Pacific Bay Resort, Coffs Harbour

Aries and goals…wanna know more? My latest post for Your Career & the Cosmos is here.

OK, I am holidays at present, so here is last years Pluto retrograde post updated…

In my younger less married days I used to love doing the Cleo and Cosmo sex quizzes on the train to work. Learned some interesting things from them too… but obviously that is not for here..I would make sure that I counted the score in my head so no one reading over my shoulder could see my answers and therefore know what I really thought about doing _______, or whether I really would be likely to________ or indeed had done_______ where? Really? There?

Recently I have been having some fun with a series of Outer Planet point scoring quizzes that Donna Cunningham has been running on her Skywriter website. Just like the Cleo & Cosmo sex quizzes I have learned a lot, but this time the things I have learned have been about myself and are therefore possibly more useful in everyday life- or so I would hope.

Obviously I am so much more mature now too, so am going to publish my results for all to see-  the results are possibly not as interesting (to some) as the sex quiz stuff, but some things are best left to the imagination.

First up was How Plutonian are you? Being so Piscean, I always knew that I was pretty influenced by Neptune, but the Pluto result blew me away. Using her system (check it out here), my Pluto score was a massive 74 points. Anything over 25pts is seen as being very Plutonian, with association with all the good and bad sides of Pluto and Scorpio  (see Donna’s article for more explanation- Donna is the expert on all things Pluto): power, control, trust, holding on to things & feelings, revenge, obsession, healing, transformation. Looking honestly at myself, I do have to say it is all true- the good & the bad. With most of my Piscean planets in opposition to Pluto & with Pluto sitting right on my Descendant, the struggle with trust & power & control- particularly in relationships has been constant battle.

Anyways, Pluto is now retrograde through until mid September. As with all retrograde planets, the retrograde motion makes Pluto act, well, more Plutonian and Plutonian people even more susceptible to Pluto.

As with all retrogrades, the energy is directed inward rather than externally. In Plutos’ case, it acts sort of like a planetary detox where the crap (for want of a better term) in our lives is eliminated (a very Pluto word). This can be emotions we have been holding onto, attitudes or values which should have changed or evolved, vendettas we should have let go of, revenge fantasies we are just waiting for the right moment to act upon (ooops, that’s me!), secrets that you have been keeping under wraps.

For those of you who are strongly influenced by Pluto (see below) or currently experiencing major Pluto transits (especially anyone with the Sun, Moon or ascendant at or around 4-8 Cancer, Capricorn, Libra or Aries), this will be a big thing. Now is the time to get rid of those photos (you know the ones at the back of your drawer of X with Y), or, alternatively do some internal Pluto work on yourself- a physical detox, heavy meditation- anything that is regenerative and gets you back in touch with the innermost core of you. Pluto retrogrades often bring sudden expansion or loss of power, manipulation, obsession and power struggles are the order of the day.

As with all retrograde cycles, the critical points are the station degrees- in this case 9 Capricorn 33’ where he is stationing retrograde and 6 Capricorn 57’ where he will station to turn direct. These are points of pretty huge transformation and metamorphosis if they happen to fall on a sensitive point in your natal chart. Personally speaking, my north node falls at 7 Taurus 44’,  & Mercury at 6 Pisces, so this is one retrograde period I will be taking notice of.

Now, this is the bit where I have to have a good hard talk to some of you guys- Pluto does not necessarily equal bad, so don’t look for negativity. Where there may be potential. Sure it may be like that- there is no denying. It will also be hard, challenging and all those words where it does hit your chart, but a Pluto transit can also be healing, manifesting and transforming ie ultimately powerfully cool.

Whatever happens there is no escaping the effect…Pluto is like that…but trust me, hanging onto those photos, revenge fantasies and whatever will not help. Let em’ go…if you can…

Aberdeen, Hong Kong. Pic by me.

Regular readers have heard me wax lyrical from time to time about those soupy dumplings I first tried in Hong Kong, and later wherever I can get them…xiao long bao…

Anyways, when I was in Hong Kong, I could easily have had these 3 meals a day. In case you’re interested, there are about 310 calories in a serving of 5 of the succulent little beauties. Being on limited funds, being on my own, and being in a new country, I would grab these wherever I could, although there was this great place right next to where I used to stay at the Excelsior, that was just a little too convenient.

There is this restaurant over there which does dumplings to Michelin rated standards- which sounds like a dream come true for me, except for one teeny little detail. You get a ticket and wait. Hello? One of my favourite tweeps tweeted today that he was facing a 3 hour wait. At lunch time on a Monday? You can’t be serious. I get the irrits at a 40 minute wait at our local yumcha, and time any visits to Din Tai Fung to keep the waiting time to the absolute minimum.

I don’t do queuing, and I most certainly do not do delayed gratification. I have Venus in Aries and trust me, when I want something, I am going to want to hunt it down Right Now. And with Venus square Jupiter, I want a lot…Right Now.

My neighbor and I are doing these tarot classes at the moment and she laughed last week when I asked “don’t you ever just want to go straight to the outcome card?” I was serious.

In contrast, a friend with Venus in Scorpio is painstakingly putting away money each week for a special weekend she wants to take her husband on. For her the anticipation will make it so much sweeter- especially when she breaks out the new lingerie saved for the occasion. Speaking of which…anything new? I have to wear it immediately.

Another friend with Venus in Taurus is waiting for a particular man she knows and wants…and has been, waiting and wanting, that is, for some time. For her sake I sure hope that he is worth it. Someone else I know with Venus in Virgo delays doing things until the time (or the finances or the situation) is exactly right- which it never seems to be.

My mother (Venus in Aquarius) used to say “you can’t miss what you don’t have, Joanne.” She might be able to detach, but I can’t. I do miss it, I yearn for what I can’t have- usually an opportunity that isn’t coming around quickly enough. Yes, Pluto is involved heavily in my chart and inconjunct Venus, so I obsess a bit and then I move on- to something else, and yearn for that with the same intensity.

I know the argument for waiting is that the taste is so much sweeter- sort of like the first time you kiss someone after wanting to for so long. You can only ever experience a first kiss once, a first anything once. But surely once there has been a first, you can then look forward to the second- unless the first was pretty crap, in which case it was better that you find out early in the process rather than wait and be disappointed…in my humble opinion anyway.

They say that if you get it easily it isn’t worth as much, but what if when you get it, it really wasn’t worth the wait? To use the same analogy, what if he is a crap kisser? All that time that you could have spent doing something else? And if he is great, think of how many wonderful kisses you would miss out on while waiting?

The Economist in me thinks also about the opportunity cost of delaying gratification:

• What if the book ending is naff, the dog dies, the heroine gets the wrong bloke, or it is otherwise really disappointing? Your time would have been better spent reading something you enjoy or can learn something from.
• What is the movie ending is not how it should be? Ie the dog dies, the heroine gets the wrong bloke, or it is otherwise really disappointing? That’s 3.5 hours (including travel, parking and waiting time) that you’ll never get back.
• What if you miss out on something in the meantime? And yes, I know the whole “the one you miss out on is the one you never get”, but I’m Plutonian, so, what if?

So yes, this all makes me sound like a spoiled bitch, and I guess I am. I am actively trying to stop and feel gratitude before moving on. I am also trying to actively remind myself that things happen when the time is right for them to happen, but have to admit to more than a small part of me (the Pluto part) wondering whether there is something that I can do to hurry the process up just a tad.

I googled the Hong Kong Dumpling House. Apparently the dumplings are miraculously good- like dumplings elevated into something higher. I guess if I snacked on something first (hunger never results in good manners), and concentrated on the people watching opportunities, or did a spot of shopping in the meantime, or even read a book while waiting, I could manage the wait…if the dumplings really are that good.

How does your Venus reflect what you want and how long you are prepared to wait to get it? How do you respond when you lose or miss out on something of value?

Thanks for the questions. I have more to post, but for now, here are the ones relating (loosely) to transits…

What order do you refer to transits eg if transiting Venus is conjunct Pluto in your birthchart, how do you say that?

A very good question, with 2 answers.

1. When we refer to planets making contacts with our birth (or natal) chart, we always refer to the transiting planet first eg Venus conjunct Pluto, or, if you want to be exact, Venus conjunct natal Pluto. If it is Pluto that is the transiting planet, this would be reversed ie Pluto conjunct Venus…and in this case, just a tad scarier!
2. When we refer to aspects being made in the planetary weather, ie now in the sky, we always refer to the fastest moving planet making (or applying) a transit to the slower planet. In order of speed, they are (usually): Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto. The exceptions? When a (normally) slower planet is applying to make an aspect to a retrograde one or one that has slowed down eg if Venus is coming up from behind and will pass Mercury along the way, Venus is applying to Mercury, so we would say Venus conjunct Mercury.

Sometimes you say “applying” and sometimes you say “separating”. What does this mean?

A planet which is moving towards an aspect with another planet is said to be “applying” to that planet. Eg if Venus and Mars are both in Leo (which we know they aren’t). Venus is a faster moving planet and will most likely pass Mars. So, if Venus is at 10 Leo, and Mars is at 12 Leo they might meet or “perfect” the conjunction at 14 Leo. Until they do, the aspect is “applying”. Once the aspect has been exact (to the minute), or “perfected”, the faster moving planet will begin to “separate” or move away. Naturally this relates to all other aspects as well. As an aside, say you have Venus applying to Mars at 18 Gemini 21′ and Venus gets as far as 18 Gemini 12′ before turning retrograde, strictly speaking that aspect did not perfect. This is important mainly for horary or electional astrology.

Are you scared of any transits?

Wow! Ummm, how do I answer this? I have so many people saying stuff like “Saturn is moving into my 5^th house, so there goes my fun for the next couple of years” or “Uranus is conjunct Venus- when will I ever get a break?”

Firstly, when personal planets (Sun-Mars) transit something bigger in your birth chart, it generally means little more than a good or bad hair day…unless there is an underlying bigger theme happening (ie an outer planet transit or a progression…a subject for another Q&A). So when someone says OMFG I have Venus square Pluto coming up, I’m a little “whatever” ish about it.

It’s when they say Pluto square Venus that I start to listen.

Having said that, don’t just read the horror stories. Sure it might be hard or challenging (and, let’s face it, whenever Pluto is involved there will be challenges involved even with the so called “easier” transits) but look also at how you can work with that transit.

Eg Pluto conjunct the Midheaven can mean problems with authority and power struggles, It may manifest in your career being kicked out from under your feet. But none of that will happen unless it needs to. It can also mean that you step up and accept power, leadership or authority- that you are ready to accept this.

Look also at the aspects that outer planet makes natally. Eg if Pluto aspects Venus natally or you have Venus in Scorpio, any Pluto-Venus transit may not be as difficult for you as it would be for someone else because you live with those themes every single day of your life.

Back to the question: Am I scared of any transits? Yep. When I see Saturn coming I run a mile- simply because Saturn does not aspect any other planet in my chart, so I have not integrated it well into my life. As a result, any Saturn energy coming at me is new, unfamiliar and just plain eeeeuw.

OK, we’ve done Aries at work, but what sort of careers are Aries, or those with Aries on the 10th good at? My latest post for astrology.com can be found here.