Are Venus Pluto Contacts In Synastry Problematic?

black spiralThere’s always a lot of interest in contacts between Venus and Pluto in synastry. Is it positive or negative? Can a relationship survive with placements like that? Who has the real power? As someone with Pluto on the Descendant natally, I live this energy every day, and I think I shed a little light on the topic.

When it comes to Pluto/Venus, there’s no more appropriate story than Hades and Persephone. Venus is light. Venus is beautiful, shining, free, and innocent. Left to her own devices, Venus, like Persephone in her role as the maiden Kore, would gather lilies in the field all day and play “he loves me, he loves me not” with the petals. But as Persephone discovered, that is not a full, empowered life.

Pluto, on the other hand, is dark. He is powerful, wealthy beyond imagination, yet always grasping for more. Left to his own devices, he would attempt to conquer and consume all he surveys, just as Hades claimed Persephone as his own.

So when there is fear around this placement, it’s easy to understand why. The Venus person can feel like the Mowgli to Pluto’s Kaa, being hypnotized and led astray by Pluto’s seductive power. In the same vein, the Pluto person can be astonished by the intensity of their own desire, feeling as if they themselves are under Venus’ hypnotic spell. But there’s more to the story.

pluto persephone sculpturePersephone doesn’t remain Hades’ scared, mewling hostage. Instead, a spiritual alchemy takes place, and she comes into her power as Queen of the Underworld. And she doesn’t merely accept the rules set out for her. She transforms the underworld, making it a softer and more hospitable place. She looks kindly upon the shades that inhabit it and vows to care for them for eternity. She even successfully lobbies Hades to make exceptions to his otherwise ironclad rules, thereby humanizing him in the process.

This is an important point. Hades certainly ripped her from her old life kicking and screaming, but he didn’t kill or consume her. Instead, her entry to the underworld served as a spiritual initiation that allowed her to access her own power and become who she was always meant to be. She didn’t lose herself. As we all know, Persephone is still able to return to her young, innocent Kore self. But it was only after she came to terms with the darkness that she was able to command it and inhabit it at-will.

As for Hades, he was able to have his most sought-after prize without attempting to control the outcome. He gave her free reign in his kingdom, and his entire world was changed for the better. Because of her, he had an outlet to the outside world, a soft and kind presence in his bed, and warmth in his heart. He made her powerful. She helped him surrender.

So when dealing with Pluto/Venus synastry, take a lesson from Hades and Persephone. Venus needs to learn how to play the game. Venus needs to recognize her own power and use it for everyone’s advantage. And Pluto needs to step back and learn to relate honestly and in human terms. Each has power over the other. Each holds the key to the other’s salvation. All it takes is an acceptance of each other’s influence to make it work.

Who has experience with Pluto/Venus synastry? How has it played out for you?

29 thoughts on “Are Venus Pluto Contacts In Synastry Problematic?”

  1. I had this experience

    Both with venus / pluto in scorpio, and both with stellium in scorpio.

    Perhaps this will deepen the matter further, but I would describe it as the union of souls from the beginning.

    It is as if the souls meet predestinately, love and passion from the first moment make the souls come together forming a single soul and together they can overcome some karma. Both struggle to grow their Venusian side and their obscure plutonic (jealousy, possessions, reactions) if, over the years, these problems are not resolved, the destruction is assured, despite this, I believe that both people withdraw to find maturity in another place.

    In short, these relationships have their roots in the deepest soul and mind for all life.

  2. Love this!

    I have Pluto conjunct Venus natally in Scorpio in the 8th house conjunct my husband’s Pluto (29 Libra), Sun, and Mercury in Scorpio.

  3. I have this written all over my chart. I have Venus (Leo) squared to Pluto (Scorpio). Pluto in 2nd house and a north node in Taurus in the 8th. It’s confusing cause it reminds me of the ying/yang symbol, where it would make sense for the black dot and white dot to switch. But I think everything is meant to have a little of opposite in them.

    I love the Hades/Persephone story. I see it off the bat and think it’s a sexual tale of desire and fetishizing, and boldly taking. I think it deals with obsessive desires and what we will go to to get what we desire. I am the same way, but I need to ask myself, “Then what? What will I do once I have it?”

    I know myself well enough that I’ll keep digging in the dirt even after I find the buried treasure, cause it’s never enough to satisfy my desire.

    1. Mike – it would be curious to note where asteroid “Bacchus” (#2063) is located in your chart. This asteriod rules over gluttony, unquenchable appetites, and addictions.

  4. Wow Midara. Im blown away by this. Not just the timing, which is scarily appropriate for me and my life right now, but the understanding of the energies, you convey. Im starting to see your genius.

    I do have experience and am still learning these themes in my current situation as Persephone. I am learning to access my own power, which turns out to be Love itself. Im blossoming. Ive noticed the changes you’ve mentioned, in Hades as well. My experience is basically exactly how you describe it.

  5. i love the hades and persephone mythological story combined with astrology. I always thought why virgo the sign represented persephone… and hades scorpio. lol well it seemed understandable with scorpio, but now i get it why virgo, is the persephone being that she’s represented by “virgin”.
    anyway, great write up 😀

  6. The best love novels are made of the Venus Pluto mythology I’d say ???

    Personally I have a stellium in Scorpio, including Venus. That can be tough in relationships, even when it’s in the 9th house. In my thirst for knowledge/truth I become obsessed. But then, when I have gained a lot of knowledge over time, I guess I will somehow beautify it. I will develop a certain graphic or grace to it, thus shaping my philosophy into brain flowers, creating love stories to the topic, from the well of my love.
    Also, traveling will do that to me as well ?

    My BF has Venus and Pluto in a trine in his chart. As they are located in his 6th house and 9th house, I don’t see them often. He IS very passionate about stuff at work though. Especially when he is discussing topics with his colleagues ?
    Unless we travel, which we love to do. It’s kinda in the cards, huh? ?

    His Pluto is in Libra and Venus in Gemini. He can get off talking about nerd stuff with me, and that was also how we fell for each other. The term “a love between brains” seems legit here, and now I think of it, he does seem to be passionate when I flash my quirk (Aquarius ascendant) ???

    Lucky for me he is a Cancer, with his Merc in Cancer trine mine. We talk, also when we do not talk… Best man I ever met. Grateful for him every day ❤️

  7. It’s a deeply transformative aspect indeed. I am Venus and my beloved is Pluto. Recent transits have led to an intense “crash an burn” outcome, however my Venus has reached a moment where it’s time to really grasp power on my own and of course Pluto is learning his own lessons. For that I am thankful. It’s like my life has become this Hades/ Persephone dynamic and I’d have it no other way. I’m Pluto/ Saturn dominant so it’s a part of my purpose I suppose. I must let it play out hehe

  8. It is very appealing to young women.

    The older you get, the more you identify with Ceres, “My daughter, oh! my daughter.”

    1. Ha ha, yes, once the Neptunian veil is lifted and you realize that the charming prince (or mysterious plutonian stranger) was nothing more than a mere mortal, such as yourself, here comes double-trouble: seeing your daughter having to face the same trials and tribulations.

  9. Pluto plays down and dirty. Venus has difficulty getting her hands dirty. Persephone is unprepared for the contest. Sounds good, she finds her power and all that in that ultimately talk but it gets ugly before that hard won wisdom is reached in my experience.

  10. I imagine you have novels shoved in bookcases that you have wrote. Romantic dreamy things that speak of far away… thoughts, things….and love

  11. Sometimes I post stuff in places that they don’t belong in.. I have been having a Venus Mars opposition Pluto transit. I often play the Venus side of this transit and had enjoyed depth in friendship because of desperate need. And weakness. Saturn joined this and mostly I stayed locked up these days. I found this quote by Mary Oliver about her wife that typified what I’ve found on the Venus side of this transit. The Venus side hasn’t been bad, it gave me faith that maybe I’m able to care for people in a deeper way and connect with them beyond my weird ego needs to be cared for and found attractive that trip me up because I am nothing and the personality is nothing.. the quote is this

    “…watching M. when she was taking photographs, and watching her in the darkroom, and no less watching the intensity and openness with which she dealt with friends, and strangers too, taught me what real attention is about. Attention without feeling, I began to learn, is only a report. An openness — an empathy — was necessary if the attention was to matter. Such openness and empathy M. had in abundance, and gave away freely… I was in my late twenties and early thirties, and well filled with a sense of my own thoughts, my own presence. I was eager to address the world of words — to address the world with words. Then M. instilled in me this deeper level of looking and working, of seeing through the heavenly visibles to the heavenly invisibles. I think of this always when I look at her photographs, the images of vitality, hopefulness, endurance, kindness, vulnerability… We each had our separate natures; yet our ideas, our influences upon each other became a rich and abiding confluence.”

  12. Maybe Saturn is making this beautiful quality real and accessible to you. The Mars opposition highlighting when its not happening

    1. Ann, I don’t know if that was directed to me or not, but Saturn tends to block the magical friendly part of it. I start to feel like a sexual failure and get bitter and isolate from everyone.. the problem is I play the Venus side too much and the mars side says ok you have great people well then ‘go and do likewise.’

  13. Avatar
    Marina de Araújo Moura

    I have my venus in a inconjunction with his pluto e his venus sextile my pluto (also (my) sun trine his pluto e his pluto conjunct my sun). There is something about this connection really hard to deal with but impossible to stay away from. In composite we have Moon conjunct pluto in the IC. The feelings are intense, obsessive, more thank one year after meeting him and now I’m able to deal with it. But when you first meet someone who hits your venus with their pluto…man, you feel like a baby, totally vulnerable. This article was just perfect, especially the ending. In this relationships we come to realise that, if venus person does not show her claws…things can either end badly or continue in an abusive situation. Venus person needs to grow up and play the game with the plutonic mind of the other person.

  14. Laaaaaahvvvvvee thhhhhiiiiiissssss!

    I have Aries Venus and others with pluto libra opposing it (who are tpycially over a decade older than me)…..the vibes man the vibes.
    One did turn into a more intimate encounter, we were friends prior and I literally did not see it coming. Yet when I was so directly asked and thus made to feel directly desired (fastest way to an aries venus heart is to just ASK as directly as possible! We are not so patient or attuned with nuance) I said yes immediately completely forgetting the very real complications this would create. Selfish fo’sho on my part.
    A very harsh way to be woken up, but it has brough me a more embodied sense of sovereignty, reflection on my own blind spots in relating (also chrion is almost transit conjunct my venus right now so owee/wowee) and a growing sense of my own power and ability to play the game. (saturn squares my venus so I am verrrrrrry reluctanct to play and make up some ridiculously restrictive rules.)

  15. I hated this conjunction. His Venus conjuncts my Pluto and he brought out the absolute worst in me. I became completely obsessed with him and he loved it. It fed his ego. But he has this conjunction natally so he has this connection with a lot of people in his generation. He lied to me over and over again. He cheated on me with the girl he left me for the first time. Then I found out he was still checking up on her when I took him back. I could not lose him, I just couldn’t live without him. My heart was literally burning in my chest from all the pain he caused me. I just think that the pluto person is the weak one in this scenario, especially if the Venus person is plutonic him/herself. I never ever want to feel this shame and hurt again.

  16. Is a tight orb sesquisquadrate strong too? I can feel so much this dynamic (he is Pluto and he’s Scorpio sun) and it’s pretty painful
    We also have pluto conjunct sun but large orb, I dont feel plutonian at all

  17. Avatar
    Brian Lindsay Sumpter

    I (pluto) went through this to the Nth degree with my lady (Venus) Conjunction. Through unconditional love, I was able to get her to forgive God, and abandon the Devil. I suffered tremendous abuse and loss, but thankfully, in the end, she forgave God. We broke up 14 years ago because she was trying to destroy me for trying to get away from her. She recently died, but I am relieved that my sacrifice was worthwhile, because she was a very special person. She can face her judgement with confidence. If I would have failed, she would have been doomed for eternity. (or at least a long time) Ah yes, and the sex was awesome. lol.

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