Pluto Retrograde, Uranus Cazimi, and the Intersection of Free Will and Fate

Vol. 55 // 05-12-24

Pluto went retrograde on May 2nd in the sign of Aquarius, having only traveled 2° to backtrack before it will return to Capricorn for one brief and final encore to finalize its Capricornian themes before it settles into Aquarius for a long 20-year stay. It will cross into Capricorn on September 1st, meaning that the entirety of the summer that we’re approaching will be the first we experience under the influence of Pluto in Aquarius. Considering the other transits and shifts we'll be having this summer, I think this retrograde will be beneficial to us all, as it, intertwined with the other events we'll experience, is hosting a space for us to undergo an internal world renaissance—a summer of self-reinvention. We will experience a brief Uranus cazimi that will be present both today, May 12th, and tomorrow, the 13th—that is, the sun will cross over Uranus, cleansing its essence and refreshing our visions and perspectives for the future.

PLUTO RETROGRADE IN AQUARIUS
As I’ve shared in the past, when a planet turns retrograde, it is not a negative occurrence, despite what may be popularly discussed on social media and in popular conversation. Retrogrades are merely a shift of focus where we are asked to alter our attention from our external worlds and redirect it inward. When planets retrograde, they shift from a masculine to a feminine state, releasing their urgent or animated expression and becoming more restorative, supportive, and insightful for our self-understanding. Pluto retrograde specifically is not something we are unfamiliar with; it retrogrades every year for anywhere from five to six months. Each year, we undergo a season of transformation in our outer lives and a season of transformation in our inner lives, neither of which is more valuable or favorable than the other. Regardless of the planet, retrogrades are always a time for review—to re-evaluate what has been said, done, created, considered, or initiated and identify any holes in the plan.

During Pluto’s retrograde in Aquarius, we will each individually go on a journey through the depths of our psyches and will be asked to uproot the structures, beliefs, and emotional responses that we may be giving too much power. Aquarius is painted as a grand humanitarian—the water-bearer pouring out their compassion upon humanity. While Aquarius does feel a sense of duty to the collective and may feel deeply devoted to improving society so that it is better than how they found it, they cannot make their service to the collective their first order of business. Aquarius symbolizes that we can only help others as much as we help ourselves—we can only know others as deeply as we know ourselves. In essence, labeling Aquarius as “the humanitarian” is putting the cart before the horse, leading one to believe that their fulfillment comes in extending themselves to the collective before truly knowing their mission, purpose, and motivation in doing so.

With that said, over the entire Pluto transit, I think there will be a lot of re-learning in our society, especially in the earlier half of the transit. There is potential for us to accomplish great work that will benefit the collective immensely, but first, we must understand ourselves on a deeper level and connect with our authentic selves. While the desire to help others is noble and honorable in its own right, there is little we can do that will last when the work is done as a performance or as an act that will be socially celebrated but is not motivated by an authentic and heart-centered desire to do so. This is a time to identify the motives of our actions, especially those that are seen by the collective or society. Are you acting to embody your genuine inner truth? To be accepted by the crowd? To make a place for yourself in society that feels celebrated and seen? To appease what others want you to be? These are all questions to ask yourself, especially if you find yourself in arguments or tense environments where "sides” are being taken. It is imperative for each of us to honor our authentic truth in such experiences, even if it may mean that society’s perception of us is discolored.

During Pluto’s retrograde, we will be asked to observe our inner worlds and the empires that have established themselves within us from an objective, third-party view. This may be a time in which we are unpacking beliefs or ideologies that we’ve been indoctrinated with—we may discover that they’ve had much more control over us than we realize. We may spend careful time deconstructing our self-concept and seek to redesign one that feels more organic and untouched by social influences, societal expectations, and ingrained beliefs. More specifically, this will be a time for us to analyze and observe the grasp that generational wounds have had on us and our ancestors for many years—through this analysis, we will likely find great motivation to be the changemakers that rebel against “how things have always been.” There is a quote I heard the other day that said, “Pain travels down the family line until someone chooses to feel it.” If you are reading this, you are likely that person who has chosen to feel it, and because of that, you, in a way, are the Aquarian leader in the healing of your family’s lineage, even if Aquarius is not prevalent in your natal chart.

Aquarius heals others through their own self-knowing—they pour out the wisdom that they have gained through their own experiences to society and are more skilled healers for it, as their resonance with their collective helps them to more effectively and efficiently be of service. This Pluto retrograde will help us transform as much as we are willing to surrender to and participate in the process. Those who refuse to reflect and dig deeper into themselves may encounter feelings of catastrophe or undergo a tumultuous reconstruction of the area of life that Aquarius governs. This retrograde urges us to intensify our craving to know who we are, what we stand for, and what we might be refusing to look at in our inner worlds. This will likely be a season that challenges our ability to feel confident in who we know ourselves to be. Our authentic truths being shared may be met by society rejecting or exiling us, wanting to put our authentic selves and inner truths, metaphorically, to death. We may face harsh criticism for merely being ourselves. It is important to remember if you encounter this that just because no one relates to your truth doesn’t mean it's necessarily false. This is a time to learn from each other and about ourselves without judgement or rejection—to curate a space for everyone to be seen in their authentic truths, giving everyone a place at the proverbial table. In doing so, you may find that you relate to others, and others relate to you more than you initially identified. Pluto retrograde in Aquarius invites us to not make enemies of potential allies just because we do not understand or relate to them. 

On a broader, more public scale, I think this may lead to unpopular opinions being shared much more publicly, and because of that, I think “cancel culture” may be a more prevalent thing on social media. Big names or people we have put on pedestals, people that we have seen as god-like or untouchable, may be taken down from their thrones and become seen for who they truly are—people, the same as you and me. This is a remnant of Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto being direct in Aquarius has been a brief time where we’ve gotten a taste of the themes that will be highlighted during Pluto’s long haul through Aquarius—AI, the power of a collective voice, the power of social media, and rebellion against long-standing social normalities and structures. During this retrograde, we will likely be individually and collectively turning inward and assessing what it is we want to say and why we want to say it. This will also be a time in which we recognize that we, as individuals, cannot solve every issue in the world and our society, but we can choose to improve the things that we feel called to make a difference in. And when everyone answers that calling, we participate in an ecosystem of healing where our individual efforts unite to create something sustainable, enlightened, and beautiful.

I will share more on this retrograde once it moves back into Capricorn, as there is an interesting teaching that this transition is slowly unfurling that will become more significant once Pluto is back in Capricorn. For now, use this season to innovate your inner world and allow new truths to emerge and replace the old ones you have abided by. Yearn to know yourself better. Invest your willpower into helping yourself heal, and you will deepen your relationship with your authentic truth, which, in turn, will allow you to be of service to the world. By following the truth of your soul and the inspiration of your heart, you participate in raising the vibration of the earth and the collective. <3

URANUS CAZIMI
The Uranus cazimi is an annual event that offers us an electric refresh in whichever sign of its occurrence. Cazimis occur when the sun becomes conjunct with one or more planets—this is considered a purification of that planet’s energy, as the light of the sun cleanses, renews, and recharges it. While the days leading up to and the days following the cazimi can cause the planet to be exhausted or muted, the moment of direct contact with the sun facilitates a rebirth of sorts. Uranus symbolizes evolution, the future, electricity, sudden change, unexpected things, and our ability to innovate, and since it has been in the sign of Taurus, we have been invited to change up the way that we manage our finances, deal with the material world, and establish our values and morals. This cazimi brings a breath of fresh air to Uranus and may allude to a shocking breakthrough or turn of events in whichever house Taurus governs in our individual natal charts.

Taurus is one of the more reliable, stable, and consistent signs, which brings Uranus a bit of discomfort as it is not accustomed to repetition and predictability. Uranus craves freedom and individuality; it needs its agency to be respected. Since 2018, we have been asked to become more self-reliant, self-sufficient, and accepting of change that we must initiate, even if we don’t feel ready to do so. This has likely been teaching each of us how to feel more secure in ourselves, especially in terms of relationships, money, and comfort. Perhaps we have encountered uncomfortable decisions that have, over time, made us more confident and faithful people who feel free to act independently, no matter the context of the situation or expectation of the outcome, as we know we have our backs.

When Uranus is cazimi—that is, in the heart of the sun—it is renewed and encourages us to look at things from a different angle or with a fresh set of eyes. This could be a time in which we’re all discovering solutions to issues that we have been carefully mulling over, especially those that relate to Taurus’s natural themes, romantic matters, finances, material possessions, and other things that provide a sense of comfort and security. This might be a time in which we’re foregoing the “safe option” and are more inclined to act without restraint. We may be innovating our financial goals and plans, gaining a different perspective or having an epiphany about our relationships or lack thereof, or drastically shifting our values or morals. This is the second-to-last cazimi Uranus will experience in the sign of Taurus, and because we’ve been learning Uranus’s wisdom through Taurus’s lens for several years now, this cazimi will likely feel more refreshing, inspiring, motivating, and invigorating than it has felt in years past.

This may symbolize a sudden realization for some of us—the moment when all of the pieces finally fit together and the full picture is realized. If you have been struggling to find resolve in something or have been stuck in deciding what the next step is, this will likely support you with the insight you need and will show you what needs to be shaken up in your life to help you achieve what you’re wanting to accomplish.

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ARIES, your relationship with your finances, self-esteem, values, and morals may be undergoing a big refresh, supporting you to develop a new perspective and innovate how you manage your finances and talk to yourself. You are also likely beginning to review your social circles and may be identifying how you resonate with them and identify with them, if you identify with them at all anymore. This is a good time for you to redesign your social circles, online presence, and methods of manifestation—you may be doing some inner reflection to consider how you have blocked your wishes from being granted. Perhaps you are more deeply considering how your social circles shape your perceptions of yourself, what you believe you are capable of, and what is possible to accomplish. There is that saying, “You are the blend of the five people you spend the most time with.” This may be a season in which you consider how your community shapes you. Because you are likely feeling motivated to align yourself with bigger perspectives and may be setting some more ambitious financial goals, this is a good time for you to observe how your social world is supporting or restricting your adoption of new values and beliefs. You may be approaching your finances from a drastically different angle, possibly due to a sudden change in your relationship with money or a more enlightened perspective of the vibration of money being gained. Over the next few months, you may feel inclined to act against the grain of what is deemed popular or “normal.” Don’t be afraid to be different and divert from the crowd.

TAURUS, you may be starting to think more about the impact you want to have on the world, what you wish to accomplish professionally, and how you can go about attaining those goals. This is a time of self-development done from a different angle; your understanding of yourself may be quite different, and you may find yourself grasping your self-concept with greater understanding. Your desires for the future and what you envision when you think of your dream life are bound to change in some capacity, as you are asked to draw inward and ask yourself what you wish to accomplish in the public scene and who you wish to show up as. This is a time to become more self-aware of the ways that you enforce old ways of thinking that keep you in a complacent state. You may be faced with rejection from public spaces, or you may feel especially ostracized from the public or your work environment during this retrograde. You may feel as if a switch has flipped within you; something has changed about your very being, and you are now curious to understand what it is and how it pertains to your purpose and vision for the future. While you may feel the pressure to conform to the popular idea or submit to domineering figures, you’re encouraged to keep facing your true North, even if it doesn’t align with the expectations that others hold you to. This is a time of self-mastery and aligning with your higher consciousness, your soul. Intentional investment in yourself under this influence will support your ability to achieve your bigger goals further down the road; don’t let others’ opinions divert you from your focus.

GEMINI, the Uranus cazimi may be leading to some breakthroughs in your spiritual life or mental health. You will likely feel both of these feeling refreshed and renewed, perhaps through a sudden epiphany or some type of mental expansion. Unexplainable concepts and the strangeness of the universe may fascinate you and electrify your curiosity at this time, even if you are usually uncomfortable with concepts or topics that are vague, undefinable, and open-ended. Pluto’s retrograde aims to inspire you to shift your belief systems and methods of learning. This will likely be a season in which many or all of your spiritual beliefs and personal philosophies go under review and you are reassessing how much you resonate with them. This may indicate some form of spiritual expansion or you achieving a new level of enlightenment; you may feel more accepting and open to alternative ways of thinking and unpopular or bizarre ideologies. This may be a time in which you are questioning your spiritual beliefs or other beliefs you have relied upon to help you make sense of the world around you. You may be pulling away from learning from authority figures, educators, and external means and instead are traveling into the depths of your psyche to understand yourself better. This may be a time in which you are liberating yourself from the beliefs that were established through power-centric organizations, which include religious empires and controlling educational environments. Explore your bizarreness with curiosity.

CANCER, Pluto’s retrograde will likely lead you into parts of your consciousness that you have not had the courage to explore, but will likely lead the way to your liberation from fears that have had a grasp on you for a long time. This may be a time in which you will be asked to pull away from society and focus your attention on the transformation happening within your psyche. This may be a time to break free from the limiting beliefs that you have allowed to perpetuate—the fears, negative mindsets, insecurities, and wounds that you have left untouched. You will likely become deeply introspective and self-aware under this energy and will be encouraged to consider the topics of intimacy, trust, sacrifice, and risk and how you relate to and go about engaging in them. If you are in a relationship, this may be a beneficial time to have explorative conversations to identify any weak areas and analyze any of your personal weaknesses that may be restricting your ability to be vulnerable. Uranus’s cazimi may have you undergoing a shift in your social priorities, perhaps leading you to reevaluate who you wish to spend your time with and what social environments and online content you wish to surround yourself with. There may also be a shift in your perception of a lifelong dream or wish you desire to be granted. Be intentional with who and what you invest your time and energy into; this can be a powerful time to deepen a relationship with a loved one, but you will likely have to be selective as you cannot deepen too many connections at once.

LEO, Pluto’s retrograde invites you to shift your awareness to your one-on-one connections, specifically close friendships or your romantic partnership. This may be a time in which you will identify how your close connections have transformed you or where you may mutually need to invest more time and identify how the power dynamics of the relationship need to be rebalanced. The interworkings of your close connections or romantic partnership will likely undergo some reconstruction, which you may feel motivated to initiate due to a shift in your vision for the future or a change in your career. Perhaps you are adopting different priorities for the future and are finding that your relationships are encouraging you to evolve so that you can take action toward your dreams. Changes to your perception of your future, potential, career path, or big vision for success are more likely to occur at this time, especially in sudden or unexpected ways. Pluto’s retrograde will encourage you to investigate the inner narratives you have about relationships, sacrifice, and commitment. In doing so, you may find yourself becoming more motivated and determined to embody your highest potential and start putting more effort toward creating the life and becoming the person you envision yourself living and being. You may begin this season to better understand your perception of relationships or better know your relationship in general, but in doing so, you will likely uncover hidden sources of power within you and gain a far deeper understanding of yourself.

VIRGO, this retrograde invites you to curiously unravel your daily routines and wellness rituals and redesign them to better serve all aspects of you, not just the physical. You could be entering a season or are already in a mental space of isolation; perhaps you have pulled away from unnecessary commitments and are refining what you invest in on a daily basis to make each minute and action count. You are becoming more particular and erecting higher standards for people to have access to you, which may have you realizing that not many people are capable of meeting your new criteria. This retrograde supports you in innovating your wellness rituals, fitness routines, and spiritual practices and asks you to more intentionally consider what you habitually feed yourself—not just food-wise. This, paired with Uranus’s cazimi, alludes to a breakthrough in your spiritual life, personal philosophies, or sense of adventure; you may be allowing yourself to enjoy the ways that you uniquely learn and evolve without criticizing yourself or needing to stick to one methodology or mindset to feel like you’re doing it “right.” You are likely prioritizing wellness more but not from a place of obligation or restricted rigidity; you are finding that when you truly listen to what the body is asking, pleasure is always at the center, and oftentimes, the balance between nutrition and indulgence work themselves out in a healthy mediation. Your physical vessel is the temple in which you pray, your vehicle to adventure, and a sacred space of sanctuary that is yours and yours alone. Use this season to better understand it and what it needs to thrive.

LIBRA, this can be a powerful retrograde for you to redefine how you create, what pleasure means to you, and what your authentic voice truly needs to say. If you are an artist, this may be a time in which you disappear from society to dwell with your creativity on a more intimate level, allowing yourself to be a channel for the flow of creativity; all forms of art created through you may be deeply introspective and reflective of the depths of your psyche. This may be a time in which you are expressing yourself with more assertiveness, or abrasiveness, or are merely being more blatant and honest, which, in a sense, may feel like a revolution happening within your self-expression—you may feel your inner truth finally unleashed at this time. With the Uranus cazimi in Taurus, this may signify an eruption of power that you feel welling up within you, which you likely feel influences the way that you take up space, stand up for yourself, and communicate with others, especially your close loved ones. You may find yourself getting to know your true nature through exploring the spaces of your consciousness that you have been told are off-limits, which may also mean that you are feeling more rebellious against the expectations or desires that others may have for you. Artistry and creativity may feel much more important to you at this time; you may feel inclined to change up your physical appearance in drastic ways. This may also have you connecting with your senses and sexuality with deeper intimacy. Entertain your obscure, strange, and unique ways of thinking and expressing yourself, and make fun a central priority.

SCORPIO, this retrograde asks you to look at your family dynamics, foundational beliefs, and childhood experience with a bit more attentiveness, as you are invited to better understand who you are now by observing and analyzing where you’ve come from. This is a very powerful time for generational trauma or childhood wounds to be healed and released. You may be having a refreshing breakthrough or a jarring epiphany about your romantic life, specifically regarding how you approach relationships and how you may cause disruption within them. If you have been encountering misalignment in a current connection or are finding that it is difficult for you to maintain any form of long-term relationship—business, platonic, or romantic—the Uranus cazimi creates the potential for you to identify the causes of your frustrations and also discover solutions. Pluto’s retrograde may be a time in which you uncover the root cause of any relational issues you’ve been having, which will likely be accomplished through introspective observation of the examples you were provided when you were young. You may be drawing away from your family members or feel ostracized or alienated from them at this time, which may be necessary for you to gain a more objective perspective of your upbringing and the mindsets and beliefs that your caregivers instilled within you. This can be a powerful time to rewrite your foundational beliefs and narratives; you are greatly favored to accomplish deep inner work. While it may require you to deviate drastically from what you’ve been taught to believe, there is a profound opportunity for you to completely redesign the frameworks from which you operate.

SAGITTARIUS, Pluto’s retrograde invites you to transform your inner dialogue and shift your daily mental habits in radical ways. You may be finding your tolerance for surface-level conversation or topics to be quite low at this time, as you are more introspective, deep-thinking, and contemplative of the obscure, unorthodox, and strange. Your usual ways of thinking and talking may be undergoing a significant transformation, which is subsequently altering the way that you interact with those in your immediate circles as well. You may feel inclined to learn about more complex, bizarre, or conceptual topics; your self-awareness and desire to understand the interworkings of your mind are also heightened because of this, which may influence you to read about personality development, psychology, or the formation of habits more frequently. Uranus’s cazimi in Taurus may be renewing and disrupting your daily routines; this could facilitate a shift in your awareness of what you need to optimally operate, which very well could be the cause of your deepened curiosity for self-understanding. You are likely becoming more aware of the expansion and transformation happening in your mental world, and although it may not be noticeable to others externally, you may feel your stream of consciousness changing and be aware of the ripple effect it will have on other areas of your life. Embrace the craving to learn, no matter which direction it is taking you in; this is a time for radical transformation of the mind and intense shifts in perspective.

CAPRICORN, your perception of or relationship with money, your values, your self-esteem, and the material world may be under review at this time, inviting you to redefine what each of them means to you and how you exercise your power through them. You may be assessing how your current streams of income are fulfilling you other than financially and reassessing how they align or misalign with your values. This may be a time in which you are beginning to strategize new streams of income or are beginning a side hustle that feels more in line with who you are to replace your current source of income. You may be identifying how your values have changed and how their evolution has impacted your relationships with yourself, work, money, and your ability to be consistent with things. Uranus’s cazimi may inspire a new era of creativity within you; perhaps you are beginning new creative ventures that are usually outside of your comfort zone or are preparing to share a new creation with the world. Your artistic or creative mind may be hard for others to understand at this time, but you are encouraged to keep exploring your evolving identity and ways of self-expressing. This may be a time in which you are adopting different values or are seeing things in a different light, and because of that, you may feel inspired to alter what you consume—in all areas of life, media, food, conversations, ideas, beliefs, etc. Release creative restrictions and allow yourself to push the artistic boundaries of society.

AQUARIUS, you are invited to draw inward to better know yourself during Pluto’s retrograde, to commune with yourself more frequently, and to become more intimately connected with your identity, purpose, and the calling of your soul. You may feel more introspective and self-aware at this time, even more than usual, and are likely undergoing an invisible transformation, which is beginning in your conscious awareness and will, once Pluto moves into Capricorn, drift into your subconscious awareness. With Uranus’s cazimi, there may be some breakthroughs or radical changes being made in your foundations and basic needs; this could be a time in which you’re becoming better acquainted with what your body and mind need to thrive and operate at their best. Over the next several months, you will likely place more importance on self-restoration, pulling your energy away from others and investing it in yourself. Perhaps you are changing the daily habits that impact your baseline wellness—integrating more movement, eating more intuitively, and drinking more water may be just a few of these. Your relationship with money may also be radically changing, specifically in terms of the security that you find in it. You may be feeling more empowered and self-reliant and are perhaps more motivated to be the initiator of change in the areas of your life that you’d like to see improvement in. Take account of the quality of the support you’re providing for yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. This is a time to make self-nourishment and self-understanding focal points of your attention.

PISCES, Pluto’s retrograde will likely be a season for you to integrate the work that you have done to transform your inner world, mental health, and spiritual consciousness. You may find yourself drawing inward away from society with the intention to better know yourself and prioritize your inner peace. This may be a time in which you start meeting with a therapist or spiritual counselor to help you understand the changes that you’ve felt on a subconscious and immaterial level, as you may have trouble identifying their meaning or purpose on your own. Uranus’s cazimi may indicate a breakthrough or grand epiphany that you experience in your conscious mind; a realization or idea may dawn upon you while going about your day. This may feel like your mind is electrified and is suddenly capable of working at a faster pace and with more flexibility. This could be a time for eccentric or strange ideas to be entertained; you are encouraged to jot them down without questioning their origin or reason for coming into your awareness. You might feel as if your mind is expanding or evolving at a rapid pace in the coming days, which will leave you with a lot to consider and digest mentally. Over the next several months, during Pluto’s retrograde, you are given the opportunity to deepen your understanding of your spiritual self—your soul—by delving into the depths of your subconscious mind and actively investigating its complexity. Use your time alone intentionally and choose to see the magic in the mystery of your inner world.