Pluto, named for the Roman God of the Underworld, rules underground and unseen things as well as their reemergence. Along with buried secrets and harsh transformation, Pluto commands hidden power, dark desires, black markets, organized crime and all matters associated with death and rebirth. On a personal level, it rules the unconscious, addictions and terror. On a global scale, Pluto rules the accumulation of wealth, control and authority. Pluto increases the intensity of whatever planet or sign it touches. For the next 20 years, that intensity resides in the sign of Aquarius.
Aquarius directs Pluto’s power struggles into technological and societal innovations. Expect advancements in AI as well as the terror of its unknown impact. Pluto’s desire for wealth mines the internet and electronic data during these decades. Social media, the confluence of technology with societal innovation, becomes a focus of control, undergoing significant transformation. How society organizes itself on local and national levels changes in radical ways. Neighborhood mutual aid groups and regional affiliations increase their impact. The last Pluto in Aquarius period brought the adaption of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. This time anticipate challenges and adjustments to the power structures created by those documents.
The beginning of 2026 offers a deluge of opportunities to uncover how to work with Pluto as the personal planets enter Aquarius and meet the planet of secrets and transformation. On January 17th, Venus enters Aquarius encouraging us to find harmony through technological and social innovations. The next day the Moon follows creating an Aquarius stellium. When the Moons teams up with both Venus and Pluto expect heightened emotional reactions to the search for peace or, at least, answers. As the Moon quickly moves on, Venus slides into her exact conjunction with Pluto highlighting issues relating to relationships and women. While the intensity of those issues peaks, Mercury speeds into Aquarius and meets up with the Sun on January 21st. This Mercury Cazimi offers a day of inspiration that supports a better way of thinking about the foundation-shaking changes. Cazimi bonus points last only a day and are followed by Mercury teaming up with Pluto. Mercury’s ability to travel between the unconscious and our mundane awareness reveals transformative potential and old secrets. Expect shocking stories to emerge during the yearly meeting with Pluto and Mercury. The Pluto Cazimi ends the first week of big shifts. The Sun’s conjunction shines a light into Pluto’s dark depths spotlighting insights to hidden power struggles.
Mars joins the Aquarius pile-up during the Pluto Cazimi. The planet of war heats up areas already raw from a week of revelations. Mars, slower moving than the other inner planets, spends the rest of January close enough to Pluto to ignite explosive reactions. Pluto’s intensity makes the fights Mars incites more explosive and destructive.
February begins with a Leo Full Moon bringing up emotional reactions as the Moon opposes the 5 planets still in Aquarius. Thankfully, when the Moon joins the Sun for the Aquarius New Moon in mid-February we’ll be offered the chance to plant new goals that align with the progress Pluto brings in the wake of its intense revelations.
The importance of individual choice and the power to impact the world, even after death, have been a part of Plutonian energy from its discovery. Percival Lowell believed a distant 9th planet existed and he spent the last 15 years of his life searching for it. More than a decade later, while working on his family’s farm, Clyde Tombaugh made his own telescope. In 1929, he sent drawings of Mars to the Lowell-founded observatory and received back a job offer. Tombaugh found Pluto on February 18, 1930, but he didn’t announce it until March 13th. Why March 13th? Because it was Lowell’s birthday and Tombaugh wanted to honor the man he had never met who had so influenced his life. With Pluto in Aquarius, personal significance coalesces around societal improvements and technological advancements.
- March 23, 2023 ~ Pluto enters Aquarius for the first time since 1798
- November 19, 2024 ~ Pluto enters Aquarius and stays until 2043
- January 18, 2026 ~ The Moon meets Pluto
- January 19, 2026 ~ Venus meets Pluto in Aquarius
- January 21, 2026 ~ Mercury meets the Sun in Aquarius ~ Mercury Cazimi
- January 22, 20226 ~ Mercury meets Pluto in Aquarius
- January 23, 2026 ~ The Sun meets Pluto in Aquarius ~ Pluto Cazimi
- January 27, 2026 ~ Mars meets Pluto in Aquarius
- February 1, 2026 ~ Leo Full Moon
- February 17, 2026 ~ New Moon in Aquarius
Find out more about Pluto in general in my YouTube videos.