This Saturday January 20th Pluto the planet of death, transformation and power moves from Capricorn, where he’s been since 2008, into the sign of Aquarius. Pluto moves very slowly around the zodiac, taking 248 to journey all the way around the Sun. Being such a slow moving planet, his movement into a new sign denotes a new era. Being a slow moving outer planet, Pluto only moves a couple of degrees a year, and spends almost half the year in retrograde, giving him a two steps forward, one step back progression. Because of this, there is often a little bit of back and forth between the old sign and the new one. Last year Pluto spent May and June in the sign of Aquarius before stepping back into Capricorn, giving us a sneak peak at some of the coming attractions. This year he will dip back into Capricorn to do a final clean up from September 1 – November 19, before moving finally into Aquarius until 2043.
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Last year I wrote about what themes I thought Pluto might be bringing us in the new Aquarius era, which you can read here. In this post I talk more about these themes now that we have had a bit of a preview last year of what is to come. This ingress into Aquarius is one to take note of because it happens on the same day as the Sun moves into Aquarius too, making the two planets conjunct each other. Take note of what happens on this day in the world and in your life as they are denoting some of the changes and themes of this new era. Below are some of the themes I am expecting to see in the Pluto in Aquarius years. Keep in mind that Pluto will be in Aquarius from now (except for a brief dip back into Capricorn as noted above) until 2043, so these are not overnight changes, but themes that will play out over time.
Fear of Technology – Last year Chat GPT was all the rage and everyone was talking about AI and its potential gifts and dangers. Then almost overnight, when Pluto went back into Capricorn, most people’s interest started to wain and Chat GPT usage dropped off. Now that Pluto is moving back into Aquarius, I expect the talk about AI, including the fears of where they may lead us, to pick up again. The sign Pluto is in shows us what we fear. When Pluto was in Leo (1938 – 1957) we feared nuclear destruction, in Scorpio (1984 – 1995) it was sex because of AIDS and we also had the Satanic Panic. In Capricorn (2008 – 2023) it was banks, governments and borders. Now in Aquarius we fear that it is technology itself that will turn on us and kill us. There is a recognition that much like the monster in Frankenstein, our creations can get out of control and do more harm than good.
Space and Air Travel – Aquarius is an air sign that is also associated with technology and outer space. Last year during Pluto’s brief sojourn into Aquarius, talk about UAPs (UFOs) was in the news. The US government held hearings into the phenomenon and a whistle blower came forward saying that different government agencies an military departments were hiding information. Whatever these things objects are and whether or not information is being hidden from us, talk about what is going on in the sky will increase. We also had stories about Chinese spy balloons, and multi billionaires launching rockets into space. The last Pluto in Aquarius era (1778 – 1798) saw the invention of the hot air balloon and the first balloon used in a battle for reconnaissance. I expect drones to become more of a common technology and improvements in space and even air travel over the next 20 years.
Scientific Discoveries and Inventions – Pluto and Aquarius eras tend to be times of breakthrough and discoveries and inventions with far reaching consequences. As already noted, AI is one such invention that may completely upend our lives and societies. And who knows what other developments the next couple of decades have in store for us. The last Pluto in Aquarius eras saw the invention of the steam engine, which led to the Industrial Revolution, which in turn had far reaching consequences across the globe. It changed how we work, how we organize time and even our social structure. Other inventions include the hot air balloon, vaccines, the cotton ginny, and in previous Pluto in Aquarius eras the printing press, gunpowder, and paper just to name a few. I expect whatever discoveries or inventions come out of this period will drastically alter the world as we know it.
The Powerful Fall – The previous Pluto in Aquarius eras saw the American, French and Haitian Revolutions. These were reactions by the populace against those who they felt had misused their power. In this case the monarchy and government. In a previous Pluto in Aquarius era to that one, we had the Protestant Reformation. This upended the Pope as the ultimate authority in Europe. Capricorn is about tradition, structures and authority, while Aquarius is rebellion, and humanity. There is already a growing distrust of traditional authority, it makes me wonder how the power dynamics will shift over the next 20 years. With the widening gap between rich and poor, will we see the fall of corporations and billionaires? It remains to be seen, but whatever happens, power will shift over the next two decades.
Shifts in Beliefs and Perspectives – Events during the last Pluto in Aquarius like the French and American Revolution radically altered the way we look at government and dispelled previous notions of authority that were taken for granted. This ear also saw the Industrial Revolution and the influence of scientific rational thinking came to dominate. During previous eras, the Protestant Revolution meant that spiritual authority was no longer seen as being in the Church, but rather between individuals and God. An even earlier Pluto in Aquarius era was during the reign of Constantine, who turned the Roman Empire from Pagan to Christian. During Pluto in Aquarius eras long held beliefs are challenged and we are asked to look at the world in new ways.
Being an outer planet, Pluto tends to influence things globally and politically more than personally. However, as we are all a part of society, we will each be affected by the changes this transit will bring over the next 20 years. A good way to use this energy in your own life is not to resist change, but rather to embrace it. What areas of your life do you want to revolutionize? What outdated beliefs and assumptions do you need to discard? Who have you given authority away to? These are all questions Pluto in Aquarius is asking of us now.
If you would like to know more about what Pluto in Aquarius means for you personally, you can book a reading with me on my Etsy shop. You can also get weekly detailed astrology forecasts on my Patreon, and you can sign up for my free Astro News newsletter on my website.
