Pluto.  It's astrological urge is Transformation with a capital T.  Wherever this planet falls in your astrological nativity -- that is in whatever life realm it holds influence -- then that's where you're called, usually compulsively, to destroy and rebuild. Pluto's action is slow, ponderous, and inevitable. 

That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Someone somewhere, knowingly or not, wrote that as Pluto's tagline.

If you study astrology, then you already know which house this planet sits in your nativity.

Even if you don't know astrology, though, Pluto knows you.  And it carries a big toxic bang in your life -- if you don't learn to harness its energies and use them effectively.  For the non-astrological types out there, consider which realm of your life where you find yourself facing continual transformation. It's a pretty good chance, Pluto drives your remodeling activities.

Today we're going to introduce Pluto, starting to build an understanding of its influence in our lives.  In two articles to follow, we'll delve into its astrological energies in more depth and also discuss strategies to use the planetary energies effectively in your life.

Let's start by considering two metaphors for the Plutonian astrological energy -- Pluto, the celestial body and Hades, the Greek god of the underworld.

Pluto, the celestial body

First, consider the location of Pluto, the actual celestial body, in our solar system.  It's a cold, icy planet that's not really a planet and it's waaaaaay out there -- and no spacecraft have yet to visit the it. 

You can't see Pluto with the nekkid eye like you can other planets closer to the third rock from the Sun.  Mathematical anomalies tipped off astronomers to Pluto's possible presence.  Finally, in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto by comparing photographs taken several weeks apart and comparing the positions of the heavenly bodies.  He saw movement among the heavenly bodies, tipping him off to Pluto.

The celestial Pluto is an eccentric little bugger.  First, its orbit crosses over Neptune's and for about 20 years out of its 249 year orbit, it's closer to the Sun than Neptune.  Second, like Uranus, Pluto's axis sits almost parallel to it orbital plane, meaning that it essentially sits on its side.

The planet is a mass of mostly rock.  Scientists indicate is surface is about 70% rock and 30% ice.  Additionally, with a weak gravity, Pluto fails to hold much in the way of an atmosphere and its upper atmosphere, such as it is, resembles that of a comet. 

Astronomers have battled over whether to classify Pluto qualified as a full-fledged planet.  In 2006 after an intense debate, a small group of about 5% of professional astronomers in the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted to demote Pluto to a dwarf planet and its now considered the second largest dwarf in our solar system.  According to Wikipedia,

From its discovery in 1930 until 2006, Pluto was considered the Solar System's ninth planet. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, however, many objects similar to Pluto were discovered in the outer solar system, notably the scattered disc object Eris, which is 27% more massive than Pluto. 

On August 24, 2006 the IAU defined the term "planet" for the first time. This definition excluded Pluto, which the IAU reclassified as a member of the new category of dwarf planets along with Eris and Ceres....A number of scientists continue to suggest that Pluto should be reclassified as a planet.

Regardless of what' going on the world of astronomy, in the world of astrology, Pluto is just a potent as it always has been.

Hades, the god of the underworld

The icy, little dwarf planet is named after the Roman god Pluto, also known as Hades in the Greek pantheon. 

Hades teamed up with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon to defeat the Titans, a group of elder gods who ruled during the Golden Age.  The reason for the War of the Titans, or the Titanomachy, was to break the tyrannical rule of Cronus.  Together, the triad of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades ruled over the skies, oceans, and underworld, respectively. 

As part of his underworld responsibilities, Hades judged the dead and decided upon their rewards or punishments.  Heroic or good guy and gal types earned rewards like placement in the heavenly Elysian Fields.  Those deemed unworthy were cursed and banished to hellish place like Tartarus.

Hades also ruled buried wealth,

...from the fertile soil with nourished the seed-grain, to the mined wealth of gold, silver and other metals.

The affairs of the underworld kept the god busy so mortals rarely saw the god.  Because of that, and his cool helmet of invisibility, Hades earned the moniker the Invisible One or the Unseen One.

Not that mortals really wanted to see Hades.  Myths portray him as a pitiless god and even sacrifices to him failed to gain his favor towards supplicants.  This is one of the reasons why few worshipped him.

Hades had a fondness for pets.  His was Cerebus, the three-headed dog with snakes for a tail and a sort of snakey mane down his back.  The beast guarded the entrance to the underworld, letting the dead enter and then preventing their escape.

The abduction and his marriage to Persephone

Pluto had no problems being voluntarily sequestered from his follow Olympians, being mostly a lone wolf type. 

He did get lonely, though, and to solve his problem he abducted Persephone. Well, Zeus had promised her to Hades, although the king of the gods forgot to tell anyone else so her abduction caused a problem for Demeter, Persephone's mom, who missed her terribly and searched far and wide to find her daughter.

In her grief, Demeter refused to let the crops grow.

Persephone missed her mom too.  Although in a sort of Stockholm syndrome sort of way, Persephone also came to kind of love Hades and liked being queen of a kingdom, even if the underworld.  And, of course, being passionate about his wife, Hades didn't want to let her go.

Enter Hermes, known as Mercury in the Roman pantheon.  The messenger of the gods negotiated a settlement that allowed Persephone to return topside to her mom six months a year and to spend the other six months living with Hades.

Now, when it came to women, Hades was a paradox.  On one hand he forced Persephone into marriage.  On the other, he respected women and allowed his marriage to be one of equals, sharing the decision-making with his wife.

The energies of the astrological Pluto

Based on the celestial body and the Greek god the underworld, what can we say about the astrological planet Pluto and its energetic urges?

Wherever Pluto falls in your astrological nativity is where you spend large chunks of your time acting on subconscious, primal urges.  Pluto is a demanding, relentless master and one lacking in sympathy. 

Whichever realm of your life Pluto rules over is where things are going to reach out and grab you in the ass.  It doesn't ask your permission to act, it does it whether you want to or not.

It's the realm where you'll experience relentless transformation, destroying and then rebuilding.  It's the realm of life that you'll obsess over.  And it's the realm of life where you often feel like have no control over the issues that pop up.

Plutonian personalities

Although everyone has Pluto somewhere in one of their life realms, some folks are considered to have Plutonian personalities.  That means they have truckloads of this energy in their astrological nativities.  It can come from prominent placement of Pluto, lots of aspects to the planet, or lots of planets in Scorpio, ruled in modern times by Pluto.

Plutonians are especially subject to the influential demands of primal urges.  These urges will show up in whatever realms Pluto impacts by its planetary and house placement, as well as through the influence of its aspects.

For example, I have a Plutonian-influenced personality, and it impact is felt in my career, relationships, and personal expression. 

I spent years expressing the planet's energies in ineffective ways and failed to uncover the wealth it can bring.  My results tallied to include failed career opportunities and relationships.

Pluto's hidden wealth -- the good news

If you've stayed with me this far in the article, Pluto is probably sounding like major not fun.

Here's the funny thing about Pluto, though.  Not funny as in ha ha but funny as in ironic.

The planet will demand your attention and can put you through the ringer but, and this is a big but, you may grow to love the effect its transformation brings into your life.  Like Demeter, you can come to value Pluto's realm.

Pluto is the driver of statements like, "Such and such was one of the worst thing that ever happened to me but it was also the best thing because it brought thus and such into my life as a result."

For example, one of the worst things ever to happen to me was a failure to land a job in a timely way after a layoff.  I almost reached the point of bankruptcy.  However, in desperation put myself through a period of intense introspection to try and understand why door after door seemed to close right on the verge of landing a job.  My introspection led me to a huge epiphany that allowed me to change the way I interacted with the rest of the world.  After that awakening, I started to attract opportunity.

Pluto rules hidden wealth for a reason.

I don't think it's possible to become friends with Pluto but you can become working colleagues.  You can find its hidden wealth and when you do, you can enrich your life to a degree you didn't believe possible.

The thing is, you're going to have to really, really want to make an effort to build a working relationship with this planet because Pluto isn't going to send you a big, howdy do welcome.

To find the Pluto's wealth, you have to dig.  You have to be willing to get not just your hands but your whole body dirty.  Ever seen pictures of miners or oil rig workers at the end of a shift?  That kind of filthy.

You also have to remember that Pluto's treasures are often covered in detritus until you chip and wash it away and then exert effort to polish and shape what you find.

Consider a precious stone like rubies.  Unless you know what you're looking for, you'll likely pass it over.  The picture on the left shows raw rubies.   Seeing that, do you think of precious stones or chunks of rock?

Just imagine, though, how valuable that ruby is once the stone is extracted, cut and polished like you see in the image on the right.

That is the power of Pluto.

Summary

Pluto is the astrological planet working at a subconscious level that compulsively leads us to undertake reluctant transformative action in our lives.  If this is the case, then how can be transform the transformer and gain its power for the effective use in our lives?

We're going to explore the how and why of it over another two articles.  My next article will center on Control versus creativity -- Two ends of the Pluto continuum.  After that,  we'll discuss a practical strategy for using Pluto constructively.

Related articles:

Uranian Rebels versus Revolutionaries

A strategy to foster Pluto's creative urge