Monthly Archives: September 2010

Saturday Extra! Pluto and Obsession in Relationships

[This article originally appeared on Sept. 11, 2010.]

With Pluto about to go direct, I thought this would be a good time to reflect on a very Plutonic topic, obsession.

Occasionally a client will admit to me that he or she is obsessed with a relationship, but it’s something few people want to admit. Obsessions can cause a great deal of suffering, embarrassment, and shame – another Plutonic feeling – and so we often try to shove it down, forget about it, or overcome it. At the very least, we attempt to hide it so that others won’t know.

I unabashedly advise my clients to focus more attention on the object of their obsession, not less. Some might think that’s mentally unsound, but let me explain my reasoning.

In my observation over the years, there’s always a reason for an obsession. It may not be obvious, and often it’s not what the obsession seems to be about. But usually there is a compelling reason. To my way of thinking, it’s mentally unhealthy to stay stuck in the obsession, but you won’t get unstuck by ignoring it. The very fact that it’s knocking you so hard over the head and heart means that you have an issue that needs to be resolved. The only way to resolve it is to confront it head on.

Astrology is an amazingly effective tool for doing just that, and I’ve helped many clients figure out what is going on to cause them such distress.

Before I discuss this further, let me emphasize that I’m not talking about clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder, which requires professional intervention. Even in that case, though, confronting the tendency to obsess is critical in getting help.

With few exceptions, the clients who come to me with an obsession are fixated on a certain person, or someone is obsessed with them. Sometimes they are in a relationship already and are having difficulties because one partner is obsessed with the other. In these cases, looking at Pluto in the synastry chart is the first order of business.

There are several Pluto aspects that indicate this kind of attachment, but the ones I look for are the conflicting aspects (oppositions and squares) between one partner’s Pluto and the other’s Moon, Mars, Venus, or Sun. Other Pluto aspects can spell trouble, too, but those are the ones that consistently pop up. If one person has a difficult Pluto aspect in the natal chart to start with, the resulting obsession can be extremely intense.

If there are no difficult Pluto aspects, then I start looking for other indicators. Neptune aspects sometimes tell me that the client isn’t seeing the reality of the situation. For example, he or she may wish to be in a relationship with someone who isn’t interested or available. If this is the case, I ask what that person represents to the client. Unfortunately, this puts me in a tough position, because I have to deliver the bad news that the desired lover is in all probability not The One, and that’s not what they want to hear.

Occasionally, I see very close karmic connections between the client and the person he or she is obsessing about. In many ways, these cases are even more challenging than the aforementioned situation, because there are complications. After all, if two people destined to fall in love meet, date, and marry, they usually don’t need me! The only time I’m called in is when one person is either unaware of the connection or is aware but in a committed relationship already.

It does appear that we’re in an accelerated time period in which more and more people are finding a long-lost soul mate. Reconnecting with our intended other is part of the deep healing process that so many of us are experiencing.

If you are obsessing over someone and want to know why, please consider contacting me for a reading. Depending on your situation, you may want to order True Love, the Complete Compatibility Report, or you may want a telephone consultation. Before we talk, I’ll make an in-depth analysis of your chart and give you my interpretation of what’s going on. Together, we’ll figure it out!

Pat

Image: © Konradbak for Dreamstime.com

Ask Real Astrologers: When Will This Pluto Transit End?

This week’s question comes from Elise in Kansas City, Missouri:

I’m a third degree Capricorn … Yes, thank you, for your sympathy. I’m actually enjoying the travels through the underworld, and I’m very thankful for my background in Western ceremonial magick, which helps me understand. Sometimes the ride gets to be a bit much, though. Since Pluto will go direct soon, I’m wondering when I can expect things to be not SO intense for me.

P.S. Thanks very much for all your time devoted to the blog!

Yes, Elise, you certainly have my sympathy – you and everyone else who has personal planets or chart points in the early degrees of the cardinal signs.

It’s not just Pluto on your Sun that’s been making life intense, although that would be plenty rough enough. With Pluto at the apex of the cardinal T-square, you’ve been getting the full force of the T-square at the very core of who you are. I imagine you are much changed from a year ago.

At the same time that you’ve had Pluto on your Sun, you’ve had a Saturn-Sun square, which made your Pluto transit all the more challenging. The good news is that Saturn has now moved on, but then he’ll briefly conjoin your natal Mars from mid-October to mid-November, and that isn’t going to be fun. At the very least, you’ll likely be very irritable and agitated.

In the meantime, Pluto turns direct next Tuesday at 2°47′ Capricorn. For all practical purposes, that is conjunct your Sun, and the transformational power of Pluto is all the more intense when he’s stationed. Using your alchemical knowledge, you can channel this energy into making deep and lasting changes in your life, but it will backfire big-time if you try to manipulate situations or people for your own selfish purposes. If you keep the common good in mind – which shouldn’t be too hard for a Rising Aquarius – then I wouldn’t be surprised if you manage to work miracles.

As to when this will be over, I’d give it until the end of November. After that, I would concentrate on testing and verifying that the changes you’ve made truly are setting you on the right course. Next spring, when Uranus re-enters Aries, he’ll be square your Sun. If you’re not heading in the right direction, you can bet that more unexpected events will happen in order to keep you on the straight and narrow.

It sounds to me like you’ve got a good understanding of what’s going on, and I think you’ll do just fine. Thanks for writing … and thanks for the kind words about my blog (I do work hard!).

Pat

Got a quick question? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers. You must use this form to contact me, or I won’t get your question. I do read all of your questions, although I am sorry that I can’t answer them all. If you need immediate guidance or in-depth advice, please contact me for a private consultation. THANKS!

Pluto Stationed with Venus in Scorpio: Looking Within

Inside, Outside, and Beyond. © Pat Paquette, 2010.

Officially it’s not yet fall in the Northern Hemisphere, but that feeling is in the air of being between worlds.

Typically, the end of October is when we feel the veil between the worlds lift, but it seems early this year. I attribute it to the simultaneous stationing of Pluto and Mercury, plus the entry of Venus in Scorpio today.

Pluto is the mythological lord of the underworld, where transformation of energy takes place. Mercury was the only god who could freely travel between the world of the living and the world of the dead, so he has an indirect connection with Pluto.

In non-astrological terms, we can see the symbolism in our thoughts, represented by Mercury, which exist whether we’re asleep, awake, or in between. Indeed, that in-between state is often when we get visions, inspiration, and messages from our deep psyche.

Venus, mythological goddess of desire, is in her detriment in Scorpio, and yet Venus in Scorpio holds a powerful fascination. Sexual desire can be obsessive, perhaps because we don’t fully understand it. When we’re in its throes, we fall under the spell of a primal urge that temporarily overpowers all reason.

Venus in Scorpio reminds me of the ancient Sumerian myth of the descent of the goddess Inanna to the underworld, where she must submit to the dark, primal powers of her sister.

I went out this morning to shoot a photo of the fog blanketing the ravine, but instead ended up with this image of three worlds in one. It’s fitting for the current astrological climate.

We’ve got four more days of Mercury retrograde to go. Meanwhile, happy New Moon in Virgo.

Pat

Weekly Forecast September 6: Virgo New Moon, Mercury Direct

Begonias on a Chair. Beauty is its own reason to exist.
© Pat Paquette, 2010.

This promises to be another fairly quiet week, although there will be some movement and more than a few hints of what’s coming next.

Mercury is retrograde for another week, keeping us in analytical mode, especially regarding what took place over the summer. We can’t move forward until we resolve certain dilemmas and reconcile conflicting goals and desires. At the very least, we need to accept that we’re conflicted. It’s part of the complexity of the human mind.

I urge you to focus in particular on what seeds you might have planted over the summer … or, as a dear friend of mine says, what roots may be growing under you. It’s a fitting image, given the position of the planets in the cardinal T-square. As I’ve written so many times, the “out” is the point opposite Pluto at the apex, and that would be in Cancer, the sign of home, family, and roots. What tribe do you belong to?

I had two very moving consultations this week, both of which put me into deep contemplation of exactly what we’re evolving toward. With so much going on, sometimes we need to stop and remind ourselves of the obvious. Simply put, we are strengthening our creative muscle and learning to be co-creators with the universal mind – the Mind of God, if you will. We are all a spark of that flame, and the relationship is two-way. We download from the energetic realm, but what we upload is incredibly significant, too.

The result is nothing less than the material world we’re living in, both individually and as a collective. Our thoughts and actions do matter.

Looking at the week chronologically, the Moon enters helpful Virgo on Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday’s New Moon. I wrote a complete analysis on Saturday so won’t go into any more detail here, except to repeat that thoughts you put out into the universe at the New Moon do take root. Be sure what you plant is something you want in your garden. Also, I’d just like to remind you not to start anything new, no matter how tempting it might be, until after Mercury returns direct.

Later on the same day, Venus enters Scorpio, and then retrograde Jupiter returns to Pisces on Thursday. These transits won’t be felt immediately, but they contain those “hints” I mentioned above.

Venus and Mars, symbols of the divine feminine and masculine, have been moving together through Libra, her sign. Now the tables are going to be turned, and very powerfully, as they move through his sign, which he co-rules with Pluto (in traditional astrology, Mars is ruler of Scorpio). This will all take place as Pluto returns direct next week, so we can expect some significant shifting in relationships as well as the overall balance between masculine and feminine energies on the planet.

The interesting thing about Mars as ruler of Scorpio and Venus as ruler of Libra is that their genders are switched, so to speak. Scorpio is a feminine sign, and Libra is a masculine sign, and yet Mars is in his detriment in Libra and Venus is in her detriment in Scorpio. There is a lot of give and take implied here, as well as the message that we all contain both masculine and feminine energies. How can these energies be balanced on the planet if we can’t balance them within ourselves? Many of us are working on this task now, and it’s reflected in society at large. Women got “liberated” and began working in traditionally male fields. Now men are working on finding their feminine side and developing their intuition.

With Jupiter and Uranus back in Pisces, we’re back to cleaning up some remnants of our “old” selves before moving back into new territory. When that happens, next spring, there will be no turning back. In the meantime, note that Neptune and Uranus and back in mutual reception, with Jupiter as amplifier. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the weather. So far, we’ve had a pretty mild hurricane season. Will that change? We’re about to find out…

Just as Jupiter turns to Pisces, Mars in late Libra trines Neptune in late Aquarius. This aspect nicely supports the New Moon in Virgo by encouraging us to help each other and put others before ourselves, in the most positive way. I’m not always an advocate of thinking of others first, because there are too many ways that can devolve into dysfunctional behavior. But when done in the right spirit, it’s uplifting to everyone concerned.

Also on Thursday, the Moon in Libra activates cardinal T-square points, even though the T-square itself has dissipated. Still, certain degrees are now “sensitized,” including the degree of the lunar eclipse on June 26. The Moon will conjoin Saturn on Thursday at that sensitive degree, so be prepared for a flashback to that time period, with a road sign directing you to your next destination.

On Sunday, Mercury returns direct. Enjoy one last lazy day of solitude and contemplation, because everything changes again next week. By the way, if you’ve been having some vivid and strange dreams lately, you can chalk that up to the trine between Mercury and Pluto, just as both are stationed and ready to return direct. Some of mine have been real whoppers!

Wishing you all much love and abundant blessings,
Pat

New Moon in Virgo, September 8

Luna, by Evelyn De Morgan, 1885

The New Moon in Virgo on September 8 is a quiet, thoughtful time in which we can view old problems in a new light and perhaps see important details that we overlooked in the past.

Sometimes all it takes to make big changes is a new perspective, and those little details can make all the difference in the world.

There are two stand-out features of the chart for this New Moon. First, Mercury, ruler of Virgo, is retrograde until September 12. Traditionally, the New Moon is a powerful time to begin new ventures, but that will not be the case this month. With Mercury retrograde, we’ll have to wait for results, and anything we attempt to start anew before he returns direct will be less likely to succeed. If you do manage to pull it off, you could get some unwanted side effects in the bargain.

Second, the New Moon makes no aspects to any planets other than Mercury, and even that conjunction, at 7 degrees, is a bit too wide to have much of an influence.

Together, these two features reinforce the theme of taking quiet time to analyze your situations and relationships in an attempt to get a different point of view. If someone offers you one, listen … even though you’re not obligated to take all you hear as the goddess-given truth.

Virgo is known for being very practical and efficient, so at the very least, any advice you get – including what you may hear by listening to your own internal voice – is likely to be valid. Write it down and ponder it, and examine all the different ways you could put it to use for your benefit and the benefit of others.

That may sound kind of boring, especially after a summer of intense activity and stress. Personally, I’d welcome a little boredom right now. Others I know who could use a rest probably would agree.

As for all that intense activity, you’re likely still dealing with the fallout, as the cardinal T-square is still active as of this New Moon. It’s far less potent than it was over the summer and will wind down even further once Jupiter returns to Pisces on Thursday, the day after the New Moon. Nevertheless, certain issues remain, making it all the more necessary to look back and rethink your circumstances.

The other big change on the way is Pluto’s imminent return direct on September 14, right after Mercury resumes forward motion. Whether or not the grand cross is in the cardinal signs, Pluto is at the apex of an extremely stressful configuration. Wherever he’s transiting your natal chart, that’s where you’re feeling pressured the most.

As it so happens, Mercury will return direct in a fairly close sextile to Pluto, which I suspect will increase your insight by orders of magnitude. Not everything you discover will thrill you, and some of it might be downright uncomfortable. But I guarantee you that the information will be useful.

Mars, meanwhile, makes a trine to Neptune and Chiron, helping us heal by restoring balance. That could mean anything from eating a more balanced diet to finding more balance between work and play, activity and rest, socializing and solitude, and other areas of your life that may have a lopsided focus. Venus, in the final degree of Libra, also adds her voice to the notion of balance and harmony. If you don’t already do some form of meditation or yoga, give it a try.

Although Ceres makes no aspects to any planets in the New Moon chart, I should mention her. As you may know, I’m a proponent of giving her co-rulership status of Virgo with Mercury. If we make that presumption, then she rules this New Moon, too, and that changes the picture a bit.

At 23 degrees Sagittarius, Ceres is moving toward a third and final conjunction with the Galactic Core since March of this year, and then she’ll make another alignment with Pluto. The energy of the GC funneled through Ceres has a deep message for us regarding our environment and the fragility of all life on the planet. It doesn’t take much to disrupt entire ecosystems, as we’re becoming more and more aware.

In terms of our personal circumstances, Ceres reminds us that all life is cyclical. If we’re at a peak now, we must plan for the valleys that inevitably will follow. If we’re in a valley – as many of us seem to be right now – then we must have faith that it won’t last.

The Sabian Symbol** for the Sun and Moon at 15°41′ Virgo is an orangutan, with the keyword DEXTERITY. This image contains the symbolism of evolution and the development of the human mind. Marc Edmond Jones, in his interpretation of this symbol, talks of a “primitive power” inherent in everyone, which we must refine through the powers of the mind in order to meet the demands of stressful situations.

As I’ve written before, sometimes the way out is up.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

P.S. Don’t forget to write your abundance check!

** From The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, by Dr. Marc Edmond Jones. The author, an astrologer, channeled this work in the early 1920s. There’s one symbol one for each degree of the zodiac, and we can use them to gain insight into charts.

Ask Real Astrologers: Will I Be a Famous Musician?

This week’s question comes from Chris in Vancouver, British Columbia:

Am I destined to be a famous musician or should I stick to being a nurse? Healthcare pays good, but I want more in life. What is your expert opinion? What career should I focus on and strive for? Literature, music, film, art, or just a conventional RN? Help!

P.S. I went to an astrologer and he told me I should not have a career because it will get in the way of my sex life!

Chris, you didn’t say whether you are male or female, but it’s hard to imagine an astrologer – or anyone, for that matter – telling a man that a career would get in the way of his sex life, especially a career as a musician! Everyone knows that musicians are chick magnets (you’re too young to remember that Dire Straits song, “Money for Nothing”).

All kidding aside, you definitely need to follow your heart. You have what’s known as a locomotive chart, with the Moon in your first house as the driver. You are drawn to the arts, music, and literature, no doubt about it. Combined with Sun, Mercury, and Mars all in Aquarius, your Gemini Moon needs lot of mental stimulation, action, and variety.

At the same time, you have Saturn conjunct your lunar North Node in Virgo in the fourth house, which strongly suggests that nursing or some other service-oriented career isn’t a bad choice for you. So you do have a dilemma.

The good news is that Moon in Gemini is well-adapted to more than one career, and that would be good for you. Why not stick with nursing for awhile and write a novel in your free time or moonlight as a musician? Almost no one gets to be famous overnight. Even the artists we think of as “overnight sensations” had to pay their dues. Many did gigs while working other jobs. You can, too.

Rather than striving to be famous, for now just work at being an accomplished artist and networking with others. And, by the way, I don’t think an empty eleventh house means that you won’t find others to work with.

As for the other astrologer’s prediction, he probably was looking at Venus in Capricorn in your seventh house. I don’t know how he arrived at that conclusion, if that’s indeed what he meant. Truly, it’s hard to imagine anyone making such a statement, so I’m wondering if perhaps you misunderstood. Astrologers sometimes forget to speak in lay terms, and all that astro-speak can get very confusing.

Best of luck to you, Chris, and thanks for writing.

Pat

Today: Gemini Moon Square Mercury Retrograde

OK, now I’m starting to feel Mercury retrograde. It took awhile, but there’s no mistaking it now.

This wouldn’t be the first time I started feeling the effects of retrograde Mercury when he was halfway through his retrograde phase. Often, the first week is a breeze, and I start thinking I won’t get slammed this time. One can always wish.

Since yesterday, my Internet connection has been so slow that I’ve wondered if there’s a problem with my computer. That’s unlikely, and anyway, I’m getting all kinds of weird messages, lost passwords, and other strange stuff. A friend of mine reports that webmasters everywhere are vexed with issues large and small. That certainly would be typical of Mercury retrograde in detail-oriented Virgo. By the way, have you ever noticed that people with strong Virgo in their charts wind up in programming or engineering?

I have to go into the city today, which is always difficult, due to the lack of coordination between the ferries and bus service. Given today’s square between retrograde Mercury and the Moon in Mercury ruled Gemini, I’m expecting serious delays. For once, I’m going to follow my own advice and leave early so that I’m not late for my appointment!

Anyone else experiencing the usual effects? What about unusual effects? How are you coping? Or not?

Hang in there! After today, there’s only ten days left to go … and the one thing that doesn’t seem to be slowing down is time.

Pat

RealAstrologers

The astrology of world affairs, human evolution, the future, and the state of the universe.