Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Accepting Pluto Transits

From Twitter:

AstrologyLesson
@Astrology_ca
But, if a bully is beating you, "accepting that" does not make the bully stop hitting. That is part of the equation.



I decided to answer you on my blog because I think this topic deserves more than 140 characters <g> ...

The problem with the analogy between Pluto and a bully are the judgments and issues we all have with bullies. As a survivor of peer abuse I know a lot about bullies. Bullies beat on you for a variety of motivations. They can be after power. They can have anger management issues. They may be abused at home themselves and are taking out frustration on you. In no case are they considering your higher good or well being. They have a desire, they go after it, and will make you suffer if they don't get their way. Sometimes, their only desire is to feel better about themselves through causing others pain.

While metaphors are useful to a point, we need to remember that Pluto has none of these motivations. Pluto is not after self gain. And the idea is not to bring pain. Pain may be our reaction to the events we experience, but a great deal of the time, that pain is entirely self caused by our resistance to the changes Pluto is bringing, changes we have chosen to experience at a higher level, but that our ego is resisting in the physical. Pluto's job is to break down our egoic attachments so we can grow (I highly recommend Eckhardt Tolle's book "A New Earth" - this link has a free audio version courtesy of Oprah).

Good examples - A man needs to lose weight but resists making the lifestyle changes that could speed up the process. So Pluto in his 6th house brings on an ulcer that forces him onto a restrictive diet. A woman refuses to dump her abusive boyfriend but stays because she fears living alone. Pluto in the 7th brings a nasty divorce. On some level, if we are honest, often the changes Pluto brings are things we desire, or at least know are in our best interests. Caroline Myss once said (paraphrasing) that part of the job our angels have is to cause necessary chaos in our lives to wake us up. That's a very Plutonian concept. Her example was of a person who knows they need to leave a job (2nd, 6th or 8th house) and refuses to do so. They get more and more humiliation, more workplace abuse, or actually get fired, because they refuse to leave on their own volition. But in the end, the chaos is a blessing because it opens up an opportunity for them to do what they truly desired all along.

So by acceptance I do not mean "fail to take action". It's action Pluto is calling for, 9 times out of 10! It's our refusal to act that brings more pain. By all means take action if you can. The point I was making originally is that sometimes action isn't possible, or that we continue with the same response even though it isn't effective. Some conditions one cannot change. Take Nelson Mandela, imprisoned for years. He said "Resentment is like taking poison and hoping your enemy will die". He could not escape the prison physically, but he would not allow his mind to be imprisoned in resentment.

The Dalai Lama once said (paraphrasing) that if you have a worry or a fear, there are only two options. If you can do something, do that thing. If not, accept your circumstances. Remember in the Law of Attraction that what you focus on you expand - if you focus on hating the changes Pluto brings you and resisting them, you will only bring more of what you hate.

During a particularly brutal Pluto transit over my Asc, my entire life changed because of an unwanted psychic experience. This was an incredibly painful time in my life. I was terrified at first. I'd been raised as a fundamentalist Pentecostal ("holy roller") ... you just didn't turn up psychic one day. I ended up being estranged from virtually my entire family - it is still a tender point between my mother and I. The worst part was losing my faith - I could handle losing my family, but it was like I also lost God for a time. I felt utterly alone, abandoned and confused.

I wanted to know "why" this happened to me, because it seemed so pointless at the time. I threw myself into studies of religion, metaphysics, etc., and became virtually obsessed with the initial event. The more I fought against it, the worse and more negative my psychic experiences became. Finally I chose for the sake of my sanity to accept that this was going to happen, and that I might never know "why". That was my first step into the positive use of these abilities. I began to rebuild my faith in a new way. I found others and started to help them through their experiences, which is now one of the central joys of my life. When people read Living With Your Psychic Gifts and write to me saying they are in tears just to find someone who understands, it makes every minute of my own experience tremendously meaningful. I have finally found the "why" ... but I would never have discovered it if I had not accepted it.

If we view Pluto as an evil bully who is out there to rape, pillage and cause us pain, then that's exactly how we'll experience those transits. They aren't fun, but they represent absolutely critical stages in our personal growth. That being said, I am definitely looking forward to Pluto leaving my 2nd house! (laugh).

Many blessings,

Brandi Jasmine (AKA @Astrology_ca).

Monday, April 06, 2009

Capricorn and Libra in Love

Today's "Ask An Astrologer" question comes from a Twitter follower who wants to know if she is compatible with her boyfriend. She's a Libra, Aquarius Rising, and he's a Capricorn, with Moon Opposed to Sun.

As I mention in the related video, it's hard to make a compatibility assessment without both charts - but I like to have permission from both parties to do that. Since this request is more or less anonymous, and I don't have his full data, what I can say is that it's a myth Capricorn and Libra don't get along. I love my Capricorns, they are the spice of life for me! A Libra myself, I have Scorpio Rising, and Scorpio adores Capricorn. It's more about the gestalt of the chart, the Sun Sign is only part of the picture. The Moon, Venus, Mars and Saturn are the other points you want to look at. Why Saturn? It tells you if the relationship will have staying power.

From what I can see of your chart and know of his, I think the big issue will be his "Mom" issues. Sun opposed Moon is "mother trouble". When you are in a relationship with someone, you bring their family into your life, love them or hate them. In a new relationship, it can be easy to walk away from a man if you can't stand his mother - not so easy if you are together and committed. I don't know where you are at with that, but it should be an important factor in your considerations. Do you get along with his Mom? Does he get along with his Mom? However that looks now, it's not likely to change. If you can live with that, God bless you ... and if you can't, then you have a lot of thinking to do.



In your chart you have a strong T-Square between Mars, Uranus and Chiron. This means that you will tend to draw men (Mars) who are unstable, avant guarde or unusual (Uranus), who give you life lessons (Chiron). That's not going to change if you dump this guy and go looking for someone else (which wasn't what you asked me). I highly recommend this class ... and if you can't get to the class (which is worth every penny even if you have to travel, imo), then check out this book: Controlling Others for Love and Profit or this CD set: Get Over Yourself by James Roswell Quinn. He facilitates the class, and the book/CD is the next best thing to going to the class. Your chart says d stress management is a recurring theme in your life, and there is nothing better that I have found so far (speaking from personal experience).

Brandi