Pluto enters Aquarius (1/20/24 - 3/8/43)

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."
- The Dalai Lama 

Art by Edie Pijpers www.edieart.com

Pluto is the planet of destruction and rebirth. Pluto exposes that which is toxic, decaying and unhealthy, so we can bring about much-needed healing and renewal. Pluto is the slowest moving of all the planets, so when Pluto changes signs, it’s a very big deal. Pluto's last shift was in the capitalistic sign of Capricorn in 2008. Shortly thereafter, we had the stock market crash, which revealed power imbalances and corruption in the housing market. Since then, we have been exposing all kinds of corruption in Big Business, Big Pharma, Big Politics. This is what Pluto does—unmasks toxic power grabbing, manipulation, dominance and control. Pluto’s aim is not to cause us to suffer, but rather to reveal suffering so that we can be liberated and can create newer rules, regulations, and practices to support healthy growth that represents all interests, not just the interests of a few.

Pluto now enters Aquarius on January 20th, 2024, before retrograding one last time, for just a couple months, into Capricorn from September to November of 2024, helping us to finalize what we've learned, personally and collectively, since 2008. Then on November 19th of 2024, Pluto returns to Aquarius, where it will remain for a long duration of 20 years, heralding a new social era.

January 20th will be the first major shift of Pluto into Aquarius since 1798 (excluding the very brief 3-month stint we had in Spring of 2023). Pluto now shines a spotlight on our social connections, social rights and equality, science, innovation, technology, and social media, exposing corruption and toxicity in these areas. The last time Pluto was in Aquarius, 226 years ago, we were in the middle of the American Revolution. Pluto was aiding us in fighting for our social rights and sovereignty from colonialist England, and as a result, we gained independence from the British with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. 

The March to Valley Forge, December 19, 1777. Painted by William B. T. Trego,. oil on canvas, 1883.
This painting is one of the most iconic commemorative works on the American Revolution.

With Pluto's imminent return to the freedom-loving Air sign of Aquarius, where might social revolution come from this time? Take a look around you. Where is the tension building? Where are people fighting for their rights? Where do you see social inequality, oppression, and power grabbing, or people adhering to strict and outdated social norms that no longer serve the general population? What new social trends are emerging? Look for the themes, laws, political movements, or technological developments that are impacting social consciousness and social freedoms, and you will have your clues.

I believe the biggest themes will emerge where society and technology intersect, as we have seen massive explosions of innovation in the last 40 years with the internet, smart devices, social media, and AI. Some of these innovations have accelerated social justice (e.g. cell phones recording and broadcasting crimes against humanity in real-time), while others prey upon our individual and collective consciousness (e.g. social media monetizing our attention through algorithms designed to manipulate us into staying online). This next era will likely require us to set some ground rules around how technology governs our lives and impacts our social connections, mental health, and right to privacy.

Now, these are just my observations. As always, I want to be sure to include Spirit's view on the matter, since the Cosmos has a much better idea than I do as to what this transit will bring. That's why I decided to do a shamanic journey to get guidance from Source, and from Pluto, to see what this transit will be teaching us. I will share with you what Spirit showed me: 
 

I walked barefoot in the middle of the desert. It was night, the bright stars hovered and glittered above me. Everything was desolate, the sand was cold beneath me my feet, the evening was quiet, and only dead and gnarled trees surrounded me for company. Gradually, the dark turned into dawn and the sun rose overhead, the heat growing more intense and oppressive as the hours ticked by. The hot sand burned my feet, and skin started to peel away from my lips. I looked ahead in the distance and saw a shining oasis, bright and iridescent green, promising sanctuary. I ran to it, elated, imagining the feeling of drinking fresh cool water. Yet when I arrived, the oasis disappeared. It was a mirage, an illusion. The sun continued to stare me down and I collapsed.
 

All of a sudden, I saw people approaching me on the horizon. One by one they arrived. I squinted until my eyes could focus on their faces. There was a transwoman who offered me water, and a white supremacist offered me food. A Palestinian offered me a healing ointment for my blistered feet, and an Israeli offered a hat to shade me from the sun. A Russian offered clothing to keep me warm at night, and a Ukrainian offered me shades for my eyes. More people came—different faces from all over the world, representing different cultures, views, or opposing sides of conflict, each with an offering to help me survive. 
 

It was then that I realized the desert represented fear, and the mirage was the illusion of righteousness. In accepting the gifts and embracing each of the unique souls of the people before me, the true oasis appeared, and it was lush, green, and fertile. 
 

The message from God, from Pluto, from Aquarius was clear: Each of us has something that the other needs. We all have a gift, a lesson, or a healing touch to offer others. We need each other. If we reject just one of our siblings’ offerings, we will not survive and we’ll exile ourselves to that desert of fear and death.

Art by Edie Pijpers

The function of Pluto in Aquarius? To remind us of our shared humanity. The Universe is designed this way. We are all part of One great consciousness; we are interlinked, and we are here to teach each other, even when we seem to contradict one another. We need each drop in the ocean in order to thrive.

As with all Pluto transits, our greatest fears, past traumas, and deepest insecurities will be exposed. If we rise to the occasion, learn from them, and seek togetherness even when we are afraid, we can heal and become stronger. We get to make this choice everyday, no matter what is happening in the world around us, no matter what stories are depicted on the news, we can choose to believe that reality is bleak and there is only suffering, or we can choose to focus on the good, on love, on strength, and forge a better world.

Aquarius is the sign of social justice and equality, and yet people often get equality confused. Being equal does not mean that we are all the same, that we should toe the party line, or reinforce mainstream thinking inside an echo chamber. Equality means we deserve to be treated kindly, respectfully, even when we may be very different. It is the honoring and celebration of differences which ultimately makes humanity so unique.

To share a quote from the great thought leader, Simon Sinek: “Faith is knowing that you are on a team, even when you don’t know who the other players are.”

We are all on the same team, and we are all a divine extension of God, made manifest in physical form.