Why is everyone talking about Pluto going into Aquarius? How can we make the best of this major shift? We’re going to let you in on the secrets that this momentous occasion holds for each one of the zodiac signs. If you prefer to watch it:
Pluto is notorious in the world of astrology, often associated with difficult topics of death, destruction and trauma. We’re here to dispel the myths that Pluto can only bring trauma and destruction in its wake and give you a clearer idea on what this transition will mean for you.
Generally Pluto in Capricorn has been breaking down old institutions, traditions and undermining societal limitations for good and ill. This has come with some harsh repercussions in standard of living and more awareness has been brought up around the loss of traditional values that have underpinned our societies for generations. This has been a steady process but very emphasised in the last few decades. Of course this also grants the opportunity to introduce new values but at the cost of instability.
Loss of values means nearing ourselves to new values: Consumerism (at least of Gen Z) is completely different and more mindful then those of previous generations, people are more open to discussing mental health issues – even if only because mental health might be the worst it has been in generations , there is at least in the younger generations the acceptance that success is personal and does not equal a house, a job, 3 kids and a car; women objectification is at least discussed and alternative sexualities are tolerated in at least parts of the world.
Ineffectual systems of government have come under increased scrutiny coupled with its expressions of force and repression even in self-proclaimed liberal societies. Capricorn, as ruled by Saturn, defines the limits within our lives and these limits have been put into question and now look very different to when Pluto initially entered Capricorn in 2008. This coincided with the financial collapse which began in 2007 and climaxed in September 2008 with bankruptcy of financial institutions. This brought decades of harsh economic measures, poverty and austerity. The very bones of humanity have been shaken and very serious questions regarding its stability have surfaced. (Covid; Ukraine in Europe and Israel as the last Capricorn straws – start with a crisis, end with a crisis?)
Many people have been crying for change and it has been the banner under which many prolific political figures have flourished. This may be the foreshadowing for what is promised with Pluto’s movement into Aquarius and gives hope that the breaking down of old structures can give room for new concepts and systems to establish themselves that better serve the needs of modern society.
Most of this is driven by the ever intensifying influence of technology and the internet in our lives. We saw smartphones taking off in 2007-2008 with Pluto’s entrance in Capricorn and Bitcoin became a challenge to the traditional monetary systems of the world around the same time. Pluto’s power and energy in Aquarius will likely further stimulate that, resulting in the adoption of digital currencies on a wider scale.
Technological advance was also indicated by Pluto’s first dip into Aquarius in March 2023, coinciding with AI’s entry into the public domain with its popularity skyrocketing during the year of Pluto’s first ingress. It will likely go to the extremes where we start to have to ask ourselves how far we really want to go with technological advancement and be cognizant of the forever present risks and dangers of centralised power structures to misuse these.
For the first time, realities as described in Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (escaping completely in a virtual reality)actually seem possible. We see movies on the worst case scenarios: CTRL, where an AI takes control of your life and makes you “happy”, it decides what and where you buy etc. Power centred on who has the proprietary rights on the AI. There are quite a few books on AI controlled worlds – they all seem dangerously close now (not sure if that all fits the serious tone that you have started, but I think it might be somewhat relevant (books are our fears and dreams))
Becoming ever more acutely aware over the preceding decades of the decline in community and a sense of belonging, there will be a striving towards reconstituting this into our lives. Different people will strive to do this by different means, whether in local communities, or absorbed into virtual communities. But we can expect virtual communities to change majorly, as research shows that Loneliness is positively associated with longer screen time and social media app use. But frequently picking up one’s phone and using communication apps are negatively associated with loneliness. (Acta Psychologica Volume 221, November 2021) So if we are looking towards a sense of belonging or community, we will probably also see major changes in how social media works, turning it into a more intimate, community fostering platforms instead of the self-imposing way of communicating which is still quite prevalent, but youtube has already announced that it plans new community features )
The last time we saw Pluto in Aquarius was between 1778 to 1798 – the time of various revolutionary wars such as those in France and America, along with the Industrial revolution and the Enlightenment era. This confirms a sense of time where uprisings may occur along with significant technological development and a philosophical shift towards Enlightenment values of reason, logic and scientific fact.
This fixed nature of the sign Aquarius could lead to dogmatic ideologies, or scientific endeavour aimed at the benefit of all man. However, a purely statistical, technological approach may lead to as many problems as it does to solutions.
During these decades we will do well to remember the limitations of the intellect to provide for a rich, meaningful life and not forget the avenues of spirituality, creativity, compassion and the paramount importance of real human interaction, away from the technologies that we should be learning to manage with restraint, care and wisdom. Technocracy might be the best word for summing up the potential direction that societies may go with the move of Pluto into Aquarius, for better or for worse. Change is inevitable but we have the best hope for that going in a positive direction if we can see clearly the potential pitfalls in the road ahead.
Remember that we have perhaps already seen a glimpse of some of the themes in our lives that will be activated. Pluto briefly entered Aquarius at the end of March 2023, staying there until June. It reentered at the end of January 2024 and remained there until September 2024. Those time periods might give some indication of themes that will come up for this period of life. Bear in mind if you have planets in the house that Pluto is transiting, when it conjuncts these points you will have more noticeable effects and it could be manifesting the key specific events that highlight the themes of Pluto’s process there.