On Pluto & Generational Population Growth

On Pluto & Generational Population Growth

9:09 AM 10/24/05 Mon

Been thinking about this for some time, finally everything began to gel in my brain the other day and so now here it is in print.

We astrologers have known for sometime now, that Pluto has a very strong role to play in the Evolution of the Species, specifically with regard to the Human Species; in the 20th Century, when Pluto was discovered, more advances has been made with understanding more about where we come from, and how we reproduce, than ever before in recorded history. The Genome discovery, for example, occured with Pluto's current transit of Sagittarius. Of course, we can include the birth of the "test tube baby", The Pill and other contraceptive devices. Which forms the basis of my thoughts here.

Many of you reading this will be of the Baby Boomer generation, those folks born right after WW2 and the early 1960s; there are more of you than any other preceeding generation (what Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation" - they had Pluto either in Gemini or Cancer) or the ones which have followed (like myself, a Gen-Xer, with my Pluto in the last decanate of Virgo). This numerical fact, along with other facts concerning the state of affairs of folks in my age group, have been the topic of much debate concerning Social Security and so on.

The Magis point out in, I think, their "Magi Ephemeris", that Pluto was in very high degrees of declination in the years after the War - Pluto in Leo. In light of the fact that Pluto is the most powerful Sexual Planet, it rules over the powers of procreation, indeed, life and death itself. Indeed, at the time Roe v. Wade came down, for instance, transit Pluto, which had just entered Libra, was sitting at the top of the USA chart (Sibly variant), square the chart ruling Jupiter and Venus, which of course, represented women everywhere. Contraceptive choices, and the technologies that have made those choices possible in the first place, have tremendously improve since the Pluto-in-Cancer era.

But this has all come about with a price. As the recently concluded Saturn in Cancer transit showed, many women who put their all into their work and careers (a key theme of the Women's Movement's "second wave" in the 60s and 70s - Pluto in Virgo) suddenly realized that they wanted to be mommies, and those who could resorted to all manner of fertility treatments and the like, with limited success. For every "success story" we all hear about a woman having a child (and more often than not, multiple kids due to the fertility drugs and chemicals), there are scores of women for whom these treatments simply did not work. And while there continues to be much discussion on these issues, a key crucial point seems to go unmentioned - Nature. For every woman knows well the sound of her "biological clock ticking" and knows that she only has a limited amount of time to have babies. And despite the great strides in medical/reproductive technology, social advancements and so on, this great truth comes roaring back at us, no matter how much we may try to ignore it.

The New York Times recently published what some considered a shocking article, talking about the fact that there seems to be a movement afoot of Ivy League educated women, who are opting out of the career track to be mommies at home. This has created something of a stir within the professional Feminist lobbying groups, mainly found within the nonprofit, academic and governmental areas. Yet the fact remains, many, many women are recognizing the importance of motherhood.

But is it too little, too late? As mentioned earlier, it is a fact that the Pluto in Virgo and Pluto in Libra generations are sizably smaller than the Boomers; on top of that, folks of my generation, the Pluto in Virgos, have fewer kids than ever before (taken together as a group, of course, not individually, in comparison to the Boomers and definitely in comparison to the Pluto in Cancers). Virgo is not a fertile Sign, whereas both Cancer and to some extent, Libra defintely are; and, from what we can glean of the latter, through daytime talkshows and other media outlets, the Pluto in Libra generation seems to be making up for lost time in this area. The Pluto in Scorpio generation, I imagine, will do their part in repopulating the American landscape as well.

Of course, having kids and raising them within the proper environments are two completely differing matters, and both these placements of Pluto, especially the former, will continue to bring up profound issues for us all to grapple with (for example, the seeming reverting back to the mammalian trend in Western Industrialized societies, where one third of all babies are born to unwed, single mothers). These are portents that will have serious implications, not only for the USA, but for other countries as well.

Indeed, earlier this year, the BBC World Service reported on a "fertility summit" that took place in Belguim, if I recall correctly; the issue had to do with the fact that Western Europe is facing two major problems: on the one hand, they're having trouble making babies among the "preferred" stock of their populations; and on the other hand, these same countries are having huge problems with sometimes hostile immigration, especially in the form of Islamic newcomers, who don't seem to have a problem with making whoopie and having kids. The summit's findings were at best politically correct, if not out and out disengenuous: that the main reasons why infertility was so high was supposedly due to obesity both among men and women; higher incidences of STDs and great use of birth control. Not once did the study mention at all, the fact that so many women waited so very long to try to have kids in the first place. Hmm.

Speaking of men, we all have seen the many, many ads about Viagra and the like - and, from what I've been able to observe personally, it's just not "dirty old men" taking these "male enhancement drugs". Very often, it's men my age (I'm 36!), supposedly in the prime of their life, who are having trouble "getting it up". Of course, lifestyle plays a powerful role...but might there be also, an astrological "reason" as well? I think so: Pluto in Virgo does not, in and of itself, speak to great interest in sexual matters.

And then there's the talk of a male version of "The Pill"; if indeed this drug comes down the pike - and I think it could happen during Pluto's transit through Capricorn - it's almost certain to send a shockwave through the populace. Think about it - just as women are wanting to have babies, men are opting NOT to have them! It's a very interesting role reversal, and even more interesting to see how women react to being on the other side of the stick...will there be a grassroots revolt against such things? Will scores of men make use of "the male pill"? Will our civilization come to an end (or at the very least, a very low level) because of dramatic decreases in population growth in Western countries? And what of "the survivors" - those born of broken, impoverished, single-mom headed homes (especially the boys?)? How will this impact on the issues surrounding Immigration - something that continues to bedevil both sides of the Atlantic? How will the Western nations, particularly the USA and the European "Big Three" - United Kingdom, France and Germany - hope to compete with two of the biggest nations on the planet - India, and China, both coming up fast?

Here in the USA, our socio-political climate actually works AGAINST forming and maintaining stable familes; Americans work more hours than anyone else in the Western world, with more and more job destabilization taking place all the time, due in part to globalization. Divorce here is higher than anywhere else in the Western world, in large part due to the aforementioned job destabilization, especially among the men population. We are fast becoming the leader in single-mom headed homes/out of wedlock pregnancies than anywhere else in the Western world, with those populations engaing in this being the least able to cope with such circumstances financially and socially. These and other circumstances are ones for which we have yet to formulate a calculus not only to gauge, but to deal effectively with, and the end is still nowhere in sight; we are only beginning now to grasp the full impications of "the Sexual Revolution" here in the USA, which occured in the late 60s and throughout the 70s, as both Uranus and then Pluto transited Libra.

There are many, many, many looming issues for us in the Western world to contend with along these lines, obliterating the ideas in some quarters that reproduction/fertility/marriage/sex is strictly "a personal affair/decision", that government and/or society at large has (or shouldn't have) no say in such things. As the current domestic debate surrounding Social Security shows, and as the current elections in Germany and the BBC reported "fertility summit" in Belguim proves without a doubt, that those who proffer such a premise are dead wrong.

Pluto represents the sum total of the times in which any society lives; as Noel Tyl points out, Pluto provides a Perspective on those times. With just noting the Sign in which Pluto is placed at any given time, the astrologer can get a pretty good sense of what was going in said society at that given time. Pluto's transit of the Signs, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio, and now Sagittarius, has I think any astrologer would agree, given a vivid witness to events, happenings and themes associated with each Sign/era. With Pluto preparing to enter Capricorn, in many ways, the chickens will come home to roost, to borrow a phrase from Malcom X. It's square to the Pluto in Libra placement/generation will augur a major crisis along the lines just discussed, with major press upon the government by the people to intervene and sort things out. It proves to be an interesting time indeed.

With respect to fertility, family building and maintenance, marriage and society's betterment, I say that we in the Western world are headed for a Reckoning. And for some, it couldn't happen at a better time.

What say you?

Salaam,
Mu
 

Draco

Well-known member
Why is your post directed only towards people in the USA? :?

I imagine, will do their part in repopulating the American landscape as well.

Up until reading this part, I imagined that your post was aimed at us all. As it isn't I quit reading.
 

emilyelizabeth

Active member
Hi Mu,

This was great! Thank you for your very comprehensive essay on generational sexual trends based on Pluto.

I'm of the Leo Pluto generation and my daughters are the Scorpio Pluto generation. It was very "in" in high school for them to "be gay" regardless, for example. Sent this to my oldest who is now 21 and swears she will adopt a baby rather than have one as she believes in ZPG (after all this is the Boomers Boom generation and we don't need more children than we can happily manage). As the USA is the Evil Empire the adoption organizations are now disallowing Americans to adopt children from other countries - new international trend. (That'll teach us!)

We have now launched into a Capricorn Pluto era - and as you say, perhaps now Malcolm X will have his way. I know the Pluto opposition to the Sun on a very personally intense level - living it right now as it rips and grinds thru my life and it's... well, downright powerful.

ee
 

blueheron

Well-known member
I say that we in the Western world are headed for a Reckoning. And for some, it couldn't happen at a better time.

I'd say it's a global reckoning.

Speaking of men, we all have seen the many, many ads about Viagra and the like - and, from what I've been able to observe personally, it's just not "dirty old men" taking these "male enhancement drugs". Very often, it's men my age (I'm 36!), supposedly in the prime of their life, who are having trouble "getting it up".

I'd say this is a species biological thing... nature's response to overpopulation.


Good thoughts on the Pluto in Leo generation. I know it well. ;)
I've been thinking about the other Pluto generations also... too tired tonite to elaborate... maybe tomorrow.

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