After 16 years in Capricorn, Pluto moves into Aquarius. One era shifts to another. Pluto’s time in Aquarius will tear down old systems, carve out new societies, and completely transform humanity’s relationship with science and technology over the next 20 years.
Pluto is an evolutionary planet; its role is to foster an evolutionary experience. Part of a class of planets that were discovered in modern times and wholly unknown to the ancients, Pluto was discovered in 1930, which means that we’ve barely had a century to understand the planet through an astrological lens. But what has become evident is that Pluto does its evolutionary work by revealing what has been hidden and pushed aside, exposing what is corrupt, toxic, and needing reformation.
Whatever Pluto touches has to completely change. It is non-negotiable.
Aquarius, the 11th Sign of the Zodiac
Aquarius is a sign that speaks to society and social structures, groups and communities. It is also the systems that build connection and exchange, especially the exchange of information and ideas. After all, along with Gemini and Libra, Aquarius is an air sign. Air is the element of the mind, of communication, of education, of fairness and equity. It’s also the element of choice and duality.
Ruled by Saturn, Aquarius is the result of our choices and the planning that came before. It is our ideas made into networks and systems. It’s intellect and ideology. It’s a vision of what our future could be. It is the interconnectivity of the world.
Speaking of the world, the Saturn ruled signs govern over our manifested world. Capricorn is the physicality of our world, from its structures to governments and organizations. Aquarius is the systems that power these governments and organizations, like an invisible tissue. You don’t realize how important Aquarius is until it breaks down.
It’s important to understand that Aquarius, as a sign and archetype, is very different from what we may culturally expect Aquarius to be. A lot of our western programming around Aquarius goes back to the 1960s, where it became shorthand for “peace and love” and “utopia”.
Aquarius can have high ideals and a vision for something better. But Pluto will reveal the work we have to do, individually and collectively.
Pluto Meets Aquarius
If Pluto is an evolutionary and karmic force, it will hold the mirror to society and humanity. We will have to examine:
- connection versus disconnection
- humanity versus inhumanity
- justice versus injustice
- consciousness versus anti-consciousness
- the power that runs the world
- the power of ideas
- the power of choice
- social systems and networks
- the social fabric
- the global framework
- the role of science and technology
- the collective
The question is, what role will we play?
Read Pluto in Aquarius: Sign by Sign to discover what it will mean for your Sun and rising sign.
Seeds Planted with Saturn in Aquarius
I think it’s important to note that Saturn was in Aquarius from March 2020 until March 2023. We saw first hand what happens when systems begin to get tested or even break down. While Saturn is a very different planet than Pluto, seeds were planted while Saturn was in Aquarius. Perhaps we will see what these seeds will grow into.
Pluto in Aquarius Throughout History
It takes Pluto 248 years to travel the zodiac. So, as you can imagine, Pluto spends great chapters of time in each of the signs. Previous dates of Pluto in Aquarius include: 1778 to 1798; 1532 to 1553; 1286 to 1308 ….
Note that the consciousness of humanity was very different during these periods. Which is to say, we can’t look to history to give us a playbook for the next 20 years. But what we can expect is that the world may look very different by the time Pluto reaches the end of Aquarius in 2044.
The Age of Aquarius?
Despite what others may be saying, Pluto’s arrival in Aquarius is not the start of the Age of Aquarius. First, what is the Age of Aquarius? It’s a period of about two thousand years where the Sun rises in alignment with the zodiac sign of Aquarius at the spring equinox.
The exact date of the start of the Age of Aquarius is up for debate. Some say it began in the 19th Century, others say it has yet to begin. Perhaps what we can agree on is that the world has been in a state of transition for quite some time.
Pluto in Aquarius Key Dates
This is a non-comprehensive list since there are many dates that could be considered during Pluto’s 20-year time in Aquarius. But the following are important periods when Pluto enters and leaves Aquarius or gets activated by another slow moving planet.
March 25, 2023 — Pluto’s first arrival in Aquarius
May 17, 2023 — Jupiter in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius
June 11, 2023 — Pluto returns to Capricorn
January 20, 2024 — Pluto returns to Aquarius
September 1, 2024 — Pluto returns to Capricorn
November 19, 2024 — Pluto makes final ingress into Aquarius
March 28, 2026 — Saturn in Aries sextile Pluto in Aquarius, 5 degrees
July 20, 2026 — Jupiter in Leo opposite Pluto in Aquarius, 4 degrees
June 23, 2028 — Saturn in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, 8 degrees
July 9, 2028 — Chiron in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, 8 degrees
October 24, 2028 — Chiron in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, 6 degrees
November 15, 2028 — Saturn in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, 8 degrees
March 29, 2029 — Saturn in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, 10 degrees
June 2, 2029 — Chiron in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, 10 degrees
October 31, 2029 — Jupiter in Scorpio square Pluto in Aquarius, 8 degrees
December 9, 2029 — Chiron in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, 8 degrees
April 28, 2030 — Chiron in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius, 12 degrees
March 8, 2043 — Pluto’s first arrival in Pisces
September 1, 2043 — Pluto returns to Aquarius
January 19, 2044 — Pluto’s makes final ingress into Pisces