You Can Blame Astrology for Dick Pics, Live Journal, and Sanctimonious Tweets

I'm sure you've thought to yourself, "There's no way one sun sign could describe a whole group of people." Surely you've suspected that the traits associated with one thirty-day period every year couldn't possibly apply to all the people all over the world who were born during that window of time. Well, do I have a bomb to drop on you: Not only does the Sun's position describe a whole bunch of people, but Pluto affects entire generations.

Pluto is the planet of death and rebirth; it has a long, elliptical orbit, changing signs every decade or so. When Pluto enters a sign, we can expect big, dramatic changes around whatever areas that sign rules—a lot of destruction, but also a lot of growth. When Pluto was in Virgo from the late 1950s to early 1970s, it brought huge advances to science and computing (Virgo is very analytical) and hippie culture (it is a peace- and nature-loving lusty Earth sign). Accordingly, this was the generation of IBM and NASA, of Woodstock and free love. During the 1970s through early 1980s Pluto was in Libra, the sign of justice and marriage, seeing a rise in divorce, and a continued fight for equality between the sexes. And the Pluto in Scorpio time period—mid 1980s to the mid 1990s—was marked by greater awareness of HIV/AIDS, which makes sense because Scorpio is the sign of sex.

For what feels like an eternity, columnists and commentators have decried the re-emergence of "PC" culture among millennials, along with the rise of the trigger warning and the increase in calls to check one's privilege. But, really, this cultural shift is totally unsurprising—this generation was born and raised while Pluto was in Sagittarius, the sign of philosophy and morality, exploration and communication. All of those subjects have seen a major death and rebirth in recent years.

Pluto entered Sagittarius in the mid 1990s and stayed there until 2008, when it entered Capricorn, the sign of industry (and toppled our economy). Sagittarius is a sign that loves to travel and learn, to teach and explore. It connects and communicates and adores consumption. It's also holier-than-thou, sanctimonious and judgmental… but it's also very accepting of foreign ideas, people and concepts. Sagittarius is all about the "big picture," and Sag believes there's place for all of us in it.

It's important to remember that signs are just symbols—they aren't specific people, so when we talk about Pluto in Sag, or about any combination of astrological symbols, we are speaking metaphorically, and not referring to people who are a specific sign. With that said, when Pluto transit through a sign, we'll see both its light and dark sides. Like every sign, Sagittarius has pluses and minuses. Sag can be an obnoxious bully, steamrolling others with its judgments, but it's also a truth seeker, eager and intellectual, wanting to connect and stand up for all experiences.

During its time in Sagittarius, the most obvious destruction Pluto brought was that of the IRL experience—the web brought a new way to learn and communicate; how could Pluto resist? In the 90s, the internet came and transformed how we communicate, learn, masturbate, and shop. It seduced us into sharing our darkest secrets on forums and dating sites (and Sag has a big mouth, so of course that information isn't safe). It has allowed us to share dick pics. It transformed how we bully each other and brought terrorism against people with "other," outsider experiences to a new level. No longer is abuse only done in private (privacy is a Scorpio thing, and, again, Sag has a giant, giant mouth). Everything is out in the open now, for all the trolls to gather comment upon from under their private e-bridges.

I won't mention again that Sag has a big mouth, but, I mean, isn't doxxing one of the biggest new threats the internet has blessed us with? Scorpio might be the sign that's the best detective, but Sag actually has the balls to blast someone in public. As such, Pluto in Sagittarius has given us the technology to carry a mini camera-cum-computer in our pocket at all times, which many of us use to humiliate those who we find stupider than us.

Sagittarius is also associated with religion, philosophy, and travel—all themes that faced major "death/rebirth" during Pluto in Sagittarius (think 9/11 and all the Catholic Church scandals in the past decade). Sagittarius is also associated with higher learning, and the past few years have seen some major upheavals in that area: Most obviously, millions of graduates are now drowning in unmanageable debt.

Speaking of higher education, it makes perfect sense that the concept of the trigger warning exploded in popularity while the Pluto in Sagittarius generation was in college. Pluto in Sag kids know that everyone has their own perspective—of course they think it's valid to have a trigger warning attached to Oedipus. The Sagittarius archetype is abundant and generous: Really, why deal with a panic attack in a college classroom if you don't have to? asks Sag. Why not include a trigger warning when it could help someone? We're all different, the Sag soul knows, and, surely, everyone can be accommodated.

Is it any wonder that the children born during this time period are obsessed with social justice? Intelligence is a very important virtue to Sag, and nothing makes someone look stupider than intolerance. And of course they're PC—how else can you be when you've grown during such saturation of everything, no matter how vile, sexual or violent thrust in your face at all times? On second thought, perhaps the other way you might turn out is as one of those trolls. This saturation of everything is really quite Sag, being that it's the sign of abundance, exaggeration, and overdoing.

Having left Sagittarius in 2008, Pluto is currently in Capricorn, the sign of material success, public life, and industry. Surely, this will be the generation that will refuse to go into any sort of debt for college. It's likely we'll see a continuous rise in entrepreneurship; this generation will have to transform how money is made. Public life and reputation are very important themes to Capricorn, so this new generation will likely figure out how to dodge a doxx and cultivate a positive public image. Who knows what the future holds? All we can know for certain is that kids will always be crazy, and that back in our day, things were so much better.