Pluto in Capricorn Series - Part II - Libra

In the first part of this series, I examined the general nature of Pluto transits. Now, I am going to spend several articles on how Pluto is expressed in the three previous signs so we can really examine the likely meaning of Pluto’s present transit in Capricorn. This article will discuss my view of the meaning of Pluto’s transit through the sign of Libra. You might want to read the first article of this series, if you haven’t done so, since it will help you understand the basis for all that I will be presenting here. You can read the first article of the series here:

Let me begin by giving you some dates. Pluto entered Libra in July of 1972 and remained in the sign of balance and harmony for approximately 12 years. In late 1983 and then again in the summer of 1984, Pluto entered the sign of Scorpio, which is the sign it rules and is therefore especially strong. Pluto stayed in Scorpio for about 11 years and entered Sagittarius in 1995. Pluto remained in Sagittarius for 13 years and in early and then again in late 2008, Pluto entered Capricorn, where it is today. What is interesting to note is that Pluto has a very elliptical orbit and therefore can be in a sign for as much to 30 years as well as move through them quite quickly, such as what you see here. The fact is that Pluto takes about 248 years to orbit the Sun, but spent only 35 years in the three signs I have just named. Thus, Pluto took only 14% of the time it takes to orbit the Sun, while traveling through 25% of the space of that orbit. What this means is the effect of Pluto is greatly intensified as it travels through the signs of Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius.

Pluto In Libra

This generation is here to learn, and then teach us about a new way or form of relating in partnership. Wherever Pluto resides is the territory where we must face the problems and abuses of previous generations and then from that knowledge, create an entirely new paradigm ‘out of whole cloth.’

Let’s look at history – until the 60’s, marriages were expected to remain together, no matter what was happening. The actual quality of their marriage was not taken into account for most people. This led to all sorts of problems, but it did tend to keep families together and therefore there was more stability, or at least there seemed to be. Thus, the divorce rate was quite low. On the other hand though, deep states of repression and its resultant depression were equally high. This situation couldn’t last forever and when Pluto entered Libra, the inevitable compensation and balancing began. Suddenly, freedom from the bondage of feeling forced to stay in unhappy marriages arose and with it a tremendous rise in divorce began. This is exactly when the Pluto in Libra generation was born.

This generation found itself facing an unprecedented number of divorced families. Even if a particular child lived with both parents, it was common for them to know many friends living in divorced families. Many children were splitting their time living with two separate parents and even two separate families, which occurred when their parents remarried. So, what kind of expectations did they grow up with? Here is a sentence I have heard very frequently from adults born with this astrological signature: “I don’t have any models for what a good marriage or partnership looks like.” They are right. Most of them don’t. At first, this may feel like a curse, at least for many. But it can be more than that. It is also a chance to create new forms of relationship as they must now do. This is exactly how Pluto works. Something outworn and outdated must first be released so that a totally new paradigm can emerge and be created. This is of course when Pluto expresses itself in a progressive way, taking humanity to a new and higher level of functioning in relationship. By progressive, I mean more open, spacious and authentic. Marriage and partnership has a chance to become true cooperation and even collaboration of two or more people, each of whom is able to be authentic and fully themselves (Aries – Libra’s opposite sign). This, I believe, is the nature of the paradigm shift that is possible for the Pluto in Libra generation as well as for those who follow it.

As always, just as there are progressive forces, there must be regressive ones that oppose all forms of change. These forces consistently glorify and idealize the past, for which they deeply long to return. These forces want to bring back “Ozzie and Harriet” and the Cleaver family for to them, those were the good old days when families ‘got it right.’ Only this was never true. For a great many people, it wasn’t true at all. In order for these times to ‘seem’ good, massive denial of one’s true thoughts and feelings was necessary. It was all about image and conformity to the societal expectations of the times. False fronts abounded and dominated the societal landscape. I used to listen in on my mother’s weekly bridge group. It was most illuminating. I heard what the four women really felt about their husbands and men in general. There was deep resentment, but also something that the women reading this article may enjoy and get a quiet smile from. These women “saw” their men. Their men had no idea what their ladies were feeling and expressing to each other, except for a very few. Yes, there was confusion and uncertainty, but there were many moments when the natural ‘female wisdom’ shone through and not always in a positive way. There is the “Kali – the destroyer” aspect to the female psyche that men would benefit from being aware of. I can’t go into all of this here, but this is when I saw that women were sometimes playing with their men just like a cat plays with a mouse.

I am mentioning the above because this sort of thing occurs only under very repressive conditions. Pluto falls away from its real and constructive purpose when control issues take over. This is when it becomes dark, manipulative and scary. When a person is driven by fear, this is when the best side of Pluto brings about a deterioration of the human being in favor of its more animal aspects. This is when everything is reduced to ‘survival mode.’ In other words, this is when we lose our true humanity and become unable to see wonderful possibilities that lie right in front of us. To get to a higher expression, we must replace fear with a willingness to progress into an unknown future that is truly new and, of course, unknown. If it’s truly new, then it is impossible to know in advance what it is likely to look like. To want to remain in an idealized past is itself repressive, since Plutonic forces are intending to take us directly into an unknown future. This is why courage is necessary. We cannot know what the future brings, so to embrace it, we must be willing to expose ourselves to the unknown.

For our Pluto in Libra generation, this is what they must do in the arena of relationship and partnership. Instead of fearing new forms of relationship because of emotional wounds from one’s own family and the lack of positive role models, they must develop the courage to create new models with a quality that embraces the authentic being of each individual engaged in the relationship. This will be a totally new model, made out of ‘whole cloth.’ It will look like a win-win relationship where collaboration replaces compromise, which, if you think about it, is a lose-lose situation.

It may feel risky as new models always do, but if you can engage in this creative process, you may find that you are guided by the transformative and wise energies of Pluto that harkens us into an unknown world that is potent and evolutionary for you and your partner, as well as for the entire human race. When it comes to relationships, you are our pioneers.

Part III of this series will be on the subject of Pluto in Scorpio.

As always, I hope this article will promote discussion and sharing. Please feel free to post your thoughts so that others might hear more on the ideas presented here.