January 2024: Horoscopes for Moderns
Let’s hope we get our shit together, people!
You’re reading WOODRUFF. I cover the convergence of pop culture, psychology, and astrology with a bit of the Tarot and dream work tossed into the fray. Join my entourage of subscribers—the party won’t start until you arrive.
As the seconds pass, leading up to the launch of a new year, there’s no denying the collective dread in the air—not the most festive of vibes to launch a new beginning.
And not just in the US with the encroaching lunacy of the sure-to-be-a-shit-show presidential election—but across the globe as the contagion of war continues to pulse from the epicenters of carnage in Ukraine and Israel.
The thing about war, as history has proven repeatedly, is that, from a broader or more holistic perception, it seems unavoidable.
The aftermath of war performs a temporary reset function for the planet—like a release valve for all the madness that precipitated it. And there’s a lot of fucking madness afoot presently.
Sadly, but realistically, this seems to be our planet’s fate, stretching back to the moment when Cain murdered Abel. Earthlings seem incapable of seeing themselves as fellow human beings instead of individual members of a tribe.
OK, so, this is where I should talk about the promise of the upcoming 20-year transit of Pluto through Aquarius, which will finally arrive this month—full throttle. You can find a million articles about this all across the net, and I’ve already written a lengthy overview here.
Every generation talks about the times they live through as if they are the worst. This is human nature. And every old person, from the beginning of time, has felt, as their life moves towards obsolescence, that they are living through the End of Days. (Of course, they do because we cannot imagine that the world will continue without our presence.)
But, there is an undeniably unique form of chaos present today, a kind of dysfunction initiated by the technological advancements of the electronic age—especially with the invention of the internet and social media.
This is the fault of the algorithms (and those who define them), where nuance is removed from the equation of human dialogue—shoving everyone into echo chambers and bubbles that foment the sort of toxic hatred we experience whenever we read the news.
This is unprecedented in human history, and that’s why, to me, it does feel like a unique form of generational mayhem—as far as our stewardship of the planet is concerned. I won’t list all of the particulars. You know them already—you’re living them.
As an astrological force in our solar system and as a particular function within any organic and psychological process, Pluto is a power with little interest in outcomes (if I can write about the planet in such an anthropomorphized way).
As astrologer, Dane Rudhyar noted, Pluto…
“…does not deal with end results, only with what must be passed through if a fundamental kind of results are to be produced as the necessary foundation for a new life at a higher—or in tragic cases, lower—level of the spiral of evolution.”
Consider this while considering the sign Aquarius and its alignment with everything technologically advanced, including the tech lords that rule over their fiefdoms, which are already showing signs of collapse—a big Pluto-approaching-an-ingress theme.
So all of the Aquarian-inspired talk about AI, robots, cyber trucks, living on the Moon or Mars, etc., is just the surface—the stage props—in the theater of reality that’s about to unwind.
I see these supposed ‘breakthroughs’ (amidst the accelerating carnage of war) as distractions.
Beneath all the high-tech glitz (so much of it idiotic) and all the oohing and ahhing, people remain blinded and, worse, bestial. And that’s the Gordian knot that Pluto’s transit through Aquarius might, possibly untangle.
Perhaps this will reawaken our awareness—amidst a collective shock (that might circumvent the necessity for more wars)—that there’s only this one little planet that we’re all parked on—orbiting the Sun. So let’s not fuck it up.
As astrologer Jessica Murray wrote in her new Skywatch, “Aquarius is the sign that knows that groups can do things that individuals cannot do alone.”
Let’s hope we get our shit together, people!
For my clients who have previously worked with me, I’m offering a 30% discount (*with a small processing fee) on 2024 check-in sessions.
Happy New Year, everybody!
Love,
