What Happens When Pluto Transits My Ascendant?

Hi Jessica!

I'm having Pluto squaring my ascendant transit coming up soon and I was wondering if Pluto squares the ascendant, does it also 'trigger' or activate the ruling planet of the ascendant? I have a Libra Ascendant and I was wondering if my Venus (5th House, in Pisces) would also become active. I believe my big plutonian relationship occurred when Pluto was squaring my Venus via transit. So, maybe the same affect (sort of) will also occur when my Ascendant is square to Pluto?

Well, let's think about this. When a transiting planet is activating a chart point or planet it's most directly noticeable on that point or planet. Let's imagine that you know someone whose Sun in Sagittarius' ruling planet, Jupiter, is being transited by Pluto -- you wouldn't say that person is having a Pluto transit, but undoubtedly Pluto transiting the ruling planet will have an eliminating, deepening and empowering effect on the person's essential self and it would likely be primarily positive (Jupiter). The same line of thinking would apply to your question.

Both your Ascendant and Descendant are being visited by Pluto (don't forget that whatever happens to the ASC also happens to the DSC, it's an axis), so your self-image, how you see your self in relation to others, needs to transform (to use that overused word). In plain English, your self-image, who you see your self as being and how you act in relationship, is probably running off of an old script and that discovery can be painful and intense. Heavy, intense Pluto feelings ask that you really face your own core neurotic tendencies formed by wounding and repressed emotions and all that lovely stuff. It will be hard or inconvenient, that's the nature of a square, and where Pluto is there's always our own resistance and shadow tendencies to deal with.

Taking a step back from this, which is the primary story, you can look at how your Venus in Pisces might respond to this quandry. Assuming you've developed a persona/mask that is both Libran and Piscean, let's say you are accommodating, helpful, intuitive, flexible, romantic, able to bend yourself in different shapes for others. That's your social persona or mask. Our chart ruler, which is the ruling planet of the rising sign, always flavors our persona, how we act. We imagine that you're in a relationship (or trying to get into one) and for whatever reason it's not going the way you want it to. You might ask this question (and you know the answer to this question better than I): What's the shadow of your Libra/Pisces behaviors? Prince Charming? Knight in Shining Armor? Being who another person wants you to be? Enter angry/hurt/resentment/frustration/feeling blocked when that strategy doesn't work. That's the short answer.  So to answer your question: No, I don't think this is the same as a Pluto to Venus transit.

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