Girl Rot - when I say girl rot I mean it gender neutrally. It is my firm belief that anyone can girl rot. Girl rotting is staying in your room, doing whatever you want. As long as it’s languorous and unapologetic - it’s girl rotting. When wielded for good, girl rot balances the hyper productive scales of society. Lets us embrace spurts of sedentary sweetness.
We rot because we deserve to rest unapologetically. We rot because we reject hustle culture. We rot because taking a break and tending to the self is sexy.
Why are we girl rotting now? Because we are tired of girlbossing.
Girlboss - is “an ambitious and successful woman (especially a businesswoman or entrepreneur)” according to Mirriam-Webster dictionary. Yes, the idea of girlbossing seeped so deep into society that the dictionary had to add a word.
One could say the toxicity of girl bossing comes from a mixture of the rugged individualist archetype forced down our collective throats and white feminism. Why white feminism? Because not everyone has the means or generational wealth to girlboss and that’s just a fact. For folks of the global majority, it’s much more about girlsurviving. Even if they’ve got the means, not everyone is girlembraced for girlbossing.
Off the top of my head I can give the example of Taylor Swift (and by extension, her gross jet) being venerated as opposed to Taraji P. Henson getting told, essentially, to shut up for raising concerns about the pay disparity between her and her colleagues because “she’s a millionaire”. Girlbossing with vs. without consequences.
When cinema, the modern day gladiator ring, began its chokehold on us, westerns became a cornerstone of entertainment. Rugged individualist plots were admirable, something to aspire to. A very pull yourself up by your bootstraps yourself type vibe. John Wayne’s bad attitude and violent nature were what the collective deemed commendable. And if you think about it a lot of our grandparents and parents still think it's all the bees knees. But I speak for millennials and everyone younger when I say - we, as humans, are tired of it.
Not just tired of tropes venerating colonialism and rejecting the power of community care, but also tired. In general. That’s enough unprecedented events for us, thanks.
Pluto - is way out there. Despite its scientific demotion to “minor planet”, it’s still a very important pillar of astrology. Because it’s so far out and moves so slowly, its impact helps us define generations. So Pluto moving into Aquarius is a big deal. For context, the last time Pluto was in Aquarius was 1778. During its 20 year stay in the rebellious sign of innovation the world saw several uprisings and revolutions. Just for context.
Pluto has to do with death and rebirth. It is what is deep under the surface, so when Pluto moves around the zodiac it excavates different things. Pluto is when the ground is razed and ready for newness. Pluto is the rotting on the forest floor that allows life to flourish.
Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008. Pluto influences the collective.
Capricorn is about working hard, getting money, being Daddy (it is ruled by Saturn after all). During Pluto’s stay in Capricorn we have seen massive overhauls to how we approach money. Bank crises, Venmo, tap to pay just to name a few.
Capricorn wants to lay a foundation, a better foundation. When I hear the word better, I automatically link it to Saturn. Both Capricorn and the other sign Saturn rules, Aquarius. Honorable mention to the sign of Virgo though. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - Virgo and Capricorn make the world go round.
Saturn gets a bad rap because it wants what is best for us. Doing what is best for ourselves and doing what we want to do are hardly overlapping parts of our life’s Venn diagram. Thats why when Saturn returns to the place it was when you were born life gets rough. The Saturn return happens around age 27 and it's like when Mom comes back from the grocery store and the house is a mess. Saturns like “why isn't this cleaned up? Do it now. And also, help me bring the groceries in.”
When I hear the word better, I automatically link it to Saturn.
So, like we established earlier, Pluto influences the collective. Pluto is moving from Capricorn, an earth sign. Earth signs rule over tangible things. Money is earthy. So are resources. Pluto is moving into Aquarius. Collective themes will shift to the Aquarian variety. Aquarius is an air sign. Air signs are majorly concerned with communication. Ideas and transferring them. Importance will be placed on the Aquarian mission - a vision for better future together. Aquarius isn't necessarily concerned with composting as opposed to embracing innovative solutions, but we toss things aside when we embrace what’s new.
Enter the girl rot.
Pluto’s last shimmy in Capricorn in 2024 will be the 29th degree of girlboss. A critical degree. It’s the last place before letting go of the sign. Wise, poignant endings. I don’t think girlboss will ever wield as much power moving forward, not in the same ways. As powerful as Capricorn is, we must remember that Saturn rules Aquarius, too. By the end of 2024 Pluto will be done with Capricorn for hundreds of years.
Pluto will enter Saturn’s other side. Saturn is all encompassing (i.e. - the difference between how a Saturn return feels vs. literally any other planet). It has 146 moons. By sheer power and will it holds them all close. And beautifully at that. If Capricorn is the concrete path to rewards and recognition, of slowly getting better with time, then what is Aquarius?
Aquarius is also concerned with getting better and time. Aquarius has seen enough here on the ground. In this realm. It wants to see something different. Capricorn wants to see itself succeed. Aquarius wants itself and everyone around it succeed. Capricorn does this slowly, with time. Aquarius does this quickly, time jumping. Its eccentric perspective is so far ahead it's often misunderstood.
Aquarius wants to communicate a vision for how we all get better. When the planet of a generation moves into the sign of the collective we can rest assured big change is coming. Big realizations. Big new ideas. Big emphasis on everyone, as in - all of us.
As an Aquarius sun and Mercury, I have lots of fun theories about the world and where it’s going. Perhaps the world will catch up to my core beliefs that borders and genders are made up, aliens and mermaids have to be real and celebrity is trash. Here’s to hoping.