For the first time in 246 years, Pluto will return to the exact spot it was at on July 4, 1776. When any of astrology’s planets make a full circle around the zodiac wheel, it’s called a return. Because of its distance from the Sun, Pluto takes nearly two and a half centuries to make the journey. Like people, nation’s have birth charts, commonly called natal charts. The Declaration of Independence is generally considered to be America’s official starting point. What astrologers do from there is add a location, in this case Philadelphia, where the document was signed, and a time. With those three key data points, date, time and location, a chart can be cast. That chart will then add the dimension of astrology’s houses. The Sibly chart, cast for 5:10 P.M. local time on July 4, 1776, is widely viewed as America’s birth chart. In this chart, America’s natal Pluto is at 27 degrees and 33 minutes of Capricorn in the second house.
That natal chart can then be compared to charts cast for other points in time and in other locations. In the case of Pluto’s return, the transit chart is cast for February 20, 2022, the day transiting Pluto conjoins America’s Pluto, with the capital relocated to Washington DC. To begin interpreting the meaning of this momentous conjunction, one must understand its components. Pluto, Capricorn and the second house.
Pluto
Pluto symbolizes destructive purification to a regenerative end. Its force is likened to Kali and Shiva of the Hindu pantheon, volcanic Pele of Hawaii and Hades from Greek mythology. Descent into the underworld is the price of meaningful transformation. Further, we cannot heal what we refuse to see. Ruthless Pluto brings us face to face with shadows, trauma, corruption and power.
If we brave this dark night of the soul, the metamorphosis begins. After the veils have been lifted, there is no going back to the way things were before. The change Pluto brings is absolute.
Capricorn
Astrology’s tenth sign is the domain of big business, government, institutions and professional reputation. Pluto and Capricorn are both relentless. For Capricorn, this is expressed through sobriety, austerity and the imposition of limits. Like with Pluto, looking away might seem preferable to the discomfort. But Capricorn cannot accomplish without facing the facts.
The Second House
This is where the dynamic spark of endeavor takes form. It is the realm of possessions, resources and money. Beyond income, it describes what we value, what gives us a sense of security and what we aim to accrue. The axiom that wealth is power rings especially true in the presence of Pluto.
Interpretation
The Saturn Pluto conjunction, in Capricorn, of January 2020 coincided with the spread of COVID-19 to the US. From then , local, state and federal government authorities began taking unprecedented measures. Similarly, businesses, educational institutions and the medical system itself have been irrevocably altered. The GFC took place when Pluto had just entered Capricorn back in 2008. As transiting Pluto finally reaches America’s natal Pluto, inflation is reaching historic highs, the central bank is running out of politically palatable options to curb it, financial markets are volatile and large segments of the population, on the left and right, are dissatisfied with their government. Into this tumult, “No jab, no job” pressures from vaccine mandates are falling right into core second house concerns, material needs and desires. That many of the lawmakers enacting these policies have exempted themselves from them only compounds that growing political frustration and unrest. On the reputation front, the once high and mighty continue to take precipitous falls from grace, on a nearly daily basis. Many of these scandals have a strong Pluto element to them.
Yorktown, VA, where the War of Independence was won, is only 310 miles from Philadelphia, PA. The five years it took for the Continental Army (and French Navy) to get there were fraught with uncertainty, acrimony and sacrifice. Ultimately, the determination of people to free themselves from a tyrannical, out of touch government triumphed. In February 2022, it’s 1776 again.