Pluto retrograde: the meanings and transforming processes of the planet

One of the most talked about subjects in Astrology, and one that attracts the attention of even lay people, is the retrogradation of the stars. In 2022, Pluto retrograde occurs from 29/04 to 08/10.

Pluto is the great lord of the subterranean world, intraterrestrial of Greek mythology, the astrological representative of the deep transformationsthe one who reveals hidden situations and behaviors, the one who eliminates to regenerate.

The phenomenon of retrogradation is quite common: once a year, for almost six months, Pluto will be retrograde. This indicates that practically half of the population will have retrograde pluto on your map.

According to some astrologers, retrograde pluto it will be better perceived if it is in opposition to the Sun, or if it is the protagonist of some important astrological configuration. Otherwise, their meanings are well diluted in other more personal contexts.

This star is one of what are called transpersonal, representing changes in the way each one lives, causing ends, closings, destruction and reconstruction, rebirth and healing of some theme, generally indicated by the house where it is and by the house that governs (where it is the sign of Scorpio in the chart).

Pluto is always related to the word TRANSFORMATION, as well as metamorphosis. Even beautiful and easy words, but which truly represent very deep, intense and painful processes, at some point, in all of us.

Pluto marks us with his rites of passage and we must elaborate that one does not go to a new life, to a new situation, carrying everything that we have acquired from previous experiences. One of the Plutonian purposes is detachment; therefore, having and acquiring do not make sense to him. Purge, extirpate, eliminate and cleanse, yes!

Pluto has been in the sign of Capricorn since 2008 and remains in it until 2024, due to its slow and irregular pace.

Particularly, I see all the sense in which this star moves slowly because when we think about transformation, profound changes and discoveries, we are dealing with something that cannot be superficial, lip service or simple.

The Meanings of the Planet Pluto

Pluto (which in Greek means “the rich”) represents:

what is legitimate in its essence, what is behind the mask, the wealth and potential value of each one

Pluto is power, as well as the lust for power and the price we pay for it.

It is what controls us through desire, giving the impression that we are controlling the desired object, but in fact it is the desire that binds us and does not let us evolve, becoming a point of obsession and attachment.

Its lessons come through losses and passages through “hell” (as the world of the dead was known in mythology). There we have to abandon the shell, the appearance and only the essential remains, the real and profound value. It is the seed that dies underground for the new fruit to be born.

Pluto and the confrontation with the myth of Sisyphus

Attachment restricts and limits our focus and we are left on top of a bankrupt mass, of something that has already ended, but that did not end and did not even have its final point well worked out. There is a Greek myth that explains our indignant and astute resistance well: Sisyphus.

Known as the most astute of mortals, the versions of the myth show the strategies that this character found to circumvent the will of the Gods and manipulate them in his favor.

In one version, Sisyphus deceives Apollo, who teaches him how to defeat his greatest enemy (Sisyphus’s obsession against his brother), and family crimes are severely punished by the Erinyes, powers responsible for this matter in order to reestablish the order broken by the crime committed. .

Upon discovering that it was used by Sisyphus, Apollo (the astrological Sun, consciousness) sends Sisyphus to eternal punishment in the world of the dead. In another version it says that he dominated the god of death, Thanatos, and trapped him in a collar.

With that, Thanatos could no longer fulfill his function, which is to put an end to everything, close cycles and situations were left without closure. In this version it is Hades himself who frees Thanatos and imposes punishment on Sisyphus.

For all eternity Sisyphus would have to carry a boulder up a mountain. Upon reaching the top, the boulder would roll down and Sisyphus would begin his task again. Forever. Every day. Without end.

The myth of Sisyphus can indicate some imprisoning, addictive or self-destructive task, habit, obsession or behavior that we have. Could it be:

anxiety, depression, control, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), insomnia, compulsion nervous reaction (physiological aspect) an emotional attachment some story we can’t get a handle on.

Damage can be physical, such as illness, or emotional. When Pluto goes backwards in its transit, making difficult aspects such as oppositions or squares, it can make our “Sisyphus” side clear:

what stone or weight do we carry and why don’t we just let go of what massacres us and seek a new life?

When retrograding at some critical point in a chart, Pluto tends to reveal conflicts and tensions, which, many times, can be resolved with our giving up on that subject.

Abdicate, surrender, abandon, without looking back. Living and working through grief and thus being prepared, unlike our mythical character, for a new cycle.

In this way, we manage to fulfill the function that Pluto has in our charts, integrating its darkest face and, consequently, also discovering a new personal richness, real value, authentic power, capable of new horizons, free and full of peace.

Retrograde planet: understand the phenomenon

A planet is considered retrograde when it apparently returns degrees in the Zodiac, or simply “walks backwards”.

The fact is that no planet goes backwards, because retrogradation is an optical illusion from the point of view of the Earth’s observer. From our perspective, when we see the Sun and some other star close to a certain limit, certainly that star will not be retrograde (with the exception of

Mercury and Venus which, because they are in orbits between the Sun and the Earth, are never far from the king star and, however, can also be retrograde).

When then, in its average astrological step of one degree per day, the Sun distances a certain number of degrees from a planet, the star begins to retrograde, until the Sun returns to approach again.

Astronomically, the Earth will be between the Sun and the other planet, which produces the effect of passing between two bodies in motion: the Earth continues its constant pace and the other star seems to be left behind and, therefore, gives the impression that it is returning in the Zodiac.

Symbolically, when retrograde the stars can be seen as more distant from the Sun (symbol of consciousness) and closer to Earth (instinctive).

We easily point out that periods of retrogradation indicate the revision of the subject symbolized by that planet and other situations indicating repetition: rethink, review, reconsider, redo, resent, restructure, remanage, reconnect, relearn and other verbs with the prefix “re-“.

When returning through the degrees, symbolically the star takes up outstanding issues and goes over some previously experienced issues and, hence, comes the connection that can be made by the karmic astrology between retrograde stars and necessary revisions in their affairs.

Retrograde Motion: Revise or Go Ahead?

I prefer to address that the retrograde star is “walking in the direction it wants” and not in the direction where most people go. Like paddling against the tide, it causes more effort, evolution is slower and the development of affairs in the house occupied by the star as well,

However, retrograde movement can function in its own original and creative way when brought into awareness.

It is also important to point out that a map represents the sky at a given moment and that, obviously, it continues to move. The birth chart is a photograph, a moment highlighted in time, but it carries within itself all the movements of the stars, represented by the Secondary Progressions, which give the evolution and development of the charts.

This means that we can be born with a retrograde star and throughout life, in Secondary Progressions, it changes direction, marking a new perspective and functioning of the star in your chart.