The Stranger Has Come To Town : PLUTO in AQUARIUS

Why did this happen? – The Pluto Question.

"“I wanted to be a religious leader when I was young and now I just reside in my house and try not to be too unhappy. I have a friend living with me, which makes it easier.” ― Jane Bowles, Two Serious Ladies 

"If you are only interested in a bearable life, perhaps this does not concern you,”

― Jane Bowles, Two Serious Ladies 

Well, there is one Pluto answer.

Pluto will pull the rug from underneath you. If you are very interested in status quo, “a bearable life,” you will not like Plutonic experiences. They’re potent karma. Pluto provokes deep questions within us, mortals. He serves us The Dark Night of The Soul. Saturn, you can see him coming. But, Pluto, Pluto has speed, a suddenness. Not quite like Uranus’ lightning strike. He's more volcanic. Pluto will set the town on fire, and you will walk through the ruins, and wonder : why? Because Pluto wants you to change. To burn the masks we wear. Concerned with the soul's desire to evolve, Pluto leads you from the shadow of the ego to the light and wealth of the soul.

Two Serious Ladies

If you want to get a feel of Pluto-in-Aquarius, on a personal level, read the novel Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles. It’s fabulously quirky and the most original writing I’ve come across. Wealthy, eccentric Christina Goering abandons her villa, decamps to a dilapidated house on an island, and entertains increasingly sordid encounters with strange men. Queer Frieda Copperfield accompanies her husband to Panama, to there fall love with a prostitute in a brothel.

Translation: 2 women pursue unconventional (Aquarius) desires (Pluto) on separate but interconnected journeys of liberation (Aquarius).

I’m writing this 2 weeks prior to May 4th’s Pluto retrograde at 3°49’ Aquarius. For the first time, shaman-psychologist-shadowworker Pluto will not return to Capricorn’s mountain. He will review and integrate the process of becoming new to ourselves we’ve set in motion, the new choices we have made, since January 2025.

The Shadow Prevails At The Start

When a stranger first enters your house, you’ll feel the change in mood, and their presence, the strongest. In the same way, it's also when a slow-moving planet first changes constellations that we feel it most potently.

At Pluto’s ingress in the Water Bearer, he will expose the shadows of the Aquarian archetype. False democracies, or politics that are, instead of world service, about gaining individual power. Eccentricity and uniqueness for the sake of being different. Because it’s ‘cool’ to not belong. Blowing up your life for the sake of doing something new and ending up isolated, in a tower or on an island.

If a potent shadow is revealed, a fierce sun is casting it. Where is the light? In our authenticity. Authenticity is the hottest person in the club. Pluto in Aquarius brings power to those who are uniquely themselves AND value their connection to the divine plan and sense of community. The solo dancer also dances in a club, if you see what I mean. Aquarius is concerned with the giving of our unique gifts in society and solar system at large.

What are we done with? Pluto's departure from Capricorn also means that we are over something. Cap-Cancer is the growing up axis.

“I believe sincerely that only those men who reach the stage where it is possible for them to combat a second tragedy within themselves, and not the first over again, are worthy of being called mature.”

― Jane Bowles, Two Serious Ladies

So we are over mommy and daddy issues. The Pluto-in-Cap saga of the last 17 years unraveled intergenerational trauma, karma of success & ambition to discover who we truly are beyond those layers. No more: Oh, I am in a relationship with this human because of they’re a perfect blend of my daddy and mommy issues! Oh, I am in a job I don’t like because I wanted validation/respect/love from my parents/culture/authority! We are over a desire to evolve through pain loops and attachment.

Pluto in Aquarius pushes us to make a new choice and choose a new story.

Maybe it will be a comedy, maybe it will be a tragedy, probably it will be a genre-blend with a strong sci-fi element to it. Above all, it is a song of freedom and it shall be ours.

To relate to others under Aquarius’ intelligent love, we must meditate on the concept of true friendship.  Generally spoken, in friendship, we understand better than in family or romantic relations that the other is a unique being. We love better.

The psychological fine-tuning asks for discernment to direct our love to those who can receive it and be nurtured by it. We are not for everyone. And by recognizing that, we are serving everyone. We must evolve beyond the use of the word ‘selfish.' Through being our own mother and our own father, and relating to the inner child, we serve ourselves. Consequently, we serve the whole.

“We are living in a period when personal happiness means very little because the individual has very few moments left. It is wise to destroy yourself first; at least to keep only that part of you which can be of use to a big group of people. If you don’t do this you lose sight of objective reality and so forth, and fall plunk into the middle of a mysticism which right now would be a waste of time.” ― Jane Bowles, Two Serious Ladies

In a similar vein, maturity leads to service. When it comes to the work of humanity as a group, Pluto in Aquarius will first destroy the antiquated structures that keep us stuck. Revelation, foresight, efficiency - these are the keywords. The destruction happens so we can build the 'new earth,' a community of souls rooted in intelligent love.

The first year is a year of experimentation. It pushes us to ask repeatedly:

Is this efficient?

Is it useful?

Does it work?

Rather than Virgo, who is practical, about the day-to-day-function, Aquarius is about ideas and ideals and the whole. In Aquarius lies a scientist. There is a long-term concern. Does this have staying power? To answer, we must dare to experiment. Pluto in Aquarius asks us to reject any situation that arbitrarily defines us, tells us who we are and how we should act. We must experiment with our personalities, our activities, our roles in our communities and new structures. We must relate to people beyond our desires for familiarity, engage in conversation with people who share our ideals. This is a time to envision and build.

“There is nothing, absolutely nothing, to be said about life.” ― Jane Bowles, Two Serious Ladies

Rather then, we must ask ourselves: what can I give? Pluto wants to purify the ego to reveal the soul. And service is in Aquarius the technique for purification.

Here is one question to figure out what to give: what idea/tool/experience has helped you the most in your life? Another way to put it: What 'made you'? or 'Objectively, who/what is your best friend?'

If the answer holds a 'who,' what is the symbolic meaning of this person in your life?

Pluto gives a wealth of wisdom, from the invisible, from beneath the earth.

If you don’t feel like you have anything to give right now, don’t panic. Turn to the nervous system instead. Reset your vagus nerve. Create space within yourself. This is also an act of service – individual action has a ripple effect. Man In The Mirror was a huge hit for a reason.

Together with Boho Beautiful, I created a Yoga Series to Heal The Nervous System.

I am an Aquarius, my nerves are shot. I've poured my devotion into this series. These tools have helped me personally A LOT.

You can try the app for free for 7 days: click here.

Oh, and when you try the app, you also have access to Moon Palace, my astrology podcast. I would love to hear what you think.

Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

What is new in your life story since January?

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I love to read your stars. To book a personal reading, connect with me:, Heidi.souffriau@gmail.com

(It’s going to be fun to return to these words in the 2040s, during the later part of Pluto’s travel through the Water Bearer, and see exactly how much weirder we have dared to become.)