Pluto: A Master of Shadows and Silence

Hello Pluto Retrograde - a once a year occurrence that lasts several months. This is present in our awareness at the moment as Pluto entered Aquarius last year and it will stay there until 2044. We’ll be going over and over…and over these themes for a minute. Each upcoming year will provide a new layer to be revealed, as that’s Pluto’s work - reveal, uncover and transform. It doesn’t ask questions, it claims. Power or people.

In myth, Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld. It rules over the dead, a guardian of buried treasure and sovereign of what lies beneath. Deep and dark, but rich in meaning. Known to the Greeks as Hades, he’s the silent brother of Zeus and Poseidon, governing the realm of shadows with a steady hand and a strict sense of justice. Far from evil, Pluto embodies the power of hidden truth and the wealth found in the depths. Be it soul gold or subterranean minerals.

Astrologically, he rules transformation, power, our relationship to death, rebirth and the unseen forces that shape us from the inside out. He doesn’t knock.

He excavates.

To meet Pluto is to descend, willingly or not. He strips away what is false, breaks what is brittle and reminds us that real power begins where comfort ends. In his world, nothing truly dies. It evolves.

Pluto’s mythological father, Saturn, is the God of time, boundaries and divine order. If Saturn builds the walls, Pluto reveals what’s buried behind them. Saturn limits so we learn; Pluto destroys so we can rebuild. Together, they’re the cosmic duo that trigger major reckonings, personal and collective.

Pluto retrograde in Aquarius is like the universe hitting “undo” on the collective tech-fuelled trance, peeling back layers of illusion around progress, community and power structures. This isn’t surface-level; it’s deep, raw and asks:

“Where have we given our autonomy away in exchange for belonging or convenience?”

Ask that again.

This period, spanning from 4th May to 13th October 2025, is a profound time for introspection, transformation and confronting hidden truths, particularly in areas governed by Aquarius such as social structures, technology and collective ideals. Are these in the name of true progress and (r)evolution or disruption for disruption’s sake?

Expect subtle (up)risings, personal awakenings masked as glitches in the system and a call to reclaim your inner rebel-mystic. The future is being rewritten - by your pen, your words (wait until we get into Uranus’ summer ingress into Gemini!), your powers. Are you spiralling into it consciously or being dragged by outdated code?

Pluto doesn’t play nice. He plays for keeps. But his lessons are nothing short of evolutionary.

I write this from London. This city has been my home since 1996. It’s on one of my Pluto lines and it has been a catalyst for change and growth ever since, but especially in the last 10 years. Growth and change are big themes in my life, not just right now, but as a blueprint - NN in the 9th and a mutable Mercury-Uranus Square. From moving countries (twice) to reinventing my vision(s), these shifts are rarely small or linear. Consistent change in the name of growth is the message here. Keep changing in order to create stability. In life and within the self. This sentence alone requires its own write up. But change, I do. Grow, I do.

Or so I think.

I am now faced with the theme of “false growth” as my body has decided to grow something in order to get my attention. Everything is fine. I am relatively healthy and in harmony with most things in and around my life. This “false growth” came as an insight after doing some research on this current health challenge. These are Scorpio-Virgo themes, both of which are activated in my chart, at the moment (health, transformation, detox, research, rebirth).

In a mini meltdown in February, I realised that my “growth” in how I handle a particular recurring challenge, even with the awareness and tools I have, was mi.ni.mal. I would fall back on old patterns. With my eyes wide shut. I had become a false master of change in one area of my life (precisely where Pluto has been doing its thing in my chart since 2010) even when the Universe had provided catalysts over and over…and over again.

I am now invited into the Circles of Hades as an honourable guest, instead of a suffered-seeker. I am that catalyst. Here I am, living and breathing a Pluto square, as we enter the Pluto retrograde, on one of my Pluto lines. Insert all the sighs. This is currently proving to be the soil for this new chapter ahead.

“Resistance is the path to renewal.”

This Pluto retrograde reminds us that spiritual wisdom often comes not through striving, but through experience, silence and the courage to let the murkiness settle, so we can see what truly rises.

I’m lucky to have some super powerful and inspiring women in my life and just this week one of them said to me: “You don’t let people see ALL of you.” That landed right to the bottom of that Hades Circle.

That’s what I aim to do for you. I write it, I speak it, I practice it. I am here to see YOU for all of you. And yet... she is right. I don’t. Let you see all of me. My Pisces-Cancer-Virgo self would rather spend time hermitting away and yet, I’d like to continue letting you in a little more. Some of you have read my poems, others have witnessed me - front row and all, others still have no idea what I do, dream or write about. And that’s all exactly as it needs to be.

My intention is to continue letting you into the messy and the mesmerising. The divine chaos in (most) of its forms. This wise woman also offered me this invitation: “Get even more personal, but stay private.” My 3rd house Pluto in Scorpio loves this.

Enter a (re)newed chapter of re(claiming) myself. I’m dying to be reborn.

12h52 | 4th May 2025

Here’s how the Pluto retrograde will affect you, based on the house in which Pluto is currently moving through in your chart.

1. Pluto retrograde in your 1st House:
   Your identity is under renovation. Expect existential edits and unapologetic rebirths.
   

2. Pluto retrograde in your 2nd House:
   Money, worth and what you cling to are up for a soul-deep software update.
   

3. Pluto retrograde in your 3rd House:
   Your voice, thoughts and message are being debugged. Less noise, more truth.
   

4. Pluto retrograde in your 4th House:
   Root-level rewrites are coming. Ancestral ghosts, childhood patterns and home vibes included.
   

5. Pluto retrograde in your 5th House:
   Creative spark or romantic entanglement? Either way, something’s dying to be reborn.
   

6. Pluto retrograde in your 6th House:
   Microscope on your habits. The daily rhythms, health and the way you “do” service get a deep cleanse.
   

7. Pluto retrograde in your 7th House:
   Power dynamics in your partnerships hit the spotlight. Are you merging or losing yourself?
   

8. Pluto retrograde in your 8th House:
   Shadow work, intimacy and shared assets call for fearless truth-telling and letting go.
   

9. Pluto retrograde in your 9th House:
   Your beliefs, studies or sense of meaning are being stripped down to the bone. So you can rebuild wiser.
   

10. Pluto retrograde in your 10th House:
    Your public role, ambition or reputation goes through a pressure test. What’s built to last will stay.

    
    

11. Pluto retrograde in your 11th House:
    Friends, networks and your vision of the future get a wake-up call. Ditch the crowd, find your crew.
    

12. Pluto retrograde in your 12th House:
    The unconscious is stirring; it’s time to confront your inner saboteur and reclaim your inner mystic.