Pluto Retrograde 2022: Release Control

Pluto stations retrograde on April 29, 2022, at 26° Capricorn until October 8, 2022, when it will station direct at 26° Capricorn. Pluto is the planet that governs transformation, including the ongoing cycles of life, death, and rebirth. Pluto directs our attention to the shadow side of life. It illuminates the areas that need healing, resolution, and understanding. Pluto pulls energy to the surface of our conscious mind so we can deal with it. In doing so, the energy of this planet can bring up pain, trauma, and hardship. It's important to keep in mind that when Pluto drudges up shadows, it's for higher transformation. Pluto reminds us that we are each an alchemist. When we see every event, energy, and emotion as an opportunity to evolve, we gain the power of alchemy. We gain the ability to create magic and turn our shadows into our greatest light. Pluto rules Scorpio and shares many energies with this sign which we will see illuminated on the Total Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio on May 15th. 

Pluto in Capricorn brings up control issues, especially when it comes to our path of evolution. Pluto has been in Capricorn since 2008 and is nearing the end of its time in this sign. Capricorn is the sign of solitude, hardship, and focus. This energy helps us align with our life’s purpose and do the work to overcome any challenges in our way of achieving our goals. It is the making of long nights, time spent alone with our endeavors, and withdrawal from others. With Pluto here, it can cause us to attempt to control the cycles of our life. This may be retreating from the world to avoid painful experiences or attempting to influence the outcome of something beyond us. 

Pluto in Capricorn is best illuminated in recent years when we look at how each of the world’s governments has attempted to control the outcome of the pandemic. While some of the efforts were worth it, some were simply an attempt to control something uncontrollable. Pluto teaches us that what will happen will happen. With Capricorn’s influence, Pluto can trick us into thinking that we can actually control what will happen, forgetting that some things are a natural part of evolution. Pluto, in its highest side, teaches us to find the higher meaning in painful situations and view them against the backdrop of the cycles of evolution. In its lowest frequency, it opens the door for us to become attached and contained by our pain. 

In Capricorn, Pluto can make us think we can control, or even ward off, anything we find uncomfortable. The truth is that pain, unfortunately, is a part of life. It’s part of the ongoing cycles of transformation our energy is under each lifetime. It can help us grow, change, and evolve. Sometimes, we may not even know why we are enduring it, and that answer may not become apparent for many lifetimes. We just have to trust that in some way, it is helping our energetic evolution, and in finding some meaning in our pain, we can heal. 

During Pluto Retrograde, the energy of Pluto in Capricorn is spun inwards. This is a less dramatic impact of the dreaded Mercury Retrograde, but we still feel this transit. It is also the first planet to station retrograde in the last few months, taking us out of a period when all planets were moving forward. Expect the energy around you to slow down over the next month, perfectly timed for Taurus Season, which brings in some stillness. 

With Pluto retrograde for the next few months, we have the opportunity to look at how we’ve tried to control things in our lives. It’s a chance to ask yourself if you’ve been holding back from experiencing life out of fear. It’s also a time to look at how you may think you are controlling the outcome of situations when in reality, you have little control over things outside of yourself. It’s also an opportunity to ask yourself if you’ve been trying to control or manipulate people or events around you to avoid pain. Where have your control issues gotten in the way of making connections and having experiences that can evolve you?  Furthermore, are you attached to control? And do you falsely think it is protecting you?

Pluto retrograde teaches us that the only thing we can control is our reaction to outside events. What happens beyond our own body, mind, and energy is a complex interaction between many factors that we often have no say in. What we can control is our breath, our reactions, and our thoughts- even the intrusive ones. Often when we accept that we can’t control the world around us, it empowers us to start down the path of learning how to self-regulate our inner world. It also helps us heal from pain caused by what we could not control. 

When we place all the responsibility on ourselves to control our world, we become anxious and hyper-vigilant, thinking it’s up to us to make sure everything works out perfectly. Through releasing control and accepting that some events are simply part of our energetic evolution and out of our control, we free ourselves. We can relax a bit more and focus our attention on controlling what is within our reach- ourselves. We also can enjoy the cycles of our life and understand that each phase is here to teach us something, even if that lesson is painful. We can allow ourselves to grow and trust the process of our energetic evolution from this lifetime to the next. 

Over this transit, examine how, when, and why you control. Where are your forcing things, and where are you causing undue stress on yourself by taking on too much responsibility for things out of your reach? How can you trust the twists and turns of your life and know that there is a higher meaning in every event? How can you ride the waves of your life instead of attempting to mold them to your will?