OCTOBER, the month of gorgeous sunsets, is here and with so many Libra planets striving for civility in a cruel and unjust world there’s hope for some sanity and balance. The key moments of the month occur with the lunations, the new and full moons, both of which are fairly benign.
The month begins within what are known as “days of awe,” the time of the Jewish New year which coincides this year with the sacred Hindu festival of Navariti, honoring the three aspects of the divine feminine(strength, love, and wisdom). Hopefully these blessed days will extend well past the first week.
Things should be calmer, at least for a while. The abrasive angle between Uranus and Pluto that has catapulted the world into this economic turmoil, and upended several Arab governments, will separate for a time, and even the Mars Jupiter square on the first is somewhat relieved by the Sagittarius moon.
With the Sun, Venus, Mercury and Saturn all sharing the same house of Libra, the urge for balance and harmony is strong. If your birthday coincides with these early October days, then you can look forward to a year where partnership and marriage concerns ride high, and is especially fortunate if your natal day falls on the 4th or 5th.
Mercury meeting Saturn in 18 Libra could result in some serious news by the 6th. Decisive events, more of a business nature, take place.
Moving towards the weekend, the 7th has Venus trine to Neptune and with the moon in Pisces with Chiron. There is a poignant cast to this time, along with a capacity for the heart to open, allowing for hidden thoughts and words to be expressed more easily. It is a brief and precious moment for sure.
In contrast to the kind and giving nature of the Pisces moon, Venus’ entry into Scorpio on the 8th, a less than desirable place for the goddess of love and attraction, may arouse those feeling of suspicion, resentment and envy which could mar the emotional scene, and with Mercury traveling right along behind it,, matters can be seen and analyzed in all their depth.
By the 13th the full moon of October 11th indicates an enjoyable time. It’s a rather social moon which favors artistic projects, design, jewelry making, writing, and lustrous personal glamour. A more hidden meaning to this gracious and lustrous moon in Revati, placed in a subsection of Aries, signifies “ Keeper of esoteric knowledge.”
The fiery Aries lunar element balancing against the harmony seeking Venusian Libra Sun, will be fun to watch. It would be helpful to know where this affects your personal chart especially since the north and south nodes are configured in this tight grid, if this is your birthday, look to a strong year ahead with dynamic elements.
The Sun and Saturn remain close from the 11th to the 16,16th in the Libra essence of Chitra which begs to create create, create. What a birthday this will be for those of you born very close to this day. Saturn on the Sun brings some discretion in health, but I have seen over and over, the arrival of true love with this seemingly contradictory aspect.
Right on the heels of this fun loving moon, on the 12th, comes a nice angle from Neptune to Mercury, enhancing smooth communications, and with the Moon conjunct Jupiter on the 13th comes a sweet calm quality – could this be happiness?
The sextile from Venus to Pluto acts like a ‘floating bridge,” wavy but helpful to strengthen matters, nice if you are born April 25-28th.
But by the 14th, 15th, the Venus Jupiter opposition brings both the desire to generously open hearts and wallets while resisting the impulse at the same time. These contrasting moments of expansion and retraction are brought about by the stern face of Saturn hovering so close to the Sun and reminding you not to max out that credit card. Some structure and stability appear to temper an otherwise free flowing mood.
The slightly jarring quincunx between Mercury and Uranus with the Gemini moon, creates a “yod” or “finger of god” configuration, rare but potent, that can trigger some startling episodes around the 15th.
I consider these past several days, along with the later new moon period, to be the mega points of the month, where the energies are the most intense, illuminating and productive.
The void moon from 3 pm to 6:30 Monday the 17th, means hold off on decisions, at least in this time period, and best to probably wait until the 18th when the conflicting Cancer moon square to Uranus passes by as Cancerian moons don’t like discomfort in their home shells. Tuesday’s trine from the moon to Venus and Mercury brings some very calm nurturing moments, at dinnertime no less.
October 21(Kim Kardashian’s birthday) clashing Leo moon squares will eliminate boredom, and if you are looking overhead, watch the Orionids meteor showers, better than arguing.
Saturday the 22nd, with the moon and Jupiter in perfect Taurean harmony, nicely aspected to Neptune, Chiron and Pluto, makes for a perfect evening of conversation and friends.
Along with the Sun’s entrance into Scorpio on the 23rd at 11:30 PDT, comes the insights and intuition so typical of our Plutonian god of the underworlds’ sign. Now is the ideal time for delving into deeper fields of awareness. The trine to Chiron intensifies this moon, and if this is your birthday, it will a year of new beginnings and personal “launches.” Don’t be afraid to give it a try. Certain sages have long favored days like this for planting and haircutting.
The 23rd towards the 26th finds the square from Mars to the tight conjunction between Mercury and Venus, bringing on sharp words and cuttings of a different sort. There could some romantic disruptions which merely increases the desire for love even to the point of recklessness and obsession The good news is that this kind of square can bring about a resolution with all a cards on the table.
Later in the month, the Oct 26th New Moon with its opposition to Jupiter, makes a point in an early Scorpionic degree often found in the charts of many of the world’s wealthiest persons. It’s the clarion call of merchants and businessmen.
Vedically the Sun and Moon’s conjunction in Swati, brings out the love of learning and culture embodied in the goddess Saraswati, from whom the name derives. Because this nakshatra (lunar mansion) is also ruled by the god of the wind, we may see some serious storm patterns arise, or else storms of a different order? Travel is another possibility enhanced with this degree.
This particular segment of this early Scorpio moon has patience and the ability to watch and wait. There is a measure of social charm which enables their climb to success. The trine to Chiron and Neptune add to the possibilities here. It’s a new moon with many sides and deep meanings, and rather benign for a moon that is usually fairly self interested, and can be, well, ruthless. The exact trine of Jupiter linked nicely Pluto in earth signs, adds to a sense of stability, at long last. The next exact trine between these two will occur in March 2012.
Should your birthday land on or near this time, (near the new moon), the year ahead holds great opportunities for growth, along with the stabilization factor of a Mars sextile to Saturn and the earth combination of benevolent Jupiter to power mad Pluto. The 29th sees a nice Sagittarius moon in decent aspect to Mars. Celebrate.
Strong in its feeling nature is the Capricorn moon with Pluto on October’s last day, and while the 31st may find you dressing up as another Self, you can blame the trick or treat element on conflicting Mars and Venus patterns. Don’t forget that friction can often lead to romantic outcomes.
In ancient Druid times, this was the feast of Samhain, Lord of Darkness, that has evolved , over the centuries, into our Halloween with its bags of individually wrapped M&M’s and Sugar Babies from the supermarket. This pagan festival recognized the thinning of the veils between the worlds of the “quick” and the dead – that weren’t that separate.
Leave it to Scorpio to understand these profound mysteries.
Serena Carroll is a trained therapist, astrologer and writer. Visit her website at SerenaCarroll.com
