Ah, the sunny days of Indian summer are here in Santa Cruz. October can be such a beautiful time and the cosmic weather at the start of the month sets the mood for good conversation along with creative fun. Mercury in Libra, 22°34’, squares Jupiter in Cancer, October 1st, at 1:59 pm Pacific time. Relax and enjoy the company of old friends and family. “Get in the grove and let the good times roll…”
Mercury.
By October 6th, Mercury joins Mars in Scorpio, shifting the mood in time for the Full Moon in Aries, 14°08’, at 8:47 pm that night. The next day, Mercury squares Pluto in Aquarius, 01°22’. This Full Moon time is about taking a chance on putting yourself forward, jumping in and initiating bold new ways of being the pioneer, the explorer, the warrior. Look to see where the Full Moon falls in your chart. Here you need courage to act. Mercury and Mars in Scorpio help you to face any dark places in yourself or in others that keep you from being free and true to you.
By mid-month, on October 13th, Pluto slows down and stops in the sky to turn direct after moving retrograde since early May. Pluto is a very slow-moving planet, taking 248 years to orbit the Sun, and so it has a much greater, long-lasting impact as it moves through our natal charts than faster moving planets. Look to see where Pluto is transiting in your chart. Here Pluto wishes to wipe the slate clean so you can rise from the ashes and claim a more Aquarian authentic and revolutionary you. Moon in Cancer is also out of bounds now, at extreme declination, while Venus enters Libra at 2:18 pm and opposes Neptune in Aries 00°12’ at 6:15 pm. Moon and Venus suggest thinking outside the box in terms of our closest bonds and what type of relationship works best for you.
The New Moon in Libra, 28°21’, occurs October 21st at 5:25 am. Set intentions for new beginnings that might help you calm down in your everyday life, bring peace and add beauty each step of the way. As Sam Cooke says in the old song “Let the Good Times Roll”, “We’re going stay here till we soothe our soul…if it takes all night long!” Libra seeks balance and so this is a good lunar time to think about how we might bring more grace and pleasure into the dance we do with others. Mercury in Scorpio enters its “shadow period” moving over degrees the planet will cover when retrograde next month. Part of building smooth and graceful Libra partnerships involves a willingness to talk intimately and honestly about our psychological wounds or the shadows we hold inside.
Sun enters Scorpio on October 22nd at 8:50 pm, further underscoring themes of going deep in relationship, processing old patterns that need to go and exploring the inner shaman in each of us. Scorpio season includes El Dia de Los Muertos, the Gaelic festival of Samhain, and Halloween. We can’t fully embrace life without facing shadow, the reality of death and dying, the deeper mysteries of life. The sign of the scorpion is about facing these existential truths.
Meanwhile, Neptune retrograde reenters Pisces early in the morning October 22nd. We have a lot of watery energy later in the month, as Mercury and Mars in Scorpio make a series of trines to Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn and Neptune in Pisces between October 24th and 29th. Passions and emotions run deep. Be compassionate to others as intense connection can bring up both sensuality and fantasy, while also trust issues or dark secrets. “Ain’t felt this way since I don’t know when…Might not feel this way again…you know it might take all night long!” By the 29th, Mercury enters Sagittarius and opposes Uranus at 00°21’ Gemini, 12:35 pm, and sextiles Pluto in Aquarius 01°26’ on the 30th at 3:06 pm. All this Scorpio work may bring us fresh new ideas about how best to feel free and still supportive of those we love. Happy Halloween, Santa Cruz stargazers! “It don’t matter that it’s getting late, we’re going make the band play one more song!”
