Any planet conjuncting the ascendant, especially from the 1st house, is bound to make its presence felt and noticed by others. Mars would be obvious due to the aggressive and forceful nature of the individual; Venus would add an obvious charm and physical beauty; Saturn would cloud the person with pessimism and a dreary outlook. Pluto however, due to the secretive nature of the planet, is not so obvious, yet the end results are maybe more profound than the more obvious ones. For one, it will give the person an acute intuitive ability and profound perception of situations and people plus the ability to truly focus on a topic or dilemma. What is obvious about this placement is the eyes: they will generate a magnetic, intense gaze that can have a commanding effect on others, as if the person is seeing right into the other’s mind. The ability to restructure oneself following a change in life or trauma is thrust into their outer personality for all to see: they amaze others at times of personal crisis with their self transformation and reinvention.

Pluto though is all about power and if there are major negative aspects made to Pluto and/or the ascendant, this side to the planet’s energies could easily come about instead of the transformational ones. It is at these times that the person can be obsessed with having power over others at all costs (the Moon’s involvement makes this particularly so, especially with women – see my Obsessive Pluto People blog).

Certainly self power comes totally naturally to these people – they are in complete control of their ambitions and goals and are truly focused. Nothing can detract them from what they have their sights set on, especially with Pluto occupying the 1st house (it could still conjunct the ascendant from the 12th house). Many people I know with this placement almost or totally abstain from alcohol – their self control and willpower is so acute. This intense self awareness is almost akin to survival – as if they feel that everything out there is a threat and they have no intention of being sucked in. Yet despite this acute self awareness they are not ones for attention seeking nor being the centre of attraction – they fare much better out of the limelight. Even the dynamic Leo ascendant is diluted with this strong position for Pluto.

These people can have a magnetic effect on others, either of attraction or repulsion – it can work both ways with Pluto. Certainly if they choose to not like someone, they will repel them without a thought. The magnetic attraction however takes me back to what I said at the beginning about the eyes, and I want to go into this in more depth.

Prior to my interest in astrology really taking off, I had a female friend who had the most amazing eyes. When she looked at me it was if her eyes were penetrating my inner mind – the effect, though not unpleasant, is quite extraordinary and.... magnetic. Fast forward a few years in this story and I am at the stage where I have started attending the Mind, Body, Spirit fairs as a personal astrologer. On my very first one I happened to make eye contact with a passing lady and the effect was incredible – it took me straight back to my friend and her magnetic eyes. I subconsciously urged this woman to have a reading with me, for I was keen to see if there was any similarity with her chart and my friend’s. She did. And there was! She had Pluto on her ascendant, just like my friend. I was now intrigued and needed further proof that this was a physical trait of this particular conjunction. There aren’t that many people around of course with this conjunction but those with the magnetic eyes are so easy to pick out – assuming this was connected to the Pluto-ascendant conjunction. Indeed, I soon realised that there is a connection, the common denominator of people with these intense searching eyes having Pluto on their ascendant was very evident. I even got to the stage on a couple of occasions a person sat down for a reading, I asked them if they knew their time of birth, and when they said yes, I replied don’t tell me, I’ll tell you! By simply casting the chart at any time of day and moving Pluto to the ascendant gave me their birth time within a few minutes! They were taken aback, which did wonders for my reputation of course! There is a standing joke between me and one of my Pluto eyes clients that whenever she has a reading with me she must wear sunglasses – the effect is so powerful!

Any planet on the ascendant will have a physical presence on the person: Jupiter makes them very buoyant, happy, smiling – and often very large! Saturn can have the opposite, pessimistic, downtrodden look; Mars can invoke an almost permanent angry countenance; Venus makes for exceptional beauty, and so on. But nothing is quite as profound as the Pluto eyes, especially if they are blue or green – when they will be intensely colourful and vivid. Brown eyes tend to be not as noticeable due to them being more opaque. Nevertheless, utterly mesmerising and an instant way of guessing someone’s birth time!