Mercury is sparing us from any retrograde drama over the coming month, but October still has some retrograde energy in store. Jupiter retrograde begins on Oct. 9, and then two days later, Pluto retrograde ends. This small but mighty planet retrogrades for about five and a half months each year, and on Oct. 11, it’ll wrap up its most recent backspin and start moving direct again. It’s always nice to have a planet’s energy shift into a forward-moving flow — even when it’s a distant planet with a less tangible celestial impact, like Pluto. But this year, the end of Pluto retrograde is charged with much more significance than usual, as it’s ushering everyone into the final stage of an era that’s lasted more than 15 years.
Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun, but this celestial body governs some heavy-hitting themes. In astrology, it’s known as the planet of transformation, power struggles, and extremes — so it works on a subterranean level to shape both the landscape of your life and society as a whole. Pluto is all about the underbelly of things, whether the tectonic plates beneath the earth’s surface or an ugly truth veiled behind an innocent facade.
Because Pluto is one of the distant outer planets, its effects on people can be somewhat subtle, but that doesn’t make it less powerful. After all, Pluto is named after the Roman god of the underworld. The same can be said of its annual retrograde periods — you may not feel their impact the way you’d feel one of Mercury’s backspins, but its slow and deeply-rooted energy is making groundbreaking waves in your life nonetheless.
Over the past year and a half, Pluto has been hovering over the cusp of Capricorn and Aquarius, moving back and forth over the border of these two zodiac signs several times due to its extremely slow orbit and relatively lengthy annual retrograde periods. But once Pluto retrograde 2024 ends, its stint in Capricorn will come to a final close, completing a major transformation in every zodiac sign’s life.
Pluto Direct In Capricorn: Ending An Era
Pluto stations direct in Capricorn on Oct. 11, meaning its retrograde is over and it’ll start marching forward through the zodiac again. Because it’s making its way through the very last degrees of Capricorn, it’s going to move into Aquarius again relatively quickly on Nov. 19. But unlike the last two times Pluto left Capricorn over the past year and a half, this will be the very last time in any living person’s lifetime that it’ll do so — making it the end of a very significant and once-in-a-lifetime era.
This direct station will kick off the last stage of crystallization for some extensive beneath-the-surface shifts.
Pluto has been in Capricorn since 2008, and having its transformational energy in this pragmatic and structure-oriented earth sign has shifted how people relate to leadership, authority, and the rules that govern society. But once Pluto leaves Capricorn on Nov. 19, it’s doing so for good — at least for the next 230 years. This means that once Pluto retrograde ends on Oct. 11, its energy will be potent.
On a personal level, this direct station will kick off the last stage of crystallization for some extensive beneath-the-surface shifts that have reshaped the terrain of your life over the past decade and a half. Pluto has a way of pulling you to the greatest depths so that you can emerge from them completely reborn. But of course, that process takes time — hence Pluto’s lengthy transits through each sign. Check out the Capricorn-ruled house of your birth chart for more insight into the part of your life Pluto will be completing its journey.
Pluto Entering Aquarius For The Long Haul
Pluto’s 15-year stint in Capricorn officially comes to an end on Nov. 19, at which point it will enter the futuristic and innovative sign of Aquarius and remain here for 20 years. You may notice some of the Plutonian themes in your life are feeling familiar now, and that’s because this isn’t Pluto’s first dip into Aquarius in recent times. Pluto initially dipped its toes into Aquarius on March 23, 2023, for the first time since the late 18th century. When this small but mighty planet stationed retrograde in 2023 and 2024, it briefly dipped back into Capricorn during each backspin — but this time around, it won’t be going back.
The Pluto in Capricorn era is reaching its final days, and the end of Pluto retrograde 2024 marks its final descent through this sign — paving the way for the fresh energy of Pluto in Aquarius to take form. If you want a sneak peek into where in your life Pluto’s alchemy will touch over for the next two decades, check out the Aquarius-ruled house of your birth chart.
