Pluto square the Lunar Nodes Transit 2023: Ripe for Change

Warm, candlelit tones. Brass tray on a wood table. On the tray is a pink Himalayan salt block and a shed snakeskin. Text reads Pluto square the Lunar nodes, May 8th - October 31st

Pluto only squares the north node and south node every nine or so years, and this is a time ripe for monumental change.

This is not a sudden, eclipse-like change. This change is one that was put into motion days, weeks, months, or even years ago, and will likely continue to roll out in the months to come, like a blood-red carpet leading into the future. Whatever is changing, it has been a long time coming. I hope that this time it feels like you’re stepping off a plane into a land of opportunity, exhaling the past, and breathing in new life.

When are the north and south nodes squaring Pluto in 2023?

In 2023, Pluto squares the nodes for almost six months straight. These are the key dates to keep in mind:

On May 8th, 2023 Pluto in Aquarius begins its square to the north node in Taurus and south node in Scorpio.

On June 11th, 2023 Pluto retrogrades back into Capricorn.

On July 17th, 2023 the north node enters Aries and the south node enters Libra.

On July 28th, 2023 the north and south nodes exactly square Pluto in Capricorn, marking a sort of “peak” of this transit.

And finally, on October 31st, 2023 Pluto and the nodes complete their square, and we move forward into our new lives, freshly shorn with all the cobwebs swept out. The next time we experience his square will be in 2032.

For the visual learners, below is a map of 2023’s nodes square Pluto transit.

Map of the north & south nodes square Pluto transit, showing May 8th toward the bottom, June 11th above that, July 17th above that, and July 28th at the apex of the curve. After July 28th, the curve heads back down and ending on October 31st. — Map of 2023’s north & south node square Pluto transit

Pluto square the lunar nodes in 2023

Pluto is about change and “the nodes of fate” are about change. Both indicate monumental change. Though this square began back in May when the nodes were still in Taurus and Scorpio and Pluto was in Aquarius, the bulk of this transit takes place in the cardinal signs – the signs of initiation; starting something; being welcomed into a room — with Pluto in Capricorn, the north node in Aries, and the south node in Libra.

Pluto square the nodes = change. It’s that simple. These periods of months are a big-change era. Maybe it’s a tornado-like vibe, but more likely it’s the feeling of being pushed from the womb, cut off from what we thought was the only life, and put onto a train to someplace new. Sometimes change is uncomfortable and royally bloody, and other times it’s a relief. But one way or another, things will change and life will look different for many of us on the other side of this six-month T-square.

On the other side of the funnel in the sky is sugar and spice and everything messy or everything nice, everything new, and something unexpectedly light. Change can be an unloading. Change is the CO2 in a sigh of relief. Snails have been leaving trails around the track, horses have been shot down because they couldn’t keep up, and we were told we were left behind because we couldn’t run with the hamster wheel (big Pluto in Capricorn themes). But in the reality that they said was impossible, seen through the truth-telling eyes of Pluto, those two round UFOs glowing in the dark, we didn’t have to keep up.

With the exception of March through early-June of 2023 this year when Pluto took a brief dip into Aquarius, Pluto has been in Capricorn since 2008. During this time, as a world we have been looking at corruption in all of our systems. In our personal lives, Pluto has been transiting one whole sign house in our charts for the last 15+ years, amping up the intensity in that house and offering a deep look into whatever’s rotting away in that house. Pluto initiates change by unearthing the truth and holding our eyes open to it. Pluto will tear down anything that relies on illusions.

On July 17th, 2023, the north node entered Aries & the south node entered Libra. The north node in Aries imbues our world with a sense of urgency that is hot and loud and this can easily become very stressful, especially when it’s used as a capitalistic tool of manipulation as urgency so often is, or when we feel it from things like the ongoing heat, floods, and wildfires.

But urgency is also part of Aries’ wisdom: Aries knows that we really do only have so much time and that time really is going to run out, and that we have to use our time wisely, seize the day, and plant seeds while we can. The north node in Aries knows Now, Self, and Action. It may be supportive to remember right now that while things may happen when they’re meant to and it’s not often that there is a good reason to outright rush, action is also required in order to make a desirable change (the Aries north node is cheering right now). You may find yourself on the right doorstep, but you still have to ring the doorbell.

The south node in Libra, on the other hand, represents the resurfacing and resolution of outdated relationship patterns (especially those of the self-sacrificial variety), and ideally clears out creative, relational, and heart-related blockages. While the south node is in Libra, we are learning when to hesitate because it’s wise to wait for more information, and when we’re only hesitating because we don’t trust ourselves and/or are needlessly afraid. The south node in Libra lets go of any unbalanced “we” in favor of a self-trusting, autonomous “I.”

The north and south nodes are always exactly opposite one another, and in this story, Pluto is the exit point for the tension between the nodes. Pluto sits between them as a sort of balancing point between the north and south nodes. Evolutionary astrologers recognize any planet that squares the lunar nodes as a “skipped step;” in this case, Pluto acts as a stepping stone between the north and south node.

What does Pluto square the nodes mean for me?

For the duration of the time that Pluto squares the nodes, we are given an opportunity to make changes that we have been wanting to make for a long time. Changes we may not have believed we were strong enough to make, or “ready” to make. It’s not as if every leap taken during this time will work out beautifully, but this is a time when major life changes are very common and very much supported by the vibe of the moment. It’s likely that many people in your life will be going through just as much change as you are.

This transit will be felt much more intensely by anyone who has planets that conjoin, oppose, or square the north/south node or Pluto. So in this case, anyone who has personal planets (sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) or angles (ascendant, descendant, midheaven, IC) between 24º and 29º of cardinal signs, or personal planets or angles between 0º and 3º of fixed signs.

For the areas of life that will be most affected, look at the topics related to your Capricorn, Aries, and Libra houses. Below is a cheat sheet for the house topics.

For example, if you are an Aries ascendant, the north node is in your 1st house and the south node is in your 7th house, and Pluto in Capricorn is in your 10th house. You are likely going through some personal change (the 1st house/7th house axis), and this maybe be result in or be inspired by a change to your career (10th house).

If you’d like to talk about how this (or any other) transit may show up in your life, schedule a Just the Rings reading with me.

Past Pluto square nodes transits

Again, Pluto squares the nodes every nine or so years. We can look back at previous instances of this transit for insight into what this sort of change may feel like now.

The last three times Pluto squared the lunar nodes were in early 2015 (this one was even in the same signs as this year’s square!), mid through late 2006, and the first half of 1998.

Do these dates align with significant changes in your life? What was happening then, and what has been coming up now in the last couple of months?

Questions / journaling prompts to consider during this transit

What has become so stuck and so stagnant that we are being crushed in its rusted gears?

What would it take for change to bloom like a sigh of relief, or waft in like the welcoming scent of an apple pie in the oven, instead of feeling cataclysmic, destructive, and scary?

What changed for us as individuals during the last three squares between Pluto and the nodes? *Give extra consideration to the one in early 2015, since it took place in the same signs as this year’s.

How do we respond to unwanted change? Do we accept it and trust the currents (Saturn is in Pisces right now, teaching acceptance!), fight against it, or walk into it bravely (the north node in Aries asks for courage)?