Pluto Transits — Way Down We Go

Pluto’s story

In Greek and Roman mythology, Pluto, the god of the underworld, took a fancy to Proserpina (Persephone) and kidnapped her, dragging her down to his realm to be his wife. Proserpina’s mother Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and the harvest, went into deep mourning and refused to let plants grow. All through the summer, the earth was as barren as mid-winter. There was no harvest and humanity was in danger of starving.

Jupiter, the ruler of the gods, intervened to bring Proserpina back to her mother. Pluto agreed to release her, but only if she had eaten nothing while she was in his realm.

And then the wily Pluto offered a pomegranate to Proserpina, who had refused food for months.

Without knowing of the “agreement,” starving Proserpina ate half the pomegranate, swallowing six of its seeds. Pluto triumphantly claimed that she was therefore bound to him and refused to let her go. Ceres threatened to starve the entire earth if she were not allowed to return.

Jupiter eventually proposed a compromise. Since Proserpina had swallowed six seeds, she would spend half the year in the underworld as wife of Pluto, and half the year in the upper world with her mother.

As a result, we have winter (the barren months when Proserpina is in the underworld and Ceres mourns), and spring, when she returns to her mother and the earth blossoms again.

The cycle of death and rebirth.

Transformation.

Phoenix rising from the ashes.

Significance

When Pluto moves into aspect to an important part of your chart, it can be a time that feels like burning to the ground. Pluto moves slowly, holding you in the fire for an extended time. Even worse, he has been in a slow retrograde since April, passing back and forth over the same spot at mid-degrees of Capricorn three times.

Three times the fire dancing on the same part of your chart.

Three times the transformative energy.

My story

15 Capricorn hits the very root of who I am — my career, my work, who I am in the world. And since December, that is what has been burning away.

In December (Pluto at 14 Capricorn) I fell headfirst down a flight of stairs and suffered what was diagnosed as a mild concussion.

A month later (Pluto at 15 Capricorn), my husband suffered a stroke.

In April (Pluto at 17 Capricorn and beginning to turn retrograde) I started physical therapy and learned that the damage to my body and brain, while not permanently disabling, had been worse than the doctors originally thought.

In May (Pluto backing up toward the sore spot), my husband and I had an average of six medical appointments per week. My husband is disabled and does not drive. I was responsible for getting us to all of them.

I traveled twice across the country and was away from home on business for nine days of that month, all the while trying to juggle the demands of taking care of my husband, taking care of my business, and taking care of myself.

In June, I had a meltdown.

In July, I had a worse meltdown.

I was sleeping about three hours a night, under constant anxiety, exhausted. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t think. A good day meant I remembered to get dressed, eat something, put on a good face for my family and the world, and dragged myself through whatever had to be done that day.

I was run all the way down to my core, til I couldn’t crawl no more, no more.

With Pluto at 15 Capricorn (again!), I finally broke down and talked to my doctor about the leftover effects from the concussion that were rapidly killing my ability to work and to function as a human being. The consensus was that the neurological effects were almost certainly temporary, but that I needed much more time to heal and a big reduction in stress. I was trying to carry three times the load of a normal person and was

burning
myself
down
to the
ground.

Hello, Pluto.

In August, despite the fear, despite knowing I was giving up essentially all my income, I released several large website clients and committed myself to recovering.

During my “rest” time, I did a chart interpretation for a friend. Stunned by the accuracy of the answers I gave, she suggested that I offer my skill as a service to clients.

When Pluto turned direct on September 26, I launched this site.

Slowly rising from the ashes.

Slowly recovering.

By the time Pluto is out of orb (moved away from the sore spot of 15 Capricorn) next spring, my world — and I — will look very different.

Watch me shine.