What this period actually is
Between May 14, 2031 and October 24, 2031 Pluto moves back through 2.4 degrees of the zodiac, from 13°39' Aquarius to 11°16' Aquarius, without changing its own direction at any point. Pluto is further out than Earth, so the 163 days between May 14, 2031 and October 24, 2031 are the stretch in which Earth overtakes it on the inside track and the planet appears to fall behind.
The mechanism behind the Pluto station of May 14, 2031 is the same one described in what retrograde motion is. Read astrologically, the convention is that Pluto — power, pressure and what will not stay buried — turns inward between May 14, 2031 and October 24, 2031, which is a habit of reading rather than a claim about the sky.
The dates in full
Station retrograde: May 14, 2031 at 13°39' Aquarius, 20:27 UTC. Station direct: October 24, 2031 at 11°16' Aquarius, 23:13 UTC. The whole retrograde stays inside Aquarius: the band from 13°39' Aquarius back to 11°16' Aquarius is the stretch Pluto crosses three times.
What the period is good for
For the 163 days between May 14, 2031 and October 24, 2031 the workable version of the advice is narrow: work with the slow internal pressure rather than against it.
If one thing is worth timing around the stretch that ends October 24, 2031, it is expecting a generational cycle to produce a dated event — not because the sky forbids it, but because a marked period is a reasonable prompt to check work you would otherwise wave through. Treating the whole of May 14, 2031 to October 24, 2031 as a general curse is the version worth ignoring.
Which house it falls in for your sign
Counted from each sign as the first house, this Pluto retrograde, stationing at 13°39' Aquarius falls here:
| Sign | House | What that house covers |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | 11th house | friends, groups, networks and what you are aiming at |
| Taurus | 10th house | career, public standing and what you are known for |
| Gemini | 9th house | distance, study, belief, travel and the long view |
| Cancer | 8th house | shared money, debt, intimacy and what is not said out loud |
| Leo | 7th house | partners, opponents and anyone you deal with one to one |
| Virgo | 6th house | work, routine, health and the small maintenance of a life |
| Libra | 5th house | play, romance, children and anything you make for its own sake |
| Scorpio | 4th house | home, family, roots and private ground |
| Sagittarius | 3rd house | conversation, short trips, siblings and daily information |
| Capricorn | 2nd house | money, possessions and what you consider yours |
| Aquarius | 1st house | your own bearing, appearance and the first move |
| Pisces | 12th house | rest, solitude, what is behind you and what runs unattended |
The cycle either side of this one
The previous Pluto retrograde ended 203 days before this one began, and the next station comes 204 days after October 24, 2031.
- Previous: May 12, 2030 to October 23, 2030
- Next: May 15, 2032 to October 25, 2032
- All Pluto retrograde periods: the full list
Questions people ask about this
When does Pluto go retrograde in 2031?
On May 14, 2031 at 20:27 UTC, at 13°39' Aquarius.
When does it end?
The direct station falls on October 24, 2031 at 11°16' Aquarius, 163 days after the turn.
What is the shadow period?
The stretch either side of May 14, 2031 to October 24, 2031 in which the planet re-crosses the same degrees; the dates fall outside the published range here.
Does Pluto retrograde break things?
No. Between May 14, 2031 and October 24, 2031 the planet only appears to reverse, and the tradition reads that as a stretch better suited to review than to launch.