adjustment to how we resolve the pain and grief of separation, coming from transformations to our inner knowing. The longer acting Kite, with Minerva/Pallas Athena as the focus point, opposing Ceres, will assist in dealing with the painful looking Pluto-Ceres-Sedna Grand Trine. On a personal level we may be able to tap into our intellect to find ways of negotiating the pain in a civilized fashion that eases emotions within our more intimate connections. From a collective viewpoint this period may bring more progress in how the world deals with the degradations mankind’s greed is causing to the Earth, our climate, and the Oceans!