Similar to the early autumn period when the days are balmy but the nights are crisp, October may be akin to what Charles Dickens wrote in A Tale of Two Cities: ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’
The key energy configuration of this month is the Mercury retrograde that begins on the 4th and continues through the month until the 25th, when Mercury turns direct.
Although we might start October feeling as though we are walking in sunshine, upbeat and optimistic, it is important for us to realize that we may still have some old patterns and past situations with which we have to deal and address.
On the 4th of October, the Sun squares Pluto. This is also the day that Mercury turns retrograde for a three-week cycle with Mercury retrograding through Scorpio and then through Libra until the 25th of this month of October.
We could have a sense that someone is standing in our way, putting a kibosh on our newfound energy. We could even feel that some of our connections are better considered past rather than people we might continue to engage in the present, much less the future. Let’s not allow anyone to rain on our parade through misunderstandings or their expectation that we should act according to their definition of us based upon their past experiences of us. We are all going through dramatic transformations, various changes that are more akin to our essence, substance and soul than our conditioning or other people’s expectations.
Despite someone else’s protestations or silent censure, we might cry out or might just act in accord with the sentiment: “I gotta be free, I gotta be me.”
The Fire Grand Trine that we have been influenced by over the past several weeks is especially strong around the 5th through the 8th of October with Mars trine Uranus on the 5th and Mars trine Jupiter on the 8th concurrent with the Lunar Eclipse and Aries Full Moon. Around this same time, the Libra Sun is triggering the Uranus Pluto square with the Sun square Pluto on the 4th and the Sun opposed Uranus on the 7th. Venus adds to the cacophony of the Uranus Pluto square during this time as Venus squares Pluto at the time of the Full Moon on the 8th and Venus opposes Uranus on the 11th of October.
This early October can be a tale of two different energy configurations [what the dickens have we engaged?]. On the one hand, we may be gung-ho to advance our passions and newfound interests. We have the vitality and intention to carve our own path, step away from our familiar patterns and take on a whole new trajectory. On the other hand, our forward advance could be tripped up by our responsibilities, by other people’s needs or demands, or by our own reticence as we question whether we have the wherewithal to progress successfully. Someone may suggest our confidence and enthusiasm are only leading us on a quixotic journey of tilting at windmills and a fantastic escapade along an apparent gold-laid road that in reality is deeply rutted by dirt-trodden boots.
Our desires and insistences may need to be tempered by considering the parameters, the circumstances and the conditions before we leap ahead with brave adventure. Otherwise, our plans can hit impenetrable obstacles with some people judging that we have been left with nothing more than egg on our face.
This paradox of great enthusiasm and strong opposition may create a real whipsaw during this first half of October, but these energies can provide a reining in of irrational exuberance and an indomitable confidence to move forward in new directions.
We do have to be wary of collateral damage during this early October period, for we may desire only ‘yes’ people to our schemes and we might cut loose anyone who elicits a ‘naysayer’ attitude. Relationships can prove dicey, for our tendency and our liability during this early October period is to be self-focused to the point of being self-absorbed. We might take on the extreme sentiment of people being either with us or against us.
While there can be hiccups in our relationships as we put the pedal to the metal in the development of our personal interests in this early October period, things can be far more harmonious as we move into the mid-October period.
Mercury moves back into Libra on the 10th and creates a Stellium of three planets in the Cardinal Air Sign as Mercury joins Venus and the Sun in Libra. We might be more accepting and accommodating of other people, appreciating their perspective and not so adamant about their support of our personal engagements.
Coming off the trigger point in early October to the Uranus Pluto square by first the Sun and then Venus both transiting Libra, the mid-October period can be fun involvements with friends and loved ones. No matter the conditions of the world around us, we are enjoying the company of other people and joining with them in fun social occasions. Autumnal fairs and festivals may be pleasurable activities. The smells of autumn with warm apple pies, cider and the briskness of the temperatures can be invigorating and comforting to us.
This mid-October period has Venus sextile Jupiter on the 14th, the Sun sextile Mars on the 15th, the Sun conjunct Mercury on the 16th, Mercury conjunct Venus on the 17th and on the 20th both Venus sextile Mars and Mercury sextile Jupiter.
This time can be an especially pleasant time, a ‘feel good’ time when we are looking on the bright side of life. We may feel upbeat, optimistic, enjoying ourselves and the company of others.
But, as we have all learned, life is not a stasis and the truth to that sentiment is no greater true than during these volatile times of radical changes in the transformations we are all experiencing and the transitions between the old paradigm and the new paradigm.
A dramatic shift in energy occurs on the 23rd of October when the Sun enters Scorpio followed by Venus exiting Libra to enter Scorpio and the Scorpio New Moon, a Solar Eclipse. While the Stellium of three or more planets in Libra ends, a Stellium in Scorpio begins with the Sun and Venus joining Saturn in the Fixed Water Sign.
The 23rd of October with the Sun and Venus moving into Scorpio and the Solar Eclipse with the Scorpio New Moon could herald certain eliminations, even to the point of a significant figure stepping off the world stage.
For us personally, some of the wind may seem knocked from our sails, but we might also be far more resourceful and looking to do more with less. This begins a period when we could strip the dross from our lives, cutting back on the superfluous and the extraneous and concentrating more on the truly meaningful. We may hold our cards close to our chest, and a level of secrecy and intrigue can be in play during this latter part of October through much of November.
We are not interested in surface appearances but prefer to delve below the surface to root out the heart of any matter. We may be doing some serious consideration of where and how to place our energies, and we might utilize our intuitive sense to understand what is truly going on rather than merely accepting empirical proofs.
Mercury turns direct in the mid-degrees of Libra on the 25th of October. While some of our relationships may have been dicey during this Mercury retrograde cycle, various miscues or misunderstandings or ill-conceived future plans can be reworked and even remedied.
There is a certain charm and grace and enigmatic quality about us during the last week of October as Venus and the Sun both trine Neptune. Venus trines Neptune on the 27th and the Sun trines Neptune on the 28th. We may seem to be in an otherworldly state, cavorting with imaginary gods and goddesses in an idyllic paradise.
With Mars exiting Sagittarius to enter Capricorn on the 26th, the Fire Grand Trine ends, but a more diligent and practical approach to realizing our goals can be achieved. We now have the ability to focus on our ambitions and draw upon an intuitive sense as to how we can proceed effectively, even easily.
This month has various twists and turns. Even if we find ourselves going down the wrong byway, we can always backtrack and seek a more propitious path to take. It may seem that this month has us taking a note from Robert Frost in his poem The Road Not Taken:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
October 2014… forks in the road…
