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This topic just won’t leave me alone. New thoughts keep creeping up from the depths of my twelfth-house Mercury in Scorpio and asking to be shared, perhaps because controlling behaviors (Pluto) can devastate our one-on-one relationships (Libra).
The second exact square between Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn takes place January 31, another reason this subject in on my mind. Pluto in Capricorn has a strong need to be seen as the top dog in any given situation, while Saturn in Libra keeps reminding him of the importance of fairness and equity. The potential for conflict between these ideas is quite apparent. If we insist on being in control, it is darn hard to practice fairness and equity, isn’t it?
The beauty of the square between planets is how sharply the qualities of the signs involved are brought into focus. Supporting the potential for clarity with the current Saturn-Pluto square in Libra and Capricorn is the fact Saturn, Capricorn’s ruler, is exalted in Libra. Most of us who have worked with modifying behaviors know how important it is to be patient and forgiving of ourselves, because it is a process, often taking many years of vigilance – how Saturn is that! Pluto offers us the strength to go deep, deep into the dark corners of our beings and turn on the lights. From personal experience, I know how what appeared to be a huge monster in the dark can be reduced to something manageable in the light. Truly.
Often the tricky part is not learning to see controlling behaviors in others, but acknowledging it in ourselves. It’s time to look in the mirror, into our own eyes and say, “Yes, I did and do behave like that.” That is the first step. For those of us with Pluto dominating our charts, the next step is often the need to dig around in our emotional basements and figure out why we are driven to control our interactions with others. This is an ongoing, often frustrating but ultimately freeing experience. One of the best sources for help in this area can be found at Donna Cunningham’s blog, Sky Writer. She has many resources listed on her sidebar worth exploring.
Between now and August 21, when Saturn and Pluto meet for their third and final square, we will have plenty of reminders and opportunities to learn more about this topic. In other words, it is not going away any time soon. Fun, huh?! :::grin:::
 posted by Diane . . .
Image: I couldn’t resist the obvious metaphor of the return of the light on a winter’s dawn and the new beginnings possible after lighting up the dark places within each of us.
 For a change of pace I decided to do a short post on synastry in response to a reader’s question. She is Libra Sun and her boyfriend is a Leo – very fitting, with Venus having just returned to her home sign and Mars arriving in Leo yesterday.
Ms. Libra asks why her Leo boyfriend has her so baffled all the time when their synastry seems quite good at first glance. Fiery Leo is usually very appreciate of charming Libra.
This is a good example of why it’s important to move past Sun signs for understanding how we relate to others. For those with either Libra Sun or Ascendant, the placement of Venus is particularly important. In Ms. Libra’s chart, Venus is in Scorpio square Saturn in Leo, where both planets are in their detriment. What this means is neither are at their best and brightest. Venus can be obsessive and possessive in Scorpio while, dour Saturn greatly diminishes Leo’s sense of fun.
Mr. Leo’s Sun is conjunct his Venus in Leo, increasing his warmth and charm, but both are square his Jupiter in Scorpio. This has me wondering if perhaps he likes to spread all the charm around a little too much for Ms. Libra’s comfort?
Her Venus conjoins his Jupiter, squaring his Sun-Venus. Venus square Venus in synastry shows a disparity between each individual’s ideas of what constitutes a good time. Scorpio prefers to be alone with their lover and Leo wants to show them off at every party in town.
Another potential source of differences is Mars, his in detached Aquarius and hers in passionate Scorpio. This can lead to heated discussions about how to get things done, because the way they get from ‘A’ to ‘B’ is very different. Scorpio is noted for getting an amazing amount accomplished with a minimum amount of discussion, while Aquarius wants to set up a study group before taking one step.
Is there any workaround for them? Possibly, but they need to be honest with themselves and each other first and foremost. If Ms. Libra has questions about her lover’s fidelity, those need to be addressed ASAP, because with as much Scorpio as she has, anything less than total fidelity is not going to work.
When it comes to their differences about what’s enjoyable (Venus square Venus), finding a compromise probably won’t be that difficult, but the square between her Mars and his, both in fixed signs, may be more challenging. It all depends on how attached each of them is to being right. Sometimes the best solution is to take turns instead of attempting to work together!
With Saturn about to move into Libra, we all will be learning the fine art of compromise when seeking to improve our relationships.
posted by Neith . . .
 It must be the t-square with Pluto in Capricorn, Mars in Cancer and Mercury in Libra that drew me to this particular article from my Archives. Enjoy!
To be blunt – we’ve been had. Humanity as a whole is born hard-wired to reproduce and once we hit puberty, we’re at the mercy of changes in blood and brain chemistry unless we learn to pay attention to what the heck is going on. And you better believe that this has not escaped the notice of the Powers That Be all through out history.
One way or another, often in the guise of religious rules and regulations or greedy folk making a buck off sex through the sale of pornography and/or prostitution, humanity in general has a history of being lead by their gonads. Not pretty, people, not pretty!
With my Mars-Mercury in Scorpio plus a strong Pluto influence in my chart, I have observed how this has played out all my life. That being said, it wasn’t until I was close to forty that I started putting some of the pieces together and it was the advent of the crone phase in my life when the picture became even clearer. Some of the research done in this area really opened my eyes. For instance, studies have found there are biological aspects to what draws us to certain people. Here is a link to an article “The Biology of Attraction” from the Psychology Today website.
Many cultures, especially those with strong religious views, encourage early marriages with an eye to controlling through the distraction of sex. We’ve had a big dose of abstinence promoted in this country the last several years for instance. What better way to muddle the thinking of young, healthy people in this sex drenched culture. What’s the best way to make someone focus on something? Deny them access to it!
There are two periods in a woman’s life when the drive to reproduce is almost overwhelming – the first 5-10 years after menarche and the last 5 years before perimenopause. If we are allowed to acknowledge this driving force represented by Pluto and the eighth House, then we can gain some perspective and objectivity – tactics familiar to anyone who is working with Pluto. Men reading this can draw on their own experiences when it comes to the drive to procreate.
There is another facet to this puzzle that’s tied into brain chemistry. Dr. Helen Fisher has a quote that I really feel is true: “Don’t copulate with people you don’t want to fall in love with because indeed you may do just that.” This is the other side of how we are hard-wired to stay together long enough to reproduce. Read this article from McMan’s Depression and Bipolar Website on “The Brain in Love and Lust” and draw your own conclusions.
For those of us with the Plutonian signatures in our charts – lots of Scorpio, loaded 8th House and natal aspects involving personal planets and Pluto – paying attention to this kind of information can save us a lot of heartache because we tend to take the bonds we form with other humans very seriously. We just don’t do casual very well and I see this as a good thing. I have another post in the back of my mind about the pitfalls of so-called “casual” sex but that’s for another day.
posted by Neith . . .
 Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, who play lovers in the HBO Series True Blood, announced their engagement in early August, and I immediately had to look at their synastry chart. It appears that their real-life romance is every bit as passionate as their on-screen affair!
The series is based on Charlaine Harris’s wonderful novels about vampires, werewolves and things that go bump in the night, set in rural Louisiana. I am a huge fan of her writing and consider the Southern Vampire series among her best works. Anna plays heroine Sookie Stackhouse, while Stephen plays her vampire lover, Bill Compton.
Unfortunately, all I have to work with is their birth dates and places, but no times. Stephen is a Libra’s Libra with Sun, Moon, Jupiter, and Mercury in this fair-minded sign. Anna is a brilliant Leo Sun-Mercury person with her Moon in analytical Virgo. Anna’s Sun-Mercury conjunction is closely sextile Stephen’s Mercury and Uranus in Libra, creating the basis for good communication — always helpful.
But it is the role Pluto and Saturn play in their synastry that promises to keep them together as a couple. Taking into consideration Anna’s natal Mars-Pluto conjunction in Libra and Stephen’s Venus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo, you have two people who are intense and passionate as individuals. Then to find that both of their Moons are involved, it is easy to understand the deep emotional connection between them. Even without knowing the exact degrees of their Moons, I feel a case can be made for including them partly based on the nature of the roles they play as a vampire and his telepathic lover – a great representation of the dark undertow of Pluto flirting with intense emotions.
Her Saturn in Libra conjoins his Sun and Jupiter exactly, and his Saturn in Taurus closely squares her Leo Sun. In light of them publicly announcing their engagement, I see these Saturn aspects as a very good indicator the relationship will prove durable. As I have said before, Saturn is happiest when the legalities are met. It will be interesting to see when they choose to marry, because it is highly likely to happen during her Saturn return, when transiting Saturn in Libra hits one of his many planets in Libra. There is little doubt in my mind this will be a very equitable arrangement with willingness to compromise on both sides.
Another one of those little synchronicities astrology is so fond of revealing involves Neptune, which is frequently highlighted in the charts of artistic types, especially actors. Stephen has Neptune sextile his Venus and Pluto, and Anna’s Neptune is sextile her Mars and Pluto. I can’t imagine a better set of aspects for playing lovers on screen. The chemistry between them is almost visible.
In an interview in The New Zealand Herald, Stephen said they were immediately drawn to one another but kept the relationship off the set as much as possible to prevent problems with their cast mates. Their on-screen romance definitely benefited from their personal chemistry, and True Blood has become a huge hit. The show is in its second season with a third in the works.
So . . . which came first, the on-screen romance, or the private one? You guess!
posted by Neith . . .
Verified Birth Data: Anna Paquin – 24 July 1982, Winnipeg, CAN, unknown time; Stephen Moyer – 11 Oct 1969, Brentwood, UK, unknown time.
Image: Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, who play Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton in True Blood.
 We need Saturn! Without Saturn to teach us about boundaries, to behave responsibly and give us patience, our lives and relationships wouldn’t get off the ground – period, end of story.
There is a very good reason Saturn is exalted in Libra, the sign of relating to the “other.” When the bloom wears off the initial attraction and our partner’s habit of never cleaning up after themselves gets really annoying, that’s when having a solid Saturn aspect or two in the synastry will keep us from throwing them out the door. . . or not, if that is what’s needed.
What Saturn can provide is balance and stability, especially if there are a number of Uranus squares, oppositions, and conjunctions creating excitement and lots of adrenaline rushes. In order to have a relationship at all, you need to be able to be in the same place at the same time. It can be the difference between playing “phone tag” and sitting down for “face time.”
Neptune’s willingness to see all the unmanifested potential is best offset by a large dose of Saturn, too. No matter how creative that person is or how glamorous their appearance, can they pay their bills on time? Not to mention all the unpleasantness of dealing with various Neptune-related addictions. We can still love someone very much who does behave responsibly and is not a “bad boy.”
I have long thought that Saturn’s ability to live in the here and now and to take on challenges one step at a time in a pragmatic manner are a good antidote to Pluto’s obsessions. If you think you will die without that special someone, then check the synastry for a Pluto conjunction or opposition. Saturn can help us learn detachment, because it always emphasizes the rational over the emotional. In fact, learning to delay gratification is considered part of the maturation process, which is totally Saturn.
Saturn will move into Libra at the end of October this year, so consider this a heads up about what is in store for the collective. Between Pluto in conventional Capricorn and Saturn in Libra, I’m willing to say fidelity, commitment, and learning what constitutes a good marriage will start to make a comeback.
posted by Neith . . .
Image: My parents had been married for close to 63 yrs at the time of my Libra mother’s death. Now that’s commitment!
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