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 "One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." – Carl Jung

All Pluto Transits are about Reclaiming your lost power from your Shadow Self. This is essentially what the Shamanic Journey is all about. Whether that be pieces that were fragmented and are lost in the Shadow which is a form of Soul Retrieval. The planet Pluto prompts one to reclaim that energy that is and was once rightfully theirs. Pluto is the planet of Transformation, it rules Death and Rebirth.  Not necessarily physical death, although that is part of transformation and sometimes that's the only way out for some, but more importantly the death of ego and the transformation of claiming your power back from your Shadow Self and bringing it back into your Light body. But there is always a price to pay. Many people do not have the spiritual guts to face themselves (their Shadows), it’s too uncomfortable, too scary and god only knows what kind of ‘Pandora’s Box’ they will encounter. Many people are afraid of their own power and isn’t that where adolescent humanity is on the stage of evolution, learning the right use of power?

When you get ‘touched’ by Pluto, you are being called into the depths of your soul, whether it’s your attic, your basement, or your locked box of stuff you thought you’d never have to revisit, Pluto will guide you through it.

So what constitutes a Pluto transit? Well, there are many configurations that Pluto can make in your chart, but the big ones are the conjunctions, the squares and the oppositions.

During 2003 – 2008, Pluto will still be traveling through Sagittarius. This means that Sagittarians and those with Sun, Moon and Ascendant get the conjunctions, Gemini Suns, Moons and Ascendants get the opposition, and Virgo and Piscean Suns, Moons & Ascendant get the Squares. These are all the ‘hard’ aspects. Pluto is now retrograding at 17 degrees of Sagittarius, so if you’re within 5 degrees either way of that, the heat is on!

Those who get the supportive aspects for good karma now are Aries, Leos, Aquarius and Libra gets the trines and sextiles. Don’t worry, their time will come ‘round again. Most of them are recovering from when Pluto was in Scorpio during the late eighties and nineties. <hee, hee> But that’s not to say that those signs don’t have other planets in Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo or Pisces? Of course it would be wise to check you charts. For example, you may be Leo, you’re Sun is getting the trine from Pluto, ah, nice and supportive, feeling one with your strength and power, but at the same time, Pluto happens to be making a square to your Venus in Virgo. Ouch! Love life is touchy, major transformation in the realms of relationship, love & romance.

Not a chance! Those who avoid it, get the Cosmic 2 by 4 in order to get their attention to look into their ‘stuff’. This can happen in a myriad of ways, they can suffer loss, accident or illness, but one way or the other, Plutonian energies will complete it’s evolutionary process in your Soul.

If you’re the type of person that only likes to keep things ‘light’ at all costs, is afraid of getting too deep or ‘heavy’, then this is going to be very uncomfortable for you, because that’s what you need to do now. Dive into the deep end of your pool of consciousness and retrieve from it a string of pearls. But as Pluto transits go, you’ll need to get those babies one at a time. Then when you’re done with the course, you can take all those pearls you’ve gathered, string them up and wear them proud.

So, knowing you can’t avoid it, isn’t it better to just flow with it? The worse part of breaking the ice, is getting through denial and letting go of pride and fear. Those are the biggest hurdles. Pluto is the planet of Death, Rebirth and Transformation. Sometimes it’s out right physical death, as that’s the only way in some cases that the Soul can Transform. But one way or the other, the Pluto transit will bring death, usually if your one of the healthy ones, it’s the death of the ego, and we all know how that one can go kicking and screaming. That’s the big price, ego death, letting go of pride, letting go of guilt, shame and blame, which are all Plutonian emotions. That’s what’s being purged in you, which, let’s face it, are only masks that hide your true power.

Another common occurrence that takes place under Pluto transits is power struggles and betrayals. Betrayals manifest if the universe thinks you are betraying yourself. If you’re not willing to do the work, then someone in your life takes a hike, shocks the bejeebies out of you and causes you to go into a deep depression. Ah, that’s where Pluto wants you, in that place that you get to face your fears, your anxieties and to question, why you. That’s the beginning of the healing journey, which is Pluto’s only agenda.

Of course it all depends on where you’re at spiritually and emotionally in your life. If you the kind of person who’s done some spiritual work, perhaps even been in psychotherapy a time or two, then the Pluto transit should be really exciting and empowering to you as you will finally get your lost power back that you’ve already been searching for in your life. You intuitively understand Pluto’s signals and you plunge yourself into workshops, counseling, healings of all kinds and take every step to better yourself in some way. You’re with it, you’re on it, you’ve got it!

Pluto transits are not designed to hurt you, but it’s purpose is to gently nudge you to evolve into your power through taking a Shamanic journey, a healing journey so to speak.

So what is your true power? It’s about getting in touch with, and living through your Divinity. You are a Divine Spark of God/Goddess, you are co-creator with the universe, you are powerful and magical, so go forth and Create! Be who you truly are, and gather all you can from the Shadow and bring it back into Love.

How? Compassion is the way. After you understand and accept yourself, you need to forgive yourself and allow that energy back into integration. Energy can never be destroyed, only changed, transformed and transmuted. This is the Alchemy of the Pluto cycle. You actually learn how to do this, and when you do, you become the Magician, you can then help others do the same. You need to take your Shadow by the hand and guide it back into the light, as you would a small child, you can do it joyfully, gently and sometimes you need to be firm as you know how small children can be willful and stubborn at times? So can your Shadow. Some things will not go quietly and they will test you and challenge you over and over as Pluto always retrogrades three times over just to make sure you ‘get it’.

In Astrology, Pluto represents your Shadow self, it’s feminine archetype is the mythological Goddess Persephone who was abducted by Pluto and after her mother Demeter (Ceres) found her and made a deal with Pluto (Hades) that he could only have her for 6 months of the year and then she had to return to her mother for 6 months. Persephone became the Queen of the Underworld and was gifted with all the pearls and mysteries of the darkness. On the first day of Spring she emerges with renewal and brings wisdom to the earth where she enjoys the light and abundance of spring and summer with her mother. On the first day Fall, she falls back into the underworld.

There is great wisdom in this myth as women who go through a Pluto cycle have the Goddess Persephone for guidance. Those who tune into her will receive the necessary strength and courage to complete their Pluto transits and will be blessed with the understanding of the mysteries of the Shadow. Persephone is the Goddess of Magic, she knows how to transmute and transform energy into healing. She is a powerful force and is compassionate to all those who have felt abducted, raped, abused, abandoned, lost and

This can be one of the most empowering times of one’s life – Be Brave!

Where does the term "Shadow" come from?
Carl Jung -1958

"Beneath the social mask we wear every day, we have a hidden shadow side: an impulsive, wounded, sad, or isolated part that we generally try to ignore. The Shadow can be a source of emotional richness and vitality, and acknowledging it can be a pathway to healing and an authentic life. We meet our dark side, accept it for what it is, and we learn to use its powerful energies in productive ways. The Shadow knows why good people sometimes do "bad" things. Romancing the Shadow and learning to read the messages it encodes in daily life can deepen your consciousness, imagination, and soul."

from "Romancing the Shadow," by Connie Zwieg, PhD., and Steve Wolf, PhD.

Jung's Theory of The Shadow

"The Shadow describes the part of the psyche that an individual would rather not acknowledge. It contains the denied parts of the self. Since the self contains these aspects, they surface in one way or another. Bringing Shadow material into consciousness drains its dark power, and can even recover valuable resources from it. The greatest power, however, comes from having accepted your shadow parts and integrated them as components of your Self." from John Elder

Jung continued:

"Everyone carries a Shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions."

"Who has not at one time or another felt a sourness, wrath, selfishness, envy and pride, which he could not tell what to do with, or how to bear, rising up in him without his consent, casting a blackness over all his thoughts, and then as suddenly going off again, either by the cheerfulness of the sun or air, or some agreeable accident, and again at times as suddenly returning upon him? Sufficient indications are these to every man that there is a dark guest within him, concealed under the cover of flesh and blood, often lulled asleep by worldly light and amusements, yet such as will, in spite of everything, show itself... It is exceeding good and beneficial to us to discover this dark, disordered fire of our soul; because when rightly known and rightly dealt with, it can as well be made the foundation of heaven as it is of hell." - William Law, The Grounds and Reasons of Christian Regeneration 1739)

The range of what we think and do
is limited by what we fail to notice.
And because we fail to notice
that we fail to notice
there is little we can do
to change
until we notice
how failing to notice
shapes our thoughts and deeds.
--R.D. Laing

" The shadow is both the awful thing that needs redemption, and the suffering redeemer who can provide it" --Liz Green

Robert Green Ingalls said: "in nature there are neither rewards nor punishments--there are consequences." We aren't being singled out for punishment, we are merely experiencing the consequences of our own rigidity. If we choose security over change, we have to suffer the consequences. As Gail Sheehy summarizes succinctly: "If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security."

"We can learn how to recognize our own rigidity and how to correct it. It takes honesty and courage, but the rewards are immense. First, the suffering stops. This is the surest sign that we have chosen the right path again: the unnecessary suffering stops. More importantly, new possibilities open up everywhere in our life. Where everything seemed sterile and barren, and there seemed no possible answers, now everything seems possible. The possibilities may be scary, because each offers a path that we have never taken before, but it's a good kind of fear, like the fear that a fine pianist experiences before a concert."~from Shadow Dancing by Robin Robertson.

[Jung] told me that he once met a distinguished man, a Quaker, who could not imagine that he had ever done anything wrong in his life. "And do you know what happened to his children?" Jung asked. "The son became a thief, and the daughter a prostitute. Because the father would not take on his shadow, his share in the imperfection of human nature, his children were compelled to live out the dark side which he had ignored." (A. I. Allenby describing a conversation with C. G. Jung.)

"The secret is out: all of us, no exceptions, have qualities we won't let anyone see, including ourselves---our Shadow. If we face up to our dark side, our life can be energized. If not, there is the devil to pay. This is one of life's most urgent projects." Larry Dossey, M.D., Author of Healing Wounds

"Each psychology is a confession, and the worth of psychology for another person lies not in the places where he can identify with it because it satisfies his psychic needs, but where it provokes him to work out his own psychology in response". James Hillman

Credits:
Illustrations by Martha Jones courtesy of Cosmic Patterns