Jan 2911 min read

Truth, Knowledge, and Other Sources of Power: Pluto in the 3rd House by Transit or Natal Chart. Advice and What to Expect

Updated: Nov 17

The 3rd House and Pluto, when combined, paint a very interesting picture. On the topic of Pluto in Aquarius, I figured a deeper analysis of how to deal with this birth chart placement or astrological event is in order… so, here you go!

But before that, here’s a quick explanation of the vocabulary in question and also a list of dates so you can figure out when Pluto in the 3rd house affects you. If you’d like to skip either, click here.

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 3rd House:

Houses are areas of the sky that speak to different life areas. The third house is all about communication, thoughts, learning, perception, the media, local life, short-term travel, siblings, and neighbors.

Birth Chart vs. Event:

Being born with Pluto in the 3rd house means that the themes described in this article will be ones that you live into throughout your entire life. 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 (feel free to come to say Hi in a consulting session with me & figure out not just where your Pluto lies, but also what it means and how to work with it).

However, as Pluto wanders through the sky in real-time, the planetary player may also enter your third house for a temporary stay. That event is called 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.

Dates:

If you’re wondering whether Pluto is in your 3rd house currently, here’s a list of time frames for you! The overlaps between timeframes are due to something called planetary retrograde. In plain English, this means that Pluto “moves back and forth” as per our perspective from Earth.

Caution: This list ONLY works for your Rising Sign, it does not work for Sun Sign or Pluto Signs.

Sagittarius Rising: With this Rising/Ascendant, you’ll have a Pluto 3rd house transit from May to June 2023, January to September 2024, November 2024 to March 2043, and September 2043 to January 2044.

Scorpio Rising: January to June 2008, November 2008 to March 2023, and September to November 2024.

If you want to read the article specifically written for you, click here!

Other Rising Signs:

Past:

Libra Rising: Jan-Apr 1995, Nov 1995-Jan 2008, Jun-Nov 2008.

Virgo Rising: Nov 1983-May 1984, Aug 1984-Jan 1995, Apr-Nov 1995.

Leo Rising: Oct 1971-Apr 1972, Jul 1972. Nov 1983, May-Aug 1984.

Cancer Rising: Oct 1956-Jan 1957, Aug 1957-Apr 1958, Jun 1958-Oct 1971, Apr-Jul 1972. Gemini Rising: Oct-Nov 1937, Aug 1938-Feb 1939, June 1939-Oct 1956, Jan-Aug 1957, Apr-Jun 1958.

Future:

Capricorn Rising: Mar-Sept 2043, Jan 2044-Jun 2066, Jul 2066-Apr 2067, Sept 2067-Feb 2068.

Aquarius Rising: Jun-Jul 2066, Apr-Sept 2067, Feb 2068-Jun 2095, Sept 2095-Apr 2098, Nov 2096-Mar 2097.

Pisces Rising: Jun-Sept 2095, Apr-Nov 2096, Mar 2097-Jun 2127, Nov 2127-May 2128, Jan-Mar 2129.

(Aries Rising: Jun-Nov 2127, May 2128-Jan 2129, Mar 2129-Aug 2157, Nov 2157-Jun2158, Jan-May 2159.)

(Taurus Rising: Aug-Nov 2157, Jun 2158-Jan 2159, May 2159-Aug 2183, Jan-Jun 2184, Apr 2185.)

And then, it’s Gemini Rising’s turn, then Cancer’s, Leo’s, and so on.

If you'd like to read the article for where Pluto impacts your right now, click here!

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty stuff.

Pluto in the 3rd house: All About Information

Where is your information coming from? With Pluto in the 3rd house by astrological event or birth placement, this is a crucial question. Pluto can indicate at worst manipulation, so with a temporary/permanent stay in the 3rd house, it makes sense to know how to counteract manipulation. And part of this is simply tracking where your information comes from and whom we should trust as a source of intel.

However, even if we take the darker potential of Pluto out of the equation (which you really shouldn’t), why else is information an important subject? “Knowledge is power” is an overused cliché phrase for a reason: what you don’t know can come to bite you in the butt. What you do know can become a powerful tool at your disposal. What you know or don’t know can define whether you live or die. Sounds extreme at first and like it’s only true in once-in-a-lifetime situations but imagine you didn’t know that you shouldn’t drink the chemicals underneath the cabinets. Or if you didn’t know that a red light in traffic means “stop” but you’re behind the steering wheel of a truck. Our entire daily life is structured around every individual having basic information on survival, even if we don’t think of this on those terms. Because we do have the information (and most of us are responsible enough to act on it), we tend to live life worry-free because we know we’re not at risk. We have the information we need to keep ourselves safe.

But what if you don’t have all the information you need? Under Pluto in the 3rd house, part of your journey is to figure out where you need to learn more (or face the consequences), where your information so far has been wrong, and how you can get the intel you truly need.

Information can be false, skewered, or placed in the wrong context (either by someone’s deliberate efforts or just by accident), so while this is going on in your life… make sure you double- and triple-check what you think you know. Think for yourself. Fill in the gaps of knowledge you have. Don’t take things at face value. You get my drift.

Fortunately, with Pluto in the 3rd, you’re not necessarily dependent on someone else to kidnap you, drop you in a classroom, and tie you to a chair until you’ve passed all exams and know all you need to know… which is a good thing because a) that’d be abusive, and b) some stuff can’t be learned in a classroom – or is even taught in schools! So, there are multiple ways of learning what you need to know.

However, with this combination, you can and NEED to be responsible and take charge of your own learning journey. That doesn’t mean that schools aren’t an option, it just means that ultimately, it’s up to you to learn even if you do have a teacher… don’t make them do all the work for you.

On the topic of learning – if you learned something in this article, I’d appreciate it if you could let me know by leaving a donation or sending this to tons of other people, so they can learn something new, too! Thank you for your support :)

Going Deeper

Under Pluto in the 3rd house, it’s important to go beyond the surface level when it comes to knowledge. Nowadays, a lot of us tend to scratch the surface of any given topic and then call it a day, we may even refer to ourselves as “experts” because we watched some TikToks or made a trendy post on social media ourselves. But under Pluto in the 3rd house, that kind of half-assing things is not enough. You’ll be drawn to go deeper on topics. You’ll also see the necessity of digging deeper until you find the underlying truths of a situation… or get entangled in unnecessary conflict, drama, and issues because you fell into someone else’s trap.

With Pluto in the 3rd house, we also get the gift of being able to look behind the veil and into what’s really going on… whether we want to or not, we stumble over truths others might want to keep hidden or even secrets we didn’t know were there. Take what you find seriously and ask appropriate questions if something appears “too easy.” Under this astrological event/placement, try to avoid being blindsided. Also, knowing things other people (or you yourself) might feel uncomfortable requires us to grow as individuals. How do you act on the information you find? This is a major theme of Pluto in the 3rd house.

Apropos going deeper: did you know that we can get into MUCH more detail in a private astrology consultation with your own chart? If you’re interested, click here.

Finding Power Through Your Voice (Figuratively)

Your voice matters – whether that’s your literal voice or other forms of self-expressive communication you prefer. Under Pluto in the 3rd house, it’s important for you to use it and become aware of the power it holds.

Part of this astrological event/birth placement may also be the perpetual question of what truths to share with whom and when. Not everyone is ready for the knowledge or opinions you hold, not everyone needs to hear it… some would even be damaged by it. And in other situations, people need to hear the truth – regardless of how they feel about it.

Under Pluto in the 3rd, you may hold controversial opinions or knowledge that can at times feel like a burden. Surround yourself with people who can handle harsh truths and be gentle with yourself.

The Power of Words

The 3rd house rules language, speech, any type of communication (including non-verbal, specifically for people who can’t physically talk), and any related subject (including things like literacy). With Pluto in this house via birth placement or astrological event, the power that words hold plays an elevated role.

Words can be used to soothe a wound, inform the ignorant or unknowing, connect the dots between seemingly unrelated topics, and define an experience in a way that makes it make sense. Words even carry their own form of wisdom.

Example: “Beloved”

The word “beloved” doesn’t just refer to a person or thing that is loved by someone else, but it also shows us a very important truth about the nature of love: it is “be” loved, which suggests an active, ongoing state or condition (of the person who loves towards the beloved) that’s extended towards the entirety of the person or object in question in an active way (“loved” – verb). The action of loving is complete in and of itself (loved). While we’ll say that we love plenty of people, objects, situations, and things both trivial and important – thereby putting a bunch of different ways to love something/someone under the same umbrella – “beloved” is only used for people or things that we love with our entire being, or that we are loved by completely.

But there’s more: we don’t define people with a specific word that indicates that they have it in themselves to love another in that “beloved” type of way. However, we’ll say “my beloved child” or “my beloved,” indicating that being on the receiving end of this type of love is incredibly important. While in some instances, the person who loves a beloved is referred to as “lover,” that a) counts only in sexual connections (while you can have “a beloved child, parent, student” or any other platonic beloved) and b) “lover” has evolved to be a term for someone you may sleep with, even if there’s no connection of the heart between you. Therefore, “lover” is no adequately specific counterpart to “beloved” in the entirety of its meaning.

So, why would we have a word for being beloved, a.k.a. on the receiving end of unconditional love, but no adequate word for being the giver of said love? Because the English language defines one as much more important than the other. We can even use “beloved” as a title, using no more words to indicate the identity of a certain individual to other people. This is also an indication that “beloved” can become the most significant trait of a person.

But words can also deceive you or other people, they can be used to wound, to manipulate, or to trivialize what your body or heart tells you matters.

In summary, words have power. We all “know” this cognitively, of course, but since I want people with Pluto in the 3rd house (birth chart or astrological event) to question the things they think they know, I’d like to give you a short exercise so you can experience this for yourself.

Exercise (5 min or less)

There’s an option for doing this verbally or in written form, as needed.

Now, here’s a bit of an exercise for you. Grab a journal and a pen. If you’d like to make this a verbal exercise, close your eyes and put a hand on your heart, then say out loud: “I am loved.” If you’d like to do this without speaking, write by hand (the handwritten part is important) “I am loved.” Then, put a hand on your heart and close your eyes.

Once you’ve said/written the words, note how you feel emotionally and physically. What’s your body doing? Do you feel relaxed or tense? Warm or cold? Where do you feel warmth? Or coldness? Or tension? Or relaxation? What is your face doing – are you smiling? Has your facial expression relaxed or tensed up? (A quick look in the mirror as you or after you’ve done the exercise can help here). Is there anything else you notice? Repeat the words at least twice (otherwise as often as you want to). Once you feel clear, take some notes in your journal.

Now, we’ll change the words to “I am beloved.” Again, close your eyes, put a hand on your heart as you speak and after, or after you’ve written them down (please use the same mode of exercise for both phrases.) How do you feel now? Again, note what your body is doing and how you feel. Note what your face is doing. How you feel emotionally. Again, repeat twice or more often. Take notes once you’re done.

Now that you’ve noticed your reactions, use your notes to figure out if words hold power over you or not… and whether a specific but subtle change of wording affects you (or not).

Alterations for Germans: Since some of my readership is German, I thought to put in an alteration for the German language: as phrases, please use “Jemand liebt mich” and “Ich werde geliebt.” The rest of the exercise remains the same.

So… What Words Do YOU Use?

Now that you’ve hopefully found an answer to your question on whether words are powerful, consider what words you use towards others… and yourself. What words do you think? How do you speak to yourself in your own head? Under Pluto in the 3rd house, you’ll note the transformative power of those words: use it for good.

Improving or changing your communication style or even learning new languages can be very fruitful under Pluto in the 3rd house. However, it starts with your own mind and the mindsets you hold. Under this event/birth placement, adjust once you notice that things aren’t working well.

Local Life

Last but not least, under this Pluto placement, you may see changes or transformations in or through your local life (f.e. neighbors), your siblings/cousins/…, early education facilities, commute, and short-term travel. This is a side theme of Pluto in the 3rd house and is not further analyzed in this article.

On that note, if you’d like to do a neighborly thing here – it would help me so much if you could spread the word about my website by sending this or related articles on my website to tons of other people! If you can’t but would like to support my work anyway, I’d be so grateful for a donation of your choice. Thank you for your support :)