18 - Let's Clear the Air about Pluto

Intensity. Extremes. Depth. Death?! These are some of the words we kick around when we talk about Pluto. In this episode, we dismantle the somewhat negative reputation that Pluto carries and explore how it can actually be constructive. I also show you how to tell if you’re having a Pluto transit (it’s not as common as you think) and give you examples of how Pluto transits unfold in real life.

• 03:00 Pluto 101
• 12:17 Pluto in Aquarius
• 14:22 Identifying a Pluto transit
• 19:26 Interpreting a Pluto transit
• 21:46 Personal Pluto transit examples

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Transcript

Hi, I'm Claire Gallagher, and this is Third House Gossip, where we spill the astrological tea. So pour something delicious and let's chat. This podcast is sponsored by me. So to support the show and support yourself, come see me for an astrology reading. Just head to astrologywithclaire. com. That's astrology with C L A I R E dot com. 

Well hey astro lover, welcome back to Third House Gossip. I'm so glad to be here with you. Sending you lots of love. Today, we're going to talk all about Pluto. I think we need to clear the air, you know, clarify some things about that planet that has such an intense reputation, and for good reason. Pluto isn't something I talk a lot about because I am a traditional astrologer and so I rely more on the seven traditional planets.

But since I'm having some major Pluto transits, I thought it would be a great time to talk Pluto 101 and also what I'm observing because I bet some of you are having [00:01:00] a Pluto transit too. But first, I want to let you know about something super exciting and really important to me anyways. I have just released something called the Astrology Starter Kit and it is me teaching astrology from the ground up.

So if you enjoy this podcast and you like the concise, digestible way I present Complex info. Let's be real. Astrology is complicated. Then you're really going to love the starter kit. So in the course, we start with the qualities and elements, which is the foundation of all of it. Then we move into the planets, which are probably the most important thing to learn about in astrology.

Then I cover the zodiac signs, the houses, which is my favorite thing to talk about. And then I show you how to do a mini reading for yourself or for someone else. So if you're interested, just head to astrologywithclaire. com, it is linked in the classes tab or just on the main [00:02:00] homepage, it's easy to find.

So, the Astro Starter Kit is for you if you want to start learning how to read your birth chart on your own, if you want, to learn astrology quickly and easily. If you want to master the foundations instead of having to rely on Google, you know, and make your own interpretations, this is for you. If you want to maybe even potentially read for other people or just for yourself, you definitely want to start here.

If you have been curious about mentorship with me, this is a prerequisite so definitely get in there if you want to, you know, work with me on a deeper level. So again, you can find that on my website, astrologywithclaire. com, there are a lot more classes to come, including classes on aspects, transits, other timing techniques, but this was an essential place for me to start before I, you know, do all the fancy fun stuff.

So [00:03:00] I'll see you in there. And without further ado, let's dive into Pluto, our main dish for the day. So Pluto 101. It is an outer planet, so it speaks more to the collective vibe rather than the personal vibe, unless it is aspecting your chart really tightly. And I'll explain what tightly means in a little bit.

So Pluto moves super duper duper slow and takes approximately 20 years, give or take a little bit, to move through one zodiac sign. So we have to have some standards around what we consider to be a Pluto transit because it moves so very slowly. So you want to have some standards. I'll list those in a minute [00:04:00] because otherwise you'll be thinking you're having a Pluto transit for 20 years and and you're not.

I wouldn't wish that on anybody. So Pluto has kind of a bad reputation and I have had to talk to many clients about fear when it comes to Pluto moving through their chart. And I will be honest, I'm not immune to that fear either, and I have been kind of curious and a little apprehensive about what this current Pluto transit I'm experiencing would be about and how would it feel and all of that stuff, but now that I'm In it, I feel prepared, and I feel equipped, and so I want to offer a spin on Pluto that's a little bit more constructive, because I think that's important.

There's a big negativity bias in [00:05:00] astrology, because it's usually future oriented, and it's really easy to make scary stuff up about the future, including transits. And, I think it's important to balance that out just a little bit or a lot of it. So that's what I hope to do today. I don't want to minimize the truth and the fact that difficult things happen in life.

And astrology can describe difficult and hard things. But I just want to balance the scales just slightly, so that we have more of a well rounded view of this planet.

I like to think of the planets as having jobs, and having actions that they, they take in your life. You can also think of the planets as forces. And I describe this in great detail in the starter kit, so definitely check that out if you want more [00:06:00] Planet 101. But some of the things that I think Pluto does when it touches your chart is it intensifies things. So whatever point or planet in your natal chart that it is aspecting, it's going to magnify the natural expression of that planet in a big way.

So, for example, if you have Mars and Scorpio and Pluto squares it or opposes it or something like that, it's going to take What's already happening in your chart around Mars in Scorpio, and it's going to Intensify that a thousandfold, right? So it's kind of like a magnifying glass in that way 

Another thing that Pluto does is it really focuses you and your energy. It is a planet about depth and specialization. It is not a generalist It does not [00:07:00] spread its energy far and wide it is laser focused and so That can show up as. laser focus in your life, or as a deep simplification where there's one topic or maybe two topics that become exceptionally important for the duration of the Pluto transit.

And in a way, They're all consuming, which is my next action on my list is Pluto consumes. It consumes your attention, it consumes your time, it consumes your money, it consumes your energy, and it typically does it in a singular way. So again, when you're having a Pluto transit, it may feel like your whole life is, is changing, etc.

But really, it's typically one or two areas that are becoming really big, if that makes sense. [00:08:00] The word that we hear connected with Pluto all the time is transformation. And that's true. But we could also just say change. So Pluto heralds change and it heralds really deep change. Like, uh, it's, it's not surface level change.

It's like the fabric of your being and what you build your life upon. Those types of things begin to shift, uh, like the plates in the earth are shifting. That's kind of how Pluto moves. It undulates. It's beneath the surface and in this way it is very powerful and has the ability to help you shift major patterns in your life.

Sometimes that feels like things are falling apart. But sometimes it also feels like things are coming together. It depends on a lot of other factors in your natal chart, [00:09:00] um, as to how you might experience it. Another thing Pluto does, and this is piggybacking off of what I just said, is it breaks things down.

And in my opinion, it breaks things down so that it can build them back up. Hopefully in a better way for you. So it is true that Pluto can occasionally coincide with things coming apart, whether you willingly want to take something apart, or it comes from the outside and you're not expecting it.

But Pluto can also help you rebuild and restructure. It is a planet of renewal, and we don't talk about that very much. We tend to talk about the death part. You know, this is the God of the underworld. It is the, uh, Planet that represents cycles of death and rebirth. We tend to not focus on the rebirth.

And I think it's really [00:10:00] important to remember that there is a resurrective quality about Pluto, and it can help you really dig deep and bring your essence up from. Deep within your loins, if you will, up to the surface. So in that way, it renews. It also uncovers, uh, important things in your life and unearths things.

So sometimes that's, uh. information that maybe we didn't know previously, so that can happen. Or maybe it's some type of skill that you have been working on and have felt ill equipped with, and then suddenly Pluto comes along and you're like, I've got this. It really rumbles your confidence. That was a weird thing to say, but I'm rolling with it.

Yeah, so it has this tilling the soil type of action where it brings things that are deep within you up to the surface to be seen, [00:11:00] to be known, to be used. It also can deepen something. I kind of think of Pluto like Uh, the undertow and the ocean, right? So, something from deep below, uh, takes you down. And again, this is kind of like that focusing energy that Pluto has.

It can bring you down to the depths of something. And that sounds a little scary, but it doesn't have to be. Like, it can really get you down to the root. It can help you research something. It can help you really understand something from all facets. It really In a way helps you master a particular topic in your life.

There are a lot of themes of power when it comes to Pluto. And sometimes when Pluto is aspecting your chart, there can be a feeling of you're being overpowered or. A feeling of being empowered and [00:12:00] again, it depends on the planet that it's aspecting and other parts about you and your life as to how you might experience it, but that's definitely an action that I'm noticing and appreciating is the empowering quality that Pluto can bring.

So right now, Pluto is in the sign of Aquarius and that is a recent change. And Pluto is going to be in Aquarius for roughly the next 20 years. Okay, so this is a long haul exploration of Pluto doing its transformation and change and deepening and focusing in Aquarius subjects and topics. So Aquarius is an air sign.

And if we think of signs also as homes that the planets travel through that have resources and furnishings and stuff to use, that means Pluto [00:13:00] is going to be using air tools to do its transformative work. Those might include things like technology or information or the social fabric. These are air things.

They're also Aquarius things. From a really general collective level perspective, Pluto and Aquarius might be about collapsing and rebuilding major social structures.

It also might be about the power of technology in daily life and whether it is, quote, too much power or just enough. That's going to be a really interesting development over the next 20 years, especially with AI and how much sway and power it has within our moment to moment experience. There's so much more someone could say about Pluto and Aquarius, but I think what's more interesting is when Pluto becomes [00:14:00] personal.

You know, I'm not a mundane astrologer, meaning I don't typically read how the outer planets correlate with major changes in the economy or in politics. That's not my expertise. My expertise is how astrology and the outer planets become personal. So I want to walk you through that. So let's talk about.

How to identify if you're having a Pluto transit, and I think this is really important because I get a lot of clients telling me in their intake forms that they're having a Pluto transit, but when I check their chart, they're totally not having a Pluto transit. So this is how to define a Pluto transit.

Remember that Pluto. Moves at a glacial pace. All right. It's very, very slow. And when a planet moves slowly You need to [00:15:00] restrict the amount of influence you give it by transit. Maybe you've heard of the concept of orb, which is kind of like a halo of influence that a planet carries and Whether or not a planet in your natal chart is within that halo determines if you're having an aspect or a transit, etc You got to give Pluto a tiny halo, you know, it's not the Sun. It's not the moon Give Pluto a tiny halo if you want to be really accurate Don't give Pluto a halo at all.

For example, Pluto is at the second degree of Aquarius today as I'm recording this episode. So if you have a planet at the second degree of a fixed sign, Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio, you're having a Pluto transit. If you have something at the fourth degree, You're [00:16:00] not having a Pluto transit yet. In my opinion, it's not close enough yet.

So I only use same degree aspects with Pluto. Now I might, if I'm doing a reading for someone, look ahead a tad and give Pluto a halo of one degree on either side, but nothing more than that. And different astrologers do things different ways, but I think it's very important to be able to identify which transits are actually important and happening right now.

And if your moon is at 27 Aquarius and Pluto is at 2 Aquarius, You are not having a Pluto transit. And guess what? That's good news. Right? Not that Pluto transits are bad or things you need to brace for, but I definitely wouldn't lengthen a Pluto transit unnecessarily. Right? Gotta give it some boundaries.

So again, today Pluto is at two [00:17:00] degrees Aquarius, so you're having a Pluto transit if you have a planet or an angle at two Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio. And honestly, let's go ahead and incorporate the third degree of those signs because Pluto will be at the third degree of Aquarius around March 5th. And that's, I think, as far as it's going to go for a while. 

Now, notice I didn't say Libra and Gemini, which are the air signs. So technically, if you have something at 2 degrees Libra or Gemini, yeah, you're having a trine from Pluto. But, it's not going to be as noticeable or palpable as one of the more dynamic aspects.

And when I say that, I mean conjunction, square, or opposition. So again, if I were doing a timing reading for someone and I had a bunch of transits on my paper and I [00:18:00] was like, okay, what am I going to talk to this person about? I probably wouldn't talk about the Pluto trine. It wouldn't be a major focus for me because it's going to be a lot more subtle in my opinion. And I've noticed that happen in real life. And I'll give an example later. 

Now, I also wouldn't pay attention to Pluto transiting your other natal outer planets. I would only pay attention to Pluto transits to the seven visible planets. Again, that is my personal preference as a traditional astrologer. And if you want to do it a different way, you do you. That's the beauty of astrology. You can do it in all kinds of ways. But from a sound kind of rooted technique perspective. Those transits aren't going to be very noticeable.

Also good to know is how long does a Pluto transit last? It can last anywhere from a year to 18 months, so [00:19:00] there will be a moment in time when Pluto is making an exact aspect to your planet or angle, but it's going to be within an orb or halo of influence for quite some time, waxing and waning in power. You might have Pluto Aspect your planet or angle three times or five times. It really depends on where Pluto stations retrograde 

Okay, that was a lot of technical pieces. Let's move on to more fun pieces Okay, let's talk about how to interpret a Pluto transit. When Pluto aspects a planet in your natal chart, it is putting all of its focus and all of its renewal power onto that particular planet and whatever that planet manages and symbolizes in your chart. Now a planet has intrinsic meanings. And a planet has personal meanings, and I walk you through how to figure [00:20:00] this out in the astrology starter kit. So again, that's a great resource for this. But for example, Mars's job intrinsically for everyone is action, to act, to step out, to do. But in your chart, it may also be your relationship planet, or your career planet, or your body planet, okay?

Mars rules Aries and Scorpio, so wherever those planets are, excuse me, signs are in your natal chart, whatever houses they occupy, those are the topics of life that Mars is in charge of taking care of. So if Pluto is transiting your Mars, Pluto is not only redefining how you assert yourself or take action in the world. Your bravery and your courage, but is redoing and [00:21:00] remaking and transforming the personal topics that Mars manages in your life, which could be career or could be relationship.

I'm not going to teach you how to interpret what every type of Pluto transit means. Maybe we could do a webinar class on that in the future, but I do want to go through a few so that you kind of get a taste for what real life things can unfold during Pluto transits. And these are coming from My professional expertise and observation of other people's lives, as well as, you know, my journals and real experience.

So I've gone through, um, four major Pluto transits in the last five years. So I've had some Pretty good experience personally with what these feel like and what can unfold. The first thing I want to kind of reiterate is that there are multiple [00:22:00] transits happening to your chart at one time. And this can intensify or reduce the strength of a Pluto transit.

For example, I experienced several Saturn transits simultaneously, and I think the Saturn transits take the cake in terms of being obvious and really pivotal, but the timelines lined up. They were overlapping. I also think it's important to name the fact that it is very rare for a Pluto transit to coincide with an exact one time event happening on the day of the exact transit.

Occurrences tend to unfold gradually and deeply. Sure, there can be a sudden expression, but that's not exactly how this planet operates. And [00:23:00] so, I don't want you bracing for a surprise. I think it's much more a gradual rollout.

Alright, the first Pluto transit I want to dive into is Pluto transiting natal Venus. Now, I experienced this as an opposition, and I recently just finished it up, and I remember on the exact day You know, even though I just said, it's not exact events, but it was, it was curious on the exact day I sold my car. And I think this is interesting because Pluto does have kind of a releasing effect where you simplify and get rid of stuff.

And my Venus is in the eighth house of shared resources. And, you know, it was interesting that I sold my car for cash that day. More importantly in my chart, Venus is my career planet, and what Pluto did was a top to bottom change in [00:24:00] my career direction. So I'm still an astrologer, but this was one year after body astrology came out.

By the way, body astrology is three years old. Can you believe it? I wrote it almost six years ago now. That's just wild. Happy birthday, Body Astrology. Anyways, um, this transit occurred one year after Body Astrology was released, and I went through a major, how can I say this, identity crisis with my practice.

I realized that I did not want to practice medical astrology anymore, that it wasn't right for me, that I had a lot of You know things to figure out around that and so I dismantled my business and my my brand and I had to remake my entire brand from the ground up which meant I lost a lot of People that followed me or my audience because I just wasn't talking [00:25:00] about the things that they Expected me to talk about anymore and that meant a lot of a lot less income and just kind of starting from scratch So that was really intense for me.

Like I just said my Venus is in the eighth house. The eighth house is correlated with a lot of things but one of them is what we're afraid of and our anxieties and Mental health in general. This transit coincided, and I'm going to be vulnerable, but I think it's important to be honest when it comes to astrology. So, this coincided with an entire year of very intense mental health struggles, which required some treatment and required me stepping out of the public eye. 

When you have Pluto transiting your natal Venus, it's really going to depend on what Venus rules on your chart as to what themes are going to come up, but something I could generally say for all of you is that when [00:26:00] Pluto and Venus interact, there's definitely a change in what you think is important and what you want. Those types of things shift. You'll be really attuned to what doesn't feel good anymore and what you no longer enjoy and you will be making changes to accommodate that new information.

The next Pluto transit I experienced was a trine to my midheaven and this one reinforced everything I just said earlier and it was a lot more subtle because it was a trine. It wasn't super dynamic, wasn't super powerful. But it helped me rebuild my business and get more of a footing in my new direction.

And the last Pluto transit I'm going to bring in today is Pluto to the moon. And that's what I'm experiencing today as [00:27:00] I am recording this. It's the exact pass of Pluto on my little Aquarius moon. So it's still early, you know, it's just happening now, but I've definitely Observed a lot, and maybe I'll update you as this unfolds over the next year, but what I'm noticing is that There is a ton of focus and consumption on what my moon rules. Let me explain. So my moon is in the third house. So it has to use things like writing and communication and social connection to do its work.

It loves to teach, it loves to research, it loves to learn, okay? So when Pluto touches that type of moon, it's going to intensify those natural inclinations. So I've been really focused on, for example, creating [00:28:00] the starter kit for y'all and other courses that are coming out soon, and it has been like rapid fire. production. It's like I eat, breathe, and sleep making this stuff, and I'm loving it. But it is very intense. I'm kind of like a dog with a bone. Like, I start working, and then it's really hard to peel me away. It's not the healthiest approach, and I'm going to need to work on taking care of myself during this transit.

It is what's coming up naturally, so it's been a little challenging to take care of my body and I'm bringing that in because the moon does represent your physical body and how you care for it, your routines and your habits, and so my routines have been really extreme, like I'm waking up at 4 a. m.

naturally and starting working and creating right away. That's kind of weird, [00:29:00] but I'm, I'm loving it. Super Pluto. Okay, I'm Super Pluto. basically obsessed with a lot of mental projects, which is very Aquarius moon. The moon in my chart also rules the eighth house. And I've noticed right away that this transit is about contracts. and negotiation. And I can't talk much about that, but it's been super amazing to watch how verbatim and clear the transit has been. 

Okay, so I hope that was insightful and helped you view this very complex planet in a new light. I would love to hear from you. If you're having a Pluto transit, call into the podcast or write into the podcast. You can do that at astrologywithclaire. com slash gossip. You can leave me a voice note or you can just write something out.

I would also [00:30:00] love to support you during your Pluto transit. So if you think you're having one or you're not sure, come and see me for this cosmic moment reading, and I will walk you through that. And once again, if you want to start mastering this information and want to do it in a way that's easy and rather quick and concise and efficient, the astrology starter kit is definitely for you.

I will link it in the show notes and otherwise share this gossip with a friend y'all. Let's expand the third house gossip love. I'm so grateful to have you here and I will talk to you again very soon.