Planet Pluto and its Plutonic Energy: Evolve or Die
Pluto the planet has a significant import in the astrology chart. Long considered an unconscious factor, or only impactful on masses of people within a generation, it’s risen to a much more important factor in human consciousness. Some researchers feel that this is because human consciousness can now encompass its power, at least to some degree, instead of just being the victim of it.
Pluto was discovered around the same time that atomic energy became practical. This coincides with its nature. Pluto is a very small planetary body, on the far edge of our Solar System, dark and mysterious. It receives little solar light or heat, and its density is far greater than other planetary bodies. Each of these factors is included in the interpretation of Pluto in the astrology chart, as we’ll get to.
Scorpio and the 8th house are Pluto’s home playing fields. The energies of Scorpio and the 8th house have strong similarities to the nature of Pluto itself, and most astrologers find it convenient to consider that Pluto actually creates their energies.
So, what are they? Some typical keywords for Pluto are; birth, death, sex, and regeneration. Cataclysm and disaster aren’t bad descriptions either. Volcanoes and atomic blasts are typical manifestations of Plutonic energy. So what does this mean for us as individuals?
Pluto’s darkness, pressure and density manifest in the human consciousness as deep emotional repression. Psychologically, we know that eventually what is repressed eventually gets expressed, and then there’s usually a big mess. The condensed pressure of emotional repression builds and builds until there’s a blow up of some sort. Of course there are those of us who manage to keep it repressed very successfully, in which case it leaks out in a perverted form, like serial killing and child molestation. We don’t need that.
Believe it or not, there’s actually an up side to Pluto. As an astrologer who specializes in Plutonic astrology, I attract quite a few clients who are having Plutonic events. Most of them are in despair due to significant losses in life and can’t work out what to do next. Spiritually, Pluto wipes out what we’ve grown out of, whether our human consciousness feels ready for it or not, in order to pave the way for a new and higher level of experience. It’s the new and higher level of experience part that’s the upside.
This is evolution. One form of life or consciousness is eliminated in order to make room for the new, emerging form. A classic analogy is the transformation of caterpillar to butterfly. This is about the most complete transformation that most of us are familiar with in the natural world.
Pluto often deals with the taboo factor in humanity. Most taboos are cultural restrictions, which may or may not be healthy for the individual. Someone with a strong Pluto, 8th house, or Scorpio influences is naturally attracted to these areas. This is because they are living with so much in the way of taboo factors in their own consciousness. Big chunks of the psyche are “off limits”. Pluto people automatically seek out that which is mysterious, secretive or prohibited in the effort to get to the bottom of their own inhibitions.
This is why sex is so frequently equated with Pluto, Scorpio and the 8th house. Cultural taboos in this area abound and the intensity of “merging” is representational of the need to merge with apparently inaccessible portions of one’s own psyche. Strong sensation is important and the ability to both give and receive it is sought after. Again, remember the pressure of Pluto. The need for tactile pressure is there.
Death of course, is the big one. Just as in a Tarot reading, it does not have to be a literal, physical death. The deaths of a life style, a belief system, or a career aren’t uncommon. A Pluto transit can activate these and others, leaving one to feel as if they’re dying. There is a strong sense of finality, and perhaps depression, leaving a blank slate.
The solution to Pluto is to release. To let go of what’s dead and gone and open oneself to the new experience that awaits you. It may seem trite to “get on with living”, but in a very real sense, it’s true. Unfortunately, this is exactly what is so difficult. Pluto wants to hold onto things. It’s extremely possessive. Being on the far fringe of our Solar System, it’s ability to hang onto the Sun’s gravity is apparently quite an accomplishment. But, that’s how all this stuff got packed away into the deeper holds of the psyche to begin with. We’ve held onto the hurts, traumas and losses, refusing to express them or let them out.
I don’t mean to imply that this hanging on is just contrariness, although stubbornness can certainly be a factor. It’s more that the emotional content seems just too powerful or devastating to deal with. This is why the simplest method is to just let it go. In the letting go, there is an enormous release. Just as when we finally vent a long-held anger, the air is cleared and there’s a lot of relief.
Wherever in the chart Pluto the planet is placed, you’ll find not only the traumas, repression and hurts, but quite a bit of power as well. This is the area of life where your insight is keener, and your perceptions of life more acute. Not, obviously regarding yourself, but in terms of the world around you. This is also where you have the ability to manipulate people and events to achieve your own ends.
Pluto has a lot to do with issues of power and powerlessness. The overwhelming nature of our old hurts left us feeling victimized and powerless. The condensed energy of Pluto is a storage area of enormous power. This apparent contradiction is something we experience on a regular basis. Wherever we feel victimized, it’s Pluto in action. Wherever the desire exists for “world domination”, Pluto is attempting to compensate.
The energy of planet Pluto is within the consciousness of each of us. As we accept our natural evolutionary development, we can integrate its nature into our being with a greater sense of fulfillment and peace of mind.
By Jeri Noble
