The astrology for this week of October 11th through the 17th of 2021 gives us the last week of the three-week Mercury retrograde cycle.
We start the week in the US with the long holiday autumn weekend that traditionally has been known as Columbus Day, more politically correct now as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, but I’ll leave it with the Autumn Holiday Weekend. Canada celebrates Thanksgiving.
While we start the week flying, exuberant and looking to stretch our wings, our optimism and confidence can be brought down to ground by other people’s needs or their demands upon us. So much for the respite and reinvigoration, we could find ourselves back on track dealing with responsibilities, taking care of business, all the while that our thoughts and preferences are other than where we are.
We might even mutter to ourselves The Firesign Theatre retort: “How can you be in two places at once when you’re not anywhere at all.”
On the one hand we might not want to be here but questioning whether we truly want to be there.
Whatever we decide to do, it would be important for us to add some spice to our life early in the week, keeping in mind that Mercury is still retrograde.
If we deal with our tasks and obligations early in the week, even if we do so ‘kicking and screaming’, the second half of the week provides us the energy to socialize and focus on our future endeavors.
We do engage our year’s nemesis of the Saturn Uranus square during the latter part of the week, but we should be getting used to the whipsaw between old and new while dysfunctionalities seem to reign in the kingdom.
The end of the week and the early part of the weekend are good times to engage other people in conversations. No Debbie downers or Eeyores, please. Let’s look on the bright side. Getting out of Dodge while the weather is relatively temperate would allow us to refresh and replenish our weary souls. It would also be a thought to prepare for the winter ahead. Like squirrels harvesting nuts prior to the onslaught of winter, we too might consider having additional supplies on hand.
Even if totally oblivious to the dysfunctionalities in our economy and our society at present, we have had indications of trying to cross the suspension bridge from old ways of doing things into the new templates for our future. The Saturn Uranus square. We’ve seen it in California with the rolling electrical blackouts in the summer of 2020, and in Texas this past winter as bitterly cold temperatures froze the wind turbines and snow covered the solar panels triggering a non-heating catastrophe for many residents.
It’s all well and good to embrace the transformation of the future, but often we need to rely upon past templates before we leap ahead into the new templates. Otherwise, we could find that lacking a suspension bridge between old and new forces us to make a giant leap across the chasm, somewhat akin to the fate of the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote with a consequent plummet.
Saturn square Uranus.
The end of the weekend could have us feeling intense. We might feel on a precipice or on shifting sands, and there could be some truth to that sense, since this following week starts with both Mercury and Jupiter turning direct.
Monday, October 11th – Autumn Holiday – Jupiter. Monday begins the week with the Sagittarius Moon sextile Jupiter. The Moon then exits Sagittarius to enter Capricorn. If it is solely up to us, we are likely to choose this day as a day to spread our wings, get out of town and engage fun events. In the northern latitudes we may still be ‘leaf peeping’ the countryside with its wide swaths of color — reds, oranges, golds, scarlets. While our responsibilities could be beckoning us today, we might not feel compelled to address the demands. We are more interested in having a good time, putting our routine on the back burner, and fully engaging doing life. This is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, and whether Canadian or not, it is always wise for us to take the time to recognize and appreciate our many blessings and give thanks for the many wonders in doing life. Even though as a society we all seem to be on a runaway train, we can value all the benefits we have and enjoy moments and events that bring a smile to our face. Stepping off the track and engaging our creative pursuits would be a way of reaffirming our individual journey with the characteristics of personal choice. Let’s choose today to be thankful, appreciative and self-fulfilling.
Tuesday, October 12th – You Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine – Lunar T-Square, Mercury, Mars, Sun, Uranus. Tuesday has the Capricorn Moon sextile Uranus and the Capricorn Moon triggering a Cardinal Sign T-Square as the Moon squares the Stellium of Libra-transiting planets of Mercury, Mars and the Sun. We may be at odds with conventional wisdom and the collective consensus today with our tendency to embrace the sentiments expressed by poet Robert Frost:
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
During these times when compliance is asked of us and many choose to march lockstep with the madding crowd, there are moments when each of us may wish to express our individuality, do things differently or do different things, even if doing so puts us at odds with everyone else. This Tuesday can be one of those days when we might alter our trajectory, may incorporate something new and unusual that helps us streamline our normal routine, or could just step away from the parade. We might not win total agreement with other people regarding our choice, but there is nothing harmful in trying what could possibly be a more effective approach. We are living in tumultuous, disruptive times during this paradigm shift, and each of us can use the dynamics of these times to transform our own lives and change how we are doing our living. Today may be one of those days.
Wednesday, October 13th – Guided and Determined – Neptune, Pluto, Moon Void-of-Course, Venus, Saturn. Wednesday continues with the Capricorn Moon with the Moon today sextile Neptune and the Moon conjunct Pluto. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for almost ten hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Capricorn and before the Moon enters Aquarius later in the day. Venus sextiles Saturn. If would listen to our inner voice, take some time to contemplate and reflect, we may find that we are guided towards a best practices approach. Once we have our itinerary and destination in mind, we could virtually move mountains today. We might feel guided as to all the right steps and with our faith engaged our persistence and perseverance can be indomitable. This is a day when we might be operating on greased wheels with things coming together smoothly and easily. We may even have some interesting connections with people from our past or people whose experiences are foreign to our own. Not a day to be forfeited when we can accomplish a great deal and address the many mundane details of our lives. We can look towards our future later on in the day and over the next two days, but this Wednesday is best served in dealing with those outstanding matters that need to be tweaked or reworked.
Thursday, October 14th – Again and Again – Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Uranus. Thursday has the Aquarius Moon triggering our year’s nemesis of the Saturn Uranus square. The Aquarius Moon today conjuncts Saturn to begin the day, and the Moon ends the day with a square to Uranus. Between the two, the Moon sextiles Venus and the Moon trines Mercury, providing a nice respite between the push – pull of Saturn Uranus. We might feel as though we are behind the eight ball as we start this Thursday, having to react to delays, restrictions, impositions and supply chain disruptions. In whatever way we experience it, we may see various problems as indicative of a general breakdown occurring in our economy and in our society. While we could easily fall prey to handwringing and a belief that we are only pawns in a mindless game of power and corruption, we can also draw upon the support and encouragement of someone who refuses to buy into the narrative. No matter how difficult things might seem, let’s remind ourselves that there is always a silver lining. It would be wise for us to keep in mind the story of transformation indicated in the Greek myth of the immortal bird the phoenix on its funeral pyre to rise from its ashes to soar ever higher. This myth is an allegory for both our individual death to the old to be born to the new and society’s transition from what has been to what can be — all part of the paradigm shift we are experiencing from linear, sequential reality into asequential reality.
Friday, October 15th – High Flying – Mars, Jupiter, Sun, Moon Void-of-Course. Friday can have us flying high. The Aquarius Moon conjuncts Jupiter, and the Moon trines both Mars and the Sun both in Libra. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for almost fourteen hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Aquarius and before the Moon enters Pisces late in the day. The Sun trines Jupiter. Not only are we likely feeling upbeat, optimistic and confident. We could have a sense that we are operating at the top of our game. We may also surround ourselves with likeminded people. No naysayers for us today, for we are engaging the Mutual Admiration Society. This is a good day to take as a ‘mental health’ day, a day to get together with a good friend and devise future plans. We can start the day with an incredible thrust of energy and then glide through the day. With the Moon Void-of-Course for much of this day, it would be wise for us to start off with a head of steam but also cognizant of where we are going and what we want to get done on this day. Otherwise, we could easily carrom from one distraction to some other diversion, all fun but losing the opportunities this day would otherwise provide.
Saturday, October 16th – Too Much of a Good Thing – Venus, Uranus, Mercury. Late in the day, Saturday has the Pisces Moon square Venus and the Moon sextile Uranus. Mercury sextiles Venus. The liability of Friday and Saturday could be too much of a good thing. Not that feeling enthusiastic and exuberant is wrong, especially when we consider what we have all gone through over the past year plus. We deserve a break from the crazies and the craziness of what has been going on. You can hardly make up all the stuff we have had to encounter and continue to have to contend with. Although we have to deal in our personal lives with the backdrop of economic dislocations, indications of a dystopian future, and a variety of knuckleheads calling the shots, our individual journey through this life experience revolves more around our personal world with the outer world being like mosquitos at a picnic, annoying and irritating but without enough impact to keep us from enjoying our life and moving forward with our goals. We do need to maintain awareness and mindfulness especially with the changes going on with price inflation and the question of availability on most goods and services and the likelihood of tax increases whether clearly evident or hidden in different fees. These times are not times for the faint of heart or the weak in spirit. Each of us is being called upon to be spiritual warriors in our own alchemical process and transformation. Needless to write, we can do this. Otherwise, we would not have been handed the challenges.
Sunday, October 17th – On the Precipice – Neptune, Pluto, Moon Void-of-Course, Sun. Sunday has the Pisces Moon conjunct Neptune and the Moon sextile Pluto later in the day. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for ten and a half hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Pisces and before the Moon enters Aries on Monday morning. The Sun squares Pluto. By drawing upon our faith and a belief that things do work out, we can be highly effective today. This would be a good day for finishing any projects that we’ve been reworking over the past three weeks. Not only are we ending a month cycle of the Moon’s transit through the Zodiac with the Moon completing its transit of Pisces and before the Moon begins a new monthly Zodiac cycle with the Moon’s entrance into Aries tomorrow. We also have a major shift tomorrow as Mercury ends its three-week retrograde cycle and tuns direct, and Jupiter ends its four-month retrograde cycle. At the beginning of this month of October we had six planets retrograde with the energy turned more inward than the ability to express externally. This turn of retrograde planets direct began last week with Pluto and Saturn both turning from retrograde direct. Whenever Mercury turns direction, whether from retrograde to direct or from direct to retrograde motion, things get especially squirrely. Consequently, we may feel out-of-sorts on this Sunday. We might have a sense of necessary changes we are being impelled to make but reluctant to add to the sense of shifting sands under our feet. Let’s keep in mind that each of us and society itself are going through significant transformations. We are not who we have been, and we are not fully aware of who we will be as the process continues to unfold. We can take solace from the shifting energies that propel us into our future.
