For January 2025, I'd like to focus one chart, one event, one overarching planetary energy, and that is the Mars-Pluto opposition on 1/2. I know, we've beaten this event to death already with so many mundane astrologers predicting conflict and warfare left and right through the three Mars-Pluto oppositions 11/3/2024, 1/2/2025, 4/26 2025 - myself included. Even though I'm not politically savvy enough to forecast world affairs, I still forecasted a period of caution for everyone in terms of road/travel safety and issues with projected hostility.
Feel free to watch the video version below, or read on:
For this post, what I've written in the December 2024 forecast still applies through the first quarter of 2025. And this time, there's a special "solve" for this particular Mars-Pluto run as the Nodes are involved and we get to do some healing work around it.
So let's get right to it. First, we look at the mundane interpretation of how this chart can manifest in straightforward terms.
The Mundane Interpretation
On the layer of mundane interpretation, we'll again be forecasting karmic cycles of retaliation, karmic payback coming full-circle with this chart. We have chart ruler Venus having just entered her exaltation placement in Pisces and in the 5th. It's looking to Jupiter in Gemini 9th and Neptune in Pisces 6th. The theme of service and sacrifice in the name of good deeds and worthy beliefs run strong in this chart. Fundamental extremism of all flavors easily comes to mind. With Mars-Pluto flaming the flames of defense for the sake of the collective, national security, and pride of country, the atmospheric frequency of this chart is one of sacrifice for love.
There is heavy influence of romanticizing physical sacrifices for the homeland/motherland to restore and secure a proud legacy for the next generation (Neptune conjunct NN 6th). There is a strong pull towards liberating certain beliefs or morality through righteous action - with or without manifestos. Willing financial sacrifices also come into play as Uranus in Taurus 8th looks to Venus in Pisces 5th.
The thing about this chart is that the Mars-Pluto is in trine with the Nodes. So violence and aggression will seem the most natural and intuitive thing in the world. And as we hinted above, the violence may not even be directed at others, but easily inflicted upon oneself in sacrificial ways for the sake of abc-xyz. As all this energy is tied to the karmic nodal axis, we would seem cosmically compelled to take action to defend some sort of legacy and reputation.
For the nodes are all about our karmic cycles that play out on repeat. This is where we meet circumstances that compel us to dive into some sacrificial behavioral loop. We see South Node pointing to karmic fixation on self-sacrifice, and the North Node pumping the adrenals to defend the honor of our clan at all costs. Past life or ancestral extremism are set to be reenacted under this planetary influence. The circumstances can be as benign as engaging lawfully in green peace demonstration and hunger strike, all the way to committing physical violence "in the name of" something righteous and beneficial for the collective. And to the individual taking on the task, the sacrifice will not only seem the most responsible thing to do, but also bring an emotional exaltation and even spiritual ecstasy.
But as this Mars is tied to NN karmic impulses, and the Venusian romanticization of self-sacrifice tied to SN karmic fixation, we must ask: is this truly the good fight?
The cause is real and just as Jupiter in Gemini 9th looks to Mercury Sagittarius 3rd. The analytical and philosophical backing for this is undeniable (i.e. global warming). It's just that the means and approach would be imbued with sacrificial violence - even if not directed at others, then very potentially perverted against the self.
So the solve on this level is to make sure that before we take action on "good principle," we check that we are taking action from an adult-to-adult stance where we take individual responsibility, and not from trying to be the savior and perpetuate the hero-victim-perpetrator drama triangle. Neptune with North Node in this chart will act like a hallucinogen and some sort of cool-aid to dull common sense, so be aware.
So the above would be my take on how most of us astrologers (I raise my hand) would forecast this chart, and it would be correct, or at least "not wrong." What I further want to offer comes from my observations of how this energy can play out and experiments on how we can "use" this energy for healing.
The New Interpretation
So while the interpretation of the karmic nodes does not change and the planets that are in strong configurations with the nodes can show karmic events, if we look at the same chart through the lens of modern psychology, we begin to see clearly the theme of "re-traumatization." So in analyzing Mars-Pluto opposition in trine with the Nodes through developmental psychology, we start to see glimmers of opportunity to use karmic recurrence to heal past wounds, either from ancestral entanglements, recurring destructive behaviors, or even past life traumas.
This does not make the first part of the analysis moot: we may very well still find ourselves stuck in a looping cycle of seeking sacrifice for a dose of moralistic and dopamine high, as with the after-effects of self-flagellation. But given this new developmental paradigm, we can now surmise that old cycles resurface so that we could recognize and transform them. Indeed, we can't clear clutter in a dark room until we flip on the light switch. So the name of the game is awareness.
At first signs of some urge to take drastic action, begin to trace the roots of this impulse as far back as possible to the originator. Chances are, there are past sacrifices from ancestors, family members, that went unnoticed and forgotten. And now it's the karmic nodes' job to make them known either through us reliving the same karmic loop, or us being able to bring awareness to these past sacrifices and honor them - hence the title of this month's forecast. And when we feel an energy of anger and blame and rage arising from within us, ask where we have sacrificed for the sake of our family/community/country in the past and have gone unthanked and unnoticed? Now it's the time to fully recognize and honor ourselves for those sacrifices we made.
And because 6th house and Pisces are involved, we especially want to honor those who made physical sacrifices for us. In general as a remedy for th 1/2 chart, honor the fallen, the veterans, and those who served. Honor the sacrifices of our ancestors without whom we would not be. Let them know through prayers and meditation that regardless of their past deeds/misdeeds, political stance, and personal beliefs, we are grateful and proud of their service and sacrifices. Also honor the sacrifices of the flora and fauna, mother earth's bounty, for us to be able to dream this dream of life. There is tremendous healing in this, and it correctly uses the Mars-Pluto duo to alchemize this potentially re-traumatizing energy into a frequency of honoring. And that is the true meaning and modern use of Mars-Pluto, who are co-rulers of Scorpio and significators of modern psychology. We are elevating the karmic recurrence from repeating karmic cycles to transformational remembrance of the past.
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And in case we have trouble jumping from harsh emotions directly to honoring ourselves and others, there are tools that help us release the emotional intensity. I found EFT tapping and the Emotional Guidance Scale to be highly effective, and here are a couple helpful links:
Introduction to EFP tapping:
Explanation of each tapping point:
Emotional Guidance Scale: (I couldn't find the author of this awesome graphic, but the scale as numbered was made popular by Abraham Hicks)
For the Emotional Guidance scale, what you do is simply make sentences starting at the scale that most describe your current state. For example:
"I feel so angry that we're not doing anything about global warming" (17.)
Then continue to make sentences ascending the scale -
"I feel so discouraged that we are moving so slowly in addressing this massive issue" (16.)
"I blame the government for not doing enough." (15.)
"I feel worried that we won't stop global warming in time..." (14.)
Continue to move up the scale until you find yourself being able to see the positives -
"I am hopeful that the next generation are becoming more aware of this issue" (6.)
"I am optimistic that we will reach a critical mass of consensus
"I am empowered by all the technology that we are developing to help address this" (1.)
Combining EFT tapping with Emotional Guidance Scale:
These two modalities are very well suited to work in sync. As we tap through the difficult emotions and issues, we can also create the tapping sentences through the emotional scale. This way we honor all emotions that are associated with the issue and practice our awareness of positive potentials as we tap and release stuck emotions that are tied to the karmic loop and behaviors.
Other remedies can also include Vedic remedies that honor Lord Vishnu, giving blood, or exercise and stay physically active to be able to remain emotionally resilient through a potent Mars transit. But whatever the remedy, it comes down to being able to settle the heart and use the intense fire energies to honor the past, the excluded, the forgotten, and the sacrificed.
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Never before have we been able to release so much emotional bondage until the advent of modern psychology and new discoveries in psychosomatic methods. And we are reaching new heights in the practical use of astrology thanks to waves of innovation in the healing fields. In that sense, we are truly living in hopeful times, and we've been generationally tasked with some "deep cleaning" because new and upcoming mind-body techniques allow us to do so.
So as the Mars-Pluto opposition remain active from now until April, continue to be aware of triggers that push us into extreme actions - either directed outwardly or inwards. Use the tools of your choice to transform the contentious energies into honoring. And continue to make safety a priority. I will be analyzing the Aquarius New Moon (Lunar New Year) chart in a separate post.
Namaste ❤️
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