In your natal chart, does Venus make an angle with Pluto, or do you have Venus in the planets Scorpio or Scorpio in your 7th house? What does that say about your love, family or friendship relationships? This is not a joyous combination, no strong aspect of Pluto really is, although we all have to integrate the energies of Pluto into our lives. Pluto shows our need for power and control over our lives, a need that is often expressed covertly, but no less dominant by being hidden. Plutonians can use sexuality or gifts of money and possessions as a hook for other purposes in relationships. Not all who have a Venus-Pluto aspect are Plutonians, but they often fall in love with Plutonians and align themselves with the pair’s worldview and defense mechanisms.
When drawing conclusions about the effects of various astrological aspects, remember that this aspect is only part of the whole and must take into account all the relationship factors of the chart. To get a complete picture, combine all aspects of Venus with the 7th, 8th, and 5th house state of the birth chart. Still, we can still learn some common Venus-Pluto patterns from the descriptions that follow.
“SMOKING !!” As you imagine, great passion can be generated by combining Venus with Pluto. (They do not form aspects but cohabit!) Among those who have the conjunction, for example, are Hollywood sex symbols such as 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 is more about power over the other person.
“IT’S NOT ANYONE’S AFFAIR IF I DO IT.” The natives of Venus-Pluto can be sexually active, but these very private people consider it no one else’s business. In fact, secrecy increases passion. For some of them, sexual intrigue, such as infidelity or the office affair, exerts an appeal, and the payoff is getting their way or getting revenge on someone.
“THE WORLD TURNS AROUND SEX AND MONEY”. We had an old reproach of a professor in college who loved to say that to surprise us. He probably had a Venus-Pluto look, not to mention a good command of politics. Political savvy, combined with personal charm, bestows the ability to rub shoulders with movers and shakers.
Famous people I encountered with aspects of Venus-Pluto included many women who married well to build a dynasty. Most of the American First Ladies from Eleanor Roosevelt onwards were included. Most of them had aspects between Pluto and Venus, Pluto and Mars, or both. The pattern was so marked that I began to call 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 intelligence, combined with personal charm, gives these people the ability to rub shoulders with those who move and move. Trills like Pat Nixon and Betty Ford seem to do especially well, with one eye on position. They may not be your idea of glamorous girls, but apparently they know how to make their men happy.
“YOU AND I AGAINST THE WORLD.” Many Plutonians suffer from fear of betrayal and lack of confidence due to childhood traumas and losses. They are often isolated, alienated, and consumed with shame, lest others discover family secrets. When they find someone they can trust, someone who seems to understand and accept them, the relationship becomes a bulwark against excruciating isolation. Thus, some of them are terrified of being abandoned and will do anything to keep the object of their love. Some Plutonians have no relationships, they take hostages. An individual with a Venus-Pluto aspect who is not Plutonian in all respects can nonetheless accept responsibility for making his Plutonian partner feel safe and loved, which is not an easy task when there have been serious injuries.
“MY LOVE WILL HEAL YOU”. Especially when Neptune aspects are also strong on the person’s chart, rescuing can become a strategy to avoid abandonment. If fixing the other is the basis of the relationship, there may be an unconscious sabotage of the healing to bring the loved one together so that they cannot leave. The “patient” may come to resent being in this uneven position, ultimately feeling powerless and even suffocated by the rescuer. In the end, the “patient” may attack through some kind of hurtful action, even a terrible betrayal that ultimately ends the relationship, but it is 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 dynamics of the rescue played a role in the patterns.
For all of us, love can be a healing life force in transforming ourselves, which is why there are those with aspects of Venus-Pluto whose loving hearts help heal those who are 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.