Pluto turns retrograde today, and will continue it’s travel back in time through September of this year. Pluto spends more time retrograde than any other planet, which is only fitting since it is the planet that more than any other takes us through the underground and forces us, kicking and screaming, into transformation.

From Skywatch for April:

Ever since December, we have been experiencing a lack of planets in the Fire element. Fire provides the inspiration and energy to take action, and that inspiration has been missing over the past few months. That is about to change during the first few days of April as Mercury (mental functions) and then Venus (love and beauty) join the Sun in the fiery sign of Aries. This should give us all a bit of a boost in our physical energy, but it does mean that during the first week of April both Mercury and Venus will be square to Pluto. Pluto intensifies everything that it comes into contact with and tends to dredge up anything that is hidden, so this is no time for secrets. The truth will come out under the Pluto influence, and this is all for the best.

Speaking of Pluto, Pluto has been “stationing” (slowing down to a standstill) in preparation for its annual retrograde turn on April 2. With Pluto retrograde, or appearing to be moving backwards from our perspective here on earth, we tend to experience its influence a little more deeply as it pressures us to go back and review the debris in our life that is keeping us from moving forward. Pluto rules over our spiritual destiny, and sometimes using a heavy hand to keep us on track.

Saturn comes within a degree or two of a trine to Pluto during most of April, which helps to give form and structure (Saturn) to Pluto’s urge to destroy and create new life. Saturn’s stability helps us to create strong structures out of the wreckage of what we leave behind under Pluto, and is a wonderful ally in this process.

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