iVillage

Pluto and Saturn are conjunct the Third and Ninth cusps (Placidus) respectively, which points to the underlying issue: "religion" (Ninth House) versus the Third House notion of "heresy." The irony here is that both faiths -- Judeo- Christianity and Islam -- view each other in truly, technically "heretical" terms since they share common roots, but have long since gone into schism. So we are looking at a karmic pattern of religious rigidity, intolerance and judgement (Saturn in Nine) implacably opposed by a "threatened" and thus violent "heresy" -- there's Mars and Pluto in the Third.

In my estimation, the Judeo-Christian tradition is symbolized in this chart by Saturn, although one could reason either way. Part of my thinking is that the Ninth House is so dominant, containing Jupiter and Moon. And of course the "West" has had the upper hand for a few centuries, and still basically does. A parallel line of reasoning is that the Mars/Pluto complex in the Third House is much more natural symbolism for terrorism than what we see in the Ninth. So the two signatures emerge pretty clearly: the West as the Ninth House, the Islamic world as the Third. This has some interesting implications, as we will see below.

All of this, I believe, is accurate enough technical analysis -- but at a rather obvious level. I'm actually not very impressed with it. It tells us nothing we didn't already know. We can even add an elegant little twist and observe that the current Saturn/Pluto opposition is forming on the planetary South Node of Uranus, adding even more volatility to the mix. But we know about that volatility already! I might further predict that the West will "win," since the general Ninth House symbolism is so strong. Add that Mercury, which rules the Ninth cusp, is ambiguously placed: it is rising, but in the Twelfth, suggesting the West's current vulnerability and defeat (Twelfth House), but also an underlying, fundamental strength - Mercury is indubitably conjunct the Ascendant.

Still, all this talk is close to the fortune-telling stuff we are striving to get beyond. It works, but it doesn't inspire or illuminate. How can we take it further? How can this chart speak to our souls rather than just to our minds?