This week’s question comes from Ivi in Serbia:

One loss after another … I’m overwhelmed with the intensity of my emotions and thoughts. I truly feel I have lost the sense of faith in life and love and the sense of direction and purpose. I don’t know what to do, how to help myself out of this. Please have a look at all the squares and oppositions Pluto and Saturn are making. Any piece of advice would mean a lot.

Ivi, you’ve been hammered by the cardinal T-square, no question. In your natal chart, you have the Sun, Mercury and Saturn all on your Ascendant in early Cancer, tightly square Pluto in early Libra. Anyone born from late 1973 to mid-1974 may be experiencing similar obstacles, although you’re getting an extra heavy dose.

Your short description of what you’re going through well expresses the anguish of having so much happening in your chart all at once. I could well imagine how you might feel overwhelmed.

If you can find a good astrologer in your area, I highly recommend getting a complete transit reading. I can’t touch on everything here, since there isn’t enough space, and anyway, this column isn’t intended as a substitute for a complete reading. However, I can tell you a couple of things that you and others born around the same time may find helpful.

First, anyone with natal Pluto in early Libra has been experiencing a Saturn-Pluto conjunction. This transit happens about once every 29 years and is a real bear. No one I know has gotten through it without extreme difficulty, mostly in the form of insurmountable obstacles. It can feel like you’re getting slammed from all sides at once, with no mercy.

The good news for you is that this transit is over. Those born in 1975 will get their turn in the next couple of months. So you should at least get some relief from that feeling that nothing is ever going to go your way.

However, Pluto is approaching your Descendant, and that means he is opposing all of the planets on your Ascendant as well, just as Uranus is approaching a square with them. The opposition between Pluto and Saturn is especially difficult, and it often corresponds to losses. These losses can be a maturing event. Further, when losses occur during Pluto and Uranus transits, it’s sometimes a sign that you need to let go of those things. If you’re trying to hang onto relationships, a job, money, or anything else that needs to change, you’ll likely suffer even more.

Ironically, giving up may be exactly what you need to do. If you admit defeat, your life suddenly may take a very different course, because you will be opening yourself up to new possibilities that you may not have thought of. It’s very hard to hang out in that state of uncertainty and not knowing where to go next, but if you can keep your nerve and tough it out, I expect that your life will change in very powerful ways. Only after you get to your new place will you understand why all of these changes needed to happen.

I also want to point out that loss of a loved one can result in an episode of depression. That is outside the scope of astrology, and I would strongly advise you to see a professional therapist to help you work through your grief and pain. Indeed, you may find just such a person when Pluto crosses your Descendant again. He or she may have a lasting impact on your personal growth and spiritual transformation. Ultimately, that is what Pluto represents.

Before I close, I’d like to repeat my request that anyone with a question for this column submit it via the Ask Real Astrologers form. Otherwise I have trouble keeping track of all the questions I get, and I don’t get the information I need to cast an accurate chart for you. Ivi left a comment on a post, but she followed up by submitting her question with the form. Thank you for that, Ivi.

And thank you for writing. You will get through this, and you will be transformed by it.

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!