Pluto in Astrology and Through the Signs

9–14 minutes

Pluto Overview

The dwarf planet Pluto is rich in symbolism and mythology. While it’s also commonly referred to in astrology, it is well-studied in science as well. In this post, we’re going to talk about planet Pluto, including what it means to have it in each of the zodiac signs in a natal astrology chart.

Pluto in Science

Discovered in the year 1930, Pluto was named after the Roman god of the underworld. Being 3.7 billion miles away from the sun, Pluto is incredibly cold and likely couldn’t sustain life as we know it. Oddly enough, Pluto shows no signs of having a magnetic field!

Only about half as wide as the United States, the dwarf planet, Pluto, is smaller than Earth’s moon! The tiny planet does, however, have five moons of its very own! Its largest moon is only about half the size of Pluto, while the other four are less than only a hundred miles wide!

Moving at an astoundingly slow pace, a day here lasts 153 hours, while the orbit takes about 248 years to make it all the way around the sun once. Interestingly, Pluto orbits elliptically and also has a tilted axis. Like Venus and Uranus, however, it spins east to west.

Symbolism of Pluto

Pluto was named after the ancient Roman god, Pluto, who was the god of the underworld. However, before the planet was Pluto, it was Hades. Hades was the ancient Greek mythological god of the underworld.

While the symbol for Pluto is oftentimes identified using the one in the image, it has another symbol. Having the same meaning, both symbols can be used to indicate the dwarf planet Pluto. The original symbol for Pluto looked like this one: ♇

Pluto in Astrology

Death, Mysteries, Rebirth, Secrets, and Taboos

Rules

Scorpio

Fall

Taurus

Symbol

The Underworld

Exaltation

Leo

Detriment

Aries

Mythology

Hades

Although Pluto has been considered both a planet and a dwarf planet several times over the years, much of the astrology community still consider Pluto to be a planet.

Being connected to the underworld, Pluto is a symbol of what lies below the surface. It is often the hidden layers of oneself, the secrets we keep, or sexual taboos and fantasies. The planet may also include anything involved with death. However, this doesn’t always mean literal deaths, but is usually about transformations or rebirths.

Regardless, the god of the underworld is both regenerative and destructive. He will mirror back to us that which we may wish to conceal so that we must gaze upon what causes our pain. Pluto is the planet that helps us to realize that the threats we fear aren’t typically outside of us, but are demons we have dwelling inside of us.

Pluto Through the Signs

Because Pluto moves with an elliptical orbit (an oval instead of a circle), this means that in some signs it spends as much time as 30+ years, while in other signs, it can spend as little as 12 years. Overall, Pluto takes about 248 years to complete one single trip around the sun and through all twelve of the zodiac signs, making it the slowest moving planet (or otherwise) in our solar system.

If you know your Pluto placement, jump down below to read about it. If you don’t check out our astrology birth chart generator to find out.

Pluto in Aries

From 1822-1853 was the last time Pluto was in the sign of Aries, which was long before it had even been discovered. This was a very energetic and hard-working period, however, with societies seeming to overreach in their goals and actions. Anyone born during that time would have intense leadership qualities about them, with possible malevolent competition as a means to gain power and authority. A need to win and dominant is apparent here with this combination, where passion could turn to destruction to no end, as long as there was a focus in mind for the task at hand.

Pluto in Taurus

During the years1853-1884 people would be highly stubborn individuals that did not get touchy-feely and protected their personal lives at all costs, feeling threatened at anyone poking around too close to home. Having serious trust issues, these people were likely incredibly controlling and did not ever share their wealth. Always seeking more to profit and to gain, these people didn’t often pause to look around at all they had already been granted, which would have likely contributed to the beginning of Marxism during this period.

Pluto in Gemini

During 1884-1914 was the period in which automobile industries started pumping out vehicles for the public. During this time, everything seemed to speed up and many inventions were introduced, such as the airplane and electricity. This was a much more social period, where style of dress and expression changed as time merged from the Victorian era to an entirely new century, which was the 1900s. Having Gemini’s two sides paired with Pluto’s intensity and destruction, this period, unfortunately, also involved racial discrimination, segregation, violence and political oppression of black people.

Pluto in Cancer

Through 1914-1939 was a two and half devastating and emotional decades that included the crash of the stock market, the establishment of the New Deal, the Prohibition, World War I, and the Great Depression. The 1930s were known as the dirty thirties and during that time there were major political and economic crises globally, which led up to the second World War. Cancer, which is ruled by the moon, who is the symbol of the mother, meant that during this period, women were mostly homemakers. They did, however, gain the right to vote during this time.

Pluto in Leo

From 1939-1958 was when Pluto was in Leo and Leo is ruled by the sun. There is only one thing that will get as hot as the sun and that is the splitting of an atom. Ironically, during this time was when the first atomic weapon was created. Leo is also quite expressive and during this period of time is when the Women’s Liberation Movement began. Devastatingly, it also contained the Holocaust, WWII, and the beginning of the Cold War. Whereas, music, television, celebrity icons, fashion, sex appeal, fame, and creativity took a glamorous turn.

Pluto in Virgo

From 1959-1972 was a period of both gloom and free love. Within the 1960s was the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassinations of President John F Kennedy on live television, as well as the minister, activist, and leader of the Civil Rights Movement Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the major rise in drug use, the sexual revolution, the birth of the baby boomers, the first man that landed on the moon, the first medical procedures that involved organ transplants, and Woodstock.

Pluto in Libra

During the years 1971-1984 was a period in which societies ultimately desired things to go more smoothly and to be more enjoyable than they were. With that being said, these years contained the impeachment of Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War had ended, the fight against global famine began, Earth Day was created, the National Environmental Policy was enacted in the United States, as well as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, and the North World Trade Tower in New York City had been completed.

Pluto in Scorpio

Through 1984-1995 was the period in which Pluto was in its sign of rulership, which is Scorpio. This means that we can reflect on this time as naturally being quite powerful, especially in regard to sex, transformation, and all the intensity that comes with those things. Aids was a threat, even to the wealthy, which took the lives of both Freddie Mercury and Eazy-E in the early 90s. Hip-Hop music was growing in popularity and the children were finding a great way to distract themselves with the rise of video gaming systems.

Pluto in Sagittarius

From 1995-2008 was an unconventional time, which brought in the new millennium. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter and Jupiter makes everything much bigger! Pop culture was a massive interest and everyone wanted to be in a band. Britney Spears, Spice Girls, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, OutKast, and Gorrilaz were some of our favorite music to listen to, just to name a few. Unfortunately, this time also brought with it the Columbine school shooting, 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the London Bombings.

Pluto in Capricorn

During 2008-2024 has been an eventful time full of overdue changes, such as electing our first black president, Barrack Obama, in the USA and passing gay marriage nationally. Saturn, which rules Capricorn, is the planet of time, responsibility, and structure. Therefore, this is the time in which there’s an attempt to order society’s chaos, and any children born during this time will carry this deeply inherent quality inside of them. Our children will likely have an unconscious drive to see more organization within the things that have potential to bring destruction.

Pluto in Aquarius

In 2025, Pluto officially enters Aquarius to stay until 2044. While Pluto is about transformations, Aquarius is known for rebellion. Therefore, we can likely expect many rebellious acts in society, such as breakdowns of politics if people decide they’ve had enough. Meanwhile, communities and groups will form and grow and people may come together in unexpected ways. It may be a time full of oddities and unexpected changes.