May 2nd ~ 9th

It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.  Where you stumble, lies your treasure.  The very cave you are afraid to enter turns out to be the source of what you are looking for. ~ Joseph Campbell

On May 4th Pluto officially pauses for its retrograde station. Now that Pluto is in Aquarius, it is unveiling a new era. One that wreaks of transformative change. It still dangles that wistful promise of the democratic ideals embodied in Aquarius: Freedom, Equality and Universal Brotherhood. But even the possibility of these sorts of changes can and will be accompanied by a backlash. And so what Pluto in Aquarius has brought, may not always be what we had hoped it might be. 

When Pluto changes signs, as it now has into the sign of Aquarius, it is accompanied by shifts of power. And it is these shifts in power that define the era to come. With Pluto we often experience the extremes of the sign it is traveling in the ideal archetypes such as might be seen in a more perfect democracy, vs. the more decadent and shadowy abuses of power that undermine that democracy. And as Pluto stations  for its retrograde phase, it is digging in even deeper, showing us what happens if we play our cards right, but also what happens when we don’t. 

When Pluto stations we become that much more aware of the use and abuse of power. Pluto can show us the beauty and  power of transformation and healing through rebuilding, regenerating and renewal. But it can also show us how things can also go horribly awry, either by deliberately abusing power, through utter destruction, or by ignoring problems and trying to kick them under the rug. 

In our own lives, facing our own Pluto is one of the most challenging, but also rejuvenating and freeing experiences we will ever have. And for the months that Pluto is in its retrograde phase, we are being asked to do precisely this: to descend into Hades’ lair, that dark place where all is hidden but also revealed. That place where nothing is sacred. Just know that by facing our own darkness, our own shame, guilt, hungers and fears; and doing so with the utmost honesty, we are also given the opportunity to heal and grow in ways that we can’t even imagine. 

We carry all sorts of wounds within: wounds compounded by guilt, shame and hungers in our subconscious. They can also be expressed physically through our bodies as ailments, aches, pains and injuries. But it is the former that are even more insidious. And rather than deal with them, we often suppress them, cover them over with a band aid, or stuff them into a dungeon cell where we hope they will remain undiscovered, and just go away. 

However the wounds of Pluto cannot be healed until they are revealed for what they are. Then once discovered we are asked to go down even deeper, down to the very root of the problem and its source. If you are not conscious of the compulsions, the fears, or the hungers that drive you then they will be unconsciously played out in our lives in less productive or even destructive ways. Once these inner wounds are revealed to us, we are then asked to look for the helpers. Those are the ones who are familiar with these wounds, and have been there and done that. Find your guides, your midwives, your therapists and wise counsel. Someone who knows the way through the labyrinth of the plutonic Underworld, and who has the capacity to lead you through the process of healing, transformation, rebuilding and rebirth. 

Truly, Pluto’s goal, as it is with all of these planetary transits, is to support our own evolutionary growth. This begins by first admitting to, and owning, the dark and tangled tapestry of our lives, and then finding the ways to untangle it, and even heal that mess once and for all. Whether we think of this metaphor as untangling the karmic threads that weave our destiny; or finally coming to understand our own life’s purpose, Pluto is always so much deeper than at first realized. He is, after all, the Lord of the Underworld. 

However, when we are humble enough, and brave enough to do this deep dive, that is what we are capable of finding: our true destiny and purpose. And you will know it when you have found it. And if you are hating what you thought you found, then you haven’t dug deep enough. In order to get there we have to get beneath all the trash, all the regrets, shames and ancient wounds. And then through forgiveness and acceptance discover our true selves, devoid of all that mess. 

When we do this work, know that there are also other things that are buried beneath the surface of all the muck and mire. Things such as treasures of unequal beauty and resilience, honed by life’s external pressures and the breadth of time. Gifts that are inexplicably beautiful and magical. These are the rewards that are available to us if we are willing to do this deep work. 

Pluto is the alchemist who can turn lead into gold; the Phoenix reborn out of the ashes of what was; the Magician who can transform experience into revelation. And so it is during the retrograde phases of Pluto each year that we are not only given the capacity to transform our own lives, but to meet our own Magi who can lead us to our salvation. 

We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned… so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come. ~ Joseph Campbell

For the station of Pluto for your sign, click below for this week’s horoscopes:

HOROSCOPES

Image: CrystalWind.ca