Pluto in Capricorn In Earlier Eras - What Happened Then?

A decade ago, or more, astrologer Neil Giles wrote a two-part article on Pluto and its then imminent entry into Capricorn.
https://www.astrologycom.com/plutocapricorn1.html

https://www.astrologycom.com/plutocapricorn2.html

On Jan 26th 2008, a new measure begins here with life on earth as Pluto, lord of the underworld returns to the sign of Capricorn for the first time since 1778. Looming at the outer reaches of our solar system lies Pluto, dark and mysterious.....

Some excerpts from the article follow, relating to a few of Pluto's earlier transits through Capricorn. These are worth a look, now that we are have experienced a good deal of the current transit - we are in a position to compare - or contrast. It has to be borne in mind, though, that the position of other outer planets, in each era, will have varied greatly, and will have "coloured" things slightly - or even vastly - differently with each transit.

The whole of Mr Giles' 2-part piece is an excellent read - do go take a look!

Excerpts

The coming cycle of Pluto in Capricorn is the ninth since the beginning of the modern era and the years AD. The first of those came in 42 AD as the unlikely figure of Claudius came out of the shadows of a speech defect and a seeming intellectual handicap to transform from the least capable contender in the dynasty of the Caesars into the Emperor of Rome.

Claudius proved an able administrator and ruler as he reformed the Senate, restored Roman social order, expanded the boundaries of the Empire, especially with the conquest of Britain, and embarked on a major program of public works. The hidden power in Claudius was revealed through this test of elevation to authority and so the Empire flourished under his guiding hand. In the years ahead of us now, those who've had to wait their turn may come to power late in life and find accomplishment, as the dark lord hovers in the sign of age, delays and time's measure.

An even clearer illustration comes with Pluto's next entry into Capricorn in 287 AD when Diocletian ruled in Rome. This vigorous, practical soldier rose through the ranks to become a general and was, on the assassination of his predecessor, elected by troops on the battlefield to take the office of Imperator. He fought his way across the empire, subduing rebellious tribes and reuniting a divided realm till there was a stability not known for fifty years. He re-established the tradition of divinity for the head of state and named himself Dominus et Deus.

He solved the dilemma of succession and, recognizing that the Empire was now too large to be governed by one man, divided it on the line of East and West, also dividing the rulership among the four members of a Tetrarchy, two senior emperors (of which he was one) and two junior emperors. This began what is now called the second phase of the Roman Empire and, by 395, on the foundation of these reforms, the Empire was permanently partitioned, writing a new chapter its history.

It was in 532 AD that Pluto entered Capricorn again. His journey was grim and marked with the suffering, restriction and blight to which the sign of the Goat will sometimes condemn us. 536 AD saw the Mediterranean freezing under a cloud of dust, born in a volcanic eruption in the Southern Hemisphere that brought a nuclear winter to the North. Wars and political instability set their mark on Europe and the East as they foundered in the changing tides of aggression and ill-fated campaigns. Buddhism found the Japanese, Christianity found the Welsh, the Toltecs found the Yucatan Peninsula and plague ravaged Europe, shutting down agricultural activity, causing widespread food shortages and reaching all the way to England. Ironically, in 549 AD, Rome was in the hands of the Ostrogoths and the last ever games were held, these cruel and savage spectacles ended by a people the Romans called barbaric.

It is wise to realize that Capricorn is the sign of midwinter [northern hemisphere, of course – ed.]. If we have had a fruitful summer then our winter stores will see us through in comfort. However, if we have wasted our resources or been tested by harsh conditions, we may find ourselves living a life ruled by necessity. Under Pluto in Capricorn, we may pass through the midwinter test and there will be rules and regulations to order our lives in accordance with requirement or restriction. Prevailing conditions may test us where food supplies and simple domestic resources are concerned. Whatever name we like to give to the current instability in our climate, Pluto in the sign of the Goat will create conditions we will have to live with. With Pluto entering Capricorn as Saturn is retrograde in Virgo, the sign of health and work, ill-health or difficulties with employment that affect us at a mass level may alter the structure and order of our social operations.

1762 brought Pluto to Capricorn for the dark lord's last journey there. It was then that a disparate band of colonists in the New World broke with the Mother Country, England, over issues of taxation, over-regulation and colonial control. The American Congress sat, fought a war against imperialism, issued a declaration of rights and laid the foundations for the birth of the American Republic. Now, more than ever as Pluto returns to its natal place in the chart of the USA, it will be timely to examine the path by which a revolutionary democracy became a global superpower that has left footprints and spent shells in so many foreign lands.

After some general predictions for the current Pluto in Capricorn era :

In such a pressure-cooker as this coming cycle, it may eventually occur to us as a species that we cannot continue trying to solve our problems with a bullying thrust of violent intervention. Just as we will have to look to alternative energy sources, we must also realize that we cannot keep building roads to the future by blowing up everything that gets in the way of our intended path. Obstacles to our desires are there to teach us, not frustrate us. It is time we learned that salutary lesson from Pluto. The sign of Capricorn teaches the proper sense of organization and responsibility required for effective social contribution. With Pluto in Capricorn in the coming era, the imperative is to learn how to make one, how to put aside the power-mongering and the drama and do something that works. The destiny that is written in the stars is also in our hands.