The End of an Era: Pluto’s Final Exit from Capricorn (in this Lifetime)
Pluto Transmutation
Pluto is a force that upheaves, reveals, and transforms. It permanently changes each part of the chart that it passes through by excavating what was deep below the surface, and destroying what is not meant to move forward. In the destruction process, transmutation occurs.
Those who try to resist Pluto’s transmutation process often compulsively double-down in their behaviors and attachments, refusing to let go or change. For them, the Plutonian lessons are often learned the hardest. However Pluto has no mercy, and it could be a difficult process for anyone, despite their level of willingness.
Pluto is extremely slow moving. It takes 248 years to complete an orbit around the Sun. Due to its elliptical orbit, Pluto can spend anywhere from 12-25 years in a single sign. It will only pass through 4-6 signs in a human lifetime. This simple fact makes Pluto’s final exit from Capricorn a significant astrological event worth paying attention to.
Pluto entered Capricorn on November 27, 2008, where it transited steadily for 15 years. Throughout 2023 and 2024, Pluto has danced between the last degrees of Capricorn and the first degrees of Aquarius through its very slow retrograde cycles. Now in the fall of 2024, for 2 months, Pluto will retrograde once again to 29° of Capricorn for the last and final time in this lifetime.
Capricorn, an Earth sign ruled by Saturn, encompasses the principles of discipline, structure, authority, governance, business, and long-term goals. Pluto’s transit through Capricorn has emphasized these themes on a personal and collective level, and it’s interesting to take note of how they have manifested.
Pluto in Capricorn
Pluto’s entry into Capricorn in 2008 coincided with the biggest global financial crisis since the Great Depression, which led to widespread economic upheaval and reforms.
There has been a notable increase in the influence of large corporations on politics and government, namely in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision in 2010, which ruled that corporations can spend an unlimited amount on a political candidate’s campaign.
There was an uncovering of several high-profile corruption cases such as the allegations against Harvey Weinstein in 2017 that led to the birth of the #MeToo movement, as well as the renewed attention in the Jeffrey Epstein case in 2018. Many other disturbing corruption cases never made it to mainstream media, but have been circulated in other online spaces.
The last 15 years have seen a general erosion of trust in political leaders and institutions, especially evident in the U.S., with growing public skepticism and dissatisfaction with the current political processes.
Additionally, the Covid-19 pandemic saw governments across the world using their authority to implement unprecedented lockdowns and restrictions that forced us to restructure our lives.
The last 10 years have also shown a rise in entrepreneurship across the globe, mainly influenced by new technology and digital tools, economic shifts into a gig economy, and a general cultural shift to valuing the ability to be one’s own boss.
The last decade has also seen a significant collective push toward highlighting social injustices and hierarchical imbalances in society, pushing us collectively toward a deeper level of personal integrity in how we walk through the world.
Pluto’s transit through Capricorn has been forcing us to reflect on who we give our power to. Either we claim authority over our lives, or someone else will claim authority over us. The way that we wield our personal authority depends entirely on the strength of our personal integrity. Some have answered Pluto’s call to evolve in this direction, and some have not.
Crossing the Critical Degree
As Pluto approached the end of its journey through Capricorn in March 2023, it crossed the 29th degree, also known as the anaretic degree. The anaretic degree of any sign represents a critical point where the unresolved issues and themes related to that sign become intensified and come to the surface. At the 29th degree, we are compelled to confront the lessons related to that sign that life is presenting.
Pluto first reached the 29th degree of Capricorn on February 11, 2023, and stayed there until March 23, 2023, when Pluto made its first entry into Aquarius. However, after less than three months in Aquarius, Pluto went retrograde and returned to the 29th degree of Capricorn on June 11, 2023. It remained at this degree until July 27, as it retraced its path during the retrograde phase.
Pluto moved forward again and reached the 29th degree of Capricorn for the third time from December 20, 2023 to January 20, 2024, before crossing into Aquarius for the second time.
After advancing to 2 degrees of Aquarius, Pluto went retrograde again on May 1, 2024. Since then, Pluto has been retracing its steps across the first 2 degrees of Aquarius.
On September 1, 2024, Pluto will make a final return to the 29th degree of Capricorn, where it will stay until November 19, 2024—just in time for the U.S. elections. The timing is uncanny.
Key Dates:
Pluto crossed/ is crossing the critical 29th degree of Capricorn on these dates:
First Passage: February 11, 2023 - March 23, 2023
Second Passage: June 11, 2023 - July 26, 2023
Third Passage: December 20, 2023 - January 20, 2024
Fourth + Final Passage: September 1, 2024 - November 19, 2024
Reflect on the major Capricorn themes that emerged during these periods, as they are likely to be revisited in the fall of 2024.
Graduation and Moving Forward
As Pluto exits Capricorn and prepares to enter the sign of Aquarius, we are collectively transitioning from a period of global restructuring to a new era of how those changes will play out in society as a whole. Some of the implications of Pluto’s transit through Capricorn may not be publicly realized for years to come.
On a personal level, this is a time to reflect on the shifts that have taken place in how you structure your life, what you’re building, and who you answer to. What has been dismantled in your life? What new forms of personal integrity have emerged? What’s your Why? Who or what do you give your allegiance to?.
Again, after this final pass in the Fall of 2024, Pluto will never return to Capricorn in our lifetimes. As we step into this new phase, it’s an opportunity to embrace the changes, honor the lessons learned, and move forward into the Aquarian Age with renewed purpose. The shift from Capricorn to Aquarius emphasizes how we use the integrity of the structures we've established to support humanitarian and socially relevant causes. In what way will you show up to help humanity?
Pluto’s final transit of 29° Capricorn is like a graduation. It could be an auspicious time to reflect on what you are graduating from, as well as what you are being initiated into. Hold a ceremony for yourself.
If you’ve done the Capricorn work, you’ve earned it.
