Pluto has entered the shadow until it goes retrograde in May. The pre-shadow period sets the stage for coming events that will provide the opportunity to “review” psychological patterns you’ve come to rely on, but that don’t support the transformation now necessary in some aspect of your life. Without a doubt, Pluto will drive your survival instincts into high gear through situations that challenge your capacity to control life. The need to surrender, relinquish, improve, or regenerate can manifest through relationships, a professional goal, a fateful encounter, intimate connection, or a personal loss. Pluto has rulership over things that are buried, garbage, and elimination, and during its retrograde cycle, you’ll need to deal with the sh#t, if you will, that you’ve been avoiding.
The catalyst for transformation can range from powerful events that leave you feeling either overly-emotional or emotionally detached or bring the end of an emotionally tumultuous period. On a minor scale, this can be day-to-day emotional drama playing out or issues of lack within the household.
The most obvious changes visible for the collective are those taking place within government. You can clearly see the manifestation of a shadowy Pluto playing out with Kevin McCarthy and the vote for House Speaker. Other situations may connect to death, crisis, or transitions related to a parent or prominent persons and domestic issues and concerns which may center on women, especially the mother. This can signify the end of a home or parental cycle and some of these changes may center on travel plans or a move. Contact with those in foreign or faraway places could have a profound impact.
The kickoff to Pluto’s backward trek will emphasize more than one area of life. Pluto is part of a stellium of concentrated energy directed toward work, health, and the daily routine, but will also affect partnerships–these may be deeply intertwined. You can expect a dramatic change that causes upheaval in the work environment that could make daily working conditions feel complicated as a result of a reorganization or relocation. This might be attributed to shifts in departments, job responsibilities, or personnel changes that require long-term preparation, implementation, or resolution.
In fact, this is the time to review your efficiency and whether you’re working longer or harder than necessary. A “one-shot” opportunity offered by the Part of Fortune indicates fulfillment found in work, self-improvement, and self-discipline. While ancient astrologers viewed the Part of Fortune located in a cadent house as weak and ineffectual, it may be strengthened with powerful luck in cazimi with the Sun. Opening the doorway to the full extent of your creativity may allow for a more powerful way of experiencing life. The focus is to regenerate the financial picture and reorganize your time to work more productively instead of as a workaholic. You can buckle under a heavy workload that is detail oriented and mentally taxing. If you’re self-employed, you may need to hire help that frees you to work on other projects or prevent errors that may prove costly for business.
Pluto’s opposition to the Part of Commerce indicates a decision concerning personal gain and profit through communication and stimulates the “millionaire’s degree.” However, the retrograde and combust state of Mercury, planet of communication, makes its influence problematic, weak, and invisible. Words should be used with caution particularly when dealing with authority figures to avoid misunderstandings and entanglements.
This period can mark the end of a professional career cycle or a major career change on the horizon. Power in the work place can be an issue and you may decide to use personal power to leverage your success through negotiations for a higher salary or promotion. Negatively, you can find yourself in power struggles with coworkers or someone who has power over you. Backroom maneuvers and undercurrents dictate the sources of contention that make it difficult to confront what is never openly communicated. As a result, you may feel guarded with the need to protect yourself from underhanded manipulative tactics. Perhaps you have very little power over your own schedule or expectations. Differences of opinion, conflicts with your employers or disputes over new procedures can make it difficult for you to continue in your present position and you may decide to quit. If not, choosing to remain in a job you hate could take its toll on your health.
The more stressful the environment and/or the more you’re manipulated or controlled by those in your environment, the greater the possibility for health issues to arise. Unexpected events that affect career or social standing can influence decisions about how you react to physical illness and also the experiences of suffering and struggle. The use of force or jealousy from or toward you may be excessive and no-win situations are particularly upsetting and illness-inducing, especially if you feel you have little control over psychological and physical health. You may be overwhelmed by compulsions or addictions to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, or junk food, but the consequences of long-standing, chronic, and poor health habits must now be addressed. Fortunately, this influence is supportive of breaking bad habits and taking control of your health.
Where power plays a role in relationships, the growth mechanism in consciousness can be love or hate. Acquaintances or business partnerships can provoke conflict where one party becomes the trigger for powerlessness. Perhaps you’re locked in a struggle where each of you is trying to meet certain goals. However, as either perpetrator or victim of blatant manipulation, much of the struggle may be covertly nonverbal and the aggressor will either knowingly or unconsciously trigger the reaction in the other. Opponents are likely to go to any lengths or use underhanded behavior that blocks progress while also making it difficult to reciprocate in kind. In some cases, this suggests a legal confrontation.
If you have difficulty in being assertive, situations force you to consider the unconscious need to maintain power while interacting. The tendency may be to assign what happens to you as good or bad or blaming others until you realize that situations and encounters are mirrors of your own inner psychic impulses.
Intimate personal or family relationships involving conflict or constant bickering will grant subtle insights into psychological complexes. Difficulties may include obsessions, compulsions, addictions, or jealousies where manipulation and game-playing is used as the means to control. In other cases, shyness, feelings of inferiority, the hopelessness of a relationship, or falsehood and disappointment are the stressors. In a marriage or love affair, this can push your bond to the brink producing a crisis point that requires you to redefine the entire nature of your relationship. Love/hate power dynamics dictate that one of you does as the other wishes in order to suppress unconscious fears.
However, it’s also possible to achieve greater intimacy if you’re willing to work to strengthen your commitment. If you’re in need of a deeper, more intimate relationship than your loved one is capable of providing, you may seek counseling, end your relationship, or look for other avenues for intimate exchanges. A fated event is scheduled to occur rooted in the desire to manage your own life and this may bring destined situations involving challenging associations with friends and groups that test the ability to love altruistically, and at times, to forgive and let go of the past. In some cases, this involves children, both your own and those under your care.
If you’re single and unattached, this can be a significant period that brings a strong attraction to someone new or that you’ve been previously acquainted with. Your desire for a new level of intimacy can prompt you to choose someone against type. For some, that connection may drive faith or trust issues involving a younger, handsome male or someone who’s older, but youthful and physically attractive. In fact, you may experience a soul-level relationship where a karmic attraction forces you to seriously question all past and present relationships. Lost loves may return for increased intimacy and in-depth encounters. Even non-romantic relationships can feel overpowering and brief encounters can have a tremendous effect on your life.