If you thought the Age of Aquarius dawned and disappeared with the 1967 musical Hair, 2026 has news for you. We are fully in it, and it’s not going to end any time soon. Transformational Pluto is on a 20-year tour through this zodiac sign from 2024 to 2044, bringing drastic cultural shifts in Aquarius-ruled realms of life: science, technology, politics, democracy, and anything involving community action.
While Pluto’s passage through Aquarius isn’t breaking astrological news; here’s what is: Five heavenly bodies are piled up in Aquarius between January 20 and February 6. (Six if you include the January 21 new moon.) Those would be the expressive Sun, metamorphic Pluto, plus the three “personal planets,” Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
And if you’re wondering if that’s rare, yes, it is. Astrologers call a pack of four or more planets in the same sign a “stellium.” Like a K-pop idol group, these planets harmonize their energies, sometimes to mixed reviews. We can’t say that Pluto, the lord of the underground, and Venus, the romantic lead of astrology, are making the happiest bedfellows right now. Although they do make the steamiest…uh, can you say…heated rivalry?
Fundamentally, Aquarius is a “We the People” sign. Those iconic words are the preamble to the United States Constitution, which was written and signed way back in 1787, during the last transit of Pluto through Aquarius from 1778 to 1798. For a quick Civics refresher, the First Amendment of the Constitution protects five essential freedoms: speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition (the right to ask government at any level to address grievances without fear of punishment). As it turns out, fighting for democracy is fundamentally American and Aquarian.
As courageous Mars moved into Aquarius on January 23, 50,000 Minnesotans marched in participation with an economic blackout to protest the federal forces sent to the Twin Cities, and to demand justice.
With the hotheaded red planet in Aquarius until March 2, astrologers don’t anticipate the clashes dying down soon. We do anticipate that protests will remain largely peaceful while diplomatic Venus rides alongside Mars in Aquarius until February 10. After that, there’s no telling. With deep-researching Mercury in Aquarius until February 6, we get a nudge from the stars to learn about how government works, which may include calling representatives. (Mercury loves a phone.)
With so much chaos afoot, this is no time to isolate! In the spirit of Aquarian community, your hygge season of self-care may become a group event. A team of UCLA psychologists led by Shelley Taylor designated the “tend and befriend” as a way of healing from trauma and stress. Turns out, a night with your besties goes a long way to help you feel soothed and safer when anxiety levels soar. So this January and February, the Aquarius stellium has a suggestion: Bring back the salon-style gatherings, with mocktails and your red-light therapy devices. Whether you’re planning the revolution or binging season 4 of Bridgerton (or both), you won’t have to wander this strange, new wilderness alone.
‘The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties’
