Pluto in Aquarius.
Welcome to Pluto in Aquarius, friends.
I’ve had several friends and clients reach out in recent days saying they’ve felt an energy shift. Some who follow astrology have been a little more precise in their outreach, asking what Pluto finally moving into Aquarius (where it will be until 2044, and which is astrology-speak for the massive energy shift many of us are feeling) means for them.
So I decided to put together a post with some of my thoughts on 1) what this astrology might mean for the collective (aka “what time it is on the clock of the world”), and 2) how to work with the energy at an individual level, for those interested in working with it consciously for spiritual growth.
First, the astrology.
Pluto entered Aquarius on November 19th, 2024, and will stay in the sign of the water bearer for the next two decades. It’s been toggling between the last degrees of Capricorn and the early degrees of Aquarius since March 2023, so if you pay attention to astrology you’ve probably been hearing about this for some time (and some people might be wondering, didn’t this already happen?). The significance of Pluto’s shift into Aquarius this past week is that it’s done toggling—it’s now in Aquarius to stay until it starts its shift into Pisces in 2044.
Pluto moving into Aquarius is a shift astrologers have been looking ahead to for decades. As the slowest moving planet in the solar system, Pluto’s sign changes are associated with major energy shifts at a collective level (in addition to transformation within the individual life), so this is something we can all expect to feel. (For timing context on the collective cycle that’s coming to an end: Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008).
Pluto is associated with power, transformation, death and rebirth, purification, transmutation, and that which is unconscious or in shadow, among other things. At both the individual and collective level, as the alchemist of the zodiac, Pluto has a tendency to draw shadow material to the surface and make it visible so it can be acknowledged, purged, let go of, or otherwise worked with in some way to turn metaphorical lead into gold.
Meanwhile, Uranus-ruled Aquarius is associated with innovation, futuristic thinking, groups and networks, humanitarian efforts, technology, electricity, collective consciousness, creative genius, individuation, and social liberation, among other things.
As someone who splits my time between working with astrology and working as a social justice lawyer and advocate for a fairer, more equitable economy, I find collective astrology most valuable as a tool for asking the question: what would it look like if we got it right? And given the powerful range of potentialities inherent in this combination of energy archetypes—and the confusion and unrest many are experiencing amidst what astrologer and historian Rick Tarnas has called a “changing of the gods”—it’s in that spirit that I’m offering the below for folks looking to do their part to help humanity reach for its highest potential in a paradigm shift.
Pluto in Aquarius for the collective.
At the collective level, Pluto’s most recent trip through Capricorn exposed the shadow sides of patriarchy, unchecked capitalism, extreme economic inequality, and America’s broken criminal legal system—to name just a few aspects of Capricorn’s shadow about which collective awareness has grown and shifted rapidly over the past 15 years. Never one for shying away from the dramatic, Pluto’s entry into Capricorn in 2008 coincided with the collapse of several major U.S. banks and the start of the Great Recession.
Now, as Pluto takes up residence in Aquarius—a sign associated with the “we the people” and the collective—populism is certainly in the air, especially here in the U.S. At Shabbat dinner with my parents this week, my mom pulled out a perfect encapsulation of the shift from Pluto-in-Capricorn to Pluto-in-Aquarius—a long-form cover story in The Atlantic on the downfall of “meritocracy” (Capricorn) and the populist (Aquarius) rejection of “elites” (Capricorn) in America’s November election, entitled “How the Ivy League broke America.” (I try not to be that person who brings everything back to the planets but couldn’t resist pointing this out given how astrology-good it was.)
Of note: Pluto’s move into Aquarius comes on top of some other strongly Plutonian energy we’re feeling in the U.S. right now—namely, America’s Pluto return (i.e. Pluto returning to where it was in America’s birth chart at the nation’s founding). While human beings don’t live long enough to see Pluto returns (it takes nearly 250 years for Pluto to make it all the way around the zodiac), countries often do. For a nation, a Pluto return is akin to a soul reckoning, which can manifest as a power struggle over its future. The nation’s core values often come up for review—as does whatever shadow content it hasn’t dealt with. In the case of the U.S., we’re seeing exactly these types of themes play out quite visibly right now—anyone paying attention to American politics can feel the battle for the soul of the nation. And with Pluto returns being energy moments that generally last for about a decade, it’s worth keeping these themes in mind as another layer of the collective astroweather here in the U.S.
Back to Pluto in Aquarius. . . while history doesn’t repeat, as the saying goes, it often rhymes. Pluto’s prior trips through Aquarius (and its alignments with Aquarius’s ruler Uranus) often correlate with times of collective action, political uprisings, revolution, freedom-fighting, long-lasting social and political transformation, and massive breakthroughs in social liberation movements.
Plutonian energy often operates through literal destruction of the old to pave the way for the new, so while much of the history that correlates with its prior trips through Aquarius can be viewed as for the collective good in retrospect, it doesn’t always bring transformation in the most quiet and peaceful way. In just two examples that feel quite relevant today: Pluto was last in Aquarius during the French Revolution and the early years of America’s founding (think 1776).
Some other potential manifestations of Pluto in Aquarius, when you put the Pluto + Uranus archetypes together:
major inventions and innovative breakthroughs that change life as we know it;
a big powering up of science and technology specifically (cough, AI…);
innovation specifically related to air and air travel (maybe even space travel?);
a huge uptick in group therapy and other forms of group healing (including via the internet);
a blow-up of public interest in astrology, the Akashic Records + other new-age modalities;
breakthroughs in quantum physics etc. that help western science catch up with metaphysical wisdom in validating our interconnectedness;
the potential for widespread social isolation;
death and destruction via the air (more airborne illness? forest fires? tornadoes and hurricanes?);
significant increases in technology addiction;
an upswing in emotional detachment; and
just general weirdness.
Meanwhile, because Pluto likes to bring shadow to the surface, in tandem with a powering up of groups and collective efforts, we’re likely to see this coming chapter shine a light on the darker underbelly of populism, group think, cancel culture, collective action, and perhaps democracy itself—as well as AI/tech and other Aquarian topics. We’re already seeing some of this, so many of these themes may not feel like a total surprise—though the frame of collective shadow work can be helpful to keep in mind since the process is rarely easy.
And as we live through these coming years, it’s incumbent on us to remember we’ll live out the astrology as a collective one way or another—but it’s on each of us to claim our own power in reaching for the future we want to be part of building.
A quantum leap in human consciousness?
Pluto’s move into Aquarius also comes on top of some other really significant astrology. Namely, the three outer planets (Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus) are currently in an extremely rare alignment called a “talent triangle.” This is astrology we haven’t seen since the early 16th century (another Pluto-in-Aquarius moment, I should note), around the time of the Copernican Revolution—i.e. when human beings realized the Earth (and the rest of the solar system) revolved around the Sun rather than the other way around.
This combination of Pluto’s, Uranus’s, and Neptune’s energy archetypes will likely manifest in many ways, and on multiple dimensions, some of which we’ve already started to see—for example, at a 3D level, it’s likely we’ll see a continued upswing of sudden (Uranus) destructive and even deadly (Pluto) weather events involving water and flooding (Neptune).
But, at a higher vibration—in combination with some other notable astrology (e.g. the Pisces/Virgo eclipse series that will run Sept. 2024-Feb. 2027, and the coming Saturn-Neptune conjunction taking place at zero degrees of Aries, the first degree of the zodiac, in July 2025—which some astrologers are pointing to as marking the birth of a new era). . . this rare astrological alignment could also be interpreted as the harbinger of a quantum leap in human consciousness.. This is an alignment we’ll all be experiencing—and a wave we’ll be riding—until roughly 2030, with a peak around June 2027.
I wrote about some of this earlier this year around the Pisces Full Moon and am going to drop in the relevant bits here for context:
While all the zodiacal archetypes are related to aspects of consciousness, I particularly think of Pisces and Virgo (which sits opposite Pisces on the zodiac wheel) as linked with the right and left hemispheres of the brain, respectively. Pisces, which is attuned to unity and the larger whole vs its parts, is classic right-brain—the part of the brain that handles holistic thinking, sees the big picture, and is associated with imagination as well as intuition (i.e. the things we know but can’t explain logically why we know). Meanwhile, Mercury-ruled Virgo is emblematic of rational, analytical left-brain consciousness. It excels at discriminating, separating, analyzing, and breaking down the component parts—like the which-of-these-isn’t-like-the-others exercises we used to do in Scholastic Magazine as kids. (My Mercury in Virgo loved those.)
As psychologist and consciousness scholar Ian McGilchrist spends 600+ pages breaking down in The Master and His Emissary—a nerd-heaven deep-dive into not just how the human brain works but the havoc that’s come from most of us in the western world functioning with a “divided brain”—post-enlightenment western society has essentially put left-brain functioning on a pedestal, while we’ve devalued and pushed aside our right brain gifts. (This is a problem because, tl;dr: the right brain is supposed to be in charge (i.e. be “the master”) since it has the big picture. The left brain, which is great at executing but lacks holistic awareness, is better as the “emissary.”) The result? Social structures, laws, and policies based on zero sum, siloed, me-vs.you, I-win-you-lose thinking. You get the gist.
The dawning of a new consciousness.
Amidst this backdrop, many of us can feel that humanity is approaching a new structure or era of consciousness—one that transcends the limitations of our logical left brains running the show. Scholars and philosophers of consciousness over the years have attempted to put a variety of labels on what’s emerging; one school of thought that resonates deeply for me, led by philosophers such as Jean Gebser and Ken Wilber, calls the emerging structure of consciousness “integral” (in contrast to a prior era that’s been defined by “mental” consciousness—which was necessary to the evolution of consciousness but has come to hold humanity back).
Whatever you call it, the shift in consciousness that we’re being invited to move into feels very much like the integration of Pisces and Virgo. It’s a way of being in the world that transcends the either/or of left brain vs. right brain and instead leans into right-and-left-brain fusion. Which takes us to the next thing I’m thinking a lot about with this Pisces New Moon…
Walking the mystical path with earthly feet.
Another dimension of the emerging shift in consciousness we’re moving into—which is also encompassed by the Pisces-Virgo polarity—is the integration of spiritual awareness and practical, earthly consciousness. The grounded understanding that we are spiritual beings having a human experience—simultaneously attuned to both the spiritual and early realities of life on Earth.
Some traditions, including many indigenous cultures who’ve historically taken this type of integrated awareness for granted, call this type of consciousness “dreaming while awake” (a wonderfully Piscean rabbit hole that will really cook your noodle if you want to go down it). Rudolph Steiner, the father of Theosophy (among many other things), called this type of dual-awareness—which he predicted in the early 20th century would be the future of human consciousness—“etheric clairvoyance,” i.e. attunement to the spiritual without needing to be in an “altered” or trance state.
My own belief in the power of this integrated way of being of the world—as someone who’s both a lawyer/public policy professional and an astrologer/energy healer; who regularly shows up to meetings in Washington D.C. with crystals in my bra and tarot cards in my laptop case; and who deploys intuition just as frequently in my law/policy work as I do in my astrological practice—is why I call these energy updates Practical Woo. Intending no shade to anyone who lives at either extreme (and as someone who can relate to both), it can be challenging to be in the world as either the full-on mystic who spends her life in trance or as the full-on left-brainer cut off from her spiritual self.
At our best as humans, we strive for and hopefully find a way to balance, and integrate, heaven and earth.
Differentiated unity.
This brings me to the third dimension of the emerging shift in consciousness I’m thinking a lot about with this Piscean New Moon, which brings in yet another layer of the Pisces-Virgo polarity. And that’s the integration of duality consciousness (embodied by Virgo) and unity consciousness (embodied by Pisces).
Some call this form of dual-awareness “differentiated unity”—i.e. the simultaneous awareness of ourselves as individual human beings and that, like Buddha at the hot dog stand, we are one with everything. There’s great power in holding both levels of awareness at once—a mode of perception that poet William Blake called “double vision.”
All three of the layers of the emerging shift in consciousness I’m reflecting on are, of course, inter-connected (just as Pisces would have it). Each feeds and reinforces the other. And while I’m deeply imperfect just like all humans, the more I’ve consciously striven in my own life towards each of these dimensions of integration, the more I’ve come to believe that as humans, we’re at our best when we at least seek these types of integration—both interpersonally and when it comes to decision-making that impacts the collective.
Interestingly, each of these dimensions of integration is embodied in the Pisces glyph, a line connecting two curved edges ♓️—which in esoteric astrology speaks to the link between our lower/earthy self and Higher/spiritual Self. It’s also linked to the symbol sacred geometry calls a mandorla, which looks like two overlapping circles. The idea being, at our most integrated, we embrace the paradox and see the world through the almond-shaped part where the circles overlap—as a being that knows it’s both an individual and part of The All.
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Many reading this have already been experiencing some or all of these shifts—and many are or will play a role in supporting others in adjusting to and embracing them as part of the ongoing mass awakening and shift into the Age of Aquarius.
But what about how Pluto is activating my birth chart?
This has already turned into a super long post, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t close with a look at what Pluto’s move into Aquarius means at an individual level—given that one of the questions I’m getting asked most right now is how to work with it based on where it’s activating your personal birth chart.
While that kind of analysis requires looking at an individual chart to really do it justice, because lots of other factors will come into play. . . here are some high-level thoughts for folks looking for a starting point to feed their intuition.
First, the energy. Pluto is a distributor of what some call “first ray” energy—aka divine will/power. There are a few ways to think about how this energy operates through an individual person.
At a spiritual level, this type of energy specializes in destroying ego-attachment to form (i.e. whatever we are overly identified with and/or allow to have power over us in a way that holds us back from our next level of spiritual growth). It is deeply associated with the process of surrender—i.e. of ego control of the vehicle to the higher self/spirit (think: “not my will but thine”).
When we are out of alignment with our higher self, and particularly when we resist change, Pluto’s transits often correspond with life events that feel outside our control happening “to” us (events which our egos may really not want when they happen but which later on we realize were for our highest and best good).
But when we align with divine will, at its highest vibration, Pluto invites us to embrace transformation… to let go of old outdated identities and roles… to do our next chapter of shadow work… and to lean into soul liberation—by breaking free from attachment to form in the area(s) of life governed by the sign and house it’s moving through. When we accept and align with Pluto’s invitation, we surrender another level of ego, unlock another dimension of divine power, and level up as a channel for spirit to work through us in the world of form.
Pluto in Capricorn in review. When Pluto moved through Capricorn from 2008-2024, a big part of its invitation at an individual level was to do whatever shadow work we needed w/r/t our relationship to material/ego ambition… compulsive need to achieve… and over-identification with our work roles/public reputation/how people see us. Meanwhile, for those on a spiritual path, many of us experienced material/career ambition transmuted into spiritual ambition and a drive to pursue spiritual initiation—aka reaching for (and ultimately merging with) our highest self so that we begin to live as a soul enthroned in form.
And, to get there, many of us learned we needed to purify (another good Pluto keyword) our motives. Our “why” can’t be about being seen and recognized, being celebrated for our achievements, being validated societally for our professional status or job title (all ego-based drives)—or else we can’t be a vehicle for the soul. Two mantras that sum this up: “your work is not your worth” — and “you are not your work roles.”
The Pluto in Aquarius invitation. Now, as Pluto moves into Aquarius, the parallel invitation for each of us at an individual level is what Jung called individuation—breaking free from social conditioning and fear of societal rejection so that we can embody the highest potential of who we are as unique (and wonderfully weird!) souls in human form. Put differently, we’re being invited to do whatever remaining shadow work we need to do so we can unabashedly be our full, authentic selves (i.e. live our purpose)—and operate as channels for divine will--without ego/fear-driven interference).
“When you deny your nature, there’s a hole in the universe where you were supposed to be.” —Dane Rudhyar
This has special significance for lightworkers, particularly those who are here to share gifts that may set us apart from the mainstream—and which we may hold trauma and wounding around, for having caused us to be labeled weird or different. Some call this the “witch wound”—and given Aquarius’s association with deep-memory trauma, the wounds we’re invited to witness and heal/release may just as likely be from childhood as from past lives (for those who subscribe).
Pluto in Aquarius also has special significance for lightworkers because Aquarius is the sign of lightworkers (aka the group of world servers, in the parlance of theosophy)—making this a time of a major powering up of lightwork, and a time for us to find our soul coworkers and groups.
And as with Pluto’s recent trip through Capricorn, the invitation is once again to transmute shadow into higher vibration expression—this time of Aquarian energy. If Pluto invited us to transmute material ambition into spiritual ambition in Capricorn, its parallel invitation in Aquarius is to transmute the shadow dimension of group consciousness (social conditioning and fear of rejection by the group) into the differentiated unity described above.
Which house is Aquarius in your chart? The above may already be plenty to work with. But/and: for folks who are familiar with the 12 houses in astrology (aka the “mansions of the soul”), you can unlock a whole other dimension of the Pluto-in-Aquarius invitation by looking at which house has Aquarius on the cusp in your birth chart.
The areas of life that are ruled by that house are where you can expect the greatest transformation in the coming years—and likewise, they may be the domains of life that will serve as the vehicle of your transformation. Pluto’s transits are often like stepping through a portal—you aren’t the same person on the other side.
Meanwhile, connecting the individual dimension with the discussion of the collective invitation above (again, with special significance for lightworkers): the house Pluto is activating is the area of life where divine will wants to work through you in service of the larger plan.
I could probably fill up an entire post on how to work with Pluto in Aquarius through each house, but for now, I’ve distilled the archetypes into a few keywords and concepts for each of the 12 houses:
1st house (Aquarius rising)
Transformation comes through: shedding the outer layers of self that are not in alignment with your core essence.
Break free from identification with: physical appearance, body, personality.
Shadow work opportunity: selfishness, superficiality, false self.
The spiritual power-up: authenticity, your aura.
2nd house (Capricorn rising)
Transformation comes through: breaking free from social conditioning around your livelihood, discovery/retrieval of hidden talents.
Break free from identification with: material resources, money and how you make it.
Shadow work opportunity: materialism, blocks to self-esteem.
The spiritual power-up: unconditional self-love.
3rd house (Sagittarius rising)
Transformation comes through: communication, teaching, writing; releasing fears about what others will think about what you have to say/how you say it.
Break free from identification with: lower/concrete mind, left brain, the contents of consciousness.
Shadow work opportunity: self-editing, endless activity due to nonstop mental activity, gossip.
The spiritual power-up: giving your higher self the mic.
4th house (Scorpio rising)
Transformation comes through: home, family, re-parenting yourself.
Break free from identification with: family/parental conditioning, family roles, lineage, your emotions.
Shadow work opportunity: over-sensitivity, poor boundaries, wounds from early childhood/mother wounds, blocks to self-care.
The spiritual power-up: connecting with your deeper self.
5th house (Libra rising)
Transformation comes through: releasing blocks to authentic self-expression for fear of what others will think; children; play; romance.
Break free from attachment to: need for external validation of what you create and how you express yourself; feeling special; attention/applause.
Shadow work opportunity: narcissism, taking things personally.
The spiritual power-up: higher self actualization through creative projects.
6th house (Virgo rising)
Transformation comes through: releasing fears about what others will think of the work you do in the world; uncovering your healing gifts; releasing social conditioning around health and healing.
Break free from identification with: work roles, physical body.
Shadow work opportunity: perfectionism, martyrdom, workaholism, hypochondria, blocks to self-care.
The spiritual power-up: becoming a portal for divine presence.
7th house (Leo rising)
Transformation comes through: releasing social conditioning around relationships.
Break free from attachment to: needing to be liked, having to be in a relationship to feel safe, societal validation of your relationships.
Shadow work opportunity: blocks to self-love.
The spiritual power-up: marriage of the lower and higher self.
8th house (Cancer rising)
Transformation comes through: surrendering to life’s flow; shared resources/other people’s money; occult or magical work; death and rebirth.
Break free from identification with: ego/lower self; material and/or karmic inheritances..
Shadow work opportunity: control issues, manipulation in relationships.
The spiritual power-up: trust in the divine.
9th house (Gemini rising)
Transformation comes through: releasing social conditioning around your cosmology.
Break free from identification with: a specific belief system or ideology.
Shadow work opportunity: trauma/wounding around religion or spirituality.
The spiritual power-up: becoming a conduit for the higher mind.
10th house (Taurus rising)
Transformation comes through: releasing societal expectations to align with your higher calling.
Break free from identification with: career, public roles, social standing.
Shadow work opportunity: parental expectations and conditioning.
The spiritual power-up: becoming an agent of divine will in a way that is part of your public role and/or has an impact on the larger world.
11th house (Aries rising)
Transformation comes through: connecting with groups who help you uncover your authentic dreams; releasing fear of social rejection to share your unique gifts with the collective.
Break free from identification with: what others think of you.
Shadow work opportunity: deep-memory/past life trauma, fear of societal rejection, witch wound.
The spiritual power-up: embracing your gifts as a lightworker; finding your soul coworkers.
12th house (Pisces rising)
Transformation comes through: releasing fears around being different—and connecting with your deeper self—through solitude, spiritual practice, meditation, shadow work.
Break free from identification with: personality, self, form, illusion of separateness.
Shadow work opportunity: unconscious limiting beliefs, past life trauma.
The spiritual power-up: soul liberation.
