An October of Slowing Down, Consolidation, and Balance

Similar to the far broader aftermath of the Covid societal reset, this is a month of careful recognition and eventual resumption of activities in a new way, following the potent Mercury Retrograde of September, along with the Libra New Moon of September 25th that featured a Mars-Saturn trine and prominent Pluto. Mercury stations to direct motion on October 2nd, coincident with the Moon’s First Quarter, and will slowly straighten out over the two weeks following. As it re-enters the sign of Libra, where it started, and regains its lost Zodiacal ground, the retrograde symptoms of missed connections and mechanical breakdown will begin to fade. The October 2nd station itself is quite dramatic, occurring as it does in the midst of a potent Pluto lunation cycle, and because Mercury stations at 24 degrees of Virgo in trine with Pluto and inconjunct Eris, triggering the Eris-Pluto- Haumea T-square that has been one hallmark of this early fall period. Transformation is therefore in the air right from the very beginning of the month. You will want to recognize what about yourself and your activities you need to emphasize, and what you need to discard as no longer useful, in the interest of personal evolution. Mars in suspended motion with the trine to Saturn, and preparing to enter its own retrograde period at the end of the month, also encourages us to slow down, to look and to listen, as we in our introspective and almost meditative mode attempt to more closely see into where we are heading, and why.

The Libra New Moon that set the tone for the month features Pluto, as outlined above, and also features Mars in aspect to both Uranus and to Saturn, themselves in square alignment as has been described elsewhere. That these antithetical archetypal entities are in square with each other implies that while there is an impulse within us to jump the tracks of existing limitations and explore new ways of perceiving and of being, there is also something operating within us all that slows us down from moving too far, too fast, and urges a more cautious approach. Pluto is standing almost dead still in the sky as October gets underway, contributing to his current prominence. Situated in Capricorn, the message is that the very structure of our lives, and of our society, needs to be able to transform itself as we move forward into this new 21st century. Watching the news headlines, it is becoming more obvious with each passing day that this is indeed precisely the case.

The Aries Full Moon of October 9th has something vital to contribute as well. The Moon is in close proximity to Chiron, the Wounded Healer, in mid-Aries, indicating that as we proceed with our ongoing personal evolution, we might have to deal with issues bubbling up from the deeply hidden parts of our psyches.

When the closing square of the current Libra lunation cycle hits, on October 17th, this also signals the final and complete emergence of Mercury from its retrograde shadow, having regained the placement in Libra from which is started. Meanwhile the Sun and Moon in square with one another, at the 24-degree mark of Libra and of Cancer, precisely oppose and square Eris in Aries, while the Moon opposes Pluto at 26 Capricorn. The grand square alignment is another classic instance of the potent Pluto cycle that October represents, with all its symbolism of the shift in our personal evolution that is thus indicated.

Then, the Scorpio New Moon and solar eclipse of the 25th has also something special to offer, being in partile or same-degree conjunction with Venus, ruler of the opposite sign of the New Moon, a potent indication that relationships are to be one significant focus of the last week of October and the first three weeks of the following month. It is only by a process of balancing our individual needs and desires with those of our partners, or of anyone that we are in relationship to, that we find our actual way forward. The golden rule is an old saw but it still applies. We win when we triumph for not only ourselves but for everyone that we are in contact with; this is the measure of true success.

When Mars stations to retrograde motion near the very end of the month, on October 30th, an event lasting into the first few months of 2023, this takes place at 25 degrees of Gemini, echoing again that Eris-Pluto square at similar degrees of Aries and of Capricorn. With Pluto still standing almost dead still in the sky as he slowly begins to regain forward momentum following its recent station, this entire month is therefore one of continual transformative pressure upon us in order that we may grow.

A famous and well-beloved astrologer, Alan Oken, who quite recently passed away during Covid, mourned by many, was fond of remarking that the mandate which the universe puts upon us to grow in self-understanding is in fact “the only game in town.” He followed this up by saying “Or, at least the only one worth playing.” And it is true, is it not, that by fulfilling our evolutionary destiny to become the most authentic versions of ourselves that we can muster, we make our best move toward solving the almost intractable social problems of this 21st century. At least we will have done our bit, and although this is all we really can do, it is enough.