Ever since I heard the news, the phrase that keeps playing on repeat in my head is: ...a struggle for the soul of America...
The news being, the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in the United States. (Good coverage on that here at Democracy Now!)
But also being, the two debates that divide the country along moral lines: gun control and abortion. Each side is adamant they are right, and neither side is open to negotiation. Each side feels only their position will save the soul of the nation.
I first heard this phrase listening to Rick Tarnas of the California Institute of Integral Studies describe the state of the planets in 2022. The United States, he explained, will be undergoing a Pluto return this year, meaning the return of Pluto to where it was when the country was founded in 1776 as a political entity. Pluto, the planet of death, birth and transformation, upheaval, and raw, natural power, representing secrets, the underbelly, the shadow side. Tarnas described the energy we would feel in the US as akin to Hades, the god of the death and the underworld, swallowing up Persophone (a mythic image worth sinking into for a minute in light of current events). A dynamic where the collective shadow of the nation that has been repressed and concealed will be flushed to the surface and then -- and only then -- potentially be confronted and transformed. Plutonic themes like decay and destruction of existing conditions, beliefs and structures, power struggles between destructive forces and clashes of will would come to the fore. And on the other side, the "great potential for tremendous transformation" -- a rebirth.
Art depicting Pluto in Capricorn, sourced from this site
Building on this reading, which really astonished me, I looked more into the US Pluto return. And in this case, Pluto returns to Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, in the second house of resources, assets, economy and needs. What we can understand from this is a confrontation, upheaval and transformation of the structures of the country -- think government itself, the economy and big business. And a reckoning with Saturnian energy these were built on: ambition, authority, productivity, discipline and limitations. In their shadow form of the cosmic grandfather, the Great Malefic, these characteristics could look like patriarchal dominance, accumulation of wealth and fear. And Saturn´s job is to teach and judge life lessons. In the case of the United States, as regards to finances, assets and possessions.
So one question is, after 246 years, is the country better off than how it started?
But we need to dig deeper and ask: what are the shadows of the US that are now coming into the light? Going back to the two big debates on the soul of the nation, we could say pretty unequivocally: violence, racism, misogyny.
And this is coming out in politics, in legal decisions, in bills and acts of government -- the structures governing the country. Influenced, by design, by big business and the economy. Which leads to the next question: what do we - this country - collectively value? What are our assets and most prized possessions? What do we treasure?
But the grounding question for this blog to answer is: what does all this have to do with the sacred principle?
First, the life-and-death energy of Pluto is described as being like the force of nature, and therefore part of this upheaval and destruction could take the form of natural disasters and part of the shadow work coming to light could be about the unresolved trauma around how we, especially the governance and business based in the United States, have treated nature.
Second, Pluto is in Capricorn, the planet of patriarchy and structure -- sometimes oppression. So that energy is imbued in our governance and economic structures. That means the sacred principle of the divine feminine has been intentionally, violently suppressed, repressed and oppressed. And that means, the shadow work requires a destruction of those "structures, ideas, beliefs and traditions that have negated and dishonored the Divine Feminine" -- represented in the way the government treats women and the way business abuses the environment, for example -- and a return to the feminine principle and the mother. (Thanks to this blog for making these connections for me).
Finally, Pluto represents birth; Pluto also rules Scorpio, which rules reproduction, so that takes us right back to the idea of the mother and the overturning of Roe v. Wade (got that from this post). Sometimes these things actually are very literal.
Where does all this take us, then? That the US is in a struggle for its very soul, and to have a true transformation, must destroy the toxic, oppressive structures especially around treatment of women and nature, and re-assess what we collectively consider assets and resources. So how can we all participate in this transformation and rebirth of the country? A few thoughts.
1. Don´t look away. As painful as it is, shadow work means confronting the ugly, the trauma, the wounds. We need to stop pretending it did not happen or is not happening -- the "it" being everything from the genocide of indigenous people to colonize the country in the first place, to slavery, to fracking, to mass shootings at elementary schools. Keep watching. Don´t change the channel, don´t change the subject.
2. Feel it. Feel the pain, the disappointment, the disgust, the grief. Stay connected to those feelings inside when you see the shadows come up. Get angry. Weep. Process. Don´t take it out on anyone or blame anyone, just live in the wash of it.
3. Decide what principles you want to live by. List them out. Compose a song about them. Draw a picture. Write a blog. Whatever helps you.
4. Figure out how to live your life by these principles. Hold up your friendships, relationships, jobs, hobbies, diet, and electoral choices in the light of these principles. How can you make them manifest in your life? This can be in daily practices or in big life decisions -- remember, the way is the way. The way we do things -- our attitude, our interactions, our relationships -- is the way to create change. And I am hoping if you are reading theis, we have some shared principles that speak to the rising up and rebalance of feminine principles, respect and reverance for nature and remembering the sacred principle.
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