England's Pluto returns

[Jim Eshelman]

With the U.S. completing its first Pluto cycle by 2024, there is growing interest in what this transit might mean, especially by Tropical astrologers who think Pluto is already in its natal sign:

Pluto in the U.S. chart is at Tropical 27°3' Capricorn. Pluto entered Tropical Capricorn in 2008.

Pluto in the U.S. chart is at Sidereal 5°56' Capricorn. Pluto won't enter Sidereal Capricorn until January 26, 2021 (six days after the next presidential inauguration) and will settle in for the duration December 1, 2021.

Being an evidence-based astrologer, I thought this should be approached by finding other national charts that have already had the transit. I recently wrote the following on a social media site for mundane astrologers (primarily populated by Tropical astrologers, but you'll find a few Indian astrologers and an occasional name like Bowser or Eshelman there).

ENGLAND'S PLUTO RETURNS. Since 1066, England has had three complete Pluto cycles. Calculating transiting Pluto conjunct natal Pluto in a precession-free environment (i.e., Sidereally, or Tropically with precession deleted) gives exact transits during 1313-1314, again 1560-1562, and again 1808-1810. Here is a chance to dig through the history books and see what emerged and crested for England in those years.

1313-1314 was a critical period in the midst of the reign of King Edward II. The main features in England at the time is that the king was regarded as a weak and distracted ruler, with an ignoble and non-aristocratic temperament who had little ability to hold the loyalty of his nobles. Many things in the kingdom started falling apart and at least straining at the seams. Immediately after this transit, the Great Famine of 1315-1317 hit (sort of the 14th century equivalent of climate-change threat; in fact, there was dramatic cooling at exactly this time) when killed off more than 10% of England's population and, with equal fatality, ended any sense of prosperity and confidence. Crime, disease, mass death, cannibalism, and infant murders are among the epidemics that spread. While this famine affected Europe as a whole, it's toll on England was amplified by failed, weak leadership in immediately prior years.

1560-1562. The entire 16th century was important and transitional for England. Queen Elizabeth I came to power in 1558, so these years were at the start of one of the greatest periods in English history, its remarkable Golden Age. -- The only major event for England I can find for 1560 is indirect: France's King Francis died, widowing Mary Queen of Scots (who was also queen consort of France), setting various dominoes falling in the continuous potential threat to Elizabeth's rule from her cousin. I don't find specific events in 1561-62 that had a significant, course-altering effect on England and her people, so perhaps it was the general tone of the times.

1808-1810. The Industrial Revolution was affecting much of the world, and England more than most, radically shifting society and its culture - though I'm looking for something more distinctive and time-narrow. Beginning just a bit before (1806), Napoleon attempted to restructure European economies in a way that seriously threatened Great Britain. It was another period of acute climate change impact, when a Pacific Ocean volcano erupted in early 1806 in a way to lower world temperatures for a decade.

I'm not satisfied with this small amount of information. I consider that England got a new chart in 1800, though I'm not sure it ended the 1066 chart, but have to consider that. Perhaps Tony Dickey has something more concrete to flesh this out. (It does seem that Napoleon is the main factor.)

The USA Pluto return occurs three times in 2024 (on Feb 22, Jul 16, and Dec 30 - as usual, I calculate this in a precession-free framework). Whoever is elected president next year already has my sympathy - things appear so dire for 2021 that I'm not sure a it's a kindness to hope Democrats win (except that it does remove the alternative). The 2021 Capsolar is one of the most severe I've ever seen, and I fear the president serving 2021-2025 will catch the blame for some of the greatest severities we have ever suffered, perhaps to a "we can never let this happen again" level. That this is during the final on-ramp and climax of the national Pluto Return concerns me more than the Pluto-Pluto transit itself. In the attached illustration (1/14/2021 Capsolar), things not visible on its face are that Mars is 0°29' from MC, Moon and Mars are in close mundane square, and Uranus is stationary.

[David T]

Thank you for doing this research and sharing it.