Let's face it. There is a certain inertia, intensity, resourcefulness, stubbornness, loyalty and latency to all the fixed signs, Leo is no exception. So what moves or has moved the famous/infamous Pluto in Leo generation (1939-1958), often called the Baby Boomers? Is it love, lust, flowers, authority, war, pride, psychedelics, the Beatles, all of the above and more? Who are these childish queens and kings, who'd rather make love than war but know equally as much about both? This demanding, belligerent, loud, obnoxious fired-up group has injected our culture with its infectious vitality and uncontrollable, spirited passions. Its members have boldly brushed all manner of creative energies across society and made a mess of their love lives (at least once). Suckers for a love scene they certainly are, and truculent as well as endlessly creative. The oldest of the Pluto in Leo group are touching 60 and the youngest are turning 40. Later in this article, we'll be discussing the particular transits affecting this bold group in the years ahead.

What is it in each generation that is the source of its potential, struggle and also the source of its gifts, its essential heritage, the evolutionary cycle of socially spiraling DNA, the transmutation of the race? The outer three planets, Pluto, Neptune and Uranus are generational, yes. But specifically, I think, Pluto governs a generation's main thrust. Pluto can be understood as the source, the matrix, the wellspring from which each generation draws its contribution to evolution and culture and expresses it through the collective via other planets and aspects. Pluto stays in a particular sign the longest and therefore creates a background, a backdrop, a gestalt, a field within which other planetary energies engage and contribute. Pluto permanently entered Leo, June 14, 1939 (after two brief forays in 1937 and 1938) and stayed until 1958 (when it entered Virgo). Pluto in Leo gave us, among other things, World War II (life and death on a dramatic scale, complete with megalomania and Hitler's rise and fall with his birth Saturn in Leo), the proliferation of TV (pictures into other worlds through a box--a fine fixed image, eh), the birth of nuclear Bombs (how can anyone forget the horror of the mushroom-cloud and the destruction of Nagasaki/Hiroshima), the erection of the Berlin Wall, the seeds of the Vietnam conflict being sown, China going communist under Mao-Tse-Tung and Israel becoming a state. This time span marked the birth of nationalism under very strong leaders including: Roosevelt, Churchill, Nehru, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Nasser, deGaulle, Ben Gurion, Gandhi, Stalin and others. This group promoted the cult of personality, strongly exemplified by leaders identifying in the extreme with their nation or country. Expressed literally, Pluto in Leo can also be defined as strong, powerful leader. Currently, President Clinton, the very first boomer president, exhibits some of the best and worst of the Leo traits, power, lover or love of power.

C'mon, wake up! If not now, then when? The Pluto in Leo generation is urged to release its latent potential. To be all they could be, all that they imagined they would be. It's not too late. Many of them are late bloomers, as their beginnings were marked with the signature of Saturn in conjunction with (or at least in the same sign as) Pluto in Leo. Saturn exactly conjoined with Pluto in the summer of 1947. This generation's ideals are high and their pride is strong, some of their lives were tough but after all is said and done, they are survivors. Saturn/Pluto represents a serious internal, deeply placed sense of destiny as well as continual struggle with circumstances, some of them inevitable and out of their control. It's also power/potential and leadership in training. The only other outer planet, that made a conjunction with Pluto in Leo was Jupiter in Leo in October 1955. A conjunction of two planets is a new beginning and a sharing and mingling of their essential nature. I believe that since both Saturn and Jupiter met Pluto in Leo by conjunction, it aptly expresses the extremes of this generation--of either too much or too little. There is both great success and great disappointment within this generation. And because Leo is also the symbol of the child, many had very difficult and violated childhoods.

In these next seven years in particular, this group is receiving a massive cosmic stimulation. The trend began when Uranus entered Aquarius (1995-96), Jupiter in Aquarius followed, staying for one year (1997-98) and then Neptune in Aquarius (January 1998). Aquarius is typically the sign of discovery, innovation, authenticity, individuation, shock, originality and clarity. All three of these transiting positions oppose (180) the boomers' birth Pluto in Leo, forcing greater awareness. Coinciding, is the strong Pluto in Sagittarius energy (start in 1995) making trine (120) angles to the Boomer's Pluto in Leo. Fire excites fire and Pluto in Leo is hitting its stride or at least feeling more compelled, if not comfortable. There is an arousal here, in a short span of time, as there hasn't been for a long time. Following closely on the heels of these outer planets is Saturn in Taurus for two and a half years (3/99-4/01), a strong sub-cycle in the larger cycle of Neptune in Aquarius and Uranus in Aquarius. Saturn in Taurus can serve to crystallize and ground the vast array of ideas and electric, mental stimulation of the air-sign placements in Aquarius and fiery Sagittarius. The meatiest part of this triple whammy will be 1999-2001. Of course, you don't have to just have Pluto in Leo to be affected by this, any old placements in Leo, Aquarius, Taurus or Scorpio will jolt your world and have you spinning in new directions, particularly in the next two years. Are you ready for fireworks??

Those baby boomers who are staying on the earth plane for this light show, there's a massive amount of work to be done, energy to be transmitted and legacies to be left behind. Transit cycles reach another major culmination point for the Boomers when in the summer of 2005, Saturn makes another return to Leo (last time 1976-78) with Neptune still in Aquarius. A full accounting of how the Pluto in Leos used their energies will be necessary. Just what gifts do the Pluto in Leo, the famous Baby Boomers, have to leave the world, what is their inheritance for future generations?

Pluto is the problem before it is the solution!

Pluto is death-oriented in that it asks for a breaking down, the analysis of a system, an idea, a person, so that intrinsic elements can be examined, comprehended, then re-assembled into a healthier, life-enhancing combination. Any position in Pluto is sometimes life sustaining, sometimes destructive or blocking.

Pluto in Leo is the free expression of personality, the vitality of creative energy, the willingness to participate in life completely. It is courage, magnanimity, loyalty, ability to lead and the gift of an open, demonstrative, warming and healing love. It's weaknesses are pride, ego and the overwhelming need to be loved and recognized, sometimes at great cost to self and others. It is a willful, proud and stubborn sign. It's willfulness can become controlling and filled with anger at not getting what it wants. Then life becomes twisted and lives become destructive. The soul of this generation is in resolving paradox and seeking the wisdom, that ultimately there is only one control, self-control. What counts is what can develop within ourselves and then the selfless generosity that allows us to share with others, aid them in their own process, to live the life they dream they can. Pluto tends to be at least initially extreme in its expression and since Leo is a fixed sign, this group's energy has had strong positive and negative impact.

The world is changing and the generation behind Leo is asserting itself more and more strongly within the culture. The earliest Pluto in Virgo natives have just reached 40. Do the Boomers feel the heat of their unfulfilled potential? And another thing, the Pluto in Leo generation is getting older and must fall prey to all the attendant thinking that goes along with aging. This generation will not go kindly into that good night. This is a generation that aims to remain young and vigorous as long as they possibly can. They're making aging history. Leo is vitality, energy and don't forget pride. These boomers will be participating in aerobics classes in their seventies. Longevity, life-extension and research into rejuvenation is yet another mission for this generation. We have yet to experience the full impact of the collective talent of this large group of fierce individuals.

-- originally published in Welcome to Planet Earth mag.
Copyright 6/98, Dorothy Oja -- all rights reserved.
No portion may be copied or used without the author's permission.