January is a month of change in so many ways! New year's resolutions, that sense of a cleared slate, a time of renewal. In the realm of the stars it is even more so. Mid January 1995 Pluto moved into Sagittarius. 13 years later, mid Jan 2008 (just a few days ago) Pluto moved into Capricorn. The next shift of Pluto is not for another 16 years - mid Jan 2024. Imagine Pluto in Aquarius! Wow.Truly cosmic. But before zipping ahead into the future let's get a sense of what has passed and what might shape our current collective un/conscious challenge that is the energetic power of Pluto.

What is Pluto about anyway? Pluto represents the deep unconscious mind and that of the collective - it is the realm of Persephone and the underworld. A blurb from a channeled moment I had back in 2004:

To be stuck on pluto is to be sucked down a deep dark hole into a space full of fabric formed by the unconscious mind. It is both collective and individual, impersonal and totally about the self. A centripetal process that traverses both space and time, it depicts the mircocosmic fallout of the macrocosmic web imploding upon mortal investigation. Pluto, being the most distant (known) planet of our solar system, represents an extreme point in the spectrum of astronomical and astrological information that we are aware of at this point in time. It is a place to interrogate the past in order to be in the present so we may consciously map out the future. It is the 'seed of our unlearning,' a psychospiritual compost if you will, in which to cultivate in order to grow into the fullness of our being. Pluto rules Scorpio - it is the master of the underworld, sex, magick, the occult, death and transformation. What we find in the plutonic realm is a space in which to investigate the soul at its most separated and evolved point in the human incarnation. By reaching into the recesses of unconscious reality le petite morte greets us with each and every new discovery of an essence that is both sublime and subtle in revealing to us who we are with a primal force. Intensity is to be expected. This planetary energy offers the opportunity to look and see deeply into experiences of the travelling soul. Imagine taking a trip to the farthest peak of a mountain to gain a panoramic view of the landscape below with a telescope to peer into the finer detail. Beware the ledges you stand on for beneath a volcano is sure to rumble ready to erupt. Pluto is not the destination you arrive at, but the journey in itself. Pluto - a place where learning to fly is how best to fall.

In holographic terms, we as humans help create the patterns of life, just like the stars and currents of the ocean. In essence - Pluto is about transformation, a shift in our cosmic wave of awareness. Usually if the natural flow is not perceived and acted upon, Plutonic power simply creates the force required to push through all existing blockages - aka life's crises.

So as this shift comes we are also reminded by Chinese astrology that a 12 year cycle has completed and is ready to start over again. Interesting that when Pluto moved into Saj the Chinese year was that of the Pig - the last animal to reach Buddha and so the final year on the Chinese astro circuit. This time around, as Pluto moves into Capricorn, we usher in the Year of the Rat - the first of 12 animals. If we align the cycles of Pluto and Buddha's animal race we might get a sense that these past 13 years have been about completion and now this next phase is about beginnings.

With Pluto in Saj the past phase has seen the rise of spirituality and expanded consciousness into the collective Western culture. We have been tuned in and turned on to the power of positive thinking and self-directed creative manifestation. Those of us privileged enough have become privy to an absolute cornucopia of self-awareness portals in bookstores, on the internet, in advertising and increasingly in random moments of conversation. Cross-cultural awareness has hit the mainstage with the massive spread of globalism, information technology and the political development of an increasingly active and aware electorate. Pluto's notable opposition with Saturn in 2001 saw my own Saturn return (ouch!) and a collision of cultural philosophies with 9/11 and the subsequent wars afterwards. The Jupiterean nature of Pluto's past phase has been big band - we have have stamped our massive footprint into the ecology of this planet, we have become more well informed and so arrogant in our attitudes, we are about to jet into outer space with Virgin Galactic so not even the sky is the limit, we are superheroes in our right! Are we here to explore, exploit or save the planet and our selves? Or all of the above? Let's not forget that with all this grand living, there are still millions who continue to suffer due to the imbalance and injustice that exists amongst such prosperity.

When I consider the energy of Capricorn, the term no shit Sherlock immediately comes to mind. It's serious! Often a little too so. I am hearing a lot of doom and gloom in astro circles about Pluto's next stint around the cosmic clock. I would like to suggest that in the age of love and light that we need to LIGHTEN UP if we are to progress. We are after all working toward Pluto in Aquarius in 2024! The Big Business Power Raid interpretation of Pluto in Capricorn doesn't sit too well with me, but then again such Patriarchal views of the hologram never really did. It's not that I disbelieve it's reality, for has not Man's pursuit of riches and success been an ongoing theme in HIStory? My view is that you create your own reality as perception is ALL and as such, I prefer HERstory - that of mother earth, her undulating cycles and the energies, thought forms and actions that support her sustenance and growth. The sooner we over-ride the negative with the positive, en masse, the sooner the positive will preside.

This brings me to what I see as the most prominent themes of Pluto in Capricorn - RESPONSE-ABILITY, SELF PARENTING, GROUNDING, REGENERATION and EMBODIMENT.

We've heard so much about THE SELF since the cultural revolution of the 60s - self awareness, self development, self help. These have all guided us through the childhood of our spiritual development. Let's take some inspiration from Saturn - the archetypal father and Lord of Time... let's grow up! To blame or defer is to negate RESPONSE-ABILITY. Pluto in Capricorn is giving us 16 years to learn this essential life skill - we have the tools, let's use them. Think of it in dualistic terms - do you unconsciously react or consciously respond? To everything. Once Pluto moves into Aquarius the Self will dissolve into the pool of collectivity that must ensue. We are moving toward an age of the Higher Mind - it is well worth knowing how to access and use it.

To parent the self is to to know how to live in conscious dialogue with, and often outside the parameters of, unconscious paradigms of reference (i.e. habits) that our parents represent. Our parents are our greatest teachers. They are our creators who gift lessons and offer portals of release from karmic patterns and into avenues of growth. They pass on the baton of evolution for us to run with. It is up to each individual to choose the circular or spiral path in response. To parent the self is to be independent and self-sustainable but also to know when to ask for help. Self-parenting is a process that involves understanding your internal family - who your inner mother, father, child and sibling/s are. We are all multi-dimensional beings - this is something that Pluto in Capricorn can help us to understand. As much as it is a very earthly, practical energy, it is sandwiched between Saj and Aquarius for a reason... the grounding before and after the flight.

Grounding, regeneration and embodiment - all essential aspects of humanity. Learning to eat better, exercise more and in better ways, to rest and to fully embrace and understand our physical form, as individual beings and as a planet. Yoga! The answer to many of life's issues. Hulahooping! Even better. Let's loosen up and have some fun! The two in fact go hand in hand. As a mind-dominated species we are both exalted and debilitated by our mental processes. The key is to find the balance. Meditation will become more prominent in our culture out of necessity to tame the mind. Capricorn is a very traditional energy - alongside all the amazing feats of science and technology, we will see a return to tried and true ways of sustainable living which includes practices of the ancients - yoga, meditation, dance, astrology. It will be impossible to ignore the physicality of our selves, the planet and our inextricably linked natures. We must pay attention to the rhythms of our micro and macro environments - the resources we have depleted, the riches in our natural world that we are yet to explore with the core values of the matriarchy: LOVE GROWTH KINDNESS COMPASSION UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION FORGIVENESS JOY PEACE. Perhaps one day if we all practice these values on a daily level with ourselves and others in our small little worlds the big bad world will simply have to follow suit. Can you commit to creating this reality in your mind first and foremost? Then in your personal world with your friends, family and colleagues? Then on a collective plane with all that you encounter?

The Goddess Kali will guide us. Her way would be best learnt by all throughout this time. I welcome Pluto in Capricorn which now squares my Moon in Aries and Pluto in Libra activating the opposition and the trine/sextile to Neptune in Saj. I welcome the change.