Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Integrate your light and dark…Astrology Insights by Wendy K.

Pluto is the ruler of the underworld, the planet associated with Scorpio it deals with all of the things we keep hidden in our shadow. Pluto has a really long orbit around the sun it takes about 246 years. It is not a transit that anyone has lived to see but it has a powerful effect on countries. This year we will see Pluto at 27 degrees of Capricorn which is where Pluto was in 1776 at the birth of the U.S., so the U.S. is about to do some shadow work. While this transit won’t feel personal for us the effects of it are going to be felt throughout the world as the U.S. is about to go through a profound change.

Pluto returns are like a William Blake painting. He was alive the last time Pluto was at 27 degrees of Capricorn. This time in history is called the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. His paintings create a tension of dark vs light. The dark spaces illuminated by beings of light that shoot out in different directions, showing movement and activities in the darkness which can seem a little clandestine. Pluto transits are deep they bring us to the edge of the physical and the spiritual. Like the beings of light in the William Blake paintings illuminating the shadows, you can see and can’t look away from all of the hidden things that keep you afraid. Fear is a big power of Pluto and it can stop us moving forward but transmuting that fear and staring into the unknown without turning away empowers us to integrate what we find in the shadows. Pluto will retrograde over this point and there will be 3 exact conjunctions February 20, July 11 and December 28 so this energy will be with us all year. The transits of slow moving planets are felt years before and after the exact conjunctions. This energy has been building for awhile and will set things in motion that will be felt for years. Around the dates of the exact conjunctions things will reveal themselves from the shadows. So watch the doom scrolling on those days.

Venus stationed retrograde on Pluto on December 11 and turned retrograde on December 18 only six hours after the Gemini Full Moon, she will be retrograde until January 29th. She will meet with Pluto one more time on March 3rd before finally ending her long stay in Capricorn on March 6th. The veil will be thin with Venus retrograde on Pluto. We can use this energy to illuminate what happens in the shadows of our own lives. Pluto will be opening a channel to our ancestors through this process so call on them for support. Like Persephone who becomes Queen of the Underworld this time of year we can go within and find power hidden in the shadows. Venus will meet with Mars twice during this time once on February 16 at 19 degrees of Capricorn and again on March 6 at 0 degrees of Aquarius when the Sun in Pisces at 15 degrees will conjunct Jupiter. These days will be a great time to check in with the outside world as we will be feeling open and wanting a break from the depths of Pluto. They are a gift for working so hard through these times so enjoy. If you have any planets in your chart at these degrees they will be activated. If you haven’t already ordered a set of Sadee’s amazing 30 Days of Affirmation deck now would be the time. The words are so illuminating and will help to keep you grounded as you peer into the shadow. “As I heal myself, I heal the world.” Sadee Brathwaite, 30 Days of Affirmations

Happy Solstice!

Wendy Kenneally