This October signals a major energy change as Saturn exits Libra to enter Scorpio. The need for resourcefulness and budgeting during a contractive economic period may force us to do a serious inventory taking of what are truly important aspects of our lives and those things that are needless expenditures of our time, monies and energy.
October is always an interesting month, for it seems to bridge Summer and Winter. In the northern latitudes, the beginning of the month continues with warm days and cooling nights, and the end of the month introduces us to the stripped away landscape with bone-chilling winds.
Confusion can be part of this October, but we shall have the ability to strip away the images and appearances to see what is really going on. We may not like to see some of the elements of hard, cold reality, but it would be wise for us to keep in mind the truth to the saying that ‘we never get more than we can handle’.
Early October has Venus sextile Saturn on the 2nd, just before Venus moves into Virgo on the 3rd when it opposes Neptune. We might choose to catch up with old friends, get together with someone to show our appreciation for their being in our lives. We may be far more hospitable on the 2nd than on the 3rd, for as Venus moves into Virgo we could become far more critical, holding people up to expectations but looking more at their flaws than their attributes. We also have to be wary of the trickster, those people who appear one way, their reality totally something different.
Jupiter turns retrograde on the 4th of October, which may not be such a bad thing. Jupiter is transiting Gemini, a Sign of its detriment, where Jupiter is not comfortable. Instead of the depth of understanding and the searching for the truth of the Sagittarian qualities, Jupiter in Gemini exacerbates the tendency to take on more and ever more without considering what we are taking on, the ramifications of our involvements or the collateral aspects from the law of unintended consequences. Talk may be plentiful and cheap but we shall now have the opportunity of going back over areas where we might have been flippant, glib and neglected due diligence.
The 5th of October is a major, major day. Mercury enters Scorpio, which it does on an annual basis but more importantly on this day Saturn exits Libra ending its two and a half year cycle of the Cardinal Air Sign to enter Scorpio. Saturn in the Fixed Water Sign for the next two and a half years can emphasize the need for resourcefulness. Finances may tighten, especially in light of the fact that governments may be looking for more tax revenue. No matter who wins elections with Saturn in Scorpio, we may discover that the taxman wins either way with a greater bite from our disposable incomes. Past issues of financial miscalculations or excesses may be called to account, and the potential for problems in banking, the decorative arts and food supplies could be aggravated over the next two plus years. As I mentioned above, resourcefulness is called for with the recognition, and hopefully realization, of the truth to the wise saying that ‘we never get more than we can handle.’
While there have been calls for greater transparency in the ways of the world and mundane affairs, Saturn in Scorpio may have a great deal more going on behind the scenes, in secretive ways, without full disclosure. Our psychic sense will have to be further developed and grow strong for us to be able to strip away the ornamentals, cut to the core and figure out what is truly going on.
As those of us who have strong Cardinal Sign [Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn] influences know, the Saturn transit impacting our planets by conjunction, squares and opposition can be one where we experience delays, frustrations and restrictions with often a pull back into past issues, past matters, even those affairs we may have thought resolved that still demand reflection at the very least. The Saturn transit is like a walk down Memory Lane, although not so much a garden path as a brambled rocky terrain. The Saturn transit influence is akin to the recapitulation phase discussed in Carlos Castaneda’s last book, The Active Side of Infinity. Sometimes we need to go back in order to move forward.
Although we are on the threshold of the dawning of a brand new day, a new world order, we may have to look through our old baggage, do an inventory, see what we need in order to proceed and that which we need to let go in order not to be thwarted in our days ahead.
For those with planets in the Fixed Signs [Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius], the Saturn Scorpio transit will ask of you, even demand, that you look back and deal with past issues and outstanding matters before moving ahead. The Saturn transit can be frustrating and can suck our energy, but with Saturn we are doing a great deal of internal work.
Before either Mercury or Saturn enter Scorpio on the 5th, Mercury conjuncts Saturn in the final degree and the final minutes of Libra. We may have greater clarity regarding our significant relationships. For some of us, there may be completions and closures. For others of us, there may be a greater consolidation and appreciation of the significant relationships in our lives.
Mercury moves into Scorpio and trines Neptune on the 5th. Our intuitive sense may be highly accentuated. No matter what is being presented by way of the media, the hypesters and the spinmeisters, we can see through the mirage. As if we have laser-like vision, we can see beyond the words, the images and appearances, and realize what is truly going on. We may also strategize a best practices approach to deal with any foreboding sense of contraction, and make our contingency plans to be as resourceful as we possibly can.
This first week of October is action-packed with Venus moving into Virgo on the 3rd, Jupiter turning retrograde on the 4th, both Saturn and Mercury entering Scorpio on the 5th and on the 6th – 7th Mars exiting Scorpio to enter Sagittarius.
While there could be a greater feeling of contraction and compression, Mars moving into Sagittarius can have us looking far afield, interested in foreign situations and wanting to expand our realm of operations. With Mars squaring Neptune on the 7th, we just have to be wary regarding where we place our energy. We may have gotten a burst of energy, a second wind, but it would be wise for us to focus our energy and not dissipate our energy by following castles in the air, those situations that seem appealing but have no real substance to them.
A sense of greater optimism combined with due diligence seems strong around the 9th – 10th of October. Our confidence can be increased thanks to the Sun trine Jupiter on the 9th. We may feel upbeat, enthusiastic and exuberant but our exuberance is not an irrational exuberance but rather well-grounded and well-focused. The sense of having our feet on the ground and an ability to zero in on a best practices approach all the while looking at those projects and activities that have the greatest meaning for us can be seen with Venus trine Pluto on the 9th and Mercury sextile Pluto and Saturn trine Neptune on the 10th. As though we have an incisive perception and an intense concentration, we can streamline our operations, deal with the fundamental issues, address every detail in the most expeditious manner and present ourselves in a pleasant and competent way. A great deal can be accomplished around the 9th and 10th of October if we will only engage the energies and embrace our talents, our abilities and the help from the greased wheels of the universe.
The Libra New Moon on the 15th of October falls in the 3rd Decanate of Libra with the Gemini sub-influence. The Sun Moon conjunction is within orb of a trine to Jupiter and a conjunction with Saturn. The 15th also has Mars trine Uranus. This day, and this next fortnight under the influence of this Libra New Moon, can truly be a tale of two energy configurations. There can be a push pull between old and new. On one hand, we may seek to involve ourselves in any number of activities. As though impacted by attention deficit disorder, we may be far more engrossed in trying out various things, chopping and changing, going from one thing to another to another. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, since the energy can be swift and fast moving. We just have to be aware of what our productive time cycle may be, work with time in a qualitative manner rather than a quantitative measure, and have much on our plate. While our interests can be primarily on juggling, exploring and experimenting; we may also be pulled back into past situations, especially those associated with our finances where we realize that we might not have the same level of resources available to us as in times past. This situation, on the other hand, may force us to address outstanding matters, deal with old affairs and tie up various loose ends that we might have assumed had been completed but come back to daunt us and demand a final completion. If we can catch the rhythm, do the dance of back and forth and work with the energy in fast, almost staccato-like pulsations, we could discover that we are far more effective in shorter periods of time and largely by streamlining our methodology and working smarter rather than harder.
This push pull can be evident around the 16th of October when Mercury sextiles Venus and Venus squares Jupiter. Although we can be highly resourceful, develop a best practices approach, we also have to be wary of committing too much and taking on more than we can effectively handle. While these days have a great deal on our plate and have us developing a master juggler talent, we also have to avoid needless distractions and tedious diversions.
The 22nd-23rd of October has the Sun exiting Libra to enter Scorpio. With the Sun’s entrance into Scorpio, there is now a Stellium of three or more planets in the Fixed Water Sign, as the Sun joins Mercury and Saturn in Scorpio. The Sun trines Neptune on the 23rd and the Sun conjuncts Saturn on the 25th. The Scorpio phase asks us to go inside, to strip away a lot of the ornamental and the superfluous and to concentrate on the internal aspects of our being. The intensity is ratcheted up, but the intensity is an inner percolation, similar to the molten core deep within the surface of the earth. We may feel as though we have a manifest destiny. We may experience a sense of dying to the old, to eventually be reborn into the new. While we might have an impulse of a promised land somewhere beyond where we are, we may also recognize the need to do an inventory taking of our lives, where we have been, where we are and where we intend to go. In his last book, The Active Side of Infinity, Carlos Castaneda talks about the importance of recapitulation, of going back over situations and experiences in order to free ourselves from the cobwebs of the past that, whether consciously or subconsciously, could determine the actions of our present. There are times when we need to go through our old baggage and see what we need to be rid of before we move on. This latter part of October can be very much of that backdrop — a need for each of us to scrutinize our lives, see where we are and then devise a clearing out and cleaning up of past matters that serve no purpose, bear no relevance to our present, much less our future.
The end of October is a fairly frenetic time, a time when we need to keep our wits about us and not fall prey to either confusion or delusion. We may be impetuous, but in our rush to judgment there could be a liability to our making some bone-headed decisions.
Venus exits Virgo and moves into its own Sign of Libra on the 28th, the day that Mars opposes Jupiter. The 29th has the Taurus Full Moon, Mercury moving into Sagittarius and Mercury square Neptune. With boundless enthusiasm, we may rush ahead but unfortunately our racing ahead might be fraught with extravagance, excesses and delusions. At this time, it would be important for us to activate some braking action, for otherwise we could go blindly into the night without due diligence, without considering the likely ramifications, without evaluating and re-evaluating along the way and without acknowledging the law of unintended consequences that could have collateral damages.
No matter how off center we might get, the 30th of October allows us to get back into gear, thanks to the Sun sextile Pluto. Excesses and extravagances can be reviewed and rectified. We tap into the deep reservoir of our being and our resourcefulness and cut away any indulgences perpetrated by our ego wishes.
October 2012… inventory taking and clearing the decks…
