AstroLogic*Gal

More Pluto/Virgo

Julie:Pluto transited through Virgo between 1956 and 1972. It was during this time that the contraceptive pill was introduced, representing the power of the feminine (Virgo) and sexual freedom. However, it also brought more health concerns about sexually transmitted diseases. It became more important to understand the relationship between the mind, body and environment. Pluto changed attitudes to all Virgo spheres - work, health and everyday habits, and the transit helped to heal past abuse of the earth's resources. Psychological growth occurred in areas of purification, health, and self-improvement. Society learned new techniques and methods to improve life, and this whole generational cycle dredged up inadequate services and systems. In the area of health and by 1956 a new drug to fight Polio was used, it is a viral disease that affects the nervous system and causes complete paralysis and death. A major environmental disaster struck on March 18, 1967, the super tanker Torrey Canyon, carrying 120,000 tons of oil, smashed into a rock in England. Instantly, its 31 million gallons oil began to leak out into the sea, destroying (Pluto) the majority of marine life, contaminating the water and creating a major environmental (Virgo) hazard.


Pluto was in Virgo for everyone on Earth from October 1956 to October 1971 (and again in April through July 1972 as well), the first time since 1720. Since Pluto is considered to be exalted in Pisces, it is therefore thought to be in its "fall" in Virgo, meaning that Virgo is Pluto's weakest sign position. I feel that this assignation is rather experimental with Pluto, and that the sign attributes of dignity and exaltation are in general not that individually significant for the outer planets. Since Virgo is the last of the personal signs whose hallmark is self-adjustment, souls born during this 14-year period have been given many experiences to purge and purify egocentric self-importance, and to learn greater humility. The sixties saw a sea change in our relationship to health and well-being, with revolutionary emphases on natural foods, life styles, and holistic and naturopathic health practices; and a rededication to the Earth goddess and her teachings. Individuals with this placement tend to be radical when it comes to self-analysis, health care, food, and physical well being; and many find that serving and caring for themselves and others become their sources of inner growth and change. Being of service, and sacrificing personal desire to society and to the collective is accomplished by learning practical techniques or skills to better serve the larger whole. Many souls born into this period have an intense desire for purity and perfection, hallmarks of the sign Virgo.

Pluto-in-Virgo is not afraid of technical systems or the hard work needed to master them. The most obvious expression of this quality in the generation born between 1956 and 1972 is their marriage to the computer. More basically, we observe the mixed feelings with which media-dubbed 'Generation X' views the 'baby-boomers'. There is a strong 'please get real' theme in their attitudes, and at the same time an undercurrent of basic appreciation of many of the so-called 'hippie' ideals: community, ecology, personal freedom.
But for Pluto-in-Virgo, all ideals are inherently unreachable! Why? Because perfection itself is the core Virgoan ideal, and that is a divine attribute, not a human one. Thus, with Pluto in Vorgo, we observe a generation of people whose Shadow lies in the domain of dealing out harsh sentences upon themselves. And it's a short step from there to dealing out equally harsh sentences upon others, since we all tend ultimately to treat others with the same respect or disrespect with which we treat ourselves.
Harsh sentences. Free-associating, we might quickly jump to notions of physical torture. And in 'Generation X', we have observed the ravages of physically destructive drug use: 'crack' and all its horrors. We have seen an epidemic of violence and gunfire. We observe a widespread ignoring of the basic principles of safe sex. Going beyond the physical, we recognize an elevated attitude of hopelessness and despair about the future, the planet, one's personal job prospects, relationships and so on.
What more devious and dreadful self-punishment could one imagine than to rob a human being of hope, dreams and a sense of bright possibility? A good friend of mine who is very much a figure in his Pluto-in-Virgo generation refers to his fellows as 'the gloom hippies'; and while certainly not everyone in that age-group wears black clothes and violet hair, some of the more bitter ones who do constellate visibly for us the Shadow side of Pluto-in-Virgo.

posted by theShizzKnit @ 4:53 PM