On September 1st 2024, Pluto moved back into Capricorn, where it will remain from until November 19th 2024. It will be at 29 degrees of Capricorn for the whole of its last transit into the sign. This is a particularly significant degree, as the last degree of any sign, the Anaretic Degree, is often associated with crisis and culmination around the energies that that sign represents. Pluto will be 29 Degrees Retrograde until October 11th 2024. It will then turn direct, and will be at 29 degrees Direct from October 12th until November 19th. After which Pluto will end its transit through Capricorn, for this 248 year cycle. This will be the last time Pluto will be in Capricorn in the lifetimes of anybody currently alive. Pluto will not visit Capricorn again until 2254.
Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008 and will leave Capricorn for good November 19th 2024, after a year and a half of moving back and forth between the last degrees of Capricorn and the first couple of degrees of Aquarius. Pluto will move permanently into Aquarius in the second half of November, where it will stay until 2044. I have already written an article on Pluto In Aquarius, which you can read here. And I will likely be writing another article about Pluto in Aquarius soon, now that the expression of those energies has become more defined,
Pluto is the furthest of the outer planets, although it has been technically demoted to dwarf planet, alongside a whole group of other neighboring largish Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). It has a long orbital period of 248 years and long lasting transits.
Pluto, The Shadowland Teacher
Pluto, astrologically, is associated with the underworld, death, what is hidden from view, the shadow, the occult, power and intensity. It is also associated with phoenix style transformations, where something dies and is then reborn from the ashes, although often Pluto’s transits talk about the death part of this process, and the rebirth happens after Pluto’s transit is finished, often after a period of integration.
Pluto takes decades to move through a sign and it usually takes a couple of years to transit a planet or point in a persons natal chart. Its energies hover relentlessly, grinding away at the shadow aspects of our personal and collective energy. Pluto transits are rarely easy, but they leave what they found deeply changed, never to be the same again. I remember my first astrology teacher saying that Saturn is the stern teacher that never fails to teach, but that Pluto is ruthless teacher that does not care if the student dies in the process, what needs to end will end, what need to be shedded will be shedded, no matter what the collateral damage.
Pluto: The Collective’s Big Bad
At the collective level, Pluto seems to operate as the Big Bad of our shared humanity story, embodying the collective darker aspects of each of the signs it traverses, blowing them up for all to see, leading eventually to big changes in the spheres of our communal sociopolitical lives highlighted by that sign. For example, when Pluto was in Cancer (1914-1939), Cancerian themes of family, the homeland and one’s tribe manifested for a while as hyper-nationalist ideologies, born initially out of a need to safeguard the homeland, and which eventually led to authoritarian systems of government in many countries. We had the rise of Hitler’s Nazism in Germany (1933-1945), of Mussolini’s Fascism in Italy (1922-1943), of the Franco regime in Spain (1939-1975), of the Salazar regime in Portugal (1932-1968), and the Hirohito Imperial regime in Japan (1926-1945) all playing out dictatorial nationalist and military themes. We also had the Bolshevik revolution (1917) and the rise of Stalin (1924-1953), embodying dictatorial powers on the left/communist side of the spectrum. That aspect of our collective psyche was amplified through the events and movements of the 1930s leading to WW2. As Pluto moved into Leo (1939- 1957) the ideologies born from Pluto in Cancer’s collective fears and nationalistic security concerns, evolved into Pluto in Leo’s focus on powerful and charismatic authoritarian leaders and the cult of personality that followed them. Dictators like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Franco, etc intensified their control by portraying themselves as saviors and fathers figures of their nations, encouraging cults of personality via media, rallies and propaganda and harsh suppression of opposition. Several of these regimes were defeated during WW2, with the birth of new republics, new constitutions and international organizations initially built to safeguard peace and democracy, such as the United Nations, put in place to create co-operation between nations, based on higher principles. Although, during Pluto in Capricorn, all of the above have also come under scrutiny.
Pluto is the ruler of the underworld and, generally speaking, it operates via intensifying the shadow and bringing to the surface all that is hidden and unprocessed, giving the opportunity for transmutation and integration, both individually and collectively. Austrian psychoanalysts Alice Miller, for example, saw the rise of fascism in 1930s Europe as a direct result of the strict and harsh child rearing practices of the early 1900s, which she named poisonous pedagogy, making people ripe for authoritarian father figures to follow. Pluto intensifies an aspects of our collective shadow, so that all that is not in alignment about it, be seen, destroyed, then giving birth to something new and better. Although sometimes at the collective level, it often mutates in a different level of the problem, as true social change seems to need very longer gestation periods.
As Pluto enters a sign, the issues represented by Pluto in the sign, intensify. Usually the dark and ugly side of that sign emerges first. In fact the first few years in the sign will give us an idea of what is coming for review, As Pluto moves towards the end of the sign, the issues have an opportunity for resolution, before the hot potato gets passed to the next sign/area of collective experience.
As we are now right at the end of the Pluto in Capricorn era, lets take a look at Pluto in Capricorn, as it first entered the sign.
Pluto Enters Capricorn – 2008
When Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008, the world experienced what is known as the Global Financial Crisis, a global economic downturn triggered by the collapse of the housing market bubble in the United States, leading to the failure of major financial institutions, widespread foreclosures, and a severe credit crunch, with ramifications across the whole world. The 2008 Financial Crisis was primarily caused by high-risk mortgage lending, excessive borrowing, and the widespread sale of complex financial products like mortgage-backed securities and credit default swaps, which were poorly regulated, leading to massive defaults and a collapse in the financial system.
There were numerous instances of illegal activities being exposed during that time, such as mortgage fraud, deceptive lending practices, and manipulation in the sale of complex financial products. Additionally, some financial institutions engaged in unethical behavior, like misleading investors about the risks of mortgage-backed securities, which contributed to the crisis. Regulatory failures and a lack of oversight allowed many of these practices to go unchecked, exacerbating the impact of the crisis.
The 2008 Financial Crisis was resolved through a combination of government interventions, including massive bailouts of financial institutions, monetary easing by central banks, fiscal stimulus packages, and regulatory reforms. These efforts helped stabilize the financial markets, restore confidence, and eventually led to an economic recovery. Many, however, were not happy about how the crisis was tackled. There was significant debate and public outrage over the perceived unfairness of the bailouts, as many felt that the government prioritized rescuing banks and financial institutions—many of which were deemed “too big to fail”—while not doing enough to directly assist ordinary citizens who lost their homes, savings, and jobs. Critics argued that while trillions were spent stabilizing the financial system, only limited support was provided to homeowners facing foreclosure and individuals struggling with unemployment. This disparity fueled resentment and sparked movements like Occupy Wall Street, in the fall and winter of 2011. which highlighted the economic inequalities and lack of accountability for those responsible for the crisis. This in turn triggered many discussion around the unhealthy side of end stage capitalism, the corporatocracy, and the true face of collective power and the elite controllers of this world, in all their aspects.
Pluto In Capricorn: The Dark Side of World Power
It is clear astrologically, that the Big Bad of the Pluto in Capricorn season centered around the topic of visible and hidden world power: the big financial institutions, governments, corporations and elite power players of our world.
Capricorn is the sign that rules authority, political power, the economy, earth structures. Its a big daddy energy, that plays out in the world in various ways. Over the past 18 years of Pluto in Capricorn, we have been seeing said big world players gaining more and more power, while also undergoing an unprecedented level of exposure. All the dirt of all things dark power, visible and invisible, physical and non physical have been coming up for all to see. Conspiracy theories, which have often turned out to be conspiracy facts, have been exploding to the degree of becoming mainstream. All that is hidden about the power holders of this world has been gradually coming to light. In many cases such exposure has been accurate and positive. The debate, however, between what is true and not true and the way information, truth, propaganda and misinformation shape the worldviews that give power to this or that world player or organization has been increasingly more tense and fraught with disagreement and conflict, half the population siding with the controllers and half against it. The powers that be have often been at the center of this increased polarization, pitting people against each other, as a way to maintain the status quo. This my truth versus your truth, is very much the domain of Neptune in Pisces, who has been traveling alongside Pluto in Capricorn for much of this time, muddying the waters of perception, mixing reality with falsehood and propaganda of various kinds. Distinguishing what is real, from lies and propaganda has been often challenging, and even more so that Ai has entered the chat, as Neptune reaches the end of its time in Pisces. And we are now at the point where society is splintered in two groups that believe in polar opposite realities and each group thinks their reality is the truth and the other group is lying or delusional. And yet Pluto says that there is a reality somewhere, and that dark players are muddying the waters and need to be exposed.
The Last Pluto in Capricorn Push at the 29th Anaretic Degree
As we move back into the last degree of Capricorn for two and a half months, we will be stationed on Capricorn’s anaretic degree, considered a critical crisis point, symbolizing a sense of urgency, culmination, or a last-minute push to complete or understand the lessons associated with that sign. As such we can expect to see a repeat and intensification of all we have seen during this Pluto in Capricorn time, seeking one last push towards resolution.
It is interesting that this last push in Capricorn coincides with the last 2 months before the USA’s elections, alongside the immediate post election window. It also coincides with a current intensification of “the people” versus “the government/big brother”, in many countries across the world; and with authoritarian government heavy responses to expressions of discontent. See, for example, the anti-immigration protests and riots in UK with severe government clamp downs to follow. pro-palestine protests in most of the western world, with corresponding government pushback, increased government control of social media platforms, in an attempt to regulate free speech, that is seen as problematic, and even talks of arresting Elon Musk, the arrest of the founder of Telegram, etc.
Whether one agrees with the people or the government or not, the clamp down style is top down heavy and plutonian, and we are likely to see this continue and intensify during the last few months of Pluto in Capricorn. When Pluto moves into Aquarius, we may see a swift shift in the locus of power, from governments and corporations to the people, with both the positives and negatives associated to that shift (Aquarius being the sign of groups, the people and the collective). Pluto in Aquarius will also manifest its own Big Bad and the darker side of people movements may be what is up for review next.
All Outer Planets Are Shifting: End of the Water and Earth Era, Beginning of The Times of Air and Fire
I am sure you are starting to see that the last few months of Pluto in Capricorn are going to be pretty wild. I am seeing this intuitively too, not just via astrology. Government, politics, the financial system, big agriculture, big pharma, all of the international organizations such as the UN, the World Health Organization, and all the power structures of this world will be in the spotlight. All that is hidden and dark gets one last chance to pop into visibility and to be exposed, transmuted and healed. This in turn will open the door to even bigger transformations of the collective that may occur during Pluto in Aquarius.
Next year in general is going to be a big shift in the energies, as all the outer planets will be moving into new signs and elements, pretty much at the same time (which is rare). Pluto will move permanently into Aquarius, Neptune will move into Aries and Uranus will move into Gemini. Even Saturn is changing signs next year from Pisces to Aries. After many years of Earth and Water, the energies at the collective level are moving into a long period of Air and Fire. New beginnings, new ideas, much action. Lots of fast moving energy, for good or ill. This is an explosive energy too – things bursting into being, things bursting out of existence – rebellion – revolutions – especially in area governed by the mind.
Pluto In Aquarius: The Dark Side of Technology and Power to the People
And even before the year is out, the Big Bad that is Pluto will move permanently into Aquarius – The focus will shift from big government to big tech – technology, cyber stuff, robotics, AI, cyborgs, transhumanism, clones, gene editing, genetic engineering. There will be a dark side associated to all this at first that we will all need to look at and tackle. A new chapter of collective learning will begin, including exploring Aquarian Power, and all that that entails. Power to the people is great, but communism, for example, is a dark manifestation of that power. Power to the people is not by default good. My sense is that there will be much discussion of what we need as a society going forward, as much of our society no longer works as it used to, and is kind of imploding. We will have 20 years to explore all this, while Pluto takes its walk through the Aquarian energies.
We are Entering a Window of Great Change
Another small observation before closing out this post. During the September-November Pluto in Capricorn window, Pluto will be trine Uranus in Taurus, and sextile Neptune in Pisces. Both these planets are also in the last degrees of their own signs, wrapping up their journeys and lessons in these signs. This is a powerful alignment of the three outer planet energies wrapping up collective stories, which suggest monumental forces of change. The outer planets are telling us that we are at the end of an era, as they move to the end of their respective signs together – and at the beginning of the next one – as they move into their new signs, and they are working together in a triangle formation during this transition. Whatever transpires during these next few months will carry a lot of weight and will be the foundation for the big outer planets shift happening next year. And this will set the energies for many years to come.
That will be all for now on these energies. Now lets see what the universe and humanity cook up together with these very powerful astrological ingredients.
Much love
Katie
Copyright 2024. Katie Gallanti. All Rights Reserved. https://katiegallanti.com . Feel free to share as a link to this blog or cut and pasted with this copyright byline with author name and website links included.
ABOUT KATIE
Katie Gallanti, PhD is a multidimensional healer, teacher, metaphysician, astrologer and published writer in the field of healing, psychology and metaphysics. She specializes in energy clearing and guided activation work, helping people stay clear and connected to their highest multidimensional aspects, so that they can bring maximum light into all facets of their lives, work and soul mission, for the benefit of all beings.
