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Pluto Transformation

© Nancy Leigh Jobes

Pluto is the furthermost planet from our Sun that scientists have found to date. The only exception is the Pluto's orbit does occasionally swap with that of Neptune's. Recently, there was much talk about downgrading Pluto from its planetary status due to its size and composition. This was, however, overturned, and Pluto remains the ninth planet of our solar system.

Mythologically, Pluto was the god of the underworld. Astrologically, Pluto rules the breakdown of ideas and habits, the unexplained, things that seem out of our hands, and personal transformation. Pluto is the ruler of Scorpio and the Eighth House. Pluto's cycle around the zodiac takes over 200 years. No one alive has ever seen their Pluto return to its original location in their birth chart, except in the case of infants born during a Pluto retrograde. (Retrograde: this is when the Planet appears to be going backward through the sky because of the Earth's movement. It is an optical illusion, though these cycles are taken as important in astrology.)

Because of its slow movement, Pluto spends many years in one sign. For example, Pluto was in Scorpio from 1983 until 1995, when it went into Sagittarius. Pluto tends to tear down structure and philosophy in life in order to transform and evolve that area into something new. Because Pluto can remain in one astrological house during transit for many years (how many will depend on the house size), this can show a long-term lesson in that area of your life. Whatever planets Pluto touches during its journey will illustrate how the energy is used, where the breakdowns occur, and the actions that can be taken to learn this lesson as efficiently as possible. Usually, a conjunction or other aspect to a planet from Pluto can show incredible energy; usually the "forced" end to a lifestyle or situation.

An example of this might be show as Pluto moving through the second house. Pluto just spent most likely a decade wreaking havoc on your personality and physical body with its transit through the first house. You would be a different person than you were ten years prior. Most likely, you would have met up with many things that though tough and intense, made you a better person from the outside. Now, Pluto has moved into the second, as is going to do some work on the inside and your "things."

The second house can be jokingly called your house of "stuff." Here is the area of life that surrounds your finances, your taste in material things as well as how much emphasis you put on the material, and your value system. To have Pluto go through there is a pretty heavy occurrence. Almost immediately you will seem forced to remove whatever isn't working in that area of your life. You way, or attitude about the way you make money is going to come under fire. You may even have a financial downfall and lose some, if not most, of what you own. You will have to meet your own value system and face the things that are wrong with it. This can be a time where self-esteem is low and finances shaky. However, you didn't spend the last ten years revamping your personality and body image for nothing ... you are ready!