(Introductory Note) In order to deepen my study and understanding of astrology I often write short stories to reflect special events happening in the cosmos. These creative writing exercises are a way for me to see how celestial bodies interact with each other in a descriptive and vivid way: they become characters based on what they rule and represent; the heavens become a unique setting, where the characters react to each other and their surroundings based on their location. While I usually keep these stories private, I wanted to share what I wrote for the unique Venus-Pluto-Ceres conjunction that is happening on December 7th, 2024. I hope you enjoy this, and that you hopefully uncover some wisdom that you can utilize in your life as well as receive further insight into the Pluto-in-Aquarius era we have just entered. If you would prefer, scroll towards the end of the blog entry to read about the astrological implications of the Pluto-Venus-Ceres conjunction, along with some other interesting astrological events shaping out early December 2024.
Aquarius Cafe
The Treachery of Images (La Trahison des images) by Reni Magritte
Imagine it’s dinnertime at a locally-sourced vegan restaurant that is currently having a Surrealist art installation. The walls are covered in prints of art by Magritte, Miro, Dali, and Ernst. The restaurant has a warm glow from the Edison light bulbs that are hanging above each round table. A peculiar mix of music is playing, a playlist which sets a very eccentric mood: you recognize ”Around the World” by Daft Punk and “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock. The hostess standing at a desk near the front door is rocking a neon blue pixie, a blue tie-dye t-shirt, and denim bellbottoms. She is working to help pay for her BFA in performing arts at Sarah Lawrence College.
A reservation for three just walked in the door: the God of the Underworld, the Goddess of agriculture and harvest, and the Goddess of love and beauty. They quietly take their seats, the tension and awkwardness between them is so apparent it feels electric. They begin to focus solely on their menus, though their minds each run through various concerns, questions, and observations that have for each other. Perhaps some hidden gems of information will be revealed during dinner.
A Curious Triple Conjunction
This is an astrological metaphor for an unique astrological event that will occur with Pluto, Venus, and the dwarf planet Ceres early Saturday morning, December 7, 2024. In astrology, aspects examine the degrees of separation between two planets. A conjunction is an aspect when two planets are within 7 degrees of each other in the sky. Conjunctions can intensify and amplify each of the planets’ energies. While conjunctions can be beneficial, sometimes an intense or clashing nature between planets conjunctions can be harsh. Pluto, Venus, and Ceres will all be meet each other in the sign of Aquarius at 0 degrees during the wee hours of Saturday morning. Interestingly here we see a Venus, Pluto, and Ceres conjunction, and astrologer Jessica Adams points out that this is a rare “Triple Conjunction.”
Persephone’s Abduction and The Mythology of Pluto/Hades and Ceres/Demeter
Demeter Mourning for Persphone by Evelyn de Morgan
Pluto is the ancient Roman God of the Underworld, his Greek equivalent being Hades. Ceres is the Roman Goddess of agriculture, grain, motherhood, and cycles, her Greek equivalent being Demeter. Venus is the Roman goddess of love, beauty, and sensuality, her Greek equivalent being Aphrodite.
I think the story of Persephone’s abduction by Hades is important to be aware of when we think about Ceres and Pluto conjoining. While this passage is a very high-level synopsis, you can read more details in my blog about Spring Maidens. In Greek mythology the maiden goddess Persephone, whose mother is Demeter, was out picking flowers when Hades abducted her. Hades kept Persephone captive in his realm of the Underworld, where he forced her to be his queen. Persephone’s mother Demeter was none too pleased about this forced arrangement, and in her grief and anger, the natural world began to wither and die, threatening the wellness and abundance life offered on Earth. Eventually, a compromise was struck to revive life in the natural world on Earth: Persephone would be allowed to reside with her mother six months out of the year, but would have to reside in Underworld for the other six months. Thus, when Demeter and Persephone were united on Earth, the world blossomed and grew again, signifying the summer months. While Persephone was in the Underworld and Demeter grieved, the world would grow cold and die, signifying winter.
The Astrology of Ceres, Venus, and Pluto
Ceres image captured by NASA’s space probe Dawn
In our solar system, between Mars and Jupiter, resides a belt of asteroids, where Ceres can be found. Ceres is a dwarf planet, and is the largest object in the belt, about a third of the size of Earth. Just this week, a study was published about NASA’s spacecraft Dawn discovering that there are organic materials on Ceres, suggesting that there are life supporting resources on this dwarf planet.
In astrology, Ceres represents how or where you need nurturing and self-care in your life. It can also examine mother-daughter relationships and cycles. Ceres shows us how we love ourselves and others, how we need to be nurtured. As an Earth Goddess, Ceres as can represent wildlife, forests, and agriculture. Her link to agriculture and the harvest of grains was particularly valuable to the ancient Romans, and her name is where the word cereal originated. When considering what Demeter/Ceres endured when she had to negotiate the return of Persephone from Hades/Pluto, we must also consider that she represents grief and compromise.
Venus Verticordia by Dante Gabriel Rossetti Dante Gabriel Rossetti
In astrology, Venus rules over pleasure, love, beauty, and material things. Venus is all about what we are attracted and what it is that others are attracted to in us. Venus show us where we like to be indulgent, flirty, expressive, romantic, and emotional. Above all things: Venus craves harmony, romance, socializing, and something pretty to look at. However, Venusian beauty has the capability of going deep below the surface, gifting us with the ability to express our feelings, transform our emotions into art, and build loving relationships that fill our lives with hope and happiness.
In astrology, Pluto represents change and transformation. In the best of ways Plutonian energy can be revelatory, bringing secrets into the open, which bring us the opportunity to evolve. In the worst of ways, Plutonian energy can be destructive, inciting tumultuous times that “wipe the slate clean” and make us to start fresh, whether we felt like it or not. Pluto brings blessings of rebirth, though how those blessings manifest is unpredictable and sometimes downright unpleasant. After all, he rules the Underworld: death can be scary and complex, but resurrection can be enlightening and revelatory.
We have been well-acquainted with Pluto’s move into Aquarius. Since its move into Aquarius on November 19th, France’s government has collapsed, South Korea’s president called for martial law (which failed when the people came together to protest), and large demonstrations are happening in Georgia to protest their government. On top of all that, many are bewildered and terrified about the potential divisiveness a second T*ump term can create. It’s a shit show out there, and even though Pluto still has a couple decades in Aquarius, we are already over it.
Dining with Pluto, Venus, and Ceres
Let’s return to the dinner in Aquarius cafe. If we recall, Pluto, Venus, and Ceres are in a conjunction in the sign of Aquarius. Therefore, they are influenced by the idealistic, progressive, creative energy of Aquarius while their energies are amplified and intensified by each other’s presence.
Pluto is mentally re-designing the restaurant and its menu. There needs to be more spice in the dishes, he thinks to himself, laughing out loud when he imagines adding powdered Carolina Reapers into farro that would be the base for a Buddha Bowl. Venus watches Pluto and can’t quite figure out if she wants to smack him or sleep with him. She is intrigued by him, but at the same time, she isn’t sure she can trust him. She hopes the tense mood will lift once dessert arrives, since the evening so far feels a little too heavy for her taste.
Ceres is stirring around the sprig of rosemary that garnished her gin and tonic, watching the screen of her phone, waiting for a text message to arrive. She came to this dinner already having issues with Pluto, seeing him as self-serving prick. She watches him entertaining himself and imagines him choking on a pea. Ceres doesn’t have a poker face. Venus notices Ceres’ reaction to Pluto and laughs.
Pluto looks up from the menu and says he needs something “more filling than tofu.” He looks around the restaurant and remarks that Surrealism was a fascinating artist movement, but that “Dali was a narcissistic shithead.” Venus tells him to keep his voice down, suggesting that he try his cocktail since they’re lovely and he would do good to have a few more sips. She wishes she wasn’t attracted to the dark and mysterious type: it could be fun trouble, until the fun fizzles out and that is left is trouble.
Ceres lets out a sigh. She doesn’t know if cocktails and mood lighting would make the art and the food easier to digest. She feels her Mom-mode activate in her belly when she gets this near to Pluto’s chaotic and unpredictable nature. While the cafe felt like a charming place to observe the world from a charming view, she couldn’t help but feel the world shift and the seasons changing. She starts to mentally run through different ways she can protect her daughter, her friends, and the planet. She is also more than happy to keep Venus from indulging in her flirtatious fantasies. She gives a concerned look to Venus and the two intuitively acknowledge that Pluto is difficult company.
Venus and Ceres enjoy the restaurant’s progressive vibe: glad to support the food, the hostess, the music, and its eccentric patrons. They both know Pluto is not the transparent type, and they can only guess what his intentions truly are. Pluto was well aware he wasn’t the favored dinner guest, but he was also aware that he brought a lot to the table (pun intended). His ideas were powerful and explosive: his innovation could build brilliant cities, reinvent people, and pave paths for new ways of living. Pluto was in no rush to leave the cafe, he wanted the five-course meal, and during it he planned to ask about Ceres’ daughter. He also wanted to ask Venus if she was familiar with Shakespearean sonnets, reciting a sad proclamations of about love’s tragic powers from one particular sonnet about Adonis:
“With sweets that shall the truest sight beguile:
The strongest body shall it make most weak,
Strike the wise dumb and teach the fool to speak.”
All three wondered when the tension at the table would explode, and who would be the first to initiate an impassioned discussion (or argument). Pluto laughed out loud to himself again, thinking about a gluten free dinner roll getting thrown at his head or a a bowl of purple carrot and beet salad being chucked at his face. “What’s so funny?” Venus asks Pluto. “You may not want to know,” Ceres mutters under her breath.
An Astrological Forecast for the Pluto-Venus-Ceres Conjunction
How does the Pluto-Venus-Ceres conjunction look and feel beyond a short story, but instead in our lives? It’s a brief astrological event, but a unique one taking place during an already in a volatile time.
Leonora Carrington’s depiction of the Tarot’s Star card.
Some astrologers think this triple conjunction will trigger more environmental issues, perhaps causing an uneasy shift that will pushes back the exploitation of the planet’s abundant resources (Hint: climate change). There may be further political strains, where it feels more and more apparent that leaders of opposing sides withhold information in an attempt to maintain power and control. The themes of lies, greed, and corruption will be examined, and those who uphold those as traits as for leading will be scrutinized. Aquarian energy begs us to think about the collective community, the greater good, and the radical belief that hope and intelligence can and will prevail. In this instance, maybe we are setting course for an enlightening and transparent wake up call. Maybe we are going to have a reveal of some kind, an “ah-ha” moment that makes our collective experience feel different. People may feel the need to express their feelings and share their reactions. Pluto demands change no matter the cost. Venus desires harmony. Ceres wants to nurture and protect those impacted by these never-ending “unprecedented” times; however, I suspect is that anyone with dark Plutonian secrets or a controlling streak will not be held in the protective arms of Ceres. Just ask the late CEO of United Healthcare.
In the best of ways, if these three celestial bodies are amplifying each other, we may witness significant transformative shifts in society. We may feel these are changes for the community, we also recognize them impacting our lives on a deeply personal level. We feel a calling to take care of ourselves, those we love, and the world around us. (Isn’t that what we should be doing, even when the stars are aligned in the most favorable of ways?) It currently feels like we are simultaneously examining deep and dark aspects within our internal words while the outside world around us feels messy, complicated, and uncertain. This isn’t the easiest scenario, but it leads us the opportunity for self-examination and ultimately determining where we can heal and how we can improve our lives and the lives of those around us.
Consider these questions and if you currently resonate with them:
Have you had an intuitive desire to bring together all of your loved ones and buy property deep within the mountains where you can peacefully tend to a garden, manage a chicken coop, and care for several beehives?
Have you been thinking about making impactful changes in your life as a response to the current world climate?
Are you feeling an urge to protect your way of life and shield those you love from getting in the path of danger?
Have random feelings of grief been bubbling up in you from what seems like nowhere, even though you swore you “already worked through that grief”?
Have you been hearing or saying the phrase, “The math isn’t mathing”?
Are you getting annoyed that these aliens that apparently hang out in the ocean haven’t don’t jack shit to help us yet?
These all feel like natural responses to the challenging energy of these times. Pluto can bring such significant change, major shifts, and transform everything around us and within us. Fortunately, Ceres holds space for us to grieve, ground, and heal. And Venus shows us there is still love in the world, and as Sam Gamgee told Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings, in a very Aquarian speech: “There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for.”
When Venus, Pluto, and Ceres come together we may feel like we are negotiating for a little harmony and peace between our exhausted inner sanctum and the outside world that is clearly in a state of change. When the outside world feels uncontrollable and unpredictable, we find ourselves diving deep into an internal swamp of messy emotions, where we grapple with anger, rage, distrust, and fear. It’s important pause here and remind you that these messy emotions are valid. Many of us feel taken advantage of and many of us are scared about the unknowns we cannot clearly see or control. Questions come up about next steps. What can you do to feel protected? What can offer relief from suffering? Who is there to listen to you and help you plan a better future? Who are the people you wish to protect and nurture and plan that better future with? Those are the relationships and communities you need to spend your time and energy on as they’ll be the guiding force to your comfort and relief.
Consider this weekend, and this entire passage into the era of Pluto-in-Aquarius, as a time to deeply contemplate who you love and how you express love. Aquarian energy may boost this signal to a communal level, perhaps asking you to consider notions of compassion, forgiveness, charity, and service to others. Don’t confuse this with tolerating or forgiving hate and greed, but instead think of it as the opportunity to fight for and protect the good in this world.
What feelings and habits deep within you that have long been hidden, but need to be examined and loved? Your vulnerability may be your superpower and the source of your protection magic. How can respond when you feel like your most intimate and vulnerable perspectives are exposed and targeted? It’s a tough question to consider, and perhaps is best discussed with your closest companions or expressed in art. And maybe if just for a moment, see how it feels to defy the very Plutonian demand to “change and evolve.” Instead choose to sit with, honor, and accept yourself and those you love just as they are in this very present and dense reality.
More Key Players and Moves in the Heavens
In addition to the triple-conjunction there are some other astrological events worth examining. Mars stationed retrograde in Leo on December 6, 2024. Mars Retrograde can potentially make you feel cranky, irritable, and easy to anger. In The Retrograde Guidebook, author Jennifer Billock says, “Mars Retrograde attempts to teach us patience, a virtue that’s not many people’s favorite. Mars is a planet of action, and when it’s retrograde, we get inaction. We struggle with motivation and find ourselves bogged down with distractions or lack of action when we try to express our emotions, create anything or really do anything that takes some effort.” The best bit of advice for Mars Retrograde is to slow down, and as my therapist reminds me, make bite-sized goals. You cannot complete everything instantaneously in this very second. Plan your projects with baby-steps so you don’t feel overwhelmed or annoyed by slow progress. In terms of relationships with others remember to pause before reacting. On a global level look to see where there is military tensions rising. While Mars is going retrograde, Neptune will station direct in Pisces on December 7th. Neptune in Pisces has a dreamy, spiritual, escapist kind of energy to it. When it stations direct your intuition may “Come back online.” You may feel extra sensitive, which in combination with the irritability of Mars Retrograde, can make you feel a little out of sorts. Mars Retrograde in Leo feels like a selfish lover, but Neptune Direct in Pisces feels like an art therapist who encourages you to paint your psychic impressions. It’s a juggling act of physical desires, mental ping pong, and spiritual downloads. If Venus allows us to express our feelings, and Ceres allows us to find space for self-care, Neptune allows us to utilize spirituality as a path to healing and discovery.
This certainly is a lot to consider. Maybe a simple mantra to keep in your head this weekend is: “Slowing down is a healing spell.” Do things that feel good and radiate love into the world. Take a nap. Make art. Read tarot cards. Try out a new tea. Sing “A Whole New World” in the shower. Water your plants. Give your cats some catnip. Tell someone you love them just as they are.
