Pluto in Aquarius (so far)

If you read anything I write at all, I maintain the point that Pluto's the thing in a chart that you basically don't want to mess with: it doesn't feel good when its energy is interfering in your life, in the same way that it doesn't feel good to have surgery performed on yourself without anesthesia.

If you read Jeffrey Wolf Green, astrology's foremost Pluto scholar, he discusses the "polarity point" of Pluto in a birth chart: that you solve your Pluto issues partially by focusing on the point opposite your Pluto by house and sign*.

For most of us, Pluto will only transit half or less than half of the zodiac in our lifetime, depending on when you were born, because Pluto's orbit is in ellipsis, not a circle. No one reading this will experience Pluto's transit through Gemini, for example: we'll all be dead (if you think I'm being myopic, it's more than 100 years from now, so I'd like to see you try to be alive in 100 years).

Anyway, what's slowly occurring to me is that Pluto's transit through a sign exaggerates the qualities of that sign while pulverizing things ruled by the sign opposite it, which lends itself to the Green theory mentioned above: he applies it to natal charts and I think it applies globally, as well. Pluto's transit through Capricorn has been no picnic for Cancers: what does Cancer rule? Home and family. What was Pluto's first act in Capricorn? The housing bubble burst in 2008. What else does Cancer rule? Warm and fuzzy things: matters of the heart that feel deeply personal and private. Have you noticed that dating (a formerly warm and fuzzy subject) is now discussed as a standoff a lot of the time? Capricorn, which is about authority, respect, status, corporations, etc. got too big for its britches and some people got heartless.

Well, Pluto's in Aquarius at the moment (it'll be back in Capricorn for a hot second in September - November), and I've noticed an uptick in angry mobs. Or just...regular mobs with the wrong idea in their head (the social media mob and their Kate Middleton conspiracies comes to mind). Have you?

What's opposite Aquarius? Leo. You know what sure seems to be dying right now? Fun recreational or leisure activities. The idea of celebrity. Hollywood. Probably art and creativity in some ways. Glamour. Royalty (Leo's the sign of the king). Leo likes a good party. Leo likes to feel special. Aquarius will inform you immediately that you're not special: you're just like everyone else. I’m on the lookout for Aquarius things that seem to be out of control and Leo things that seem to be dying at the moment.

Pluto's function is like being on a see-saw with a 500 lb. weight on the other side. It takes a lot of effort and the cartoonish stacking of energy (or all your furniture) on the other side of the seesaw to create any kind of balance--you have to see it for what it is and make every effort not to fall into traps. The older and more self-aware you are, the more obvious the traps become, but it's still very hard to conjure the opposing force strong enough to create balance.

Polarity point quick hits

If you have Pluto in Leo natally, you have to learn detachment (Aquarius)
If you have Pluto in Virgo, you have to learn to relax (Pisces)
If you have Pluto in Libra, you have to learn when to assert yourself (Aries)
If you have Pluto in Scorpio, you have to learn to calm down (Taurus) and build instead of destroy (also Taurus)
If you have Pluto in Sagittarius, you're gonna need some more common sense (Gemini)
If you have Pluto in Capricorn, you have to learn to soften (Cancer)

Life will give you every reason not to learn these things. It's been my experience that every time I try to flex in the opposite direction, some crisis hits that pulls my attention back in its original direction, so that's the 500 lb. weight in action. But also, slowly over time, I've learned the ways I've been tricked into Libra behaviors (my sign) that are destructive, and I have slowly learned how to avoid obvious traps.

It's....a process.

Just some food for thought.

*There's one exception to this rule, which is when Pluto is located within 10° of the north node in your birth chart, because that's an indicator that empowerment is a particularly hot-button issue for you, so you need to concentrate all your energy on the location of your Pluto. People with this aspect are in the extreme minority, for the record.