After a bit of a planetary reprieve last month, gear shifts kick in right at the outset of October. I hope you made the most of September’s cosmic lull by moving forward where you needed to. September is rarely a quiet month and the last few weeks lived up to its active status.
So rest for a bit on your accomplishments as October promises to be very revealing. Literally at the outset of the month, on Day 1, Pluto, planet of power and transformation turns direct motion in earthy Capricorn. As it digs up systems, traditions and customs that no longer work individually or collectively, turning over pieces of our lives we’d rather not see, planet Venus prepares to turn retrograde motion in Scorpio, ruled by Pluto. Get ready for a full blown review of relationships, money and values.
Pluto and Scorpio are detectives with x-ray vision. This is psychological energy determined to get to the bottom of whatever doesn’t function anymore. Out with it! Make way for the new, says Pluto and Scorpio.
When an inner planet (Mercury, Venus or Mars) is retrograde it is Big News as we feel the impact much more intensely than the outer planets. Why? They are closer to the earth! On October 5th, Venus turns retrograde motion for the next six weeks. The period lasts 40 days so it is associated with Jesus’ Temptation in the Desert. Since Venus rules vital sectors of our lives: love, money, relationships and beauty, it is helpful to understand some Dos and Don’ts from October 5thto November 14th.
At a minimum, expect people from your past to re-emerge. Venus rules the money you earn. In the sign of Scorpio (joint finances, sex, death, taxes, power and transformation), expect all manner of resources to figure largely through mid-November. Venus also rules art, beauty and design. So watch your spending in these areas.
Below is a how you can best manage the next six weeks:
EXPECT:
– emotional needs to surface/being needy, you and/or others
– all kinds of temptation
– the urge to buy large ticket items
– jealousy
– to be overly and overtly attached in relationships
– shyness in expressing your emotional and relationship needs
– mourning and grief even if a loved one passed years ago
– past relationships to surface: friendship, business and romantic.
DO’s during Venus Retrograde:
– Express yourself, especially your emotional, sexual and romantic urges/needs
– Pay off debt
– Review old business ideas you have and prepare to re-launch after Venus goes direct
– Do research on any expensive purchase you plan to make (art, appliances, car, home, jewelry)
– Research any investment you plan to make
– Revisit issues with current relationships to work through them
– Reconnect to or rekindle old/prior relationships
– Review relationships including to yourself/another/your spending habits. Ask yourself before you buy/invest in something or someone: should you really do this? What will be the long-term consequences/implications if you do buy a luxury item/have an affair? How will others be affected by your action? Partners, children, relatives, co-workers, etc?
– Wait until Venus Retrograde phase has passed before initiating romance
DON’TS during Venus Retrograde:
– Buy luxury items
– Go on a first date, get engaged, get married
– Have an affair
– Cling too much/too hard to any relationship
– Return to anyone abusive (physical, mental, emotional). There is a reason you left them behind…
– Make expensive purchases (home, car, appliances, luxury items)
– Make financial investments (including opening new bank accounts)
– Launch a new business
Remember: any retrograde period starts with an RE. So apply any RE word to use this time effectively. Take action with these words: review, restore, renew, relax, revisit, etc.
Less than one week later, Messenger Mercury moves into Scorpio joining Venus and Jupiter. Our thoughts and words now are focused on money, sex, power and…healing; any regenerative process that transforms our relationships, work, home life. The caution with three planets in Scorpio is addiction and obsession. It is an excellent time to get help, enter REhab for addictions. To conquer these is one of the most powerful acts a human being can accomplish. To master ourselves is the equivalent of putting our hands on the steering wheel of our lives. Scorpio is power.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Marianne Williamson
How you use your power is up to you. Entirely and unequivocally.
The Libra Sun says CHOOSE. Decide. Do you want to be a slave to obsessions (negative thoughts, drugs, sex, harmful relationships, etc) or do you want to be the master and commander of your own life? To live free? You do have free will. It is up to you how to exercise it.
The New Moon on October 9th is a great time to plant intentions to grow over the coming months. Yes, even through winter. Intentional seeds sown in autumn will blossom next spring. Handwrite 3-5 goals or wishes you want to accomplish; then cast in a moving body of water or plant in the ground.
Meanwhile change agent Uranus continues challenging the lunar nodes, our directional True North and point of release. Feel the ground shifting under your feet? Sometimes literally. Uranus is called the Great Awakener for good reason. Often where we push too hard, bury our head under a rock ignoring solutions for our growth and potential, Uranus can bring on crises. Surprise, shock, sudden events. These are the hallmarks of Uranus. Circumstances, situations, relationships professionally or personally may cave in now. Shaking us up, down and sideways. Jolting us like a bolt of lightning. Breaking us wide open. Are you awake now? Are you paying attention, Uranus asks. Good.
The effect of this very stubborn angle is to keep us on our toes. To continually think creatively, search for alternative solutions to resistant problems. To push us out of our comfort zones. Instead of bemoaning why me, poor me, direct your energy efficiently – how can I do x, be y, or approach z, more effectively, differently. Very often the solutions we seek are simpler, rather than more complicated. The definition of insanity is to repeat a process with the same result. Uranus will keep life uncertain and uneven until we try new methods and lines of thinking.
Healer Chiron has now reversed back into Pisces for the next five months. We are offered yet another opportunity to heal pieces of ourselves, our spirit. Neptune is also in its own sign of Pisces. Both represent the soul. Any trauma (psychological, physical, spiritual, mental, sexual) we have endured in this lifetime may be healed if we stop, rest and allow time to attend our wounds. Pisces rules water and music. I cannot emphasize the power of both. Being on, in or near water, listening to music, dancing, chanting, mantras, affirmations, rhythmic beats are sound therapy for the soul. Pure cleansing and healing. Take advantage.
Leading into the Full Moon on the 24th, the Sun moves into Scorpio the day prior, October 23rd. It joins Venus, Mercury and Jupiter. That’s a whole lotta power! Our minds and words (Mercury), love/money/relationships (Venus), our ability to understand (Jupiter) and our identity and will (the Sun) are in full-on transformation mode.
What do you seek to change about your life?
Or perhaps, more to the point: what are you resisting (maybe refusing) to change? Scorpio rules death and regeneration. Re-birth is upon us. First, though, comes the crumbling down, destruction to make way for the new. Death of the Old Order is now. October 20th-26thcould very well be the tipping point. Scorpio is X-Ray vision and the Full Moon spotlights ALL. What has been hidden will be shown under its unflinching glare.
From utter chaos comes a New Order. The Full Moon of October 24thmakes sure of that by forming an incredibly stressful angle. The Taurus Full Moon conjoins Uranus, challenging the lunar nodes and Venus-Sun in Scorpio. Sometimes, you must break down to break through. It is breakthrough or bust time for sure. And some of us very may well bust. Uncomfortable? Uncertain? Venus retrograde says it is time to re-evaluate. All the most important parts of our lives are on the table now: love, money and relationships. Nothing else really matter does it?
What needs to be RE done, RE connected in your life? To be healthier physically, spiritually, mentally? The cosmos provides us with everything we need. Taskmaster Saturn and Transformer Pluto in earthy Capricorn offer firm structure and practical tools to build anew from the ground up. So clear a path, gather your resources, use your infinite power. Create.