Pluto in Aquarius: Which “Revolution” Will Prevail?
As I mentioned in my last blog post, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have dipped their toes into new signs this year and will soon retrograde out of them only to return in earnest in 2026. This trial period may help us understand what lies in store when they enter their new signs next year, and since Pluto has already completed its back-and-forth between Aquarius and Capricorn, let’s take a look at how that played out.
First we need to understand what Pluto represents. As God of the Underworld, Pluto represents what is hidden because we can’t see underground. Although sometimes Pluto is confused as signifying death, it actually represents transformation. Think of how a seed transforms into a plant. The form of the seed is no longer there, but it would be incorrect to think the seed “died”. And just as a plant eventually bears fruit, Pluto also signifies wealth. Finally, Pluto represents the masses or the greater populace because every soul reports to the underworld for judgement.
Now let’s look at Capricorn and Aquarius. Capricorn energy is traditional, established, disciplined, restrictive and consolidating. Just as Pluto was entering Capricorn in 2008, the subprime loan crisis hit, and the concept of “too big to fail” came into our consciousness. Banks and other power players began consolidating.
Aquarius, on the other hand, is anti-establishment. It’s about freedom, invention, innovation, eccentricity, community and humanitarianism. It is also associated with rebellion and power-to-the-people vibes. So when Pluto first moved into Aquarius in March for 2023, there seemed to be an increasing desire among people to break from the past and champion the interest of the many, not the few.
At that point, Trump had already announced his plans to run for President and a month later Biden followed suit. Pluto quickly jumped back into Capricorn from June 2023, but when it reentered Aquarius in January 2024, an increasingly anti-establishment zeitgeist began to emerge. Between these two candidates,, who appealed more to the populace’s desire to see change, innovation and rebellion? It could be argued that Trump carried that torch with his populist message and unconventional approach to governance. From that point, the prospect of a second Trump presidency became more and more likely.
As you know, Biden was portrayed (rightly or wrongly) as an old man representing the old guard, and he slipped in the polls to the point where his defeat seemed inevitable. At this point, the Democrats changed candidates to Kamala Harris, who seemed much more Aquarian, innovative and representative of change.
For a while she flourished, but lo and behold, Pluto slipped back into Capricorn just before the election. People felt fear of change and a desire to stick with more traditional (male?) leadership, which is very Capricornian, and Trump won.
Shortly after the election, Pluto moved back to Aquarius, and the word “revolution” was thrown around on both sides. While Trump supporters surely felt that he represented a revolution against the establishment, which they labeled as “globalist” and “the Deep State,” others felt there was now a need to revolt against Trump’s populism, which they labeled as “fascist,” “racist” and “patriarchal”.
So what does that mean for the next 18-19 years when Pluto is in Aquarius? Well I suspect that there will “revolutions”, but that word means different things to different people. I’m sure Trump supporters believe that he is a revolutionary, upsetting established power structures and bringing power back to the American people. I’m also sure that others feel Trump represents established power and is actually consolidating power (Capricorn) into the hands of a few elite. So the battle for who’s “revolution” is legitimate will be fought with messaging, policy, laws, court rulings, algorithms (a very Aquarian form of power) and possibly (but hopefully not) physically in the streets.
One thing is for sure, these next two decades promise to radically transform how power (Pluto) is manifest in all Aquarian areas, such as communities, technology and science.
It really is up to each one of us to determine how this plays out. As Ptolemy said, “The stars incline. They do not compel,” so we have personal agency and free will to do the things to ensure the most beneficial outcomes. Some may protest, some may recruit, some may write letters (and blog posts ;-)), some may run for office, some may support the protesters, recruiters, writers and candidates, and some may even attempt more physical forms of revolution. What will you do?
