Pluto in Aquarius: Its Meaning and an Astrologer's Prediction

If you are plugged into astrology then you probably already know: Pluto has just entered Aquarius — the sign of technology, the future, and groups of people. Pluto will dip back into Capricorn one last time in September and November, until it fully crosses the threshold into Aquarius and stays there until 2043. What can we expect from this epic, cosmic shift? Let’s unpack the symbolism.

I love understanding the signs through the lens of traditional rulerships. Futuristic Aquarius is historically ruled by Saturn: the planet of limitation. Why? Because Saturn rules time. Time is the biggest limitation on our existence. We only have so many years on this earth, and if we don’t make the most of them, there goes our chance! Sounds rather Saturnian, no?

Capricorn is the side of Saturn which rules the past, while Aquarius is the side of Saturn which rules the future. That’s why Aquarius is associated with technology; ascending technology moves us away from the past and towards the future. Just think about what the invention of birth control did for women’s liberation.
Aquarius is a social sign, it represents groups of people. The dark side of Aquarius brings the Greater Malefic’s rulership into sharp relief: just think about all the terrible things committed by mob violence and senseless tribalism, like the Salem Witch trials. However, Aquarius has a high side to it as well. The greatest innovations in history, such as the internet or the Sistine Chapel, could only be accomplished through an organized group effort.

So let’s discuss Pluto. Pluto tends to put our ego on steroids. Think about Pluto as the critical mass event that makes a volcano erupt. It takes thousands of years of slow, simmering, geologic activity before the volcano blows its top, and transforms the surrounding landscape. Pluto takes something from one state and transforms it to the opposite. In the volcano example, earth becomes fire. 

Pluto is associated with power, control and can inspire some of the darkest extremes of human behavior. Since 2008 when Pluto crossed the corporate sign Capricorn, Big Business amassed unprecedented amounts of money and power. Amazon dominated the marketplace and tech companies increasingly controlled and surveilled our lives. These guys make the Robber Barons of the late 19th century look like cream puffs.

The symbol of Aquarius is the Water Bearer, a person who brings water to the village center where people would gather to collect the precious resource. The Water Bearer is a social networker, and ancient civilizations thrived upon water-based technologies such as plumbing, sanitation, and hydraulic mills. Why does an air sign have water in the symbol? That’s an inquiry for another article, but think about how water-based technology have been replace by electricity. The technologic waves from water have turned into electrical waves, so that Aquarius is actually more of a Wave Maker than a Water Bearer. 

So what can we expect from Pluto in Aquarius? Well, artificial intelligence made a quantum leap while Pluto dipped briefly in this sign last year. AI has the potential to completely transform our society when more jobs are replaced by machines. Aquarius is the sign of the New World Order. I also noticed an increase in large-scale cyber attacks when Pluto edged near Aquarius, the sign of technological networks. These cyber attacks threaten us on an industrial scale by undermining our essential infrastructure like traffic lights, water systems and power grids. I also expect that technology could be increasingly used to control and surveil us, as the planet of power enters the sign of tech.

Technology and social groups can either oppress or liberate us.
Pluto in Aquarius has a higher side to it as well. Usually the more difficult a placement in astrology, the greater the potential within it. Technology and social groups can either oppress or liberate us. Aquarius is about the social contract, creating a new social order that is not bound to the past. It represents a collective effort that accomplishes more than any of us individually can. Pluto is the planet of death, but it is also the planet of regeneration. 

On a personal level, as Pluto transits Aquarius over the next twenty years, try participating in groups which help you accomplish more than you alone could. Redirect your ego to serve the collective’s best interest instead of your own. On a broader scale, let’s hold our leaders — both politicians and CEOs — accountable for new technology that serves the social good. We must be vigilant of any innovation which could be used to control and subjugate us, and demand that it augments our freedom instead. AI could replace a worker’s job, or it could free their schedule to pursue other activities. Pluto brings destruction but it also brings healing. The choice is our’s to make.