Descriptions could be relevant for houses with the cusps in Scorpio or houses that contain Scorpio
1st house: This house is related to one’s sense of self, one’s sense of definition and individuality. It’s related to one’s energetic signature, to one’s way of navigating in the world. It’s a means rather than an end, a way of projecting one’s energy into existence. With Pluto here the force of existence would seem threatening. The person could feel as if he or she walks a tight rope of doom – one tries to avoid intensity yet is so aware of the inevitability of falling. Life becomes an emotional balancing act of trying to protect as much of one’s integrity and power as possible – yet paradoxically, the enormous sensitivity to violation makes it impossible to do so. Pluto here invokes an all consuming experience of being at the mercy of outside forces and at the mercy of one’s own thoughts and emotion. The threat is perceived to come from inside and outside, making it difficult to define the real ”enemy”. In reality, there is no enemy but the person’s sense of self is so fixed and rigid that the slightest sensation is experienced as a potential danger. The problem lies in the fixed sense of self and it’s inability to be flexible. The intensity of an experience is always decided by the person that is exposed to it and the density of one’s own self. The denser the self, the more susceptible it is to go through extremes. A person with this placement is usually guarded and careful, potentially a bit antisocial. Calculated and subtle attack is the best protection, it’s covert enough to not be an open declaration of war, but an effective tool of gaining respect. The person might like to demonstrate power in a way that correlates with the sign Pluto is in in the chart; Pluto in Virgo might exercise control through sharpness of intellect, Pluto in Libra might wield power through beauty and social etiquette. Pluto in the 1st will always take the position of the superior. Irritability comes easy because of heightened sensitivity and the feeling of being irretrievably psychologically and emotionally wounded by the world and themselves. The person would be prone to condemn and judge things for this reason, to cultivate long lasting resentment and disapproval. The person could be likened to a wild animal in the sense that one lives in the atmosphere of primal survival, even though it might be hidden be done through sophistication and class. Every day is a matter of life and death, a matter of keeping the self intact in the face of inner and outer attack. Self-destruction and subsequent self-transformation is very possible with this placement. In one’s stubborn attempt to preserve integrity one is forced by life into a death of an old identity that didn’t serve the freedom of the spirit – or the survival of the species.
2nd house: This house is related to the self as it relates to the body, what it can acquire for itself in terms of possessions, money and value in general. It’s a concentrated version of the 1st house, a ”coagulation” of the energy that’s being asserted in the 1st. When Pluto is here the theme of self-value becomes a sore spot and subsequently a matter of great importance for the individual. Material resources would symbolize survival for the person and the need to be in absolute control over one’s finances and money would be pressing. To lose power in this area of life would cause great pain and would be avoided at all costs. Pluto is associated with extremes and with this placement the person could either be extremely wealthy or extremely poor. The presence or the absence of resources would serve the purpose of Pluto equally well because power can be felt through both polarities. Instead of making oneself a slave to money, the person could reject the idea of placing value on physical objects and buy a kind of freedom that way. On the flip side, the person could be very emotionally attached to physical objects, viewing them as an extension of one’s power and guarantee of survival. The way this person would acquire resources would preferably be done in strategic ways. The sign Pluto is in would give a clue as to how the power is wielded; for example, Pluto in Leo could secure money through calculated charm and confidence, through showcasing one’s talents and creative spark. Pluto in Scorpio could do it behind the scenes, through engaging in the dark and dirty businesses of other people. It’s not unlikely that the person would feel paranoid relative to material value, to be constantly worried of getting deprived of things that are needed for survival. The paranoia itself could be worse than the actual threat of not having enough and the person might willingly get rid of all possessions, just for the sake of not being subjected to unwillingly deprivation. Losing face, being taken by surprise and being deceived is unbearable to Pluto and the person might go to great lengths in order to preserve control – even if it means destroying themselves in the process. I imagine the person being able to destroy everything of value that belongs to them rather than letting it fall into the hands of others. If the person can’t have the cake, than no one else should have it either. I should also mention that that 2nd house concerns the body as something one ”possesses” and the person might be very protective or neglecting of the intactness and beauty of it depending on what serves the person’s sense of control.
3rd house: This house is related to the self as it conceptualizes of itself mentally. Learning, simple deduction and the capacity to handle information relates to this house. It also deals with the ability to relate to the immediate environment through the mental faculties. When Pluto is in this house the identity as it relates to mental concepts is fiercely protected. The mental realm is much more flexible and intangible than the material realm but with Pluto here, words can cut through to the core of the person. Verbal and written communication is taken very seriously, to the point of detriment. Not everyone mean what they say and words carry different emotional weight for different people. Chances are that the person has little patience for people who talk a lot of crap without considering the impact it could have on others. Reversely, the person could be deliberately insensitive and want to use speech as a way to attack and protect the self. One considers language to be the most powerful weapon, the most effective means to control people. As this house relates to early learning experiences, the school years could’ve been quite intense. The person could’ve been the type of person that was difficult to approach and make friends with because of a strong protective barrier. It’s likely that the person’s intellect would’ve been sharp and probing, wanting to know everything and get down to the core of the subject. The person could’ve been an over the top dedicated learner, a student of insane stamina. The sign Pluto is in would illustrate in what way the intensity expresses itself. For example, Pluto in Sagittarius might be dedicated to find the meaning of experiences, the higher purpose of existence, the spirit of life. Pluto in Gemini might be dedicated to all kinds of information, to variety and the amount of fact-gathering one can achieve. In any case, the person could’ve been the type to ask inappropriate questions, to raise awareness around sensitive topics and bring secrets to the light of everyone’s knowledge. It’s likely that one would’ve been perceived as a potential threat to others because of this – but at the same time a positive force to challenge the mind. The person would seek to shock others with words, to shoot verbal arrows meant to test people’s emotional capacity and resilience. This is truly a placement of a skilled manipulator, which doesn’t have to be a bad thing unless one’s skills are employed to sabotage others. Unfortunately with Pluto, as soon as the heat gets turned up, the survival instinct kicks in and everything becomes equally intense – not attacking vs. attacking, one faces death regardless, the important thing is to remain in control of one’s situation.
4th house: This house is related to the self as it identifies with home, family and roots. It has to do with heritage – what is passed down through generations. It has to do with the ancestral background and the influence it has on one’s sense of self. Some say that this house relates to the father, some say the mother – it’s usually the parent that had the least overt influence. When Pluto is here, emotional and physical survival is the tension point. It could be that the person felt a bit like walking on burning coal in the private familial sphere, the atmosphere would’ve been threatening in some way. It’s not unlikely that the person felt overpowered by one of the parents, forced to give up autonomy and freedom because of being emotionally bound to them. The parent with the least dominant presence could have had strong emotional holds, impacting the person’s actions and behavior in subtle but effective ways. Manipulation can be done unconsciously but I would say that Pluto is not usually unconscious in it’s workings. It might be compulsive, but not genuinely below the surface of consciousness – it’s force is too intense and tied to primitive survival needs. Protection of the home and family could be of utmost importance, to put up a front of strength and integrity to the outside world. The person would derive a sense of superiority and dominance through cultivating and preserving one’s own heritage. Even if the person doesn’t have much of an ancestral background to brag about, there would be a desire to contribute, add to or reinvent the status of the family name. There could be an urge to kill off the old and obsolete, to transform the intolerable and unbearable past and rise from the ashes like a phoenix. It could require a significant amount of shedding the layers of the past in order to come out on the other side of the intensity of the emotional heritage. It would likely be a painful process of not knowing where it leads or if it ever will end. The person might have to process trauma and distressing ancestral scars carried over from past generations. Chances are that the person has the capacity to overcome and transcend it all, but it would take bravery of facing outdated and destructive coping mechanisms. Powerlessness might be the most pressing issue to deal with – how to not overcompensate and cover over but to genuinely transform weakness into strength. Brutal honesty might be crucial to flush wounds to the surface. Pluto often functions to reveal the dark and taboo and one must be willing to face it in order to free oneself from the emotional chokeholds of the past. Psychological protective functions are necessary, but it’s a fine line between healthy protection and destroying the very thing one want to preserve through holding on to it too tightly.
5th house: This house is related to self-expression, creativity, play, gambling and games, romance, and recreational activities of all kinds – including the creation children. The 5th house includes unique talents and interests, hobbies and amusement. When Pluto is here, enjoying oneself is not something that is taken lightly. The person would not stop for anything when it comes to self-expression no matter what other people might think – because it’s a matter of life and death, curiously enough. Whether the person do this through partying, dancing, acting, painting, singing, flirting and frolicking with others, it’s done to release some of the intense emotional buildup. The person might go to extremes in this area of life and have no sense of moderation. There could be a strong pull to emerge oneself in one’s hobbies, to take them to their fullest potential, to invest all of one’s energy into them. This could lead to the development of great skills that might prove beneficial in life, but it could overtake the person’s whole existence. The obsession with the pleasure of one’s interests could border on disregard for necessities such as work and other responsibilities. The sign placement of Pluto could indicate what type of venue the self enjoys to express itself through. For example, Pluto in Capricorn might be methodical and strategic when engaging in hobbies, perhaps turning them into businesses to earn some money. Pluto in Pisces might use hobbies as a way to escape reality, to surrender completely to channeling life through it’s creations as a gift to humanity. In any case, it’s done because of a need to be in control in an almost obsessive way – there’s a need to honor the self and be honored in order to survive - to sharpen one’s skills enough in order to be noticed for one’s specialness. The 5th house is generally an easy-going sphere of life, but when Pluto is here it’s suddenly about life and death. One’s creations and talents are taken very seriously and the person is likely to be extremely sensitive to critique that concerns anything related it the uniqueness of the self. If the person has children, they might become an obsessive focus. The person might be overly protective and concerned with allowing the child freedom of expression. One might strive to provide the child with attention and approval to the point of detriment. The all-consuming love that is felt could be overwhelming and threatening to a young person, not to mention that it could border on possessiveness and over-identification with the child’s actions. The child could feel suffocated and attacked by love. The same would apply to romance and flings – they could get very intense and serious very fast. The person might crave constant love bombing, feeling abandoned and threatened every time the lover fails to look at them with complete adoration.
6th house: This house is related to the way the self organizes and structures it’s life to make things work practically. It’s related to work, employment and physical health as well as the keeping of small animals. With Pluto here, the way one leads everyday life in terms of chores and necessities is a focal point of intensity. The person would leave nothing to chance in this area of life. One would be dead set on meeting the requirements for the desired employment – not overlooking a single detail of the practicalities. The person could be the type to want to be in charge of the running of the workplace, at the very least have a specific area of expertise that is completely in their own hands. With Pluto there’s always a tendency to go to extremes and the person might be unable to execute things as to ensure a good enough result – things would have to be perfect. Of course, with Pluto it’s not done out of joy or moral obligation, it’s done because it’s a matter of life and death. Anything that doesn’t go according to the plan is not only unfortunate, but a trigger that evokes primal fear. Because of this, the person might be readily trusted to organize things – because everyone else knows that the person would rather die than fail. This could, needless to say, produce a workaholic that is unable to stop in the tracks and relax. The sign Pluto is in would give an indicator as to how the intensity expresses itself. For example, Pluto in Aquarius might compulsively try new things and rearrange their lives in order to get some cohesion and smooth functioning of the practicalities. Pluto in Cancer might strive to preserve and secure that the things that work continue to work for them – and to always have a backup plan in case they don’t. As it relates to physical health, Pluto in this house could cause some injury to be sure. The body could be resilient but be subjected to extreme treatment due to the overall health paranoia. The person might put the body through insane trials in the name of health. The potential that the body is unhealthy or sick could make this person take precautions that are uncalled for and enroll in extreme health regimes. I imagine this type of person exercising every day according to a fixed schedule, eating according to a carefully selected meal plan never allowing room for spontaneity, cravings or laziness. More likely than not the person will self-destruct through overly exercised control in the long run. If the person has pets the animals would probably be taken care of meticulously in the person’s particular way. However, with all this being said Pluto could flip the tables and be anti routine, anti work and anti health. It’s deadly either way – both ways are taking it too far. There’s nothing casual about the survival instinct, it kicks in to fight dirty, desperately and without precautions.
7th house: This house is related to the self as it finds itself in a social context, in partnerships, business deals, marriage, open enemies and lower court matters. Planets in the 7th house are experienced through other people. When Pluto is here, the primal instinct of control and survival is felt in interaction with other people. The person might perceive other people as a threat of some kind, to one’s emotional well-being and safety. This placement lends itself well to psychological manipulation because the social sphere is a battle field no matter how one looks at it. Other people are out to get the person somehow and one must be prepared as to not fall into the trap of conforming to social pressure. The person would be inclined to remain in command of one’s social presentation, not not fall victim to enemies that seek to invade the integrity of the self. It’s likely that the person would be very aware of the undercurrents in relationships, seeking to always have the upper hand through inflicting pain ever so often. The person would like to remain in a superior position in terms of power at all times. This means that emotional intensity and passion is frequently reversed into coolness, a fake detachment in order to buffer oneself from the affect other people might have on the person emotionally. Any partnership that the person gets in to should be trailed with drama. However much the person denies it, there’s a craving for existential angst and being dragged through the dirt metaphorically speaking. Obsessive protectiveness of the partner would be likely, as would as would refusal to let the partner call all the shots. The need for friction in relationships could make the person be perceived as a threat on the market, someone who preys on people’s souls and leaves them changed forever. In the 7th, Pluto compels the person to never forget and never forgive things that happened in the context of relationships. The individual would be transformed through the intensity of his or her engagements and cooperations with others. There would be the tendency to crave and despise one’s need for an alliance, an inclination to want and fear a special relationship of gore and galore. Once the person is bound to another by a legal contract there would be no turning back – if the person has committed, they would not allow the other person to leave. In fact, there could be a strategy of making the partner unable to leave because there’s too much pride invested in the union. Alternatively, the person with Pluto in the 7th might leave before the other half gets a chance to. Court dealings and divorce matters could turn ugly to say the least, as the partners take their revenge.
8th house: This house is related to emotional intimacy, to shared resources, sex, death and the occult. The 8th relates to the self as it merges with the lives of others – the 7th is about cooperation and two separate parties joining hands. This house is concerned with the psychological and emotional impact people have on each other. It relates to fixations and attachments that are violated and transformed. Everything that affects one person affects the other in the 8th house, which makes it impossible to destroy the other without destroying the self. When Pluto is in this house, the person is likely to find themselves in emotional binds with other people. There could be people in the person’s life who manage to get under the skin -too close and too fast as to evoke dimensions within that wasn’t known before and that is beyond the person’s control. This can be frightening and activate basic survival instincts, yet the person might not be able to break free from the emotional bind. There could be a compulsive need to do what another asks or suggests, a need to act out a certain behavior to secure closeness with the other. On a more superficial level, it could take the form of financial dependency, of having one’s means merged with another person’s. The struggle to remain in control and to preserve autonomy could make the person exhausted. It’s likely that the power others can have on the person’s life is a source of fear rather than pleasantness. Intimate relationships might have a life or death tension to them. There could be a feeling of having to die as an individual in order to be close. If such a sacrifice is to be made, it should go both ways in Pluto’s book. The person might be dead bent on making the other feel the way they do in order to establish a bond that goes both ways – which means that what affects one of the parties will affect the other. There’s little to no wiggle room in this dynamic which would be what the person wants. The person’s sensitivity and survival instinct is extremely charged with this placement. Psychological manipulation and covert means of control used by others usually don’t go by unnoticed and is actively used by the person as a counter attack. Every little seeming betrayal or disapproval that comes from others causes great distress. A lot of hatred could be triggered quickly – by a glance, a word, a tone of voice, which could result in violence, humiliation, blackmail, emotional abuse or any other method of hurting others. The person might be paranoid to the point of seeing threats where there are none, compulsively inflicting pain on people who had no intention of being threatening. Fear of death could be a major issue for the person, perhaps more so than for any other Pluto placements. What is usually failed to be noticed is that the agony of fear while living is a death itself – a prison of doom. The efforts to protect oneself are futile because one is surely dying anyway. It’s necessary for the person to loosen the boundaries rigid sense of self and be reborn and transformed by intensity. There’s light in darkness, there’s strength to be gained through seeming powerlessness. None the less, death is dramatic, unexpected and all-consuming with this placement, metaphorical and literal.
9th house: This house is related to the self as it gives it’s existence meaning and purpose. It’s related to higher education, long distance travel, publishing and spreading of knowledge, the higher courts and the law, philosophy and religion. With Pluto here, the search for the source or core of existence could be an intense endeavor. I can picture this type of person dedicating themselves to extreme experiments in order to squeeze new discoveries and knowledge out of life. If the person is religious, the most orthodox path would be the most appealing since it requires the most discipline and will power. Lighter, spiritual paths would feel fake to the person – one would need something more dramatic and meaty. Pluto is a planet of extremes and doesn’t do anything half-heartedly. If one is to take the topic of God seriously, one should not set out to only have a jolly good time and experience only the light and sunny heights of bliss. It’s in life and death experiences that one can begin to find some answers to the mystery of existence according to this placement. There would be a compulsive need to find out what it’s all about, especially to penetrate and transcend the heavy dimensions of reality. There would be a deep concern around wanting to uncover the purpose of pain and the confront the sensation of conflict. There would be a definite bravery to the person’s willingness to face every facet of life. Books and publishings that deal with existential topics might be scrutinized and subsequently discarded or kept. At the core of the person’s striving there would be a desperation, a deep existential agony and a need to gain some personal power. No stone would be left unturned. In the spreading of information and knowledge however, the person might be tempted to withhold certain bits and pieces of value in order to have the upper hand. Or, one might not want to share anything of value at all and instead mislead people. If one published something of one’s true philosophy however, it might not be the most encouraging and easy to digest message out there. In fact, Pluto would have a quite sombre view on life that isn’t designed to gloss over or smooth over any rough edges. It might primarily deal with subjects like death, pain and suffering – in short, all the darker themes. In doing so, the person might hope to transform the lower states of being into the higher, to find some gold in the dirt or realizing that there’s no innate difference between the two. The person would be prone to have extreme believes that is way beyond what is conventionally accepted. Beliefs that are fundamentally anti-establishment, anti-religion, anti-society and anti-culture. Pluto often functions as a counter force to established power structures that threatens the progression of life which is in no way all bad, but it certainly causes friction.
10th house: This house relates to the self as a member of society. It relates to career, social status and public image. It’s also said to be related to the most dominant parent or caregiver the person had growing up. With Pluto here, the person would seek to gain power as part of one’s career path. The urge would be to climb the ladder of societal esteem, to stand out as an important member of society. A lot of time and energy would be invested in one’s accomplishments and achievements. There’s no way that the person would play 100% fair and square though, because in reality, nothing is fair with this planet. On the surface, the person could seem like a exemplary individual, but deep down one is desperate for societal recognition and status, and would do anything to secure it. Power is never gained by being harmless, it’s earned through clever strategy and mentally taking note of people’s subtle weaknesses and pitfalls, including one’s own. The person would be aware of the psychological games played underneath the surface level of social interaction and be a master at it. There’s an official version of how things work and there’s an unofficial version as well. This kind of person would do all the things right on the official level and not hesitate to play nasty power games on the unofficial one. If there’s a chance of being screwed over despite the deliberate strategy to avoid ever being subjected to attack, one would surely not be inclined to forgive or forget. The person would demand respect in the public eye, constantly on guard to preserve integrity and control. A person’s career is closely linked to one’s value as a citizen, as a contributor to society. If one steps out of line in this sphere of life it could have big consequences – to Pluto in the 10th, it’s a matter of life an death. In the case that the person can’t manage to conform to the current picture of the conventional exceptional, one could resort to turn the tables completely and embark on a path of undermining collective pillars, to vent everyone’s dirty laundry. If ”society” as a static structure attacks the person and pulls the rug out from underneath the person’s basic safety, there’s nothing that prevents the person bringing other people’s reputation down with their own. Taking the ”high road” is not an option because morality doesn’t have bearing on the instinct for survival. As the 10th house relates to the most dominant parent growing up, Pluto here would indicate a perceptive and suspicious parent, someone with their guard up and strong a strong protective instinct. The parent would’ve made the person aware of the risk of being deceived and outmaneuvered. It might even be, that the parent posed some kind of threat and needed to be ”disarmed” in order for the child to feel safe.
11th house: This house is related to the self and it’s association with like-minded people and friends. This house also relates to hopes, dreams and wishes that wants to be actualized in the future. When Pluto is here the groups one might be inclined to join or happen to find oneself in could be designed to enhance one’s magnitude of power and feeling of safety. The person would be prone to think that strength is found in numbers and that it’s is correlated with the ability to make in impact. Being part of a movement or an organization that is larger than oneself could provide some padding to the fragile and rigid ego of the person but it could also enhance the amount of control one can have over securing primal needs. The needs would depend on the sign Pluto is in; Pluto in Taurus would put an emphasis on material circumstances while Pluto in Pisces would be focused more on the need for emotional closeness. Pluto always takes things to the extreme, and so the group cause could be quite emotionally charged and radical. Stereotypical dark topics of death, betrayal, wrong-doings, twisted psychological complexes, crime and forbidden passions could be common factors among the friends in the person’s circle. The mutual desire to reclaim control and act out dramatic feelings could serve to tie the members closely together. However, with the person being so intense in this sphere of life, it could prove difficult to remain friends with others unless they crave the same experience or seeks to validate their own intensity. Alternatively, the person could self-destruct through associating with the wrong people and joining dangerous movements in order to feel alive. Pluto works quite well within in a tribal context as it’s first and foremost concern is for protection – the group might provide some amount of guarantee of safety and survival from outside threats, none the less a group itself is never entirely healthy and wholesome and probably poses as big a threat to individual survival as the outside world does. The person might find themselves in a lose-lose scenario for this reason – one can’t let go of the membership and a sense of community the group provides, but one can’t deny the psychological enslavement it represents to be in need of something other than the self. This dilemma might be perceived to be a curse, but it can also be viewed as a realization of freedom. When nothing is better and nothing is worse, one is free to act and say whatever, because there’s a potential threat around every corner and it will always be the case. If this can be conveyed to the group, it might set others free and help them transcend their torturous fear of life.
The 12th house: This house is related to the dissolution of the self, the confiscation of autonomy, the return into oblivion, the return back to one’s source. This house relates to places like hospitals, prisons, mental asylums and places of solitary confinement. It is the domain of the unconscious and forces beyond individual control. When Pluto is here, the instinct for survival operates unconsciously the majority of the time. The person is probably unaware of immediate or potential threats to their emotional integrity and physical safety. The strong Plutonic intensity of needing to be in control operates within the person but is not a part of the person’s perception of the self. Chances are that darker themes like violence and death primarily exist within the person’s fantasy world or dream scape. The person could encounter threats through symbols rising from the unconscious, yet would have no idea how to deal with them consciously – or how to make them stop. Since the desire to control and power within the person is not integrated into the personality, the disowned instinctive forces is flooding the person with experiences - frightening visions, obscure threats and murderous thoughts stemming from deep seated fear. It’s not unlikely that one lives out Pluto in real life but remaining curiously unaware of it. To the outside world the person may show signs of manipulative strategy and acute surveillance of one’s surroundings, involuntarily on guard all the time. The person could attribute Plutonic behavior to something that overcomes them occasionally that has nothing to do with their own identity. Pluto is a powerful force and might cause trouble as to get the person in prison or in need of care for committing crimes. The unconscious doesn’t necessarily discriminate between good and bad, it contains urges and qualities that doesn’t belong to the person but will sooner or later need an outlet through them. If people close to the person has a suppressed Pluto, the person might ”take on” the burden of acting it out for them. The unconscious always wins over the conscious mind and primal fear and rage could be released with no seeming connection to the person’s overt personality. Obsessive compulsions could get the person into trouble, forcing one into isolation and over seeing by other people in appropriate institutions. It could also be that the person finds themselves in physically violent situations, having to visit the hospital frequently and be treated for debilitating wounds and breakage. The fear of death could be great but the intensity of living with forceful impulses of protection and destruction could make the person exhausted to the point of wanting to surrender completely to it all. The person has a particular receptivity for collective survival needs and if they’re channeled constructively, they can to provide strength and resiliency.
