What a week!
As UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously quipped during the UK’s sterling crisis in 1964: “A week is a long time in politics.”
It feels like a very long time already since much of the UK – with, supposedly, around half the world’s population – watched Queen Elizabeth ii’s state funeral, signifying the end of an Era as the longest reign in British history came to an end. But, as I write, it is less than a week.

And what a week – indeed, what a month it has been since Tuesday 16 August 2022 when US President Joe Biden signed into law the Democrat’s hard-fought healthcare, climate and tax package the Inflation Reduction Act. The law directs a colossal $369bn toward investing in renewable energy and reducing America’s planet-heating emissions.
“With this law, the American people won and the special interests lost,” Biden said.(i)
To me, this powerful Aquarian statement by the US President aptly signifies the turbulent, changing world era we are going through at present which the larger planetary cycles have been symbolically revealing to us so powerfully as we tiny humans struggle to cope – and try to make some sense of it all. His words are so apt.
Pluto’s Aquarian long march begins…
We will see some major developments at all levels as Pluto completes his 2008-2023/4 traverse of Capricorn and power (Pluto) shifts towards The People, away from crumbling traditional Capricornian institutions, plutocrats, oligarchs, and from politics rooted in gaining material power and control through exploitation of planet Earth’s diminishing resources.
Next spring, Pluto’s long 2023-2044 journey through Aquarius begins. The sign of the human collective, Aquarius symbolises an energy driven to pursuing and promoting ideals regarding how we should be moving forward in order to create a fairer, more equal world. It is a highly rational, technology and future-oriented, “Let’s get together to make the world a better place”, kind of energy.
The Jupiter/Saturn conjunction at 0 Aquarius on the Winter Solstice of 2020 (WHO chose that date?!) symbolised the end of that defining conjunction’s long trek from 1803 through the Earth Element, heralding the beginning of a new 200-year Air era, heavily weighted towards Aquarius in its opening stages by Pluto’s imminent entry.
Along with many other astrologers whose primary interest is in the outworking on planet Earth of the larger planetary patterns, I have been fascinated – and at times awestruck – to see how that oft-quoted ancient maxim “As above, so below…” has been playing out especially vividly in recent weeks. As Pluto transits the final degrees of Capricorn, and Saturn-ruled Capricorn/Cancer loses ground to the rising power of Uranus-ruled Aquarius/Leo in this very turbulent time world-wide between changing eras, we have seen those symbolic energies play out ‘on the ground’ so clearly.
Leo/Aquarius as the Air Era rises – dramatic world events
Here are a few highlights, in which the interplay between the Ruler(s) (Leo) and the People (Aquarius) can be seen with the dominant energy of the rising Air era coming to the fore and the ‘old order’ crumbling and collapsing.
In the spring of 2022 Vladimir Putin’s Russian army invaded Ukraine, confidently expecting victory within days. Six months later, the enormity of his misjudgement is becoming increasingly evident as the tide of war turns in Ukraine’s favour owing to the people’s courageous resistance – and solid Western support.
In early July, UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson finally resigned after a growing crescendo of scandal and popular dissatisfaction leading to mass resignations from his government forced him out. Then we had the historic USA climate bill in mid-August, already mentioned. Currently, too, the net of the USA’s legal system appears to be tightening around Trump and his family.
Also, this week in Iran, women have been at the forefront of escalating protests across the country – especially by young people – against the punitive mediaeval rule of male clerics, sparked by the death in custody of a woman detained for breaking hijab laws.
And, most dramatically in the UK on 6 September, Boris Johnson formally demitted office to Queen Elizabeth ii, who welcomed Liz Truss as the new UK prime minister –then died aged 96 two days later, doing her Capricornian duty to the end. The ancient archetype of the death of a monarch has caused powerful ripples through our collective and personal lives, regardless of what politics we espouse.
The Queue – Aquarian herald of the Air era
For me personally, the most moving manifestation of the incoming Leo/Aquarius polarity as the old Cancer/Capricorn era fades out, was observing the UK public’s reaction to our Queen’s death and short lying in state in Edinburgh, followed by the longer lying in state in London. What an enormous flow of The People filed past the Queen’s coffin both in Scotland and in England, accompanied by thousands of citizens from all areas of the UK as well as much further afield.
It was astounding that hundreds of thousands of people were prepared to wait all night in a queue which ultimately wove its way through the streets of London for 4-5 miles in the days before Elizabeth’s state funeral on Monday 20th September: Aquarius – the People – came to pay their last respects to Leo – the Monarch.
Striking, too, was the Aquarian ‘feel’ to the famous Queue. Many people expressed the view that being in The Queue was an event in itself. New friendships were made, people shared food and drink, generally supporting and entertaining one another during the very long wait. Wouldn’t it be great to think of that community spirit growing stronger as Pluto enters Aquarius and hopefully turbo-powers our interconnectedness?
Now, we have to wait and see what next Spring brings – but strong clues re the possible shape of the new era are already evident, as discussed in this article. People power is on the rise. Let’s hope that the enormous changes ahead, eventually, bring more light than shadow…
Endnote
(i) UK Guardian 16.8.22: “ ‘Biggest step forward on climate ever’: Biden signs Democrats’ landmark bill…”.

1000 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2022
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page
Hi Anne
I absolutely loved reading this and I thank you for sharing your positive and wise views on what feels like the cataclysmic changes that we are all witnessing and (possibly) fearing.
Thanks so much
Tricia
You are welcome, Tricia! Glad the post was helpful. All best
Anne
Anne, I really enjoyed this. I especially appreciated the BIG picture above and the ways we are seeing it manifest here below. Always a good read when you post. Hoping you’re well.
Thanks so much, Carrie! It really helps to have a Big Picture perspective to make sense of our very turbulent times, I find. Glad you agree! I am fine…just trying to live in the NOW as much as possible…I hope you are ok too.
Via Facebook:
24.9.222:
Leslie Hoffman:
Thank you, Anne, for sharing!
Looking forward to “people power being on the rise.”
Thanks, Leslie for dropping by and commenting. Yes, we need a major shift of power from the 1% who own 81% of our resources… Let’s hope Pluto Aquarius forces that process along! 
I did The Queue and I found your explanation of it as an Aquarian event very interesting. I have my sun at 0 degrees Aquarius on the IC.
Pluto in Aquarius is being seen already: people protesting against PayPal denying accounts to people whose politics they disagree with.
I recently went to Venice biennale: the most interesting thing for me is how much Virtual Reality has advanced. It’s a dream-like alternate reality. People will become addicted.
Facebook is investing billions in VR.
Another aspect of the very Aquarian Zelensjy leadership of Ukraine, is how Ukraine not only has vast resources of wheat but also the precious metals needed for new technology.
Hello Kerstin I can’t tell you how pleased I am that a person who did The Queue has dropped by with this affirmative feedback – thank you so much!
And YES – to all the examples of the imminent Pluto ingress into Aquarius that you’ve provided here. I well remember my teacher and mentor at the Centre for Psychological Astrology during the 1990s, the late great mundane astrologer Charles Harvey, just as I was embarking on my research study “Jupiter Meets Uranus” (https://jupitermeetsuranus.wordpress.com/)
in response to that pair’s meeting at 5 Aquarius in 1997/8, that when there’s a major planetary event its impact can be seen “right across the map”. Certainly true in Pluto’s case – there was only room for a few examples in a short article, which is why I’m so pleased you provided some more equally pertinent ones.
And – my goodness. The Jupiter/Saturn conjunction dramatically announcing the arrival of the Air Era on 21.12.2020 fell exactly at 0 Aquarius. So you are truly ‘plugged in’ to this new Era, and its Aquarian emphasis over the next couple of decades. Keep notes!!
Via Facebook:
25.9.22:
Elizabeth Dally:
Thank you! Very helpful and hopeful!
And thank you, Elizabeth! Helpful and hopeful is my aim…
I do not share your optimism. I fear the dark side of Aquarius. I fear people will become more ideological, less pragmatic, more obsessed with group identity and even more alienated from our Mother Earth.
‘…Let’s hope that the enormous changes ahead, eventually, bring more light than shadow…’ as you can see from the ending of the article, Ien, (the purpose of which was not at this time to focus on the shadow side of our current and future times) I am all too aware that the interplay of dark and light is with us always, at every level. I share your apprehensions, along with many other people, concerning the impending shift and Aquarius’ shadow side.
However, I truly believe as Jung wisely said, that our challenge in this life is to reconcile the opposites – both collectively and personally. Allowing fear to dominate to the extent that it swamps our capacity for positive action based on a vision of how life on Earth COULD be, is not in my opinion the way forward in the crisis times through which we are living.
However, we are all entitled to our views – and maybe being more tolerant of one another than we generally are in this current era of extreme position-taking, would be a small step in the direction of enabling the bright side of Aquarius to show forth. Thanks for dropping by!
Via Facebook:
25.9.22:
Lisa Carol Bowden
Thank you so much 😊
You are welcome, Lisa!
Via Facebook:
25.9.22:
Lisa Carol Bowden:
The Pluto in Capricorn has been so heavy can’t wait for this to pass in to Aquarius ♒️ but this also has its downfalls too x
Yes indeed, Lisa, nothing comes without its shadow and as Jung wisely said, our challenge in this life is to reconcile the opposites – both collectively and personally. I truly believe this… And my personal motto is : start where you are, do what you can, use what you have…and just get on with it!🌈
Loved your piece and learned a new word “demitted”.
Glad to hear that, Carla! And – I’m not an ex English teacher for nothing!!