In your natal chart, does Venus angle Pluto, or do you have Venus in Scorpio or the planets of Scorpio in your 7th house? What does that say about your love, family or friendship relationships? This is not a happy combination; no strong aspect of Pluto really is, although we all need to integrate Pluto’s energies into our lives. Pluto shows our need for power and control over our lives, a need that is often covertly expressed, but no less overbearing for being hidden. Plutonians may use sexuality or gifts of money and possessions as bait to achieve other ends in relationships. Not everyone with a Venus-Pluto aspect is a Plutonian, but they often fall in love with Plutonians and align with the partner’s worldview and defense mechanisms.
When drawing conclusions about the effects of various astrological aspects, remember that this aspect is only a part of the whole, and you must take into account all the relationship factors of the chart. To get a complete picture, combine all the aspects of Venus with the state of the 7th, 8th and 5th houses of the natal chart. Still, we can still learn some common Venus-Pluto patterns from the descriptions that follow.
“SMOKING!!” Just as you might imagine, a lot of passion can be generated by combining Venus with Pluto. (They don’t form aspects as much as they cohabit!) Among those who have the conjunction, for example, are Hollywood sex symbols like Antonio Banderas, Sean Penn, and Raquel Welch. When the combination is strong, the urge to merge with another through sexuality can become compulsive, even to the point of addiction. For others, physical conquest or seduction has more to do with power over the other person.
“IT’S NOBODY’S BUSINESS IF I DO IT.” Venus-Pluto natives may be sexually active, but these very private people don’t consider it anyone else’s business. In fact, secrecy enhances passion. For some of them, sexual intrigue, like infidelity or the office affair, acts as a lure, and the reward is getting their way or getting revenge on someone.
“THE WORLD REVOLVES AROUND SEX AND MONEY.” We had an old reprobate of a professor in college who loved to say that to surprise us. He probably had a Venus-Pluto aspect, not to mention a good handle on politics. Political knowledge, combined with personal charm, grants the ability to rub shoulders with those who shake and shake.
The famous people I encountered with Venus-Pluto aspects included many women who married well to build a dynasty. Most American first ladies from Eleanor Roosevelt onwards were included. Almost all had aspects between Pluto and Venus, Pluto and Mars, or both. The pattern was so marked that I started calling them the First Lady Aspects. They are also seen on the lists of other politicians such as Maria Shriver and among British royals: Elizabeth II, Sarah, Duchess of York and Sophie Rhys-Jones. Political savvy, combined with personal charm, gives these people the ability to rub shoulders with those they shake and shake. Trines like Pat Nixon and Betty Ford seem to do especially well, considering the position. They may not be your idea of glamorous girls, but they apparently know how to keep their men happy.
“YOU AND I AGAINST THE WORLD.” Many Plutonians suffer from fear of betrayal and lack of trust due to childhood trauma and loss. Often isolated, alienated, and consumed by shame, family secrets are discovered by others. When they find someone to trust, someone who seems to understand and accept them, the relationship becomes a bulwark against unbearable isolation. Thus, some of them are terrified of being abandoned and will do anything to keep the object of their love. Some Plutonians don’t have relationships, they take hostages. An individual with a Venus-Pluto aspect who is not Plutonian in all aspects can, however, accept the responsibility of making their Plutonian partner feel safe and loved, no easy task when there has been serious injury.
“MY LOVE WILL HEAL YOU”. Especially when Neptune aspects are also strong in the person’s chart, rescue can become a strategy to avoid abandonment. If fixing the other is the foundation of the relationship, there may be an unconscious sabotage of healing to bind the loved one so that they cannot leave. The “patient” may come to resent being in this unequal position, ultimately feeling powerless and even smothered by the savior. In the end, the “patient” may retaliate through some sort of hurtful action, even a terrible betrayal that ultimately ends the relationship, but it’s done almost as a form of self-preservation. If you have a Venus-Pluto aspect and a painful history of relationship betrayal, consider whether the rescue dynamic played a role in the patterns.
For all of us, love can be a healing life force to transform ourselves, so there are those with Venus-Pluto aspects whose loving hearts help heal those lucky enough to find them-Dr. Phil McGraw, for example. That possibility is realized when love heals instead of rescuing, empowers instead of enslaving. The people who can do that are the Venus-Pluto people who love you and then let you go.