Astrology · Spiritual Empowerment · Tibetan Chöd
Pluto: Confronting the Shadow
An immersive four-hour workshop on death, transformation, and the fearsome, regenerative potential of the underworld descent.
October 18 · 1 pm · Redmond, WA
Working with Pluto
This four-hour immersive weaves together Astrology, Spiritual Empowerment, and Ceremony to initiate participants into a powerful practice for transforming their individual relationship with Pluto.
Confronting the Shadow of Pluto means reckoning with our relationship to control—our attempts to micromanage our circumstances out of fear often leave us exhausted and repeating the same cycles we hope to avoid.
The Pluto practice is a potent alchemical offering, a 5-minute daily practice designed to transform the mental distortions that keep us locked in behavioral loops of avoidance and anxiety. Our past experiences shaped these loops as a means of self-preservation, but our past does not need to define our future.
The Pluto practice is designed to unburden our minds and hearts by helping us—
Identify the Shadow: Recognize where fear and the need for control may be keeping you stagnant.
Cultivate Courage: Face and accept the reality of fear, identify the deep-seated anxieties that block your growth, and form a stronger more empowered self concept
Harness Your Power: Tap into your innate capacity for profound personal transformation
Like the mythic journeys of Persephone and Inanna, this process demands a trip to the underworld—surrender to the complete death past-self in order to be born anew. Our goal is to offer tangible support that empowers you to pursue lasting change beyond the experience of a single afternoon. All life is change, and death and regeneration are not processes to fear, but realities we can learn to embrace.
By dismantling the illusion of control, this work grants access your deepest potential. It is an invitation to unlock your personal power and step into profound transformation with grace and self-compassion.
Pluto: Death, Transformation & Power
An Afternoon Immersive in Three Parts
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Part 1: Astrology
The first stage of our work together will orient each individual towards their personal relationship to Pluto and lay the groundwork for deeper practice. Astrologer Christina Funkhouser, will give a teaching on Pluto’s primary astrological significations, including:
Metaphysical death and endings
Fear, shame, taboo and projection
Power, control and compulsion
Crisis and the emergence of psychological avoidance
Surrender, regeneration and personal transformation
Each participant will receive personalized information about Pluto’s impact in their individual natal chart based on their year of birth and rising sign. Christina will explore Pluto’s capacity to warp our relationship to power and leave us vulnerable to control and manipulation in specific areas of life; leaving a disported imprint that can correspond to experiences of trauma, intrusive thoughts, anxiety and behaviors of compulsive avoidance.
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Part 2. Spiritual Empowerment
Understanding a pattern is not always enough to change our relationship with it.
Our second practitioner, Theresa Ulfa, will teach and transmit a spiritual practice developed specifically for working with Pluto. For Theresa, Pluto represents our karmic relationship to unknown fear: the fear of what we cannot predict, control or fully understand, and the strategies by which we organize our lives around avoiding that uncertainty.
Through years of spiritual training, contemplation and direct engagement with Pluto’s qualities, Tess has developed and stabilized a particular pathway into this material. The practice she will teach us is the result of that work—
The Pluto Practice is intended to help us:
Remain present when fear and uncertainty arise
Loosen patterns of resistance, control and avoidance
Meet difficult material without becoming consumed by it
Develop greater courage, stability, freedom and power
The purpose is not to remove fear or promise control over what comes next. It is to create a different relationship with the unknown—one in which fear no longer has to determine the shape of our lives.
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Part 3: Ceremony
We will conclude with a Tibetan Healing Chöd ceremony offered by Paige Hetherington.
Chöd is a structured Tibetan Buddhist ritual created in the 11th century by female master Machik Labdrön. It cuts through the attachments that cause suffering, drawing on the support of an established lineage of enlightened beings. The ceremony is designed to resolve karmic patterns related to our fears and energetic obstacles.
Chöd works with deeply embedded material that may be difficult to shift by ordinary effort alone. The ceremony is typically a smooth and peaceful experience, though its transformative effects often continue to unfold and deepen over time.
You will be invited to establish a personal intention and rest while Paige performs the ceremony. Your intention will remain private, but you may wish to offer:
Your relationship with Pluto
Specific fears, anxieties, or obstacles identified during the workshop
Your internal resistance to change
The Healing Chöd will bring the afternoon’s teaching and practice into a shared ceremonial process of release, healing and transformation.
WHO WE ARE
Inner Currents is an all-faith, non-denominational religious organization that encourages the integration of Bodhicitta (awakened heart/mind) and meditation into any and all spiritual pursuits. We believe that spiritual practices should enhance your unique path, fostering deeper compassion and awareness.
About Inner Currents
Meet The Practitioners
Christina Funkhouser
Christina is an astrologer whose personal spiritual practice is rooted in Bhakti devotion. An Inner Currents participant and contributor for eight years, she seamlessly weaves bodhicitta and emotional development support into her astrological work. Christina offers personalized individual sessions alongside a year-long course that explores the ripening of karma through the zodiac in real time. You can also tune into her podcast, Skies & Currents, for regular astrological insights and spiritual guidance.
Astrologer & Inner Currents Contributor
Theresa Ulfa
Theresa is the founder and president of Inner Currents. An accomplished spiritual practitioner, she draws on her experience to help others awaken, heal and deepen their spiritual lives. Theresa is a dedicated Tibetan Buddhist whose primary practice is Kalachakra Tantra. She studies under the guidance of Rimé master, Khentrul Rinpoche, and proudly shares his signature philosophy that religion is like medicine—where different traditions serve as the specific remedy needed for different individuals. She passionately brings this inclusive, compassionate approach to her teachings and her work with the Inner Currents community.
President & Lead Teacher 
Paige Hetherington
Paige is an acupuncturist, death midwife, and Chöd practitioner within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. She hosts public, healing Chöd ceremonies across the country, leads a local community deathcare group, and provides compassionate, direct support to individuals navigating the dying process. By combining traditional healing wisdom, ritual practice, and modern end-of-life care, Paige offers profound support for life's deepest transitions. The Inner Currents community has been fortunate to have her as a regular participant and for her monthly online Chöd offerings.
Acupuncturist, Death Midwife & Chöd PractitionerRegistration
October 18 · 1 pm · Redmond, WA
Early Registration: $125
(Available through September 15, 2026)
Regular Registration: $155
Space is limited. Registration will close when the workshop reaches capacity.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about preparing for the workshop. You will also be asked to provide your birth year and rising sign so that we can prepare your personalized Pluto material. If you do not know your rising sign, you may provide your birth date, exact birth time and birthplace instead.
Location
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