Well-written and moving account of Pluto in the natal chart, and how Pluto aspects can affect childhood, adulthood, and life in general. Open discussion of child abuse, rape, incest, violence, repression, manipulative types and how they got thatway. Also included are ways to heal Pluto problems using flower remedies, meditation and more.
Donna Cunningham is an internationally respected astrologer and author of 15 books on metaphysical topics. Her insight-oriented approach combines her 45 years of experience in astrology and her Master’s Degree in Social Work. She was the advice columnist in Dell Horoscope Magazine for 20 years, and has written hundreds of magazine articles. Her popular blog, Skywriter (http://skywriter.wordpress.com/) has her newest writings and is the place to order her ebooks.
Goodness. I feel like I just got my mouth washed out with a whole bottle of Slap.
If you ever believed that everything was all your fault and you were solely responsible for making it all right, read this book and it'll reinforce that conviction.
The book has far less astrology than I expected. Despite the jacket description, it also contains far fewer recommendations for resolving the issues than it does for identifying them, explaining them and specifying causes of them other than just the Pluto placement in a natal chart.
Despite being loaded with sensationalism by understatement, I got a lot out of the book. She most assuredly understands Plutonians. There aren't many of us, our needs are different than other's, and she does make that abundantly clear.
Once I get the Slap out of my mouth, I'll study the book more closely. If you decide to make the plunge into this book, you might consider reading Chapter Eight, Counseling People With Pluto Problems, first. Had I been forewarned that she was aware of how offended we would be, I might have felt like the Slap was minty-fresh Scope instead.
I picked up this book because it was recommended by Jessica Lanyadoo on "Ghost of a Podcast." It's a mixed bag -- some of the content was very useful and sparked intense self-reflection. Some of the content felt very dated and politically out-of-touch (e.g. the pregnancy section not acknowledging reproductive coercion and misogyny). Overall, I'm glad I picked this book up, but I would approach it with a clear understanding that it was published in 1986.
Intensely riveting, plus you get to feel the not-very-enjoyable familiar stab in the gut when you clearly recognise the compulsive patterns that she talks about. The chapters on guilt, co-dependency and manipulation resonated really well with me. Never heard of Bach flower remedies till I read this, which I may explore on my own when I get the time.
This is a classic originally published in 1986 and probably the first comprehensive book on the astrology of Pluto. As I went through a very heavy Pluto transit, it really helped me understand and cope with what was going on. Cunningham used her experience in social work for a number of examples in the text, which includes Pluto through the houses and transits of Pluto. There are sections on the heavy Plutonian topics of the collective, abuse, manipulation, death and grief, as well as flower essence treatments, recommended books and affirmations for healing. A terrific resource that you can read all at once or dip into from time to time.
Had a bit of a christian touch and outdated examples but everything else was on point. As a Plutonian I don’t mind. The placement and transit chapters were scarily exact. No sugarcoating anymore. With this book we’re trying to heal. Digital hug to all fellow Plutonians.
I needed this badly. So many things I couldn't figure out about myself finally make sense, and I'm grateful for the clarity and--even better--the exercises and methods outlined on how to identify and heal those very Plutonian problems of resentment, guilt/shame, and painful attachments. The concept of "fail to spite" was so eye-opening for me and may finally help me overcome the problems that have haunted me my whole life and have kept me back from so many things I want in life. I can't wait to go back through and actually do the exercises this time around. So grateful for this resource.
This wasn’t a cookbook exactly of Pluto placements and transits. It was so much more! Diving into all the Pluto based realities such as grief, incest and abuse, power, etc, this was a very valuable read on not only the damage that Pluto can cause, but also relation to it. “Insightful” doesn’t begin to cover it.
Although this book is a little dated, it was very informative. Pluto is transiting my 1st house and I am studying evolutionary astrology... I am very very Plutonian.
A few reviewers have mentioned that this book is a bit outdated, but having recently gone through a Pluto transit (conjunct my natal moon), the info. clicked. I have Pluto square my moon in my natal chart and much of Donna's observations really feel consistent with my personal experience, and the experiences of people's chart (with Pluto issues) that I have worked with. Donna's writing is clear and plainspoken and you don't have to be an advanced astrologer to understand this book.
Brilliant analysis on depicting Pluto in the natal chart. It was as if the first 3 chapters of the book were written for me. As powerful as the analysis was, the healing solutions could have been less generalist and more accurate (by house for example), that's why I removed one star.
While there’s plenty to critique from a book published in the 80s, I learned so much about myself through this quick read! It left an impression that will really stick with me.
It’s giving,“take what works & leave the rest” energy. Lanyadoo sent me!
I found this to be an extremely helpful book on Pluto in the chart and especially on learning about pluto dominate people like myself. Love donnas work!
A must read. We all have a pluto somewhere. This book does not only explain the problems in question, it also gives many generous ways to release them. It is profound, honest, readable and funny.