Men who look on nature, and their fellow-men, and cry that all is dark and gloomy, are in the right; but the somber colors are reflections from their own jaundiced eyes and hearts. The real hues are delicate, and need a clearer vision.

From Oliver Twist, Chapter 24

Illustration by Juan Miguel Martín Cabanillas

It is an illuminating fact that Charles Dickens' famous novel Oliver Twist has a repeated association with Jupiter-Pluto alignments. The book was originally published in serialized installments throughout the Jupiter-Pluto trine of 1837, and continued until the Jupiter-Pluto opposition in 1839. Amazingly, future adaptations of the work also coincided with Jupiter-Pluto alignments, trines in particular: The film version was released during the Jupiter-Pluto trine of 1948, which was banned in the US due to antisemitic concerns until the Jupiter-Pluto trine of 1951. The film was subsequently re-released with scenes restored during the Jupiter-Pluto sextile of 1970, and was later entered into the British Film Institute's top 100 rated films during the Jupiter-Pluto trine of 1999.

The musical adaptation, Oliver!, opened during the Jupiter-Pluto trine of 1960 and the film version of the musical was released during the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction of 1968.

What could the meaning of this synchronicity tell us? Why is Oliver Twist so connected to this particular planetary duo?

When we consider the broader social themes of the book — urban poverty, injustice, the plight of the downtrodden — the connection is pretty clear to see. Jupiter tends to shine a light upon whatever it touches, or expands it to the point we have to notice it, and Pluto represents the hidden aspects of society, not only the poor and oppressed, but also the rich and powerful who exert control over those with less.

Like Dickens's exposition of the English workhouse, Jupiter-Pluto alignments often bring a collective clarity arising out of an exposure to some morally intolerable condition. Think of the revelations of torture at Abu Ghraib prison during the Jupiter-Pluto trine of 2003, or the release of video showing the murder of Laquan McDonald in Chicago during the Jupiter-Pluto trine of late 2015. We can also include the #MeToo movement, which occurred throughout Jupiter's transit through Scorpio — a sign linked strongly with Pluto — and its sextile alignment with Pluto. Most recently, Jupiter and Pluto were conjunct when George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officers, kicking off a series of nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.

Note that Jupiter-Pluto alignments do not instigate such events, but instead show us what was already occurring, like lifting a log in the forest to see the creepy crawlies underneath. True to Jupiter, whatever issue is being exposed becomes greatly expanded, larger than life, because the issue symbolizes, true to Pluto, a much deeper and darker problem: Government sanctioned torture, police brutality, sexual abuse by star figures, etc.

Today we are entering the very beginning of the next Jupiter-Pluto trine. It is a good time to consider: what are today's issues of poverty, injustice, and abuses of power that demand we witness with a full gaze? What can we no longer turn away from but must acknowledge as a travesty of civilization? Where have we allowed too much power to aggregate, and where have too many suffered the consequences? We might take our cue from Oliver Twist.