7 MAY – 16 OCTOBER 2026

Pluto is the first planet to move into Retrograde motion since all the planets were Direct in mid-March this year.  This short break from Retrograde energy may feel like it you missed it this year as there has been so much else going on in the world around us, and in our personal lives, that every day has felt like a Retrograde day!

Pluto is a mighty powerhouse in astrology, he is the planet of transformation who moves very slowly through the cosmos bringing us deep, intense and life-changing learning.  Wherever Pluto sits in your Natal Chart is the area where you have come to transform yourself, your life and your shadow so as you can step out of the dark and into the light.  He asks us to bare our shadow side so we can see what lies beneath it, as what we find in the shadow of our Pluto learning is often our greatest gift just waiting to be mastered.  Pluto shows us where and how our mental and emotional beliefs and feelings can hold us back and keep us in slave and victim mentality.  And he also shows us how if we are prepared to do the inner work, and acknowledge and work with the shadow side of ourselves, we can master our energies and step into our true power, purpose and joy.

Change or be changed

Pluto represents transformation, he is Hades the Ruler of the Underworld and he shows us where we sit in darkness, where we allow ourselves to be victims and what we need to embrace to step into the light and into our mastership.  Pluto takes no prisoners – he is the “rip the rug out from under your feet” kinda planet, and he makes no excuses and offers no apologies for this.  Change or be changed is his motto.  However, first, before he rips that rug out from under you, he gives you nudges and opportunities to do this for yourself – to make the necessary transformation – but if you don’t, he will take over and more often than not, it will be tough – a necessary evil for some and a hard-won victory for others.

Aquarian energy dances to its own drumbeat

So, Pluto is currently transiting through the sign of Aquarius.  Therefore, the transformation that is being asked for here is the deep acceptance of yourself for who you truly are.  Aquarian energy dances to its own drumbeat, it celebrates differences and embraces these in the knowledge that the more diverse and forward thinking we can be  the more likely we are to find new solutions to our problems.  Aquarian energy also loves and celebrates the power of community – it loves to bring diverse and different people together as it knows that everyone has something to offer and should be included.

While Pluto has been in Direct motion we have been made very aware of all the different people, beliefs, behaviours and actions there are in the world around us.  Life has been moving along very quickly since Pluto moved into Aquarius and change has been the flavour of the day.  We are living in a world of incredible upheaval and chaos at this time, and we all need to find our own way through it, but we don’t have to do it alone.

Pluto’s dive into Retrograde motion will set things moving in your inner world – if they haven’t already.  We had a very powerful Full Moon in Scorpio on 2 May, and Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, so Pluto was also at play at this time, and as Full Moons bring things to a head, a lot of dark and transformative energy was released at this time.  This Full Moon showed us what we each needed to release, change, let go of and transform in some way and out it all came.

What are you denying that needs to be released?

As Pluto will spend the next approximately 5 months in Retrograde motion, we will all be diving deeply into our inner worlds, identifying what shadows we are carrying, which too often can be that thing you don’t want to see, or have been working hard to ignore and bury for too long.  So often those things we bury are the very things we need to shed – we are burying them because they hurt, or are too hard to deal with or just feel like “this is just who I am”.  We are denying what hurts us out of shame, fear, confusion and lack of self-worth. When Pluto is in Retrograde what you don’t want to reveal, what you are too scared to look into or what you are ashamed of comes up for review because Pluto is taking charge and will insist on showing you what is holding you back whether you know it or not.  This is not punishment its an opportunity to heal.

When Pluto is in Retrograde what is out-worn, out-used or out-grown comes up for review and you can try to bury it back down where it’s been hiding and hindering you, or, you can allow it to come up for transformation and release.  Pluto will reveal what can be healed and this is what we are already seeing right now in the collective dynamics. Pluto brings to the surface what needs to see the light; the old wounds, the negative beliefs, the self-defeating thoughts and actions, all that stuff you do to you that is dark and that too often was created by your own fears and lack of self-worth.  So much of our inner darkness is created by our own over-active imaginations that tell us we are not good enough or bad in some way.

Choose differently – choose YOU!

Use this Pluto Retrograde to go within and be honest with yourself.  You came to the planet to master yourself and to find happiness, but too often we all get caught up in the pain of existing and so we create stories for ourselves to justify why we feel this way, we sugar-coat and forgive what really hurts us and we accept and go along with things that make us unhappy.  And these are all choices that we make and we can ALWAYS change what we choose.  Acknowledge to yourself what you are running away from or burying; what you don’t want to deal with because for so long as you keep ignoring this or pretending it will fix itself, the more power you are giving to Pluto to do this for you – and like I said earlier having the rug ripped out from under your feet is never the easy way to deal with life.

Pluto Retrograde can be your friend if you allow it too – its that friend that makes you take accountability and responsibility for what you are doing to yourself, and its that friend who will show you how much more there is for you when you just let it all go.

Honour who you are and don’t allow anyone, including yourself, to make you feel any less than the beautiful, powerful, fabulous soul that you are.  None of us are perfect but we all want to do our best and sometimes doing your best means letting go of what no longer serves you, even if that feels hard and tough.  On the other side of letting go is peace and freedom from your own darkness and only YOU can do this for YOU.  Blessings xox