Taking it up an Octave with Uranus, Neptune & Pluto
Having experienced transiting Pluto opposing my Sun for the past two plus years and using my AC as a launching pad for underworld exploration has at times felt as unbearable as sitting in a dentist's chair with a drill grinding away at a tooth. I have never had a problem with shamanic initiation, archetypes or fulfilling the requirements of the hero's journey, as described by the late Joseph Campbell, at least not in theory, but when Pluto makes significant aspects in a chart such as conjuncting the natal Sun, Moon or Ascension or Mid heaven, watch out. The saying by Nietzsche comes to mind, "If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger." And with Jaguar Energy (in working with totem and power animals), the losses we experience are replaced by something even greater. That in a nutshell describes a significant Pluto transit.
We need to look at the sign the outer planet occupies, the element (water, earth, fire, and air) as well as the quality (mutable, fixed, or cardinal) and of course, the placement in an individual chart. Angular houses have a stronger emphasis because they represent the four cardinal signs, four main areas of our lives (personal, home, partnerships and career) and these are the points that usher in the four seasons, when we observe equinoxes and solstices. However, when Pluto arrives in its house (the 8th) or Neptune in the 12th or Uranus in the 11th, we need to pay careful attention. Or if Neptune arrives in Pisces, Uranus in Aquarius or Pluto in Scorpio (which has all happened in my lifetime), we need to watch closely the generations born during those times as well as, any shifts cultural and otherwise on the planet.
At this time the only outer planet that has come home to roost is Neptune in the sign of Pisces. So instead of going in order from Uranus to Neptune to Pluto, let's start with the octaves of Pisces. And I hope you are not tired by now of me waxing on about Neptune. There's so much talk among astrologers and the fear-driven public about Pluto and Uranus, that I'm giving Neptune more airtime. We are at a crossroads spiritually-speaking on the planet and some of Neptune's far out ideas actually seem logical in uncanny ways. I think the concept of creating our own reality falls under Neptune's gaze because of the use of creative visualization, meditation, and pivoting our thoughts from our worries, fears and problems to more pleasurable thoughts, sometimes referred to as escapism or wishful thinking. Yet, Neptune, unlike Uranus or Pluto, takes the path of least resistance. Neptune doesn't blow anything up like Pluto or create drama in the form of riots like Uranus. Perhaps, this is why Neptune appeals to my sensibilities because I'm not into volcanic activity or steam rising from the heads of angry mobs. But the steam part I suppose is Neptune's contribution.
The highest octave of Neptune is compassion. Similar to its opposite sign, Virgo, Pisceans/Neptune longs to serve humanity in some way. And at the same time, Neptune wants to get lost in a spiritual fog, merge with everything, and lose itself in universal bliss. The higher octave of Neptune is activated through dance, meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, taking the canoe out, snorkeling, whale watching, listening to or performing music, watching movies, and through creative visualization. And all of these activities seem glamorous to Neptune who sees the bright blue dolphins diving in sun-sparkled water and rainbows appearing on the horizon.
As a child, I knew nothing about Neptune or astrology charts, but I found myself attracted to a Neptune instrument, flute. When I played flute (for 6 years), I lost myself in the instrument's sweet tones. I didn't know at the time, that listening to and playing music landed me in Neptune territory, but when I played the flute, I experienced my first spiritual epiphanies of Oneness and Unity, even if I didn't know it at that time. I also had a fascination with fish, whales and other marine life, loved the smell of the sea and any stories of people getting lost at sea or finding home within the sea would have fascinated me, I'm certain.
I believe that children experience the higher octave of Neptune when they pretend, play, and use their imagination. They experience Neptune's higher octave when they watch movies with stories suitable for their young minds and listen to music also suited for their young minds. I think it's important to introduce children to Neptune's higher octaves by encouraging music lessons and creative pursuits. I would even go as far as to teach children some kind of meditation and I encourage ecological visits to the ocean or a large body of water where they can observe marine life.
Otherwise, these children will come to understand the lower octave of Neptune which includes addictions, negative escapism such as avoidance or taken on a victim role as opposed to taking responsibility or chronic lying. Our culture (US) has fallen under a Neptune fog and mainly experiences the lower octave when music is used as a tool for manipulation of the masses, alcohol is promoted for leisurely uses, even recreation (instead of taking a canoe out to a lake or learning meditation), cigarette addiction and recreational drugs (a concept I can't understand) also fall under the lower octave of Neptune. Following religious gurus blindly, getting caught up in Hollywood glamour or over shopping to fit a glamorous ideal also fall under the lower octave of Neptune. You can see where this leads.
When we tap into the higher octave of Neptune, we give up the alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, glamour, illusions, delusions, and castles in the sky. We find ourselves spiritually and become our own guru by mastering the spiritual concepts of our Higher Selves. When we align ourselves with the higher octave of Neptune, I believe we reach enlightenment. We merge into Oneness of all that is or God and find our secure footing, not through the validation of others, but in our own hearts, knowing that all hearts are connected. Wouldn't that be a nice place to arrive? To get there, you must give up the addictions and modes of escapism--not so easy in societies that promote escapism, and uses religions as tools of manipulation and control.
The higher octave of Uranus brings equality, justice, humanitarian efforts, fair trade cooperatives, grassroots anything, fair distribution of food, human rights, animal rights, and innovations that create a Utopian society. Uranus never favors the elite and will side with the so-called 99 percent any day, mainly out of principle. But the lower octave of Uranus comes through in rebellion, violent protests, riots, overthrowing dictators (only to be replaced by a worst dictator with a different ideology), and Uranus lower octave doesn't see humans as individuals but as a collective. To Uranus, the individual rights are less important that group rights and with Uranus in Aries currently, we have seen a ruthless side of Uranus as it levels the playing field.
I described a Pluto transit to the Sun to someone today (not that she had any interest, but...), and I mentioned that a Pluto conjunctions or opposition feels like the dead of winter and then when the transit ends, spring blossoms upon the earth. It's like walking through a long dark tunnel and then seeing the glimmer of cherry blossoms and rabbits hopping in a meadow in the distance. Release from the clutches of Pluto can only bring a sigh of relief.
The lower octave of Pluto is represented in control, manipulation through fear, a descent into madness, psychotic disorders that wreak havoc on society, the irrational mind, irrational emotions, feeling like a volcano ready to explode, rumblings in the deep subconscious spewing to the surface, loss of jobs, marriages, friendships, even home. The lower octave of Pluto is represented in nuclear power, expensive medical technology that might cause more harm than good in the form of radiation, nuclear fall out and nuclear waste, natural disasters, and total disruption of life on earth. The lower octave is darkness and more darkness with a focus on darkness. You get the point.
As astrologers we acknowledge both the lower and higher octaves of the planets. We don't lump planets into good and bad categories, realizing that each planet has energies that can transform our lives when we harness them in a matter that works for us. People who came here to evolve spiritually have active outer planets in their natal chart (many aspects and prominent signs and house placement). Some of us came to shift energy on the planet, but first, we must reach for the higher octaves of all ten planets.
I give consultations in Bellingham, Washington. For more information go to http://www.wholemusicexp.weebly.com
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