These are global energies of Pluto in Capricorn or in the 10th House which must be nuanced according to your birth chart, see the article Pluto in birth chart; see also the article on the general interpretation of Pluto.
The planet Pluto is one of the attributes of the Shadow in the chart, as such it can indicate a Projection of this one, especially intellectual projections on “social entities” (political party, club, syndicate, nation, church, etc.), everything that concerns more directly the psychological quest, the depth of spirit, the intensity of primary instincts.
It can materialize a place of upheavals, fear, destruction, fatality, losses, betrayals, darkness, submission, as it is also a vector of passion, domination, power, self-control, creation of purity.
It is often referred to the higher octave of Mars and is directly related to Scorpio.
As Pluto remains from 12 to 30 years per sign (due to the irregularity of its orbit), its position in houses is more meaningful for the personality. The energy of the sign especially gives a common elemental background coloring to a whole generation, which will apply more personally to the life sector signified by the house. Therefore, focus first on the house affected, the sign giving a background tone.
Obsession with social duty and control
This is a highly dominant position of culmination for these Plutonian forces: here, this planet tends to ask to be truly integrated into these people’s destiny, particularly socially and professionally, and these people may have a need for power and “control,” to be in command of things and to invest all of their passion, intensity, charisma, and powers of persuasion.
It is somewhat symbolic of “No gods, no masters,” so these people have a great capacity for both rebellion and emancipation, and as a result it is also important with this positioning to monitor Uranus’s positioning. This may lead these people to often be confronted with various different forms of authority; first and foremost, this applies to paternal authority, but it may also be transposed to the state, their boss, their husband, the heavens, etc.
These are energies that may often push people to “take action,” not necessarily by directly shedding light on things but more so by being a catalyst in a social setting and being resourceful and aggressive so as to achieve their ambitions, reach the “social function” that is right for them, get recognition from other people and from the rest of the world, and prove their worth (including symbolically to their “father”).
For that matter, Neptunian energies are also important to analyze here, in that they may in a way represent our ideal “vocation” (what we aspire to be spiritually), and when in synergy with these Plutonian forces this can result in a mixture that is very intense, powerful, tough, and connected to the fundamental realization of one’s being.
There may be some notion of wanting “to take the place of the person in power” (this is a very useful position in politics and other occupations involving power), somewhat like Mao Zedong’s political career, for example, since, as he refused to be undone by his successive defeats, he ended up finding strength, perseverance, patience (over the course of multiple decades), intensity, and strategic intelligence within himself, which forced even his opponents to respect him (they truly feared him!) and which ended up being more than enough in the long term to allow him to be personally and socially fulfilled. As Mao himself said, “Fight, fail, fight again, fail again, fight again… until their victory; that is the logic of the people.”
Pluto in the 10th house / Capricorn is under Saturn’s rulership, which links the forces of the alchemical “Calcinatio” (a powerful psychological, subterranean fire) to the forces of “Coagulatio,” which in fact allows for the creation of structure, stability, and self-control (see alchemical processes and astrology); this may serve to make the energies raised here more concrete “in substance” (in terms of success, recognition, popularity, or money), but it may also require a significant amount of time and it may be much more positive once an age of greater maturity has been reached.
Symbolically, this positioning may mean that these people use these Plutonian energies at work, and in this way we may find various analogies that are applicable here related to biology, psychology, studies and analyses, secrets, atoms, astrophysics, criminology or crime, sexuality, mediumship, violence, death, etc., etc.
In this position, this planet may sometimes cause people to lead a “double life,” for example with an “official” occupation—or image—that allows them to have a social side, but these people may also practice other, “hidden talents” or other jobs “behind the scenes.” For that matter, they may also receive support from people in the shadows, people who are powerful and who influence things in their favor, for example by sponsoring them in an organization without this being brought to light.
It may be interesting of course to analyze the two social planets, Jupiter and Saturn, in order to determine how much overall power Pluto’s impacts will have in the socio-professional sphere: that is, in a way, the degree to which “love/hate” will exert a hold here. Jovian forces represent a “positive” polar extreme (in terms of openness and sympathy) and Saturnian forces represent a more “negative” polar extreme (in terms of coldness and introversion).
In some cases, the closer Pluto is to the Midheaven (the 10th house cusp) and to the birth chart’s zenith, the more this planet will find a way to be externalized “easily and luminously” (“updates” are made easier); however, on the other hand, if a planet is positioned towards the end of the house, is far from the center of the heavens, or is a Singleton, this will promote shadows and secrets (thus requiring or forcing these people to pull the strings in the background).
Unfortunately, in terms of these people’s work or social duties they may more frequently have an obsessive, excessive side; they don’t do anything by half (and so are likely to work themselves to death and experience burnout). They may, for example, arouse jealousy, often forming relationships with a basis in power struggles and domination, and they are also likely to encounter some degree of violence or be confronted with some form of “fatality,” or this may swallow up many other sectors of their lives (such as the family sphere, for example).
People with this positioning may easily have an “autocratic” aspect, which of course on the one hand may make them a respected, powerful authoritarian leader who is capable of doing many things in a positive way, but there is also a risk of a downward spiral, abuse, vanity, megalomania, authoritarianism, egoism, etc.
With Plutonian energies, the notions of loss, renunciation, and detachment may also always be activated and lead these people to go through significant ordeals in relation to the socio-professional sphere and experience destruction, disgrace, scandals, brutal downfalls, and in some cases even vengeance and revenge, especially if these people crushed others as they went along or if they showed themselves to be ungrateful towards those people who helped them get their foot in the door (knowing how to be grateful and “just” will be important assets for avoiding this sort of problem).
Pluto retrograde in the 10th house and Capricorn
Retrograde motion here may lead these people to be more secretive and lead a “double life,” for example; it tends to make people prefer the shadows.
Retrograde motion of Pluto in a birth chart is much less important than for other dominant features of a birth chart, since, as it is a very slow, transpersonal planet, it is retrograde for much of the year.
Nevertheless, it is helpful to monitor the evolution of this retrograde motion through Progressions; a change of state here will not necessarily lead to a specific, noteworthy event, but it may still be an indication of a non-negligible psychological change in how this planet’s energies are used.
Celebrities with Pluto in 10th House
Vladimir Putin, Alain Delon, Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey, Pablo Picasso, Helena Blavatsky, Edgar Cayce, Leonard Cohen, Franz Kafka, Agatha Christie, Cristiano Ronaldo, Edward Norton, Harrison Ford, Mike Tyson, Stephen Hawking, Björk, Vanessa Paradis, Ernest Hemingway, Hugh Hefner, Silvio Berlusconi, Paris Hilton, Roman Polanski…
Celebrities with Pluto in Capricorn
Napoleon I, Friedrich Hegel, Ludwig van Beethoven, William the Conqueror, Catherine de Medici, Pierre de Ronsard, Ivan the Terrible, Thomas Malthus, Chateaubriand, Robert Surcouf, George of Cambridge…