Pluto Retrograde Meaning & More

In astrology, Pluto is the God of the Underworld. As the modern ruler of Scorpio, it symbolizes how we experience power, sex, death, renewal, rebirth, and hidden or subconscious forces.

2024 Pluto Retrograde Dates

  • May 2, 2024 - October 1, 2024

Pluto Retrograde Meaning

Sometimes, Pluto appears to move backward in the sky; this visual backward motion is known as Pluto retrograde. Pluto stations retrograde once every year, spending nearly half of the year retrograde; these transits normally last between five and six months. During these retrogrades, Pluto recovers approximately three degrees. Overall, Pluto spends about forty percent of its time in retrograde.

Pluto Retrograde Effects

Pluto is a brutal master. He is unrivaled in his ability to break down structured existence, which is what most folks mean to say when they invoke that holiest of terms, 'transformation.' If Uranus breaks and Neptune dissolves, Pluto destroys; he is an atomic bomb to Neptune's mists and Uranus' lightning bolts.

Pluto's less than savory associations are many, covering everything from society's underbelly to death, abuse, control, meaningless loss, and the resulting existential crises. Pluto transits, including Pluto's retrograde transits, can deliver us to and from the brink of our subconscious, suspending us above the yawning chasms of our deepest, darkest selves. Most of us have areas within us where this dark stuff churns, that inner compost pile where we send the unpretty thoughts to lie still and be quiet....

Pluto Retrograde in the Natal Chart

Since Pluto spends roughly one half of the year in retrograde, there's a good chance you may have Pluto retrograde in your birth chart. Retrograde planets in the birth chart are sometimes described as being unable to fully express themselves or having oddball, round-about ways of manifesting their influence. Just as common is the idea that retrograde planets in the natal chart only begin to emerge successfully later in life after much introspection and adjustment.

In traditional astrology, however, retrograde planets are not seen as merely misguided, but as being thoroughly weakened. Speed and visibility were both important considerations to ancient astrologers, and on both accounts, retrograde planets are at a disadvantage....

Pluto retrograde calendar dates

Dates based on Pacific Standard Time (PST)

  • Stations retrograde April 22, 2018, at 21°17' Capricorn
  • Stations direct September 30, 2018, at 18°45' Capricorn
  • Stations retrograde April 24, 2019, at 23°09' Capricorn
  • Stations direct October 2, 2019, at 20°38' Capricorn
  • Stations retrograde April 25, 2020, at 24°59' Capricorn
  • Stations direct October 4, 2020, at 22°29' Capricorn
  • Stations retrograde April 27, 2021, at 26°48' Capricorn
  • Stations direct October 6, 2021, at 24°18' Capricorn
  • Stations retrograde April 29, 2022, at 28°35' Capricorn
  • Stations direct October 8, 2022, at 26°06' Capricorn
  • Stations retrograde May 1, 2023, at 0°21' Aquarius
  • Stations direct October 10, 2023, at 27°53' Capricorn
  • Stations retrograde May 2, 2024, at 2°06' Aquarius
  • Stations direct October 11, 2024, at 29°38' Capricorn
  • Stations retrograde May 4, 2025, at 3°49' Aquarius
  • Stations direct October 13, 2025, at 1°22' Aquarius