The Pluto in Libra Generation (1971-1984)

The Pluto Libra generation is on a mission to save the world through beauty, as Dostoyevsky wrote.

They do the commitment thing in powerfully re-imagined ways. Their obsessions about others' reactions can lead to impulsive people-pleasing. 

Some are being swept up into the cult of the law of attraction, or in other circles, the prosperity gospel. Libra, after all, is the sign of the clear mind, one that has the power to shape reality. 

The Ancient Greeks celebrated the purity of consciousness and thought as the origins of all that's created. ​Pluto Libras have an instinct for this, and through the power of will, really can re-imagine their world, on their terms. 

The dark side would be resisting the loss of control that Pluto demands so that the deeper alchemy can happen. Pluto Libras seek balance, but could fall into compulsive habits of avoiding anything that feels emotionally dirty or raw. 

Conscious Coupling and Uncoupling 

Some Pluto Libras were latch-key kids of divorce, and seeing that, are doubling down on the power of relationships, and re-defining what that means.

Libra Gwyneth Paltrow (1972) snaps to mind with her conscious uncoupling, which is a re-naming of the end of marriage. it scythes off the baggage associated with the word divorce and reclaims it with the language of the Libra ideal (pure consciousness).

Interestingly, Gwyneth made the statement at the time that, "The idea of being married to one person for life is too much pressure for anyone." And yet, being married ten years, I know that it's withstanding the crucible of pressure that helps you grow, and Pluto would agree. 

Many Pluto Libras have parents of the sixties and seventies, a time when divorce spiked. Notably, these parents have Neptune in Libra (1943 to 1955) and dealt with merging and un-merging. With them, there could be a swamping of the Self, and also disillusionment that made them lose faith. 

The shock of divorce and the upheavals of the seventies especially are mirrored in astrological trends. In Understanding the Birth Chart, Kevin Burk writes on Pluto Libra, "This generation came into a world of chaos in terms of relationships." 

Burk continues, "Uranus in Libra (1968 to 1975) sparked a rash of divorces and a desire for personal freedom. The Neptune in Libra generation created the ideas of codependence and the need for good personal boundaries. Pluto in Libra obliterated the last remnants of the old and outdated relationship models."

Many Pluto Libras are doing it all differently. Some have children together, then get married. Others are living apart, or actively seek parenthood, but not marriage.

Pluto has to do with soulful crises that take time to resolve. It unfolds over years, like a question that keeps coming up, and you have to live to find out the answers. For Pluto Libras, the relating sphere is intensely charged, and where a lot of the most profound growth happens. 

LOA and Desire Maps 

This generation puts a big emphasis on presentation. Libra, after all, is ruled by Venus, and it's all to do with style, grace, artfulness, etc. 

And there's a lot of power in the image, or the lifestyle itself, but it can appear airy, or unrooted in reality or even cut off from who they really are. It's an age of the avatar, where you can present your best self, but it can seem Stepford Wife-like, and many websites, for example, have a similar look.

This generation has been heavily influenced by the age of self-help gurus and the so-called New Age. One trap can be to avoid all that's dark and only focus on the light, to keep yourself clean energetically. This is one way that Libra's tendency to avoid confrontation finds a belief system in some teaching of the New Age. 

A lot of what we think is organic culture has been intentionally seeded, to divert attention away from roots of power. The idea of focusing only on the positive—or even changing yourself before you can change the world—is another version of the mantra, "tune in, turn on, drop out." 

Pluto Libras could fall into these extremes, in their quest for the high notes, and that's all part of learning, most likely. There is a lot of power in setting high ideals and goals, but make sure you keep your feet on the ground, too! For this generation, there could be Pluto-style devastating effects of willfully imposing your mindscape onto reality, especially if there's a growing chasm there.