Sometime around 2013, I realized how it felt to look back on a generation. I had just graduated high school and Boy Meets World was receiving a spinoff, fourteen years after the show’s emotional finale. Memes about 90’s Kids infiltrated Tumblr, and I noticed, for the first time, that low-rise jeans and lip-gloss had become obsolete. My mother explained to me that Pluto rested in Sagittarius for the majority of the 2000’s, finally entering Capricorn in 2008. If I were to describe the 2000’s to an alien who never rummaged through Abercrombie before phones had flashlights, I would describe the decade as very Sagittarian.
           
Nearly all the major pop stars of the decade were Sagittarians. Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift are just a few—all Sagittarians, all 2000’s royalty. Justin Timberlake is a Sagittarius Moon, and even Kim Kardashian, who rose to fame at the end of the decade, has Sagittarius Rising. The whole essence of the aesthetic at the time could be labeled “over the top.” It’s only too fitting that Sagittarius is known as the sign of taking things too far. It’s also no surprise that a major theme of this time was “sex sells.” Sagittarius has a reputation for flaunting sexuality, displaying it in a more overt fashion than its secretive predecessor: Scorpio. (That was the nineties.) The essence of the centaur was everywhere fifteen years ago. From Lil Wayne’s “I wanna lick lick lick lick lick you like a lollipop,” to Justin and Britney’s iconic, yet tacky denim and diamonds look. The 2000’s scream Sagittarius, and the more you reminisce, the more apparent it becomes.
           
The 2010’s took on a more serious tone, but that’s to be expected with Capricorn. Bubblegum pink gloss was replaced with a matte, charcoal lipstick. The focus deviated from cleavage to eyebrows, a facial feature that we associate with concern. Earth signs, such as Lorde and Beyonce, defined the aesthetic with a dark, more understated style. I always joke that Capricorn’s style can be defined as ‘trying hard to look like they’re not trying at all,’ which is how I would describe the fashion of the 2010’s. Skinny jeans and miniskirts were replaced with leggings and joggers. Belly-button rings and body glitter were replaced with septum rings and winged eyeliner. Pinks and purples were abandoned for neutral colors. Beyond that, the 2010’s marked a time of deep financial insecurity, as well as rampant publicizing of success and achievement through social media. And pop music, as we knew it, was swapped for indie-pop and alternative radio hits. I believe we will look back on this time and think, ‘why did we take ourselves so goddam seriously?’
           
​In 2023, Pluto enters Aquarius, and one can only assume what that will mean for the essence of the next decade. If I were to guess, I’d predict that the fashion will become more individualistic. We may find it less trendy to follow trends; perhaps the trend will simply be “eccentric.” Music might return to a more futuristic sound of the 80’s, or a futuristic sound we have yet to even hear. Art may become less commercialized, and technology may change the way we live our lives in a drastic way. I, for one, can’t wait to see what comes of it all. The influence of our galaxy’s tiniest planet is fascinating to track. If you’d like to track its path as well, note that it often retrogrades, but for longer periods of time than Mercury or other planets. The 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s were less consistent due to the planet’s retrograding between signs, but the essence of the decades are still marked by Pluto’s path. The dwarf planet takes anywhere between ten to thirty years to travel through a sign, completing its lap around the entire chart every 248 years. Check out the dates below…
 
Oct. 1971 - Apr. 1972: Libra
Apr. 1972 – Jul. 1972: Virgo
Jul. 1972 – Nov. 1983: Libra
Nov. 1983 – May 1984: Scorpio
May 1984 – Aug. 1984: Libra
Aug. 1984 – Jan. 1995: Scorpio
Jan. 1995 - Apr. 1995: Sagittarius
Apr. 1995 - Nov. 1995: Scorpio
Nov. 1995 – Jan. 2008: Sagittarius
Jan. 2008 – Jun. 2008: Capricorn
Jun. 2008 – Nov. 2008: Sagittarius
Nov. 2008 – Mar. 2023: Capricorn
Mar. 2023 - ? 2043: Aquarius

As a child, I repeated myself a lot. “I want grilled cheese for dinner,” I’d inform my mom. “I want grilled cheese for dinner. I want grilled cheese for dinner…” I’d echo to myself twice more, hardly aware that my words were creating sounds, or that my mom could hear me over the rumbling of the dishwasher. “Why are you doing that?” She’d ask. “I don’t know,” I’d reply. In preschool, I didn’t know how to say the word, “computer,” opting for the more complicated, “perkapurter.” When the teacher couldn’t understand my pronunciation of my misguided vocabulary, I felt confused. Now, at twenty-five, I’m less confused than the kindergartner in speech class. But confusion has been replaced by something else…a lingering sense of incompetence.

​Through studying astrology, I’ve discovered a few things: I’m not alone in this, we all have different ways of expressing our ideas, and precise articulation is meaningless without an open mind. Yet, it often feels like I’m alone. It’s hard to describe what occurs when these five-year-old feelings emerge out of a harmless question from a coworker. It’s as though everyone else has been rehearsing their lines for weeks, and I’m jumping in on opening night. Ironically, this is a nightmare I have quite often. My clenched jaw is indicative of my anxiety, but also my resistance to speak any words at all. Perhaps those with this placement spend so much time in their heads, because it’s the safest environment for their picture-like thoughts.

Science class was like a foreign language. The idea of photosynthesis proved incomprehensible until my mom discovered a technique compatible with my mercury—illustrating the ideas into drawings. Photosynthesis was no longer a scientific process; it was a story. Each character had their motivation and a clear relationship with one another. At last, I could understand what the other students understood from our first popcorn reading. “Were you listening when Mrs. Broader went over this in class?” My mom asked. “I thought I was…” I whispered. I wasn’t. I intended to, of course, but the generation of oxygen was far less interesting than my strategy for next week’s Bye Bye Birdie auditions. When the bell shook me out of my fantasy and plopped me in reality, I felt disappointed in myself. Beyond that, I felt as though I couldn’t help it. My mind had betrayed me, but boy did third period fly by.

In a perfect world, I would lie in bed from dawn to dusk with nothing but the company of my imagination. As a writer and astrologer, I hope to achieve that luxury one day. Creativity has nearly healed the insecure student in me, showing that intelligence can take on a variety of forms. But when confronted with the obligation to articulate myself in daily life, I still experience a kind of fear. It certainly doesn’t help that I’m an Aquarius; I doubt myself more frequently than I drink water. And like Pisces, I hesitate to separate myself too distinctly. I don’t just know, but I feel how we are all connected. Speaking from the point of view of my own individuality feels like a decision to abandon my school of fish, opting to swim against the tide and against the laws of nature. This is a lot, I know. And perhaps I’ve spent one too many nights falling asleep to the voice of Alan Watts…

​Simply put, I feel how deeply our words affect others. I have felt it firsthand. Perhaps I am wounded, and perhaps the issue for me is more complex. But I tend to think Pisces, as a sign, feels wounded as well. The truth is, we’re all sensitive beings and there’s no harm in treating each other as such. There’s no harm in talking in circles if that’s what it takes to discover your point. It’s better to say the wrong thing and realize it, than to cling to your beliefs with such confidence that it blinds you like driving into the sun during golden hour. I won’t neglect to mention that Pisces possess a propensity toward delusion (emotions always run the risk of delusion). However, they are not close-minded. To think like a Pisces, is to think with the fluidity of the ocean, with its constant ebb and flow, seizing new pebbles with each wave that contacts the earth; and in turn, creating the sand that form our beaches. It’s unpredictable, but it’s creativity at its finest.