The Power of Pluto Unleashed

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

I first began to study the field of astrology thirteen years ago.  It was near the time of September 11, 2001.  I suppose it was easy to cultivate occult interests as many people sought out their own ways to explain the events of that day.  I was living in California at the time.  My associations of California are such that if you live in the state for a long period and never do yoga, consult an astrologer, drink a glass of wine in Sonoma, see the fogbanks of the San Francisco Bay Area or attend a personal growth workshop you haven't truly sampled all there is to experience in California.  Indeed, you could live an entire (long) lifetime and never experience all that California has to offer.  It's too bad that the state is currently experiencing a drought so extraordinary that it apparently has not been so dry since the time Columbus came to the Americas.  Yes, you read that right.  Columbus!


It was easy to find astrologers and people fascinated with the subject of astrology while I lived in California.  When I first began my self-study I suppose you could say I was as skeptical as the average person in regards to its validity as a 'science'.  As the years passed and I followed it in my own way I lost that skepticism.  I believe, however, that skepticism is healthy when first plunging into something so new and unfamiliar.  The unexamined embrace of the unknown, while likely to make for an 'interesting' time, can easily lead to unintended consequences we only later realize we never wanted to experience!

As I began to develop a breadth of knowledge regarding the basic principles of astrology I familiarized myself with my own natal chart.  It was many years ago when I first took note of the Plutonian transit I am in now.  At the time I marveled at the intensity implied in the potential inherent to when Pluto squares your natal Moon.  Now in the last year I have been living through it.  And it will go on for another two years or so.

Robert Hand is a well respected astrologer.  I have consulted his wisdom on numerous occasions. In one of his seminal books he describes my current Pluto-Moon transit in the following way (I have highlighted those remarks that precisely describe what has been happening):

This influence produces very intense experiences in your emotional and personal life, and it will test your innermost psychological workings. You may be forced to dig down deeper inside yourself than you have ever done before to get the answers you need at this time. (Yes!)

On the psychological level, this influence dredges up past behavior patterns that may be quite inadequate for the present. Or it may bring up memories from the past that somehow affect the present. Driven by compulsions and irrational drives, you may do things that you would not do if you were entirely clear about yourself. Deep psychological changes are taking place that should not be ignored or swept under the rug. Instead, you should understand them.


In your personal life, this influence can bring an emotional power struggle with someone. Such a struggle can be quite destructive, because the tactics are very subversive, perhaps including manipulation of guilt, jealousy or sense of duty. You will not attempt to wield power directly and nakedly, which your opponent could fight easily. It takes extremely clear perception to see exactly what is happening.

This influence also may signify a relationship in which you feel fascinated by the other person, even though you feel that the relationship is bad for you. You seem unable to get away. Actually you are experiencing a repressed aspect of yourself through the other person.

In your domestic life there may be significant changes, which are external reflections of your inner change. Your most intimate life is the most perfect manifestation of your inner psyche and is therefore most affected. You may find that considerable tension builds up between you and those closest to you, and there may be some very emotional confrontations. You may also change your residence or make significant changes in your present one, and these will reflect changes within you.

Have you happened to notice how I highlighted so much of the content?  Yes, indeed, the description of this transit very accurately describes my life at this time.  And because Pluto moves so slowly Plutonian transits bespeak long term processes that leave a person profoundly changed when they emerge on the other side.  I am going through such a change now.