Radical Reposts: The Planets – Pluto

Pluto: It’s the most feared and possibly the least understood of all the outer planets. I don’t think I’ve ever quoted an Amazon Review before, but the following is a commentary by Steven Nixon on a book I consider one of the most important I’ve ever read, The Pagan Christ. It brings home how the theme of death and resurrection—Pluto’s archetype—has been at the heart of religion and spirituality for as long as we have records of worshiping the Sun and various deities:

The mythological figure of the dead and resurrected god-man have long been exposed as universal myth motif that has been enshrined by a long list of cultures predating Christianity as we know it today. The universality of this motif has been meticulously documented, not only by Harpur and one of his main references Gerald Massey, but also the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and more recently Joseph Campbell. Jung wrote a detailed account of the origins of Christian myth motifs in "Symbols of Transformation" first compiled in 1920. He was later followed by Joseph Campbell whose most recognized work amongst many was "The Hero with a Thousand Faces."

Pluto as an astrological entity encapsulates “the death and resurrection show.” This is also the name of a 1983 book by Rogan P. Taylor that links shamanism, which he calls the Old Religion, with the magic of show business. With Pluto you’ll “get religion” of some kind, even if you don’t already have it. Pluto will show you why theatre has the masks of comedy and tragedy as its emblem. But, as Taylor promises, it will also initiate, heal and renew you. Each of our lives is an ongoing performance that is reborn with every new day.

May these reflections on Pluto help you back stage as you prepare for the show and when you’re hearing the roar of greasepaint and the smell of the crowd during your daily dramas.

Knowing and Navigating Pluto

Planetary Fishing: Pluto (30-May-13)

I understand why you might not be thrilled to go to a planet named after a guy whose other name is Hades. (Could Go to Pluto become the new astrological curse?) But I also guarantee: Before we’re through with this final planet on our journey to astrological self-understanding, you’ll learn some things about the old boy that are worth wanting, even loving.

Thrival Kits for the PUNC Planets: Pluto (24-Oct-14)

Imagine being stripped of all your hang-ups, fears and anxieties … of your past traumas and their influence on you. Visualize yourself in your pure, positive power, doing great things in the world that make a difference just by being yourself, no holds barred. Envision the Root You without any distortion or interference. This is the promise of Pluto.

Chiron and Pluto: The Comet Brothers (27-Jul-09)

“...the runt planet Pluto is actually the king of the ice dwarfs, the leader of the cosmic centaurs...Some astronomers, only partly tongue in cheek, say we should regard Pluto not as the smallest of planets, but as a comet to end all comets.” —Nigel Henbest, The Planets: Portraits of New Worlds

The Depths of Change: A Cup of Courage in Times of Tough Transits

(12-Jul-09)

Change is the story of my life—one of deep and ongoing transformation. As I'm sure is true for many people on the spiritual path, that constant death-and-rebirth process is the very turbulence that brought me to my knees and the heart of my inner journey. It takes most of us many years to learn that change is our friend, not our enemy. It takes some of us even longer to learn to enjoy the trip.

Pluto: Ravaged or Nurtured?

(24-Jul-14)

My very wise astrologer friend, Linda Byrd, told me recently that she sees the outer planets as nurturing parents, nudging us to grow for our own good. I have to agree, but it has taken a lot of living to have experiences with Pluto less like I describe in The Depths of Change and more like my current process of morphing. Today’s encounters feel inside-out compared to previous Pluto transits.

The Gift of Uncertainty (23-Dec-12)

I saw my friends and I allowing ourselves to be in I would call “positive vulnerability.” It’s a kind of openness that’s not an invitation to victimhood but rather the bedrock of honesty. Nothing but another person’s truth can enter the space once this “truth of your being” is expressed. It’s an environment that catalyzes deep change, because it goes to the heart of your issues and how your own heart will deal with them. There’s an energy around it that is post-traumatic, the part where the pain or strain is “venting” off your body and spirit like a mist, leaving behind only a pure and empty vessel of new creation.

This place is sacred.

 

Plutonian Issues and Remedies

Sleepless in America—What’s Pluto Got to Do with It? (12-Mar-10)

Guest post by Ivory Phoenix, C.I. (Chronic Insomniac)

In the past several years—since the planet Pluto went into Capricorn—statistics on sleep disturbances have soared. According to CNN, sleep problems are estimated to be the #1 health-related problem in America.

Flower Essences for Pluto and Resilience—“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (09-Mar-10)

Common descriptions of tough Pluto Transits are:
 • Going through hell

 • The rug pulled out from under you

 • Being knocked on your butt.

When we fall, tensed muscles and rigidity cause us to hurt ourselves. People who don’t see the fall coming are relaxed and barely skin their knees.

~~~

Photo Credit: © Oksana Churakova - Fotolia.com

Radical Reposts: The Planets – Neptune

 
 

Learning About and Living with Neptune

Planetary Fishing: Neptune (28-May-13)

Neptune was the god of the sea and the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon in the Roman religion. Today we take our figurative fishing boat back to his realm to learn more about the planet named after him.

Your Astrological Blind Spot (26-Mar-12)

We all know the danger of the blind spot at the sides of our car when we’re driving. It’s amazing how an entire vehicle can fit into this small patch of our visual field that’s out of eye-shot of mirrors or craning neck—unless, of course, you happen to be possessed like the girl in The Exorcist with her 360^o head spin. I have blind spots in my astrology chart, too. How ‘bout you?

Boundaries 101 -  A Course for Neptunians (07-Mar-10)

The subject of this post isn’t just boundaries, a topic most Neptunians need to learn more about; it’s about boundaries and humor (Jupiter). I have the blessing/curse of a strong Neptune .,..

Thrival Kits for the PUNC Planets: Neptune (05-Oct-14)

If ever a planet was the poster orb for the expression the agony and the ecstasy, Neptune is it. What other celestial body is associated with Oneness, bliss, inspiration, ideals, spirituality and artistry of all kinds … but also addiction, deception, confusion and substance abuse?

 

Neptune Transits

Neptune, Uranus and Pluto Cross the IC (14-Jan-13)

Guest post by astrologer Anne Whitaker on transits of three of the PUNCs to her 4^th House, starting with some strong natal Neptune imagery. In my Horoscope the IC is conjunct the South Node at 28 degrees of Scorpio. Pluto, its ruler, is placed in the 12th House conjunct Mercury, Saturn, Venus, Moon and Sun in Leo. As a child I would lie in bed watching the roses on the wallpaper turn into malevolent faces as daylight faded; I had to make bargains with them before they would let me sleep.

Neptune in Pisces: Sharing Our Visions for Astrology (05-Mar-12)

The purpose of this post is to share my visions about astrology—and asking you to share yours. How would astrology look in the best possible world?

~~~

Photo Credit: © Giuseppe Porzani – Fotolia.com

Radical Reposts: The Planets -- Uranus

© 2015 by Joyce Mason

Have you ever asked people who speak astrology to guess the main features of your chart, just from observing you, before you tell them the facts? This can be very revealing! For example, people usually think I have an emphasis of planets in Aquarius and Sag. They say I’m fiery, when Fire is actually my weakest element. What they’re sensing is my Sun square to Uranus and my overemphasized Jupiter. (Being overemphasis itself, a strong Jupiter is always obvious.) My Astro-guessers are usually shocked to find out that I’m a Triple Earth. The sense of fire comes from those Uranian lightning bolts, not to mention a strong Pluto—which, after all, has a close relationship to the Hot Place.

As we delve deeper into the PUNCs (Pluto, Uranus, Neptune and Chiron), you might experiment with this exercise. Ask don’t tell. See what your Astro-colleagues guess about your chart. It’ll tell you a lot about your planetary emphasis.

This illustration is meant to point out that the outer planets color our charts not a little but a lot. From my perspective with Pluto squaring ASC, Neptune squaring Moon and Uranus squaring Sun, I am channeling the outer planets in a grounded way through all that Earth. I always thank God/dess for it, because I would probably burn up without the substance of Virgo Sun, Cap Moon and Taurus Rising to hold me together.

If I had asked this question in my younger years when Plutonian high-drama and Neptunian illusions ruled my life—especially my love life—I have a hunch the guesses would have run more along the lines of Scorpio and Pisces. That’s another important point. No matter how PUNC we are, which planet is up to bat changes over time with the game of living.

Finally, I have to add that I think Uranus is a very pivotal planet because it’s really our connection to the cosmic. It’s what allows us to grok that we are part of the universe and the universe is part of us. When we understand our mission as Uranians, it’s easy to accept both the pluses and pain the other PUNCs sometimes carry with them. After all, we’re Ambassadors to Outer Space.

I hope these reposts help you carry on!

Explore and Navigate Your Uranus

Planetary Fishing: Uranus (23-May-13)

Uranus is cosmic coffee—an awakener and jump-starter whose influence spans from the unexpected (and often unwelcome) to things we all crave like independence and freedom.

Thrival Kits for the PUNC Planets: Uranus (16-Sep-14)

I chose the photo for this Uranus Thrival Kit because it reminds me of Michelangelo's painting in the Sistine Chapel, the Creation of Adam. The fresco illustrates the story in Genesis where God breathes life into the first man. [1].

The Pluto-Uranus Square

For the past three years, we have had the unique opportunity of experiencing two of the PUNCs in close relationship. In one of my articles, I joked that there are two ways of looking at U and P. They can spell UP or PU (it stinks).  One thing’s for sure, they herald shake-up on Planet Earth. The last time this pair tangoed was in the ‘60s, a conjunction in Virgo. This era was more than protest signs, flower children and mood rings. It changed the course of society forever as we questioned our previous assumptions and relationships to each other. There we began cleaning up and seeking a more holistic way of living on the planet. We might still be too close to the U-P Square to understand fully its greater meaning, but nearly everyone I know is going through transformation through unexpected upsets, like it or not. Rescrambling the pieces is a prerequisite to forming a new picture in the puzzle of living a fulfilled life.

Uranus Square Pluto: Seven Exact Aspects, Seven Chakra Realignments (05-Jul 05-12)

One of my colleagues says her most important take-away from the last United Astrology Conference (UAC) was from a talk by Serbian astrologer Aleksandar Imsiragic. Aleks said that the seven exact hits of Uranus square Pluto, the first on June 24, correspond to realignment of our seven chakras. I deeply resonate to this idea, and it seems too important a concept not to share.

Update: Since writing this article in 2012, I took a workshop with Aleks and his wife Lea and learned that they do not associate the planets with the same chakras shown in the illustration of this article. They are very original thinkers, and their take on the chakras links in order is:

1.   Mars

2.   Venus

3.   Sun

4.   Moon

5.   Mercury

6.   Jupiter

7.   North Node/Saturn

Embrace Uranus-Pluto (25-Jun 25-12)

A poem for the times that starts:

Personal Power taut with Inspiration

Transforms every part of me the two touch …

~~~

 Photo Credit: © Nomad_Soul – Fotolia.com

Radical Reposts: The Planets -- The Bridge to the Outers (Chiron, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto)

Because it orbits beyond Saturnian, I consider Chiron both the bridge to the outer planets and an outer planet itself. In the last post on Chiron, I re-presented most of the major articles on Chiron on this blog with an exception. There are two Chiron articles in the Outerplanetary (Extraordinary) People series of five articles. The OPP series has been one of my most popular sets of articles, printed and reprinted on paper and online in various places for over 20 years. While the set contains insights on all of the outers or PUNCs as I call them for Plutonian, Uranian, Neptunian and Chironic: The OPP articles have material on aspects of Chiron I haven’t shared in other places. So before we continue with the rest of the individual PUNCs, here’s an instant replay of the quintet “outers” articles. I hope you enjoy or re-enjoy them!

Outerplanetary Extraordinary) People, Part 1 of 5 (19-Oct-10)

Living with the Outer Planets Prominent, Starting with Chiron. This is an update of a five-part series originally published in the 1990s in Mark Lerner's astrology magazine, Welcome to Planet Earth. The Outerplanetary People (OPP) series has been a timeless favorite shared even farther and wider on the Australian website, A Place in Space, before coming home to roost here on The Radical Virgo.

Outerplanetary (Extraordinary) People, Part 2 of 5 (25-Oct-10)

Uranians Spread Stolen Fire with Their Fingers. In Part 1, we explored the unique role of evolutionary pioneers—people who have the outer planets prominent. Of all the outer-to-inner planetary contacts that make  a person astrologically unusual, those to  Uranus often keep an individual the most committed to the process of inner growth and spreading their enlightenment outward to the world.  (If the end result were not freedom and heaven on earth—two of the choicest gifts of Uranus—why bother?)

Outerplanetary (Extraordinary) People, Part 3 of 5 (07-Nov-10)

Neptunian Survival Tricks and the Magic of Dis-Illusionment. If Outerplanetary People are groomed to lead others into a better future, we have to become masters of dis-illusionment, especially with ourselves. (What's so hot about illusions?) Before I can speak to the most positive potentials of the Otherworldly Planet, I really have to get my five least favorite negative Neptunian archetypes out of the way.

Outerplanetary (Extraordinary) People Part 4 of 5  (12-Nov-10)
Pluto: The Reason for Suffering and How to Put Passion to Work. Plutonians have a different mission—to be passionately attached, yet as willing to trust that God knows what s/he's doing when it's over, whatever it is—to trust that love, home, job, and family will come again, bigger and better than ever before, no matter how long it takes.  This, indeed, is a tall order from a tiny planet with the force of an atomic bomb and the same root word as plutonium.

(Extraordinary) People, Part 5 of 5  (23-Nov-10)

Chiron and Life’s Purpose—Spirited Living. The importance of Chiron to outerplanetary people can hardly be overstated. Chiron is the thread that weaves together the tapestry of the outer planets as a living aggregate in our charts. Chiron is the glue that makes outerplanetary people solid and capable of handling the strong energies that they are asked to bring down to Earth day by day—first for ourselves, then for others.

~~~

Photo Credits: PUNC person, © Pop Art Diva; Bridge, © cidepix – Fotolia.com

Want the most updated version of these articles in a format that’s easy to access, store, print and even highlight for your own use? To purchase the PDF eBook, CLICK HERE or click on the cover pic. Easy to load and use on electronic devices, too.