Nothing is certain but death and taxes. Or, apparently, the collective crisis of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction. Any meeting of these two planets by aspect is a relatively rare occurrence, though all Saturn-Pluto aspects carry with them a theme of “Imprisonment,” whether literal or metaphorical.
On January 12, 2020, we experienced the exact date of this planetary alignment, marking the first Saturn-Pluto conjunction of the 21st Century.
This particular meet-up of Astrology “heavyweights” Saturn and Pluto occurred at exactly 22° 47′ of Capricorn, emphasizing the theme of imprisonment and isolation—thus the newest norm known as Social Distancing.
But due to the long orbits of these planets (especially “dwarf” planet Pluto), the effects of any Saturn-Pluto conjunction are sure to be felt long after the exact date of this aspect’s occurrence.
Prior to 2020, we’ve only experienced three Saturn-Pluto conjunctions throughout the entire 19th Century—each marked by a worldwide period of chaos, fear and isolation (TBD).
With all that said, Saturn-Pluto alignments don’t seem to serve much purpose on the surface. But quite the contrary: they’re collective calls-to-action, indicating crises that are impossible to ignore.
So while isolation and fear—or even mandated periods of Quarantine—characteristic of Saturn-Pluto aspects dominate our every movement, our current state is an exaggerated reflection of the perhaps more subtle culture of domination we’ve already been living under. Dominated, specifically, by unhealthy, conditioned habit patterns and power dynamics that have led us to sweep reality under the collective rug.
Those born during the years of a tense Saturn-Pluto aspect tend to secretly worry or repress, fearing that speaking or even acknowledging the Truth could cause upset, upheaval or punishment.
It’s somehow instilled in these individuals that it’s better to maintain the status quo than risk enduring imagined risks that reforms or transparency could bring. Anxiety and depression can result, stemming from the loneliness that comes with, well...keeping secrets.
If the conjunction forms an exact angle to a planet in your individual birth chart, you’re likely to feel an intense drive for power that consumes you, likely manifesting in an obsessive-compulsive need to “clean up” every area of your life.
But even if your chart isn’t aspected by this conjunction, you’ll undoubtedly feel its effects. Because whatever crises occur with Saturn-Pluto are the result of unhealthy power dynamics we’ve allowed ourselves to compartmentalize and congeal in the background of our awareness. This undermines all of us nonetheless, both in terms of collective and personal progress.
Saturn-Pluto in Capricorn: Career-Obsessed & In Distress
“This too shall pass” is a helpful adage to remember with the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 2020, as both planets have been hovering over one another in the late degrees of Capricorn since January 3, 2019.
Throughout this period, we’ve been confronted with our own illusions of control. Crises of the Saturn-Pluto nature bring about situations that force us to realize our own lack of control, as we’ve all become painfully aware that no matter how big your career or how good your stock portfolio, no level of status, reputation or personal wealth is of any consequence if you can’t go anywhere.
Saturn is naturally “at home” in Capricorn, and while Caps love to work, but the only thing they love more is being at home. When taken to extremes, Capricorn can become “the Hermit,” obsessed with social isolation and doing whatever it takes to carve out “A Room of One’s Own.”
Take Capricorn J.D. Salinger: a notorious recluse, he locked himself in his cabin in the woods under the auspice of “Productivity” (read: unilateral and unmitigated control over his environment), even if only to cultivate that elusive “Writer” mystique—all the while lamenting the so-called “Phonies” of the world.
The upshot of this aspect is the intense focus on our personal goals and ambitions. “Good” is simply not good enough for us under a Saturn-Pluto conjunction, as Capricorn is not just about rules but standards.
But Pluto, planet of Obsessions and Compulsions, acts to amplify whatever it touches—in this case, Saturn (standards). Factor in Cap’s natural obsession with Efficiency along with its distaste for hearing about any sort of “problem”—especially those of the interpersonal variety—and the result is an unusually extreme level of impatience when it comes to inefficiency, or the perceived inability of others to live up to an impossible set of standards.
So what starts as a healthy drive to establish yourself or completely rebuild your Career, extremist standards and obsession with perfection can lead us down an unfortunate road. In other words? It’s been difficult to discern, in the last year or so, whether that walk in the park was a necessary breather or a total waste of time.
Consequently, interpersonal snafus that may’ve otherwise been easily confronted and shelved away became magnified. There hasn’t been much in the way of allowances made, as our standards for our own lives have taken precedence, possibly becoming more than a little judgmental (if not altogether unforgiving) when it comes to our perception of our coworkers, friends or significant others.
Yet Productivity is a paradoxical thing. Any pursuit, even the pursuit of leisure, if given too much attention, can whet a once-healthy appetite for success to the point of vindictiveness. This is especially the case when it comes to punishing, banishing or even eliminating any person, place or thing deemed “distracting.”
But is the elimination of all distractions truly for the best? Or have you been misconstruing “distractions” with your body’s occasional demands for recreation, satisfaction and rest?
Whatever the case, if you’ve found yourself in more than a few frenzied fits when any element that could possibly upset your schedule was introduced, now might be a good period to sit back and recollect. Was that distraction immediately deemed a threat, a nuisance, or something to be gotten rid of? And where does your fear of distraction stem from?
Saturn-Pluto: Confronting Compulsivity & Fear-Driven Activity
Abuses of power, obsessions over power dynamics, rule-following and structure and desperately trying to excise certain behaviors or parts of our psyche we deem “unsavory” are themes with Saturn-Pluto in Cap. Fear is the psychological force that drives us under this influence.
Awareness of this is important now, as fear is a powerful tool for (self)-manipulation. Manipulation is definitely the negative manifestation of any Saturn-Pluto aspect, especially in the sign of Capricorn. The only antidote to this is self-awareness, so it’d be good to note any weak spots of ours without trying to excise them.
To take this example down to a more personal level, take the question of Intimacy in Relationship. Once we get closer to someone, we risk inevitably revealing ourselves to that other person. But what if that person finds something out about us that they don’t like?
Or, what if we find out something about them that we don’t like? Rather than accepting, adjusting, or communicating, if we succumb to the overwhelming fear of losing this person, it’s more than likely we’ll end up hiding from them. This response prevents the possibility of forming any substantial or real connection and only continues a pattern of self-isolation or imprisonment.
So if you have a fear of abandonment, some other phobia or a series of pet peeves, now’s the time to examine and (ideally) take ownership of them. Because though it’s not as obvious at the moment, there’s opportunity in the months ahead to recognize, transform and reprogram the ways we’ve been conditioned to react when we feel vulnerable, or become aware that we’ve been manipulated.
During periods of collective chaos from which no one is exempt, the point is to accept that we can’t control our worlds completely. It’s a push to recognize any illusions we may have about our ability to control every aspect of our lives, that we’re ultimately all dependent (at least to some extent) on one another, and that with this comes the fact that nothing and no one is perfect.
Saturn Conjunct Pluto: A Historical Review
Saturn-Pluto conjunctions symbolize periods of collective anxiety cultivated in the public unconscious via the proliferation of extreme, conservative ideals.
Big business, banks and political institutions gain strength in the period leading up to its exact date. That is, until the conjunction comes exact—or, “when all hell breaks loose.”
Looking back at the last three Saturn-Pluto conjunctions in history sheds light on the collective chaos that ensues when societal norms become warped by a long-term, obsessive focus of those in power (Pluto) on using large-scale, pervasive rule systems (Saturn) designed to police people’s behaviors and beliefs.
Saturn-Pluto in Libra: 1981 - 1983
Every Saturn-Pluto conjunction has its own theme, based on the other planetary placements and the larger social consciousness of its time. The last Saturn-Pluto conjunction was exact on November 7, 1982, at exactly 27° 36′ of Libra.
This particular alignment of Saturn and Pluto coincided with the HIV/AIDS crisis, as its influence began in 1981 and remained active until late 1983. These years marked the beginning of a worldwide, mysterious health crisis, where fear and isolation dominated the social and political landscape.
This crisis forced the larger society (at least in the United States) to recognize the consequences of marginalizing homosexuality, capitalizing on outdated and religious belief systems to promulgate conservative values and fear-driven beliefs.
Whether by denying its existence, enforcing policies of systematic disenfranchisement and/or committing acts of harassment, bullying or violence, this collective crisis emerged within a culture where sexual behaviors were policed to the extent that they had to be denied, repressed or hidden—unless you were willing to risk, in many contexts, your life.
The fundamental contradiction here is that criminalizing and punishing social behavior conservative institutions identify as “threatening” does not erase the people and groups they choose to scapegoat. On the contrary, it creates a petri dish in which enforced repression inevitably leads to widespread crisis that affects not one isolated group but everyone.
Saturn-Pluto in Leo: 1946 - 1948
Prior to 1982? There was the Saturn-Pluto conjunction at exactly 13° 7′ of Leo, spanning the years 1946 - 1948. More specifically, the aspect was in effect from August 27, 1946 - January 27, 1947; then again from April 11, 1947 - November 5, 1947 (the period during which the aspect reached its exact date on August 10, 1947); and finally from December 9, 1947 - July 4, 1948.
During these periods, many events took place worldwide that set the stage for widespread political and economic chaos. Prior to the exact date of the conjunction on August 10, 1947, all of Europe was in a state of chaos following the Allied victory over the Axis powers following the end of WWII.
In the time after August 10, 1947, Great Britain acted on its plans to cede control of many of its colonial territories, including India (gained official independence on August 15, 1947), Burma and Sri Lanka. This left many newly established governments without resources and in varying states of civil and even international war. In other words, while attempting to recover from WWII, the unprecedented displacement of persons worldwide created such a crisis that arbitrary nations were formed.
Similarly, the controversy over Truman’s Marshall plan, which proposed to offer aid to rebuild post-WWII Germany was rejected by the USSR, who’d suffered great losses during the final years of the war. The disagreement between the Soviet Union and the U.S. on the Marshall Plan led to a consolidation of Soviet power via Communism, as the Soviet Union was the only Allied power to reject the prospect of providing aid to Germany.
As Czechoslovakia was taken down and North Korea established itself as a separate, Communist state, this led to a growing paranoia in the United States. On July 26, 1947, Truman signed the National Security Act—a piece of legislation that on its own created the entire Department of Defense, National Security Council, CIA and FBI.
As the polarized responses of the Soviet Union and other Allied powers (most notably, the United States) began to take shape in the wake of the massive destruction and widespread displacement of peoples, what began as a vague yet powerful ideological conflict between “Communist” vs. “Non-Communist” states over time eventually became The Cold War.
Saturn-Pluto in Cancer: 1914 - 1918
The one before that? Saturn-Pluto in Cancer formed a total of not just one but three exact hits from mid-1914 through March 1916: first on October 4, 1914; then on November 1, 1914; and for the final time on May 19, 1915.
The WWI case is in many ways the most extreme, as the only case in history with three exact hits of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, effectively extending the aspect’s influence. In other words, due to the increased intensity of the chaos and widespread warfare during the years from 1914-1916, when the aspect was “in orb,” or in effect, the aftermath lasted until well beyond 1916, with the war not reaching its official end until November 11, 1918.
The official start date of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Cancer was June 10, 1914. On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia, effectively marking the beginning of WWI. As ware continued to spread throughout Europe, the U.S. remained (relatively speaking) “out of the fray” until the aspect’s third and final hit on May 19, 1915.
This date coincided almost exactly with the main event that led the U.S. to eventually declare war against Germany. This was the German submarine attack on the U.S. passenger ship, the Lusitania, which killed 128 Americans on its way from NYC to Liverpool—on May 7, 1915.
Though this tragedy initially prompted the Germans to place a ban on submarine strikes, as the war escalated in Europe and attacks on Allied nations continued, on February 1, 1917, Germany announced its return to unrestricted submarine warfare. Immediately following this announcement, the U.S. swiftly cut off all diplomatic relations and officially declared war with Germany on April 6, 1917.
Saturn-Pluto in Capricorn: No Such Thing as a “Sure Thing”
While each of the three Saturn-Pluto cases is different, the point of looking back at these historical moments is that they all have one major theme in common: the more striving there is for control over the collective—the more institutional powers capitalize on fear and paranoia, using these tactics to scapegoat, marginalize and police particular nationalities and groups—the more chaos ultimately ensues. Chaos that affects everyone across the world, that no amount of personal wealth or success can protect us from.
In the case of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 2020, whose influence began on January 3, 2019 and spanned all of the previous year, the heavy Capricorn energy plus the accompanying “Brain Fog” of the 2019 Jupiter-Neptune Square led to a pervasive period of widespread delusion: as long as we bailed out the banks, kept stock prices inflated and continued to live on credit card debt, everything would be fine.
But if the aftermath of the exact hit of the January 12th Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn has taught us anything? It's that not only can we not have our cake and eat it too, but we’ve been forced to realize that no one is capable of controlling everything (much less everyone) in their life.
Saturn-Pluto 2020 & Coronavirus
The rapid spread of Coronavirus in the U.S., for example, revealed just how broken a system built on the antiquated theory of “Rugged Individualism” is, with the U.S. blaming China while we fail to provide basic medical supplies or testing in the most densely populated regions.
Simply put: regardless of what we may have thought, the crisis known as Coronavirus has surely shown us there’s really no such thing as a “sure thing.”
Naturally, a certain degree of anxiety is assumed when we realize “god is dead,” but perhaps it’s not such a coincidence that as we’ve become such a work-obsessed society, we’re suddenly faced with a pandemic that’s precluded us from working.
It’s as if we’ve all been hurled into early retirement regardless of our biological age, which though confusing and chaotic at first leaves considerable room to question the illusion we call Freedom.
The long-term benefit, if we choose to realize it, is that we can now make changes in how we conduct ourselves. For instance, the positive manifestation of Saturn-Pluto is that, in the aftermath, we’re forced to recognize just how much our own survival is contingent upon the survival of others.
So in case you haven’t gathered it yet, the Saturn-Pluto conjunction demands we “let go and let god,” and—most importantly—recognize that personal and collective concerns aren’t so much antithetical but (should) go hand in hand.
So as we move past January into 2020 and Saturn moves slowly but surely away from Pluto in Capricorn and into the sign of Aquarius on March 21st, we’re becoming accustomed to a new reality.
A reality predicated upon the realization that strengthening broken relationships and building networks and communities is what’s necessary if we want to not only survive but thrive in the end.
We’d be wise to remember this now and in the coming months (especially when we get a big fat blast from the past in May - June of 2020). Because though “things” may not be sure, they’re definitely sure to change.