The big cosmic story of February 2024 is… Pluto in Aquarius!
You may be thinking, “Wait, didn’t Pluto already enter Aquarius on January 20th?”
It did!
But I believe February is going to give us a much stronger introduction to Pluto in Aquarius than we have thus far received and I want you to be well prepared for it!
The basic Pluto in Aquarius Story outline is as follows:
Pluto recently changed signs from Capricorn to Aquarius on January 20th, 2024.
The trailer for this long-term stay occurred last year when Pluto was briefly in Aquarius between March 23, 2023 - June 11, 2023.
After Pluto stations retrograde this year on May 2nd, he will back-up into Capricorn one last time. Pluto will be in Capricorn briefly from September 1, 2024 - November 19, 2024, and then will be solidly in Aquarius until the year 2043.
I have more posts planned for February that will help unpack your Pluto in Aquarius Story further, but in this blog post, the central question I will be responding to is:
How can we best prepare for February’s multiple Pluto introductions and become more attuned to his presence?
Since I’ve already spoken to the global, collective themes of Pluto in Aquarius, I will explore this question at a more personal, individual level.
If tracking Pluto is important to you, I advise putting some of the dates I reference in your calendar and returning to this post to follow the personal (and global) story as it unfolds. Please note that the dates I use are based in Atlantic Standard Time. In your time zone, the transit may peak the day before or after. Furthermore, if a fast-moving transit peaks in the early AM, you may actually feel it more strongly the day prior.
Okay, so, outer planets like Pluto move very slowly. Pluto will be in Aquarius for about 20 years. That’s a long ass time.
The ingress years, which includes this one, will set the stage for Pluto’s journey though Aquarius. By paying close attention to when faster-moving planets transit Pluto in 2024 (particularly the conjunctions) we can gain access to important intel and deep reflections regarding the work that Pluto is beginning in us as this new chapter launches.
As I mentioned, Pluto entered Aquarius with the Sun at the beginning of Aquarius Season on January 20th, 2024. Although the Sun brought Pluto with it over the threshold from Capricorn to the Aquarius (which is very noteworthy), the Sun-Pluto conjunction actually happened at 29°59’ Capricorn (the verrrry edge of Cap) - not in Aquarius.
However, throughout the month of February four fast-moving planets will conjoin with Pluto in Aquarius at 0° - Mercury, then the Moon, then Mars, and then Venus. They will all be passing through conjunctions with Pluto and introducing us to him in this new sign, in a style that suits each of them.
For example, Mars’ style would be to introduce us to Pluto in a booming, authoritative voice, whereas the Moon’s style may be to whisper its introductions.
This series of planetary introductions offers us all an excellent opportunity to get to know Pluto in Aquarius better - globally and on a personal level!
Those of you with important placements around 0 degrees of Aquarius should pay particularly close attention - by the end of February you will definitely have a very good idea what Plutonian process is beginning in your life.
As I guide you through the month of February below, I’ll include reflective question prompts and symbolic substitution suggestions to help you channel that particular type of energy as we pass through each unique “Pluto introduction.”
The very first conjunction between Pluto and a faster moving planet will occur on February 5, 2024 as Mercury enters Aquarius and immediately collides into Pluto at 0°.
Mercury’s nature is to learn and collect information, and then to share it with others. Mercury has this back-and-forth quality that we find most obviously expressed in human conversation and the dynamic interplay of listening and communicating between two people. But a Mercurial moment can also look like a conversation between you and a book for example, or a conversation that you are having within yourself.
When Mercury has an encounter with the Lord of the Underworld in Aquarius, we may receive Plutonian clues through our thought processes, through our conversations, and through what we are learning.
Mercury and Pluto combinations at their most challenging can show up as obsessive ruminations, dark and dangerous thoughts, nightmares, mental paranoia, and information or conversations that feel threatening on some level.
We can practice leaning into the gifts of this Mercury-Pluto transit by asking ourselves:
What novel, deep and profound insights do I have access to at this time? (potentially about broader societal issues and concerns)
What tough topic needs to be confronted with self or other? What secret wants to be safely shared today?
When did today’s conversations and learning experiences touch on a profound depth that I may have overlooked or moved past too quickly?
How can I set aside more time and space to process something through journaling, therapy or reflection?
Symbolically resonant activities include: Learning about anything that would be considered taboo such as obscure topics that are located within the realms of sexuality or death; writing a letter to a deceased loved one; recording a stream-of-consciousness audio file to cleanse your mind of something it’s stuck on (then delete it if you need to).
On February 8th the Moon enters Aquarius and immediately conjoins with Pluto at 0°.
The Moon is our emotional processing body, it is our intuitive nature, and it reflects mother and child archetypes. It carries the symbolism of home, roots, and family.
The Moon likes to feel safe and protected. When it is conjunct Pluto this sense of safety can be challenged as it goes on a brief underworld trip. At its most challenging, Moon-Pluto can find us doing anything we can to stay in control of a situation because we are feeling internally helpless and powerless. Attempts to stay safe and in control can be sneaky. They may show up as self-sabotage or emotional manipulation. Hopelessness, despair and a range of intense emotions can emerge with this transit.
We can lean into the gifts of this Moon-Pluto transit by asking ourselves:
How can I soothe and comfort myself in healthy ways that will truly resource and support me (and others)?
If I feel led to practice emotional vulnerability today and release something I’ve been holding on to, who would be the best and most available, prepared person to hold space for me right now? Can I offer this non-judgmental supportive space to someone else and their emotions?
Symbolically resonant activities: Since the Moon carries the symbolism of home/family/roots, activities like digging deep into your past via going through your childhood possessions, researching your ancestral lineage, or having a heart-to-heart with your mom, would all be symbolically resonant.
With the Moon and Pluto in the community and friendship oriented sign of Aquarius, this is also a good time to connect with a long-time friend from your younger years and reminisce on highschool (or elementary school) drama, for example.
Around February 13th Mars enters Aquarius and immediately conjoins with Pluto at 0° on the following day (depending on your time zone). However, I should note that Mars transits can be potently experienced about a week prior to when they are “exact,” as soon as Mars comes within about a three degree range of Pluto. There can also be a sense of tension that lingers for a few days even after the transit has completed.
Mars - the warrior, the agitator, the catalyst - is particularly good at “waking up” outer planets and turning up their volume to ensure that we get some very LOUD messages from these slow-moving journeyers.
Remember how the Covid-19 virus emerged in the global landscape near the end of 2019 but the concern around it was only a mere whisper until we hit mid-March and the world shut down?
Most astrologers see a correlation between the Covid-19 virus and the fearsome Saturn-Pluto conjunction that occurred early January 2020 in Capricorn.
However, it took until mid-March for the world to “shut down.” It was also mid/late March when Mars was in Capricorn, blasting through the trio of Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn.
To be clear, I am not saying that is going to happen again (as far as I know), because this is a different scenario. What I am saying though, is that sometimes slow-moving outer planet conjunctions or ingresses are a little quiet and subtle, whereas Mars is neither quiet nor subtle. It will bring our attention to what has already begun with that outer planet action (such as Pluto entering Aquarius), but what we might not yet be fully aware of.
Mars wants movement and action. There is nothing more dire to Mars than stagnancy, boredom and stuckness.
Mars gets things going through many different means, such as: a sense of urgency, the catalyst of anger and rage, a surge of motivation and passion in response to a challenge, a pulsating sex drive, the contraction of our muscles, a growing tension (such as conflict), the need to defend something of value, a desired outcome or object that is tantalizingly out of reach, and the thrill of risk and adventure (to name a few).
These are all strategies that Mars uses to get things going, to get us moving.
When Mars collides with Pluto, the lord of Hades, on February 14th (and throughout the surrounding days), there is a lot of big, intense, energy transmitted through fixed Aquarian air.
At its most challenging, Mars and Pluto together can be violent and destructive (to self and other). They may feed a ravenous hunger for power, and impulsive actions can lead to explosive consequences. Conversely, Mars (our vitality and willpower) can also feel swallowed up by Pluto’s dark void when they combine. This can create a profound sense of lethargy, helplessness and the feeling that we cannot protect or defend ourselves (i.e., a “freeze” state).
We can lean into the gifts of this Mars-Pluto transit by asking ourselves:
How can I harness this huge amount of energy, power, and relentless determination to launch a passion project of some kind? (one that’s potentially collaborative in an Aquarian way)
Where can I access the possibility for tremendous break-through in my life if I confront my fears with courage?
Where/when/how can I find an outlet for my anger and frustration in a safe way? In the safety of an appropriate container, can I give myself full permission to release this anger without judgment?
How can I navigate (and confront) current power struggles in my life with integrity, groundedness and discernment, without letting my shadow unconsciously get the better of me, especially around the topic of revenge?
Symbolically resonant activities: Safe and consensual expressions of sadism and masochism within a BDSM context (especially resonant if in an Aquarian group-like setting); rigorous (and careful) physical movement and exercise to channel this energy through your body; demolishing a structure in the name of progress, improvements, or house renovations.
Finally it’s Venus’ turn to have her 1:1 time with Pluto.
On February 16th, Venus enters Aquarius, and by early in the AM on February 17th (AST) she’s face-to-face with Pluto.
Venus is a magnet of attraction and connection.
Under her guidance we bond with those we love, we are drawn toward what makes us happy, and we discover and craft beauty in this world.
When the Roman goddess, who is also known as Aphrodite to the Greeks, meets with the Lord of the Underworld, we may encounter the dark underbelly of all things related to love, beauty, attraction, and money. Whereas Venus likes to play with aesthetics and surface level appearances, Pluto goes deep into areas such as taboos, danger, loss and grief, guilt and shame.
At its most challenging this can look like abusive trauma-bonded relationships; intimate betrayals, secret and forbidden love (or the paranoia of such things); unwise loyalties; obsessive crush stalking; miserable picture-perfect Instagram couples photos; self-destructive treatment to the body in search of beauty - or as punishment for not meeting a certain societal standard; financial manipulation in relationship; illegal or hidden financial transactions; and the whole range of difficult emotions and shadow material that can surface from the depths shared by loved ones.
As a personal example, when Venus conjoined with my natal Pluto in Scorpio last December I had just had my beloved 15-year-old dog euthanized because she was suffering and her quality of life was quickly plummeting.
I saw this transit coming a few days after the appointment and I’m not sure if I could have prepared myself better for it if I had had more capacity at the time, but regardless, I drowned in it.
Caught in the grip of acute grief (Pluto) for the loss of one of my most precious and treasured relationships (Venus), I was convinced I was a monster and a murderer (Pluto) for being an active player in arranging the end of her life - when what I was trying to do was to surrender her to a peaceful death precisely because I loved her so much. I agreed to take on emotional pain so that she could be free.
This is a very Venus-Pluto experience.
I am still deeply grieving her and I regularly struggle with guilt, but that day held a type of agonizing pain I do not think I can bear to ever feel again. I at least knew what my transits were that day and I knew that particular Venus-Pluto transit would pass quickly.
Has that experience made me extra wary of Venus-Pluto transits?
Unfortunately, yes! Sometimes that happens.
After I have a couple of good (or tolerable, benign) Venus-Pluto transits, I’ll be fine with them again.
We can lean into the gifts of this Venus-Pluto transit by asking ourselves:
Am I being called to forgive, reconcile, or seek amends with someone who has hurt me in the past or with someone I have been in conflict with? Alternatively, am I being called to sever all ties with them?
How can I offer deep self-love and self-care to the exiled parts of myself that are hurting, to the parts of myself that have been shamed?
Propelled by a great love for another (or for a group, or for humanity), do I feel led to make some kind of significant personal sacrifice?
Is there some kind of opportunity opening up today that could supercharge my capacity to attract money, helpful resources and supportive connections?
Symbolically resonant activities: Make a large financial or resource-based donation to a cause that you feel passionate about; plan a deeply intimate date with a loved one, or a special and soul-led gathering with friends; pull out the artistic tools of your choice and creatively channel your grief and your rage - or beautify the gruesome, the shamed, and the taboo; allow Pluto in Aquarius to influence your appearance by dressing and styling yourself in a way that could be characterized as “grungy or gothic” and “undefinably strange, techno or alien.”
Those are the four major planetary Pluto introductions I wanted to highlight, occurring on February 5th, 8th, 14th, and 17th (depending on your time zone).
While I’m looking at the month of February however, I’ll mention a few other noteworthy transits happening in the month.
On February 19th, Chiron and the North Node will conjoin in Aries and there’s a big healing opportunity as our vulnerable areas of wounding, insecurity and rejection become highlighted around the topics of courage, conflict, and risk-taking.
This may help us prepare for the peacemaker and the warrior meeting up at 6° Aquarius on February 22nd, aka Venus and Mars. This conjunction occurs just a week after both planets meet with Pluto in the underworld, and they are carrying their Plutonian experience with them as they intertwine in a tense, yet passionate dance.
Maybe this feels like friction around the urge to fight, and the urge to bond - especially in a community or group context. Where is unity possible, and where do people need to stand alone and seek their own path? How can different visions of the best path forward be reconciled?
Expressions of gender and sexuality that challenge the mainstream narrative can also be a part of this transit story.
Soon after coming together to share their Plutonian stories from their time in the underworld, Venus and Mars will each pass through a square to Jupiter in Taurus (February 25th and 27th, respectively), and then a square to Uranus in Taurus (March 3rd and 9th, respectively).
This all looks to me like it is an ongoing development of the same story, and it could also be a harbinger of the significant Jupiter-Uranus conjunction that peaks at 21 degrees of Taurus on April 20th, 2024.
Venus and Mars will inform Jupiter of their transformations in Pluto’s lair, and in response, Jupiter will likely offer growth, opportunity, and some moments of big stretches and reaches (perhaps as related to community and resources).
These Jupiterian gains will send our peacemaker and warrior on their way toward Uranus, who will teach us how to innovate and revolutionize the opportunities Jupiter provided, in order to step into greater freedom and independence.
The last significant transit of the month happens on February 28th, when the Sun, Mercury, and Saturn all unite at nine degrees of Pisces.
The opportunity here is to gain clarity around tough decisions, to make something very official through public (or witnessed) forms of communication, or to garner the courage to have a difficult conversation that resolves a dispute or issue. The challenge is that the delivery or experience of these opportunities could be harsh and heavy.
In later posts, these are some of the questions I hope to explore, which will bring even more understanding and meaning to your experiences of Pluto activations in February (and beyond):
Who is Pluto and what is the quality of your relationship with him?
What happened when Pluto transitioned from Sagittarius to Capricorn in 2008?
What has happened in your life throughout the past 16 years while Pluto has been in Capricorn? What great transformation is being completed this year as Pluto lingers on the threshold between signs?
What clues can we collect for the Pluto in Aquarius Story by looking at recent transits to 0° Aquarius?
What can be predicted for Pluto’s journey through Aquarius on a personal and global level?