Pluto in Astrology
Planetary Bodies: The Meaning of the Planets, Part 10
The following post is supplemental material to my virtual classes, which you can purchase here.
Pluto in Astrology
Pluto remains an acknowledged planet in Modern Astrology. Its date of discovery is February 18, 1930, making it the newest in chronological discovery. Following the same pattern of Uranus and Neptune, Pluto was discovered during a Retrograde. It was at 17 degrees of Cancer, unaspected by any other planet according to the ephemeris.
Astrologically, Pluto is associated with Scorpio and the Eighth House. There’s nothing superficial or lighthearted when it comes to Pluto’s presence. Death, transformation, birth, sex organs, occultism, legal issues, taxes, client (if an entrepreneur) and partners’ (if married) money and assets all fall into the domain of Pluto. It’s all-or-nothing, consequential, and ritualistic.
On the deepest level, Pluto represents intergenerational traumas in our families and the societies we’ve grown up in. Often, the surfacing of information, secrets, lies, manipulations, and mysteries occurs when Pluto is activated in a Horoscope.
This is a generational planet, creating and destroying across several decades. Its implications can be obvious, or well hidden. Our self-destructive side as well as our survival instincts are related to our Pluto placement and the Aspects to it in the Birth Chart. Enemies, stalkers, and our most real (and fake) friends represent Plutonian connections. Emotional rollercoasters are predictable there.
People with heavy Plutonian energy (i.e., Scorpio in your Big Three, Pluto conjunct ASC) will be familiar with hearing, “Are you mad at me?” and “Wow, you’re really intense,” at various points throughout life. They may also attract very intense relationships and experiences. Pluto rules taboos so there are inevitable roots to our “dark side” which could be kinky, guarded, or compulsive.
On a societal level, it can be destructive and reconstructive. Roles of power can be greedily inflated and hard to undermine.
Due to its incredibly slow speed relative to our Earthly perspective, Pluto will only transit a handful of zodiac signs in our entire lifetime. It takes 248 years to transit all 12 zodiac signs, making a stop lasting anywhere from 12 to 31 years in each sign along the way. That makes ingressions--like Pluto’s recent move into Aquarius--a significant shift in energy that’s worth acknowledging.