In the search to learn about ourselves, our personal horoscope may help explain our unusual behavior and even our sexual obsessions. Everyone seems to have some sort of obsession in life, from a need for dark chocolate, to a need for something much darker.
Sometimes we all want to hide from who we are. So, where can we look to find out, and get in touch with our most deep-seated behavior and our most secret obsessions?
Astrologers believe that Pluto's influence can connect us to this part of ourselves. Pluto's influence is a gateway into the psychology of who we are, allowing us to become aware of how our subconscious mind has repressed unpleasant experiences from our childhood. Pluto's energies give us the remarkable capacity to tap into our intuition and psychic abilities to discover knowledge we never knew before. Our keen ability to access our unconscious mind helps us become aware of compulsions and obsessions that have controlled us. This can be a time when we seek enlightenment through activities that bring self-knowledge such as psychotherapy, meditation, or frequenting a spiritual retreat.
Our Dark Secrets Can Be Toxic and Poison Us
We may have learned from childhood to hide elements of our personality and behavior that aren't likely to be approved of by others, as well as society in general. Since the 8th and 12th House of our horoscope rules our secrets, during this period of our life we may discover hidden aspects of ourselves that we've avoided showing others or that are buried in our psyche. Pluto is like a high-powered flashlight that lets us see in places where the light has never shined, allowing us to understand things about ourselves we never knew. Unless we confront those hidden secrets, their toxic effects can sabotage our self-esteem and life in a powerful way, as they did for a client named Matthew.
Matthew came from a poor family with only one parent to take care of him, and his five brothers and sisters. In order to survive he learned how to shoplift food, clothing and anything his family needed. Then, he graduated to committing worse crimes such as muggings, burglaries and even armed robberies.
He is now an adult, but he continues to feel a great deal of shame over his past criminal behavior. He searches his mind for how he can repay the debts he owes and ponders what he can do to right these wrongs. The stores he stole from are no longer there for him to make amends and his neighborhood victims have moved away. His punishment for his crime has been a life of feeling guilty, inferior and inadequate. It's now time to finally get help to confront the secret he's had for so many years, since he can no longer live with the pain and shame.
Our Unconscious Compulsions Can Control Us
When Pluto transits a person's 8th or 12th House, their unconscious motivations rise to the surface to help them understand the ways they are empowered by them, as well as how may be sabotaged by them. At this time, we are compelled to come to grips with an obsession, compulsion, or even an addiction, and confront it. Pluto's influence, in a very positive way, may force us to overcome it.
Ironically, we may find that our conscious attempts to change, are undermined by unconsciously motivated actions that end up subverting us. We become frustrated because, despite our sincere efforts, we aren't able to control certain behaviors, even though we may notice things not working out the way we had intended. That is when we finally admit to ourselves, "I can't seem to control my temper," or "I know I should stop eating so much," or "I'm addicted to pornography, but I can't stop." As a result, we feel powerless to change a part of our personality that is unhealthy or unproductive to our goals and desires.
A Pluto transit gives us the opportunity to confront unconscious behavior that has produced negative results in our lives. This behavior may have originated during our childhood, only to cause us problems and upsets in our relationships as an adult. However, now we may finally be able to purge it from our personality so it can be replaced with a new way of behaving. But to accomplish this transformation, we must get to the root of why we have behaved this way in the first place. This is not always easy, especially if we have a sexual compulsion, as a client named, Donald, found out.
Is This Someone We Know?
Donald is a very handsome young man and easily attracts women with his intense personality, masculine physique, and seductive magnetism. He's grown used to getting his way sexually with women he dates, to the point that he seldom takes "no" for an answer when he wants a woman. Despite the many women he goes out with, he seldom has more than one or two dates with any of them. His dates complain that Donald seems to be interested in "only one thing!"
Donald tries to move slower and not be so sexually aggressive, but he ends up forgetting his intention and screwing things up by repeatedly behaving badly. A case in point was his last dating experience with a woman he met at a party. Donald was really attracted to this woman's personality, character and beauty. He could see she was a special woman he might be able to enjoy a relationship, not just a one-night stand. So, he wanted to make sure to restrain his sexual desires this time, promising himself he'd focus on letting them both get to know each other first.
The first dinner date went well and he felt in control of himself. On the next two dates with her, he made sure not to be alone with her at either of their apartments, for fear he would come on too aggressively. This strategy worked because they were having a nice time getting to know each other. Then, on their next date the young woman invited Donald into to her apartment. She made it clear that she wanted to enjoy a glass of wine and then go to bed early, explaining to him that dating was new to her, and that she liked going slowly before becoming intimate with a man.
He acknowledged he understood, realizing it was important he respect her wishes. But as he sat on the couch close to her, something changed as felt a real sexual attraction for her, no longer caring about his pledge to himself or her words to him. He leaned over to kiss her and when she pulled away Donald got angry, calling her a tease, and from there the conversation got ugly with his date asking him to leave. Donald left, and as he got into his car he tried to understand how he had suddenly lost control of himself. He asked himself, "What happened? I knew how I wanted to behave; yet I couldn't."
Donald experienced the power of Pluto's unconscious energy to interfere with his conscious intentions, especially because he was unaware of the psychological issue driving his behavior: he doesn't respect women, only seeing them only as sexual objects for his personal gratification. If he wants to really change his deep-seated behavior, he'll most likely require professional assistance.
Pluto's influence makes it possible for us to understand the hidden side of our personality. It is important to recognize that its energies can also activate the dark side of our nature. I consult with many clients who are sure--because they intellectually are aware of their bad behavior, they can now regulate their problem and remedy it. Most of the time, they are as powerless to control it as Donald was.
The reason they fail is because their behavior emanates from their unconscious. Therefore, correcting it requires going to the root of the problem, not trying to resolve it just on a mental level. I had one client who had a similar problem to Donald's and she said, "Yes...I know I have that problem, so I just watch myself to make sure that I don't act that way." She was only fooling herself, since the same behavioral problem in her relationships came up each year that I consulted with her.
Pluto's influence offers us the potential to transform ourselves in a deep and profound way. When it transits our 8th or 12th House, it may give us an awareness of how our behavior has caused our relationships or actions to succeed or fail. This provides us with the opportunity to confront our feelings and emotions so we have a better understanding of how they have positively or negatively affected our life. Then we can consider if we need to make any radical changes to improve ourselves or, if we need some professional help to assist us.
If you want to find out how Pluto and other transiting planets may be affecting you, go to the Free Horoscope Calculator and enter your birth date. If you want to learn about your unique personality, strengths, weaknesses and talents you were born with, order your: Personal Horoscope Report. It includes a copy of your birth chart.
Or, if you want to know how the planets in your horoscope may be bringing changes to your life, go to the Free Transit Calculator and enter your birth date.
And, if you're curious to learn what your Horoscope says will be happening this year in such areas as your love relationships, and marriage prospects, as well as career, investments and health: Order your customized Report: Your Horoscope & Future in 2016-17.
If you want to know about the planets affecting your love compatibility with another person, go to the Free Love Compatibility Calculator and enter your birth date and theirs. And, if you want a customized report on your compatibility together, order Your Love Compatibility Report.
Larry Schwimmer is known as "the down-to-earth Astrologer who uses your Horoscope to solve your problems and tell your future!" He is an astrologer in private practice. For a personal consultation, contact him at: Larry@astrodecision.com or go to www.astrodecision.com
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Larry Schwimmer is president of Astrodecision.com, a San Francisco-based consulting company. The firm uses planetary cycles analysis to counsel individual and corporate clients on picking the "best dates" to make successful decisions of all types: personal, marketing, financial, and political. Schwimmer is an internationally known business consultant, life coach and astrologer (with a Fortune 500 M&A background). Visit his website: www.Astrodecision.com