Happy New Year 2024

Astro Tips and more . . . by Linda Sprague

Pluto completes its transit of Capricorn and enters the sign of Aquarius

xafrom Gaia Matrix Oracle by Rowena Pattee Kryder:

26 EAGLE CROOKED PATH:  "The new phoenix opens its beak, and out comes a crystal sphere which is the New Earth.  The phoenix gives out a piercing call--the call for a new era, a great age."

After nearly 15 years in the sign of Capricorn, dwarf planet Pluto has reached the critical 29th degree of that sign and will make entry into Aquarius on January 20th. Pluto spent a brief spell in Aquarius in 2023 and in 2024 Pluto will retrograde back into Capricorn for a brief time.  After that we will have Pluto in Aquarius for a total of 20 years (through March 8, 2043).

Pluto is continually providing us with breakdowns and breakthroughs. We have witnessed ongoing breakdowns in the shadow areas that Capricorn represents:  the over-riding, over-bearing, self-serving patriarchy; government stagnation; society's structures and legal systems; and the unrelenting rise of plutocracy. The breakdowns in our society have revealed the outrageous exaggeration of the distribution of resources and wealth, something we might call greed. All of the planets have their archetypal meanings. One of the shadow sides of Pluto is obsession and sometimes that obsession is greed. We are living in very material times. So on the one hand Pluto has shown us that our systems are inadequate and need to be analyzed and changed. What we have yet to fully grasp is how our greed has contributed to our problems.  Simple things like why do we, living in the United States of America, pay more for our medicines than people do in Canada, Mexico and other western countries? We have yet to see the breakdown of greed--pharmaceutical greed, CEO/corporate greed, and political greed to mention a few.  On the other hand, Pluto in Capricorn has taught us about our own value and our own power. Pluto in Capricorn has urged us to grow up and be responsible for ourselves. Pluto teaches us humility as well, because there are things in life that require that we say, I am powerless over that. In what ways can we be powerful and impactful without joining the toxic, power-dominance of the greater collective? It's instructive to remember that planet Pluto was in the sign of Capricorn when the United States was born in 1776. We have experienced our Pluto return in Capricorn in our country.  We have been in a repeat cycle that helps us understand our beginnings. 

Perhaps Pluto's long visit to Aquarius will help us address the issue of greed, as well as other issues around equality and justice. Aquarius is also associated with technology.  We are on a journey to a new era for technology (think AI) as well as for humanity. The planet Uranus rules Aquarius so we can expect more upheavals and surprises as we find our way to a bigger consciousness that includes fairness, equality and justice, as well as a consciousness that teaches us that we are not just earthly citizens.  We are citizens of our solar system, galaxy and universe. Right now we are stuck in a very old belief system where we are citizens of a family, tribe, village, city, state, nation.  We cling to the belief, the myth, that one tribe is better than another, one nation superior than all others. We are so much more than any of those systems, and everyone is included in the bigger oneness that holds all of us.  Those who want to return to a dominance based systems are in for a surprise. No one can stop the unfolding of consciousness.  It doesn't matter how many books are banned, consciousness will expand. No matter what we see in the media, people are beginning to live from the place of love and acceptance of individuality.  Quantum theory--particle, wave, field--demonstrates the interconnectedness of everything as well as the power of belief to broaden our understanding of life itself.

Miracles can happen, I guess. We could make some big shift if the big white light sphere engulfs our planet and fills the air we breathe to the extent that we awaken to something beyond this material plane.  Or it will take a little longer. The phoenix is rising and calling for a new age. But do any of us really know when that might unfold? Life is a process not a destination. And astrology is about planetary cycles that repeat in different ways. We want to believe there is a moment in time where everything sparkles and everyone gets it at the same time. We want the Age of Aquarius to be a loud beautiful show with a big attendance and enormous applause. Meanwhile we might have someone in the White House who is on trial for a variety of misdeeds. How can that even be a possibility? Because there are people who don't think or believe the candidate committed any misdeeds. We are in murky waters. Where is the truth?  How do we respect and live with diversity of truth? Is one truth allowed to dominate all the other truths? That's a rabbit hole that takes everyone far far and away from the heart chakra.  

There is more to say about 2024. There are other planetary cycles to discuss:  Uranus, Neptune, Eris (another dwarf planet of profound importance), Saturn and Jupiter.  For now I will pause and try to return to my heart center. It's not just the future existence of humanity that is on the line. Many sentient beings are depending on us to make this a better place. And not just the ones that fly and crawl and swim. Even the waters and mountains are more awake than we are, and yet they are subjected to our behaviors. We have grave responsibilities. The big picture is both scary and also beautiful. I have got to believe that every goodness we do for others, for ourselves and for all sentient life, really, really matters. The energy of those deeds unites with all the the other energies. That big energy expands and magically nurtures the womb of the new era, an era of homo-spiritus and homo-galacticus.  We may not get there in our lifetime, but that doesn't mean we aren't giving birth to it right now.