Pluto on the ascendant, within 5 – 10 degrees of an angle brings the god of the underworld’s energies out very strongly in the individual’s life. The Ascendant/Descendant axis is one of relationship and Pluto rules taboo sex.
Therefore this combination is bound to breed love lives that feature anything from; fierce loyalty, deep love, protection, jealousy, secret affairs, possession, obsession, fetishes, bondage, S & M to the very worst abuse, violence, rape and crimes of passion. It rarely manifests as far as the end of that list thankfully.
However Pluto’s life and loves are always going have a torturous feel about them, they wouldn’t feel alive if they didn’t. They get a kick of reinventing and regenerating themselves with each affair. “50 Shades Of Grey” aside, the subject will be fascinated by these kinds of relationships, the psychology of sex itself or the minds of very dark and twisted characters.
I have since written this article “Twin Flames or Hell’s Fire” which will sometimes describe the hard aspect experience of these subjects. As someone with Pluto square my own ascendant it is certainly true for me.
Pluto Conjunct Ascendant
The subject will embody the raw, dark Pluto energy very physically. Sexuality will be in your face and hard to avoid. They will enjoy flaunting the taboo side of this placement and relish in playing the “Bad girl” or “Bad boy”. The Pluto stare can be unnerving and used as a means to control and dominate. Indeed those dark eyes burn so deep into their targets soul that one can feel quite violated by them.
Pluto here can be too intense for some people to handle, so Pluto Ascendant may find that people have a love/hate relationship with them and that they are giving the cold shoulder after a certain amount of time. Of course Pluto is also very adept at deep freeze behaviour itself.
Pluto demands so much attention that it can be very draining for anyone close to them. They can get the reputation of being the “Bunny Boiler” since they are the ultimate stalker and can obsess over someone through their tendency to become addicted to the sexual part of the relationship.
On the plus side these people are incredibly loyal and would die for those they love. They have the most dramatic and mesmerizing presence of all the planets rising and they are very, very hard to say no to. They do very well in politics and positions of power once they learn to lace their coercive tactics with a bit of charm.
Annise Parker (07’); American politician. One of the first openly gay mayors of a major US city. Isaac Mizrahi (09’); Flamboyant American fashion designer. Kurt Cobain (12’); American musician who suffered drug addiction, depression and eventual death through suspected suicide while under the influence of drugs aged 27. Jin Xing (13’); Trans-gender ballerina and choreographer. Her modern dance is “provocative”.
Emperor Nero (18’); Controversial, extravagant and tyrannical ruler know for many murders including his mother and possibly his spouse while pregnant. Also: Richard Branson, Glenn Close, Peter Gabriel, Judy Garland, K. D Lang, Steve Martin, Jon Venables, Nancy Sinatra, Keanu Reeves, Justin Bieber, Bilawal Bhutto.
Pluto Sextile/Trine Ascendant
I was thinking this aspect may be a Pluto-lite, but actually no. The intensity of the Pluto is still there but finds an outlet through artistic expression. This comes from the blossoming Venusian sextile and ripening Jupiter trine energy. Where these Pluto buds are blocked for any reason they can turn toxic and seething, resulting in violent tendencies.
Like the conjunction, the usual sexual magnetism is there, but the darker, kinky side of their intimate nature is not apparent on the outside and partners are often shocked when these sugar-coated sweeties have a hot and spicy center.
The trine has a great capacity for churning up the treasures from deep within Pluto’s mine and creating great wealth. The subject can easily become a workaholic, pushing itself too far and burning itself out. Because Pluto is so resilient however more often than not they emerge, phoenix-like from the flames, bigger, stronger and more powerful than before.
Since Pluto rules the realm of the afterlife these folk can tap into other dimensions giving them the gift of prophetic ability. They are able to access occult (hidden) knowledge, which is why they make great spies and hackers.
SEXTILES: Malcolm Young (01’): Guitarist of the heavy metal band AC/DC. Gustav Courbet (07’); French realist painter. “He depicted the harshness in life, and in so doing challenged contemporary academic ideas of art.” [1]. Shania Twain (11’); Canadian mega-selling queen of popular country music.
Aileen Wuornos (23’); American serial killer who claims to have murdered seven men in self-defense. Abused and raped as a child turned prostitute. Frida Khalo (29’); Mexican painter best known for her surreal and painfully graphic self-portraits and tumultuous relationship with fellow painter Diego Rivera. Also: Wreckless Eric, Silvio Berlusconi, Robbie Williams, Joseph Goebbels, Julie Andrews, Gwen Stefani, Errol Flynn, Harrison Ford.
TRINES: Sir George Wilkins (02’); Australian explorer who pioneered the use of the submarine for polar research. Nostradamus (09’); 16th-century French seer and apothecary whose predictions are still discussed today.
Arth Michel (09’); Belgian school teacher interested in black magic and astrology who raped, tortured and filmed male and female 12 year old twins and their younger sister with the permission of their parents!
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (24’); First lady of assassinated president JFK who’s bloodstain Chanel suit is so very iconic of Pluto. She went onto marry Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
Dave Gahan (24’); Lead singer of dark electronic band Depeche Mode. Dave is a recovering heroin addict and has had four brushes with death earning him the nickname “Cat”. One was a suicide attempt and the other his heart stopped for 2 minutes as a result of a “speedball “ overdose.
Clint Eastwood (27’); The archetypical brooding, strong but silent Plutonian outsider. Also; Rufus Wainwright, Serge Gainsbourg, Robert Redford, Margaret Thatcher, Joan Baez, Ian Richardson, Hayley Mills, Harry Secombe, Bruce Lee, Bob Monkhouse, Bob Geldof, Bettie Paige.
Pluto Square/Opposite Ascendant
Taboo sex, death, stalkers and spies, yes they are all here as you would expect with the square pushing Pluto’s seething larva to the surface. Pluto is not embodied in the subject like the conjunction. Instead, it plays out very strongly in relationships.
On the surface this person is nothing like the Pluto archetype, they may even look quite fluffy. It is only when they become sexually involved that their stalking, obsessive, compulsive side becomes apparent, but by then it is too late.
Their partner is shocked when they wake up and find a great ball and chain clamped to their ankle. When did that happen? It’s not that Pluto in hard aspect to the Ascendant is really that controlling, what has happened is somehow they have seduced their lover into following them so far down into their black velvet labyrinth that they simply cannot find their way out again.
In the process, they have become so enmeshed with their Pluto partner that severance would seem like a very painful and messy operation. This clamping can work both ways, the subject plays either Pluto or Persephone, for while Pluto squares/opposes the AC it also squares/conjuncts the DC. Sometimes they flip from one to the other in successive relationships, feeling bullied in one marriage only to divorce and go onto and play the tyrant in the next.
Taboo sex and fetishes seem to be a strong theme here and they may feel compelled to hide them or live a double life. If their sexual urges are suppressed then they can warp into violence or the rage can turn in on itself and result in mental illness. S & M may be a factor too. Hard aspects to Pluto sometimes feel like you have some massive karmic debt to pay off and that all relationships are “fated”.
SQUARES: George Blake (02’); Former British spy imprisoned for being a Russian double agent. He escaped prison in 1966 and fled to Russia where he still lives. He was Dutch born with a Jewish father and escaped the Nazi’s to live in the UK dressed as a Monk. Survivor!
Tracey Austin (16’); Former Number one Tennis champ turned commentator. Kristy McNichol (25’); American actress, retired after being diagnosed bi-polar. Came out as a lesbian after 20 years of living with her same-sex partner. Greta Scacchi (27’); American actress.
John Rechy (30’); American Author. Homosexual subject matter, work has been censored due to its sexual content. Also: Barbara Hutton, Billy Graham, Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, George III of UK, Guillaume Apollinaire, James Degorski, Margueritte Steinheil, Mark David Chapman, Mia Farrow, Steve Winwood, Depp/Paradis Davison, Wallis/Edward VIII Davison.
OPPOSITIONS: Liberace (10’); American pianist and singer. In the 1970’s was the highest paid entertainer in the world. His flamboyant image of excess gold and silver reflecting Pluto’s wealth of treasure. Liberace sued a newspaper for implying he was homosexual and did not admit to it all his life. Liberace had been HIV positive and symptomatic for years before his death but it was never made public.
Brenda Frazier (11’); Debutante and “poor little rich girl” who suffered tempestuous relationships, breakdowns, anorexia and bulimia. She felt victimized by the high life and died a hermit. Titanic hits Iceberg (29’); Symbolic of Pluto’s ice reclaiming the huge wealth and pulling it back down into the underworld.
Mark Quinn Denton; Rapist and robber who “tried to use his horoscope in defense for “inevitable actions,” His attorney said “It was the law of Karma. He had no control over his behavior.” Also: Andy Gibb, Antonio Banderas, Bill Hicks, Helen Keller, Jane Fonda, Paul Newman, Ronald Reagan, Tammy Wynette, Yehudi Menuhin.
