The transit of Pluto through Capricorn is such a long one, that it's hard to fathom what life will be like in 2023, when it ends. Capricorn is a cardinal earth sign, making it the master of the physical realm, the lasting structure-builder of the Zodiac. It's a sign of breadth and depth, whose efforts tend to be big in scale. Capricorn is a sign that digs in, to be an active part of the backbone of society.

Enter Pluto (which moved into Capricorn in November 2008), whose planetary purpose is to destroy that which no longer fits with the evolutionary plan. Pluto is set to transform the very structure of society, and how we live on our planet.

Will we see clean energy, a re-seeded and de-toxified Earth? Will the economic system be reformed, so that all of the planet shares in its abundance? And will the sickness and corruption of our government institutions be transmuted into a higher ideal? It all depends on what we do with Pluto's profound provocations to change our ways.

Pluto's trials serve to shatter structures that have become prisons to growth, even though we cling to the familiar as it crumbles. Just when we think we've hit a bottom, Pluto sends us hurling down further into what seems like a bottom-less pit. Pluto transits take out the light at the end of the tunnel. And that's when the miracle happens, and you realize you're stronger than you thought you were. And when true faith takes root in your character.

Right now, Pluto's drama is playing out in the realm of finances, government and the environment. We're seeing desperate, compulsive and obsessive behavior come into the light, as more suffer from a system that's been revealed as unsound. Pluto's probing uncovers distorted thinking, and power being wielded destructively. The truth comes out, and in the financial world, we see a value-system that is poisoned by greed. It's based on a sick psychological foundation, one not in harmony with the cycles of life. Pluto has a way of using extremes to bring a point home. With the bailout, we see the truth made clear -- we have a hopelessly corrupt government, in cahoots with the banking interests.

As 'trust' in the market is lost, the whole system spirals out of control. Banks don't lend the taxpayer money they were extended, and citizens are re-thinking their budgetary priorities. They're not shopping 'til they drop anymore. The values are changing, and investors are desperately looking to funnel their assets into whatever is perceived to have timeless value, like gold.

And this is a challenge to every household, as we try to adjust to the changes in the economy. There's taboo where you find Pluto, and Jessica Murray has written about America's loaded relationship with money. The issue of debt is fraught with dark emotions like shame, guilt and a sense of not being 'in control' of life. What's happening, with new rules and regulations skewed toward corporations, mirrors what happened in pre-Colonial America, the last time Pluto was in Capricorn. Pluto's dark powers of control, through money, is a theme that each of us will wrestle with, in some form or another. The specter of debtor's prisons has risen in the news here and there, but it's not likely to go that far. There's a potential for profound healing of our relationship with money, and a release from the prison of burdening debt.

Since Capricorn deals with power hierarchies, it's not just the average citizen that will feel the burn. We're apt to see the mighty fall during this transit. The monied elite are in Pluto's hot seat, with an investigative eye on what's hopelessly unsustainable. For example, the formerly hidden truths about the Federal Reserve, are coming to light. Since they charge interest on the money they print for the U.S. government, each dollar issued by this private bank adds to the national debt. Simple truths like this are being uncloaked in the mainstream, and that could ultimately lead to reform of the whole system. It's Pluto's time to follow the money with the promise that by exposing the hidden hands, any inherently destructive power structures can be dismantled.

Since Capricorn is a sign of enmeshed authority, we could be shocked by the fall or exposure of rotten-to-the-core leaders. Capricorn is the sign of the mentor and the archetypal patriarch...the Grand Poohbah. We will see the end of blind faith in paternal leaders to shape our world, especially ones with a do as I say, not as I do attitude. The true imbalances of a patriarchal system will be outed, and what has been hidden, exposed.

The scourge of unregulated corporate power goes to the extreme, and Pluto's lessons on this are designed to be undeniable. This transit enables us to see the dark truths about corporate greed, and the destructive force that puts profit before people (and in fact, all life on Earth). The part we each play to create a sick or healthy society, by how we spend our money, is brought home in a big way.

Though Pluto can take us to a hopeless place, there's always a rebirth on the other side. It's a planet that transforms whatever life energy it touches. And it does that by shattering the outer structure, so that the core gems can be ferreted out. That nucleus of what's real and true, becomes the foundation for the new.

This is just the beginning of a transit that many believe will be a rebirth for the planet. Pluto strips away what's false or superficial, so that the authentic can come to life. If there's greenwashing going on, we'll find out. We can speculate on what will happen, but Pluto's nature is to push us past the comfort zone, and into the primal untapped places within. The Earth is the ultimate change-agent in this scenario, and may surprise us all with her lessons. The end result will be a return to earth wisdom, where we all become back to the landers. And each of us has a role to play in re-creating society, and coming back into a give & take harmony with the Earth as the living entity that sustains us.