Pluto Retrograde ♇ 2024

artist: Natalie Shilo

Pluto Retrograde in Aquarius: May 2 – Sep 1

Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn: Sep 1 – Oct 11

Pluto re-enters Aquarius: Nov 19

Planets in retrograde are not actually spinning backwards – it is an optical illusion as seen from Earth. Backwards motion appears to happen when Earth passes slower moving planets in the outer solar system. In astrology, this illusion manifests as a “backwards” functioning of the planetary roles. Click here to learn more about retrograde.

Pluto turns retrograde for 5 months every year. Pluto represents irreversible shift. When we make life-altering decisions, Pluto is present. Through Pluto, the psyche is dismantled and renewed. Pluto transforms fear into power & divine trust. When retrograde, Pluto renders subtle yet profound change. This next journey comes from deep within the soul. All feels fated. Pluto Retrograde brings us closer, year after year, to who we must become.

Pluto Retrograde is the ultimate evolutionary. This transit purges the psychic underworld, extracting fear and grief embedded in the unconscious. By the end of this cycle, you will have a new level of understanding regarding your deepest, most challenging work. The destination has already been set in motion; what is more important – but less obvious – is how we react along the way. Do not expect anything outwardly dramatic to happen. This is a slow burn.

Pluto recently re-entered fixed air sign Aquarius in January. Prior to this transit, Pluto spun through Capricorn from 2008 onward. Pluto will be retrograde in Aquarius for the first four months of the cycle before returning to Capricorn for five weeks: one final retrograde stint in this constellation until he circles back in 226 years!

Pluto is going to be in Aquarius until 2044. Like many other astrologers, I believe this transit is the much-anticipated Age of Aquarius that all the boomers have been singing about since the late 60’s. Pluto has not been in Aquarius since 1777-1797 when it ignited the rage of the masses on a global scale.

Pluto Retrograde in Aquarius marks the not-so-quiet beginning of the revolution. Consider the history of the late 1700s. Violence and malcontent rocked society. People spoke, revolted, reclaimed their power, and forged a new path forward. We can expect and hope for more of the same now.

One thing that has always been true about Aquarius and always will be: we never know what to expect. And just when we’ve figured it out, Aquarius comes and pulls the rug out from under us again. The nature of this archetype is to surprise, shock, and upend expectations.

The structures we create now will looking nothing like they did before. Aquarius demands complete and utter transformation: new perspectives; new rules, or perhaps no rules; new ideas; new beliefs; new ways of speaking-being-living. The power rests with the people now.

Pluto (Retrograde) in Capricorn has been trying to wake people up to the profound injustice of the systems in which we live, the same toxic systems we unconsciously perpetuate and re-create on a daily basis. Internalized colonial/capitalist mindsets are just one example. So here comes Pluto again, eager to expose the ruthless hypocrisy and violence destroying society.

Capricorn the sea-goat embodies a cosmic connection to water and femininity. Over these last 15 years, humanity has exerted a colossal effort to bring balance between the elements, between yin and yang, between feminine and masculine, between light and shadow. In short, Pluto in Capricorn has conducted an unforgiving examination of our failing global institutions and the intense suffering people have experienced within them. Ultimately the purpose of Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn is to reorganize society so that we may once again live in harmony with the natural cycles of our planet and the greater Universe.

June 2: Pluto trine Jupiter in Gemini. This transit last occurred from Oct 2015 – June 2016. This is an extremely exciting time in which many things are possible. This transit favors travel, education, and all things related to improving our understanding of life. Jupiter’s influence is related to teaching and learning. This is an excellent time to take classes, especially in an unfamiliar/foreign setting. Lucky star Jupiter will shower us with satisfying, mind-opening experiences. All things flowing in new, positive directions. You may well look back on summer 2024 as a major turning point in life.

I was born with Pluto Retrograde in Scorpio. To find your Pluto sign and whether this planet was direct or retrograde when you were born, click here.