Pluto has a really strong influence over people whose chart it makes a big impression on. One of the things associated with it is power - power over other people and it is not always obvious to the person holding the power that they are doing so.

Before we get too involved in what is essentially a look at the very damaging results of Pluto obsession, I want to clear up one point: with Pluto favourably influencing a chart, the results can be very beneficial indeed. Conjunct the ascendant is a noted example: providing there are no negative aspects reinforcing this which would propel the person towards power over others at all costs, this conjunction can be very useful indeed. It gives a person an amazing ability to truly self focus themselves on whatever it is they set their mind to, they will reach their desired goals without any distraction or sidestepping. Absolute unwavering self control, and very, very perceptive too. Plus it gives them an irresistible personal charisma.

What I am referring to as obsessive Pluto people in this article are people that have strong negative combinations from Pluto to a major area of the chart, and therefore seek power over others, especially those close to them, whereupon they become very controlling, obsessive, and compulsive. The astrological connections that bring this about range from Pluto being square the ascendant/descendant axis, conjunct the descendant, a strong Moon-Pluto conjunction being exposed to the ascendant or the Sun, a strong square between Moon and Pluto, a very tight Sun-Pluto conjunction that receives challenging aspects from other planets or squares the ascendant, etc, etc. There are numerous combinations how this can come about but what I want to make absolutely clear is that the person DOES NOT have to be Scorpio or have that sign heavily featured in their chart. This can happen with any combinations of signs, and the results will be there for all to see – except maybe the subject, for Pluto tends to hide things away, so that people act in certain ways without even realising they are doing so! Indeed, an Aquarian woman I know has a very negative t-square involving Mercury, Pluto, and the ascendant/descendant which creates what I refer to as the poison-pen syndrome. Despite her otherwise outgoing friendly Aquarian nature, she is detested by almost everyone she comes into contact with once they get to know her. Because of the Mercury communication influence everything she says carries the Pluto intensity, and being squared to the ascendant means that all this is projected outwardly to the world at large. Her everyday conversation becomes riddled with sarcasm, criticism, and an overall unpleasantness. She never knows when to shut up, constantly interrupts conversations, and forces herself onto people, interfering with their lives beyond belief. Yet she has no idea of the damage she is causing herself.

Then there are the truly frightening paranoid Pluto people, of whom many a gripping television drama has been made around. These are the people who cling to a doomed relationship at all costs. This is the obsessive side to Pluto whereupon they do not know when to stop and withdraw – they have passed the point of no return and pressed the self destruct button. From this point, the only way is down, and it is as if they are totally unaware of the consequences they are putting themselves in. In extreme cases, this results in extreme violence, or other criminal proceedings in a pathetic attempt to win back the relationship. Of course no one in their right mind is going to even consider having these people back now they have seen what they are capable of, and even if they did return through sheer fear, how can the Pluto person possibly get any satisfaction from such a relationship? This represents the ultimate negative side to Pluto intensity, paranoia, obsession and compulsion and the sad thing is there is precious little the likes of me can do about it: Pluto people refuse to acknowledge their failings.

Myself and a few fellow astrologers have got together to discuss this problem in depth, as it is relatively common – most people have either been on the receiving end of this type of behaviour or know someone who has – and we have come to the consensus that the only way that the victims can deal with all this illogic is to TOTALLY ignore the Pluto person. In extreme cases, this is easier said than done, but BEFORE it reaches the extremes, by ignoring them is by far the best option. Any communication or contact, no matter how trivial, is food to the Pluto person and sets them off again.

Power and domination

I used to belong to a club that was doomed to fail the moment it was set up, for the woman in charge had a very tight conjunction between Pluto and the Moon as well as having Pluto square Venus (plus Saturn on the ascendant, Sun tightly square Mars and other negative aspects). With women in particular, the Moon-Pluto conjunction makes them emotionally intense, uncompromising, domineering, and obsessed with power. She was like the puppet master, controlling all her subjects around her – or trying to. She could not handle people who did not respond to her controlling ways. Strangely, the people around her who formed the committee also had strong Pluto contacts - it was as if she was unintentionally seeking out these similarly minded people (birds of a feather flock together). This committee were like a Mafia – no-one could infiltrate them and of course, everyone else eventually left, finding the pressure and intensity of these people unbearable. For me, though I had to leave due to all the unpleasantness, I felt saddened that these poor people were ignorant of the real facts, that it was they who were turning people away, yet at the same time I realised, through astrology, that there was little they could do about the situation. You certainly could not talk to them and expect them to listen. A case perhaps where little could be done to help these people – they were destined to live shallow lives in their own like company.

All the planets have positive and negative sides. Pluto is famed for its transformational qualities, which when linked to one’s personal aims become self-transformation. The ability to reinvent yourself at will. But the negative side is destruction, so with that same prefix put before the word, we have self-destruction – and that its exactly what these obsessive Pluto people are seemingly hell bent on doing, even though they do not realise it themselves. Pluto is often referred to as a magnetic influence. And we all know that magnets have two modes: attract and repel. Which is why strongly Plutonian people do one or the other, depending on how the planet’s energies are utilised – they either have the most magnetic personality, winning everyone over, or they repel virtually everyone they come into contact with.