Jeannette Lewis-Hill
A Plutonic tragedy
Some years ago, a client with a close Moon/Pluto opposition sat peacefully and apparently happy through an entire reading, reassuring the astrologer that she was well in touch with her inner world and that her emotions had long ago been understood, ‘cleared' and dealt with. ‘Life was absolutely in order,' she indicated.
This is a good thing to hear from a person, but a Pluto-affected Moon has the sort of reputation that usually indicates a background of personal trauma or troublesome emotional intensity. There is often a sense of unexplained danger that troubles the native.
The astrologer was suspicious and sensed that something was not well – that Pluto's dark secrets lurked beneath the surface. Some gentle probing gave no results, either in respect to mothers and family, security, instincts or emotional triggers – all the Moon-ruled areas that are commonly stressed by Pluto.
During the consultation, adverse feelings were nowhere to be seen and the client appeared very open. The session closed as pleasantly as it had begun, without any special revelations.
But later the astrologer was shaken to her roots when a friend of the client's commented that ‘Mrs. X' had recently lost two sons to suicide, one after another.
The fact that this was not mentioned during the reading demonstrates how Scorpio Sun people often keep their deeper traumas private whilst chatting amiably about the ‘edited' portions of their lives. To be fair to the client, this tragedy was not what she had come to inquire about.
The suicides were obviously devastating for this mother, and were an extreme example of the losses or crises that often accompany the Pluto/Moon. In this case the Moon, as mother-archetype, suffered the ultimate tragedy. The affliction to the Moon is very much reinforced by the 4th / 10th house angularity of the Moon/Pluto opposition, which strengthens Pluto's malevolence. [Planets at the angles are more potent.]
This opposition on the parental axis makes a powerful statement about family and parental heritage, and one wonders if there has been other tragedy for this family.
The client's 5th house of children is ruled by Pisces, a sign of sacrifice, although Pisces' two rulers, Jupiter and Neptune, are both in good shape in the 2nd and 11th houses. But chillingly, the Black Moon sits on the 5th cusp – often a very negative presence and a study all on its own.
The 12th house as the abode of the Sun relates to the pre-natal epoch, hidden family heritage, self-undoing and hidden enemies. Linking it by aspect to the parental axis is ominous [Sun square MC/IC]; the 12th house is the 8th from the 5th . In a turned chart this is the death of children.
The psychological mechanics of the Pluto-Moon aspect
The Moon and Pluto both define survival issues in a natal chart, and control and secrecy are often seen as the means to ensure this survival. To have a Pluto/Moon is to perceive much danger in life, and the natives consequently adapt various self-protective attitudes. Control is aimed at minimising vulnerability – especially the vulnerability of an unguarded heart.
But tension occurs between control and openness because of Pluto's dual nature. It wants to both keep secrets and to expose them. As the writer later discovered, the client chose to make a journey to Pluto's underworld in order to expose and release the complex knot of emotions that dwelt there as a result of her loss.
This took the utmost courage, especially for one with an Aquarian Moon whose whole instinct is to deal with feelings at the level of the intellect. Her Sun and Moon form a square from Scorpio to Aquarius, highlighting the water/air tension in the chart – or the heart / head axis. She chose heart – the only real solution to her need to heal.
Her Sun in a partile square to Pluto forms a tight T-square with the Moon. This is a heavy dynamic to bear in a chart, - combining both the lights with the annihilating powers of Pluto. The Sun rules the father and the Moon rules the mother. To link them in hard aspect to Pluto usually makes heavy weather of family life for one reason or another.
With such a chart, the experiences of family life at best can totally transform one – generally through a difficult journey of self-discovery. At worst – there are stories like this one, or cases of abuse within the family unit. Pluto is so under-worldly, so fond of concealment or manipulation, that people with this dynamic often fail to recognise what befell them in childhood, and suffer the emotional consequences for no apparent reason. That was certainly not the case with this client however.
A partile trine from the client's Mars to Pluto enhances the power of the God of the Underworld considerably and brings up the uncomfortable possibility of violence. In this case, the violence was self-harm by the two sons. The rising Mars also sextiles the Moon and – importantly – disposits the Sun, which at least helps by conferring courage and will on the native.
The Pluto/Moon in general
We can expand upon the general qualities of the Moon a little more here. The Moon is very much about undercurrents, instinctive or habitual responses and reactions. It represents both the shifting mortal personality and the soul-stuff as it is being honed by Life.
It is conservative – meaning that the Moon's instincts are geared towards conserving our survival. ‘Safety' is an important lunar word, - ‘needs' is another one. Conserving can also mean ‘retaining.' Moon-ruled Cancerians are well known for their cupboards, stashed to the hilt with treasures for a rainy day, just in case.
Pluto, when in contact with the Moon, is dedicated to cleaning out the cupboards and to being the instrument which hones the lunar soul.
If one studies the White Eagle spiritual teachings, one learns that the soul is likened to a rough diamond that continually receives new polished facets with each succeeding lifetime, until eventually the soul shines brilliantly, transparently radiating the spiritual light that burns within.
This is a good metaphor for the action of Pluto with the Moon. Pluto makes the facets on the diamond of the Moon. To do this, it must cut. The cuts hurt and material is lost, - and that is very much how we feel the action of these planets in our lives.
The Moon is not just a victim here, it benefits from Pluto's surgery. Since the Moon relates to our sense of security, plutonic deprivation can be very threatening. But consider: without the cutting away of our long-held psychic treasures and our old habits, would we ever evolve? Or would we be like babies with lollies, holding fiercely to that which rots us?
That is the spiritual goal of Pluto's ministrations on the Moon. In everyday reality, however, Pluto on the Moon more usually shows a native who likes to control their emotions or their emotional exposure.
Part of the control spectrum is shown in the great need for privacy that Pluto brings, and the native is generally secretive about whatever is most deeply worrying to them. To divulge or expose is to face danger – this is plutonic logic. The result is that – in the unquestioning person – inner feeling is repressed and viewed as dangerous. They often experience continual existential alarm at what seem to be destructive currents within their psyche. The native doesn't go there, and certainly does not share those deep and fearful thoughts. Ominously, the emotional energy erupts into other areas of life or even worse, it is so well suppressed that illness results from the intensity of the inner turmoil.
Perhaps the Intelligent Cosmos uses Pluto/Moon people to further the understanding of how the human psyche works. Once they sort out their own discomfort these natives become rather expert in decoding human behaviour.
Hence, another analogy: Pluto is like the grain of sand in the oyster of the Moon. The resulting refined soul is like the pearl – after much work to get rid of the irritation.
Some of us have natal Moon/Pluto aspects, and most of us receive a Pluto transit to our Moon at some point in our lives. It is the former group who are most likely to respond to the irritation and threat of Pluto with life-changing quests, because the issue of their psychological survival and comfort is ever-present, - the grain in the oyster.
Mohandas Gandhi had a Pluto-Moon fixed square [Taurus/Leo]. His battle with a rampant sexual nature is well known – consider the power of a Leo Moon in T-square to Pluto/Jupiter opposing Venus/Mars. Scorpio rising baked this cake, so to speak, and Gandhi had to transform [a Pluto-word] his great lust to harness his energy for political and spiritual goals. Pluto is the great purifier because it cuts away our non-essentials – those things that block us. Gandhi became a disciplined crusader for non-violence and the simple life. His Moon ruled the 9 th house of spiritual learning, and this house provided the solution to the overblown desire nature which threatened to run away with his life.
The mother in our story also has a Pluto-affected Moon ruling her 9 th house. She has well and truly grasped her nettle and moved forward in life with great courage. Many people are drawn to her for counsel and wisdom and she is a stalwart in her family. Two children remain from the original four, and a grandchild has just arrived this year. The woman knows her purpose in life and expresses herself in terms of full acceptance of her loss and also of the strength it has brought in its wake. The world is much richer for her Plutonic presence.
Jeannette Lewis-Hill is Principal of the Orion Academy of Astrology in Riverton, Western Australia. She holds a Diploma from the Astrological Guild of Educators, and has also had a long career as an artist and curator. Her astrological interests date back to 1981 and she has been practicing since 1990.
© 2007
This article has been written with the full permission of the client in the example chart.