Considering the Astrology of Coronavirus, Appropriate Response & Managing Fear

Let’s start with an important preface: I don’t make this distinction in my blog posts all of the time, but the planets do not actually cause things on Earth. It’s difficult to thoroughly make that distinction all of the time in language. What is happening is that the planets *correlate* with events on Earth – the maxim of “as above so below” applies. We can predict future trends and events because we know where the planets will physically be in the future, thus we can forecast. There has been extensive work in the field to research astrological correlations. Cosmos and Psyche by Richard Tarnas is a prominent and noteworthy read on this topic, as Tarnas explores certain planetary combinations and the themes that have emerged in the collective zeitgeist under the influence of these planetary transits.

(Image: start of the chapter on Saturn-Pluto contacts from Cosmos and Psyche by Richard Tarnas)

The nature of correlation within astrology also means we can examine current events and look to the planets for context about why something is happening, or what might be a good way to participate or respond to the situation. That is what I’m aiming to share in this article, and I’m going to look to the conjunctions of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, and Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn, primarily. So while I am not speaking of causation here, I will be looking at how the current arrangement of the planets may offer us insight on the times we are in.

One of the vibes running through the astrology community right now is this big sense of “I told you so”, as in, astrologers have been talking about the difficulty of 2020 for years before we’ve gotten here. We have been looking to the conjunction of Saturn-Pluto as an indicator of massive contractions within the collective. Saturn-Pluto has a foreboding nature to it, but is not all bad, as I’ve suggested in my article about the nature of this Saturn-Pluto conjunction (article here). As a brief review, Saturn-Pluto contacts relate to breakdowns of structure or the status quo, and intense reactions or responses to feeling threatened, as well as material manifestations of the shadow, and having experiences that result in us facing our shadow head-on. Saturn-Pluto can bring up themes around being at an impasse where we can no longer tolerate something that has been dysfunctional for a long time, either because it is literally breaking down or because we are breaking down in the face of it.

The opportunity of a Saturn-Pluto time period is to have grit and to discover reserves of authority, responsibility, and power, amidst difficult circumstances. How is life asking us to rise to the occasion, or take more accountability for our experience and our power to create change in our experience? When people feel threatened, it’s easy to go for blaming someone or something else for the problem, but the real opportunity within Saturn-Pluto is to take a good hard look at oneself. If there is something we would like to see change in the world at large, we can start with ourselves. How can we personally make a positive impact?

So how does the current astrology connect to the coronavirus? There are a few things to note.

The first is that there is a widespread spike in fear and threat response in the collective as a result of this situation. It is our responsibility to manage this within ourselves and to show up for the situation appropriately. When masses of people are scared or on edge, it’s not really a good thing. It compromises people’s reason and is a present factor in history when the collective goes along with war, or mob mentality. One of the opportunities within a Saturn-Pluto time period is to take responsibility for our fear response or to more maturely manage our fear. When people say “don’t panic”, ideally what this means is that panic and freaking out doesn’t HELP, but there may still be an issue to address. One definition of maturity is the ability to handle contrast. So this might mean that one can address a conflict or a crisis and still feel calm, still feel gratitude, still feel happy. Otherwise, one feels like they have to ignore that there is a problem (be in denial) or alternately, get hysterical about the problem and spin out of control.

Thus the question, in terms of responsibility, is how does one respond to a pandemic without generating an excessive fear response? We have a lineup of planets in Capricorn right now (the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, as well as Jupiter approaching Pluto, and Mars in Capricorn as well) and one of Capricorn’s strengths is to deal with high-pressure situations in a calm and effective way. Capricorn allows us to compartmentalize our emotions and as one of my colleagues Colin Bedell says, practice “emotional impulse control”. It is that faculty of consciousness that would allow us to take measures to plan for school closures, childcare, contingency plans, boosting one’s immunity, etc. without dwelling in fear or anxiety. Simply put, sometimes life hands us challenges and we have to deal with it.

Regardless of whether or not you think coronavirus is a pandemic, or if it’s been blown out of proportion by the media, it is a reality that there is a large response to the situation and whether one confronts the virus as the current vibe or the response to the virus as the vibe, there is an uptick of fear and panic in the air at the moment.

The second thing I want to point out is the building conjunction between Jupiter in Capricorn and Pluto in Capricorn which I haven’t really forecasted about yet. The two are quite close (Jupiter at 21, and Pluto at 24 Capricorn) and some of the possible significations of this transit are: magnification of fear, magnification of unconscious fear/projections, expansion (Jupiter) of decay and destruction (Pluto). The opportunities of Jupiter and Pluto that we can consciously engage with include transforming our knowledge and understanding of the world through the purging of old or false ideas, becoming more blatantly aware of how we tend to project in a way that used to be unconscious, and forms of expansion that come through letting something go.

Corona virus may be on your mind or be something you’re actively processing or it may not be. Whatever it is for you, examine if there’s an area of your life where dysfunction or the consequences of fear and negativity are making themselves known. Whenever we experience extremes, there’s also an edge of transformation there. Extremes can make things visible. When our thoughts and anxieties become loud enough that we can consciously examine them instead of having them operate below our conscious awareness, we possess new opportunity to transform them.

My humble advice at this time is to practice the muscle of responsibility without fear. One can resource immunity-boosting herbs, wash their hands, stay in if sick, perform basic responsible actions, etc. from a place of calmness. Taking extra measures for personal and public safety at this time does not make anyone a fearmongerer. Calm precautions are totally reasonable right now, and since we know there is a connection between fear/stress and the immune system, managing fear is also a practical thing to do at this time.

We’re not bad or wrong for having fear – but I do think we have the responsibility to address and manage fear instead of living from it. It’s not as magically done per se as just not having fear. (Unless it’s easy for you to switch your energy up like that!) It is a very personal, inner-discovery and journey that unfolds for us as individuals when we learn how to live from a place of courage and faith. We all have our ‘demons’ so to say, that we wrestle with. The question during times like this is how accountable we can be for our own personal development that allows us to participate with reality in more empowering and live-giving ways.

As a basic starting point for developing a better relationship with fear response, here’s a few questions to consider.

• Do you know how to wield your focus? Can you direct your attention to things that bring you life, and joy? Are you able to unhook yourself from compulsive thinking or fearful/anxious fantasy? What empowers and resources you to redirect your mind?
• If you visualize something pleasurable and imagine yourself in that chosen reality, and/or if you move your body and make sounds to evoke a pleasure response, can you feel your capacity to create a positive chemical response in your body? Do you feel you can resource this self-generating capacity to regulate yourself?
• When you’re having a negative experience, like fearful thoughts you can’t seem to get a grip on, or an emotional wave you can’t seem to control, how do you compassionately tend to yourself? Do you let yourself move and express that energy? (A tip: privately giving sound and movement to how you are feeling can help it pass through your system! And I mean grunting, stomping, screaming, etc – any authentic movement that comes from your body and not as much the brain/mind). Do you have methods for processing your experience before that energy is directed outwardly to the world or other people?

Take care everyone! Let me know what helps you in difficult times in the comments.

If this was your first time here, I’m Sabrina Monarch and I’m a soul-centered astrologer. I love providing perspectives on the opportunities of transits and putting into words what the vibe may feel like at this moment in time, to support you on your path & open a dialogue between us and the cosmos. If you would like to receive these weekly forecasts to your inbox, sign up for my mailing list here.

With love,

Sabrina Monarch