Pluto

Another celestial connection but now of a different kind. One of Pluto's plants with a Saturnian ring, a close-up of Rudbeckia Occidentalis "Green Wizard" with a ladybug that has landed on it's sepals.

So just what are Pluto plants? Well, for a more detailed explanation of how plants are connected to the planets and other celestial bodies have a look here at Alchemy Works, I found it an interesting connection and one that I was only slightly aware of in that I knew sunflowers and Helenium species (Helenium, known in Dutch as Zonnekruid - zon = sun) have a connection to the sun, but I had never really realised that other celestial bodies have a connection to plants as well according to plant lore.

Pluto, the God of transformation, doorways, absence and of birth and rebirth, is linked to plants that have strong and hidden qualities, deep roots and bulbs, are connected in some way to poison and death, and have black flowers. As far as I'm aware Rudbeckia's are not poisenous but it's not something I'm willing to try out or would advise anyone to do. Its flower essence is used for reaching the hidden depths of the soul and helps with contacting one's shadow side. But to me they are another garden favourite and over the years I have learnt to appreciate their long period of flowering as well as the fact that they attract bees and butterflies and like in this pic other insects as well. I planted only one seed of the Green Wizard last year just to see what it would look like and am pleasantly surprised by the way it has turned out, I will definitely be sowing some more!

Some Pluto magic:
Changes in consciousness
Death and resurrection
Endings and beginnings
Achieving spiritual goals
Shedding of old personal aspects
Purging

Digging below the surface to reveal what is hidden: learning secrets, the unconscious, the inner journey.

Transformative sexual energy
Psychic energy used to manipulate or control
Can be used to work through self-destructive urges
An energy that builds slowly

Interesting thing about reading up on the Green Wizard is that the golden pollen that has formed is known as a Ring of Saturn, yet another celestial connection! And then there is the ladybug that has landed on it. This is just one coincidence after another. According to ladybug lore it is also known as the "Beetles of Our Lady", the red wings representing the Virgin's cloak and the black spots her sorrows and joys.