Welcome to Ghost of a Podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Lanyadoo. I'm an astrologer, psychic medium, and animal communicator, and I'm going to give you your weekly horoscope and no-bullshit mystical advice for living your very best life.

Jessica: Pluto Galore, welcome to the podcast. I'm very excited you're here. Tell me, what would you like a reading about today?

Pluto Galore: First, thank you. Thank you so much. I'm so grateful for this today. I heard you talking about Pluto many times, and I would like to know, what should I expect for the coming few years of my life having Pluto transit?

Jessica: And you have a bunch coming.

Pluto Galore: Yes.

Jessica: You've got Pluto is going to square your Mars. Then it's going to sit on top of Jupiter, and then it's going to square your Sun. And this is going to last about seven years; is that correct? We're on the same page that that's what we're looking at, right?

Pluto Galore: Yes.

Jessica: And just for clarity's sake, Pluto Galore, we are not sharing your birth information because you're going to keep it private because you've got a Scorpio Sun.

Pluto Galore: Yes. Thank you.

Jessica: My pleasure. Okay. Great. So okay. There's a lot to talk about here, but I have a question for you before I answer your question. Why are you worried about Pluto when you're still dealing with your Neptune square to Venus?

Pluto Galore: My understanding with Neptune square Venus is the outcome is mainly changing in the hormone.

Jessica: I see. Are you going through perimenopause or menopause yet?

Pluto Galore: Yes. Yes, I am. And unless I'm not knowing what could also do⁠—but mainly I just feel like there's a lot of changing in my body, in my hormone for sure.

Jessica: That makes sense because you do have Venus⁠—in Campanus houses, you have Venus in the eighth house. So that Neptune square could absolutely hit your hormones. That said, you are going to be going through this transit⁠—it's two years total, and it'll be over just before Valentine's Day. So happy Valentine's Day to you. It'll be over on the 13th of February of 2023.

Pluto Galore: Yay.

Jessica: But I wanted to start there because Neptune square Venus I find to be really a material transit in many ways, and it can create situations in your personal relationships with loved ones⁠—so not just your love life, but anyone who you care for⁠—where you feel helpless, or you feel like you can't do enough. And this transit can provoke a lot of anxiety. So, when I pulled up your chart knowing that you were going to want to touch on Pluto, I was like, "But what about Neptune?" Is the reason why you're having anxiety in advance partially common sense⁠—Pluto transits can be frightening⁠—but also, is it partially because you're going through a Neptune transit? So I wanted to just kind of put that on the table and add one more thing.

From my perspective, that Neptune square to Venus⁠—so Venus is our values, and Neptune is confusion and overwhelm. And so it can create a sense of overwhelm and confusion in regards to what it is that you value. And this is really important. It's really important for you, period, but it's also important for the fact that you're going to be going through a Pluto square to your Mars in Taurus because, of course, Taurus is very relevant to Venus, and this particular transit that we will focus⁠—don't worry; we'll focus on your Pluto transit stuff. But I would say that leading up to the beginning of your Pluto transit, which⁠—by the way, the map is really tidy.

Pluto square your Mars begins on February 12th, and Neptune square Venus ends on February 13th. So again, to me, there's this really important conversation that's happening from a big-picture perspective of, first, you've got these two years which you're still in of Neptune squaring your Venus, which, yes, is about your hormonal transitions, but it's also about how your values land for you, how you are relating to those that you care about, how you're relating to feeling out of control with those you care about, which I think is a little universal during COVID for a lot of people, but certainly very personal to you, and that the fact that there's no space in between these two transits⁠—it's like one day apart. Then Pluto comes and challenges that Mars.

The clearer your foundation of values within yourself, what you value, what you care about, the better equipped you'll be to deal with the bully of the zodiac⁠—Pluto. So I just dropped a bunch of stuff on you. Do you have any questions about any of that?

Pluto Galore: I mean, I can just tell you what's happening a little bit.

Jessica: Yeah.

Pluto Galore: Two things came to my mind. First, having, you said, people that I care about that kind of have no control⁠—I think that maybe could be my mom, and I already have Neptune conjunct to Moon. My mom is very important, and we're very close. So that could be part of it, feeling kind of hopeless and helpless. When she was diagnosed last year, it was really⁠—it crushed me. Crushed me.

Jessica: Do you mind if I ask what the diagnosis was? You don't have to share if you don't want.

Pluto Galore: Yeah. No, I can tell you. The diagnosis⁠—she has cancer in her lungs and her bones from top to bottom.

Jessica: Oh, I'm so sorry.

Pluto Galore: And she's taking type of medication, chemo as pills. That is really helping her. But, you know, it's cancer. But last year, when she got diagnosed, it was really hard on me. And my father passed away four years and a half. And since then⁠—and of course, my mom was with him for two years for the treatment. Since that time, she did not get any break. No break. It really broke my heart when she had cancer last year. So that was something like I have no control. And I literally knew with the pain and the feeling of hopelessness⁠—I let go. I reached the point that, "Oh, okay. My mom is leaving." And I'm just crying, crying, crying. And when I start letting go, actually, the medicine starts working.

Jessica: Wow.

Pluto Galore: And I was like, "What?" I did not believe it. I said, "This is bullshit. What sort of medicine⁠—it's not going to work." And actually, it is working. She's not in pain. I mean, they can prolong her life for a few years, but she is not miserable. So that may be Neptune squaring the Venus.

Jessica: I would say absolutely.

Pluto Galore: Yeah. And the last one a few months ago⁠—we'll call it a year⁠—when we wanted to remodel our home⁠—down the road, I know I have this transit incoming with the Pluto. So I was thinking, "Oh, I'm going to do the remodel and finish before all of this happening so I can be prepared for this aspect." Did not happen.

Jessica: Of course. Yeah, because it's in your eighth house. So it's terrible for remodeling. Yeah.

Pluto Galore: So then I said, "Okay. Maybe we should not remodel." So, last minute, we were just going to pull the trigger because we have the permit; we're just going to pull the trigger. Last minute, I decided, "Okay. Maybe I should not do this. This is going to take the life out of me, and it's going to put our relationship"⁠—although we are very good. I mean, we love every day. But I said, "Why would I put my love in this? So let's sell our home and buy a new home." I manifested a home in one day.

Jessica: Oh my God.

Pluto Galore: Yes. I said, "What do I want?" Next day, we found it.

Jessica: Wow.

Pluto Galore: We found it, but it needs a lot of work that we cannot live there. So we're living in a rental now. We sold our home. We bought a home, but we're living in a rental while we are⁠—and it's driving me crazy that I don't have any control of⁠—I have to get a permit and I have to get a contractor, and I have to get a designer. And it was like, "Holy cow. I just wanted [indiscernible 00:08:39] live in it." So these are eating me. I have no control in it.

Jessica: Okay. Okay. So you mentioned four years ago, right? And I want to just very briefly name that that was when Neptune was squaring your Moon, right?

Pluto Galore: Yes.

Jessica: And so we definitely see these things with people you love going through things that are out of your control as an important part of the themes of Neptune hitting your eighth-house planets. And so this is astrologically interesting, but it's also hopefully validating because the transit's over in early February. And this kind of thing won't reoccur in your life, so that's nice to note, that Neptune's not going to mess with your eighth-house planets again. You have very little time left of this transit, and it's really valuable to explore your relationship to control when it comes to those you love or things you deeply care for. And it's not just control. It's also impatience because we're talking about Sagittarius planets in your chart.

So it's valuable for you to explore what you actually care for and what it actually means to you. And by exploring this, you're going to be learning the lessons of the transit. And to be going through this and also menopause or perimenopause is right on time because the beautiful thing about this hormonal transition is, often, we step into ourselves. And it's a much more stepping-into-power time, or at least it can be. So I want to just kind of acknowledge that and then bring it to your primary question, which is Pluto. In order to talk about this, we have to talk about the fact that you have a T-square in your birth chart.

You've got one T-square, and it is between Mars, Jupiter, and the Sun with the focal planet as Jupiter. And so Pluto isn't just going to give you an intimidating transit. It's going to spend seven years triggering your T-square. So⁠—well, Jupiter as the focal planet to a T-square⁠—I mean, impatience is your middle name. I mean, this is not going to be the⁠—like muddling through the depths with Pluto? Ew. Nobody wants that. But a Scorpio with a very active Jupiter in an air sign⁠—no, you don't want that.

There is a poetry to life. I know I'm a Capricorn saying that, and I want to barf when I say it. But I'm saying it because I mean it. When we pull all the way back in a way that astrology allows us to do and look at the tapestry⁠—not the part of the tapestry, not the thread. When we look at the tapestry of our lives, to see that you have been, I would say, slightly tortured by Neptune for a number of years, where it's been teaching you how to let go of control and it's been teaching you how to love in more layers, how to experience love and care in different ways⁠—that's what Neptune's been doing. And then it's going to, like a boomerang, go right into Pluto where it's like, "And what are you going to do with this? How are you going to embody this?"

What is important for me to name about your T-square is that it has everything to do with stepping into your power and doing it in a way that is in alignment with what you believe in and finding ways of not just stepping into your power as an individual but doing it around other people. I know that's super annoying for me to say. That's why I apologized. And then we're going to add annoying to it. You're in your late 40s. I'll touch on North Node for people who are younger than 40, but I like to focus on it after the age of 40 because I think that's when we really come into embodiment with that nodal placement.

And you've got this North Node in Capricorn in the ninth house. It's very close to the Midheaven. It's not conjunct, but it's close. And so one thing I want to say as a big-picture reframe for these Pluto transits you're about to go through is that this is a time for taking responsibility⁠—maybe, I would say, taking authority over what and who you are and how you choose to live. And it's not like your North Node is touching the T-square. It isn't. But it's in the house of Jupiter, and Jupiter is the focal planet to your T-square. And so I really feel that⁠—listen. Am I ever jealous that someone's going through a Pluto transit? Never. Never am I jealous. This is not the thing for jealousy. I'm a realist. Obviously, there's going to be difficult parts.

But this is happening at this time for a reason. And a meaningful part of that reason is because it is time for you to step into ownership of who the fuck you are, right? Yeah. Yeah. And it is a beautiful thing while, at the same time, it is it a fucking pain in your ass. It's both. And I want to just say to your eighth house, and I want to say to the Neptune transits you're going through, cultivating the ability to say, "Western medicine is bullshit. We don't trust it in many ways," and also, "Thank God for Western medicine"⁠—we can hold both of those things in one hand. We can say Pluto transits are scary and terrible, and they're transformational and exactly what you need. They're both true, and we can hold them both in one hand.

And being able to sit with this kind of duplicity or the paradoxical truth is very Jupiterian. So it's part of your T-square to be able to sit with truth and not need truth to be a singular point. It's not 1 plus 1 is 2. The singular truth that you're being called to sit with is more like quantum physics. It's more complex and nuanced because we're talking about Jupiter in Aquarius in the eleventh house as a focal planet to your T-square, and Pluto is coming for your damn T-square.

So that's my preamble. Before I keep going, do you have any questions or comments or criticisms?

Pluto Galore: So, inwardly, I know this is, for me⁠, to force me to step in my power, to force me to do the work, which I've been hiding and feeling at home. That I know. But I feel also it's going to come with a lot of pain. It's going to be hard, which is⁠—it is a hard thing to do because of whatever past stuff I have. Maybe one of my concerns is health, having more stuff in the first.

Jessica: Yeah. So let me ask you a question before you keep going so I stay in the first concern. So are you in menopause or perimenopause?

Pluto Galore: I don't know because I have a cousin who passed away last January. He was very big in our life. He's young. He just had a clot. He broke his legs. They did the surgery, and anyhow, he passed. I came back. I did not have period. It's gone. It was a very big emotional shock. And since January, I don't have my period. So I assume I'm menopausing; that's it.

Jessica: Yeah. I mean, they say 12 months. You're almost 12 months, so you're almost officially menopausal. There's a bunch of things I'll say. Fucking Neptune. Fucking Neptune. You can't trust nothing. You know what I mean? So we'll see. Let's wait until it happens because⁠—we'll see.

Pluto Galore: Oh. There's so much to say. Okay.

Jessica: Yeah. Because Neptune's squaring your Venus in the eighth house, it might be that something shifts and all of a sudden you get your cycle⁠—maybe not regularly. Maybe it won't. Maybe it won't. But you can't ever fully trust Neptune, and you're still very much going through a Neptune transit. So I want to name that. And the reason why I ask is because⁠—well, it actually leads me to a second question, which is, how is your thyroid?

Pluto Galore: I don't have a problem with the thyroid. A few years back, I had one⁠—maybe like seven, eight years ago, I had one. And when I went⁠—because I had kind of a lump. And then, when I went to the doctor, she said it's a virus, and it's gone.

Jessica: Oh. Great.

Pluto Galore: So they did not give me pills, nothing.

Jessica: Okay. Great.

Pluto Galore: But I do have it in the family.

Jessica: That was going to be my next question. Yeah.

Pluto Galore: Yeah. From both sides.

Jessica: So, due to a number of factors in your chart, if you start to have weird random symptoms⁠—and thyroid, it can present with a million different kinds of symptoms. So, if you start to have weird, confusing symptoms, just remember what I said and look up, "Is this a thyroid symptom?" because Pluto squaring your Mars can trigger something that's in your system, can activate it. But I don't look at your chart and say, "Oh, this is going to be a health crisis for you." This T-square is not the part of your chart that I would associate with a lot of health issues.

You have Pluto in the sixth house, and Saturn forms a square to it. That's a health issue. You've got all this stuff in the eighth house⁠—health issues. Yes, the first house very much can be a health house. I find the eleventh house to be the least relevant to health issues of them all, luckily. And the seventh house isn't a big health house to me either. So I have a sense that this is not primarily going to be a health transit for you.

Now, that said, Pluto squaring Mars is going to impact your physical health to some extent. But there is a meaningful difference between going through health crises because of Pluto and having your body express the Pluto transit. Do you understand what I mean by the difference? Pluto governs the scariest stuff that can happen health-wise. I don't see that happening for you, knock on wood.

Pluto Galore: I forgot to mention something very important.

Jessica: Okay.

Pluto Galore: I cannot believe I forget it. After my cousin passed away, my sexual desire⁠—dead. Dead.

Jessica: Yeah. Okay.

Pluto Galore: Dead. It's scary. It's dead.

Jessica: Yeah. And how are you feeling downstairs? Are you dry as well?

Pluto Galore: No. No, I'm not dry.

Jessica: Okay. So it's not that. It's really just emotional⁠—just not even thinking about it.

Pluto Galore: Yeah. I don't get horny. It's not coming.

Jessica: At all. Yeah. So this can happen with menopause. It's something to talk to a doctor about⁠—and when I say a doctor, maybe it's not Western medicine. Maybe you see somebody who deals more with herbs or whatever. It's certainly worth investigating. There's that. If it's related to menopause, that's the bad news. Now, here's the good news. Neptune square Venus is not a sexy transit. I would say most of the people I have ever consulted with who were going through this transit are not very sexual, or when you have sex, it's not a great experience.

So part of it is the transit. It's not just Neptune squaring your Venus. It's Neptune squaring your Venus in the eighth house. It's what I would characterize as a boner killer, and you can quote me on that. It murders all gender boners. So that doesn't freak me out for you, even though I know you're freaked out.

Pluto Galore: No, I'm not. I think it's going to come back eventually. Especially having Pluto, it's going to [indiscernible 00:20:29] more. It's going to do something [crosstalk].

Jessica: Exactly. Pluto square Mars⁠—it will bring it back.

Pluto Galore: Only your system put my Venus in the eighth.

Jessica: For you, it's in the ninth?

Pluto Galore: That's the only system. Yeah.

Jessica: Interesting.

Pluto Galore: The only system is yours. All the other systems, my Venus definitely in the ninth. And the Moon will be⁠—some of them in the eighth, some of them in the ninth.

Jessica: Interesting. I mean, personally, me, I would say just this tiny bit of evidence I will give for my belief in my system⁠—other than the fact that I'm a Capricorn; I believe in my system⁠—is very few people are like, "Not only will I not share my name or my birth information, but not even the place I'm from or the degree of my planets." That is a tiny stellium in the eighth house behavior, if you ask me. A Scorpio Sun on its own is not enough, as far as I'm concerned, to do that because I have actually talked to people who have lots of Scorpio in their charts.

So the kind of privacy that you have, the kind of self-protective privacy that you have, to me, is Moon and Venus in the eighth, not just Neptune in the eighth. The way that you're experiencing the Neptune square to Venus⁠—in any house⁠—it can be, especially at your age, related to menopause or perimenopause. But the eighth house⁠—I mean, it's very much a hormonal place. And so, to me, again, it just locks your Venus into the eighth. But for whatever it's worth, it's right on the cusp. It's very close to that house cusp of the ninth house. Again, I still call it eighth house, and I'm sticking to it.

But coming back to sex drive, having a Sun opposition to Mars, as you do in your birth chart, means that you are aggressive and irritable and passionate. However, do you actually express being aggressive or irritable or passionate out loud to people?

Pluto Galore: Not to anyone.

Jessica: Yeah. That's what this Pluto transit is going to be. And that is where learning how to let go of control is really valuable for this process because you know holding on in the presence of Pluto is a fool's errand. It does not work. It does not work. It is the undertow of the ocean. You try to hold on to the undertow, and you're toast. So, when we talk about your birth chart, when we talk about your T-square between Mars, Sun, and Jupiter, this is like the position of an athlete. This is a position of a leader. This is a position of somebody who's just like, "Stop pissing me off. Stop pissing me off. I need you to go do this"⁠—and not somebody who's mean. It can be mean. It sure can be mean. But it also can just be very assertive, very embodied, very present.

And I keep on using the word "embodied" because Mars in the first house is all about being in your body. Now, we happen to acknowledge that Chiron is very closely conjoined to your Ascendant. So you learned early on that being in your body is not safe. Let's add more data, which is your little⁠—what I'm calling your little eighth-house stellium⁠—very uncomfortable being in the body. One more data point. Okay. Pluto in the sixth house? Yeah, don't want to be in your body. One more data point⁠—I guess I lied⁠—you have Virgo intercepted the sixth house, Pisces intercepted the twelfth. That makes it real hard to be in your body in a safe way.

All of these things articulate, "I'm cool. I don't really need to be in my body. I will take care of my body. I will manage my body. But I won't be in my body, because when I'm in my body, there's all these emotions that are strong⁠—Pluto, Chiron, planets in Sagittarius in the eighth house. And I don't want to be too much. I don't want to be too strong because I know the consequences for that. I will have to answer to things. I will be at risk when I do that." And so you've done a very good job of working around being in your body.

But when we look at the whole tapestry, these three transits that are coming for you are coming at the right time. Thank God they didn't come in your 20s, and how lucky that they're coming now in your late 40s and not later on, because you have so much life in front of you that you can live in a really different way from inside your body and inside your power.

So Pluto square Mars. This transit traditionally brings power struggles. This transit traditionally brings big goals, big ambitions, and big struggle to get there. This transit traditionally brings difficulties. However, it doesn't have to be tragedy. And I'll tell you⁠—so I went through a Pluto conjunction to Mars, and I spent probably 20 years of being scared of it, like really being scared of it. And my experience of that transit changed my relationship to the terror I feel sometimes still when I see scary transits coming because that transit was not scary for me at all. That was a conjunction; it wasn't a square. And every chart is different. Every experience is different.

But I will say that I was so scared of the transit that what I did was I was like, "Okay, I yield." From the get, I was just like, "I yield because I am not fighting Pluto. I yield." And I just was like, "Okay. I know what this is." Every day, I was thinking about it for two years. "I know what this is." And it made the transit go a lot easier. And so I'm sharing this with you because you're still going through a Neptune transit, which makes it easier for you to yield.

And yielding to Pluto is this. You have formidable energy⁠—Mars, Sun, Jupiter. I mean, these are powerhouse planets. You have such strength to be able to avoid your body. You have such power to be able to deny yourself that. That is power. It is simply a little misdirected. And it's a massive outcome. It's a massive deal, but it's actually not the biggest redirect in the world. You're not like, "I don't know my body. She's a total stranger to me." Your body⁠—from what I'm seeing in your birth chart, you keep good tabs on it. You take care of it because you've got that Pluto in the sixth house square to Saturn. So you're like, "This is my responsibility, and I take care of my responsibilities."

So it's like a shimmy to the left, a couple steps forward, and you're in. I mean, those are torture shimmies and steps, but that's all that it is. And I think that this is really important because you can believe that this is insurmountable, and I'm sure it feels like it's insurmountable. But when I look at your birth chart, this does not look insurmountable. This looks scary. There's a difference between "I can't" and "I'm scared of what it will be like or who I'll be on the other side." Whether you need to fight with someone⁠—a neighbor, zoning, a family member⁠, or yourself⁠—whoever you need to fight with, you're going to need to fight. You're going to need to fight. I don't know. I mean, I don't want to point to the world, but there's also a lot of things in the world you might need to fight.

Whatever it is, you're going to need to figure out a way to be present with yourself in yourself so that you can experience entitlement. And of course, there's toxic entitlement where you're like, "Oh, give me the whole pie. All the pie is mine." And then there's just entitlement: "I am entitled to take up space. I am entitled to have emotions. I am entitled to try and fail. I am entitled to be fine but not the best"⁠—whatever it is. Mars is so competitive, so you're constantly competing against your vision for the future, for the past, for what you should be, what you shouldn't be, that kind of thing.

What you're needing, for better or worse, is to be able to be more entitled, more embodied, more emboldened. And while this absolutely can and may play out through conflict with others, it actually doesn't have to. And this is the thing that's cool about astrology. It doesn't have to. We know what the energy is of Pluto. We know what the energy is of Mars. And so, if you work with the energy, the Universe doesn't have to hit you in the back of the head, hit you in the back of the head again, and then get you in the back of the knees. It doesn't need to get you by surprise, and it doesn't need to bring you to your knees. And it's not a value judgment if it does or doesn't.

This part of your chart is the part of your chart that you're most scared of. It's not the worst part of your chart. It's not the most dangerous part of your nature or your chart. It's just what you're most scared of because it's your damn T-square. So, within all of this, I'm going to give you homework. The first step is the Neptune/Venus homework. It's to really consider your values, which I was just talking about last week on the podcast, actually⁠—to really do this homework of exploring your values.

The next part of the homework is to collect examples of women who are aggressive and get angry out loud and are assertive you don't think are mean or bad. And they can be fictional. They can be real. They can be your friends. They can be somebody you just kind of know or somebody in public. But start to collect examples of women who are in embodiment so that you see different ways of modeling it. And what I imagine you'll find is that you will find many people that you think are doing a good job of it. Does that already make sense to you?

Pluto Galore: It makes sense, but going to my background and my culture, it's almost none.

Jessica: Interesting. Okay. Interesting. Let me just ground that. There's almost none. I'm looking at it. There's almost none. Go back. Go back in time a little.

Pluto Galore: That would be a homework to look for.

Jessica: I think it would be homework to look for. Yeah. There are examples. So I would try, and if it doesn't work to find anyone from your culture, find from outside.

Pluto Galore: Yes.

Jessica: Find women who⁠—the way that they express their assertiveness⁠—their Mars, their ego, their entitlement, their embodiment⁠—makes you think, "Oh. That's cool. That would be cool if I could do that." If you can find models of behavior, it's so much easier to do it because your Moon is sandwiched between Neptune and Venus. You're good at modeling yourself, like patterning yourself, after models. It just makes more sense in that way. Neptune is so permeable, so it's your friend in that way.

If you become more assertive, if you become more courageous and bold, you will be a very different person. And you're scared of that. If you stand in the same place⁠—if you go out on the street right now, you stand on the sidewalk, and you don't move for 24 hours⁠—you don't leave. You don't flinch. The Sun will change around you. The shadows will change. The people will come and go. The birds will come and go. Everything will move around you, and that, by extension, changes you⁠—the light on your face, the shadow you cast, whatever it is⁠⁠—whether you're in someone's way or you're not.

So, even when we choose to not change, we are changed by that. There's no avoiding change. This is your time to change. And Pluto will do it the hard way or the terrible way. I wish I could say it nicer, but⁠—

Pluto Galore: Yeah. First of all, because of your system, I have an interception, because I don't have interception in the other system. And it's spot-on. I start to know that I'm not in my body. When I start studying hypnotherapy, then I start⁠—you know, and it was just like, "Holy cow," and how I'm not grounded. I almost have a split here. I almost have splitted from my heart to my head. I'm always in my head because I'm scared. It's hard to see Scorpio scared, but I'm scared. So that's spot-on, the one that I'm not in my body. And by knowledge and learning and hypnotherapy and therapy, which⁠—I love therapy⁠—that I start really understanding how to do boundary work and how to do grounding work.

Jessica: Great.

Pluto Galore: This is when I started studying all of this. But it's just spot-on. And I do not want to be in my body, and it's a struggle. And I still feel like I don't want to land. A few years ago, I did ayahuasca. I did it once. I did not do it again. And basically, that was the message. "You're not in your body. You're not going to get anything. You're not in your body. You're taking anybody's energy, and you don't know what's your energy."

Jessica: Right. Right. Somebody said this to me just a couple days ago. It is a perfect metaphor. But what she said was it's like you build a tent and you take the poles for the tent, and each pole is like fear, vigilance⁠—whatever it is. Whatever it is. And then a big storm comes. We'll call it a Pluto transit. A big storm comes, and you try to change the weather instead of trying to change yourself. I thought, "Oh shit. That's a perfect metaphor," because the truth is the weather's coming. The weather's coming. Pluto is coming, and it's not coming for a year. It's not coming for two years. It's coming for seven, pretty much back-to-back. So what will you do?

I know what you will do. You will fight it, and you will grow, and you will change. And then you will have completely different concerns. Each Pluto transit that comes for you will change you so much that we cannot predict anything about the Pluto conjunction to Jupiter or the Pluto square your Sun because the Pluto square to Mars hasn't happened yet. And we don't know who you'll be.

Pluto Galore: Oh. Okay.

Jessica: Yeah. It's impossible. You will be a different person, period, period, period, period. You will. You know enough astrology to know that we don't win a battle against Pluto. That's not how this goes. This is, again, why I don't think it's a health problem. I don't think it's a physical health issue. I think this is about you figuring out⁠—and to be fair, Mars is the only planet in your chart that is in an earth sign, right?

Pluto Galore: Yeah. Yeah. I'm fighting it.

Jessica: Yeah. Pluto is coming from an air sign and squaring you in an earth sign, and it's in a fixed earth sign. So, of course, your only earth is fixed, which is a real pain in your ass because you've decided, it looks like when you were 12 years old, "This is how I'm going to cope. This is how I'm going to cope. I'm going to not really be in my body." And who can change your mind? The answer is Pluto⁠—

Pluto Galore: Why 12?

Jessica: Why 12? I don't know. I just saw that psychically. But something happened when you were 12. Do you know what happened when you were 12?

Pluto Galore: War? The first war?

Jessica: That'll do it. That seems to me like⁠—

Pluto Galore: All right.

Jessica: Yeah. I believe that one of the many gifts that Pluto conjunct your Jupiter can bring you is the capacity towards synthesis. But how do you synthesize from a tent in a windstorm? How do you synthesize from five steps and two shimmies away from your body? It's a lot harder. It's just a lot of extra labor for you. So, step 1, engage with your control issues and learn how to love more deeply. Thank you, Neptune. Step 2, find a way to be in your body and be in your power. Find a way to be embodied and to be activated and to take up space, to be bigger. That's for Pluto square Mars.

You'll be able to synthesize from that place. And then, by the time Pluto comes and squares your Sun in the seventh, you'll be so different it will of course impact your relationships. That's all you really need to know. Is it going to be scary? Some days, yes. Every day? No. Probably not. Probably not. Now, listen. I don't want to be a dick, but I can't help but say⁠—

Pluto Galore: You can be a dick with me.

Jessica: I mean, I know, but also⁠—watch me go. This transit, the Pluto square your Mars, coinciding with what feels to me very much like the beginning of World War III and potentially civil war here in the U.S.⁠—which is why I said I don't want to be a dick, because most people don't want to hear that even if we see it happening⁠—that may also be this transit for you. Make no mistake. Your focal Jupiter is in the eleventh house. That's community. It's not just you. And I just saw so clearly, that 12 years old.

And then, when you said, oh, this was the first war that you experienced living through, it kind of clicked for me, "Oh, that's why that's coming up with this transit," because even if things don't go as badly as they can or it looks like they are⁠—if, if, if, right? Even if. There's the threat. There's the fear. And it may be a fear you're thinking about; maybe it's not a fear you're thinking about. But it's in the collective. And when I say the collective, I mean it's in the global collective.

As we are dealing with all of this, you may need to revisit that time in your life to explore the decisions you made about who you were going to be and how you were going to handle things and how you were going to hide from your mortal fears, your fears about being safe in your body, because I think Pluto is going to dredge that shit up for you. And it may do so through collective issues, not just personal issues.

Pluto Galore: Something crossed my mind because I don't have memory of my childhood, despite all of the therapy that I do. Still, I don't have memory of my childhood. A few years back, I went back home and I thought, "I'm going to bring all the memory." I was blown away how much I forgot, and I still don't have memory. So, now that you're talking about it, [indiscernible 00:39:24] going to bring some memory back⁠—might, although there's nothing about it in memory. What's memory? Where do we look for memory? We look for maybe⁠—

Jessica: Your body. Body.

Pluto Galore: Body? Yes.

Jessica: So here's the thing⁠—

Pluto Galore: [crosstalk] the body knows it.

Jessica: That's the thing. The body is the only thing that is there from conception to death. It's the only thing from conception to death. Our mind is offline sometimes. We're not emotionally present⁠—whatever. Your body is there. You may not be with your body, but your body is there. And so, if you're doing a therapy, I think a somatic form of therapy, a therapy where somebody is helping you to be in your body and to create a safe space⁠—that Jupiter, that focal Jupiter, and even the Sun, is like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is too slow. Let's move. It's not working. Let's keep on going." It's that impatience.

Pluto Galore: Yeah.

Jessica: And why would you want to remember things that were bad? Why would you want to remember living through threats of war or war itself? Why? You've done a very good job, and you need to tell your body that you appreciate that it has done a very good job of keeping you safe, and it has done this very good job of keeping you safe for a long time. And unless you can create safe conditions to have your body potentially tap in, she'll keep on fighting you. You've got Pluto in the sixth house. And so everything is life or death for your body. Everything is life or death.

And this T-square in your chart is a gift. Obviously, every T-square is a pain in the ass, but this T-square is a gift. It's given you a way to get out of pain. It's given you a way to not have to live or relive through traumatic experiences. And it's done this in a way⁠—because thank you, Jupiter⁠—that hasn't created a whole lot of secondary problems. I mean, it has, obviously, but not in the way that it could. For somebody to be in their late 40s and not remember their childhood⁠—that could be a lot worse than it is for you, and that's because of Jupiter.

And so that it would take Pluto to shuck this oyster is not shocking. There's so much we can fear about Pluto transits. And again, I don't want to be a Pollyanna. Of course, it'll be difficult sometimes. But I actually think this is right on time. This looks to me⁠—

Pluto Galore: I think so, too.

Jessica: ⁠—yeah⁠⁠—really right on time. I'm not just thinking about which transit; what does it mean? I'm pulling back to see it in context of what came before it and what comes next. And so that's a pattern I want to encourage you to think about. It's like if you have any art in your home, stand really close to a painting and stare at one little part. And there's no context. Now, if you stand too many feet back, how do you make sense of anything? It's too far away. So you've got to figure out a way that you can tolerate being far enough from all the information to start to really see the big picture of it. The problem is taking authority over what you know, saying to someone, "I know this. Let me tell you this." How do you do that when you're not in your body? How do you do that when you don't feel you have a right to take up space and you have a right to be in authority over something? You can't.

Pluto Galore: It must have some with something⁠—past life. It's just this fear is humongous, and it's ridiculous⁠—how to put it in words, like why. But this is how it shows up.

Jessica: So let me say something about this life in regards to that feeling because Pluto in the sixth squared by Saturn, Chiron conjunct the Ascendant⁠—these data points really clearly state what you're talking about, that it just feels like everything's going to end. And in this life, let me tell you what it's about, because I don't really do past life as much, but I do this life. So this is one thing. If you take up space, whether you're right or you're wrong, you're a target. You don't want to be a target. You would rather be nothing than be a target. That is very real.

Pluto Galore: Yes.

Jessica: Yeah. There's something else. You are so scared of causing harm that you triple-guess everything, and that part of you that is capable of holding paradox and holding "It's true that it's day and it's night" goes into overdrive, and then you're like, "Well, what truth is the real truth?" You just drive yourself bonkers out of a fear.

Pluto Galore: Exactly. Exactly.

Jessica: And you're just as scared of being right as you are of being wrong because both put a target on your back. What makes you a bad person⁠—"If I'm wrong, I'm bad," which of course is not true, but that's Saturn/Pluto square for you. If I'm right, then what's going to happen? If I'm right about this, do I have to be right about the next thing? If I'm right about this, what consequence will come for me?" We can absolutely link this to past-life stuff, but I think this life has taught you that enough, honestly.

And some of this is probably locked in childhood experiences, not just what happened to you but what you saw happen to other people. The best way for a mouse to get eaten by a bird of prey is to run around in circles being panicked and being like, "Look. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here." There is a way that you understand that by being perfectly still and doing nothing, you are not as visible to people who would cause you harm. And yes, this is a good self-defense strategy. When your survival is being threatened, it is a great strategy. We do not want to take that from you. You never take survival mechanisms away from Pluto. That's an error. That doesn't work.

Instead, what you do is you validate the wisdom of it. There is wisdom in this. This is a good strategy. That's why you have it. That's why you still have it. But if it's your only tool, then it's not going to work for you⁠—I don't know. We're going to call it 80 percent of the time right now it's not working. But it works. It works. We don't want you to stop having that tool. We just want you to have greater flexibility with when you use it versus other tools. And this will take getting in your body and trusting your ability to recognize what real danger is.

If you can, give yourself permission to sometimes have an off day. Sometimes be good. Sometimes be bad. Sometimes be wonderful. Sometimes be terrible. No one thing has to define us. If you have a sense of self, that becomes a lot easier to really believe and to give yourself permission for. And this is where we come back to that little tent metaphor that I didn't come up with. You don't need to change the weather; you need to get a better house. You need to get a house with multiple doors, windows, maybe a secret room, something like that, Scorpio. And you can, but it has to happen through the body. That's the path, is through the body. So we're back to your first house. We're back to your Mars.

This fear of survival isn't going to magically go away. Instead, what you want to do is make eye contact with it. Acknowledge it. Talk to it. And negotiate a little and say to it the next time you want to do something and that fear of, "Oh no. No. This is not possible. I cannot do this. This is too much for me"⁠—to say, "Okay. What if I do it? And here's what I'm going to do to make myself feel better, and here's the risk I'm going to take. Let's see what happens. Let's just see what happens." And you take notes before and after as a way to track your experience.

And this thing I'm saying to do, tracking your experience—that's Pluto. Pluto is like a⁠—it's a tracker. And so, when we externalize the need to track and we write things down or whatever, it can help us psychologically not be obsessing on anything, like, "Am I going to fail? Am I going to fail? What's going to happen? Something bad is going to happen." This question that you have about your Pluto transits coming is a wise question. It is wise to look at seven years of Pluto transits and be like, "What's going to happen?"

But as much as it is a challenge, it is also a gift. It is. And you are actually ready. You are actually safe. And the world aside, you are actually very well equipped with a number of toolboxes. You don't, maybe, use them for yourself, but you still have them. And it would take Pluto to get you to change around the stuff we're talking about. It just would. Your T-square⁠—I haven't said this out loud, but it's fixed. So it's the part of your nature that is the most rigid that is being challenged by Pluto. So it would be hard for Uranus to do this. Uranus would weasel it a little bit, but it wouldn't transform it the way we're talking about. Again, you need Pluto for this job.

It is much easier to tell yourself a story and never change the narrative when you don't change your behavior. And you've got the story that you're not ready or you don't know, that you can't. You've got this story about yourself, about not expressing yourself as a way to be safer. And for as long as you don't interrupt that story, it's a true story. But it doesn't have to be a true story, because it's technically not a true story. You don't need to put fear into this. It'll be a pain in your ass sometimes, but this is what you need. This is when you need it. This is what you need. And it's not yet.

So you're with Neptune still, and you're comfortable with Neptune. So be with Neptune, but know that as this comes, the foundation you're laying with Neptune will prepare you for what comes with Pluto.

Hello, my loves. Okay. We're going to talk about the astrology of October 16th through the 22nd, but before that, we're going to pull back and talk more about the astrology of the times, so kind of a big-picture chat for a moment, if you will.

What I've been thinking so much about lately is how the world is such a remarkable place. I mean, think about it. We're here talking about astrology, and this means we're thinking about how various planets far, far away impact our individual lives but also our collective conditions on Earth. It's remarkable to think that something as simple as the planet Uranus transiting through the zodiac sign of Taurus can cyclically lead to the destabilization of many nations on Earth. But this is what happens, and this is where we are right now.

There's something really powerful about considering how connected we are, how small we are, and how much of what we go through is interdependent. We are seeing globally the rise of fascism and religious extremism coupled with the cruelties that people with power who prize their personal comfort and luxuries over the welfare of the planet itself and the people living on it⁠—But here we are. This is what's happening, and somehow, it just so happens that you are living at this time. And your life goes on⁠—all of your day-to-day concerns, your concerns about the present, the past, the future, life.

And there's a meaning to it. I believe there's a meaning to it. And I can't tell you what the purpose of your life is, but I've been getting so many questions from you about this, about purpose. And I want to say the way that you can find purpose in life is to lead a purposeful life. In other words, identify what you care about and make efforts to do something about it. You don't have to do the biggest thing or the most impactful thing, but do something about it. I had the great honor of hearing Cheryl Dawson speak at Marcus Books last week for the launch of the book called Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party⁠—a book, by the way, you should totally get your hands on. And she spoke about the power of service motivated by love.

Acting from a place of love is powerful. It's powerful for you and for the world itself. Now, this is Eclipse season, right? Next week, we're going to be talking about the first Eclipse of the duo because Eclipses always happen in pairs. And this brings up big emotions and opportunities for big change. Change isn't good; change isn't bad. It's change. And because it's the Moon, it's important for me to say that we're talking about emotions. We're talking about feelings. And emotional healing, in so many ways, happens within the body. As we move into Eclipse season, and also while we're there, try to notice what's happening in your body and how you emotionally feel, like where your emotions are rooting in your body, how you know that.

Strive to understand the difference between your feelings and your emotions. Try to notice the difference between what you're picking up from the environment or from other people around you and what you personally are feeling. You don't have to fix anything. You don't have to analyze this. Try to just show up and be present with what is. It's an effort. It's so simple. When it comes to lessons of the Moon, when it comes to emotional lessons, they tend to be really simple. But simple isn't easy. Simple is simply simple. So, if it's difficult, show up for that. That's the move here.

Now, that said, I do want to remind you that the numbers are tick-tick-ticking up with COVID, and many regions of the world are having another wave. And the best way to protect yourself and others is by wearing a mask indoors and washing your little hands. During an airborne global pandemic, wearing a mask is an act of service and love⁠—to yourself, sure, maybe, but certainly to others, to countless others. And speaking of acts of service, if you live in a place that claims to be a democracy, I encourage you to register to vote and participate in the goddamn system. Things are happening very quickly in the world. Pair service and action with love, and you're not only taking care of yourself, but you're being a part of what the world needs. You're participating.

At the end of the day⁠—I talked so much last week about the Eclipses and our values. And if you missed that, definitely listen to my little preamble before the horoscope in Episode 280. It is important that we identify what it is that we hold dear, what it is that we value, and that our actions reflect those values. And when that's not happening, it's a good moment to take a pause. Take a beat. Reset and realign our actions. And if these words "reset" and "realign" sound like a Retrograde, that's not an error, because what is really happening is we are in the Retro Shadow of the Mars Retrograde. And the Mars Retrograde will not happen until October 30th, but it's real close.

And so I want to remind you Mars is related to many things, including what we do, the actions we take, embodiment. That's Mars for you. Mars is also passion. It's fornicating. It's fighting. It's masculinity or males. But at the end of the day, Mars is what we do. Mars is the actions you take. And so, as we gear up towards the Mars Retrograde, it is valuable to reflect⁠—because we follow the rule of re's with Retrogrades, right? We reflect on what you're actually doing, how you're doing what you're doing, your motivations. So a little Mars Retroshade, a little Eclipse season mishigas⁠—it can all add up. It can all add up.

And while that can be stressful, I want to remind you there's meaning to it. There is meaning in it. And that struggle on its own is not a bad thing. Struggle, when it is infused with meaning, can be incredibly powerful and transformational. So don't resist all of your bad feelings just because they're difficult to bear. Instead, try to be present with them for long enough to be inquisitive about them. Okay? Okay. Now let's get into the horoscope.

Again, we are looking at the astrology of October 16th through the 22nd of 2022. And we started off with a Sun trine to Mars. On the 17th, the South Node will be at 24 degrees of Libra, and Mars will be at 24 degrees of Gemini. And they'll be forming this lovely trine. When these two planets trine each other, it can be quite powerful because the Sun is the identity, and it's the will. It's this bright luminary in the sky. And Mars is the ego. It is our sense of entitlement and action and passion and ambition.

And so we can effectively align what is authentic and right for us with what we're actually doing. We can feel strong enough to not be misled by our ego by way of taking more than is ours or falling into a pit of self-hate, because the ego can make you feel real big and real small. And often, feeling real small is the entitlement a person needs to act in a way that takes up too much space. And we call that, my friends, passive aggressive. But you don't have to worry about that during a Sun trine to Mars, especially if these particular planets are hitting any important planets or points in your birth chart.

So this is a good time for doing something physical, like getting something done, and that might be doing something athletic if you're a Sporty Spice type, or it can mean moving that piece of furniture that you've been meaning to get rid of, like actually moving it out of your house⁠—getting shit physically done. Also, if there's something that needs a little bit of courage, a little bit of oomph from you to activate around, this transit is your friend. This transit is also good for flirting, and in particular for hooking up. For flirting, that is physical. So it's great for sex. It's great for dance. It's great for play. It's just a fun transit, and there's really no downside to it.

So, if you've been feeling just flattened, if you haven't been energized, this transit might be just a little the boost that you've needed. And if you have a lot of energy and you've got things that need doing, again, this transit is your friend. Now, on the 18th overlapping with the Sun trine to Mars, we have a Venus trine to Mars. And it is not uncommon for the Sun and Venus to be very close to each other. In fact, they never get that far away from each other. But on the 18th, Venus is at 24 degrees of Libra and 42 minutes, as is Mars 24 degrees of Gemini, 42 minutes. And so these two planets form a trine to each other.

Now, this is a transit you've heard me talk about before. It happens frequently enough. This is a transit that has no downside as well. It's a lovely transit, but there's a but. Of course, there's a but. My but is this. It's a transit that I see a lot of astrologers online promising, "You will fall in love. It is amazing for relationships," all this kind of stuff. And I just have never seen that come to pass⁠—like almost never⁠, maybe never. And it's not to say it can't happen; it's just that it's not strong enough on its own to generate some magical love story. Even if it hits your birth chart in a pretty magical way, it's a trine. And trines don't make things happen. What they do is they create greater ease and flow to what is happening.

So, if you're single and ready to mingle, if you're in a relationship and just wanting to juj it up, this is a great transit for actively making things happen, for being receptive and also assertive⁠—so Venus is receptive, and Mars is assertive⁠—for being playful, engaging in things that are fun. This transit is lovely for all of that. It's just not magic is what I'm trying to say. Venus trine to Mars is wonderful for your relationships. It's wonderful for your relationship to your body, your clothes. It can be quite helpful if you need to be a little more diplomatic in how you assert yourself or engage with something. Again, a lovely transit⁠—no downside.

Here's the rub. Because we have these two lovely transits trining Mars⁠—⁠—yay Universe. Unfortunately, while they're happening, we have a bunch of difficult transits that are all exact on the 19th, smack dab in the hump of the week, the middle of the week, and they're fucking with these transits. Basically, they're fucking with the whole week because while the three transits I'm about to tell you about are exact on the 19th, we will be feeling them starting on Sunday for sure, and we will feel them throughout the week. So it's a real bummer, and I apologize on behalf of all things Universe-related.

But here we go. Here we go. We got three difficult transits to talk about. The first one is a Mercury opposition to Chiron. Now, Mercury opposite Chiron is stressful, and it's stressful in any sign. But here we have Mercury at 13 degrees of Libra and Chiron at 13 of Aries. And so, whenever we have oppositions between the sign of Libra and Aries, we are talking about tension in relationships. And the tension that we see in relationships is often the tension between what I need and what we need, the needs of my partner versus my own needs kind of thing. And when I say partner, it's not like it's just for people who are married.

This is a transit that can impact all of our relationships. Now, Mercury opposition to Chiron can find you fixated on something that hurts or something that isn't working. And that can kind of make things worse because it can incline us to not focus on, "Oh shit. I'm in pain. What do I need to do about it?" It can find us focusing on, "Oh shit. I'm in pain. Whose fault is it? Why does this happen to me?" And this is because oppositions tend to find us projecting our shit out or having other people project their shit upon us⁠—or both.

And so Mercury opposition to Chiron can be tense. This is not a great time to initiate processing. Let me repeat that. This is not a good time to initiate processing with people. If somebody tries to process something deep and real with you and you know that you're not in a great place for it, my advice to you, my loves, is let them know. "I will schedule a date with you. Let's schedule a date. It cannot be today."

Here's the positive of the Mercury opposition to Chiron. This transit can bring about great healing. It can bring about these sparks of insight that can be cathartic and help us to bridge understanding around something that has been a pain point. Mercury opposition to Chiron is a stressy kind of transit, but it's not inherently bad. It's just stressy, and so much of our greatest breakthroughs happen in moments of stress. So it's wise to be open to understanding or seeing things from a new perspective, working on your shit. And that doesn't mean having a conversation with someone else about it inherently, because it's too much going on. It's likely to go sideways on you.

But with Mercury opposition to Chiron, we can understand our own patterns. We can come to a greater sense of not just understanding but also participation around our pain points. And that's really powerful. That's what it's all about. It's not easy. It doesn't feel good, usually, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. So something to pay attention to. Now, at the same time, we are going through two⁠—not one, but two⁠—squares to Pluto. And it's not easy. So, whenever we have planets squaring Pluto, what ends up happening is compulsions get intensified. Our emotions become more intense, and oftentimes what will happen is we will act from our strongest feelings and not our wisest ones.

So, on the 19th, we've got the Sun forming an exact square to Pluto as well as Venus forming an exact square to Pluto. And this is happening with the Sun and Venus at 26 degrees of Libra and Pluto at 26 degrees of Capricorn. Now, you want to pay attention to this. The fact is we've got the Sun, Mercury, and Venus all in Libra, and they're all enduring some really challenging transits. So, if you have cardinal signs in your birth chart, you want to check out the degrees to see if your chart is getting hit. But listen. Here's the thing. The Sun square to Pluto will often find us in a controlling situation. So you may be feeling controlling, or you may be feeling like something or someone else is trying to control you. This can end up leading to serious conflicts, and those conflicts can basically be power struggles.

So, first and foremost, keep your side of the road clean. If you know you are feeling activated around a power struggle or an ego conflict with someone else, do your best to take responsibility for that. And that doesn't mean that you're not right. You might be really triggered by someone, and you may be absolutely right and they may be absolutely wrong. But you're still responsible for how you conduct yourself. You're still responsible for how you show up and how you participate. So, again, keep your side of the road clean as much as you can.

This transit can also coincide with basically just destructive behavior. And again, it could be your behavior; it could be somebody else's. And this is because Pluto brings up our strongest feelings, and the Sun is our identity. It's your literal sense of self. So, if your sense of self is feeling threatened or controlled by someone else, you're going to feel entitled to act out. And this is where it's important to check in with yourself to make sure you are approaching this in a balanced way. Now, you want to keep in mind the zodiac sign of Libra is ruled by Venus. So we're still on the theme of values. Acting in ways that reflect your values is really important, but that doesn't mean acting in any kind of way.

Pluto in Capricorn still wants us to learn responsibility around how we engage with power, how we structurely approach things. So you might need to take a time-out before you can figure out what to do, so you can explore your strongest emotions. Something I really think can be very effective is writing a letter or recording a voice note⁠—whatever's easier for your brain⁠—where you say everything, all of your pettiest feelings and thoughts. Just get it all out. Externalize it. Give yourself permission to say all the fucking things that you're feeling and thinking, and then edit it down. And then edit it down. And then edit it down from there so that you can kind of take your strongest, truest emotions, externalize them, give yourself permission to have them, and then edit it down to what actually needs to be said. "What is actually in integrity for me? What actually reflects my values? What actually is kind versus just 'fuck you' kind of stuff?"

Being able to really just pare down what it is that you think, what it is you would like to say, not with any intention of sending it to anyone, not with any intention of even saying anything to anyone, but as a process of engaging with your emotions that doesn't bring in other people⁠—because oftentimes your friends will gas you up. So, if you're pissed off at someone and you tell your Friend A, Friend A is like, "Yeah, you're right. Let me give my two cents," and now things get bigger, sometimes that's helpful. Sometimes that's what we need. And sometimes we need to sit with our own shit. And oftentimes, Pluto brings up such intense emotion that it's a really good idea to sit with your shit before you share it with others.

Conversely, it is a bad idea⁠—so I hope this doesn't sound confusing. But it is a bad idea to isolate yourself when you're going through Plutonian energies. So I'm not encouraging you to isolate yourself, but simply to explore your own feelings, your own impulses, even your own toxicity, before you bring other people into it, keeping in mind that everyone's going through this transit; it's not just you. And you may be dealing with someone else who is really triggered by this transit, even if you are not. And you might see that they just need to vent. I recommend asking if somebody wants feedback before offering it this week, but especially on the 19th and around the 19th.

This transit is not good news. None of these transits are good news for the world. Unfortunately, they can coincide with some of the worst behaviors that people are capable of, in particular people with power. So, unfortunately, I don't have a very optimistic view of what will happen at this time. Now, it is absolutely possible that people will come together and meaningful, deep, and lasting progress will be made. It is absolutely possible. But our wins during Pluto transits don't tend to be super easy. They tend to come with a bit of a heavy toll.

Pay close attention to the news on and around the 19th because, yeah, I expect this to be an eventful time. Whenever we're dealing with Pluto, we have the themes present of death and rebirth. And I feel like in spiritual and woo circles⁠, these are terms that are thrown around a lot, but what does it mean? Does it mean literal death and birth? It can, but it's not inherently what it means, no. What it means is surrendering and releasing, letting go. That's the death part. And the rebirth is being open to what emerges when you're not holding on to things too tightly. That's the rebirth part. And that's Pluto for you.

Now, the other transit that we have going on the same date is a Venus square to Pluto. This transit has a lot of similar characteristics to the Sun square to Pluto, and the Venus square to Pluto is going to last a little bit longer than the Sun square to Pluto. Okay. So, keeping in mind Venus is related to our values, our relationships, body image and how we feel about the way we look, our finances⁠—there's more, but let's just focus there. Because of this, this transit of Venus square to Pluto can have a meaningful impact on our relationship to how we look or how we feel about the way we look.

It can have a profound impact on our finances. This is a terrible time for major purchases, just fucking terrible, because we're likely to buy things out of a compulsive state instead of clarity. So, if you can avoid it, do. Just put it off for 72 hours, maybe a little more, and you'll be fine. But then, also, it can have a really profound effect on your intimate life. So, when I say intimate life, it can be your romantic love life, but it can also be the people that you're close to, which for a lot of us is friends. It's the people that you love and care for⁠—Venus.

It also can really challenge us around our values, what we value. And this is the thing. If you're upset in any way about the way you look or the way somebody else looks, let me just remind you to hold that concern in proportion with the value that it actually holds in life. It's important to check in with, "Am I thinking about this or caring about this in a way that is proportional to my value system? If I'm treating it like the most important thing, do I actually believe it's the most important thing? Does that belief need to be investigated, interrogated, changed? Venus square Pluto will help you with that shit.

Venus square to Pluto is a transit that often will kick up, again, power struggles, control issues, deep and compulsive feelings, resentments, all this kind of shit in your relationships. This is a transit that many people will want to obsess on people in their lives, people from their past, or people that you just have a fixation on. Terrible idea. Resist all impulses to cyberstalk someone. It's not a good use of this energy for you or for the person you're doing this to. Ditto with gossip. It is so tempting to talk shit about other people, people you know, famous people, whatever, when you feel like shit about yourself. But it's not a healthy deflection. It is just a deflection.

So, if you can, try to notice yourself doing it when you're doing it, and make a different choice. And if you can't, you can't. If you notice other people are just trying to pull you into shit talking, you might listen and not engage. You don't have to be high and mighty about it or anything. You can just not engage. It's always an option. This transit kicks up jealousy and possessiveness and manipulation and other Plutonian vibes. None of them are especially healthy. This is not healthy stuff. And so, if you find yourself coping with these emotions, again, try to pull yourself back and sit with the feelings instead of acting on those feelings or pairing a narrative to those feelings. Sometimes you just feel jealous, and you don't want to be jealous, and you don't have to fixate on it. You don't have to figure out why. You can just be like, "All right. This is what I'm feeling."

And then try to redirect your attention and energy towards something neutral. You know me. I'm always saying⁠ and I will continue to say when you're feeling shitty and low, it is very difficult to go from shitty feelings to positive feelings in an authentic way. So it is way more efficient and effective to go from shitty feelings to neutral feelings. There's so many neutral activities you can pursue, so many things that you can do that don't turn you into a Pollyanna but instead get you redirected without harming yourself or others. That is a great thing. And from there, but you can focus on positive if you can.

But the thing about Pluto is Pluto⁠—it's deep and roiling. So, whenever we're going through Pluto transits⁠—and again, today we're going through two at the same time as the Mercury/Chiron opposition, so it's a lot. So, whenever we're going through this Pluto stuff, we have the capacity to get to the bottom of things, to go deep. And this is something powerful. This can be something healing. The key is to not try to get to the bottom of things by scratching and clawing and harming yourself or others, but instead to do it in a way that reflects your values. And the truth is we all want to be loved. We all want to feel that we're worthy of love. And this transit can kick up ways that we don't feel loved or we don't feel worthy of love. This can be at the root of a lot of our bad behaviors or the bad behaviors of others.

Speaking of the bad behaviors of others, this is not a great transit for the rights of women and everyone who's not a cis man. It is also not a great transit in regards to people with power throwing their power around through their money. If you're going to invest your money, if you have to invest your money⁠—I know it's around tax time here in the U.S., whatever⁠—if you have to invest your money, my goodness, do it ethically. Do it ethically because the energy of this day is so powerful, and this power can be transformative in a really positive way or in a really negative way. That's fucking Pluto for you.

If this transit hits your chart directly, if it activates something really direct in your birth chart, you are likely to be dealing with intensity. Pluto has an all-or-nothing energy to it. So I want to encourage you to not offer ultimatums or engage with other people's ultimatums. And here's something very specific I'm trying to get at. Sometimes, someone does something, and that's a line for you. That is a boundary. They have crossed the line. They have crossed the boundary, and that's it. If they continue to do this thing, you need to take care of yourself and you need to remove yourself from the situation. That's real.

That's really different than an ultimatum. An ultimatum is a threat. An ultimatum is a manipulation. Pluto is very good at those things. But Pluto is also good at emboldening you to get to the heart of the matter so that you can use your discernment to be strong enough to take care of yourself, and that's a boundary. And so, while I don't recommend ultimatums, manipulations, and power plays, I do recommend knowing yourself well enough to know what you can and cannot do and being clear about that.

So an example of that might be you might be in a relationship with somebody who is constantly making fun of your footwear. They might think it's really funny, and you may have told them countless times, "You know what? It actually really hurts my feelings. My mother made fun of my footwear when I was a small child, and it's a trigger for me. I need you to stop." You tell them once. You tell them twice. You tell them three times. After the third time, it's not an ultimatum to say, "I can't keep this up. You're not respecting my feelings. We can't hang out if you keep this up." That's not an ultimatum if you mean it, if it's not a punishment for the other person. Instead, it's a way of taking care of yourself.

But if you say those exact same words but from a different motivation inside of yourself and it's to make them feel bad, it's to flex power, and it's not something that you really believe you'll follow through on, then we get into ultimatum vibes. So, again, whenever it comes to Pluto, we want to check our motivations. And when it comes to Venus, we want to check our values.

This transit can signify a meaningful transformation in your relationships⁠—your relationship to anything inside of yourself or a relationship with a human or relationships with people. It can be really powerful and healing. It's not usually easy, but it always holds within it the potential to bring about something more raw, simple, and true. But you gotta do the work. And when it comes to this transit, the work is not what I would characterize as easy. So show up. That's the best you can do. You know what I mean? You just want to show up.

A final word I will say about these transits is that if you have addiction issues, from shopping to substance abuse to porn, whatever⁠—if you have addiction issues, these transits, all three of them, can trigger those addiction issues. And so, when we know something is getting triggered, what we know is that we have the opportunity to bring healing to it. It depends on how you engage with it. I recommend, if you know this is coming, put your self-care tools in front of you. Choose to ask for help from people who have already proven to be good at helping you, willing to help you. This can be a powerful time of coming into greater alignment with yourself around self-destructive compulsions. But again, it takes the willingness to do the work, and it takes that intention.

Now, my loves, that brings us to the last two transits of the week, and they are both happening on October 22nd. And thankfully, they are grounding and soothing transits. So let me tell you the Sun and Venus are finally exactly conjunct to each other. They've been very close to each other all week, but now they're exactly conjunct to each other on the 22nd, and it's happening at the anaretic degree of Libra, so at 29 degrees of Libra. This transit is so helpful for coming into greater awareness and embodiment of your values. It's wonderful. If you're an astrology Googler, the reason why so many astrologers will say this transit brings about peace and harmony and well-being and all this kind of stuff is because our sense of self and our values are aligned. There is so much ease in that.

The Sun conjunction to Venus at the last degree of Libra is a powerful transit and one worth really tapping into because what it offers us the opportunity for is achieving greater awareness, clarity, and even embodiment of our values. And this is something that can spill over into our relationships so that we have lovely interactions with people. It's easier to show people how we feel about them, let them know that we appreciate them, when we feel okay in ourselves. And it might be that someone else just makes you feel good about yourself. This is a great transit for flirting and hanging out with people, basically socializing and connecting with others, because of the ease you're more likely to feel in yourself or the ease that others are likely to feel with themselves making it easier for them to participate in a lovely social interaction.

But as lovely as this transit is for socializing and romancing⁠—and it is lovely for those two things⁠—because of the time we're in and the time we're having, I want to point you towards this other part of the transit, our ability to be aligned with our values. That is so powerful. So, if you are working on some sort of spiritual work around your value system in honor of Eclipse season⁠—which, again, you know I strongly recommend⁠—this date and around this date is a chef's kiss kind of moment for it. And in particular, if you've had a rough week, if you've been having difficult social stuff, sit with it because on this date, you're going to be in a better position to be able to not be a dick to yourself or others around it, to just be with it. It can be quite a peaceful transit.

Now, the other thing I want to name about this particular transit is it can be good for the rights of women and everyone who is not a cis man. And I think that it's very important for me to acknowledge that a Sun conjunction to Venus is not as powerful of a transit as any transit that involves an outer planet, and that's because the outer planets⁠—Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Pluto⁠—they are social and generational planets, so they kind of harness more collective energies. And so we're not always going to see as much of a social and political articulation of this transit because it's between two of the inner planets, the more personal planets. But we want to look for the good news where we can find it in the world as well as in our individual lives.

Now, the other transit that we're going through on this date is a trine between Mercury at 18 degrees and 35 minutes of Libra and Saturn at the same degrees of Aquarius. Now, Mercury trine to Saturn is a lovely, grounding transit, I'm happy to say. This transit helps us to focus and concentrate, to get difficult things done, in particular anything that involves concentration, organization, and staying power related to your thinking. If you need to pay attention to details, if you need to sort through lots of information, Mercury trine to Saturn is your BFF. If you're studying for an exam, writing anything, in particular something that is nonfiction, Mercury trine Saturn is your friend.

This transit is a good one to have happen when you are dealing with anything related to business, professionalism, organization, responsibilities⁠—that kind of shit. So, if things were rough this week in your relationships, a day when Mercury is trine to Saturn and the Sun is conjunct Venus is an excellent time for processing. It's an excellent time for having an honest conversation that is not defensive.

This transit is really just⁠—again, it's grounding your thinking. It allows you to sort through your inbox and get all your emails finally responded to, making sure that you actually reply in a kind way, because Mercury is still in Libra. It's just generally a great transit for learning. And you can learn from experience. You can learn from people. You can learn from books and blogs and videos and podcasts, etc., etc. Whatever it is, this is just a good, grounding transit for your mind, and it is one worth really leaning into, especially because that Mercury opposition to Chiron is so triggering and can have us feeling all over the place, and it can scatter our attention. This Mercury trine to Saturn brings it back to focus, and that is a beautiful fucking thing, especially as we are in Eclipse season, which can be emotionally a little bit chaotic.

My loves, that is your damn horoscope. I'm going to run through the transits again, but as always, I'll remind you that you can use the same tool that I use for tracking the transits, which is Astrology For Days. You can subscribe to it over at astrologyfordays.com. You adjust it for your time zone, and yeah, it just tells you exactly when the transits are happening and gives you a place to keep notes so you can track your experience and predictions.

Okay. On the 17th of October, we have an exact Sun trine to Mars. On the 18th, we have an exact Venus trine to Mars. And then the 19th, shit goes haywire, and we have a Sun and a Venus square to Pluto, as well as a Mercury opposition to Chiron. Finally, on the 22nd, we have a lovely Sun conjunction to Venus and a Mercury trine to Saturn. If you'd like to learn more with me and get woo, join me over on Patreon. The link is always in show notes and on my website, but it's patreon.com/jessicalanyadoo.

Now, my friends, I know this is a heavy time. It's a heavy time in the world, and there's a lot coming up and going on. So I encourage you to try to center acts of love, potentially even acts of service motivated by love⁠, not for the attention, not for the outcome, but for the action itself⁠. Acting from a place of love expands that inside of you, and it can be really powerful. It's also a good reminder of how taking care of yourself can be so interconnected with taking care of others.

All right, my loves. Thank you for joining me this week, and I will look forward to talking to you next week. Buh-bye.