I hope you are enjoying today's Mercury sextile Pluto. Change is in the air. And Pluto is also sesquiquadrate his straight-talking brother, Orcus, so that change will either be the result of a follow-through of our previous commitments, or one motivated by the consequences of not doing that.
The Orcus sesquiquadrate to Pluto has been in play since the 5th of last month and it will separate next week as Pluto moves direct into Aquarius. So our follow through on our commitments over this period will be tested in these next days.
At the personal planet level of consciousness, Orcus either holds us accountable for thought, word and deed, or encourages us to cut corners and engage in double-talk where we see that we can. As we develop spiritually he gives us the strength to align with a spiritual creed, and to do the work of transmuting the shadow in our lives into light.
Shadow into light
Let's look at a case study to see how this works in practise. Billy Connolly has Orcus closely conjunct his Moon in Gemini in the 9th house. He is a Scottish actor, comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is known for his idiosyncratic and often improvised observational comedy, frequently including strong language. This is the Orcus Moon conjunction at work, transmuting the shadow of strong language, into the light of laughter.
Became a Teetotaler On 30 December 1985, he became a teetotaler. “Having been an alcoholic. "I don't miss drinking. It has taken me by surprise," Connolly stated 24 years later. "I miss the joy of it all. The headbanging stupidity, the loveliness, the craziness of it. I miss it terribly." The day he he stopped drinking alcohol, he had Orcus transiting closely conjunct his natal Pluto, talking about the commitment he was making and the transformative effect it would have. While Mars transiting on his second house cusp, was closely bi-quintle his natal Orcus. So his actions in reality were in an evolutionary flow with his ability to transmute shadow. Ceres was also transiting closely square his Orcus from the 11th house, talking about the hard love required in that process. And Eris was closely sextile from the 7th house, talking about the support of his psychologist wife which enabled the change. Childhood Trauma In an article with The Guardian newspaper on 23 September 2001, Connolly revealed his childhood trauma of being sexually abused by his father and physically abused by his aunt. His mother abandoned the family when he was 3 years old and the family lived in poverty with Connolly sharing a sofa bed with his father. This led to his drinking and doing drugs. The day of the interview he had Saturn transiting closely conjunct his Orcus in the 9th as he released the karma and turned his shadow into inspirational light for others. And Orcus was transiting through the end of the 10th house, closely semi-square his Ixion in the 12th, challenging him to release the undesirable unconscious influences from his early abuse. And bi-quintile his Part of Fortune in the 6th, encouraging him that this was the right time and place. Knighted And Orcus is also showing up of course as he gets awarded for his work. He was knighted for "services to entertainment and charity" on the 16th June 2017. On that day he had Neptune transiting through his 5th house, closely square his Orcus. While Orcus was transiting through his 11th house, semi-sextile his Pluto in the 10th house, as he was awarded for following through on his transformative social work.
Orcus 101
Want to develop your ability to transmute shadow into light in your life? Grab one of the last scholarships on this course, which is running alongside Eris in the next course bracket, starting on 27th May. Join us if you are able, and thanks for your work on-boarding these new consciousness energies in your life. Love and laughter Alan Alan Clay’s sensitive, cutting edge wisdom and the community sharing make the classes on the Dwarf Planets compelling and profound. They are as much an exploration as a revelation. Not only mentally stimulating, they are a deep dive into each of our psyche and growth experience. I love them and am looking forward to more. - Karen La Puma, Astrologer, Counselor, Speaker.
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