Scorpio is dominated by Pluto, named for the Roman God of the Underworld. It is associated with such keywords as transformation, transmutation, redemption, regeneration, degeneration, death, rebirth, unity, cooperation, dictatorship and disappearance. Pluto is deemed to be something of a powerhouse...uncompromising and bestowing no favors while demanding that benefits be earned. The word "plutocrat" is derived from Pluto and means power or domination through wealth, courtesy of sources other than personal labor...perhaps stemming from inheritances, legacies, bonuses, windfalls, insurance and other similar sources. According to some beliefs, it is said that such affluence was earned during a previous incarnation and comes from hidden origins in the present lifetime. On the positive side Pluto works for unity via organization. In its negative form, Pluto engenders tyranny, dictatorship and organization for the purpose of domination. Thus, this Planet influences the lords of the underworld, such as gangsters and murderers, as well as subversive activity, including terrorism. Indeed, there is no other Planet in the Solar System that can indicate more depraved or drastic conditions or conversely, more exalted heights of spirituality.

Those whose ruling planet is Pluto are individuals possessed of immense will-power, determination and stubborness. They are the great loners of the world...persons who wish to leave the comfortable and friendly lifestyle, coming to grips with the ultimate questions regarding human nature. The influence of Pluto tends to tear down the habits and belief systems, forcing either a transcendence or a smothering. Through this Planet, it is possible to tap into that which is larger than the individual...the collective mind in all its hypnotizing horror and magnificent beauty. Those governed by Pluto can become lost in the murky underside of life, sometimes idealizing or idolizing pain, suffering, abuse and cruelty, either by revelling in it or inflicting it upon others. Still, the Scorpio capacity for intense concentration is invaluable in such circumstances because it takes an almost obsessive tenacity to remain steady when facing a personally deep dread. In short, Pluto demands that a person learn to look upon his or her innermost secret areas without flinching, but also with compassion and understanding.

In essence, Pluto is concerned with all that is secret and hidden from view...the story of good versus evil. It is a Planet of power and intensity, its energy often focused on the masses and what the collective will do. It urges the general populace to look inward to the subconscious and see what is there, even though the scenario may be far from pretty. Related to will and unbridled passion, it is believed that the Pluto character has a reputation for ruthlessness and those who fall under its jurisdiction tend to bring their deepest compulsions into the light.

The metal which correlates most closely to Pluto is pyrite, an iron sulfide or iron disulfide, also known as Fools Gold. It is believed to be an aid to mental activity, while its energies can help balance creative and intuitive impulses. It also possesses shielding abilities and can prevent negative energies from entering and altering physical, emotional and mental aspects. The associated element is plutonium, bred under a cloak of absolute secrecy as part of the wartime Manhatten Project. It appeared under the most dire of circumstances as the world lurched into total war. As Pluto in mythology wore a helmet of invisibility, so plutonium is a radioactive metallic element that most individuals are unlikely to ever see. It came into prominence only when it was exploded in New Mexico, turning the desert sand to glass.

Items particularly associated with Pluto are: black pansies, hollow larkspur, silverweed, all deep-rooted plants and all poisonous plants; rye and mushrooms; snakes; serpents; scorpions and eagles. The semi-precious stones linked to this planet are: black opal; fire opal; jet; obsidian and jade. There is no particularly lucky day for those individuals who fall within the jurisdiction of this planet, while the special associated colors are: black; dark purple and any hue that is shocking to the eye. In an anatomical sense, Pluto is closely related to the pancreas and enzymes.

The great moral lesson to be learned by the children of Pluto is that they need to strive to be more moderate.

Once known as the smallest, coldest and most distant Planet from the Sun, Pluto has been enshrouded in controversy since its discovery in 1930. On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union formally downgraded Pluto from an official Planet to a Dwarf Planet. There has been some resistance in the astronomical community toward this reclassification and among the general public, reception is mixed. Some accept the reclassification while others are seeking to overturn the decision. The verb "pluto" is a neologism coined in the aftermath of the decision. In January of 2007, the American Dialect Society chose "plutoed" as its 2006 Word of the Year, defining "to pluto" as "to demote or devaluate someone or something."

Discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, it was Percival Lowell (founder of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona) who devoted much of his time and energy into the quest for a theoretical ninth planet. Most of what is known about Pluto has been learned since the late 1970s. Smaller than the Earth's Moon, Pluto will be visited in 2015 by a spacecraft called "New Horizons," which was launched by NASA in 2006. Pluto has a very eccentric orbit, which means its distance from the Sun varies greatly during the course of its orbit. Also, Pluto rotates about its axis in the opposite direction from most of the other Planets in the Solar System. Very little is known about Pluto's atmosphere. It is generally assumed to be mostly nitrogen with a little carbon monoxide and methane. The atmospheric pressure is almost certainly very low. Its crust is believed to be a rocky formation with an icy mantle of rock and frozen water. The core is also thought to be rocky and may contain ice. The sky from Pluto is almost certainly black even when the Sun...only the size of a star...has risen.

Pluto has one large moon named Charon (discovered in 1978 by Jim Christy) and two miniscule moons named Nix and Hydra that were discovered in 2005. In mythology, Nix was the Greek Goddess of Darkness and Night and mother of Charon, the ferryman who transported the dead across the river into the Nether World. Hydra was named for the mythological monster that guarded the waters of Pluto's Underworld. Charon is approximately half the size of Pluto and may be covered with frozen ice. It probably has no atmosphere and is thought to be in a synchronous orbit around Pluto...which is to say that it is always over the same area.

The name Pluto was suggested by Venetia Burney of England. She was eleven years old at the time and proposed the name to her grandfather who was a librarian at Oxford. He passed along her idea to the astronomers who were trying to name the newly-discovered Planet. Pluto is shown as a Planet on the Pioneer Plaque, an inscription on the space probes Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 that were launched in the early 1970s. The Plaque, intended to provide information about the origin of the probes to any alien civilization that might encounter the vehicles in the future, includes a diagram of the Solar System showing nine Planets. Similarly, an analog image contained within the Voyager Golden Record included on the probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 (also launched in the 1970s), includes data regarding Pluto and again shows it as the ninth Planet. The Disney character Pluto, introduced in 1930, was named in honor of the Planet and in 1941, Glenn T. Seaborg named the newly-created element plutonium in Pluto's honor, in keeping with the tradition of naming elements after newly-discovered Planets.

Pluto is the Roman God of the Underworld, son of the Titans, Saturn and Opis (known to the Greeks as Cronus and Rhea). For the most part, he was based on the Greek God Hades. Pluto was also known as the God of Wealth because the precious metals buried deep in the Earth were to be found in his kingdom. Another reason this God was referred to as Pluto was because people were loath to pronounce the dreaded name of Hades. In Latin, Pluto translates into "Dis," which means "rich." The Romans also substituted Orcus and Tartarus as synonymous with Pluto. Pluto originally obtained rulership of the Underworld as part of a "land deal" arrangement with his two brothers, Jupiter and Neptune. In these negotiations, Jupiter took control of the Heavens, Nepune was granted the Oceans and Pluto was given the Nether Regions. Although he was an Olympian, Pluto spent most of his time in his dark castle located beneath the Earth. In fact, he was never even given a throne in Olympus since he visited so rarely. As the Lord of Hell, he was formidable in combat and proved his ferocity during the famous Battle of the Olympians against the Titans. Due to his dark and morbid personality, Pluto was not especially liked by either the other Gods or humankind. However, he was not an evil God. Although stern, cruel and severely lacking in pity, he was at least ethical and just. Since he ruled the Underworld, Pluto is most often associated with death but he was not Death itself...the actual embodiment of Death was another God known as Mors (or Thanatos to the Greeks), son of the Goddess of Night and the brother of Somnus, God of Sleep. Pluto ruled the dead, assisted by demons over whom he had total authority. He strictly forbade his subjects to leave his kingdom and would become enraged should anyone attempt to escape or if someone tried to steal one of his prey. Indeed, very few people who ever visited the Underworld were allowed to leave...one such exception being the hero called Hercules.

The Underworld was composed of several sections, including the Elysian Fields (the equivalent of Heaven) and Tartarus (the equivalent of Purgatory). According to later legends, Erebus was also a part of Pluto's realm, being where the dead were obliged to pass immediately after dying. The entrance to the Underworld was located at Avernus, a crater near Cumae (an ancient settlement which lay to the NorthWest of Naples in Italy). The deceased gained access to Pluto's kingdom by crossing the River Acheron, transported through the waters by Charon the Ferryman, who charged an obolus (or coin) for passage. The far side of the River was guarded by Cerberus, the monstrous three-headed dog that watched over the Gates of Hell.

The few recorded legends associated with Pluto and his contact with the world above his subterranean domain tend to be concerned for the most part with violence and violation, such as his assaults on the nymphs, Minthe and Leuce. Minthe was later transformed into the plant called mint while Leuce was metamorphosed into a white poplar tree after her death. Indeed, it is written that Pluto showed mercy only once. Because the music of Orpheus was so hauntingly sad, he allowed the musician to bring his wife, Eurydice, back to the land of the living, provided she walked behind her husband and he never attempted to look at her face until they reached the surface. Orpheus agreed but failed to keep his part of the bargain and thus, Eurydice was lost to him forever. However, perhaps the most famous myth related to this God is the one concerning his wife and queen, Prosperine. However, Prosperine (daughter of Jupiter and Ceres...and thus, Pluto's neice) did not marry Pluto willingly. She was abducted by him one day whilst picking flowers. Even her father was powerless to secure Prosperine's freedom from the Underworld when the desperate and grieving Ceres asked him to intervene on her behalf. Eventually, a deal was struck with Mercury, the Messenger God, acting as mediator. Prosperine would spend half the year with her mother, the Goddess of the Harvest, and the other half with Pluto in his Underworld realm. It was believed that while Prosperine with with her husband, Ceres missed her daughter so much that she withdrew her gifts from the world and Winter reigned supreme. In the Spring, when Prosperine rejoined her mother, then the Goddess of the Harvest allowed the crops and plants to grow once more. According to some legends, Prosperine eventually became equally as cruel as Pluto. It is also written that Prosperine never bore Pluto any children and that the God had no offspring by any other female.

It is believed that Pluto had no representative attributes, save for an eagle. His weapon was a two-pronged fork, which he used to shatter anything in his way or not to his liking. The ensign of his power was a staff which he used to drive the shades of the dead into the lower world. This God's identifying possessions included a dark chariot drawn by four coal-black horses and a helmet of invisibility given to him by the Cyclopes, which was said to hide his thoughts while perceiving the thoughts of others and according to some sources, rightfully belonged to Mercury. He is associated with the narcissus and cypress plants and sat upon a throne fashioned of ebony. He is occasionally depicted holding a cornucopia. In ancient times, this God was often referred to as "the unseen one." Black animals, such as sheep, were sacrificed to him and it is believed that at one time, even human sacrifices were offered. In any event, the individual who offered the sacrifice was obliged to divert his or her face and the sacrificial blood dripped into a pit so it could reach the God far below the ground. Every hundred years, festivals known as the Secular Games were held partially in his honor but also to pay respect to other deities, such as Jupiter and Juno. Pluto is usually depicted in art as a stern, dark, bearded man with tightly-closed lips, a crown on his head, bearing a sceptre and key in his hand...to indicate how carefully he guarded those who entered his domain and how vain were their hopes to escape. Since nothing was said to sway him, he was seldom worshipped. No temples were ever dedicated to Pluto and statues of this God are exceedingly rare. Over time, the perception of Pluto became softened and he was viewed by later cults as a more kind and more gentle God.

Each of the astrological planets has its own ancient symbol or glyph, created from different combinations of three basic elements that the early astrologers referred to as the Circle of Spirit, the Crescent of Soul and the Cross of Matter. The glyph of Pluto...Circle above Crescent and Cross...indicates spiritual receptivity to the superconscious (or "superworlds") placed above the physical world. It is said to represent the seed of spiritual oneness contained within the crescent vessel of receptivity over the cross of matter. However, a more common...although perhaps rather outdated...interpretation of this symbol suggests it is a merging of the letters "P" and "L," the initials of the man who was instrumental in Pluto's discovery, Percival Lowell.