Ready For the Next Revolution? The Ingress of Pluto into Aquarius in 2024

Pluto has been dipping it's foot into the waves of Aquarius for some time before finally making its entry this year for good. What sort of shift will we see with this?

During Pluto's transit through Capricorn in 2008 it was brought to light just how capitalistic our society has become. We saw how the greed of large organizations and a select few with power exploited worldly resources in a manner that did not benefit the masses or the common good. We began to call for restructuring of those governing powers and the business model currently in effect so that we could have more time to be human. Now Pluto is moving on to Aquarius to truly shake up that ship. Let's see how.

Pluto is finally moving fully into Aquarius 23 March this year with a brief visit back into Capricorn in September before fully committing to Aquarius until 2044.

What is the Archetype of Pluto in Astrology?

Pluto is a very slow moving planet. It takes around 20 years on average to move through just one given sign and 248 years to move through the entire Zodiac! Pluto is considered to be a generational planet – meaning that a certain generation will have the same Pluto sign and will be born into an era that had certain views on sexuality, the power structure and resource management.

Pluto on a mundane front deals with power, control, collective evolution and the secrets of a society. Pluto destroys that which no longer serves us and forces us to rebuild ourselves with more knowledge, honesty, understanding and insight. It requires brutal honesty and enlightened sacrifice to deal with these energies. It compels us to explore everything more deeply so that we may understand why things are the way they are and transform them so that we may grow. Pluto breaks through illusions and forces us to deal with the truth.

What is the Archetype of Aquarius in Astrology?

Aquarius represents groups of people, social institutions and our society at large. It rules humanitarian efforts. It posits that each person should be able to express their individuality, however that all people should be treated equally. It's ruling planets are Saturn and Uranus (in modern astrology). Saturn is discipline and practicality. Uranus is innovation. Together we get an energy that is expressed as the practical application of innovative ideas.

What Does Pluto in Aquarius Mean?

We see themes of unwavering loyalty to a specific viewpoint. Authoritarian themes of thought-control and the deliberate shaping of beliefs or worldviews may manifest under a facade of unification, equality and encouraging individuality. There may be persecution of those who refuse to follow the new prevailing viewpoint, as we saw with the Spanish Conquests and the Transatlantic slave trade. We see that these periods often lead to the unification of a large group of people, but not often via harmonious means. We may see the world become more detached in mindset especially as tech continues to infiltrate our lives.

We also see sudden scientific advancement during these periods. As well we can expect great technological progress that forces humanity to reconsider the knowledge they think they have, think outside the box and revolutionize the way they do things. This is an era where knowledge is coveted.

Views towards sexuality also change. This is likely to be a period where we see a strong desire for sexual freedom and the desire to practice sexual habits that vary greatly from convention.

What Happened the Last Time?

During the most recent transit of Pluto through Aquarius, between 1777 and 1798, we saw a series of global movements toward independence and revolution that favored the people over the dominant power systems. These ultimately led to the construction of a new world with more utopian values for some. The balance of power shifted from a reigning monarchy towards community-led governments that the people felt were more in their favor. These two decades saw the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

The Age of Enlightenment reached its pinnacle during this period. It was characterized by a range of ideas centered on the value of human happiness, the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason and ideals such as liberty, progress, toleration, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state. These principles established the groundwork for human rights and democratic institutions. Additionally, Mary Wollstonecraft published "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" in 1792, which argued that women should be treated as equal, rational beings, especially regarding education. In Britain in 1787 the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was formed to work towards outlawing the slave trade and slavery in Britain in the decades to follow.

While the late 1700 was the dawning of the Industrial Revolution, Copernicus put wood into the fire of The Scientific Revolution in 1543 with his publishing of “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres,” which formally demonstrated the heliocentric model of the solar system upturning the world of a geocentric Europe. With the help of advancements in telescopes the planet Uranus was discovered in 1781, expanding the worlds view of our solar system again. Seeing as Aquarius also rules aircrafts, it is no surprise that the first hot air balloon kissed the skies in 1783, as humanity defied gravity for the first time ever.

What Might Happen When Pluto Transits Aquarius This Time?

By the end of Pluto’s time in Aquarius in 2044, we can expect our social norms and ideologies to be radically transformed.

Socially

Pluto in Aquarius will bring revolution worldwide. Over the next twenty years, we will see people rise in many countries, revolting against oppressive governments. Pluto in Aquarius might be described as power to the people.

Aquarius is the sign of the Sun’s detriment, so the concept of leadership and entertainers may undergo an overhaul during this transit. New technologies grant us access to the entertainment world, so that it is easier to be seen; however to be remembered requires expressing oneself in a very unconventional manner. At the end of this transit we should see a societal move from the accumulation of power and wealth by a chosen few in favor of one that supports equality and the collective. Success in society will no longer be determined by how well one builds resources and creates stability but by one's willingness to embrace individuality and assert one's uniqueness.

Because Pluto rules resources we might find that this ingress gives rise to the emergence and implementation of a worldwide digital currency. This might benefit the masses, encouraging the movement of people between different countries with ease since all resources would have the same value. However it may also inspire fear and wariness because now your personal assets could easily be controlled by the government or exploited by digital bandits. Pluto moving into Aquarius also heralds a time where the people seek to have more control of wealth or for it to be more fairly distributed amongst them. So we might see efforts made to close the gap between the wealthy and everyone else so that there is more equality in the economic classes.

Because Aquarius is an air sign and the air element expresses itself as travel and movement, we can expect to see people spreading out into new locations and countries redefining their borders. There is a stronger desire to feel a sense of global community now. Because of this technologies that draw us together from far places are significant during this period. We can expect to see a boost in social media and other such platforms which facilitate connections between people from all over the world. New ways of approaching our social needs can be in order as well.

The struggle for basic human autonomy and rights will likely continue for the next few years. Reproductive laws, racial issues and LGBTQ+ rights as well as immigration are likely to continue to be hard topics with conventional and unconventional opinions at odds. We are likely to find ourselves confronting issues of control and power related to individuality, equality, friendships, and group associations. Outdated and discriminatory concepts of how we treat each other will be challenged, and in time, changed.

Technology and Medicine

With Pluto in Aquarius, we should see transformative themes in the realms of technology, science, and innovative medical techniques. We can expect to see major scientific, medical, and technological discoveries, especially in the realm of space exploration. New types of surgeries for people to transform their bodies as they see fit to express their individuality will arise now. Advancements in prosthetics and robotic or bioengineered organs could provide life-changing benefits extending human life beyond its current expectancy. Innovation (especially in energy sources) may help to battle the extensive use of fossil fuels to tackle the climate change problem. "New Age" forms of medicine like reiki, energy healing, and sound healing may become more mainstream and attain more validity as science proves their effectiveness and how they work.

With Pluto being adamant about exerting control, we'll see it expressed here via the realms of technology and social pressure. Governments may introduce more control systems that involve the use of technology, such as microchipping for tracking; with your data and financial resources linked to these chips.

We are likely to see another technological revolution of sorts during this time. New forms of technology will drive us towards a much more automated world, decreasing the need for certain jobs to be staffed. New industries will thus arise as people seek new ways to make income and integrate new skills.

What Does Pluto in Aquarius Mean on a Personal Level?

For each of us Pluto's personal influence depends on what house it transits in our natal chart and the aspects it makes during that journey. It may not be particularly significant unless it makes aspects in your chart for the next 20 years. You'll just get the global influence. Take a peek at the house Pluto is transiting in your chart here: Pluto Transits.

If you have significant chart placements in any of the fixed signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius – prepare to be intensely dealing with themes of transformation, death and rebirth over the next few years as Pluto makes its way through Aquarius.

Final Thoughts

I should note that during this next 21 year cycle we have a strong emphasis of generational planets falling in air signs. Air is the element that corresponds to the mind, new ideas, discoveries, technology, education, social connection, movement and pandemics. Jupiter and Saturn will now conjoin in Air signs for the next 200 years! Many astrologers herald this as a sign of the Aquarian Age or the age of air bringing our focus to more intellectual and social pursuits instead of the materialism that has flourished since these two bodies have come together in earth signs for the past few centuries. Here is a great read on the subject: The Great Conjunctions and The Jupiter Saturn Cycle and the Transition into Air.

Undoubtably we are moving into a new era with many revolutionary changes ahead. We have already seen a lot of the preliminary sketches of what may come. For sure Pluto will snatch away the curtain and force us to let go of a lot of outdated methods which may cause a lot of conflict for those who continue to hold on to the old. But ultimately we will all be pushed to grow and confront the truth.