Pluto in Aquarius & the AI Juggernaut

By Alex Miller

Dwarf planet Pluto stands for transformation, in different forms.  It can be ruthless in its quest to destroy and rebuild, with a Borg-like “resistance is futile” affect, mindlessly crushing opposition to the transformations it evokes, and steamrolling anything in its path.  Pluto seeks to tear down existing structures, decimate the status quo, then plant the seeds of the new reality to come.

Aquarius is the Sign ruling technology, innovation and invention.  It’s futuristic and cerebral, often without due consideration for the practical effects its new creations will have on society or individuals.  Aquarius’ goal is progress, often at whatever cost.

With Pluto now firmly entrenched in Aquarius for the next two decades, these archetypes will be constantly interacting, completely, inextricably enmeshed, totally remaking humanity’s relationship to technology in way that may fundamentally alter what it means to be human.

Since Pluto first entered Aquarius in 2023, the global economy has been rocked by the rapid development of AI, Artificial Intelligence, which is just beginning its massive impact in our lives.  Investment in AI development is largely driving the continual rise in stock markets, with tech giants Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic leading the charge, and significant contributions also made by Amazon, NVIDIA, Apple and Tesla. 

AI seeks to replicate human thought processes and replace repetitive human tasks with streamlined robotic or automated responses.  The implications for white-collar work forces are dire:  if globalization and automation in the ‘90s created an employment crisis for blue-collar, working-class populations, the tsunami of AI change is about to overwhelm office workers and management.

The celestial timing here couldn’t be worse.  Nothing operates in a vacuum, and as Pluto makes its slow slog through Aquarius, it is simultaneously being squared (90 degrees) by dwarf planet bedmate Haumea, with a nature similar to Pluto’s own.  Haumea’s focus is on creation and healing, but in that process, it often expresses as deep transformation, even destruction, albeit with an intent to rebuild something better.  This pair will be within orb of square for virtually the entire passage of Pluto in Aquarius, and with Haumea in Pluto’s home Sign of Scorpio, the accent on the “death” of old ways and the “birth” of new ones will be palpable.

Currently facing off in the heavens for months, when the illuminating Sun entered that square pattern, a taste of things to come made the news, as Amazon, the US’ second-largest employer, with a workforce of 1.56 million, announced major cuts to its management staff on October 27^th, with 14,000 jobs eliminated, and the possibility of a similar sum to follow shortly, reducing Amazon’s corporate employees by some 10%.

Earlier that summer, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced an initiative to reduce what he describes as an excess of bureaucracy, including by a sharp reduction in the number of managers, whose jobs may now be more efficiently performed by AI technologies. Jassy stated that the increased use of artificial intelligence tools would likely lead to further job cuts, primarily through automating repetitive and routine tasks.  Amazon currently has more than 1,000 generative AI services and applications in progress or built, but Jassy warns that figure is a “small fraction” of what it plans to develop.

The Amazon corporate layoffs serve two purposes – eliminating not only high-paying management positions and the expensive benefits and perks that go with them, but the cost-cutting measure frees up additional capital to increase investment in AI research, already counted in the tens of billions, which is expected to rise to an eye-popping $100 billion in 2025 alone.

When the layoffs were announced on October 27^th, the Sun (4 Scorpio) was activating the square, conjoined Haumea (2 Scorpio) and squared Pluto (1 Aquarius), placing a focus (Sun) on their transformative, potentially destructive, efforts.

Additional cosmic patterns reinforced the scenario, such as the ongoing conjunction between Neptune (29 Pisces) and Saturn (25 Pisces), portraying the erosion (Neptune) of executive positions (Saturn).  The pairing also denotes business structures (Saturn) in flux (Neptune), as well as the disillusionment, disappointment and hopelessness (Neptune) caused by the disruption in individuals’ careers (Saturn).

A triple conjunction of Mercury (28 Scorpio), Mars (24 Scorpio) and asteroid Nemesis (21 Scorpio) represents much the same circumstance.  Mercury rules intelligence generally, as well as “pencil-pushing” office workers, employees focused on paperwork rather than production.  Mars is inimical in nature, and suggests energy expended towards the Mercurial workforce, with adverse results.  Nemesis is noted as the bringer of ruin and destruction, often self-created (as in corporations cannibalizing their management staffs).

This grouping is trine (120 degrees) to the Saturn/Neptune duo representing that erosion of the corporate workforce, and forms a Grand Trine Kite pattern (1) with Jupiter (24 Cancer), signaling an increase in pace and scope of whatever is on offer, for good or ill.  The point at the Kite’s String, in opposition (180 degrees) to Jupiter and guiding the manifestation of the whole pattern, is asteroid NOT (25 Capricorn), indicative of negation, absence or loss.

Major changes on the way for Amazon in particular are seen as asteroid Amazone (8 Pisces), named for the South American river from which the company also derives its name, trine the Sun and embedded at station (2).  Stations are exceptional power points, when major changes of direction can be expected, also granting a higher profile for the associated entities.  This spate of layoffs just as Amazone made its turn on the 25^th signals a major alteration in Amazon’s perspective on its own internal composition and business model, with more changes likely in store. 

As well, Amazone broadly conjoins Damocles (29 Aquarius), representing the looming threat or peril, which in this case is symbolized by Amazone’s opposition to asteroid Losse (13 Virgo), a phonetic match for “loss,” suggesting the job cuts.  Amazone’s station also squares Uranus (0 Gemini), evoking the shock and disruption to employees’ lives and livelihoods.

Cuts at Amazon are just the tip of the iceberg for corporate disruption via Artificial Intelligence, as Pluto moves ever deeper into the AI killing fields of Aquarius.

Notes:  (1) A Kite is special type of Grand Trine, with one or more points opposing one of the three primary Grand Trine points.  The point in opposition is termed the “String,” and guides the operation and manifestation of the Kite itself.

(2) Stations are periods when, from our perspective on Earth, a planet appears to slow its movement, come to a standstill, and reverse course.  This is an optical illusion created by the triangulation between the sun, Earth, and any third celestial body; astrologically, it represents a focusing of the energies associated with that point, and often coincides with major life events or a radical recalibration of how that point has functioned previously.

Sources:  reporting from Reuters, NBC News, Wikipedia; chart data from serennu.com; graphic image by author

Title Image Credit:  drawn by ChatGPT