A transit of birth chart placement of Pluto in the 9th house is a lot to handle (under Pluto in Aquarius, all Gemini Risings have this until the year 2044, by the way). This article is a guide to how to work with this energy and what to expect.
Before we jump in, here’s a quick explanation of the terms Pluto, the 9th house, birth chart/natal chart, and transit. (If you'd like to skip this, click here.)
Astro-terminology:
Pluto:
Pluto is a dwarf planet that rules power, transformation, secrets, and big changes in your life that happen from the inside out. It’s associated with intensity, the primal, and the taboo, as well as psychology, your life mission, and the underbelly of our societies/lives.
The 9th House:
Houses are areas of the sky that symbolize different areas of life. The ninth house deals with our relationship to “the reasons why” of life: like our belief systems (spiritually, politically, religiously, philosophically, and psychologically) that provide a filter and explanation for the world as we experience it. It also deals with our forays into the unfamiliar, like foreign cultures, higher education, travel abroad, or merging into another family (in-laws). Lastly, it determines how we judge reality, ourselves, and each other.
Birth Chart vs. Event:
Being born with Pluto in the 9th house means that the themes described in this article will be ones that you live into throughout your entire life (this is also called a birth or natal placement). They may be more important at some times, less so at others, but they’re always there. You can see your birth placement in your natal chart.
However, as Pluto wanders through the sky in real-time, the planetary player may also enter your ninth house for a temporary stay (a transit). Pluto transits differ in length: the shortest is 12 years, and the longest is 32 years. So, as you can see, we’re talking about long frames of time – but ones that are still fractals of our lives rather than life sentences. If you’d like to figure out when Pluto was in your 9th house last/if it’s there currently, check out the next section.
When Does Pluto Move Into My 9th House?
If you’re wondering whether Pluto is in your 9th house currently, here’s a list of time frames for you! The overlaps between timeframes are due to something called planetary retrograde.
Caution: This list ONLY works for your Rising Sign, it does not work for Sun Sign or Pluto Signs.
Gemini Rising: With this Rising/Ascendant, you’ll have a Pluto 9th house transit from May to June 2023, January to September 2024, November 2024 to March 2043, and September 2043 to January 2044.
Taurus Rising: January to June 2008, November 2008 to March 2023, and September to November 2024.
Want to see where you're now? Click here!
Other Rising Signs:
Past:
Aries Rising: Jan-Apr 1995, Nov 1995-Jan 2008, Jun-Nov 2008.
Pisces Rising: Nov 1983-May 1984, Aug 1984-Jan 1995, Apr-Nov 1995.
Aquarius Rising: Oct 1971-Apr 1972, Jul 1972. Nov 1983, May-Aug 1984.
Capricorn Rising: Oct 1956-Jan 1957, Aug 1957-Apr 1958, Jun 1958-Oct 1971, Apr-Jul 1972.
Sagittarius Rising: Oct-Nov 1937, Aug 1938-Feb 1939, June 1939-Oct 1956, Jan-Aug 1957, Apr-Jun 1958.
Future:
Cancer Rising: Mar-Sept 2043, Jan 2044-Jun 2066, Jul 2066-Apr 2067, Sept 2067-Feb 2068.
Leo Rising: Jun-Jul 2066, Apr-Sept 2067, Feb 2068-Jun 2095, Sept 2095-Apr 2098, Nov 2096-Mar 2097.
Virgo Rising: Jun-Sept 2095, Apr-Nov 2096, Mar 2097-Jun 2127, Nov 2127-May 2128, Jan-Mar 2129.
(Libra Rising: Jun-Nov 2127, May 2128-Jan 2129, Mar 2129-Aug 2157, Nov 2157-Jun2158, Jan-May 2159.)
(Scorpio Rising: Aug-Nov 2157, Jun 2158-Jan 2159, May 2159-Aug 2183, Jan-Jun 2184, Apr 2185.)
And then, it’s Sagittarius Rising’s turn, then Capricorn’s, Aquarius’s, and so on.
Want to read an explanation for where Pluto impacts you right now? Click here!
Now, let’s get to the main event: Pluto in the 9th house explained.
Pluto in the 9th: Judgment Changes
Pluto brings transformation to whatever it touches. When it stays in/travels through the ninth house, one of the easiest things to see in people is a transformation of their judgment. This doesn’t mean that judgment day arrives, or anything similar. Rather, the person themselves changes the way they evaluate and judge themselves, their world, and other people.
“So, everyone becomes more non-judgmental? Cool!” – Sorry, but no.
Human beings are inherently meant to judge the world: this plant is safe to eat (judgment). This plant is poisonous (judgment, unless you’ve just eaten it and fallen over sick or dead). This person is toxic (judgment). This person is the love of my life (judgment).
Judgment in and of itself is not bad, it’s necessary for survival. However, we of course know situations where judgment can go awry and cause much mayhem and destruction: either, because it’s bad judgment, a.k.a., untrue, or because we become judgmental – specifically in ways that are too rigid and harmful towards us and others.
Pluto in/journeying through the 9th house definitely shows us where our judgment is erroneous, too rigid, or harmful to us or others. It’s up to us then to reform our past patterns and reach a more truthful way of viewing the world.
But Pluto also does the apparent opposite of dissolving bad judgment: it also makes us judge more: and while that seems like bad news at first, there’s a good reason for that – so bear with me.
Creating Safety Through Awareness
Judgment, in a nutshell, is a human’s psychological immune system that scans whatever we see into categories that are supposed to help us make decisions that guide us toward safety. Sometimes, the way we “scan” perception into categories is highly faulty – humans are NOT omniscient by any means! – but the intent of the tool is to help us, not make us bad people.
Let’s give you an example: If you walk through the world and never judge a single action as good or bad, you’ll walk through life ignoring everyone’s red flags and collect anyone from great people to toxic ones and full-blown psychopaths. Because your lack of judging behavior means that you have no “safety filters” that determine whom you can or cannot let into your life for your own good.
Examples:
My partner still has weekly overnight stays with 10 of their exes and calls that couple over there “Mom and Dad-in-law”… But I totally believe them when they say they’re faithful to me!
I walked in on them hiding little bags with… flour… that they were giving someone else, and oh! That other person repaid them for the loan on their house. I’m sure there’s nothing fishy going on whatsoever, they’re just so generous and like baking really small things.
Oh, that convicted serial killer told me MY letters made him a better person and stop wanting to murder people – sure, he still harms his fellow prisoners, but I’m SURE that’s just on them. I’ll help him get out of prison and be freeeee!
It’s like walking around without an immune system or a laptop with no anti-virus software: you’ll collect a bunch of experiences you really don’t want to have because you can’t tell “safe” from “dangerous.”
This is why so many inherently good and genuinely nice people attract really awful people – or rather, they don’t attract them: Their fear of being “judgmental” makes them either not use, or insufficiently use their judgment to “scan” people’s actions and determine if they’re safe or unsafe. So, good and genuinely nice people are often the only ones/the few who let the toxic and psychopathic people stick around, which creates a lot of pain: all because their inherent fear of being “too judgmental,” when judgment can keep us safe – if it’s truthful and fair – kept them from protecting themselves.
One of the things that happens under Pluto in the ninth is that you’re confronted with all the ways where a “too nice to judge” attitude harms and hinders, rather than helps.
This is because Pluto inherently confronts us with what’s really there, specifically the truths we like to avoid – like the painful truth that some parts of life are messed up. The truth that there’s darkness in human nature. The truth that there’s abuse of power and abuse itself that happens every single day. The truth that maybe we are running from in our personal lives because it’s sometimes easier to play pretend than be honest with ourselves.
Pluto doesn’t necessarily make us victims of these things, but it confronts us with them in a very, very direct way. And what we can do with that when Pluto is in our 9th house is to “update” our psychological judgment software to be more accurate so we can identify and keep ourselves safe from potentially harmful people or experiences. This way, you can learn to recognize a toxic person more quickly, rather than after you exchange your wedding vows.
Justice and Judgment
There’s a reason why “Judgment” is commonly associated with “Justice.” Ideally, one thing is connected to the other. Of course, the reality is often different – and under Pluto in the ninth, we can’t forget that even for a second. But first, let’s talk about the positive connection.
Many (extreme) spiritual paths take the idea of being non-judgmental and make it the highest possible virtue for any person. There’s a reason for this too, which we’ll cover in a bit. But when it becomes valued too highly and in an extreme way, the issue is as follows: let’s say a person walks through life, torturing and murdering people – and never stopping. An extreme and unbalanced non-judgmental outlook in life would suggest that putting this person in prison, for example, would be an inherent judgment of their actions, which means it’s wrong (because: non-judgment!). So, that person can effectively skip through society, living their best life while harming and killing in unspeakable ways.
Is this a fair, honest, or good thing? No.
An extreme and unbalanced non-judgmental outlook creates an inherently unjust and dangerous world.
Some behaviors need to be judged as good or bad, and some behaviors need to go beyond mental judgment and to actual judgment – a.k.a., consequences. If we don’t have that, the darkness we see in the world can actually grow worse, rather than better. This is why most world religions, including Christianity, teach lack of judgment only in the context of justice.
Pluto shows us where this type of judgment is necessary – and even lacking. And it also shows us where the judgment that’s already there turned into something harmful and unkind.
Where Judgment Turns Toxic
Human judgment is partially instinctual, and mostly learned. This is where most of us can get into murky waters because sometimes, we learn the wrong things: like “all people that look like X are evil,” or “all men are untrustworthy.”
Human judgment can also be… let’s just say corrupted by various factors. This can be as innocent as a truly unconscious want or need, or the trauma of a truly awful experience messing with your judgment in big or small ways. But it can also be literally corrupted for some people due to their selfishness or the promise of profit.
This is also why many spiritual paths are very firm on people being non-judgmental: because, while judgment can keep us safe, it can also create much self-harm and even worse destruction towards others.
Plus, walking through life with constant judgment untampered by acceptance can create more pain for you than necessary. A non-judgmental outlook can therefore help become okay with mildly-bad experiences.
An event or birth placement of Pluto in the ninth house confronts us with all the ways judgment can create harm for us: which means that we see where our judgment towards ourselves is dangerously lenient, or dangerously rigid, where our judgment towards life and our experiences make our lives worse and keep us trapped in painful patterns, and even where our judgment towards others is harmful and dangerous. It can also show us where we may maybe judged by others in ways that are neither fair nor fun to experience.
Under Pluto in the ninth, it’s incredibly important to be honest with the judgments you hold: where they’re accurate, where they’re just or unjust, and where they guide your behavior into healthy and just behavior, and where they don’t.
Change of Beliefs
Another topic for Pluto in the ninth house is belief systems. This includes psychological, political, spiritual, religious, and philosophical beliefs; beliefs of what you can or can’t do, beliefs of what you should or shouldn’t do, and beliefs of what is or isn’t real.
Under Pluto in the ninth, all of the above changes. Whatever you started out believing will be subject to a massive transformation, one way or the other. The end result isn’t necessarily, f.e. entering with a religion and losing said religion, or entering with a certain political allegiance and kicking that allegiance out – though of this is within the realm of possibilities.
But it can look like a process of deeply re-evaluating your stance on certain issues connected with your deeply ingrained belief systems, the way you think of certain “cut-and-dry” topics important to you, your world’s outlook, and the faith you have in an organization, etc. The core of why and how you believe may change, but that doesn’t have to lead to a discarding process of f.e. religious or political allegiances.
Some people actually experience a process of first stripping some of their former beliefs, and then going all-in and deepening the rest under this event.
Most prominent here are of course beliefs you hold about life itself – outside of the political and religious/spiritual realm.
Who you think you are will change.
What you believe is possible for you will change.
What you inherently believe about the world itself – will also change.
So, if you can, don’t get too attached to your outlook on life as it is right now. You’ll likely change your mind. That being said, Pluto in the ninth especially asks you also to put your money where your mouth is: eventually, under an event/with a natal chart like this, you have to double down and defend your core beliefs, as you’ll be thrown into situations where you have to do so.
In a nutshell, this astrological event/birth placement asks you to re-evaluate the accuracy, the “why,” and the “how” behind every belief you hold. It’ll confront you with situations/ways that show whether this belief survives being tested in the real world, and then has you change your mind accordingly. Finally, it asks you to double down on the beliefs that remain. So, don’t be scared to believe: just make sure you believe correct and healthy things.
Strange Lands
The ninth house is the place where we’re deeply confronted with everything that is foreign to us: foreign countries, cultures, traditions, economic/social statuses, even in-laws, and “foreign knowledge” – a.k.a., adulthood education (starting after high school.)
With Pluto in this area of the chart by event/birth placement, you’re about to experience changes through and within the above-mentioned experiences. So, higher education might be a very transformational experience – and/or, it might change a lot compared to what you’ve experienced before the start of this event (if it’s an event and not a birth placement for you).
Some people literally travel a lot or even build a social life/marry into a community that is culturally very different than their family of origin. So, any of the above are good things to have – as widening your horizons is a positive thing under Pluto in the ninth house.
But there’s something to be said for cautionary measures.
Smart Precautions for Education
Pluto, as already said, confronts us with the darkness present in the world. This means that not every educational path is safe or healthy for you: some teachers/organizations/learning paths may come your way that are toxic or harmful. Make sure that you vet them before signing up. If you notice that things are going south within the program, leave the path sooner rather than later F.e.: a person I know with this natal placement accidentally signed up into what basically became a cult. They’re fine since they left early enough… so, you can avoid much pain by abandoning ship before it becomes too harmful, too. But keep your eyes open for the duration of this astrological event/in general.
Another facet of the education piece is this: The things you learn in education specifically (but also in the other topics mentioned here) may be a cause for a massive life overhaul, which can include abandoning the very goal you had in mind when you pursued it originally. (Example: studied medicine and mid-way realized that your calling was always to write medical true-crime novels, rather than be a doctor.)
None of that is bad: the skills we learn always become useful at some point. BUT under Pluto in the ninth house, it’s wise to avoid going into (big) debt for education or to make unbreakable commitments for the time after your education is completed before you even started receiving said education. Example: “We’ll pay for your college degrees & med school if you legally commit to being a doctor in this place for 10+ years after.” Great opportunity… but not a smart thing with Pluto in the ninth as you might be either unable or unwilling to follow the path you set out on two years in. The “unable” piece is, of course, much more dire than the “unwilling” piece (specifically when it comes to things such as sports scholarships or education/future jobs that are dependent on strong physical health.
The exception is, of course, if you have a backup plan that gets you out of a pickle if things go awry (say, for the above example: you have enough money on standby to pay back your student loan – or at least, a doable workable plan for generating that money in a reasonable timeframe). Then, the advice listed above can be safely discarded.
For people who experience this as an event, the precautions above go for the timeframe of this astrological event (remember, the dates are here,). If this is your birth placement, this is a good rule of thumb for your entire life. Too many unexpected things may happen for you during an educational path to make those promises lightly/go into debt for this.
So, let’s continue with precautions… on travel!
Sane Travel Tips
The same level of caution is wise to employ when it comes to travel or temporarily/fully moving abroad. Travel is something many know changes their entire outlook on life – so it’s a fun and wise thing to do under Pluto in the ninth house.
And… this is not the time to catch a ride with a stranger in the middle of a deserted road.
You don’t need to be scared of travel, but you should avoid the common-sense traps of: too cheap hotels, being completely dependent on people abroad (say, because they hold your papers), staying/visiting unsafe areas, ignoring the locals’ warnings on food/places/animals to avoid, running around with shady strangers and so on.
This isn’t necessarily because “people abroad could be out to get you,” but also for a situation that’s happening a lot these days (and is going to keep happening for at least another 28 years): natural catastrophes that require a quick evacuation (that you may have to pay for yourself).
So, bonus points to you if you don’t give anyone your passport, know the contact information of your embassy, keep enough money in a safe place to buy a plane ticket home if you need to do so quickly, and keep a rough eye on the news (or have a designated person who travels with you that does so).
By the way, traveling with others is always a great thing – both for fun and safety!
Again, there’s no need to be frightened: as with education, it’s a great thing in general and under Pluto in the ninth. Keeping common sense in the driver’s seat should be enough to keep you safe and allow you to fully enjoy this transformative and fun time.
Culture Immersion
This leads me to the final thing on Pluto in the ninth – one that I’ve mentioned a bunch of times already: foreign cultures.
Sometimes, people are born into the perfect culture for them, sometimes, they aren’t in a place where the culture lived is a great fit for their own values and personality. That’s just life, unfortunately. But for these reasons, or for the reason of love, someone might decide to move or otherwise immerse themselves in a different culture. As someone open to and fascinated by different ways of life, I can absolutely vouch for the wisdom, beauty, and transformation we can experience through this.
However, under Pluto in the 9th especially, it’s smart to be cautious as well. A.k.a., don’t jump before you look: if you join a place/organization/family that has different cultures, be sure to properly research what you agreed to and keep a bit of a safety net in place for at least two years. (Within two years, you’ll likely see/know any hidden or previously unknown pitfalls that might make you want to beat your feet back home).
This is especially important for permanent moves or marriage with potential future children. Child-rearing brings out the traditional values of almost everyone, no matter how much they’ve learned or adapted in life. Know the traditional values they grew up with so you know what you might encounter.
Also, don’t be afraid to experience different cultures or marry into a different culture for love! You might have the best experiences of your life if you do so and create a life of passion and joie de vivre you’ve never had before. Just look before you jump, and you’re fine.
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Enjoy seeing your horizons widen!
Thanks for reading,
Alexandra
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