Pluto Returns

If you pay attention to astrology at all, you’ve probably heard about the upcoming Pluto retrograde into Capricorn. It’ll be an interesting one because this will be happening around the time of important events here in the US and Capricorn rules over governments in mundane astrology, Saturn is retrograde in Pisces and it’ll be the last time we’ll see Pluto in Capricorn in our lifetimes, so he’ll be finishing up what’s he’s been working on since he got there. If you look at the world from basically from late January 2008 to about March of 2023, you can get a feel for the types of things which may be affected as Pluto dips back into Capricorn over the next few months. On a worldwide stage, you want to look at the things governed by Capricorn to get an understanding of where to look for transformation and change. What about for you personally? Get a copy of your birth chart and see which area of your life is governed by Capricorn and you’ll probably get a better understanding of things that’ve been happening in your life and/or the lives of those represented by that section of your chart (traditionally speaking not everything in your chart is talking about you directly).

What does Pluto do anyway and what’s his energy like? Different astrologers practice varying types of astrology and even the ones practicing the same type of astrology can approach the same thing differently, depending on a plethora of things. For the most part though, most can agree on Pluto being intense and a planet which brings things from the depths of wherever it’s placed. A lot of my practice is traditionally based and while Pluto wasn’t a planet most knew about during the Hellenistic and ancient periods of astrology, I take a traditional, realistic approach to describing him and what he does. His transits can be intense and unpleasant and our lived experiences of his transits and placements can typically be described the same way. It’s usually later, looking back, that we can appreciate the hell (also associated with Pluto) we may have gone through due to what Pluto has done.

Let’s take the Phoenix analogy often associated with Pluto. Some may say Pluto is transformative, much like the Phoenix which transforms into an awe-inspiring creature of strength and beauty. I agree that it’s transformative, but I also don’t shy away from the reality that Pluto pretty much encapsulates the whole process of the Phoenix becoming so mythical and epic… The whole process! The burning down, the state of being in ashes and then the rebirth. With that in mind, you can probably imagine Pluto transits are probably not going to be pleasant and there are probably going to be times that you may feel like you might not make it. At the same time, though, also keep in mind that if you persevere, you get stronger and more powerful and resilient than you would’ve ever imagined. In fact, you might not even realize just how strong you’ve already gotten in the area Pluto appears in your chart. It’s like he’s pointing you to one of your super powers that you’ve developed and are developing throughout life. Through struggle we get stronger, it’s like going to the gym (also like the gym, a trainer might be able to help you). If you keep that in mind as you go through whatever it is you’re going through, you can empower yourself instead of getting downtrodden. I prefer explaining it that way to telling someone Pluto’s about transformation without giving them a heads-up about the process of transformation. Chances are, if you look at your chart and see where Pluto is, you wouldn’t be surprised because you have probably experienced change-provoking things there.

Knowing the nature of Pluto and that he’s dredging up some extreme inner power as you’re faced with whatever is happening can give you a different angle to approach your struggles. Especially when you look back and see what you’ve already survived through. We are truly remarkable and resilient creatures, your Pluto placement can help remind you of that. The whole, “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” saying can really be applied here. If you’re reading this now, it hasn’t killed you. That’s a bonus. Right? Now maybe you can actively work towards understanding how it’s giving you the opportunity to get stronger. If you lean into it and learn more, you can possibly accelerate your strengthening process. If you’re struggling to understand this, you might want to look into getting help to understand what’s going on. Trying to ignore, avoid or suppress Pluto will likely not work out in your favor. It’ll more likely backfire and maybe trying to ignore, avoid or suppress whatever is being dredged up is part of what’s complicating the process for you. Pluto will Pluto with or without you getting on board.

I’ve gone a lot into the personal experiences of Pluto and it’s placement. The same principle can be applied to businesses, countries and everything else with a chart (and everything has a chart, whether or not we know the placements). Additionally, there are the general energies governed by the planets and signs, and on the worldwide level we look at those things. Anyone who has been paying attention to the state of things here in the USA recently has been able to see and possibly feel the seeming chaos which has abounded. It’s unsettling, to say the least, but it can be empowering and revelatory as well. Pluto is helping dredge up things you must work out personally, but the energies are working on the macro level as well. There have been whistle-blowers, leaks and great disclosures about corruption, the deeply guarded secrets and nature of many aspects of our governing bodies… on all levels. That’s part of the work of Pluto, Pluto-ing in Capricorn. We should pay attention. Either way, it looks like cracks have been revealed and while it’s leading to a lot of uncertainty, it’s part of the process. I wouldn’t suggest anyone get too wrapped up in these things, maybe take note, but work on yourself. Work within your families. Learn how you are being empowered by Pluto and work with that to deal with the larger things, because a lot of larger scale of things have been put in place since well before any of us were even on this earth… at least this time around. Haha

Now that we’ve touched on the energies of Pluto, let’s go on to the energy of a return. I think everyone is familiar with the idea of a birthday. Right? Birthdays happen every year on the day you were born. This is very closely tied to the time that the sun returns to the place it was at when you were born. The actual day that the sun returns to the same exact spot it was at when you were born may vary by a day or so, but it’s typically around the time of your birthday. You’re probably aware of the feelings around birthdays when you’re able to process them, you review the year before and see how things played out. You think of what you accomplished, what you didn’t and then figure out what you want for the incoming year of your life. Birthdays become more and more consequential as we get older, but even then, they happen every year. Every other planet also will eventually return to the place it was at when you were born and they inspire the same types of thoughts in feelings in whatever realm they govern in your life. Another big return people hear about is the Saturn return. It’s a big one because it takes between 27 and 30 years for it to make it back to your natal placement and the energy is usually active as long as he’s in the sign he was in when you were born. These can be a bit harder because of the nature of Saturn and his role in maturity and structure. Pluto takes over 240 years to make a return.

Pluto returns aren’t really a thing for people, as far as I know, but the United States of America was founded with Pluto in the late degrees of Capricorn. Therefore, Pluto’s return into Capricorn for the last time will be reactivating those energies we felt get really intense over the past few years. He will not hit the exact degree he was at at the founding of the US, but he’ll be within 3 degrees of it and that’s when the energy is most potent. The fact that he’ll be on the 30th degree kind of adds to the instability of the energy because it’s the last degree of the sign and that also lends to a certain sense of melancholy. I’ve used the US chart from astro.com, which is a great place to get a free copy of your chart, as the image for this post. If that time were correct, it’d be interesting to think of the second house and finances having something to do with this Pluto return. Either way, we’re getting the last hurrah of Pluto in Capricorn and the US Pluto return. Seeing as Pluto moves so slow, the energy will still likely take some time to play out fully, but I think interesting things can be in store for us. Either way, I want you to empower yourself by getting to know your personal Pluto placement and what that’s taught you about the energy of Pluto. Then, if you’re here in the US, know that the best thing any of us can do to help with anything happening on a larger scale is working on that which is within our sphere of influence. The more in tune and familiar we are with the energies, the better we’ll be able to work with them whenever and wherever they’re active. Do what you can on your level, which is probably more than you know, but after you do, know it’s out of your hands. Pluto has a way of teaching us all our relationship to that which is deep, intense, hidden and powerful. It might be scary at first, but sometimes looking our monsters in the face can help us realize that the power they wield is only our own power we’ve turned over to them in fear.

Sorry for typos or any of that, but I'm still trying to work on getting posts out in a more timely manner and life is busy so I don't want this to get lost in editing and Virgo perfection land, so it's going out like this. I appreciate your time and attention.