The upcoming Saturn-Pluto square of 2028-29

 

There are about 10 major planetary aspects that occur in the skies periodically shaping our collective and individual destinies.  One of the biggest involves Saturn and Pluto. There is no doubt this is a harsh combination and the start of this particular cycle that begins with a conjunction was in January 2020 when Covid became a world event. Of course we experienced the lockdowns and rising death tolls every day. Both Pluto and Saturn were both conjunct and in the sign of Capricorn as this began.

This is an aspect that represents a period of intense changes in the world and is associated with geo-political changes. Pluto has now moved to Aquarius and established power structures are generally challenged during this cycle as you will see later in this blog.  Aquarius is a period of revolutionary changes around the world. This is a difficult but potentially dynamic period of time and changes that occur may not be easy but are often for the better at the end of the day.

Saturn represents our structures and Pluto often represents corruption and power. Saturn enters Taurus April of 2028 and Taurus is associated with money, resources, finances, food and farming and personal/collective values since it is ruled by Venus. Pluto in Aquarius is associated with innovation, collective movements and social change.

The first exact hit of this transit between Pluto and Saturn is on June 28, 2028 at 8 degrees. The 2^nd is November 15, 2028 at 6 degrees and the final hit is March 29, 2029 at 8 degrees again. If you have fixed planets; Taurus, Leo, Aquarius or Scorpio at these degrees or within 2 degrees this aspect will affect you personally and bring about some significant change depending on what it is aspecting in your chart.

Let’s take a look at the last squares between Saturn and Pluto in the past century

-1907-08-Pisces/Gemini

-1922-Libra/Cancer

-1940-Taurus/Leo

-1955-57-Scorpio/Leo

-1973-74-Cancer/Libra

-1993-94-Aquarius/Scorpio

-2001-Note that Saturn and Pluto were in an opposition

-2009-10-Libra/Capricorn

All of these periods coincided with major societal change. In 1907 the world saw Oklahoma statehood, forced sterilization of people in institutions such as prison and mental hospitals for the purpose of eugenics, the panic of 1907 and transatlantic radio.

1922 saw Mussolini’s rise to power, formation of USSR, the end of the Ottoman Empire and formation of the BBC.

In 1940 the world was engulfed in WWll

1955-57 saw the start of the Montgomery bus boycott following Rosa Park’s arrest, the beginning of the space race and the polio vaccine, the ongoing struggle for civil rights and the start of the Vietnam War.

1973-74 led to the oil crisis and global recession, the Watergate Scandal, US president Nixon’s resignation and Roe v. Wade was passed.

1993-94 saw the first World trade Center bombing, the WACO siege, the Rwandan genocide, the Russian Constitutional Crisis and Amazon was founded.

2009-10 included ‘Arab Spring’, signing of the Affordable Care Act and the death of Michael Jackson.

This represents only a fraction of events that occurred during these years and as you can see that while this is a very intense time, strife with conflict, society typically makes many major advances during these times as well. It is a period of global upheaval and the emergence of new inventions, laws and ways of living.

In 2028-9 when we get the square it will be a test of how well we have collectively handled the systems that we have been building and creating since 2019-2020 when Saturn was conjunct Pluto. If they aren’t working then we will have to transform them into systems that work and with Pluto in Aquarius (power to the people) the systems will have to work for all of us not just the patriarchy or the 1% as it leans toward today Let’s not forget the past time Pluto was in Aquarius we saw not only the American Revolution but the very bloody French revolution as well and the end of the Monarchy in France.

Pluto in Aquarius has squared Saturn in Taurus 6 times since the year 1000.

-1058 at 24 degrees July 6^th

-1059 at 26 degrees April 24

-1705 at 18 degrees-July 29^th and August 30

-1706 at 18 degrees-April 11

-1794 at 26 degrees-December 11th

-1795 at 27 degrees-April 6th

In 1705 the Virginia Black Code was a law passed by Virginia’s House of Burgess that solidified race-based chattel slavery. This declared all non-Christians from non-Christian lands brought to the colony were slaves for live and established slaves as property. They were stripped of basic rights such as personal movement the right to bear arms or testify in court.

In 1706 French, Spanish, and Native American allies were fighting against the English colonies and their Native American allies. Benjamin Franklin was born this year.

1794 was a pivotal year for the United States, demonstrating the young nation's ability to assert its federal authority and maintain stability in the face of internal and external challenges. The Whiskey Rebellion in particular served as a crucial test for the new government, proving that it would enforce the laws of Congress and could maintain order. 

Key events of 1794 included the Whiskey Rebellion in the United States, where farmers protested a whiskey tax, and the end of the Reign of Terror in France, marked by the execution of Robespierre.

Key events in 1795 included the end of the French Revolution's radical phase, significant treaties in U.S. history, the final partition of Poland, and the British capture of the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope. 

For the sake of brevity I will leave off the European history of 1058-59 but it included significant shifts in power within the Papacy, the continued Norman expansion in Italy, and a major revolt and consolidation of power within the Seljuk Empire.

While this article is focused on the squares beween Saturn and Pluto I didn’t want to leave off one of the worst events in US history which occurred in 2001 when Saturn in Gemini opposed Pluto in Sagittarius leading up to the events of September 11 with the destruction of the WTC when jihadists flew planes into the World Trade Center in NYC leading to the deaths of 2, 996 people in New York and Pa when another plane was aimed toward the Pentagon. Saturn and Pluto were in a 2 degree orb and this event clearly shows us how malefic these two planets can be when in hard aspect with each other.

 While Saturn-Pluto transits can be difficult but they also coincide with some of societies greatest leaps forward (after a period of hard work).

2028 will be the beginning of the next election cycle in the US. I won’t go into that at this point but I do believe voters need to be aware of the propensity for abuse, voter suppression, intimidation and power plays that don’t benefit the people. Pluto in Aquarius however will be a great deal of pushback from the people should this occur. It will be a volatile period in the world that will lead to further change by the time we get to this point the world will be far different from what it is today.

 (published September 11, 2025)