Appetite for Destruction

Mars opposite Pluto: a political thriller in 3 acts

**DISCLAIMER: The astro-political analysis you are about to read is not for the faint-hearted. It is the author’s intention to be objective and honest rather than scare or offend. But it is Halloween season so what are you waiting for?! Grab a stiff pumpkin-spiced beverage, and read on!**

Mars v. Pluto

ACT I

It is most definitely Scorpio season and true to form there are plenty of jump scares and fireworks ahead.

On the 3^rd of November Mars moves into an exact opposition to Pluto at the very last degree of Cancer and Capricorn.

This planetary showdown would normally last a few days but because Mars retrogrades at the end of the year we get three juicy servings between now and April.

This confrontation opens a 6-month storyline with new chapters coming in 2025. But this is the last time they oppose each other in Cancer (Mum) and Capricorn (Dad) for another couple of centuries. The next 2 face-offs happen in the early degrees of Leo (the ruler) and Aquarius (the people).

Look at your birth chart and check which houses are Cancer and Capricorn in your chart. Oppositions are a challenging aspect that force a choice rather than a compromise. There may well be a tug-of-war between these two areas in your life. If joint custody isn’t a possibility, which one do you choose?

You might also have planets or angles close to 29 degrees of cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) and this could mean that you will be a key player in the unfolding saga.

Just to pile it on, the 29^th ‘anaretic’ degree; is considered the most difficult degree. The Greek root word ‘anareta’ means destructive. It is said to be malefic but also represents the end of a cycle and planets here represent the lowest octave of their expression. There is a sense of karmic payback brewing.

But what does this clash of these two planetary titans symbolise in a broader societal context?

Well, they began this cosmic Pasa Doblé (a synodic cycle) in February this year when they met in tight embrace (ok - a conjunction) and this seems to be manifesting as increasingly hot steamy rhetoric concerning war (Mars) and the possibility of nuclear deployment (Pluto). This has been evident in both the Russia / Ukraine conflict and in the Middle East. Will the opposition bring a new dimension to this story? I sincerely hope that chilly, distant Pluto can cool down hothead Mars. Rather a cold war than a hot one.

Mars (the planet of war) feels out of place in nurturing Cancer and this pairing suggests suppressed energy, an attack on, or empowerment of, the mother archetype. Or even an attack on the homeland.

Pluto is power, corruption, destruction, and transformation making the billing of this fight night: Dark Fathers vs Militant Matriarchs. (A WWE bout like no other!)

You might have noticed tension brewing since Mars neared the end of Cancer in the past couple of weeks, and the opposition exacts this Sunday, two days after the Scorpio New Moon and two days before the US election.

It also coincides with the final stretch of the US Pluto Return and for the wider collective, the swansong of Pluto in Capricorn and this epochal transfer of power from the elite (Capricorn) to the people (Aquarius). It is through this Mars opposition that we learn the final message of Pluto as he slams the cosmic door on the Old Goat and hoves into the realm of the Water Carrier.

Mars is the personal planet so it sets the tone for how we might handle this transition. And that tone appears to be ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’

Mars will be switching between Cancer & Leo for the next few months - an oscillation between feminine & masculine, yin & yang, fire & water, hot & cold. He might want to mix it up, but it seems like he can’t make up his mind which side he’s on.

Election 2024 Themes

Since the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade in 2022, many have speculated that women’s reproductive rights will be the pivotal issue in this election. Mars in Cancer suggests the anger of women will be a force to be reckoned with as it lines up opposite Pluto in Capricorn (the controlling Patriarchy).

The male / female polarity has been highlighted in recent weeks with the Obamas engaging in ill-advised admonishment of the black, male electorate for their reluctance to get behind Harris.

Because of the US Pluto story, this all feels like a pivotal chapter in the history of the nation. And appropriately enough, the last time Mars and Pluto opposed each other in Cancer and Capricorn was immediately after the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

I checked whether the exact dates coincided with anything and 27–28^th of August 1776 saw the biggest and most brutal battle of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Long Island (or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights) in which the British defeated Washington’s troops. So, might it be these themes that echo down through the ages? Winning the battle but not the war? Defending the homeland against tyranny? Could New York, New York be a focal point of this 2024 story?

Other potential themes include bleak prospects of secession, civil war, more assassination attempts, and collapse of the financial or housing markets. Speaking of markets - Warren Buffet has been selling off stock like it’s going out of fashion. What does he know? And who is his astrologer? (And yes we know you have at least one on the payroll, Warren!)

Maybe he does this all the time, I will never understand the intricacies or even the basics of The Markets. But finance people seem to be raising eyebrows and some kind of market-related event would make sense as a thematically appropriate book-end to the Subprime mortgage crisis that heralded the beginning of Pluto in Capricorn in 2008.

Astrologers Predictions

The first two Mars - Pluto oppositions fall in early November and January, so this is clearly a US election story involving power struggles, conflict with some kind of resolution or closure in April. Hmm.

Many are predicting trouble at t’ mill with this election; skulduggery, confusion, a possible delay in results; against a backdrop of war in the wider world.

They seem divided on who will win with a roughly two-thirds majority opting for Harris, there are many Election panel videos illustrating that. But there’s no overwhelming consensus and a variety of possibilities. And that is down to a couple of things.

The first is that very few astrologers seem able to unpick their personal preference from their predictions.

Second; there are so many ways in which an astrologer can approach this election, so many aspects, transits, charts they can look at, and so many methods and tools that they can use, it’s possible to interpret the data in any way that fits your agenda or unconscious bias.

When comparing natal charts, many seem to favour Harris because Trump has some difficult aspects this year. Some point out that on Nov 5th Uranus, (upender of apple carts) is bang on Trump’s Midheaven (career and reputation) suggesting unexpected developments to his public image. It was a couple of degrees off his Midheavean on the 13th July assassination attempt, leading many to conclude that 5th November does not augur well for him.

Whereas Harris has Uranus conjunct her natal Jupiter; benefic giver of gifts and luck. I would point out here that Kamala’s Jupiter is in her 12th house and it is currently retrograde so that doesn’t sound like a straightforward slam dunk to me. Also whereas getting shot is an undesirable outcome, Uranus on the Midheaven transformed Trump’s campaign, (as you can see from the bookies odds above). This might have been a temporary bounce, but the attempt on his life and iconic shot captured by photographer Evan Vucci elevated his message. It was his election to lose from there on in. Plus 13th July conjunction was also conjunct malefic Mars and the Demon Star Algol which undoubtedly added danger to the mix - this time Mars is busy elsewhere.

Some have drawn more general and in my opinion, over-simplified conclusions, identifying the Pluto return and move into Aquarius as an obvious win for Harris.

As a woman of colour running against an older white male, her victory works perfectly to fit that narrative.

Scratch the surface a little deeper though; Capricorn represents the system and Aquarius: revolution and the people. It doesn’t take much imagination to frame Trump as the Uranian / Aquarian populist rebel dismantling traditional structures against Kamala’s Saturnian / Capricorn. She is after all the Public Prosecutor, installed without a primary via a coronation rather than the customary election. And crucially in electoral terms she is the incumbent, and therefore represents the powers that be.

If this flipping and reversing the script has you scratching your head and wondering which way is up, don’t worry; many astrologers such as Pam Gregory think that the election might not even happen!

It doesn’t bear thinking about what kind of event would have to happen for this eventuality and it is equally sobering to consider the prospect of this campaign dragging on for any longer!

Another explanation for mixed astrological interpretations might be that astrologers are reading the charts correctly, (even VP hopefuls Tim Walz and JD Vance’s charts look promising!) and it’s confusing because …. wait for it…

…EVERYONE WINS! (Well, sort of).

Bear with me.

David Palmer the Leo King and Krizstina Simon recently hypothesised (in separate videos) that Trump could win the election AND Kamala could also become the first female president with Walz as her VP, IF Biden does not finish his term.

Similarly, if Trump does not make it to the inauguration in January for whatever reason, or leaves office before 2028, then JD Vance gets his shot at the top job.

Palmer also highlighted the role of Neptune in its last few months in Pisces, as the main cosmic protagonist in this drama. He makes a very compelling argument for direct comparisons between 2024 and the 1860 election (won by Abraham Lincoln) which is fascinating and well worth your time if you’re a history buff.

There is such a wide variety of chart interpretations it’s entirely likely that there could be an unequivocal win OR that neither candidate gains the votes needed, triggering a contingent election. It’s also possible that it’s too close to call, and recounts and allegations of voter fraud keep this going in the courts as we head towards Christmas. Dan Waites from World Astrology Report breaks it down on how Mars retrograding in December could mean this is not all done and dusted next week.

Whatever happens, this promises to be an explosive few months ahead. It is written in the stars that this election is potentially the most significant in the USA’s history so far.

One hopes that, ultimately, its citizens emerge as the winners. I’m certain of nothing else other than this: they (and the rest of us) deserve a whole lot better.