Pluto is a planet that transforms whatever it touches. Completely. Absolutely. Without the option of going back. We are never the same once Pluto has touched our lives. Although ultimately regenerative, Pluto transits are known for what they help us break down.

In Capricorn, Pluto is focused on fiscal, material, and structural transformations. Capricorn knows about traditional hierarchies and climbing to the top of them, while Pluto is a planet that symbolizes power. In Capricorn, Pluto asks us to see the corruption that lies at the heart of our relationship to the earth’s resources.

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Pluto asks us to play the long game

Pluto moved into Capricorn in 2008, a year that will go down in history for one of the worst financial crises the United States has ever faced. It remained in this sign until March of 2023, when the planet first dipped into Aquarius. The weeks leading up to that ingress also coincided with a banking crisis: In mid-March, three American banks crumbled within a few days of each other, followed by Credit Suisse in Switzerland less than a week later. Given that Capricorn rules over financial institutions, it feels appropriate that Pluto’s time in this sign has been bookended by disruptions of how we perceive, trust, and use those institutions.

Capricorn is a sign associated with traditional systems of supremacy, including settler colonialism and the one percent’s control over much of the world’s wealth. (In fact, the phrase “the one percent” was coined during the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011 — three years after Pluto entered this sign.) This final stretch of Pluto in Capricorn — a transit we will not experience again in our lifetimes — indicates a point of no return for toxic concentrations of wealth, power, and political influence. We can no longer be bystanders to colonial violence, economic injustice, or environmental destruction. The questions that remain as Pluto returns to Capricorn: Are we willing to learn from these past disruptions? And what changes are we committed to making?

These shifts won’t happen overnight, but with an earth sign like Capricorn involved, they should be clear, unequivocal, and concrete. Pluto’s final stint in the sign of the sea goat will be a short one, lasting from September 1st to November 19th, 2024. Then it will lodge in Aquarius until 2048.

If Pluto is about anything, it’s about journeying. We cannot escape the journey mapped out for us. We can resist it. We can scorn it. We can wait until our last breath to accept it. But eventually, we must engage with it. And in the process, we’ll be challenged, changed, and brought closer to the true nature of our being.

When Pluto re-enters Aquarius on January 20th, 2024, the social order continues to rumble. Pluto is the planet of wealth, power, secrets, mystery, death, transformation, and shadow journeys. In Aquarius — a sign motivated by the needs of the collective — Pluto empowers the masses to organize, mobilize, and disrupt the systems that have failed us.

The 21st century edition of Pluto in Aquarius began on March 23rd, 2023, when the transformer made its first appearance in this sign in over 200 years. Before then, the last time Pluto passed through Aquarius was between 1777 and 1798, an epoch that coincided with the French and American revolutions. While history never repeats itself exactly, we can expect dizzying technological advancements, climate crises, and social shifts to alter the world as we know it. With Pluto in and out of Aquarius until 2044, the responsibility falls to us to create new worlds in a time of old paradigms collapsing.

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A teaser of change to come

Notice what shifts in your life as Pluto switches between Capricorn and Aquarius this year. Though this preview is the thesis statement of a much longer social experiment, pay attention to its whispers. Open the doors that disturb you. Ask the questions you’ve been avoiding. Put out your feelers into the shadows.

If it feels like something’s gotta give in an area of your life, plot the first steps of a total system upgrade. Bear in mind that Pluto plays a long game, and so must you. You’ll have ample time to dismantle the systems or structures that are no longer load-bearing and draft the blueprints for your transformation. Times of transition are rarely comfortable, but the silver lining is that we’re in this together. Our social networks become powerful shock absorbers as we collectively begin again.

Pluto is a planet that transforms whatever it touches. Completely. Absolutely. Without the option of going back. We are never the same once Pluto has touched our lives. Although eventually regenerative, Pluto transits are known for what they help us break down.

In Capricorn, Pluto is set on fiscal, material, and structural transformations. Capricorn knows of traditional hierarchies and climbing to the top of them. Pluto is a planet that symbolizes power. In Capricorn, Pluto asks us to see the corruption that lies at the heart of our relationship to the earth’s resources.

‍

Pluto asks us to play the long game

Pluto moved into Capricorn in 2008, the year that will go down in history as one of the worst financial crises America has ever faced. It remained in this sign until March 23rd, 2023, when the planet made its first dip into Aquarius. The weeks leading up to this ingress coincided with a banking crisis as well, as three American banks failed within five days of each other in mid-March, followed by Credit Suisse in Switzerland. Given Capricorn rules over financial institutions, it feels appropriate that Pluto’s time in this sign has been bookended by disruptions to how we perceive, trust, and use them. The questions that remain as Pluto returns to Capricorn on June 11th, 2023: are we willing to learn from this disruption? And what changes are we committed to make?

These won’t be overnight shifts, but with an earth sign like Capricorn involved, they should be clear, unequivocal, and concrete. Pluto will remain here until January 20th, 2024, when it returns to Aquarius for several more months. After this stint, Pluto will return to Capricorn one final time, between September 1st and November 19th, 2024, when it will lodge into Aquarius for good — or at least until 2044.

If Pluto is about anything it’s about journeying. We cannot escape the journey laid out for us. We can resist it. We can scorn it. We can wait until our last breath or take it up on our first one: the choice is always ours. But eventually, we must engage with it. And in the process, we are challenged, changed, and brought closer to the true nature of our being.