Astrology teaches that planets show energetic action, signs show how planetary energy will be expressed and houses show the area of life in which the action will occur.
By way of illustration Mercury is the renown "messenger of the gods," known as Hermes in Greece. He is often depicted as having winged feet to illustrate the swiftness and travel.
Mercury is the planet of communication of all sorts, education and travel.
Aries is the sign of speed, directness, fire, heat, daring, anger etc., depending upon other factors such as aspects.
So a person with Mercury in Aries is apt to speak swiftly or angrily or directly. Such a person might be argumentative or brave in espousing his or her opinions. We could classify Mercury in Aries as "fiery speech."
Now such fiery speech would be modified by the house Mercury was placed in. If Mercury was in the 7th house, such fiery communications might show up in the marital relationship. The spouse might actually express the fiery speech part for the native. 1
A 7th house Aries Mercury could indicate conflicts with lawyers, legal battles and "open enemies." This would be a good placement for an attorney.
So we could basically view a 7th house Aries Mercury as "fiery (Aries) marital (7th house) communication (Mercury)." Cool? Now what a person does with that is up to her. If it works for you, then roll with it. But if you are getting effects you don't particularly like, then it's up to you to work on your Mercury. If fiery Mercury is threatening your marriage and you don't want to blow it, then it's up to you to do something about the effect Mercury in Aries is having on your marriage. A lot of hot arguments might have been existentially exciting during the early days of young love. But that pattern might not be giving you and your husband what you need in the present marriage phase.
Unless a person achieves the very highest levels of spiritual cultivation, 2 Mercury will always be fiery, but how that fire is expressed is up to you. Dig? Sarcasm or spite can be exchanged for speaking directly about the issue.
The three outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) effect whole generations of people because they stay in the same sign for very lengthy periods.
Since 1995 Pluto has been in the sign Sagittarius. Pluto's energetic action creates death, transformation and/or regeneration. Sagittarius is the sign of the higher mind and governs such things as courts, judges, long distance travel, religion, spirituality, dreams, higher education, college, ministers, priests, philosophy and sports.
Pluto rules huge amounts of money, sex, reproduction, the subconscious, the collective subconscious, secrets, spies, atomic power, drugs, chemistry and all underground activities (including the criminal underworld).
Various effects of Pluto in Sagittarius can be observed. The attack on the World Trade Center brought about a near-death and transformation of air travel. And the Plutocrats wasted no time hitting the government for big money.
The court system has undergone a profound and frightening transformation. Where the founders established the system to make it hard for the state of secure convictions, the increasingly conservative courts have become almost prosecutors themselves.
Pluto in Sagittarius can be seen in the many professional sports teams which have moved to different cities. The drug and sex scandals in sports are reflective of Pluto in Sagittarius as are the sex scandals in the church which will either destroy the church or drastically transform it.
Sports stadiums (Sagittarius) now carry the names of huge corporations (Pluto). Such icons as Candlestick Park began to carry the disgusting names of corporations. We began to see 3Com Park, Enron Park, Bank of This and Corp of That Stadiums. The college bowls now carry the names of fast food chains. Half-time shows are "brought to you" by this or that greedy capitalist entity. Pretty soon will see such monstrosities as "this free-throw by Shaq is sponsored by Radio Shack." "The previous backfield-in-motion penalty was brought to you by Metamucil who reminds you to always keep your backfield in motion."
Free agency has facilitated the movement of players from team to team (Pluto=movement/transformation and teams=Sagittarius).
Sports players now make hundreds of millions of dollars (Pluto in Sagittarius) and are routinely involved in drug and sex scandals. In addition to illegal drugs, athletes are transforming their bodies with such "enhancements" as steroids. College (Sagittarius) coaches and players have not been immune to the Sagittarius-Pluto effect. Old coaches like Bear Bryant and Eddie Robinson stayed in one place for decades, but now college coaches jump ship whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Sagittarius rules gambling and the problems of sports icons with gambling are all too well known.
In education, several non-traditional options have presented themselves such as home education, credits for life experience, adults returning to school (Pluto's rebirth-effect), etc. The price of a college education has skyrocketed. These are all Sagittarius-Pluto effects.
Every country seems to be trying to enter the nuclear community (Plutonium).
On a more grassroots level, the Sagittarius-Pluto effect can be witnessed in the current preoccupation with the human posterior. Songs in praise of the butt have invaded the charts and damsels possessed of abundant hips (Sagittarius rules the hips, thighs and buttocks) have supplanted the Twiggy-types whose tri-decade reign brought bulimia and anorexia to impressionable young girls.
One must hope for Pluto in Sagittarius to bring, finally, a transformation in philosophy and spirituality because the old paradigm is choking us all to death.
Pluto symbolizes Ausar (Osiris), one of the Egyptian "gods of the Underworld." Pluto in Sagittarius represents the rebirth of the ancient spiritual systems. Interest in the Egyptian system of spiritual cultivation is rising. People of all nationalities are discovering Egyptian techniques, concepts and deities as they seek to realize their highest potential.
Pluto is the Roman name for the Greek god Hades. The ancients were far more scientific than modern people give them credit for being. They knew that Pluto existed way before recent astronomers stumbled upon it in 1929. But the ancients discussed science in a holistic, integrated approach that makes it difficult for today's left-brain, separationist thinkers to comprehend them.
The ancient scientists often used symbolic stories to explain phenomena. Pluto was said to search for his wife half the year while she returned to him for half the year. In this way the ancients discussed the planet Pluto's apparent retrograde motion for six months of the year.
Pluto in a person's chart
Transiting Pluto will effect an individual according to the house it moves through in a particular chart. If Pluto transits (moves) through your 1st house you are likely to experience some type of change in your appearance (a sho'nuff makeover), health, or personality. You'll probably also be feeling extremely erotic and you may have a "secret identity."
If Pluto is in your second house, expect some major change in your financial life. If it's well aspected, you could make huge money.
A third house Pluto alters communications and belief systems.
When Pluto transits one's 4th house, home changes occur such as remodelling, moving, additions to the family or death of a family member.
Pluto transiting one's 5th house will have an effect upon the person's children, love affairs and pleasurable activities. Such a person would likely feel positively creative. I have known some people with 5th house natal Pluto to undergo a change in sexual orientation.
Pluto transiting the 6th house effects employment. Job changes or the death of jobs occur.
Pluto transiting the 7th house effects marriages. At present Pluto is in America's 7th house. It will be interesting to note whether more divorces occur during Pluto's stay in America's marriage house.
Pluto transiting the 8th affects joint finances, inheritances and the spouse's money. It also has a powerful effect upon subconscious sexual needs.
Pluto in the 9th house brings transformations in spiritual, religious and educational areas of life.
Pluto transiting the 10th affects profession, career, authorities and one's public image. When Pluto entered my 10th house I got slave-traded to Arizona, thus changing the people who have custody of my body. As a 10th house Pluto also creates an opposition (180o angle) with my 4th house (home) I changed "homes" by being exiled from Delaware via the Interstate Slave Trade (euphemistically called the Interstate Corrections Compact).
When Pluto transits one's 10th house this is a dangerous period as it could create the death of one's parent. Usually the 10th house signifies the mother and the 4th house the father, but that is not universally agreed upon by astrologers. But just because Pluto is in your 10th house, don't panic and think your mother is going to die. It depends upon Pluto's aspects (angles) with other planets and its condition at the time of birth.
Pluto transiting the 11th house brings transformation among friends and associates, including the groups and organizations to which a person belongs.
Pluto transiting the 12th unearths lots of deep psychological and spiritual stuff.
America's Chart and Transiting Pluto
Nations have charts just as people do. The astrological field of study dealing with nations' charts is called mundane astrology.
America has Gemini Rising which shows up in its emphasis upon education, freedom of speech and how quickly it embraced the information age. Gemini hates to be stuck in one thing for long, so America changes styles and fads faster than any other nation. But Gemini is also a sign of "speaking with forked tongue," so America can be a big hypocrite, espousing liberty as an "unalienable" right while simultaneously holding millions of Africans as slaves. Hypocrisy - and not even knowing it - is the downside of Gemini rising.
America has her Moon in Aquarius, which gives the country a radical tone. The Moon is in America's 10th house, the house of public image, and so American presents a revolutionary face to the international community, replete with humanitarian and egalitarian values. And this is part of America's groove. But old conservative Cancer is the core of America for the Sun is in Cancer in America's 2nd house, the house of values and finance.
America's "soul,," as reflected in her Sun sign, is about money and she will shift her values according to that which is economically feasible at a particular time. Because of Gemini rising, she won't even see the contradictions in such a shift.
As Clinton used to say, "It's the economy, stupid." Need some oil out of the Caspian Sea? No problem. Take over Afghanistan and we can run all the pipes through Afghanistan that Dick Cheney can imagine. Pipeline taking a bit too long to develop? Not to worry, there's a bunch of oil just waiting for Mr. Cheney over in Iraq.
Cancer is the sign of the family and home and so presidential wannabe's campaign as family men with the dogs and kids all spruced up. The general public gets swayed by such images and seldom wonder what, for example, Nixon's love for his dog Checkers has to do with his ability to run the country.
Venus in a nation's chart shows what it digs in women. America has Venus in Cancer and that reveals the nation's breast fixation.
The 7th house is the house of "open enemies." Pluto transits America's house and America has selected the Arabs as the enemy du jour. Arabs are ruled by Scorpio. So Arab nations are being targeted for "regime change" sequentially.
But the 7th house is also the house of partnership and marriage and so the various wars (crusades) against Arabs will have the unforeseen side-effect of blending the cultures. In the end of the show there'll be more Muslims than any religion other than Christianity in America. And, odd as it may seem, America may, like Turkey, end up becoming predominantly Muslim as a result of the wars! Guess I'll have to dust off my old kufi. I'm tired of being a "minority."
Soldiers in this Third Crusade will marry Arab women and some of those women will come to America and bring their culture with them. They will raise their children with Arab values and Arab-Islamic tenets will seep into the fabric of Americana.
With Pluto in Sagittarius (religion) the undertones of USA-Arab World conflict are religious in nature, though forked-tongued Gemini rising denies religion has anything to do with the entire mess.
As Cancer is a very insecure sign, politicians can quite easily get the American public worked up and scared to death over "security...security...security." They can scare the public to the point of allowing Ashcroft and Bush to carry out "regime change" on the constitution with such military junta acts like the so-called Patriot Act. Bye, bye Miss American Pie. Ashcroft done ate up your democracy.
History will record that America ceased to be a true democracy under the rule of a court-appointed president and an attorney general who lost his last election to a dead man.
1 The person whose chart is being discussed is called "the native" in astrology. I always laugh when I read that word and start wondering if Tarzan is about to show up too.
2 At the highest level of development, you can really create your own reality. You can effectively change your chart so that you adopt the planetary energy you choose to adopt according to the situation. This is called "the great liberation" in spiritual literature. Let's say you have Gemini rising. You are therefore adept at communications and problems which you confront can be addressed intellectually are quite solvable for you. But life won't just throw Geminian issues your way. Life will conspire to force you to face situations where intellect alone is ineffective. You might need to deal with a situation emotionally. By appropriate spiritual procedures you could temporarily change into a Cancer or Pisces rising sign and function, naturally, from that perspective.