Jupiter trine Pluto

Jupiter trine Pluto, Tuesday 13^th March 2012, 4.43 a.m. in the U.K.

I have been encouraged to write about Jupiter trine Pluto since my blog of Jupiter square Pluto in July 2010 proved to be one of my most popular blogs. My focus was on the schism in society between atheism and religion, dark and light, as represented by the tension (square) between Jupiter (Religion) and Pluto (Atheism).  I thought therefore I would look now at what developments have taken place since then, and other applications of this astrological power struggle.  I will be updating the Jupiter square Pluto blog, looking at other implications of power issues which were learned from that square, glancing at some global issues, sketching what you might personally expect to experience, and finally looking at the Jupiter-Pluto cycle generally.

But first, a personal apology to any reader who has Jupiter square Pluto natally and does not consider themselves to be power-hungry or may have been offended by the term.  It may be that you have used power with integrity, and turned the square into the trine.

Atheism vs Religion

How far have we moved on since July 2010?

I wrote in my Jupiter square Pluto blog about the atheistic movement, spearheaded by Richard Dawkins (Sun in Aries, 26^th March) and Christopher Hitchens (Sun in Aries).  The latter has since passed away, and the religious landscape has changed.  With North Node (karmic mission) conjunct Neptune (spirituality!), Richard Dawkins now finds himself as the head of an anti-spiritual movement.  The two men were very close, and helped each other in their cause.  Why would two Aries men originate such a movement?  Firstly Aries is a warrior sign through its ruler Mars.  Secondly there is the faith in the self which Aries represents.  There is also a sense of life stripped to its bare essentials, symbolized by Dawkins’ seminal work “The Selfish Gene”.  Dawkins recently conducted some research concluding from his results that religion “is largely irrelevant, even to those who still label themselves Christian.” A recent Guardian editorial stated: “Richard Dawkins has rattled the cage.  He has succeeded in creating just the polarization that he was warning against.  The curious thing is that it already seemed he had pushed his argument too aggressively.”

The starkness of the dark vs light of Jupiter square Pluto as time has moved on towards the more constructive and transformative trine has brought more voices to the fore, so that the argument is less simplistic.

Enter Alain de Botton (Sun in Sagittarius, the sign of Philosophy), a philosopher of agnostic persuasion who seeks to balance the religious and anti-religious forces of society more peacefully.  He proposes a temple to atheism in the heart of London.

Enter Baroness Warsi (Sun in Aries, 28^th March) a Muslim, who recently went to see the Pope with her anxieties about what she called “militant secularism”.  Stirring up, perhaps, something which doesn’t need to be stirred…possibly the Aries warriorship at work, but also displaying the Aries quality of leadership.

George Cary, former Archbishop of Canterbury, agrees with Baroness Warsi that there is a threat, but from his Christian perspective says “there are deep forces in western society, hollowing out the values of Christianity and driving them back to the margins.”

Countering this paranoia the Rt Rev Vincent Nichols was quoted in the Guardian last month as saying: “Christians are not persecuted in Britain and should not claim they are, I personally don’t feel in the least bit persecuted.  I don’t think Christians should use that word.”

The writer Philip Pullman (Sun in Libra) seems to have taken up a Humanist position, and Humanism is also gaining ground in our society.  He asked “What does militant mean?  It means taking up and bearing arms, shooting, bombs, throwing stones.  No secularist I have ever met or heard of is doing that.”

The issue now emphasized is how far we are a Christian state, and the question being asked is whether we should be a secular state.  Even the Queen remarked on the importance of the Church of England in the first diamond jubilee event.  The debate now seems to be about separating religion and the politics of the state, which is something both sides ought to be able to agree on as it doesn’t actually harm anyone.

The Jupiter-Pluto trine will support interfaith work and the resolution of Atheism vs Religion.  Giles Fraser, the former canon chancellor of St. Paul’s Cathedral, has urged an attitude of “live and let live”.

Information as Power

What happened when Jupiter squared Pluto? We woke on the day of the aspect in July 2010 to find that Wikileaks had published a huge wealth of information which had been hidden (where Jupiter = Truth, and Pluto = that which is hidden).  This both shocked and delighted different spheres of society, depending on their stake in the information and on their beliefs about freedom of information.  There is no doubt that this unleashed power (Pluto) could be used in different ways.  Julian Assange (Sun in Cancer), at the helm of this power, is now facing extradition to Sweden, so his fate is still in the balance.  Governments and institutions were red-faced and forced to work more openly.  But other, more vulnerable people, have suffered because of this act.  At the first leak (Jupiter square Pluto) Uranus was trine Julian’s natal Neptune supportive to his surprise move.  As Jupiter trine Pluto Assange faces two hard squares: Neptune square his natal Saturn, and Pluto squares his natal Uranus, compounding the effect of the prevailing Uranus/Pluto square which all of us are now dealing with.

During the intervening period, another manifestation relating to power and information occurred a year later when Rupert Murdoch’s empire began to crumble with the phone-hacking scandal.

Power is a general theme for Pluto, and in the Arab Spring and elsewhere would-be tyrants or bullies such as Putin (Jupiter square Pluto) and Bashar Assad need to see they are part of the whole and not separate from their minions or victims.  They cannot rule indefinitely, at least not beyond this lifetime!

What transpired at the time of the Jupiter-Pluto square was non-divine revelation, or certainly uncomfortable revelation.  Jupiter represents truth, but Pluto represents truth which may be festering and in need of being revealed.

The American Scene

America of course has a huge religious force, some of the more rigid and dogmatic elements of which is helping to power the Republican opposition to Obama in the current Presidential race. The Democratic option and Obama himself, is on the level of higher spiritual principles – altogether more humane, upholding of freedom, and less judgmental in its values, if it had only been allowed to implement its policies in its first term by the opposition.

On the religious divide, the Observer has pointed out that “Dawkins is one of the stars of a group of thinkers sometimes dubbed ‘The New Atheists’ whose number includes the American thinkers Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris.”  We do not have a birth date for Sam Harris, but Daniel Dennett is another first decanate Aries, born 28^th March.  It is the early first decanate of Aries which has been stirred up in the last couple of years by the transit of Uranus and its square to Pluto.

The Personal Experience

This is a hopeful opportunity, which will prove lucky for some.  Jupiter in trine relationship to Pluto equals Hope (Jupiter) plus Courage (Pluto).  If Jupiter square Pluto represented a shock of the unpleasant kind, could Jupiter trine Pluto produce a shock of the pleasant kind?

For the personal application, you will need a project, and the chances are that the Universe has already handed you one!   Connect the balancing of these two principles which occur in two different areas of your life with what is going on for you.   The area of your life (House, in astrological parlance) containing Pluto will be one which is challenging you deeply, and the area now containing Jupiter will be assisting you and encouraging expansion. In working with the project and the planetary energies, hold the best possible outcome in your mind.  It goes some way to building some force in your life which could act as a bridge of positive energy during the year, to combat to an extent the difficulties of the Uranus-Pluto square which none of us are escaping at the moment.  New life can be kicked into touch, and reconstruction after old forms have been released.  The trine may enable the resolution of a problem or conflict which has occurred, particularly on a group scale.  The resolution may not entail one party winning over another, but rather a balance of needs and forces being achieved.  The day it occurs may or may not be marked by an actual outward event, but should entail psychological gain and philosophical change.

The resolution of your own personal problem may bring you to link in with a wider project, which is in the community, or even global.  You may then shift to working with others who may be undergoing the same fears, for instance.

Remember this is an Earth trine, with Jupiter in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn.  Anyone born around the third point of this triangle in Virgo (1^st September) will hit the jackpot.  If your birthday falls on the Jupiter point (29^th April) the day may be lucky for you.  If your birthday falls on the Pluto point (31^st December) then it will be an opportunity to recognize and use your power wisely.  Unless Pluto is squaring one of your personal planets, people should feel the benefit, and even if it is you may still feel the benefit.

Babies born under this transit would have powerful personalities.  According to the Astrologer Alan Oken in Complete Astrology, for anyone having this in their natal chart “This is an excellent aspect for the type of philosophical mind which is constantly turning over the various contributions of the teachers of the ages and coming up with personal understandings.  It indicates a very lively mind, ever eager to dig deeply for truth.”

In the same way that Jupiter-Pluto in square brought revelation (see Information as Power, above) Jupiter trine Pluto can bring some experience of divine revelation, according to one’s own belief system: (e.g. through Maitreya in Buddhism, the Messiah in Judaism, and the Age of Aquarius in Astrology, or simply the experience of divinity within the heart).  When miracles occur, as they undoubtedly do, their revelation of divinity can convert skeptics.

Jupiter-Pluto Cycles

The last Jupiter Pluto trine occurred in March 1999, a time when fear was building up to the Millennium and the predictions of Nostradamus and the Millennium bug, just as we now have fear in society about the end of the Mayan Calendar, so dealing with apocalyptic fear is a theme common to both periods.  You may be able to recollect whether in your own life it was a year which defined your beliefs about life.

Since I started this blog in January 2007, I have covered the conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto, the sextile between them, and the square, prior to this endeavour.  And in August 2013 God(dess) willing, I would like to blog the next Jupiter-Pluto contact, which is the opposition.

To read Jupiter square Pluto click here:

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/blog/2010/07/jupiter-square-pluto/