On May 4, 2025, at 11:27 AM EST, Pluto will begin its retrograde motion at 3º49’ of Aquarius, initiating five months of deep psychological exploration. The Lord of the Underworld will remain in retrograde until October 13. This phase invites us to delve inward, prioritize spiritual growth over comfort, and reflect on our personal evolution since Pluto's entry into Aquarius in November 2024.
This retrograde movement will particularly affect those born under the early degrees of Fixed signs and individuals with significant placements in Scorpio, Pluto's ruling sign. These people are called to engage in a profound process of inner deconstruction, release attachments that provide a false sense of security, and recognize their Soul's true desires.
Pluto in Aquarius: Shaping a New Future
Aquarius, the eleventh sign of the Zodiac, symbolizes individuation, deconditioning, and liberation from the past. As a Fixed, Yang, and Air archetype, it governs progress, technology, science, social movements, and the balance between our desire for belonging and our need for unique self-expression.
Pluto, the planet of transformation, death, and rebirth, sheds light on what has been hidden or repressed, allowing it to be transformed and integrated. Its transits are gradual yet deeply transformative, stripping away the unnecessary and confronting us with the truth of our inner desires, catalyzing changes that are often irreversible.
Pluto will move through Aquarius until 2044, driving significant transformations in societal paradigms and our relationships with technology and each other. This transit will reveal both the strengths and challenges of collective consciousness and innovation.
For the next two decades, Pluto will lay bare the darker aspects of Aquarius: detachment, alienation, dissociation, and aimless rebellion. Collectively, we are invited to confront how emotional dissociation, intellectual superiority, and hyper-independence have hindered our ability to experience true intimacy and vulnerability. The Aquarian archetype often carries the pain of feeling too different to fit in; with Pluto's passage through this sign, these wounds are surfacing to be healed.
Opportunity For Psychological Exploration
When a planet goes retrograde, it draws closer to Earth, intensifying its energy. During these times, Pluto takes a prominent role, bringing forth unconscious shadows that seek to be acknowledged and integrated.
Retrogrades—marked by the apparent backward motion of a planet from our viewpoint on Earth—are moments to deepen our inner work, recalibrate, and redirect our focus. They should not be feared but embraced because they accelerate our individuation and growth and offer us insight into our inner selves. If we have been overly focused on the external, this retrograde encourages us to turn inward and address aspects we might have neglected.
With the Lord of the Underworld in retrograde, we are called to engage more deeply in emotional and psychological self-exploration. The coming months present an opportunity to strengthen our understanding of how Life is urging us to grow and solidify the changes that have already occurred in our inner and outer realities.
Pluto Retrograde in Aquarius: Unpacking Internalized Conditioning
Pluto's retrograde through Aquarius prompts us to examine and untangle internalized systems that bind us to outdated beliefs and behaviors. It offers a chance to confront our resistance to change, our fear of standing out, the unconscious limitations imposed by social standards, and our instinct to rebel against them.
In this phase, Pluto retrograde in Aquarius invites us to reflect on and reshape our relationships with our communities, technology, the internet, AI, and the social movements with which we identify. It is a time to deepen our insights into our unique psychological makeup and that of the collective, exploring group dynamics and issues surrounding belonging.
As technological advancements accelerate, this transit encourages us to reflect on what it means to be human. We are invited to consider how we can contribute to the collective in an age of rapidly emerging artificial intelligence and continuously evolving ways of connecting. Over the next five months, we have an opportunity to engage deeply with these pressing questions and insights.
Birth Chart
-Angelo Michael