by
Gargatholil
The Pluto-Neptune Sextile - Promise to Confusion
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Pluto
and Neptune have been in sextile since 1944 and will be until
2037. Except for a brief 8 years of sextile between 1840
and 1848, this aspect has not occurred since the 1452-1545
sextile, which happened well before these two planets were
discovered. What have been some of the implications and
synchronicities of this rare aspect?
First
I will offer a caveat by saying that in the course of human
events, especially over such a long period as this aspect
persisted, one can find occurrences that correlate with just
about any astrological aspect. The cottage industry of
linking historical (or current) events to astrological phenomena
is fraught with the fallacy of composition. An objective
survey will usually find as many events similar to those
"manifested" by an astrological occurrence outside of the
astrological period as within it. This is not to negate mundane
astrology but simply to caution against over-generalization and
jumping at connections that are not statistically valid. I
do believe that there is validity in the astrological chart of
specific events and also, as Richard Tarnas has shown, a
validity to the manifestation of planetary energies in the broad
sweep of human history.
With
these caveats in mind, lets explore some of the signs of the
Pluto-sextile-Neptune energy. Tarnas in his Cosmos and
Psyche, has observed how Pluto empowers the energy of a
planet with which it comes into contact. The Plutonian
energies are similarly modified. We can, therefore, expect
to find a heightened Neptunian vibration during periods of
a Pluto-Neptune sextile, as well as the Plutonian energy being
"Neptunized." The sextile denotes opportunity and a mutual
enabling, as opposed to the harder energies of the angular
aspects. We'll see if we can identify these
characteristics being more pronounced during the period of this
transiting aspect.
We
should remember that aspects such as Pluto sextile Neptune have
two avenues of expression. One is through their transiting
relationship in real time. The other is through the natal
influence of their aspect in the charts of all who are born
under the transit. We posit that the energy associated
with this aspect is particularly strong during the prolonged
period when those who have Pluto sextile Neptune natally are
also "feeling its effects" as the aspect continues in the
sky. Indeed, for a great many living on the planet now,
this condition of dual-influence has been their only experience
of Pluto and Neptune, all of their lives having been lived under
the transiting aspect.
Before delving into particulars, I will posit that there seems to be a "downward" bending arc with this aspect. The promise of the Pluto-Neptune energy seems to shine more brightly toward the beginning of the aspect and to fade and become darker towards its end. Perhaps this is an organic phenomenon, analogous to the physical body's aging and decline. Or, we can compare this with the law of diminishing returns in economics. The procession of the cycle of the yugas, from golden age to iron age, is another analogy. Perhaps, too, we could ascribe this, at least in part, to the deepening penetration of Pluto's shadow-side energy into the Neptunian vibration. I know this seems quite pessimistic, especially against the New Age expectation of the dawning of a more enlightened era.
Let's
look at some of the associations of Neptune now. We can
start with idealism. We can certainly see this manifested
in at least a certain portion of the generation born during the
early years of this aspect, especially in their youth. The
period of coming of age of those born as this aspect formed
coincided with a powerful Pluto-Uranus conjunction but above
this and permeating it there was a marked idealism, not only in
America but elsewhere on the planet, as well. Of course,
the United States, as a young country founded during the
Enlightenment, has always been idealistic. Yet, those born
in the early years of the Pluto-Neptune sextile can be counted
as one of its more idealistic generations.
We
can see a burst of idealism even among those born without this
aspect once the aspect had begun to form. We saw the birth
of the United Nations with an abundance of hope that it would be
a vehicle for world peace. In America at least, belief in the
American Dream launched an era of economic prosperity; and the
Marshall Plan spawned a certain amount of hope and idealism in
Europe, while Japan bought into the ideals of the power that had
defeated them. The first two decades of the Pluto-Neptune
sextile also saw a rise in idealism as former colonies in Asia
and Africa gained their independence from European states. The
state of Israel was born with much idealism. In China, the
idealistic Maoists took control of that nation. Back in the
United States, idealism was quite evident in the Camelot years
of the Kennedy Administration. The counter-cultural
movement in America and in Europe was based on the idealistic
premise that peace, love and harmony could actually become the
dominant social and political force.
The
shadow side of idealism, or some would say its inevitable
outcome, is disillusionment, also associated with Neptune.
As Pluto had powered Neptunian idealism, so it powered the
Neptunian collapse into disillusionment, which had a strong
connection to power, or the lack thereof. While in the
early decades of the aspect, Americans at least had implicitly
idealized the power structure, Watergate began a long process of
disillusionment and distrust of institutions of power.
What began as a rational recognition that our government had
lied to its citizens has become, as the aspect has progressed
into its later phase, a belief by many that the government and
all institutions of "the establishment" do nothing but lie and
deceive (Neptune) in order to control (Pluto) us all.
Indeed,
each of the enterprises idealistically launched during the early
decades of the sextile have devolved into Neptunian confusion,
disappointment and disillusionment. The United Nations has
become an ineffective and bureaucratic institution incapable of
even managing small-scale "peace-keeping" efforts. The
promise of the American Dream has collapsed with the hollowing
out of the middle class and growing extreme income inequality (a
dark Plutonian phenomenon). We are seeing large cracks in
the European Union and the bloom as long faded from Japan's
economic miracle. Many of the states that gained their
independence in the early years of the sextile are now corrupt
de facto dictatorships, mostly poor, and often embroiled in
seemingly never-ending internal conflicts. What can we say
of Israel and China? And the promises of both
Camelot and of the counterculture were crushed, with that
failure to deliver turning many away from any further entertainment
of idealistic hopes.
Altered
states, escapism and, particularly, drugs and alcohol are
Neptunian and the era of the Pluto-Neptune sextile magnified
opportunities to indulge in such substances. While drug
use certainly existed before the Pluto-Neptune aspect,
particularly among certain subcultures, drug use became much
more prevalent during the sixties. It could be said that,
initially, there was a greater preponderance of "mind altering"
drugs in the culture. As the aspect wore on, the mix of
drug use grew harder and more body-oriented, first with the more
widespread use of cocaine and heroin, followed by the crack
"epidemic," and in the most recent decades the opioide
crisis.
Some
who have the Pluto-Neptune sextile natally viewed
hallucinogenics as a pathway to spirituality. A few have
persisted on this path, discovering various shamanic
hallucinogens. There is an element in this of the
Plutonian energy powering the Neptunian drive for transcendent
experience. Many who partook of hallucinogenics realized
the illusory quality of what is considered to be reality. As the
Pluto-Neptune sextile has matured, we have seen this positive
realization become corrupted (Pluto) and distorted (Neptune) so
that many now believe that there is no reality or that reality
is whatever we choose to believe. This has allowed
"alternative facts" to be seen as valid and a multitude of
conspiracy theories to gain credence and spread.
Coinciding with this, we have also seen an accelerating level of
delusion and deception (dark Neptune) being employed to accrue
political power (Pluto). We can see now previously
unimaginable numbers of people happily embracing the most ludicrous
and irrational (dark Neptune) falsehoods.
It
is always good to look at past cycles for corroboration.
The last sextile in the 1840s was brief by comparison but was
marked by an outburst of idealism, spirituality and
universalism. The 1840s saw the issuance of the Communist
Manifesto, the heyday of Transcendentalism in America, and the
revolutions of 1848 all over Europe. I think, though, that this
transiting aspect was too short for the energy to experience the
same kind of deterioration that we have seen occurring during
the present aspect. So let us look at the last prolonged
Pluto-Neptune sextile.
This
sextile began in 1452 at the start of the "Age of Exploration"
and the Italian Renaissance (I am not as familiar with what was
going on in Asia or Africa to note any similarities
there.). We might consider the Renaissance to be not so
much about the rediscovery of Classical Greece and Rome as about
the liberalization and secularization of thought in Western
Europe. We can certainly view this period as one marked by a
great deal of idealism, including the idealization of Classical
Greece and Rome. We might also view Martin Luther as an
idealist and the Protestant Reformation that he "launched" as an
idealistic enterprise. Noteworthy, the printing press was
perfected at the start of the sextile and it played an
exceedingly instrumental role in the diffusion (Neptune) of
ideas including, not to say the least, the much wider
availability of the Bible.
Can
we say that this initial idealism turned to a darker side?
While the Renaissance flourished during this entire period, it
also became increasingly enmeshed in the pursuit of
patronage. While this did not seem to diminish the great
inspirations of artists like Michelangelo and Da Vinci, we can
imagine that lesser personages may easily have been bent to
accommodating the practicalities of pleasing their powerful
(Pluto) patrons and, perhaps, becoming somewhat disillusioned in
the process. We note that the last decade of the sextile
saw the publication of Machiavelli's The Prince, which
has been viewed by many as a cynical exposition of
realpolitik.
It
is perhaps easier to see the devolution of the religious
idealism of the era. Emblematic of this is Henry VIII's
break with Catholicism over his desire for serial polygamy,
which occurred during the last decades of the sextile. The
latter portion of the sextile was also marked by the rise of
extreme and charismatic (Pluto) religious sects, such as the
Anabaptists. Certainly, they must have been viewed as
irrational and delusional (dark Neptune) in their day and, in
this case, such Neptunian aberrations were oppressed (Pluto)
rather than being harnessed by the powers that be. The
latter decades of this sextile were also the era of the most
infamous excesses of the Spanish Inquisition.
The
arc of deterioration is easier to see with respect to the Age of
Exploration. It could be said that the Age began with much
idealism and optimism. There were also what turned out to
be some unfounded expectations (Columbus' delusion about having
reached the Indies is notable). The Neptunian water
element is also present in that this was the time when Europeans
ventured out into the oceans.
During
the last half of the sextile, very soon after the discovery of
America, things took a downward trajectory. Power (Pluto)
and a false idealism (the myth of the nobility of
"Christianizing" the pagan inhabitants of the New World)
combined in a horrible way. Aztec, Mayan and Incan
cultures collapsed (Neptune) under the onslaught of European
power (Pluto). Slavery (which contains elements of both
Pluto and Neptune) was widely introduced into the New
World.
Of
other periods (960-1053; 466-561; 26 BCE-69 CE), I leave those
for others to explore. One can wonder, however, how much
synchronicity exists with planets so distant in time from when
they appear in human consciousness; or is the character of
events and energies so changed in these far off times that we
would be hard pressed to understand the correlations with the
Plutonian-Neptunian energies?