We enter the autumn season on the 23rd of September at the Autumnal Equinox and the Sun’s entry into Libra.
The Sun’s entry into Libra on the 23rd creates a Stellium in Libra as the Sun joins Venus and Mercury in the Venus-ruled Cardinal Air Sign.
The astrological signature for the beginning of autumn has a Cardinal Sign T-Square with the Libra transiting planets by Sign square to the Moon in Cancer and square to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. We may be fast out of the gate as we begin the autumn season, but the question as to whether we are being self-determining or orchestrated by our conditions and by the people around us may determine our trajectory.
With Jupiter in orb of the square to Neptune and the Libra-transiting planets sextiling Jupiter at times through mid-November, we have to be cautious in regard to our own enthusiasm and other people’s encouragement. We could easily overextend ourselves by drawing upon blind faith and unbridled optimism.
Checks and balances are in order, and we may experience them by means of the Libra-transiting planets squares to the Capricorn-transiting planets.
The liability of swinging between extremes of irrational exuberance and downright despair is heightened, a liability we have witnessed recently in the equity markets with the wild swings of severe upticks and devastating drops. These times call for us to be mindful, maintain awareness, and avoid immediate reactions to whatever SEEMS to be going on.
Following the Autumnal Equinox on the 23rd, Mercury sextiles Jupiter on the 24th. Our intended plans may appear rosy as we take an upbeat attitude towards our future prospects. We may be looking to expand our interests and broaden our involvements, all with the sense that things will work out in our favor. No naysayers for us, none that we are willing to listen to until we come to the 25th and 26th.
The 25th and 26th have Venus square Saturn on the 25th, and Mercury square Pluto on the 26th. Relationships may be a little dicey, and largely because someone could say something that we just don’t want to hear. We would prefer everyone we know, not just our individual self, to wear a pair of rose-colored glasses and always look on the bright side of life. [earlier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJUhlRoBL8Mor later https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP8yHP6B4x0]
But the 25th and 26th of September may have someone bursting our balloon and dampening our enthusiasm for what they consider to be only our pipe dreams. Our reaction could prove quite vehement, and these two days are days when we need to take with a grain of salt anything and everything any naysayer might have to contribute to their critique of our considerations. There is no need for us to engage a contentious discussion nor to try and prove the validity of our goals. If someone has something positive to add to our thought processes, that’s all well and good and we may be willing to listen. But these two days on the 25th – 26th might open the door to the solely critical and hypercritical. As I often suggest, it is always wise for us ‘to check the source and check their agenda’.
No matter what flare-ups might occur on the 25th – 26th, these days also find us on the dark side of the Moon prior to the Libra New Moon on the 28th. Not to worry, the New Moon on the 28th truly initiates the autumn season.
This New Moon also has Venus sextile Jupiter. Despite any nasty business that might have occurred on the 25th – 26th, this New Moon and its impact for the next two weeks, and for much of the autumn season, improves relationships. There can be reconciliations with those whom we may have slighted or felt slighted by. There can also be new connections with people of a different background and different experiences from our own. Certainly our relationships are likely to be on the upswing with good feelings shared and encouragement of each individual’s life path.
We enter October with a sense of ‘out with the old, in with the new’. Whatever we find wanting in our life, we might feel it to be an irritant and something to be rid of.
Despite the fact that each of us has significant blessings in the privilege of doing life, many of us can still focus on the negative, determined to see the half glass of water as half empty rather than half full.
A desire for the idyllic and a sense of what could be can create a malaise, a discontent with the way things are.
The 1st of October has Venus square Pluto. Rather than celebrating our friendships and our connections with other people, we have to be wary that we are not looking for the faults in other people.
Instead of seeing the many gifts in our lives, we may tend to carp about what we don’t have rather than fully appreciating what we do have. For many people, their daily existence often seems like a life without meaning.
While we might consider such an attitude to be despondent and depressing, it can also trigger a search for meaning, a search that we might pursue on the 3rd of October as Pluto turns direct and Mercury exits Libra to enter Scorpio.
Whenever Pluto changes direction whether from direct motion to retrograde motion or from retrograde to direct, there is often a major release of energy. This release can be geophysical with earthquake and volcanic activity. It might also take the form of blasts of energy — explosions and bombings. It may even force us to consider whether we are truly engaging real purpose in our lives.
With Pluto turning direct and Mercury entering Scorpio our tendency is likely to strip away the superfluous and irrelevant in order to get to the core and the essence of any situation. We are looking for the real, the true and we are willing to pierce the veil of illusion. And illusions there have been aplenty.
While our mind can sharpen and be more focused, the 4th of October has Mars exiting Virgo to enter Libra. As it does so, Mars ends the Grand Trine by Sign in the Earth Element that has gone on since mid-August. This seven-week period allowed us to be highly productive, deal effectively with mundane matters and make manifest the steps along our journey to realize our ambitions.
At the same time, the Mars exit of Virgo also ends the Mutable T-Square by Sign where Mars in Virgo was opposed to Neptune in Pisces with both square Jupiter in Sagittarius. Our anxieties and our concerns now could be taken down a notch or two. We might better appreciate how the ways things appear or seem to be are often not the real case at all. What we perceive is liable to be an illusion, but in many philosophies reality is but an illusion.
With Mars entering Libra, the Libra Stellium is briefly re-created, a Libra Stellium that had gone on from the Autumn Equinox when the Sun joined Mercury and Venus in Libra, until the 3rd when Mercury exited Libra. We are seeking balance in our lives, equilibrium in a chaotic world and coming to appreciate the perfection of imperfection [wabi-sabi].
Despite the fact that our mind is far more intense and our words concise and to the point, the Mars in Libra quiets our temperament with a desire to make nice with other people. Mars in Libra, the Venus-ruled Sign, is in Detriment where the Mars energy is weakened with a greater consideration of other people rather than the fierce aggressiveness of Mars in its own Signs.
The 7th of October has one of my least favorite energy configurations for travel, communications and technology matters — Mercury opposed Uranus. The Sun squares Saturn also on the 7th.
The 7th is a day for us to exercise great caution in what we say, do, and contemplate. Unexpected news can be upsetting and might disrupt our plans. Nothing may go according to schedule. We might also experience discord with a most unanticipated source. This is a day for us to dodge, duck and dive to avoid the liability of incoming. Having to be on our toes and ever on guard on this Monday could wear us out. Caution is imperative today. Like the Taoist saying advises, this Monday is a day ‘to bend like a reed or break line an oak’.
Venus exits its own Sign of Libra on the 8th, ending the Libra Stellium. Entering Scorpio, Venus comes into a Sign of its Detriment, but also triggers a Mutual Reception with Mars, both of whom are in Signs of their Detriment, and each of whom is the Sign ruled by the other — Mars in Venus-ruled Libra and Venus in Mars [and Pluto] ruled Scorpio.
Jealousy might become an issue, and people might be suspicious of other people’s intentions. We might not fully communicate what is going on with us, and this is a time when we might need to ascertain what is going on by reading a person’s body language.
The Aries Full Moon on the 13th with the Sun also sextile Jupiter could have us flying high, feeling good about ourselves and about our prospects. Irrational exuberance can be contagious. Without considering all the variables and the likelihood of unintended consequences, we could either overly expand our own interests, be encouraged to do so by someone else, or we could energize someone’s grandiose ambitions.
It would be wise for us to dampen our enthusiasm in order to avoid running full-speed into a wall. The 14th has the Sun square Pluto and Mercury sextile Saturn. If we have felt invincible and able to enforce our will upon circumstance by falling back into the old mindset of being in total control of situations, then we could find ourselves being blocked and facing insurmountable obstacles. A little humility and thinking before acting would go a long way to dispelling the restrictions. Although we are dealing with the Sun square Pluto that might have us feeling like the wind being knocked out of us, the Mercury sextile Saturn on the 14th would allow us to consider the fundamentals of our situations and then develop a best practices approach to resolve any issues keeping us from moving forward.
Our intuitive sense may be heightened on the 15th thanks to Mercury trine Neptune. There are times when we get the right answers without fretting over a situation. Sometimes things just come to us, and we figure things out.
The suggestion for this 13th through 15th of October is to slow things down, think before we act, and recognize that optimism can often be overconfidence that needs to be tamped down in order to be fully aware and mindful of the parameters in which we are operating.
Much of this mid-October period can be highly effective. We can consider all sorts of options for ourselves, different ways by which to achieve our goals, and engage a sharp mind that can focus on the fundamentals and then draw upon the right template to accomplish our tasks.
The 19th has Mercury sextile Pluto contributing to insightful dissection and the ability to understand core matters. Our communication can be persuasive and straight to the point and may win advocates to our cause.
The only thing we have to be wary of during this mid-October period is over confidence and any tendency to pull up our tent stakes at the first sign of resistance. Determination and proper planning will go a long way to successful results. Once we devise our intentions and strategies we can draw upon a trusted confidante to evaluate whether we are headed in the right direction or if our enthusiasm has gotten the better of us.
Venus sextile Saturn on the 20th of October offers a clear evaluation of our intentions. Not only can the fundamentals be solid and strong, but with Venus trine Neptune on the 21st, our presentation may be appealing with a certain mystique that is intriguing.
The 23rd of October has the Sun exiting Libra and entering Scorpio. With the Sun in Scorpio, we now have a Stellium in the Fixed Water Sign with the Sun joining Mercury and Venus in Scorpio. This is a four-week period of the year when we tend to internalize matters. Suspicions and jealousy are liable to rear up, and people may hold heir cards close to their chest. It will be hard to scrutinize what is going on with other people, but the liability of explosive behavior cannot be discounted.
The Scorpio-transiting planets will oppose Uranus in Taurus, sextile the two Capricorn-transiting planets of Saturn and Pluto, and trine Neptune in Pisces. There can be wild swings with unexpected curveballs liable to upset our plans with costly consequences. The challenge for each of us will be to maintain our center, be aware and mindful and avoid immediate reactions.
The 25th of October has Venus sextile Pluto. If we concentrate on the basics, build from the ground up, we can establish solid foundation stones that are appealing. This may be a time when we want to do some renovation or redecoration. A good house cleaning by ridding ourselves of the superfluous would allow us to be far more productive and not weighted down by the extraneous. The depth of our relationships might be more evident with a reach out to family members who live a distance away.
The Scorpio New Moon on the 27th ushers in a two-week period when we have to keep our wits about us with the anticipation of unexpected matters that can demand our attention and come with quite a cost. This New Moon opposes Uranus, and Mars squares Saturn. Assaults on the traditional can come about from the least likely sources. Expenses may ratchet up for unknown reasons. This two-week period suggests we keep an eye on our finances with a cash reserve to keep us secure, although security may be lacking during this two-week period.
We are living during a time of paradigm shift, a disruptive time when things can change in a nanosecond. Some of the shifts and changes can be mini-miracles, wonderful surprises that are hard to explain. Other shifts and changes can be more challenging, upsetting the semblance of equilibrium and normalcy.
The Mars square Saturn cautions us not to rush headlong into anything with the idea that we can make things operate according to our will. Brawn without brain might level a nasty pushback, especially in light of the fact that what we see may not be what we get.
Yes, it may seem like we’re in a carnival’s fun house but one that isn’t very much fun.
If we would keep in mind the big picture with the affirmation that things truly do work out in the end, we can tone down our responses and not get caught up in the hurly-burly of bizarre behavior and downright weird antics.
The 28th of October has the Sun opposed Uranus and punctuates the New Moon configuration. It would be wise for us to maintain an accounting of our income stream and expense outlays. We may want to do something other than what we are scheduled to do, but we should keep in mind mantram-like the question: at what cost?
Mercury and Venus conjunct on the 30th of October, and this would be a time for us to own up to our feelings for someone else. These feelings can be intense with recognition that the natural duality of feelings is love and hate. Our feelings are profound and deeply held.
We end October on the 31st, Halloween, with the beginning of this year’s last Mercury retrograde. This year’s third and final Mercury retrograde enlists once again Murphy’s Law of ‘whatever can go wrong could go wrong’.
We come into November under the dampening effect of the start of the Mercury retrograde.
The next three weeks into November 20th has us mired in Mercury retrograde with its web of confusion, misunderstandings, deceptions and illusions. Welcome to the fun house.
Being in Scorpio, this Mercury retrograde may highlight talk with little substance and pontifications without empirical evidence to back them up. Areas likely to be discussed during this three-week retrograde may include talk about impending recession, housing slowdowns, staggering debt and monumental deficits, and war-like overtures. People may be on edge, intense, and liable to lose it without a moment’s notice.
Throw in the influence of the curveballs from the Scorpio New Moon back on the 27th of October when the Sun Moon conjunction opposed Uranus, and certainly the first two weeks of November can test our strength of character and our ability to keep it together.
Perhaps the best suggestion for the first two weeks of November would be to engage the 5 D’s of Dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.
A saving grace on the 1st of November may be Venus exiting Scorpio and entering Sagittarius. Not only does Venus end the Stellium in Scorpio, but the Venus entry into Sagittarius can make our relationships more upbeat and more fun with us seeking out good times with good friends for some grand adventures. We are all less secretive, less jealous, and feeling more inspired. It’s not a case of ‘misery loves company’, but rather the ability to have a broader perspective and see beyond our own narrow constructs. We are interested in the experiences and exploits of those people different from our own experiences and exploits.
The 5th of November has another of my least favorite energy configurations — an adverse aspect between Mars and Pluto, as Mars squares Pluto. My least favorite aspect for air travel, travel of any kind, communications and high technology functionality is an adverse aspect between Mercury and Uranus. An adverse aspect between Mars and Pluto is more physical with the liability of explosive behavior, violent actions, and bomb blasts. These are times when people are likely to be acting out, and when atmospheric systems provide violent storms, and when geophysical phenomena of volcanoes and earthquakes are active. One cannot stress enough that under this energy configuration of Mars square Pluto it is essential to avoid knee-jerk reactions, apply braking action, and not give way to a sense of being on a runaway train.
Whether we can avoid or fall prey to reckless behavior on the 5th, November 8th and 9th provide the energy configurations to pick up the pieces or make amends for earlier outlandish behavior.
The 8th of November has the Sun sextile Saturn, Sun trine Neptune, and Saturn sextile Neptune. This is a day when we can blend our spiritual with our practical. There is a wise and old saying, often lost in today’s society, that advises: ‘render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.’ This Friday allows us to do just that. Our inner world may be in harmony with our external self. We could have a sense of alignment whereby what we are doing in the physical world meshes nicely with our soul journey. Our intuitive sense may provide foresight and a certain ‘knowing without knowing’, thereby allowing us to create the right template, engage the right moves to accomplish our goals.
This harmonious integration is followed on Saturday the 9th of November by Mercury sextile Pluto. Our understanding of situations can be spot on. We could strip away the dross and the decorative to get to the heart of what is truly going on. Our mind is sharp, our communications concise and to the point, and our compassion for our fellow beings heightened. If an issue has been perplexing, this is a time when we can see the fundamentals of the matter and devise the most effective approach to a successful resolution.
These two days of November 8th and 9th are likely to have us highly productive and being far more effective with less expenditure of energy.
Once we get beyond the 5th of November with its liability to explosions and intense blasts, the following eight days are relatively smooth sailing, and days when we are more centered, more in our own body, and consequently more in tune with what we need and want to do.
The 11th of November has the Sun conjunct Mercury. If we would restrain our desires to make things happen and to be in control of our circumstance, then our inner voice and our inner knowing can guide us wisely and adeptly. We may have the ability to create greater comfort in our life. We might even have a spiritual awakening. Whether we go off on a spiritual retreat or just turn inward, we could gain sustenance and clarity by engaging quiet times, turning away from the distractions and diversions and being one with our own spirit and our soul.
The 12th has the Taurus Full Moon and Mars sextile Jupiter. If we used some ‘down time’ to be quiet, receptive and just listen, then this Full Moon could heighten our ability to put spirit into action. As if fortified by an appreciation of our own life path, we can be determined to move ahead with our plans and goals, knowing that we are on the right track and headed in the right direction. More comfortable in our own self, our relationships can also improve. Not interested in one-upping anyone, we can better appreciate the qualities in someone else as we are fully appreciating our own personal characteristics.
The 11th through the 13th of November are powerful days, days when we might feel more complete and more capable of dealing with the vagaries of life during these highly disruptive times. Not only may we acknowledge the truth to the wise admonition that ‘we never get more than we can handle’. We could also recognize that we can easily navigate the storm-tossed seas and turn the most problematic situations to our benefit.
The 13th of November has Mercury sextile Saturn, Mercury trine Neptune, and the Sun sextile Pluto. By drawing upon our intuitive sense and our practical knowledge, we can refocus our involvements with a concentration on the most meaningful. All of us are going through a metamorphosis, a transformation. We can either go through this dramatic change in a subtle manner whereby we gradually shift and change in accord with our own individual unfolding. Or some people may go through these changes in exaggerated ways, kicking and screaming as they shift from who they have been into who they are becoming. Let’s keep in mind that few people easily incorporate significant change. Yet change is in the process of occurring.
While the 11th through the 13th can be primo days for us, and more so the more we embrace this integration of spirit and action; the 14th of November raises issues and issues around how we are relating to other people. Venus squares Neptune on the 14th. As though there is greater transparency and greater clarity, we might strip away some of the illusions we have regarding someone, and someone may do the same to us. We could experience a disappointment if we have given the wrong person the benefit of the doubt. This is a day when we might either buy into the Wizard of Oz screen or pull back the curtain to reveal who is pulling the strings. As a spiritual teacher of mine repeatedly said of those working on themselves: ‘Life doesn’t get easier, only clearer.’
And so it may be on the 14th of November with the Venus square Neptune. With our perceptions sharpened, we are less likely to be sold a bill of goods… unless we choose to make the purchase.
The 19th of November has Mars exiting Libra to enter Scorpio. Mars is moving out of a Sign in which it is in Detriment and moving into a Sign that Mars co-rules with Pluto. Our physical energy and our martial intents are heightened. We briefly have a Stellium in the Fixed Water Sign as Mars joins Mercury and the Sun in Scorpio.
This intensity is heightened on the 20th as Mercury ends its three-week retrograde cycle and turns direct. With Mars in Scorpio and Mercury turning direct we have a powerful and passionate energy at play. If we are triggered, our response could be too hot to handle.
On the 22nd, the Sun ends this brief Stellium in Scorpio as the Sun exits Scorpio to enter Sagittarius. While the past month may have had us persistent and determined, we may also have been secretive and keeping things to our self. The move of the Sun into the Mutable Fire Sign has the Sun triggering a Stellium in Sagittarius as the Sun joins Venus and Jupiter in the Mutable Fire Sign. We are likely to be thinking about coming out of our self-imposed shell, spreading our wings and broadening our activities.
Stretch is one thing but a huge leap something else. The 24th of November can have us intending a great leap forward. The ‘two good guys’ of the planetary realm, Venus and Jupiter, are conjunct. Enough might not be enough, and too much might still be not enough. The liability to excess and indulgence cannot be denied. And with Mars opposed Uranus on the same day the liability is heightened with a tendency towards being accident-prone. We can be impulsive, operating on blind faith, and assuming that we can lunge forward with no dire consequences only beneficial results. What an error in judgment that would be!
Similar to the short-lived Stellium in Scorpio, the Sagitarius stellium is short-lived as Venus exits Sagittarius to enter Capricorn on the 25th. The movement of Venus into Capricorn triggers a Stellium in Capricorn as Venus joins Saturn and Pluto in the Cardinal Earth Sign. Our interactions might have a purpose — what can our contacts and connections do to help us advance our plans and achieve our goals.
The Sagittarius New Moon on the 26th can have us getting into holiday gear. We may be interested in what is going on with people far from our local environment. Reaching out to family and friends who live at a distance could have us texting, emailing or chatting up people with whom we have had little recent contact.
Neptune turns direct on the 27th with Mercury trine Neptune on the 28th. Venus also trines Uranus on this day, which in the US is Thanksgiving. Conversations can be intriguing discussions and might make us aware of how perceptive we truly are. There can also be serendipitous encounters, meeting up with people as if bumping into them unexpectedly. This can be an exhilarating time, and a time to keep aware of all sorts of possibilities, even the seemingly impossible.
Whatever we gleaned from this Thursday, we could put into practical application on Saturday, the 30th of November. Mercury sextiles Saturn and our foresight and vision can blend nicely in practical application. This is a time when we can resolve certain matters and explore new trajectories for ourselves.
We come into December and we may increasingly feel the cold of winter with its sense of delay and restriction increasingly strong.
Early in December we have a major Sign change. Jupiter exits its own Sign of Sagittarius where Jupiter is strong and enhances its planetary realm influence. Jupiter now enters for its year cycle into Capricorn, a Sign in which Jupiter is in Fall, its influence diminished, restricted with a propensity to compress.
Jupiter’s move into Capricorn on December 2nd increases the Cardinal Earth Stellium as Jupiter joins Venus, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn.
The 3rd of December has Mercury sextile Pluto and Venus sextile Mars. Our mind can be incisive and our presentation engaging, persuasive and to the point. It would be hard to counter our case, for we have a strong argument and a passionate presence. The Scorpio and Capricorn energies are engaged in both instances, and allow us to cut to the essence of a situation and then build on solid foundations.
The 8th of December may be a highly emotional but possibly confusing time. The Sun squares Neptune, and Venus sextiles Neptune. We can go through mood swings and susceptible to someone’s influence. While feeling strong within ourselves, we could have our head in the clouds and our feet hardly touching the ground.
Mercury exits Scorpio and enters Sagittarius on the 9th. Our ability to zero in on what is going on may be lost to our mind broadening and entertaining all sorts of ideas. The proliferation might be intriguing while the due diligence could be lacking. Mercury is in Detriment in Sagittarius for it throws wide the realm of our thinking process and opens the door to interests in diversions and distractions. We are likely to have fewer dark thoughts as we might have experienced with Mercury’s transit of Scorpio but our filtration process can be lacking with Mercury in Sagittarius.
December 11th has Venus conjunct Saturn, two days before Venus conjuncts Pluto. This is a time for us to make contact with friends from our past and those that can assist our future endeavors. Our appearance can be impressive, for our intent may be to gain benefit from our interactions. If we are doing our holidays planning, we are likely to reach out to those who might serve us by advancing our ambitions.
This period between the 11th and 15th of December might be a time when we are considering our holidays social gatherings. We may be more interested in those get-togethers that would somehow benefit our standing than just having fun social occasions. We could be looking at using these holidays as opportunities to make our presence known and to improve our connections with those people whom we believe truly matter.
The Gemini Full Moon on the 11th – 12th can have us scheduling our holiday rounds. Although we might engage a good number of people over the next three weeks, we are likely to have a purpose in mind, which may be somewhat akin to the sentiment of ‘what have you done for me lately’.
Certain social occasions might seem obligatory, and we are willing to do the dance if we see some future gain likely. People may be a little jaded during this time, jockeying for position, and going to great expense to put on an impressive show.
Dazzling might fit the feel of Friday the 13th of December. Mars trines Neptune, and Venus conjuncts Pluto. There is high emotionality with an appealing mystique in the way people present themselves. There is cunning to the placement of people involved with everyone looking to one-up each other as they seek out the most influential people to rub elbows with.
Proper planning and calculated moves could serve up unexpected benefits on the 15th when Jupiter trines Uranus. Whether we become aware of opportunities or are gifted in some way, we might be surprised by the presents given to us at this time.
The art of engagement demands mastery, and we may be masters at it during this mid-month period, from the 11th through the 15th. Our motives may be to use holiday get-togethers for our own personal benefit, and we might find that doors open to us.
The talent of balance and finding the Goldilocks quality of ‘just right’ demand skill and finesse. We may seem to have it during this mid-month period, but whether we are able to maintain it is open to question, especially as we end the autumn season.
The 19th has Mars sextile Saturn and Mercury square Neptune. We could push our personal interests a little too far, too fast. Our determination to get what we want might have severe repercussions as we misread situations or presents ourselves in too self-absorbed manner.
If subtle obsequiousness does not work in our favor, we are likely to chuck it all as Venus exits Capricorn on the 20th to enter Aquarius. We may have spent the past four weeks making nice to those people we thought could promote our personal interests. We now become more interested in people with character, those quirky individuals that are willing to march to their own drummer.
The autumn season ends on the 21st – 22nd as the Sun exits Sagittarius and enters Capricorn at the time of the Winter Solstice.
Autumn 2019… reaping what we sow…
