Truth about Pluto (Dark Night of the Soul Ends Eventually)

On Thursday of this past week, I called into a radio show to talk about the outer planet transits in my chart.  The astrologer/radio host touched upon Pluto on my AC and in my first house.  This caused me to share a story connecting Pluto's transit in Capricorn and a job loss I experienced in the spring of 2009.  Since Mercury is retrograde in Pisces I got my facts wrong and thought Pluto was near my AC at that time, but in fact, Pluto conjuncted my South Node exact during the spring of 2009.  This planet isn't directly responsible for the loss of my job of that time, but it did act as an arrow pointing me in the direction of my North Node, which is in Cancer and it presented the lesson of self-love and nurturing as opposed to career ambition and climbing the ladder of success.

So if Pluto wasn't the culprit, then why did I lose a job that I actually loved and that defined me?  During the spring of 2009, Uranus transited at 22 degrees Pisces which squared my natal Venus in my 6th house of work and daily life/environment and Saturn in Virgo also opposed my natal Venus during the course of 2009 and probably 2008 too. Uranus in Pisces, years early had conjuncted my Moon/Saturn in Pisces in my second house causing me to doubt my talents and adopt the belief that I could only get ahead if I worked extremely hard and sacrificed my health and well-being.  Transiting Saturn in Virgo forced me to take better care of my health and to not trust just anyone because that landed me in trouble too.  And now that I'm using an Equal House system I noticed that when Uranus squared Mars in my 6th (and 5th house cusp), my home life was disrupted, not to mention my privacy and I had some trouble with one man in particular who invaded my privacy.

Pluto does bring transformation, but it doesn't necessarily come in the form of a job loss unless it is transiting through the 2nd, 6th, or 10th houses or squaring or opposing planets in those houses.  When transiting Pluto resides in the first house as it does for me at the moment, the conversation revolves around transformation of self, body image, health of the body, (but not health routine or diet necessarily unless the 6th house is involved and in my case it is).  Pluto transiting through the opposite house, 7th, transforms relationships and that could mean the break up of a relationship or even death of a partner.

Pluto in Capricorn doesn't just bring transformation, it also brings re-structuring of the entire planet's systems, government, banking, financing and on a personal level, it could relate to problems and healing of bones, teeth, skin or the knees which Capricorn rules.  Depending on where transiting Pluto appears in a natal chart and which planets it aspects and the angles of the aspects, a person could find themselves getting knee surgery, major dental work done or dealing with severe skin problems in which healing would come from de-toxing the body and changing one's diet.

Pluto forces us to lighten our loads on all levels, not just physical.  Pluto transit in Capricorn asks us to transform our beliefs about wealth, money and how we each govern our lives.  The Saturnian element demands that we take responsibility for our thoughts, feelings, and actions and what those thoughts, feelings and actions create for ourselves.  It's no coincidence that quantum physics and law of attraction are growing in popularity now, and not just the get rich scheme part of it.  The Law of Attraction is about taking responsibility for the life each of us creates.  But first we need to dismantle the old way of doing business both on a personal and global level.  This part is messy and so Pluto gets a lot of flack.

Meanwhile, transiting Saturn exchanges signs with Pluto by transiting in Scorpio, Pluto's ruling sign.  This further emphasizes the themes of taking responsibility and rebuilding structures.  We can't avoid these messy tasks now.  But this doesn't mean that every time something horrendous happens in our lives, or that we perceive as horrendous, that Pluto or Saturn are at fault.  Uranus, Mars, and even Jupiter which expands what it touches bring changes too.  And none of us enjoys change, not even good changes.  Even weddings and birthdays are bittersweet.  For everything new that comes into our lives, we must release the old.

Pluto has taught me how to honor myself and it achieved this aim in a matter of months without me enlisting a life coach to assist me through the re-birthing process.  Saturn in Scorpio teaches me how to solidify good structures in my life, workable structures that replaced unworkable ones (which sadly I leaned on for years like a good friend).  Pluto brought me the gift of self-love and this is just the beginning because I still have 6 more months on this transit journey with Pluto, but then it opposes my Mercury.  But this will just teach me how to communicate more effectively and get to the point already.  Or to speak in more nurturing tones that uplift myself and others.

The truth is that Pluto takes us into the void of our souls which can seem like a truly dark place, especially if we have avoided the inner work.  In shamanic cultures, no one just wakes up one day and becomes a shaman.  An aspiring shaman is first awakened by a dream which then attracts a shaman teacher.  This shaman teacher uses ruthless methods to strip away the old life from the initiate so that the shamanic gift can develop and to manifest in the initiate.  Some initiates even lost their lives during the brutal initiation process, but to a shaman, those souls entered other realms. Real death doesn't exist.  The Pluto journey is shamanic and it does involve dreams and a deeply spiritual experience even for people who don't consider themselves spiritual or religious.

Everyone undergoes transformation in the area of their chart where Pluto transits.Crucial times occur when Pluto passes over a cusps, especially angular cusps (1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses) or aspects the natal planets, as well as, other transiting planets in the form of oppositions, yods, squares, inconjuncts or even flowing aspects.  However, the people who have their Sun, AC, or Moon in the mode that Pluto transits (in this case Cardinal), will feel the transformation the strongest.  And Capricorns are definitely experiencing restructuring of their lives.

However, when you read your chart or have an astrologer read it for you, make sure that not too much emphasis is placed on the Pluto transit, since a bigger picture is at work that also involves Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune as well as, the faster moving planets.  Look for relief aspects too such as trines or sextiles from transiting Pluto to natal planets.  This could bring solutions in dealing with Pluto's ruthless energy.  You also won't notice the transformation taking place until after the end of the Pluto transit, though you will notice glimmers of it.  As one astrologer colleague put it after she completed a Pluto transit, "The old girl is gone.  I said good bye to her and I no longer even recognize her."  And that's how Pluto operates, completely replacing the old you with someone new.  Others will notice too.