Tarot Spread for Pluto's Transition from Capricorn to Aquarius
I. I was __ years old when Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008. This card represents myself at that time.
2. What have I learned about the archetype of The Devil over the last 16 years?
3. What is Pluto inviting me to finally let go of or destroy during these final weeks of Pluto in Capricorn?
4. How can I most easily step onto the path of healing and inspiration when Pluto returns to Aquarius?
5. What can I know now about the journey I will embark on while Pluto is in Aquarius?
6. I am __ years old as Pluto enters Capricorn for the last time in my life September-November 2024. This card represents myself now.
We are in the middle of a massive period of transition as Pluto, the slowest moving planet, shifts from its 16 year stint in Capricorn to a 20 year stay in Aquarius. Because of Pluto’s long retrograde periods (where the planet appears to move backwards through the zodiac before turning around and moving forward again), we are in a unique moment where we are experiencing Pluto moving back and forth between the two signs for an extended period of time.
On September 1 2024, Pluto re-entered Capricorn for the very last time in our lifetime (and the lifetimes of a few generations after us). Capricorn is associated with The Devil in Tarot. This card invites us to interrogate the people, places, things, attitudes, and beliefs that require us to give away our personal power, often through fear. At its best, The Devil encourages us to identify these hindrances and take our power back but at its worst, this card can represent the suffering that comes from addiction and abuses of power. Pluto’s reign in Capricorn began in 2008, a pretty transformative year for the US economy and political system. This reign will officially end shortly after the 2024 US elections, where we have once again created an opportunity to elect a president who began his political career by making the false claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Racism is a very Devilish symptom of fear - fear that was stocked by the economic recession that began that same year.
Pluto will spend September, October, and most of November in Capricorn before entering Aquarius and remaining there for about the next 20 years. The last time Pluto entered Aquarius was a period marked by many Capital R Revolutions (the French, American, and Industrial to name a few…). Aquarius is a future oriented sign that seeks to help humanity as a whole. In Tarot, it is associated with The Star - a card that symbolizes hope, healing, triumph after struggle, and a direct connection to inspiration from Source (God, Spirit, The Universe, however you name it). The healthiest embodiment of Star energy can be used to support healing on a collective or community level. At its worst, the inspiration and healing of the Star is severed from the collective and used only to benefit the individual. A great example of this is the current “love and light” brand of spirituality that seeks to keep the individual in a bubble of “good vibes” while ignoring the suffering of their neighbors.
In Tarot, Pluto is associated with Judgement. Judgement is the second to last card in the Major Arcana, coming just before The World which represents culmination, the realization of all your hard work, and reaching an enlightened state. Judgement is the final hurdle before we reach “enlightenment” (and, consequently, start the whole process again because there is no final enlightened destination). When we are living the Judgement card, we are often at a crossroads being presented with a choice to make. Do I fully integrate what I have been learning along my path and step into the new reality I have been working hard to build? Or do I fall back upon my old habits and patterns, remaining entombed in a reality where I am comfortable, but still separated from my personal power and purpose.
As Pluto continues to shift back and forth between these two signs, I have been imagining this time period as a point where we are being offered the invitation to determine what kind of Star era we are entering into. Will we enter into an era where we truly identify the rot (also a Pluto theme) that has been accumulating while The Devil archetype ran wild and begin a process of healing these deep, archetypal wounds? Will the technological advancements we have already begun to see in just the first few months of Pluto entering Aquarius be utilized to help the collective? Or will they continue to harm the masses while benefiting the few? It is the decisions that each of us make as individuals that average out to determine what direction we will go as a whole.
