Ceres is an Antidote to Pluto
by Faye Blake
Which of the celestials can take on Pluto –planet of abuse, terrorism and tyranny? Step forward Ceres, dwarf planet of pleb consciousness that challenges patrician power – and is Pluto’s mother-in-law!
Witch with cauldron and zodiac
Source: CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Visions of witches’ brews. That’s what the theme ‘Potions for the Future’ conjured up for me when preparing my talk for the Astrological Association Conference in 2021, especially since it was to be held at Halloween. ‘Double, double, toil and trouble’ chant the witches in Macbeth, stirring what sounds like a terrifying brew:
‘Eye of newt and toe of frog’ and possibly my favourite lines: ‘Liver of blaspheming Jew, gall of goat, and slips of yew, silver’d in the moon’s eclipse…’
As astrologers, we are often mentioned in the same breath as witches, and mostly with negative associations. Indeed, our language is sometimes just as incomprehensible to others. Shakespeare, of course, intended us to think otherwise, but the witches’ recipe is mostly herbs – eye of newt is mustard seed, and toe of frog is a buttercup!
In Macbeth, the witches predict the future. We have something else in common with these beings, too, so if we are to be tarred with the same brush, we may as well make the most of it. We have magic potions to offer from the planets. Why not wool of Mars and tongue of Mercury, Hades’ fork and Pluto’s sting, Jupiter’s leg and Hermes’ wing? These can be powerful potions for healing. Tincture of Venus, anyone?
Antidotes and elixirs
And so it was that I came to consider antidotes and elixirs as a topic. One definition of an elixir is a magical or medical potion designed to heal or to prolong life indefinitely. I think planetary archetypes can definitely be used to heal, although immortality may be a claim too far. I found myself particularly drawn to antidotes which can be defined as:
- A remedy or other agent used to neutralise or counteract the effects of a poison.
- Anything that works against an evil or unwanted condition.
- Something that compensates effects that are harmful to another.
Today’s world is full of unwanted conditions, poisons and harmful practices. Many of these can be categorised as Plutonic issues. To mention a few: abuse of power, control, rape, corruption, espionage, terrorism, sabotage, totalitarianism and propaganda are rife. We could certainly use help with finding an archetypal antidote for all of these.
Familiar antidotes
We are familiar with astrological pairings such as Venus and Mars. To counteract Mars’ warlike nature, we sometimes need the mediation skills of Venus. And if we are too nice, we sometimes need Mars to help us set boundaries. If we are too ‘Moony’, spending all our time caring for others, we may need to put ourselves centre stage, using the Sun as a helpful remedy. And vice versa. If we are forever posting selfies, a bit of Moon-like self-reflection wouldn’t go amiss.
But who can take on Pluto? Perhaps Jupiter as chief god. But he is often away somewhere sorting out Saturn. And Saturn is trying to rein in that rebel Uranus. But Pluto? I think there is only one woman for the job. Ceres. After all, one of her roles is as Pluto’s mother-in-law!
Why Ceres?
Demeter and Persephone
Source: Painting by Walter Crane, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
We are familiar with Ceres/Demeter as the goddess of the grain and the doting mother of Proserpina / Persephone. But she has far more than this to offer as the myth of the abduction of Persephone continues. Of course, like all the archetypes, she has her dark sides. Pluto was needed to help Persephone go through the rite of passage to become a woman.
However, for our purposes here, I want to emphasise the positive qualities we can use when Ceres acts as an antidote. After the abduction, when she gets angry enough, she takes a stand against Pluto (power), and Jupiter (entitlement). She negotiates and accepts compromise.
Looking further than the myth
In stories about Ceres, it is clear that she takes care of the plebeians (that’s us!) against the patricians. In Rome, Ceres was involved in what Barbette Spaeth, an academic expert in Roman mythology, describes as the development of plebeian class consciousness, through opposition to the patrician (ruling) cults of, among others, Jupiter (politicians). Spaeth even hints that the Temple of Ceres was not only responsible for taking care of grain supply, but also for public buildings and the streets of Rome! She helps underdogs, in the form of the disenfranchised. In my research, I find her to have strong links with democracy.
Politics
Ceres’ position between Mars and Jupiter suggests she is the link between the personal planets, up to Mars, and the social planets, Jupiter and Saturn. As such, at group level, she connects the will of the people – Mars, with politics, strategy and vision – Jupiter. I have found her to be prominent in many election charts. Often when we vote we are trying to mitigate and balance the power that politicians have. I think of this as one example of Ceres’ role as an antidote.
Is it personal?
The idea of an antidote can be used at a personal level. Perhaps if we are feeling disempowered (negative Pluto) we can develop qualities that Ceres in our horoscope suggests. For example, if Ceres is in Gemini or in aspect to Mercury, we might need to develop skills to allow us to stand firmly for our own opinions. Or with Ceres in Aries, such as in Greta Thunberg’s case, we should stick to our guns on environmental lobbying, taking on power at the top.
However, most often, antidotes are used to counter danger from outside rather than from within. If we are bitten by a snake, having an antidote on hand can be life-saving. The threats we face are often external, such as other people, companies or governments.
Grenfell Tower
Let’s look at a tragic example. In London in June 2017, a fire broke out in the Grenfell tower apartment block. Mars was in Cancer at the start of this devastating fire that spread so quickly, due to the cladding, that many people had no chance to get out. Mars is a fire planet, he ignites – and in Cancer it was an exploding fridge in a kitchen that led to the total destruction of homes (also Cancer’s theme). This event initiated immense anger, which hopefully will lead to major changes. But what about Ceres?
Figure 1: Ceres and the Sun underfoot oppose Saturn above at the start of the Grenfell fire.
Source: Chart supplied by the author
Ceres was right at the base of the chart, next to the Sun, when services were called to the scene on that fateful night. This placement draws attention to fundamental issues in society, in particular the need for basic food and shelter to take centre stage. Saturn, representing authority figures, is opposing Ceres and the Sun – the plebs. We are supposed to look at what the authorities are doing. Saturn demands responsibility.
The Sun is helping the common people (represented by Ceres) demand that those in power in local government take responsibility for the basic needs of this community. And many heads have rolled. It was not only a tragic event; it is also clear now that it is nothing short of what has been described as corporate manslaughter. Unfortunately, appalling management of social housing is often only brought to justice when this type of event occurs. A huge wake-up call was apparently needed for residents’ complaints to be taken seriously. Sadly, this issue is not yet resolved. There are still ongoing arguments about rehousing the Grenfell survivors and about other buildings with similar cladding. Ceres still has work to do – but she did help to speak truth to those in power.
People against people
My talk at the conference included a few examples of people who spoke up against Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. My favourite is associated with Brexit which is also a wonderful example of how Ceres works in democratic processes. (See my blog for more if this is of interest.)
During Brexit negotiations Boris Johnson – to push through his own agenda – decided to prorogue Parliament. This issue went to the Supreme Court which determined that this was an illegal decision, and Parliament resumed. Lady Brenda Hale, then President of the Supreme Court, delivered the verdict wearing a wonderfully Scorpionic spider brooch pinned on her black dress.
Figure 2: Boris Johnson and Lady Brenda Hale
Source: Chart supplied by the author
Lady Hale is a very ‘Ceres’ woman. Boris has a trine aspect between Ceres and Uranus. He has his own take on democracy – ‘I can do what I like!’ Lady Brenda has Ceres in Scorpio (think black dress and spider!) at the midpoint of this aspect, sitting on Boris’ Moon. She wasn’t having any of it! Ceres in the sky on decision day was helping, too. At 12° Sagittarius she was square to Boris’s Pluto. The perfect antidote to abuse of power.
Texas and the Taliban
The Pluto archetype is clearly visible when abuse of power is rampant. Pluto overrules and sabotages. He radically transforms which can be good, but this can also work negatively. In the myth where he abducts Persephone and takes her to the underworld, he asks permission only of her father, Jupiter, who says ‘Great – good match!’ Ceres and Persephone are not consulted at all. The metaphor here with recent happenings in Texas and with the Taliban is clear. Male domination is alive and well. Until ...
Ceres shows her rage!
The main message in the myth for me is that Ceres eventually reveals herself as the powerful goddess that she is and steps into her power to negotiate. The way to think about this is: What do we have that we can withdraw to mitigate external power? Of course, we are not all goddesses who can make summer or winter or produce crops. Or cause a global food shortage when we are unhappy (sound familiar?) But any successful negotiation requires finding some leverage, and women (and voters) do have much that is desirable to men (and those in power)! It takes some thought to see what we have that is of value, but I am sure there is always something when we are brave enough to step into our true powerful natures. If something that is desired can be withheld, we have some negotiation input.
What would Ceres do?
Ceres withdrew food from the people who worshipped these male gods. Not only did she take on Pluto, it was the main god Jupiter, Persephone's father, whom she also confronted. Losing out on being worshipped if people starved got the gods so worried, that it seems to have done the trick! A hint regarding how to handle politicians? Ceres didn't get her daughter back all year round, but a truce was reached for Persephone to be above ground with her mother for part of the year. Whether this is what Persephone wanted is a question for another time!
Sky patterns for Afghanistan and Texas
Afghanistan was back under full control of the Taliban before dawn on 31 August 2021. The new abortion law came into force in Texas the day after that on 1 September. This means that the sky patterns were very similar for both events, as only the Moon had moved on. Patriarchal power dominates in these examples.
The sky pattern I find most interesting involves Saturn, Ceres and the Sun. Ceres is also next to the Moon's nodes, giving this a kind of fated feel for women and democracy. Sun and Saturn are working together as male authority. The Sun is square to Ceres, indicating difficulties for women in both cases. Saturn is about the law. In Texas and with the Taliban, laws regarding women are the order of the day.
Texas
So how does the sky pattern fall on the Texas chart?
Figure 3: The inner wheel is the chart for when Texas became a state. Outside shows when the new abortion law came into force. The blue arrows show the sky pattern. The green circles show what is triggered.
Source: Chart supplied by the author
The Sun in the sky was spotlighting Texas leaders (Sun in Capricorn, patriarchal?) while being opposed to Ceres and thus women’s rights. Ceres in the sky, i.e., women in public, are in a tense aspect (quincunx) with the leadership. There is a pattern in the Texas chart which suggests a masculine energy of entitlement (Mars next to Uranus). This aspect is triggered by the Saturn-Ceres pattern in the sky suggesting a serious battle between authority figures and women in general. A hint from Ceres in Gemini would be that women need to speak up and fight these laws. To say no to this patriarchal power. And they are doing this, along with others concerned about laws and democracy.
Now, due to a leak from the Supreme Court concerning the famous Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion, opposition is building against the possible reversal of this law. And many challenges are being prepared to fight these rigid abortion rules.
Roe v. Wade
The Sun was in Aquarius when the important Roe v. Wade law was passed in 1973, making abortion available to women and showing that leaders were acknowledging more equality. On the day of the new Texas law, the Roe v. Wade chart Moon (women of child-bearing age) was being attacked by Mars opposite Neptune in the sky. This could have resulted in a compassionate approach, but alas it manifested as boundless (Neptune) domination (Mars) towards these women.
Afghanistan
There are several charts that could be used here. Either when the Taliban were ruling previously from 1996; when an interim non-Taliban government started in December 2001; or of course the date already mentioned, when the Taliban took back full control on 31 August 2021.
Doha and withdrawal
First, I want to look at another type of chart – that of the agreement for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan signed by the Trump administration. The signing took place in Doha. President Biden carried out this contractual agreement, to much criticism and heartbreaking scenes.
Figure 4: The inner chart shows the signing of the Doha withdrawal agreement for Afghanistan. The outer shows planets on withdrawal day.
Source: Chart supplied by the author
Our sky pattern is about to pick up Ceres in the Doha chart, showing how the agreement has been implemented. Sky Saturn is exactly on Ceres (shown in blue) showing how difficult the withdrawal is making it for democracy and women in general. Another planet is active too, transiting Uranus is exactly on the Moon of the Doha chart (shown in red), representing the shock that especially young women have experienced. A shattering of their lives, from a rigid system of governance.
The Sun next to Neptune in Pisces in the Doha chart perhaps shows an idealistic leadership. This pattern of chaos was also being highlighted over the few days after the withdrawal by the Sun in Virgo lighting it up by opposition. Indeed, it was a chaotic venture on a global level.
Interim government and withdrawal
After the Taliban were defeated with the help of overseas troops, an interim government was formed in December 2001. Although elections were held after this, I have taken this to represent the restarting of democracy in Afghanistan.
Figure 5: Part of the chart for the interim Afghanistan government installed in December 2001
Source: Chart supplied by the author
This part of the chart shows Ceres next to Neptune in Aquarius. The dream of a governing system with equality and freedom for all. The trine to Saturn shows the determination to achieve this and to make fair laws.
The combination of this chart with the Taliban takeover suggests what it will likely mean for governance in Afghanistan under the Taliban. When we put the takeover outside the whole chart:
Figure 6: Inner chart Afghanistan interim government. Outer Taliban takeover.
Source: Chart supplied by the author
Our sky pattern of Sun, Ceres, and Saturn together with the nodes is exactly triggering this Ceres-Neptune-Saturn pattern highlighted in blue. Again, male authority has dashed any hopes for democracy.
In red we also see that Pluto has been attacking the Moon in the democracy chart. On the day of the exact sextile, on 30 November 2021, part of a UNICEF report stated: ‘Issues related to protection and safety of civilians, violence against women and girls, and incidents of negative coping mechanisms, continued to be reported in high numbers.’
Neptune, also in red, started his conjunction with the Moon in May 2022, the first hit of a transit that will continue until the end of 2023. In May the Taliban ordered all women to wear the full burqa in public. Sadly, this may mean that there are no limits to the power and control that will be exerted over women, especially younger ones. It is truly heart-breaking. Again, Ceres in Gemini advises women to speak out. And bravely, they are. The world needs to support them.
Malala
And while we are on the Taliban, the remarkable recovery of Malala Yousafzai after being shot by the Taliban, brought her activism regarding education for girls to the world stage. She is a young woman very much in touch with Ceres energy. Her Sun in Cancer is trine Ceres in Pisces. Perhaps being a victim helped her to find her calling (the Sun) of being fearlessly protective (Cancer) of the disenfranchised (Ceres). She also has what I think of as a talent aspect, a quintile, between Ceres and Mercury in Leo. She is extremely good at speaking up and being noticed on the world stage on issues related to education for women and girls. She dares to confront those in power. A very brave antidote.
How will Ceres assist the aim of democracy?
I think Ceres might sometimes rope in other planets to assist her. In all of the following she is in aspect to Uranus. On the ‘pussy hat’ march against Trump on 21 January 2017, she was conjunct Uranus and square the Sun. When the Gilets Jaunes [‘yellow vests’] started in France in May 2017 she had just opposed Uranus. And the chart for Extinction Rebellion has Ceres opposite Uranus and square to Pluto. Together with Uranus, Ceres is attempting to wake us up, change the ways in which we are governed, and take back democratic power.
Ceres-Pluto cycle and corona
Lastly, a quick look at an example of how these planets interact using the Ceres-Pluto cycle. So far it seems that Pluto has the upper hand in the balance of these two dwarf planets. This cycle gives hints as to when Ceres could be used as an antidote to effect change and counteract the widespread misuse of power.
Figure 7: Saturn-Pluto-Ceres conjunction shown for Amsterdam
Source: Chart supplied by the author
The current cycle started when we heard about the first COVID-19 death from the virus which occurred on 9 January 2020 in Wuhan, (or 11th depending on who you read). Although there is speculation that some deaths had occurred earlier. This is within three days of the exact Saturn-Pluto meeting which also involved Ceres. This is close enough for me for the symbolism to be highly relevant for the coronavirus issue.
Much has been written on the Saturn-Pluto cycle, including by me in my blog. However as this is also the start of a new Ceres-Pluto cycle, we can take a look at this shorter cycle separately.
Figure 8: Ceres-Pluto cycle
Source: Chart supplied by the author
The starting conjunction – January 2020
The start of the pandemic. Some of the themes highlighted in this cycle are democracy/power, environment/control and informing public/censorship.
The opening square – April 2021
On 30 April 2021 we reached this point – a time to take the huge amount we had learned about corona and weed out what wasn’t working. Pluto is about power and control. Ceres is about environments – both inside and outside our bodies. What most governments did (and I’m not saying this wasn’t understandable) was control our environments by stopping us going places and meeting people. Interestingly, around this date, Trump announced that the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This has been vehemently denied, although the issue is surfacing again as I write. Ceres and Pluto together could definitely manifest this way – gaining power through manipulation of nature.
By this time, vaccines were being rolled out and there were some reports of vaccinations causing blood clots. A pause in vaccine rollout was proposed in April, awaiting further study. New variants of the virus were being identified. Nature fighting back and taking control? The death toll from COVID-19 was reported as being around 3 million. Although it had been postulated by then that vaccines alone might not be enough to provide herd immunity, the first hints of controlling our internal environments were surfacing, by considering mandatory vaccines or travel passports.
But I think we need something more innovative. The coronavirus isn’t going away! Ceres and Pluto need to be in a positive balance. So how might that work? What are the possibilities here and especially at the opposition?
The opposition July 2022 – ‘I won’t have it!’
At the time of writing, this point has not yet been reached. Hopefully, Ceres will say ‘I’m not having it!’ She negotiates and this is what we need, rather than domination by those in power. She would probably ban genetic engineering and bio-weapons, too, since she doesn’t like us messing with nature. The opportunity at this point is to start to transform (Pluto) into all things Ceres. This means a focus on getting people healthy food, so that immune systems are not compromised. It means changing the way we are dealing with Earth and all her creatures. Viruses flare up when we destroy animal environments and plunder and pollute (Pluto) Earth (Ceres).
Give democracy a chance
We need to give proper democracy a chance and help the underdogs of society. It is pretty clear who the main victims of COVID-19 are. Pluto means we need to attack the real problem – poverty, toxic environments, unhealthy people and an unhealthy relationship with nature. When will we learn that nature always wins? Of course, one manifestation of this combination is amazing research into how viruses and vaccines work. But we need to be humble in our endeavours.
It will be interesting to see what transpires at the opposition in 2022, the closing square in 2023 and the end of this cycle in 2024. I hope the opposition won’t be a reckoning for mass vaccination in the middle of a pandemic, a strategy to which some virologists have been adamantly opposed. They have been censored (Pluto) for these ideas and so far, Pluto seems to have the upper hand in terms of narrative and controlling laws. Ceres shouldn’t be underestimated in this cycle. The plebs are gathering and getting restless!
Last thoughts
Of course, a lot more could be said on all these charts and on these issues, but I have tried to highlight Ceres and her involvement as what I see as an antidote to misuse of power. The balance between Pluto (war and power) and Ceres (underdogs and food) is highly relevant for Ukraine, but that’s another article! Ceres stood up to male domination in the myth. We need to negotiate a truce and find a balance between male and female energy so that we can support each other. I know that's not an easy task, but I hope my article has given food for thought.
Ceres is a wise older woman. It's that feminine counsel we all need to heed to counteract the misuse of power worldwide.
Data:
Grenfell Tower Fire: Fire Brigade called: 14 June 2017, 00:54, London, UK.
Boris Johnson: 19 June 1964, 14:00, New York, New York, RR A rating.
Lady Brenda Hale: 31 January 1935, Leeds, UK, time unknown.
Supreme Court decision on proroguing: 24 September 2019, 10:44, London UK. RR AA rating.
Texas becomes the 28th state: 29 December 1845, 0:00, Austin, Texas.
Abortion law Texas: 1 September 2021, 0:00, Austin, Texas.
Roe v. Wade: 22 January 1973, 10:00, Washington, DC. RR AA rating.
Afghanistan interim government after defeat of Taliban: 22 December 2001, 13:12, Kabul, Afghanistan. RR A rating.
Trump administration signs Doha agreement for troops withdrawal from Afghanistan: 29 February 2020, Doha, Qatar. Time unconfirmed but the sky patterns are correct.
Taliban in full control of Kabul: 31 August 2021, before dawn, Kabul, Afghanistan.
Malala Yousufzai: 12 July 1997, Mingaora, Pakistan, time unknown.
‘Pussy hat’ Women’s marches: 21 January 2017, worldwide.
Gilets Jaune (‘yellow vests’) mass demonstrations began: 17 November 2018, France.
Extinction Rebellion: 31 October 2018, 10:00, London, UK. Time unconfirmed.
Published by: The Astrological Journal, Jul/Aug 2022
Author:
Faye Blake is based in Amsterdam and is the founder of the Amsterdam School of Astrology. She is a therapist and business consultant, holds an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, and has spoken often at major international conferences. Her book, Vocational Astrology: Finding the Right Career Direction, forms the basis of her tailor-made Vocational Apprenticeship program. Faye writes a free blog each month which you can sign up to at: fayeblake.nl/faye_blog/. The Amsterdam School of Astrology site has resources for astrologers. Her 4-part Exploring Ceres talks can be purchased at The London School of Astrology online site – go to: londonschoolofastrology.com/courses/ceres.
Her website is fayeblake.nl
© Faye Blake, 2022
