Astrology. Pluto. Mandalas: Dealing with Hard Times

This is an email I shared with my Tarot Study Group:

I want to share with you something that came up for me over the past few weeks. I’m not an astrologer, but bear with me for a moment—I promise there's a point. Pluto is currently transiting my 8th house, which brings themes of death, rebirth, intimacy, power, and shared resources to the surface. It’s also a time of uncovering hidden fears, navigating trust, and undergoing emotional and financial transformations. Shadow work, spiritual reflection, and deep inner healing—especially related to the psyche or “underworld”—have been front and center for me lately.

In the midst of all this, a friend shared something unexpectedly beautiful with me: the power of coloring mandalas. I must have given her a skeptical look, because she gently encouraged me to look deeper. She reminded me that Tibetan monks spend days—even weeks—creating elaborate mandalas, only to destroy them when they’re complete. The practice isn’t just about beauty; it’s about impermanence, and transformation.

I was open to her words, but part of me was still resistant—I was just looking for a way to survive this Plutonian year and here she is telling me about monks. I appreciated the story, but I needed a little more to get through this. So we dug a little deeper. She told me that creating a mandala could be more than meditative—it could be liberating. “You can think yourself free,” she said. “As you color, you can work with a mantra. You can speak change into being.” 

This insight came up again when someone in our tarot circle pulled the Eight of Swords—a card often tied to self-imposed limitation—and the Strength card appeared in the subconscious position. That, to me, felt like a clear reminder: the power to free ourselves begins from within. And so, for that person, I'd like to share a mantra I'm boring from this wonderful deck: https://lightseerstarot.com/light-seers-tarot-meanings-strength/. "I deliberately shine my compassion and strength". If this resonates with you and you have a moment to check out the website you will find several journal prompts to continue exploring this key (i.e., tarot card).