2024 will be a crazy year. Especially the spring.
In this post and the next one, I’ll muse on what I’m seeing in the coming year. In this one, I’ll speak about how 2024 is a continuation and deepening of dynamics that are already in play. In the next, I’ll focus on the fresh elements that 2024 will bring, and how they fit into a bigger timeline.
Pluto’s entry into Aquarius is the longest, most epochal element of 2024. This started in 2023 when Pluto was in Aquarius between March and June before he retrograded back into Capricorn. We see this most strongly in the ways in which technology is reshaping what it means to be human and how the locus of fear or obsessive concern is shifting over to digital matters. Last year, of course, we saw transformational changes with regard to AI, which some speculate could have been one of the most important thresholds in the history of humanity. Knowing that the hype might also be inflated with Pluto, I’m a bit more cautious to make such statements, but I’m sure as hell glad to have some new art tools (I hope y’all have enjoyed my MidJourney creations for the past year or so!)
This year, we’ll get a much more substantial taste of what Pluto in Aquarius will bring. As Pluto will just be going through the first few degrees of Aquarius, the themes will likely be broad and overarching, and they may take a while to fully play out - Pluto stays in Aquarius till 2044. In those couple of decades, we’re certain to be much more substantially integrated with technology, and hopefully in more health-giving manners than we have been so far. I suspect that this coming year, we’ll see advances that seem like they’re from Sci-Fi - and perhaps a merging of what we conceive of as Sci-Fi and reality. UFO/UAP Disclosure certainly seems to be resonating in the collective consciousness, and the idea of being a cyborg, with implants, etc., seems to be gaining traction. On the other end, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are limitations on addictive technologies for minors or if TikTok is banned.
As I’ve explored in previous posts, I think an underestimated aspect of Pluto in Aquarius is how it can change our understanding of the potential of what it means to be a human. The realm of Aquaria, the Age of Aquarius, will likely usher in something that looks like a superhuman. This might sometimes look like a lust after an Übermensch, and it will certainly be wound up with our understanding of autism and humanity’s various difficult gifts. Aquarius is the archetype of the Genius, and unlocking our own individual genius is going to be increasingly important - full authenticity and aliveness or bust. It will also be a time in which our networked and communal selves - the paradoxical complement to the genius - will also be increasingly important.
Pluto will be in Aquarius from January 20th till September 1st, and then again from November 19th onward, for good.
The second astrological aspect at play and which is deepening this year is Saturn in Pisces. In this position, there’s a spiritual seriousness at play. Spirituality is often a slippery and ephemeral thing, especially in the “spiritual but not religious” milieu. Here, there’s an energy of needing to take the mystical, non-rational, and imaginative aspects of life seriously - and to not only see them as some escape or something separate from life. I’ve witnessed a more sombre mood with regard to spiritual matters at play with a lot of my clients - a desire to take spirituality more seriously, to feel that one is on a path, in a tradition, training, developing, a part of something bigger and trustworthy.
There’s also an element of this that has to do with how we blur our consciousness. Sobriety is taking on a bigger cultural import, as is seriousness about the long-term consequences of psychedelics, without intentional integration or a clear, bigger tradition that’s at play. By the same token, I’m also witnessing a deeper interest in things like the Jhanas - deep states of meditative concentration - and honest consideration that spiritual and moral obligations are tied in with some of humanity’s biggest problems right now.
Saturn has been in Pisces for nine months or so now. If you’re not feeling solidly structured in your spiritual path (even if that’s as simple as a dream journal), it’s time to get working on that, or else things will feel even more heavy and confusing.
Now, the big, singular event that will make 2024 notable is the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus, which happens on April 20th.
Uranus has been in Taurus since 2018. Since this time, our relationship with the earth has fundamentally shifted - climate chaos is now a mainstream subject, folks are much, much more aware of what they’re putting in their bodies (and willing to experiment with that which offers health or healing), and a lot of brilliant ingenuity is focused on how we might heal different aspects of ecosystem degradation. We’re learning that the earth itself has a lot of intelligence, as does our bodies, and we’re learning to harness that.
The Jupiter-Uranus conjunction represents an intensification and expansion of this grounded, crackling genius. The archetypal historian Richard Tarnas spoke about the relationship between these two planets as a cycle of “Creativity and Expansion.” A couple of excerpts from his Cosmos and Psyche:
“An expansively and buoyantly energizing quality characterized such eras, one that often engendered a certain creative brilliance and the excitement of experiencing suddenly expanded horizons.”
“In world transits, the cyclical alignments of Jupiter and Uranus correlated consistently with condensed waves of celebrated milestones of creative or emancipatory activity across many fields. The conjunction of the two planets occurs approximately every fourteen years. During each of these, as well as during the intervening oppositions, decisive crests of remarkably synchronous breakthroughs and innovations appeared to take place within a brief period of time in many areas of human activity. ”
The section of his book dedicated to this planetary pair goes on to discuss “Convergences of Scientific Breakthroughs,” “Social and Political Rebellions and Awakenings,” and “Quantum Leaps and Peak Experiences.”
By the same token, I reckon that this electric, worldwide energy at play will likely coincide with a lot of disruptive and jarring energy. Especially as this conjunction coincides with an eclipse in Aries, I’m not expecting it to be all smooth and easy - there might be accelerated expansions in war or in different aspects of the climate crisis, as well. There could be shakeups economically (Taurus) or sudden changes to primary resources.
Above all, in looking to harness this electric potential, look to your relationship with your physical world - your immediate environment, where you source your food, your relationships with your body, plants, and animals. The fractal array of roots has a visual similarity to the splay of lightning. How can you root down, in such a way to feel your higher genius become activated?
Catch you in a couple of weeks for the second part of this look into 2024! Now, onto the forecast for the next couple of weeks, for my paid subscribers. We’ll talk about the Mercury retrograde that just started and how to navigate an eventful Solstice and tricky Christmas.
A reminder - if you’re still looking for a Christmas gift, I offer gift certificates!
And I’m always around to be booked for readings, as well <3
Charlie