‘May you live in interesting times’ goes the ancient Chinese saying, inferring to moments of uncertainty that happen during wars, drought and famine, pandemics, pestilence and plagues. Granted, though not of our choosing, such times can be extremely difficult, and yet they wake us up as well, with a teaching how to live in the moment and to react with loving kindness and compassion.

From the astrological perspective it doesn’t get more ‘interesting’ than when a heavy-duty quadruple planetary Capricorn conjunction, in the sign of restriction and containment, mirrors over a quarter of the world on ‘lock down’, dealing with a need to be practical and #FlattenTheWave of a global novel virus pandemic; but at the same time as this mass confinement Saturn moves from Capricorn into Aquarius, to remind us not lose freedom or sanity, sociability or close ties.

Before we go any further, I want to say that this pandemic is not your fault, although I am not promising this is the last pandemic we will ever see, there is much we can personally do to alleviate this situation. But I’d like to point out there isn’t another planetary conjunction as demanding or as stressful as this for quite some time: another 20 years! As 2020 is very much about Earth/Air elements in the year of the Iron Mouse, the land upon which we stand and air we breathe, as well as the space in between in which we send information via various antenna and gigahertzes is apparently way out of alignment. The ‘Great Mutation’ at Winter Solstice 2020 will bring this need to be aligned with Air and Earth to our attention even more (I will write more about this mega-significant 200-year cycle in detail soon, but suffice to say its important for governing bodies as it includes expansive Jupiter and contracting Saturn). Admittedly, there are challenging aspects throughout the year; but hopefully by the time SIX planets are retrograde, along with asteroids Chiron, Ceres and Pallas, from the 9^th-13^th September, we will be able to go back to look at what we have learned, and put whatever is necessary into place for collective transformation and healing.

Looking even further ahead – as astrology works in cycles: in twenty years’ time, to 2040 at Halloween, when we again focus upon Air element (more on elements to come); another 40 years later, in 2060 it’s Air element again and this time a little more demanding, as it is also especially challenging for the water element; this one also has a lingering shadow of ‘2000’; then again in 60 years (2080) it’s more like where we are now, i.e. again in a Metal Rat/Iron Mouse year.

Once we get past this current episode in our collective experience, we would do well to have many healing tools on hand (lifestyle, food and medicine) and be equipped to live in harmony with the planet for a few decades. So please note these times of immense profundity are as rare as they are challenging. They are also times when we practice self-discipline and personal responsibility for our collective well-being.

FYI: the line-up of Capricorn planets include the South Node, pulling in difficult past karma (but going into care mode); Pallas Athena provides the strategy to plan ahead; expansive Jupiter is exactly conjunct controlling Pluto (secretive with the truth) AND martial Mars is perhaps the most testing for many reasons – not least because around the world we have given control to people who are not Buddhas or Bodhisattvas; make no mistake this trio of potential plutocratic oligarchs can be as ruthless and dominating as we can be with our own mind right now, i.e. while things are falling apart, the role of Mars is no longer just the aggressor but also protector, as he reached the degree of his exaltation, with Pluto’s task to totally transform. It’s imperative to stay on focus now and be super practical and organise now for a sustainable future for the Earth and her inhabitants. Also Saturn and Pluto’s influence has already impacted with the January Full Moon.

Coming together every 38-ish years, the last Saturn Pluto 83-85, in Scorpio, saw the AIDS epidemic. Before that in the 67-69 (the Sat/Pl opposition) it was Hong Kong Flu, in 1918 it was Spanish Flu; so these two together have something to say about working with the viral, lethal and unseen, Pluto is the Lord of Death, rebirth, taxes, intimate relationships, and Saturn the Lord of Karma, big business and the limitations of life; with both planets in Capricorn it is the aged, infirm and business, government, royals and leaders which need to transform. Perhaps that means the way we care for our old people, as well as working for Plutocrats will also change?

Saturn’s move into Aquarius for the next three months – April to July 2nd – accents a dramatic sudden collective change to authority. Saturn goes back into Capricorn from July to December, so now is the time to make the most of flashes of insight and inspiration. The connection between Saturn and Pluto is deeply profound in its lessons of life, death and rebirth.

Way back in 2001, for instance, during the Saturn-Pluto opposition in Sagittarius and Gemini a few days after 9/11 happened so accurately symbolised at the Gemini Moon and the fall of Twin Towers (not the conjunction of a 37 year cycle , where we are now); at the time my then boyfriend, now husband, and I had the great good fortune to be at the small Conway Hall in London’s Red Lion Square, when an extraordinary and insightful high lama, the 12^th Gyalwang Drukpa Rinpoche, was in town. Someone in the audience asked about what had just happened. Drukpa Rinpoche could tell we were all in shock, much like we all are now, aware that we are all going through a life-changing time. He replied in one word, ‘Impermanence’. Then dear Drukpa said ‘One day a big building, next day rubbish’. This teaching stuck with me, as an instruction in how to deal with impermanence as a truism. Now, 19 years later, Drukpa’s word once again resonates as he says what we humans are doing to the land, animals and fish is bound to create negative karma and eventually make us sick. I won’t share the photo of the bat about to be eaten which he did, but like all of us I’ve been thinking about this awful situation we have found ourselves in faced with fast moving deadly virus.

It is imperative that we do not fall for the fear. Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is with a joke: Saturn and Pluto, are fear and death respectively, having a cosy chat: Fear (Saturn) says to Death (Pluto) ‘You’ve killed 50,000 people’. Indignant Death turns around and replies ‘No, I killed only 10, 000. You, FEAR, killed 40,000!’

So to get through this period with ease without fear, do what you can to relax within and ease tension: watch films, read, draw, listen to music that makes you feel happy. If you’re on your own and a dharma practitioner, now is the time to meditate, go inwards and find inner-peace. If you’re with family and friends, accept everyone needs their own ‘space’, at the same time make time for activities, games and stories that bring you together and lift up spirit. Also send good thoughts to those on the front line, those in the medical profession especially. And try not to get sucked into the numbers being pumped out by the media. None are ‘real’. As we all know, its been a time of no tests, and in some places no medical equipment at all. Many of us have even experienced symptoms that are not being counted. So yet another symbol of the Jupiter-Pluto ‘Hidden Truth’

Most important is to be good to yourself and those you are with – everyone is dealing with confinement as best they can. Keep calm and raise your lovelight vibration and we will all emerge stronger, hopefully with greater insight into our own psychology and the ability to conquer fears.