Breathless

Somewhere around the end of WW II, Neptune assumed a separation of about 60 degrees from Pluto. That’s what astrologers call a sextile aspect. Interestingly, and significantly, Neptune and Pluto have held that same geometric relationship on the zodiac (within the degrees of tolerance called ‘orb of aspect’) ever since.

To have any aspect remain functional for about 70 years is exceptional, even for outer planets that appear to move at a snail’s pace from our perspective here in Earth. The primary reason for that long sextile has to do with an exquisite piece of timing.

For 20 years out of each of its 248-year-long trips around the Sun, Pluto actually moves inside of Neptune’s orbit. The last time that happened was from early 1979 to early 1999. As result, during the years approaching, including, and coming out of that two-decade period, Pluto’s perceived orbital speed closely approximated that of Neptune. This time around, the timing of that period resulted in perhaps the longest continual aspect ever consciously known.

Think about it. Most people alive now have spent their entire lifetime with Neptune and Pluto in sextile. You, and nearly everybody else on Earth, have no experience living during any other relationship between those two planets. Hence, the problem. To express that problem in a phrase, you might say that a fish is not aware that it is wet.

If, like a fish, you were to live your entire life in water, you would have no other experience to compare it to. Being wet would have no meaning because being dry would be beyond what you know, or could even imagine. Unlike fish, however, human beings have culture.

Human beings long ago hit upon the idea that the world was understandable. Instead of seeing either chaos or the behavior of deities at the root of events, some influential ancient thinkers surmised that there was a perceptible order to things. It was such an important notion that the late, great Carl Sagan took it as the theme for his 20th-century television series Cosmos. You might even go so far as to say that the concept of organizing principles is the foundation of human culture.

Astrology is undeniably an ancient part of human culture. Additionally, it is indisputable that astrologers assume an underlying order in the cosmos, largely expressed through cycles and the patterns those cycles form in context with each other. We can know that Neptune and Pluto have not always been — nor will they always be — in a sextile aspect. This week we have an event to bring that knowledge home.

The solar eclipse that comes with the Virgo New Moon shortly after 5 am EDT (09:03:02 UTC) on Thursday will be in rather precise geometrical relationship to both Neptune and Pluto.

When the Sun and Moon come together to share exactly the same degree of Virgo, Neptune will be on the other side of the zodiac in Pisces, almost exactly 180 degrees away for an opposition. At the same time Pluto will be in Capricorn, nearly 120 degrees away from the merger of the Sun and Moon for an aspect called a trine. Additionally, there will be a lot of other things going on, like the Mercury retrograde that started earlier today. Even for astrologers, the situation might be perceived as complicated.

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There is a way, however, for you to keep the astrology of this week simple. There is an organizing principle you can apply to make your life understandable. Based on the Neptune-Pluto sextile (which has served as the long-term astrological background for most, if not all, of your life), you can think of yourself as an exceptional fish.

Ordinarily, a fish out of water is a fish in trouble. Not so for you, however. Just as your lifetime has been framed by the extraordinarily long-lived sextile from Neptune to Pluto, your circumstance is implied to be something more than ordinary.

Up to now, most of us have not perceived how we have always been metaphorically ‘wet’, because we have known nothing else. Now, with this eclipse, at least some of us will get a chance to glimpse something else.

Ironically, many of us who get the chance to grasp something beyond the experience of our lives will be those who seem to be going through the biggest changes. Most of those who are secure and comfortable without a care in the world will miss out.

Therefore, if you find yourself gasping and flopping around a bit for the next couple weeks, don’t despair. If there is anything to astrology, you will be among the lucky ones who will exposed to something timeless, even immortal, and as valuable as any experience in your life. As a guideline to getting through to the other side, remember two things.

First, remember how astrology implies that cycles, not linearity, is the underlying order of the universe. By the time of the Full Moon and lunar eclipse of Sept. 16, you will almost certainly be immersed in a ‘wet’ life once again.

Next, remember an ancient wisdom that is probably integral to any culture you might name: it’s not how many breaths you take that counts, it’s how many times your breath is taken away. Don’t be afraid to be breathless. Make this special time count for you.

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