Blog — Pluto

by Steven Forrest

Everyone seems to know the myth of Persephone where Pluto drags her down to the Underworld “to be his bride.” Her mother, Demeter, expresses her grief at her daughter’s abduction by putting the world into the deep freeze of an endless winter. In the end, the Olympian gods and goddesses broker a deal, both to keep humanity from starving and also to keep the worshipful observances coming. From then on, Persephone spends six months of the year with her mother. The other six months of the year, she is ensconced with Pluto in the Underworld. Demeter is bereft during the months spent without her daughter, and so winter and cold reign over the planet until the two are reunited.

And thus does Spring return every year.

It amazes me how literally astrology expresses itself sometimes.  For the past three years or so, Pluto has been transiting through a conjunction with my natal Sun. I’ve lived the myth.

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There is a divine, evolutionary purpose behind everything that happens in the astrological sky. For me, that is the foundational principle of our craft. Aiming ourselves toward the higher ground is what it is all about — and there is always higher ground, no matter how grim the astrological configuration might appear to be. I believe in that principle fervently. It is elemental to everything I teach, write and practice with my clients.

But I’ve got to say, my knees got weak when I looked at April’s planetary patterns. On April 17th, Mars makes a station, turning retrograde, at 8°54' Sagittarius. The next day, Pluto also stations, at 17°29' Capricorn. That’s two potentially scary planets, both getting very intense at the same time.

I will stick to the best truths I know here: this combination of energies represents an open evolutionary avenue for us all. There is higher purpose in it. Astrology is the mirror in the sky.

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February is Black History month. So in this edition of the newsletter, we’d like to honor a couple of folks who braced themselves against our racist culture and overcame their obstacles to achieve success. These two may not be as well celebrated as Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King, but their stories take us into some revealing cultural detours.

We’d also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and commend a few bright stars in our astrological community who will be featured speakers at this year’s NORWAC conference in Seattle: our very own “Forrest Trained” Cheryl Hopkins, Marie O’Neill, and Vernon Robinson. Congratulations! Can’t wait to see what you cook up for us.

And a shout out goes to Samuel Reynolds, returning to NORWAC for his second year. Reynolds is the co-founder of the International Society of Black Astrologers and can be found at UnlockAstrology.com.

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Pluto’s recent demotion to the status of “dwarf planet” upset a lot of us It shouldn’t. We astrologers have been calling the Sun and Moon “planets” for a long time. We have, in other words, a long tradition of using the term “planet” differently than astronomers do. Experience has taught us that Pluto simply works like one—we know it’s a “planet” and we really don’t need anyone’s approval before we use the term.

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