Astro mapping - a journey into Pluto's underworld

Kia ora!

I'm not an expert on astro mapping but I like to take a look when I'm travelling, so when I saw a Pluto line along the exact course of a booked, regional work/study tour from Wellington to Auckland in New Zealand, I admit to feeling a little trepidacious.

Pluto is Lord of the Underworld, and always takes us on an intense inward journey of self-discovery and transformation. But being a Scorpio and ruled by Pluto (in modern astrology), along with a fearless Moon in Aries, knowing I was in for a Pluto lesson wasn't enough to deter me.

We arrived in Wellington and had two great days and nights seeing the sights, but on the third night and just prior to boarding the bus for the regional study tour, I started getting sick.

There was no other option but to get on the scheduled bus tour, which departed Wellington on Wednesday morning, but I continued to get sicker by the hour, until I had full blown fever, body aches, chills, sore throat and an intense pain in my hip area.

Being sick is not ideal when you’re on a bus with 15 others you don’t know in the middle of nowhere, in a foreign country, in freezing temperatures (with high winds and pouring rains), and sleeping in scant accommodation in a different location each night. This was not my idea of a good time!

The first night I had no option but to join the rest of the group for a visit to a local pub, where much imbibing took place over the next 6-hours. I sat on the outer circle of the group as they got merrier and rowdier; me shivering, aching and wanting to curl up under the table to sleep but with no way of getting back to the accommodation on my own. This was all the worse because I gave up drinking 11 years ago and I now find it really difficult being in that environment (energy).

We finally went back to the accommodation and I escaped to my room where I had a terrible night of fevers, chills, aches and nausea.

On the second day we got up early to get back on the bus and I was worse. My throat was on fire. We stopped in various places as the tour continued, and at each destination I curled up on the bus as the others did the scenic tours.

When we eventually stopped for lunch in a regional town, I took a COVID test and it was positive. So I finally joined the club I'd managed to avoid for the past 4.5 years!

The tour leader (a gorgeous and generous Sagittarius woman) was incredibly kind to me (thank God because I was feeling pretty sorry for myself) and arranged for me to leave the tour group the next day, from Hamilton, and be dropped into Auckland at the accommodation for the upcoming conference. I just had to survive another night and day on the bus.

We stayed the night at Lake Taupo and then back on the bus to drive through Huka Falls to Hamilton, where I finally departed the tour group, saying as I got off "The tribe has spoken". It certainly had felt like a Survivor challenge.

I am still sick and still testing positive, but at least I can sleep here at the divine Cordis Hotel in Auckland, in comfort (and a little luxury), until I’m well again.

Despite being in purgatory for three days, I’ve still managed to meet some really great people and have a few good conversations about my other day-job passion... database development!

Taking another look at the astro map, you can see that Ceres also runs along the same path as Pluto. Ceres teaches us about nurturing and nourishment (food), and mother/child relationships.

I experienced the intensity of Pluto's Underworld and an enormous need to be nurtured and nourished (cared for). I found that nourishment in communication with my beautiful children who gave me lots of love and encouragement via texts from home, and messages from my loving Cancer mum. One the of the other things I struggled with was finding any healthy (nourishing) food along the way, so I kept skipping meals.

No doubt I will have other observations of the lessons from Pluto and Ceres, and I still have another week in Auckland to attend the conference, so I'll continue to nourish and heal under Ceres' protection, and do the inner work which Pluto requires.

Haere rā!