by Charlie Obert.
One of the sand traps of astrology interpretation is the tendency to overhype, to blow things up out of proportion. This tendency to exaggerate seems to come into play with special force whenever Pluto is involved. We’re seeing that happen now with the approach of the Dreaded Saturn Pluto Conjunction this coming January 2020.
Here are just a couple of the phrases I am seeing today in my Facebook feed referring to this amazing once-in-a-lifetime event.
“One of the most extraordinary transits in our history.”
“Epic.”
“Sitting on an atomic bomb.”
“A disaster waiting to happen.”
and so on.
Listening to language like this we should be looking at the most important and earth-shaking astrological event since the great Cardinal Grand Cross of 2014.
It is worth remembering that Pluto is no longer considered by most scientists to be a planet. Back in 2006, thirteen years ago, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet and is not large enough to qualify as a full fledged planet. It is not even the largest body in the sky in that general area of space.
I was discussing this in a study group I do online, and one of the students came up with the meme, The Pluto Formerly Known as Planet. It fits, and I made a little graphic of that meme.
I now wonder if we should add that scientific fact to the meaning we give to the planet Pluto. Among other things, Pluto should be associated with blowing things out of proportion, making them sound bigger and more ominous than they really are. It is a dwarf planet sounding like the largest and most dangerous planet of all.
Let’s see if we can put things back in proportion here.
Remember that this is not the only Saturn Pluto conjunction in recent history. The two planets meet every 30 to 40 years depending on the speed of Pluto, which varies wildly through different signs because of its elliptical orbit.
Since the year 1900 there have been three Saturn Pluto conjunctions. Let’s look at them one at a time and see if they justify the hype. For historical data I used the web site worldhistoryproject.org. Remember, we are looking for earth-shaking, epic, once in a lifetime events.
The first Saturn Pluto series of conjunctions took place in October 1914 and again in May 1915. World War One began in July 1914. The start of the war is not exactly on the conjunction by month, but the whole event is important enough I’d call that a hit. This was indeed one of the most significant events of the century.
The next Saturn Pluto conjunction was July and August 1947. This conjunction is after the epic period of World War Two which was 1939-1945. Looking out at the world history project site I see that there were several significant trials for war crimes in that year in Europe and America, and that could relate to the conjunction. However, the most important of the war trials were those in 1945 and 1946, and the whole series of the Nuremberg war trials ran from 1945 through to 1949. The big Saturn Pluto conjunction missed the most important trials and the climactic World War Two events by a couple of years.
The most recent Saturn Pluto conjunction was in November 1982. Without checking, see if you can think of a life-changing event from that time frame that stands out. I know I can’t.
Looking out at world history project, I see a couple of events that we might relate to the conjunction.
*** in October 1982 was the Luzhniki disaster, the biggest sports disaster in Russian football, where hundreds of people were crushed to death at a game.
*** in November 1982 Michael Jackson released Thriller. (Now that’s epic!)
*** In December 1982 there was a major earthquake in North Yemen where as many as 2800 people were killed and 1500 injured.
You can argue that those events have a Saturn Pluto flavor to them, but I don’t see how that marks them out as more catastrophic or earth shaking than any of several other natural or human caused events the last 50 years. (Okay, Michael Jackson’s Thriller is epic – I’ll give you that one.) The majority of the events listed by world history project around late 1982 have no discernible connection to Saturn and Pluto.
That is three Saturn Pluto conjunctions in the twentieth century, and with two out of three of those periods I think you’re stretching it to call them earth-shaking or epic.
A way of testing to see if we are going looking for events to match the conjunction is to pick a couple of years at random where we know there was no conjunction, and see if you can find any events that match a Saturn Pluto conjunction. I tried that with a couple of years that popped into my head – and in every case I could find at least one or two events in any given year that I could relate to such a conjunction. I encourage you to try this exercise for yourself and see what you find.
—
Summing up here.
When you see any discussions about the Dreaded Saturn Pluto Conjunction coming up this January, bring to mind the Pluto Formerly Known as Planet. Maybe Pluto really is related to the tendency to overhype, to blow things all out of proportion.
And, turn the volume down.
Or, better yet – put on the headphones, turn the volume up and go watch Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
I really enjoyed your take on the upcoming event. Having been an astrologer for sooo many years I also see a lot of “hype” about conjunctions and squares that is overblown.
Dear Charlie:
I so enjoy reading your post on your website. I have been an astrologer for over 40 years, and I have seen a lot come and go. I am a traditional Western and Mundane Astrology. I am familiar with Horary, together with the fact that I have been teaching Astrology for a long time. I have a book on Amazon “Astrology A Journey through the basics”, which of course, is for beginners.
Now back to Pluto. I must admit, I hope YOU are right. It is true, there is a lot of information on the annihilation and transformation of this impending transit. I show you no dis-respect, however; I am of the view that we are in for the big one. First off, When Pluto-Saturn conjoined when WWI started, it must be said that it was VERY significant. Together with 50,000,000 dying with the Spanish Flu, Millions upon millions perished with war-related deaths. The FBI (very Plutoian) originated, the KKK terrorized the nation, and Women began to vote. The next one 1939-1945 the second WW began. Again, millions died under the worst conditions. Pearl Harbor, Holocaust, the first Atomic Bomb. Uranus in Taurus was transiting then (as it is now) we had the Dust Storms, and 20,000,000 were homeless and hungry. The transit in the early 80’s was not so dramatic except for the fact that the stock market crashed, and we experienced a recession. The aids epidemic started (Pluto), Ghandi was assassinated, and the FIRST apple computer was sold (dark web-porn, trafficking for sex (Pluto), you get the idea.
Now, I think I know where the confusion is. Why this one is so intense is because of the combination of other planets involved.
Jupiter and Saturn Conjunction (The Great 20 yr. conjunction) is leaving earth signs and moving on to air. And that starts a new cycle in air signs which will last 240 years. As I stated previously Taurus will be the flavor of Uranus. Issues or advancements with the evolution of food production, the inventions and ideas to help the earth, and modern technology again in the vein of Taurus to find ways of feeding the population, high tech cooking utensils and kitchens.
So, you can see it is NOT Pluto-Saturn, It is Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, South Node, etc., in CAPRICORN Strong, Bold, and I believe forboding. But, like I said, I HOPE YOUR RIGHT!
Hello Charles — I am currently enjoying reading 2 of your books–on Dignity and the Cycle of the Year. I appreciate your clear writing style! But when it comes to this particular Sat/Pluto conjunction, I would have to disagree with your evaluation. It might be worth dusting off one’s copy of Richard Tarnas’ Cosmos and Psyche and re-reading the extensive chapters on the Saturn/Pluto cycle. He certainly does not cherry-pick historical events to match his theories and his definition of the Sat/Pluto cycle is a lot more profound than just the usual internet cry of “transformation!” And I certainly trust his ability to categorize historical events more than I would my own, since he is a historian. I would also have to argue that our current conjunction is more significant than previous one because it is actually occurring in Saturn’s own sign (hasn’t happened since 1518), is somewhat punctuated by an eclipse, and coincides with the Pluto return taking place in the USA’s chart. Evolutionary Astrologers would also point out that this conjunction is taking place very close to the nodes of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto as well, which is significant for their own particular methodology of reading charts. Even the previous conjunction of 1518 did not occur this close to those nodes. So… yeah, I guess I am part of the hype machine LOL
Pluto is the inner-war essence relating to a Scorpio-Mars. I have Pluto exact conjunct Juno, 2 degrees conjunct Jupiter and 2 degrees conjunct my Sun, I blow enough things out of proportion, please don’t relate Pluto to that too, it’s a detoxifying realization of ourpower within or the sub-unconscious control that we transform into our consciousness with realization aided by other planets, like a neo-Saturn/Mars with its dual orbit with Charon; the inner-war feeling and the 4 other directions of moon that orbit, love you Charlie Obert, your Saturn as as Matriarch is what captured me into your orbit as a student of astrology….
Well-said. C-19 is a perfect example: so much hype yet so little threat. Sources: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/09/the_pandemic_is_history.html; https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html.
Also worth nothing most of Pluto’s significations are taken from Saturn.