Understanding the Shadows and Power Hidden Within
A powerful force of change is hidden in our depths. This Plutonian energy shapes us below the surface, outside of our awareness. Pluto pushes us to understand the hidden parts of ourselves and the transformative energy we might be unaware of.
As you explore your shadows through these sections, be gentle and patient with yourself. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and honest in your reflections. Some realizations might be difficult or painful, others might show you dormant personal strengths. Self compassion and a desire for understanding will be key to unlocking deeper inner truths.
Pluto.
The distant, the buried, the ignored, the destroyer.
The power source, the truth speaker, the resilient, the transformer.
From a symbolic lens, Pluto is a complex and intense personality that defies simple definitions. Understanding requires exploration of Pluto’s domain: the rejected and hidden.
The Gold Buried in the Cave
As the distant, buried, and ignored, Pluto sees through darkness and into the deepest unacknowledged truths. It represents something that we can find within ourselves. Our own shadows. What we reject and bury is often an untapped source of truth and empowerment, vulnerable and hidden but never truly dead. Under the surface, what lies in the depths acts in hidden ways, waiting to be explored and acknowledged.
As we explore what’s buried within us, we need to see with compassionate eyes, free of judgment. With openness and understanding, we can start to see ourselves in the shadows.
- What parts of ourselves are lying beneath the surface?
- Why did we reject them?
- What might those parts want, need, and feel?
We might also realize subtle and not-so-subtle ways that our shadows have acted through us. Whether they showed up in our actions during hard times, or in nagging thoughts and feelings. The recognition of our shadows can trigger further understanding and wholeness.
- In what ways do these parts want to help or protect us?
- What are the surrounding circumstances and core reasons these parts surfaced?
- What would make these internal shadows feel safer?
- How can we integrate these parts into the light of our conscious self?
The Destroyer of Comfort
As the destroyer, there’s a moral aspect. Destruction is wrought upon the untrue and inauthentic. Pluto demands truths and will dismantle what buries or conceals them, exposing them in the process. Whatever is destroyed wasn’t strong enough to stand, and needed new foundations. Pluto doesn’t just destroy things, but transforms them through cycles of death and rebirth. Pluto’s catastrophes are difficult, but they also show us where our own authentic alignments are.
Think about a time of Plutonic destruction in your life, whether the destruction was by your choice or by surrounding circumstances.
- What was destroyed and why?
- What aspects of it weren’t working?
- What wasn’t aligned?
Considering those questions, we start to see the true nature of the structures that we held on to. We also see the end result, the areas of change came from the destruction.
- What new thing(s) came out of the destruction?
- How have you changed since then?
- What lessons can be learned?
The Shadowy Power
As the power source, Pluto defies oppression. It forms and breaks boundaries, unable to be restrained. It’s also the power the unseen, like hidden power dynamics and underlying psychological aspects. Pluto is a mysterious knower of all secrets, a key to the internal doors that hold our power. With this key, our power can be unleashed.
When reflecting on Plutonian power, we might think about the situations we rise against. These things give us clues about what matters to us on a deeper level.
- Explain the situations that create internal resistance.
- What hidden dynamics might influence your resistance?
- What sparks defiance in your actions?
- What situations give you the courage to stand up in opposition?
Then we can start to recognize the things within us that fight back, and determine what we’re aligned with.
- In those situations, what are your core disagreements and alignments?
- What do they say about you?
- What are the core morals that you stand in power for?
We also might consider the times when we feel empowered and in control of our circumstances. These situations can show us a lot about ourselves. Given, power itself isn’t determined by our feelings of control, but those feelings point us toward the root of our inner constructs.
- Think about the times you’ve felt empowered and in control of your life.
- What are the surrounding circumstances?
- What themes come to light in those times?
The Uncovered Truths
As the truth speaker, Pluto removes the wool from our eyes. It’s those moments when we often face painful truths. This is an act of exposure and clarity. Pluto operates in dark areas left unacknowledged, knowing the lies we’ve been told and continue to tell ourselves. The process of Plutonian exposure brings light to shadowed misalignments, resulting in illuminated awareness. Pluto teaches that all truths, even painful ones, are necessary for wholeness and empowerment.
Pluto’s exposure often comes in drastic forms that inspire swift change. When reflecting, the painful areas that come to mind might feel like a personal crossroads.
- What are some life examples of unavoidable truths coming to the surface?
- Why did you avoid that truth before?
- What did that truth mean for you, and how did your perspective change?
Next, we can start to understand more about ourselves based on how we handled the situation.
- What was your choice in the face of that truth?
- What were your actions in response, even if small?
- What do they say about you and your truth?
We can also start to explore our power of authentic expression, including how we voice our truths. Speaking in truth is one of the most embodied forms of Plutonic power, yet many of us struggle in this area.
- When have you chosen to hold back your truths?
- What were the consequences of holding back your truths?
- What were the inner blocks that kept you from speaking up?
- Where did those blocks come from, and how can you understand them better?
Integration is the natural next step after understanding our relationship with our truth.
- What personal truths need acknowledgement?
- Moving forward, how can you take action in better alignment with your truth?
The Phoenix Rebirth
As the resilient and the transformer, Pluto has the power to destroy and rebuild, to die and become reborn. No death is truly permanent in the Plutonian sense, only the start of a new transformative cycle. In this way, Pluto provides the power of adaptability. The lessons Pluto teaches reflect this, asking us to rethink what we accept, who we are, and how our actions embody our core. In the face of destruction, we have the choice to transform, and the ability to do so in alignment with ourselves.
True power isn’t as simple as controlling circumstances. After all, we can’t prevent a cataclysm, but we can have a say in what we do with it.
- When have you faced a painful circumstance and had to transform a part of yourself?
- What needed to be reevaluated?
- How did you adapt, and what changed?
Pluto teaches that change is inevitable. We all go through many deaths and rebirths in our lives. With this in mind, we can look at the more current state of our lives and find potentially needed transformations.
- What would true transformation look like in your life?
- What might benefit from reevaluation?
- How can you take charge of the transformations in your life?
Embracing Pluto
As an ending note to these Plutonian truths, know that it isn’t truly the end. Transformation is not an end in itself, but a continual evolution. The caves we’ve explored are always there for even deeper exploration. Revisiting them can teach us new lessons, different perspectives, and give us more whole understanding.
Plutonian Truths to Remember:
- Our shadows hold power and truth.
- Destruction can pave the way for renewal.
- True empowerment requires embracing authenticity.
- Facing hard truths leads to genuine growth.
- Like a Phoenix, we can transform and be reborn.
The Ending of a Cycle
Your discovery and the truths you find along the way are tailored to you and your and personal path of growth. As you move forward along your path, you might think about:
What transformations are you ready to undergo?
How will you honor the light and shadow within you?
Some days you might be ready to dive head first into your caves, other days you might need to reflect from the surface. What matters most is that you’re listening to yourself. Remember that perfection is not only overrated, but unattainable. The priority is to become more wholly you. Just as Pluto teaches adaptability, be flexible with yourself.
Bonus – Ideas for Exercises
Chart of Shadow Selves
Needed: paper and a pencil or pen
- In the center of the paper, write “my conscious self”
- Draw a circle around the center.
- Around the edges, write down traits, memories, or feelings you reject in yourself
- Draw lines to connect any related areas
- For each shadow, write down how it might have a positive purpose.
Symbolic Releasing, Making Space
Needed: paper, pen or pencil, either a lighter or match, or ground for burial.
- On small papers, write down the things in your life that need to end.
- Create a safe space (emotionally and literally if using fire) to burn or bury the papers.
- For each paper, speak the release in your own words (example: “I release what no longer aligns with me”)
- Journal about what you’ve chosen to let go of, and what new space has been created in its place.
Creative Power Outlet
Needed: paper and pen or pencil.
- Use your creativity to create a scene where you fully embody your power.
- Include sensory details and describe how it feels, looks, sounds.
- Read the finished scene out loud to yourself.
- Contemplate the elements of the scene and identify anything you can implement into your life now.
- Note: You can also do this exercise in reverse, finding the symbolic aspects that create feelings of powerlessness. The insights from the reverse exercise can be used to determine what you can eliminate and what potential boundaries are needed.
Timeline of Truths
Needed: paper and pen or pencil.
- Draw a horizontal line to represent the timeline of your life.
- Mark any significant moments of truths surfacing.
- Above each marking, note the truth that came to light.
- Below each marking, write down how it changed you.
Inner Phoenix
Needed: a quiet space, paper, and pen or pencil.
- Get into a quiet, meditative headspace.
- Imagine yourself as a Phoenix.
- Visualize old, stale aspects of yourself being burned away.
- See yourself rising up from the flames reborn.
- Draw or write about your Phoenix self. Contemplate the symbolic aspects.