Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur. Pic by me.

We talk each month about the risks of losing it under the influence of a Moon-Pluto aspect.

Anyone who has this aspect natally or, indeed, Moon-Pluto square, Moon-Pluto conjunction or a Scorpio Moon lives with it daily. They know what it is like to keep things tightly under control. To let go is not only scary, but scary for those around you! So, usually, you don’t.

At least until something else triggers it.

One of the first things you learn when studying aspects is to always be aware when you see a pattern or a theme in your natal chart repeated in the planetary weather- one of the reasons why I go to ground, if possible, or avoid any potential explosive situations, if possible, or at the very least schedule some decent sweating. And this morning I worked hard enough at the gym to give new meaning to the term “knee trembler”.

Unfortunately for the incompetent idiot on the other end of the phone today when I was struggling to do something apparently simple with a telecommunication company (who shall not be named) I obviously didn’t follow my own advice well enough today or sweat nearly enough. He got both barrels of an extremely focused and cutting Mars in Scorpio in the 8^th (yep, this months opposition trined beautifully into my Mars- giving it even more power…).

As I mentioned yesterday, under the Cancer Moon our thoughts turn to our tummy- and more specifically the relative fullness of it. If you had a Mum that would make you cookies and milk to soothe your feelings, you may know the warmth that something sweet and comforting does for your emotions. My Mum didn’t believe in that (no blood, no noise) which, in retrospect, is probably a good thing.

Having said that, today I did eat sugar- something I had pretty well given up back in February. Sure it wasn’t a lot of sugar (a lemonade icy pole worth about 60 calories), but it was still sugar.

Tonight we are doing my version of thai green chicken- I go easy on the coconut milk and heavy on the herbs and veg. It is the sort of comfort food that is truly nourishing- the warm chicken sauce soothes the tum, whilst the fragrant spices soothe the soul. Comfort food goes temple style.

And that’s about the only segue you will get into todays photo too- the temple reference, that is. Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur is a Hindu temple, place of worship, with a lot of stairs- which I climbed- and a lot of manky monkeys (which I ignored).

Be careful out there.

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There you are sailing down the freeway. The sun is shining through the sunroof, the ipod is plugged in and shuffling only good stuff. Life is good.

Then it happens. Some idiot has broken down and the traffic is piled up from here to eternity.

Venus didn’t get much of a smooth run through Libra before coming hard up against Uranus. Unexpectedly so. Unexpectedly hard.

All of a sudden the road ahead isn’t quite so rosy.

Uranus adds a little quirk, a little unexpected spark. Possibly a little shakeup. And in some cases, a little shaking can be what is required (or not)- especially in relationships. Sameness and perfection can be a little wearing. Check out my post Breaking Free for more on Venus/Uranus aspects.

So you clear the traffic snarl and get set for a clear run when up ahead you see the storm clouds brewing. These aren’t just any storm clouds. These are dark, heavy, all pervasive, low hanging storm clouds- and the sunroof appears to be stuck open… Yep, Venus has run hard into Pluto.

A few months ago I posted some stuff on Venus/Pluto connections. (Check out There’s a Fine Line Between Pleasure and Pain). This aspect can manifest itself as deeply exciting and intensely as a really strong connection- positive power.

Or it can be a subversive, manipulative, obsessive, stalkingly intrusive and downright pitiable attempt to control or possess. With Venus in Libra, the rather nastier intentions may be wrapped up in hearts and flowers and a veneer of gentleness, but with Pluto in the mix, the real intentions are very different-exceedingly selfish and often more about power than love.

One of the most common sets of questions I have coming through as search words begin with “how can I get a (insert appropriate sign here, but the most common one is Aries) man to fall in love with me” or how can I keep my (insert appropriate sign here, but the most common one is Aries) man?” This is Venus/Pluto at play.

This particular Venus/Pluto square is especially potent. Pluto has just come out of months of hibernation where all of his deepest desires and general loathing and petty jealousies have been allowed to bubble and ferment within him. Check out my post It’s a Metamorphosis for the most critical degrees of this transit.

All of this can be used for powerful healing and transformation, but sadly, it is more often the opposite.

Venus in Libra doesn’t like to get her hands dirty or break a nail, and will prefer to get what she wants in an indirect or hidden way. Better yet is to have someone else do your dirty work. Pluto also likes to be subversive wherever possible- together, the combination is downright threatening.

Whichever way you may be tempted to use (or abuse) your power, when it comes to Venus/Pluto squares remember the laws of karma:

Do as you will so long as you hurt no one else, or impede the free will of someone else…and expect whatever you give out to come back threefold…

When we were in NZ the other week, my friend showed us this really cool website that demonstrated the earthquakes in Christchurch as they were happening. It showed in timelapse the quakes in real-ish time.

Quakes are, of course, a very Pluto phenomenon- ultimate destruction from deep below the surface of the Earth. Power at its’ absolute uncontrollable ultimate level.

In astrological terms, Pluto is a big hitter. The equivalent of the boss who draws a great big red line through the white paper you have spent countless hours of unpaid overtime on with the words “a few suggested changes” or the Building Inspector who decides that the entire house is not compliant with regulations because you encroached 2cm into a boundary and therefore the whole thing needs to be torn down.

Pluto is currently stationed ready to go direct. And he isn’t happy. All of his rage and loathing has been building and turned within for the last however many months he has been retrograde and now it is ready to spew out. Delightful.

If you happen to have a natal planet or chart point at or around 3-5 Capricorn, Libra, Cancer or Aries or even in Taurus, Virgo, Pisces or Scorpio, you may be looking down the barrel at enormous change or, as the Pet Shop Boys term it, a metamorphosis: it’s all about change, it’s a metamorphosis.

OK, in the case of that song, it is about coming out, but in Pluto terms, there may be incredible and powerful, all encompassing, absolutely complete and inescapable personal change.

Every astrologer has war stories about Pluto stations and direct hits. Great big scary and hairy war stories. It doesn’t need to be that scary and hairy. Depending on the relationship you have with Pluto natally, or the relationship you have with the planet Pluto is hitting, will depend on how you cope with the change.

As an example, a few years ago I had (amongst other stuff) Pluto squaring my natal Moon. All sorts of really manky stuff was supposed to happen (if I had been studying astro at the time, I may have been more concerned). And yes, some painful emotional brown stuff did hit the proverbial fan. But it wasn’t as bad as t could have been. Why? Because I live with a hard Pluto/Moon aspect every day of my life. I have integrated Pluto.

The harder aspect was when Pluto crossed into Capricorn and squared Saturn. OMG- walls came tumbling down. Saturn is the least aspected and worst integrated of planets in my chart. Get the idea?

Also, not every transformation or metamorphosis has to be shitty. Think of the wisteria in my photo. One minute it’s bare branch, the next, simply gorgeous. Think also of the Strawberry Cloud Cake (Annabel Langbein’s recipe from The Free Range Cook) I made tonight for my weekend visitors. Who would think that 2 egg whites, some sugar and a punnet of strawberries could transform into something so light and completely delectable as it does?

Now don’t get me wrong, Pluto transits, especially at the station need to be taken notice of, in fact, you ignore these at your own peril. Obsession, manipulation, power struggles and control issues are absolutely the order of the day. This is one of those times where therapy and coaching can be really worthwhile.  A heavy Pluto influence may have you emerging as a different person. But is that necessarily something to run from?

Pluto pushes us towards our souls purpose- whatever that happens to be. And anything that happens under a Pluto transit happens for a reason. Pluto only kicks down that which is not right and pure and integral to the fulfilment we are seeking…or not. That isn’t to say that we should be all sado masochistic and get off on the pain of it all, but rather that we consider why.

On a personal note, Pluto is station direct trine my progressed Sun and north node, and is tracking through the 10^th house in my chart. Even I know that my lifes’ purpose and career is being tweaked with here. Power will come and go, I will attempt to control the uncontrollable- that is just what I do. But at the end of the day, if Pluto wants to kick something over, that is exactly what he will do.

All I can hope is at the end I get something gorgeously purple like the wisteria from the deadness or gloriously pink and fluffy and sweet like the cloud cake. It’s all about change- it’s a metamorphosis.

Pluto purge? A dam outside of Valencia. Pic by Daniel.

Far from the optimism of yesterday, I woke this morning feeling decidedly seedy, exhausted and absolutely over it…whatever “it” is.

After moving hotels for the final few nights (there was a Blasting & Drilling Conference on at the Novotel & seriously I would prefer not to be staying in a hotel full of demolition experts) last night was spent in absolute luxury. So my annoyance at firstly being woken at midnight by an alarm buzzer and then at 4.30am with worries associated with the job I am here for was purely over wasting such a lush bed.

Pluto/Moon brought with it a seething anger and a purging of an entirely different and stomach related sort (too much information?). Pluto is still playing games with my natal Mars (in Scorpio) and Mercury (in Pisces), so Pluto/Moon each month sets off my Mars beautifully, with resultant communication of the “are you sure you want to faff with me today?” style. With Jupiter and Uranus feeding into the aspects, my temper today was explosive (Pluto), over the top (Jupiter), irrational and unexpected (Uranus) and passionate (Mars). Actually, drilling and blasting is a very Pluto thing to do…

A purge of a more productive nature on the treadmill has brought the mood back into a level of rationality (sweat is so incredibly purifying)- at least enough for me to string more than three words together without punctuation that Gordon Ramsay would be proud of.

Moon/Pluto contacts have a Scorpionic element about them- one associated with elimination, controlled power, detoxification, purification and purging. How you deal withy this energy depends on the contacts it makes to your natal chart and whether you are attuned to this energy from birth eg I have Moon-Pluto opposition natally, so “get” it…if you have a Scorpio Moon, you will be much the same.

We have a Full Moon just after 4pm Sydney time tomorrow at 22 Capricorn/Cancer. More on that one tomorrow morning.

The photo today is another taken from my BMF in Valencia. Seriously a Pluto purge…

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A few months ago I posted a piece on the Venus/Pluto conjunction (Did the Earth Move For You?) Today we have the opposite end of the spectrum- Venus opposing Pluto. Given that I am in the middle of an office move at present and in my own little piece of personal hell, I figured that we should all take a little trip to the Underworld and explore this aspect in the birth chart.

With the opposition, all the challenging parts of Venus and Pluto apply. This is obsession, possession, passion and Machiavellian (like that word for early on a Saturday morning?) manipulation at its’ best.  

If you have Venus opposite, square or even inconjunct (150 degrees) Pluto you will know about all of this. Likewise, if you have Venus in Scorpio or, to a lesser degree, Pluto in the 7^th house or Venus in the 8^th. For the record, I have Pluto in the 7^th and Venus and Pluto exactly inconjunct. I admit it- I have control issues and difficulty in detaching or letting go and I do have a weird attraction to power plays…Venus/Pluto absolutely is at play in my relationships.

Venus/Pluto contacts are passionate and intense. They can be controlling, possessive, obsessive and jealous. They can manipulate their partner using love and sex. They can be transformative and they can be dark indeed. They are also brutally honest.

With these more challenging aspects, there may also be a difficulty in controlling desires. You want something or someone so very badly, so intensely, so extremely and so completely that all rational thought can fly north for the winter. It doesn’t matter whether what you want is free to come to you or whether it belongs to someone else…you can’t help craving it. You manipulate and play games until you get what you want- but have you really? Love and power become confused to the extent that your biggest fear may be in letting yourself be equal to another- only self confidence will allow you to completely trust another.

When you are in a relationship, your expectations can be ridiculously high- especially in regards to their honesty, fidelity and loyalty…yours may be a little more questionable. Quite often, your dark side emerges sometime into the partnership (although partnership is not often a word associated with Venus/Pluto). Be careful not to let the power games ruin what is still actually a good thing- the crappy stuff you see and obsess over is more than likely coming from within you, not him.

And when it is over? Regardless of whether it was unrequited lust, a single night of guilt ridden passion or a long term relationship, letting go is something that does not come easily to you- even when you are in pain. In some cases, it is the pain that reminds you that you feel, and the pain which you find yourself coming back for again and again.

I have Venus in Aries inconjunct my 7^th house Pluto and I can obsess and hang on to the fantasy long past its end date and then suddenly wake one morning and it will be gone. If, however, your Venus is in a fixed sign (and especially Scorpio or Taurus) you may constantly be holding onto something that is not longer true or seeking a closure that simply doesn’t come.

You hate with as much passion as you love- Venus/Pluto revenge fantasies are as colourful as their sexual fantasies can be. There is indeed a fine line between pleasure & pain. In fact, your need for intensity can push you into relationships which you know are no good for you. The temptation may be to search for passion in a secret or forbidden way- perhaps with someone who is out of bounds or otherwise attached.

The upside of all of this intensity and passion is the potential for creativity and transformative experiences that comes from Venus/Pluto challenges. You know only too well what pain is like, and appreciate real love and pleasure all the more. When you are able to give yourself over completely, that is when the healing can start.

When Pluto meets up with Venus (Venus transits are normally quicker and therefore have unlikely to have long term impact) by transit, even if you are not by birth a Pluto type, you will be for the term of this transit. You may find yourself yearning after a married man, involved in something with power plays or indulging in something intensely secretive. You may also find it more difficult to control your thoughts, with desires for a person, relationship or whatever never far from your mind. If you already have Pluto/Venus contacts, the impact of this transit will magnify these.

As an example, a few years ago, Pluto (in Sagittarius) was trine my natal Venus. My natal Venus/Pluto aspect was activated, and the trine by transit just made what was happening, happen easier (and by “easier” do not read “pain-free”) …all the barriers were removed.

Don’t just look at your own chart here. Think about that of those you are in relationships with. A Venus/Pluto contact can happen through synastry. It can occur if you are involved with someone who has a Venus/Pluto signature. There may be someone in your life who forces you to see something about yourself that you wanted to keep hidden. There may be someone in your life that transforms you, brings you to life. There could be someone who helps you destroy something which is no longer good. There may be someone who you allow to control you, or manipulate you or possess you. If you look at the charts of these people, it is likely that you will find a Scorpio or Venus/Pluto aspect there…or even an 8^th house contact by synastry. Have a think about it.

Venus/Pluto oppositions in synastry (ie your Venus is opposite his Pluto or vice versa…sounds a tad mucky when put like that…) the attraction can go between love and hate and right back again super fast. The relationship will be definitely volatile, possibly unrequited, but, if sexual in nature, undeniably and addictively intense. This is the sort of passion that will never be forgotten, the affair that you will compare all others to.

In any Venus/Pluto relationship, each partner’s deepest fears, insecurities and fantasies are dragged kicking and screaming out of the closet. In healthy relationships, this is change your life stuff. Where the motivations of one or the other are not so “pure”, passion can very quickly turn to pain and power struggles… and the Pluto person will usually hold the power, with the Venus person the “submissive” partner. This in itself can cause frustrations, jealousy and manipulation- staying together is as much a challenge as letting go.

So when Venus and Pluto hook up by opposition, it is very like that one night stand (the opposition often implies a coming together and pulling apart) or blazing short term affair that changed you in some way. The sex may have been incredibly good or incredibly bad- it doesn’t matter. What is important is the transformative experience- what you learned from it and how it has changed you…because it will have,.. changed you, that is!