Assuming the world doesn’t end with the Mayan calendar on December 21, what does 2013 look like? A variety of stations, eclipses, and major patterns trigger galactic energies and further energize the celestial manifestations that they evoke. Predominant among these is the major pattern of our time, the ongoing square between Uranus and Pluto. Key deep space alignments indicate that 2013 may be a peak year for concrete expressions of this duo’s intent.
Uranus and Pluto in combination are a volatile mix, and the signs in which this pair are squaring off reinforces the likelihood that conflict becomes extreme. Uranus is a revolutionary energy, wild and uncontrolled, iconoclastic and rebellious, but it also represents the urge to individuate and to be that which we uniquely are. Pluto is entrenched power, manipulation and control, ruling secrets, sex, death and taboo, but also the urge to self empowerment and regeneration.
These squares occur with Uranus in Aries, itself all about “me”—the individual, the leader, the brash, bold statement of existence. Capricorn is Pluto’s temporary home, and it represents hierarchical power, governmental control, the status quo of society and the vested interests that abhor change and power sharing.
So not only do these planets represent opposed, conflicting interests, there is also a natural clash between the aims and agendas of the signs in which they are domiciled. This is a recipe for cosmic conflict of the highest order, a turbulent, restless period where authority is challenged and reacts aggressively, even ruthlessly, attempting to crush any nascent yearning toward freedom and self expression.
The roots of this celestial battle royal lie in the prior conjunction between Uranus and Pluto, the seed point of this cycle. This aspect was the defining energy of the 1960s, that period of violent altercation and heady experimentation, cultural transformation and reactionary counterpoint. This waxing square dominating the twenty-teens is the first major aspect between these cosmic heavyweights in 50 years, and represents a chief turning point in their cycle, a period defined by a crisis of action. Deeply felt undercurrents which formerly influenced events from beneath the surface are becoming major waves in the collective which are now made obvious to all.
These two bodies move so slowly that they are not outside their orb of aspect the entire year, but they have two main periods at direct loggerheads, when the square is exact. On May 21, the two appear at 11 Aries and Capricorn, and on November 1, they confront each other from 9 degrees of the same signs.
At these times, and also during their respective station periods, considerable Quasar energy is activated by their positions. The Quasar at 10 Aries will be within a degree of both exact squares, with Pluto further making its station retrograde at 11 Capricorn in April, also in square to the Quasar. Uranus’ retrograde station of July at 12 Aries is still within orb of this Quasar, and will send the planet of shocks and upsets back over this point twice more in the ensuing six months.
Additionally, when Uranus turns direct in December 2013, it will be exactly squared the Quasar at 8 Cancer, which Pluto exactly opposes at its own direct station in September. This Quasar is also within one degree of exact aspect to the November Uranus/Pluto square, marking 2013 as exceptionally critical in grounding and giving permanence to the changes being wrought.
For that is what Quasars do—they enhance, concretize, spotlight and focus both attention and resources on the points they interact with. Quasars are among the furthest and brightest objects in the Universe, and what they contact, they promote like setting a beacon on a hilltop. But their action also extends to bringing energies down to earth, giving them substance, form, rooting them and granting durability beyond the stage of mere publicity or novelty. It is likely therefore that the most pervasive, lasting changes wrought by this combination will occur in 2013.
The sensitive eleventh degree, activated by the Pluto station of April and the Uranus/Pluto square of May, will be further highlighted by two additional celestial phenomena in 2013. Saturn’s retrograde station of 18 February will prep the ground; at 11 Scorpio it falls exactly sextile Pluto’s position at their upcoming square, and exactly inconjunct Uranus’. Saturn will be feeding form and structure into the pattern, assisting the Quasar energy in grounding and establishing foundations for the square’s manifestations, bringing them into our physical reality, with an emphasis on governmental and business structures or institutions. There is also an accent on limitation and restriction, a delaying of rewards until mastery and control is proven.
The Solar Eclipse on November 3, granting further energy and emphasis that extends up to three years, activates this same degree. Eleven Scorpio is no ordinary degree, either. Saturn’s station and the Solar Eclipse will exactly conjoin the Black Hole there, a circumstance which will act to ramp up the instability and unpredictability factor considerably, adding a topsy-turvy, black-is-white, up-is-down quality to the effects of the square, and evoking the extreme alterations common with Black Hole activation, which promotes the substitution of alternate realities for the ones currently pertaining, tending toward sudden change and record-setting conditions.
At each of the exact Uranus/Pluto squares, additional celestials in aspect may give us clues to the particular flavor of the energies released. The May 21 square at 11 Aries/Capricorn shows asteroid Vesta in tight square from 10 Cancer, suggesting that security will be an issue, both generally speaking and also in its financial guise as “securities.” This may be a highly volatile period for global financial markets, and economies such as Greece that are teetering on the edge may well topple now. Vesta also suggests sacrifice of some sort, particularly in the service of the community, as well as a sacred bonding or selfless giving, things not wholly disharmonious with Pluto’s drive for evolutionary change and Uranus’ urge to break down old forms.
Also active now are asteroids Pallas and Lilith at 25 Taurus, and Admetos at 27 Taurus, all in semisquare to Uranus, sesquiquadrate Pluto. Pallas suggests some wisdom to be gleaned from the square, and the importance of tactics and strategy at this time, a need to see beyond the surface reality to the underlying patterns beneath, working those to best advantage. Pallas is canny, but can be overly cerebral and out of touch with practical realities on the ground, enmeshed in its bubble of hypothetical perfection.
Lilith, named for Adam’s first wife in Hebraic tradition, who refused to be subjugated to him and declared her independence, indicates a major break or separation, a division of something previously thought indivisible. Lilith also relates to throwing off societal convention, something Uranus rewards and Pluto often looks askance at, so there may be some fundamental conflict between “want” and “should” going on at this time, playing out both globally and in each of our lives.
Admetos reiterates the theme of sacrifice raised by Vesta. His myth focuses on avoiding his fate by finding another willing to die in his place, and represents the value of sacrifice for love. This squares well with Pluto’s energy of species-level evolutionary processes, whereby individuals may be sacrificed to the good of the collective, but Uranus balks at such selflessness and demurs at the subservience of individuality, even in the service of a common goal.
The November 1 square at 9 Aries/Capricorn shows additional minor bodies conjoined each of the major players, as well as others in aspect. With Uranus from 8 Aries is asteroid Orpheus, representing the futility of trying to recapture or reclaim the past, which here reinforces Uranus’ natural bent toward iconoclasm, innovation and progress. On the Pluto side of the square we find asteroid Icarus, suggestive of rash, reckless behaviors, decisions or actions, heedless of the consequences, an inability to accept good advice, and dire or disastrous outcomes resulting from poor choices. Linked with Pluto, the ramifications of our actions at this time could be devastating indeed.
Forming an exact T-Square with these points is asteroid Hekate at 8 Libra, squared Pluto and opposed Uranus. As the patron of seers, Hekate represents the art of prophecy, or far-seeing; she is also the Crone aspect of the Goddess, signifying wisdom, completion and decay. The element of decay meshes well with Pluto’s regenerative functions, clearing the dead and dying so new life can emerge. Uranus appreciates Hekate’s future-oriented outlook, so this energy flows well with the square, although the T-Square it creates further aggravates the situation.
Two other points form significant aspects to the November square. TNO (Trans-Neptunian Object) Sedna at 23 Taurus lies semisquare to Uranus, sesquiquadrate Pluto. Sedna’s is a complex tale, named for the Inuit goddess who dwells in the deepest, most inaccessible area of the Arctic Ocean. As such, she represents isolation, and her story also highlights elements of fragmentation and an inability to grow up and accept adult responsibility. This reinforces Uranus’ unpredictability and childish insistence on its own way without reservation, but is at variance with Pluto’s need for control and sublimation of will.
Asteroid Kassandra at 23 Leo is even more pivotal, forming a mirror configuration called a Thor’s Hammer by sesquiquadrate aspects to both major planets in square. Any mirror configuration, such as the Yod, suggests some degree of fatedness, a karmic situation often of one’s own making, difficult to extricate oneself from. Kassandra symbolizes the principle of credibility and belief (or lack thereof), and asks that we carefully question our sources of information, relying on our intuition and inner sense of what is true or real in determining what to believe and what course to follow. The extent to which these squares interact with your natal chart will determine the depth of their effects in your life.
Even if the Uranus/Pluto square were the only significant celestial event, 2013 would be a stimulating, challenging year. But many other phenomena contribute to 2013’s complexity, and we’ll examine those in Part Two of this series, next month in Daykeeper Journal.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
Thanks, Alex, and happy Solstice everyone!