A major shift in planetary movements just occurred 3 weeks ago, and already the impact it's had on (or rather, reflected in) the collective has been palatable and nothing short of fascinating. Even if you consider yourself a skeptic of astrology, I think there is still some value in exploring this as a perspective and reflecting on how times have changed, and also how history has a way of repeating itself. Food for thought.
This is just an observation of planetary shifts and the events that seem to correlate with them, not my personal opinions or commentary on those events.
Pluto in Capricorn (2008-2024)
On November 20th, Pluto completed its tour through the sign of Capricorn, marking the close of an era that began in 2008. Pluto may be a tiny planet (if it's still even considered a planet), but its astrological significance is anything but. Pluto’s function is to empower, corrupt, uncover, expose, distort, intensify, annihilate, transform, and rebirth the significations associated with the zodiac sign it occupies. It can bring a mixed bag of incredible advances, shifts in power, extremism, new fears, and painful evolutions.
Capricorn represents things like commerce, capitalism, government, laws, tradition, restrictions, hierarchies, boundaries, hardship and hard work. During Pluto's decade and a half tour through Capricorn, right away we saw the election of the first Black president. We also saw new advances that made it easier for everyday citizens to start their own businesses (funny enough Shark Tank started during this period), a Global Financial Crisis, bank bailouts, Occupy Wall Street, WikiLeaks, the covid-19 pandemic (emphasizing themes of hardship, restrictions, and boundaries), the riot on the Capitol, economic inflation, a sharp rise in billionaires and the 1%, and at the final degrees of Capricorn, the re-election of an “outsider businessman" to the highest office with unchecked power. And many more events that happened around the world, but this period has been especially relevant for the USA because our country was founded the last time Pluto was at the final degrees of Capricorn. We’ve come full circle (called a Pluto return). But as of a few weeks ago, Pluto left Capricorn for good, never to return in our lifetime.
Pluto in Aquarius (2024-2043)
A new era has begun with Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius, so here is a look at what has already happened and what new themes will unfold over the next 20 years.
The following are some significations for Aquarius, followed by a list of notable events that have already transpired since Pluto's entry into Aquarius:
Aquarius is revolutions, rebellions, social movements, humanity, groups, groupthink, a focus on what's 'best' for the group, community, science, tech, artificial intelligence, innovation, unconventionality, communications, things related to air, the future, ideals, counterculture, a rejection of what's considered mainstream or flashy, cold rational detached viewpoints, alienation and all meanings of the word alien.
In many ways, Aquarius corrects Capricorn's focus of hierarchies and tradition and shifts focus to innovation and collective progress. It's also worth mentioning that Aquarius is the antithesis to its polar opposite sign Leo, which represents royalty, kings and queens, Hollywood, celebrity culture, etc.
Note: Pluto dipped its toe into Aquarius twice since March 2023, before retrograding back to Capricorn a couple times. So I will include some additional events that transpired during those preview periods as well, since they foreshadow the coming 20 years that Pluto will spend in Aquarius.
Pluto in Aquarius (spring/summer 2023; spring/summer 2024; Nov 20, 2024 - 2043)
South Korea’s protest & demand for resignation of President Yoon Suk Yeol
Assassination of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare (and the collective reaction that has been described as cold and detached)
Strikes on the rise: SAG-AFTRA, WGA, United Auto Workers (2023 preview)
The popularization of AI tools like Midjourney, ChatGPT, etc (2023 preview)
Elon Musk: "The tech billionaire joins the incoming administration to "dismantle government bureaucracy"
Tesla's Optimus bot & cyber trucks
Chinese hackers steal data from American telecommunications companies
"The Line" in Saudi Arabia expected to be completed in 2030 (The Line is a proposed giant indoor community with zero carbon emissions)
Previous Pluto in Aquarius events (1777-1798)
The US Revolutionary War 1775-1783
The French Revolution 1789-1794
Industrial Revolution 1760-1840
Pluto through the Other Signs
Prior to Capricorn, we had Pluto in Sagittarius (1995-2008), which signifies school, knowledge, higher education, exploration, wisdom, foreign things, religion, etc. Throughout that era, we saw many events related to terrorism, religious cults, school shootings, the explosion of the internet (a new way to explore the world), and availability of online maps, encyclopedias, libraries and schools.
Through the 1980's and early 90's we had Pluto in Scorpio. Scorpio is sex, death, debt, scary things, the supernatural & the occult, etc. Think Unsolved Mysteries, Hot Topic, Tim Burton, Marylin Manson, sexual liberation, the AIDs epidemic (sexually-transmitted disease), and advances in DNA testing to catch criminals and serial killers. People born during this time grew up to really struggle with student debt.
Cancer relates to food, home, family, and mothers. During that era (1914-1939) we had the conception of the "nuclear family" as well as women's suffrage, fast food, as well as processed, canned and frozen foods, food shortages and the Great Depression.
It’s also worth noting that a generation of people born under a Pluto sign will carry that signature forward, like their collective mission or karma. The Libra generation (born 1971-1984) known for themes of equality, peace, fairness and marriage, grew up to transform marriage equality and gender roles. Or the Virgo generation (1956-1972), representing health and nutrition, grew up to bring about a focus on orangic food, all sorts of fad diets, and exercise routines.
It’s really interesting to see how the Leo generation (baby boomers) interact with the Scorpio generation (millennials), as this pair of signs forms a hard aspect, a 90-degree angle, which is known to create a clash. Since these two signs are both known for being passionate, powerful, stubborn and fiery, they REALLY clash. Leo is prone to being bombastic, grandiose, and longing for nostalgia from the past, while Scorpio can be vengeful, polarizing, extreme, with desire to burn it all down and rebuild.
If you're interested in learning more about Pluto's tour through the signs, please check out this great article by astrologer Patrick Watson, who I must credit as I collected some of this research from him: https://patrickwatsonastrology.com/a-history-of-pluto-through-the-zodiac/
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