Pluto Retrograde 1 May 2023 - 10 October 2023
You know Pluto is at work when you feel the pressure to change something either about yourself and your situation or your immediate environment.
On May 1st at 10:08 am PT, Pluto stationed retrograde at 0º Aquarius.
His re-entry into Capricorn on June 11th is not an invitation so much as a demand to tie up loose ends connected to your Capricorn house so don't be surprised if you find yourself either back on the therapist's couch revisiting psychic terrain or learning to forgive and let go. Your Capricorn house will describe what will end so that something better - more life-affirming - can take shape.
Pluto is slow and thorough. He covers the same ground not once during his transit through a sign but 2-3 times! Because Pluto is usually the most distant planet and the slowest, he is the most powerful. The slowest moving planet shapes the expression of all the other faster moving planets. You know Pluto is at work when you feel the pressure to change something either about yourself and your situation or your immediate environment. Resisting this pressure to change only invites more pressure from Pluto! Pluto not only rules sociological issues but also the evolution of species and the individual’s soul. Pluto in transit, shows how and where you are in the process of participating in the evolution of society. Most of us participate in this evolution unconsciously but Pluto strives to help us become conscious of our role. Wherever Pluto is in relation to your chart is where you are unconsciously making a statement. Whatever you are experiencing is teaching others. This means that even your so-called negative experiences are helping shape decisions that extend beyond the personal.
For example if you radically changed your appearance - perhaps even changed sex - during a Pluto 1st house transit, you have unconsciously shown others that it is okay to do so.
For example if you radically changed your appearance - perhaps even changed sex - during a Pluto 1st house transit, you have unconsciously shown others that it is okay to do so.
Pluto is associated with Hades. As God of the Underworld he is separated from the world “above” - the world of the living - and he is a rather lonely figure. The story goes that he abducted Kore/Persephone one fine Spring day because he desired her and then because of this impulsive act he had to agree to live apart from his wife for half the year - for all eternity.
This tells us that Pluto is associated with desire, but also with making amends and paying our dues. Pluto is more commonly associated with death but in fact, he rarely shows up in death charts because the type of death ruled by Pluto is psychological death. Pluto dips into our unconscious mind and dredges up things that need to be brought to the light of consciousness. If you choose to ignore whatever has "come to light" Pluto will revisit that issue when retrograde. The difference between Pluto in direct and retrograde motion is the level of intensity. Pluto will be retrograde from 1 May - 10 October, 2023 and in Capricorn until January 2024.
Unless Pluto aspects a natal planet on his journey through a sign, whatever arrives at the door of your consciousness may not hit hard. But in retrograde motion, Pluto takes a jackhammer to the cavern walls of our unconscious and the pounding doesn’t stop until we do something to transform the psychic contents that lie on the cavern floor.What we are almost always dealing with when it comes to Pluto is polluted, radioactive and death-dealing material. This includes self-destructive behavior and negative thought patterns.
It’s also worth remembering that Pluto is a sorcerer. He takes unconscious material and manifests it as an event or a person that describes your interior condition or experience. If for example a person shows up in your life displaying extreme self-hatred or self-destructive tendencies it's worth considering the ways in which you inflict harm on yourself. A lot of the pain we experience during Pluto transits has to do with unrealized potential and deeply submerged unmet desires.
Hades/Plouton is a God of wealth. Hades rules all the abundant resources like gems that come out of the earth. Pluto in your natal chart represents those resources that have been repressed or hidden. Look at your natal Pluto placement and see if you can list your resources. Then ask yourself if these resources are hidden or lying dormant and if so, why?
Try this:
- What is your Aquarius house in your natal chart and how has Pluto already shown up for you here? Spend a moment reflecting on your inner resources. What have you been hiding? What have you been afraid to share?
- What is your Capricorn house and what do you need to let go of and/or how do you get closure?