The Pluto declination cycle
Pluto unleashed
What happens when it is out-of-bounds
By Rosanne Finn
© Rosanne Finn - published by The Astrological Journal, 2024 / The Astrological Association of Great Britain / 06.05.2024
Between 2025 to 2035, Pluto will go out-of-bounds (to the south) for the last time for the next few thousand years. History tells us that a “redemption, a revolution, a mass-awakening of consciousness becomes not only possible but likely” in the time ahead.
Pluto. This tiny planet is here to teach us about power, our power, how we have power and how to be in our power. So often in our lives we project our power onto others…other people, other organisations, governments, religions. We dance in a victim-perpetrator illusion. Taskmaster Pluto moves us beyond that dance. As it transits each celestial factor in our chart, Pluto offers us another chance to negotiate our relationship to power and its expression. When Pluto transits out-of-bounds (OOB), it takes this dance to next level and correlates with times when societies are taken hostage by tyrants and dictators (out-of-bounds north) and when people claim their power through revolutions and reformations (out-of-bounds south).
Due to an anomaly in the relationship between Earth’s motions and Pluto’s orbit, it will soon spend one last cycle transiting out-of-bounds. What can we learn from the past few centuries of OOB Pluto to help inform us of this last hurrah?
Out-of-bounds
Usually transiting planets are tracked using zodiacal longitude along the ecliptic, which can easily be seen in modern circular charts. However, the measurement north and south of the ecliptic, called declination, cannot be depicted on these types of charts. The Sun always has a declination of zero, as its path is the ecliptic itself. All the other planets orbit above or below this imaginal line, and Earth’s tropics of Capricorn and Cancer form a typical area or ‘bound’ for this motion. A planet is said to be ‘out-of-bounds’ when it exceeds the average 23 degrees and 16’ north or south of the ecliptic. (This number varies as the distance between the equatorial plane and the ecliptic varies, but only between 22 degrees 36’ and 24 degrees 12’).#1
An out-of-bounds planet manifests in a more exaggerated way than if it was within bounds. K T Boehrer, who did extensive research into out-of-bounds planets, says that they occur to us as being “beyond normal conditions or expectations”.#2 In Beyond the Solstice by Declination, Leigh Westin says that a planet out-of-bounds is ‘unleashed, occurs without reigns, and is not limited by normal controls’.#3
Most planets move out-of-bounds somewhat near the solstice points when the Sun appears most north and south of the equator. Pluto, however, has an eccentric orbit in that it is inclined at 17 degrees, elongated, and the Sun isn’t even in the centre of its orbit. Due to these eccentricities, Pluto goes out-of-bounds nearer to 9 degrees of Leo and Aquarius. Now picture an out-of-bounds Pluto, the god of the underworld, unleashed on planet Earth, existing beyond normal conditions, with no limits or reins.
There is another interesting anomaly about Pluto. Due to Earth’s wobble on its own axis – the same wobble that creates the Precession of the Equinoxes, the move into the Aquarian Age, and the Galactic Alignment with the Winter Solstice inherent in the Mayan calendar – the equatorial plane shifts into and out of alignment with Pluto’s orbit. This changes the extent and length of time that Pluto spends out-of-bounds.
Most fascinating in all of this is that between 2025 to 2035, Pluto will go out-of-bounds for the last time for the next few thousand years. It does so to the south – signifying a time of revolution, reformation, internal combustion, and a rise in power to the people. Let’s explore Pluto out-of-bounds in history to glean insight into our future.
Pluto out-of-bounds north in history
When Pluto moves out-of-bounds north, tyrants, empire builders, and war ravage the planet as if Pluto’s underworld realm unfurls before us like a zombie apocalypse. The common masses experience a feeling of disempowerment, of being out-of-control and overwhelmed. Fear ripples through society and power-hungry dictators rise into power. Which comes first is hard to say – but Pluto out-of-bounds north spells a time of terror.
The last time Pluto was out-of-bounds to the north was during 1938-1953, with 1945-46 being the peak time of most extreme declination. In the summer of 1945, the US perpetrated a never-before-seen level of destruction on Japan. Amidst the backdrop of genocide, war, famine, nuclear radiation, and worldwide calamity, a new world order was established with the creation of the IMF, World Bank, and United Nations. The Iron Curtain went up (or came down) and the reigning superpowers divided countries – Korea, Vietnam, Germany, and India-Pakistan. These unnatural cuts instigated ongoing conflict and war, like Pluto leaving its henchmen behind to continue its work. The National Security Act of 1947 established the CIA and the NSA, organisations known for their ongoing power-tripping. Israel became its own country in 1948 setting off ongoing conflicts in the region.
Going back a bit further: from 1687 to 1710, Pluto was out-of-bounds north, peaking in declination in 1699 and 1700 when the French King Louis XIV instigated war throughout Europe and Peter the Great expanded Russia into Sweden. At the beginning of this period, William and Mary crossed the English Channel and took over England – the so-called Glorious Revolution that was not glorious: more of a coup than a revolution.
From 1437 to 1466, Pluto out-of-bounds north saw the rise of Mehmed II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. In 1453, the year when Pluto was farthest out, Mehmed’s army catapulted itself into Constantinople, taking down the Byzantine Empire with new cannon ball technology. From 1188 to 1221, Pluto’s northerly transit out-of-bounds coincided with the reign of Genghis Khan, a representative of Pluto that needs no further elaboration. Genghis Khan was crowned emperor a year before Pluto was at its most extreme in 1207. Concurrently, it was the time of Christian crusades and knights in shining armour fighting their way into Jerusalem.
From 940 to 976, Otto the Great expanded the Holy Roman Empire and Zhao Kuangyin founded the Song Dynasty. From 692 to 731, Charles ‘The Hammer’ Martel expanded the Frankish Empire and Leo III burned altars throughout the Byzantine Empire. From 445 to 486, Vandals and Goths took over the Roman Empire. From 197 to 240, Ardashir the Great founded the Sassanid Empire. And before that, from 50 BCE to 6 BCE, a series of wars and conquests transformed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire – from Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon in 49 BCE to Octavian crowned Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE (when Pluto was peaking), this time period is legendary. All of this occurring with Pluto out-of-bounds to the north. For reasons that I hope are obvious, I call this the POWER time.
Pluto out-of-bounds south
When Pluto transits OOB to the south, instead of tyrants, we see the people rise up through revolts, rebellions, chaos, implosions, collapse, and shifts that move from the internal to the external. The last time Pluto was OOB southside was 1775 to 1796. In 1775, rebels in the colonies took out their muskets and mounted a revolution against the British Empire. When Pluto peaked in 1783, the war officially ended with the Treaty of Paris calling a truce between the largest empire on the planet and a group of visionaries who started a new nation with a new constitution. Six years later, in the same city as the treaty, rebels stormed the Bastille, starting a time of terror and chaos in France. Finally, as Pluto left its out-of-bounds journey in 1794, one of the leaders of the rebellion, Robespierre, was executed, ending the Reign of Terror.
Going back in time: five years after Martin Luther wrote 95 Theses (1519), Pluto went OOB south (1524–1553), and demonstrations in Europe against corruption in the Catholic Church kick-started what has come to be known as The Reformation. By the time Pluto peaked in 1537, Huldrych Zwingli had died in battle, King Henry VIII of England had broken with the [Roman] Church (1534), and John Calvin had published his theological treatise, starting Calvinism. By the end, Lutherans were allowed to practise in the Holy Roman Empire. In 1291, when Pluto peaked in extreme declination south, the last crusade ended at the Battle of Acres, dispersing the knights throughout Europe, including into the Alps where three cantons signed a treaty and establishing the roots of one of the few countries in the world with direct democracy, Switzerland. Meanwhile, Kublai Khan oversaw a time of advancements in the arts and infrastructure in China.
From 1028 to 1067, Pluto OOB correlates with a chaotic time in England ending with the battle of Hastings and the intervention of William, King of Normandy. At the same time, the Catholic Church in Rome moved into a schism. Going back another cycle, from 780 to 824, Charlemagne and Harun al Rashid passed gifts back and forth overseeing a time of peace between the Holy Roman Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate as the Islamic Golden Age was growing legs. Pluto was OOB from 533 to 580 CE. During this time, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (reign 527-565) transformed the judicial system into what has come to be known as the Code of Justinian, and gave us “innocent until proven guilty”, an inspiration for modern governments. Perhaps most significantly, Pluto was OOB from 285 to 337. Christian demonstrations and massacres surged into a peak of chaos during Diocletian’s reign (284–305). Just as Pluto peaked in extreme declination, Diocletian died, and Constantine (reign 306-337) took over. Constantine addressed the internal strife within the Roman Empire by establishing Christianity as an official religion and giving them freedom to worship, without ostracising the pagans (that came later).
Going back further into history, Pluto OOB brought on other times of revolt and reform including in the Roman Empire (Jewish Revolt of 70 CE); in the Seleucid Empire (Maccabean Revolt from 167-160 BCE); in Greece (Pericles Funeral Oration in 431 BCE was at a Pluto OOB peak); in Greece with Solon’s Reforms; and in Judea with Solomon’s reforms. Back in 1194 to 1123 BCE, peaking in 1166 BCE, Pluto’s OOB time oversaw a time of world collapse when several civilisations including Egypt, the Hittites, and Assyria all fell at the same time. For reasons that I hope are obvious, I call this time REFORM.
As we quickly head into Pluto out-of-bounds south, we enter into a time of internal collapse, rebellions, reformation – perhaps even wise leaders will listen to the needs of the people. Consider that in some places the next Constantine, Harun al Rashid, Kublai Khan, or Ben Franklin may be on the rise into power. Perhaps mass demonstrations lead to another reformation, or revolutions lead to new constitutions, or collapse and internal chaos lay waste a world of corruption opening the field for a new society. Perhaps even something that has never happened before – a mass awakening, a time when internal strife leads to breakthroughs in science, consciousness, and healing.
In my forthcoming book, Persephone’s Revolution, I outline five possible futures for the last Pluto OOB: Collapse, Revolution, Non-violent Demonstrations and Benevolent Rulers, a Scientific Paradigm Shift, and an Awakening, including the places they are most likely to occur. I imagine we all have preferences and might try to move to a country that is most likely to have a benevolent ruler or an awakening. However, the reality is that we are one world, one society, and profoundly interconnected. One country collapses, and its waves of impact incite a revolution in another land across the globe.
However, looking at the entire Pluto cycle, which I deem begins when Pluto crosses the equatorial plane moving south to north (1863 in our current cycle), it offers insight into how various cultures, lands, and people with disparate histories may respond to an unleashed Pluto.
Pluto crossing the equatorial plane south to north
To complete the Pluto Paradigm shift cycle that follows declination, two more points are necessary – Pluto as it crosses the equatorial plane south to north and then north to south.
Each cycle begins with visionaries, people who see beyond the current state of humanity, beyond the tumult, beyond the suffering, beyond the beliefs that hold reality so tightly. People who lived and initiated new Pluto paradigms (0° south to north) include Thales, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Augustine of Hippo, Hypatia, Cicero, Lycurgus, the Prophet Muhammad (and his immediate followers), al-Battani, Bernard of Claivaux, Hildegard von Bingen, Chaucer, Petrarca, Descartes, Kepler, and Galileo.
To start off our current cycle, James Maxwell came up with the equations for electricity and magnetism; Darwin wrote a paper on evolution; Abraham Lincoln gave a speech; Ramakrishna experienced enlightenment; Baháʼu'lláh had a dream in a garden that launched the Baháʼí Faith; Helena P. Blavatsky fell off a horse and began having visions; John D. Rockefeller Sr. invested in oil; Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital; and Henry Dunant wrote a book that led to the Geneva Conventions and the Red Cross. Titans of industry took quantum leaps in wealth while even the just word technology became relevant. For reasons that I hope are obvious, I call this time VISION.
Pluto crossing the equatorial plane north to south
In this stage, a turning point, a crisis, and a cry for justice shift the direction of humanity and move us onto a course of revolution, reformation, and into the REFORM time. Many times, a powerful leader dies and after a crisis in succession a weaker leader steps into place setting the stage for revolution later. Leaders who died and left a power vacuum in their wake include Ramses II, King David of Judea, Augustus Caesar, and Lorenzo de Medici.
In the power vacuum, radicals cry for justice, like Jesus, Mani, Savonarola, Samuel Adams, and in our current cycle, the people of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Czechoslovakia who stood up to the Soviet Union and played a part in its collapse. Turning points can take other forms like the battle of Talas that brought paper from China to the Abbasid Caliphate, Columbus landing in Hispaniola bringing gold and slaves from the New World to Europe, or the Italian Renaissance that brought art and new tools of war to the world, or the ‘Great Awakening’ when Jonathan Edwards got the colonists excited about freedom of religion.
In our current cycle, Chernobyl exploded, bringing awareness of the dangers of nuclear energy; the Soviet Union fell into 15 different countries; and protests in Tiananmen Square were violently quashed. To go into all the crises of the late 1980s is beyond the scope of this article and is covered in thorough detail in my upcoming book.
For reasons that may or may not be obvious, I call this time JUSTICE, not because justice is given, succeeds, or is even the focus, but because there is a cry for justice, a deeper desire for justice, a call to rectify and change the laws and current belief systems in society.
For those history buffs who want to track your own fascinations with the past, here is a list of dates outlining the Pluto in declination cycle going back to 1809 BCE.
Table of Pluto’s OOB transits
| Dates of Pluto at zero declination – South to North-– using an orb of 1 degree | Dates of Pluto in extreme declination north | Dates of Pluto at zero declination – north to south using an orb of 1 degree | Dates of Pluto in extreme declination south |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1809 BCE, Oct 1809 BCE, Jan 1808 BCE, Apr 1811 BCE – Mar 1807 BCE | 1771 – 1724 BCE Peak Feb 1744 BCE (36 N 07) |
1685 – 1610 BCE Peak Aug 1655 BCE (35 S 46) |
|
| Apr 1565 BCE, Sep 1565 BCE, Feb 1564 BCE, Apr 1567 BCE – Jan 1562 BCE | 1526 – 1478 BCE Peak Feb 1498 BCE (35 N 29) |
Sep 1462 BCE – Jul 1461 BCE Nov 1462 BCE, Mar 1461 BCE, Aug 1461 BCE |
1439 – 1366 BCE Peak Aug 1412 BCE (35 S 07) |
| May 1321 BCE, Sep 1321 BCE, Mar 1320 BCE, May 1323 BCE – Feb 1318 BCE | 1280 – 1232 BCE Peak Feb 1253 BCE (34 N 50) |
Oct 1217 BCE – Sep 1215 BCE Oct 1216 BCE, May 1215 BCE, Jul 1215 BCE |
1194 – 1123 BCE Peak Aug 1166 BCE (34 S 29) |
| Jun 1077 BCE, Jul 1077 BCE, Mar 1076 BCE, Oct 1076 BCE, Jan 1075 BCE, Jan 1077 BCE – Mar 1074 BCE | 1034 – 988 BCE Peak Feb 1008 BCE (34 N 08) |
Oct 971 BCE – Aug 969 BCE Sep 970 BCE |
948 – 880 BCE Peak Aug 922 BCE (33 S 47) |
| Apr 832 BCE, Sep 832 BCE, Feb 831 BCE, Apr 834 BCE – Feb 829 BCE | 788 – 741 BCE Peak Mar 763 BCE (33 N 24) |
Sep 725 BCE – Aug 723 BCE Dec 725 BCE, Feb 724 BCE, Sep 724 BCE |
701 – 637 BCE Peak Sep 676 BCE & Sep 675 BCE (33 S 05) |
| Jun 588 BCE, Aug 588 BCE, Mar 587 BCE, Oct 587 BCE, Jan 586 BCE, Jun 590 BCE – Mar 585 BCE | 542 – 497 BCE Peak Mar 516 BCE (32 N 42) |
Sep 479 BCE – Aug 477 BCE Nov 479 BCE, Feb 478 BCE, Aug 478 BCE |
455 – 395 BCE Peak Sep 431 & Sep 430 BCE (32 S 21) |
| May 343 BCE, Sep 343 BCE, Mar 342 BCE, Apr 345 BCE – May 341 BCE | 290 – 260 BCE Peak Feb 273 BCE (31 N 48) |
Sep 233 BCE – Aug 231 BCE Nov 233 BCE, Feb 232 BCE, Aug 232 BCE |
210 – 160 BCE Peak Aug 187 BCE (31 S 32) |
| Apr 98 BCE, Oct 98 BCE, Feb 97 BCE, Apr 100 BCE – Feb 95 BCE | 50 - 6 BCE Peak Mar 25 BCE (31 N 09) |
Sep 14 CE – Aug 16 CE Dec 14 CE, Jan 15 CE, Sep 15 CE |
38 – 62 CE Peak Sep 61 CE & Sep 62 CE (30 S 48) |
| Jun 147, Jul 147, Mar 148, Oct 148, Feb 149, Jan 147 – Feb 151 | 197 – 240 Peak Mar 222 (30 N 20) |
Oct 260 CE – Sep 262 CE Oct 261 CE, May 262 CE, July 262 CE |
285 – 337 Peak Sep 307 (30 S 00) |
| May 392, Aug 392, Mar 393, Oct 393, Jan 394, Apr 390 – Apr 395 | 445 – 486 Peak Mar 469 (29 N 31) |
Nov 506 CE – Aug 509 CE Nov 507 CE, Mar 508 CE, Aug 508 CE |
533 – 580 Peak Aug 553 (29 S 10) |
| May 637, Aug 637, Mar 638, Nov 638, Jan 639, Apr 635 – Apr 640 | 692 – 731 Peak Mar 714 & Mar 715 (28 N 39) |
Oct 753 CE – Sep 755 CE Sep 754 CE, Jun 755 CE, Jun 755 CE |
780 – 824 Peak Sep 798 & Sep 799 (28 S 19) |
| May 882, Aug 882, Mar 883, Nov 883, Jan 884, Apr 880 – Apr 885 | 940 – 976 Peak Mar 961 (27 N 47) |
Sep 1000 CE – Aug 1002 CE Nov 1000 CE, Mar 1001 CE, Aug 1001 CE |
1028 – 1067 Peak Sep 1044 & Sep 1045 (27 S 27) |
| May 1127, Aug 1127, Mar 1128, Oct 1128, Jan 1129, Apr 1125 – Apr 1130 | 1188 – 1221 Peak Mar – Apr 1207 (26 N 54) |
Mar 1247 CE – Jul 1249 CE Oct 1247 CE, Apr 1248 CE, Jul 1248 CE |
1276 – 1310 Peak Sep-Oct 1291 (26 S 34) |
| May 1372, Aug 1372, Mar 1373, Oct 1373, Feb 1374, Apr 1370 – Mar 1376 | 1437 – 1466 Peak April 1453 & April 1454 (25 N 59) |
Sep 1493 – Sep 1495 Sep 1494, May 1495, Jun 1495 |
1524 – 1553 Peak 1537 (25 S 39) |
| May 1617, Aug 1617, Mar 1618, Oct 1618, Feb 1619, Mar 1616 – Mar 1621 | 1687 – 1710 Peak April 1699 & April 1700 (25 N 03) |
Sep 1740 – Sep 1742 Nov 1740, Feb 1741, Sep 1741 |
1774 – 1795 Aug 1774 – Dec 1774 June 1775 – Jan 1776 May 1776 – Feb 1791 Peak Oct 1783 & Oct 1784 (24 S 44) July 1791 – Jan 1792 July 1792 – Jan 1793 Aug 1793 – Dec 1793 Aug 1794 – Dec 1794 Oct 1795 – Nov 1795 |
| May 1862, Aug 1862, Oct 1863, Mar 1861 – May 1865 | Mar 1938 – May 1938 Feb 1939 – June 1939 Jan 1940 – July 1940 Jan 1941 – July 1941 Dec 1941 – Aug 1942 Dec 1942 – Aug 1943 Dec 1943 – Aug 1944 Dec 1944 – Aug 1945 Dec 1945 – Aug 1946 Dec 1946 – July 1947 Jan 1948 – July 1948 Jan 1949 – July 1949 Jan 1950 – July 1950 Feb 1951 – Jun 1951 Feb 1952 – Jun 1952 Mar 1953 – May 1953 Peak: April 1945 and April 1946 (24 N 07) |
Oct 1986 – Sep 1989 Nov 1987, Feb 1988, Sep 1988 |
Sep 11, 2025 – Nov 9, 2025 Aug 21, 2026 – Dec 1, 2026 Aug 10, 2027 – Dec 13, 2027 Aug 4, 2028 – Dec 17, 2028 Aug 2, 2029 – Dec 21, 2029 Aug 4, 2030 – Dec 20, 2030 Aug 7, 2031 – Dec 16, 2031 Aug 13, 2032 – Dec 12, 2032 Aug 22, 2033 – Dec 4, 2033 Sep 4, 2034 – Nov 23, 2034 Sep 25, 2035 – Nov 3, 2035 Peak Oct 6 – 16, 2030 (23 S 48) |
There is another component to this Pluto OOB business, a component that may take a bit to digest. It seems that how we experience power in our lives not only has to do with Pluto, but with the point in space in which Pluto goes out-of-bounds. The degrees of zodiacal longitude where Pluto goes into extreme declination become sensitive points in space, where we also see themes of power play out as other planets traverse these degrees. It is as if Pluto’s orbit is in a field of energy with the other Kuiper Belt objects, and this field influences or correlates with other planets in our solar system.
Some astronomers are considering the Kuiper Belt as a toroidal field. It is interesting to note that other major Kuiper Belt objects have high inclinations in roughly the same direction, including Haumea, Makemake and Varuna. Check out solarsystemscope.com for an easy and fun way to view these orbits.
When I studied planetary physics with an eccentric inventor, Dan Dial, in Shelton, Washington, he taught me to view the planets as filters that augment the energy penetrating our solar system, spirally, centripetally inward from space from all the stars, black holes, and galactic fields, aligned with the orbital plane. If the planets are actually creating shadows on our planet rather than emitting any kind of energetic presence (as scientists like to remind astrologers), and the energy that is emanating from all kinds of fields from all kinds of places moving through the planets, then a toroidal field of the Kuiper Belt could easily be a significant factor in how we experience human consciousness patterns.#4
In over 1400 charts that I have explored, some poignant examples stand out. Look at the Sun, for instance, as it moves through the northern OOB place of Pluto (currently at 9 degrees of Leo in the tropical zodiac) and using the same orb of influence as the orb the OOB takes place in.#5 We have a grand list of powerful people – people who embody or embodied power, who looked to no one for their own authority. People like President Barack Obama (12°5’ Leo); King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (08° Leo); President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela (05° Leo), the Grand Ayatolla of the Shia Religion Ali al-Sistani (11° Leo); President of Pakistan Arif Alvi (6° Leo). Benito Mussolini, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Henry Ford to name some other significant ones.
As we quickly head into Pluto out-of-bounds south, we enter into a time of internal collapse, rebellions, reformation – perhaps even wise leaders will listen to the needs of the people
Others that forged their own way include writer J. K. Rowling, Quarterback Tom Brady, and the first man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong. My clients, typically not world leaders, with Sun around 9 degrees Leo, often feel a great need to change the world, a burning urgency to make a difference in the world, as if their light cannot be contained.
On the south side (currently at 9° Aquarius), we see leaders more likely to be reformers or work their power within a group or even represent the people like Oprah Winfrey (10° Aquarius), Jerome Powell (16° Aquarius), King Abdullah of Jordan (10° Aquarius), Chief Justice John Roberts (7° Aquarius), one of the richest people on the planet Carlos Slim Helu (8° Aquarius) who works closely with his family, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (5° Aquarius), President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Boris Yeltsin.#6 With clients, there is passionate desire to reform the world, to work together with others to change society.
Each planet expresses its own flavour of power. I have taken to calling this place power, the place where in the zodiac Pluto goes out-of-bounds north. Another example is when Mars is at the power place (currently at 9° Leo tropical): we see athletes whose physical endurance and power goes beyond the average even among professional athletes: basketball players Michael Jordan (10° Leo), Wilt Chamberlain (07° Leo), Charles Barkley (09° Leo) and baseball players Willie Mays (13° Leo), Derek Jeter (11° Leo), Roger Maris (07° Leo) and Joe Torre (10° Leo). And a few others who are known for their courage in extreme environments like the mountaineer Ed Viesturs, the Navy Seal Carl Brashear, Helen Keller, Florence Nightingale, Anne Frank, and John McCain.
On the south side, we have athletes Lance Armstrong (12° Aquarius), Ken Griffey Jr. (12° Aquarius) and Pete Rose (08° Aquarius). For extreme physical strength and courage, magician David Blaine who lived in ice in Times Square for three days (06° Aquarius), Steve Irwin who showed us that alligators are really safe to hang out with (16° Aquarius), the astronaut Gus Grissom (09° Aquarius), and Joan of Arc (12° Aquarius) who showed us what a dream could do.
Perhaps more interesting, are people with the Sun/Moon midpoint activating this axis, people who not only exude power and conviction, but are emotionally able to align themselves with this power, giving them the ability to sustain their convictions over time. Current leaders like Vladimir Putin (6° Leo), Joe Biden (14° Aquarius), Pope Francis I (13° Aquarius), the Dalai Lama (12° Leo), Rupert Murdoch (7° Aquarius), Elon Musk (11° Leo), and President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyam of the United Arab Emirates. And past leaders J. Edgar Hoover (10° Aquarius), Henry Kissinger (15° Leo), and U.S. presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Hayes, McKinley, Hoover, Harding, Truman and Nixon.
You might be asking where is Donald Trump on this list, or Jeff Bezos, or Warren Buffet. Donald Trump has Sun/Neptune midpoint at 14° Leo, a place I like to call the illusion of power. Jeff Bezos has Sun/Saturn at 7° Aquarius, an ability to assert authority. Both Warren Buffet and Kamala Harris have Sun/Jupiter at 10° Leo, changing the world through their ability to envision a new world. And last but not least, Xi Jinping [of China] has his Moon close to 6° Leo along with the head of the EU, Ursula Gertrud von der Leyer (around 14° Leo), following in the footsteps of Chairman Mao Zedong (14° Leo), Queen Elizabeth II (12° Leo), Mikhail Gorbachev (8° Leo), John Foster Dulles (10° Leo) and King Louis XIV of France (6° Leo).
Conclusion
The Pluto declination cycle appears to mark history in perfect lockstep with how paradigms shift – from a time of visionaries (VISION), to when tyrants build empires (POWER), to a crisis point that brings cries for justice (JUSTICE) and finally into a period of redemption, when the visions of the visionaries emanate throughout the populace, when the cries for justice of the few become cries for justice of the many, and when leaders either listen to the people or are ousted and revolutions take down despots. As we head into the REFORM time, the last time Pluto goes out-of-bounds for thousands of years, a redemption, a revolution, a mass-awakening of consciousness becomes not only possible but likely.
To conclude, I offer this blessing: may the visions of Ramakrishna, who found a way through and beyond major religious dogma to inspire Gandhi to start a non-violent protest movement; may the visions of Henry Dunant, who disgusted with the war and its aftermath started a worldwide peace movement; may the visions of Helena P. Blavatsky, who saw beyond this world into the interconnectedness of humans with other worlds; may the visions of Baháʼu'lláh, who wanted peace for all people of all religions; and may the visions of Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy, who both saw a way to live in harmony with nature and community– may all these visions prevail over the visions of the Robber Barons, or the visions of divisiveness of the US Civil War, or the visions of heavenly cities that incited so much violence during the Taiping Rebellion, or the visions of Darwin that have come to mean the survival of the fittest, or the visions of Karl Marx that have led to so much discord.
May we find the ability to adapt and unite from the work of Constantine, wisdom from those who walked away from the crusades and started a new form of government in the founding of Switzerland, inspiration from the activists of the Reformation, and courage from the leaders of the American Revolution. I look forward to something entirely new enveloping the planet – a wave of understanding, compassion, and unity – unlike anything before.
It is after all, Pluto unleashed for the last time.
Endnotes
Published by: The Astrological Journal, March/April 2024
Author
Rosanne Finn Jyotish Visharada (CVA), an astrologer in Olympia, WA since 1996, practises both Western and Vedic astrology. She wrote and self-published two astrology books: an astrology workbook, Journey-work of the Stars, and a transit manual, Whirling Dance of the Planets. For 18 years, she supported her local community through monthly talks and an accompanying newsletter, Plants & Planets. She blends a background in engineering with spiritual practices deepened through four years living in an ashram. Since 2004, she has been researching Pluto’s declination cycle soon to be available in her next book, Persephone’s Revolution, coming out in April 2024 through Revelore Press. For information on sessions and classes, visit her website astrologywithrosiefinn.com. Revelore website: revelore.press.
© Rosanne Finn, Astrological Journal, 2024
