What is the purpose of Pluto transits and why are they so damn hard?
Image author unknown
Pluto moves really slowly, taking 248 years to orbit the Sun. Because of this many people will only experience a few personal Pluto transits in their lifetime. By personal I mean when Pluto moves into a position where it creates an aspect to one of your natal planets or points. For example, Pluto at 18 degrees Cancer forms a square to your natal Venus at 18 degrees Aries.
Pluto transits coincide with some of the most challenging and traumatic events of our lives, so perhaps it’s fortunate that most of us only have to live through a few! However, while incredibly challenging, they also tend to change us in remarkable ways. These phases of our lives are some of the most transformative but they can rip us apart in the process!
So why are Pluto transits so hard? Well Pluto rules, or perhaps represents, the cycle of life, death and rebirth in the universe. As human beings, born with an innate tendency towards attachment, we revere this cycle but we also greatly fear it. Death is one of the greatest taboos in our culture because we cannot bear the pain of letting go of our loved ones; even birth is an incredibly traumatic process for both mother and child.
The principle of Pluto is essential. Without death there can be no life. The process of decay is what creates the soil that nourishes the seed. Mythologically, we see Pluto in the tale of the phoenix rising from the ashes, in the symbolism of the easter egg and in the Christian idea of being ‘born again’. Pluto bring us very close to this process and this can be painful.
What is the point of Pluto transits?
The purpose of Pluto transits is to make room for the new by sweeping away the old. However we are prone to become attached to people and things and situations in our lives and struggle with the fact that fundamentally all things are impermanent.
The most powerful Pluto transits are when Pluto directly conjuncts your natal Sun or Moon. Pluto conjunct your Mercury, Venus or Mars will also have a very strong impact. They usually last for about three years and during this time you will likely experience the angel of death at very close quarters.
I experienced just such a Pluto transit recently because my natal Sun, Moon and Venus are all conjunct between 15 and 19 degrees of Capricorn, and Pluto is now currently transiting at 24 degrees Capricorn. This transit took about six years to complete, during which some of the most significant events of my life occurred. To name a few:
- I met and married my husband
- I gave birth to my two daughters
- My father and aunt were both lost to cancer
On 6 March Pluto transits my Vertex at 24 degrees 23 minutes of Capricorn, as we prepare to say goodbye to my 92 year old grandmother. Whether she passes away during this transit or after, her death will definitely occur while Pluto is in my 8th House.
Pluto transits through the natal houses
The impact of a Pluto transit will be very different depending on which house it is passing through in your natal chart. With my Sun, Moon and Venus all in Pluto’s own 8th House, it’s not surprising that for me the events precipitated by this transit were so typically Plutonian.
The impact of Pluto’s movement through a natal house will also depend on whether it touches a natal planet or point. If Pluto is passing through a house in your chart that is unoccupied you can expect a much smoother ride than if there are several natal planets in residence. To get the most out of the next section you need to refer to your natal chart. You can download one for free at astro.com. Be sure to include transits before printing.
Pluto transits the 1st House
When Pluto transits the house of identity you are likely to experience a complete change in your personality, much like a caterpillar emerging from a cocoon. If there are difficult aspects from the natal planets located in the first house you may find yourself becoming obsessive and fixated during the period that Pluto transits these planets.
Pluto transits the 2nd House
The 2nd house is the house of the home. It represents all our worldly possessions and our earthly environment. Our niche. When Pluto transits this house you may lose your home, money or material resources, regaining them later in a completely different form. This is really about learning to be unattached to possessions and developing a sense of security that is intrinsic rather than extrinsic.
Pluto transits the 3rd House
When Pluto transverses the house of communication, siblings and short journeys you may find yourself experiencing jealousy and tension in your relationships with your brothers and sisters. Trauma from the past may come up to be resolved and their may be some painful interactions and even breaks with people who are unhealthy for you to be around.
Pluto transits the 4th House
When Pluto moves through the 4th house your relationship with your mother will probably be emphasised, particularly if there are issues of power and control that you both need to work through. Old neural pathways and emotional patterns born of childhood traumas will become untenable and you will have to let them go and develop more healthy foundations for your life.
Pluto transits the 5th House
When Pluto transits the house of fun, romance and (pro)creation you may become obsessed with the creative process, develop a serious crush on someone (be careful not to become a stalker!) or even end up pregnant after a short fling. The affects will be more dramatic if Pluto transits a natal planet or point.
Pluto transits the 6th House
Here Pluto’s influence is bought to bear on your work, health and service to the world. You may become obsessed with your work or with a cause, get into a power struggle with a colleague or even lose your job. You may also come into your own in the workplace and gain the respect of those around you. Much depends on whether natal planets are involved.
Pluto transits the 7th House
In the 7th House, Pluto makes itself felt in your partnerships and you are likely to begin or end at least one serious relationship, Power dynamics are likely to be skewed and depending on your personality you may find yourself in either a very dominant or a very submissive role. Watch out for jealousy, obsession and manipulation.
Pluto transits the 8th House
In his own house, Pluto’s lessons are deeply emotional in nature. The 8th House represents all the consequences of our deep interactions with others. Children, shared resources and debts, inheritance, sex and death. During this transit you may experience the birth of a child, inherit money, endure the fall out of divorce or have loved ones pass away.
Pluto transits the 9th House
When Pluto transits the 9th House your philosophical outlook and beliefs may completely change. Long trips are likely to be life changing but very difficult. Many of your ideas about yourself and the world will be discarded as new information comes to light. You may explore theology, especially various cultural beliefs around reincarnation and life after death.
Pluto transits the 10th House
The 10th House represent our place in the world and Pluto’s passage through this house is likely to completely change your role and status. You may lose your job or be exposed and humiliated in some way, or will gain true power and influence in the world. All depends on the aspects that are triggered in your natal chart.
Pluto transits the 11th House
As Pluto transits the 11th House some of your friendships and social networks will end and new ones will emerge. Feelings of betrayal and jealousy are possible, as are power struggles, and you may find yourself disassociating from certain groups. You may come up against organisational politics and power dynamics.
Pluto transits the 12th House
As Pluto transits the 12th House it’s possible that your mental health will be tested. Obsessive compulsive behaviours, self harm and addiction are some of the ways this may manifest. Be careful of internalising your dark feelings. Talk to a friend or a therapist so that you can work through the underlying issues.
Want to learn more?
If you enjoyed this article on Pluto Transits you can subscribe to receive my weekly astro insights. Or if you’d like to learn more about how current transits affect you personally you can download my free ebook The Language of Astrology.
Are you experiencing a Pluto transit?
Are you currently experiencing a Pluto transit? What house is it passing through? What natal planets is it touching? How is it manifesting in your life? Please share your experiences below.
Thank you for your insightful articles.
You’re welcome :)
Pluto is currently transiting my 2nd house and it has wiped out everything I owned and money I saved up for years. When it first started feeling it back on 2017, I felt like suicide was the only way out for me. I’m a Taurus/Sun and Sag/rising. So possessions and financial security was very important to me to have peace of mind. Through out the past few years, every time I felt like it can’t get any worse than this , pluto will hammered me even harder and let me know he’s running the show. Pluto literally have killed me over and over again! Money still important but I have learned to trust. I learned to value and see things in a different way. I have north node in the 8th house and south node in the 2nd house. So, after learning and reading everything about it, I decided to follow my NN and oh boy, life got a lot easier for me since. At least, I don’t have that feeling awful feeling of hopeless anymore. I mean still hurts for everything I have lost but I have the set and the desire that takes to start fresh again!
Jackiee
How did you follow your north node in eighth house I’m going through a poodle transit right now that’s kicking my ass
I have cusp of my 7th and 8th houses in Capricorn also my Sun Jupiter Neptune are there. Just checked up exact transits dates and every time Pluto made a move over my Sun I got hit final one being my grandmother, woman that raised me, passed away. My Saturn return got me all that Pluto has now taken. I guess bring it in and move on PLEASE
Hello Faith thank you so much for your always very well written explanations.
I am 68 now and in 2024 Pluto will partile conjunct my Sun at. 1degree Aquarius 5th hse. The no 22 has seriously dogged me ALL my life ( I know it’s a master no and it’s relevance good and challenging ) and there seems to be a culmination coming here as on the 22.2.2024 it goes partile! (Born 22.1.1952 22:22 date adds up to 22 my full name adds up to 22 and and and too many to relate! The thing is that I’m my husbands chart Pluto will be partile conjunct with his moon same time.. so for me this can only mean death… I realise that death must come but my life has been very traumatic and only now am I beginning to have some real relief and peace and security so obviously resisting this and the way time flies … I do write and have put this off for ever to write my memoirs … but it’s the conjunction of Pluto to my husbands Aq moon that seems to convince me it’s otherwise .. can you say something to assist me with this difficult expectation? Id be most grateful thank you. I already receive your news letter Colleen
Hi Colleen, firstly I’ll begin by saying that I have a Capricorn Moon and Venus so words of comfort are not really my specialty! So my apologies in advance if I’m not able to provide what you are seeking here. Although Pluto often brings death I’m not convinced that this will be your death or that it will necessarily be a literal death. It could be the death of your Husband’s mother, or it could relate to something else altogether. But let’s say for the sake of discussion that this will be the date of your death. Is that such a bad thing? My personal belief is that death is just the beginning of a new life. As for your memoirs perhaps the prospect of death is what you need to motivate you to get writing. You have four years. Go for it! BTW my husband also feels a great affinity with the number 22. It brings good things into our lives X
Dear Colleen, I hear your fear about your upcoming Pluto transit in 2024. It won’t necessarily mean that you are going to die. From the perspective of what I have learned spiritually I would say that most of us don’t die until our consciousness is ready in the sense that it feels it has completed the life task. Do you feel this way? 69 years is about the time to do the fifth monad (google it as part of the Michael Teachings). This monad often indicates entrance into older adulthood and not death. I suspect Pluto will want to work with you as you undertake this monad. Above all don’t be afraid to contact Pluto’s energy in your dreams and meditations and tell him (Pluto is male for me) what you would like to explore together. What do you fear losing? How do you want learn more about letting go and personal transformation? Work with Pluto, don’t resist, and welcome him into your life and ask him for slow and loving healing of your karmic wounds. Love and peace from me to you!
My descendant is at 0 Capricorn, and my Sun, Mars and Venus is in Cancer. When Pluto crossed my descendent in 2008, I broke off a 4 year committed relationship. I broke it off because I was not happy and was looking to stop making the mistakes of my past and to find someone who is truly right for me. That relationship turned out to be my last committed one. In 2010, I met the love of my life (our first kiss triggered a rush of spiritual energy shooting out the top of my head. It was the first time I ever felt something truly spiritual! I have never loved anyone like this guy). However, my relationship with my love has been hell – he has denied me a real relationship for almost 10 years now, and that spiritual thing inside of me that went off on our first kiss really wants him, in spite of the state of our relationship. When Pluto was opposite my Mars in late 2013, another man entered the picture in spite of my relationship with my love – this other man told me I was crazy for not choosing him as I continued to be with my love, and when I finally said ‘screw it’ to my love, the other man who wanted me so bad abandoned me when he finally could have me. That whole ordeal really screwed with me and I have been terrified of letting other men near me since then. When Pluto was within 1 degree of my Sun in 2018, my father died (my father died 7/7/2018, my birthday is 7/11/1968, 4:21 am). Pluto has entered my 8th house, but nothing is fixed in my love life. I still want a real relationship but my love still evades it, even though his life is crumbling down (I would like to think his life’s crumbling is his karma, but that may be wishful thinking that the Universe is trying to teach him anything about our relationship). He gives a little more these days but we are from having anything satisfying that most people would take for granted in their relationship. Anyway, Pluto is (or will be) opposite my Venus (Venus is in my second house at Cancer 24, square my Saturn at Aries 24). At this point I don’t care anymore about a lot of things and that’s kind of scary to me. I am not really worried about my job – I have made good progress in my career and I don’t think I have anything to fear with that. I am waiting to see what other BS comes my way.
What I want to know is – isn’t the Pluto transformation supposed to be over for my love life by now? When do things actually become better again? I have hopes that Pluto will break the Venus square Saturn curse that has plagued me all of my life. But it doesn’t look like it. For my life, it is ‘same thing, different day’, but with a lot less caring from me. It is sad because as a Cancer, I have lived for caring and that is just gone now. All I can look forward to is dying without even experiencing a good healthy relationship with a man I truly love. True love seems to just be a curse in my life.
I’m fine – I just need to know when it gets better.
Hi Deb, it sounds like you’re being held hostage by the promise of a kiss which was never fulfilled. Pluto transits are not just about transformation they are also about reclaiming our power and sometimes this means letting go of something that is actually holding us back. Something we feel we need very much but which is in reality a shackle. I think in this situation you have two choices: you need to let go of your expectations that this relationship be an idyllic romance and be happy with what it is, or you need to let go of the relationship altogether and move on to something that better fulfills your needs. At present your lover has too much control over your happiness, whether he asked for this power or not. It’s time to take back that power for yourself, even if that means living alone for a while. Much love to you in this difficult time, X Faith
Pluto transiting my 8th house since 2008.i have sun and moon in scorpio 10th house and a stellium in 9th house libra (mars conj uranus, venus conj pluto). Mercury conj neptune 11th house. My whole life pluto has beem conjuncting every all my other planets besides saturn.life was fun with pluto in sag 11th house during my 20s/30s. Now, my power is gone, my will is gone,fear and anxiety are too high, but no need of heavy meds, im glad. Besides autoimmune disease controlled by diet and exercise, health is fine.
It feels like im a caterpillar waiting years to become a butterfly, but still, i find a lot of pleasure living a life in this “existential exile”.
I don’t understand how one could say that the 2nd house is the house of the home when that’s the 4th house. It’s the bottom of the chart- the roots, the foundation, your sense of home and family as well as your physical home. Taurus is the natural second house and it’s about being comfortable in the material world (as you said). Cancer is the natural 4th and it is about nurture (home and family).
It is sometimes the mother as well but this is certainly NOT all it is.
The second is personal finances, possessions, and self esteem (talent, gifts). It is money and one’s relationship with money.
Thanks for your comment Jennier. I see the second house as the physical environment, including property and possessions, of a person. So the second house represents the actual material house, while the 4th House represents the home, which is much more than just the building one lives in.
I just realized that I have experienced pluto transiting over venus in the 5th, uranus and sun in the 6th, mars mercury and neptune in the 6th and over my ascendant exact on the day of my wedding it is now transiting through the eight where I have all of the asteroids. Anyway…I hate that I’m pluto in libra generation and have really gone through it. 6 planets and the dc…..damn this hades energy has been relentless with me.
hello there.
So I have my natal moon at 26degree Capricorn. Ive had a very difficult year in half. It started when Pluto was at 23 degrees and Saturn was at 20. It manifested with extreme anxiety and I was scared to go to sleep because I had a fear that anxiety would again wake me up. I stopped drinking, and tried to have a healthier diet, it helped a bit. I had to isolate because fear of having anxiety in public really made me even more panicky, I am from California USA and recently moved to Denver Colorado. Lost my job, have no source of income, thankfully the people that have been helping me out have a lot of Scorpio in their chart, either SUN/ or Moon.I did find that very interesting. Ive been doing a lot of healing since many childhood trauma has been surfacing. I have experienced so much and its not even exact yet. Even though Saturn is finally moving into Aquarius, so I will only have Pluto transiting a soft planet (the moon). I have my moon in the first house squaring my Venus and mercury conjuc pluto. Any words of comfort?
When will Pluto leave my second house 02.12.1967 frustrated
You would need to get a reading to determine this Glenn. I would need your time and place of birth to see house cusp placements.
This article is helpful, thank you.
My natal moon is 0° Aquarius in the 4th house. Pluto will be conjunct my moon in March of 2023. I expect this means that I should prepare for my death. I am 69 years old and in great health, however, but I do have a t-square to Uranus in the 10th house, also. I would appreciate your input and advise.
Many thanks!
Hi Sharon, I don’t think that this transit would necessarily bring about your death, there are many factors to consider and Pluto is Lord of all kinds of endings, not just physical death. To get a better idea I would need to have a detailed look at your chart. If you are interested you can order a reading at https://insightastrology.net/astrology-readings/
transiting pluto/mercury transiting my natal saturn/jupiter in capricorn 5th house all of which are conjunct transiting saturn/jupiter 5th house cusp of which is 22 degrees capricorn…this seems to be a focal point for me right now and im having trouble synthesizing it…any advice or comments? 9-21-1961 6:10 am olympia, thurston county, washington, usa
Hi Faith
I am going through a Pluto transit starting February 2021, squaring my Sun (Aries in the 12 House). Do you think if I purchase a 1/2 hour mini reading you would be able to do a consult on this transit specifically?
Thanks Sharon
Hi Sharon, yes it’s quite possible to focus on one transit during a reading.
I have Pluto in my 9th house, sitting conjunct my N Node. Life has been extremely rough the last 4 years. I became chronically ill, can’t work and have become a burden on my spouse. I have re found spiritually that comes after 15 years none whatsoever and looks completely different than the spirituality of my youth. I am in pain 100% of the time and think about death often. Not necessarily having suicidal thoughts but more like, “Meh. Come and get me if you can, Death.” I view life in mostly a different way than before being sick and now is radically different than most of my family and friends. How long does this go on?
Pluto is going into my 7th when it arrives in Aquarius. I feel someone will come into my life then who will be good for me…like changing the light bulb I can’t reach.
Hi,
I think there is an error on the Pluto in house 1 interpretation
You said “you may find yourself becoming obsessive and fixated during the period that Saturn transits these planets.”. But the article is about Pluto😶.
What house system do you use?And would you say that Pluto transiting the house rulers is also very potent to the house concerned?
Thanks for pointing out my mistake – I’ve corrected it. I generally use the Placidus house system by sometimes use the Equal House system for comparison, especially if a planet is one a cusp. I tend to focus more on the angles as these are most important and are the same in all house systems. As for transits to the house ruler impacting the affairs of that house I can’t honestly say I’ve observed this. What is you experience?
Most of my natal planets are in Capricorn (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and South Node).
I have survived all of them with just one left……Pluto conjunct Venus.
My Venus is at 28 degrees 3 minutes of Capricorn.
All of the natal planets in Capricorn are in the 4th house.
Does anybody know what I should expect with transiting Pluto conjunct my natal Venus?
Also, what is the orb of influence?
Finally, what “hit” is the most critical? Are the direct or the retrogrades hits stronger?
Hi, C. I recently completed Pluto conjunct Venus, although mine was in the 7th house. It was the most transformative period of my life to date. It was excrutiatingly difficult, the hardest work I’ve ever done, and absolutely, completely worth it. I was fundamentally incapable of healthy relationships before this transit and now I’m in a stable, long-term, loving and compassionate romantic partnership. My friendships and relationships with my family have also drastically improved. My biggest advice is not to fight it! It can be extremely uncomfortable to have unconscious patterns and beliefs come to light, especially if they aren’t healthy ones, but you have to get to know them and understand why you developed them in order to let them go and replace them. My mantra during this time in my life was “the only way out is through.” If you put in the work, you will reap the rewards. Give it all you’ve got and you will have an extremely potent transformation. I look back on who I was before this transit and she seems like a completely different person. Her fundamental beliefs, coping mechanisms, and more all changed radically. Since your Venus is in the 4th house, I would guess that the relationships that will be transformed are familial ones, especially those that are most present in your home (be that your physical home or the home in your heart). Your relationship to the concept of home might be transformed as well.
I didn’t notice differences between direct and retrograde periods or stations. They were all punches to the face.
Good luck! Everything you need to get through this is already within you, but loved ones and trusted ones can help you find what you need when the going gets tough. You’ve got this!
P.S. I’ve got Pluto conjunct Sun and Mercury coming up in a few years, any advice? :)
Pluto is currently opposite my natal sun, and in square aspect to my 6th house. I am only at the beginning but it has been truly horrible. Two of my dogs and a cat have died inexplicably. At the beginning of 2020 I was working as a delivery driver delivering food daily all over New England and NYC and contracted the COVID but had no symptoms and got Lymes, which ironically almost killed me, in fact I’m still challenged by it. I’ve been out of work now since early 2020. Last winter my pipes burst causing all sorts of crazy problems, my home is nearly destroyed. My furnace broke and so the heating is broken and I have no hot water. I could go on and on…. Pluto sucks!
i been through pluto square moon 10. and pluto conjunction. sun in cap.
what i cna not understand, on on the last square, (4 time),. and covid mandates have caused the issue of loss of my teaching job. i have medical exemption, but the australian government is out of control. miss use of power pluto.
Thanks for this post, it was very illuminating! I have Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, and Venus all between 3 and 18 degrees of Capricorn in my 7th house and Mercury and Sun at 3 and 5 degrees of Aquarius in my 8th house. My natal Pluto is 15 degrees Scorpio in my 5th house so it has been doing a long, slow steamroll over most of the planets in my chart since 2009. My Mars and Jupiter are at 3 and 26 degrees of Taurus in my 11th house and my Moon is 20 degrees Virgo in my 3rd house. I realized this evening that Pluto has/will transit every single one of my natal planets between 2003 and 2028. In fact, the only years I have not been experiencing a Pluto transit in my entire life (by my amateur calculations) are 1999-2002 and 2005-2008. The most difficult so far was Pluto conjunct Venus (Pluto square Moon and Pluto conjunct Saturn are close seconds). I got into a very unhealthy relationship with a narcissistic alcoholic that eventually led to me getting into recovery from substance abuse, codependency, and an eating disorder. I spent 2018 excavating the darkest corners of my psyche and by the time the pressure lessened, I felt quite literally like a different person. Everything about me had evolved. If that’s what’s on the menu for Pluto conjunct Sun, I’m sure I’m in for a wild ride in a few years.
Greetings everyone!
Since my natal luminaries are in opposition, T Pluto has been squaring them both recently. Perceptions of suicide as the way out have duly crept in. However, I think Pluto is now bringing us to a point wherein things that evoke fear within us, either we transform to not care about them at all ( & thus are reintroduced to our eternal, spiritual nature) , or we grow nerves of steel and as someone wise just mentioned, start perceiving that “the way out is through”. Maybe, at the end of it we find that it is possible to be happy or even live without the things we once thought as essential.. I do believe that Scorpionic influences & Pluto are rare gifts. Intensity is essential for a meaningful existence, or at least a lifetime well lived with lessons, even if they led to it’s gradual closure and completion. I’m just curious to see what happens if I keep on going.
All this discussion helps each one of us know we are in this together & even if the current life story ends, we’ll all still exist :)
Further reading: How to survive a Pluto transit by Ms. Lynn Koiner
I’m about 2 years into a Pluto transit of my 11th house. It is squaring my natal mars/pluto conjunction in the 7th. It is also now within 10 degrees of my natal moon. I have lost all my friends. Literally almost every single one. Interestingly the only ones left are Taurus and Scorpios, and even they are all distanced by circumstances and show support for the increasingly shitty disasters going on in my life through weekly phonecalls that really do serve to keep my spirits up.
the moon. my mother and i were best friends my whole life. she is entirely consumed by her alcoholism (her moon and venus in aries in her 12th) and we literally hate eachother. she’s gone out of her way to have my child removed temporairly, to try to get me evicted from my home, and to plant poisonous seeds between me and my father/sister which has been successful. so as well as losing my mother essentially i’m losing, have lost, my entire family.
my little son, i am a mother (moon) was molested recently by a short term boyfriend i had known as a child. a very young child until we were teenagers. he bullied me at 13! my pluto mars conjunction fell on his ASC which has the most horrible stellium i’ve ever seen, saturn,pluto,mars, jupiter. he is a psychopath and had charmed me, but was also abusive towareds me verbally but i had no clue he was secretly a child predator.now he is stalking me after assaulting me, i don’t think he knows about the open sexual abuse case yet, i will at that point b worried for my own life, now my poor little son and i are in a shelter, no friends, my family entirely blaming me and unsupportive, all alone trying to help him. the police aren’t communicating, the investigation seems non existent. meanwhile he’s stalking me and continually breaking into my house and emails and so on.
pluto is not on my moon yet, just in a wide conjunction. i am concerned about the exact concjunction.
Transiting Pluto in Cap. squaring Libra sun. Giving me a feeling of being flattened, run over, with little dimension or depth. No energy. The wind gone from my sails I move slowly trying to preserve what little nervous system health I have left. I try to be patient, to understand I’m witnessing the underworld and I try to trust I will emerge up into the light again someday, where my creativity awaits, a creativity I have honed over a life time. Will the underworld influence, persist or be forgotten? Pluto is not the only transiting heavy player but certainly the slowest one. Uranus squares itself, Neptune squares Asc and Saturn is on my moon.