How the Pluto-Saturn Square may Affect People born with that Aspect

©2008-9 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Pluto and Saturn are square in the sky now, and it’s likely to stir up long-standing issues for people born with the Pluto-Saturn conjunction, square, trine, or opposition in their charts. The angle formed by the transiting planets doesn’t have to be the same as the natal angle in order for it to have an impact. I’ve noted this phenomenon countless times with significant events in newsmakers’ lives—we’ll see it later with Britney Spears’ chart.

Over 40 years as a practicing astrologer, I also found that when strong transits like the current conjunction form in the sky, clients who have that aspect natally crowd into the consultation room. It’s given me plenty of opportunity to observe the dynamics of particular aspects in action.  It’s even true, oddly enough, when the transiting aspect isn’t touching strongly on natal positions.

Outer Planet Transits and the Tuning Fork Principle

 My teacher, Richard Idemon was the one who noted that transiting aspects bring out the aspects’ qualities in the lives of people with that same pair of planets in aspect in their natal chart.

  He said that the aspect in the heavens seems to stir up related issues and life patterns in those who have the natal aspect, as though it were a cosmic tuning fork vibrating to their own personal chord.  (A tuning fork is a device used in tuning musical instruments.)

 My explanation of the tuning fork effect involves the climate of the times and how aspects between the outer planets go along with dramatic historical events and powerful social and economic developments that create a pervasive emotional climate. When an aspect forms in the sky, people with the same aspect strong natally can be set off emotionally by a repetition of the same or similar astrological, social, and global conditions.

 It registers as an, “Uh oh—it’s coming around again!” feeling of déjà vu.) Thus, they might be impelled to take strong action to relieve the renewed internal conflict or to express the higher potentials of the natal aspect.  It can be a pivotal moment in which they decide to let go of an undesired pattern for all times.

(Incidentally, you who were born with a conjunction, square, trine, or opposition between Saturn and Uranus may have experienced a similar sort of quickening in recent months as transiting Saturn opposed transiting Uranus, although the set of issues would have been different.)

 What‘s the Déjà vu for You?

Below are some of the types of issues represented by Pluto and Saturn. If you’re a Pluto-Saturn person, it’s important to consider whether you’re doing too much or too little about those planets’ concerns.  If you fit the description under “Excess,” you’re probably overdoing it and need to ease off.  If you’re a Pluto-Saturn type, it’s unlikely you fit the description under “Deficit.”  However, the people you’re trying to fix might fit it all too well—they’re your opposite number.

• SATURN ISSUES: Structure; discipline; desire for quality and accomplishment; maturity; authority; perseverance; realism.
• EXCESS: Rigid, perfectionistic, hypercritical, authoritarian; fearful, depressed; workaholic.
• DEFICIT: Lack self-discipline, structure, goals, and planning; irresponsible, give up easily.

•  PLUTO ISSUES: Power and control; trust; to analyze what lies beneath the surface and eliminate the undesirable; separateness;  holding on to things or feelings; death and rebirth.
• EXCESS: Alternates isolation/symbiosis; controlling; mistrustful; overly intense; bitter, vengeful.
• DEFICIT: Unable to look deeply within; lack of psychological insight; insufficient desire for transformation; stuck.

Many Pluto-Saturn people have faced hard times like these before and gotten through them with sheer grit. Though they may be heartily tired of being in the trenches, they have qualities that others can learn from. I always say they have the strength of diamonds. 

During this transit, Pluto-Saturn people may learn that sometimes being a “survivor” isn’t such an admirable quality—sometimes it’s just plain dumb. There’s a time to quit while the quitting is good and to know when the situation is just never going to get any better, so you’re better off pulling out. Living on the edge gets really old, the older you get.

What You Can learn from this Transit–Make it the End of an Era!

How long do you have to beat your head against that particular wall?  In particular, you may need to let go of trying to rescue or fix irresponsible people who aren’t pulling their own weight.

It’s time to quit enabling, and make them take responsibility for themselves– time for some tough love. (The Bach remedy Centaury is for those who allow others to take advantage, and Red Chestnut helps those who worry more about others than others worry about themselves.)

Those who have learned how to use a natal Pluto-Saturn aspect well have an advantage in responding to the transit because of their track record in blending the energies of the two planets successfully. When the natal aspect involves the career houses (2^nd, 6^th, and 10^th), many of them seem finally to have found their life work and come into their own. 

 People who have a pattern of using the combination in dysfunctional ways may be triggered into an upsurge of the less desirable qualities of the aspect, even under a trine. The transiting aspect can precipitate a bottoming out on the natal transit’s self-destructive expressions, so even when the transit seems negative at the beginning, a healing of long-standing patterns can occur.

 In any aspect, the planets involved are more important than the type of angle. A Pluto-Saturn square like the current one can actually be better than a trine between those two planets. Despite what you have been taught, a trine is not always a great thing—it’s just too easy to slip and slide into a self-defeating circumstance.

  A square like the current one, on the other hand can be just the thing to create the tension needed to break an undesirable pattern. The confrontation with conflicting forces and needs can mobilize you to get to work on a chronic issue. I’ve seen people do very well under a square but go into a meltdown under a trine.

 Britney Spears—a Phoenix Risen Again?

 A prime example would be rock icon Britney Spears, who has a Saturn-Pluto conjunction in late Libra in her 1^st house natally squared by Venus in Capricorn. During the Pluto-Saturn trine that went on during parts of 2006-7 but especially the fall of 2007, she made headlines with her wild behavior, which culminated with losing her children, several abortive stays in rehab, and several psychiatric hospitalizations before she apparently stabilized.

(Incidentally, in my research into Pluto-Saturn aspects, I found them in the charts of several child stars like her and Danny Bonaduce who went through troubled adult periods.  Apparently the pressures of wealth, power, and stardom at such an early age were crushing to them.)  Here’s her chart, for you to study:

As the current Pluto-Saturn square forms, Saturn is conjunct her Libra Ascendant and Pluto has been squaring it for some time. The tuning fork effect seems to be in effect already, though it will eventually set off the natal Venus/Saturn/Pluto aspect—this being her Saturn return.  She appears to finally be back on track, stable in her personal life, deeply in love, and back on top in her career. We can hope it will continue–if not, she’ll have to bring out an updated version of , “Oops, I did it again.” 

Data Source: According to AstroDataBank, Britney Spears was born December 2, 1981; 1:30 AM CST in McComb, MS, 90W27; 31N14. (The data, rated A, was given by Britney and her mother to a British Astrologer.) 

Note: For more information on how natal aspects like these get reactivated, see  A Promise Fulfilled: When Transits Echo Natal Aspects  and Life Patterns of People Born with Uranus-Saturn Aspects.

More Posts for your Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit:

• The Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit—an Overview of the Series
• The Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit—Part 1 (Houses and Areas of Life Affected)
• The Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit—Part 2  (Best Case/Worst Case Scenarios)
• Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit #3 — Taking Concrete Action to Change your Life
• Pluto-Saturn Preparedness Kit #4: Key Players in your Drama
• People who Misuse Pluto and Saturn—Don’t be Fooled by Scare Tactics!
• What Makes a Person Controlling? How Can It Stop?
• From Clutter to Closure–Using the Pluto-Saturn Square
• Internet Find of the Week: New Resources for Healing Grief and Loss

 Related Posts for Using the Transit to Change Unwanted Patterns:

• Cash in on the Hidden Gold Beneath Your Fears
• Saturn Transits—What do They Mean to your Career?
• Healing Tools For Plutonians: Transforming The Self And Others
• Understanding Healing Reactions or Healing Crises
• Purge Yourself of Pluto’s Negativity—Get Free of Bitterness
• Stuck For What Seems Like Forever? Maybe Areas of Unforgiveness are the Cause
• In a Crisis? Rescue Remedy Can Help You through It
• Hope for Those in the Dark Night of the Soul

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 Art source:  The tuning fork photo was found at www.crystalsingingbowls.com/Merchant2/merchan…  the home of crystal singing bowls and a variety of alchemical tools.  I added the glyphs to it.