THE PLUTO IN LEO GENERATION

by Monica Ann Wallach

www.MonicaWallach.com     MW@MonicaWallach.com 

          Pluto in mythology is the ruler of the underworld -- the one who takes us to the depths of our souls to be transformed.  In astrology, Pluto is about the power of creation and destruction.  It is the energy of the phoenix, dying in the funeral pyre to rise above the ashes.

          The planet Pluto cannot be seen with the naked eye.  In fact, even with a powerful telescope, it appears as just a tiny speck of light.  Yet, it’s influence is profound.  Pluto was discovered in February 1930 at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.  The founder of that observatory, Percival Lowell, had looked for “planet X” for many years prior to his death in 1916.  In his will, he provided the funding to continue the search.  Isn’t is oddly appropriate that the man responsible for finding Pluto was already deceased! 

          Once the observatory announced it had found this mysterious planet, suggestions as to the best name for “planet X” (as it was called during the years of the search) came pouring in from all over the world.  An 11 year old girl from England suggested “Pluto” and for some reason, the astronomers at Lowell chose it.  The name proved to be absolutely appropriate -- shortly after Pluto was found, mankind built the first atomic bomb (fueled with Plutonium).  We discovered the means to completely destroy ourselves -- and our consciousness was forever altered. 

          As Pluto has moved through the zodiac since its discovery, astrologers have been following its course, attempting to decipher its affects.  Let me share some of my thoughts with you on what I call the “Pluto in Leo” generation.  Just as the Sun moves through each sign of the zodiac, so too do all the other planets.  However, due to the planets’ different rates of speed, their cycles are of different lengths.  Whereas the Sun takes about one month to move through each sign, Pluto takes from 12 to 30 years!!  Pluto was moving through the zodiac sign of Leo from 1940 to 1957.  Children born during this those years had Pluto in Leo in their charts.  I’d now like to explain what that means.

          Leo is the sign of the zodiac that deals with our creativity, our ego, and our sexuality.  In the physical body, Leo rules the heart and the backbone, both areas that have to do with will-power.   Leo is one of the most sexual signs of the zodiac, enjoying the “pleasures of the bed” to the fullest.  Around the late sixties, when the children born in the early 1940’s were reaching puberty, we heard the first cries for “free love.”  The children with Pluto in Leo would be called the “me generation”, the ones who wanted to express themselves and live creatively -- both core themes of the sign of Leo.   The Pluto in Leo generation came in to transform the nature of our egos and our sexuality.  The old rules about self-expression and sexual restrictions had to die.  It is easy to see in retrospect the enormous changes in the 1960’s and 1970’s as these Pluto in Leo children entered adulthood.  Yet what I find more interesting is what is currently happening to this generation. 

          In 1996, Pluto entered the sign of Sagittarius, the sign dealing with higher learning, metaphysics, and the search for spiritual truth.  Since Sag and Leo are both fire signs, this movement of Pluto is very favorable for those who were born with Pluto in Leo.  I have found my clients with Pluto in Leo are entering a new and very positive stage in their lives.  The movement of Pluto through Sag seems to be activating them in a creative and powerful manner.  (This seems especially true for people born when the Sun was in one of the three fire signs -- Aries, Leo, or Sag.)  Now is the time when they are taking their self-expression, creativity, and sexuality to a higher level.   Whereas in the 1960’s, it was tune-in, turn-on, and drop-out to find yourself.  Now, they are “tuning in” through meditation, yoga, metaphysical studies, and other such spiritual methods to find themselves.

          Many feel they have found themselves and are now coming into the time when they are focusing on the betterment of others.  For example, one of my dear friends (Sun in Leo, Pluto in Leo) is currently in India, volunteering for three weeks with a program that helps impoverished women.  Another client of mine (Sun in Sag, Pluto in Leo) has felt for years that God was speaking through her -- she now has the courage to share those messages with others.  A gentleman I know (Sun in Aries, Pluto in Leo) is consistently setting records in his sales job while still maintaining his commitment to bringing spirituality into his otherwise competitive industry.

          Pluto stays in the sign of Sag through the year 2008.  I suspect we will look back on the period of 1996-2008 as a time when the Pluto in Leo generation again expanded the consciousness of the world, but in a much more elevated and profound manner. 

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