Elder Millennials, Your Pluto Square Is an Opportunity to Transform Your Life

You’ve probably noticed that the way that tensions rise and emotions run high in the days around a full moon, especially an eclipse , is undeniable. And when Mercury is retrograde, you can’t help but experience crossed wires and delays. But while both of these are examples of astrological events we experience collectively, you’re also going through your own personal transits at any given time, based on how the planets and luminaries (aka the sun and the moon) are interacting with your unique birth chart. For example, when the sun comes back around to the exact spot that it was in when you were born, you have your annual solar return. Some transits only happen when you hit certain ages, and one of the most notable transits you’ll go through in midlife is the Pluto square.

Pluto, the planet of transformation, oversees power, control, death, rebirth, regeneration and transformation. It takes about 248 years to move through the 12 zodiac signs, and it spends anywhere from 11.5 to 30.5 years in each sign. And when you’re between the ages of 36 to 61 years old, Pluto will move through a sign that sits 90 degrees away from your natal Pluto (where Pluto was when you were born), forming a tense but activating square. (Heads-up, 1983 babies: You’re in the midst of this transit right now.) During this time, which lasts a year to 18 months, you’ll face power struggles, control issues and challenges that ultimately require you to incinerate toxic patterns or behaviors and embrace transformation.

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Read on to learn more about what your Pluto square means, how to figure out when you’re having your Pluto square and the best ways to face it head-on.

What is the Pluto square transit?

One of four transits that tend to go hand-in-hand with what we refer to as having “a midlife crisis,” the Pluto square typically hits in your late 30s or early 40s. But because Pluto has such an erratic orbit, the year at which you’ll experience your Pluto square will depend on the year you were born. For instance, if you were born in 1975, you went through it when you were 36. Born in 1985? Steel yourself for it to occur when you’re 40.

Regardless of when it hits, it can help to have a sense of Pluto’s purpose in astrology. The planet named for the God of the Underworld oversees the shadow side of life. It has a way of dragging skeletons out of the closet and pushing you to look at behaviors and perspectives that are toxic, destructive or no longer serving you in some way. Its purpose is to excavate anything dark, taboo or secretive as well as spotlight areas of life in which you have either claimed too much power and control or need to better assert yourself to gain more of either or both. And Pluto also aims to burn down anything that’s no longer serving you so that you can rebuild, change and grow. For this reason, the planet’s purpose often brings to mind a phoenix rising from the ashes.

So, when transiting Pluto (as in Pluto as it is currently moving through the zodiac) squares off against Pluto in your birth chart, you will be required to take a cold, hard look at the underpinnings of your relationships, work, health, how you communicate with others or what you define as success. How exactly this will manifest depends on the houses transiting Pluto and your natal Pluto are occupying during the square. For instance, if transiting Pluto is in your second house of income, and your natal Pluto is in your eleventh house of networking and groups, you may be dealing with the shadow side of how you’re making a living and the communities and teams you’re associating with.

But no matter the areas of life that are most affected, you’ll need to identify and then, do away with self-destructive patterns. It’s only once you do this that you’ll be able to evolve and move forward, prepared for an even better, brighter, more fulfilling future.

How to identify when you’re experiencing your Pluto square

For starters, you’ll want to pull up your birth chart , and then look for the symbol that looks like a stick person with its arms up in a “U” shape. From there, note the sign it was in when you were born. Then, compare that sign — and ideally, the degrees of the sign — to the sign that Pluto is currently moving through.

If you’re 40-41 now, it was in either Libra or Scorpio when you were born, and you’re going through your Pluto square as transiting Pluto moves through the final degrees of Capricorn (squaring your Pluto in Libra) and the early degrees of Aquarius (squaring your Pluto in Scorpio). Here’s a list of the signs that square one another:

Aries: Cancer and Capricorn

Taurus: Leo and Aquarius

Gemini: Virgo and Pisces

Cancer: Aries and Libra

Leo: Taurus and Scorpio

Virgo: Gemini and Sagittarius

Libra: Cancer and Capricorn

Scorpio: Leo and Aquarius

Sagittarius: Virgo and Pisces

Capricorn: Aries and Libra

Aquarius: Taurus and Scorpio

Pisces: Gemini and Sagittarius

If you’re older, your Pluto square likely occurred in your late 30s, and if you’re younger, you can anticipate it happening in your 40s or even 50s. You can work with a professional astrologer to pinpoint the exact 12 to 18 months when you’ll be going through it.

Transform your life during a Pluto square: best practices

To hear that the planet of power, control, death and rebirth will be forming a difficult angle to your birth chart for a year plus is daunting, to say the least. But just like many growing pains that come with midlife, your Pluto square is as much of an opportunity as it is a challenge. Here are some ways to take advantage of it:

Remember that Pluto’s effect tends to be more psychological than literal

This is advice that my mentor gave me when I was biting my nails upon seeing that I was heading into my own Pluto square. Because it moves so slowly, and because it is a planet that oversees aspects of life that are more internal (like obsessions, infatuations, control issues), your Pluto square will, slowly but surely, make it tough for you to look away from psychological patterns, behaviors and habits that aren’t serving you well.

This isn’t to say that external transformations aren’t possible or necessary when you’re going through your Pluto square, but more often than not, you’ll do best to reframe your thinking, attitude or perspective versus moving across the country or entirely upending your career.

You’ll stride into your future more confidently — and more supported

Your Pluto square requires you to walk away from problematic ways of thinking and behaving that you’ve likely stuck to for quite some time. People in your life who are particularly accustomed to you thinking or behaving in these ways may or may not be on board with your transformation and evolution. And if they don’t support your growth, they might not be as much a part of your future as they were a part of your past.

See it as a chance to claim your power

During the Pluto square, higher-ups could come down on you for not adhering to their rules or you might face roadblocks that inhibit your creative self-expression. You may initially feel like you have no choice but to acquiesce to other people’s power and control, but these are actually tests that can nudge you to step into your power and to take control in order to build the next chapter of your dreams.

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