Pluto, our planet of profound change, is changing signs — are you prepared?
Pluto in Aquarius 2024
On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, death daddy Pluto will leave the patriarchal scaffolding of Capricorn and set up shop — or excavate the basement — in the professionally weird, utopian leaning space cowboy climes of Aquarius.
What does this once-in-a-generation shift mean for you? Read on to learn more.
Pluto in Astrology
Named for the maiden-snatching, shadow-dwelling god of the underworld, the small but mighty planet Pluto is associated with destruction, subversion, depth, intensity, primal urges, the taboo, the criminal, the subterranean, subconscious forces, underworld journeys, and the dark and dangerous heart that beats below the veneer of civilization and the crust of the Earth itself.
Sunny stuff, it ain’t.
Petit but potent, Pluto was discovered in 1930.
Pluto’s orbit is arduously long, with the planet changing signs once every twelve to thirty years. As an outer planet, Pluto influences the ideals and energy of an entire generation.
As the master of ceremonies for death, Pluto teaches us that destruction is the wheel grease of creation.
Apropos of this, Pluto is the planetary ruler of the fixed water sign Scorpio, which is associated with transformational trauma, shadow work, mind control, power struggles, and other people’s money.
What does Pluto in Aquarius mean?
Like a skin suit, Pluto takes on the thematic energy of the sign it moves through. In the future-focused, emotionally objective sign of Aquarius, Pluto’s slash-and-burn path will be interesting to behold.
There is a utopian leaning to the water bearer archetype, and because Aquarius is a fixed sign, its definition of progress is rigid.
Though it operates with the greater good in mind, it does so without concern for tact, temperance, or the consensus of the people it hopes to benefit.
Since Aquarius rules electricity and technology, we may see developments in renewable (a Plutonian theme) energy, and more people question how tech can benefit all rather than pad the pockets of a few.
With Pluto at the helm and Aquarius in the lead, there’s a fated, “Fight Club”-esque, new world order energy to this transit. It’s revolution with little regard for nuance and an agenda aimed at progress at all costs.
When was Pluto in Aquarius 2023
Pluto has been kicking it in Capricorn since 2008. After it moves into Aquarius on November 19, it will reign and remain there until 2043.
Pluto made a cameo appearance in Aquarius between March and June of 2023 and January and September of 2024, giving us a preview of the themes and shifts we can expect from the dark lord moving forward.
When it comes to Pluto, destruction is only wrought in the name of evolution and often the planet “tests” the mettle of its children in order to cast out what holds them back.
Given a choice, few would want or opt in for the kind of brutal reckoning and radical rebirth that Pluto is designed to deliver. Yet, in retrospect, and to paraphrase Mary Oliver, these boxes of darkness often become the gifts we need most.
Last time Pluto was in Aquarius: dates and history
Beyond the teaser of the last few years, the last time planet Pluto marched through Aquarius was 1778-1798, a span of years that saw the French, American, Haitian, and Industrial Revolutions as well as the Age of Enlightenment, which, in proper Aquarian form, favored reason over reaction and abstraction over intimacy.
Inventions from this era include the hot air balloon, sewing machine, smallpox vaccine, and parachute.
Pluto’s last cycle in Aquarius included the dismantling of social hierarchies, resistance to the powers that be, the revaluation of labor, violent responses to economic disparity, and the wild application of the imagination leading to technological breakthroughs.
These themes will no doubt resurface when Pluto returns to the visionary vapors of Aquarius.
Pluto transit in Aquarius
Predictions?
The structures of old and the perches of the elite will be eyed with fresh contempt, and the ‘good for a few of us’ modality of capitalism will no longer suffice. It’s important to note that during this transit, the United States will experience its first Pluto return.
The world revolution comes from the Latin for ‘return’ — signaling that our fraught nation is headed into a proverbial long dark night of the soul.
If we are indeed going back, may it be to the f—–g drawing board, folks.
Decentralizing power
Astrologer Chris McNulty of Hearth and Herald Astrology tells The Post that the past few months have been a culmination of the energy of the Capricorn archetype which favors paternalism and the centralization of power and resources. “Pluto in Aquarius will be the collective response of the marginalized to that centralization. The power is shifting from the oppressors to the outskirts.”
Fingers firmly crossed.
In conclusion, I offer the words of Scorpio sage, the mono named, wig wearing Voltaire, “It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection.”
Welcome to our second coming, may we all burn bright with hope for what will rise and no fear of the dark.
To see how this reckoning will rock you on a personal level, look to the house in your birth chart ruled by Aquarius. If you have your birth date, time, and location, you can calculate your chart using a generator like this.
Astrology 101: Your guide to the star
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.
