The Saturn Pluto Cycle   Saturn Squares Pluto on
  • November 16 2009
  • February 1 2010
  • August 21 2010

On November 16 Saturn will square Pluto for the first of three transits. It symbolizes the need for structural [Saturn] transformation [Pluto] at the deepest [Pluto] levels in all spheres of life: political, economic, social and cultural. The Saturn / Pluto Cycle is a 33 year cycle and the hard aspects [conjunction, square and opposition] seems to have a powerful connection with

  • power shifts & struggles
  • the rise and fall of nations and empires
  • volatile market forces
  • the rise of marginal and disenfranchised groups.

On a personal level the combination of these two planets talks of taking responsibility [Saturn] for our personal and collective shadows [Pluto].  Both these planets symbolize energies that can lead to wisdom and self mastery through confrontations with the shadow. Saturn/Pluto often confronts us with hard truths that we would rather ignore, but we do so at our own peril. To ignore powerful archetypal energies such as these invites in the negative potential, this can be dark, destructive and subversive. Both Saturn and Pluto are associated with fear, depression, power, control and the shadow as well as self mastery. Saturn invites us to become an authority in our chosen domain and Pluto offers us initiation into the hidden mysteries.

We could all benefit from the wisdom of the Buddhist sages to welcome and make friends with our demons. This feels the most constructive way to approach this transit. It feels very important to focus on the positive outcomes that this transit can foster and not contribute to the collective fear.

Saturn once defined the limits of the solar system and is associated with limitation and contraction, the Law of Karma and the lessons learned through time and maturity. The positive expression of Saturn is mature, responsible, authoritative, patient and conscientious. The negative expression of Saturn is fearful of change, authoritarian, rigid and judgemental. Pluto also defined the boundaries of our solar system until the recent discovery of the Kuiper Belt and is associated with the principle of death and rebirth. The positive expression of Pluto is transformative and regenerative, willing to let go control and face the dark within and without to allow this process. The negative Pluto is controlling, obsessive, destructive, subversive and sometimes demonic when it is possessed by the darkness.

The current transit takes the form of a 'square aspect', traditionally seen as challenging. Squares are often portrayed as the bad guys in astrology because they create tension and conflict; however this tension is necessary for change and growth. Instead of focusing on the negative potential of the square we can shift our focus to the creative potential inherent in this aspect and reflect on how these two feared planetary forces can work together and become agents for constructive change. This square is the waning square in the cycle and as such suggests a 'crisis in consciousness' rather than a crisis in action, so the main thrust of the alignment may be to shift our thinking about fear itself !

The positive expression of this energy can take the form of

  • responsible and disciplined use of power
  • mature and wise use of power
  • learning constructive lessons about power and control
  • transformative and regenerative authority
  • letting go limited paradigms and structures so regeneration can take place
  • intense determination to restructure and transform
  • regenerative re structuring
  • self mastery through facing the our demons [shadow and fear]

And now, a bit of historical background…

  • The current Saturn/ Pluto cycle began in 1982 in the sign of Libra and coincided with Israel's invasion of Lebanon, Russia's invasion of Afghanistan and the Falkland's War.
  • At the opposition in 2001 the Twin Towers were attacked and the 'War on Terror' was declared and has been a dominant energy ever since.
  • In 1914 when they conjuncted we saw World War One erupt.  At the opposition in 1931 the Great Depression began and Stalinism and Fascism were gaining power.
  • In 1947 the two planets conjuncted and the Cold War began. At the opposition in 1965-6 we saw the Vietnam War, Civil Rights riots in the US and the Cultural Revolution in China.

We now find ourselves at the waning square, often characterized as a crisis in consciousness and sometimes as a 'crisis of authority', however the square has not been associated with the momentous events often found at the conjunction and opposition. Saturn is said to be exalted in Libra, perhaps softening the effects of the meeting of these two giants and diluting some of the negative effects of this cycle.