April 19th ~ 26th
Creative scientists and saints expect revelation and do not fear it. Neither do children. But as we grow up and we are hurt, we learned not to trust. ~ Madeleine L’Engle
There is much that could come out in the light of this Full Moon. Full Moons can bring things to a head and reach a crisis. Nerves and emotions come to the surface. This Moon at the very end of the last degree of Libra aims to bring things to a conclusion swiftly, surprisingly and in a way that can be revealing and mind-shifting. As we stand on the precipice of our lives, all things seem to pivot based on the next choice, the next decision, the next piece of information. All the more complex, because there is no telling what other people are going to do, say or decide next. Be ready for a surprising shift.
The is the 2nd Full Moon in Libra this year, putting all of our relationships in stark relief. But in order to gain full understanding of what is going on, sometimes we need to go beyond appearances in order to get to the truth of what is really going on here.
As many have already pointed out, the burning of the Notre Dame Cathedral was a perfect metaphor for the Pluto/South Node/Saturn conjunction in Capricorn: Old structures falling as we prepare for a new order that is unfolding. Old structures may fall, but we are also given the opportunity here to rebuild better and more reliable and sustainable structures going forward. The strong stone foundation and walls withstood the conflagration, while the ancient, time-worn wooden buttresses collapsed in a heap of fire and ash. And so it must be. Impermanence.
The Notre Dame Cathedral had a strong foundation, and it will be rebuilt. We may not necessarily have the same to say about our environment. It depends on us. As young climate activist Greta Thunberg reminded us this week: it is time to panic. We are in the midst of the 6th mass extinction due to human influenced climate change. It is happening much faster than originally thought. And it is the children who are taking to the streets to alert us to the urgency of our current situation. “Our house is falling apart”, says Greta Thunberg, and much will depend on whether or not we act now, as to how devastating the results will be in the not too distant future. Overnight millions of dollars poured in to contribute to the renovation and rebuilding of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Might we not have the same concern for our Mother, the Earth? Monday, April 22nd is Earth Day, and we greet her day with some hard truths.
Pluto stations retrograde this week. And whenever the Lord of Darkness roils and toils and turns about in his lair, the reality of a situation is brought home to bear witness. Stuff bubbles to the surface, all the wraiths and demons lurking in his subterranean lair. And we are confronted with our own pain, wounds, fear, and foreboding, as that which was hidden comes to the surface. Some things are needing to be sloughed off. Saturn/Pluto/South Node marks the end of an era, even as a new one is already emerging. First comes the demolition, and then comes the rebuilding. And that’s where the real work comes in. The children seem to know. Can we not do what we can to aid them?
The wounds that Pluto reveals can and do need to be healed. This often requires a great deal of courage and honesty. It’s nothing less than turning over the rock and revealing the dark underbelly. We may not even know these wounds exist until they have been agitated, because we often deal with uncomfortable situations by repressing or ignoring them. Nonetheless we carry these wounds around with us, as an annoyance, or in our subconscious, and they are revealed as physical, mental or emotional symptoms. But they will continue to fester and weaken the foundation of our lives, and cannot be healed if we continue to ignore them.
Facing Pluto is one of the most challenging, but also freeing, experiences we can have. But first we have to make our wounds, fears, shame, hunger, compulsions and secrets conscious, so that we can heal them, and drive out the demons that plague our lives. Then there’s the hard work of transforming what is no longer relevant, which is causing more harm than good, what is undermining the very strength and structure of your life. There is a need to purge, to purify, to eliminate that which is old, decayed, or no longer supporting you, and may in fact be preventing you from growing or functioning. You might want to get your bearings here this week, and ask yourself: what needs fixing or rebuilding in your life?
It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there 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
There are other things hidden deep down in the bowels of the earth that are actually quite valuable to us. Treasures of unequal beauty and resilience, honed by external pressures and the breadth of time into something inexplicably beautiful, and even magical. Pluto is also the alchemist, converting lead into gold; carbon into diamonds; experience into revelation; as the phoenix emerges from the fire renewed, reborn and once again transformed. And so we also meet the alchemist when Pluto enters this retrograde phase which lasts all the way through to the 1st few days of October. May we use this time well to let the smoldering ashes of the past die out, and rebuild something more stable, reliable and sustainable out of what remains.
For next week’s horoscopes, click below: