PLUTO dips back into Capricorn – June 11th-January 21st, 2024

After entering Aquarius on March 23rd of this year, stationing at 0° 22′ of the last Air sign, leaving behind the last Earth sign of the zodiac where, just 2 and a half years ago, the Great Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction took place, initiating and commencing three major cycles: a 20-year cycle, a 200-year cycle, and an 800-year cycle. This triggered a movement, an extraordinary change, a RE-direction in the way we understand life (especially in social and work-related aspects). Pluto brings us another proposition for a nearly unimaginable global change.

During its transit through Capricorn since 2008, when the United States voted for an African-American president for the first time in our history, inaugurating his presidency with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008, which was the climax of the subprime mortgage crisis, causing an extraordinary global financial crisis, Pluto has not stopped exposing everything that stinks from humans and that we normally refuse to bring into the light, particularly what emerges from the corridors of power worldwide, as Capricorn demands. For some reason Pluto is called the cosmic plumber. The corruption of those in high positions has become crystal clear to everyone, especially to the generation of the 90s, who were born with the Uranus-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn and witnessed how everything that their parents and grandparents cherished, valued, and admired and held dear, crumbled before their eyes, without any healthy proposal or plan to replace it.

Now, with its entry into Aquarius, Pluto is preparing to swing back and forth from this 0° in this last Air sign of the zodiac and return to 28th-29th degree of Capricorn, the last Earth sign, until the end of 2024, when it will finally make its last leap into Aquarius, this time to stay until January 2044. The failed attempts by Amazon, Elon Musk, Richard Branson (Virgin), the Chinese, and the Japanese to launch their expensive rockets into space seem to evoke this extraordinary transition between leaving Earth and venturing into Space (Air). It is not and will not be easy, as they themselves admit.

From the marvelous astrological poetry, it is clear that we are leaving behind the last sign or state of Being of the Earth element, which is Capricorn. We are concluding a part of our evolution as a species of unprecedented magnitude, at least, for those of us who are alive today or in recent memory. As I have already mentioned in my article on Pluto in Aquarius, the adventure towards the Air times that has begun, not only in this transition from the Age of Pisces to Aquarius, something that has not happened for over 26,000 years, but also marked by the mutual reception between Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius in the early 21st century (2004-2010), as well as the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius at the end of 2020, is taking us through a rite of passage from the Old Order, the known Status Quo, towards a New Order of dimensions that we cannot clearly see yet. The wonderful movie “Blade Runner” from 1982, starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young, released during the Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Libra of those years, comes to mind.

The Human Being hasn’t changed much since its emergence as Homo sapiens, except in makeup, as beautifully explained by Yuval Noah Harari, but now it will. For the first time, we are facing the possibility of becoming Superhumans aided by technology that is slipping out of our hands, created by a group of men too young to fully comprehend the magnitude of what they are creating, as Elon Musk himself asserts in moments of lucidity. Nevertheless, all of this is already inevitable, and what this return of Pluto to Capricorn will do is confront with the Resistance of the Old Order, those who do not want to abandon their illusion of power, their “way of being.” Those who claim that the world will “never change” because humans won’t change are in for a big surprise. The reality is that everything has already changed, and there is no turning back. We can no longer dismiss our addiction to technology, and this addiction will only increase. Or we manage it or it will manage us, as most addictions do. However, the Old Order will resist with all its might, as Putin is doing, born with Pluto and Lilith in Leo on his Midheaven, with a Sun-Mercury-Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Libra squaring Uranus in Cancer. He and others like him will resist change, (as this Sun-Saturn/Uranus square in his own chart evokes). They will avoid it in their own lives and in the lives of their own people if necessary. The New Order signifies the end of their power, as Aquarius brings us “collaboration,” setting aside the ego for the benefit of the group. Everyone working and collaborating, rather than one person in power giving orders to the rest. Of course, Putin is not alone in this trivial challenge, as many others accompany him in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and around the world. They will not easily let go of their illusion of power, and we will see this eloquently in the next two years, particularly.

This beautiful quote by George Bernard Shaw comes to mind: ““This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

Unfortunately, we will all pay for the resistance of these power-hungry individuals and their desperate struggle to maintain a crumbling Status Quo that is becoming irrelevant in an accelerated manner. In the coming years, we will witness this phenomenon of change and resistance to change in a powerful way, as indicated by Pluto leaving Capricorn. Opening ourselves to a new way of being, where we can create less corrupt hierarchies of power, more collaborative and, above all, more inclined towards the benefit of all humans, will be the great challenge. In all our adventures into space, we have not found another planet with the conditions of this Earth, which we plunder, pollute, and neglect without remorse. I wonder if we will react in time.

Let us be part of the change and not of the resistance to it. There is no Plan B; adaptation to the new is the only plan. On a personal level, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius are particularly called upon to transform their fixed spirit and learn to embrace change. At the same time, they will be the guardians of temperance and sanity. The cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn have already been pushed towards change, and we are dealing with it as best we can. We know that it is possible to adapt to the new, faster than we think, as the Covid pandemic clearly demonstrated. The mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces have already done so mentally and must find a way to materialize it, and I believe they are doing so. The harsh reality, from my perspective, is that we have no other choice. Although it may be frightening, the invitation of Jupiter in Taurus, the impulse for adventure and the discovery of new possibilities, is much stronger and exhilarating than the fear associated with it, as clearly demonstrated by all chatbots, including ChatGPT (the one I use the most).

As someone I don’t know said, and Jupiter suggests:

“By leaving behind your old self and taking a leap of faith into the unknown, you discover what you are truly capable of becoming.”

Unfortunately, not everyone and not all familiar faces belong to your future, but that is the price of evolution. The marvelous dinosaurs are no longer here. We don’t write letters or wait for them anymore.

Having been born with a 29º Capricorn Ascendant, I have lived my entire existence and continue to live on this frontier where I constantly leave behind the old to embrace the new, like an endless “loop” that I cannot escape.

TINA TURNER dies. RIP

The powerful T-square involving Mars in Leo, Jupiter in Taurus, and Pluto in Aquarius, aligned with the Lunar Nodes in Taurus-Scorpio, that is formed these days, took away the great Tina Turner from us. A goddess of blues, pop, rock, and much more.

For those of us who were lucky enough to see her live, it’s impossible to forget that energy, that sensuality, that magic, and above all, that voice. Her power was undeniable, which led her to great successes but also to endless pains. I had the chance to see her in the 80s in London when she teamed up with Dire Straits and embarked on her rock and pop adventure. At that time, I was working at a restaurant called Julie’s, very close to Dire Straits’ music studio in Holland Park, London, where she would come with her then partner, another woman at the time. So I had many opportunities to serve her, joke with her, and delight in her presence. Her presence, her smile, and her charm were absolutely contagious, and it was impossible not to smile when she looked at you.

I’m not going to delve into her life in this article, something I will do later, but I simply want to share the transits and progressions in her natal chart at the moment of her departure from this physical plane. We all know that the other aspects of her soul in her journey through this life will not die for a long time.

Contrary to what many people expect, Jupiter and Mercury are significant at the moment of death, as Jupiter releases us from form, and Mercury is the one who takes us to the Beyond. Hermes/Mercury is responsible for carrying souls to the Underworld, where according to the Greeks, we all go when we die, and he was the only one allowed to enter and leave the Great Below without having to die to do so. Symbolising his mental quality, it tells us that great transformations occur on an emotional level, as mentally we can analyse things without necessarily being emotionally affected.

It’s easy to see in this chart how her natal Pluto in Leo, (which characterises her generation), in her 12th house, not only carries its natal significance of an ancestral history of abuse but also speaks of departing from this plane in the utmost privacy. It is activated by the opposition of transiting Pluto from Aquarius, the square of Jupiter with the Nodes from Taurus, and the conjunction by transit of the Moon and Mars in Leo, practically forming an exact Grand Cross. In other words, her natal Pluto fills in the missing leg of the T-square of these days. But at the same time, transiting Saturn, also on the cusp of her 8th house, conjunct her natal Mars, one of the rulers of the 8th house, is also forming a trine to her natal Sun-Mercury in the 4th house, which represents the beginning and end of life. Neptune, her other ruler of the 8th house, which speaks of Death, has been aspecting her Jupiter as if reminding us that Death is actually a transition between one state of Being and another.

She dies just in time for the Uranus return that occurs between 83-84 years, and we can also see that her progressed Mars is at 1 degree of Taurus, therefore in a square to her natal Pluto and transiting Pluto. None of this happened specifically yesterday, but the transit Moon with Mars in Leo did trigger all of it yesterday.

The asteroid Tina is in the last degrees of Leo, appropriately in her first house and in opposition to Juno in her 7th house, reminding us that she acquired that name when she began her musical journey with her future husband, Ike Turner.

This woman, this singer, this musician, has been one of the greats, and if there’s anything she leaves us besides her music, it’s her resilience, her power, and her magnificent smile. Thank you, Tina!

MARS enters LEO in challenging company

“5 days after Mercury finally stations direct, and 4 days after Jupiter enters Taurus for an entire year, Mars finally leaves the sign (which many attribute as its “fall”) Cancer, to move to Leo, where it will undoubtedly find itself more comfortable and can display all its greatness and power. It’s true that Mars in Cancer can be much less direct and powerful, since this planet doesn’t necessarily swim the waters skilfully. They are not compatible. But Cancer is not only a Water sign, it is also a Cardinal sign, and that is where I am a little less impetuous in calling Cancer the sign of its fall. We must not forget that Mars also rules Scorpio, another Water sign. Even so, as it strolls through the Waters it is somewhat like “the calm before the storm”, because when it returns to a Fire sign, Mars has the opportunity to be itself. Fire is its natural element, where it can spread out at ease, which allows him to polish its armour of war and puff up its chest without remorse, and then march through the streets of cheering crowds.”

But… entering Leo comes with some challenges this time, which bring frustrations and obstacles and some confrontation. If Mars encounters obstacles or something interferes with its natural impulse of expression, something that in a Fire sign like Leo, is overwhelming, then his less friendly side emerges. Mars tends to kick obstacles out of its way, instead of negotiating or stopping to think about why they are there in the first place. So much so that sometimes it’s easier to “project” that Martian impulse onto others and get someone angry with him, instead of having to stop to find a compromise or confront his own behaviour. This is something that this time, he won’t be able to do as easily, because as he enters the sign of the Lion, he does so in opposition to the Lord of Darkness, Pluto, who is already Retrograde on his brief return to Capricorn and also in a square to Jupiter, recently entered into Taurus, which is aligned with the Lunar Nodes, forming a formidable T-square.

Quite a bombastic combination while being tremendously creative. The ideas of progress and expansion flow. The combination of these fixed signs is a force towards creativity and the design of new projects with possibilities of increasing our finances by granting us some kind of economic stability, but above all, using our talents. It’s no longer enough to do “anything” to generate more money, it has to have that Leo flavour, which demands absolute originality. During its passage through Aries in the last 12 months, Jupiter brought us endless ideas for possible projects, it is now in its run through Taurus, that we must give it a definitive shape and also see how we can generate money with it.

The reason why all this is in conflict is that both Mars and Jupiter ask for limitless expansion, so creativity overflows and Pluto in Aquarius confronts us with the need to do so respecting the instrument of the moment, that is: technology. To do so we must know how. Taurus asks us to go back to the simple, to the most traditional and Pluto in Aquarius reminds us that this is much more difficult nowadays.

At a deeper level, Leo asks for expression, originality and demands recognition; in its combination with Taurus they ask us, to enjoy the run, not because it’s a party but because it allows us to express ourselves fully. These two fixed signs speak more than any other about the ability to find a way, a vehicle to express our creativity, without restraint, but Pluto confronts us with the fact that true creativity is born from the darkest confines of our psyche, and that often, what it asks us to express may not be all roses and rainbows and perhaps the internal scream demanding expression is that of anguish, anger, frustration, the tormenting doubt, etc. Then another question arises: “Will I dare to show all this to the world? Am I good and brave enough to show myself unreservedly? The creative act means to undress, to strip ourselves of conditioning and dare to search within us and above all have the courage to confront it and let flow out. The beautiful story of Inanna, has its value now. When she arrives to the underworld of the sister Ereshkigal she must be completely naked and stripped of anything that distracts her form her true self or gives superficial value to her.

Jupiter is in conjunction (next to) the North Node of the Moon, that ascending Node that demands from us expression, evolution, bringing into the light, leaving darkness behind, which emphasizes this need to express ourselves despite everything. The voice of the evolutionary mandate becomes deafening and staying where we are seems increasingly difficult, it is no longer an option. At the same time, the Sun, ruler of this transit of Mars through Leo, also at a point of transition between the 29th degree of Taurus to 0º of Gemini aligns with Sedna and distant voices (yet no less potent), of the wounded and abused feminine, let themselves be heard reminding us that giving up is not an option either.

Sedna, betrayed by her people and her father, speaks to us from the depth of the sea, from the deepest part of our psyche, as if reminding us that she will always be supporting and guiding us on our path towards liberation and our well deserved freedom of self-expression.

If you find yourself at a moment of great ideas but debating how and when to carry them out, you are hearing the beat of Mars in Leo and the natural impetus towards the exploration of your own creativity. The great red warrior in the sign of Leo is of an extraordinary generosity. Trust in it

JUPITER IN TAURUS – 17th May 2023 – 26th May 2024

The last time Jupiter entered Taurus before now was in June 2011. Do you remember what was happening in your life back then?

Many things have happened since then, as we were living (just like now) through enormous changes due to the fact that in 2011, some transpersonal planets were also changing signs, triggering significant social shifts. These included: Uranus entering Aries in March 2011, Neptune entering Pisces in April 2011, and Jupiter entering Taurus in June of that year. These events coincided with the grand T-square between Pluto, Saturn, and Uranus, which brought about many changes. Among them, and perhaps most importantly, was the fall of governments in North Africa as a result of what came to be known as the Arab Spring, which began in Egypt but spread throughout North Africa. The Fukushima tsunami and the subsequent explosion of the nuclear power plant was another transformative event that affected not only Japan but the entire region. Interestingly, the Fukushima nuclear plant exploded on the very day Uranus entered Aries.

Planetary cycles are never the same due to the different speeds of each planet, making this eternal planetary dance an exquisite choreography full of challenges, poetry, and attempts to interpret the message it may have for us, simple creatures living on one of those planets that are part of this grand cosmic spectacle. Therefore, this entry of Jupiter into Taurus, which also occurs coinciding with the change of signs of Saturn from Aquarius to Pisces (something that had not happened since 1993) and Pluto from Capricorn to Aquarius (the last time being in 1777), is different from the previous one in 2011. Today, it coincides with the imminent advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the introduction of language models called Chatbots, specifically ChatGPT, in several of its forms, 3 and 4, which has reached 100 million users in less than a month, far surpassing the speed at which users were attracted to TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and so on.

Regarding this, I have copied here one of the responses of ChatGPT about Jupiter in Taurus:

“Financial growth: This transit is often considered favorable for financial matters, as Taurus is associated with wealth and resources. People may feel more secure in making investments, expanding their businesses, or saving money for the future. Appreciation for beauty and luxury: Taurus is known for its love of beauty and luxury, and the expansive influence of Jupiter could enhance these qualities. People may feel more drawn to art, music, or fine dining during this time.

Patience and perseverance: Jupiter in Taurus can encourage people to adopt a patient and persistent attitude. This can help them achieve their long-term goals and progress in various aspects of their lives.

Stability and security: The combination of Taurus’ influence and Jupiter’s expansion can lead to a desire for greater stability and security in one’s life. People may focus on building a solid foundation in their relationships, career, or personal growth.”

That is what the machine says: but of course, these chats have not yet been programmed by astrologers or people who know about Astrology, so their database does not contain the immense work of astrologers who have enriched and elevated astrological research to levels beyond the mundane. Even so, nothing in that ChatGPT paragraph is trivial or false, but the poetic interpretation that an astrologer can provide is conspicuously absent. The condensation and vision of the human brain are not there (for now).

One of the themes to consider is that Jupiter (ruler of Sagittarius and Pisces) brings our attention to our beliefs, especially our connection with the Divine, as also described by houses 9 and 12 of the birth chart. That connection with something larger than ourselves, which explains (even if just a little) who we are and what we are doing on this planet. How we emerged from nothing and that big question of how life arose on this planet and, therefore, us. And also, how we come together according to our beliefs and form what we call religions (from religare = to join), each with its story and way of convincing us about it.

When we talk about beliefs, there are two ways to understand the verb ‘to believe’. If I look at a chair and its consistency, I can believe that it will hold me if I sit on it, even before I do so, but when I sit down, then I Believe in it. If I don’t sit on it, then I stick with the belief that requires faith, a belief based on what I have heard or read, but without any proof. However, when I sit down, something different happens; now I know it supports me, and therefore I BELIEVE in the chair; this would be the expression of Jupiter in Taurus. The first form of belief has to do with Jupiter in air signs, for example. That which evokes a belief, even when we have no proof of it. These are most of the religions we have today, all emanating from a story (sacred book, the Bible, the Koran) told for many centuries, maintained through rituals and ceremonies in which we all participate without really understanding why or comprehending the origin of it.

As Eliezer Yudkowsky (an American writer on decision theory and ethics) said: “the control of religion is sustained by people who simply do not think about the true weak points of their religion. I do not think this is a matter of training, but a matter of instinct. People do not think about the true weak points of their beliefs for the same reason they do not touch the red-hot burners of a stove; it is painful.”

And what is painful? It’s the separation, division, distancing from the familiar, which offers us security. This is one of the most complex aspects of Jupiter, although it leads us to travel, to explore other cultures, languages, and idiosyncrasies, Jupiter goes with its own beliefs everywhere, even so, inwardly wishing to find that door that helps expand and possibly transform them. This is precisely the most difficult thing about Jupiter in the sign of Taurus.

Taurus is a fixed sign, very fixed, and changing its beliefs or breaking with tradition is not the easiest thing for it. Therefore, the entry of Jupiter (called a “social” planet) into this Earth sign is both a challenge and a benefit for both. It confronts us with the dilemma of understanding how our personal environment, the social environment in which we find ourselves, or the one we have grown up in, affects us, and thus, the stories and tales we have heard since we were little that will later shape our beliefs. The rituals and daily experiences that lead us to see the world in one way or another. On its part, Jupiter is that energy that suggests or whispers: “look, there are other realities, other stories, other truths,” and leads us to go out physically (traveling) or mentally (studying) to search for those other stories, languages, idiosyncrasies, from which we will be enriched. On the other hand, Taurus, ruled by Venus, in its pursuit of Beauty, often travels to other places in search of it. Taurus, with the help of Jupiter, can express itself from the most mundane,like buying products from other countries: Himalayan salt for cooking, Indian fabrics for decorating their homes, spices from Morocco or Thailand to enhance their dishes, to the most elevated that would emanate from studying other cultures, discovering other truths, which would expand their personal growth. Jupiter in Taurus feels the urge to connect with a larger order that can manifest through a deep appreciation of the physical world, with highly developed spirituality, but at the same time, it can try to improve life solely through money, possessions, and luxury that often lead it to a too materialistic and wasteful attitude that denies the spirit. Obesity might be one of the outcomes of Jupiter in Taurus.

Marco Ferreri, an Italian film director (1928-1997), Taurus and with Jupiter in the last degrees of Aries, so in the first month of his life Jupiter entered Taurus, made an extraordinary film in 1973 called “La grande Bouffe” (The Great Feast), about friends who gather for a weekend to commit suicide by eating excessively until they die.

Taurus, a sign that opposes Scorpio, feels driven to transformation throughout its life, leaving behind its most precious values, finding answers in the least expected places. Without being one of the easiest things for this sign, in the lives of Taurus people, circumstances often lead them to these difficult processes.

Jupiter in Taurus sets aside or puts the brakes on Jupiter’s excessive but natural optimism, especially in the sign of Aries, the sign that will be departing from on May 17th, taking fewer risks, especially financial ones. The energy will become denser, more focused on “enjoying” rather than “achieving.” “It can give us an ability to enjoy and live in the present, as well as a deep appreciation for the small, beautiful things in nature and the pleasant moments of simple physical life,” as Stephen Arroyo suggests. It will also bring us the need to make real, give shape and content, to what we have started in the last few months, due to the inspiration received from its passage through Aries, which will have brought the beginning of new projects and adventures.

Jupiter will trot through Taurus starting on May 17th, until halfway through the sign, when on September 5th, having reached 15º35′, it will stop to begin its annual Retrograde, moving back to 5 degrees once again on December 31st, just in time for New Year’s Eve, when Jupiter will be stationary to begin its journey through Taurus once more until May 26th when it finally enters Gemini, a sign it will travel through until June 10th, 2025.

It is at its entry into Taurus that the impact will be quite powerful, as it will do so in a square (90º) to Pluto at 0º Aquarius, something it has not done since May 1940, at the beginning of World War II, when upon entering Taurus it formed a square to Pluto just entering Leo, just a year before it joined Uranus in Taurus as it will do next year. But entering Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, it had not done so since February 1787. This means that none of us who are alive now have experienced this aspect. Adding to the seriousness of the matter, on May 21st, Mars joins the equation by entering Leo, thus opposing Pluto and forming the T-square to Jupiter, which will also be in exact conjunction with the Lunar Nodes on May 27th. We can assume that this will be an active week, concerning people in power and finances for the entire world.

Whether it results in a brief stock market fluctuation that is quickly corrected or a more significant drop, we will have to wait and see. But what this aspect speaks of, on a more global level, is the awareness of what lies behind each product we consume. The restructuring of our vision of what is sacrificed, what is destroyed, so that I can buy my latest fashion item will be urgent, and somehow, it is what we will have to consider from now on if we want to fight for the survival of this planet and its people, that is, ourselves. With Pluto’s exit from Capricorn, irresponsible consumerism, where we never ask ourselves where the gold used in those fantastic fashionable watches comes from, for example, is no longer acceptable. The pollution generated by the fashion world. Jupiter in Taurus also brings us an openness to responsible and ethical consumerism. I mention fashion and watches because this industry is very Taurus-like.

Zeus (Jupiter) in Greek mythology is above all a just and wise God, in his most positive aspect, a liar and an unfaithful one in his less magnificent aspect, but his great sense of justice is undisputed by most writers who tell us about the meaning of this archetype. He is the brother of Pluto (Hades) and despite not getting along very well with each other due to the fact that Jupiter kept the Sky and the Light, relegating his brother Hades to darkness and the Underworld, something that the latter resents, they still rule the world together. Therefore, in this historical square at 0º of Taurus and Aquarius, it will once again lead us to question the need to find a compromise between the most intelligent and visionary aspect, aware of the needs of humanity, of our human nature (Aquarius), and the search for uncontrolled pleasure and our addiction to the material above all (Taurus).

This T-square between Mars-Pluto-Jupiter joined to the Lunar Nodes, in fixed signs, which will occur in mid-May, then, is a moment to take into account, to pay attention to what the Cosmos is reflecting at this moment so that we can align ourselves with our better nature and set limits to the darkness of our inner beast. This occurs just a few days after two important eclipses, which adds to the importance of the moment. Will we be able to see? Or will we continue with our unconscious ways until we can no longer turn back?

In the second half of June, Jupiter forms a brief sextile (60º) with Saturn, and suddenly some points that we were debating become clearer. By early August, Mars will form a trine (120º) with Jupiter from its passage through Virgo, and these more benevolent aspects will bring us a little more inner calm. However, in October, it will form an opposition while transiting Scorpio, this time accompanied by Mercury, which will once again bring our minds to finances, especially since it will coincide with the second round of eclipses of the year.

The Great Conjunction with Uranus in Taurus occurs on April 21, 2024. This is an aspect that will fill us with creativity and originality, with concrete visions about our future. This aspect is found in the natal chart of many great inventors and characters who bring us the vision of a better future as well as great technological advances, such as: Steve Jobs (with the conjunction in Cancer), Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (The Little Prince) with the conjunction in Sagittarius, Carl Jung (the opposition), and George Orwell (the square). The last time this conjunction occurred in Taurus was in May 1941, so for all those born after those dates, it is the first time we will experience it. It happened in the midst of World War II, when the United States and Great Britain were taking a stand against Germany, Italy, and Nazism. This tells us of a time when Europe was also at war and divided, as it is now, but not to the same extent. The children born with this conjunction will be the inventors of the future.

When Jupiter enters Taurus in mid-May, it will form the first square to the degree where the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of December 2020 occurred at 0º Aquarius. The JUPITER-SATURN cycle, which as we know begins every 20 years, repeats within the same element every 200 years with a few exceptions. In the last 200 years, these conjunctions occurred in the Earth element, with the exception of the 1981 conjunction which occurred in Libra. The next 200 years, which will always occur in Air, have an exception in 2159 which will occur in Scorpio. The conjunction in Aquarius at the end of 2020 initiated a cycle of 20, another of 200, and one of 800 years where the archetypal theme of these two planets representing Father (Saturn) and Son (Jupiter) becomes evident in our evolution. The Old King is dethroned by the New Young King. The Air element, where these conjunctions will occur on a collective level, is related to our ethical codes, morals, and ideals. New paradigms emerge, new values, new ethical codes.

As Liz Greene says: “Air is the only truly human element. It is the only element that does not have an animal figure as a symbol. The reflective quality of the human mind is the most important thing that separates us from animals. Air allows us to take a step back, separate ourselves, and think about another person’s point of view. So, if the old king is to die and the new king emerges, this mythical scenario will be enacted in the sphere of our collective ethics, moral codes, beliefs, and opinions about the nature of society.”

During this Jupiter-Saturn cycle that began in December 2020, paving the way for Pluto’s entry into Aquarius, Jupiter now arrives in May 2023 at its first square, its first crossroads in this new cycle, not in its square to Saturn which occurs in August 2024, but the first square of Jupiter to that point when it met Saturn to initiate these great new cycles, where we are transiting the possibility of a new human, a new humanity, more conscious, half-machine, where man can no longer function without machines, not only as in the Industrial Revolution in a physical way, but this time in a mental way. The Industrial Revolution brought us the train, the engine, the airplane, and this AI Revolution brings us machines that think much faster than us, solve problems much faster than our brain, and gather information from almost all human knowledge at an impossible-to-imitate speed.

In the sign of Taurus, Jupiter will invite us to find a more creative way to use our minds, opening windows to slightly less rigid forms of our beliefs. The same applies to how we make a living, how to generate money in a more creative way, more in line with our soul and above all with our values. Large companies will face more pressure than ever to produce in a responsible way that does not harm the planet and climate.

Virgo and Capricorn signs will find themselves in an extremely positive and productive year, while fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius will need to maintain sanity when it comes to spending and expanding without control, although they will also benefit from this creative and optimistic impulse of this giant planet. The Jupiterian optimism, although magnificent, can be overwhelming and lead us to excess. Cancer and Pisces will also feel the warm breeze of this planet, but one of the dangers will be the soaring temperatures for the Northern Hemisphere as has happened in the Southern Hemisphere during its passage through Aries.

Allow yourself to be intoxicated by the magic of the energy of this magnificent archetype, but do not forget that the planet is a gas giant with a very small core. Many promises but little solidity. Even so, many of us will benefit from the passage of the Supreme God through the realm of Venus, the absolute Goddess of Beauty. Enjoy the Beauty of the Nature that surrounds you. That’s where the real magic happens.

PLUTO in AQUARIUS – 2023-2044

Finally, Pluto, (the planet disqualified as such by astronomers, for Astrology it retains its full name and power), changes signs after traveling through Capricorn since 2008. It will be strolling between 1 degree of Aquarius and 29 degrees of Capricorn, more or less until November 2024. This will be its transition process to the last Air sign:

It enters Aquarius on March 23, 2023

Retrogrades back to Capricorn on June 11, 2023

Re-enters Aquarius on January 21, 2024

Retrogrades back to Capricorn on September 1, 2024

Re-enters Aquarius, this time to stay, on November 19, 2024

Briefly enters Pisces on March 9, 2043

Retrogrades back to Aquarius on August 31, 2043

Finally enters Pisces to stay in this sign on January 19, 2044

Due to its intensely oval orbit (about 248 years) around the Sun, like many of the planets or dwarf planets beyond Neptune, the duration of Pluto in the signs varies dramatically in each sign. It spent about 12 years in Libra and Scorpio (between 1971 and 1995), but it takes over 31 years to travel through the sign of its detriment, Taurus (the last time between 1852 and 1883), something that most of us who are alive will never experience, except for today’s teenagers, since the next time will be in 2098. It has been changing signs in its fastest mode, but now it begins to slow down in its journey through the zodiac and this time it will spend 20 years in this sign of the Water Bearer until it gradually approaches its slowest point in Taurus and Gemini, practically in the next century. Therefore, the sign through which this little “dwarf planet” moves marks an entire generation. For example, I belong to the Pluto in Leo generation, where it was between 1939-1957, and therefore I will experience the opposition of Pluto to itself in 2037, coinciding with the return of Uranus (hopefully!) at the age of 84. Something that excites me a lot. Those born in the early 80’s are experiencing the first square to their natal position of Pluto.

It was a very young Percival Lowell who searched for a planet beyond Neptune between 1905 and 1916, but Pluto was discovered on February 18, 1930, by American astronomer Clyde William Tombaugh (1906-1997) from the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and he found it in the sign of Cancer. Pluto is smaller than Earth, and for the last 30 years, Pluto has actually been within Neptune’s orbit, but now it is moving away, and in 2107 it will be almost 50 times farther from the Sun than Earth.

Pluto, as the highest octave of Mars, represents psychic, evolutionary, instinctual energy, an almost pre-human collective memory of our evolution on this planet. Pluto is the Roman name for the Greek god of death and the underworld, Hades, so it is related to death and renewal, regeneration, evolution, and transformation. Pluto is also correlated with the discovery of nuclear energy.

Looking back, long before we humans discovered it in 1930 and became aware of this energy and archetype, it was already part of the suburbs of our solar system, though invisible to our eyes. As it takes Pluto about two and a half centuries to make a complete orbit around the Sun or the Zodiac, we can look back in time to see what was happening during its last passage through Aquarius. As we know, times will never be the same as the past because not only do we evolve (although sometimes it may not be noticeable), but we also discover new dimensions of our consciousness, and moreover, the Sky is never the same.

But… During its passage through Aquarius between 1532 – 1553, the Spanish arrived in Peru for example, with the Bible in hand, educating the natives based on the Roman Catholic Apostolic religion, and eliminating everything they did not understand and feared. In search of gold, they found silver, and in the process, they practically destroyed the Inca culture, not only with gunfire but also with the viruses of the common cold and measles, among others.

At the same time, Henry VIII sent the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church packing, creating the Church of England to be able to marry Anne Boleyn (whom he later ordered to be beheaded for treason), and thus send Catherine of Aragon home. Around that time, precisely in September 1533, the future Queen Elizabeth I was born, who would later reign for almost 40 years and, of course, was born with Pluto in Aquarius in her 1st house, square her Moon in Taurus, and opposing the Saturn-Uranus conjunction in her 7th house; she never married.

The most recent transit of Pluto through Aquarius was in 1777 – 1797 while Uranus was in Gemini and Neptune was leaving Virgo to enter Libra.

The United States declared its independence from England in 1776 under Pluto in Capricorn, but the Revolutionary War lasted until 1783. In that transition from Capricorn to Aquarius (like today), the Constitution of the United States was established in 1787.

Meanwhile, the French Revolution began in 1789 with the overthrow of the monarchy, the assassination of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the abolition of the feudal system, and the declaration of the “Rights of Man.”

With the Industrial Revolution, steam power revolutionized transportation and the textile industry. Today, it is Artificial Intelligence that will transform our lives.

Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781, and John Michell published his theory of black holes in 1784.

In 1782, the first hot air balloon flight by the Montgolfier brothers took place, and the metric system was developed during the French Revolution and formally defined in 1795.

In 1796, the first successful smallpox vaccine was developed.

Lavoisier discovered the composition of air in 1778.

On the other hand, in Asia, China began to expand to become the Empire it is today, in a complete cycle of Pluto.

But what does this new passage of Pluto through Aquarius bring us?

Firstly, this Aquarian energy began in 1998 when Uranus and Neptune met in Aquarius, forming a wide conjunction with about 8 degrees of orb. From 2003, Uranus entered Pisces, and Neptune continued in Aquarius, positioning them in mutual reception, meaning Uranus was in the sign ruled by Neptune and vice versa, Neptune in the sign ruled by Uranus, reinforcing the Aquarius (technology) – Pisces (shared by all, globally) combination. In December 2020, we had the great Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction, which as we know, concluded and began three cycles, one of 20 years, another of 200 years, and one of 800 years. This conjunction truly detonated and opened the great portal to Aquarius and everything it is bringing to our lives and will continue to do so in the coming years of Pluto in Aquarius.

What is already indisputable is that machines are surpassing us by far, to unimaginable extremes. Nowadays, with ChatGPT and DALL-E or BingChat, we can have conversations, create projects, paintings, videos, write essays, poetry, in less than a minute through these platforms that only grow richer minute by minute as we use them, created by Artificial Intelligence. This brings us a real challenge regarding Education, and the need to transform it so that our students don’t get bored, due to the fact that what is still tought in schools and colleges over several years can be obtained from machines in minutes. Brings to our attention the issue of academic integrity. Who remembers the archaic multiplication tables? Calculators have been doing it for years. Who sits down to calculate an astrological chart? The machine does it in less than a minute. The human brain takes about 25 years to develop to a university level, and the machine only takes a year and a half. The more we use it, the more data it accumulates, the faster and more precisely it works. While they still have accuracy limitations, as we use them, they will be corrected, as that is something they already do: self-correct. If you correct them, they thank you and proceed to correct themselves. Isn’t it scary? Well, the truth is that if you’re not scared, it’s because you don’t understand these programs.

As Alan Watts said: “If you think you understand the impact of AI, you don’t understand, and you haven’t been instructed enough. If you know you don’t understand, then you really understand.”

When Prometheus stole Fire from the Gods to give it to us, mere mortals, we made an incredible quantum leap into a new era. Yet he got badly punished by the Gods. Now Prometheus brings us Artificial Intelligence, but I wonder if he is very happy about it. Humans will always use these tools for progress and Good, but also for Evil. It is our nature. Deception, manipulation, misinformation, all of this will be on our work table with the possibilities that these technologies and AI offers us. Prometheus was punished by Zeus, for stealing Fire; these young people, these modern Prometheus who bring us AI, will also be punished?. Who will impose the punishment?

An absolutely important aspect of Pluto’s entry into Aquarius is that from the moment it enters this sign on March 23rd, it will already be forming a T-square to the Nodal angle, that is, to the South and North Nodes of the Moon. The Nodes are already moving through the end of their journey through Taurus-Scorpio, but since these move clockwise, when they enter a sign, they do so at the last degrees and leave it at the first degrees. Therefore, from now on, they will be between 0 and 5 degrees of Taurus, and as Pluto moves through 0 and 1 degrees of Aquarius, the Nodes will be at 0 and 1 degrees of Taurus. This will be exact on August 5th at 28º Aries-Libra (the Nodes) and 28º Capricorn (Pluto). So between April and November, this aspect will be very powerful.

In the past…

• In 1534 and 1776 when Pluto left Capricorn to enter Aquarius, the Nodes were aligned with this transition at the end of Cancer-Capricorn, entering Leo-Aquarius when coinciding with Pluto.

This time, connected by a T-square, the dilemma we face is about our evolution as humans. The Lunar Nodes direct our gaze towards our evolution, just like Pluto. The latter speaks of the evolution of the human species, while the Nodes present us with the dilemma of whether we have learned from the past or not. This is a collective evolutionary process, but of course, if these degrees trigger something in your natal chart, this energy “descends” or personalizes in your life. On a personal level, it marks a period in your life where you struggle between letting go of the past, habits, relationships, beliefs, mentality, to embrace the new, possibly so new that it causes a lot of anxiety. At the collective level, it is obviously our leap towards a Humanity very different from everything we have known. Man will no longer be able to function without the machine, in a transition that still needs a lot of regulation, or a lot of Saturn, as we say in Astrology. Technology is here to stay, and we must learn to manage it in a way that does not destroy us in the process. This is a “cosmic leap” of dimensions never experienced before, where humans begin a relationship with machines that will make our first encounters with mobile phones and the internet seem like kindergarten. Dangerous? Yes. Magnificent? Also. The benefits are obvious, but we all know that human stupidity has no limits. Therefore, danger travels with us forever. How will we use this technology? And… will we have time to educate the educators (teachers and professors) to adapt to it and better guide their students? So… Just as Pluto in its connection with the Nodes, presents us with the idea of evolving and more than anything if we have learned from the past, so I wonder: have we really learned?

These are the challenges we have on the table as a species, not as a particular nation or ethnic group. Will we have the ability to inform ourselves and learn in time? The answers lie in the hands of the creators of these technologies, who are between 30 and 40 years old. The question of why create a technology that is potentially so dangerous? Let’s not forget that it was with Pluto about to enter Leo at the end of the 1930s when physicist Enrico Fermi first demonstrated that neutrons could split atoms, and in 1942 with Pluto recently entered Leo, Fermi achieved the first nuclear chain reaction. A transition exactly opposite to today’s. By the way, in 1943 the Nodes also aligned with Pluto in the early degrees of Leo. And what did we do? The atomic bomb. And in 1945, we tested it in Japan. Not only once but twice, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Artificial Intelligence, as magnificent as it may seem, and I count myself among its most fervent admirers and followers, confronts us with a profound dilemma, and that is that it can potentially end in disaster if we do not inform ourselves, if we do not step into the 21st century with consciousness. Above all, the most powerful antidote we have is precisely our humanity. As I heard somewhere, in a K-drama: “From the moment we stop asking ourselves why or for what purpose we exist, the romance of life dies.” What will protect us from all danger is our ability to continue questioning the reason for our existence, our spirituality, and our ability to appreciate the Beauty and Romance of Life. If we lose the Romance or our love for Beauty, then we will indeed be lost. Nature, the Goddess, and all the other gods, give us a planet, a home of immeasurable Beauty. The wisdom of Nature is also something that surpasses us and is difficult for us to understand. In it, everything finds its balance and its answer. It self-generates, RE-generates, evolves, and grows without wars or geopolitical discussions. If we don’t bother it, it recovers quickly, as we saw with the Covid lockdown. As Sam Altman (one of the creators of ChatGPT) says: “Covid showed us irrevocably that we (Humanity) can adapt to big changes much faster than we realize”.

These and many other questions are brought to us by Pluto in Aquarius. We enter an Air dimension, and we will have to get used to leaving the territory of the element of Earth (possessions, properties, cars, etc.) to enter a much deeper mental existential dilemma that can result in the struggle for the survival of our species. Will we be able to do it? As John Lennon (a Libra) said in the 70s: “Imagine, a world without possessions… I wonder if you can”…

Pluto (wealth, evolution) in Aquarius (group collaboration) brings us the possibility of finding a solution to the terrible financial imbalance in the world. It suggests a world where we can all collaborate to enrich ourselves in a more egalitarian way. Aquarius is indeed an Air sign, where the mental process takes priority over the physical and material, and where the group is more relevant than the individual. It is a sign ruled by Uranus and Saturn, so the social and transpersonal aspects become more relevant. Pluto tends to expose dirty laundry, secrets, irregularities, and dishonesty. In Capricorn from 2008 until now, it has made clear the corruption of those in power. Now it will do the same with everything related to Aquarius, including all this technology and those who control it. It will put an emphasis on friendship and collaboration not only on a personal level but also between countries and cultures as never before, so this may be the best gift that this transit of Pluto in the sign of the Water Bearer leaves us.

This transit of Pluto in Aquarius poses the question: What makes us human? Our curiosity, our ability to fall in love and dedicate ourselves to something or someone, protect and nurture what we love, all these things make us human. Embracing these qualities and using them to guide our actions in the age of technology and collaboration will be crucial in navigating the challenges brought by Pluto in Aquarius. By staying true to our humanity and promoting collaboration and equality, we can work towards a more balanced and just world, where technology serves as a tool for the betterment of all rather than a source of division, danger or extinction.

SPARE, HARRY’S VERSION

First of all I want to make it clear that my intention with this article is purely astrological, that is, for those who enjoy astrological poetry and its astronomical precision. It is NOT my intention to open a debate about whether Harry should have done it or not, whether the monarchy has a place in our society today or not. But of course when we look at the world from the perspective of astrology, it is difficult to miss this case, where (above all) the voice of the Centaurs is heard so clearly.

For those who do not know the myths of Chiron, Pholus or Nessus, go to these pages of this blog, where I have written extensively about them. These three archetypes represented by 3 small asteroids ? Comets? that enter our solar system from the “beyond”, symbolically from the “collective unconscious”, to the vicinity of our personal and social consciousness, outlined by Jupiter and Saturn, the last two planets that we can see with our physical limitations, for others we need technology, like telescopes, therefore they connect us with everything we are part of even if we are not aware of it. All those things that we do without understanding why and that are intimately related to our past, known and unknown. Our ancestors.

Chiron, Pholus (Pholus) and Nessus are united in a common story that has to do with Hercules, the Great Hero of Greek Mythology. Chiron trained and educated him, Pholus unleashes his destiny by “opening the jar with the aged wine of the centaurs of which he was the guardian, by divine mandate” and Nessus, indirectly responsible for his death. I assume that most of you reading this article are already familiar with Chiron (or Chiron, Chiron) the centaur son of Saturn, who tells us about our deepest wound, the one we carry for much longer than we understand why. Pholus “opens the jar” of the “family madness” from which that wound emerges from and tells us: “it is not yours alone.” It reminds us that it is an old wound, that it has to do with many more people and Nessus inspires us to conclude that story, to look for the way to end with THAT . It pushes us to liberate ourselves so as not to continue repeating that complex system of frustrated emotions, and lives not expressed in all their magnitude, to maintain that “family mandate”, which does not belong to us completely, but that are part of past situations over which we have no control and that have occurred long before we were born. Recognizing all this swarm of stories is the first step to the liberation of them and that is the voice of Chiron that circulates between Saturn (the family and social mandate) and Uranus (the urge to get out of it). Then Pholus, who walks between Saturn and Neptune, reminds us that this wound comes from much further away and that it is essential to look, recognize, accept and in a certain way honor this fact. And Nessus that reaches the vicinity of Pluto tells us that it is possible to transform all this, if we previously do the work suggested by Chiron and Pholus.

Once all these points are clarified then, taking all this into account, we can look at the natal chart of Prince Harry, who although he considers himself the Spare, will always be a prince, because his father is the King of the United Kingdom.

Before looking at the Centaurs, we know that he is 38 years old, therefore he is in what we call the middle age crisis (or the 40’s crises), which begins at this age with the square of Pluto by transit to its natal position, Neptune and Saturn doing the same, and the most impressive of course the opposition of Uranus, in transit in his IC, that has been accompanied for several months by the Moon Nodes in Taurus, to that Natal Saturn in the MC he shares with his paternal grandmother, the Queen who has just died. This already tells us a pretty powerful story of where Harry is, at this point in his life, astrologically.

But now let’s look at the Centaurs. Mars Retrograde in transit has been passing 3 times by his natal Chiron in the 5th house, of self-expression, of what we have to offer as individuals, and as I call it, where “our inner diamond” lies. At the same time as a double impact or double whammy, Chiron in Aries (ruled by Mars) at this moment begins to awaken that natal wound of Harry represented by Eris in opposition to Venus, which speaks of not feeling included, invited, or being ignored which colours his rhetoric, and that he has lived through his wife’s situation since they’ve got married, as we are talking about Venus, his partner. Very eloquently in his interview with Stephen Colbert when he said: “They blame Meghan for everything but these stories started long before I met her”. His natal Pholus is squared by this long transit of Pluto in the last degrees of Capricorn, which can clearly be seen as the “opening the jar” to the secreets of that powerful institution to which Harry belongs.

Pholus by transit has been transiting through Jupiter in the 12th house that also tells us about “opening the ancestral pot” in a big way (Jupiter). Nessus in Pisces, (his version a bit victim) has been transiting on Pallas in house 2, which speaks of that strategy to make money with this book .

These transits (in red) are for the day of the publication of his book, January 10th, where we can see Mercury retrograde in the ascendant and a Saturn by transit forming a trine to its Venus, which will indicate the giving shape to his creativity, more importantly to his own version of events. Of course his Sun progressed in conjunction with native Pluto in the 9th house, also speaks of it and of the great transformation that his life has undergone in the last couple of years and as he also says: “this process began 2 years ago just for the 36th anniversary of my mother’s death” and for those who know something about astrology, we know that at the age of 36 we experienced the third return of Jupiter and the second Nodal return. Very adequate!

I leave the rest to you to consider, comment and meditate on the magnificent astrological poetry, which tells us the facts from another much deeper perspective.

MARS RETROGRADE in Gemini 2022

Mars, the small red planet that we are trying to inhabit, makes its retrograde every 2 years. This is due to the fact that the Earth moves faster in its orbit around the Sun than Mars.

The two planets are like 2 racehorses on an oval track. Earth has the inner lane and moves faster than Mars, much faster, in fact, since it makes two turns around the Sun, in about the time it takes Mars to turn around once.

So about every 26 months, Earth comes from behind and overtakes Mars. As we pass through the red planet this year, it will seem to us that Mars is moving backwards, that’s what we call the Retrograde motion. Then, as we move farther along our curved orbit and see the planet from a different angle, the illusion will disappear and we will once again see Mars move in a straight line.

This is very easy to check, you can experience this effect for yourself. Starting from the same location have a friend drive his /her car forward slowly. Wait a little while and now you drive forward in your car at a faster speed. At first, he or she will drive away, then as you pass them, they SEEM to be moving backwards in relation to you, even though they are still driving forward. Same effect when you are in a train passing a slower moving train.

On September 3rd this cycle begun with Mars at 8°8′ of Gemini, which will be the degree to which the red planet will retrograde, on January 12, 2023. This stage is called the pre-shadow period.

It will station retrograde to begin its apparent “turning back” on October 30, 2022, at 25°37′ degrees Gemini until January 12, 2023, when it will station again to start its “forward motion” at 8º 8′ Gemini.

The post-retrograde or post-shadow period lasts until March 15, 2023, when Mars returns to the 25°37′ of Gemini, which was the degree where it first stationed retrograde, on October 31, 2022.

Now, if you have planets in your natal chart between 8º08′ and 25º 37′ of Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo or Pisces, then we can assume that this year, this Retrograde of Mars will affect you particularly. Of course this will depend on which planet is “activated” by this motion and which house is affected.

At a personal level, Mars in Gemini is of an extraordinary curiosity, a desire for mental connection, sometimes exhausting, both for the person with Mars in Gemini and for their neighbors. ;-D Mars in Gemini has a hard time understanding that not everyone is as curious or in need of verbal connection as they are. There may be marked verbiage and a deep desire to find out or be informed about variety of things. They suffer from FOMO or fear of missing out. Hence, they are informed about almost everything which makes them interesting people to talk to, because they know a little bit about different subjects. Extremely sociable and informed. The problem is that when you specialise in knowing a little bit of everything, you don’t know anything in depth, which can be very frustrating, particularly for Gemini who will feel like they’re never very good at anything, really. The work of selecting all the information that Gemini accumulates, is done in Sagittarius where we process all that knowledge, after previous selection in Virgo, which begins to break down that information to see which is true and which is not, particularly for the person.

This retrograde of Mars in Gemini, will be a profound wake-up call to all of us who are addicted to social media, showing us how we really distract ourselves from our own creativity if we spend time on tic-toc or instagram all day. From that type of material, nothing authentic or personal can come out even if the talents or abilities of others can inspire us, at times . It is okay to be informed by social networks but how do we know what’s true and what is not of all that information? How can we align ourselves with a particular story, if you do not even know where it stems from. Yet, if we keep on passing on information that we do not have the certainty of its veracity we continue polluting the internet and the brains of those who do not select, do not wonder, do not question further, etc. In the Tarot, Mars in Gemini is represented by the 9 of Swords, also known as the Cruelty card which represents abusive language, and violent discussions. This is coinciding with the political campaign in the US, which has already started, between Republicans and Democrats with a level of divisive rhetoric getting worse by the minute.

We all saw and felt what happened at the end of July and first 2 weeks of August, when Mars aligned with Uranus in Taurus and the Lunar Node. If you don’t remember, check out what happened in this past month in your life. Whenever a planet stays longer than normal in a sign, as Mars will now do in Gemini, we should be on high alert. Usually, the “planet of war”, spends about six weeks in each sign. This year Mars will transit Gemini for a whopping 7 months due in part to a two-month retrograde, starting on Halloween on October 31. The issue of “fakenews”, which has been quite overwhelming, due to the cold war between China and the United States and the real one between Russia and Ukraine, will enter into an even more violent computer war and we will begin to become even more aware of the importance of selecting what we read. Of course this is not only pertaining those countries, since this is a global issue.

“We should also brace for serious disruption in the financial markets. On January 21, 2008, with Mars retrograde in Gemini, markets plunged as the subprime mortgage crisis deepened. This is particularly notable because then, as now, we had Saturn and Uranus in hard aspect to each other. Their 45-year cycle is intimately connected to the rhythms of boom and bust affecting the US economy. In 2008, the planets were opposed. Right now they’ve reached the waning square of the same cycle. That square perfected three times in 2021; it won’t perfect again this year but will get to within less than a degree of doing so in October.

This is important because the waning squares of the Saturn–Uranus cycle have coincided with the toughest economic times of the past century. The last such square came in the mid-1970s, when major economies were struck by stagflation, a combination of high unemployment and inflation. The waning square prior to that came in 1930, coinciding with the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression of the 1930s. This year’s Mars retrograde may well act as a trigger to something similar; the signs are already there. But let’s try to end on a more optimistic note. Previous Mars retrogrades in Gemini have also frequently coincided with the formal ends to armed conflicts. In 1659, the French and Spanish formally ended the 24-year-long Franco-Spanish War with the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. In 1817, the Third Anglo-Maratha conflict ended, leading to a period of peace in India, albeit under British colonial control. In November 1990, leaders of the United States, Russia and many European states signed the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, a major moment in the wrapping up of the Cold War.” (Dan Waites in the Mountain Astrologer)

Neptune in Pisces, ensures that we become aware of the “globality” of everything that happens at the moment, but one of the most important lessons of this retrograde will be the awareness, that we must learn to respect other people’s ideas, however different from ours they may seem and above all, not to position ourselves in a “us vs them” situation all the time. It’s time to realise that EVERYTHING that happens on Earth happens to us ALL. The difference in points of view enriches us all if we only learn how to put some limits to our Ego and resist the temptation of “being right”, or in possession of the Truth all the time. Our apparent different perspectives should lead us to Sagittarius, to true wisdom, where we process information in order to find our own Truth. NOT The Truth, but MY Truth, the one that makes sense to my Soul, to my Life.

In its most positive aspect, it will encourage us to say what we think, to write, to open communication to a wider range of people, all those projects that you have been stuck in the inkwell, have now a chance to be carried out.

On November 28, 1943, when Mars also made its retrograde in Gemini, there was a meeting or conference in Teheran between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to discuss war strategy against Nazi Germany. On November 30, they established an agreement on a planned invasion of Europe in June 1944, codenamed Operation Overlord. On that occasion that conversation between these three leaders led to Hitler’s defeat two years later.

Given the situation in Ukraine at the moment, and being Mars, the God of War, I wonder if the fact that this retrograde begins (as then) in the last decan of Gemini, ruled by Sagittarius with its ruler Jupiter having re- entered Pisces for the last time, for the next 12 years, and with Pallas Athena, Goddess of war and strategy in the last degrees of Cancer, therefore in opposition to Pluto in Capricorn and in trine to Jupiter, aspects that could bring us, the meeting of the most powerful leaders of Europe and the world, to find a solution to the war in Ukraine, the floods in Pakistan y the inevitable famine in Somalia, just to name a few of the problems of the world today.

On October 12, the day of the Americas for some, Mars will form a square (90º) to Neptune in Pisces that will repeat on November 19, those will be days of enough confusion and not clarity for many. The most dramatic of these encounters will be on March 15, 2023, when the Sun aligned exactly with Neptune at 25º of Pisces, square Mars at the end of its post-shadow period at 25º Gemini and the Moon in Sagittarius. This means a T-square with the Sun-Neptune as focal planets of it, which will force us to analyse globally very important decisions and on a personal level, will be the consummation of this retrograde period where we will finally see the reason for our blindness in many issues and the need to see the world without political divisions, from a more human standpoint. The struggle between nationalism and globalization will reach its most tense point and political divisions will be reinforced by some of the political parties. Little by little we will have no option but to learn to see the world as a unity and learn to live next to people with different ideas, yet all of us in the search for peace and tranquility, as many of us already do.

Finally, this retrograde of Mars in Gemini, will help us understand the struggle of keeping focused on what’s important in these times, due to the excess of information, particularly if we want to achieve something truly important in our lives.

The Winter-Summer Solstice 2021 and the Retrograde of Venus in Capricorn

We have entered Summer in the Southern Hemisphere and Winter in the Northen Hemisphere. At this moment, according to where you find yourself geographically, you will be living the longest days of the year (SH) or the longest nights of the year (NH), this simple fact of Nature presents us with the fact that reality depends on the place where you are, the landscape that surrounds you, the Culture in which you live.

Terry Eagleton, suggests that Culture is the result of human will that meets the determinism of Nature. Like Bernadette Brady reminds us, Egleton sees the word “agriculture” as an example of such a fusion and points out how customs, ritual and family knowledge emerge from the human will confronted or in union with the landscape and Nature. In Astrology, the Goddess of Agriculture is Ceres, the mother of Persefone, that asteroid that in 2006 was elevated to “dwarf planet” to accompany Pluto, which had been demoted from “planet” to “dwarf planet” along with the newly discovered Eris.

This past week when Mars was opposing Ceres, both aligned with the Lunar Nodes, the Pachamama reminded us what happens when its fury is unleashed. Hurricanes in the United States were just one expression of it, and were followed by floods, collapsing buildings, explosions, earthquakes, and erupting volcanoes that left many deaths. All within this week that coincided with the Mars-Ceres opposition in union with the Lunar Nodes. Astrological geometry. Nature as a symbol of the Divine, reminds us that although most things we can argue that are a matter of point of view, but She roars, we all learn equally.

“If we surrender to the intelligence of the Earth we could rise up rooted, like trees, instead we become entangled in knots of our own creation and fight, alone and confused.”- said Rainer Maria Rilke – The Book of Hours II

We continue to argue about climate warming, and in the meantime, it happens all around us, and although we see it in the present tense, many of us deny it. We can say the same about the Pandemia. That is the nature of our stubbornness in these matters and we prefer to deny or ignore, rather than take responsibility for it. Astrology presents us with the evidence that the only solution for our pains is to understand circularity and cycles. Even Death will seem less threatening if we understood that She walks right by us from the beginning.

“The deepest core of life is poetry and symbol,” said Dane Rudhyar and fortunately Astrology which can be seen as the Poetry of the Divine, the voice of the Gods, must be interpreted by us mere mortals. It is difficult to interpret poetry, it is only in our intuitive wisdom that we can connect with it or not, to benefit from its symbolic richness or not. To be transformed by it or not.

As far as this Venus Retrograde event in Capricorn that has begun before yesterday is concerned, it tells us that the areas of life that will probably be amplified more than usual during the retrograde period are those that are ruled by the Goddess of Beauty, including love or rather the mystery of what it is that attracts us to others, therefore personal relationships and values, as well as our personal financial affairs. We might experience powerful internal changes in terms of how we perceive or feel about something related to these archetypal themes. Changes may or may not correlate with external events at the time they occur, but whether internal or external, they often lead to significant changes that will have long-term implications if we allow ourselves to be transformed by it. So we embark on the deep mystery of identifying our most ingrained values, such as Integrity (Capricorn), values that emanate from our Culture, but also from the highest of the human spirit. At this time in our history where institutions have lost their authority especially in the West, and our young people do not believe in what they ask of them, we can say that it is a good time to try and understand what our higher nature asks of us. Not everything is corrupt, not everything has ceased to have value. If we do not sustain ourselves from the depths of the human spirit, of us mere mortals, creators of gods and goddesses, of stories and tales, everything we believe in or not, then yes, we would be lost. But fortunately this is not the case, since we have poetry, imagination, the Beauty of Nature and everything that makes us great and reminds us that Life is always worth living.

Falling into the pit that everything is corrupt is self-defeat, it is avoiding responsibility.

Astrological poetry tells us that the retrograde of Venus asks us to reflect on all this, to connect with our divine nature and start this new year, with Hope and Courage. Everyone, if we reconnect with our divine essence can produce the changes we need and desire, but for this it is necessary in addition to the process of individuation that Uranus asks of us, which helps us to disidentify with the family and cultural mandate, so that we can think for ourselves and not be handled by old stories (however fantastic they may be) and cultural grudges that do not allow us to Be in all our uniqueness. We must also listen to Neptune (the highest octave of Venus) who reminds us that we are all connected to the Whole and that only with our Divine compassion and creativity (which we all possess), can we produce the necessary changes.

It is up to us to do so, if we only cross the barrier of duality and remember that Neptune also speaks from within suggesting that we are ALL ONE.

The poetry of Astrology is based on an exact geometry of the Cosmos in which we find ourselves. It is our divine intuition that may or may not interpret poetry, but the bases are geometric. This Retrograde of Venus, goddess of Beauty, impels us to seek HER, in everything we see, smell, taste and hear. Venus rules Taurus and this sign connects us with our senses, our desires for connection with others, with our sexuality and sensuality, with our talents. This Retrograde continues until January 29, 2022, when Venus stations directly and “starts” moving forward once again, but the cycle does not end until the beginning of March, when the post-shadow period concludes, that is, the 26º of Capricorn where it began its retrograde. We cross the bridge from the Old to the New Year. It does so by the hand of Pluto, which as always suggests that we look beyond appearance, the superficial and recognize humanity in everything we see and live. Pluto asks us to survive and evolve above all else. There is no excuse for not doing so, the Plutonian mandate is also in each of us, therefore we can say that it is the gift of the God of the Underworld. Giving up is not an option, Pluto says.

I wish you all a journey full of Hope and Courage across the bridge and see you in the new year, with more Astrology, more Poetry and more Love.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Welcome to 2022.

More in the New Year.

If you also speak Spanish, go to my webpage to see the courses I impart in that language.

Chauvin-Floyd Case and the centaur Nessus

Tuesday, April 20th, a jury found a white cop “guilty of murder” for killing George Floyd, an African-American citizen, after a 17-year-old recorded a live video of the murder that occurred on May 25, 2020. Watching the video is a painful experience that fills us with rage, impotence and sadness. Among all the injustices that occur in the world every second, it seemed to confront us with an uncomfortable and very concrete reality: the abuse of some people representing the institutions that supposedly are there to protect us, and of course, the humanity of it all. The verdict affects many people around the world as it provokes a feeling of “at last.” When the Sun entered the sign of Taurus to join Mercury, Venus, and Uranus in the sign of the Bull, something provokes the feeling that perhaps this brings the possibility of a change (Uranus), a small step toward the obtaining justice for minorities (Eris). When we continue to live the effects of the square between Pluto on Capricorn (which has made clear to us the failures of the Institutions and what must be “amputated” and “transformed” in our society) and the Goddess of Discord (Eris Black Lives Matter, me-too). The Taurus side of our nature( our ability to enjoy pleasure and our finances) that has been frustrated due to the pandemic, seems to be exploding in the streets of many countries.

The murder on the streets of Minneapolis, US, was seen all over the world, thanks to the young woman’s video, so we can assume that this has a collective message, to awaken consciousness on some level, for all. These kinds of injustices happen every day in the world, but this time, someone recorded it as it happened and showed it to the world. Something in the cries of George Floyd, a very tall and physically powerful African-American, of “I can’t breathe” and “mom,” send a chill down our spine. We all think the police officer would escape justice, as it always happens. When we had information about Derek Chauvin, who shares a surname with a French character who gave his name to “chauvinism” :(adaptation of the surname of the French patriot Nicolas Chauvin, a historical character decorated in the Napoleonic wars), also colloquially known as “exaggerated patriotism”, is the belief that the very thing of the country or region to which one belongs is the best, the absolute truth, or superior in any aspect , reminds us in some way of the “resonance of the name”, as it seems to describe the idiosyncrasies of the police officer.

When I looked at Derek Chauvin’s birth chart, what immediately caught my attention was the Mars-Nessus conjunction on the cusp of Cancer, with Nessus in Gemini’s Grade 29, exactly at a 90o angle to the natal sun (a square) for those unfamiliar with this centaur asteroid, which is the one who “indirectly” kills the great hero Hercules o Heracles , with his own weapon, I tell you the myth briefly:

” After Hercules’ war with the Centaurs, which culminated with one of his poisoned arrows causing Chiron’s wound and Pholus’ death, Nessus, the wildest of the three, escaped. A few years later when Hercules strolled through the countryside with his wife Deianeira, they reached a river where there was a centaur crossing people. Hercules asks him to cross his wife as he led the way. The centaur was Nessus, but Hercules did not recognize him and marched to the other side of the river, as he turned to make sure his wife was ok, he able to see how the centaur proceeded to rape his wife. Heracles seeing his wife’s situation fired a Hydra-poisoned arrow into Nessus’ chest. As he lay dying, as a final act of malice, Nessus told Deianeira that his blood would ensure that Heracles was faithful to her forever, knowing that the blood was infected with the hydra venom.

Deianeira naively believed him. Later, when her confidence in the hero’s fidelity began to diminish, she spread the blood of the centaur in a robe and gave it to her husband before going to a meeting of heroes. Meanwhile, Deianeira accidentally spilled a portion of the centaur’s blood on the ground. To his horror, he began to emanate a powerful stench and instantly recognized him as poison and sent his messenger to warn Heracles, but it was too late. Heracles lay dying slowly and painfully as the robe burned its skin, by the heat of the poison.”

It is easy to deduce in this story that the hero dies from his own weapon (the poison), which he used to implant justice on the most animalistic side of our nature, since in all his labours, 12 of them, he always kills an animal. We all find it difficult to recognize the archetype of Nessus within ourselves. It is an invitation to address aspects of our nature that none of us are willing to accept, it is much easier to project it and see it in others; the most animalistic aspect of our nature, which only wants to survive, above all, that impels us to dominate others, that awakens hatred and desire for revenge, emanating from our own feelings of shame and powerlessness. In order to integrate this archetype into our consciousness, it takes a lot of humility, honesty and courage. The obvious symbolism that the animal part is from the waist down, while from the waist up, the centaur is man, speaks volumes of the eternal struggle of us humans with our sexuality and our inner Beast, as I like to call it.

Nessus, which is an asteroid-comet that revolves around the Sun between Saturn’s orbits and Pluto, is a controlling force that only drives us to survive no matter what. It embodies the dynamics of the stalker. The part of our psyche you want to dominate, for the terror of being dominated and therefore exterminated. It is an effort to disguise our own helplessness to another, and in doing so creates the illusion of power. Faced with the terror of being turned victims by other predators, we become the aggressor. Our inability to accept our vulnerability and helplessness results in seeing it in others. Every human being is a drop in the ocean of humanity and it is that apparent insignificance that leads us to want to be superhuman. I say Apparent, because if we become individuals and offer the world that individuality full of special talents and unique views, then we cease to be insignificant to become an integral part of Humanity.

In these moments of wild technology and Aquarian airs that propel us into the next two decades and also two centuries of extraordinary technological advances, integrating our whole being will be more indispensable than ever, or we will be dominated by algorithms and the accumulation of our data in the hands of large corporations than Yuval Harari says:” algorithms will know us more than we know ourselves.” A chilling perspective.

In Chauvin’s birth chart, the Mars conjunction (the inner hero)-Nessus, forms a square to his Sun in the last degrees of Pisces, speaks powerfully of an inner dilemma where the archetype of Nessus is a very powerful voice. With Venus-Mercury-Pholus also in this sign of fish, which describes a genuine quality of its nature, of wanting to help others, with a Moon in Scorpio (possibly) which also describes its contact with the Underworld, which all policemen travel daily. About Saturn’s square in Cancer to his Jupiter in Aries Liz Greene writes: “Jupiter’s contact with Saturn seems to suggest the psychological need to transform Jupiter’s faith into practical life so that the individual can live what he intuitively feels is the purpose of his life…. However, the demands of practical life are often considered contradictory, rather than the logical fulfillment of the intuitive vision and the needs of defense and self-interest often lead the individual to abandon his faith. An expression of Jupiter-Saturn is the individual who has sold everything to Saturn (or the devil) and who abandons his quest because the realities of food, refuge, position in society, and the protection of his most vulnerable feelings seem greater, or at least more imminently important to him”

On the day of the assassination, the Moon by transit aligned with the Nodal angle exactly over its Nessus-Mars conjunction on the 3rd house, which seems to describe the fact that “a girl” would record it and send it to the world, and the nodes formed squares to his natal Sun, exactly. The perfect symbol of being at the crossroads of this dilemma explained by Liz Greene, so eloquently. Saturn in transit through the first degrees of Aquarius, came from forming the conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn, which in turn activated Chauvin’s Jupiter-Saturn quadrature. This is when astrology becomes an indispensable and unparalleled tool to understand what was going on inside the policeman’s psyche. Astrological poetry based on exact cosmic geometry. Yesterday, when Saturn now 11th from Aquarius, forming the exact square to his Natal Pluto, he is sent to prison, he is now crossing the river Styx on his way to the Underworld.

FULL MOON in Libra, with Nessus in Pisces

We are transiting through a Full Moon in Libra which tells us about the need to find, or rather, put the emphasis on finding: Balance in our relationships, a compromise between two apparent opposites, so that we can position ourselves at the center of this apparent duality and find a more complete and honest sense of being within ourselves.

If we start from the basis of this great active opposition right now, between this Moon positioned in the sign of the Balance, an inanimate object, meaning, without involving the emotions, which asks us to create bonds and seek a compromise, opposing the Sun in Aries, which tells us about being ME, at all costs, which in turn is accompanied by the centaur Kiron and Venus, (dispositor or ruler of this Full Moon), in an exact triple conjunction, we see that this astrological duality between ME and YOU is considerably emphasized this weekend. This triple conjunction between the Sun-Venus-Kiron offers us a magnificent opportunity to heal the wounds of our EGO, helping us understand that Aries’ impulse to manifest ourselves strongly, to express our inner hero, without qualms, has other possibilities and above all, that if we place ourselves at the center, rather than each side of this inner duality, we will find more integrity and peace in our soul. Eris, Goddess of Strife and Discord, also in Aries, seems to be teaching us the lesson that “dissent” does not necessarily mean enmity. There hasn’t have to be a single opinion, because otherwise we wouldn’t grow or evolve. He/She, that which causes us conflict, confronts us with a different vision, provokes us to re-think, re-evaluate, our own ideas and values, answer our inner questions. Without it, we wouldn’t grow psychologically. Eris is about creating dissonances in belief systems that shake the foundations of them and awaken us to the full extent of our being and our connection to the whole of existence. She embodies cognitive dissonance by inviting us to go beyond superficial understanding to a deeper, more fundamental level. Both Venus and Eris archetypes, although opposite in appearances, are not really, as Eris is Ares’ sister, and Venus is his eternal lover, both walk hand in hand with Ares/Mars, regent of Aries, our inner Soldier, within our psyche.

This FULL MOON, leads us to question the reason for our impatience in the face of the different, reminding us that the coin always has two sides. Kiron’s wisdom and patience is extremely important at this time, since he speaks through his momentary union with Venus, telling us very gently that what confronts me is absolutely necessary for the evolution of Consciousness. I grow up, when something confronts me. This is also an ideal time to collect our projections and realize that what seems so different to me is just the other side of my internal coin. If he/she’s in front of me, it’s about me.

The technological advancement that we have been living through, for a few years, with the advent of mobiles and social media, which allow us to communicate with many people quickly, does not assure us a real connection. Especially the emotional bond we all desire. This reminds me of a phrase by Anne Bronte, who says, “He who does not want to prick himself with the thorns should not desire the Rose.” The Sun with Kiron and Venus reminds us that there is no deep bond without thorns. Pain is part of what we call Love. More than anything, because we can’t cease for ever that moment when we’re feeling Love. Feelings are in continuous motion as the adventures of our inner hero are. We are continually reminded of the absolute need to live every moment entirely, as that same emotion may not return and even when it does it will not be identical, and it doesn’t have to be. Love, like the Self, is constantly evolving, renewing, growing, continuously transforming.

Saturn, the LORD of Karma, forms a great grand trine(120º) to this Moon in Libra and to Mars in Gemini, which gives us a more down to earth vision, so that we can see ourselves, in a more rational and less emotional way. Neptune forms a square (90º) to Juno (The Wife), therefore, the idea of what the couple “should” be, looks much less clear these days, so that we can analyse more rationally (Neptune and Mercury are also together), new ways of relating, new paradigms as far as our concept of the “couple” is concerned. Something is inviting us to take off, to depart from the traditional and from all those learned ideas instilled in us by a society that is undergoing an extraordinary transformation, to open ourselves to this Aquarius world that we begin to transit. The traditional precepts of what marriage and the personal relationship should or should not be, seem to be dissolving and we entering a new world of emotions, where we can’t separate them from technology. Seems scary?. It doesn’t have to be.

On the other hand we have Nessus, the other centaur, the one (who kills) the Hero, since he caused the death of Hercules/Heracles with his own weapon, meaning, the same weapon that Heracles used to kill the centaur. For those who do not know the story, here it goes: “After the war with the Centaurs, in which Hercules was involved and who caused the knee wound of Kiron involuntarily and the also involuntary the death of Pholus, (another centaur), Nessus manages to escape. Many years later, Hercules was walking through the countryside with his wife Deianeira, when they reached a river, where there was a centaur crossing people. Hercules asked to carry his wife as he led the way. But the centaur (Nessus) without being able to control himself or in revenge for Hercules who had not recognized him, proceeded to rape his wife. Hercules turns around and when he sees him threw one of his poisoned arrows with the blood of the Hydra, right on his chest and killed him. As Nessus lay dying, as a final act of malice, Nessus told Deianeira that his blood would make sure Heracles was faithful to her forever, knowing that blood was infected with the Hydra poison. Deianeira foolishly believed him. Later, when her confidence began to diminish regarding the Hero’s fidelity, she spread the blood of the centaur that she had kept in a little glass jar, in a robe and gave it to her husband. When he left, she inadvertently spilled the contents of the bottle and the aroma invaded her and she recognized it as poison and sent her messenger to warn Heracles, but it was too late. Heracles lay dying slowly and painfully as the robe burned his skin, either in real flames or by the heat of the poison. He died in a burial pyre of oak branches. Heracles was taken to Mount Olympus by Zeus and received among the gods for his heroic exploits.”

These last 8 days we have seen a violent week in various parts of the world as Mars approached the aligning with the lunar nodes. At the same time Nessus, was in an exact square at the nodal angle, activated by Mars. In the United States, there have been several shootings, as in Burma and Mozambique. The symbol of Nessus who kills the Hero using the same weapon the latter uses to kill the monsters, it evokes these instances where in case of Burma, it is the army itself, supposedly formed to defend its people who are killing civilians and in the United States,the freedom to possess weapons that has been part of the growth of that great country, has now become the reason behind all of these shootings as many people with serious mental health problems, are armed so indiscriminately and the incidents keep uncomfortably repeating in this country that trumpets freedom. The confinement and confrontation with death in the wake of the Pandemic only aggravates this situation.

The energies emanating from this magnificent and evocative Full Moon in Libra, when the Sun walks hand in hand with the Goddess of Beauty and the centaur Kiron, offers us the possibility to look at ourselves with Love and think about our bonds and our ability to love. Kiron lives his whole life with a knee wound but this does not prevent him from caring for and healing others. Let us awaken those Venusian and Kironian energies in our lives and enjoy the Rose, despite the thorns. Let’s rescue Beauty, let’s rescue Aphrodite in our lives.