Retrograde! But, Make It Fashion: Pluto
Welcome back, friends, and welcome to the fashion show... sort of.
SIDE NOTE HERE: Most of what you are about to read, below, will be repeated in each of the mini blogs about this series. I chose to do this because not everyone reads each individual blog and it is important to discuss some of the general information in each post. This way, if someone only reads one post, they still gain the benefit of the knowledge below. So, if you plan to read all the posts about this series, please forgive the repetition in some of them.
I call this mini illustration series: Retrograde, but Make it Fashion. It's a strange title for a strange idea. However, the origins of my idea for this series' concept does have a grounding in the logical world. I'm not completely in the clouds with this one... well, not entirely. lol
Last December, Venus was stationed retrograde and I had the idea for an illustration. Venus is the planet that governs pleasure, beauty, and attraction (among other things) in astrology. I was thinking a fun way to personify Venus was to transform her into a kind of Supermodel walking down the runway, or posing at the end of it, or just about to turn... I hadn't planned out all the details, because I ended up not working on it within the time frame of when Venus was in retrograde. So, I shelved the idea, until now. With so many planets currently in retrograde right now, I thought, "why don't I pull that Venus retrograde illustration idea out of the morgue and modify it to these other planets?" Thus the pursuit of making a little illustration series on the subject ensued.
I remember making a note on the Venus Illustration entry in my Idea Journal. The title was originally Venus, Sashay Away. It is a reference to the very popular drag competition show Ru Paul's Drag Race. Ru Paul, when she is eliminating a contestant, uses the signature phrase (modified/based on her hit song Supermodel) "Sashay, Away!" There's an animated GIF of it that I like to use sometimes and it ALWAYS gives me a private chuckle. I thought it an appropriate way to conceptualize a planet's astrological retrograde period.
I'm sure you have been asking this question to yourself (and to me) since you started reading this post. Probably you were wondering, in your mind,"what on earth is he even talking about." Well, funny you should think that. Our position and view here on earth have EVERYTHING to do with explaining what a retrograde is. A retrograde (or planetary retrograde) is when a planet seems to be moving backward in the sky from our perspective here on Earth. In reality: No, planets don’t actually move backward. It’s an optical illusion due to the speed of the Earth’s rotation. But what ancient people realized is that when a planet changes direction or shifts in speed, what it rules will see challenges or confusion in our lives during that specific time.
Astrology is a science that utilizes the placement of the planets to make insightful predictions about how life on Earth is going to develop. It has been around for centuries and that is why we have been able to notice patterns throughout time, refining itself, to figure out that when the planets move, something here on Earth will be affected. You may or may not believe in Astrology, or you might think that it's just a cute part of your daily morning news feed. You may only think it's an amusing thing to discuss on a first date. It isn't my job or inclination to convince you of its validity. I will, however, say this: The waves in our Ocean are created by the gravity of our orbiting moon. The powerful gravity of Jupiter is what protects asteroids and other debris from crashing constantly into Earth (Thank you, Jupiter.) These are both invisible forces. And if this is what they can do to large masses in this universe, what do you think these invisible forces are doing to us or the environment we live in. We are, after all, 70% water. What "waves" is our Moon producing within us? Something to think about. I will leave defending the merits of Astrology as a science to the Astrologers, themselves. I'm just a weekend tourist. They actually live in that building.
Let's get back to talking about the retrograde.
A planetary retrograde is broken down into 3 phases: Pre-Shadow, Retrograde, and Post-Shadow.
In the pre-shadow phase, when the planet starts to slow down from our viewpoint on Earth, we start to see problems crop up and realize some current situations might be on rocky ground. This can last for weeks or months prior, depending on which planet it is.
The actual retrograde phase is when you see the problems that started to announce themselves in the pre-shadow blow-up in front of you. This is when the planet is taking control and moving backward in the sky. In reality, new information regarding what the planet rules are emerging in our lives — something we probably had overlooked originally. The universe is bringing it out dramatically in your face now to show you that you must pay attention to this before you proceed.
The post-shadow phase is when the planet is finally moving forward in the sky again but is still gaining speed to catch up with where it originally fell behind. Once a planet moves past this point in the sky, life should move along much more easily. The post-shadow phase is especially important because it helps us to resolve whatever popped up during the previous two periods so that we are on a better track moving forward.
The Sun, the Moon, and the Earth (because we are standing on it) don't retrograde. Sun and Moon are referred to as "The Luminaries." All planets retrograde at different times depending on their distance from us in the Solar System. A simple rule of thumb that you can follow is: the closer the planet is to us, the shorter the retrograde. The further away it is from us, the longer the retrograde is. How this affects us depends on the planet, what phase of the retrograde it is in, and the zodiacal sign that it is transiting (retrograding/traveling) through. Not to get too specific, depending on what house the zodiac sign is placed in your chart can also determine how a particular plant's retrograde affects you personally.
Most of the time a planet transits through retrograde alone or with one or two other planets at a time. However, there are sometimes years when we get large clusters of planet retrogrades. 2022 is one of them. We have 8 of the 9 planets in retrograde this year. 6 are clustered together right now.
So, Let's talk about them, shall we. This illustration is devoted to Pluto
Pluto will be retrograding in Capricorn from April 29th - October 8th, 2022. In astrology, Pluto is the planet of death, rebirth, transformation, extremes, corruption, fear, and power. Your Pluto placement on your natal chart determines your relationship to these areas in your life. While back in 2006, Astronomy demoted Pluto to dwarf planet status. However, in astrology, Pluto is considered a vry very potent planet. As the cosmic ruler of the underworld, Pluto’s impulse is to conceal. Like the other outer planets, Pluto spends approximately five months of each year retrograde. During these times, we will often feel relief from the planet’s intensity. Retrogrades are times for introspection, and deep-diving Pluto’s backspin can bring penetrating insights. Also, being an outer planet, its pull and influence will affect a larger group of people rather than a select few. So the energies your feel surrounding Pluto will be felt similarly by everyone else.
Pluto has an association with the sign of Scorpio. It also has the power to "dive deep" into the underbelly of things; seeing all the things under the surface. It is often referred to as the "Cosmic Detective." Pluto is able to reveal all the hidden truths about ourselves and others. However, when Pluto is retrograde, it forces us to look at the hidden truths and underbelly within ourselves. This is when we explore our own Shadowside. Since this retrograde is occurring in Capricorn, this is the "flavor" and the seasoning of this introspective journey. Structure and rule-oriented Capricorn, flavors this Pluto retrograde. It has us contemplating what is necessary and what is needlessly restricting within our lives.
Capricorn is the cardinal earth sign. Earth Signs deal with the physical world, what is concrete, and what is all the physical matter within and without ourselves. Cardinal refers to its position in the life cycle. Cardinal signs are Origin, the beginning of life, Fixed signs that sustain life, and Mutable signs transition life into death/rebirth of the next/new cycle. Capricorn is often called the "Father of the Zodiac." It is a sign that thrives in traditional systems and institutions. It craves structure and rules to define itself. It is the authority of the zodiacal world.
So, to put it plainly, The sign of hidden truths, death, corruption, fear, and power is spinning backward through the sign of structure, rules, institutions, and governing systems of authority. We will obviously be self-reflecting those parts of ourselves in relation to the authority and powers in our lives. We will be determining our level of independence from things in our environment in regard to these governing structures and rules we follow. In short, it's rebellion, but facing inward.
Here are some hints to help you through this transit:
1.) Consider how you can be more independent.
What do you need to be truly independent being in this world, your town, your home? Are there any patterns of behavior that you might change to help achieve this? Should you leave your job or be more assertive at work? Do you need to tell others to stop projecting their life goals onto you?
2.) Be honest about what you want to change.
This is an opportunity to open up that closet you keep locked, asses the terrain, and clear out any skeletons as well as any unresolved energy that might be controlling you subconsciously. Every Zodiac sign has its shadow side which are the traits we have that manifest not in the best of ways. When Pluto retrogrades through Capricorn, this is a great time to explore those shadow sides and have those tough and honest conversations with ourselves. It is a time to resolve the unresolved and make the hard changes to make ourselves better.
3.) Revisit your definition of success.
Since we are all different, our ideas of success will also look different from each other. This retrograde is a great time to sort of "check in" and revisit our personal ideas of success and whether we still agree with our former thoughts and ideas about it. Does that outfit still fit, or have we outgrown it? Has our thoughts on what we want to achieve in our lives changed or evolved? Once we have done the work of this transit to clarify our idea of success, we must determine if we are on the right path or making the right choices to achieve it.
Pluto doesn't have to be a scary planet (even though we are entering the spooky season. lol) Astrology is here to help us help and understand ourselves and the world around us. Pluto is the planet of death and rebirth. Are there old ideas about ourselves that need to "die" and be "reborn?" When we evolve and transform our lives, Pluto is the planet that is at play. Try to make sure you are using this retrograde energy to your advantage.
Before we go, let's talk about the art.
I explained the concept behind these odd but fun little illustrations. One of the things I wanted to pay homage to was the 1902 French film Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon.) I have always been impressed and inspired by that iconic image of the moon with that face in it. I'm certain that this image has inspired so many other artists and each has paid tribute to this treasure of cinema history. In my case, conceptually, I wouldn't be able to center a face within my illustrated planets. They are in retrograde, and they are sashaying away from us. So we would only see their "dark sides of" or the back of their "heads" if you will. I still wanted to see a face on them in some way. I really wanted to superimpose the faces of real supermodels onto them. So, I came up with the idea of them looking back; serving us one last lewk before continuing on their retrograded ways.
I wanted to play with the proportions of head size because not all planets are equal (in size) and I wanted to convey that within this series. So some "heads" will appear large on their bodies. Some "heads" will appear small. These aesthetic choices are largely determined by the literal astronomical relation of planetary size to Earth and to each other. I should probably do a "police line-up" of them once they are all completed. lol.
It has been challenging yet fun to recreate the color and texture of the planets' surfaces. Pluto has an interesting aesthetic as you can see pictured further above. I knew that I wanted to portray Pluto as non-binary. It normally is considered to be male. I did model Pluto's face off of a male model. I have been using this project as an opportunity to play with the gender identity of the astrological planets. So I wanted Puto to read very androgynously.
Since Pluto is the planet governing death, I figured it would be appropriate to dress them as if they were attending a funeral; Funeral, but make it fashion. I based their outfit on 2 images. One is a stock fashion image by gromovataya off of 123RF. the other is from Yang Li's Fall 2018 Ready-To-Wear Collection.
I had just recently watched an episode of Making the Cut from Season 3 where the designers had to work in a group project each creating a garment that represents their personal brand but also fits within a larger group theme/collection. The designers came up with the theme of a mobster's funeral. Funeral, but make it high fashion. Each designer took on a "character" from the funeral (the priest, the mistress, the wife, the greedy kids, the killer...) and then created amazing outfits to represent their characters. I LOVED the creativity exemplified by the designers. So when I decided to make this illustrated mini-series, Pluto already had their concept subconsciously decided. Pluto was always going to a funeral. But who's? I have no idea. lol.
I LOVE the textures and colors of this illustration. I may have only begun this series, but Pluto might definitely be my favorite out of all of them already. There are two main symbols I placed within the illustration/outfit. The quatrefoil pattern in the veil represents rebirth. The geometric shape itself represents the four petals of clover or flower. A symbol of life even when grieving in death. The second symbol is found on the stockings/leggings. they are plus and minus symbols. They represent extremes; one of the governing areas of the planet.
That pretty much sums up this blog entry for Pluto and my little illustration of them. Stay tuned for the rest of this illustrated mini-series coming soon. Remember to weather the Pluto retrograde as best as you can and look fabulous while doing it.
Until next time, friends...
Keep dreaming, keep sketching, keep thinking, keep laughing, and most important of all, keep making art.
*Some of the retrograde information cited from:
Here’s what a retrograde in astrology means and how it affects you by Kyle Thomas @ New York Post.
Here's When Every Planet Is Retrograde n 2022 by The Astro Twins @Astrostyle
Pluto’s 5-Month Retrograde in Capricorn Is Like the Cosmic Version of Broccoli Before Dessert by Natalie Arroyo Camacho @Well+Good
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