Today, March 23rd, 2023, Pluto moves into Aquarius. It’s there until June, when it goes back into Capricorn, and then Pluto will waltz back and forth between Capricorn and Aquarius for months at a time until late 2024, when it begins its longer term transit through Aquarius, until 2043. 

Pluto spends more than a decade in each sign. It entered Capricorn in 2008. Pluto is the planet associated with death, rebirth, transformation, regeneration, and the hidden and secretive. It tears down and destroys, clearing and airing out before bringing in the new. When Pluto entered Capricorn, the sign associated with power and structures, including capitalism, we had the financial crisis and the collapse of several banks. The havoc showcased the dangers of unregulated capitalism. Now, as Pluto is leaving Cap, once again, we’re on the precipice of a global financial crisis. It’s asking us if we learned our lesson. 

Beyond capitalism, we also have seen demands for the reformation or tearing down of entrenched structures of patriarchy and white supremacy. We had the election of the first black POTUS, and more recently, the election of the first woman as VP. But during this time, we also had the stunning defeat of a woman presidential candidate at the hands of a man who represents the absolute worst of patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism, the farce of it all. Pluto has brought with it a reckoning in these areas, and the struggles continue.

With Pluto moving into Aquarius, the sign associated with the collective and humanitarianism, it seems like more jockeying for power will follow. Pluto going into Aquarius for a few months (until June) will give us a preview of what to expect in terms of the next 20 years. Aquarius is the water bearer. It wants to give nourishment. Free the people now. It’s also associated with technology and innovation and revolution. The last time Pluto was in Aquarius, we had the American Revolution, which started at the late stages of Pluto in Capricorn (hence the US going through its Pluto return these past couple years) and carried over into the time Pluto entered Aquarius, and maybe more on the nose, we also had the French Revolution. 

In terms of technology, we will definitely be seeing more tech advances during this time. That would be the case regardless of Pluto’s sign, but think about it. Up until recently, there haven’t been all that many technological breakthroughs that have sweepingly changed our everyday lives since the iPhone and the advent of streaming. More recently, we’re seeing the proliferation of crypto, AI, and the metaverse and other VR stuff. In the coming years, technology will probably continue to develop rapidly, with new innovations that we haven’t even thought of becoming part of our lives. But of course, with Pluto, there will be power struggles around that technology and battles over who controls it. The top stories on The New York Times website today, with Pluto moving into Aquarius, are all about the potential ban of TikTok, and TikTok’s CEO is currently being questioned by the Congress this morning. 

With the emphasis on the collective and revolution, while Pluto moves through Aquarius, we will likely also see technology continuing to be utilized in new ways for movements (and, with the power struggles, efforts to cut the technology to thwart organizing and protests), then resulting in more furtive use of tech to plan, organize, and connect people. But because of the emphasis on collectivity, there also may be mobilized populist movements against technology. Will there be anti-tech or anti-AI revolts as people feel more and more threatened by technological advances? Very possible. Will people take their writing, their artistry, and their organizing offline, so that it doesn’t get coopted by and become fodder for AI? 

The “power to the people” vibe of Aquarius will also lend to more burgeoning left-wing movements and greater advocacy of socialism in the coming years. Pluto in Cap saw far right-wing groups become empowered, and Pluto in Aqua will likely see similar emboldening of left-wing groups that are farther left than the current mainstream. We’ll also likely see the proliferation of mutual aid societies, which started to become more popular during Covid (coinciding with Saturn and then Jupiter in Aquarius). 

Aquarius is also an air sign and rules air technology, so we will likely see changes and innovation in air and space travel. Can we manifest teleportation? I ask as someone who hates flying. Please. Let’s work on teleporting. 

I also think this will be when more is revealed to us about the secrets currently held about life outside of Earth. The recent increase in UFO activity feels very Aquarian, and we may see more signs of life from outside our planet. 

Pluto in Aquarius will also normalize debates and questions that have previously not been part of mainstream discourse. Stuff like, should humans even continue to exist? Is Earth better off without us? Will we welcome aliens if they make their presence known, to help us evolve or to wipe us all out (a la The Three-Body Problem)? 

The good thing is that these massive shifts won’t happen overnight. These things seems super jarring now, but we will get used to these ideas gradually, as these things unfold over the next 20 years. They will become part of our lives, as the changes and challenges of Pluto in Capricorn did, and with Aquarius, at least the goal is for the collective to become better off. Exciting times ahead! 

(All of this is just my opinion, based on my personal interpretation of the planets, what they represent in astrology, and what history tells us. I’m not predicting the future here! Take it all with a grain of salt.)