Ceres conjunct Pluto occurred October 20 2010 after being retrograde. The Volcanic eruption in Iceland and ensuing chaos aptly illustrated the phenomenon at the time. The Earth Goddess was protesting!
Pluto is the planet of sex, death, intensity, psychology and power. Put it in aspect to Ceres and we are faced with the whole issue of the Persephone myth. Rape, abduction, mourning for the loss of a child and losing ones virginity.
Pluto has to be the Darth Vader of the Solar System. Far out there in the icy borderland he seemed very lonely, but we have since discovered he has company in the form of scattered disc objects and not least of all his dark Queen and cosmic match, the stroppy Goddess Eris.
The Persephone myth connects these three minor Planets. It was the discovery of the Goddess of discord (Eris) that caused the momentous demoting of Pluto and the promoting of Ceres in August 2006. Pluto the planet of death and apparent barren-ness and Ceres the planet of life and fertility.
Like those famous Katherine Hamnet T shirts in the 1980’s the message seems to be “Choose Life”. Ceres was discovered on 1 January 1801, and for half a century it was classified as the eighth planet. But as further bodies were discovered William Herschel coined the term Asteroid (star-like) and Ceres was demoted to Asteroid status along with 2 Pallas Athena, 3 Vesta and 4 Juno.
But Ceres has always stood apart from it sisters, its size giving a near spherical shape in contrast to the other larger asteroids which are irregular. Now it has been rightly reinstated as a Planet, albeit a minor one. So now Pluto, Ceres and Eris are all equals.
Ceres Conjunct Pluto
Ceres has a 5/6 years cycle depending on retrograde periods. Every 5 years or so she will have to confront her scary son-in-law Pluto. This is happening right now while this Icelandic Volcano wreaks havoc over European airspace. In 2010 they were just over a degree apart while Pluto was backing onto Ceres, she got within 40 minute of belting him one before backing down herself and going retro on Sept 29th 2010. She returned to throttle Pluto good and proper on October 20 2010 overtaking him when they are both direct again.
When the Volcano first erupted at 11.32pm local time on the 20th March. Pluto and Ceres were still both direct and big players in the eruption since Ceres is the apex of a Yod and a diamond aspect pattern. With all this Ceres is also the apex of a T square from a Saturn/Sun opposition.
The Sun and Saturn representing bosses and big business. Sun widely conjunct Uranus (The airlines) V Saturn (Insurance companies) Ceres at the apex is pitting these two together and playing referee. The Sun/Uranus (Airlines) gets a trine from Mars and Ceres gets energy from Mars as a karmic quincunx.
Choose Life?
But what is Ceres representing here? The common people? This is usually the Moon which is part of the Yod. The mighty power of mother earth is speaking through Ceres, we have no control over how long this disruption lasts. (UPDATE! The Volcano officially ceased to erupt just before Ceres was exactly conjunct Pluto on Oct 20.)
But we do have a say how we respond to insurance in the future. Generally the masses are so complacent when it comes to revolting. But with a backdrop of big business crumbling in the capitalist world, a crisis like this can only exacerbate the publics anger. There is now talk of the airlines taking a U turn and making flights through the dust that they said posed a threat to the aircraft’s engines. This make be risky when we are coming up to another Saturn /Uranus opposition with Uranus on Scheat as described by Jamie here: Jupiter conjunct Uranus. Scheat-2010 .
One air crash would be disastrous for the airlines. And would graphically show putting business before peoples lives. People are now being faced with having to rely on more ecological transport in the shape of trains and ferries where they can. This of course forces us to slow down our unnatural fast-paced life.
Ceres Conjunct Pluto In History
So Ceres in conjunct with Pluto raises issues then of whether we “Choose Life”or dice with death as shown by the last few times they were in conjunction.
28th Nov 2005. UN Climate change conference.
29th Jan 1996. End of French nuclear testing.
30th Nov 1981. US and USSR start arms reduction talks.
Ceres will confront powerful big business and take them to task over their raping and pillaging of the earth. In our personal lives Ceres is our inner Jewish mother, she of course has her darling Persephone’s well being foremost in her mind, but her negative aspect is that she can halt progress and stunt growth. Nature needs wintertime, the darkness and the barrenness to regenerate and clear out the toxins.
Eternal summer is unrealistic and results in indulgent, cosseted overripe human beings who cannot empathise with less fortunate souls pain. So it was her daughter Persephone (Eris) who brought about the healthy compromise. The confrontation and compromising of these two dwarf planets are a necessary re-balancing of nature, making sure society honours and respects the importance of both the God (scientific linear progress.) and the Goddess (Natural cycles and conservation)