Symbolism of Pluto
Myth and Astronomical Fact Combine to Create Meanings of Planets
The significance of planets, derived from their orbit, position, physical qualities and mythological attributes gives deep insight into human nature and the universe.
When a gang of pilsner-swilling, irreverent astronomers met secretly in a gloomy cellar in Prague in the summer of 2006 and conspired to eject the planet Pluto from the Royal and Ancient Order of Planets - to leave him only with Number 134340 as if he were some faceless prisoner in a concentration camp - it came as no surprise to astrologers. Pluto, in his inherent nature, is the misfit, the reject, the outsider, the faceless prisoner. It could not have been otherwise.
Pluto, as an astrological symbol - planets are symbols and not causative powers - is tied to Hades, mythical Greek god of the underworld, lord of abundance and wealth, keeper and judge of the dead. When the astronomical characteristics of the planet - such things as orbit, relationship to other planets, and physical qualities - are converted into universal symbols through analogy and added to the mythology, powerful and penetrating insights into the universe and the humans who inhabit it are made available to us. All astrological symbolism derives from these two sources.
Hades, in the ancient Greek, means invisible (Pluto is the Roman equivalent of Hades). He wore the Helmet of Darkness which allowed him to move unseen, and kept his own thoughts secret while revealing the secret thoughts of others. He ruled all things beneath the surface of the Earth.
The planet therefore rules all subterranean forces and their consequences, or all things which in their origin, nature, operation or substance come from beneath the surface. In geology, tectonic forces and the earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building that result from them are examples. On a deeper and broader level, it is the tensions, pressures and imbalances lying deep beneath the surface that are of interest. In astronomy, the huge stars that die, are crushed by the power of their own attractive forces, and explode violently as supernovae - creating the heavy elements that will some day become new life on some as yet unformed planet - provide good examples of the action of Pluto. The star has died and will never be again, yet the light, energy and substance it created in its life and its death are forever and are never lost. Pluto rules all deep transformations of this sort, on any level of being.
In a human being the planet shows the irresistible urges and forces that drive us toward our fate, in spite of ourselves. He is obsession and compulsion. He is violent force used against us, or by us against others. Behind the scenes manipulations and attempts at control lie within his dominion.
The planet inhabits the fringes of the solar system and everything about Pluto's orbit, physical qualities and relationship to other planets is eccentric, skewed, extreme, and out-of-the-ordinary. He is the outcast, the rejected, the misfit, and walks alone. He takes an outside view of life, is apt to be lopsided, deviates from the norm, and is liable to twist or distort things. His approach is oblique and not straightforward, and he goes his own way, ignoring the opinions of others, without regard for socially accepted modes of behavior. He is extreme in all his expressions, and is fanatical or zealous in all his views and often overwhelmed by deep and powerful feelings.
All forms of isolation, of separation from the undifferentiated mass, or of refinement out of the dross - like gold - fall under the rulership of Pluto. Pluto shows elimination of waste, impurities, and all things that have outlived their usefulness or are no longer fit.
The action of Pluto is ruthless, implacable, irresistible and final. In the end, Pluto will force a person to see themselves as they really are, and that is one of the most difficult and terrifying things a human being will ever have to face.
