It all began in 1776. Well, actually, 14 years before that, in 1762. That was the last time Pluto, God of the Underworld, entered Capricorn, sign of the government. At that time, we were busy fighting the Revolutionary War, killing natives and breaking away from a “Mad King” in Merry Old England. We were going through identity changes—most refugees had come from monarchies and we knew we wanted to change that form of government. Freedom was the battle cry. On July 4, 1776, sometime in the middle of the night (and over the next few days, hence many people’s different take on the USA’s chart), the Founding Fathers signed into history the Declaration of Independence, and the USA was born. Sun in Cancer, Moon in Aquarius. The Moon in the chart of a country is The People, and Aquarius seems apropos, what with people of all nationalities coming from everywhere. Great concept, unless you were a native.
Around the Sun all the planets have gone, and 246-248 years later, we are in what is called a “Pluto Return.” A return is when a planet has gone around a full orbit and returned to where it was when the chart was “born.” This time, Pluto entered Capricorn (for the first time since then) in 2008, ironically the day Obama won his first election. Obama’s election was significant astrologically, as he was elected at the time he was the USA’s eighth Saturn Return president. Every 28 years, Saturn circles the Sun and, in the USA’s chart, Saturn at the top of the chart means authoritative direction change.
Other Saturn Return presidents include Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and, the last one before Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan. They are said to change the direction of the country, and with Obamas’ presidency—influenced by a Saturn/Pluto message (the fact that Pluto will remain in Capricorn until 2024)—we see how this backlash opened the door for Trump.
Another player in The Times is the planet Uranus, with an orbit of 84 years. Called The Revolutionary, it was on this side of the Zodiac when we were fighting the Revolutionary War. Eighty-four years later it swung back in time for the Civil War and was last there for WW II. It went into Taurus, where it is now, from 1935 to 1942, where it will stay until 2026.
Cut to January 2020. It catches my eye that Saturn and Pluto (Saturn’s orbit is 28-30 years, Pluto’s, as you now know, is 248) would be exactly aligned at 22 degrees Capricorn. An exact alignment? Rare, rare, really, REALLY RARE! The last time these two traveled together in Capricorn was the 15th Century—and they were widely apart, not the exact degree. So Saturn, Lord of Karma (meaning the result of previous decisions made), and Pluto, God of the Underworld (meaning what is underneath, the pattern, motives, genetics), would come together this year to reveal the underbelly of our world. Meaning all our problems, things we ignore, things we do not know, secrets, lies, motives, all that stuff is brought to the surface to transform them. When I saw that, I said, “What the heck can this BE?”
In January, here in the North Bay, we were still reeling from last year’s fires, so I imagined some global warming event, and I knew it was the election year, so I figured that would be a wild ride (to understate). So I sat back, and in March, low and behold, what occurred during these transits was our new adventure in the Underworld, COVID-19, AKA Pluto, which appears to be revealing so much about who we are and how we handle things.
To finish the planetary placement picture, I must add that, in the fall of 2019, Jupiter entered Capricorn as well, and there were then three of the most influential planets traveling through, in the government sign of Capricorn. Jupiter’s orbit is 12 years around the Sun, and the quality it adds is that of exaggeration.
That alignment brought up so much; everyone was polarizing and had such different thoughts about what a government should be and who exactly it should serve. But then in June, Mars—which has a two-year orbit—went into Aries, the traditional sign of war. Mars is sparky, has high energy, but its orbit is fast, it hits and runs. But every two years it stops and makes a stand, and that is what it did (and is doing) while in Aries. And Aries is a “square,” meaning a 90-degree angle of challenge, to the three Capricorn planets.
So in June, Mars (The God of War) squares Saturn (The Lord of Karma), Jupiter (The Exaggerator), and Pluto (The God of the Underworld). Shortly after Mars entered Aries, the murder of George Floyd, which occurred the previous month, gained public attention and the riots started. Mars, by the way, will stay in Aries until Jan 6, 2021.
To stay that long in Aries, Mars had to go retrograde, which it did on September 9, the first time Mars has retrograded in Aries for 26 years. Two days before the retro, the North Bay fires started.
When a planet retrogrades, there is a moment when it appears to stand still in the sky as it “turns around.” It doesn’t really turn around, but the other planets pass it around the curve. And, the day Mars “stood still,” was the day of the red sky, when wildfire smoke colored the air. Mars, of course, is often referred to as the angry red planet. We woke up and there was no day, pure rust color sky, bleak, pre-zombie apocalypse.
That brings us to now.
With all of those aspects still at play, we find that the president, along with many of his men and women, were loaded with COVID. He rebounded, hopped up on experimental drugs, and held a series of super spreader events.
Then, on October 13, we went straight into Mercury Retrograde, and this aspect continued until—get this—the day of the election.
Mercury is the planet of communication and information, often many pieces of information rise up (or are suppressed), but it is the word game on steroids. Mercury continued back along the path where it came until it changed direction on November 3—the day we counted the votes. The last time it did this was 2000—Bush v. Gore.
Chaos abounds. Didn’t we expect this? I am only grateful my doctor convinced me to take blood pressure medicine.
But then, on December 16, Saturn moves out of Capricorn where it has been since December of 2017, and slips into Aquarius. The last time it was there was from 1991-1994. On December 20, Jupiter enters Aquarius (for the first time in 12 years) and they travel together in Aquarius for the first time in 600 years or so!
There are many more strange twists and turns, but the hope I cling to is that the last time Saturn was in Aquarius, South Africa’s Apartheid was overturned. The time before that (1962-1964), the U.S. passed the landmark Civil Rights legislation, and the time before that (1932-1934), it was FDR’s first term, when he began to craft the nation’s first comprehensive social safety programs.
Again, in the chart of the USA, the Moon in Aquarius is The People, and when Saturn has been there we have dealt with the needs of The People. Clearly, much is needed to serve The People of the USA at this time.
So, with Biden elected, we now move into a totally different set of aspects that historically have served the entire society, have taken care of issues that need dealing with and have, in the past, made positive changes for years to come.
So, as the planets move to a new place along the elliptical path around the Sun, I suggest we greet this powerful placement, standing for open mindedness, fairness, each other, and let go of greed and our belief we are enemies. When we reconnect, we have the ability to realize the potential of a true democratic government, the one our founders envisioned.
PJ Tyler is a Sonoma-based astrologer and intuitive with a national following and is highly sought after for readings. PJ is currently available only via Zoom, or over the phone. (707) 996-0435. cardinalstarsystems.com.
