Astrology of October 1-7, 2018
Happy 1st of October everyone! The leaves have already begun to turn red and fall from the trees here in New England and the grocery stores give an intoxicating smell of cinnamon and spice as soon as you enter the doors. Ahhhh— brooms, baked apple, crisp leaves, and cool air. It’s an enchanting season.
If I’m being honest, summer is actually my favorite season because I love the Sun and warmth. But fall is a close second and this is my first fall in about 15 years that I get to actually experience the gorgeous autumn foliage that’s featured in photography. Plus, who doesn’t appreciate the witchiest season of all? …especially when you live so close to Salem, MA! If there is one thing special about this area it’s the power of herstory that haunts the land, trees, and charmingly old buildings.
October’s atmosphere speaks of this power as it begins on an appropriately dark note this year with two planetary aspects dominating the first week of the month, before the New Moon in Libra.
October 2: Mercury in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn
The first notable transit of October is Mercury’s square to Pluto, which points to tense (and potentially volatile) communication on the days surrounding the 2nd, when the aspect perfects.
Watch your communicative reflexes. Notice your capacity for patience (or lack of it). The urge to snap at people could be strong during the next few days. Themes that are likely to arise during this span of days include:
Passive aggressive comments
Passing the blame unless one chooses to forgo the temptation to find or assign fault and demonstrate responsibility
Publishing and sharing secret, occult, and obscure information
Manipulating story lines in one’s favor
Confrontation over money and other resources
Debates about what is right, just, and fair
October 5: Venus stations retrograde in Scorpio
On Friday [which happens to be Venus’ Day], Venus in Scorpio stations retrograde turning her functions of pleasure seeking and social engagement inwards for revaluation. Ruled by Mars (which is still in Aquarius), this Venus retrograde will largely direct our attention to what we think relationships should reflect. Scorpio is a deeply emotional sign, and intense emotions involving our values and the way we relate to those closest to us will seize our attention, but an underlying theme of changing social dynamics will be hard to ignore over the next month and a half.
Venus in Scorpio wants to connect with others in the most intimate way possible. To merge with their counterpart and know the other from the inside out, including the heart’s deepest and darkest secrets. (Mars symbolizes the passion of sex and anger, lending a potent charge to Venus’ time in Scorpio.)
But Mars ruling this retrograde also points to breaking bonds (Mars separates) when things aren’t ideal (Aquarius). Mars in Aquarius points to strong ideals and the drive to restructure what doesn’t fit into its vision and set of values.
On a mundane level, this could be a turning point for the collective once Venus retrogrades back into Libra where She will station direct. The collective conversation about equal rights, respect, and pay for women is an obvious example of these themes.
Referencing back to a previous delineation of Venus retrograde:
Those with planets or angles in the early degrees of the fixed signs (Scorpio, Aquarius, Taurus, or Leo) or late degrees of the cardinal signs (Libra, Capricorn, Aries, or Cancer) are going to feel pulled to dig up the past (be it your familial past, old arguments or ex-lovers that lack a sense of finality and closure, emotional trauma, or expired coping patterns) and examine it from all angles, inside and out.
The instinctive reflex to guard the heart and sniff out potential threats is high during Venus’ backward motion through Scorpio; partnerships particularly touched by this transit (by natal placement or by the activation of time lord) will be pushed to reveal the contents of their heart. Venus in Scorpio offers the chance to know and understand the psycho-spiritual state of our relationships— be it our relationship to money, sex, body-image, or another person— but the only way this will truly happen is by stripping away secrets, and the layers that we hide behind (consciously or not) to bare the matter of our soul.
Social dynamics, cultural values, aesthetics, and the face of politics will stand out more once Venus makes it back in to the late degrees of Libra. If this transit stands out to you, consider contemplating the relationship you have with yourself.
How do you define yourself outside of your relationships? Can you discern a distinct identity or is it tightly bound up in the influential opinions, ideas, and expressions of a significant other? What do you do or what don't you do to keep others happy? Let this time inform you of your love, or lack of for the self, and dedicate some energy to cultivating more inner harmony, self-knowledge, and unconditional self-love.
May you encounter the value and love you’re looking in Scorpio’s frightfully powerful ocean of beginnings and endings. May the Scales of righteousness bring more authenticity and justice to your relationships. And may this starry cycle offer you a greater sense of connection, self-awareness, and unconditional self-love.