While the word "retrograde" may have you running for the hills, it's important to remember that these backwards planetary motions happen way more often than you might think. I mean, Pluto, Jupiter, and Neptune are all retrograde right now. Other astrological bodies tend to partake in the occasional backwards dance, too — including asteroids. From July 14 to November 8, for instance, the asteroid Pallas will be retrograde in the sign of dreamy Pisces.
Pallas is located in the belt stretching between Mars and Jupiter, along with asteroids Ceres, Vesta, and Juno, according to Madi Murphy, co-founder of The Cosmic RX and The Cosmic Revolution. "They are minor planets, but major enough to have massive influence on our birth charts," she says. "Pallas can reflect our talents in the arts, wisdom, intuition, defense, and justice, and shows where you may be a master of negotiation and how you tap into your personal power." And on the flip side — or shadow side, as Murphy calls it — Pallas can be affiliated with manipulation and give off major "pick me" vibes.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
When the cometary body is retrograde things can go just a bit haywire, including our relationships and communication with others. "During Pallas retrograde in Pisces, we will be confused as to how to find resolve with others as boundaries will be blurred," says Lisa Stardust, the author of Saturn Return Survival Guide and The Astrology Deck. "Rather than thinking with our minds, we will be relying on our intuition and hearts." Leading with your gut is never a bad idea, but Stardust offers some extra advice: Be on high alert for those who have intentions to take advantage of you. "Protect yourself by seeking advice from an outside party to avoid issues in the future," she says. In this case, second opinions are welcome.
The ways in which we set out to achieve our goals may also be called into question during this transit. "Pallas retrograde will have us asking ourselves if our form of strategizing is coming from the highest — or lowest — vibration of Pisces," says Narayana Montúfar, senior astrologer for Astrology.com. "For example, we will have to reconsider if we are making choices based on our desires or the desires that others are projecting onto us, or if our 'good deeds' are really coming from a place of love and not raw insecurity." This retrograde will have us deep in self-reflection mode, and may have us rethinking on our selfish ways.
Now is the time to be radically honest with yourself, especially about where you use manipulation to your advantage to get what you want, Murphy says. To combat any of these bad vibes, she says to focus on offering compassion and kindness to others. "Pallas retrograde is a time to use emotional intelligence and personal embodiment to stay in your own power in a way that is in integrity for the greater good," she says.
Pallas retrograde will also be connecting with Jupiter, the Planet of Abundance, that is also retrograde in Pisces. "Pallas can compliment Jupiter by causing us to look at whether or not we are approaching our lives in the most creative way possible," says Leslie Hale, psychic astrologer for Keen.com. "Are we really using our personal wisdom, and do we bring it to fruition in our most important roles in life?"
This transit, although introspective, will have us confronting a lot about ourselves. "Collectively, this retrograde could spill the tea, and we are most likely going to find out about major manipulations and lies that have been hiding under the surface," Montúfar says. "It will literally be like waking up from a collective dream!" But, of course, what you do with that clarity is all up to you.