It has been a wild year and even wilder couple of weeks. Many in the United States are reeling from the recent presidential election and still mentally processing everything. I would like to address this from an astrological perspective, but some of it is going to be pretty heavy and ominous. If you need to opt out, this is your chance. But I have a lot of thoughts on this topic and a long-range view of what is happening as well as its larger scope of impact.

Of course, we are going to talk about Pluto.

About a year and half ago I wrote an article titled, “Living in the Age of Pluto.” The focus of that piece was on the chart of Pluto’s discovery and how this chart has governed much of the major manifestations since that point. Many of the events of the past year and especially the recent election have compelled me to revisit this work because some of the predictions in that article are heading in the trajectory of being realized. They appear to be coming to fruition. Because we now have a much clearer focus of the horizon, I think it is appropriate to revisit this discussion. Many have probably seen the “Pluto chart” (below) so I will not waste time delineating it in its entirety. What I am concerned with is Pluto itself and I will re-summarize some of the key points of its journey.

Pluto’s Journey – A Brief History

At the moment of its discovery, Pluto was positioned in the 12th house of its discovery chart. This is its starting point. At the time, America was crippled and victimized by the Great Depression. Poverty was everywhere. People were lost. There was little hope, but much suffering. If you know anything about this unfortunate house, Pluto’s position here correlated with a sense of destruction and mourning. Fortunately, it would represent the rebirth that would take place via President Roosevelt when he implemented programs to reverse course. Pluto’s placement in this house also coincided with Carl Jung popularizing his theories of the unconscious as well as the archetypal categories of experience he believed to exist in this area. In fact, his collected works on this subject were published in the early 1930s around the time of Pluto’s initial discovery.

From here, we will track Pluto’s movement through the rest of its discovery chart to evaluate the rest of its journey. But what method of timing is best? Should we focus on Pluto’s transiting real time movement? Surprisingly, no. While timing by transit is incredibly significant, we want to evaluate the unfolding maturity of this archetype at an even slower speed. Secondary progressions? Possibly, but the outer planets barely move using this symbolic timing method. On the other hand, solar arcs are a great choice because this timing system moves each planetary body through the zodiac at around one degree per year. This is slower than transits and easy to measure. Also, because of the slow incremental movement, manifestations tend to be stronger and more visible.

Using solar arcs, Pluto arrived at the ascendant (ASC) around 1945. This was the end of World War II, but it was also in orb of the ASC for a good portion of the war as well. That corresponded with Pluto’s torturous nature made horribly visible when the rest of the world discovered what Germany had been hiding in its concentration camps. But the first major expression of Pluto’s destructive power occurred when Pluto reached the ASC. In fact, the day that they United States dropped the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, transit Pluto was tightly opposing Mars, the god of war. This combination of solar arc Pluto on the ASC and transit Pluto opposing Mars from the 1st house of identity showed the rest of the world exactly what he is: absolute destructive power. This shaped the rest of Pluto’s journey through the 1st house as the world came to terms with the omnipresent fear of nuclear war. We were aware that we now have the power to wipe ourselves out. That fear, and the ensuring Cold War that followed, was Pluto’s identity front and center in this visible angular house.

By 1967 Pluto entered the 2nd house and this coincided with the intense clash of values that manifested from the counter culture movement in the tumultuous 1960s. This movement’s focus on peace is an accurate reflection of the tight Neptune – Venus opposition within this house. The height of this movement was the Woodstock festival in August 1969. This occurred when solar arc Neptune – Venus aligned with Uranus and solar arc Pluto and transit Neptune created a t-square configuration to the Sun (Neptune was at the apex). This was a peaceful revolution. One brought about by love and music.

It was also during this journey that the environmental movement started and we became concerned with natural resources. And of course, the 1980s coincided with an intensification of materialism and the rise of capitalism across the globe.

By 1994 Pluto entered the 3rd house and started transforming how we communicate with each other. The rise of the internet completely reinvented what it meant to be neighbors for the entire world was now our neighborhood. And this theme kicked into overdrive when solar arc Pluto went into trine aspect with 11th co-ruler Mercury and 11th house Jupiter from 2005-2010. During this timeframe social media exploded. Unfortunately, Pluto also infused his intensity into our communication with each other. Prior to his entrance into this house, we could still discuss our perspectives and opinions without it turning brutal. Today’s environment has a volcanic quality to our communications that feels quite toxic for anyone and especially those involved with groups on social media. Pluto has made this house anything but social.

Pluto’s 3rd house journey also involved a handful of high-profile aspects that manifested powerfully. Its square aspect to Saturn and opposition to Uranus in 2011-2014 corresponded with the Occupy Wall Street protests and Pluto‘s opening square to itself in 2020 introduced us to Covid pandemic. While the former was another echo of the intensity of Pluto’s archetype working through our communication (i.e. protests), the later resulted in the transmission of a communicable disease. Covid was literally spread through our general communication with each other.  

What’s Next?

This brief recap gets us back to present. From here, we must discuss the next leg of Pluto’s journey: the 4th house. In 2027, Pluto will arrive at its cusp, the Imum Coeli (IC). The 4th house is our roots, family, childhood, parents, and homes. It is a foundation of life. Since it is an angular house like the 1st, we can expect that Pluto’s activity in this area of life will be similar in visibility and intensity.

Here were some of the predictions from the 2023 article:

“With this timeframe (May 2027 – December 2027), Pluto has finally arrived by solar arc at the 4th house cusp. At the same time, transit Pluto has also gone into conjunction with the midpoint of natal Mercury/Mars. The significance of these ‘double Pluto’ contacts in the angular houses cannot be overstated. It will define this era as one of the most volatile and deeply transformative in generations. What was previously known and trusted to be home, family, relationships, and a general sense of kinship (possibly, patriotism) will be dramatically challenged. Transit Saturn’s opposition to solar arc Pluto and their alignment across this axis may put stability and security at risk with an intensity felt across many areas of life. There may also be fears of authoritarian control.”

Authoritarianism is the key word I want to focus on because that theme that is already manifesting in the lead up to Pluto’s arrival at the IC. Many have noted this with Donald Trump’s upcoming return to power through his recent election victory in the United States, but it has also been observed in many other countries as well (Russia, Israel, Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Venezuela). Many analysts have astutely pointed out that Trump’s victory echoes other authoritarian victories in the world. Additionally, we are already seeing other related themes popping up in various areas as well. Families have broken apart over the past ten years and this will continue as the coming years compel us to redefine how a country is also a family…or the ways it is not anymore. We may be forced to care for each other and band together in ways that were inconceivable in years past. The upcoming deportation of immigrants is sure to destroy millions of families for generations. In other countries, the families within Ukraine and Palestine are feeling this destructive presence as are many other countries with crumbling infrastructures. Essentially, anything that is foundational to the stability of a country will be at risk of being destroyed or collapsing. As a result, countries may collapse as well.

Despite this worldwide zeitgeist, the United States appears to be ground zero for this manifestation. Why? Because the chart for the United States makes significant alignments with the Pluto chart. Just look at the contacts.

• The United States’ nodal axis aligns with the ASC-DSC axis within the Pluto chart.
• The United States’ Sun is in conjunction with Pluto within the Pluto chart.
• The United States’ Moon is in conjunction with the Sun within the Pluto chart.
• The United States’ Uranus is in conjunction with Jupiter within the Pluto chart.
• The United States’ Chiron is in conjunction with the MC within the Pluto chart.

These alignments infer an intimate connection between what the United States is and what Pluto represents. The United States IS the embodiment of Plutonic power. It is not a coincidence that when Pluto emphatically announced its identity to the world, it did so through the United States. We are the country that dropped the nuclear bombs. It is also not a coincidence that this country is the lone super power since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The United States is often referred to as the largest Plutocracy in the world. But this also infers that this country is in the most dire need of transformation. Nationalism and patriotism have intensified to frightening levels and are changing how we define these terms. Regarding parenting, the autonomy over becoming a mother will continue to be a focus through the ongoing divide over abortion (and when Pluto reaches Moon in Scorpio, watch out). History has become contentious. While many want to teach the history of abuses of power, others want to suppress this education. Finally, concerns over the unaffordability of the housing market have a high probability of intensifying further.

Sometimes I joke that astrology is essentially a quest to find the right chart. And like all good jokes, this one is also pretty close to the truth. But how do we define what is the “right” chart? I think it is determined by its scope, precedence, and priority. This is why the charts of countries, states, and cities take priority over an individual natal chart. The themes in those charts are more significant and the scope of manifestation is greater. Therefore, as the last of the major planets to be discovered, it is important to realize that with the chart of Pluto we are evaluating the chart of an archetype. Archetypes are existential, eternal, and apply to all of humanity. Given this perspective, is it reasonable to consider that a planetary chart takes precedence over the charts of even countries? I would think so. Pluto represents a grand arc of evolution. It contains the answers to the task we need to accomplish as a species. As a result, I am suggesting something very bold: this is the highest priority chart for humanity. It should be reviewed, evaluated, and consulted in any discussion involving questions about our moral evolutionary trajectory…but the problem is that hardly anyone is talking about it. We are fixated on Pluto’s transit through the sign of Aquarius, but this chart contains more significant milestones associated with this planetary archetype.

So, What Does Pluto Want?

Obviously, transformation. This is the overriding imperative since this archetype arrived at the threshold of our consciousness. Anyone who works with Pluto has observed that this planetary god has a way of amplifying or intensifying (even through destruction) that which is toxic, making it impossible to ignore, so that an individual is forced to confront whatever that may be. Essentially, it is confrontation through intensification. Pluto’s arrival heralds a massive imperative for humanity. It is demanding transformation. But into what? If we consider this archetype at the highest level, Power has been one of its core, primary expressions. It is possible that its discovery was to call attention to our obsession with power. For the history of humanity is a history of desire for power over each other, whether physically, emotionally, personally, religiously, politically, or financially. Much of civilization has been built upon the premise that only the strong survive or that might makes right or that power is inherent of morality. Sometimes this premise is bold and loud. Other times it is quiet and lying hidden. And in very challenging times, it is exquisitely manipulative and propagandized. But it is always there, always present, even if only in the shadows. And it is possible that the reason power is desired is because we do not really know who or what we are. Desiring power may be an overcompensation for not being whole. And again, because the United States is intimately connected to the Pluto chart, this evolutionary imperative is pointed directly at us. How has power been abused in this country? Can this country be honest with itself about its relationship with power and the ways in which it is shared with others? And despite any advertising to the contrary, is power its true foundation? Is this archetype what the country is based upon?

This slow journey through the 4th house will last until 2064. As such it will be the longest stop since its discovery. This is also not a coincidence. It is a necessary purification. Power has returned and is intensifying its presence so it can be confronted once again. It showed its face in its journey through the 1st, and we felt the ripple effects of its presence through the 2nd and 3rd. It is now arriving at the most sensitive area of life – the beginning, the roots. But there is hope. For at this time of revival, power has also been bestowed to the people as well. Pluto has entered sign of Aquarius by transit and Pluto’s 7^th house of “the other.” This timeframe is going to be defined by the combination between the two Plutonic angular house manifestations. While solar arc Pluto is intensifying power and destruction at the foundation, the “other” is being empowered to resist. Of course, transit Pluto’s conjunction to Mercury and Mars from 2025-2031 will also impact (destroy) many of our relationships in the process as well. Mass violence and expanded war are not out of the question for this alignment. And when solar arc Uranus arrives at Pluto from 2029-2031, we could be looking at an archetypal picture of revolution.

What Do We Do?

This may sound vague and unsatisfying, but I want us to have faith. No matter how bad things get, have faith in this defining archetype of our time and what it demands of us. Because this archetypal journey is of primary concern, we must entertain the possibility that it is preparing us. In about 100 years, solar arc Pluto will enter its 7th house and move through that Aquairus stellium just like transit Pluto is doing right now. But again, this slower solar arc movement will be much more substantial and indelible. I suspect that it will finalize what transit Pluto initiates. As a matter of fact, transit Pluto will be in trine aspect to solar arc Pluto for its entire solar arc passage through Aquarius. All 30 years of it. Let that sink in a moment. All that powerful humanitarian, intellectual energy redefining our relationships, and positively translating, easily flowing into a complete restructure of the various factions of society, radiating and pulsating and manifesting continuously over an entire generation. This is what is coming. While the exact date of the start of the age of Aquarius remains a hotly debated topic, if this chart represents the highest destiny, then this future journey feels like the beginning of this new age. This also means that the prelude to that starts now. From this vantage point we can literally see our future ancestors. The astrological dynamics of their timeframe are dependent upon what we do in ours. Therefore, through this chart, we are grasping the nature of a great work. Let that validation infuse us with immense strength. Embrace the awareness of this “why” so that it empowers us to bear any “how.” For this is not about allegiances to political parties, preserving nationalistic nostalgia, or even clinging to crumbling socio-economic structures. This is about maintaining the fiercest vision on the grandest scale imaginable. We have built monuments of intellectual acquiescence resigned to assumptions of what we believed human nature to be. None of it is permanent and all of it requires transformation. In the light of that insight, the dichotomy is becoming clear: between those who are stuck in an animalistic stage, protecting the old ways of power over others, and those who have woken up and realize that this no longer serves civilization. Cultivate that spark of vision, that strength, that courage…and hold fast to the hope of a rebirth that will define a new age.

Peace and truth to you and yours.

And long live Humanity.