luke dani blue astrology

2019 has begun and it is no joke. Actually, 2018 was no joke; 2019 is the dead-serious mastermind who wants to abolish jokes forever.

In addition to Jupiter continuing its journey through Sagittarius, there are three big planetary themes this year: Uranus in Taurus, the square of Jupiter and Neptune, and Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn. Together, they add up to a time when our actions, in our personal lives and in the larger world, really matter. Bottom line: if you’ve been wanting change or needing to grow up, this is the year to stop delaying and follow through.

The once-in-500 years Saturn-Pluto meetup

2019’s screaming headline is the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, an event that last occurred in 1518. (This coincided with the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade and the Protestant Reformation.) The conjunction is technically not exact until January 2020, but big planetary movements tend to come on slowly. Where we are now, a year away, may be the hardest stage of this transit, because we don’t yet know what hard work (Saturn) it’s going to ask us to do or how we’re going to have to change (Pluto) in order to get to the other side.

Saturn is the planet of structures, stability and adulting. Pluto is death, power and what society represses or hides. As they approach each other, Pluto is pulling the mask off our pretend-adult behaviors–the ways we act like we’ve got it together, the rules and rigidities we use to protect ourselves from fear of the unknown, or of losing control.

On a personal level, this process, while hard as hell, can also be healthy. It can even come as a relief: Finally, the ways we keep others at a distance are failing and we’ll be forced to let ourselves be seen. Finally, we understand what we need to do and how much worse things will get if we don’t do it. Finally, we will make that terrifying change–and find out it’s not actually so scary, just painful.

On a societal level, though, the ground may be changing beneath our feet for a long time. The sorts of changes Pluto governs can take hundreds of years to manifest–far beyond what any of us will live to see. In the short-term, we can expect to see the political upheavals and movements toward authoritarianism (a very literal expression of Pluto-Saturn in Capricorn) come to a head with likely economic side effects. In other words, it’s an important time to act on your political convictions–and to take appropriate care of yourself. No mean feat!

Saturn and Pluto in your chart

To see where this transit will affect you, look at the house in your natal chart that contains 22 degrees Capricorn. (Planets and points around 22 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Cap will also be affected.)

That’s the area of life where you have either been rigid and overly conservative or avoided responsibility. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to face your fears, take a deep breath and make a plan for taking on whatever you’ve been dodging.

22 degrees Cap in the…

1^st house: Responsibility for self. Self-exposure through risk. Appearance and identity.
2^nd house: Responsibility for material needs. How do you earn what you crave? What is your relationship to physical touch and pleasure?
3^rd house: Responsibility for communication and social relationships. Authenticity in speech. Listening for the deeper truths. Mastering negative self-talk.
4^th house: Responsibility for the past. Home renovations. Exhuming and dealing with family issues.
5^th house: Responsibility for your creative self. Choosing who to love. Authenticity in romance. Parental responsibilities.
6^th house: Responsibility for the details. Confronting health issues. Workplace power dynamics. Perfectionism.
7^th house: Responsibility in relationships. Revamping how you relate. Stepping up to do your part. Drawing a line, or dismantling self-protective boundaries.
8^th house: Responsibility in intimacy. Financial power dynamics. Working on sexual fears (with self or others). Emotional exposure.
9^th house: Responsibility for learning. Breaking down rigid opinions. Transformation through teaching, study and travel. How to recover from crisis.
10^th house: Responsibility for career. Redefining success. Addressing authority issues (is the shadow of a parent over you?) and going for what you really want.
11^th house: Responsibility to groups. Building community. Elitism. Friend breakups. Are your standards hurting or helping?
12^th house: Responsibility to your spiritual self. How do you rest? Reforming escapist habits. Facing fears about being an adult. Dream work. Volunteerism.

Staying grounded with Jupiter and Neptune

Though it’s not nearly as big a deal as the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, the square between Jupiter and Neptune is still worth paying attention to. On January 13th, June 16th, September 21st, Jupiter, the planet of dreaming big and Neptune, the planet of straight-up dreaming, go get high together.  As you might imagine, that’s liable to produce some serious escapism.

Escapism can certainly be a welcome break from the heavy reality of Saturn-Pluto-land. The Jupiter-Neptune square may reconnect us to our compassion (Neptune) for all other human beings (Jupiter). If we are listening to these planet’s kind sides, we may be inspired to escape from our own anxieties by helping a friend move, joining a protest, or camping out to deliver medical care to refugees at the border.

Those dates (and the week or so on either side) are also good times to schedule spa days, beach visits and hot baths, as well as non-aquatic forms of rest and recharge. Neptune like imagination, Jupiter loves to learn and both planets are healing fanatics, so dipping into a historical novel, reading a philisophical or self-help book or even just doing a day-long netflix binge is another self-caring way to temporarily check out of the ugly, hard and boring parts of life.

One caution, however: extreme escapes just make things back in reality feel worse.

This is a really good year to cut back on your drug and alcohol intake and especially avoid chemical escapes near those transit dates since both planets magnify addiction.

Likewise, be cautious with the information you consume. Opinions get extreme and unreliable when Jupiter squares Neptune, and even your chillest friends may be drinking the Koolaid. We’re likely to see an increase of fake news, propaganda and misplaced confidence.

So long as you take care of the difference between fantasy/hope/fear and reality, though, you can lean into the compassion, the learning and stretch your imagine wide.

In a way, 2019 is the perfect year to dream up a better world, and a better role for yourself within it.

(all images copyright luke dani blue)

Want to find out how 2019’s transits will affect your love life, career, personal growth and all the other good stuff you care about? Openings are still available this month for a one-on-one videochat reading with moi. Book yours here.