The principle of Saturn represents death by acts of negation and finalization in which outworn behaviors, attitudes, and lifestyles are frustrated out of one's life by the reality principle. With Saturn, something ends irrevocably and cycles are culminated and completed. Pluto energies are a death of different sort. As Saturn represents an external authority or internal disposition which hardens, solidifies, and consolidates against life—a boundarying between self and other—Pluto is the powerful and elemental life force which purges, intensifies, and metamorphosizes a current form into something else.

The enormity of power behind this type of energy can feel like a threat or death to the structure in place, particularly during the beginning stages of a Pluto transit. A fully developed fetus being expunged from the safe and secure womb, a moth enveloped by a chrysalis, and a snake molting its skin are all Pluto phenomena. Presumably these original forms have no idea what sort of initiation is about to take place as mysterious changes happen in the environment surrounding them. Pluto is antagonistic to fixation. If we want to remain fixed in a state of arrested development, Pluto, like a supra-personal deluge, will carry us out of our fixed points kicking and screaming. Most importantly, Pluto creates soul. As James Hillman writes, "soul refers to the deepening of events into experiences; second, the significance soul makes possible, whether in love or in religious concern, derives from its special relation with death."(1)(emphasis his)

Survival issues, powerlessness, anger, resentment, and betrayal can all come to the forefront of consciousness as a fragile ego can't really do anything effective against a very powerful Pluto transit, particularly if something is outworn and ineffective and needs to be annihilated and eliminated. Thus, Pluto is evolutionary, radically so. When Pluto transits an important part of the natal chart, it can feel like a lifetime of experience is compacted into a period of two to three years. The holy fire of purification symbolized by a Pluto transit is actually assisting in removing blocks toward self-realization. Another paradox of Pluto is that this facilitation of one's evolution is seen as threatening, terrifying, and painful. Only in hindsight are we welcoming of the rejuvenating changes.