Although the slow-moving transpersonal planets Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter have driven this year’s extraordinary events, I can’t help thinking of Mars amongst the faster moving personal planets as the main actor of 2020. He’s like the deeply flawed hero in an extremely long and bizarre arthouse action movie who’s prone to selfishness, violent outbursts and foolish impulsivity although he has a heart of gold, and the challenges he confronts during the course of the drama will bring him to his knees and make him a hero.
This week we reach another threshold of the plot. Mars squares off with lord of the underworld Pluto, whose discovery coincided with the rise of depth psychology and the creation of the atom bomb. In this encounter our hero must face the forces of domination and control that are both unresolved in his own psyche and mirrored in his confrontations with the world. To succeed he must choose a path of action that reflects his maturity as a hero by first facing in himself what he fears the most.
In mythology, Pluto presided over the realms of the dead, which unlike Christian hells, were rich and fertile domains populated with treasures - plouton in Greek meant wealth - riches both of the human psyche and the earth itself. Pluto was both an arbiter of justice who avenged the crimes committed against the dead and a god of fearsome reckoning whose name was unutterable in ancient times; a god of extreme transformation and an ally to those who, having been brought to their knees in agony and despair, were offered riches that are only attainable when one loses everything.
In addition to this confrontation, the squaring gods form a tense Hammer of Thor aspect to our hero’s love interest Venus who acts as the focal point for this stressful encounter. At the same time Mercury the messenger makes an exact opposition to the great awakener Uranus in Venus-ruled Taurus, and Venus and Mercury form a finger of god with Chiron the healer. Venus is multitasking like hell in Virgo. It’s her least favourite place to be but she’s best situated to do this kind of work in the sign of healing and service. The quest it seems is a deep and profound transformation through confrontation with issues that lie beneath the surface. She urges us to identify, then correct the deeper issues that are in the way of love.
Although deeply challenging, these issues are coming to the fore in order to be resolved. With Mars retrograding until mid November, we’re cautioned once again against aggressive reactivity: strategy will be crucial to win the long game. Given that Hammer of Thor aspects can lead to the feeling of being harshly criticised and that Venus is more critical than usual in Virgo, we’re reminded to couch our constructive criticisms in compassionate language both as an act of service to ourselves and others.
With the Mercury/ Taurus opposition today there’s a strong possibility of more dramatic revelations and plot twists. We could see secrets revealed about financial or other power abuses, and personally we could experience strong intuitive insights coming suddenly to awareness. It’s an excellent time for brainstorming strategies and ideas in preparation for the next act, and we might even receive some positive and surprising news about money…
#astrology2020 #hammerofthor #yod #astrologyforecast #pluto #uranus #mercury#mars #venus #scorpio #virgo #astrology
Pluto & Persephone
Gouache on plywood
