Pluto is the planet of transformation. It rules the sign of Scorpio, the sign of death, redemption, and divine mysteries. Pluto’s energy is mysterious. Its discovery in 1932 associates it symbolically with the creation of the nuclear bomb and the development of psychoanalysis. In ancient mythology, Pluto was considered to be associated with all the aspects of the underworld – Hades, the Greek name for Pluto, was the god of shell. Today, the underworld is synonymous with the Mafia, and the two share many characteristics. Pluto occupies an important place in the horoscopes of great mystics and spiritual beings, as well as in the theme of certain dictators and tyrants, among them the most ruthless and greedy for power. In psychological terms, Pluto corresponds to the transmutation of instinctive energies into energies which are accessible consciously by the individual’s ego. This transmutation, which is never completely controllable, induces a power complex. On the social level, it might be symbolized by the nuclear disaster, the failure of Western man to master the energy of the atom – a power complex gone awry. On the individual level, Pluto is expressed either in a “power complex,” in which instinctive energy is completely transmuted into a personal resource, or as a “failure complex,” in which certain inhibitions prevent the instinctive energy from being transmuted.

In traditional astrology, Venus (or Aphrodite, her Greek name) is the planet of love. A source of universal attraction, this planet corresponds to the original urge which bonds two human beings together in love. Venus is thus both the magnetism which brings human beings together (not lust, which is symbolized by Mars, but the object which attracts lust) and the gift of love. This ambiguity is interpreted astrologically by the fact that Venus rules two houses of the zodiac. In Taurus, Venus symbolizes the awakening to bodily lust, and in Libra, the bond of marriage. As a result, Venus may take on very different aspects depending on the individual’s degree of awareness. Likewise, this ambiguity explains Aphrodite’s equivocal conduct in Greek myth and her innumerable couplings and motherhood. Depending on the legend, she may embody brutal, passionate love (with Anteros), the wisdom of the heart which rescues from passion (Harmonia); she also becomes tenderness and purity (with Adonis), pure sexuality (with Eros), a transforming energy (with Vulcan), etc. Mistress of the Arts, she represents beauty, understanding, and peace. Psychologically, individuals under the influence of Venus are struggling with their love instincts. This is why you cannot conceive of living without a personal emotional relationship to someone else and sometimes fears solitude and the encounter with yourself. You are extremely attractive to others and are a creator and artistic genius who seems to imbue all you touch with beauty and harmony. Your artistic skills are obvious to the people around you and may be applied to career endeavors. Pleasure, outings, seduction, love, and a thriving but sometimes superficial social life are the hallmarks of your life.

This planet is the quintessential symbol of individual receptivity and the fundamental reactions of the unconscious, including the collective unconscious. It is a principle of dissolution that concerns any effort to encompass the greatest variety of factors, any tendency to surround and blend all the narrow, individual points of view into a single, universal sea. You thus display considerable receptivity and availability. You feel a need for unity, a need to be related. You are also deeply aware of the importance of dreaming, and, negatively, may be prone to delusions. At certain times, you are overwhelmed by a feeling of subtle confusion related to a need for “something else.” When your well-being is disturbed this way, you either yield to a sort of passive, apathetic dissatisfaction, or lose yourself in the search for an imaginary world, perhaps to escape or plunge into bliss. You are sometimes captivated by a need for illusion; you would like to experience change through the intermediary of events which are vaster than consciousness and would take you far from routine and daily banality. However, usually these fantastic dreams only make you all the more painfully aware of the realities of everyday life. Your spirit and emotions emerge confused, and your will is sometimes weakened.

Aleqa Hammond, you should pay close attention to the ninth house in your horoscope. It contains several planets, including the one which rules your rising sign.

According to traditional astrology, this area is ruled by Sagittarius, the ninth sign of the zodiac. Its chief attributes are moral and political judgment (laws, ethics, and politics as a means of improving society), dreams, distant journeys, studies such as religion, philosophy, priesthood, spiritual guidance, and wisdom. More specifically, we can interpret astrology as demonstrating that the life and consciousness of an individual gravitate around two fundamental principles: the self (the Ascendant) and others (the Descendant). In life, everything begins in us and proceeds outward, but it is reflected, experienced, and renewed by our relations with others. Indeed, once you grow beyond the subjective field of your ego and reach adulthood, you must be able to adapt and modify your abilities in such a way as to fulfill a specific function in the outer world. The reference framework you use to judge your worth is not only your personal life, but the huge complex of values, principles, and laws which regulate life in a community. The ninth house rules this much broader framework, which includes law as well as philosophy, psychology, science, religion, mysticism, occult studies, etc. An individual with a great deal of activity in this area of their astrological chart will probably feel a strong desire for personal expansion. An idealist, you will seek out experiences which reveal knowledge and meaning to you and give you a better indication of your purpose in living. The difficulties you are likely to face will be hidden behind what appears to be success. They may arise from your expansiveness, which is sometimes uncontrollable, or disproportionate. Although at the outset, your ambition and desire for personal development are a source of strength, they later become powerful enough to cut you off from yourself. If you identify too strongly with the flattering self-image reflected by the community, you may gradually begin to neglect your personal essence. Because this perverse tendency to confuse form with function is reinforced by modern society’s emphasis on packaging and advertising, you are liable to lose yourself completely. A state of expansion could be expressed as a psychic inflation (a loss of oneself in an abstract ideal, or a delusion of grandeur) or as a partial loss of oneself due to over identification with your personal mask (or persona). This house thus reveals that nothing is more difficult than failure in a period of success. Ambition, which may be a compensatory personal over evaluation, sometimes transforms understanding, a principle of cohesion and love, into personal power.

Aleqa Hammond observes the third house in the sky.

According to tradition, this area is related to intellectual abilities. It is also associated with the immediate family environment: brothers and sisters, peers and classmates, and people in the social setting we relate to every day, like neighbors, etc. Likewise, study, writing and publication, correspondence and letters, mobility and short-distance travel are also attributed to this house. Another aspect of it concerns bodily movements and exchanges, like the circulation of the blood, breathing, nerve networks, the hands, etc. In essence, this house corresponds to the mental interface between you and your environment. Indeed, if intelligence is the ability to adapt to one’s environment, it is true that on the other hand, the environment has a basic influence on the formation of character and the way you will react to life. By asserting itself, adapting and claiming a place of its own in society, your self is formed and defined and learns to know its potentials and its limitations. In doing so, the self develops elaborate mental tools. If this house is especially significant in your chart, it means that you will find positive adaptation to your environment, your main challenge in life. It is likely that the presence or absence of brothers and sisters was a major factor in your development, and that one of the main psychological issues you are dealing with is resolving the problems of identity and selfhood which arose in relationships with siblings and peers. Biologically, your nervous system is likely to be fairly vulnerable; in any case, it is the barometer of your general physical well-being. Psychologically, communication, both verbal and written, is your passport to fitting in, to social integration. You are quite likely to embark on lengthy studies which will enable you to develop the skills necessary for effective communication and productive exchange. Regardless of the level at which you function in society, you will obey an urge to express your ideas and opinions and communicate with others about yourself.

Aleqa Hammond observes the first house in the sky and its relationship to other houses.