Understanding astrological transits and cycles empowers us to see the energies that are coming and allows us to use planetary potentials to their maximum. Jupiter is a wonderful planet to track when looking at the span of a year because its cycles through each sign are around twelve months. Knowing the lessons and opportunities of the planet Jupiter and also learning about the scope of the sign it is moving through — in the case of 2018, predominantly Scorpio — help us to see beforehand the range of potentials we are working with during the cycle.

To better understand the energy of an astrological sign, we can look to its planetary ruler(s), and to better understand a planetary ruler, we need to look at what was going on in the world at the time of the planet’s discovery. The discovery of a planet heralds a time when a heavenly body (whose lessons and opportunities before the official discovery we have been experiencing mostly unconsciously) starts to bring the experience of the planet more into consciousness and directly out to the world.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 when the scientific community was attempting to figure out how to split atoms, creating atomic power in 1932. This is no coincidence, as the energy of Pluto represents not only atomic energy itself but also its power. How we use power is a major topic when Pluto is involved. Also, Pluto’s energy is synonymous with the inner and lesser-seen realms. Scorpio is all about depth.