Calling on the sign and planetary archetypes to help us navigate (and care for ourselves and our communities) through the fight against fascism.
We are witnessing in real time Angela Davis' timeless assertion that "Freedom is a constant struggle." Our hard-won human rights, freedoms and comforts are being stripped away, further threatening the tapestry of our society which was already so tattered and incompletely realized.
With the sudden onslaught of the illegal, civil rights-violating, and outright hateful, racist, and sexist executive orders that threaten our community members' lives, Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine is applying with rigor, leaving us scrambling to make sense of how to respond, frantic to identify which fight to pick first.
Nazism and its policies and practices are in full, public swing here in America, and this week we'll witness the first plane of migrants sent to the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp (will they ever get out?).
A total federal abortion ban bill H.R.722 introduced on the 24th of January will be hitting the congress floor imminently, jeopardizing the lives, privacy, and autonomy of millions of American people who can get pregnant.
We are living in times that will require more of each of us (especially my white community members) than ever before, and that is why I'm writing this piece.
When we find ourselves in a state of fear, shock, confusion, loss, anger, powerlessness, oppression, or in a moment of existential threat for ourselves, our family, or our community members, we need extra support to stay emotionally resourced and ready for action.
Astrology can be part of the suite of strategies that we lean on as we do this hard, critical work together.
Take Your Whole Chart With You
I'm going to give you a range of ways to work with particular planetary and sign archetypes that can be helpful during this time. But really - you need to approach your role in revolution with your whole chart.
You want to arrive to this moment knowing who the hell you are, what you are here to do, what you need, and how to find balance. I don't want you burning out in this fight early on because you were walking down a road that was not meant for you; you have a place in this and it is as unique as you are.
Working with astrology also takes accepting the multiplicities of often conflicting energies in your chart and honoring them, while working to express the supportive aspects of every sign and every planet.
All the planets and signs are operating in your life,
so we want to be aware of their gifts and their challenges so that we can build an aware, fruitful relationship with them to live more regulated and fulfilling lives.
That is what integral astrology is about; integrating the wholeness of astrology to walk a path of wisdom and positive impact in the world.
Pluto in Aquarius: A Place to Start
On November 19, 2024 Pluto entered Aquarius, where it had not been since the period between 1777 and 1798.
What happened during this period? Massive revolutionary change.
The American Revolution and the French Revolution both occurred during this period. But lets not forget that these successful revolutions rose up in response to brutal systems of social control, crushing domination against a people and massive scale suffering and casualties.
Here we have two contrasting features of Pluto in Aquarius showing up; themes of power and domination, of the cruel underbelly coming to the surface at the service of power and wealth, and mass societal impact alongside themes of revolutionary acts to preserve or restore personal rights and freedoms, societal transformation, radical actions that risk incarceration or exclusion based on your principles, and the development of a codified system that protects those rights (however truly just at the time).
There is also a dimension of Pluto in Aquarius that we've seen with the Trump Presidency which draws from the Uranian expression of the sign. Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, can indicate suddenness, radical abrupt change, and shocking events.
Here's what I've learned about Uranus in my years as an astrologer; there are just undeniable nervous system consequences to Uranian events and circumstances.
It's as if the current of shocking electricity plugs right into our nervous systems and throws us into a state of dysregulation.
That is why, if we are revolutionaries, we need to practice nervous system regulation as a revolutionary act.
We want to have our feet on the ground with strategies to keep us centered so we keep our heads on straight in tense moments, and give ourselves some resilience to further traumatization.
I recommend leaning into your 12th house sign and planets (if any) to help you settle down, restore you and replenish your soul energy, inspiration energy, and warrior energy.
Uranian Energy is Your Friend
Uranus, like all the planets, has a beautiful multi-dimensionality. Uranus as the modern ruler of Aquarius is willing to be an outsider, to have fingers pointed at it and remain in its integrity.
I want you to really lean into this quality. Uranus isn't afraid to be disliked if it knows it is aligned with its values. When opponents yell, "You're different; you're not a part of our group" Uranus says, "You are absolutely right, and I don't want to be a part of your group anyway."
I'm just going to call it out that women, and particularly my white women friends in my community, are socialized to not make a wave, not be disliked, not risk getting cut out of the group, not risk being a pariah, and so on.
Often this is about safety; if you keep people pleased you are less at risk of emotional or physical violence against you. That "fawn" response is normal, and life-saving.
But we have to attune our nervous systems for being disliked when it means standing up for members of our community most under attack by this fascist government.
Dive into what house Aquarius is on and meditate on whether you can channel some of your revolutionary energy through the themes of that house.
Likewise, what planets are in Aquarius and feeding through that house?
How might those planetary energies shape how you can show up in response to this moment?
Are there hard aspects to those planets (oppositions, squares, conjunctions) that might represent some obstacles/opportunities you will have to face on your journey with resistance?
Saturn and Jupiter (One Foot and the Other)
Saturn is the traditional ruler of Aquarius. I've found that a lot of more modern astrology students struggle to relate Saturnian qualities to Aquarius, instead centering the Uranian archetype.
I work with both as co-rulers, seeing deep resonance in both planetary archetypes.
Astrologer Robert Hand once said that no one is as rigid [Saturnian] as a revolutionary.
Over and over again in my readings with people with heavy Aquarius there is an early experience of feeling outside the group, rejected by a (however small) majority, and forced to live a period of loneliness. This is all very Saturnian.
There are a lot of generative things that come from isolation for Aquarius; this sign has a better understanding of what they are feeling when they spend time alone, step 20 feet away from it, take a breather, or in whatever way get some space.
You may be or feel isolated because of what you stand for and how you choose to live. There may be fingers pointed at you for being different.
This is why that rigidity is such an important gift here; an empowered relationship to Aquarius energy stays so firm in its values that it doesn't give up, holding out for the long term with deep commitment.
Aquarius understands systems and works to build new more just systems that protect personal freedoms and equity.
But, this Saturn-rulership can be heavy, isolating, and make everything feel hard. Everything can feel so real and harsh that you are burned out and tired just from existing and witnessing our country's changes and treatment of our community members.
When Saturn feels like too heavy of a climb
to move forward, but you're too far up
the mountain to turn back,
lean on Jupiter to pick you up.
I want you to lean into Aquarius but also don't forget to have som Jupiterian faith that conditions can actually get better and give people what they need. We must have hope. Always.
I want us to bring Jupiter into our expression of this Pluto in Aquarius time by saying, we are here together, inviting everyone into our vision where our nation is a safe place for everyone to grow and transform into their uniqueness while being consistently supported by an equitable social structure.
Finding a Balance
Something I've noticed is that we take Saturn stuff and feelings and situations very seriously but we often roll our eyes at optimistic Jupiter.
We need a balance between Jupiterian qualities (e.g. having hope and faith, being flexible and optimistic, being inclusive and tolerant), and Saturnian qualities (e.g. being pessimistic, realistic, excluded and exclusionary, depressive, rational) if we want to be effective in our efforts.
Opposite of Aquarius is Leo which has the Sun as the planetary ruler. Both are fixed signs, they have the staying power that they need to see it through with their plans.
Some people describe Aquarius as pointing its attention towards larger society, humanity or the crowd, whereas Leo is described as more concerned with the locals. Such as the folk you would gather around your community campfire to tell stories with.
Keep your focus on both the local and larger community! Often times your local contribution is the most powerful.
What do we learn from Leo when we are trying to balance this Pluto in Aquarius energy?
We learn, in part, that we need to take our inner fire seriously.
Are you about to burn out? Are you already burned out?
What actually feeds your inner fire and keeps you inspired and energized?
Do more in building your sacred inner fire if you want to have a better time of Pluto in Aquarius.
We need you managing your inner fire in a sustainable way. With opposing Leo being a teacher of Aquarius, we learn that getting playful and creative can be just as revolutionary and meaningful as planning protests, drafting policy, and being Aquarian etc.
We need to not lose sight of our creativity, or that which springs forth from us (raising children, building a business, making art, etc.), during this time as part of our revolutionary self-care.
Inner Fire and Mars
So we'll be tending to our inner sacred fire of power, action and inspiration through the coming years, but we also need to be very diligent about managing our Mars-related fires.
I know I'm not the only one who is carrying around anger right now. It is critically important for our health, especially for women and folks with estrogen-dominated bodies, inflammation and auto-immune diseases and cancers are being linked to trapped emotions, particularly anger.
So this is a reminder that we're not going to let this man and his administration crash our health because we didn't take the time to release anger.
How can we release it? From strenuous physical exercise to, really, any good movement at all, twisting a towel hard, transforming it into a creative outlet like performance, finding ways to laugh, and the list goes on. It is so important that we are not holding that anger.
Feeling anger? Critical.
Holding anger without getting any release? Just not healthy.
No matter how you slice it, Mars wants to move, so if you want to move Mars anger, you need to move your body (which is what I lean towards) and move your creative/spirit energy.
I want to be very clear, anger is critical. Mars and its spear are ready to help us fight when and where we need to fight.
Anger is key, but we need to integrate practices which give our bodies a sense of physical release throughout the day as a means of regulating our nervous systems so we can channel our anger in a generative way.
Some Last Thoughts
This just scratches the surface with some key archetypes at play when we are working to respond to a moment like this. Venus, Neptune, Mercury, and all the signs have just as important a role to play in resourcing you as the archetypes I described here.
Things to think about:
1) Find what is authentically yours to contribute.
2) Build your resilience by regulating your nervous system.
3) Find out what you need to stay balanced and remain committed to that.
4) Stand up for what you believe in and don't waiver on your values.
5) Participate in real action as a way to move Mars energy.
A great thing you can do is really get to know your own astrology so you can get a better sense of who you are, what is yours to do (and where), what you need to find balance, and what you have to offer.
The big message here is that we all need to cultivate balance because they are trying to knock us over. We're going to stand strong like Aquarius in our values, and hold on until everyone has the chance to self-determine and have what they need to live well.
With love,
Ally
Astrologer
Witchy Hunch
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