Pluto in Aquarius: The Era of the Plane Crash
An astrological perspective that arose from the latest shocking plane crash
I spent a good while on X this morning reading the comments about the plane crash that occurred in Washington D.C. on 29th January, 2025.
Before I begin an astrological commentary, offered purely as an exploration of the relationship between cosmic movements and earthly events, I must clarify that I am from the UK. I have little understanding of American politics, military operations, or aviation. My expertise lies in cosmic energy and how it manifests in human experiences: this is the lens through which I write.
I am also friends with a number of highly gifted psychics, many of whom have foreseen numerous air traffic disasters, particularly in the United States. To witness these predictions playing out is both horrifying and, unfortunately, not unexpected.
It pains me to say that during the next 20 years of Pluto’s transit through Aquarius, we are likely to see more air disasters. This is not connected with prediction - again my perspective is as an astrologer, examining the energy that I witness moving through the collective, so that we can each take a moment to pause and consider energetically how we ourselves are processing and working with this energy (since it’s moving through us all).
Pluto in Aquarius: Power, Control, and Flight
Pluto, the planet of power, control, destruction, and hidden forces, is now moving through Aquarius, the sign that governs flight, aviation, and groups of people.
Pluto represents control in all its forms: taking control, losing control, controlling others, and the misuse of control. It also rules destruction, whether of life, structures, or ideologies. Power struggles, acts of dominance, and devastating events all fall under Pluto’s domain.
Aquarius, on the other hand, rules flight and all things that take to the skies, including airplanes and even birds. Symbolically, it also governs our highest aspirations - our hopes, dreams, and shared visions for the future. Under Pluto’s transit of Aquarius, our very ideals and hopes for the future may come under great pressure, facing power plays that threaten to dismantle our brightest intentions and innovations. (Or it may be that individuals within the perceived group decide to dominate and take control over each other, thus destroying the original intentions of the shared group ideals).
Aquarius also governs groups of people. Think about the nature of an airplane: a random assortment of individuals brought together in one space, traveling from one point to another at the same moment in time. Until the moment of this crash, I had never fully considered that an aircraft embodies Aquarius energy so precisely. A plane crash unites its passengers in tragedy just as a safe landing unites them in relief and celebration. The clapping when a plane lands - that shared moment of joy - it unites that specific group of people in that moment. They are sharing a journey through space and time that is both random and specific simultaneously.
In the case of the crash, the grieving families are now bound together in shared shock, sorrow, and horror.
The Internet: The Global Gathering Place for Collective Processing
One of the most significant ways we now process these collective events is through the internet: another domain ruled by Aquarius. Social media platforms allow us to come together, whether to debate, argue, or seek understanding. In the wake of this crash, I saw a broad spectrum of reactions on X:
Rational arguments and insightful discussions
Open-minded curiosity and thought-provoking questions
Immediate blame and speculation - because humans crave explanations, especially where there are none
Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, the planet of sudden, shocking events. The rapid spread of theories, conjecture, and emotional reactions reflects the nature of both Uranus and Pluto where we see shocking, sudden upheaval mixed with deep, psychological intensity.
The Unsettling Truth: No One Has the Full Picture
One of the most glaring realities in tragedies like this is the lack of definitive answers. Conclusions will always be speculative to some degree. And so, the cycle of argument and debate continues endlessly.
Can we ever know all the forces at play in any given event? Is there always just one single cause, or are multiple factors at work?
Pluto encompasses the full spectrum of possibility:
The deliberate misuse of power - where someone controls a situation to cause destruction
The complete loss of control - where a situation spirals into destruction despite all efforts to prevent it
And everywhere in between
The weight of this moment lies not only in the loss of life but in the impact it will have on the collective psyche. There is something uniquely terrifying about plane crashes. Unlike other tragedies, they remind us of the sheer fragility of human life: one moment, a group of people exists; the next, they are gone.
And in the aftermath, we are left to make sense of it in whatever way we can: through analysis, through mourning, through blame, or through seeking deeper meaning.
As Pluto continues its long journey through Aquarius, we are being called to examine how power, control, and collective energy intersect.
Whether in the skies, online, or within societal structures, this transit will continue to expose uncomfortable truths: forcing us to reckon with both the seen and the unseen forces that shape our world.