Pluto Turns Retrograde: Dark Places, Power (Im)Balance, and Death and Rebirth
With a Full Moon in Scorpio and Pluto turning retrograde, the week of April 26 2021 brings something big into our awareness: how your life is different today from where it was 13 months ago (and oh my! Hasn’t life changed in some major ways for all of us?). Pluto and Scorpio are about major transformation, metamorphosis, death and rebirth. Think phoenix rising from the ashes. We go through a painful experience, and a part of us is gone forever. We’re not going back to the way things were. But, it’s also an opportunity to transform into something new and beautiful, full of new opportunities and promise.
Still, first there is this dark, uncomfortable place to push through. Pluto puts us in touch with intensely uncomfortable issues such as survival, life and death, and power (im)balance. Being stuck at home for months during the lockdown is not the most empowering experience, that’s for sure. That tiny little coronavirus, the power it exerted over our lives! Or you might feel it’s the government, or your company who all of a sudden is verrrry interested in keeping track of your productivity while you’re working at home!
Regardless, as Pluto repositions in the skies, here are some things to ponder:
- What is no longer working in your life?
- What do you feel you need to let go of?
- How have your changed and transformed since October 2020 (when Pluto changed direction last time)?
- What have you learned about your relationship with personal power?
- What in your life is ready to be rebirthed or transformed?
Pluto will retrograde from 26 to 24 degrees of Capricorn between April 27 and Oct. 6 2021. This is big for those born Feb. 10-16, April 13-17, July 16-20, and Oct. 17-21 (or anyone with the personal planets between 24-26 degrees of Capricorn, Aries, Cancer and Libra).
You will have an opportunity to revisit the themes related to transformation, power, passion, and “death and rebirth” that might have come into your life since October 2020. When Pluto starts moving forward again on October 6, the issues stirred by this Pluto transit will come to a final resolution.
Pluto is slow moving, compared to the other planets. When it connects with your natal chart, the issues it brings will be prominent for a good couple of years. Pluto activating your natal Venus? Prepare for an intense, passionate relationship that leaves you shaken to the core. Pluto triggering your Mercury? Your mind and your powers of communication will be at their most insightful. Pluto activating your Sun? A big change can be in the works. There may be a permanent ending – and as a result, you may fully step into your power, rising to the levels you didn’t know you were capable of!
My Mom lost Dad when transiting Pluto challenged her Sun. My husband got downsized – which led to retirement – when Pluto joined his money-making Mars in the 2nd House of Money. He always prided himself on being a high earner, so that was quite a transition. I moved to another country when Pluto challenged my Sun; at the time I thought it was for 2 years, but it turned out a permanent move.
Changes brought by Pluto are permanent and deeply transformative; they leave us a changed individual, preparing us for the next stage in our life journey.