Pluto, creeping in Capricorn since 2008, shifts into reverse tomorrow. Not that you would be able to tell. That’s because Pluto has been all but stationary for a week, a pace that will continue for a week more. In fact, it’s part of Pluto’s astrology that even the most respected references disagree on just when and where Pluto does change direction. One thing we all can agree on when Pluto stations retrograde is that it’s a symbolic and literal case of hurry up and wait. While you’re waiting this time, you’ll want to watch what’s going on because you’ll want to remember what happened.
One thing to remember is that Pluto never actually moves backwards. In reality, we’re moving to pass between Pluto and the Sun, witness to an illusion borne of perspective. On the zodiac, Pluto is preparing to pass over the same slice of Capricorn for a second time. As all that comes to pass, one thing you’ll want to watch, and remember, is Ceres.
Pluto’s retrograde turn takes place as dwarf planet Ceres enters Taurus. For 13 months, Ceres has been another example of hurry up and wait, but now that case is finally coming to a close. Ceres will normally move through a sign in a few months, but its own long retrograde in 2011 kept it oscillating between Pisces and Aries for more than a year. The reason you’ll want to keep an eye on Ceres as Pluto stations is part mythology, part astrology, and in part its timing with events in your life.
In mythology, Ceres and Pluto were adversaries. Their object of contention was Persephone, Ceres’ daughter, kidnapped by Pluto in a case of old-boy complicity that very nearly brought life on Earth to an untimely end. Interestingly, the asteroid Persephone entered Leo over the weekend, symbolically placing mother and daughter in a tense relationship (a square), all while Pluto is essentially stationary on the edge.