Leap of Faith

We live in precarious times. The Doomsday Clock has just been moved on again, and now stands at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been since its creation. The inertia of the powerful in the face of global warming and a struggle for democracy is deeply troubling. We stand on the brink of changes we cannot control, and we have no idea whether we shall eventually fly or fall.

Amid this crisis come two major planetary shifts in 2023. The first is Pluto's initial foray into Aquarius from Capricorn, taking place near the Aries equinox on 23rd March. Pluto spends a few months here before retrograding back into Capricorn on 11th June; then, a few days later as the Northern solstice approaches, an object named Sedna enters Gemini.

You might or might not have heard of Sedna, named after an Inuit water goddess and discovered in 2003. It has an orbital period of approximately 11,400 years, and is currently very near perihelion - as close as it gets to the Sun - meaning that from our perspective it's travelling relatively fast. In any case, it leaves Taurus (where it first arrived in 1966) and enters Gemini on 15th June. After a brief trip back, it'll finally settle in Gemini next year, and stay there for the next four decades, according to current calculations.

Astrologers tend to consider the sign placements of planets from Uranus outwards as generational and collective rather than personal influences (they can become personal if prominent in the natal chart). But even Pluto's 248-year orbit is, to say the least, dwarfed (no pun intended) by Sedna's. One span is roughly equivalent to that since the Industrial Revolution. The other is the current length of the Holocene - approximately the same amount of time as humans have been using agriculture. Even with Sedna at perihelion, these two bodies going through sign changes therefore constitute two very different propositions. So it's a point of interest that they are both entering new signs at around the same time - also, that they are each moving from the earth element to air.

During Pluto's sojourn through Capricorn, where it arrived in 2008, the advent of the modern-day internet, smartphones and social media changed the scope of knowledge and understanding on a global level. Not only did we collectively become more aware of the world outside our immediate reach; we were able to dispense largely with the gatekeepers who determined much of what was visible to us. (I do not mean to place a value judgment on this development: both its positive and negative consequences are still playing out.)

Sedna's voyage through Taurus has been likewise productive, one might argue, of an increase of information. Among relative forward strides in civil rights and understanding of oppression among the more privileged, we have also gradually become cognisant of our species' impact on our fellow living creatures. This has grown from early recognition of the scientific fact of climate change to a palpable experience, for many, of just how problematic it is, and a clear indication of how much worse it could become if we do not rein in our collective consumption of fossil fuels.

If Sedna is indeed a representative of the current epoch, its transition to Gemini suggests immediately two potential developments. One is a more thorough involvement for all of us in the consequences of global warming thus far - that is, more extreme temperatures and severe weather events: enough to impress firmly on our minds (Gemini/air) that swift action is needed, by everyone. The other is progress in finding remedies. Gemini is the first zodiac sign to feature a human symbol - the Twins - and as such represents human consciousness and ingenuity. We have the capacity to sort out our problems; we just need to get the hell on with it.

Meanwhile, Pluto's entry into Aquarius suggests a possible overhaul of the resources available to us - especially in terms of technology - and a revolution in the powers of invention. It may also result in massive social change. Aquarius is, among other things, a great leveller: in it, we are all siblings together, which makes a change from the decidedly hierarchical Capricorn.

If this change is coming, it will most likely not happen overnight - and we have still to contend with the various forces striving against social progress, who, as in the 'fixed' nature of Aquarius, will dig their heels in as much as possible. People who have power and privilege really don't like giving them up. But this is now a matter of necessity, and I doubt it'll take us much longer before what exactly must be done becomes clear as the air itself.

Will we do it? I think it is at any rate possible. As we move off from solid ground, holding on to hope is an imperative. There is time yet to learn how to fly. Who knows - we might even soar.

Chart of Pluto entering Aquarius. Here, Pluto (in crimson) is to the right of the image. Sedna (in dark blue) is at the left edge of the big group of planets at the top.

Sedna enters Gemini. Note Pluto has retrograded back into Capricorn.