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As we look ahead to the week ahead, we are looking at the beginning of a whole new era. We do this in classic Aquarius style, as the Sun and Pluto enter this forward-thinking air sign on the same day, ushering in a nearly two-decade chapter.
Aquarius is known as the water bearer, pouring from his sacred vessel into the collective. According to the myth, it is not just the water that this air sign shares with the masses, it is the consciousness that offers new streams of inspiration, vision abilities and a different way of living life.
The illustrated myth behind the constellation Aquarius from 1603. (Illustration: Science & Society Picture Library | Getty)
Sun enters Aquarius
The sun is our consciousness. It is our center, our life force, vitality, our expression, our sense of identity and our light that emanates from each of us in every moment. As the sun moves through the zodiac, we also change the expression of our light.
The Sun enters Aquarius on January 20, 2024 and remains there until February 18, 2024. Those of us born on this date embody and express this sign in every moment of our lives. Regardless of when we were born and what sun sign we are, we can all explore the Aether of Aquarius during these weeks. We can see the world through its lens, feel it in our bodies, and allow it to shape the expression of our life force.
As an air sign, Aquarius looks to the future. A vision is given that goes beyond the tangible expression of the reality of our time. It looks at what is current and then looks beyond that. It is the zodiac of innovation, change and evolution. It shows us a new way, a better way, to serve humanity and the evolution of life itself. It is intellectual, free-thinking, humanitarian, innovative and inventive. It is here to go beyond the status quo.
As we journey through the realm of Aquarius, each of us becomes our own unique expression of Aquarius. Something inside us begins to guide us to new and different ways of experiencing the world and living our everyday lives. We start to think outside the box, embrace change and innovation and open ourselves to alternative ways of being and acting. We approach our visions differently and therefore notice what ideas and opportunities open up in front of us.
Over the next few weeks we have the opportunity to open ourselves up to new, different, innovative and exciting ways to achieve our dreams and live our lives. If ever there was a time to embrace change and let our future selves take us by the hand and guide us forward, it is the time of Aquarius.
A contemporary depiction of the air sign Aquarius, commonly depicted as a vessel carrying water. (Illustration: ProVectors | Getty)
Pluto enters Aquarius
In a synchronous and almost magical way, on the same day that the Sun enters Aquarius, Pluto also enters Aquarius.
Although the Sun passes through each zodiac within a few weeks, Pluto can spend up to 21 years transiting through one sign before entering the next. His moves are a big deal, era-defining and generational. The movement marks an entirely new chapter in our individual and collective experience.
We have been dancing in the two very different worlds of Pluto in Capricorn and Pluto in Aquarius for almost a year. And during the week we take an important step in dance. For the first time since the 17th century, Pluto entered the zodiac sign of Aquarius in March 2023. It remained there until May 2023, when Pluto's retrograde rotation moved it backwards into Capricorn.
On January 20, 2024, Pluto returns to Aquarius. It will remain in this forward-looking sign until September 1, 2024, then move retrograde into Capricorn for the final time in our lives. On November 19, 2024, Pluto will re-enter Aquarius, where it will remain for nearly two decades until 2043.
Pluto is our inner underworld. It is our invisible, our secret and our unconscious. It can only be found through a journey deep within, far beyond the aspects of ourselves that we show to the outside world. It represents death, transformation, rebirth and empowerment. It is our darkness, our shadows and our vulnerability.
Aquarius is the new path, the other path, the areas that have not yet been ventured, the areas that perhaps have not yet been understood. It is the beginning of a life we do not yet know, but we feel the call seemingly from every cell in our body.
Pluto's entry into Aquarius brings with it a shift in both our own consciousness and the collective consciousness in which we swim and from which we cannot separate. It invites us to disrupt the status quo, the consensus and the accepted normal way of acting and being in the world so that we can access the unknown gifts that live beyond. It wants empowerment, it requires us to look at everything that disempowers us inside and out so that we can begin to regain our authority step by step.
Pluto's shift brings with it the opportunity to bring about a profound internal and external transformation of the structures that hold us, both as individuals and as a society. Although the movement of Pluto is deeply transformative and works with us from the deepest depths of ourselves, it is a slow massage over two decades. We cannot know who we will be in 2043, but as we continue to move with Pluto, we can only imagine that it will be a completely different self and a completely different world.
Your invitation
This week is our opportunity to swim in these waters of change and observe how both Aquarius Season and Pluto in Aquarius feel different in our bodies. Observing what kind of thoughts dance in the spaces of our mind, what kinds of ideas find us, or even the things that begin to change in our own lives. It is our invitation to open ourselves to this change.
Life forever offers us the opportunity to grow, to become the embodiment and expression of who we are, and to integrate our desires and visions into our lives. Nevertheless, with these invitations we are in active collaboration with this life. This week, this season, and the next two decades, we have the opportunity to transform our relationship with change, growth, the new and unknown, and the future that calls each of our names.
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Learn more about the influence of astrology on your life, including astrological events, the lunar cycles, your sun and moon, and rising signs, how journaling can help you connect with current influences, and more Jordane Maree on Girl and her Moon.