Wheel of Light Astrology by Rio Olesky - April 2020
Two significant transits occur this month, both with ramifications to our individual as well as collective experience. The first is a conjunction between Jupiter and Pluto. The second is Saturn temporarily leaving Capricorn and moving into Aquarius.
The Jupiter-Pluto conjunction combines the planet of philosophy (Jupiter) with the planet that strives to decipher the mystery of life (Pluto). The higher octave potential of this aspect is to seek spiritual truth, with the possibility of having significant breakthroughs of insight and understanding. The lower octave enhances tendencies toward dogmatic “my way or the highway” thinking and behaving. Conjunctions can be times of new beginnings, and this one could initiate personal quests for deeper understanding of the nature of life and one’s place in the universal scheme of things.
Collectively, this conjunction could have significant economic implications. The last time Jupiter and Pluto were conjunct was December 2007, just before the beginning of the Great Recession. In October 2007 the stock market had achieved a peak. According to financial astrologer Ray Merriman, when Jupiter is transiting from late Sagittarius to early Capricorn there have been market crests followed within two months by a steep decline in the stock market 90% of the time. Similarly affecting the collective is the conjunction between Pluto and Saturn. The last time this occurred was 1980, the beginning of the Aids epidemic. Prior to that was 1940, the beginning of a polio epidemic. So there is a correspondence between Saturn-Pluto, health pandemics, and Jupiter-Pluto, stock market declines. This column has discussed the major alignment of the year, if not the decade, several times already. This is another time and another example of the potential significance of the transit.
The ingress of Saturn into Aquarius is temporary. Saturn entered Aquarius on March 21 and will remain there until July 1. I will address this transit more fully in my July column. The condensed version can address two primary expressions that this transit can activate. Saturn deals with direction, goals, responsibility and productivity. It can also be controlling, restrictive and authoritarian. By nature it is conservative and prefers the traditional approach and perspective. Aquarius is about the intersection between the unique individual integrating and functioning in a collective social context. One potential expression of this combination is the limitation of personal freedom by powerful forces in government and law enforcement. Another possibility, however, is for each of us to take responsibility to get more in touch with our own uniqueness and seek to integrate that part of ourselves into the social collective. These two options are not mutually exclusive. We could be working on personal freedom even as restrictive forces are also in play.
Another potential of this period, especially in an election year, is based on Aquarius tending to be extreme and revolutionary. Thus the extreme or “populist” ends of both political parties could seek to control the narrative around the election. This could leave many citizens out of the conversation, leading to even greater alienation in our country.
On a personal level, this is a good time to note those parts or our life that feel restrictive or that we are afraid to address because they depart from the “norm”. We can either take responsibility to change those parts so that they do conform or we can create a strategy that will enable us to own, explore and express those unique parts of ourselves. We could embrace aspects of ourselves in more complete or interactive ways that can prove to be extremely supportive to our growth in terms of self-awareness, even if they run counter to the standards defined as acceptable by conventional society.
Aries: This is a good time to engage in mentally stimulating activities. By extension, this it would also be beneficial to share your ideas with others. This could stimulate conversation as well as some inspiration for creative writing. Growth can come from being open minded and curious about new ideas.
Taurus: This month is a good time to focus on financial issues. Take stock of your values, assets and resources. Make sure that they are in alignment. If they aren’t, something needs to change so that your desire for long term stability and comfort can be realized.
Gemini: This is a month to focus on esthetics. This could pertain to what you look like (as in taking care of your appearance) to what you do artistically. By extension, you might find that sharing creative activities with others can prove inspiring as well as productive.