by Anne C. Ortelee
Uranus and Pluto will create opening squares of action, crisis, consciousness, dynamic change and transformation seven times between June 2012 and March 2015! As we watch Uranus and Pluto dance above our heads in the heavens, they will carry a story forward through multiple chapters, with reversals, upsets, betrayals, evolution and regression in our lives. We will see opportunities accompanied by power struggles and sudden, unexpected changes. In this cosmic dance, it is Grandfather (Uranus) and Grandson (Pluto) struggling and working out their dynamic through the Aries and Capricorn houses in your chart and across the collective experience.
We experience major transits like these as multipart dances until both planets are able to go forward transformed. Each time Uranus and Pluto meet in the first 6 squares, one of them is going retrograde while the other is direct. When they reach the final square, both Uranus and Pluto are direct and have completed the process of transformation. We all experience transits on four levels ~ spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physically as they work through their negotiation of transformation. These transits will be no different. We will each be asked to take control of our own power and transform through our actions and training the areas where the collective tells us we cannot fulfill our destiny. We each meet our individuated fate through these transits.
Recently, we watched Saturn and Uranus dance 5 times in the heavens as the archetypes of upstart Son and Father battled it out above our heads. In our culture, it played out as Jay Leno (Saturn) and Conan O’Brian (Uranus) fighting over who would be king of the Tonight show. When their battle was over, Saturn, personified by Jay Leno, won back the tonight show and Uranus, Conan O’Brian, walked away, castrated and banished to a smaller network. You had that battle take place in your life. Who won? Saturn or Uranus?
Unfortunately, there are NO mythological stories that link Uranus the Grandfather battling, struggling and reaching a successful resolution with Pluto the Grandson. As a result, we don’t know for sure how their battle will turn out. We know only that there will be seven chapters ~ starting mid-June 2012. When looking for a myth, a classmate suggested the independent film “Whale Rider” which chronicled the story of a Maori Grandfather battling, struggling and reaching a resolution with his Granddaughter. So perhaps we’ll in honor of Regulus entering Virgo we will call Pluto by the feminine Plutonia? I thought it would be helpful to illustrate the changes ahead using Whale Rider’s contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl, Pai, personifying Pluto (Nia) fights to fulfill a destiny her Grandfather, Old Paka, personifying Uranus refuses to recognize. All charts are cast for Washington, D.C, 38 N53, 77W02. We will look at the seven charts to see the cosmic journey’s map laid out before us. The journey that Pai and Old Paka take will also take place in YOUR chart in your Aries and Capricorn houses. Get ready to ride the Whales!
Square One takes place on June 24, 2012 at 5:12 am EDT as Pluto and Uranus assume their positions at 8:23 Aries and Capricorn. A splash chart, with a strong 12 house emphasis of Karma coming to an end with Ceres, Jupiter and Venus straddling the South Node in Gemini. Capricorn Pluto is retrograde and waiting in the 7th house for the opposition from the Cancer Sun in 5 days. Pluto is part of a mystic rectangle with Neptune, Sun and Moon suggesting the changes started under the first square are profound and tied to the karma of each of us, our country and use Pluto as the change agent. Aries Uranus is direct and high in the chart, sitting with his gal pal Pallas Athena ~ seeing patterns in the collective and the greater story. Perhaps Pallas is whispering in Uranus’ ear that the father’s daughter will step forward to claim her rightful place. Uranus rules the 9th house of Justice, formal rules, higher wisdom and foreign adventures while sitting in the 11th house of the hopes and dreams of the collective. Saturn (dad) is stationing at 22:45, in the fifth house, preparing to turn direct in Libra, square to the Chart ruler, Mercury in Cancer pulling together values, money and children or creativity. Saturn stationing on day of the first square suggests intergenerational intrigues as he also trines the Gemini A
Ascendant. Cancer Sun trines Neptune next to the mid-heaven. The chart has a number of T-squares suggesting developmental tension. In Whale Rider, Pai, a Daughter, instead of a Son, was born to the Chief’s Son. Her twin brother and her mother die in childbirth. Pai ‘s father, in his grief, leaves for Germany to pursue his dream of being an artist, leaving the Grandfather, Old Paka, angry at losing his grandson and left with a “worthless” female. Succession n the tribe is to the first born son of the Chief ~ girls need not apply. In the journey ahead, Pai will be Pluto and Old Paka is Uranus.
Square Two takes place on September 19, 2012 at 1:58 am with Uranus and Pluto at 6:57 of Aries and Capricorn. Now Uranus, Old Paka, is retrograde and right on the Midheaven, again with Pallas Athena, who is also retrograde. Uranus rules the 7th house of what other people see. Even though the grandfather, Old Paka, forms an affectionate bond with his granddaughter Pai, carrying her to school every day on his bicycle, he also resents her and blames her for many of the troubles facing the tribe. Pluto Pai is in the 6th house of education and learning. Pluto rules the Scorpio Moon, Mars and North Node in the fourth and fifth houses. The splay chart has a lovely grand trine with the North Node of Fate suggesting darker mysteries are at work here, hidden below the surface. Cancer rising as the Ascendant sextiles the Sun in Virgo in the third house as Pai decides to leave with her father because her grandfather is mistreating her. The energy of change and transformation is being criticized and seeking peace. However, the Saturn/ Neptune/ Ceres grand trine prevents Pai (and us) from leaving the sea as the Whales seem to be calling her back. The Rising sign answering to that Dark Scorpio Moon in the fourth house suggests power struggles below the surface and behind the scenes. We can never refuse the offers of the outer planets to transform us ~ they will take us to our fates.
Square Three takes place on May 20, 2013 at 7:02 pm. Old Paka as Uranus direct is square to Pluto Pai retrograde at 11:14 Aries Capricorn. Uranus is in the house of children and opposite the Moon in Libra in the 11th house of other people’s children as well as hopes and dreams. Another splash chart with a focused bundle in the 7th house, Old Paka decides to form a cultural school for the village boys, hoping to find a new leader. He teaches the boys to use a fighting stick called a taiaha. Pai /Pluto retrograde in the second house, wonders why she is not of value to her Grandfather. Mercury out of bounds and combust the Gemini Sun takes matters into his hands as a trickster energy emerges to help with understanding. The Nodes are right aligned with the Ascendant/Descendant angles with the Scorpio Ascendant joined to the North Node of Fate. The stellium in the seventh house contains the Midheaven ruler ~ from one of the others, a leader will be selected. Pluto/Uranus/ Moon/ Vesta form a Grand Cardinal Cross in fixed houses. Pai learns from her grandmother that the second son, Pai’s uncle, had won a taiaha tournament in his youth while he was still slim. Pai secretly learns taiaha from him. She also secretly follows Old Paka’s lessons by following the students. Mercury’s trickster energy will help all of us achieve what we need to acquire our skills. The grand trine in Water between the Ascendant/North Node, Ceres and Chiron offers guidance through emotions and taking matters into your own hands to obtain what is of value to you, even if you are denied by the authorities or if others are chosen before you. The Hammer of Thor with Uranus/Pluto as the handle with the Mid-heaven as the handle suggests both sides are fairly matched and balanced. Uranus and Pluto placed in fixed houses are stubborn and unyielding in their placements. Despite the fixed nature of this chart, the magic of transformation is happening due to the knowledge and skill obtained by Mars on the South Node of Fate.
Square Four takes place on November 1, 2013 at 6:30 am. A locomotive chart, the square at 9:25 Aries Capricorn takes place two days before a New Moon Solar Eclipse. Jupiter in his exaltation and in the 9th house squares the Ascendant offering wisdom and the ability to see in a new way. Pluto and Uranus are in unstable houses 3 and 6, changing, shifting and adjusting. The Balsamic Moon in Libra in the 12th house forms a T-square with Uranus, Old Paka, retrograde and Pluto, Pai, direct. Old Paka is enraged when Pai wins her taiaha fight against one of the boys. Old Paka’s relationship with Pai erodes further when none of the boys succeed at the traditional task of recovering the whale tooth that he threw into the ocean. Recovering the whale tooth would prove one of them worthy of becoming leader. Pai secretly recovers the whale tooth by diving deep into the Ocean. The stellium of Scorpio planets in the first house suggest the transformation taking place support Pai as the Scorpio planets sextile Pluto in the third house. The Ascendant is near the same degree of Libra as stationing Saturn was in the first chart when the story began. Venus the ruler of the chart is out of bounds offering an over the top reaction to events under this square. Mars, the highest planet in the chart, is in back in Virgo, while Vesta and Ceres sit at the degree of the first chart’s Mars. We realize the changes we had hoped for under the first square are NOT going to happen in quite the manner we anticipated. But isn’t that ALWAYS how Pluto and Uranus behave? We THINK we know how they are going to manifest and they go do whatever they darn well please. In Square Four, Thor’s hammer has Pallas Athena at 26 Leo taking over the job as the handle with Pluto and Uranus working out their story at the business end of the Hammer. In the prior chart, the mid-heaven served as the handle. Now, the handle and the dispatching of Thor’s wishes, anger and wisdom belongs to the strategic thinker, the Father’s Daughter, the wise one, Pallas Athena. With the eclipse about to take place, the balsamic moon in the 12th house and the high powered energy of the locomotive, this will probably be the most dramatic of the squares and events in your life.
Square Five takes place on April 21, 2014 at 3:20 pm with Uranus direct and Pluto retrograde at 13:34 Aries and Capricorn. This is an angry, harsh and sad chart with a cardinal cross, straddling the Nodes of Fate placed in fixed houses. The Uranus Pluto square takes place during eclipse season with Taurus Sun just emerging from the South Node of Loss in the 8th house of death. Neptune is angular on the 7th house cusp offering and speaking to a deep and profound sorrow. The Virgo chart ruler, Mercury is in the 8th house of loss, death and release, approaching the South Node of release. The Cardinal Cross has Pluto/ Uranus/ Mars /Jupiter in fixed houses makes the struggle inherent in this chart enormous. Mars is retrograde in Libra so even though Uranus is direct, he is losing something of enormous value as Mars is opposite him and in his detriment both by house placement (Taurus house) and sign (Libra). Pluto is creating and optimistic even if he is retrograde. Pallas Athena in the 12th house of Karma is still the handle of a hammer of Thor with Uranus and Pluto. Pai, in an attempt to bridge the rift that has formed, invites Old Paka to be her guest of honor at a concert of Māori chants that her school is putting on. Unknown to all, she had won an inter-school speech contest with a touching dedication to her Grandfather and the traditions of the village. However, Old Paka was late, and as he was walking to the school, he notices that numerous Right Whales are beached near Pai’s home. Uranus in the 8th house of death is Old Paka finding the beached whales. The mystic rectangle with Pai as Pluto, Chiron, Jupiter and Ascendant suggest the moment of transformation has arrived. The entire village attempts to coax and drag the whales back into the water, but all efforts prove unsuccessful; even a tractor does not help because the rope breaks. Old Paka sees it as a sign of his failure and despairs further. He admonishes Pai against touching the largest whale because “she has done enough damage” with her presumption. Also, the largest whale traditionally belongs to the legendary Paikea, ridden only by the true leader of the tribe.
Square Six takes place on December 15, 2014 at 12:13 am with Uranus retrograde and Pluto direct at 12:35 Aries and Capricorn. A lovely bucket chart with Jupiter in Leo as the handle, there is a delicious grand trine in Fire involving Jupiter/Juno in Leo, Uranus/South Node in Aries and Ceres, Sun, Mercury in Sagittarius. Venus and Vesta join with Pluto as Pai steps forward to claim her birth right. Much of the chart is below the surface of the horizon so events in it will take place out of sight of the others. Venus and Mercury, rulers of the Ascendant, Midheaven and North Node of Fate are out of bounds ~ offering magical transformation and unusual events for all of us. When Old Paka walks away, Pai climbs onto the back of the largest whale and coaxes it to re-enter the ocean. The largest whale leads the entire pod back into the sea. Riding the whale, Pai nearly drowns in the process. When Pai goes out to sea on the whale, her grandmother shows Old Paka the whale tooth which Pai had found in the sea. Uranus, Old Paka, on the South Node of Fate in the 7th house finally realizes what his stubbornness and inflexibility might cost him. Uranus has traded positions with Pluto from the first square chart, so we are ready to move towards the conclusion.
Square Seven takes place on March 16, 2015 at 10:53 pm. Finally, BOTH Uranus and Pluto are direct and able to complete their seven stage transformation at 15:18 Aries and Capricorn. The transformation dance is complete and the new energies are in place and ready to proceed forward. It is another lovely Bucket chart, with Jupiter in Leo as the handle, high in the heavens. Jupiter aspects virtually every planet in the chart from on high. Venus, the warrior maiden is at the last degree of Aries in the house of the servant to the people and trine to Pallas Athena in the house of value and worth. Pallas is joined to the part of Fortune in late Sagittarius. When Pai is found after her journey in the ocean saving the whales and brought to the hospital, Old Paka declares her the leader and asks her forgiveness. The movie ends with the village, including Pai’s father, uncle, and grandparents, celebrating her acclaimed status as leader. The finished boat is hauled into the sea for its maiden voyage. Another mystic rectangle with Uranus, Jupiter, Moon and Node is found in the chart ~ the leadership transforms and moves to the next leader. The transformation promised by the South Node passing over Uranus Old Paka has taken place. Pluto’s square to the Nodes of Fate offered Pai the chance at transformation, undertaken during the seven stage journey.
Much has drama has been written regarding the upcoming battle in the heavens between Pluto and Uranus. I suggest we approach our own journey with the story of Whale Rider as a guide. Take time to notice where we are both Pai and Old Paka. If we play both roles of Uranus and Pluto with consciousness, we will find the seven stage journey a process that helps us negotiate embracing our power and creating our destiny.
