March through June this year, as heavy-hitter outer planet Pluto flirts with the boundaries of the zodiac sign of Aquarius, we’ll get a whiff of what we might expect when at the end of 2024, Pluto fully moves into that sign where he’ll remain for the next two decades.

First and foremost, remember that Aquarius opposes Leo, the zodiac sign ruled by the Sun, in which the individual is tasked with presenting himself to others as a unique, authentic ‘self’. 

Also, remember that at the best of times, such authenticity is difficult to achieve, not least because it requires an immense amount of painful honesty and courage. 

Finally, don’t forget that Aquarius is traditionally ruled by Saturn, the enforcer of cultural rules and traditions and the purveyor of guilt par excellence for one’s failure to follow such laws and traditions to the letter.  

As a dynamic force in our lives here on earth, Pluto symbolises natural cycles of evolution. Pluto’s message is to let go of everything in our lives past its ‘sell-by’ date or suffer the consequences, which are guaranteed not to be pretty. In other words, when change is thrust upon us, we must embrace that change before moving on. 

So what to expect from Pluto’s trek through Aquarius?

We start by realising that we develop certain patterns of thought and behaviour in our everyday lives as to how we present ourselves in the world, a world characterised by cultural rules and traditions. Philosophers like Martin Heidegger remind us that humans have the tendency to present a false ‘self’ to that world, one more in line with those cultural rules and traditions than with a more authentic (solar) self. Heidegger suggests that this tendency to present a false ‘self’ is both unconscious and exceedingly comfortable; not only does it instil us with a sense of who we are but also of belonging.

We might expect this false ‘self’ to be seriously challenged when Pluto calls. 

In other words, we might expect an event, or series of events, that forces change regarding our personal acquaintances, politics, and/or philosophy – something that forces us to transform our current ‘false self’ to conform to the expression of a fuller, truer authentic self. Make no bones about it. This will not be pleasant. But it is necessary. If our usual way of relating to self and society is past its sell-by date, attempts to hang onto it will only make us ill – or worse.