Astrological Generations

A controversial topic in astrology is whether the placement of the planet Pluto at birth defines a person’s generation. While many say “Pluto in Scorpio” as shorthand for “Millennial” and “Pluto in Sagittarius” as shorthand for “Gen Z,” this isn’t the way astrology necessarily works. Pluto has an irregular, elliptical orbit, which doesn’t normally line up perfectly with each generation.

Pluto has been known to spend up to 40 years in the same sign. As a result, it would be more accurate to say that Pluto is about the societal shifts and zeitgeist of the moment. That being said, the dwarf planet has been moving extremely fast since after WWII-heralding rapid-fire societal shifts and transformations in the collective consciousness. Coincidentally, in our modern era, these shifts have roughly synched up with the current generations-baby boomers and younger.

Once Pluto in Aquarius is finished in 2044, that process of rapidfire shifts will (thankfully) slow down. I should note that there are respected astrologers who subscribe to the idea that Pluto does, in fact, match up with generations. As I said, it’s a controversial topic.

For today’s purposes, I don’t tend to quibble too much about the difference between one’s generation and the cultural zeitgeist of the day, because being part of a generation is a collective experience, and sharing the same cultural zeitgeist as your age group is a vital part of relating to them. It will inform your shared values. This is particularly the case during times of widespread societal change-kind of like what we are experiencing now!

With all of that out of the way, I’d like to briefly touch upon the biggest generational players of today, two generations that are often lumped together. I am of course, speaking about “Pluto in Scorpio” (most Millennials) and “Pluto in Sagittarius” (most Gen Z). Although they have very similar broad social values, the way they behave and what they prioritize are very different.

In many ways, this piece is a way to process my disappointing but accurate realization that Millenials, my generation, are not the main characters and will not save the day by finally taking things over, saving the world from catastrophe at the final hour. We Millenials do tend to romanticize our lives! That narrative is born out of understandable frustration. After all, we were raised by a generation that has trouble letting to of the spotlight -Pluto in Leo (baby boomers) -and having had to adapt and overcome the odds and again and again since coming to adulthood during the dreaded Pluto in Capricorn era has made us ask ourselves-when is our time to shine? When can we take over and turn things around with our resilience, our ability to discuss and transmute trauma, and our modern understanding of social issues?

Sorry millennials, but wanting to take over is a wound created by a past societal zeitgeist that no longer exists. It’s based in domination. And when we let go of that story, we can understand, come to terms with, and even thrive in the roles that are the most authentic to us and most helpful to society. We can start to work behind the scenes and set the stage for what is coming next. We aren’t taking over anything, because we aren’t here to be in the spotlight. Our role is something else instead. Yes, millennials, you heard me correctly. If “taking over” is even a framework that makes sense anymore, we already missed our turn. Let us learn to love and truly embrace our real purpose instead.

Millennials have their Pluto placement in Scorpio. Scorpio as a sign deals with issues such as death, rebirth, regeneration, trauma, and sexuality. Fittingly, the AIDS crisis took place during the childhood of most millennials, and this crisis set the stage for our specific zeitgeist.

We tend to have modern views on sex and sexuality, ushering in an overall shift towards LGBTQ acceptance (a shift that sadly becomes more fragile by the day). We are very vocal about sexuality in general. We go deep and aren’t afraid to share the real truth about ourselves. We tend to be very vocal about our own trauma, society’s trauma, and frankly, any trauma that needs to be healed. We are the generation that took seeking therapy to the mainstream. Many millennials are parents and professionals-but we do so on our own terms, and in the way that works best for us. We aren’t afraid to take a deep look at society, question what works and what doesn’t, and, true to our Scorpio natures, mold a new way of being out of the ashes.

As we move towards healing, we should ground ourselves. We can do this by integrating the sign that is in opposition to us. In the case of Pluto in Scorpio, that sign is Taurus. Taurus is about the earth, it’s about land, it’s about food, it’s about luxurious experiences, and it’s about resources. Frankly, it’s about “touching grass.” Embodied experiences, gardening, working on land, improving financial literacy, and homesteading are all tried and true ways that millennials are healing-all the more healing because these absolutely essential skills were not emphasized for us growing up.

Generation Z has their Pluto Placement in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is an optimistic, fiercely intelligent, darkly hilarious and stubbornly opinionated sign. Sagittarius rules over philosophy, higher education, and beliefs. Like their predecessors, Generation Z is very vocal about a wide range of topics. Unlike Millennials, they are less interested in the in-depth processing of a great deal of traumatic material, focusing instead on how their experiences contribute to their belief systems, what belief systems are relevant, and what belief systems are outdated. As an expansive fire sign ruled by Jupiter, they are completely uninterested in anything that doesn’t serve the purpose of rapidly moving things forward towards a better future. As a fire sign, they aren’t taking any prisoners, and they are burning it all down, even as Millennials continue to integrate most of what is happening around us as yet more trauma to process.

The opposition energy that Gen Z would do well to integrate is that of Sagittarius’ opposite sign, Gemini. Sagittarius is the sign of the teacher, Gemini is the sign of the student. Sagittarius is mature, Gemini is young. Being conscientious about ways in which one may still be a student, and taking feedback, is one important task of Generation Z. The sign of Gemini also rules communication, so ways in which ideas are communicated will be of utmost importance to this generation. The powers that be already feel so threatened by Generation Z’s communication skills that they are banning tiktok. Refining communication will be an important theme of Generation Z-not because they are wrong, but simply because they will find that sometimes, communication requires a little finesse. Millennials, who are very strategic and calculating with their Scorpio energy, may be important allies in helping Gen Z communicate their important ideas in very strategic and somewhat secretive ways to avoid unnecessary hassles.

Astrologer Daljeet Peterson puts it in a way that I really like:

“We might witness a situation where the Pluto in Scorpio gang effectively overthrows the existing social order and wipes the slate clean, thus handing a tabula rasa to the Pluto in Sagittarius generation following behind them, giving them a mandate to envision a blueprint for a new society to be built upon the rubble of the old. By then a new generation, the one currently being born — Pluto in Capricorn — will be tasked with the physical building and restructuring of this new society, which (as we will learn in a future next article) is exactly aligned with their collective soul purpose."

Let’s get to work!