Full Pink moon in Scorpio (with partial lunar eclipse) on Thursday 25th April 2013, Pluto square Uranus 25th May.

I do wish the moon was actually about to turn pink on Thursday! It's the correct shade of moon glow in my opinion :)  but sadly not, this Pink moon is only named after a spring plant that is prolific in North America at this time of year.

From an astrology perspective the Pink moon is the annual full moon in Scorpio, the sign of renewal and rebirth. It’s the time of year when the sun (currently in the earthy and stable sign of Taurus) stands exactly opposite the moon in Scorpio - at 9pm London time on the 25th April, to be exactly exact J - and this full moon is also a partial lunar eclipse (full moon eclipse is also called lunar eclipse) which in astrology terms gives it a little more va va voom  impact-wise than just any old full moon.

I feel drawn to write about this lunar eclipse because the planet patterns look interesting, and also because one of the major planet patterns of the year, Pluto square Uranus is underway (exact on May 25th, but active long before and after that time), and as Pluto is the ruling planet of Scorpio it means a lot more attention than usual is on all things Pluto/Scorpio related.

If I could give this annual full moon in Scorpio a name it would be the Unfinished Business moon. Pluto is retrograde at this time of year (where it appears to be moving backwards in the sky), which in Pluto language is about going back to clear the clutter, or maybe the clutter coming back to haunt you a little…  Pluto itself is all about the clearing and recycling process of life, physically, mentally and/or emotionally, which allows a natural transformation and evolution process to happen in all kinds of ways.

So this Pluto retrograde and Scorpio moon might coincide with stuff being brought back or brought up that needs dealing with; unfinished business that was swept under the carpet deliberately or accidentally. What was lost is rediscovered and what got buried under more pressing priorities is brought to life again, for the purpose of renewal and rebirth.

We have got treasure in store from all this but don’t worry if at first a specific situation makes your heart sink to see the past repeating itself; don’t fret, its not same old same old…it’s all about to be updated and rebooted…. Pluto squaring (challenging) the future focused planet Uranus means trust that the process you are going through now, whatever the situation, is pulling what is valuable from your past into the future, while letting go of what isn’t necessary for moving forward from here. It’s the old you transforming into a new you, in other words, through gaining a sense of closure and of tying up loose ends on what was unfinished business up to now.

Just remember Pluto square Uranus isn’t  usually a gentle prod, it’s usually more like a powerful shove in the shoulder blades into letting go of the past in order to accept an unknown or unfamiliar future, and all the feelings that go with that. It’s really a form or version of us we are letting go of, whatever the situation looks like, in order to accept a new version of us that is unfamiliar and unknown to us (scary as that is all we have to rely on and lean on). This translates in everyday life as challenges that pull the best out of us, that evolve us, and spiral us into a new relationship with ourselves first, and then the world.

The lunar eclipse chart for Thursday shows how the momentum is building in this, and what I like about this chart is the Neptune energy working nice n easy to soften any hard feelings and dissolve old hurts and stored resentments, allowing us to let go and move forward with a more open hearted approach to new/old situations.

The message, as always with strong Pluto/Scorpio symbolism in planet patterns is trust the process, it’s rebirth and renewal of your life in some way… don’t cling to the past form or structure of a situation as 'that was then this is now', and really it’s just an old ‘you’ that you are clinging to, whatever form the situation would take. Allow the new forms and structures to reveal themselves, they are this way right now because they will evolve to best support the emerging new you. It's time to step into the unknown and meet yourself in whole new way :)

Update On 14th October UFO No Show

Blossom Goodchild is the lady that was convinced UFO's were going to show themselves on the 14th October (reminder here), and if you ever wanted to know how to recognise someone going through a major Pluto transit, and probably Neptune too... heck, may as well throw Uranus in there given the subject matter; this video update she made after the no show UFO says it all.

When I first read about this story last week I laughed and thought she was a nut, but after seeing her YouTube vids, reading her blog etc, she just seemed a nice lady, and the story for me wasn't about the UFO's but became about the human side of it. The hate mail she got was shocking, mostly from religious nuts, but she still kept to her belief that these aliens were going to come and show us all the meaning of life.

But they never showed up and now she is left with her crumbled belief system, and trust shattered. See how it's Pluto in Sadge: the promise betrayed, etc. So you have to be pretty hard hearted to not feel compassion for her in this video, though judging by the comments section that goes with it seems there's a few hard hearts out there with nothing better to do with their day.

Thing with Pluto is that it's the symbol of the Phoenix rising from the ashes, so she'll come through this, and be better for the experience, all reborn and renewed. I prefer her message now she's stopped saying we need people from other planets to show us what high vibrations are all about, "so they didn't come, so lets do it without them... " couldn't agree more, Blossom; we didn't need the buggers in the first place. Write a book about that instead.

It's Not The End Of The World Then...

So that thing is switched on then, the collider thing in Switzerland. I was getting worried that all past efforts to save the world by only half-filling my kettle were in vain, especially after waking from an awful dream where I was standing with my mother at my parents house, watching this swirling vortex of energy rise from beneath the ground outside, which then turned into a huge mushroom shaped cloud. Green glowing gooey light started radiating off things, and I was saying to my mother 'that's radiation you know, I saw it on The Simpsons; they must have switched that particle thing on' (astrology buffs won't be surprised to learn that Pluto is transiting my 4th house at the mo).

But this is Pluto for you, it's all about the unknown, the uncontrollable, the invisible and what lies beneath the surface; and it's about how we react to the unknown and what we can't control etc, based on mindset and expectations. But Pluto is in Sagittarius and Sagittarius is all about keeping faith that there's always more to come, that it's safe to go Star Trek style where no-one has gone before, and how it's never the end of the world really. I hear they aren't smashing particles into each other until October, so till then I hope they are planning on saving the world by switching it off instead of leaving it on standby...

Equinox, Full Moon And Pluto

This year the Sun begins it's journey through the sign of Aries on 20th March at about 5.40am GMT. It's really the beginning of a new astrological year at this point (it's why all rams will tell you they must come first in everything), so this is significant energy - a turning of the tide in a big way. And this year it's happening under the build up to a full moon, which is also big energy; also indicating a turning tide, and therefore for all of us caught up in this cosmic current there's a feeling of moving or shifting in direction or perspective in situations. It's the sense of knowing that you aren't where you were recently on important matters, and in keeping with all this particular equinox energy it's 'in a big way'.

Especially so with Pluto, planet of rebirth in close aspect to the sun in Aries. The Pluto conflict is always trust versus control; the dilemma being how to trust and go with the flow of a situation that is largely an unknown quantity, when every instinct wants to reach out and shape it into something familiar and known (better the bugger you know, and all that).

But unless you feel you're in the dark about where you're headed, you just aren't in there with Pluto. It's when you feel you must be raving mad for having brought yourself to this point, on the brink of God knows what, yet knowing there's no going back - that is when Pluto is present and breathing down your neck. No going back but no earthly way of knowing what the future holds if you take a step forward. At some point you just have to let go and surrender to the experience (ever seen the Dog Whisperer? he calls it submission). And that is when the rebirth or transformation can get going, because there's a brand new you waiting like a light at the end of the tunnel, but until you let go of where you now stand there's just no way of catching up with yourself.

We've all been reached that point more than a few times, with varying degrees of intensity, yet each time always feels like the first (or is that just because I have Pluto in Virgo??), but perhaps no more so than now as the sun moves into Aries we might again end up brand new out of the darkness, blinking and blinded by the freshly risen sun.

Shadow Phases And Earthquakes

I am STILL not internet connected after house move! I have a phone at last though, which is something, as my mobile reception is only found next to the spider at the very top right hand corner of my porch. But not being attached to the internet has got me really out of sorts, like the cord has been cut on my Higher Self or something. I just didn’t realise how many Google searches I do in a day, seeking solutions from those in the same boat as me who Googled the same question in 2002 or whenever. Bless the people who knew the answer and wrote back to us seekers! Bless those ones who asked in the first place and waited 4 months for the reply, just so I can swoop in and grab the answer years later, in a couple of seconds.

It’s all very Aquarius, very collective consciousness, for strangers to be helping strangers in this friendly Water Bearer kind of way; which makes it quite frustrating and disconcerting that my chart ruler, communication planet Mercury, is still travelling through Aquarius and I am still so unplugged from the collective. I suppose it shows me there is something to the shadow phase theory (which I was never totally sure about to be honest), stating that a planet’s retrograde phase isn’t over till it reaches the original degree it stopped at before it began moving backwards. For this Mercury in Aquarius retro phase the degree in question is 24 Aquarius, which is the place Mercury stopped and appeared to move backwards from on 29th Jan. Mercury finally returns to this spot on 10th March… so if I’m not internet connected by then I’ll eat my hat.

Eating my hat seems a quirkily Aquarius sort of thing to attempt, though it is more of a Pluto type threat bet, being the planet of ‘it’s this way, or else…’ type extremism; so maybe the upcoming (early March) Mars/Pluto opposition is hotting up nicely if I’m dishing out ultimatum’s like that to myself. This Mars/Pluto opposition is the third of three meetings between these two because of Mars’ retrograde phase, which sent it on a back and forward journey, opposite the zodiac from where Pluto has been sitting. First meeting was last mid-September, second was New Year and finally this one; so there’s going to be a linking thread to events back then during this final meeting to watch for.

And speaking of shadow phases, Mars is still in one. Even though it resumed forward motion in January after appearing to move backwards since mid-November, it doesn’t reach the mid-November degree it held of 12 degrees Cancer till early April, so there’s still a Mars themed journey going on there, and still time for unfinished business that birthed mid-November to be all tied up neatly by then.

Pluto has changed signs in the time it has taken to meet up with Mars three times, into Capricorn, which is the birth sign of the United Kingdom, and sign of stress and tension (thanks to having planet of pressure, Saturn as ruler), so how interesting that a big stress-busting earthquake hit England this week. Or was it just my Pluto-sensitive Scorpio sister and I that found it to be a tension reliever? You know, working much like a thunderstorm, or rainstorm in shifting the atmosphere of things?

But maybe it was just because I was relieved to find that it was an earthquake shaking the bed and rattling the coat hangers, having just moved house, to find myself all alone in the wee hours after watching Most Haunted (why did I watch it on my own??), wide awake and wide-eyed, peering into the shadows, only to have the heavy metal bed frame I was lying on start to shake like a horror movie. I tell you, at the time it made perfect sense to assume poltergeist activity before earthquake, especially as the rising degree of the earthquake chart was hitting my spooky Neptune in Scorpio.

Hopefully I’ll be back with internet connection before the 10th?

Pluto In Capricorn Today

So here it is, Pluto’s now in Capricorn. Only thing different today than yesterday for me is that my kettle stopped working overnight. The little light switches on but kettle no longer heats up (the loss of fire element from Sagittarius perhaps?!), so it was back to basics with a pan of water on the stove to make tea. Which led me, while jumping from one foot to the other in frustration, to contemplate the time it takes to do stuff, and how time is the boss; then remembered Capricorn is associated with bosses, time, and learning to take things nice and slowly. As Pluto is moving through my 4th house, ruling home and domestic matters, it makes for a relevant metaphor I suppose, along with all the packing boxes I am surrounded in, ready to move house.

Although I don’t read news very often anymore I had a quick scan today, looking for Pluto related stories, and saw this one about the last deep coal mine in Wales closing yesterday (Pluto of course is connected to anything underground, especially mines and their resources).

The pit closed in 1994 and staff pooled their redundancy money to buy it, reopening it in January 1995; the month that Pluto first went into Sagittarius. But now it has had to close again, at the very end of Pluto’s journey through that sign as the mine has run out of coal.
Pluto is the planet of endings, and the heavy, mixed emotions that come with the feeling of letting go of the past and turning with trust to walk into an unknown future, and the biggest challenge of Pluto is often in remembering that ‘unknown future’ doesn’t mean ‘no future'. One of the staff who had worked there all his life, along with his ancestors before him said poignantly ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do on Monday’.
(Full story is here)

Love And Liberation Full Moon Gives Pluto A Warm Welcome

The sun moves into the free-spirited, future-orientated sign of Aquarius today (21st), followed swiftly by a rather fabulous full moon tomorrow in the opposite sign of open-hearted Leo. It means the big move of Pluto into Capricorn taking place later this week happens via this strong and rather stylish Leo/Aquarius lunar phase, which couldn't be better in my book, as Aquarius looks to feel liberated by what's to come, while Leo will celebrate the opening of an envelope if it means an opportunity to give the gift of Leo Love.

There's probably plenty of negatives, as all this intense energy for change can express in a variety of ways of course, but if there's one thing I learnt from Pluto's journey through Sagittarius, it's that perspective is power. "Two men look out from the same bars: one sees the mud and one sees the stars", said Frederick Langbridge, and I love how Pluto in Sagittarius got me so starry-eyed. I started this Pluto cycle back in '95 all cynical and disillusioned, yet I'm ending it feeling utterly empowered just for deciding to keep choosing the bright side of the road. I also love how being Ms Pollyanna Positive pisses so many people off as well; for example try smiling warmly at a sceptic in full flow. It has the same effect on realists as well...

A 4th House Story And A Full Moon In Cancer

Don't know about you but my December has whizzed by in a Saturn in Virgo style flurry of lists, commitments and stuff to sort, as well as a waving off of old stuff and welcoming in of new stuff, and in trying to suss my damaged internet connection... Amy Winehouse has been a more reliable performer than my net connection of late, which along with a continuing saga of various housing situation issues (noisy neighbours, grrrr) meant I've been able to spend even less time than usual writing this blog than I would like.

Transformation planet Pluto hit the base of my chart, my 4th house, a couple of years ago (4th house rules comfort zone, home and family, what's private, personal and very emotionally driven, just like its ruling planet, the moon), and it has been a bit of an intense emotional rollercoaster since then to say the least. Pluto has been in opposition to my Mercury/MC combo at the highest point of my chart, which has manifested as a constant challenge of whether home/personal stuff or work/outside world stuff wins my attention. And months ago I spotted the pile-up of planets that were due to congregate around Pluto at this time of the year and eyed it with trepidation, wondering what on earth else might be about to manifest in this 4th house mix as a result of the Sagittarius sun, expansion planet Jupiter (my 4th house ruler), and communication planet Mercury mingling and merging with the Pluto energy.

I've worked with astrology long enough to know that any energy, no matter how intense looking can express positively, yet it still felt bizarre last week, when with utter synchronicity, right in the heart of all the swooshing busyness, a perfect and peaceful new place for me to live appeared from apparently nowhere (on the day Jupiter moved into Capricorn), transforming everything in my situation including my faith, in a Pluto moment. I've always been into the 'create your own reality' approach of the Law of Attraction philosophy, but what I'd found difficult was not the idea that we are each the creator of our own reality, but the challenge of holding faith long enough toward a preferred vision of the future for positive thinking to get going a snowball-down-mountain type momentum and expansion.

How to think positively when you've already got yourself in a real negative situation is always the dilemma; how to hold the dream while reality keeps biting. Well it can't be done overnight that's for sure, but there's nothing like a stellium in the sign of Sagittarius to help be buoyant enough to rise high above 'reality' and realise that reality is built on belief, and so is as transient and pliable as belief itself.

And now the Solstice is upon us, serving as a cosmic timer for significant turning points, and it means there's a change of mood afoot. Here in the northern hemisphere, Winter Solstice marks the beginning of the sun's journey through earthy Capricorn. This year it is joined by expansion-orientated Jupiter; and during the early hours of Christmas Eve here in the UK the sun in Capricorn stands opposite moon in Cancer, indicating a full moon. With Mars close to the moon on one side of the zodiac, and Pluto still close to sun/Jupiter/Mercury on the other side, it all spells tension as the energies pull against each other. But while I'm gritting my teeth having to write this through my neighbour's endless repeat drivel of overly loud bad-taste power ballads on a hi-fi that only seems to work to its full capacity very late at night, by the end of January I'm outta here, which makes the anticipation of change a real tension breaker.

Change and transition is such a big theme of late 2007 and early 2008; it's everywhere you look, and the mood has now moved from the recent promise of Sagittarius to the anticipation of commitment in Capricorn. Where Sag was about huge leaps of faith, Cap is the next known small step, so Capricorn is easier to handle in that respect; but it's also the sign of great expectations, and apparently the universe delivers experience according to our expectations of it. Therefore this full moon might be a good time to look at expectations of experiences ahead, increasing a feeling of deservability accordingly if low levels are sighted.

Jupiter Meets Pluto At The End Of Sagittarius

I don’t know one person who isn’t feeling that something is coming to an end in their lives at the moment. There’s a finality about events, or a sense that the end is nigh somewhere, somehow. It’s Pluto that radiates the finality feeling, that sense of things never being quite the same again sometime very soon. Pluto just ‘is’ that feeling at the best of times, but it ‘is’ even more so at the moment because Pluto’s going through an ending all of its own, coming to the end of its stay in Sagittarius, where it has been since 1995. And it ‘is’ even more so again because Jupiter, the planet that rules the sign of Sagittarius and which has been travelling through Sagittarius for the past year, is now also wrapping up its stay there, finishing off the journey by passing across the degree where Pluto now sits. Jupiter is known for it’s optimistic, uplifting vibe, but is also known for expanding what it touches, making more of what it touches, which means the feeling that ‘is’ Pluto is feeling a whole lot bigger at the moment.

Sagittarius is the sign of personal perspective on the world. It’s the outlook or standpoint individual to each of us, based on where our journey through life has brought us at any particular point, and Pluto has been affecting our standpoint on life since 1995 (take a look back to then, and remember how differently you viewed life. See how much your outlook on life has been transformed by events that had the Pluto stamp all over them since that time). Sagittarius says it depends where you stand as to how you see the world, and Pluto says it depends at what stage you are in the Pluto process as to how you view what’s going on, because look back to ’95 and you can clearly see with hindsight how at times new life eventually unfolded out of a forboding sense of finality. What felt like the end was actually a rebirth, because from the Pluto perspective beginnings are born from endings all the time. Like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, without question there's a sense of finality about the caterpillar experience, but life doesn’t stop when the caterpillar perspective ends.

But knowing that and allowing the experience of big change are two very different things; before change happens the doubts creep in, that there might be nothing more to come, nothing more beyond what we know now and are currently aware of, and that’s a harsh kind of thinking to see through and beyond. Sometimes people hold back, consciously or unconsciously circling with fear around the doorway, hating the hamster wheel effect their life then produces, just because they can’t find a way to believe there could possibly be more to come. Or that there could be better to come. Or quite often with Pluto, there’s a feeling of being dragged kicking and screaming into new territory (no one said rebirth was easy). So this is where faith comes in, something very much associated with planet Jupiter and so also with Sagittarius (also with Pisces, the other sign that Jupiter rules).

Faith is something that people too often use selectively, especially when it comes to applying it to their own dreams, but if there was ever a time that faith is going to be at the forefront it’s when Jupiter meets Pluto in the sign of Sagittarius. And I’m not talking religious faith, though that is one expression; it’s faith in your own future self. I believe our future shapes itself according to the outlook we hold today, so there’s no need to consult a clairvoyant for your fate, you just sit right here and now and listen to the kind of thoughts that drift through your mind about yourself on a regular basis. How those thoughts feel when you think them indicates your own view about where you believe you are headed, and we always end up going with what we really believe in.

But fate is as flexible as your perspective of it, and Jupiter/Pluto together at the end of Sagittarius can be a formidable force for deep, far-reaching, long-lasting change in outlook because Pluto always seeks to complete its own process. A phoenix always rises from the ashes, but how many of us can say we have gladly moved towards an ending, transition or transformation without any doubt about what might be ahead? Well, Jupiter energy just loves to have faith in our future self and so can work wonders on any Pluto trust issue. It loves to express optimism about what is to come and loves to feel the joy of that life energy in motion (it’s the journey not the destination!). Jupiter knows it’s natural to feel the deep Pluto current of change as a potent and therefore daunting prospect, but also knows there’s more to life than being a caterpillar, as any butterfly will tell you.

You can read more about Jupiter/Pluto cycles in Kathryn Cassidy's newsletter this month. She goes into detail on the key dates involved and has great info on the potential for transformation that this time holds (sign up at her website here or drop her an email). I love her explanation of the cycle of life as a spiral rather than a circle, and of how "Jupiter and Pluto coming together in Sagittarius can speak of a moment pregnant with possibility for a huge spiritual transition, or a leap in consciousness". So if you are done with the hamster wheel of endless circling doubt and disbelief, now's a great time to let go and take a leap of faith in yourself with Jupiter/Pluto.

Scorpio New Moon

This new moon takes place on the 9th Nov, around 11.05pm GMT. New moons are strongly associated with beginnings, while Scorpio is strongly associated with endings, so the beginning of the ending looks a logical theme to run with, especially with Scorpio ruler Pluto so near the end of its stay in Sagittarius.

Some people often look at astrology and the like for signs of doom to worry about, and there’s nothing like the mention of the beginning of the end to set folk off worrying we’re all headed for hell in a handbag especially when there’s an unexpected comet on the loose and 2012 is a date about to figure highly in any five year plan instead of just being a sci-fi theme or ancient manuscript reference; but what I’m discovering at the moment is that beginnings of endings can be more like a welcome light at the end of the tunnel, which is why I’ve decided to now interpret the Comet Holmes appearance as exactly that.

You see, this week was a bit of a week for me. I’ve had agoraphobia for years (which intensified dramatically once Pluto hit the 4th house cusp of my chart a while ago btw). But this week on the day that the sun hit 15 degrees of Scorpio, in fabulous aspect to freedom planet Uranus, and Scorpio ruler Mars, I suddenly ended up out and about on my own for the first time in many years, wandering around like a comet on the loose. And today I went back to the shops and stayed in there long enough to know the other time wasn’t a fluke. I was only vaguely aware of the exact astrology of now, having been all engrossed in my healing stuff for the past couple of weeks (how Scorpio in itself), so it was a bit satisfying to say the least to see the astro significance in all its glory.

If you’ve ever had a panic attack or you’ve a fear of heights, or enclosed spaces, or the dark, or the dentists, or spiders, birds, mice, love or commitment, flying/driving, life or death, etc etc, then you’ll have an idea of the kind of fear that goes with agoraphobia, and anyone who doesn’t relate at all to any experience of ‘irrational fear’, you’re either very very lucky or in complete emotional denial, and I don’t relate at all to you. It’s only now I’m realising the utter gift of this kind of experience, in the positive broadening and deepening of self-knowing that comes in direct relative proportion to the intensity of the negative experience. The balance of it feels like perfect justice. True it’s bittersweet, as I spent the best part of ten years chasing a freedom I only half believed existed, and I won’t get those ten years back (grief and loss is another Scorpio theme); but there’s no way on earth I would exchange what I’ve learnt about myself and the world as a result. Who would have thought an agoraphobic could learn anything about the outside world, but there you go.

I’m going to be writing more on this in connection to Pluto transits in particular, but wanted to mention it in connection with this new moon, because I'm feeling the joy at the moment of realising that while there’s no point (and no need) trying to be positive about whatever it is that is turning you inside out, there’s every reason to feel positive about the potential of the direction you are headed in as a direct result of the negative experience itself.

Transformed

I don’t know if it was the Pluto based eclipse we just had, or if it was the shift into the fiery and forceful sign of Aries that did it, but I’ve finally burned through through the worst of those nicotine cravings. It’s taken nearly 3 months to feel ‘normal’ again (but for anyone reading this who is either thinking of giving up, or has just given up – don’t be put off by the length of time - it doesn’t mean I had 3 whole months with NO relief from cravings, it just felt that way a lot of the time).

Only thing is I still can’t go near alcohol, as that was my strongest trigger for a smoke. Give me a gorgeous glass of red wine and a Marlboro Light or twenty and I was in heaven with the door shut, so it has to be avoidance till I’m a bit more used to being smoke-free.

For me the astrology was about north node in Pisces, currently making its way through my sixth house of health and Stuff To Sort. North node sign ruler Neptune (smoke) is of course, in opposition to Saturn (limits), but Pluto seems to have had a lot to do with it all too. Pluto’s been hanging around the IC/4th cusp point of my chart for about a year now, and I feel I’ve done more along the theme of transformation than ever before – including the blog – how do you like the new look?

There was definitely some kind of crescendo of cravings reached around the last eclipse, as if it was the final death throes or something. And then recently, I suddenly realised I couldn’t hear that teeth-grindingly irritating nicotine voice calling anymore, and it was spring; outside the sky was clear and blue, and the daffodils bright yellow like the sun. Maybe it was the equinox, the passing of a season into a whole new energy, I don’t know, but I do know it was worth the dark days to get here.

Mars, Pluto, Galactic Centre And The Comet

Apparently the comet McNaught has been more visible than expected, shining bright in the sunrise and sunset skies of the northern hemisphere over the past few days. I haven't had a glimpse due to the relentless stormy weather that has been battering most of the UK, but there are great pictures on the BBC site here.

Along with the brightest comet of the past 30 years, Mars and Pluto are sharing the same spot as the Galactic Centre. The Pluto/GC conjunction was last seen around 250 years ago, but I'm not sure whether Mars was ever part of that line-up back then (which would make this an even more extraordinary and rare event if not).

These unusual patterns in the skies symbolise the unusual energies around at the moment. It's these sort of times that with hindsight, can end up as being stand-out, life-shaping moments in your diary. Especially with Pluto involved.

I use 'transformation' and 'rebirth' as my keywords for Pluto, as they best sum up the process that Pluto expresses, and hint at the sort of experience encountered during that process. There's a lot of letting go of the past wherever Pluto is. And because of that, there's often unfinished business that comes with this planet. It's all about closure, as getting those loose ends tied up means moving on and letting go. Closure makes room for rebirth and fresh experience, and on the cycle continues.

There hasn't been a comet so visible in the skies since 1997 (it was Hale-Bopp that year), which in astrology terms would mean '97 and 2007 share a significant link, and looking between the two years for connections can be revealing. For example in the news this week, at the time the comet was coming into view, the UK press was covering the story of Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton, who has been smothered by press and tv cameras ever since the media decided it was time for the couple to announce their engagement. Things came to a head this week on her 25th birthday, leading to the landmark decision of certain tabloid newspapers to ban paparazzi style photos of the possible princess to be; a decision born from the circumstances surrounding the life and death of Prince William's mother, Princess Diana, who died in 1997.

While not everyone's story is like Prince William's or Kate Middleton's, everyone has an individual theme that harks back to '97 in some form, and thinking back to what connects that year to this one for you personally might also shed light on how the Pluto/Galactic Centre/Mars alignment is expressing in your life; therefore indicating how to make the most of the energy available in abundance now.

Sun Meets Pluto And GC On 18th December

Just ahead of the New Moon in Sagittarius on the 20th, the Sun travels across the degree that Pluto is currently occupying. It's something that happens once a year, so that's not unusual, but this year Pluto is slowly travelling across the degree that the Galactic Centre sits, and this hasn't happened for nearly 250 years.

Pluto has a formidable reptuation for the intensity of impact in a chart, and Pluto conjunct Galactic Centre is a long-term influence because it moves so slowly. This means there's lots of time to ponder the effects, but the addition of the Sun's presence over the next few days just might shine a light of understanding onto your own personal relationship with this energy.

Kathryn Cassidy has an inspiring post on the current astrology energy, and its evolutionary potential. She says:

"Any evolutionary leap won't make news headlines. It is not something we will visibly witness. However an event in the world, or an event in your life around December 18th 2006 could be a trigger to something, which in retrospect (days, weeks, months or even years to come) we shall note signalled the beginning of major change - a new era in history."

Read her full article here, and be sure to check out the video clip included!

15 Degrees Of Scorpio On 7th November 2006

15 degrees of the fixed signs (Scorpio, Aquarius, Taurus and Leo) are the cross-quarter days of the zodiac, marking the mid-points between the cardinal cross of 0 degrees Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.

As the sun reaches 15 degrees of Scorpio, it's astrological Samhain/Halloween - the beginning of the Celtic new year. The Celts divided their year into two halves, and Samhain translates as 'summer's end'. The astrological date changes slightly year to year to fit with the solar movement, but it's always around the beginning of November, and marks the noticeable shift in the Northern Hemisphere into colder days and longer nights.

The traditions and customs associated with this time are all of a Scorpio theme. Scorpio is the sign associated with death and the worlds beyond, or below this one. The underworld, which Scorpio ruler Pluto has dominion over, was known as the place of no return, and it's this perspective of no going back that Scorpio brings an awareness of in relation to all endings. It's the letting go of what was in order to move forward that defines the Scorpio experience, just as the old year must pass to make way for the new, and summer must make way for winter in order to begin the cycle of growth once more.

Samhain was a fire festival, like the other cross-quarter festivals (Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh), and here in the UK the tradition has been kept alive at this time of year through Bonfire Night, held every 5th November. In true Scorpio style the 5th November is to remember the story of Guy Fawkes, who was involved in a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliment in 1605, but was caught red-handed about to light the fuse. He was tortured, then executed, and this execution is symbolically repeated by the burning of an effigy of Guy Fawkes on bonfires across the nation. Fireworks are also a big part of bonfire night, and like the gunpowder plot itself seems to capture the spirit of Scorpio's traditional ruler, Mars.

Whether it's Samhain, Halloween, All Souls, or Guy Fawkes night, the Scorpio symbols are there; the darkness and the light, the mysteries of death and what lies beyond, and the promise of rebirth and renewal as the cycle of life continues despite our worst fears. There might be no going back in this life, but for Scorpio there's no such thing as a dead end.

Read more about Guy Fawkes here

Virgo New Moon Ends Planet Palaver

So it’s been decided, under the dark phase of the clear the clutter new moon - our solar system has undergone a much needed reclassification, and we now have 8 planets instead of 9. And Pluto, the cause of much head scratching and furrowed brows in science circles due to the is it/isn’t it debate, has been demoted to ‘dwarf planet’ status. Ceres and Xena are now also dwarf planets, with plenty of room for more to join them in the coming years… I might be missing something here, but didn’t we all already know that Pluto was a small planet? Anyway, apparently this fine-tuning of name-tags is part of a greater plan by boffins to ensure we can tidy up all that trans-neptunian clutter that has become such a problem over the last decade. Only on Virgo new moon, eh? I have cupboard in much the same state requiring my urgent attention.

And so what does this mean for astrology? Well, obviously I can't speak for everyone, but I suspect astrologers will probably give the same amount of time to Pluto’s demotion in status as your average scientist gives to astrology. And this is because astrology studies the apparent effects on us, on a personal or collective level, of planets in certain positions relative to the earth. Planetary mass (or distance) probably doesn’t have any bearing on why astrology works, as it seems to matter not how big or small the object is, it’s all in the effects, and Pluto’s impact in a chart is undeniable when studied for any length of time. However the new category means more status and fame for objects such as Ceres, and speaking personally as someone who didn’t really set aside much study time for such objects, this looks likely to change from now on.

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