Ask the Astrologer
Or, in exacting “astrologese,” it should be Transiting Pluto Square Pluto’s natal position.
The shorthand version is simpler, clear enough:
Pluto Square Pluto
When this transit occurs?
The silly “not a planet” argument? Not going to get near that. Pluto represents a valid astrological element, use what ever label works within one’s own system. Me? I just call it a planet. Simpler.
So when this occurs?
“Pluto, can’t be avoided but doesn’t always announce his presence.”
via kramerwetzel.com
There’s a generation born between — roughly — 1960 and 1970, and we all have Pluto in Virgo. That means, as Pluto coursed his way through Sagittarius, 1995 through 2008, all of us were “squared” by Pluto’s transit. While Pluto’s orbit is oblong and up to 20 degrees off the ecliptic, when Pluto does align, the sense — the effect — is unmistakable. Undeniable.
Working through some re–writes of the text for Dramatic Irony, I was given pause. This represents my process, thinking at the keyboard, “thinking on paper,” as I would like to frame it.
The generation before, “Pluto in Leo,” that was 1938 to 1960, roughly speaking — the difference in the timing due to Pluto’s offset orbit.
That generation as defined by “Pluto in Leo,” when Pluto was in Scorpio, 1983 to 1995, that was the time of the event, “Pluto square Pluto.”
My first good astrology teacher suggested that this “Pluto Square Pluto” was a major, a huge, an earth–shattering event of epic proportions that was life–changing, as it tended to be a Mid–Life Crisis. Over the years, I’ve grown both more perceptive and more cognizant of words, and their impact. The term “crisis” brings the incorrect image and wrong weight to the timing of this event.
So for the earlier generation, Pluto in Leo (Boomers, plus or minus), the astrological event occurred after age 45, which was after another outer–planet transit of remarkable timing, Uranus oppose Uranus, the symbolic awakening at age 40-42. Plus, with Pluto in Leo and then, as Pluto traipsed through Scorpio, creating that tension angle, remember: Scorpio = Water; Leo = Fire. And both are the Fixed signs — that would trigger a crisis as change presents itself, and, rhetorical, what fixed sign changes gracefully, easily, or with relative aplomb?
So the timing, for generations, has been Saturn Return (28-30, plus or minus), Uranus Oppose Uranus (40-42, plus or minus), and then Pluto Square Pluto (45–55, plus or minus). The way I categorized these transits, on a cosmic scale?
Saturn is a physical transition, “Turning 30!” Uranus was a spiritual calling, “Turning 40!”
And Pluto? That was a cosmic test of lessons learned. When someone comes to me for a reading, typically, I would have to elucidate the lessons and help with the cosmic check–up.
At its innermost point, though, Pluto was doing its thing at a far earlier age, and I was seeing people as young as 35 encountering such cosmic testing. Cosmic testing, I might add, bereft of cosmic guidance.
“Cosmic testing, I might add, bereft of cosmic guidance.”
Feel familiar?
The question, though, is it possible to write new material for the text that adequately covers this transit? Most entries run under 100 words, but this one would require more explantions.
I’ve always maintained that this web–journal’s function is to road–test material.
Pluto Square Pluto
As transiting Pluto squares natal Pluto, there is disrutpive change. Tends to be change that is based in a spiritual principle, but not always. Having some type of grounding in a particular reglion, faith, or practice is beneficial, as there’s a strong sense of abandonment by the gods, or the higher power, or whatver one believes in, and yet, the quickest way through Pluto’s testing is just that: faith.
Transit PLUTO square natal Pluto
Pluto — by transit — is a great agent of change. Due to its elliptical orbit’s nature, this transit occurs at different times for different generations, as early 35 and as late as mid-40s. In the older texts, this was termed a “Mid–life crisis.” Invoking the term “crisis” makes it a traumatic event, and that title doesn’t have to be the way to effectively deal with the present energies as Pluto forces issues to the surface. More than just an awakening, it is cosmic time to pause and assess directions. For some, this occurs before another transit that promises enlightenment, and for others — depends on generations — it occurs after the spark of enlightenment. Frequently, what the “Pluto Square Pluto” does is serve as a test and check. There’s an essence that occurs in this time, some sense of new directions, and old goals, possibly abandoning the previous desires. There is also a time in a person’s life to spend more time with the spiritual, the religious, or the metaphysical, or, all three. Depends. What Pluto does, creating a sharp angle to its natal position? This is a time when certain energies come crashing into each other, and frequently leaves the person with a sense of being stuck or frozen. Previously, I’ve used the allusion to a “Deer in the headlights,” as that is such a common image in central Texas, but some politician ruined that expression. Socially, politically, emotionally, there are great changes as each aspect of life comes under close scrutiny — this is a transition period that can last for up to a year or more, with the erratic nature of Pluto’s orbit playing a bigger part of this. It serves as a trigger for personal growth through evaluation, and it also serves as a time when unwanted — unwarranted — resources in life can be released. Or ripped from one’s grasp, again, depends on the approach taken to assessing what can be changed.
Dramatic Irony
“Coming Soon, to a bookseller near you.”
