Mars Opposite Pluto - Confronting Power Struggles and Transformation
- Apr 20
- 4 min read
Updated: May 19
Mars Opposite Pluto: Confronting Power Struggles and Transformation on April 26th
On April 26th, Mars in Cancer will oppose Pluto in Capricorn. This is like an emotional nuclear bomb that has been building pressure ever since Mars entered Cancer in October of 2024, retrograded back into Gemini, and is now direct again in Cancer, where it is in its fallen sign of debilitation.
Mars in Cancer, ruled by the Moon, creates passive-aggressive emotions. We become prone to defensiveness and are easily distracted. The focus is on past emotional wounds and wanting to protect our ego.
This placement is when our emotional sensitivities are at an all-time high, and we tend to take things personally and see things less objectively.
This intense opposition can manifest in various ways, from hidden tensions in relationships to internal struggles with fears and past wounds.
Mars is a necessary force of destruction, a malefic planet whose main objective is to destroy, whether through a healthy transformation or sudden chaos.
So, rather than reacting impulsively, this transit is a great time to practice observation and reflection.
Release control and transmute any volatile energy into personal growth and empowerment instead.
When a powerful transit like this occurs, it is felt in the collective energies, usually involving things entirely out of our control. Yet, society is designed to pull us into the unknown using scary words that incite feelings of fear and worry.
In reality, when we choose to use the energies of these transits to do the inner work, the world around us changes shape. Our perspective is like water; the moon is the mind. Like the tides, our emotions wax and wane, easily impacted by outside forces.
But suppose you have a solid spiritual foundation that you’ve acquired through reflection, meditation, or maybe you just have a quiet place to let your thoughts settle for a moment. In that case, you can take this explosive and volatile energy inward to bust up the roadblocks keeping you from taking the next step.
Externalizing this energy only drains you of your resources and mental peace.
To better understand this Mars-Pluto opposition, I’m researching the charts of two people with this energy in their natal charts.
John Belushi was a comedian, singer, and actor with a Mars in the 2nd house of Capricorn and Pluto in the 8th house of Cancer.
His exalted Mars, conjunct the Sun and Mercury in the 2nd, gave him endless ambition, skilled intellect, and a disciplined drive. He was headed towards a long life of success and fame until he was killed in a tragic accident. Mars ruled his 5th house of creativity and 12th house of escapism. Pluto was placed in his 8th house of Cancer, ruled by the Moon. Moon was placed in his 12th house of endings and accidents. This confluence of factors created a dangerous dynamic force that ultimately led to his death. He used drugs like many of his peers throughout his time at SNL, but he started to form an addiction. On March 5th, 1982, he died of an overdose, taking a combination of drugs he’d never had before. The same transformative power that gave him charisma and focus in his career brought loss and endings.
At the time of his death, he was in the final days of his Sun-Venus period. Sun was in his second house with Mars and Mercury, his 7th house ruler, while Venus sat in his 1st house of the physical body. The 2nd and 7th houses are known as marka houses, meaning killer. Mercy was with his Mars, but Saturn, his 2nd house ruler, was in the Sun-ruled sign of Leo, being activated during this period. The transits on the day of his death played a significant factor; The Moon was transiting over his natal Pluto, while there was a Mars-Saturn conjunction over his natal Neptune, the planet that represents drugs, and Venus, the planet of his antar-dasha period, was transiting over his 2nd house.
Cindy Crawford (Mars in Aquarius, 9th House – Pluto in Leo, 3rd House)
The supermodel and successful businesswoman has a Mars-Pluto opposition between her 9th and 3rd houses. This created a dynamic tension between her pursuit of higher knowledge, expansion, and philosophical beliefs (Mars in Aquarius, 9th) and the deep power embedded in communication and self-expression (Pluto in Leo, 3rd). She dropped out of university to pursue a full-time modeling career. Mars is her 6th and 11th house ruler in the 9th and conjunct four other planets, including her first and 4th house ruler, Mercury, 3rd house ruler Sun, 2nd house ruler Moon, and 8/9th house ruler Saturn in the sign of Aquarius. A Pluto and Uranus conjunction sits opposite in her 3rd house of Leo. All of this power in her axis of desire and luck helped her create a life of success. Aquarius represents the natural 11th house, and Pluto in Leo gave her an explosive presence. Venus, the planet of beauty and ruler of the 5th and 12th houses, is a vipreet yoga that gives immense power to her ability to transform with her beauty. Her 11th house ruler also rules Capricorn, the original 10th house, and it occupies the 8th. Her first role in a film in 1987 was titled The Secret to My Success!
Her Mars—Pluto oppositions played a big part in how she asserted her ideas and benefited from the good fortune that the 9th house brings. Her Mars in Aquarius is in close conjunction with its ruler, Saturn, which empowered her planet of courage and focus. Pluto, paired with Uranus, gave her the breakthroughs she needed to succeed as someone with intelligence and character.
Pluto opposite Mars helped her transform how models engage with business and branding today.
