The U.S. Pluto Return of 2024: Sidereal Edition

An incredibly momentous event is upon is in the United States. Pluto is returning to its exact zodiacal position as it inhabited at the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. This moment is when most astrologers mark the birth of the United States, and Pluto returning to this position is a much anticipated astrological happening termed the Pluto Return of the United States of America.

Approximately 248 years have passed since this signing—a complete orbit of Pluto around the Sun. Tropical Astrology has this event plotted as occurring two years prior—in 2022. However, Tropical Astrology (typically) does not account for the Precession of the Equinox in its timing, and thus its calculations do not match the actual orbital period of Pluto. Thus, the true Pluto Return will first occur on February 22, 2024. There will be another exact return while Pluto is retrograde on July 16, and the final exact return will occur on December 30 of this same year.

Pluto returning upon itself is the purest expression of Pluto’s influence. Death, power, emotional intensity, polarization, catharsis, destruction, alchemical transformation, exposing of shadow and corruption, profound change, and illumination are some words and phrases to describe Pluto’s influence. The Pluto Return is an opportunity for a reset around these themes. It unearths the virtuous principles on which the U.S. was founded (protections from abuses of power, the promotion of personal liberty) as well as the atrocities also connected with this founding (the genocide of the Native Americans, the enslavement of Africans, etc). Pluto dredges up the refuse that must be confronted in order for it to be transformed. The potency of Pluto will change things. This is inevitable.

The Pluto Return is happening in early Constellational Capricorn. These Saturn-ruled stars are representative of societal structures—from systems of government to the courts and the financial sector. Capricorn, too, has a strong affinity for our oceans—the celestial Goatfish, which is the symbol of this constellation, was born of the sea. The Goatfish harkens back to the ancient Sumerian deity, Enki, or his Akkadian equivalent, Ea. These beings emerged from the ocean—symbolic of the vast wisdom of consciousness—and brought forth the knowledge to create the infrastructure of civilization and cultural improvement. Capricorn, like these ancient, wise gods, provides the depth and the prowess for societies to both build and thrive.

With Pluto here, the infrastructure of our societies will be experiencing an overhaul, corruption within various institutions will be exposed, and the citizenry will be challenged with reclaiming their power from the systems which have become compromised from their own self-interest. This, too, extends to abuses from corporate power, especially with the merging of corporatism with that of State policy.

Before Pluto conjoins any major stars of Capricorn, however, it first aligns at this Pluto Return with another constellation’s alpha star. This is the star named Altair in constellation Aquila—the eagle. This constellation has been understood as an eagle for as long as we have records—at least 3,500 years ago, though likely longer. In Mesopotamia, Aquila was known as “The Eagle” or “The Flying Eagle,” and Altair was “The Eagle Star.” It was seen as a mighty bird, associated with storms and the power of thunder and lightning. Being within the band of the Milky Way, it was seen as a vessel of both birth and death, carrying souls both in and out of this world.

In ancient Greece and Rome, too, Aquila carried this symbol of strength and fierceness, retrieving the thunderbolts of Zeus/Jupiter after they’d been hurled. Thus, connections between Aquila and Altair have also been made around militarism and weaponry. Too, these cultures saw Aquila as the supreme deity, himself, as Zeus/Jupiter was known to have transformed himself into an eagle in order to swoop down and capture Ganymede—a young boy he took as his lover. Diana K. Rosenburg in her book “Secrets of the Ancient Skies: Volume 2” writes about how this story connects Aquila with kidnapping. With current events in the Middle East and the release of hostages on both sides of the conflict being central to negotiations thus far, her take here seems accurate.

Ptolemy classified Altair as a Mars-Jupiter type of star—a combination of the warrior planet’s impulse towards courageousness, protection, and assertiveness with the Jupiterian qualities of generosity, grandiosity, compassion, and universal law. Altair imparts a boldness towards action, and the gumption to fly towards the pinnacles of victory—not only for one’s own strivings, but for that which could bring benefit to all. The eagle is known for its superb vision, flying higher than most birds and able to see with great precision from this objective perspective.

The United States, the Roman Empire, and the Nazis have all utilized the eagle as their emblem, and Aquila governs issues related to the United States in mundane astrology. As a symbol of strength, determination, and power, it is evident from these examples of how this power has also been abused and shamefully distorted throughout history. The sovereign, courageous, virtuous eagle can become the imperialist, genocidal maniac, depending on the circumstance and the intentions of those who have adopted this king of the birds as their symbol.

The eagle, too, is very sacred to many indigenous cultures—Aquila as a storm bird being akin to Thunderbird of the Native Americans. Interestingly, the star Pluto transited prior to reaching Altair was Alpha Indus—the brightest star of the Indus constellation (the indigenous person). Indigenous land rights and other topics of indigenousness have been quite present leading up to this Pluto Return—from Lakaina to Israel/Palestine to the ongoing issues facing First Nations Peoples.

In flight within the Milky Way’s “River of Stars,” Aquila, too, imbues frequencies of the spiritual. The ability to transcend the temporal world and commune with the eternal are qualities of this symbol of the eagle. As a pathway of entry and exit to and from our material reality, the Milky Way is quite the cosmic road. The celestial eagle soaring amidst its incandescence, Aquila has also long been associated with Scorpio—the eagle being one of the creatures (along with the scorpion and the serpent) of these highly transformational stars. The stinger of constellation Scorpius points towards the center of our galaxy, with the stars of Aquila beginning above this Galactic Center. It is like a visual story of the chthonic scorpion ascending into its eagle form.

At this time of the Pluto Return, Pluto with Altair promises significant metamorphosis. The extraordinary vision of the eagle combined with the paradigm-altering urgings of Pluto could pave the way towards a more authentic iteration of the phrase “with liberty and justice for all.” May this be so.