March 23 – June 11, 2023
January 20 – September 1, 2024
November 19, 2024 – March 8, 2043
August 31, 2043 – January 19, 2044
Pluto’s 248-year journey around the sun defines the chapters of world history. Due to its elliptical orbit, the time spent in each of the 12 signs is not uniform, ranging from (approximately) 11 to 34 years. For example, Pluto’s transit through the signs of Virgo to Capricorn spans 12 to 15 years, while Pluto’s transit through the signs of Aquarius to Leo spans 21 to 33 years. Pluto’s sign placement defines the path of evolution of an individual soul and the evolutionary priorities for each generation.
Since 2008, Pluto’s transit through Capricorn, a cardinal or activation archetype, has swung the wrecking ball on systems, structures, and consciousness that have outworn their utility. Capricorn correlates to time and time spans, the aging process, mortality, and to the limits of reality. In the works to 2024, Pluto in Capricorn accelerates the process of bringing a contemporary era to a close while simultaneously building a new framework.
Pluto will soon begin a twenty-year journey through Aquarius, a fixed, yang, air archetype. This transit (2023 -2044) will accelerate the shedding, demolition, and restructuring process begun during the Pluto in Capricorn years. Some will meet the mandate with foresight, utilizing cooperative, inclusive, and visionary ways. Others will meet the inevitability of the changing times in varying degrees of resistance. At the end of the day, the struggle against the evolutionary imperative will prove futile. At an extreme, resistance to necessary change sets up the potential for the shockwave experience, for harsh repercussions, and the catastrophic. Aquarius awakens, liberates, accelerates, and revolutionizes. It is the archetype that shatters barriers and breaks records. The process is disruptive, destructive, and constructive, ending and birthing at the same time.
Historically, Pluto’s transit through Aquarius marks times of upheavals, revolutions and rebellions, significant social and political development, modernization, and ground-breaking inventions that influence and forever alter the quality of daily existence. During the previous Pluto in Aquarius cycle (1777 – 1798), the USA Declaration of Independence would give the world its first blueprint of modern democracy. “Liberté, égalité, fraternité, ou la mort!” became the battle cry for the 1789 French Revolution, a violent period that saw the overthrow of the French monarchy and the introduction of democratic ideals. At the same time, the first abolitionist movement began in England. These years also marked the height of the first industrial revolution. Global trade and exploration expanded greatly. Marking scientific ground-breaking, it was the first time a telescope was employed in the discovery a planet. William Herschel’s discovery of Uranus in 1781 expanded the known boundaries of our solar system. During the preceding transit of Pluto through Aquarius, (1532 – 1553), Copernicus published his idea that the earth rotated around the sun.
The previous Pluto in Aquarius transit was a time of explorers and of colonization of new lands. Today displaced people, such as refugees, detainees, and the impoverished, are so numerous they are creating instant new cities. Over 6.6 million people have fled Syria since 2011 (the turbulent Uranus square Pluto years). As of 2021, it is reported that 43,000 men, women and children live in inhumane and degrading conditions in Isis detention camps in Syria. The stateless Rohingya population is estimated at 750,000. In 2022, Russia launched an aggressive and shocking attack on Ukraine. Just five months into Russia’s assault, 12 million Ukrainians had already fled their war-torn county.
A new age of humanity is in its incubation phase. Spring-boarding off the preceding Pluto in Capricorn tear down transit, the Pluto in Aquarius years will engineer the building of a new global village prototype. It is in the face of threats to existence, that we will race to take more significant action regarding the long warranted and long overdue. It is in the moments when we draw precariously closer to the tipping point edge, that we come to recognize truth that can no longer be downplayed or avoided, that we are all equal (and equally deserving), and that no one is greater than or lesser than. This is a key lesson of Aquarius. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the ground we stand on belongs to all. The ultimate path of service for the Aquarius archetype calls for each and all to participate in the well-being of the whole. To this purpose, every individual, every organism, every life, every life form has a vital contribution to make.
The Aquarius archetype correlates to atmospheric conditions, weather extremes, and earthquakes. As such, the coming years are likely to produce more frequent large-scale occurrences. They may occur in more rapid succession also. Pluto’s transit through Aquarius can literally shatter the ground we walk on. The consequences of climate change are the undeniable new reality.
Atmospheric conditions also describe the social zeitgeist of the times. We see will the Aquarius signature reflected through political activism, social movements, lifestyles, cultural, art, literature, and music.
The Pluto in Aquarius years will usher in sweeping and non-negotiable change beyond what is known to date. Pluto in Aquarius is set to radically alter everyday life at every level – ideological, social, political, economic, and survival based. What may be unthinkable, radical, outlandish, bizarre, or extraordinary today can become the norm of tomorrow’s reality. Science and technology are marked for exponential growth. The growing threat to survival on the planet requires that we speed up the process of finding new ways, means, and solutions.
The overhaul process is already well underway. It is readily observable through civil right protests and revolts against oppression, systemic racism, and sexual violations. It carries through to the progressive intensifying of weather triggered by climate change and Covid-19. Overpopulation, water, soil, and air contamination, and weather extremes pose a major threat to our food supply. The overhaul list also includes activism pertaining to protection, preservation, care-taking and legacy building in a new, more effective, inclusive, and relevant way. The priority grows more urgent regarding the honoring of our past, the safeguarding of our children and our elders, to the address of homelessness, starvation, poverty, and addictions, to the care of the infirmed, the marginalized, and the mentally disordered.
We all want to belong, to be recognized, to be accepted and to be treated as equals. In recent years, issues such as systemic racism, gender prejudice, and gender disparity have gained momentum from activist groups. What is seeded during the Pluto in Capricorn years will feature more prominently and grow exponentially during the Pluto in Aquarius years. At the start, the Pluto in Aquarius years may further widen political divides, fracture societies, and isolate distinct groups of individuals. Freedoms and rights lost along the way will revitalize the courage, creativity, innovation, and initiative of individuals, groups, and collectives. Under this transit, everything in creation is slated for a more rapid and more industrious transformation cycle. From one to all, from singular to multiple to multi-dimensional, evolution is a continuous, simultaneous, and multi-dimensional process. Pluto in Aquarius will continue to chip away and strip away what no longer serves. History will mark the coming years as no ordinary passage of time. We must recognize the critical role we play regarding the shaping of the future, the responsibility we all share, and the ripple effect of every thought, every word, every action, every moment.
Pluto correlates to our DNA and genetics. Scientific advances in this field, such as CRISPR, have already been able to reprogram human DNA. The controversy continues regarding the ethics of genetic manipulation and cloning. The Pluto in Aquarius years can coincide with significant changes to our traditional concepts of humans. In recent years, gender dysphoria has been on the rise. Many have come forward to shed their secret lives and to openly embrace their identity as transgender and non-binary. Progressively over the past century, we have been loosening social roles and stereotypes. The Pluto in Aquarius years can prompt wider social divisions or alternatively, see more inclusivity regarding individuality and uniqueness.
Modernization during the last transit increased the population in urban centers as folks moved into cities for work and the promise of a better future. Pluto in Aquarius will continue the trend of population dispersal and communal living. As more green initiatives get underway, a new style of architecture will emerge, the incorporation of more roof top gardens is but one example. Another example is 3d printing which is already poised to revolutionize the construction industry (and many other industries). We will employ new energy sources to heat and light our homes, to cook our food, to keep us connected and entertained. The opportunity to work remotely, rather than in the office, is another major change of lifestyle that is in its inception phase. The Pluto in Aquarius years will spark many inventions, including the potential for new goods and services supply chains, and ways of growing, manufacturing, preserving, and distributing food.
The Pluto in Aquarius years can produce shock waves and traumas of one kind or another. On the one hand, we will continue to be challenged by the devastation caused by natural disasters or by the powerplays of despots and felons with no regard for nature or human suffering. On the uplifting end, Pluto in Aquarius could produce a sense of entering a new “golden age”. Extraordinary individuals can step forward as influential catalysts, inspirational leaders, and role models. There can be a great awakening of consciousness led by forward-thinking visionaries, inventors, and philanthropists.
Pluto in Aquarius has its gaze on several main themes. Survival, at all levels, tops the list. Paving new pathways comes next. The fields of communication technologies, trade and commerce, and transportation fall under the triplicity of air to which Aquarius belong. These years will accelerate the reinvention of everyday reality at every level of our existence, in ways far beyond what we can imagine. Brilliant minds will astound and amaze us with their creative genius.
Think back to the time before Facebook and Zoom Meeting existed. Could you have imagined back then what is so commonplace now? We have not yet encountered the inventions, challenges, and acceleration track that will define the Pluto in Aquarius years, but we have already been exposed to many previews. Rapid advances in wireless and satellite technology will make today’s most advanced products look archaic in a few short years. Laser technology will surely continue to create miraculous advances in the medical field. Science will continue to take us farther out into space and increase our knowledge of the infinite and living universe.
Opportunity can reach exceptional heights for innovators and forward thinkers. We see numerous hints already. Social media continues to serve as an exceptionally lucrative platform for creators, fame seekers, and entrepreneurs. A young new breed of astrologers is revolutionizing the professional business model. Cryptocurrency, a relatively new monetary system still in its “wild west” phase, now works toward establishing an accepted place for itself. This new industry will continue to spawn new products and enterprises, to reinvent itself in leaps and bounds. (The transit of Uranus in Taurus, 2018 – 2026 coincides with the final years of Pluto in Capricorn and the start of Pluto in Aquarius). How we use it, produce it and value it, the coming Pluto in Aquarius years can see all facets of money, crypto currency included, shape-shift in radical, unexpected, exceptional, and perhaps even explosive ways.
Innovation is not only limited to the Earth plane. Space travel and colonization is already in active development. On April 21, 2021, NASA’s “Moxie” successfully converted Martian carbon monoxide to oxygen while on the surface of the planet. Previously the subject for science fiction writers, NASA is aiming for human missions to Mars in the 2030’s. Elon Musk of SpaceX announced aim for missions to Mars coincide with start of Pluto in Aquarius (2024). Commercial space travel is now in active development. (SpaceX has plans for commercial trips to the moon.) Set to task in 2022, the James Webb space telescope succeeds Hubble as a next generation telescope to map new frontiers beyond our previous imagining. Blending science and sociopolitical reform, NASA’s historic Artemis mission intends to land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon. China continues to work on building its own space station. Here on Earth, there are still new frontiers to discover, i.e., in the oceans, on the land, in the permafrost regions. Watch for the race for Arctic supremacy to intensify, chiefly among Russia, the USA, and Canada.
The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, everything contributes to the health of the organism. The composition of our soil, water, air, and atmosphere has been vastly changed by the way we have used and abused our planet’s precious resources. Falling under the jurisdiction of Aquarius, we can see more widespread health challenges regarding breathing and the respiratory system, thyroid issues, metabolic and hormone issues, radiation exposure, dehydration, and our ability to procreate. Sterility is an Aquarius archetype. The impact of today’s communication technologies on our physical health will become apparent in the coming years.
All living things adapt in relation to their environment. The human species is no different in this regard. At the same time survival on the planet is under threat, our average lifespan is increasing. Medical science will continue to make great strides. The fight against various cancers is but one example. Previously the fodder for science fiction writers, medical science has been progressively gaining ground to extend a lifespan and rebuild the human organism with the incorporation of machines, for example with total artificial heart implants. The end and beginning of life, death and rebirth fall under Pluto’s domain. The coming years will see significant change in care for the dying, how we allow people to die and how we dispose of the dead. How we conceive and begin life, manage reproduction, reproductive health, and the birthing process itself are also slated for revolutionary advances, from both science and the ideological perspective.
The anatomy of brain, its capacities and performance fall under the rulership of Aquarius. Like the evolution of computers, (another Aquarius ruled invention), our human ability to process complex information is also likely to quicken. With respect to the nervous system (the body’s information internet), those born with Pluto in Aquarius can display heightened intelligence coupled with heightened sensitivity to energy fields, magnetic frequencies, and sound waves. Intellectual genius and other states of consciousness such as the Autism spectrum fall under the Aquarius archetype. Transits to the natal chart can awaken or increase one’s natural intuitive capacity. On the other hand, Pluto in Aquarius is also a signature for the fractured mind. Expect to see a significant population growth of mental illness and PTSD sufferers, along with an increase of medical, social, and political efforts to heal, remedy, and eradicate these conditions.
Modern science is already making great advances in the fields of neurological research to reconnect the brain and nervous system with damaged or amputated limbs. Stem cell researchers are working to recreate brain cell pathways to find cures for Alzheimer’s and other brain malfunctions.
The archetype of deconditioning, liberation, awakening, and individuation, Pluto’s transit through the sign of Aquarius serves to heighten awareness regarding thought patterns, and crystalized judgements, and the intellectual creative process behind the shaping of reality. Pluto’s process is one of probing, uncovering, confronting, and eliminating that which inhibits and no longer serves evolution.
In reference to the fixed nature of the archetype, Aquarius warehouses long term memory, what Carl Jung labeled as the individuated unconscious. Unique to each soul’s imprint, the Pluto in Aquarius transit will serve to unlock and revive content, such as memories or talents, which have been etched into consciousness from past lives. Cellular memory exits as a resources rich warehouse. A natural affinity, familiarity, or talent for something brand new is a clue to what is stored within cellular memory. A time of reawakening is at hand for some. Typically, what surfaces into awareness happens in sudden and spontaneous realizations, as snapshots, fragments, or a sense of Deja-vu.
Trauma consciousness is also warehoused within cellular memory. Trauma keeps consciousness in a frozen, static, or immobilized state. For evolution to proceed, it is necessary to unlock or unblock whatever inhibits growth. The transit position of Pluto in Aquarius serves this purpose. Pluto’s process is metamorphic and alchemical.
Pluto in Aquarius in transit through a natal house will describe the department of life that is slated for progress. This is where one will experience the most unblocking, awakening, and transformative growth. The transit promotes individuation, liberation, reinvention, and self-actualization. The transit could present the opportunity of a lifetime. Synchronicity, surprise, the instantaneous, sudden, unexpected, and high risk are typical elements of the Aquarius signature. Evolution occurs with or without one’s conscious acceptance. Resistance to change and over-attachment to the status quo adds frictional force to the evolutionary impulse, thereby increasing the dynamic intensity of experience. That which is under pressure will eventually reach a breaking point. At a heightened or extreme level, Pluto in Aquarius can set the traumatic or cataclysmic into play.
Individually and collectively, evolutionary growth manifests through repeating inner and outer messages that symbolize the future ahead. Messages that keep repeating over and over serve to alert and awaken us as to what action is necessary to undertake for evolution to proceed. In general, Pluto’s contact with the natal chart by dynamic or hard aspect will describe the potential degree of resistance and intensity of the transit. Soft aspects (i.e., trines and sextiles) can facilitate evolution with greater ease. How one feels, responds, and experiences evolution depends on the chart as a whole.
Pluto in Aquarius is a signature for the shattered, renegade, schizophrenic, or traumatized mind. Bipolar disorder was first officially recognized in 1980. In the 1990’s, the increasing number of ADD and ADHD diagnoses were accompanied by various drug therapy treatments. In more recent years, the frequency of diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorder has climbed. Many disturbed minds have felt compelled to violent acts and domestic terrorism. Illicit drugs have also destroyed many minds and lives.
Many of those coming to age during the Pluto in Aquarius years, namely the Pluto in Capricorn and Pluto in Sagittarius generations, are victims of war and climate catastrophes. These include children that have been interred in refugee camps or have been left homeless through earthquakes and other weather extremes, and have suffered through war, poverty, starvation, abuse, and sexual slavery. These hardships cannot help but leave a lasting effect on the minds of those who endured them. Pluto in Aquarius awakens this unresolved trauma.
The COVID-19 pandemic years have also taken their toll on many individuals. Depression has become commonplace. The coming years of Pluto in Aquarius will put the issue of mental health to the forefront. The transit can set the unbalanced mind on the rampage. Watch these years for new prognoses regarding mental health along with revolutionary advances in treatment.
While Uranus in Taurus (to 2026) accompanies Pluto’s initial transit into Aquarius (starting in 2023), survival becomes even more of a predominant focus. Pandemics such as COVID-19 will continue to revolutionize how we live and how we survive. Survival for all the various species on the planet, including human, and what is required for these survival needs to be met, has been and will continue to be the all-consuming issue on our planet. We will come to view ownership over lands, governing bodies, intellectual properties, and over individual rights and freedoms in new ways.
Travels of the mind and body, how we interface with each other and mobilize ourselves – all will be the focus when Pluto in Aquarius is accompanied by Uranus in Gemini (2025 – 2033). Languages may be adapted to such extremes they will sound like brand new languages. Computers will find new ways to communicate and transport information. Innovations in the field of robotics can be ground-breaking during the Pluto in Aquarius/Uranus in Gemini years. Expect to witness significant modernization and/or innovation in the fields of travel and transportation, network media, schooling and education, trade, and commerce. Space travel and space colonization projects will move to next levels. Marking a new chapter of collective attunement, the start of Uranus in Gemini springboards from the start of a new Saturn/Neptune synod in Aries.
As Pluto transits Aquarius and Uranus transits Cancer (2032 – 2040) even more attention will be focused on matters pertaining to water and its preservation. The clean up oceans and the safeguarding of aquatic life grows more urgent. These years will also put added attention on agricultural growing seasons, farming, food sources, and the replenishment of soil nutrients. We may see widespread changes to diet and nutritional needs. Everything pertaining to safety, security (food included), caretaking (at all levels), comfort measures and comfort levels will also feature with greater prominence and/or urgency. Uranus in Cancer puts added attention onto home, homelands, domestic lifestyles, national identities, real estate, ancestry and the past, family (personal and global) and humanitarian crises. In 2022, the U.N. World food program reported that 345 million people suffer from acute hunger.
The last few years of Pluto in Aquarius (to 2044) is accompanied by Uranus in transit through Leo (starting in 2039, extending to 2046). Will we have successfully achieved creative gold in terms of revolutionizing life on the planet? At the apex of a T-square with Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Taurus, Uranus in Leo is positioned at the last quarter square of its 45-year transit with Saturn, while Saturn is at the opposition point of a 36-year transit with Neptune. This configuration suggests a critical moment in time. It puts great pressure on the creative actualization process, on the absolute need to face the reality as is and to navigate our way back from the brink with all the wisdom and strength we can muster. It is our birthright to live and thrive on this great and wonderful planet we call home. We must recognize and own up to the fact that we are the creators of our own destiny.
Aside (and in brief): The Saturn/Uranus 45 years cycle mark social and political intensification turning points. The Saturn/Neptune 36-year cycles mark the restructuring of collective consciousness through mass loss, disillusionment, hopes, dreams, and beliefs, religious, spiritual, and creative movements. The Uranus/Neptune 171-year cycle correlates to historic eras reflected by the social, political, and collective ideals of the times. These three cycles are also contributing factors to Pluto’s transit through Aquarius.
Leaving no stone unturned, the transit of Pluto in Aquarius will revolutionize every level of existence. An exceptional chapter of our collective history will be written. We can only speculate what changes are ahead, what could inspire or threaten humanity, what could be invented, and how it will revolutionize our reality. A.I., climate change, science and technology, medical advances, politics and social revolutions, Pluto’s transit through Aquarius accelerates a radically reinvented existence and serves as a preview of the dawning of a new age of civilization. The greatest resource we have is ourselves and each other. The most threatening prospect we face is the action or non-action of humankind.