Pluto

Pluto is the planet of depth, power and transformation. It describes what you hold at your core, what you are drawn to confront, and where life asks you to let go of something worn out so that something truer can grow. It is intense, private and honest.

Cycle and speed

Pluto takes about 248 years to orbit the Sun, and its path is so uneven that it spends between roughly 12 and 31 years in a sign. Each year it turns retrograde for about five or six months. Its sign belongs to a whole generation, while its house and aspects show how it works for you personally. In astronomy, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has classed Pluto as a dwarf planet since 2006; astrology still uses it as before.

Rulership

Pluto is the modern ruler of Scorpio, the sign of depth, loyalty and regeneration. Before its discovery in 1930, Scorpio was ruled by Mars, and many astrologers keep both. There is no widely agreed sign of exaltation or fall for Pluto.

When it is strong

A mature Pluto gives resilience and honesty. You do not fear difficult emotions, you can face a crisis without losing yourself and you are able to reinvent yourself again and again. People often feel a quiet intensity and trustworthiness.

When it is stressed

Strain can appear as control issues, obsession, jealousy, power struggles, secrecy or all-or-nothing thinking. You may cling to what should be released, or push others to change. Therapy, journaling and honest conversations are useful tools for working with this energy.

How to read it in your chart

• Sign: the transformation theme of your generation.
• House: the area of life where you meet the deepest changes and where you most need to be real.
• Aspects: Pluto matters most when it forms a tight aspect to the Sun, Moon, an angle or a personal planet. That area is where you feel intensity and the potential for renewal.

Pluto does not ask for destruction. It asks for truth, and for the courage to rebuild.