Mercury Squares Pluto — A Value Exchange or Deal with the Devil

Hey everyone. This is Adam Elenbaas from Nightlight Astrology [https://nightlightastrology.com/].

Today we're going to take a look at the applying square between Mercury in Taurus and Pluto in the sign of Aquarius. There is a really interesting dynamic happening beneath this square, and that is the mutual reception that's in the sky right now between Venus in Gemini (that's Mercury's sign) and Mercury in Taurus (that's Venus's sign). Venus and Mercury in each other's signs is called mutual reception, and that reception is subtly at play in this Mercury Pluto square. So we're going to include that layer of detail in our analysis today.

I'm going to give you a list of five things to watch for. We're also going to unpack the essential dignity dynamic beneath the surface a little bit more so you can understand it. If you're a student of astrology, you can hopefully learn from a little lesson in dignities. Then we'll get into it. I think this aspect has some subtly powerful resources available for us, and also some big warnings.

Before we do that, remember to like and subscribe. Share your comments and your reflections. You help us grow and do well as a company and as a channel. When you take that second to subscribe, give us a thumbs up, drop a comment. Transcripts of any of these daily talks can be found on the website that is nightlightastrology.com.

Just a couple of quick promotions. Today, head over to the website. Every day I promote our daily meditation group. It's really just daily quiet time. There's no doctrines or dogmas around it. It's not even a prescribed practice or technique. It's just sitting quietly. Go to the events page, click on community quiet. Our schedule is there, and the link to join is there. It's free.

We do it every single day, and on Sundays we have a group sharing process that we open up after our sitting. So that's called Silent Sundays. It's a great way to share in community and marry spiritual practice to astrology. So I hope you guys will check that out. Just a little service back to the community for the purpose of marrying spirituality to astrology, really, okay?

The next thing I want to remind you of: our first year course, our second year course, our horary course, all start again in June. Ancient Astrology for the Modern Mystic is our first year course in Hellenistic astrology. It is a comprehensive program that will give you the spiritual, philosophical, and technical roots of Hellenistic astrology.

Everything we do has a modern, archetypal, and psychological twist. So we are counseling centered, person centered, and have a strong emphasis on psychological astrology as well. But our first year program is the best way to build for yourself a lifelong practice or even a professional practice, especially if you keep going through all of our programs.

We have three years of professional training programs, plus a horary course, plus an annual retreat, master classes, and a guild program for ongoing practice and development. We have a lot of resources for astrological education. At the end of today's content, I'm going to tell you more about the year one program.

There's an informational video tagged onto the end of every daily piece of content between now and enrollment at the end of June, so you can learn more about it if you want to. We do have need based tuition that allows you to pick your tuition within a sliding scale if you're struggling financially. Check that out. Also, the early bird sale is in effect. You can use that up until a couple of weeks out before the program starts.

Now, let's put up Nechepso, my new software program. I am an affiliate. So if you love this program as much as I do, it is absolutely fantastic, and it's only getting better as the team keeps building and developing it. The affiliate code to get a good 20% off discount on your annual or monthly subscription is in the comment section, pinned to the top or in the description of this video. But what would I already see on the chip?

So today, here we are, Tuesday, May 5, and we're looking at this square applying between Mercury and Pluto. Here you can see Mercury at just about five degrees Tuesday morning, May 5, and about to square Pluto at five degrees. Now, this transit has been building for a couple of days. So if we go back to Monday, we see it building as soon as Mercury enters Taurus. It really is sort of beginning that Sunday over last weekend. Let's just call it now.

If we stretch this forward to tomorrow, we're going to see that Mercury is already about a degree and a half away. However, one interesting detail is that Pluto is stationing to turn retrograde after this encounter. This encounter is the most intimate, immediate encounter that Pluto is having with another planet as it stations to turn retrograde. What that means is that you could look at what this Mercury square Pluto moment is doing in terms of the retrogradation happening in your whole sign house of Aquarius.

So if it is your career house, you may notice that this encounter between Mercury and Pluto, if Pluto in Aquarius is in your tenth, may correspond to a turn of direction or the beginning of some kind of shift of perspective or change of circumstance in something unfolding along the lines of Pluto in your career house. It's that simple. Take a look at the whole sign house of Pluto and check it out.

Now tomorrow, just in case you're wondering, we are going to do Pluto retrograde horoscopes. So if you're like, I can't do that on my own, don't worry. We're going to have you covered tomorrow. We'll do that for you. But if you wanted to get out ahead of that tomorrow and start thinking about it on your own, which I think is always important for us to do, you want to think about this Mercury square to Pluto as signaling a shift for Pluto in its retrograde, in whatever whole sign house it's occupying in your birth chart right now.

Now, the other thing that is really fascinating about this is that Mercury is in Venus's sign of Taurus, and we have Venus in Mercury's sign of Gemini. Mercury and Venus are harmonizing in this way. They're exchanging signs, and you can think about that symbolically as something that is literally being exchanged. Because they're in position to exchange nicely for one another, this square to Pluto in all of its traditional meanings, in other words, all the things we would normally say about Mercury square Pluto, can now bring into it this subtle, somewhat undercover exchange of value.

Exchange of goods, services, people, energy, comments. And I think this is one of the more benefic mutual receptions that we have. Venus and Mercury tend to exchange things like ideas, good services, people, collaborations. Mercury is often a god of exchange, marketplaces, ideas, mental energy. Venus, a goddess of good fortune. So the exchange between them is often harmonious and helpful and useful and intelligent.

So whatever they're providing can be a part of the conversation of the Mercury Pluto square, which means there might be some very powerful forms of value exchange taking place right now. Or we could also see, I titled this talk kind of jokingly, you know, deal with the devil. Fuck you, algorithm. Oh my gosh. All right. Anyway. So the Mercury square to Pluto is really like the potential for the normal significations of Mercury square Pluto to be carrying a different kind of exchange value.

I'll say more about it. But it's really actually quite powerful that these planets are receiving one another right now, while the square to Pluto is taking place, and while Pluto is turning retrograde. Because whatever is being proposed as an exchange of energy, ideas, money, collaborative purpose, whatever it is, it looks beneficial. But the square to Pluto also means, with a Pluto retrograde, that it could cause some kind of revision or major turning point. So it's not subtle. It's actually a really big square.

All right. Now that I've kind of explained that to you, these are the details that we can miss. I mean, I have a list of ten things I can come up with off the top of my head any old day, or five things that will correspond with any planetary pairing pretty reliably. But when one of the planets has mutual reception with Venus, and when the square between the two planets corresponds with one of the planets turning retrograde, those are details you can't overlook. They have to be included in the way you delineate.

The more advanced we get as astrologers, the more we're able to include those things. I'm of the mindset, and I teach from this mindset, that until you get familiar with how those things work, it's probably safer to not try to overextend yourself and interpret those things when you're not yet familiar with how they work. But it is good to, in other words, stay in what you know, stay comfortable.

You know, it's like when you're playing with the tarot cards. You may know a little about a lot of the cards, but trying to overextend and say something about all the depth and nuances of a particular card when you don't know it that well will actually make for a worse reading than if you stay with what you do know, even if it's sort of meager, like I know a few things about the three of cups or whatever. Anyway, I think that's true in astrology too.

So point being that on this channel, I will always try to include these kinds of details, because I think they're important. But I also want to encourage people who are learning and feel overwhelmed by that level of detail that you don't need to include that to do good astrology. Like I said, you'll have Mercury square Pluto. There's easily ten things you could come up with that will probably reliably show up right now.

Your ability to add in Pluto's retrograde or the mutual reception between Mercury and Venus is just added detail that will come whenever it's time to come anyway. That's just a note from the study side of things. Let's get into it now with five things to watch for.

So the first one on my list is that Mercury is a god of commerce and exchange and a god of interchange, interchangeability. So when Mercury meets Pluto, a god that in the word means riches and Hades, of course, if you correspond Pluto with Hades in Greek myth, he has rulership over the underworld, and the underworld is a fertile, rich, dark place like deep, rich soil. So Mercury Pluto dynamics can be very fertile. Fertile ideas, fertile exchanges, fertile plans or proposals.

If you're in business, especially with Mercury in Taurus, an earthy sign that likes stability and a certain degree of wealth and accruement of material value, Mercury in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius will often show up as business ideas or plans or proposals or contracts that have the potential to be very lucrative. Now we're going to amplify all of that, because Mercury and Venus are also trading signs, and hence there's a Mercury Venus dynamic that could be about proposals that kind of feed.

How does my wife put it? Instead of kill two birds with one stone, she says feed two birds with one hand. I always thought that was pretty sweet anyway. But it's like that, where Mercury and Venus could bring multiple different things together that otherwise may not have an ability to be together. So the ability to weave multiple assets or levels of benefit together right now in some kind of exchange that is productive and powerful and fertile and rich is there.

That is maybe the most exciting, benefic, quote unquote, part of this. However, it will require some kind of transformation of the status quo. It will require some kind of backtracking, or it will require some kind of revision. That is the case because Pluto is going to turn retrograde as this value exchange is happening. So the idea of a shift of direction or a change of plans that is mutually beneficial could take place around this.

But that could mean that there is a process of transformation that has to occur to accommodate this exchange, and that process with Pluto is not always easy, but may be very fertile in some way, a very empowered idea, a good one, but one that requires that transformative, longer term process that the Pluto retrograde implies. So keep all of that in mind.

Number two would be power moves and compromises of integrity. This is that deal with the devil. At least I have fun with this stuff, you know. Anyway, power moves and compromises of integrity would mean, how can I get what I want? What is expedient or what is most beneficial for me? Opportunistic and compromising of integrity. In other words, there may be unconscious levels of motivation behind certain proposals that are coming up right now.

The desire to have something, to get something done, could basically perpetuate a process of deconstruction and decay and degeneration. Pluto is not just a god of transformation and riches. Pluto is a god of death and degeneration, and often a purifying process that comes, for example, when a person is making one bad choice after another, compromising their integrity. You could say they're in a Plutonian process insofar as they're going to be brought down into a kind of psychic health space.

By hell, I don't mean the Christian damnation sense of hell. I mean a very tangible, living world sense of hell, like you're going to create a reality that will bring you down, and it will bring you down into the muck of the unconscious motivations behind what you were trying to get done, until you're transformed and purified by that process, which will happen. It's kind of a guarantee. This is why sometimes planets like Pluto and Saturn are both tied to words like necessity and fate. Liz Greene talks about this a lot in her work.

So the point is that right now, the desire for something could lead to a deal, a proposal, a negotiation whose motivations aren't quite right, and the process will lead to destruction. That can't be missed, because Pluto is turning retrograde. So the retrogradation will bring forth a deep learning process if it needs to take place. And this could be the moment where that kind of process is set into motion by a compromise that shouldn't be made.

All right. Well, no pressure. Don't fuck up. Just kidding. Oh, and I'm sorry. I know this is a family show, so if there are kids listening, don't use that language.

Empowered speech, ideas, and plans would be next on my list. Look, here's the thing. One of the most beneficial parts of Mercury and Pluto is the way that words or thoughts or ideas or articulations just come up and out like a volcanic eruption of psychic force. So sometimes when you just need to say something, Mercury Pluto is the moment where you say it. You get that news or information dump. It's very powerful. It's very transformative. It feels like something that had to come up and out.

I will say, not surprisingly, under many Pluto dynamics in my household, there has literally been vomiting. Usually the dogs, sometimes the children, you know, not so much now that they're older, but I feel like at a certain point in my life when my kids were really little, like poop explosions, puppy problems, and just dealing with kind of gross stuff often happens around Pluto transits. It always reminds me that life is messy, you know? What are you going to do?

Anyhow, the exchange that Mercury and Venus have beneath the surface could also truly mean that the speech that comes out is powerful and cathartic but harmonious. That's beautiful, because Mercury and Venus exchanging signs can mean pleasant speech, harmonious speech, diplomatic tact. So if you're able to say something a little heavy, a little powerful, that shakes things, that has the power to transform, those words, that information, that shared insight could create positive change because it has the ability to be effective, pleasant, diplomatic, and tactful. That's exciting.

On the other hand, sometimes things are said that are inherently selfish or deceptive and aimed at getting something. You could easily cloak or deceive intentions behind some kind of proposal, like hiding what you're really trying to get out of something. Don't do that. Be very careful of shady, hidden things that are cloaked in something that looks nice.

Number four would be appearance of things hidden. Speaking of that, Mercury square Pluto reliably brings up things that are hidden. Let me give you an example. I think it was a couple of years ago, there was a Mercury Pluto dynamic when Pluto was still in Capricorn, and we literally found in our yard a hidden water line from a previous sprinkler system that we then had to deal with. It came up out of the earth to show itself.

I think it was Mercury in Cancer opposite Pluto in Capricorn. Doesn't that sound right? And I thought, wow, that is so literal. You know, often it's psychological. Often what comes up is an insight or something that you didn't see, or something you tried to hide, or something you're trying to hide from yourself that you have to see. Secrets and things that are hidden, and the revelation of things hidden, is a powerful part of this. Sometimes it's actually physical.

It's actually something you didn't know was clogging a pipe or something like that. Fascinating. Frequently, there will be the manifestation of things that need your attention. Something will manifest, and it will say, look at me. Deal with me. Talk about me. Problem solve me. It'll just appear out of nowhere. So watch for things appearing that may be hidden. Watch for dreams and synchronicities.

Now Mercury square Pluto can be a little paranoid, and so we have to realize that every moment is synchronicity. Every moment is the showing of signs, because we live as a part of a great cosmic animal that is alive, and by nature of being alive, it is always giving signs. It's always communicative, because to be alive is to be expressive. To be expressive of life is the appearance of things that are hidden constantly. I mean, to be alive is a constant process of disclosure.

To what do we say? Like when something expresses itself, the expression is of something inside, something alive. When my dog moves, I go, there's movement, and it's coming from a being, right? So anytime we see phenomenon, that phenomenon is expressive of something that's relatively hidden within it or alongside of it somehow. So this is very important, because Mercury and Pluto can bring up paranoia, and paranoia, in a very basic way, tends to come from thinking that some things are ultimately far more important than others.

We're talking about some pretty deep stuff right now, but the truth is that in the greatness of eternity, nothing is more important than anything else. That's just not easy for the mind to comprehend. But you will find that Mercury Pluto dynamics come up when there's a reminder to stay in the mystery and to not over assign meaning or intellectual value to things that, if you do, will tend to eat away at you. So just be a little bit mindful of what you allow your mind to get occupied or obsessed with.

Number five, a change of mind, a change of appearance, a change of perception. Now Mercury Pluto can literally just change your mind. I'm thinking of something differently. I reserve the right to change my mind. I reserve the right to change how I'm thinking and how my thinking leads to how something appears in my life, my perception, how I perceive things, my ideas, maybe even on some level, my beliefs.

So cognitive, mental, emotional, psychological changes are pretty common for Mercury when it meets Pluto, because Mercury was one of the classical planets associated with psychology and mind and behavior. So to go through a change of behavior, a change of attitude, a change of mentality, can be very positive, very healing, very transformative. However, Mercury square Pluto can also bring up intensity of mind and behavior, the shadows of mind and behavior. If we're not looking at them, those shadows can become destructive in our environments or for our relationships. So it's something to stay aware of.

All right, my friends, that is it for today. Tomorrow we're going to do Pluto retrograde horoscopes. I'm excited for that. I hope you're having a good day today, and we will see you again tomorrow. Stick around next as I'm going to tell you about the year one program. Come study with us. We have an absolutely phenomenal program. I can't wait to see some of you in classes in June. Take it easy. Bye.