Pluto -- The Myth and the Memories -- Astrology's symbol for profound transformation
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Another astrologer and I have a friendly disagreement going over our different views of Pluto. She loves the old guy. Refers to him very affectionately in her writing.
Sometimes their relationship seems almost flirtatious -- like an excited groupie in the presence of a notorious rock star ... one with a scandalous, criminal and unredeemed past.
It's like watching someone unspeakably trusting and naive cavort and caper in the company of danger, believing so deeply in her own safety, she'll even taunt the menace. Makes you want to shake some sense into her.
At least I want to.
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But maybe she's got the right idea. "Treat Death as an ally," the shamans tell us. Maybe then, indeed, you can afford to skip lightly in his presence.
I, however, am left with the vision of someone juggling a live bomb, insisting it will never detonate ... and if it does, it doesn't matter. It's a graciously Taoist view. But maybe it's more mature than mine. It's certainly more welcoming and serene.
I've seen what Pluto can do when he arrives. And the fact is ... you cannot shut him out. I have trouble "appreciating" the presents he brings ... having endured his behavior as a guest in the past, while I got to know him as well as I do now.
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It's kind of like chirping brightly to a victim of Hurricane Katrina, wiped out by this disaster, "Hey, now you can build that new house with the bigger closets and extra bedroom you've always wanted!!"
As soon as the place dries out. As soon as you get the rubble cleaned up. As soon as the insurance money comes through ... and you manage to save another 50% of the costs to go with it.
As soon as you can find a contractor able and willing to work with you -- one who's back in business again. As soon as the stores have things you can buy again ... like building materials and the necessities of life. As soon as you get the building permits okayed ... and the plans drawn up and approved.
Sure ... maybe eventually ... things will be "better than before." Maybe. Eventually.
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Meanwhile, you've got to try to live, function, take care of yourself and your family, get all this work done, put things back in order, pay the bills, carry on.
It's hard to see the silver lining when this is what life looks like to you when you wake up in the morning. Day after day. After day. The cheery fellow assuring you that things will be a whole lot better someday is apt to get slugged for his troubles. And who could blame you. Not me.
I've played host to Pluto ... up close and more personal than I ever cared to request. Or remember. This is what he looks like when he comes calling. Sometimes.
Makes you want to run and hide when you see his approach to a sensitive point in your chart in that circle of destiny that is your horoscope. Certainly provokes that reaction in me. At this moment he's leaving footprints square to the Moon in my chart. Do I hold my breath in his presence? You bet I do.
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I want to like him better. Honest. Cross my heart. Pluto sits well supported in my chart. He's aligned in a conjunction with Saturn, a trine to The Sun, an effective trine to Jupiter, and a sextile to Neptune.
Ok, there's that inconjunct to Mercury and Mars that doesn't bring a lot of joy. But that's part of a very close Yod between Mercury / Mars in Pisces, Pluto in Leo, and Neptune in Libra ... and I promise you, that arrangement has lived up to its billing as "The Finger of God" ... in spades.
Still, Pluto resides in my 8th House -- the house of his natural rulership -- where the literature says he is very much "at home."
From all this, you'd think he ought to be happy ... as comfortable and valued as an old familiar friend. If so, I shudder to imagine what life must be like for those poor souls who have him in chart patterns where he's mad as hell and determined to have everybody know it!!
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"Improvement of what exists." It's a concept that sounds irresistible. (Matter of fact ... it is.) But I mean "irresistible" in the sense of "appealing." Who in his right mind wouldn't give up something worn out, exhausted, inappropriate, and useless ... for the guarantee of "something better" to replace it?
Ask Job. The suffering soul in The Bible whose encounter with what sounds like the Pluto experience from Hell ... literally ... has become the stuff of legend.
Ok ... so in the end, his patience was rewarded with plenty of salve. He got lots more "stuff" than he had in the beginning -- including more sons and daughters to replace those that got snatched away. But what about those that were lost?
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We have to assume these newcomers weren't the same folks. Somewhere in the dark of night, didn't his heart ache for the others? Didn't he miss them terribly? Didn't he want them back again with a deepness that could never find its way into words?
I wondered that when I heard the story back in my kindergarten Sunday school class. It didn't sound like a fine story of faith rewarded to me then. It sounded like a terrible tragedy.
Assurances from my mother and other adults that "everything was fine" ... well, they didn't wash -- as the saying goes in Texas.
This second set of children might be wonderful folks, but how could they replace the first ones so completely and be so satisfying that everything was declared "even Stephen" and then some?
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Sure, I know that tale is an allegory. And I know that as a 4 year-old disturbed by accounts of what was essentially "affliction done for sport" by two spiritual super-powers I had a lot to learn about life.
What I have learned in more than 60 years of living since then is that Pluto transits do indeed bring improvement. You are, in fact, better off for the changes that transpire when the Lord of Hades and his henchmen arrive and do a number on your life.
But I don't look forward to his visits like I used to.
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Maybe this other astrologer has better Karma than mine. Maybe she's able to step back and see things from a more Cosmic perspective. Maybe Pluto sometimes shows a kinder face to those he favors ... and perhaps she is such a spirit.
But occasionally I remember moments of "life before the changes" ... and the memories do indeed sting like crazy. Like I always knew they would. Even as a four-year-old. When the stories were a Sunday School lesson about losses and gains in someone else's life. Someone I didn't even know.
If you've always known there was more to Astrology than Sun Sign material and the three line daily horoscope in the newspaper, climb aboard and follow this blog. You'll find a world of wisdom detailing how you were designed to work with life ... and why you are the way you are -- all in quick-to-read, easy-to-digest-and-remember, written-in-plain-English essays that offer plenty of food for thought.
Little by little, I'm doing a set of articles that talks about all the elements in your horoscope and what they have to say about you. If you "know something" about Astrology -- or know something about your chart placements, that will help you get more from this material.
If you don't ... well, this is one place you can learn. We all have to start somewhere ... because we aren't born knowing this stuff. Meanwhile, if you've never seen your horoscope ... and don't have a clue how to work with it, maybe it's time to find out. There are lots of "chart services" on the internet -- some of whom produce decent, readable charts "for free" and some are so awful and confusing that even I can't read them easily -- and I've worked with charts for decades.
One extremely user-friendly chart site is here: AstroLabe. I recommend them if you want a simple, easy-to-read chart. I think they even give a reasonable little interpretive reading of your horoscope as part of the package. You'll need to know your birth information -- day, month, year, time and geographical place. Without all that your chart will have limited accuracy.
Or, if you want to get serious and really talk about this, upvote this post and start a conversation in the comments section sometime in the next six days from the time of publication. We'll go from there depending on what you want to know.
Questions about any of this? -- Upvote this post and talk to me in comments. It's a terrific way to build value for yourself and the community ... and it will give me ideas of what to write about in future posts. Believe me there is lots to say about the way The Sun, The Moon -- and all the other elements in a horoscope, all the other components of Astrology -- work together to interpret you and your story -- and what it all means to the person you've become.
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The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.
Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.
So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.
The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.
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I'm with you. I think Job got the nastiest deal ever written. Also like you, I never got how relating that story could make me think more highly of those that drove the bus during that ride. That's how you reward a 'good and faithful servant'? Leave me out. I'll take my chances.
I did get one thing to hang onto from Job. I heard a woman describing her life during the great depression "My God. We were as poor as Job's turkey."
So if the Pluto experience is comparable to Job I'm pretty sure I'd just as soon not take a helping of that, too.
Thanks for another wonderful post with information that I'm really not familiar with. I really do appreciate it.
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