JOURNAL
FROM EQUINOX TO EQUINOX:
The Celestial Forecast - September 2024
By Marianne Jacuzzi
M.A., E-RYT 500, Jyotish Visharada, Jyotish Kovid, Jyotish Brihaspati
In February of 2020, Pluto moved into Capricorn. Think back my friends. The extraordinarily tumultuous times we’re living through began around then. The global pandemic, wars, inflation, extreme social polarisation, riots, political upheaval and more—all have impacted our world with dramatic intensity since 2020. Though the outer planets do not figure into classical Jyotish—where the mathematical perfection of nine grahas, twelve rashis, twenty-seven nakshatras and 108 navamsas mirrors profound soul truths—the outer planets still have an influence. Always present, they create a kind of background hum. Since they move very slowly, remaining many years in a sign, they contribute to the themes which define a given period of time. However, when by transit they line up in exact conjunction or opposition with other planets, their impact can be incisive.
It’s no news to anyone that colossal change has characterised these last few years, and more of that is still to come. Pluto’s sojourn through Capricorn, from February 2020 to January 2040 coincides with the twenty-.year cycle of the Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction, which began with the conjunction in Capricorn of the those two celestial giants in 2020. The exact conjunction occurred at 6°20’ on 21 December 2020. (Remember that degree point. It’s significant!). That conjunction and Pluto’s sojourn through Capricorn are fuelling a major upheaval in the world order. The next six months will see that process accelerate even more.
PLUTO
Pluto signifies themes of death and rebirth, of transformation and purification. His energy is dark and mysterious, taking us to the edge of the known world, breaking down the old and making way for the new. Death is the ultimate transformation, a dissolution of the physical sheath (the annamayakosha) followed by a period of waiting—the subtle body tossing and soaring through the bardo realms until what is to be reborn manifests. In Roman myth, Pluto is the lord of the underworld, who is Hades in Greek myth and Yama in the Hindu tradition. Yama is the god of death, fearsome but not evil, king of the ancestors and dispenser of karma. Though he oversees the destination of souls after death, it’s the law of karma that determines the destiny of everyone and everything. Yama as death signifies a boundary, a place of cleansing, where the dark, heavy energy of the present incarnation releases, purified and ready for a new form to take shape.
This is where we are in the world today. The coming six months—from the autumnal equinox of 2024 to the vernal equinox of 2025—need to be understood against the larger 20-year cycle of Pluto’s sojourn and the Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction in Capricorn. Context is everything. Big change is in the air, dismantling world systems, creating turmoil, destruction, death and purification. We might not notice it unfolding day by day because nature remains constant. Sunrise and sunset, the phases of the Moon, the shifting of seasons—all flow with dependable harmony. They remind us to trust in the process of whatever is happening, no matter how troubling it feels. Dance with Kali, into the mouth of the tiger—we really have no choice—because breakdown is part of the divine Lila. Out ot it, out of death, something new will be born. Pluto signifies a profound reshaping. It can feel exciting, exhilarating as well as very, very scary. But clinging to the past is futile. A Brave New World is forming whether we like it or not.
During 2024, nearly half the world’s population is heading to the polls. With elections in over 60 countries, it is the biggest election year in history. Regime change is the theme of those elections that have already taken place. Discontent, anger, hopelessness and frustration have galvanised populations into voting for change. Though the particulars vary from country to country, those sentiments underpin the desire for something (maybe anything) different. As moveable earth, Capricorn signifies putting things of the earth in order. It’s about prioritising, finding the right place for everything material in the hierarchy of value. It’s about defining that hierarchy as well. Capricorn is traditional in that it harkens to the past, to the lessons of history, for understanding value for moving forward. It’s progressive in its urge to seek continually for better methods and forms. It is through this medium that the planet of death and rebirth will manifest when triggered by conjunction or opposition with the visible planets.
This transit through Capricorn is a Pluto return for the USA. And what happens in the USA affects the entire world. Pluto resides at 6°49’ Capricorn in the chart of the USA. (Remember 6°20’) The Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction of 2020 occurred right over Pluto’s position in the chart of the USA. It ignited the Pluto effect, releasing into the zeitgeist of the USA powerful forces of destruction and transformation. That effect is getting triggered again in 2024 as transiting Pluto crosses over Pluto in the chart of the USA. On the last two days of 2024, Pluto will be at 6°49’, exactly conjunct USA Pluto. His energy comes to the foreground, contributing to the upheaval and breakdown of systems happening in the USA this year. Big change is coming for that nation. Pluto’s retrograde cycle of 2024 extends the time he lingers over that natal Pluto. From late December 2023 until early February 2025, Pluto hovers between 5° and 7° Capricorn. That is a long time! Anyone with planets right on 6° Capricorn or thereabouts will also feel the effect of this transit.
SOLAR ECLIPSE
Against this backdrop, an Annular Solar Eclipse occurs on 2 October at 15° Virgo in the nakshatra of Hasta. This solar eclipse features much more beneficence than the one of last April. Exalted Mercury is just 2° away from the Sun and Moon. Though Mercury can tolerate reasonable proximity to the Sun, at 2° distance, Sun’s heat overwhelms him. Mercury is combust: his worldly gifts of shrewd intellect, communicative skill, business acumen, and financial judgement will be impaired. However, combustion floods Mercury with the sattvic light of Surya. It illuminates the deeper layers of mind, orienting worldly Mercury towards cosmic insight. This effect gains confluence from transcendent Ketu, who is also close, just 3° away from Sun and Moon.
All four grahas reside in the beautiful nakshatra of Hasta, a deva nakshatra ruled by the Moon. Hasta means hand, and the Shakti of Hasta is the power to gain what we are seeking and to place it in our hands. Savitar, another name for Surya, is the deity of Hasta, the giver of life. He generates a powerful procreative energy, particularly through mantra or divine words. What a boon this eclipse moment offers! Though deep sadhana is often recommended during eclipses to mitigate the forces of malefic energy, this time it serves to reap the beneficence this eclipse will shower upon us. The Gayatri Mantra is most appropriate for japa or silent meditation during the eclipse. Its sacred words call upon the light of Savitar to inspire our vision and align it with the Ultimate Reality of the Divine. What more could we ever want to be placed in our hands?
Also at the time of this eclipse, Jupiter and Mars are still working in synergy. Even though no longer in conjunction, Jupiter resides in Mars’s Nakshatra of Mrigashira and Mars resides in Jupiter’s nakshatra of Punarvasu. As long as Mars’s proclivity towards anger remains pacified, this can be a positive partnership. Jupiter’s focus upon higher knowledge receives dynamism and momentum from Mars, just as Jupiter orients Mars’s aggression towards the causes of justice. This eclipse offers a momentary undercurrent of grace that we’ll definitely need as the year unfolds.
MARS RETROGRADE
Make the most of the uplifting energy of the Solar Eclipse, because other forces, potentially quite sinister, will be generated shortly afterwards. On 21 October, Mars moves into Cancer, his sign of debilitation. Fiery Mars is not comfortable in the medium of watery Cancer. The qualities of Cancer—sensitivity, compassion, receptivity, imagination and nurturing—are foreign to Mars. Mars in Cancer becomes peevish, irritated, frustrated and petulant, quick to snap in erratic and unpredictable ways. Because of his retrograde cycle, Mars’s sojourn through Cancer will be exceptionally long. Except for his return to Gemini in February and March of 2025, Mars remains in Cancer until June 2025. That’s a long stretch!
The danger of Mars in Cancer will be most acute during the late autumn and winter months. On 3 November, Mars in Cancer will form an exact opposition with Pluto in Capricorn at 5°33’. This extremely tense alignment occurs just two days before the USA presidential election on 5 November. It forebodes something surprising, erratic, possibly violent occurring around the election. The whole world has had eyes upon this most extraordinary election year for the USA, because whatever the outcome, the entire world will feel the repercussions. The particular form of that outcome is difficult to predict, but Pluto will define its theme. In a very powerful way, death, rebirth, transformation and purification will play out upon the American stage.
Because of Mars’s retrograde cycle, he’ll be dancing around that point of exact opposition for most of the winter. 5°33’ Capricorn is very close to natal Pluto at 6°49’ Capricorn in the USA chart, and close also to 6°20’ Capricorn for the Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction of 2020. That point, 5° to 6° Capricorn, is thus a major hot-spot, which Mars will trigger this winter. Though the effects could be quite dire for the world, and particularly for the USA, it doesn’t follow that individuals will be similarly impacted. Everything depends upon the unique configurations of individual birth charts. Wonderful things can be happening in the lives of certain individuals, even as disaster plays out elsewhere in the world.
It’s interesting to recall another challenging opposition of Pluto with a first-rate malefic to see the destructive power of Pluto’s energy unleashed. In early August 2001, Pluto in Scorpio and Saturn in Taurus formed an exact opposition at 18°. Just a few weeks later on September 11th, 2001, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, destroying the Twin Towers and killing nearly 3,000 people. By that date, Saturn had moved just 2° past exact opposition with Pluto. Of course other features of the chart of September 11th contributed to the disaster. Much confluence needs to support such an occurrence, though the exact opposition of Saturn and Pluto was one deadly factor.
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The chart of 3 November 2024 does not portend something of that magnitude. The Parivartana Yoga (exchange) between Mars and Moon lifts both of those planets out of debilitation, orienting Mars towards worthier causes and Moon towards clearer perception. Even so, Sun is debilitated, Rahu aspects Mars, and retrograde Saturn aspects the three benefics in Scorpio. Although mitigated by some positive features, that’s a lot of difficult energy! Something explosive is bound to happen.
Just two days earlier, on 1 November, a New Moon occurs at 15° Libra in the Nakshatra of Swati, receiving an aspect from Mars in Cancer. Except for the position of the Moon, it’s essentially the same chart as 3 November. However, it happens also to be Diwali, the beautiful Hindu Festival of Light, symbolising the victory of truth over ignorance, goodness over evil, light over darkness. Thousands of tiny candles will illuminate Indian homes and temples for Diwali, celebrating the bliss of that victory. Prayers and sweets are offered to the Goddess Lakshmi, embodiment of good fortune, abundance, riches and grace, then consumed as holy prasad. As always the cosmos provides a window of opportunity! Make the most of this most auspicious festival. Prayers, pujas, and devout sadhana can do much to propitiate the potential for harm inherent in this tense period of time.
SATURN
Throughout the months ahead, Saturn remains firmly centred in Aquarius. Retrograde since July, he turns direct on 15 November. During the long period of his sojourn in Cancer, Mars aspects Saturn, his fiery gaze prodding Saturn with impetuous, often angry, sparks. At home in Aquarius, Saturn is strong for what he signifies. Saturn upholds authority, control, discipline and perseverance, and here in fixed air he is very opinionated, categorising thought into reified ideologies. More innovative in Aquarius than in Capricorn, Saturn also signifies technological advances. At this moment in time, it is artificial intelligence that Saturn in Aquarius is advancing. As political dramas intensify and the horrors of wars rage on, distracting everyone’s attention, AI in the background continues to gain ground, taking over more and more jobs, transforming business and personal lives, bringing criminality to a whole new level of sophistication, while making deception, fraud and subterfuge so plausible that no one will know what to believe or not believe anymore.
Clearly, AI has its positive uses also. It’s a powerful tool. But a slippery slope lies ahead for society. Human nature what it is, we know from history how extraordinary discoveries can be turned to evil purposes. Yogic powers of discernment will be more necessary than ever going forward, and maintaining our natural intelligence sharp an important force of resistance. Text correction and GPS have already obviated the need to spell correctly and understand how to follow a map. What will happen when AI takes away the need to think independently and deeply? If this frightens you, that too is Saturn’s domain. Just as Saturn promotes the development of AI, so too does he generate fear and caution. In this case, a good thing to my mind! Just because certain technology is possible does not mean that it is advisable. Perhaps when Jupiter goes into exaltation in a couple of years, we’ll have the opportunity to apply a moral compass to innovations, ascertaining what will enrich society and what will not.
NEW MOON IN DECEMBER
The last New Moon of 2024 occurs on 30 December at 15° Sagittarius, in the nakshatra of Purva Ashadha, a fierce nakshatra ruled by Venus, whose deity is Apas, an ancient water goddess of the Rig Veda. Apas is deified water, that is, water divine. She is the sacred spirit that animates oceans, rivers, lakes and streams. Her Shakti manifests as the power to invigorate or energise. It is water that gives life, that animates life. Yet as all Venus nakshatras, Purva Ashadha is also fierce, good for setting fires, for deceit and destruction. The contrast in this symbolism provides a fitting conclusion to 2024. Much of 2024 has been about breakdown and upheaval, and on this last New Moon of the year, Pluto at 6°49’ resides right over natal Pluto for the USA, triggering a powerful Pluto effect. It's a prelude to what will arise in 2025, an even more tumultuous year of uprisings and revolutions making way for a New World Order.
Yet in spite of the known world imploding upon itself, life continues to flow—like water. The river of time carries each of us along, granting us our karmically determined portions of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, light and darkness. Systems and institutions break down, while new ones take shape, and life moves on. Like water it flows—invigorating, nourishing, creating, sustaining, dissolving and recreating. The more we can align ourselves with that deep flow, the greater our joy will be. Midwinter provides the ideal space for contemplating that mystery.
Though light begins to lengthen at the Winter Solstice, it is not until Sun enters Capricorn at Makara Sankranti that the expansive energy of the New Year takes hold. And so for a few weeks every year, this energetic pause invites us to quieten. The New Moon of 30th December occurs during this annual energetic pause, its complex symbolism beckoning us to deepen. In the stillness of midwinter, take the time you need to rest, to contemplate and reflect, to plan and project if you wish. But not until after January 15th, when Sun enters Capricorn, is action advisable. I do believe this year, 2024 to 2025, we’ll need that time of repose more than ever.
TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
On 14 March 2025, a total lunar eclipse occurs at 29°43’, a liminal place on the Leo-Aquarius axis. With both Sun and Moon just minutes away from moving signs, both are inherently unstable. Sun in Aquarius is conjunct Saturn almost to the degree, so Saturn is seriously combust. Mercury resides at 15° Pisces, his exact degree of debilitation. An exalted but retrograde Venus close to Mercury exerts a strong neecha bangha effect, obviating much of the danger of a debilitated Mercury. Beneficence flows from this exalted Venus, made even more powerful through the Parivartana Yoga with Jupiter. The two brahmins in dignity through this exchange counterbalance the danger of combust Saturn, the instability of the luminaries, and Mars’s aspect upon Ketu. Yet which way will the energy fall? This lunar eclipse hovers upon a tipping point. Rahu resides with debilitated Mercury and exalted Venus. Ketu alone in Virgo receives aspects from Mars and Jupiter. Benefic and malefic forces dangle in equilibrium, momentarily upon a kind of seesaw. Venus retrograde suggests that some lesson from the past will be revisited with the March 2025 eclipses.
The solar eclipse, which happens a fortnight later at the New Moon in Pisces, should offer clues about those lessons. It’s the beginning of the New Year in the Indian calendar. The chart of that day, known as the Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, indicates themes and trends for the year to come. It will be the focus of the March 2025 Equinox to Equinox article, because 2025 looks to be even more tumultuous, even more radical in its stripping away of certainties, than 2024. For now you have a preview, because the general configuration is clear already in this Lunar Eclipse chart.
A REMEDY
It’s Karka Sankranti now as I write. You will receive this article and perhaps read it at the Autumnal Equinox. Both of those points in time are significant. Despite the heat of midsummer and the figs barely ripe on my tree, the dark half of the year has just begun. It’s Dakshinayana, the season for spirituality. At the Equinox, when darkness stretches longer than light, the spiritual realms become even more accessible. A craving for inwardness, for contemplation and reflection becomes insistent—-for those tuned to cosmic cycles and the signs in the natural world.
In spite of the troubles and tragedies inflicting nations everywhere, beautiful opportunities for spiritual advancement are always available. Divine grace flows with infinite abundance for all who are ready to receive. As worldly forces battle on for their various arenas of dominance, the best remedy lies hidden in plain sight.
It’s there in the natural world. Every blossom, every insect, every rivulet and wave of the sea is one of the infinite faces of the Mother. And the whole of it is Her body, Devi, the Divine manifest as a swirling, shimmering elemental dance. The rivers are sacred, the ocean and mountains, the flowers and fields, the stars and distant galaxies. Pay attention to all with an open heart—letting go of desire, of expectations, of all thoughts about what should be—and an offering will appear, the Mother through one of her faces beckoning. It’s an opportunity for transformation, for rebirth of the highest order. For you and I and everyone on this planet belong to Her sacred body too. Seize the moment . . . because realising that truth down to the core of our bones is our ultimate Purpose and Destiny. It’s the highest frequency of the Pluto effect, the hidden boon of these tumultuous times.