Pluto Retrograde Will Push You Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Every year, Pluto begins its five- to six-month-long retrograde that catalyses renewal, regeneration, and rebirth. This year, Pluto’s backslide will occur from May 2 to October 11. Pluto is considered to be a transformative and evocative dwarf planet. This means that the retrograde serves as a time in which we are shedding the past by letting go of emotions that have been weighing on our shoulders. During this retrograde, we might forgive and forget, give people a second chance, or let go of beliefs that no longer serve us. Introspection can potentially guide us toward acknowledging our hidden desires and power.

Take note: Contrary to popular belief, retrogrades aren’t necessarily bad transits. They aim to give us clarity and insight. With the planet slowing down, we can make decisions and judgments that are beneficial to our present and future. We can remedy the past by taking a second look at matters. Pluto retrograde does the latter.

Since Pluto is an outer and generational planet (which means it stays in a sign for a long time), its retrograde occurs several months a year. Most of us have Pluto grade in our birth charts, which makes it more common than we realise. The inner planets (the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) move faster and continuously switch signs, while the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) are slower. Therefore, we can attest that because Pluto is an outer and generational planet, its retrograde impacts us.

Pluto’s presence in Aquarius encourages us to look at our relationship with technology and how it affects our spending habits — similar to how the same planet’s time in Capricorn made us see that big businesses and social structures are necessarily in a state of flux. As Pluto backtracks from Aquarius to Capricorn, we will ponder the effect capitalism has on us and society at large.

The retrograde will allow us to look within ourselves and soul-search how we want to proceed in all aspects of our lives — the past few months helped to plant the seeds for how we should evolve. But we may have resisted. This marks a necessary time to understand that things must fall apart to be put back together as they should be. We will become our true selves and intimately connect with others. A resolution to power struggles and triangular relationships can be found, helping us mend the past. Healing trauma may be more accessible at this time because we’ll be gentler and more manageable with ourselves without being self-effacing. 

From May 2 to October 11, Pluto will be retrograde, moving from Aquarius into Capricorn. Along the way, the evocative planet will retrace its steps from dates in 2023. Pluto returns to Capricorn on September 1 and remains in the earth sign until November 19. Pluto will then move forward in Aquarius and stay there for the next 20 years (with the occasional progression into Pisces and retrograde into Aquarius during the interim). It will not return to the sign Capricorn in our lifetime. 

Pluto retrograde presents an opportunity to reassess moments from last year. Pluto first entered Aquarius on March 23 2023. May 1 2023 marked the beginning of its months-long moonwalk, backtracking through Capricorn starting on June 11 2023. The planetary spin halted in Capricorn on October 10 2023. With the retrograde of 2023 ending at 27 degrees of Capricorn and this one concluding at 29 degrees of Capricorn, we’ll be revisiting the story from March to September 2023 and December 2023 to now. We can look back at the events that manifested during this timeline to understand situations and relationships more deeply. 

Knowing that retrograde periods can be helpful to us, we should embrace Pluto’s moonwalk with open arms. Old problems and issues may resurface during Pluto’s backward march; instead of running away from them, we should run towards them. Not only will we have the option to work on them, but it will allow us to fix these situations. Also, the retrograde will enable us to have closure on matters ruminating in our minds and hearts. We have the power to make our lives better. We must be willing to venture into a new mindset and lean into newness — no matter how scary stepping out of our comfort zones may be.