Pluto Return… Again?!
Yes Pluto, that pesky dwarf planet way beyond the Kuiper Belt, is going to return to 27°33’ Capricorn again on July 11th, but what does that even mean? And honestly, why should I care?!
Retrogrades
First you gotta understand what a retrograde is.
All of the planets in our solar system rotate around the sun, but not in a perfect circle. Their rotations are more like squashed circles, creating more of an oblong or egg shaped route around that big star in the center we call our sun.
Because of the oblong shape of each planet’s rotation, there are times when any two given planets are closer together than usual, as well as much farther apart.
Astrology is a Geocentric study of the solar system, meaning that it tracks the movements of the planets as they relate to us here on Earth. We astrologers are well aware that the planets don’t actually revolve around our green and blue planet, but this is the point at which we view the goings ons of the solar system. So when a planet is closer or farther away from our home planet that is important to take note of.
So, when a planet is retrograde the distance between that planet and Earth is growing, effectively making it seem as though the planet is moving backwards away from Earth. Once again, fear not, astrologers know that the planets never actually move backwards in their rotations, but that is how it appears from our geocentric point of view.
How We Measure the Sky
In Tropical astrology we utilize a map of the cosmos from our point of view on this planet which is called the zodiacal wheel.
The zodiacal wheel is split up into 12 segments with each of the segments being named after the 12 constellations which used to be on the ecliptic, meaning that the sun passed through all the actual constellations of Aries through Pisces during those sun sign seasons once upon a time. It doesn’t anymore due to the backwards rotation of the Earth in relation to the stars (-1° every 72 years), which is called the Procession of the Ages.
Raise your hand if some of that went over your head. Yeah that’s ok, but what you need to keep in mind is that 27°33’ Capricorn is a very precise location on this map called the zodiacal wheel, and it marks an important astrological occurrence: The United State’s Pluto return.
What is a Pluto Return?
I wrote a nice long article about Pluto returns and what it might mean for the US right before the first exact Pluto return earlier in 2022, so read that to catch up a bit.
Basically, a Pluto return is when Pluto returns to the exact same spot as its natal position, AKA the chart that was cast at the birth of something like a nation, empire, corporation, etc.
Humans never have a Pluto return since the dwarf planet has a roughly 248 year orbit and, well, humans simply don’t live that long! Emphasis on the word roughly, because Pluto has a very erratic orbit, meaning that the squashed circle that is the shape of its solar rotation is particularly squashed. The more oblong the orbit pattern, the more varied the number of Earth years said orbit will take.
This is important to keep in mind because it has only been 246 years since the US was declared its own nation in 1776. However, let’s think again about the map of the stars known as the zodiacal wheel…
On July 4th 1776 at 4:50 pm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the Declaration of Independence was written and agreed upon. At that precise moment in time Pluto was at 27°33’ Capricorn on the zodiacal wheel, making that the natal placement of the United States’ Pluto.
This year in 2022 is the first time since that date in 1776 that Pluto has returned to that exact location on the zodiacal wheel, and thus marking the official first Pluto return for the US!
What Does a Pluto Return Do?
Once again, go read the previous article I wrote in order to get some background info on how other nations have been affected by their previous Pluto returns, but when a planet returns to its natal position, a new cycle begins.
Every year humans have a solar return when the sun returns to the exact position of our natal sun; this time marks the astrological birthday and begins a new one year cycle. It shows our larger focus for the next year in our lives.
Every 2 years Mars returns to the exact location it was at in the natal chart, and it marks a new 2 year cycle, showing us where we will be focusing our energy over the next 2 years. In fact, the US will have its next Mars return on October 5th 2022, but more on that later.
Pluto is the planet of the underworld god, it represents truth seeking, transformation, power and wealth. When a new 250 year cycle begins, the last one must end. For many countries, nations and especially empires, a Pluto return is a time of great upheaval.
It’s normal for famines and diseases to break out during this time, inequities are shown plainly, and governments fight for control--sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it?
During a Pluto return, all the muck that has been hidden under the surface comes out into the light in order to be dealt with.
Wait, What Happened During the First Pluto Return?
Yes, on February 20th 2022 Pluto made its first pass through 27°33’ Capricorn. At that time the US was dealing with another wave of Covid and the war started by Russia with Ukraine began.
The overarching themes at the time had to do with matters of the 2nd house, which is the house in which the United States’ Pluto return is happening. The 2nd house deals with money, resources, tangible things and ownership.
Since the March 2020 lockdown in the US there has been a huge and continuing labor rights movement in the US with the Great Resignation and the fight for workers unions. Employees from huge corporations like John Deere and Starbucks have been working to gain more rights and establish unions all over the country, despite companies' best efforts to union bust.
There is no denying that the topic of fair wages, fair working conditions and better jobs hasn’t been a focal point in the US, but even beyond that, many are fighting against the livability of the current capitalistic structure which only serves to benefit the uber rich. The wage gap now is larger than the French Revolution as well as the gap which led to the Great Depression.
In short, money-wise the future of this nation is bleak.
The sustainable future of the US is unclear, but that’s unsurprising seeing as the US still has two more exact Pluto returns.
Retrograde Pluto Return
Pluto stationed retrograde on April 29th 2022 at 28°35’ Capricorn, just over a degree away from the exact placement of the natal Pluto at 27°33’ Capricorn. In the weeks and months since then, Pluto has been slowly crawling back to make a 2nd exact Pluto return on July 11th.
This means that when Pluto stations direct on December 3rd at 26°51’ Capricorn, it will make another cross over 27°33’ Capricorn on December 28th 2022.
There are 3 focal points this year in the story of the United States’s exact Pluto return.
A Story in Three Parts
It’s quite common for this to happen, for an aspect in astrology to happen three times exactly in the span of a year, and it is because of the aforementioned retrograde period of the planets.
Since Pluto will be moving backwards for all intents and purposes from April 29th to December 3rd, that means it will be going back over certain degrees on the map (AKA the zodiacal wheel).
The way to work with this, both with the US Pluto return and for any aspect in your own transit charts, is to think about it like a stage play.
Act one is the first exact aspect, that was February 20th for the US Pluto return. This is where the story is set and characters are introduced.
Act 2 is when the transit planet (the one in the solar system) is retrograde and returns to the exact aspect again. This is when the conflict is introduced.
Act 3 is when the transit planet is direct again and returns once more to make the exact aspect from earlier in the year. This is when a resolution is found.
Now, it’s good to keep in mind that we will not see all of the turmoil of the US come to a nice little conclusion by the end of December this year, however, we can expect some news and movement which creates a certain end to some stories.
What to Expect on July 11th
Pluto will be retrograde for this second act, meaning that the energy of Pluto (transformation, truth seeking, power, and wealth) will be internalized. Retrograde energy is turned inward, so there might be a lot more going on behind the scenes in the US government than we normal citizens are privy to.
I expect that we should be on the lookout for more information about the internal goings ons of the US government and all its branches. We may only get whispers of information on the 11th itself, but nothing that happens on that day will stay secret from the general public for long.
It’s honestly hard to sit here and say that things can get worse, but it’s a lie to say that they both can’t and won’t. As I sit here and write this on July 4th of all days, The supreme court has been working diligently for over a week to strip away as many previously fought for and earned rights as possible.
The idea of ownership, which falls under the 2nd house, comes to mind. Less and less of our lives as individuals is ours to own, and this trend won’t likely end soon, if we’re looking at it from an astrological point of view.
US Mars Return
On October 5th Mars will be in the exact same position it was in at the birth of the United States, marking a new two year cycle in the US.
Mars is the planet of ambition, drive, action and energy, so when we experience a Mars return we are setting an intention towards what we will be actively pursuing in the next 2 years. This means that any new bills or amended bills, any court cases, any new elected officials and their plans, etc. will set the tone for what the US will be working towards in the next 2 years.
So, the internal conflicts that will be created during the 2nd Pluto return on July 11th will likely come into the light by October when the official US Mars return begins.
However
Mars will also be stationing retrograde, something the red planet does only once every two years. Last time it happened during some of the final debates between Biden and Trump, and anyone who watched those knows that a lot of words were said, but ultimately nothing was truly said at the end of the day. If only the white house had an astrologer because that was a mess!
Mars will be retrograde from October 30th 2022 through January 12th 2023. The 2nd exact Mars return for the US will be on November 23rd 2022, with Mars being retrograde and guiding the US to amend and tweak the original plan.
The final exact Mars return for the US will be on March 6th 2023 after it has stationed direct. So while the plan will be set into motion on October 5th, it won’t be finalized until March 6th of next year.
What Can We Do?
Be loud.
Be angry.
Be optimistic about what the future can hold.
Remember that joy is a radical form of rebellion.
Connect with your community.
Stay abreast of the news, but don’t spend all day in front of a screen.
As John Green said recently in a tiktok, we’re living in the middle of history. And while, yes, we always are--right now we are certainly living through some dense and unforgettable chapters in the next generation’s history books.
We don’t have all the answers, and while astrology is one tool which can help parse together some semblance of comfort and knowledge, we don’t really know what is going to come next.
It is through the action of regular humans, like you and me, working together which can change the world.
What can you do today to help shape the future of the United States?