The United States Pluto Return 2022: Dark Night of the Soul | Meaning, Predictions and How To Cope
The Pluto return portal of 2022-2024 will be a cosmic rebirth and one heck of a ride for the United States of America and the world, focusing on corruption, lies, deceit, and misuse of power. 248 years in the making, the U.S. will be directly affected this month, with radical shifts on the horizon.
On February 22, 2022, the United States will face its Pluto return into the astrological sign of Capricorn at the exact degree it was during the “birth” of the U.S. in 1776. This major transit will unearth corruption, wrongdoing, and power struggles hiding in the shadows.
You’ve probably heard of a Saturn return, but what about a Pluto return? Just like people have birth charts, so do nations, and we’re up for a cosmic reboot in the U.S. Astrologically speaking, a return — in this case, a Pluto return — is when a celestial body returns to the same position in a birth chart where it was when the chart began.
Humanity is going through a period of the night of the soul. The significant shifts that emerged in 2020, and began way earlier, are just the tipping point of a series of necessary transformations and upgrades for the collective human consciousness.
Are you ready for this deep cleanse? First, let's unpack what this Pluto return means.
Pluto Return 101
Before we begin, let’s take a quick look at what Pluto means in modern astrology. The slow-moving dwarf planet is the outermost planet of our solar system, and it takes up to 248 years to complete a revolution around the Sun.
Linked by modern astrologers with the Lord of the Underworld, Hades, Pluto is all about death and rebirth, as well as metamorphosis. Pluto urges us to purge all we have been suppressing, hiding, and covering in this context.
Pluto’s generational and transpersonal planet is associated with Scorpio and the 8th house. So, Pluto weaves for us the story of our fears, obsessions, secrets, and power.
When Pluto transits over a zodiac sign, it empowers, twists, distorts and deconstructs. Like undergoing surgery, Pluto is all about removing what destroys our growth and expansion… but not without a cost, risks, shocks, and sometimes dangerous consequences.
Pluto also shows where (and how) our spiritual and sexual energy expresses itself. This is our magic, shadows, and inner magnetism and allure.
When is the US Pluto Return?
On February 22, 2022, Pluto is returning to the position on the US birth chart, the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, July 4, 1776.
Side note: The land where the United States was founded existed far before European settlers arrived. Therefore, the birth chart I’m referring to does not dismiss Native Americans and their vibrant history but reflects the United States as established by signing the Declaration of Independence.
Interestingly, the US natal Pluto is at 27° of Capricorn, close to what astrologers call the karmic or anorectic degree (29°). This degree often brings crisis and exaggerated expressions of the sign’s energy to give us the last ordeals necessary before moving on to new cycles, chapters, and adventures.
Forced to face our collective shadow, Pluto is set to tear down problematic tenets and laws that are part of the U.S.’s DNA. We have a unique opportunity to redefine who we give power to and how to harness it ourselves.
I believe we won’t be able to weave through all the changes this transit will bring until 2028, once Pluto leaves the sign of Capricorn for good and enters Aquarius. But, until then, Pluto will visit Aquarius for brief periods, giving us a taster for what the world will feel like after the dust settles.
Pluto Return — What does it mean For the United States?
Throughout history, Pluto returns signify the rise and fall of empires. “As reported by Ray Grasse, The Roman Empire only fell after its second Pluto Return, and round two for Great Britain led to the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and a new era of prosperity and development. Elizabeth’s “Golden Age” initiated Britain’s slave trade, which was only disbanded during its third Pluto Return.” (via Nylon)
Pluto’s return is an opportunity to open the ‘not-so-beautiful’ parts of the United States, as well as our links with the consumerist society or “American dream” exported all over the globe. In the US birth chart, Pluto is in the 2nd house, meaning that the transformations and purging will mainly reflect on all themes related to Capricorn and the 2nd house: finances, authority, power, resources, governmental structures, banking systems, agriculture, values, etc.
More than ever, resources are overvalued. Inflation is at an all-time high. As a result, some financial experts warn against a possible stock market crash, as well as the housing bubble lurking in the shadows.
Remember the saying, “what goes up must come down?” Well, the United States could be about to find out exactly how loud that crash can be when living in a state of systemic misconduct.
Since Pluto is the great revealer who transmutes the poison into a cure, catharsis, change, and accountability are at the core of this transit. As a result, we can expect to brace ourselves for civil unrest, conflicts, overhauls, over-throwings, and many crisis-oriented events that could have a domino effect on the rest of the world.
All this mayhem serves a greater purpose: to rebalance the power dynamics and bring about a new paradigm. One that fits with our current needs and considers our prior mistakes. Learning from our past is critical here, as it will only be through humility and radical acceptance that we will benefit from this transit.
Instead of fear-mongering, please view this as a portal through which deep shadow work will be available to you. Dig through the darkness, and you’ll be able to birth new beginnings!
How to prepare for pluto return 2022
Since Pluto’s return is happening in the earth sign of Capricorn, we must admit, once and for all, that a society built on exponential growth, limited resources, and exploitation of nature can never sustain the test of time.
Our collective consciousness is called to step away from the male-dominated, profit-oriented patriarchal systems they found it upon.
See, I could caricature the lower octave of Capricorn as the bossy, cold, and rigid patriarch. And the 2nd house deals with the physical resources and all things that help us sustain ourselves.
Destroying the lands and wildlife it harbors, over-using our natural assets, and destroying the globe is, to me, the physical expression of how we’ve disconnected from Self, from our emotions, our intuitions, and our Divine Feminine.
In this context, this US transit is a wake-up call to step away from toxic masculinity and embrace the Mother archetype.
To quote Booker T. Washington, “There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.”
Nurture, gentleness, and support are the new black! And since we’re not separate from the rest of the world, but a living part of an interconnected ecosystem, nurturing others ultimately gives to ourselves.
How can we set ourselves free?
How can we nourish our bodies and souls?
How can we build rather than destroy?
We can all learn from this cosmic rebalancing to let go of perpetual consumption, a “hustle” mentality, and planned obsolescence. Instead, embrace the art of slow living, gardening, receiving, and letting go.
Letting Go of Old Programs & Paradigms
Interestingly, Pluto is opposite Mercury retrograde in the 8th house in the US birth chart. This opposition reminds us of the secret societies and shadows on which they built the United States and its big corporations.
Since this month’s Pluto return will activate this challenging aspect, this could manifest as exposure to deep corruption, previously hidden data leaks, and significant media revelations.
A cathartic purge of the obsolete mental frameworks and narratives will also unfold, allowing us more vision and clarity.
According to Brittany Beringer, “If you’re having déjà vu about the astrology of 2020, you’re not alone. Astrologers say it’s all kind of related, though.”
Here’s the thing: we’re already seeing this transformation take shape; Pluto moves slowly after all — this return began in 2008. These events align with the cosmos from political tensions to the pandemic and what it’s brought out for all of us, to protests against racial injustice, to the current stock market and crypto crash.
As a collective, this urges us to find better ways to integrate, accept, and make space for opposing points of view and narratives. But also, to let go of specific preconceived plans of how we should live and function in society: go to school, get married, work from 9 to 5, get a loan, buy a house, have children, etc.
We are programmed to believe that this path is the only way to live. Yet, as accessible as it is today to learn about financial literacy and gain knowledge on the abundance and new ways of doing business, many still hold on to the illusion of safety, security, and comfort.
Allow this transit to remove these mental blockages and assist you as you leap into the unknown. This is the spirit of the New Earth and the Age of Aquarius we’re in.
With Pluto trining Neptune in Virgo in the 10th house of the US birth chart, it’s clear that reconnecting with our spirituality and bringing in new methodical but ethereal concepts will be essential for the collective right now to move through the turbulence ahead.
The Silver Lining of the United States Pluto Return
The silver lining of the 2022 US Pluto return is that nothing can stop the great awakening of humanity. Finally, a new era is upon us after the wrongs have been exposed, acknowledged, and addressed.
Pluto’s return in the US chart doesn’t mean the entire nation will collapse. It doesn’t mean your savings will vanish. But, hear this, whatever does collapse was not built on solid ground, to begin with!
Choose your actions wisely, trust your intuition and make the right decisions based on what the astrological weather tells us about the future. In a world of creeping darkness, we, now more than ever, need avenues to discover the light.
Allow yourself to witness, and even partake, in this shedding of old skin and the great reset (or destruction) of the Matrix.
So, are you ready to uncover the true power? Let me share a secret. The ultimate power comes from love, faith, gentleness, compassion, and humanity. See you on the other side!
