The Four Ways That Pluto Affects Its Evolutionary Intentions
by Deva Green

There are, in general, 4 ways that Pluto affects or instigates change. There are two distinctly different types of evolution. One type is uniform, which correlates with slow but progressive change, and the other type is cataclysmic, which obviously correlates to traumatic events after which we experience an evolutionary leap in our growth. These two types of evolution can simply be validated by examining our own life experiences, and they are vastly different from one another in terms of how we experience them.

The Four Types Of Evolution Are These

When we become overly identified with some area in our lives, either on an emotional level or from an egocentric point of view, to such an extent that an emotional shock of some extent must occur to enforce the necessary change. This implies that, in the past, there has been a resistance to the necessary growth. Often, this is linked with a traumatic or catalymic event. There are two reasons for experiencing any kind of catalysmic or traumatic change. One is evolutionary neccessity, and the other is karmic retribution. These two reasons for experiencing a traumatic event are vastly different from one another, and we will describe the difference between them more theroughly when we describe this type of evolution.

Through forming a relationship with something that we perceive we need but feel that we don’t currently have. By forming these types of relationships an evolution takes place as we encounter our personal limitations (our personal strength and weaknesses). This merging can be anything outside ourselves that we feel we need. It is through this merging that a Plutonian osmosis occurs and we extract the essence of that with which we have formed a relationship to inside ourselves. In this way, we can, potentially, create a positive and healthy evolutionary experience and grow past our evolutionary blocks and limitations. This inner metamorphsis is linked with non-catalysmic, or uniform change, slow yet progressive change. When we encounter times in our lives in which we experience an intense personal stagnation, and become aware that we are in fact not growing anymore. The frustration point with this type of evolution is that we are only aware of the symtom(s) but not the causes(s), and we tend to tune everything else in our lives out as we try to uncover the cause of this block. This process is very similar to a dormant volcano that suddenly turns active because as we uncover the source of the block unconscious content suddenly pours into conscious awareness, and we finally become aware of the source of the block. This part is very analagous to the volcano that suddenly turns active. It is through this process of overcoming these psychological blocks and allowing the necessary change to take hold that our Soul evolves.

During times in our lives when we become aware of a latent or dormant capacity and talent within our Soul that was previously not conscious. We suddenly become aware, or conscious, of this hidden capability, and it now requires strength and persistence to actualize it. This is exactly where the evolution takes place, and our Soul deepens into even a greater development. Another important point to remember is that these evolutionary processes do not occur as isolated events, but can, in fact, occur simutaneously. We will demonstrate how this evolutionary phenomenoa operates later in this chapter.

Two extremely important factors that we must remember when counseling a person through these difficult experiences are the individual’s natural evolutionary condition and their cultural/religious conditioning. These two factors cannot be overstated when working with a client and their birth chart because it will dramatically change the person’s ability to understand and work through the emotional dynamics that these experiences bring up. A person in the early individuated state, for example, will have a harder time working through cataclysmic events that occur than a person in the later stages of the individuated state or early spiritual state. This is due to strong conditioning patterns that may still be in place, and, also, perhaps less experience in trying to overcome and understand these traumatic events. As we evolve, the desire to understand and to change negative or destructive emotional patterns in ourselves that are creating difficult and traumatic life experiences gets stronger. In other words, as we evolve our desire to understand and to change negative aspects of ourselves gets stronger and sooner or later we no longer need to experience these traumatic events.

The wisdom gained from these events can be passed down to others who are suffering, and who can benefit from this wisdom. As we evolve, so does our attitude and orientation towards change itself, and the resolve to understand what our lessons are for this life. This occurs as the desire to know God grows stronger and deeper within our souls. Thus, if and when a cataclysmic event does take place, the person will be better able to handle and adjust to the changes that are taking place, and hopefully, take responsibility for their own actions. In different cultures, victimization is not promoted or taught, and so people will naturally take responsibility for themselves. Unfortunately, this is not the case in the U.S. In addition, different cultures teach different attitude towards change and personal growth. For example, here in the U.S, is it not taught to resist and fear any change, and attempt to live a life that is relatively devoid of any change? Is not material wealth and the accumulation of many possessions given meaning and value in this society-even encouraged? In other cultures this is not the case, in fact the exact opposite is taught. In India, for example, spiritual growth and a personal commitment to a spiritual path and to the Source is taught from birth. This is why it is so important to understand the person’s cultural/religious background as well as their evolutionary state when looking at their birth chart and in counseling them through traumatic changes. We can encourage and motivate each other to overcome negative emotional dynamics that keep cycles of repetitive trauma going in our lives and create some truly horrific events. The keywords here are courage and faith, and above all remember to have self-compassion and compassion for others. We are only responsible for our own actions, not anyone else’s.

Another vital factor to remember is that the 3 main reactions to our evolutionary growth described in the book “Pluto Vol. 1: Evolutionary journey of the Soul” directly impacts the types of Plutonian experiences that we will have. The three reactions are: 1) Totally resisting growth which is uncommon, 2) Changing in some ways and not in others. This is by far the most common choice, and 3) Totally embracing the necessary changes and evolutionary growth in an open and non-threatening way. This, of course, is an uncommon choice. In other words it is our response to our evolutionary growth needs that creates the types of experiences we will have. If my soul desires to change/purge certain negative dynamics in myself, yet I am resisting the necessary change, then the possibility of a cataclysmic event will be very likely. In this case the desire to change overrides the resistance, and the change will happen after the cataclysmic event. This will teach us to stop resisting necessary growth, and to try our best to maintain a positive and open attitude towards change. The key word here is desire. If the desire to change, to return and merge with the Source is strong enough, then it will happen, and unfortunately, if the resistance or desire to stay separate from the Source is strong enough then that will happen too.

The most common way that Pluto affects/ instigates evolution is through forming a relationship with something outside ourselves that we think we need. This implies something we do not currently have. By forming this type of relationship a deep inner metamorphosis occurs. It allows us to experience ourselves in a positive and in a negative way, in the sense of encountering our personal strengths and weaknesses and how to grow to greater heights of personal awareness and development. By forming these types of relationships we will also experience moments of power and powerlessness-aspects of ourselves that are known and familiar and those that are not and represent the unknown, and the areas that perhaps we need to work on. This type of growth is associated with non-cataclysmic, uniform change. The most common form of this type of evolution is forming a relationship with another person, but again, it can be anything that represents something we currently think we need but do not already have. The bottom line to remember when encountering this type of evolution is whether we are choosing to merge with something in a co-dependant way, and are in fact creating yet another negative and tramatic experience. This, of course, is in sharp contrast to merging with something in a self-relaint way and are in fact re-empowering ourselves and creating a very positive and soul strengthing experience. This is the critical difference in this type of evolution, and it is this point that we must remember in our own lifes and when couciling others. In our culture, due to the conditioning, this usually leads to situations where people in relationships use each other to get what they want, and as soon as the need that created the relationship is fulfilled they, somehow, manage to terminate the relationship. This isn’t conscious, but unfortunately it is a reality in this society.

A positive example of this type of evolution is when a very close friend of mine first encountered her Guru, the great master/ Avatar Yogananda. She was in a state of complete despair at that time and truly looking for a way out of that pain. Of course, as the great Masters of our time always do, that was exactly the time he appeared to her in a dream that she told me about very happily after the event. At this time the transiting Pluto was making an exact conjunction to her natal Venus in Sag landing in the 7th house, and her natal Venus is making a conjunction to her Mercury and Neptune. It was also coming up to a progressive inconjunction to her moon cancer/3rd. In essence, this transit to her Venus was triggering the natal conjunction of these 3 planets, and it was a very stressful time for this person in the beginning. Her inner relationship with herself was totally being re-formulated by this encounter with her Guru, and, simultaneously, so was her thought process (This is symbolized by the transit to her Mercury). In her natal birth chart she has Jupiter in Scorpio in the 6th house, which is truly what these issues are correlated to astrologically, and the transiting Pluto in Sagittarius reflects back on her natal Jupiter because Jupiter is the planetary ruler of the transiting Pluto itself at this time. Up until this point she had held certain rigid belief structures (Natal Jupiter in Scorpio/6th house combined with the transiting Pluto in Sag) that created some very fixed and outdated mental orientations that needed to be purged if her evolution was going to proceed. An example of this mental structure that needed to be changed were negative self-thoughts/judgements about herself which were then being projected on to others, and also a superiority-inferiority complex based on very deep insecurities and inferior feelings about herself. This lead to the pathology of masochism, and so her Guru was “up there” -he was on a pedastol (Pluto going through the 7th house). With Pluto coming over her Mercury, she experienced this mental implosion as a Plutonian atom bomb.

My friend could not truly absorb or integrate the wisdom that her Guru was trying to give her because of this mental structure she had in place, and in this dream he gently told her to “take him in as a friend.” (Natally, she has Sun conjunct Uranus). This one simple thought profoundly changed the way she related to herself and to her Guru. Their relationship, over time, blossomed into a friendship, they were now truly equals. This, of course, tremendously changed the way that she related with others because of the medicine Yogananda gave her. She was now trying to love herself exactly the way she was (This is symbolized by the Pluto transit to Venus), and trying to be a little bit better everyday. She was now coming from a place of true equality with those around her. Her inner- relationship and self-image (Pluto making an inconjunct to her moon) were both gradually changing from negative to positive, and because of this she could finally truly open up to those around her and love them unconditionally. Her entire approach to relationships changed. She was trying to come from a self-secure, non-dependant place and to move into self-reliant relationships. (Remember the transiting Pluto was making a conjunction to her natal Venus and going through her 7th house). Relative to the conjunction of Venus and Mercury to Neptune, this lead to a dissolving (Neptune) of the old belief structures (Pluto in Sag) that created her negative inner relationship with herself (Venus) and the negative/ destructive mental structure (Mercury) she was carrying around. In other words, it was dissolving the remanance of her old patriarchal belief structure and allowing her to come back to her soul nature, which is based on natural law. This is sharp contrast to the conditioned beliefs she had taken in over countless lifetimes, as we all have, and this is represented in the archetypes of jupiter, sagittarius, and the 9th house. We can clearly see, then, that the intention behind this Pluto transit which formed a conjunction to all her planets in saggitarius was for exactly this inner mmetaphorhisis linked with her beliefs to take place.

Essentially, Yogananda empowered her to find him, his wisdom, strength, and compassion, in herself. This, ultimately, is leading her to find God within herself and to continue to spiritualize herself. Relative to Neptune, this means purging all delusions from her soul, and finally realizing the ultimate partner she is seeking is within her versus looking for validation, attention, and recognition from others. (Natally She has a fifth house Pluto, so this could cause quite a problem for her). The darkness that she had to face within herself was quite frightening at times, and she shared with me many moments of trail, tears, confusion, hopelessness and fear. It is because of Yogananda´s love, compassion, and solacing comfort, and her commitment to make it through these issues, that she eventually made it through this darkness. She is stronger and happier for it. This is an on going process for her, but it was all triggered by these Pluto transits.

In her natal birth chart she has a 11th house Pluto polarity point in Aries, with her north node in cancer in 2nd house, and the planetary ruler of the north node (the moon) in cancer in the 3rd house. The moon makes an opposition to her mars in cap in the 9th, which forms a T-square to Pluto. Her inner relationship with herself was totally transformed by her union with Yogananda, and through this relationship she also learned to affect self-reliance, and to provide her own emotional nurturing from within herself. This is a reflection of her north node in cancer/2nd house. This is leading, on a progressive basis, for her to a have a more objective awareness of herself and of reality in general relative to the llth house polarity point. It implies a necessary lesson of seeing her and others in an objective manner, and to be more detached from her own personal problems and from the problems of others. A key part in this includes being aware of the entire group around her and what they need from her, rather than just an awareness of herself and her own self-centered needs. This is gradually leading to an awareness of her own inherent individuality in comparison/contrast to most others around her, and leaving behind an identity confusion that plagued her since birth (Pluto transiting her 7th house making a conjunction with all her planets in the 7th house). Her natal Pluto in Libra has the polarity point in the sign of Aris, which is speaks to this inner metaporphisis and evolutionary need. As mentioned before Pluto was making a conjunction to her natal Venus which is the planetary ruler of the natal Pluto itself, and so this transit only intensify this process. Another important lesson of this polarity point is to have the strength to actualize her true individuality. In essence, to stand as a group of one if necessary, and not to compromise herself / her individuality just to receive some “attention”/ “love” from others.

The planetary ruler of the north node is the moon in cancer in the 3rd. It is interesting to note that a few ways in which she learned to affect/develop self-reliance (through Yoganada´s help) was by writing poetry and short stories, reading spiritually helpful books, and keeping a personal journal. (Moon/3rd house). Relative to the opposition to mars and T-square Pluto, these ways of developing self-reliance also helped her throw off (opposition) repressive conditioning (mars in cap in the 9th) to her emotional body (moon) that her soul was trying to purge, and was creating a lot of stress and tension for her (T-square to Pluto). This is a positive example of how forming a relationship with something we perceive we need and merging with it, or osmosing it within ourselves can effect evolution. It can be difficult at times, but it is associated with uniform or non-cataclysmic change. This example is also meant to show how these very difficult events are meant to propel us towards our evolutionary growth needs, which are symbolized in the birth chart by Pluto’s polarity point, the north node, it’s planetary ruler, and the aspects these two symbols are making. This is why an analysis of these symbols in the birth chart is included in each illustration of Plutonian changes. The point here is to remember to put these events in that context when looking at a birth chart when counseling a client through difficult changes, and to guide the person in that direction.

A very difficult way that Pluto affects evolution is when we become increasingly aware that we are stagnating, and our evolutionary growth is stopping. Progressively our lives loose meaning, and we start to emotionally withdraw from our life conditions. This is a very painful experience for not only ourselves, but for others around us as well. We can no longer find meaning in our lives, and can no longer deny that this is in fact our current reality. We are typically aware only of the symptoms that we are experiencing, not of the cause(s). In the worst case scenarios this can create catatonia in some people. Most of us do not allow it to progress to this state, and seek out some kind of therapy/help when these conditions reach a critical mass situation. This is an incredibly unsettling and painful experience because what we are essentially saying is that the way we have structured our lives is not what we really want. As counselors we can guide people (and ourselves if we happen to encounter such an experience) towards the awareness of what inner dynamics within themselves are creating the current situation and how to proceed. This process is very similar to a dormant volcano that suddenly becomes active. We are aware of a block (either internally or externally) but not the source of it. We focus all of our energy into uncovering the source of the block, and then, suddenly, unconscious content pours into our conscious awareness. (This is the part where the volcano suddenly erupts). We then, finally, become aware of why we are experiencing the current difficulties. We can then evolve from the knowledge we have gained, and move forward in our lives in a new way.

We are now going to look at the birth chart of the same individual as mentioned before in the last illustration, and see the possibility of this kind of experience occurring. First and foremost, she is in the 1st stages of the Spiritual evolutionary condition, and in her natal chart she has Neptune conjunct Venus and Mercury in Sag/7th. From these two facts we can clearly see that she is looking for a deeper meaning/higher purpose to life. However, we can also see that in this moment in time she was looking for it outside herself (especially regarding others), and experienced a tremendous amount of disillusionment relative to this dynamic (Neptune, Venus, Mercury in the 7th house). Also, she has south node in cap/8th and her natal Pluto in the 5th house. From this we can see that there is a strong possibility that the distorted dynamic of looking for recognition and validation from the outer world by conforming to the conditioning patterns of the consensus is still in place (south node in Cap/8th). She has Sun conjunct Uranus in sag/6th house, so we can also see that she does sincerely want to serve/help humanity. This will ultimately be her purpose in life/her only true goal and how she integrates into this life. This is how she objectifies herself by discriminating what her true life’s work is (Sun conjunct Uranus in the 6th). So, based on this natal signature we can see that the possibility of this individual experiencing a loss of meaning in her life based on her conditioning patterns in contrast to her true soul nature (who she actually is) is very likely. In other words, there was still a need in her to go through this difficult experience because of the strong conditioning patterns that were still in place, and the above astrological signature demonstrates this very clearly.

The way in which she played this out was by going to a well-known university, and hoping to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology (south node in cap/8th). She had been hoping to meet a few new close friends, and have at least some meaningful experiences at the university. About 6 months into the school year she began to feel on a progressive basis a loss of meaning in her life, and an increasing feeling of personal stagnation. She began to emotionally withdraw from her surroundings, and felt incredibly lonely and isolated. No matter how hard she tried she could no longer deceive herself/delude herself into believing that the university had any meaning for her whatsoever. Not only was this occurring but at the same time her pre-existing close friendships that she thought were so real were blowing up in her face. My friend was very depressed everyday, and it was beginning to lead to inner state of paralysis. She could no longer function and was just going through the motions of life.

The transiting Pluto in Sagittarius was going through her 7th house, and was coming up to a conjunction to her natal Venus, which natally makes the same aspects mentioned before. So, in essence, this was a time in which she was going through an intense self-examination of her values, inner-orientation, and seeing how this was connected to her inner relationship with herself. It forced her to examine and come to the bottom line of what had meaning for her at this point in time and what no longer held any value for her. She needed to admit to herself that she was in fact looking for social recognition and validation from the outside (Pluto in the 5th, and south node in Cap/8th. The planetary ruler of her south node is Saturn which is in scorpio conjunct her Pluto). She had to face the reality that the desire for money as a means to effect security was in fact something she needed to purge from her Soul at time. (Remember she has south node in cap/8th and north node in cancer in 2nd relative to breaking free from this conditioning and finding ultimate security within herself). She also needed to see how she was dependant on this system for validation and inner security (transiting Pluto conjuctioning Venus in the 7th house), and how this was creating a tremendous sense of inner frustration, stagnation, and depression. This orientation to life was essentially narcissistic in nature, and it was only keeping her locked into her own insecurities, dependencies, and narcissistic neediness. The transiting Pluto to her Venus was demanding that she find her sense of self-worth from within verses looking to the outer world to validate her, and being dependant on social status and monetary wealth for a sense of inner security and meaning. The transiting Pluto was also making a inconjunction to her natal moon in cancer/3rd, so this translates into the fact that she needed to metamorphize her self-image by facing what constituted emotional security at that time and why, see the different influences that contributed to her self-image. Ultimately, she connected that she was in fact keeping herself tied into her fears and insecurities by living this kind of life style at the university. In other words, this life-style was keeping her locked into her negative self-image. So in essence, the transit to her moon re-emphasized the need to learn to provide her own emotional security from within, and to provide her own positive reinforcement in terms of arriving at a positive self-image. (Transiting Pluto on her Venus/7th and forming an inconjuction to her moon cancer/3rd house).

Relative to the transiting Pluto triggering the conjunction that Venus makes to her natal Mercury and Neptune this was a time of absolutely restructuring her thought process (Mercury) and dissolving (Neptune) all the old mental conditioning patterns that were creating the current troubles for her. The transit to Neptune correlated to a time in which a necessary disillusionment process was being experienced. She needed to face all her delusions about herself and life in general and re-align her soul with actual reality. She was being taught the critical (and humbling) lesson that she is a co-creator with God/Goddess through the painful experience of disillusionment, and seeing first hand the consequences of following her separating desires. My friend had unfortunately been making a lot of excuses for herself and rationalizing her behavior (Mercury) and other people’s behavior around her because she did not want to face the actual truth of what was going in herself and others. She uncovered a very deep narcissism within herself, and also a pattern of victimization (at first blaming the university and others in the outer world for her problems). This was a very intense Plutonian atom bomb for her when she uncovered this kind of thinking and mental structure within herself (Pluto transit to Mercury). With the transiting Pluto also coming up to a conjunction to her Neptune/7th house she also needed to face the fact that she been projecting a whole bunch of garbage into the university and into others (the friendships that ended up blowing up) that simply didn’t exist. She was shocked when she realized that she had been looking for an ultimate “something” that was outside herself. In other words, she was looking for somebody or something to provide ultimate meaning for her. She wasn’t seeing herself or others around her clearly, and as Pluto came closer to Neptune this fact was put into her face at point blank range. My friend had, essentially, been creating one disillusionment after the other relative to this distorted inner orientation, and all this came to head with these Pluto transits. Again, these were issues that were already existing, and the Pluto transits forced her to deal with them in a bottom line manner. At this time she needed to see how all of this issues described above connected to her current life’s difficulties. My friend did, eventually, make a break from the university and start to follow a life path that is more connected to her soul, and, thus, her true life’s purpose that is directed by God/Goddess. She is sincerely joyful because of this, and this is her reward (Venus) for doing the required inner work.

As described earlier, in her natal chart her evolutionary point is in Aris/11th house, and her north node is in cancer/2nd with the planetary ruler (the moon) in cancer in the 3rd house, making the aspects mentioned before in the previous illustration. The experiences of feeling absolutely alone and disillusioned at the University, and of her so called close friendships blowing up in her face were both very important. Relative to the 11th house polarity point, it enforced the important lessons of objectivity, and of detaching from her own narcissistic orientation to life. It guided her to the critical point of actualizing the kind of life that she really wanted to live, and was meant to live, verses living a conditioned life (Pluto in the 5th house, South node in Capricorn in the 8th). With the North Node in Cancer in 2nd house, again, the primary and essential lessons of self-reliance, self-worth, and learning to provide her own emotional security from within were being evoked from this Pluto transit. My friend learned to validate herself in this manner, and she was no longer dependant on others or society’s approval. Relative to the planetary ruler being in cancer in the 3rd, and making the aspects mentioned before, through this experience she learned to vocalize herself/ communicate what was actually going on inside of herself in a straightforward and honest way, and feel secure within herself doing so. (Moon in cancer in the 3rd, north node in cancer in the 2nd). Before this she had a hard time honestly sharing/processing the truth and the emotional depth of what she was experiencing, and would typically come a superficial place with others, and approached her emotions through intellectual filters (moon cancer/3rd house). This individual was no means a superfical person, in fact she carried within her a tremendous and uncommon depth she craved to share with others. The point here is the impact of the conditioning, and learning to see who the person actually is verses this conditioning. This was because of her own insecurities about being rejected by others if she did so (natally she has sun/6th house), her fears of her own emotional body, and her own judgements about her emotions (south node in cap/ 8th house and mars in Capricorn). The build up of emotional energy that was being repressed eventually blew up on others, and this is a very unhealthy dynamic. She needed to learn throw this conditioning off (Moon opposing her mars in cap/9th, T-square Pluto), and through the difficulty of this experience she eventually did.

This is example of how Pluto affects our evolution through experiencing a progressive loss of meaning in life, and having intense feelings of inner stagnation. Again, it is a time when we ultimately face the fact that the way we have structured our lives is not the way we really want it. An important point to understand here is that same Pluto transit(s) can have different dimensions to them, as the first two examples are meant to illustrate. (The same person met her Guru, and made a break with a well-known university yet there is a totally different dimension behind these two experiences even though she was going through the same Pluto transits). There is a bottom line archoetypical intention and meaning behind specific transits, but there are also different dimensions/different aspects to the same transit(s). At this time, it is a good idea mention that these Plutonian experiences do not necessary occur as isolated events. One can trigger another, or they can occur simultaneously. When others around us, or if we ourselves are going through this type of negative and difficult experience, we can still turn into a positive one by motivating ourselves to do the required inner work so we will never to go through it again. The above example of this young girl going through these difficult growth experiences at school is a relatively gentle illustration of this type of evolution. However, in general, this is a very difficult and painful type of evolution, and it is associated with cataclysmic growth.

By far the most difficult and troubling way Pluto affects our evolution is by cataclysmic events. Sometimes we experience traumatic events of such magnitude that there is no choice but to change, for most of us, after the event. The point to remember here is that these events only occur for two reasons: 1) if we have resisted the necessary growth to such an extent that it takes the cataclysmic to enforce the change. As mentioned before, if my soul desires to do a lot of growth in this life, yet I am resisting this growth, then a traumatic event will occur in order to enforce the necessary change. 2) Another potential cause of cataclysmic events is karmic causes in the past (karmic retribution). Every action has a reaction, and this boils down to the natural law of cause and effect. The deepest dimension of this type of evolution is that it enforces the severing/removal of all our dependencies/attachments. In essence, anything that we have come overly identified with on an emotional level in such a way that it is preventing further growth is forcibly removed from our lives through the cataclysmic event. Ultimately, this is why these events are so difficult and painful.

We are now going to look at an example chart to see if it is likely that a cataclysmic event based on prior actions in the past (karmic retribution) is likely. Key aspects in the birth chart that would point to this likely scenario are planets forming stressful aspects to Pluto. Another key aspect to look for is planets squaring the nodal axis. In the case we are about to examine, the woman has all of the above signatures, so we can clearly see that the possibility of a cataclysmic event occurring based on her own actions in the past is very likely. In her natal birth chart she has Pluto in Leo/8th house retrograde conjunct the south node. She also has Jupiter retrograde in Taraus/4th house squaring her Pluto retrograde, and her nodal axis. Her Venus is in aquarius conjunct Mars in Pisces in the 2nd house opposing her Pluto, her Neptune and Saturn are in Libra in the 9th house squaring her moon conjunct Uranus in cancer in the 7th house. This chart reflects that this person has reoccurring lessons in honesty, and also of accepting full responsibility in their own actions verses being a victim to them, and holding others in her environment responsible for her own inner distortions. (Natally her sun is in Capricorn/1st conjunct her ascendant). This woman is a compulsive liar (Jupiter square the nodal axis).

The cataclysmic event that took place for this woman as a result of her behavior in the past was a court order that separated her from her children during a custody battle, and granted full custody to the father. This woman was now only allowed 2-week visitations under supervision. This trauma was intended for her to integrate the life lessons that are mentioned before, and to grow from this experience. It is interesting to note that at this time the transiting south node was on the woman’s Moon conjunct Uranus in Cancer/7th, which translate into separation (Uranus) from her own children (Moon) as a result of her past actions (south node). This event is, obviously, a Plutonian atom bomb, and it is linked with karmic issues in the past. The events that took place before this court decision are of such horrendous proportion that we can easily see how and why she ended up in this situation in the court room. These events include kidnapping her children 3 times, and then making up terrible lies about their father to the children and during this custody battle. Essentially, she turned the father into a scapegoat of all of her problems (Neptune in Libra in the 9th conjunct Saturn). These lies included such horrors as “he has us living in fear the whole time by keeping a gun with him,” and, “he is punishing his son for a past life by forcing him to wear his shoes on the wrong feet.” This woman had, in essence, destroyed her own children and her own husband, who had actually been trying to help this woman before all this happened. The decision the court made was issued when the transiting Pluto was in Scorpio, landing in her tenth house, squaring her nodal axis of south node Leo/7th (conjunct her Pluto in 8th) and her north node in Aquarius /1st. So, with transiting Pluto in her tenth house the essential and obvious lesson of taking responsibility in her own actions, and of reflecting upon the consequences of her own actions in terms of how she had personally destroyed her family where of vital importance. It can be seen that these were issues being brought forward from the past into the present because of the square to her nodal axis. This woman needed to accept that her own actions and decisions had lead to the current situation she was in. Her experience in court gave her an opportunity to see and experience first hand (Transiting Pluto Scorpio/10th) the effects that her own actions had on her family, and hopefully to grow from them. Unfortunately, this woman is totally invested in being a victim. This can be seen in the natal birth chart through her Mars in Pisces/2nd conjunct Venus, and opposing her Pluto. We can see that through this trauma her major life lessons of being truthful, and to accept full responsibility in her own actions were coming to a head.

The main issue, again, with the transiting Pluto in Scorpio in the 10th house, now square the nodal axis was to accept responsibility in her own actions. It requires her to face the bottom line (Scorpio) of her own actions (Pluto in the tenth), and to face the consequences of those actions in a totally open and non-defensive way. These issues were now going to be resolved with or without the woman’s cooperation, which we can see in the fact that the court was now stepping in. It is interesting to note that a public court was involved at this time because the transiting Pluto was in the 10th house making a square to the nodal axis of south node in the 7th to north node in the 1st. This translates into the fact that the court decreed an official document that had to be followed. Pluto was coming out of an opposition to her natal Jupiter, which emphasizes the core issues of honesty, and facing yourself in a totally honest and truthful manner. The transiting moon was also right on her natal Jupiter in the 4th house at this time, which correlates to the need for her to be absolutely and completely honest with herself and her family. She needed to emotionally integrate the deep wounds her deception and betrayal had created for her family.

In addition, this symbolizes a time when all her lies were being exposed (Pluto in Scorpio opposing her Jupiter), and she was being seen for what she was in the courtroom. At one point in time, this woman’s actual words to the father were, when he simply reminded her that she needed to be honest, “The truth can be whatever I want it to be.” Pluto had reached a culminating aspect with Jupiter in taraus/4th, so the actions that this kind of thinking creates were now culminating and blowing up in her face. Pluto was making a trine to her natal moon in Cancer/7th conjunct her Uranus. What this signifies is that, in essence, she did understand the reasons her children were being taken away from her. However, it was much easier for her to remain a victim to her own obviously extremely preserve psychology relative to her Mars/Venus conjunction in Pisces in the 2nd house opposing her Pluto. This is, in the worst extreme, how a trine can be experienced negatively as an ease of resistance to the necessary understanding and growth. The bottom line here is that she did not want to accept the responsibility in her own actions, (it is far more easily to be a victim) and this is why her investment in this delusion in so total. You can see the intention behind this cataclysmic event was for this woman to look at herself in an absolutely necessary honest and open manner (Transiting Pluto in a culminating opposition to Jupiter), and to take responsibility for herself. With her natal sun being in Capricorn in the 1st house conjunct the ascendant, and the transiting Pluto landing in the 10th house, squaring her nodal axis re-emphasizes this. These primary and essential lessons from her past and for this life were now being magnetized, and the consequences of her actions will be felt for along time to come. In fact, as a result of this woman’s behavior both of her children ended up severing all contact with her. The intention of this trauma was, again, meant to serve as a necessary wake up call for her to integrate these basic lessons and grow up.

With Pluto’s polarity Point in Aquarius/2nd, and her north node in Aquarius in the 1st her current life intentions are to learn to deal with herself and others in an absolutely objective and detached manner. This signiture demands critical and primary lessons of self-reliance and of personal simplification. In essence, to live a simple life without dishonesty and deception, and of service to humanity. This would allow her to operate with others in a non-manipulative, non-abusive manner. It symbolizes a need for her to think about and value doing what is good for others, not just herself. This metamorphosed inner orientation and inner relationship with herself would allow her to give to others and humanity what it needed from her verses only thinking about herself and her own selfish desires. This woman could have than served as a voice of re-empowerment for others, and also of standing up for the values of serving humanity in honest, simple, and pure way. With her North node in Aquarius/1st self-objectification was meant to become instinctual in her. In other words, she was meant to become instinctually aware of how she was affecting other people around her, and help others do the same. With the Planetary ruler of the North node being Uranus conjunct the moon in cancer/7th she could have used her own family as a vehicle to motivate herself to do the necessary work. In essence, to open her heart to the pain and trauma she had created for them and to grow from it. Again, unfortunately, this woman is totally invested in her delusions of victimization and personal power, and essentially, does not want to accept the responsibility for herself. It is just this woman’s nature, and she does not want to change. We all of choices to make in our lives, and this woman choose to destroy her family and others around her, and in so doing she is destroying herself.

This is a dramatic example of how cataclysmic change is linked with karmic actions of the past (karmic retribution). This is completely different than cataclysmic change linked with evolutionary necessity; so please do not interpret your own cataclysmic changes or other’s around you in this manner unless it is clear that this is the case. Tremendous harm can come from ourselves and from others who think in this manner, and actually lead others to believe that they have done certain things that they actually have not done. This is incredibly damaging and must be avoided at all costs. This example is meant to clearly illustrate the difference between cataclysms based on karmic causes in the past, and between those based on evolutionary necessity. Keep in mind as well, that karmic retribution does not always mean that you have hurt somebody intentionally in the past, it could have been a completely unconscious act without any conscious intent to hurt anybody. It is critical to make this distinction when dealing with clients and others. This example is simply meant to make clear the difference between the two types of causes of cataclysmic change. The last and most basic/simplistic way that Pluto affects our evolution is when we suddenly become consciously aware of a latent or dormant capacity within ourselves. This can be a very exciting but also a very stressful time for us because it requires a tremendous amount of courage and perseverance to develop and actualize our new talent. The new capacity that we become aware of may, in some cases, totally threaten or undermine our current inner and outer structure. In other words, our current sense of inner security is risked at the core level, and we must find the courage to actualize our new capacity no matter what outer changes we need to make. Let’s say, for example, I am currently working at a local retail store as a manger yet I suddenly become aware that I have the capacity to be a wonderful counselor for children. This would require a total shift in myself in terms of how I had currently structured my life, inwardly and outwardly, and the perseverance to actualize my goal. In some cases, this can manifest as a deepening of current capacity we have, or a different dimension of this capacity is brought into conscious awareness and needs to be developed. In both cases, as mentioned before, it requires courage and a strong will to develop/ actualize the new capacity. It is through this hard work and commitment to doing so that our evolution is affected.

An example of this type of evolution is when John Kerry decided to run for President of this country. In his natal chart he has Pluto in Leo/ 8th house in Leo retrograde conjunct his north node, forming a trine with his sun in sag/ 1st house. His sun is opposing his Saturn/Moon in Gemini/7th, and he has Venus in Scorpio in the 11th house square Pluto and the nodal axis. What we can see from this chart is that he has a tremendous capacity to a leader who transforms the way we see leadership in and of itself, and through the actualization of this type of leadership he will reach his own evolutionary intentions. (Pluto in Leo in the 8th conjunct the north node trine the Sun.). We can also see he has the required inner strength and courage to confront the necessary issues that need to be addressed in a bottom line manner. He has a vision for the people of the country, and the courage to stick to this plan no matter what outer circumstances he encounters (Venus in Scorpio in the 11th, Sun in sag in the 1st trine Pluto/North Node). He the necessary diplomatic skills required of a President, and the ability to see and hold the view points of others around him and appreciate different points of view, even if they differ from his own (Saturn/Moon in Gemini/7th opposing his Sun.).

When he first felt/perceived his capacity to be President (i.e. he had the inner strength the monetary resources and relative fame to do so) Pluto was going through his first house and coming up to a conjunction to his Sun. (This is the same transit that Jimmy Carter went through when he decided to be president). Pluto was also forming an opposition to his Moon/Saturn in Gemini/7th. So, this symbolizes that this was time frame in which he was feeling on an instinctual level that he needed to initiate a new direction in his life. Deep instinctual urges to creatively actualize himself, to take charge of his special destiny in a new way were welling up from his soul. (Pluto transit to his Sun in Sagittarius in the 1st house). This new direction would serve to begin a brand new evolutionary cycle for him, and he needed to follow his instinctual urges that felt right on a gut level in order for this new direction to unfold. Different dimensions of himself were also being discovered/recovered as this transit progressed for him (Pluto through the 1st), and his decision to run for president evoked an entirely new way of being/ operating for Kerry. This is a life changing for him. With the Pluto transit to his Sun he was metaphorphizing the way he had previously actualized himself, and the way he had been using his creative energy. It was a time of absolute re-empowerment for Kerry and of voicing himself in a more bottom and line and direct manner than he had previously done.

In other words, it was a time of staying focused on the bottom line issues that needed to address relative to what the Bush administration was creating for the people of this country. It was during this time that he found the inner courage and strength to take control of destiny in this way, and confront the Bush administration head on. Once he stayed focused on his own vision and voice, and orientation to what he knew the truth to be (Pluto transiting sun in sag in the 1st) the response from the public was very positive, and it further motivated him to keep going in this direction. At this time his anger was also rising at the injustice that the Bush administration was creating (Transiting Pluto on his Sun in the first house, opposing his moon/Saturn in Gemini/7th). When Pluto transits the Sun, it is a common time for dormant capacities within ourselves to be brought to conscious awareness, so it is interesting to note that it was during this transit that Kerry perceived his capacity to be President. Relative to the opposition to his Moon/Saturn conjunction, this was also a time in which he was throwing off (opposition) any emotional insecurities he had about himself (moon), specifically relative to the expectations of those around him in public service and the general public (Saturn/Moon /7th house), and integrating his authority in society in a very deep way (Saturn) At the time of this transit he metaphorphized the way he communicated to others (Saturn Gemini/7th house), and this was clearly seen in his inspiring/electrifying Presidential acceptance speech during the convention.

The transiting south node was making a conjunction to his natal Venus in Scorpio/11th house that forms a square to his nodal axis and Pluto. This natal signature symbolizes that a very deep and vital issue in Kerry´s birth chart relative to his Soul’s evolution is a need to further develop his commitment and capacity to serving humanity (Pluto conjunct the north node retrograde in 8th house/Leo), and resist the temptation to seclude himself/isolate himself and only minimally develop his capacities. (South node in Aquarius in the 2nd house). This signature shows us that this a trap he fell into in the past, and has been flip-flopping between these two inner orientations to life for quite some time (Venus square his nodal axis and Pluto). Kerry has only minimally developed his capacity to serve humanity which now need to be deepened (Venus in Scorpio/11th). This it is a major factor in resolving blocks he has in reaching his evolutionary intentions in the past. (Pluto retrograde conjunct the north node square Venus). The way for him to recover this skipped step is by staying committed to himself (Venus) in terms of deepening his capacities to serve humanity and staying focused on his bottom line vision of how he can do this, and in so doing, also deepening his own inner relationship with himself. By doing this he will, essentially, totally metaphorphize/transform his inner relationship with himself (Venus in scorpio/11), and transmute any negative karma of the past. He needs to, in essence, make serving humanity and deepening this commitment within himself to do this his new bottom line. In so doing, he can evolve and reach higher levels of personal awareness/ growth and creative actualization of his Soul. (Pluto in the 8th/Leo retrograde conjunct the north node relative to Venus squaring the nodal axis). So, with the transiting south node coming up to a conjunction to his Venus, these issues of the past were being brought forward into the present so could resolve them one and for all, and in so doing reach his evolutionary intentions for this life (North node in Leo/8th conjunct his Pluto retrograde, transiting south node on his Venus). This was a very stressful and important transit for him because he was facing this vital evolutionary lesson in a bottom line/direct manner. I.e., whether to resolve these issues and evolve to greater heights, or to maintain the orientation of the past and only minimally/marginally develop/deepen his capacities and commitment to serving humanity and staying restricted in this manner. The choices he made at this time where critical from an evolutionary/karmic point of view because of the consequences to his future. We can clearly see that he fully cooperated with his evolutionary intentions for this life from his choice to be President, and he is recovering those skipped steps within himself, and deepening his commitment to serving humanity.

Natally, John Kerry has Pluto in Leo retrograde in the 8th house conjunct his north node. This symbolizes that he has been working on this area of transformation for quite a while and is meant to continue going in this direction. Pluto’s polarity point does not apply here. The planetary ruler of his north node is the Sun in Sagittarius in the 1st house, and forms a trine to his Pluto/north node conjunction. The Sun is forming an opposition to his Moon/Saturn conjunction in Gemini/7th house as well. As mentioned before, Venus is squaring his nodal axis and Pluto. So, Kerry´s evolutionary intentions for this life are to totally metamorphisize the way he creatively actualizes himself, and the way he uses his creative energy. In this way, he will arrive at greater levels of personal awareness and development. It demands that he confront his personal limitations and metamorphisize beyond them, and in so doing he can then creatively actualize himself in a transformed way. (Pluto retrograde in 8th house/Leo conjunct the north node). With his Venus scorpio/11th square his nodal axis Aquarius in the 2nd, and North Node in Leo/8th with Pluto, we can see that his inner relationship with himself and, thus, his inner orientation towards his life is a critical factor in reaching these goals and intentions relative to the issues that were described earlier.

The planetary ruler of his Pluto/north node conjunction (the sun) is in sag in the 1st house opposing his Moon/Saturn in Gemini/7th. This correlates to the issue that through further developing his own voice and individuality, and staying absolutely honest and true to himself, to his voice and his vision, he will begin a brand new evolutionary cycle of becoming. This also symbolizes a need to initiate new actions through which this intention can be actualized. By integrating/actualizing his life purpose in this way he will actualize his special destiny that he is meant to live from an evolutionary/karmic point of view, and leave behind past behavioral patterns that were restricting/inhibiting his growth (planetary ruler (sun) in the 1st house). Relative to the opposition to his Moon/Saturn, he can then throw off any insecurities (moon) he has about himself relative to the expectations of others (Moon/Saturn 7th house), and instinctually act upon what he knows the truth to be on a gut level (Sun in sag/1st house). In this way he can emotionally integrate (moon) his own voice of authority in society (Saturn) in a deeper way than in the past.

His planetary ruler (the sun) is forming a trine his Pluto/north node conjunction, so this translate into the fact that how he chooses to actualize himself (what his chosen profession is, for example) will strongly effect the way he integrates his current life’s evolutionary intentions. I.e., whether it allows him to continue on his evolutionary journey or whether he will re-cycle past behavior into the present (planetary ruler in the 1st house). We can see in this case the trine is experienced positively as an ease of integration of his life’s lessons because of his cooperation with his evolutionary intentions through his decision to be president and to resolve/confront the necessary issues he needed to face. We can see how Kerry´s decision to be president facilitated his evolutionary/karmic intentions for this life, and how his cooperation with these intentions allowed for a stressful but positive experience for him. This is an example of how Pluto effects our evolution through a sudden awareness of a dormant capacity. As mentioned before this type of evolution requires perseverance, strength, and a commitment to actualize this capacity/talent. It is through the development of our capacity that our evolution is effected.

In summary, these four ways that Pluto affects/instigates our evolution can simply be validated by examining our own life experiences. Astrology is a natural science which, at its core, is based on observation and correlation. Pluto transits symbolize times in which our Soul desires to grow and to purge negative emotional conditioning from the past more intensly than in other times. These are the times when we face the choice to commit to this Soul growth and truly evolve, or whether we will resist this necessary change and stay in the limitations of the past. Those of us that choose this growth, as difficult as it may be, are the freest and happiest Souls among us, and have a tremendous inner light and wisdom to give to others who also want to evolve. It is important to remember, now, that Pluto transits are not always negative. Some of the experience during these transits can be quite pleasant and positive. It all depends on what our actions have been up until the Pluto transits. A critical point to remember that can’t be overstated is that the way in which we interpret these traumatic changes/evolutionary events will fundamentally alter our ability to work through and overcome them. In other words, if I am choosing to interpret my life and change in a negative way, then is it not true that I will create a very destructive psychology of self-defeat and, essentially, stop my own evolution because I am not making the necessary growth changes? If I make a conscious effort to interpret my life and difficult changes in a positive way, then I create the opposite effect. The point of all of this is to make it through these changes/traumatic events so that we will never have to experience them again. We can stop the vicious cycle of repetitive trauma in our lives and, in so doing, we can return to our soul nature. We can put ourselves back together again and become whole. If we can remember that this is, in fact, the point of all the trauma and suffering that we experience, then we can help others remember this and heal themselves in the same manner we ourselves had to heal.