Pluto in Aquarius: Pain as a Means of Transformation
“Pain As A Means of Transformation”
On January 20th, 2024 the Lord of the Underworld will take his first step into Aquarius. Pluto, the planet of intensity, shadow, and the death/rebirth cycle, will begin his 19.5 year journey through Aquarius after leaving behind a 15 year cycle in Capricorn. As one of, if not THE, most intense planetary ingress we feel due to the length of time and the power of Pluto, we can all expect to feel this shift both collectively and individually.
Who is Pluto?
Pluto, also known in Greek mythology as Hades, is the planet at the farthest reach of our solar system. He lurks in the shadows, far beyond the Sun’s warmth. Pluto represents the underbelly of our psyche, the deep secrets hidden within our own subconscious, death and rebirth, endings and beginnings, fixation, obsessions, possessiveness, fear, doubts, pain, magnetism and power.
Pluto’s mantra is “What you don’t own, owns you.”
This dwarf planet has a big impact. Pluto only makes his way through the entire zodiac every 244 years, spending anywhere from 11.5 to 31.5 years in a sign due to his irregular elliptical. We consider Pluto a “generational planet,” meaning that his influence makes a clear distinction between those born with their Pluto in one sign to the next. When Pluto changes signs, we often see significant shifts happen in society, and in retrospect we can examine history through his ingresses and see fascinating patterns.
Pluto through Capricorn
Since January 2008, Pluto has been on a tirade through the sign of Capricorn. Capricorn, ruler of government structures, financial institutions, political ideologies, tradition, and patriarchy, has been under Pluto’s influence for the last 15+ years. We witnessed economic fallout with the 2008 recession, political power struggles, unsavory “leaders” rise to power, and drastic wealth inequality grow. We saw secrets exposed on a massive scale, and a growing interest in psychology and mental health. Conspiracy theories exploded and society violently divided over political, social, and financial ideologies. We have witnessed the cost of greed as it obsessed over wealth accumulation while the health of our environment suffered. We’ve had to examine the dark side of humanity as it relates to violence, pain, inequality, sexual misconduct, and so much more. Pluto has left a wake of destruction in his path over the last fifteen years.
But as with every ending, there is always a new beginning. Destruction creates space for something new to emerge. As much as we want to make Pluto the villain in our story, he is the necessary balance; the red flag warning we all must heed; the canary in the coal mine for where we ourselves are disconnected from our highest power and righteousness.
Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius
Astrology is not meant to predict the future nor build cages, though we can take a look at how Pluto’s transits have activated patterns in the past to help us prepare for similar experiences that may come next.
Though Pluto will have a brief retrograde back into Capricorn during part of his retrograde journey from May 2nd to October 12th, he will spend the next nearly 20 years in the high-minded sign of Aquarius. Aquarius, co-ruled by Saturn and Uranus, is the zodiac more concerned with “the highest and best for the good of all” rather than for the more powerful few. Aquarius often represents freedom of thought, the collective consciousness, humanitarianism, technology and innovation, rebellion, and conscious community. In Pluto’s journey through Aquarius, we can expect massive shifts in financial institutions, power being returned to the people and out of the hands of the power-drunk, lightning-fast innovation in technology, communities being built with higher ideals, and exodus of citizens leaving behind support of corporate and governmental structures and focusing on smaller, healthier avenues of commerce, communal living, and political ideals.
Because we’re still talking about Pluto here, there will likely be some massive upheaval that creates the opportunity for these new ways of living to be erected. To offer some context, the last time Pluto moved from Capricorn to Aquarius was the beginning of the American Revolution in which the colonists of the “New World” rebelled against the British Monarchy. It was a violent experience, but it ultimately liberated the people of what would become the United States from the outdated structures of an oppressive monarchy on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Only because of the barbarous breakdown of war and rebellion was one of the greatest and most powerful countries in the world born. It showed the world what happens when a small, yet determined few, ferociously and unapologetically take their power back.
Collectively, this will be a time to pay close attention to as we witness power moving back into the hands of the people, new systems emerge, financial reckoning, and a shift from “me” to “we.”
Your chart and Pluto
Individually, the signs that will be most affected by Pluto’s transition to Aquarius are fixed signs (Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio, and Taurus). Those that have any of their sacred triad (Sun, Moon, and Rising) in any of these signs can expect massive transformation over the next 20 years. Those with cardinal placements (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) are ready to breathe a sigh of relief as Pluto’s influence moves off of them.
Aquarius Signs | ALCHEMY
Those with an Aquarius Sun, Moon, and Rising will experience Pluto’s transit into their sign the most profoundly. At some point in the next 20 years, Pluto will conjunct any planets (and asteroids) within this sign. Anything Pluto touches in your chart is on the chopping block for colossal transformation, typically by the confrontation of your deepest fears in order to alchemize them into your greatest power. Pay close attention to the instinctual way you respond to this energy, for they will be particularly illuminating of any dark truths that are keeping you from accessing your full potential.
Leo Signs | ILLUMINATION
As dark and brooding Pluto will oppose your shiny and expressive Leo placements, you will likely experience seasons of tension. The darker parts of yourself will be sucked into the shadow of Pluto, though momentarily. Pluto’s influence is quite strong in opposition, and will win any argument between it and any other planet due to its age and magnetism. Oppositions create a push/pull, teeter-totter energy in which you will be asked to work with any of your shadow aspects in order to bring them back into the warmth of the Sun and regain your light once again. Be ready to give any attention to where you’ve been hiding your light, and why. Pluto will expose any secrets tied to this and demand you step back into your power.
Scorpio and Taurus Signs | EVOLUTION
Scorpio and Taurus placements often feel everything as a visceral somatic experience, and with Pluto squaring your sign, you can trust the fact that you will not be the same person you were before when this transit is complete. Both Scorpio and Taurus finally got a moment to relax after the eclipse cycle went through their signs from January 2022 to July 2023, but this experience will be even more profound. Scorpio/Taurus placements will be squared by Pluto, activating a huge potential for growth, though likely through confronting and uncomfortable experiences. You may feel stunted or blocked in your growth journey, only until you commit to the unappealing process of deep self-evaluation. As a result, you will likely experience intense psychological (or even psychic) awakenings that change you permanently. Ultimately, this is a liberating experience.
A special note: Those born between 1984 and 1995 under Pluto in Scorpio are gearing up for their Pluto square, a season that almost always brings about intense revelations, transformations, deaths and births, and power struggles. When transiting Pluto squares your natal Pluto, it can show up as life-altering moments that change the course of your life, for the better…even if it doesn’t feel like that at the moment. Pluto squares ask you to evolve past your old self and claim the person you were meant to be.
Pluto in Aquarius through the Houses
Regardless of any planets you may or may not have in Aquarius, Pluto will still be transiting one of your astrological houses (the various environments or aspects of your life). All zodiacs are represented in your chart somewhere with a corresponding house. Depending on whether or not you have planets or placements depends on how strongly or acutely you will feel his influence. Look up your natal chart (I prefer using the Whole Sign system) to determine what house Pluto will be transforming in your chart for the next 20 years.
1st House (Aquarius Rising)
Ego | Self-Identity | Self-Image | Expression of your Energy
Those with an Aquarius Ascendant will have Pluto alchemizing your sense of self. Any ways in which you have kept yourself hidden from the world will be exposed and transmuted. You will experience Pluto’s transit as an overhaul of how you operate in the world, how you feel about yourself, and even how you express your energy outwardly. You will be forced to purge any false notions of self, for the world needs you to be its revolutionary leader. If you commit to this process, you will become a leader that others can turn to during this transitional period.
2nd House (Capricorn Rising)
Value | Self-Worth | Possessions | Money & Assets
Pluto will come for your highest transformation of your self-worth. He may expose where you are overly attached to certain materialistic ideals, where you have behaved in shadow tendencies when it comes to what you value, and detach you from any sense of possessiveness when it comes to finance, money, or assets in order to help you understand what is of actual value. You may have prolonged periods of financial strife, but the faster you can learn Pluto’s lessons of sacrifice, the quicker your finances will return to periods of abundance and prosperity.
3rd House (Sagittarius Rising)
Communication | Local Community | Intellect | Your Conscious Mind
If Pluto is sweeping through your third house, you can expect to have the ways in which you communicate, think, learn, and share to shift perceptibly. Pluto may reveal any toxic communication patterns in yourself, challenge how you mentally process experiences, or catalyze endings and beginnings as they relate to small businesses or local communities. You may experience strong periods of introspection and restructure the way you communicate with others. Your words are powerful and you will be taught important lessons on how to use your words for the highest good.
4th House (Scorpio Rising)
Family Structures | Home Life | Mother/Motherhood | Emotions
Those with a Scorpio Ascendant will feel Pluto’s transit on a deeply emotional level. Pluto is not only your ruling planet, but it will pass through your house of home, ancestry, family, and youth. Radical changes may occur in regards to house and home, signifying clear chapter completions and beginnings in your life book. Power dynamics in family structures may be illuminated in order to prompt you to reclaim your individual power. Family secrets may be revealed that alter life as you knew it. This may also portend a time of finding a spiritual home within yourself, by moving through and beyond the pain of your past.
5th House (Libra Rising)
Self-Expression | Talent | Pleasure | Inner Child or Children
Pluto will have you confront all of your fears and doubts about your talents, skills, abilities, and how that all relates to your self-worth and highest expression. If you have been procrastinating on putting yourself out there in some way, Pluto just might force you into the spotlight. Your inner child will need your undivided, patient, and compassionate care to heal the wounds you have been carrying in relation to your worthiness. However, if you tend to lean towards too much self-importance or have an inability to moderate yourself with pleasure-seeking behaviors, you may experience a fall from grace. In another sense, as Pluto rules death and birth, many Libra Risings will become parents, their own adolescence dying in order to birth new life into the world.
6th House (Virgo Rising)
Health | Body Image | Daily Life | Highest Service
Virgo Risings may find their Plutonic challenges within their body, their health, and how they operate within their daily life. Drastic changes may need to take place as a result of harrowing health crises for some, in particular those who have neglected their body for far too long and ignored the root issues of certain behaviors and habits. For most, however, Pluto will activate the need to be radically honest with themselves with what is and is not working in their daily life and habits. This can indicate a time of shifting jobs or roles to fit that of your highest service and devotion. You will likely be asked to tidy up your life in some way, no longer allowing toxic situations to affect your daily life… or face Pluto’s consequences of not holding your own boundaries.
7th House (Leo Rising)
Relationships | Business Partnerships | Ways of Relating to Others | Soul Contracts
Pluto transiting the seventh house can bring about important soul-level connections into your life for your highest transformation. Be prepared to meet mirror after mirror of characters that come into your life to show you where you are stuck in codependency, power struggles, or karmic loops. Pay close attention to the types of people you attract into your realm, as they are likely invitations to resolve old karma and detach from anyone who seeks to control or oppress your unique and expressive nature. You may also have intense periods of magnetism, finding profoundly passionate and invigorating intimate experiences with others. Your most important transformation and reclamation of your power will come as a result of your interpersonal relationships with others.'
8th House (Cancer Rising)
Shadow | Sexuality | Occult | Debts & Inheritances
Pluto is the natural ruler of the eighth house, so his power will be maximized here. You will learn how to fully embrace, love, and integrate any shadow aspects that you have been denying up to this point by the end of Pluto’s time here, but it won’t be without its sacrifices. As the eighth house is hidden from our conscious awareness, this will likely be a very internal, inaccessible and non-descript experience that might be hard to articulate. Here, Pluto demands that you let go of restraints placed upon you and your shadow. Only once you have fully owned the parts of you that you deem shameful, embarrassing, weird, or unloveable will you get to access your most profound magnetism and power.
9th House (Gemini Rising)
Higher Education | Belief Systems | Father/Fatherhood | Spirituality
On his path through your ninth house, Pluto will completely uproot your worldviews and change the way you perceive ideologies, spirituality, and religion. You can expect a magnificent spiritual awakening of some sort, catalyzed by a destruction of outdated beliefs from spontaneous and eye-opening events. Many Gemini Risings may leave their religion in search of more aligned perspectives, decide to seek higher education, or choose to travel to foreign lands in search of Truth. Those who choose to travel far from home may experience life-changing moments that violently wake them up to what’s not aligned for them anymore. Only by fiercely dissecting the lies they have been fed will they find the liberation that comes with newfound truth.
10th House (Taurus Rising)
Contribution | Career | Higher Purpose | Ambition
Power and influence may become somewhat of an obsession or fixation with Pluto’s influence in the tenth house. Reputations will rise and fall as a means of exposing darker behaviors around ambition, greed, or advancement. Be aware of any shadowy behaviors around getting what you want, including manipulation, deceit, or aggression. Those who place too high of an importance on their social status or accomplishments may have to face Pluto’s reckoning. For those in alignment with their highest purpose, this can be a great time of connecting to your power, resilience, and ability to achieve.
11th House (Aries Rising)
Friendships | Networks | Technology | Groups
Pluto transiting your eleventh house may radically shift the friendships, social circles, and professional networks you surround yourself with. By the end of this, you may see an entirely new group of people you connect with as a result of the inner change you feel. Pluto has the power to reveal anyone lurking in your circles - from close friends to large societal organizations - that are not actually interested in your personal highest and best interests. This could include those who are controlling, possessive, manipulative, secretive, backstabbing, or maliciously scheming. Keep a discerning eye on your social groups and those you share your ideas with, and keep your boundaries fortified against anyone who seeks to undermine you.
12th House (Pisces Rising)
Subconscious Mind | Isolation | Dreams | Karma
Pluto’s transit will likely be felt as a deeply psychological experience for Pisces Risings. Weaknesses divulged have the prospect to be made into your greatest potential. Any traumas, fears, secrets, or fantasies leftover from early childhood or even past-lives must be alchemized on a psychological level. Here, Pluto has the audacity to induce delusions and create stories around your greatest fears, in order to force you to break out of old subconscious belief programs and activate the heroism of your own highest self. Any unresolved karma leftover from past timelines will ask to be put to bed, once and for all. Expect extraordinary psychic abilities to emerge, and take the time to learn how to master them.
Natal planets or placements to keep an eye on
To further understand Pluto’s influence on your natal chart, look at any planets or placements that will be aspected during this 20-year cycle. Also, pay special attention to planets that fall around the final degrees of Capricorn and the first degrees of Aquarius, for these will be most heavily impacted by Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius.
Sun | illuminating truths, connection to power, ego attachments
Moon | intense emotional waves, psychic sensitivity, depression
Ascendant | personal power, identity crisis, facing your shadow
Mercury | negative thought loops, deep thinking, potent revelations
Venus | power struggles in relationship dynamics, intensely intimate experiences, unworthiness
Mars | aggression and conflict, sexual impulses, reckless behavior
Jupiter | integrating wisdom from experiences, find the blessings in the lessons, expansion of fears/doubts/old beliefs
Saturn | karmic resolve, limitations, radical self-honesty
Uranus | unforeseen life-changing events, abrupt endings or beginnings, rebellion
Neptune | incredible psychic experiences, delusional thinking, addictions or fixations
Pluto | catalyst for transformation, phenomenal magnetism, chapters closing and opening
MC | eradication of anything preventing you from living your purpose, fears of worthiness, doubt
North Node | activation of your destiny, new beginnings, uncomfortable changes
South Node | facing things from your past, karmic patterns, letting go
Chiron | healing old wounds, alchemizing pain, access spiritual gifts
Closing notes
Remember, free will always wins. The planets only ever offer invitations for transformation. You are always and forever the driver of your own destiny. You can deny or accept these invitations at your own will.
Trust your own intuition, and do not take this article as the end-all-be-all. If you are receiving differing perspectives on what’s being offered here, please take the best and leave the rest. Astrology cannot and does not predict everything accurately, it can only offer examples and food-for-thought. If something does not resonate, or creates anxiety for you, please remember that you are the only person who can accurately perceive what the experience is like for yourself. Do not rely on this information as a method of prediction if that gives you anxiety. It is meant to be a tonic for those who do experience similar things as to what is written here, and offer context for those who wish to understand the potentials of this time in their lives.
The Universe is always conducting things in accordance with your own personal highest and best possible way. If you need Pluto’s lessons to be more gentle for this transit, you can always ask Creator for your lessons to be delivered with ease and grace. Everything that happens is necessary as a means for your highest transformation; the Universe needs you to be in your full power and potential so you can carry out the plan it made for your incarnation.
Pluto rewards those who lean into this process. At the end, you will be so much more connected to your inherent power, and your shadows, pain, and fears will no longer have the driver’s seat. Your shadow will be integrated, making you whole, worthy, and magnetic. This does NOT mean that Pluto “punishes” those who resist, but rather the lessons get more frequent and likely louder too until you choose to surrender to the process. You cannot “fail” any tests Pluto gives you, you will get to keep revisiting them until the lessons are fully understood. When you finally do succeed and overcome them, you will be changed for the better.
As always, thank you for reading this and receiving my interpretations. I truly hope this article helps you feel empowered to take on Pluto’s journey through Aquarius, however it unfolds for you! Remember, Pluto only wants you to be in your power. Own it.
Blessings to you,
Jaelyn Harly
P.S. If you’d like to get a deeper understanding of how Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius will affect you personally, you can sign up for a Mystic Astrology reading with me here!