The deep rhythms of Mars square the Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto stellium continue to sound the bass notes of this next lunation cycle that unfolds in the heart of autumn. As the cycle begins with the Libra New Moon, Mercury is already retrograde, traversing through the sign of Scorpio. Mercury retrograde reminds us to slow down, be mindful in our speech, not to try to rush ahead with plans and ideas but to contemplate what we may have missed and how we can be more conscious in the ways we use our voice.
Two Full Moons grace the month of October, with the Full Moon in Taurus aligning with Halloween and leading towards the Day of the Dead. The ancestors may feel especially present on this most potent Full Moon, as the night hours are brightly illuminated and shadows sway in a mysterious flickering dance.
These transit updates are meant to be both a guide to dancing with the archetypal energies and a poetic homage to the iridescent array of their manifestations. They can be used when you plan your day or your week ahead, or they can be drawn upon for retrospective reflection as you review how your week or month has unfolded. They can be seeds to inspire small ritual actions, or they can simply give you a moment to pause and reflect on how your soul is interwoven in the great archetypal warp and weft of the cosmic loom.
Transits of the Libra-Scorpio Lunation
*October 16 @ 12:31 pm PT* The New Moon aligns in Libra, still carrying the dynamic energies of the T-square with Mars and the Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto stellium. Seeds need darkness to germinate and take root, and although the night may feel long and foreboding, the dawn always comes at last.
*October 18 @ 6:58 am PT* The Sun in late Libra squares Saturn in Capricorn, while Venus in Virgo opposes Neptune in Pisces. The dreamy, romantic fantasy conflicts with the focus on hard, practical realities, perhaps leading to a sense of dissonance and the desire for exquisite escapism.
*October 19 @ 12:35 am PT* A potent sequence of astrological events unfolds as retrograde Mars in Aries squares Jupiter in Capricorn for the second time since August; Venus in Virgo trines Jupiter; and retrograde Mercury in Scorpio makes its second opposition to Uranus in Taurus. Exuberant, heated, and potentially explosive energies and a frazzled, easily distracted, erratic mind may need some kind of luxurious indulgence to smooth off the edges. Imagine a thick slice of cake at the end of a work day in which tempers flared with every technological glitch and miscommunication…
*October 20 @ 8:38 pm PT* The waxing crescent Moon in late Sagittarius forms its opening sextile to the Sun, while also forming a T-square with Venus opposite Neptune and a trine to Mars. Perhaps put the heated energies to use by scrubbing clean your home, before allowing yourself to dissolve in a rose petal bath and drift into an array of unrealistic fantasies…
*October 21 @ 2:42 pm PT* Venus in Virgo forms a trine to Pluto, deepening sensual desire, dressing the dangerous in gorgeous guise, and flirting with the edges of the taboo underworld. For whom would you willingly tear out a piece of your heart?
*October 22 @ 4:00 pm PT* The Sun ingresses into the watery realm of Scorpio, autumn’s fixed sign, and our attention is invited to dwell below the surface and explore that which often chooses to hide or remain obscured. The days continue to darken, the air to chill, and the veiled denizens of the otherworld begin to wander among the shadows of the trees.
*October 23 @ 6:23 am PT* The waxing quarter Moon in early Aquarius makes its opening square to the Sun in Scorpio, potentially leading to embodied tensions, internal conflict, or a sense of being at odds with oneself or one’s community.
*October 24 @ 8:41 am PT* Venus in late Virgo trines Saturn in Capricorn, bringing order and precision to beauty, and an appreciation for the old and antique, the precious object that has endured through time. The heart may ache softly with remembrance of shattered loves.
*October 25 @ 11:23 am PT* The Sun in Scorpio conjoins Mercury retrograde while the Moon in Pisces forms a trine to both celestial bodies. Speak subtle words in metaphor and poetry, as direct communication may be futile. The emotional body is more attuned to the whispering winds of the world.
*October 27 @ 6:33 pm PT* Within minutes of each other Venus ingresses into the beginning of Libra while retrograde Mercury traverses back into the end of the same sign, the two innermost planets drawing closer to one another once more. Venus is home in her rulership and Mercury becomes her guest for a spell, sweetening the tongue with honeyed words and graceful locutions.
*October 31 @ 7:55 am PT* On the night when spirits freely walk the world, the Full Moon conjunct Uranus in Taurus waxes in opposition to the Sun in Scorpio. The unexpected surprise, the spark of brilliant insight, the embodied awakening—the precocious trickster steals fire from the heavens to bring new consciousness to humanity.
*November 1 @ 11:06 am PT* Mercury in late Libra squares Saturn in Capricorn once more, passing back over the tracks it laid in late September. Think over decisions carefully, weighing all options, balancing negative opinions with tangible facts. Think each detail through to the end.
*November 3 @ 9:50 am PT* Mercury stations direct in Libra, although do not expect communications, decisions, ideas, or plans to move forward smoothly yet. Mercury will take some time to pick up speed, and its hesitancy is reiterated by its close proximity in square to Saturn.
*November 6 @ 1:12 am PT* Mercury in Libra makes its final exact square to Saturn in Capricorn, having lingered within orb of the senex planet during the length of its slowing and stationing. Rethinking, reviewing, mulling over, checking for mistakes, revisioning, heavy conclusions and hard concepts are all weighed in the balance.
*November 8 @ 5:46 am PT* The waning quarter Moon in Leo makes its closing square to the Sun in Scorpio, emphasizing the tension between the desire to take up space with one’s feelings and the impulse to obscure one’s light in the shadows.
*November 9 @ 8:08 am PT* Venus in Libra opposes Mars in Aries, the opposition amplifying the polarity of rulerships between these two cardinal signs. Fire and air, the lover and the beloved, Venus allures while Mars leaps, aggression and passion enflaming both anger and desire.
*November 10 @ 1:55 pm PT* Mercury ingresses back into Scorpio, while the balsamic Moon in Virgo forms an opposition to Neptune, and the Sun in Scorpio trines the ethereal planet. Emotional and relational edges may be blurred, feelings permeating the soul in an alchemical osmosis. Soak the imagination in a bath of luminescence, and watch the mind spiral down the drain’s whirlpool.
*November 12 @ 1:39 pm PT* Jupiter and Pluto makes their third and final conjunction in Capricorn, an alignment that has defined 2020 with its high drama, moral polarization, and the globalized amplification of destruction. The scales of justice weigh heaven and hell in the balance.
*November 13 @ 4:36 pm PT* Mars at long last stations direct in mid-Aries, although it now has one more slow journey in a square to Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto to traverse. Archetypal echoes of this spring and early fall resound once more as the warrior steps forward with sword in hand. Which way will the sword swing? How deep will be the cut? And who is called to wield the blade?
*November 14 @ 9:07 pm PT* The New Moon in Scorpio forms a sextile to the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction, highlighting great ambitions, the impulse to strive for excellence, for high achievement, for power and influence. Seeds planted in such rich soil may grow to extraordinary heights, but growth without integrity will ultimately lead to an untimely withering and a fall of the crowning flower. Strive for the sunlight, but stay connected to the deep roots that nourish as well.
Becca Tarnas 