And on the other hand, we do not like to see this at all

Like many a millennial, I have a soft spot for Britney Spears. I struggle to write another sentence after this one, because what do you *say* about this person who has taken up so much of the public discourse, for so many different reasons, and over so much time?

Unfortunately, she’s a poster child of a generation, and I could go on and on and on and on about her chart, so let’s see what I can do here.

When I say “poster child of a generation” I specifically mean the Pluto in Libra generation. If you know astrology at all (or read my work at all) you know that we astrologers tend to segment people out by what sign their Pluto is in, as Pluto is an energetic driver. It motivates us or frightens us to bits, and sometimes does both at once. The Pluto in Libra generation…well, Libra is about a lot of things, but it’s appearances, being *nice*, and relationships as motivators. But since this is Pluto, it’s extremes in these categories. Being extremely conscious of how things appear, having to be extremely nice (or refusing to do that), and high highs and low lows of relationships. Now: think about the amount of plastic surgery this person has had. Think about the Rolling Stone article from 2008 which called her an “inbred swamp thing” (and how *nice* she must have been at that time?), and pick one of her relationships: how well did it go?

Here’s a possible reason for all of this: Britney’s Pluto is in her first house, which confers several things: physical robustness, being an initiator of most of the things that happen to her in her life, and being Plutonian, because anyone with a first house Pluto is pretty much a card-carrying Plutonian. What does it mean to be a Plutonian? Well, Plutonians tend not to be delicate flowers, and can be rather compulsive in the way they do things, especially if their mental health isn’t great. Understanding their subconscious motivations can be really key to having a satisfying life, otherwise they’re a handful to anyone they spend time around. (There are so many books on Pluto. If this sounds like you, pick one up on your way to your therapist.) Now, don't get me wrong, there's no problem with being Plutonian, it's just that if you are one, you tend to be intense in the way you do things, so you want to be cautious about what it is you decide to be intense about.

This is complicated-sounding but important: she's Libra rising, so her chart ruler is Venus, and in her chart, Venus is in Capricorn in her 4th house, conjunct the south node, and it's in exact square (90°) to her first house Pluto. Said another way: sometimes planets on the south node indicate gifts that you bring in with you for this lifetime, but a planet on the south node also talks about overdone behaviors you need to stop doing, as well as areas of life which don't tend to go well, and it's possible for all of these things to be true at the same time. Being pleasing, being very relationship-oriented, and probably some of the drive to perform (as well as the gifts of the ability to sing and dance) come into play here, but the relationships in question do not go well (especially with the aspect to Pluto involved). When it's your chart ruler on the south node, it screams to me "there's some gifts here but there's also some behavior you really need to stop doing." Figuring out what's what can be a lot to unpack. As a person who has multiple south node planets, I can attest that it feels like being a one-trick pony that is perfectly capable of learning other tricks, but it's just so comfortable to act a certain way, and a lot of the time you just do it without thinking...but it never ends well when you flex that really-familiar muscle.

Pluto transited over that Venus a couple of years ago, when the Free Britney movement was in full swing. At that time, it seemed like there was hope for a better future for her. Interestingly, one of the first things she did with her freedom was get married, which fits, given all of the Venus/Libra stuff I just mentioned. It's worth considering, though, that Pluto over your south node can pull you further into those old behaviors, or back into your past, somehow (I can't really speak to how this played out, obviously). Also, at the time, she had Neptune opposite her Mars, which, if you're the type of person to marry a man, it makes it a *terrible* time to marry a man, because Neptune will make the men around you confusing, needy, or deceptive throughout that transit. That Mars is in her 12th house, and Neptune transits to something in your 12th house can send you further down an already-present rabbit hole. The 12th house is a lot of things, but it can be spiritual, psychic, mind-altering, confusing, and it can convince you that you've found answers or solutions to pervasive life problems when really you've just joined a cult or developed a drug problem.

If you take a look at her social media, it's pretty clear that our abdicated pop princess isn't thriving. The silver lining is that with a first house Pluto, she does have the ability to pull herself out of whatever hole she has found herself in, should she want to do that, but I think "want" is the operative word here.

I left out a ton of chart stuff to make this less confusing, but I guess the last thing I'll say is that with at 10th house north node, career and her public face is emphasized as holding potential for her, while deferring to other people, being managed by family, or being a reclusive homebody are all south node things, which means they won't work well. It's really the question of who has power and control, due to that Pluto first-house square to the situation: if she calls the shots in her own life, she wins. Her career to date has mostly been defined by other people (who are quite powerful and controlling). When I say career, I also don't (necessarily) mean the career *we* recognize, but I do mean figuring out what she wants to do with her life and pursuing it. The 10th house is what you're known for, and it's up to everyone to decide how they would like to be recognized publicly. You can change it at any time. Just sayin'.