TIME IS A BLUR in this last month of 2021. We are moving through yet another powerfully transformational stage in our "final ascent" journey.

Each week of December provides yet another significant impulse of energy, each working in its own way to move us forward:

• Last week, we entered a portal created by the Total Solar Eclipse, which represented the opportunity for a major shift.
• This week, Venus and Pluto begin a lengthy tango, which I'll talk more about today.
• Next week's Full Moon occurs as the Sun exactly aligns with the Galactic Center, activating a "defrag and download" process.
• The following week, the third Saturn-Uranus square perfects, reinforcing the core lessons of this life-changing year.
• And, on the last two days of 2021, Mars crosses the degree of the Total Solar Eclipse, reactivating its evolutionary influence.

VENUS AND PLUTO usually rendezvous just once a year, with the effects of their conjunction lasting perhaps two or three days. This year, however, Venus will be going retrograde (backward) while moving through Capricorn, and so will cross paths with Pluto three times between now and early March 2022. Here are the dates of most significance:

• December 11: Venus conjunct Pluto
• December 19: Venus stations retrograde
• December 25: Venus conjunct Pluto
• January 29: Venus stations direct
• March 3: Venus conjunct Pluto

This long-term merging of the energies of these two planets will have profound effect on our lives. It will also work on many different levels, ranging from the mundane to the divine.

AS A TRANSPERSONAL PLANET, Pluto is the agent of Divine Will. Its ultimate purpose is to bring humankind into its true empowerment, which is found through alignment with the Divine. Venus is a personal planet, representing humanity's feminine, receptive qualities. As these two join forces over the next three months, it represents an opportunity for the power of the Divine Feminine to further awaken in the hearts of all. 

Pluto is also the god of the underworld in Roman myth, known as Hades to the Greeks. In mundane reality, the planet Pluto has domain over the literal process of death and rebirth, as well the smaller ways in which we die and are reborn throughout our lives. As Pluto conjoins Venus, everything that the goddess of love rules is made available for transmutation, as needed for our growth: personal relationships, values, financial and material comfort, pleasures and entertainment, and the arts.

IN PERSONAL READINGS, I often talk of Pluto as being the Psychotherapist Planet. In a psychotherapy session, we often must divulge secrets or unearth feelings that we have buried because they were uncomfortable for us to face directly. As we bring what has been hidden into the light, we reap the gifts of the therapy process: healing, growth, and empowerment.

When we work with transiting Pluto, we may find ourselves in situations that evoke strong emotions, feelings that we've been either repressing (keeping unconscious) or suppressing (avoiding). Repressed feelings can lead to many problems; research links emotional repression to lower immune system function and to mental health conditions. Suppressed emotions can lead to symptoms such as high blood pressure, memory problems, and low self-esteem. 

ALTHOUGH a Pluto transit can be uncomfortable because of the deep emotions it elicits, our first step is to acknowledge and accept the feelings that we may have been repressing or suppressing. Our task is then to allow the feelings to move through us without attaching to them. In this way, they can be released as energy into the light.

Over the next three months, as Pluto and Venus weave their way across the cosmic dance floor, humanity is scheduled go through a process of deep revelation and cleansing in the areas that Venus rules. Some relationships will go through a metamorphosis, as will our core values. Along the way, we will slowly begin to unwrap the gifts of this therapeutic process, which include a more open, empowered heart and a much greater capacity for love and compassion.

BESIDES Venus and Pluto, other planets are also out on the dance floor this week. Here are other important aspects that occur over the next seven days, with my brief interpretations:

Monday

Mars sextile Pluto: This empowering aspect helps us have the emotional courage to take steps toward a goal that we feel very passionate about.

Tuesday

Venus square Eris: Relationships can run into problems if either party feels the other does not respect or acknowledge their needs.

Mercury square Neptune: Minds tend to wander today, making conversations circuitous. We may also miss a turn in the road due to a lack of concentration. This is a better time for introspection and journaling than in trying to figure out a plan.

Mars square Jupiter: In our exuberance to gain freedom from restriction, we may not consider all the ramifications of our actions. This is a "leaping before you look" aspect, which can result in a fall.

Wednesday

No major aspects are exact today.

Thursday-Friday

Mercury trine Eris and semisquare Saturn: We are more able to express our needs with this aspect but may not take the time to fully listen to or understand another's concerns.

Saturday

Mercury sesquiquadrate Uranus and sextile Jupiter: Nervous tension due to beliefs being challenged. Flexibility and conscious breathing are key and will help us access a more hopeful perspective.

Venus conjunct Pluto: See above.

Sun square Neptune: People are very impressionable and sensitive today, but not very practical. A lack of clarity can result in misjudging a situation.  

Sunday

No major aspects are exact today.

IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: This year, you are in the process of dissolving old beliefs, thought patterns, and self-images that may have defined you for most of your life. Introspection is especially necessary and rewarding now, as is a spiritual practice or creative/visionary project. Your imagination is heightened but ideas may be fleeting, much like dream images, so be sure to capture them before they fade. Writing and other forms of communicating your thoughts are highlighted, but your actual words may not always be easily understood by others. Intuition may be stronger than logic now. (Solar Return Sun conjunct Mercury, square Neptune)

In peace and with gratitude,

Pam

Aspects of Note This Week:

All times listed are Pacific Daylight Time. For Greenwich Mean Time, add 7 hours.

• MON: Mars sextile Pluto
• TUE: Venus square Eris, Mercury square Neptune, Mars square Jupiter
• WED: No major aspects today
• THU: Mercury trine Eris
• FRI: Mercury semisquare Saturn 
• SAT: Mercury sesquiquadrate Uranus, Venus conjunct Pluto, Mercury sextile Jupiter, Sun square Neptune
• SUN: No major aspects today