Jupiter Conjunct Pluto
Jupiter has been moving in retrograde toward a second conjunction with Pluto for some time now. By June 19 it will be within a one degree orb of that aspect. The aspect will be exact on June 30 and remain within a one degree orb until the 10th of July. This should signal an intensification of what is already a tense situation. Also, given the very different natures of these two planets, this should also signal a period of mixed messages and confusion.
You probably remember what happened with Jupiter and Pluto got together for the first time back in late March and early April. That’s when our President declared the Coronavirus kaput and promised that America would be open for business by Easter. That was also when heavily armed protesters started showing up at statehouses around the country demanding an end to the restrictions that had been imposed by governors in response to the pandemic.
Things have moved on since then. America was not open by Easter and the death toll from Covid 19 is now well over 100,000. We still have protesters, though these folks are more worried about getting shot by the police than the “shelter-in-place” rules and they are not armed. (Though one has to wonder what would happen if they were strutting around with AK’s strapped to their bodies.) In other words, the events that occurred during the period when Jupiter was aligned with Pluto didn’t seem to have amounted to much.
Or maybe they did. Jupiter expands. When it aspects another planet it puts both the best and the worst of that planet on display. This is particularly true when the aspect is a conjunction. It’s aspects to Pluto are interesting because, in many way, Pluto represents the best and the worst of human nature. Pluto is about resilience, toughness and the ability to stay focused on a single goal though great adversity. Pluto is also about power, and the flouting of power through violence and intimidation.
The protesters who were mad because their governors told them to go to their rooms were an expression the dark side of Pluto, the side that gets a little crazy when it feels its presumptions of power eroding. But, while these guys were exercising their Second Amendment rights, a lot of other Americans were recognizing that this Coronavirus thing was not going away any time soon and that they had best hunker down, put on their masks and prepare for the long haul. They were focused on what was important, staying healthy.
As Jupiter moved away from Pluto and states began to relax restrictions, a lot of people lost that focus. They rushed outside and tried to get back to their old, pre-pandemic lives. The result has been a rise is infections. At the same time, the long, sad tale of race relations in this country has taken a another dramatic turn and we have mass demonstration across the nation and around the world. This has more to do with what Jupiter and Pluto are doing to the horoscope of the United States but, as the conjunction nears, it could raise the issue of power in a big way.
At this point in time, I think its safe to say that most people would like to see changes in the way our police forces deal with people of color. What’s happening now is that police unions and some individual police officers are reacting to that pressure in a very negative way. They see it as a limit on their power. The conjunction of Jupiter with Pluto is likely to seriously exacerbate these reactions and this could result in more violence.
On the other hand, Jupiter conjunct Pluto will also highlight our resilience. The increase in Covid cases is likely to cause us to take a step back, but it is not going to stop us. The goal now is to find a new “normal” that will allow us to restart our economy and and still stay (relatively) safe. With Pluto expanded by Jupiter, we will remain focused on achieving that goal.
