Sun opposite Pluto Dear Friends: I mentioned last week -- but not quite lately, that I recall -- the Sun is now opposing Pluto. It happens to be now, as in right now; the aspect is exact at 11:11 pm EDT tonight (different time zones please count your chickens for the local time)...and within arc minutes as I write. If you look this aspect up in natal interp textbooks, you'll read about confrontation, intensity, drive for power, actual power, and a dash of obsession. There can be overtones of injured maleness or ego (echoes of Chiron-Sun aspects). Certainly, this aspect can represent situations where the energy of something or someone is pushed, or where an issue is not let go of. At its best, I think this aspect brings something out (please insert mental italics on the last three words!). Something is seen in its truth, or comes to a head. Gemini Sun meeting Sagittarius Pluto resounds with various words/belief dichotomies. There small truth versus large Truth. There is the local versus the global. This aspect is the place where those things meet. In the news today, there was resolution in the Michael Jackson trial: he was cleared of all charges. While this tremendously meaningful news is eclipsing the rest of reality, it's a little difficult to get a feel for the rests of what's going on -- but looking at the New York Times homepage right nnow, I see that the Supreme Court has issued its latest decision in favor of a death row inmate, and one of a series that is gradually curtailing the death sentence itself (thanks, Mr and Ms Justices, for your impressive extremely gradual awakening). The very big boss of a very big bank (Phil Purcell of Morgan Stanley) was forced to resign. That sounds kind of Sun Plutoish, even though something like it happens every day. Well, not exactly like it. What's interesting is that he shot back at "continuing personal attacks on me" (very Sun, that is, the personal part) and "the negative attention our firm has had to endure" (very Pluto). For a few days, the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, scene of much pain and injustice, has finally been a real issue, but of course Dick Cheney was saying it's a wonderful place. The problem with the news these days is that it's hard to tell a day when there are important stories from a day when there are ordinary stories. Everything blurs into one bit. When looking for associations between aspects and the news, the best thing we can sometimes do is choose the top story. And that's Michal Jackson, whose next album should be called, "Ain't Gonna Be the Same." We hope. Personally, this is a good time to focus, to not fight when you don't have to (you may lose, or you may hurt someone you don't mean to) and to let the energy do its work in our lives. Opposition energy is certainly the theme of the week, as we approach a rather impressive Full Moon in about seven days, just as the Sun changes signs to Cancer and the season turns. Meantime, we are in the longest days of the year in the northern hemisphere and the shortest days in the southern. The Sun is at solstice (sol as in Sun, stice as in still as in stasis). It is still, rising and setting at the same point on the horizon. It's a great moment to aim our lives in a way that we want; there is, amidst the madness, an odd kind of steadiness. Hey, it's good to be in touch. Eric F., en Montréal