It’s Aquarius season! As an Aquarius myself, I welcome it with open arms. The punishment of having a birthday in the absolute dregs of winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) is partially mitigated by getting to be an Aquarius, with the joy of being the smartest person in the room and the smug satisfaction of knowing that you listened to that band or were wearing that style or were espousing the tenets of that political movement before it was cool. But it’s coupled with the pain of looking around at everyone else and thinking, “I am truly alone in this world. No one else understands anything.”
Aquarius is a sign associated with rebellion, revolution, and genius. Not to say that every Aquarius exhibits all these traits outwardly, because every person has a whole plethora of things going on in their own natal chart, but when we look at our geniuses and revolutionaries, it’s not surprising when they have Aquarius placements. Toni Morrison, the greatest American author, had an Aquarius sun, Mercury, and Midheaven.
It takes the collective a while to catch up with Aquarians, but during Aquarius season, focus gets pulled to what isn’t working and how it can be made better. We see protests. We see organizing. It’s a cliche that Aquarius is about power-to-the-people, but it’s a cliche because it’s true.
The same day that the Sun moved into Aquarius this year, it was followed shortly by Pluto. Pluto in Aquarius is a big deal. It represents the beginning of a new era, one in which we will likely see the rapid adoption of advanced technology, mass populist movements, and revolutions. I’m hoping Pluto in Aquarius + Uranus in Gemini, coming up over the next few years, will usher in electric air travel (or even better, teleportation).
The last time Pluto was in Aquarius, we had the American Revolution and the French Revolution, bloody conflicts where the monarchy was rejected, and the Haitian revolution, when the enslaved people of Haiti fought for and won independence from French colonizers. What revolutions will take place over the next decade plus? Time will tell (but some Aquarians are likely already seeing them coming).
When Pluto is in a sign, it takes about 20 years, give or take, to go through it. We feel it more in the world at large than personally. It’s a vibe shift and the backdrop for big generational stories. I’ve seen a lot on astrology social media indicating that Pluto going into Aquarius will revolutionize something in the individual’s life. I’d like to caution everyone to take that with a grain of salt. Pluto moving through an area of your chart does not mean that you’re immediately going to see transformative things happen to you. Of course, you could, and those who have planets or angle points in the early degrees of Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, and Scorpio may see some huge changes play out over the next couple years. This is why it’s best to get a birth chart reading. Just because Pluto changes signs, it doesn’t herald huge sweeping changes in everyone’s lives right now. Again, it’s 20 years! Most people experience pretty big changes in their lives over a 20-year period, Pluto or no Pluto.
Anyway. With the sun in Aquarius, we always get a full moon in Leo, and this year it occurs on Thursday, January 25th, and is exact at 12:54 pm ET. This full moon is at 5 degrees of Leo, with the sun at 5 degrees of Aquarius, and it forms a T-square to Jupiter in Taurus, so the usual themes of release that accompany a full moon see some tension with what Jupiter represents: expansion and growth. Ask yourself, how can you use the full moon to shed the stuff you’ve outgrown, in the cool light of the Aquarius sun, to help you grow and evolve?
At this same time, Mercury is approaching a conjunction with Mars. Our last full moon, in Cancer, was also infused with Mercury-Mars energy, and this time, with the full moon in a fire sign, it promises to be feisty. Tempers may flare. Leo is a campfire, so stoke it with the good stuff, the stuff Leo loves (affirmations! self care!) instead of sharp criticism of yourself and others. In fact, since the full moon is a time for release, maybe it’s your most vicious takes and judgments you want to let go of. Aquarians can be judgmental at an individual level, but they are accepting and understanding at a collective level, so let’s embrace those vibes. This full moon will likely roil some egos in a big way, so best to keep that in mind as you’re dealing with people over the next couple days.