Me too, on reading up on the Pluto Return. Great
article here! (Sorry for length; don't have an MA
subscription, took this from Astrodienst's huge
library & couldn't link it, as template holds &
transfers all my personal data for charts...so here's
the whole tamale minus graphics... Also giving myself
a pass on editing quote marks for this one...lol... ;)
Re: Astral travel, aside from how we all do so at
night when we sleep, I'll bet folks on this board
would have feedback...I think many have some conscious
memory of their travels...not sure if it'd go here or
Spiritual, seems I've seen discussion here...
***
Turning Point: The United States' Pluto Return
by Ray Grasse
©Ray Grasse, first published in the Mountain
Astrologer, 2019 / 08.02.2021
(The following piece about the coming Pluto return was
published in late 2019, before the George Floyd
murder, the economic crash of 2020) and the Covid-19
pandemic.
Like individuals, nations experience “planetary
returns,” too, when celestial bodies make a complete
circuit around the sky and return to the zodiacal
position they once occupied. But the full return cycle
of Pluto is an especially lengthy one, taking over 240
years to complete.
While individual life-spans obviously aren’t long
enough to experience one of these, nations and empires
certainly can. Using July 4, 1776 as its birthdate,
the United States is on the verge of experiencing its
first Pluto return. While that’s technically not set
to occur until 2022, when Pluto reaches 27 Capricorn,
for a planetary cycle as long-range as this it’s
necessary to allow for an orb of several years, if not
a decade or more on either side.
So what will this mean for the United States?
One usually hears Pluto described in such general
terms as transformation, death and regeneration, the
pitfalls and potentials of power, confronting shadow
issues, and so on. That’s all true enough. But one way
to begin understanding what to expect is by looking to
historical examples of Pluto returns in other nations’
horoscopes, since some of those nations have survived
long enough over time to experience two, sometimes
even three of them. While each of these nations’
histories are distinct, they nonetheless offer some
useful examples for us to draw upon
Pluto Returns in the Roman Empire
Using 27 BCE as the start of the Empire, Pluto’s first
return occurred during the period around the years
216-223 AD. This was, not surprisingly, a period of
instability and change, associated with the Severan
Dynasty. (1) The divisive and highly unpopular emperor
Elagabalus reigned between 218 and 222 AD, and his
rule became notorious for sex scandals, religious
controversies, and various “outrageous” behaviors—
including the infamous banquet where he allegedly
smothered guests by flooding the room with rose
petals. After he and his mother were dragged through
the streets and assassinated by the Praetorian Guard,
his reign was followed by that of Alexander Severus,
who ruled from 222 to 235 AD. Though Severus restored
some semblance of moderation to the Empire, he too
fell out of favor with his troops and was assassinated
along with his mother—thereby marking the end of the
Severan Dynasty. His death in 235 AD is viewed as the
pivotal event signaling the start of the “Crisis of
the Third Century,” where a succession of briefly-
reigning military emperors, rebellious generals, and
counter-claimants presided over governmental chaos,
civil war, general instability and economic
disruption.
The Empire’s second Pluto return took place during the
years around 461-468 AD, which was a period of turmoil
during which the Empire found itself increasingly
threatened by forces at its borders. Several years
before, in 455 AD, the Vandals entered and sacked Rome
itself, while at the Battle of Cap Bon in 468 AD the
Vandals destroyed a combined Western and Roman
invasion fleet. But it was several years later, during
the reign of the barbarian Flavius Odoacer from 476 to
493 AD, that the Roman Empire col- lapsed altogether.
In short, both of the general periods associated with
the Empire’s Pluto returns represented dramatic
periods of change, power struggles, and political
instability. But it’s important to note it was only
with the second of those returns that the Empire
finally collapsed. In and of itself, in other words, a
Pluto return doesn’t necessarily portend the demise of
a nation, although it does always seem to involve
considerable upheaval.
Pluto Returns in the British Empire
In some ways, England offer an even better
illustration of a nation’s Pluto returns, since it
survived three of them in all. Using the coronation of
William the Conqueror on Dec. 25, 1066 as the birth of
modern England, the first of those returns (allowing
for both precession-adjusted and non-precession-
corrected dates) occurred around the years 1311 to
1315; the second of those around the years ranging
from 1555-1562; while the last of those unfolded
around the years ranging from 1801-1810. (Note that I
say “around the years” since it’s important to also
allow a wide orb for Pluto aspects, due to its
exceptionally long orbital period.)
Regarding the first of those, the time-frame 1311-1315
was accompanied by serious environmental problems,
most notably in the so-called “Great Famine” which
began in 1315 and caused enormous social unrest for
years to come and resulted in the death of millions.
And, as my colleague Kenneth Bowser pointed out, 1314
saw the pivotal victory of Robert the Bruce at the
Battle of Bannockburn, signaling the separation of the
Scots from England.
The general period around England’s second Pluto
return, 1555-1562, was a key turning point in the
Empire’s history in various ways. In addition to a
major insurrection in Kent in 1554 and the widespread
persecution of Protestants in 1555, this period saw
the ascension to the throne of Queen Mary I, who
reigned from 1553 to her death in 1558—making her the
very first, non- jointly ruling female monarch of
England. That was followed by the ascension of
Elizabeth I to the throne in 1558, which was a time of
high drama for both her and the nation, bracketed on
one end by the beheading of Elizabeth’s mother, Anne
Boleyn, and the famed stand-off between Elizabeth and
Mary Queen of Scots on the other.
Perhaps most significant of all, though, this period
signaled the inauguration of the so-called Elizabethan
era, regarded now as a “golden age” in English history
and literature, and characterized by such luminaries
as William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Christopher
Marlowe, and Edmund Spenser. (Elizabeth’s reign was
also associated with the famed astrologer,
mathematician, and occultist John Dee—the individual
credited with actually coining the term “British
Empire.”) In several respects, this period was indeed
a Plutonian “rebirth” for England, insofar as
Elizabeth took an essentially bankrupt economy and
restored fiscal responsibility to it, while overseeing
a great surge in global exploration and ushering in a
period of relative stability and internal peace to the
country. But underlying that relative peace and
stability were serious problems, among them
longstanding animosities between Catholics and
Protestants that simmered below the surface and led to
several assassination attempts on Elizabeth’s life.
England’s third Pluto return occurred in the period
around 1801 to 1810. Aside from this being the general
time frame associated with the Industrial Revolution,
1801 specifically saw the formal creation of the
United Kingdom, when Great Britain (England, Wales,
and Scotland) joined forces with Ireland—arguably as
profound a transition point in English history as any.
And whereas 1801 witnessed the end of England’s
commercial boom, 1809 saw a fiscal regeneration with
the start of a new economic boom— a true Plutonian
“rebirth” of sorts. During this general period England
also found itself embroiled in various military
conflicts in the effort to hold its Empire together,
including the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the
Napoleonic Wars from 1803 to 1815, the Peninsula War
from 1808 to 1814, the Anglo-Russian War from 1807 to
1812, the Anglo-Swedish War in 1810, and the 1812
conflict with the newly independent United States. (2)
This period also saw the British monarchy becoming
increasingly unpopular, and even played host to the
famed “madness of King George,” when the head of the
Empire was himself slipping in and out of dementia,
having been formally recognized as “insane” in 1810.
It’s tempting to consider that the king’s condition
may well have symbolized a deeper imbalance festering
within the Empire itself, perhaps reflecting the
darker stirrings of Pluto.
But there is another development around this period of
English history that’s easily overlooked but which may
be crucial toward understanding America’s own Pluto
return. To see that, though, we need to step back and
look at something which began under England’s previous
Pluto return, and which came to an end under this
third one. I’m referring here to the fact that during
the earlier reign of Elizabeth I, the Empire saw the
formal inauguration of its slave trade, under the
direction of Sir John Hawkins—truly, the nefarious
shadow side of that era’s “golden age.” Then, more
than two centuries later, it officially came to its
end during Pluto’s next return, with the passing of
the ‘Abolition of the Slave Trade Act’ in 1807—
directly in the midst of England’s third Pluto return.
It’s not difficult to see the Plutonian character of
this development, in both positive and negative
respects. On the one hand, the slave trade showed
England acting out the darkest impulses of human
nature, with all its bigotry, cruelty and greed; then,
the abolition of slavery during England’s third Pluto
return, revealed England in a more redemptive and
cathartic light, as the nation struggled coming to
terms with that bloody institution. Pluto transits
often involve contending with some unresolved darkness
or transgression from the past, and if one truly
confronts and resolves those issues, the effect can
indeed be transformative; if not, though, those
unresolved issues can consume and destroy from within.
Fortunately, under that third Pluto return, England
chose to confront and finally abandon that legacy.
The Implications for the United States
So what does all of this mean for America, in terms of
what we can expect the years ahead? These are a few of
the possibilities I’d suggest we watch for.
1. One effect of the Pluto return for America will
almost certainly be economic. In doing research for
this article, I thought it might be helpful to look
back at what happened during America’s half-return of
Pluto during the mid-1930s, when it reached 27°
Cancer, in hope that might provide some symbolic hints
as to what the full Pluto return will bring. While
that technically became exact in the mid-30s, its
influence extended for a number of years on either
side. The 1930s represented the very midst of the
Great Depression, when Americans were facing
privations and anxieties they’d rarely experienced
before. While we may not experience anything quite on
that scale again under the coming return, there are
enough troublesome indicators already in play to
believe it will be a turbulent time for the U.S.
economy. (It’s good to remember, though, not everyone
was affected equally or in the same way by the Great
Depression; in fact, some individuals actually became
quite wealthy during that period—which simply goes to
show that seemingly difficult planetary energies can
manifest quite differently for different individuals.)
2. Based not only those earlier Pluto returns of both
Rome and England but on what we already see happening
in the U.S., it’s also safe to say we can expect to
see a growing mood of social unrest in the country—
possibly bordering on a civil war-type atmosphere.
Notice I said “type.” Do I personally believe that
could result in an actual “civil war,” with neighbors
shooting and attacking each other? While even a few
politicians have hinted at that possibility, I think
that’s highly unlikely. But there’s little question
there will be strong—and potentially violent—emotions
bubbling up to the surface these next few years. What
could possibly trigger such an extreme level of anger
and unrest? Well, let me count the ways. In addition
to hot-button issues like abortion, immigration,
political corruption, and income inequality, it’s
likely that whoever wins the next presidential
election will elicit a firestorm of reaction on the
opposite side of the political divide. If Trump wins,
that would trigger much frustration and anger among
his detractors, while his loss certainly would not be
taken well by his supporters either, to put it mildly.
3. As I pointed out, during its last Pluto return
England was embroiled in a number of military
conflicts in various parts of the world, and it’s
possible America could likewise find itself embroiled
in one or more conflicts, too, whether that involve
Iran, Korea, Venezuela, or another country. But
considering the more covert, even underhanded side of
Pluto, this could just as easily manifest through acts
of sabotage, terrorism, or cyber-terrorism directed at
the U.S. rather than conventional battlefield
conflicts.We saw a striking example of Pluto at work
in the events of 9/11, where the attack itself may
have been out in the open but the perceived enemy
seemed almost anonymous. Where was the terrorism being
directed from exactly, and how could we respond?
Americans felt a nearly paralyzing sense of
powerlessness in their inability to get a clear grip
on the situation, its perpetrators, or a possible
resolution; in fact, that sense of powerlessness is
one of the key signatures of challenging Pluto
aspects. While I hope the United States doesn’t
experience anything along those lines again, that
possibility can’t be entirely dismissed, and we even
need to consider the possibility of a “false flag”
attack in which a perceived act of “foreign” terrorism
is actually orchestrated from within the U.S. itself
to serve some homegrown political or militaristic
purpose.
4. Falling as it does in Capricorn, the impending
Pluto return strongly points to explosive scandals or
falls from grace involving prominent individuals, be
those politicians, celebrities, religious authorities,
or business leaders. Previously hidden corruption,
including sex crimes or possibly even treasonous
activities, will be exposed to the light of day. Will
that extend to the very highest political office of
the land— i.e., the President? Impossible to know for
sure, but it will undoubtedly be a challenging time
for whoever is occupying the Oval Office at the time,
whether they be Republican or Democrat.
5. Especially since the Pluto return is occurring in
an earth sign, another likely impact will be
environmental in nature, in terms of problems with the
land and agriculture. Archetypally speaking, Pluto
governs such things as toxins, refuse, and hazardous
materials, so it’s not unthinkable our country’s
problem with pollution could reach a tipping point,
and that we’ll be forced to come to grips with the
poisons in our food that result from fertilizers,
pesticides, and herbicides. Oil spills or problems
with nuclear fuel sources are always a possibility, so
that could be added to this mix. As before, I wondered
whether we might find some useful clues from the
earlier half-return of Pluto, and was struck by the
fact that the mid-1930s also witnessed the infamous
“Dust Bowl,” which was a natural calamity affecting
millions of Americans but precipitated in large part
by (hu)man-made agricultural practices. Interestingly,
while that condition lasted throughout the entire
decade, it climaxed almost precisely with the exact
Pluto half-return. This is from a Wikipedia
description about that time:
Severe drought hit the Midwest and Southern Great
Plains in 1930. Massive dust storms began in 1931. A
series of drought years followed, further exacerbating
the environmental disaster... By 1934, an estimated 35
million acres of formerly cultivated land had been
rendered useless for farming, while another 125
million acres—an area roughly three-quarters the size
of Texas—was rapidly losing its topsoil. Regular
rainfall returned to the region by the end of 1939,
bringing the Dust Bowl years to a close. The economic
effects, however, persisted. Population declines in
the worst- hit counties—where the agricultural value
of the land failed to recover—continued well into the
1950s... The worst dust storm occurred on April 14,
1935. An Associated Press news report coined the term
“Dust Bowl” after the Black Sunday dust storm.
(Emphasis mine) (3)
While we may not actually experience another “Dust
Bowl” exactly, it’s a good possibility we’ll be
dealing with environmental problems that impact our
farms and our food supply in the coming years. To some
extent, of course, that’s already happening, due to
severe flooding and fires in large portions of the
Midwestern and Western states, which has led some
agricultural experts to predict food prices could
skyrocket over the next few years. The effects of
hurricanes on the southern and southeastern states are
also a possibility to consider.
6. Another effect that strikes me as worth mentioning
centers around the growing threat of autocracy. It’s
no secret Pluto can behave quite dictatorially at
times, and we’ve already started seeing signs of that
not only in Donald Trump’s unabashedly forceful style
but in the rise of various far-Right neo-fascist
elements throughout the country. (4) (While it’s true
that we’ve been seeing the rise of “strongman”-type
governments in several countries besides the U.S. in
recent years, that’s more likely due to the influence
of the current Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn,
along with the fact that transiting Pluto has been
opposing its 1930 discovery point of 17° Cancer in
recent years, too.)
Even here, I was surprised to find some intriguing
parallels from that period of America’s half-return of
Pluto in the 1930s. Though now largely forgotten,
America in the 1930s saw the rise of various pro-
fascist groups around the country including the Silver
Shirts, Black Legion, Khaki Shirts and Fascist League
movements. While for the most part this trend remained
outside the mainstream, it received support from no
less prominent figures than Ezra Pound and Charles
Lindbergh. And in 1934, the U.S. came perhaps the
closest it’s ever come to a true fascist coup d’état,
when democracy was nearly subverted by a cabal of
wealthy individuals and businessmen but prevented by
Major General Smedly Butler. As one article described
it:
Fascism had reared its head in Europe, and the world
had yet to make up its mind what it thought about it—
that would come later, in World War II. Many thought
that the best way to pull America out of the Great
Depression was to install a dictator—even the New York
Herald-Tribune ran a headline called ‘For Dictatorship
If Necessary.’ Although the newspaper’s article was in
support of FDR, a group of wealthy financiers believed
that America should indeed have a dictator. . . So,
they began to plot a coup d’état that would later come
to be known as the Business Plot, or the Wall Street
Putsch. (Emphasis mine) (5)
It’s startling now to realize that had it not been for
General Butler, America could have gone in a
dramatically different direction during the 1930s,
similar to Germany. So, with Pluto now coming up to
its first full return, does this mean that an elected
candidate—Trump or otherwise—will try to exert even
greater control over our country’s government? A
related possibility could be that Trump loses the
election but simply refuses to abdicate the Oval
Office, thus creating a constitutional crisis. Or
could it be simply mean that wealthy plutocrats will
consolidate their already formidable control over the
country, such as through more corporate-friendly
legislative measures and judicial appointments?
7. The last possibility I want to touch on harkens
back to what happened with England during the early
19th century. What “darkness” from our own past will
we be contending with these next few years? It seems
clear that, on one level anyway, it’s similar to that
of England during the early 1800s—namely, the legacy
of slavery. America was built upon it, the nation’s
economy thrived because of it, and while the
institution itself was officially discontinued, we’re
still coming to terms with its legacy and all it
implied—racism, bigotry, greed. Slavery and racism
have long been a stain on the nation’s soul, and
though we’ve tried hard to deny that history, it’s
becoming increasingly hard to avoid. There’s even been
talk in the U.S. these last couple of years about the
feasibility of reparations and making amends to
America’s black population for slavery. While I think
that’s unlikely to happen, strictly from a legislative
standpoint, the timing is certainly fitting in light
of Pluto returning to its founding degree.
As usual, I often look to cinema for symbolic clues
into the shifting “zeitgeist,” and in that spirit I
was especially struck by the blockbuster horror film
Us! released in March of this year (2019). To my mind,
the movie presented an uncanny illustration of
America’s impending Pluto return in terms of
contending with that legacy of racism. Aside from the
fact that its writer/director was himself black, along
with most of the film’s actors, the movie focuses on
America coming face-to-face with that underworldly
“shadow” side, and with the hidden darkness that’s
been simmering beneath our nation’s sunny surfaces for
too long. I don’t want to give too much away about the
plot for those who haven’t watched it yet, but for
those who would like to see a more imaginative
depiction of America’s Pluto return, I highly
recommend watching it with an astrologer’s perspective
in mind. (Also, note how one of the “shadow” children
in the movie is even named “Pluto”!) (6)
Nor is this impending challenge solely about America’s
black population. The Pluto return also seems related
to our national discussion around minorities in
general, and our culture’s uneasy relationship with
Muslims, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos,
and the LGBTQ community. Previously repressed elements
of our population (including women) now seem poised to
make their voices heard in ways like never before,
something which became especially evident in the
latest U.S. mid-term elections. The influence of Pluto
is also apparent in our national debate over
immigration and the ongoing crisis involving Mexican
and Central American refugees at our southern border.
Here, too, there are fascinating parallels with what
unfolded in America during the 1930s. While
researching this article, I was surprised to learn
about the following controversy from that earlier
time.
Most Americans are familiar with the forced relocation
in 1942 of 112,000 Japanese Americans from the West
Coast to internment camps. Far fewer are aware that
during the Great Depression, the Federal Bureau of
Immigration (after 1933, called the Immigration and
Naturalization Service) along with local authorities
rounded up Mexican immigrants and naturalized Mexican
American citizens and shipped them to Mexico to reduce
relief roles. In a shameful episode, more than 400,000
repatriodos, many of them citizens of the United
States by birth, were sent across the US-Mexico border
from Arizona, California, and Texas. Texas’ Mexican-
born population was reduced by a third. Los Angeles
also lost a third of its Mexican population...
(Emphasis mine) (7)
On an archetypal level, much of this anxiety over
immigrants and minorities seems rooted in a deeper
fear or even hatred of the “other,” and a disdain for
all those existing outside our own familiar tribe. One
of Pluto’s painful secrets seems to be just this: the
hatred we direct towards others is actually self-
hatred, projected outward. Once we become conscious of
that dynamic, it becomes possible to transmute those
emotions, and the result is genuine transformation and
rebirth. But that takes considerable self-awareness,
courage, and intelligence—qualities that seem to be in
short supply amongst many Americans these days.
As for when these dynamics can be expected to start
manifesting, the Pluto return is technically set to
fire exactly on February 22nd of 2022 (and by
precession-adjusted standards, in February of 2024).
As I hinted at the outset, though, a long-term cycle
like Pluto return requires an exceptionally wide orb
of influence on either side, so as with both Rome and
England the long-range effects of this cycle
necessarily extend for many years before and after
that window of exactitude; indeed, I don’t think would
be excessive to speak of the entire 2020s as
representing the peak period of America’s Pluto
return.
In terms of its early influence, it’s therefore clear
to me that it’s already being felt—and has been for
quite some time, actually. I’d even suggest that we
were permitted an early sneak preview into that
influence when Pluto first ingressed into Capricorn
back in 2008. Did anything of importance happen then
which correlates to what we’ve been talking about thus
far? Well, besides a major tremor in America’s economy
that year, the United States elected its first black
American president, Barack Hussein Obama. He was
elected in November of 2008 but assumed office in
January of 2009. I can hardly think of a clearer
symbol of America’s having to come face-to-face with
its legacy of racism and slavery, and general
uneasiness towards the “other,” than the election of a
black president with a Muslim-sounding name. I also
believe that the Saturn/Pluto conjunction which will
become exact in January of 2020 will likewise serve as
an early trigger for the U.S. Pluto return, and that
much of what we’re already seeing in the country in
terms of unrest over Trump, immigration policies,
abortion, partisan loyalties, and racism, is directly
intertwined with that larger Pluto- return cycle.
But as noted, the U.S. Pluto return will technically
not be exact until February of 2022. It’s important to
remember that alignments like this are similar to New
Moons in that they represent the initiation of new
cycles, and as such “plant seeds” that continue
developing long afterwards. So while its possible
there could be some important symbolic “seed-events”
happening around that month, the full effects of
America’s Pluto return will probably not reveal
themselves for years, possibly even decades
afterwards, in the various areas explored here.
Coda
On a final note, it’s important to note that while the
U.S. Pluto return will likely prove challenging in
various ways, a configuration like this presents
powerful opportunities as well. In that regard it’s
good to remember that despite the problems which
attended England’s second Pluto return, that period
eventually became one of its culturally richest. In
turn, England’s third Pluto return witnessed both a
decline and a rebounding of its economy. As for the
tangle of issues we already see coming to a boil in
the U.S., one could think of it in much the same way
that health practitioners talk about the “detox
crises” a body goes through after a long build-up of
poisons before it can become well again. We’ve been
seeing just such a toxic build-up of America’s social,
political, economic, and environmental issues these
last few years, and that could all intensify these
next few years. Will we confront and resolve those
problems, and emerge from this period a newly
reinvigorated and healed society, having survived the
death/rebirth dynamic of Pluto?
One way or another, we’ll be finding out soon enough."
Notes and References:
(Author’s note: This essay first appeared in the
December/January 2019/2020 issue of The Mountain
Astrologer magazine (with minor adjustments made for
purposes of clarity). It is included in Ray Grasse’s
recent anthology StarGates (Inner Eye Publications,
2020).
1. My thanks to Lynn Hayes for her input about Pluto
returns in the Roman Empire:
https://www.astrodynamics.net/pluto-returns-roman-
empire/
2. From a symbolic standpoint, it’s worth noting that
shortly after England’s third Pluto return, Mary
Shelley published her famed work Frankenstein, a story
ostensibly about the resurrection of dead bodies—an
overtly Plutonian theme.
3. https://www.history.com/topics/great-
depression/dust-bowl
4. As I pointed out earlier, the third return of Pluto
for England coincided precisely with the famed
“madness of King George,” when that country’s imperial
ruler literally drifted into insanity. While it’s too
early to say whether Donald Trump will still be
president during the peak of the U.S. Pluto return
(either way, we’re within the general orb of that
long-term cycle) it’s hard to resist drawing parallels
between that period and this.
5. https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/fdr-
coup? rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1
6. The popular TV series “Stranger Things” also offers
another possible expression of America’s Pluto return,
with its narrative of dark subterranean forces growing
out of control and threatening the lives of surface
dwellers.
7. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/historical -
context-mexican-americans-and-great-depression
|
|