Slow moving, heavyweight Pluto is now firmly on track to make its influence felt until 2043. Nothing happens instantly with Pluto so the Fixed signs most affected – Taurus (career/life’s direction), Leo (relationships), Scorpio (home/family), Aquarius (personal identity) – are still coming to terms with the changes imposed on their lives since 2024. Other signs pick up milder hints.
Transformation is a word lightly tossed around but in reality is a challenging, on occasion painful process, as old structures are demolished and reduced to ashes before the rebuilding of the new can begin. Pluto demands depth, discarding a superficial approach as trivial and frivolous. He was Lord of the Underworld, ruler of a realm of riches and intense emotional experiences. You have to dig deep to reap his bounty. Those who exist in a half-life of outer appearances find the Plutonic experience the most troubling. Relevant is the myth of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess, who went underground to reconnect with her sister. Her process involved losing all of her finery before she was rescued, not by a knight in shining armour, but by small earth-like creatures. There is nothing glamorous about the Pluto phase.
All signs feel the effect when there is a celestial Pluto aspect as there is this weekend with the pressured Taurus Sun square Pluto and towards the end of May with a risky, frustrated Mars in Taurus square Pluto. Life in general feels stuck, powerless and progress requires perseverance or an acceptance of what cannot be changed immediately. These come around about six times a year in hard aspect to the Sun or Mars so are part and parcel of the weft and warp (fabric) of life.
Pluto through the signs every twenty plus years does have a significant effect on the culture. See list below.
What sparked off this post is that the present Pluto in Aquarius is squaring its 1980s phase in Scorpio in the Thatcher/Reagan era when deregulation of the financial markets took place.
A new book The Asset Class by Hettie O’Brien describes in detail what happens when the state withdraws from key public services and allows private equity to take control. “You don’t know their names, but they own the house you rent. They own your hospitals, nurseries and care homes, the media you consume and the companies you work for”. “They are deeply entangled in our everyday life: in water, energy, housing, care homes, health, trains – services we all depend on.”
She shows how some care homes treat elderly people as “the human equivalent of ATM machines” as fees are siphoned from their housing equity to fund the poor conditions and low wages of exhausted care workers.
In the UK, privatisation was accompanied by regulation but it is often underfunded and ineffective. Nothing changes, because poor services maximise profit and shareholder returns are a higher priority than clean water. O’Brien rightly concludes that this has “rewire[d] the state in service of a wealthy elite”.
It took almost to the end of the last Pluto in Aquarius for the citizens of Paris to revolt against the entitled wealthy and bring them down; and then only because there was a revolutionary Uranus opposition Pluto to spur on the upheaval. There is none such across the next twenty years but it may be (hope!) that the egalitarian drive of Pluto in Aquarius will start to push back against the Gordon Gekkos – fittingly launched into movie stardom a year after the Big Bang.
Pluto in Gemini 1882 – 1912.
Cities, skyscrapers Telecommunications. Electrical age starts. Yellow Journalism
Pluto in Cancer 1912 – 1937.
World War 1. Emancipation of women.
Old family values destroyed. Wall Street Crash
The Great Depression
Pluto in Leo 1937 – 1956
Fascism. World War 11
Nuclear bombs. Baby Boomers
Pluto in Virgo 1956 -1971
Medical advances: Polio & measles vaccines. Heart pacemaker
USA Medicare Act.
European Economic Community. Asian flu pandemic
Suez Crisis. Russia invades Hungary
Pluto in Libra 1971 – 1983
Divorce rate jumps. Changing expectations of marriage. Independence women.
USA Equal Rights Legislation. First domestic violence shelters.
Bloody Sunday, Northern Ireland. Watergate.
Munich Olympics massacre.
Pluto in Scorpio 1983 – 1995
Money and sex. Economic shift. Brinks-Mat Gold Robbery.
AIDs and Child Sexual Abuse surfaces. Crack Cocaine.
Indira Gandhi assassinated
Pluto in Sagittarius 1995 – 2008
Globalization, multiculturalism Schengen EU – cross border travel. New media.
Sebrenica Massacre. Oklahoma bombing. Al Quaeda/terrorism. Rabin assassinated
Pluto in Capricorn 2008 – 2023
Economics and Government. Financial crash. Migrant crisis.
Populism & neo-nationalism. Global warming.
Barack Obama elected
Pluto in Aquarius 1532 – 1552
Henry V111 splits with Rome. Roman Catholic versus Protestant schism.
Pluto in Aquarius 2024 – 2043
Thanks Marjorie.
I would add that Pluto in Aquarius in the 1530s, in addition to the reformation in Europe, accompanied the conquest of the Peruvian, Inca civilisation by Pizarro.
Pluto is one powerful planet, I have seen and witnessed how it transforms peoples lives. At first when it transforms someone’s life, it is a really painful experience. I have seen the likes of Steve Jobs, Tyler Perry, Colonel Sanders(KFC Founder), Steve Harvey, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, ‘The Rock’ and many other famous people. Some astrologers call them ‘Pluto-MC’ natives. All of them went through years of hardship, poverty and pain. Some of them lost their fortunes and regained them again, and surprisingly all of them are multimillionaires/billionaires. One interesting figure is Steve Jobs who started Apple in the 1970’s but was later kicked out and came back even much stronger and powerful. That is after Pluto crossed his IC and opposed his Midheaven and moved into his 4th house in the 1980’s. He went to transform Apple and made it it a global icon. Tyler Perry was once so poor and homeless that when he started producing stage dramas for theatre’s he was rejected and went on to start his own business from scratch which also became one of the biggest movie production companies. One of his quotes ” I built my own table when they refused to let me sit on theirs”, and one impressive Colonel Sanders who started KFC at the age of 65 from nothing and made it a global icon. Steve Harvey also fell from grace a number of times, he became broke three times in his life and once lived in his car for three years having no nowhere to live, he is rich now. “The Rock” Johnson, the wrestler also went through hell before becoming so rich and famous, he says was so poor that he was once left with $7 in his pocket. That’s Pluto effect, it causes destruction and pain first and then it is followed by a big reward. Pluto is now moving in Aquarius, and soon Uranus in Gemini, that means people with Midheaven in Leo are going to see great transformation in their lives, when Pluto crosses their IC, we are going to see more multimillionaires/billionaires from AI and technology in general.
Socially and globally Pluto effects will be felt more in technology, we are entering an era of more technological advancements, especially with the current AI boom. In politics, more and more dictators will continue to fall. Pluto gives power to the people. Countries like China, North Korea, Russia, and others under dictatorship can expect changes over the coming years, as Pluto transforms and therefore it moves slowly.
Wish I could agree with you. My aunt has in 3h so sibling and it’s completely opposite for her…sad to c in last yeara od life,hammered by Pluto. We might call it karma but it’s not for mortals to understand. Scorpio sun sign so maybe ,double Pluto as it’s their lord…
I see rare ones who reach power posts of Pluto benefit so I m reminded of the quote I recently read, “one has to work with it. It might seem frozen but one has to keep chipping to get its power.”. Else, pluto is in all charts yet very few r powerful
Hi Rachana, according to statistics it is only 5 to 10% of people( in their lifetime) who actually benefit and see Pluto cross their IC and oppose MC in their charts. Remember Pluto takes 248 years cycle, maybe that is why there are only few billionaires or the super rich in the world. Napoleon Bonaparte also experienced Pluto-MC opposition, that is why he was so powerful.
I have experienced Pluto crossing my Ascendant – as a newborn baby – as well as Pluto conjunct my Sagittarius IC by transit. Pluto’s conjunction to my IC saw my father’s retirement and consequent deterioration from alcohol. During the Saturn in Gemini, Pluto in Sagittarius opposition he had a spinal stroke, was paralysed from the chest down and had to go into a care home, while my mother sold the family home and moved closer to his care home and me. She had the same Virgo Ascendant on the same degree as well as the same IC as me. When almost all of your planets are below the horizon and you’re born with Pluto rising within a degree in the 12th, this god is your constant companion through life. If you try and resist his purpose, which is to transform you, it will be more difficult for you.
I once read a book about Tantric Buddhism when I was on holiday. I can’t remember who wrote it, but there was one quote in it that resonated so much, I wrote it down and have never forgotten it:
‘He who resists transformation, condemns himself to death’.
At birth I had the umbilical cord wrapped round my neck. Apparently in astrology, a cord around the neck is sometimes called a “scarf of destiny,” symbolising intense ancestral ties, or a need to cut ties with the past to find your own voice. I’m a lone wolf.
The cord represents a literal restriction of air (Pluto/Scorpio energy) that you survived. It is the physical manifestation of a “rebirth” experience. It can represent being ‘held’ by the past or having to struggle for breath/freedom. My mother gave me the name of my Maternal ancestors as a ‘middle name’.
That’s Pluto for you!
Thanks. I have hope in the 2040s, when I am 60 plus, I might be able to take advantage of that transit of Pluto conjunct MC/IC and make myself a rich woman. Now I need to have Pluto move out of my 8th house first, a few more years to go.
Since Pluto transited into truth-seeking Aquarius, I’ve noticed Plutonic types (heavy Scorpio in chart) either coming under more scrutiny, or, being exposed. Examples:
Ben Roberts Smith (decorated former Solider accused of war crimes).
Ryan Reynolds (actor whose public image has taken a battering).
P Diddy (on May 17, 2024, CNN released surveillance footage of Combs physically assaulting Ventura).
Adam Peatty (Olympic swimmer who had a public fall out with family).
To Pluto in Sagittarius I would add the Twin Towers and other attacks in the USA.
To Pluto in Virgo I would add the Vietnam War and the revolution in youth culture with rock and roll, hippiedom etc.
Thank you Marjorie, for this blog, very interesting. I have been giving the matter of Pluto in Aquarius some thought, and reflected on its last passage through Aquarius for inspiration. I have been wondering WHY it took more than years of Pluto through Aquarius before the revolution happened, last time. Could it be because Pluto mostly brings out the worst of a sign during its passage? Aquarius is about a society of citizens who ideally live by the value of fraternity and equality, but Pluto distorts it…
So NO fraternity and equality, but the opposite, until it becomes so unbearable that the volcano erupts. Not a very cheerful prospect for the coming 10 years, I admit…
I’ve always thought Pluto has a two fold punch and with the ultimate goal to complete a demolition project in the sign he is in. Pluto only rules the dead. So first he tempts usually demolishing a bunch of stuff from the previous sign. This temptation is about Tauran personal inner values. What won’t you do? Never let a crisis go to waste is the attitude at that time. Do what you want but your own values should stop you somewhere. This is also the empowerment phase of the new phase of the new sign. The rebirth. Then toward the end, Pluto prepares to sweep away the dead things into his realm, moves on, blowing up whatever he has rigged to go. Usually the sign in opposition. Living things are untouched only the dead gets swept into his dustbin. The more restrained the less there is to blow up. Taurus again.
I read it this way. So as Pluto moved into Sagittarius removed the regulatory safeguards from the Great Depression. Taurus’ security and values were blown up. Holding reserves, regulated risk all blown up at the end of Pluto in Scorpio and beginning of Sagittarius transit. Also other safeguards were removed but Pluto was moving into opposing Gemini so we see the US jettisons communication privacy protections with the Patriot Act. Pluto was then rigging Gemini to blow. Information/communication/Main Street. The heft of Sagittarian broader world was growing. Rebirth. Google search, online shopping. Tempting, in this case what will survive. What is still living? Then we had the bubbles culminating in the derivatives and housing bubble. The temptation is complete no one knows where risk is. Gemini is lying bound and gagged on the floor in Pluto’s basement. Pluto is already eying his next victim Cancer.
Then he moves. Clunking Gemini on the head. Information is unknown the stock market swoons mostly on news that seemingly everything safe is exposed to unknown risk. No one knows anything even the companies with the risk. Information and facts are almost nonexistent, into the breech steps the Capricorn government. The Capricorn Pluto begins tempting the government who begins regulating things much of it housing. Fannie Mae, housing construction stops and then crawls the entire transit. Housing starts slump. Motherhood slumps. Cancer is now lying bound and gagged on the floor. Then he clunked her on the head. Baby bust. Into the breech steps Big Tech & AI. The sky is now the limit, what will they do? The Leonine aristocracy and elites had better watch out. Toward the end I expect Virgo’s workers or health care to be the flashpoint.
I think last time Pluto was eyeing the Sun King style French monarchy and aristocrats. The French just associated their King with Leo when Pluto was more about the second estate; the nobility. None of them were in any danger until Pluto got into the Aquarius zodiac sign.
Very interesting, Lumière, thank you!
Or that equality is political gimmick since none r created equal as taxpayers vs freeloaders war now…globally ..again in pluto in Aquarius beginning year
How are people freeloaders when the 1% has rigged the game so that they control the majority of the wealth.
Also, they are destroying the game that has made them wealthy but I guess it is ultimately it is about power and control because they want society to go back to the Middle Ages when we had a feudal society.
I do not see any belated revolution. Most of the american revolution and the following entire formation af a new form of government happened during the last passage from 1777 to 1798. The french revolution from 1789 was hardly late to the table either.
TRANSFORMATION, FIVE WAYS PLUTO THROUGH THE BOUNDS
The Bounds table for Aquarius: 0 to 7 Aquarius ruled by MERCURY; 7 to 13 Aquarius ruled by VENUS;
13 to 20 Aquarius ruled by JUPITER; 20 to 25Aquarius ruled by MARS; 25 TO 30aquarius ruled by SATURN.
Pluto thru’ the Bounds of Aquarius (1777 =1798)….Amercan revolutionary war, Pluto in the bounds of MERCURY.
fRENCH REVOLUTION…MECURRY 6Deg59 Aquarius, Mercury rules the bankruptcy of the French State.
Next Pluto in VENUS BOUND of Aquarius…peace in America and famine in Europe.
Next Pluto moves by transit into the BOUND OF JUPIETER…..US established new state, Supreme Court ruled by
JUPITER establed; Pluto into the BOUNDS OF MARS by transit….War and Terror, France enters bloody war is
Austria and bloody Guillotine first used in terror. Next we have by transit, Pluto into the BOUND OF SATURN
……A MORE CONSERVATIVE phase of the French Revolution.
PLUTO IN AQUARIUS, 2023 TO 2044…when REVOLUTION COMES…just as the late enlightenment, a transformative
armed onclict has finacial issues, MERCURY BOUND…HISTORY rpeats itself currently through the coming BOUNDS.
One wonders what the Uranus-Pluto trine over the next few years will bring to the table of gross inequalities. Uranus will square the UK Pluto this year and next, too.
The current UK Uranus/Pluto cycle began with the conjunctions of 2003/2004 in the UK 1801 5th House of children, arts, entertainment and financial speculation. The latter looks particularly relevant as it marks the run up to the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 hit Britain particularly hard. The upcoming waxing square will involve Pluto in the 5th House and Uranus in the 8th House of the UK chart and will be exact in June 2026 (direct) , December 2026(retrograde) and March 2027 (direct). The last time this occurred was in 1942/43. One would imagine this is going to be a period of crisis in action and development just as it was in the Second World War. The big difference will be that Pluto by transit will be in Aquarius in the UK 4th House trine Uranus rather than in Leo in the UK 10th house making a sextile. I expect big challenges particularly internally for Britain but also bold attempts at solutions. Again matters of finance, taxes etc look highlighted. The fact Pluto is transiting the UK 4th House suggests an attempt to break or transform generational patterns and legacies handed down from the past. The UK needs to escape the dead weight of history that crushes its people.
Thank you Hugh, very useful context.