Pluto moves into Aquarius this year what might this mean for us?
Picture credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins: Public Domain.1
There has been a lot of speculation about what Pluto’s entry into Aquarius might mean. This blog will look back to previous ingresses and see if they give clues as to what to expect..
You may not remember that far back, but 2008 was a very difficult year. The banks blew up the economy; billions of dollars, euros and pounds were pumped into them so they didn’t completely tank. Everyone got poorer except for the very wealthy who got much, much richer. In the ingress chart, Pluto is in the 4th house. In one area in particular, not just in the UK but worldwide, houses became assets and the price of renting and lately mortgages skyrocketed. Sound like Capricorn? Hmm, maybe, or maybe the boom and bust was the last gasp of Pluto in Sagittarius, a bit more likely I feel.
If we look back to the ingress of Pluto into Sagittarius we see five planets including Pluto in the 5th house of gambling. That is what the banks did, they took foolish risks, several went bust, threatening the whole economic model through their greed (Jupiter) recklessness (Mars) to make more money than anyone has before (Venus Jupiter). And the people, Moon in Gemini in the 12th were lied to (Gemini) and perhaps authors of their own self undoing, taking out unwise loans and mortgages (12th house). The housing market overheated, toxic loans (subprime loans) were hidden in the banks’ accounts until the debts became unsupportable.
Of course, what booms, later busts and Pluto in Capricorn brought forth Austerity. Everything was squeezed, underfunded and sold off and the ‘little people’ suffered. In the UK, food-banks mushroomed as did tent cities and the homeless living on our streets. Poverty grew exponentially. Businesses went bust, including a many banks, Lehman Brothers, Northern Rock to name a few. In true Capricorn fashion (they can be rather judgmental), as the rich got richer the poor were told it was all their fault that poverty was a character flaw not the result of other people’s greed or the casino economics of financial institutions.
So how has Pluto in Capricorn been for you? Not great I imagine, unless you are one of the billionaires whose wealth has increased exponentially, you are probably poorer, life is less secure, maybe if you are in the UK you are on an ever growing waiting list for NHS treatment, if you are in the US wondering if you can pay for medical care without going bankrupt. In both places, and it seems like everywhere, house prices have gone through the roof and much of anyone’s income goes to paying that and humongous bills, several of which (food and fuel) will have doubled recently. We have experienced austerity and in the UK and US hopeless governments during the pandemic added to our misery.
Paternalistic Capricorn has failed to protect its citizens, we are revolting. From farmers in Germany, France, Lithuania and Nevada, protesters against genocide worldwide, tiny David and Goliath struggles against imperialists, Extinction Rebellion and strikes against government policies. Pluto has seemingly blown a hole in ‘society’ and reminded us that it is ‘we the people’ not you ‘the plutocrats’.
Pluto in Capricorn has shown us the shadow of paternalism or, as I like to call it The Patriarchy. Monstrous greed, the crushing of dissent, destruction of the ecosystem, poverty and corruption of politics, medicine, business, oh it is a depressing list.
What has it taught us? That we, the people are the power, we cannot outsource responsibility, because those with power (and money) may not have our best interest at heart-shocker!
Which leads us nicely into Aquarius. We are the people and together, with technology we are more powerful. Aquarius is the humanitarian sign. Often, when astrologers talk about Pluto in Aquarius they reference the last time it was in the sign, 1777, and the freedom fighters in the USA, quoting the ‘we the people…’ trope. The colonisers’ fought against the British Crown, against tyranny and oppression, for freedom of self-determination and an end to exploitation by the powerful. What is often forgotten is this ‘freedom’ was predicated on the genocide and slavery of others, (Indigenous people and Africans).
We have come full circle, the USA is experiencing its Pluto return and the world, or much of it, wishes to free itself from the tyranny of America’s military industrial complex. The USA doubtless would not recognise this description of its overseas ‘interests’, as I’m sure the British didn’t in 1777.
The chart above is set for London (the losing side) in the War of Independence. Notice Pluto is in the 2nd house, they lost money, colonisation is always about asset stripping whatever the justification is claimed to be. The chart ruler, is both Pluto and a debilitated Mars, the King lost his empire through war. The King, shown by Mercury peregrine (without dignity) in Pisces in the 4th, rules the 10th and is making an opposition to Neptune (he was deluded or lied to by his advisors). Pluto is applying to a square of Saturn, ruling the 3rd house of his American ‘cousins’ and destroying their relationship.
What does this Pluto ingress look like in the USA?
Here we have a tenth house Pluto opposite Mars dignified in Leo. Mars Pluto configurations are explosive (Pluto rules the atomic bomb). Mars rules war and the 7th house of open enemies. The 4th house rules home, the end of the matter and inheritance and possibly the ancestors. This suggests that old wounds and enemies (Mars) are being energised (or irritated).
The Moon, signifying the people, is in its sign, Cancer. It has more dignity and power than the government, which is shown by Saturn weak in Pisces. This may show a government of old men as Saturn rules old age. Remember in the 1777 chart Mercury was peregrine in Pisces, Saturn also has little dignity in that sign. The government is weak and has lost its power. The Moon is separating from a square of Chiron at 19′ Aries. Chiron, the wounded healer, is in the 12th house of karma and self-undoing. I believe this harks back to the 1777 chart and the Revolutionary Wars, the Civil War and the ongoing civil strife, particularly with the descendants of slavery and genocide. The Moon applies to a sextile of Uranus in the 1st house. The people want change, something radical (Uranus), they are sick of the old wounds. Moon in Cancer wants peace, to be a big family, to be kind and gentle, to care for one another.
Certainly, Pluto in the 10th house suggests changes in the way the country is run will be a theme for the next 20 years and it will be the people, all the people who will steer this change. Because the people are shown by the Moon in Cancer (the mother) it may be women who are at the forefront of this ‘revolution’ against the old ways. Certainly, the government seems exhausted and weak (Saturn in Pisces).
Aquarius offers us a step up from the paternalism of Capricorn and the rule of the ‘big men’ and their big wars. It invites us to embrace real ‘Power to the People’ . This will probably come through social media networks (Aquarius rules technology) and international co-operation. Aquarius rules the circulatory system in the body and on a larger scale how we communicate worldwide, social media, for all its downside certainly has connected the world up.
Pluto entered Aquarius on the 21st and slips out again on September 1st/2nd (depending on your location) when it finally enters Aquarius on the 19th of November to stay until January 20th 2044 by which time things will be changed significantly. The final lurch of Pluto in Capricorn may well show the worst of its shadow, unfortunately it coincides with the US and possibly the UK elections, so there will be a struggle between the worn out past and the new people-led vision. I expect to see a similar showing to the Capricorn ingress. The worst of Capricorn will be exposed and ‘force’ change to rectify the imbalance.
It can only be hoped that those men who need to fight, will do so via technology in this new age of Aquarius. Traditional warfare destroys infrastructure and innocents, while technology can disable almost everything before the killing starts. Now that would be a great use of the inventive Aquarian mind! As if to underline my point, the Houthi of Yemen are using shipping-tracking data to identify Israeli and American ships passing by as they have declared a blockade in the tiny isthmus at the exit of the Red Sea that huge numbers of shipping pass through carrying goods from East to West and vice versa. They then fly observation drones to check the vessels before attacking them with drones and anti-ship missiles. This technology is relatively inexpensive and allows Davids to fight off Goliaths and their big, cumbersome warships. It is a similar story in Ukraine where they are using long-distance drones to bomb energy installations in Russia and decimating any advances the Russians try on land.
Of course, no war would be great too. Aquarius offers us a chance to revisit democracy, for all the people, to stop crushing our ‘enemies’ (Capricorn) and to dialogue with them to reach an accord. Aquarius is the idealist of the zodiac, she lives in the future and has great plans for the human family. Shortly, we may be compelled to listen.
One final point. The US military identifies itself with Classical Athens and their army. The Greek army was extremely successful and even defeated the great Persian army (no change here). But Athens overreached itself and committed the crime of hubris (believing you were invincible or god-like). Unfortunately, after hubris comes nemesis (complete destruction). Athens was eventually defeated by her old foe Sparta and became a vassal state. I looked up the date. The actual date of capitulation was 24th of April 404 BCE. I wondered what Pluto was doing around that time, a lo and behold Pluto moved sign, from Aquarius to Pisces. This suggests the fall of empires, be it political or military or commercial is one showing of Pluto on the edge.
Greek Island Summer School Nidri, Lefkada, June 12th-19th 2024
After last year’s sell-out Summer School this year I am offering something different- Horary Astrology. Over the four teachings days (there are two days off in the week to just chill at the beach or explore the island). we will learn the basics of this fascinating and useful astrological technique which allows us to ask and answer questions such as: should I take this job? Should I buy this house? Why am I ill? What is happening with X? There will time to answer your question and lots of group discussion.
My classes are always mixed ability, from experienced to beginner. I have found mixed groups are great for everyone as beginners often ask very interesting questions and more experienced students learn through these discussions.
The week’s tuition costs £375, travel and accommodation are extra. Joanna Watters who lives on the island knows the best place to stay and flights, she can be contacted here There are more details on my website here and Joanna’s here. Joanna writes a great weekly astrology blog which you can subscribe to here.
The week before my class Joanna is teaching Astrology and Tarot details here. If you decide to do both courses, there is a discount of 15% on the second week. See you there!
- Picture credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins: Public Domain.1 Pluto’s image taken by New Horizons on July 14, 2015, from a range of 22,025 miles (35,445 kilometers). The striking features on Pluto are clearly visible, including the bright expanse of Pluto’s icy, nitrogen-and-methane rich “heart,” Sputnik Planitia. The natural-looking colors result from refined calibration of data gathered by New Horizons’ color Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The processing creates images that would approximate the colors that the human eye would perceive, bringing them closer to “true color” than the images released at the time of the encounter. ↩︎
Elisabeth Brooke 