Pluto

Ruler of Scorpio

Natural ruler of the 8th House

Primary meaning:  This transformative lord of the underworld, rules sex, death, taxes, and deep underground emotion. Where Pluto is placed in the chart is where we struggle with Self. Here, we are in a tug of war with our daimon, or devil, in repetitive inner combat to transform dross to gold. Discovered in 1930, it is the last planet out, the smallest, slowest, and most powerful. Some say it was demoted to an asteroid, but don’t be bamboozled by that ‘demotion,’ for small as it is, it affects both Neptune and Uranus, more than eight times its size. Pluto has an essence of the eternal, with rulership over death, the afterlife, and transmutation~ the changing of shapes.  We go to Pluto for lessons in power, and the abuse thereof, as well as how well we understand control.  Personal empowerment, an ability to regenerate, and face death are Pluto territory. 

It’s glyph is either a P, symbolizing its discoverer, Percival Lowell, or the more ancient glyph (above) representing the esoteric principles of the semicircle of the soul linked to the cross of matter, with the circle of spirit hovering above.

Chart placement shows: There is often a deep sense of mission around Pluto’s placement.  It’s where we wish to manifest potential. Because it lies buried, and rarely conscious, it takes years to understand the transformation that is being asked. “A wise heart uses the power of light to see through the dark.” Amber Mucjanko

Positive expression:  When used at the highest levels, it expresses a higher purpose, and vibration, one that is profoundly conscious. Desmond Tutu said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.”  As the higher octave of Mars, Pluto makes room for greater consciousness by destroying old forms.  Plutonian energy moves beyond the physicality of Mars to change atomic structure. Mars is personally emotional, especially as an aggressor, but Pluto’s deep, dark emotion separates the deed from the the doer., seeking soul expression. As the ruler of death, he separates the soul from its physical body to send it off toward new life, and a more profound incarnation. As an evolutionary process, death is not the end, but the beginning, a transcendence of shape-shifting energy….Visualize caterpillar to butterfly.

Negative expression:  Unfortunately, Pluto used without consciousness is a black hole.  It misuses power, and is power-hungry, often violent, and tragic with meaninglessness. It takes something that is crystalized and frozen into a process of decomposition so that it may regenerate. But in the process of suffering loss, it’s very difficult to feel regenerative hope.

Pluto is both an eliminator and renewer, but always underground, unseen until the deed is done. It’s job is to force issues that lie in shadow, and are of shadow material, into the light of consciousness. The year 2020 was dedicated to Pluto dismantling and exposing the old patriarchy of power and its abuses. The year torn down what was ‘normal’ to reveal darkness, unlocking its energy for better use. What we suppress personally, and what a nation suppresses must find ways to come to light, to heal, and transform.

“There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

– Carl Gustav Jung