The astrology of the collective

The reformation of structures

The socio-economic and political structures that shape the material basis of civilisation undergo a deep transformation when Pluto, the planet associated to the archetype or pattern of irrevocable changes, transits through Capricorn, the social sign of the laws inherent in an organism.

Capricorn and its opposite sign, Cancer, are known as the socio-political axis, because a large number of countries and empires were shaped when the Sun was in one of these placements. This was the case of the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia and China, of the first sign, and the United States of America, of the second one. Therefore, a transit of Pluto in Capricorn generates great repercussions.

Every single country that joined the European Union, created as the European Economic Union (1-1-1958), did so under the sign of Capricorn, at midnight of January 1st. The Holy Roman Empire (25-12-800), an ancestor of this superstructure, was conformed under the same sign, as the euro did (1-1-199), associated to the practical limits of the law.

Pluto, that transits Capricorn since January 26th 2008 and until January 20th 2024, demands the disintegration of everything that has past it's sold by date and needs to renew itself to survive.

Only what has truth remains

On a personal level, there is a material aspect of life that, if it has lost authenticity and is in decay, demands a transformation that requires to let go of something so that another one can emerge in it's place. This will depend on the area of life that Pluto is transiting in the birth chart, in relation to its original placement.

Fear and anxiety are feelings that are present when the transit of Pluto in Capricorn threatens the material structures that took so long to build. However, everything that is true, authentic and solid will remain after the transit of this planet.

The transit of Pluto in Capricorn

1762 - 1778

Between January 1762 and January 1778, a period when Pluto transited through the zone of the sky that starts with the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, associated to Capricorn, the modern world begins. The signature of the Treaty of Paris put an end to the Seven Year War and ensured the distribution of territories between England, Spain and France, marking the height of the colonial era.

England lost it's main colony, the United States, that gained it's independence after a revolution, but conquered India through the West India Company, as well as parts of North America, such as Canada. During this period, the philosopher Jacques Rousseau wrote: "Humans are born free but there are chains all around him".

1515 - 1532

Themes associated to the creation, expansion or disintegration of empires are repeated every 245 years before, during the previous cycle of Pluto in Capricorn, between December 25th, 1515 and 1532, when the Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztec Empire (1519), Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire (1531) and England found it's first colony in the new world, St John's in Newfoundland.

During the same cycle, Martin Luther started the Protestan Reformation (1517), when he defied the authority of the Pope Leo X, provoking the loss of weight of the empire of the Catholic Church while in England, Henry VIII broke ties with Rome and declared himself the head of the Church of England to be able to divorce Catalina de Aragón and proceed to marry Anne Boylen.

1269 - 1287

Pluto was in Capricorn between December 28th 1269 and January 1287, when the mongols conquered China, created the Yuan Dynasty (1271) and consolidated the vaster empire that has ever existed (1279). For the first time, China was in the hands of non Chinese conquerors. Marco Polo was employed by the Khan and his adventures were recorded in a book that was going to be important for Cristobal Colón, due to its knowledge of geography.

Under the sign of Capricorn

Capricorn rules areas related to the material structures that are the pillars of civilisation: the land, agriculture, raw materials, natural resources, property, the economy, the currency, credit, debts, finances, businesses, the profession, government, politics, structures, tradition, regulations and social and material security.

Pluto in Capricorn demands courage on a personal, social and political level, to carry out the practical renovation of the structures through which history is shaped, because once this is made, the changes carried out under the sign of the law, once completed, will solidify to remain for the long term.