How many days a year is Pluto retrograde?

162.6 days on average between 2016 and 2036 — 44.5% of the time. It varies from 161 to 164 days depending on the year, because the synodic period does not divide evenly into a calendar year.

When is Pluto retrograde in 2026?

6 May to 16 October 2026 in Aquarius.

What is a retrograde shadow period?

The stretch before and after the retrograde when the planet is covering the same degrees it will go back over. We compute it from the definition: the shadow opens when the planet first reaches the degree the retrograde will end on, and closes when it returns to the degree it began on. That roughly doubles the affected window.

Is Pluto retrograde actually moving backwards?

No. It is an apparent effect: we are watching from a planet that is also moving, and when the geometry lines up the other planet appears to slide backwards against the stars. Nothing changes about its actual orbit.

Pluto retrograde 2026

Pluto is retrograde 163 days this year — 44.6% of it. It turns back once every 366.73 days, which is why the count drifts from one year to the next.

Year by year: Pluto retrograde 2023, Pluto retrograde 2024, Pluto retrograde 2025, Pluto retrograde 2026, Pluto retrograde 2027, Pluto retrograde 2028, Pluto retrograde 2029, Pluto retrograde 2030, Pluto retrograde 2031 and Pluto retrograde 2032.

The planets either side of it: Neptune retrograde.

Pluto Retrograde 2026: Exact Dates, Shadow Periods and How Often It Happens

Right now · 15 September 2026

Yes — retrograde

♇ Aquarius 2.89°

Moving backward 0.0132° per day. Direct again on 16 October 2026.

What the other pages do not tell you

The part that is measurable

44.5% of all days in 2016–2036, 162.6 a year on average — about one day in 2.

163 days of 2026 with the shadows counted, against 163 of retrograde proper — 45% of the year.

161–164 days in the lightest and heaviest year of 2016–2036.

2026 in detail

Pluto's stations in 2026, in UTC, with the degree inside the sign.

Period 1 of 1 · 163 days · retreats 2.45°

6 May → 16 October 2026

Stations retrograde 6 May 2026, 07:08 UTC · Aquarius 5.13°

Stations direct 16 Oct 2026, 00:23 UTC · Aquarius 2.69°

Falls in Aquarius, which traditionally colours it toward independence, principle and distance from the herd

Which signs it happens in

51 retrograde periods of Pluto between 2000 and 2050, grouped by the sign the station falls in. They fall in only 4 signs — Pluto spends years in each sign, so half a century of retrogrades covers just a few of them.

20 Aquarius · 39.2% 15 Capricorn · 29.4% 8 Sagittarius · 15.7% 8 Pisces · 15.7%

Other years

2023 162 days retrograde 2024 162 days retrograde 2025 163 days retrograde 2026 163 days retrograde 2027 163 days retrograde 2028 163 days retrograde 2029 163 days retrograde 2030 163 days retrograde 2031 163 days retrograde 2032 163 days retrograde

Was Pluto retrograde when you were born? All retrograde planets How this is calculated

Why Pluto turns back

Pluto orbits outside Earth's path, so it appears to reverse around opposition — the weeks when Earth overtakes it on the inside track. Earth and Pluto line up again every 366.73 days, and across 2016–2036 a single retrograde lasted 163 days on average. Not one of those 21 years went without one.

Tradition ties Pluto to power, compulsion and what will not be negotiated with, and reads its retrograde as the time to go back over them. At 44.5% of all days, that advice covers a sizeable part of any year; the shadow dates in the table are explained on the retrograde overview.