Continuing with my current theme of analysing Pluto contacts to personal planets, today I wish to look in detail at the Mercury – Pluto combination, which in keeping with all applications of Pluto evinces a range of difficult effects, most especially because until the behaviour is recognised and reconciled it creates a compulsion, which will be especially uncomfortable for the subject. Inevitably this difficulty and discomfort will affect important relationships too and ultimately – as with any Plutonic contact – the aspect must be transformed to prevent it becoming ultimately destructive. Aspects to Pluto from any of the personal planets are profoundly problematical, but as ever, the first and most effective step on the path to cure must be to recognise the behaviours and take responsibility for them. Owning up to our Plutonic compulsions, shining light upon them – uncomfortable though it may be – is often powerfully effective in transforming them: indeed, in many cases an “instant cure” is entirely possible.
Mercury Pluto, in keeping with other applications of Lord Hades deals with hidden, sinister and subtle aspects of communication and of course the mental processes that underpin them. Indeed, the entire arena of interpersonal communications is fraught for Mercury – Pluto, usually because of an early childhood that is characterised by difficulty, cruelty or power-games in communication matters. We shall explore these causal themes in the ensuing discussion, but first I would like to examine some of the specific effects.
Mercury Pluto is the aspectual manifestation of Mercury in Scorpio, which is renowned for being either verbose or rather monosyllabic. This implies nothing about the underlying mindset or facility for language or mental processing, but only the willingness or unwillingness to reveal the self. This is reflected perfectly by the aspects between Mercury and Pluto, most especially with the conjunction and to a lesser extent the easy aspects there is a loquacious response to the contact: these people talk, often exhaustively although without necessarily revealing much of substance about themselves. Conversely, those with hard aspects are not likely to give too much away, or at the very least – while they may talk freely – they are never comfortable talking about themselves in a way that is particularly incisive or revealing. In either case it boils down to a profound fear of communication and a sense that somehow words can cause pain and lasting damage. With the easy aspects there is not the same urgent sense of danger, but nevertheless there is a need to control the conversation which is engendered by the same mindset as the individual with the hard aspects. Often the Pluto conjunct Mercury person will talk exhaustively and exhaustingly, and the ‘listener’ will often walk away feeling tired and somewhat overwhelmed by the experience. In any case, the process of communicating, with easy aspects or hard, is uncomfortable for both parties involved in the dialogue.
It should be remembered that any aspect between Mercury and Pluto will evince one or other of these effects. For my own part I am extremely familiar with Mercury – Pluto as I have Mercury in Scorpio, peregrine and semi-square, contraparallel and in mutual reception with Pluto, I can speak from experience as to its effects.
With the hard aspects especially, the sense of difficulty with communication creates an observer rather than a participator. Here is somebody who is aware of every subtle nuance of communication and is typically deeply distrustful of words. Usually it will be found that Mercury – Pluto grew up in an environment where truth was taboo, and one or both parents will have been the murky wellspring from which this skewed sense of things was first experienced. It is also possible that an older brother or sister was the cause of the problem or some difficult secret in connection with that sibling or one that haunted and tainted the family environment in some way might be found to be in evidence. On a fairly simplistic level, the Mercury Pluto child will have learned early on that words were not to be trusted at face value. The resentful and controlling mother who would tell her child: “of course I love you darling, more than anything in the world” while evincing no genuine or believable warmth is one good example of this effect. There is then a dichotomy here, between words and more subtle forms of non-verbal communication that have poisoned the child’s perceptions. Body language, ever a reliable indicator of true feelings, is therefore valued much more highly than any simple verbal statement, but this again is fraught with difficulty. The Mercury – Pluto person is formed in such away that they are innately suspicious of any communication: this is very often sensed by others, who feel that they are “on the spot” somehow, and their body language will betray their discomfort which will in turn set off the ultra-sensitive radar of Mercury – Pluto. This can create a cycle of suspicion, distrust and interrogation that is especially exhausting within close relationships later in life.
Therefore, the Mercury – Pluto type is often handicapped in life by being too perceptive and it is through this mechanism of not being able to take things at face value and exhausting oneself and others by continually investigating the most subtle of interactions that the damage is done.
The child learned to do things this way because of the unreliability of close family communications. Language may have been used to damaging effect by a parent or sibling, secrets were kept and wielded almost politically within the early home environment and this actually characterises very neatly the quality of this combination for the afflicted. Words cannot ever mean what they say, there is usually a hidden agenda, an ulterior motive, a secret being kept: indeed this is exactly the case in the childhood home, but the problem is that the child grows up and takes this same understanding out into the world and applies it indiscriminately to every relationship in the whole of life from then on.
But there is a more profound realisation here too. It is not actually so much what is said that concerns Mercury – Pluto, but indeed what is not said. This creates an anxiety about communication that is really very disturbing: this is why the native talks so much (in the conjunction or easy aspect), not because they have anything much to say, but because they are terrified of the silence and what it might mean. The child will no doubt have been controlled with lack of communication as much as the use of ugly, brutal or cruel language. A parent or sibling may have ostracised or ignored the child as a means of creating an emotional anxiety, or made vague, open-ended threats which would have created a sense of foreboding and impending anguish all with the express purpose of eliciting control.
There is too a legacy of damaging secrets in the early home which would have reinforced this sense of anguish, very often there are half-brothers or sisters who are kept secret or in some other way separate from the rest of the family. There may also have been other secrets relating to siblings which, when revealed created anxiety in the native: I have seen cases where a more favoured sibling is secretly given money or some other treat or benefit by a parent unbeknown to the Mercury Pluto child and when this is learned the assurances by the parent that they love their children equally become hollow and suspect.
At its best, and transformed, Mercury Pluto makes an excellent researcher and psychologist. Able to delve into the deeper and more innate realities of interaction they can often see cause where others cannot; they see the subtle motivations that are in fact pre-cognitive, and in a very real sense they do not need the words to arrive at an understanding. In fact, the Mercury – Pluto person can often be frustrated at the depth of their understanding because words are ultimately a rather blunt instrument when trying to convey the profundity of their insight and this creates another signature of the contact of course: Mercury Pluto despises the superficial and capricious. Intense and insightful, but with a need to avoid obsessing, Mercury Pluto is a natural researcher and student of human nature and motivation, they make excellent counsellors and – once the aspect is transformed – powerful and persuasive communicators who are able to see into the heart of any matter.
Thanks for the great post. Your insights help me to better understand my own responses to a Mercury in Scorp friend of few words. I’m often left wondering, “Did I say too much?.. or not enough?.. or something?” I think I’ll be better able to trust just being authentic in my expressions with her, which I’m sure will be good for both of us.
Wow — another great post.
I am fascinated with Pluto/Scorpio energy … which might be due to the Mercury-Pluto (conj Uranus) opposition in my chart? 🙂 Seriously, though, there is so much here that resonates with me, both in myself and in relation to others with this aspect or sign placement.
For me, one by-product of the opposition is to be extremely guarded around Scorpio types. Somehow I know (Merc in Pisces) that what I reveal may give over power to that person, so I may be very cagey or outright deceptive about what I say. Not always; it depends on the person and the conversation. But many times if I give in to a natural exuberance and let my guard down, I later regret it and experience this very anguished, vulnerable sensation, like I have lost and they have won in getting information out of me.
Regarding speaking “exhaustively and exhaustingly”: I have stayed in touch with a former manager from an old job who is a Super-Scorpio: 5-planet stellium, incl. Sun, PLUS Scorpio rising, and Mercury in Scorpio/Sq. Pluto/Sq Mars. (When I first got her birth data and pulled up the chart, my mouth dropped open and I literally yelled out ‘holy sh*t!’) The last time we got together, she talked for HOURS about some very personal issues and kept me there till like 3:00 a.m. on a weeknight! I was totally drained and had to call in sick to work for part of the following day. Now, I also really enjoy deep (and not superficial) conversations, the more honest and raw the better, so I had a hard time breaking it off early; it was too honest and compelling. But the sense of *exhaustion* with this contact that you described is dead-on.
She also has a physical tic of often not looking straight at you in conversation; her eyes look to one side as she speaks. To me, it’s almost like that secretive Scorpio energy is so overwhelming, she is physically unable to sustain eye contact because that would be too revealing.
The opposite manifestation is also true with Merc/Scorpio, where the person bores right into you with their eyes, or verbally unleashes a torrent of “ugly, brutal or cruel language” in an effort to intimidate you into divulging something, allowing them to hold sway in a discussion, etc. In either case — I am very sensitive to these behaviors and the ‘hidden agendas.’
Very good article, Spot on!!! I’m a mercury/ pluto conjunction in 2nd house, and I can verify this is all FACTS. Now I know what to do with the energies… THANKS!
wow. i’m blown away. that was the most comprehensive mercury-pluto interpretation i have ever read. It really hit the nail on the head.. in so many ways .
oh and i have mercury conjunct pluto/midheaven in scorpio ( and i’m also a sun scorpio ) .
thanks for this article.
I’m mercury conjunct pluto in scorpio in 12th house.
“the Mercury – Pluto person can often be frustrated at the depth of their understanding because words are ultimately a rather blunt instrument when trying to convey the profundity of their insight and this creates another signature of the contact of course: Mercury Pluto despises the superficial and capricious.”
this really hit the nail on the head for me. I find that so many things are lost in translation when i try to communicate through words. So much that most of the time i don’t even bother. And the 12th house doesn’t make it any easier for me either. My mercury-pluto conjunction also squares mars.
Me too! I, also, have mercury-pluto in Libra in my 12th house square my saturn in cancer 9th house (conj south node talk about mother issues. OMG!) There are so many things I understand but can’t find the words to explain them. It is soooo frustrating sometimes. I almost cried when I read the last paragraph. Knowing there is strength and not just misery in this aspect made me emotional. I have so much pain from my childhood in regards to my mother. I could relate to almost every sentence written in this post. I feel as though it was written about ‘MY’ childhood. Unbelievable! I would like greater insight into the meaning of the mercury-pluto conjunction in the 12th house. I read astrology blogs all the time but never one that has come so close to the truth for me.
You words are so spot on for me (merc in leo in the 4th square Pluto in libra (anaretic degree) in the 6th). It’s almost chilling. The “secrets” in my childhood was fundamental religious practices being explained in superficial ways (every step you take towards the mosque, god will gives you that many dollars in heaven) or some other ridiculous claim. I learned not to trust advice or preachings of anyone. I never went to my parents for advice either. I am just now trying to reverse these harsh effects of not trusting others’ advice in all of my relationships.
That is brillant and inspiring.
I’m a mercury-pluto conjunct in the 3d house: as a child I was always told not to talk too much….and as an aduld (almost) I become very silent and observing….as for the unspoken family sicret about brotherhood….well I discovered as I was 20 that my sister is not my father’s daughter….
And as for the unpleasent conversation….I have that too!
I cannot way to transform it for the better!!
My sun is in leo conjunct Mars 11th house. I have a Grand Stellium of 7 planets in my 1st. house. Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Moon, Uranus, Asc. is Virgo. You are incredible, I really wanted to understand why I talked so much at times. I would even get tired of hearing my own voice and take short vows of silence. I am so happy I found you. I am almost in tears (choked up). Must schedule a consultation with you ASAP!!!!!!
I’ve got Mercury conjunct Pluto (and Uranus) in the 12th and was born with a hearing loss, that’s how I see the discomfort factor with this aspect. As a child I wanted to be a detective and have read every Agatha Christie book written, at least 3 times.
In my adult life I use this aspect in my work as an astrologer and writer, researching and delving deep into the undercurrents of life.
thanks for an in-depth plutonian analysis of this aspect!
Thanks Fern.
I\’ve been a reader of your thoughts for a long time.
I have Mercury in Cancer, square pluto in libra.
I *am* a qualified researcher 😀
Very insightful article, it was as if you were present in my household.
I’ve got Pluto conjunct Mercury (Applying, 1° orb) in Scorpio in my 3rd house opposing my Moon in Taurus in the 9th house.
I’ve always felt intellectually inferior to my peers and others around me; I even sought treatment for a developmental delay in my late 20’s because I was so convinced there was something wrong with the way that I learn and process information.
I am male and have both sun and mercury square pluto.
I was sexually abused when I was 7-8 by a worker in my own home. He used words to persuade me that I couldn’t possibly tell my parents and have kept this in secrecy till past 35 years.
My own family couldnt face the truth, my father would violently communicate with me, expressing freely his anger and waking me at night to “talk about something I said or not said”. He just came into my room (where I divided with two younger brothers) and started to talk just as I was awoke. I eventually woke up, and took him outside the room so he wouldn’t disturb my younger brothers. My mother was silent and allways depressed, suffering because of my father strong will and poor self-appreciation that needed that everyone agreed with him.
I have to remmember where I am, describe the environment I am and policy my mind every single second of my life because I keep inventing stories, conversations with relatives, gf, etc, about imaginary betraials they have done to me.
Not charming. But that’s my mind and that’s the only one I got.
I managed to survive all this, got a Physics PhD and work now with psychology (trying to understand physics reasoning in scientists and students). People love to ask me advice and I almost cry all the time trying to stop my mind from suggesting me to manipulate others verbally to my own interests, and giving them freely and good-willed advice.
Im glad you wrote this. And kudos on overcoming, my friend. I all feel the same way when giving advice..I learned early on in life that for whatever reason, my words have power. It almost made me afraid to speak freely..ive found I have to exercise extreme care in helping others with advice or suggestion. There is this effect that causes people to almost believe what I say to be supreme truth and they almost willingly will take my advice and never question it. Because its ME. This blind trust that is SCARY AS HELL. It makes me very afraid of leading someone into a bad situation due to my advice…and it has conditoned me to be very objective. And detatch myself and my own desires. As i do not ever want to manipulate someone to my own will (even if I honestly believe me telling them what I think they should do, is in their best interest.) Its actually enabled me to continuously keep my own emotions and ego in check and not let it cloud ny judgement. But between us and the 4 walls… its highly unnerving how I can deeply sense how easy it would be for me to fully manipulate anyone and anything. I feel sometimes, I could manipulate water into steam just by saying the right words the right way. Absolute scariest thing about me..im not one to be that way. It would bother me greatly. BUT even the knowledge of possessing such an intense and potentially cult-leader esque energy is scary. Though the flip side is this depth and command of the human Psyche can as well be used to share so much knowledge and to also bring psychological healing and transformation for those in need of it.
Wow great article ,it was very informative and gives me something to mentally chew on again again and again. Hey can anyone out there tell me what it means to have a mecury in capricorn( eight house) square pluto in libra(in the sixth)?
Chirotic,
I just recently discovered your blog and am enjoying your insights, particularly those involving Pluto issues, which I’m all too familiar with.
Like you, I have Mercury in Scorpio and also like you my Mercury in Scorpio is in mutual reception with my Pluto in Virgo, although in my case the two planets are sextile. I have Pluto in my 12th, squaring my Mars in the 9th – I believe this aspect increases the Plutonic energy — and to add even more flavor to the mix, my Mercury is conjunct both my Jupiter and Neptune, all in Scorpio, lord of my 3rd house of communications. And my Virgo Ascendant is of course ruled by Mercury.
As a child I remember picking up on the truths beneath the surface of things, even occasionally receiving psychic impressions. I would often sense people’s hidden agendas, yet was always confused as to why no one else seemed to know what was really going on. I learned very early on that words do not always mean what they seem to mean, or at least that they don’t always take on the most obvious meaning. Sometimes it’s in the way something is said, or as you pointed out, not said. I’ve learned to observe what people do in relation to what they say – you begin to get a clearer picture. For many years, I worked in an environment where clear, perceptive communication skills were an absolute necessity. I was frequently in contact with therapists who (off the record) would ask me for my insights, which I was always happy to share. I was often told by them that I would have made a good therapist myself.
A common theme throughout my life has been that often people want to shoot the messenger when the message is not something they want to hear (or deal with), so I’ve learned to “never speak in the hearing of a fool”. With friends and family, I’m open and talkative and can absolutely be prone to verbosity, although usually this is only the case in my writing (like now). I’m very aware that Scorpio has many sides to its nature, but as an adult, I’ve generally tried to exercise the higher manifestations of my Pluto energy. People tend to trust me and I would never reward that trust by using anyone’s vulnerabilities against them, even someone I did not like.
Thanks again for sharing your insights; sometimes it can feel very lonely knowing what we know.
I can really relate to how one can be too receptive with these Pluto connections… all of my challenging Sun(Libra) to Neptune aspects and Neptune being in the 4th house alone already gave me a hard to define and possibly socially awkward demeanor, but my Mercury in Scorpio conjunct Pluto in Scorpio really brings my persona to a whole other level.
My gaze alone can overwhelm people.
Great article. I found it as I was studying the charts of three siblings. The oldest has Mercury and Pluto in semisquare (exact), the middle sib has the quincunx, and the youngest has a first house conjunction.
Since finding this article I have spent some time reading here–what a great blog!
I have Mercury in Scorpio sextile Pluto in Virgo (mutual reception) … I have never read anything more striking about this connection! Wether the family issue, the talkative tendancy, the psychological sense (I’m a writer by profession – psychological thrillers!)… and the terror of silence in conversation : it’s all there! I am impressed by your article.
Great.
Gladdening to read.
Absolute great article.
I can only agree with all other readers.
The description fits like a glove. Pluto has been a huge transformator for me in the communication/expression area.
I’m highly intuitive and sensitive. This has been the hardest stage in my personal development. I have Pluto square Mercury in Virgo in 5th house.
I have come far since then, but still need some polishing in learning to trust and being spontaneous. I used be very suspicious and distrusting, since my childhood. I try to push the boundaries with little things like showing people more of who I really am. Now they see me more as a confidente.
I’m very good in conversing with friends, meeting people in the streets, but applying for jobs hasnt’t always been smooth. It depends on the person. When I feel comfortable I have no problem communicating.
Thanks for the article and all comments of the readers here. It’s very educational and comforting.
I have 165 degree aspect of Mercury and Pluto.
My brother got everything and I got very little, My mom bought him a house andI live in a rented trailer. This article really hit home.
To top it off, I have Chiron in the third. (in Aquarius)
I want to be a writer & love to read, (Mercury in the 2nd) Strange isn’t it. What I have difficulty with is exactly what I want to do.
I have a similar if not the exact same configuration as yourself. Mercury in Scorpio, Pluto in Virgo, semisquare, mutually receptive. I experienced very few of the negative aspects of this configuration. I do exhibit a shocking degree of perception, so I transformed a LONG time ago. LOL I am not exactly aware of when it happened though. I always thought that one had to be aware to be transformed. But apparently it was subconscious. I’ll blame Pluto for keeping the reasons for my insight hidden.
Oh Yeah, my moon is conjunct mercury in Scorpio in the 8th house. I’ve read that the moon likes it there.
I have pluto conjunct mercury conjunct sun, all within a 5 degree orb in Libra.
I think the one thing you left out here was the word ‘obsession’. I have a tendency to become obsessed with things – particularly things I don’t understand.
If I look at my life I see a series of obsessions, working through something intensively and exhaustively until it is replaced by something else. For example when I discovered Sudoku I played it every day until I devised a strategy that would solve any Sudoku puzzle and then I lost interest.
Another side of this is paranoia. I think that the constant emphasis and focus on motives and hidden things starts tuning the mind far too much to the negative. One begins to forget that there is something like the positive, especially since it doesn’t really have the intellectual appeal of the hidden and negative.
I find myself unable to control this aspect, but in a way I am fine with it – its gifts are tremendous power of concentration, the ability to see the big picture, to spontaneously see through things and to nip deception in the bud.
sun conj neptune jupiter mercury in scorpio pluto in virgo in the 8the house square mars R in gemini so this makes a strange triple reception I think, to top it of mercury gets a square from uranus…
what Mercuto said about obsessivenes and sometimes to much tuned in too the negative..also getting the big picture
and I yust deleted the story I yust wrote, for me is talking oke but writing….and on the internet …
still thinking delete this little reaction as well ,take away the email adres etc etc
probably a good example of an plutonic mind
but anyway in getting older there are rewards like very good friends with whom I have shared deep transformations for over 34 years (scorpio cusp 10 and 11)
to read about other mercury/pluto people really moving thank you all
Wow, I did not know that this aspect sucks so much. To be honest, I have the tendency to be verbose as well because I’ve mistaken myself of not saying enough. But this only occurs in the net world, where I find it’s easier to communicate. Essays are what I say difficult for me, I remember writing on that was thirty pages too long and the reason why was because I felt like I had to finish it and I couldn’t find a freaking shortcut.
But usually I’m on the side that listens or has to listen, I attract talkative types and I find rebuffing them somewhat difficult to do. I like listening, but then I’m wondering when do I get to contribute something meaningful–I don’t think I’ve ever been a fully active participant. I’m full-blown obsessive though.
Wow I feel the same way people like to talk to me a lot and I want to say something too
I have a mercury square pluto at 0 degree. I have a rough time in large social gatherings. My mind tends to constantly analyze, take apart, and look for negatives in every conversation. And even after a conversation, possibly a few hours later, I recall the conversation in my mind regarding what I said, imposing a critical view. Self-censorship. Observer definately, especially in school. I hate to verbally contribute in class. Even though this aspect is extremely difficult for me to deal with, without it I don’t think I would be the truthseeker I am today.
I have have mercury square pluto at 0 degree. Secretive, intense, observer, see right through BS. I’m very quiet, rarely talk about myself. Hard for me express myself verbally. I’m better at the written word. Although, my writing gets me in trouble sometimes. I won’t tolerate those who abuse power. Being one of the best employees (this is what they tell me, I’m very critical of myself), I will leave a job if the manager tries to micro manage me. I’ve written reviews on professors that I have regretted after. I can’t help but want to show people the raw truth. I’m not trying to destroy people, I want to help them. I try to highlight both the positive and the negative, but I know I obsess over the negative. I have a half brother that was not close to me throughout early life. I respect him though. My worst enemy is myself sometimes, and I realize this. I’m not one to ignore the truth, I seek it. I’m now returning to college to pursue a degree in psychology because of my interest in human nature. I just hope I can overcome the obstacles. Determination is another quality I have. I’m also a life path 9.
My Aquarius-Scorpio square has a 2 degree orb. I am definitely quiet and often find myself engaging in self censorship as. I suppose that motto “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” applies. Often times the “not nice” thing is simply the ugly truth, but I am often “predicting” what horrible calamity would arise if I don’t filter myself. It feels like I have a harder time than others without such an aspect, in expressing myself in a way that won’t offend or feel like a confrontation. Often times, people don’t hear what I say because I speak low, and it actually slightly angers me when I’m asked to repeat myself because I feel like I spoke loud enough to be heard. If I speak any louder, I would have to yell. It’s like I have no middle range..apparently indicative of the Pluto tendency toward extremes.
This is amazing. Very much resonates me. As a back story… I will tell you that I have Mercury Conjunct Pluto…in Scorpio…in the 6th house. And I have a Gemini rising. Im a Sagittarius…and Jupiter and Mercury are in trine from Scorpio to Pisces. To further complicate the matter, Venus is also in this Scorpio conjunction. I had a rather happy childhood…with a very very subtle form of this energy. I do indeed have a half brother! He is from my mothers first relationship…though he called my father “Dad.” We never spoke on my brother having a different father publicly. Though it wasnt a secret in the home and he wasnt treated differently…other than him being the First born. There was a sense, early in life of “dont overshare your private business” to which we saw no real consequences..but the lack of events due to us being this way contributed to the notion that not oversharing private matters indeed was the way to go. Fast forward to my parents getting divorced and me spending my entire teenage existence in poverty and in and out of family shelters. No electricity in the house. Everything. But on the outside I never fully revealed how bad things were while I was going through it. I dont know why it was so hard to talk about. I was very guarded. It was all so painful. At some point I realized that indeed, everyone liked me a lot, but no one knew me..even the fact that I paint, and draw and sing…i kept it all hidden to myself. While showing my sunny and chatty side (I also have a Libra moon, so relating to people and working a room isnt hard for me at all) another side to this…is I believe what further made my family situation more complicated is that we are African American..we never went to church. We spent our time playing ESP games, talking about the occult, paranormal, ancient cultures, hidden knowledge. And we had a lot of unusual phenomena happen (i also have Neptune in the 8th house.) We never publicly talked much about this side to our family as it would cause conflict with people who may not have understood..so I also kept that side to myself as well..I grew into adulthood with some fear of revealing things about myself that would make people not like me or think I was weird, not see me in the same light, etc. My brother also spent 6 yrs in prison..I could go on and on. Not to mention body issues, getting made fun of…i was fully conditioned to stay in some way “hidden.” Well eventually something in me broke open (as pluto entered my 8th house in transit.) I slowly got my life stable and fixed many things…and slowly opened up more. I found that the more open I became in earnesty, the more I realized that many people have similar experiences.no matter how pretty and glossy it looks on the outside. A commonality I discovered that made me more unafraid. And i realized that true people in your life do mot abandon you due to sides of yourself that may clash..I also somehow began to attract occult themed things to me through relating to others to the point that strangers would ask me “what do you think about life after death?” Etc…almost forcing me to openly express hidden insight ive developed on such subjects over the years. Now at work people come up to me asking me about crystals, Astrology, etc…metaphysics…like its commonplace. And its attracted nothing but more love and kinship from others. And i realized that I can actually HELP others. Which I actively do now. Im ironically a counselor by day…focusing on sexual health and avoiding sexually transmitted infections..i also collect samples and run laboratory testing for such things…and I have to tell them if they are infected with them..including HIV. By night and in my free time, I do occult and metaphysics related things and art/music. All of which has united seamlessly into who I really am..and although my words are still not as revealing and harsh as the average person…im able to be open and earnest and risk whatever I get in response…and have that be ok. I feel far less anxious, paranoid, suspicious etc than I used to be. But every now and then I get a taste of the bits of me that will always be: and I get a call from an unidentified number and ALL of my exclamation points are going off in my mind…there will always be this sort of Victorian suspicion and subtle paranoia with such energy. The proverbrial raven rapping on the window pane. LoL this is an AMAZING and very very insightful article. And i also love the bit about words being a block at times…i do feel it hard to fully express the depth of the way I see things and any insight I may have…but thank heavens for the Gemini rising. Its a head start at least!
Wooow this really described me I have Mercury and Pluto in Scorpio in conjunction and everything is true and I have half-sister. And when I talk to much and realize that I am talking too much and I don’t feel good sometimes. The other thing is that sometimes it’s like people don’t hear me and I feel bad and I speak low and without confidence or sometimes I’m too agressive when talking. So what we have to do to transform this energy?
So far the best interpretation of Mercury-Pluto aspect I came across. Well done.
Mercury (Aries) opposition Pluto (Scorpio). Both conjunct angles MC/IC. Definitely not an easy aspect, but it can also offer a lot, depending how it’s used.
When I am grounded and offering compassionate support my own Pluto Square Mercury is tamed (through Pluto’s trines and sextiles to Moon and Venus).I am both counsellor and psychotherapist trained. However, I feel disappointed in myself often when the cruelty of my speech really does target and hit home in unnecessarily cruel and compulsive ways with those I am closest to. I hide it in humour, in reality I echo the same ugly hurtfulness I experienced as a child. Awareness does not always heal, I wonder if my deep sadness about the aspects manifestations in my life might say something about the impulse behind the causation in my family of origin and the role I accepted to play in entering this incarnation.
I have this, almost exactly. Mercury (0°06 approaching Pluto. The above is accurate. For me it is also a base point of a yod with a sextile to Neptune in Sag (less than a degree orb) and both of these base points are tightly in conjunct the moon in Taurus. Boomerang yod as venus in Scorpio is tightly opposite that.
I would like to know the authors view on Saturn in Cancer squaring the Mercury/Pluto aspect almost exactly too…what kind of flavor does this overlay onto the characteristics described above?
I have all the same aspects you mentioned except for the Taurus moon. I’m assuming you’re a September 16th baby? Which houses do your planets fall in? As this is important as to what areas of your life the energies will play out in.
Saturn & SN 2nd house cancer
Moon & Mars 12th house taurus
Sun Virgo 5th
Mercury pluto conjunct 5th libra
Venus Scorpio 6th
Neptune 6th Sagittarius
Uranus 6th libra
Excellent article, really sounds like me. I can really see and understand things on a deep level, but to verbally explain things to others I find very difficult. I get nervous when I speak and stutter, get confused and mixed up. Luckily I can explain through writing very well.
I have sun at 23.09 Leo conjunct mercury R at 22.21 leo in the 12th house. My Pluto is at 15.16 Virgo in the 1st house. My sun and mercury midpoint is at 22.45 Leo and this makes an exact 22.30deg semi-octile aspect to Pluto.
With Retrograde mercury conjunct sun both semi-octile Pluto, plus Virgo asc at 0.20deg making a 15 deg aspect to Pluto. When Orcus transited my 1st house i went through some radical changes.
I developed an obsession with working out mysteries involving the solar system, planet and star formation. I can go so deep thinking and probing, searching for small clues or the slightest overlooked small bit of information For weeks on end I just cannot stop thinking and searching until I find answers.
It started when I first watched wonders of the solar system, April 2011 and Brian cox was explaining something but for some reason I just knew it was wrong. He was talking about something ( I won’t go into that here) but I could see very clearly the real reason why it was. I strongly disagreed with his explanation, It was like an electric shock to my brain, I was like ‘Uh, how can I know this?’
From then on I have found my ultimate path in life and became transformed for sure. All my worries I previously had about difficulties communicating with people and my many obbsessions became not so important. Instead of spending time worrying and trying to work out my problems. I now had something much better to concentrate my thinking on and my worries became insignificant.
So far to date I have solved many of the difficult mysteries, I’ve thought so hard and for so long I’ve often gone into burn out and need to take rests. But I have figured so much out that I’m writing a book at the moment
Just to add, I’ve always been able to look inside of people deeply like a probe and very often can know what strong astrology signs they are. Usually I can get their sun moon or both. I watched adele at glastonbury the other night doing an interview then the concert and could see Taurus and Gemini strong, I also thought Sagittarius but wasn’t so sure of that one. When I checked she had sun in Taurus, conjunct Jupiter. Mercury in Gemini, plus venus in Gemini opposite sag. I just really enjoyed watching her movements and expressions and how she spoke then starting to see her strongest signs, I’ve always loved doing this.
The part in the article about it’s not what people say but their body language or as I often say ‘ actions speak louder than words’ My mother does love my sister more and has already given her a lot of money. She is often hurtful with her words but says that she loves me a lot. I think since Orcus became conjunct my sun/mercury in 2003 and then moved into my 1st house and made an opposition with Neptune transiting my 7th house, it has been an unreal transformational time for me, I hit the lowest lows, lost my father in 2012 and twin brother in 2013 the day before our birthday. It was on an absolutely exact Orcus opposition Neptune 4.17deg day.
But my insights into the solar system keep my mind fully occupied and my book will be written in memory of them (one of my best insights came the day my twin brother died, may have been at the same time).
Pretty spot on. I have Aquarius Mercury (retrograde stationary, 8th house) square Scorpio Pluto (5th House) with Mercury being the apex of a T-square between Pluto-Mercury-Moon. I was verbally abused as a child and talked very little. I am still a very quiet, obsessive-compulsive, suspicious and paranoid person. Hate when I have to explain myself. Have a nearly accurate ability to know people’s emotions and intentions (pride myself to read minds correctly). I don’t always hear words; I see faces, I look into eyes (my own eyes are big and kind of hypnotic when I stare, freaks the hell out of a lot of people, I have been told they look so creepy and overwhelming), I see how they move. Very hard to lie to me if I gaze into someone eyes, my gaze is often unblinking, I often see the truth before it escapes the mouth. Always look for ulterior motive behind the words, guess the hidden agenda correctly more often than not. Very interested in human psychology, wanted to study it in school (keep studying on my own) but got into biology research instead. That suited my personality well too. Love investigating and playing the “detective”. Interested in nearly all esoteric knowledge, astrology and spiritualism. Feel the immense need to hide my thoughts and identity (Pluto trines my Cancer Ascendant), often feel like a fugitive. Thanks a lot for sharing the information!
I have this with mercury 0°06 approaching pluto in libra, 5th house. Both square Saturn in Cancer by 0° and a few minutes each. Both square North node by 1 degree. They trine Jupiter (1 degree) and somewhat loosely trine both ascendant and midheaven.
They are part of a tight boomerang yod with Neptune in sag and moon in Taurus, outlet Venus in Scorpio.
Do these added aspects, tight as they are, affect the mercury pluto conjunction you describe?
Excellent article as I have mercury in an exact conjunction in the 4th house of family and home. You are right on when you said “Pluto grew up in an environment where truth was taboo”. .Every single thing you said about the Mercury-Pluto child concerning parents and sibling absolutely is true in my case!
hey guys
im loving this chat!
I have pluto in my 3rd house of scorpio. it is sextile mercury (in cancer 10th house), sextile neptune, sextile uranus, square saturn and square venus.
I love researching all kinds of things (im a theoretical chemist dabbling in particle physics) and i can truly see right through something/someone , to their very core. it actually scares me . when i look in someones eyes i see everything that they see and i dont like that too much, it is intimidating for some people and intriguing to others but i have learnt to be as gentle as possible with my eye contact. when i look in someones eyes it instantly becomes emotional and everything they are saying gets blocked out by the noise of my intuitive mind. its very distracting and i have to really concentrate to hear what they are saying.
the interesting thing here is that it was not always like this and its like one day consciousness filled me and i became super aware of
everything.
even if im searching for music i seem to be able to get right through the crap stuff and find everything i am looking for . i dont understand how other people cant do the same cus all im doing is typing in the name of artist and voila. this ‘digging/seeing to the core’ applies to all aspects of life.
now also regarding the squared venus, i was always very rigid about sex even tho i wanted it. so sex was always painful and thus i never indulged. i have done a lot of self healing and now i love sex (age 23). for me it is interesting how these aspects turn on/off like the eye contact thing that just started happening one day.
maybe the pluto square saturn is to do with the time thing. i always see saturn as a sort of slow movert that gets better and evolves with time
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Great article! I resonated a lot with it as I have Pluto Conjunct Mercury in Scorpio in my 12th house. From my experience, this aspect is a blessing and a curse usually. It gives perception and understanding of an unknown depth.
Growing up I always found it hard to express myself in front of others because I would so intensely perceive everything they weren’t saying. And then I got paranoid that people didn’t like me or were secretly criticizing me. But over time I have learned that its mostly a reflection. My Moon sits in Taurus 5th house opposite my Pluto-Mercury Conjunction, and what I’ve found is that I am able to draw deep within my perception of things and reflect it to my emotional self and express what I find through my creative abilities. I can water my Taurus Moon with the Scorpio Mercury intellect.
I like to think of my Mercury-Pluto Conjunction 12th house as a place where I can tap into my hidden resources and discover secrets, spirituality, insights and power I didn’t know I had. And with my Moon opposite it all, I get to perceive what I discover a bit more objectively because Taurus is the opposite to Scorpio.
The 12th house and Pluto always fascinates me. I’ve been interested in highly detailed work (Midheaven Virgo – Pluto Sextile) and I seem to get the most accomplished when I’m completely isolated from everything.
This position is by no means a curse or bad omen, it’s a well or insight, a wire connecting to the collective consciousness and significant healing work can be achieved once it’s transformed and I’ve mucked out all the tricky bits.
*Apologies in advance, this is gonna be long 😉
This article has given me exactly what I’ve been looking for: insight into my incessant talking (with a particular person) and my razor sharp ability at times to see (into) things/people; both which seem to be destroying my life at the moment.
I’d first like to say that my heart goes out to all the people dealing with these agonising yet potentially transformative aspects: I feel your pain. Though healing, they are brutal.
And immense gratitude to the person who wrote this article! Your impact is helping me see that I -can- heal these Plutonian aspects 🙂
I have 4 Pluto aspects, Mercury in Pluto being one of them, and I seem to be dealing with most of my Plutonian aspects with one particular person, or at least a stellium with Mercury, Venus and Pluto!
Through out most of my life I’ve been an intensely quiet and private person, selectively mute at times. When I was very little I used to talk to myself in an exhaustive manner, trying to soothe myself and/or to make sense of the world, which my father used to punish me for. I became almost mute after this which took me a very long time to unravel. Fast forward to the present day… there is someone special in my life with whom I can talk incessantly at, non-stop to the point of exhaustion, for both of us, which feels unfamiliar to me. I have Mercury in Virgo and this person has Mercury in Pisces, so I’ve often investigated our dynamic from this angle: I can be a detailed speaker which almost puts my Pisces friend to sleep which in turn makes me more talkative until we have such an unbalanced and tiring dynamic. I think this aspect definitely contributes but since reading this article and throwing Pluto aspects into the fire I have had an explosion of insight!
To top off these talking assaults, I am always trying to get inside this person, ‘read them’, gaze beneath the surface into their soul, probe for their feelings… sometimes out of mistrust or sometimes just to find a glimmer of deeper hidden emotion, which I crave. This person is Pisces sun with their moon in Scorpio, so they are hardly ever revealing much of anything of themselves/not giving anything up 😉 yet when they do, it is honest, tell-it-like-it-is truthful with zero drama. They are difficult to impress or ruffle. They are the most hidden person I’ve met emotionally, which I love but they scare me, too, not sharing their feelings which I can often sense. They often play like they don’t know what is going on at all! And I do not believe them. And it is a source of constant cyclic grief and pain between us: me constantly probing (when I’m not busy talking!) looking for any ripple on the surface to call out, and sometimes to attack. On top of this, this person on a subconscious level knows my every weakness/flaw and often holds up this inner mirror to me of my very soul. And it feels unbearable! It sounds dramatic yet it feels like it is destroying me/us. And they often act like they know nothing, or understand very little, are vague, which frustrates me. They seem to ‘know’ yet are unwilling to be known, even by someone they consider their ‘soulmate.’ My connection with this person is beyond words and I know on a deeper level that they are offering me some of my greatest gifts of this lifetime. But sometimes I hate them for it, too (which, so far, I can always transmute lol.) I know my behaviour is rude and unacceptable at times… me not allowing this person their emotional privacy. And perhaps what I want is unhealthy: to know someone completely. Yet when there is silence between us it feels unbearable, too… and perhaps therein lies my answer!
I’d like to add (if anyone is (still) reading ;)) that my mother (rip) also had her moon in Scorpio (I’m Cancer moon btw) and growing up she withheld physical contact, like touch and hugs, would let me cry alone, never any outward display of affection… but her eyes! She had the most magnetic, all knowing eyes and one glance from her made me feel SEEN, safe and protected. And I’m always looking for those eyes, especially in a partner! She also made me co-dependant on her in a way that has been difficult for me to untangle, yet I continue to have victory unraveling this mess. I was kind of in love with my mother, not in a sexual way, but in a way where she captivated me, held me an emotional prisoner. Awful stuff. Merging, no boundaries etc. I always sensed life under the surface of everything. And it’s frightening — not always knowing what belongs to whom!
I think this incessant talking is me trying to not feel what isn’t mine… yet feeling it anyway! Almost punishing someone for feeling what they feel because I feel like I can feel it, too but it’s none of my business! Or searching for that feeling of being ‘seen’ that feels like it’s being withheld from me.
It feels cathartic to have typed this all out! Any insights would be appreciated if anyone has read down this far 🙂
All the best to everyone.
*I meant Mercury conjunct Pluto, not in
Wow, I’ve loved reading this article which resonated deeply and this whole thread, thank you, everyone, for such honest sharing!
I’ve Mercury Libra (9th) exact semisquare Pluto Leo (8th). Pluto is tightly conjunct Jupiter in Leo (8th).
Venus Scorpio conjunct Saturn Scorpio (10th), the Saturn squaring the Jup/Plu.
Secretive, though you wouldn’t know it from my Sag Asc, I seem so open. But quietly obsessive, highly intuitive, feeling like I have radar, can heatseek out exactly what is stuck in a client – I’m a therapist, Sun/Neptune Libra. My work modalities are either the use of penetrative inquiries that radically question the client’s belief system, helping them to dissolve illusions and stuck thinking, (The Work of Byron Katie) or subpersonalities/parts work (Internal Family Systems) where I use my diplomatic skills to negotiate peace between polarized and disaffected ‘parts’ of the client’s inner family. All very appropriate for the configuration above.
I so recognise myself in this thread, so helpful! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this post. I have virgo mercury square sag Pluto and this was very accurate. Especially the part about the childhood home life experiences…I had never reflected on that before. I think my mercury being in Virgo makes me even more hyper critical sometimes…because I fear people apart when I am listening to them to try and find out what they really mean. And I truly despise sharing personal information…even leaving this comment is difficult for me because I’m sharing something rather personal. Wow!
8th house Sun Cazimi (0º conjunction) Venus and conj. Mercury in Scorpio,
+ Mercury conj. Pluto in Scorpio
I noticed many Mercury/Pluto bloggers here wrote NOVELS about their life experiences, without shedding much insight into what it means or any side effects. Details on details on details… The motto seems to be “there aren’t enough words” to describe a general feeling. Everything is internalized, yet released into the world in a very analytical, probing and curious way—an atomic bomb of information dumped all at once.
That’s an extremely cogent observation Charles, thank you for sharing it! It’s all quite intense as you say.
Thank you for the post. Which is very accurate indeed.
Leo sun. Mercury conjunct Pluto and Uranus at zero degrees in the 3H Virgo.
Boy can I talk, First half of my life there was no problem come 48 onwards this is when I started talking excessively.
My life growing up was one of difficultly, which was all featured around the eldest brother, who was both violent, emotional manipulating, and cruel.
Because my parents couldn’t put him in line he sort to taking his anger and cruelty out on me ( because my mother had had an affair and I was the result of that affair. And because our then, 19 year old brother shot himself in the head). He also committed suicide.
I don’t trust what people say and yes, I’m always looking for hidden meanings within the conversation to the point it tires me out.
Love research. And I’m not bad at it either.
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