I’m a true believer in silver linings.  November is one of those months where believing and having faith that good ultimately prevails will really help.  This month actually kicked off at the end of October with the full moon on the 29th.

Not all of us have been affected by the events that this unusally strong full moon delivered, namely Hurricane Sandy which made landfall near New York precisely at the full moon high tide.  Still, like ripples on a lake, the collective One feels the impact to the pool of individuals.

We are always given blessings to assist us through challenges.  And November has its share of both.  However, this month is simply not an easy time.  Obstacles are more than likely to tip the scales in the next few weeks.  Your life may not have been turned inside out and thoroughly inconvenienced by Sandy.  But each of us will have our load to carry and for many, these will be heavy as November launches a cosmic juggernaut.  So strap yourself in and gird your loins, here we go:

The first week finds us still reeling from the powerful full moon at the end of October.  Many folks in the Northeastern United States are living without power.  The rest of us may find ourselves somewhat powerless or in power struggles.  You may feel as though you are backsliding with every few steps taken forward.  Take heart.  You are far, far from alone.  As Mercury, planet of communication slows down and turns retrograde motion on Tuesday, November 6th, effects of trudging through sludge will persist.  And November 6th is Election Day.  Confusion, miscommunication and misunderstandings are the key note for most of this month.  We may very well be in for another presidential situation a la 2000.  Romney and Obama are locked in a dead heat leading up to decision day.  Let’s just pray the Supreme Court does not have to determine who wins the race!  And as with all Mercury retrogrades, avoid major purchases (cars, homes, appliances) and signing significant contracts.

Meanwhile, planet of ingenuity Uranus, is making a very helpful angle to Mercury, beckoning us to think outside of the box.  Reach for radical solutions, or solutions that feel radical; that in any other time or place we could never imagine making, reaching beyond our deep divides to those we perceive as enemies.  Like ranting toddlers, we may not way to but November will not give us much choice.  Difficult angles between relationship planet Venus, transformer Pluto and planet of surprise and upheaval, Uranus, catalyze us into action.  It will be extremely hard to keep blindly boxing ourselves in.  Translation:  you will find yourself making some very tough choices; otherwise, your situation will only get that much harder.  As foggy Neptune persists in its challenge to the moon’s north node, our true north, we may try to keep up pretenses. 

However, November’s Scorpio Sun says if we do not bend, we will break.  Or be broken.  This combined with two, count ’em two, eclipses this month drives the intensity of these effects home.  Such is the weight placed on our shoulders now.  It is not for the faint of heart.  The first eclipse is a total solar eclipse on November 13.  Eclipses turn up the heat, fling open life’s window so wide that no one escapes the glare pouring in.  Any facade we may try to maintain will be ripped right off revealing the seamy underside of situations and people.  It will not be pretty.  Attempts to get away with anything, stick to tricks or rote routines, what worked in the past will simply crumble.

The time is nigh to make good on a cherished lesson from Sesame Street:  get along.  Find new solutions to age old problems.  Set aside ego and pride.  Do what you never thought you ever would.  Cooperate.  New Jersey’s ardent Republican Governor Christie learned this lesson and quickly.  Hurricane Sandy forced him into reaching out to gratefully accept the helping hand of Barack Obama now extends.  The lesson:  it is time to work together folks.  Cooperate or bust.

Often it takes such massive upheaval and mess to push us in the right direction.  Enter the silver lining:  heavy lifter Saturn makes an immensely helpful angle to power broker Pluto.  This pairing will continue for quite some time.  Nothing less that the Lord of Karma and Dharma, Saturn makes himself available with Pluto to show us what is real and what is not; what is worth letting go of and what is worth pursuing; who we really are, who we desire yet to become.

At mid month, agressive Mars enters Capricorn at a critical degree, gradually conjoining Pluto.  Like lower and higher octaves, these two are about Power.  Who has it, who doesn’t and who wants it.  And no one shows us what is truly significant like Mother Nature.  Lest we forget, she holds the reins of power.  We do not  Although we have tried, for oh so long, to kid ourselves into thinking we control life.  That we’re in charge.  When we finally submit to her with humility and grace, cooperating instead of fighting against the laws of cause and effect, life has a way of falling into place.  The more we resist forces bearing down, the harder the road in front of us becomes.  This might make you feel as though you are giving up or giving in.  But surrendering inevitably reveals the honest path to travel.

Rather than feeling disappointed, Uranus’ alignment with the moon’s north node and messenger Mercury points us in new directions, encourages us to think of ourselves as being sculpted by the Universe.  Chipped away by a cosmic Michelangelo.  Wouldn’t you rather be a marble masterpiece beheld by all with wonder than stubbornly remaining locked up in a big block of stone?  If we cooperate, we are on our way to becoming the masterpiece our soul intended.  Planets of divine and earthly love, Neptune and Venus align with Saturn and Pluto at Thanksgiving to underscore our highly powerful potential, and most decidedly, the blessings in our lives.

The second eclipse, lunar, on November 28th, calls us to remember:  what we fear most is that we are powerful beyond measure.  Let’s step across the caverns of fear.  Embrace our power.  As change agent Uranus aligns with our will, the Sun, we are invited toward ingenious frontiers allowing us to break free of stifling, worn out mindsets and patterns, charting a meaningful and creative new course to grasp; while Mercury turns direct at month’s end telling us it is OK, time for fresh ventures and adventures.