Pluto in Astrology: Owning Our Shadows

Pluto in Astrology: Unpacking the depth of our psyche, transforming it and owning back our power.

Whenever the planet Pluto rises from the horizon of my thoughts, I can’t help but remember the shadows that once loomed in its company, the potent influence that can graze an old scab back to sensitivity.

Pluto does not invite; he summons.

Pluto reminds us that nothing stays the same, a transformative energy that forces us to grow or shrink in the dark corners of pain and resentment. Surrendering to its powers and lessons means a smooth metaphorical death; resisting means a long, agonizing one.

A planet that works subconsciously on a personal level, it symbolizes death and rebirth, causing crisis and massive shifts, an intense effect that can make or break us in certain areas of life.

By sign, commanding Pluto is shared by a generation of people. In the energy of Libra, a generation of people is meant to transform notions of committed relationships. Pluto went into Libra between 1971 Oct.05, 06:31 to 1972 Apr.17, 07:27. Then returned back to Virgo for another 2 months. From July 30th, it returned to Libra and stayed until Nov 5th, 1983.  We saw an upswing of divorces between these years. The concept of long-term commitment redefined.

Pluto ingressed into Scorpio between Nov 5th, 1983 to Aug 10th, 1985 (ingressing back and forth in Libra for a few months in between). The Pluto in the Scorpio generation shares a transformation of sexual expression. While the period created a sexually liberated group, we also witnessed the consequence of its shadow side: the AIDs crisis in the 80s, explicit content from music videos blew up in the 90s, and the accessibility of pornographic content to minors.

Currently, we are having a Pluto transit in Capricorn, which has brought about significant shifts in government and those in power. The shake-ups reveal abuse of power and caused distrust across the board. Major paradigms are being rebuilt to create better models for the future of society.

Native Pluto in the chart is where the intergenerational planet impacts us personally, shaking up the dregs by transit. The intense planet will help to bring up all the sediments of that House. The buried, old guck we haven’t wanted to face or have long forgotten about. Secrets can surface. Power struggles are likely. The nature of the House can get ugly and uncomfortable as shadows from the past show up, or the raw truth of a situation comes to a head. Take comfort in that it’s also a metamorphosis from scythe to lantern, a light in the dark to give us a chance to look at the raw, the ugly, the shadows in the face, throw it profanity, and ideally call a truce.

Pluto in the angular 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th Houses can cause intense cycles to identity, the past and security, relationships or career. These four critical areas of life feel Pluto’s atomic force most powerfully. In the cadent 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th houses, power struggles can occur with self-worth, personal resources, creativity, committed bonds or friendships. With the succedent 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th Houses, Pluto’s severity can impact communication, daily grind and health, beliefs and ideas, or on a subconscious and spiritual level.

Pluto is where we can own our power by braving the unknown or parts of ourselves we’d rather forget, confronting what has limited and controlled us and being aware of what has thwarted our true essence. The intensely packed planet clears out the old and encourages us to honour our shadow selves. It’s an influential energy that guides us to travel down to the deepest parts of ourselves, eventually emerging with new skin, having turned the looming phantoms into our greatest allies.

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