The Myth & Poems of Pluto
Kate Belew
Let’s travel to the underworld. There, past the mythic ferryman Charon, who shepherds souls across the inky river Styx, and the three-headed dog Cerberus, you’ll find the ruler of the resting place of the dead, Pluto. A chthonic figure, Pluto is known for instilling dread and for reigning with his empowered and powerful presence, so it is no surprise that he who commands the underworld is commanding himself. You might recognize Pluto riding a chariot or carrying a staff donned in the dress of a warrior. Because of the myths that preceded Pluto, he is also associated with the riches of the earth, precious metals, ore, and all that lives under the surface, secrets and mysteries that one day might be unearthed if we listen closely.
As a planetary object, Pluto, formerly the ninth and final planet in the solar system (now considered a dwarf planet), was discovered in 1930 by an American astronomer. The name “Pluto” was suggested by Venetia Burney, an eleven-year-old who was a fan of mythology. You can read an interview on NASA with her here. And, of course, Pluto’s largest accompanying moon is named Charon, after the ferryman. Its other four are named Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx.
Wherever the planets, moons, and stars travel, their accompanying myths are not far behind, linked in names, associations, stories, and meaning, orbiting each other. Astrologer and author Liz Greene, in an interview, says about Pluto, "I don't think you can say, ‘Here's this planet, here's this archetype, they match,’ because that's trying to squash two different symbolic systems together. They will never fit properly. It is probably better to see planetary symbols as having family relations with a whole range of images, all of which combine in different ways. One of the Plutonian archetypes is certainly Lucifer. One of them is the Fates. One is Goethe's Mephistopheles, and another is Kali. There is a whole range of mythic images that can help us to get some sense of the Pluto principle. It is almost impossible to articulate it, except in poetic metaphors.”
To this list of stories that cite death, destruction, change, and ceremony, I would add the Goddess Innana, the figure of the oldest author’s poems on this planet, Enheduanna, as she transverses the Underworld. At each gate to the Underworld, Inanna offers her clothing and adornments, laying herself bare at the altar of her own initiation.
There is also the Greek Goddess Persephone, the maiden of Spring and the Queen of the Underworld (also partner to Pluto and daughter of Earth Goddess Demeter). Persephone moves between worlds, shifting the seasons, allowing herself to revel in her own duality and power, both tied to the earth and her mother and empowered on the throne in the realm of the dead. She is the wife and partner of Pluto, so the fact that she shares in the planetary myth and poetic metaphors of this planet furthers the ripples of this story.
Pluto is creation and destruction, a portal and a threshold to step over and through, an archetype and a lesson. Pluto happens on a personal and also collective level; the story is woven together.
To Pluto in Aquarius, may we travel the Underworld toward initiation, creation, and our depths with rich minerals, secrets, and stories. To Pluto in Capricorn, thank you for your lessons and gifts.
Below is a seven-line prompt. These prompts help guide you through the creation of a poem. You can fill in the blanks with your own lines or draw inspiration from the framework laid out for you. This is a spell and a ritual to help you connect with the Plutonian principle as we move through the final days of Pluto in Capricorn. After you write this poem, you might want to add it to your altar, safely burn it, read it aloud and bury it, or work with your Word Witchery in another supportive and ritual way.
This prompt is created to connect you with the Underworld and Pluto.
The Title: “The Underworld _______”
Line 1: “Ear to ________”
Line 2: “Change _______”
Line 3: “Death ________”
Line 4: "The gate _______"
Line 5: "Asking ______"
Line 6: “Darkness ______”
Line 7: “Here _________”
I wanted to share mine this week…
The Underworld, a Threshold
Ear to the earth, change is the only constant.
Death comes like a feathered friend, death
a form of alchemy. The gate opens,
asking, what's beyond the hinges.
Darkness holds secrets, stories, mysteries
to be unearthed, here, an initiation.
