I grew up hearing about and anticipating the Age of Aquarius. But for 12 years I have been writing about the meaning of Pluto in Capricorn and the transiting aspects it has made between Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. There were two reasons for this. The first reason is that long outer planet transits point to trends in society. Aspects like this may point to generational differences in attitudes or beliefs, for example. Long planetary cycles tend to affect the collective consciousness as much as individual consciousness and that brings about societal change.
The second reason is that the USA’s natal Pluto is in Capricorn and we have been approaching the Pluto return, which is a very unusual planetary return. It only occurs once every 248 years. So while most people may be familiar with the 28 to 30 year cycle of the Saturn return and experience them once, twice, or three times themselves, no one is ever going to experience a personal Pluto return in their lifetime. However, Pluto tends to create very big shifts during every sign it transits.
We still have some time before the first exact degree of the USA’s Pluto return occurs on February 20, 2022. However, Pluto in Capricorn is already opposing the USA’s natal Mercury in Cancer. If ever there was a literal winter of our discontent, 2020 embodies it. Issues around the Cancer/ Capricorn axis of tradition, family, health, finance, big business, institutions, accumulation of possessions and wealth, and so on are all at the center of current debates. We are being brought back to the point in 1776 when we declared independence from England and all her vices and injustices. This time our country is being challenged to look at its own true history with unflinching eyes and reconcile our use and misuse of power over the past 248 years.
Which leads me back to the Age of Aquarius. This phenomenon focuses on the procession of the equinoxes, a cycle that lasts 25,800 years. Every 2150 years the position of the Sun at the vernal equinox in March changes signs in a counterclockwise direction. This time around, the Age of Pisces roughly corresponds with the Christian era, as well as other modern religious paradigms such as Buddhism and Islam. When the Sun moves in front of the constellation of Aquarius at the Spring equinox, we will have entered the age of Aquarius. Of course, there is much debate about the actual date that this occurs. In reality, however, we are not talking about a definitive date, we are talking about an epoch, which comes on gradually and transpires slowly (in this case, for 2150 years).
My feeling is that we are currently in the transition zone for moving into the Age of Aquarius. In December 2020 both Jupiter and Saturn will change signs and move into Aquarius. Jupiter will transit Aquarius throughout 2021 and Saturn will be in that sign until March of 2023. The South Node, which is a karmic point, is at 7 degrees of Aquarius in the USA’s natal chart. Both Jupiter and Saturn will transit this point in 2021 and I believe this is when the chickens will start coming home to roost. Uranus has already been squaring the natal nodal axis and bringing many issues to people’s attention with varying degrees of success. Jupiter and Saturn will emphasize this process of excavating our individual and collective consciousness.
Just as Saturn is exiting Aquarius in 2023, Pluto will enter Aquarius and transit there from 2023 to 2044. While there has been much idealism around what will emerge during the Age of Aquarius, I urge you to stay rooted in the here and now. Pluto was in Aquarius during the French Revolution and the10 terrifying years that followed it. Transitions aren’t always pretty.
Perhaps if we had done better during the Age of Pisces by deeply connecting with our spirituality and compassionately honoring with the consciousness of all sentient beings, we’d be having an easier time moving into the Age of Aquarius. The Age of Aquarius is believed to correspond with peace, harmony, and equality; as well as innovation and the responsible use of technology. We really can’t make that leap until we complete the lessons associated with the Age of Pisces. Transiting Pluto in Capricorn and Aquarius is hastening us along in with those lessons.