Pluto Retrograde Changes These Signs From the Inside Out
Transformation isn't always cute, but it is necessary đ
What: Pluto Retrograde in Aquarius
When: May 6 - Oct. 15, 2026
Whoâs Impacted: EVERYONE (truly), but esp. the signs below đ
TL;DR: the power planetâs backtrack through the fixed air sign is your five-month summons to reclaim your agency from the feelings and fears youâve long repressed.
Yesterday, I spent much of my workday in a sulky, resentful mood. Again and again, I checked Instagram to see the âperformance metricsâ of recent posts (one for my account, one for my short film, Queens of Noise), as other peopleâs filmmaking / business / personal brand success popped onto my feed. These accounts had reels and carousel posts that performed so much better than my own (in likes, follows, and views). I was envious, furious, and insecure. Then, I felt incredibly stupid for feeling so furiously, insecurely envious. Yes, I tried to talk sense into myselfâso did my lovingly rational Libra partnerâbut then Rage and Resentment joined the Feeling Party, saying to the others: âWeâd like to edge in here, and see if we can drive this chick insane. What do you think?â Naturally, Fury, Envy and Shame obliged, saying: âSure! The more self-destructive feelings we can pile into her head, the better!â And boy, did they deliver.
It wasnât until I was nearly tearing up in frustration (because it, too, joined the Feeling Party) and labeling myself a social media failure who should just quit at everything because nobody likes me that I realized just how ridiculously insane this volcanic eruption of intense feelings was. I was envious, resentful, raging, furious, and insecure over social media metrics? My jealousy over what others were accomplishing had completely distorted my reality. (The green-eyed monster doth mock the meat it feeds on, indeed!) Where had my dignity and common sense gone? The answer, of course, has much to do with Pluto Retrograde. Because from May 6th through October 15th, the planet of metamorphosis and all things under the surface, retrogrades in the fixed air sign, but intense brooding over your power and potency isnât the only thing on the menu.
The TRUTH About Pluto Retrograde in Aquarius
Like a navel-gazing emo kid, Plutoâs 2026 Retrograde pulls focus to the Aquarius part of your life, prompting a deep reflection of the massive changes currently unfurling there. Chances are, these slow shifts have already revealed some significant truths about how you handle change, obsession, power dynamics, and those above-named unpleasant feelings (envy, shame, rage, resentment, etc.). Those âuglyâ feelings tend to rise to the surface during Pluto Retrograde, as something in our life that has been suppressed or repressed is being exhumed from the underworld of our personal and collective psyche. I apparently let such feelings consume me until I pull an Othello and full-on Desdemona my socials. (In my defense, though, Iâm a Leo Rising/Mars/Jupiter, so dramatic overreactions are in my blood. Anyway!)
đ Pluto is asking you to look under the surface. Letâs understand the shadows and reclaim your power together with birth chart reading.
As Pluto retrogrades through Aquarius, weâre moving through a slow but intense brooding period on what needs to be transformed, transmuted, and overhauled in this part of your chart. It is a transit to get curious about what has been repressed, suppressed, or stolen from us; to examine our relationship to powerâhow we amass it or give it awayâand take a deeper look at what is transforming, decomposing, and being rebuilt in our lives. When weâre working consciously with Pluto Retrograde, we embrace the introspection and willingly look at whatâs uncomfortable (be it a power dynamic, fear, obsession, etc.); when we arenât working constructively with Pluto Retrograde, we do as I do and let the heavier feelings distort our perception of reality and turn us into Othello.
