We have passed through the threshold of the 2021 Fall Equinox and since then, I have felt an energy shift in the collective process. The month of October will likely be eventful as 4 planets station (meaning their energies will feel more intense over the course of the month), and most notably for the USA: Mercury and Pluto are stationing square to each other, in exact aspect to the USA Natal Mercury — a point of significant tension over the past few years. As the USA Pluto return, the major event of 2022 for US citizens, approaches, it feels important to discuss where we are now, and the potentials ahead. So these are the thoughts that come forward as I observe the charts, and my perspective on what is happening. I hope that it can shed some light on the underlying energies as things evolve.
Social unrest and interpersonal struggles continue across the world, as citizens and governments are in conflict over the ongoing crisis — and this is likely to persist and intensify throughout this fall season. The aspects on this equinox strongly indicate continued instability between people with an emphasis on fighting around issues of freedom, justice, and the right to peace. I strongly sense that the Mercury retrograde that kicks off the season will be a time of “truths coming out” in all areas of life. The equinox chart contains a grand trine in air signs — a strong indicator for the free circulation of information — and the aspects, on their own as well as in relation to the USA chart, lead me to suspect that more information will be brought to greater public consciousness regarding situations that effect our country. This seems to already have been occurring during the shadow phase of the Mercury retrograde (which started September 6), but I suspect that during the first 3 weeks of October, there will be some major reveals, and maybe even some power plays from the US government.
My expectation is that the information surfacing now will be, for some, greatly clarifying. For others, it will not be what they want to hear. Many will feel a great pressure as the dissonance between their belief and the truth being presented intensifies. However, Plutonian truth is the kind of truth that will not ultimately be avoided. This is a time for accepting things as they are — not as we wish them to be. That is the only way forward. Change, in this circumstance, quickens only when we surrender to reality — and stalls when we resist it. This is true on a personal level, as well as with reference to collective events and circumstances.
The space of resistance defines much of public discourse for the last two years. This is especially evident in the constant expectation that around every corner is some distant notion of “back to normal.” The reality is that there would never be a back to normal. Cosmically speaking, such an idea was foolish from the start — but on the ground, even more so. The damage done to the structures of society and the consciousness of people is too great — and the resulting awakening that emerges from such instability is too powerful. “Back to normal” is denial. “Back to normal” is a rejection, actually, of the potential of positive catharsis that awaits us on the other side of truth — and the new world which could be formed from this realization.
The symbols of 2020’s Saturn, Jupiter & Pluto alignment in Capricorn all point back to one thing above all — and that is the corruption and dysfunction of society’s systems. Since 2008, when Pluto began its transit through this sign, we have witnessed the fallibility of the world’s systems. While the power structures seem to have silently expanded during this time, simultaneously they have become untenable in many countries. In this last 13 years there have been countless examples of blatant corruption in governing bodies, leading to poor policy that serves only the wealthy and never the people — a condition that has existed and been corrected so many times before in history. Tracking the Pluto-Capricorn cycle we can see a trend — as past Pluto-Capricorn time periods include events such as the American Revolution and the Reformation — both historical shifts that were originally based in a very similar overgrowth of institutions that hoard wealth, power & authority, while abusing citizens.
In the last decade, Pluto’s transit through Capricorn has, in a sense, reinforced the power of the Oligarchs while simultaneously showing the world every contradiction that exists within the dynamic of control that humanity has become so conditioned to. It is inevitable that eventually this unsustainable system will cannibalize itself. The question is “When” — and every day that passes, as the fires of division are stoked even louder among citizens who are, on all sides, the farthest from the roots of the problems, we edge even closer to that faltering.
In the USA, the situation is even more tenuous, as our first Pluto return approaches this coming year, in 2022, and presents one of the most significant crossroads that the nation has faced since the Civil War — which unsurprisingly occurred in a period where we faced the activation of many of the same planetary alignments that we have in the current decade of the 2020s. Those alignments, in particular, are the return of Uranus (2028), the opposition of Neptune (active from 2021-2022), the transit of Pluto through the Cardinal signs (2008-2024), and the eventual conjunction of Pluto to the USA South Node (also 2028). Observing the charts, there is an unsettlingly similar trajectory of planetary movement in the decades leading into and during the Civil War — which should not surprise anyone living in the US, as the idea that we are going towards civil war has been felt and even publicly discussed by many at some point in this past year.
However, there is an important distinction in the energetic currents from 1861 until now — and that is the position of Pluto. Pluto, back then, had just passed its opening square to the USA natal Pluto — which cyclically is a time when energies are pushing outward. This time, we are at the completion of the cycle — and so there is a feeling, for me, that the energy has a more implosive quality — that it turns downward, and inward.
While there are many opposing opinions on the how we got here, and who is at fault — the deepest layer is actually that the problem lies within the very mythology that the USA was founded upon — and the hypocrisy of our nation’s self perception all along. It is the kernels of self delusion that have fueled the ever expanding great delusion of our present day political system. The ideals of our constitution were never evenly applied, and our history exists in the distortion of all colonial history, which bears the idea of heroes, villains, and saved — while burying the facts of dreadful and deceitful actions all along the way. The founding fathers of the US did try to plan for the inevitability of corrupting forces — however, the spoiling factors were actually overlooked, and it is these factors that are catching up to us now.
These factors, of course, likely could not have been predicted — and are only able to emerge at this time due to the evolution of human consciousness, and the changes in the outer world that have created circumstances beyond the imaginings of the American founders. Our current overgrowth of corruption is, at least in part, a result of our globalized world, and the interaction that America has with other nations — both locally and abroad. Our influence, the influence of others upon us — the way we deal with our “melting pot” culture — the way we remember colonization — and the existence of corporate entities that do not abide within a specific national code, or rule of law. While there is still much in US ideology that is worth holding onto — a significant update is necessary if we are to maintain our identity in this world. We must be careful at this precipice, as most, if not all, of the factions currently vying for power do not represent the true identity of this country — or the true potential of what we could be.
My observation of the past year is that identification with political parties has obscured the vision of many. There is a widespread belief that the corrupting forces, figures, and groups belong only to whatever side is the opposite of what one supports. This false dichotomy unfortunately fuels powerful and destructive ideological division that significantly stunts our ability to look at, and address our problems. Many forget or downplay the reality that corporate interests dominate the underlying messaging of not just politics but also the vast majority of the systems that exist in the USA currently — from health care to the media.
The issues of messaging and ideology are most clearly represented at this time by the axis of the lunar nodes, which currently occupy the communication oriented signs of Gemini (North Node) and Sagittarius (South Node). Transits of the lunar nodes in general color considerably the karmic emotional process of the collective. Big outer planet aspect patterns such as we have had in the last two years (Saturn, Pluto & Jupiter conjunction 2020, and Saturn-Uranus square 2021) describe the multi-dimensional, long cycled and layered nature of the recent upheavals — but the lunar nodes always tie together the crux of the dilemma, and the area of life through which the dilemma is at its most self sabotaging and troublesome.
In the case of our current times the influence of the South Node in Sagittarius is very pronounced in public discourse and mass media. Sagittarian shadow tendencies of self righteousness, dogmatism, and belief that what one agrees with is “right” have completely overtaken most channels of discussion. Observations and ideas are censored, canceled, or politicized in the name of “preventing misinformation” — often while promoting more socially preferable misinformation. The South Node impulse, therefore, seems to be to stave off uncertainty by clinging to belief and faith. But it doesn’t work — not in any long term, or solution oriented way — and not in any way that does anything but placate the mind, which has been quite understandably destabilized by everything going on.
However, there is a solution in the directive of the North Node. The North Node is the spiritual “due north” of the chart — it describes what we are learning to do, to be, and in a sense, it is the intended end result of our work in life from a soul perspective. The South Node is the familiar, often over-developed area of the chart — and its untamed expression tends to be maladaptive, destructive, and karmic. It is my observation that the energy of the South Node will play out most apparently in the collective in the immediate moment — but that the lessons of the North Node will tend to unfold eventually, over time.
The current position of the North Node in Gemini indicates that it is important to embrace multiplicity — which means to take into consideration all information and perspectives equally, impartially, and with curiosity. For it is from the place of observing neutrally every proposed problem, idea and solution, that real solutions have the potential to emerge. Withholding or suppressing information at a time when the problems are complex is a form of self sabotage — and we will be forced to evolve out of this space at some point if we are sincere about addressing our worldly and collective troubles. Gemini North Node energy is not only about multiplicity of perspectives, but acceptance of others as well. It encourages engagement with others as they are. This is an essential skill if we are truly oriented towards building a just, free, and healthily interdependent society.
Another great example of North & South Node interplay that I wish to mention here is the “Great Resignation” — a worldwide phenomenon where workers are leaving their jobs, seeking higher pay, more flexible hours, and better treatment from employers in general. The 2018-2020 transit of the nodes through Cancer (NN), and Capricorn (SN), was strongly aligned with Saturn, Jupiter & Pluto as they traveled through Capricorn, particularly from 2019-2020. The South Node was emphasized — echoing back cyclically to 2009, the time of the Great Recession, when Pluto first entered Capricorn, and when the North Node was also in Capricorn. The Great Recession set a precedent for worsening work conditions, as suffering businesses began cutting corners, cutting staff, and cutting salaries to make ends meet — and unfortunately this resulted in ongoing rampant employee abuse and a generally dismal, highly stressful work culture that often took more than it gave to most workers, even well after the recession had passed.
In 2020, this energy came back around when many people were forced out of work, again, and/or transitioned to remote work for a substantial amount of time. This caused many people to reevaluate their lives and set new boundaries around what they are willing to accept from their workplace. For those in this circumstance, the sacrifice to the job was no longer worth it and Cancer North Node values of home, family & self care ultimately won out. This will force businesses to completely reevaluate their approach, and may, by force of pressure, begin to resolve issues of low wages, wasteful and poor management, and more.
This of course, is just one example of unintended systemic consequences to the pandemic shutdowns. Another example that comes to mind along this same energy are the significant issues cropping up with the global supply chain. This is another concern that is affecting innumerable industries, and I believe that this will bring in an eventual shift to more localized sourcing of goods, as well as a potential opportunity for new types of businesses, and reform of industries towards more sustainable practices in general.
In the very long view, the 2018-2020 Cancer/Capricorn node cycle connects back to the last iteration of a Saturn, Pluto & Jupiter Capricorn alignment in 1284/85 — a time when many seeds of the current systems were originally sown. I said in an earlier article that I believed that because back then the North Node was conjunct the Capricorn stellium in 1284, that the energies of great power were favored — however, in the present day, it is the opposite — and therefore the fall of the empire is inevitable. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I suspect that government mandates (a South Node/Capricorn stellium impulse) will start to backfire like this more and more. Citizens no longer trust that the systems are working for the greater good, and even with risk to themselves, are exiting increasingly hostile environments towards unknown circumstances.
The result of all of these changes, responses, and situations is essentially the same: People are finding themselves needing to find a new path, a new way.
In the years leading up to 2020, I saw through clients an almost constant vision of spiritual network — that many people would soon be called into new environments, with soul allies, to begin a different version of their worldly work. I saw people making an impact with the integration of holistic perspectives and ideas, especially in fields that are typically the most bound by corporate interests and rules. At this present time, this vision has ripened even further and the sense I have is that, by force of pressure, there will be the development of parallel systems that may in time begin to subvert collective reliance on the larger ones. This is a form of erosion that leads to the collapsing and implosion of the known structures if they do not respond with change.
This is a potential, and even an inevitability, that I see for the vast majority of our outdated systems in the coming years, the US government included. The corporate economic scheme on the one hand, seems stronger and more powerful than ever — but if one looks closely, its insides are crumbling. It has become the albatross of its own ruin. For the US — our reckoning is soon to arrive, and what comes next is still to be determined. Global and domestic dynamics are continuing to play out, with a possibility of other powers stepping forward and surpassing the position of strength that the US has long held in international politics. If such a change were to come to pass, it would permanently alter the geopolitical landscape.
Nothing is ever “Too big to fail.” Cosmic law shows that all things rise and fall. Graceful change is one that evolves naturally with the ebb and flow. Is it still possible for our country to evolve in a natural way? That is the question we will be facing with great tension in 2022.
What is most profound in all of this — the societal and worldly chaos — is that, fundamentally, every part is just a reflection of the shadow within collective consciousness. The cycles of this time reflect back to so many cycles and memories of previous times — from the more recent history of this past century to the far distant history of ancient civilizations. We feel the echoes of our past darkness in the present darkness — the echoes of war, slavery, misuse of technology, genocide, and environmental reckoning, all meet in this moment. Our souls remember those errors, and that suffering — and it is collectively very challenging for people to manage and place these memories, feelings of urgency, fear, and existential dread. Instinctively, I think we know that it’s time to break the chain. Do we really want to keep playing out the destruction of ourselves, or are we willing to try something different and unknown? Are we willing to look to the higher path?
Nothing we face is simple. Our solutions will not come through heroes and villains. No authority will ever be able to give peace to humanity from a high perch. No evil is resolved by choosing the “lesser” version.
Darkness is resolved only by facing it. All people must eventually awaken to the darkness that has taken root in every part of our world — and work to resolve it, sincerely, with light. To keep throwing more darkness at darkness is to invite in more obscuration, more karma, more conflict. There is more than enough, already.
There is no one answer to the problem, no one way that old karma is resolved — however, clarity, neutrality and discernment go a long way in moving it along quicker.
What sort of world are we building? Have we lived up to our ideals? What parts of our ideals are illusions, and always have been? Do we have the courage to see the world with clarity? Do we understand that oneness is integration? That sovereignty and community harmony are not a zero sum game, nor are they opposing values. It is in the shared space of opposites where equilibrium lies. What path will we choose?
Peace to all in the (r)evolution.