Pluto square Mars:December 28–January 1

New Year's fireworks in Copenhagen's Tivoli Garden

(photo credit: Stig Nygaard, January 2009)

Described by some as one of the colder degrees in the zodiac, 11 Capricorn has something of a questionable vibe all about using 'the other' with an emphasis on the sheer ability to use them. Or not.

It is a choice.

The whole aura of 11 Capricorn is about a ‘disregard’ for the consequences, which means that in some charts we could see this degree highlighted and it would represent someone into self harm. Taken from there into a more public realm 11 Capricorn makes us think about the way some people are users and some people seem into being used.

And yet…as with all astrological images, much of this is in how you take it, and how you use the choice implied – remembering this isn’t necessarily about you are someone else, it could be how you treat yourself. Or your abilities. Or preferences. Or  intelligence, feelings…whatever.

Starting on December 28, Mars will move past fixed star Diadem – the “crowning glory.” As that happens, we will be moving past some period of ‘crowning’ opportunity or activity or interactivity (to which most of us will say 'ah yes, Christmas...') in which, because this is Mars-the-Initiator we’re talking about(‘Mars the Initiator’ sounds like a superhero, doesn’t it?)…there may be something ‘initiated’ during this time which carries on, which develops, which lingers as a thought, conversation, project, effort, etc.

So that may carry on. The rest? Not so much.

Mars - which has just begun a super-long transit of Libra (I call 8 months instead of around 2 super-long!) – reaches 11 Libra on December 28th. And once it reaches 11 Libra, that’s Mars in square to 11 Capricorn, a sign that we are either going to be testing or tested in some area which involves responsibility, dedication and a large amount of conscious and measured effort on our part WHILE it also takes into account the wants, needs, likes and opinions of others.

And guess what’s at 11 Capricorn about the time Mars gets to 11 Libra? Pluto. So with Mars in Libra and Pluto in 11 Capricorn, we either have a recipe for freaky explosions and disruptions or transformations which just possibly may allow us to do what we’ve been wanting to do all along.

Or…yes…realize that we don’t really WANT that thing we thought we wanted all that much. Mars is bringing a lot of unusual ‘underbelly’ notions in from 10 Libra, a combination which focuses on seeing things we don’t normally see. They can be in others…or maybe this is the moment when we really see who we are. Or see ‘for ourselves’ what something is – or isn’t.

Mars/Pluto contacts are often associated with ‘flare ups’ too – whether physical, emotional or some old argument which gets re-hashed yet again. Infections, burns, old injuries and hurts (physical or emotional) may now get triggered.

Or healed. With Klotho (beginnings) at 11 Capricorn and Kallisto at 12 Capricorn, we may now begin to see how to ‘get from here to there’ in our life – whatever that means to you at the moment.

But given that Kallisto is part of this grouping, we’re going to have to ‘last’ it through to get where we really want to go. There are no easy solutions here.

(Wherever ‘here’ is in your life at the moment.)

This combination is also known for heated conflicts – though in the end, what is often found is that the one who strikes out did so out of a desire not to have to face their own truths – not really because the other side had been so awful. There’s a whole aura of wanting to manipulate a situation or dynamic here which must tends to be done with bias but which only really works if it’s done out of a sense of fair play. And since this Mars/Pluto square is happening with Sun conjunct Mercury (in Capricorn) things are going to be clear enough.

Maybe even “too clear.”

Or clearly something we don’t want to have to work or wait for!

To all of the above, one answer: 'you may have to.' And given that this is the wonderful world of Capricorn we're talking about, all the pluses and minuses are going to occur (in particular) if, when, and where we aren’t comfortable with our standing in the world.

This period may ask us to get past or ‘over’ a few things. And to accept forms of valid or mature perspective we don’t feel familiar with yet. (Or which we would rather not have to listen to.)

And yet...this Sun/Mercury link can also represent the heart and soul of seeing what's what. It's a classic indication for travel (which makes sense on December 29th of any year) and, given how there's a lighthearted, sort of fun-loving quality to this vibe, this may well be a wonderful time for friends as well as a valuable time in which to make connections or socialize with others not in a direct "work mode"...but more in that sense of getting to know people so that you can work together.

Or...yes...to see whether you might want to or not.

Planet Mars - specifically, the Acidalla Mare Erythraeum face of Mars as

photographed by NASA's Global Surveyor.

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

This Mars square Pluto can be a powerful sign of ‘pulling one’s Self together’ - when you ready yourself for some big new effort (which getting through New Years just may be for you!). It may signal events which really let you know that it's time something needs to happen.
However…as Sun/Mercury will have moved into 9 Capricorn as Mars 'perfects' the square on December 30th...? That means we have to care about ever more energy being triggered as the Moon joins the Capricorn lineup at around 6 p.m. UT/+0 time.

This is about when the positive separates from iffy. Why? Well, 9 Capricorn is a very plus-or-minus degree in that it tends to reward the search for wisdom and utterly defeat (and sometimes punish) the search for purely material or selfish gain…which if you think of the Sun and Mercury igniting this celestial fuse on New Years Eve conjures up all sorts of scenarios.

And then there is the fact that this entire contemplation is the last ‘astrological act’ of 2013…and that it ends in a 10 Capricorn New Moon on New Year’s Day.

Technically, this means that however much we may be looking ahead and looking to change something or looking to do something – with all of that, we are also conscious (at least emotionally conscious) of letting this or that ‘thing’ go. That time, that place, that person, that ideal, that period of your life, that limitation, that hope….

…oh yes – and that year, since we’re letting go of 2013 in favor of 2014. But obviously this isn’t just about turning 2013 into 2014. So we all can expect a healthy measure of internal talking (to ourselves or with ourselves about what we think of things) with a lot of reflecting going on.

And hey…if we decide to make a few changes – isn’t that one of the traditional fun things to do as one calendar gets traded out for another?

But first, New Year’s Eve – have a great one!
.
.
.