(Image) A fractal flame rendered using Apophysis software
(credit: Jon Zander aka Digon3, July 2007)
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Anyone choosing to compare October to the September which preceded it on the basis of high astro-drama will likely be disappointed. No eclipses - not even a transpersonal planet stationing to point to. The good news, of course, is that the lack of eclipses and such means October is unlikely to be as topsy-turvy and ‘swept along with the times’ as September was.
And that can definitely be a positive.
Still, it’s not like October exists in a vacuum. The month is starting only a few days after a Lunar Eclipse at 4 Aries and Mercury is in a Libra retrograde - which creates a whole ‘about them, with them (or) at them’ puzzlement just to start with.
Speaking precisely, October starts with Mercury at 6 Libra - which is neither here nor there in particular apart from the fact that once Mercury backs from 6 into 5 Libra, Mercury will be in orb of its degree-of-station, 0 Libra. The actual station won’t happen until October 9th. Yet because Mercury will be in orb of that station point from October 2nd through the 17th, it’s likely that whatever is in progress, process or on hold at this point will continue holding some sort of ‘priority’ position in our (Mercury) thoughts and/or considerations.
It’s just going to take time to sort things through, iron out various wrinkles and determine proper decisions and alliances (of thoughts, resources and/or people) which pertain to matters at this time. In fact, Libra being an air sign, it is our thoughts and opinions of things upon which much ‘turns’ ... and with Mercury’s station in Libra’s earliest degrees (just on the edge of black hole M87) it is the ‘the idea of the thing,’ (and what that idea is) upon which much now turns ... and as of the 9th, begins to move forward.
Messier 87 (M87) as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope
(photo credit: Hubble Space Telescope, NASA-JPL)
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How will things work? Well that very much depends. On what? On our ability to recognize our ‘part’ in situations, relationships, discussions and considerations which don’t go our way or which are not of the sort we even like. That’s Libra too - it’s just the ‘experiential’ part of Libra which, in causing us anything from strife to embarrassment to anger to longing teaches us something about life, and about our Self. Ask anyone born under this Sun sign - they’ll tell you how their life has always been about relating to ideas and people along with every possible opinion, agreement or disagreement possible.
And it’s supposed to be: Libra is ultimately the test of whether we can negotiate with our Self about what life is ... and isn’t.
So there we are, beginning October with the Sun in Libra, Mercury retrograde in Libra and the ‘should do’ North Node sitting at 0 Libra, a degree known as much for attentiveness to the finer points of anything as the need for that attentiveness to be brought to the table in the first place. Life has just shown its ability to buckle, eclipse and reshape our world and its human affairs like so much tectonic taffy with that roughly mirroring eruptions of volcanic human activity - some ongoing and some new here and there all about our globe.
October also plays host to two separate meteor showers, the Draconids and the Orionids. Both begin on October 2nd - the same date that Mercury comes within orb of its station point, suggesting a period of days (October 2-9) as a pretty active time, whether we like what we’re involved in - or think its productive - or not.
The Draconids (named for constellation Draco) will end on October 16th ... which considering Mercury’s October 2nd-17th orb-of-aspect to its degree of station suggests these influences well may be somehow connected.
As a northern circumpolar constellation, there is something to be said for Draco emphasizing more of our intellectual capacity than emotionality - which echoes Mercury’s retrograde being in Libra, with a station at 0 Libra, which as its own little pot of astro-drama suggests some degree of either dealing with ... or driving ourselves crazy simply because we want to ‘get it right,’ but we also need to get things done. Zero degrees of any sign is where we ‘show up’ fully ‘stocked’ with all the lessons we’ve just learned from the previous sign - in this case, Virgo. So whenever we see anything astrologically positioned at 0 Libra, we know it somehow combines the Virgo drive to ‘make it work’ with Libra’s aim to ‘get the desired result.’
And every aspect of that is what is going to be rising to the fore now - and not just because of Mercury and the Draconids. The second meteor shower which begins as Mercury stirs our mental pot is the Orionids, and they will last until November 7th - which is both the last day of Venus in Virgo (which I suspect hardly anyone will weep about)... AND the last day of Saturn’s 2014/2015 cycle.
(Which yes, heralds the beginning of Saturn’s 2015/2016 cycle one day later.)
Saturn's 2015-2016 cycle
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This combination of Saturn/Virgo adds a business, monetary (money) and ‘structural’ or ‘stability’ note to all else going on, which may mean we are seeking business or stability, seeking to preserve some sort of stable avenue of effort ... or, considering how this is the end of Saturn’s 2015 cycle - how we may have finished up one thing and how we’re now available for something else. Moreover, all of the above is being set off by asteroid Maximov ('the maximum or maximal') going direct at 0 Pisces on October 2nd - which in keeping with the Maximov quality of ‘making more’ of whatever is at hand seems to highlight this October 2nd date as a day unusually filled with either evident or subtle (if still important) meanings for many of us.
Maybe even all of us.
And about those Orionids ... not only is this a meteor shower of substantial length (over a month), but in their connection to constellation Orion (the ‘radiant’ point from which this shower appears to come) the Orionids reference ‘hunting.'
And what are we hunting for? That’s individual, of course - but being that the Orionids are caused by Comet Halley, that brings some of the qualities of this most famous of comets into the conversation...
... prompting us to reflect on how we feel about being known, about those of renown or even on how we feel about how we’re coming to be known to, or among others ...how our reflections and thoughts affect or inspire feelings, standards, choices, how we act and who (or) how we interact with others - all gently layered with the quality of Maximov’s station occurring at 0 Pisces adding just a touch of concern for one’s Self among some ‘collective’ of others. Now that we are all living into (and for some, being born into) the Aquarian Age, Pisces on the second house of the Age - among other things - represents the goal of acceptance. The optimal here is universal acceptance, but that is always going to be based on, or succeed only to the degree that we have first dealt with whatever underlying (2nd house/8th house) issues we have with regards to being secure in who we are and whether we are valid and valuable in our innate and personal essence.
Question: have we achieved sufficient personal security as an outgrowth of (specifically) emotional maturity which is sufficient enough to allow us to choose how we deal with situations rather than reacting through instinct ... or through any sort of ‘projection’ of this ‘instinctual’ force, that being when we attract others who will manipulate, force, threaten or otherwise convince, coerced or so tilt the emotional playing field that we end up ‘reacting’ without feeling there really is any choice.
Once (and only once) we get past our 2nd house/8th house issues in life do we get to face the real question(s) of who and how to choose successfully - and when we say ‘successfully’ in this regard, we aren’t meaning money or love or any particular opportunity or response, but rather the willingness and ability to experience something which represents vulnerability TO US whether it means anything to your spouse, sibling, best friend or business partner.
So there’s some of that in the mix, too.
The height of the Draconids occurs on October 7th and 8th, just after asteroid Atropos goes direct at 23 Aquarius and pretty much as Venus reenters Virgo on October 8th (at 5:29 in the evening, UT/+0 time), crossing its station point of July 25th - and fixed star Regulus - in the process, freeing Venus from its shadow as of October 9th.
Venus re-enters Virgo (glyph chart)
October 8, 2015 - 17:30 (5:30 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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Venus re-enters Virgo (text chart)
October 8, 2015 - 17:30 (5:30 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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Remembering that there’s so much emphasis on (and in) Libra, where Venus is at any given point of the moment is important, as Venus’ position gives us some ‘side notes’ on our ‘negotiating’ life’s waters and who we are being at any given time (and how well that’s working for us). Prior to October 8th, Venus has been in Leo, working back through degrees previously retrograded over.
Venus' 2015 retrograde cycle
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Venus in Leo represents the experiences the creative urge and the challenge to be creative. It also represents a sometimes very strange (annoyingly so) ability to be known for (or as) something good and bad at the very same time. So as Leo arrives in Virgo, our minds are filled with ideas of the possible which may or may not have any basis in the current fact(s) we are encountering. Moreover, 0 Virgo is the current position of Regulus, the star which promises success only where we (or our efforts) carry neither possibility nor motivation based in any spirit of revenge or vengeance.
With Regulus only having moved into 0 Virgo as of November 2011, most everyone alive was born under Regulus in Leo - which among other things means that SINCE November 2011 (in other words, since Regulus left the sign it’s effects would feel ‘native’ in to all of us), whatever ‘Regulus tests’ of our mentality, personality and perspectives will changed too.
Regulus in Leo ‘looks’ to motivations rooted in convictions that life ‘should be’ what we want it to be, how we want it to be and anything else is simply unacceptable. In other words, if or when things aren’t as we like, or when someone’s aims or purpose are contrary to, or not compatible with our own - do we react with malice and vengeful feelings of wanting to ‘take it out on them,’ whether in an active/aggressive or rejection/denial manner?
As for Regulus in Virgo, its considerations are more about the morality of what we do, how we do it and whether we neglect or deny our responsibility or ‘part’ in any given thing ... or react with hostility or in some other ‘vengeful’ manner when we have been found wrong, particularly where that comes from our failure to consider the ramifications and consequences of our choices to others as well as our Self.
So along comes Venus, finishing its transit of Leo as Atropos goes direct on October 6th at 23 Aquarius, a degree which at one extreme suggests a keen ability to spot and appreciate good work - and which at the other refers to competing too hard and going over the top with jealousy when someone else takes the prize or shows their superior ability.
Yet as the object here is Atropos (Greek fate of ‘endings’ and ‘cutting the cord’), does this mean something which has been ongoing or in process is now coming to an end? Or is this about some inner holding back or ‘having been stopped’ which now ends? Will that mean we will now move forward ourselves and get into a more (Venus in Virgo) ‘productive mode’ as Venus crosses its July 25th station point (0 Virgo) and Regulus?
Much of this depends on how we’ve come into this time ... but given all these signals about revenge and the possibility of jealousy, chances are there has been some certain degree of subterranean ill will going around.
Some of this is likely to start coming out as Atropos goes direct on the 6th. Or at least - with the 7th and 8th of October being the height of the Draconids (and when Venus enters Virgo’s ‘reality zone’) - this may be when we finally get to that place in our head where we can begin recognizing how we (maybe) could have (perhaps) been (a little bit) more cooperative and less prone to cutting off our own possibilities for improvement out of spite and inner frustration.
And then Mercury goes direct. The date of said station is the 9th, which means our thoughts and choices may take a mercurial turn anywhere between the 7th (speaking of the Draconids) and the 11th and still carry the energy of the 0 Libra station, a station which can be very trying but very rewarding (a combination of opposites which is very Libra).
Mercury Direct at 0 Libra (glyph chart)
October 9, 2015 - 14:59 (2:59 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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Mercury Direct at 0 Libra (text chart)
October 9, 2015 - 14:59 (2:59 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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Just as at the beginning of Mercury retrograde astrologers will say if something happens naturally, fine - but don’t ‘force’ anything as Mercury goes into retrograde, so the end of Mercury’s three-week retrograde escapade tends to tempt us into errors of timing ... or even finding out how we have already committed some sort of error in timing (priority, choice, tone, rate of effort, etcetera). Many times right after Mercury goes direct some ‘fog’ (internal or external) seems to ‘clear’ and we then go our merry way. (Or even our not-so-merry way.) And with Mercury going direct at 14:57 (2:57 in the afternoon) at 0 Libra on October 9th, the question of how we ‘relate’ - whether to people, some situation, to relationships in general - some question of ‘relating’ or ‘relatability,’ either on our part or on the part of those ‘witnessing’ our actions, ‘takes a turn.’
And two days later on the 11th we a transiting trine - in this case, transiting Jupiter in Virgo trining Pluto in Capricorn: a change of some sort which speaks to overarching shifts of status, process or comprehension.
On one level this idea of ‘transformation’ is incredibly apt and simple: Jupiter trines Pluto on the 11th and the 12th is the date when Jupiter, as a symbol of growth, knowledge and wisdom, enters the shadow of the 2015/2016 retrograde which begins next January (2016) and ends during May 2016.
Jupiter's 2015-2016 cycle
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And that makes everything which happens between now and January 8, 2016 (the date when Jupiter goes retrograde) something which we are doing/not doing, whether we know it or not, not for its own sake, but because there is something about it - or the effects it can generate in your life - which you need to know, learn or experience in order to be more purely who you were created to be. Jupiter in Virgo is in the opposition sign to that of its exaltation (Pisces) where Jupiter ‘opens the way’ for us to be put us in touch with our feelings, becoming a better human among humans and all else which exists for the recognizing why we do things without solely focusing on our Self. Jupiter in Virgo is also a quarter round ‘behind’ Jupiter’s primary sign of rulership ... which is another way of saying Virgo is the derivative 9th house to Sagittarius. The relationship between these signs is interesting and important here as 9th house harmonics speak to experiences which are both educational and which call upon us to demonstrate who we are, what we believe in, where we are going (our goals), all of which includes some notion of ‘the Other’ (that which is ‘opposing’ us, be it or they singular or plural) ... and which serves to tell us whether ‘our side’ and ‘their side’ of any given discussion, negotiation, transaction, exploration, interest or process is in any sort of balance.
And if not, why not.
All those ‘what works’ and ‘what doesn’t work’ (and why it doesn’t work) is going to slowly be or become exposed over the next few months, until Jupiter goes into retrograde.
Uncomfortable or as inconvenient (especially to our preferences) as it may be, at that point some of us will use the period of Jupiter in retrograde to make changes to our approach - whether that means altering what we’re doing, who the person is who is doing it, or taking on some task of ‘learning more’ before we proceed.
That’s what some of us will do. Others of us - notably those who have been spending this time and the months between now and January not changing or refusing to read, understand or accept some form of ‘handwriting on the wall’ - will, come January, find out why they should have thought more, learned more or talked either more OR less before something (metaphysically, the retrograde) slows them down or puts a stop to progress or process until those gaps are dealt with.
Going back to the transiting Jupiter/Pluto trine for a moment, that said trine is occurring at 12 degrees of Virgo (Jupiter) and Capricorn (Pluto) speaks to an attempt to grow or change some (Capricorn) status quo which, with Pluto in conjunction with ‘fixed star’ (nebula) Facies references a lot of complicating factors or a lot of ‘pieces to the puzzle.’ This Pluto conjuncting Facies issue in fact goes back several years ... to 2011, to be exact.
Pluto’s conjunction to the degree Facies is currently positioned at (15 Capricorn) will end just as December 2016 begins, making Pluto’s current ‘approach’ to Facies the last ‘shot’ we have to rid ourselves of those internal inconsistencies and outmoded structures which tend to go sour and trip us up (or destroy that which we have built) in a totally direct manner (represented by the conjunction) for the next two hundred-plus years. Those of us who do, or to the degree that this gets done on a worldly level, we will rid our lives of malice, selfishness and the sort of structures which protect our sense of self-entitlement while ignoring the damage we do to greater potentials by focusing on our Self.
All of this goes into the idea of transiting Jupiter trining Pluto as a ‘shift,’ a need to change in light of current circumstances (which may or may not include opportunities) and our general attempt to ‘shift’ things into a different ‘track’ of effort, conversation, focus - whatever applies in your world.
And should all of this ... Mercury going direct, Venus moving into a (sometimes reluctantly) productive mode, Jupiter’s ‘new’ cycle as those subtle whiffs of Plutonic perfume - all within five days - should all of this not be enough to convince you of an impending moment of ‘newness,’ then we come to October’s New Moon.
New Moon at 19 Libra (glyph chart)
October 13, 2015 - 00:05 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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New Moon at 19 Libra (text chart)
October 13, 2015 - 00:05 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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The October New Moon will take place at just 7 minutes after midnight (UT/+0) on October 13th, and it will occur at 19 Libra, a degree known for somewhat polarizing effects which can either dispose us to a philosophic and understanding outlook, or the desire to escape responsibilities and evade accepted standards of whatever type. Whoever we are ‘underneath’ seems to come out through this degree - and therefore can be expected to surface either at this time or during the next lunar month. Of course there’s a ‘flip side’ to this - namely how something may surface now, and then disappear at the end of this month.
With this being a Libra degree, the ability to ‘relate’ is formulated as a thought or some abstract notion which then spurs us to take a position or react to others (and life) in some particular and given way. Writings on this degree also speak to ‘hidden qualities’ being given liberty - for good or ill - by this degree being activated, as it would be in the case of a New Moon.
This is also the first New Moon after the solar eclipse of September 13th - so we should expect some subtle change in those ‘moods’ or that ‘flow of activity’ which developed around the time of the eclipse. This isn’t necessarily bad or good - if you were a rocket headed for the Space Station, you would be jettisoning the first stage engine and firing up the second. Or maybe you drive a manual transmission car? If so, this is akin to shifting gears.
Where the eclipse itself was in an earth sign directed at facts and realities, Libra’s airy qualities will lend more to discussions of the possible and ramifications which may or may not be valid or forthcoming. There is a natural sense of ‘relief’ or slackening of tensions as we get past any eclipse’s initial (lunar) month, and with Niobe (pride) conjunct this New Moon and Uranus plus Eris in opposition to it, there are some among us who about now will simply be being grateful to have ‘escaped’ or gotten past some intense form of personal challenge or trial.
Yet because there’s a whole ‘other’ side to those New Moon/Niobe and opposing Uranus + Eris influences, we should also regard this New Moon - and the lunar month that it heralds - as an indicator of a need for awareness, particularly with regards to that which seeks to innovate and modernize, that which threatens stability as well as the taking of positions which embody some sort of pride or judgment of others based on (or in) pride, whether you (or they) think such pride is merited or entirely benign.
Put simply, it isn’t likely to be taken that way. Libra - and therefore to some degree, the whole of any Libra lunar month carries with it a tendency to talk at people and for the making of presumptions and choices which seem arrogant to others simply because they’re based solely on our own opinions and perspectives. In other words, throughout this month everyone (and that’s the BIG and GLOBAL everyone) will have a tendency to assume they know what others need, and presume to be able to talk for (or about) others whether we are informed or not informed, whether we know or don’t know.
In short, wherever we haven’t asked, our not having taking someone else (the ‘thou’ part of the Libra ‘I/thou’) is likely to be the ‘turning point,’ ‘hinge’ or ‘lynchpin’ upon which things succeed or don’t succeed - often to our own surprise. In part this is entirely a function of the Virgo solar eclipse, as one of its functions is to ‘bring out’ all those things which we do (or are doing) which are ‘violations’ of the Virgo requirement to consider the broader (universal) consequences on whatever level. Uranus and Eris in opposition to a Libra New Moon on some level asks whether we are willing to fight for what is right ... or whether we are merely bent on having our own way (i.e., ‘might makes right’) even as it embodies the destruction of any prideful status which is founded in what we would like to think of things as opposed to what they really are.
Let’s just say this is a recipe for some eye-opening moments. But then, both Libra and Aries are at their core about awareness - awareness of Self and others.
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Once the New Moon initiates this latest lunar cycle, a few days passes by before we begin encountering our next set of October doings, doings which begin on October 19th with Eos (an emotional ‘dawning’ or the ‘dawning’ of a feeling or feelings) going direct at 3 Pisces even as Kallisto (surviving being ‘transformed’ by challenging and/or unfair circumstances) goes retrograde at 26 Gemini. In combination, these two points may indicate a recognition or realization that we are changing (or being ‘transformed’) and in keeping with the rather tragic story of Kallisto how we can end up paying a price and having to endure and live through ‘beastly’ circumstances and situations which ‘reduce us to the state or status of a “dumb animal”’ in spite of our Self and some ‘innocent status’ which is taken either out of context or entirely wrong.
Dawn (Eos) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1881)
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At 3 Pisces, Eos is positioned as to speak to our feelings - and how we feel either about our feelings as feelings (inner turmoil, confusion and facing of truths), or about some conflict we are having between the thing we want (or would like to be feel or be part of) and that we know we actually should do. Kallisto meanwhile, is in a degree (26 Gemini) known for a lot of ‘output’ - often a lot of verbal output, whether such communications are apt, useful, well thought out or even true. Were this urge to ‘shape’ that which we are dealing with or facing associated with Kallisto going direct, things might well get either extremely clumsy or terribly brutal. But fortunately with Kallisto going into retrograde the energetic here is far more likely to be about our having to ‘look inside’ to see where we have judged and condemned others unfairly (reducing their needs or aims to the level we assign to ‘animalistic’ considerations). It could also indicate a need to move past judging some part of Self or one’s instinctual being as ‘beastly’ simply because someone or some ‘fated’ situation has caused you to appear or act that way among others.
Does the idea that this pair of asteroid stations ‘leads’ into the two days (October 20 and 21) of the Orionids reaching their peak suggest a connection? That’s certainly possible - and since the Orionids always subtly refer to hunting or searching in a ‘big world’ (external) setting, we shouldn’t be surprised if these days provide us with a new (Eos) outlook on some old or at least ongoing (Kallisto) situations. And with Psyche (one of the largest of the asteroids) going retrograde at 23 Gemini on Thursday the 22nd, there’s also some note here about having to ‘confront’ our psyche (mentality) and how it works.
Or possibly, how our mentality doesn’t work - for us, for what we’re doing or maybe for the world we live in.
To say Psyche is our psyche is correct but shortchanging (the issue is more complex than that)...
... Psyche asks that we be aware of our mind, what’s in our mind and how our mind can work for and against us at the very same time, especially when confronted with something it doesn’t understand.
With the two days of Kallisto’s ‘station allowance’ overlapping that of Psyche (and with the Orionids reach their peak during that precise time) these days of October 19-22 (which is a Monday through Thursday, in case you don’t have a calendar handy) are going to reveal things about us to us. So given how Kallisto represents ‘divine forces’ which put us in a position we then have to live through (or live out) without any precise promise or guarantee and Psyche speaks to our ability and/or willingness to trust in spite of the temptation not to, these days could offer a period of inner revelation.
Then again, this could also be a time when we recognize our vulnerabilities (external and internal) and through that, come not to any point of inner surrender, but rather the 23 Gemini sort of Psyche understanding as to why we should ‘mind our selves’ and not assign blame or allow our Self to develop ill feelings where things have happened which were not someone (or anyone’s) particular doing or “fault.”
As the geology department at a local university once put it on a bumper sticker, “silt happens.”
All of this ... and then the Sun hits Scorpio on Friday, October 23rd at 5:46 in the afternoon, UT/+0.
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Sun in Scorpio (glyph chart)
October 23, 2015 - 17 48 (5 48 pm) UT +0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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Sun in Scorpio (text chart)
October 23, 2015 - 17 48 (5 48 pm) UT +0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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As a water sign, the Sun in Scorpio is many things - all of which either involve emotions, the evoking of emotions, a test of our emotional capacity, emotional perspective or emotional control ... and (of course) everything in life and our world which can bring about all that evoking. People think of Scorpio as sex, war, manipulation, fear and control - to name just a few of the better known terms on the ‘Scorpio list.’ But Scorpio is only any of that to the extent that we are roused, aroused or otherwise poked, prodded or bothered by such things. The ‘object’ of Scorpio is the essence of its polarity sign Taurus - in other words, security.
And in the Scorpio realm, where we (yet) can’t be secure, we generally settle for control - which is an interesting comment on the ‘development’ of Scorpio capacities. Scorpio is the only zodiac sign with three defined totem animas - the scorpion, the gray lizard and the eagle - with three differing ‘stages’ or ‘modes’ of Scorpio expression (i.e., development) to go with that.
The scorpion is the expression of instinct - a valuable trait to be sure when we are actually in peril, but when expressed through Scorpio, instinct becomes a sometimes brittle, sometimes vicious, and always reactive thing. Generally the scorpion is considered to be Scorpio’s ‘lowest’ manifestation - and why that would be isn’t all that hard to understand.
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The zodiac by quadrant highlighting the Taurus-Scorpio polarity
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As part of the zodiac’s interactive third quadrant, Scorpio is in every sense about interacting, interactions and the choice of who we interact with as well as how or why we (emotionally) choose to interact with any given person, company or issue. And it’s that issue of choice which counts here. After all, with Taurus as the polarity sign and personal security the ultimate goal, while choosing solely based on (Taurean) instinct is understandable, it is the well thought through choice which under Scorpio tends to win out.
The Scorpio ‘scorpion’ is a person, situation, choice or moment in time which does not involve or embody thought. It’s filled with, and most often governed by the sort of instinct which identifies some outside thing or entity as ‘the problem’ (i.e., that which is stirring our emotional instincts) ... even though the real issue is how well we govern our instincts as part of learning to moderate our feelings so we can remain in control and think things through.
As the ‘intermediary’ level of Scorpio development, the lizard represents the plan, the planner and our efforts and skills with regards to planning, particularly as that concerns our (emotionally driven) estimate of our safety, needs and the state of the world around us. Is instinct involved? Yes. But at this level of Scorpio operation, instinct calls our attention to things which we can then judge as positive or negative (and react accordingly) - as opposed to the scorpion level, which is all instinct and no consideration of anything other than the Self.
Known as the level at which Scorpio only ‘kills,’ intervenes or attempts to control when absolutely necessary, Scorpio’s ‘eagle level’ is all precision. Thought of as coming from a perspective which is ‘above it all,’ this level of Scorpio activity displays strength born of the willingness to take a well thought through ‘estimated risk’ in the process of going for some goal which cannot otherwise be reached.
So ... bearing all this in mind, the Sun enters Scorpio on Friday afternoon just after our psyche has reacted to (or perhaps merely felt) some idea, some perspective ‘taking a turn’ as asteroid Psyche has gone retrograde on the (Thursday) day before - with all of this having evolved out of things ‘coming to light’ (Eos = ‘dawn’ or ‘dawning’) and of course, the fact that we are, each and every one of us, dealing with the aftermath of recent eclipses.
And with the Sun entering Scorpio un-aspected by any planet (using Ptolemaic orbs) while also being in square to Ceres at 29 Capricorn, there is a quality of being on one’s own - whether that’s in what you’re doing, thinking or trying to say or stand for. Those who are trying to ‘protect’ themselves from something they don’t want to know are probably going to have the hardest time. Yet even without that, the first part of Sun in Scorpio is unlikely to be peaceful when it comes to relationships (of any type) due to the Sun entering Scorpio in a semi-sextile/inconjunct to the Libra/Aries lunar nodes.
In other words, what’s needed to get things headed in the right direction (right for you, that is) is unlikely to be exactly what someone else wants - and that applies whether said person (or people) are friends, business partners, lovers, spouses, children, some form of adviser or anything else.
With Vesta conjuncting the South Node at the Sun’s Scorpio ingress (with Vesta and the Node at 0 Aries) there is likely to be some move ... one which is perhaps instinctual ... to head in, or to favor that which is known or familiar. That’s often something we encounter under Sun in Scorpio, as the whole of the Sun’s transit through any sign is about bringing out its issues, precepts, positives, themes and challenges during the time the Sun travels through that sign.
And yes, there’s the ‘generic’ Scorpio part of the thing - and then there’s your very particular and individual Scorpio quotient, a quotient which is going to vacillates, and represent our vacillating between positives and negatives of every kind as we learn to deal with our own inner security issues.
Scorpio is not about ‘them.’ It’s not even about getting ‘them’ to do what we want (which is the unabashedly normal Scorpio impulse, but we all need to learn to check that if we want our Scorpio dreams to ever come true!). Scorpio is about understanding why we feel about ‘them’ or whatever situation ‘they’ pose in our life.
It’s about us. The emotional and reactive (or ‘I refuse-to-react-or-even-acknowledge’) us and OUR need to understand a.) how that works (the process we go through), b.) why we emotionally work the way we do (which generally has to do with our personal history, upbringing, culture and experiences) ... and c.) considering how well (or not well) emotional or emotionally evocative situations, relationships, choices, challenges and confrontations those things work for us, what we should perhaps re-examine in ... or about our Self.
Wherever we see Vesta, we know there is a ‘cost’ we have to accept for whatever it is we opt for, choose or avoid. And with Vesta conjunct the South Node, that ‘cost’ may look acceptable in light of how daunting the alternative may seem as Friday turns into Saturday and we adapt to the more intense and focused vibe which goes with the Sun in Scorpio.
The ‘should do’ end of the nodal axis being of course the North Node (meaning ‘of course... the thing I SHOULD do is the thing I don’t really WANT to do...!’), the ‘instruction’ which comes in this moment when our psyche (speaking of Psyche...) leaves all the airy air sign theorizing behind in favor of real possibilities bad and good (and all the temptations and fears which go with same) is that we DO need to be dealing with others, not with what we want.
During the whole of the time that the North Node at 0 Libra - which covers all of October and the first third (or so) of November, we are going to be challenged to learn things we may not understand or like or want to deal with or accept. These facts, whatever they may be in each of our lives, need to be dealt with honestly. On the whole, with Libra being ruled by Venus, it’s an easy astro-guess that the first part of the month (while Venus is still in Leo) is going to be the easier period by far. Once Venus re-enters Virgo (on October 8th in the UT/+0 zone), things get stickier - not with others, but in terms of our own reluctance.
And once the Sun hits Scorpio, it all get tougher yet. The North Node being positioned in the sign between the Sun and Venus places a deal of metaphysical ‘pressure’ on doing that ‘North Node thing’ which so involves our facing some truth which is probably far less about ‘them’ and more about ‘us’ in the process. With all of this centering at 0 Libra there is some tendency to try to ‘cloud the issue’ - and with giant black hole M87 lurking just a degree or so away, changes of perspective and the alternatives which come from such changes are more than likely.
Moreover, as the day after the Sun’s Scorpio ingress is the date on which Mercury exits the shadow of its recent Libra September-October retrograde, we are also being given to know that none of ‘that’ which we have been thinking, discussing or holding onto as notion, position or contemplation is likely to be what we will be moving ahead with.
Why that would be is entirely individual. But that we will all be moving away (past) some of the things we have been dealing with or fixated on are now either settling into place or melting away into nothingness.
One more Vesta note here: as of 11:16 in the morning (UT/+0) of Sunday the 25th, Vesta (which is in retrograde, meaning all of these ‘costs’ are felt more personally than otherwise) ... Vesta retrogrades back into Pisces - 29 Pisces to be exact. And since 29 Pisces is the current residence of fixed star Scheat, all of our South Node (easy way) choices and activities at this time are likely to ...a.) have been at some cost which has been denied ...b.) be at a cost which we currently deny ... c.) be revealing the cost of rejection(s) made not because of ‘right-or-wrong’ but rather because of the sort of emotional discomfort which causes us to not want to deal with ‘that.’
Moreover, it’s thoroughly likely that we’re all rather sensitive in our Pisces and Scheat departments, what with this star having been eclipsed just this past March and Pisces representing our perennial sore (or) sensitive points. And as Jupiter (one of the rulers of Pisces) has changed signs since that eclipse (it was in Leo then and is now in Virgo), ’ two And since then, that ‘exploding’ of our Scheat ‘shield’ against things has had us all confronting our need to work through much and many things which in time we stand to benefit from, but which the process of learning about is challenging, daunting - even emotionally unpleasant, most of all because we don’t want to face certain realities about our Self, who we have been being (particularly to others) and about the realities of the world we live in.
That Scheat was eclipsed during Jupiter’s transit of self-driven/self-reflective Leo speaks very particularly to an emotional process of shedding some sort of inner ‘vision’ about life or how things are, or how they work or ‘should’ be. And once August rolled around and Jupiter reached Virgo, as many unwarranted exclusions, issues of shoddy morality and self-aggrandized examples of entitlement as tireless efforts for the good have surely been revealed - often in the very same person, or as part of a single operation or cause.
In other words, what could be good for some goose could be bad for the gander.
Or possibly the entire flock of geese.
The problem with discarding everything ‘Scheat-like’ (or which triggers our ‘Scheat responses’) is that the problem often lies with us. In other words, just because you don’t like what you learn, that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. And with Scheat currently positioned in Pisces’ most “critical” degree (29 Pisces), the standard emotional quandaries we encounter through Piscean situations bent on testing whether we know the difference between a fact and the wisdom (or when some fact is not just applicable but useful) ... all these questions are going to be harder to sort through.
Don’t be surprised if some ‘touchy’ problem lingers in your gut or keeps you up at night about now.
Two days pass. Then come Tuesday the 27th, Circe goes direct at 5 Pisces, Ceres moves from earthly Capricorn into airy Aquarius and a Full Moon at 3 Taurus graces our skies at 12:06 p.m., UT/+0 time.
Full Moon at 3 Taurus (glyph chart)
October 27, 2015 - 12:06 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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Full Moon at 3 Taurus (text chart)
October 27, 2015 - 12:06 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
. Circe speaks to some desire to remain in control through undermining the dignity and ability of others - by ‘turning them into dumb animals’ for whatever purpose one wants. Some think of Circe and her life on her personal island as a ‘delicious’ sort of ‘enchanting power,’ and there is some But when we look at the myth, we find Circe lives on her island not out of some grand exclusiveness or privilege but because she’s in exile - as our Circe impulses are exiled in most of our souls - because what she represents, the taking pleasure in preying on those who are vulnerable to her, is unacceptable to any society and that human race which values individual potential.
Interestingly, writings for 5 Pisces (the metaphysical ‘lens’ through which our Circe qualities are being focused) also mentions difficulties, with these challenges coming from those outside our intimate personal circle - in other words, friends, business associates and people in general. Whether we have earned support from others seems very much at stake as well - which may be one of the ‘Circe problems’ we run into now as Circe is generally more about ‘taking’ than ‘earning.’
Then we add in how as Circe goes direct (revealing its tendencies in us and the world around us), Ceres is leaving achievement-oriented Capricorn for functionality-driven Aquarius, moving us from the specifics of goals and the nuts and bolts required to reach that goal into the realm of examining methods, support systems and systems of support with an eye to maintaining that which is necessary and coping with whatever problems have 'cropped up.'
Ceres asks that we ‘mind the process’ and understand what it will take to get that process from ‘seed to harvest,’ inclusive of all the work, knowledge and resources to see the effort through. Generally seen as a protective and productive influence, Ceres’ moving into Aquarius on the day of a Full Moon may easily represent a reward or some form of success. Then again, this piece of celestial timing may well also indicate a moment when we move from one ‘phase’ of a process into the next.
As for that Full Moon at 3 Taurus, the degree is plainly first decanate (between 0 and 9 degrees) and thus refers to something we do, respond to, undertake or are personally experiencing. And with asteroid Amphitrite conjunct the Moon, we have yet another indicator of something ‘unsettled’ which we are going to have to get used to, yet with Amphitrite showing up here at 1 Taurus, there is a general willingness to work at or through things, whether successful or not. All of this is occurring ‘in the face’ of needs, requirements, situational dynamics and other influences represented by Sun conjunct Germania in early Scorpio, a combination we well might liken to the ‘beating of a drum’ which on occasion may well feel like your head is inside the drum while it’s being banged on.
Germania carries with it a great deal of determination and willingness to ‘carry on’ - as does Amphitrite. Positioned in Scorpio, Germania speaks to a deal of emotional endurance and ‘backing’ of various types. It speaks pro and con to the strength of character with which we act, and most of all the strength of mind which either accepts or rejects not the flaws of others, but those flaws and vulnerabilities within our Self which cause us to fall into ‘habitual emotional mindsets’ of the types reviewed when we were talking about the Sun’s ingress into Scorpio.
The quirky part of this Full Moon setup comes from Ceres. Still be inching through the last gasp of 29 Capricorn (prior to moving into Aquarius) as the Moon comes to Full at 12:06 in the afternoon (UT/+0 time), Ceres’ position creates an out-of-sign square (read: challenge) to this Full Moon and all it suggests. So as this Full Moon occurs, you may be wondering IF you can reach your goal to be comfortable with what needs doing, or how you feel about things at the moment ... and you may be wishing that you had chosen a more tranquil, ‘natural’ or even pastoral way of life, of handling things, of viewing the world and its opportunities.
After the passing through of the Taurus Full Moon, the last astro-event of the month occurs on the last day of said month (October 31st) with Pallas leaving Sagittarius and entering Capricorn (at 10:04 in the morning, UT/+0).
This is actually Pallas re-entering Capricorn, as Pallas went retrograde at 0 Capricorn back on April 17, 2015, which happened to be the same day Pluto went retrograde at 15 Capricorn - and for those who were dearly affected by Pluto’s April station, Pallas’ re-entering Capricorn may well be when something about what you were doing last April resurfaces, comes clear or becomes the basis for further personal revelations.
Unlike Pluto however, Pallas is a symbol of a dispassionate, sober, cool-minded perspective - which is about as far from Pluto as one can usually get, though not necessarily for good or healthy reasons! Our Pluto is that which takes hold of us, which stops us from thinking, which fills us with desire, which tempts us to throw caution to the wind ... which is why through our Pluto passages we learn just how much of that ‘succumbing to our own passion’ we can get away with - and how to go beyond that comes at some price which, whatever shape it takes, is unpleasantly trying and guaranteed to give us serious reason to reflect, reconnoiter and (yes,) change.
Pallas Athena by Gustav Klimt (1898)
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So if these two objects have been playing a calendar version of catch-as-catch can, is this about getting some sort of sensible, logical and thoughtful (Pallas) perspective on how our emotions can indeed lead us to undermine our Self and that which we want to build in this world? Yes, it could be that.
Apart from all this, Pallas in Capricorn is also a sign of perspective, particularly that sort of ‘top down’ perspective which takes in more and allows us to see more than we have been seeing up until now. Capricorn always represents ‘the worldly view.’ Sometimes that’s our view on the world outside and sometimes that’s what the world sees us to be. Who we are in this life as well as our ‘vision’ or goal for who and what we intend to be seen as or become - that’s all part of the Capricorn concept, as is the effort to get and maintain such a ‘standing’ and whatever reputation or regard we reap for who we are seen to be by others...whether that matches our intentions or not.
Capricorn is the tenth sign of the zodiac and one of three signs (Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces) which are always aligned to the ‘group need,’ the big picture view and how well things work (or don’t work) on a collective, systemic and/or universal level.
And that’s an energetic which one would think works very well with Pallas, an energetic which speaks to our ability to gain and willingness to learn from a perspective which allows us to see far more than we have previously expected - whether that plays in our favor or not.
Pallas will only be in Capricorn for a few months; come January 22, 2016 it will move on into Aquarius, supplementing our newly acquired Capricorn perspectives with ever-broadened definitions and challenging opportunities on life both theoretical and functional. That it’s ingress into Capricorn is occurring in conjunction with Icarus would seem to be a commentary on things we have tried to do in such haste that we either underestimate our abilities or fail to understand some process, leading to either the ‘demise’ of our effort or some form of ‘falling short’ which may even be catastrophic.
Or perhaps this conjunction spells the coming to understand why something or some effort has fallen short, much to our regret.
That all of this is happening in the first full lunar month after that of the solar eclipse spells a ‘breather’ where in response to recent events or consequential encounters (with people, with life, with our Self) we typically change subjects, tactics and paths - at least temporarily. Whatever the ‘main themes’ of this September’s Virgo eclipse are in your life will yet return to central focus next month as we work through how to change many how’s, what’s, why’s or priorities during the November-December Scorpio lunation.
But for now we get a chance to assess ... or possibly reassess. October starts out with things in Libra mode causing us to ask whether things are (Libra) working or not working ... and who am I (Libra) really talking with, or am I only (Libra) talking ‘at’ them - not to mention all those Libra/Aries polarity (polarized) questions like Do I care? Does any of this matter with regards to things which I really value (or need - Libra - others to value and respond to)?
Once the Sun is in Scorpio, all of this gets emotionally re-framed, and re-framed emotionally. So the question then is not the airy who am I talking with and why does that work (vis-à-vis who they are), but what about me causes me to talk as I do? What am I willing to say or do, what am I unwilling to say or do and what about me - in my emotional gut or instinct - causes me to feel that way?
With Sun in Libra we attract someone to be in an exchange with. With Sun in Scorpio, we attract those people and situations which will test our ability to evolve on an emotional level, and thus become enlightened by our own ability to get past our own fears.
No wonder we all love and shudder at the thought of Scorpio, right?
To end here with a personal note ... someone asked me whether writing this blog makes me ‘happy.’
I said ‘no’ because it doesn’t - which evidently disappointed them mightily. But no, I don’t write astroPPM because it fills me with delight. I write astroPPM because I feel a responsibility to make a contribution to, and in this world. I'm not anyone who could ever be content (never mind ‘happy’) knowing I had not done what I could for others who wonder if anyone cares.
Making hard decisions counts. And sometimes that means doing something simply because it's needed, you know how to do it and how even as someone who lives at the bottom of the food chain - or perhaps because of it - I know the value of giving.
Some people give because they believe in giving of who and what they are.
Other people give because they want something in return.
Why we do either is about who we are. My giving tends to fall under the reason number one. But why I do that is personal and all about my personal experience of knowing what it’s like to live among those who don't care about anyone else or the basic quality of life being lived by those too helpless or hapless on whatever level to survive. I've known such people, I (reluctantly) still know a few such people and I don't want to be any such person.
I know what it means to pay the price for damages inflicted by those of fickle morals and self-centered, self-absorbed priorities.
I just know what it’s like.
So I care. And yes it takes work, and no, it isn't being done for money - and no again, the work doesn’t make me precisely ‘happy.’
But I also don't think it should need to.
And that difference means everything to me. There is the aim to achieve one's own goals from a collective responding to your instruction, and there is the goal of achieving of one's goals through contributing to the collective.
The latter is the heart and soul of the Aquarian Age. The former was a core consideration of the Piscean Age, and that Age is over for a goodly amount of time (say, for the next 24,000 years, give or take).
And, if you think about it, that difference - and how people are dealing with that difference - that has a lot to do with what's going on in our world personal ... and our world societal, collective, and global.
Is it 'bad'? Maybe so in the short run, and maybe so in the long - which is another version of the Aquarian Age 'balance', one in which the requirement is to mesh-and-balance the (Saturn) baseline, structural and stability needs of the moment with innovative long term planning and modernization, integration and equalization of various factors personal, societal, systemic and collective over time. Our 'give' and 'take' needs to be in balance, lest the (universal Aquarian) life which provides for us comes to be out of balance.
'Happy,' in other words, cannot exist on its own. Nor are we as humans precisely wired to act against our instincts. But to the extent that we insist on happiness (or more specifically, our happiness as a quotient which satisfies our instinct) as our goal, life will provide balances and opposites, forcing us to understand one another - and where we refuse to understand, to be polarized by one another. We're in a time where events are bound to break us of old perspectives, habits and 'old ways' of doing things even while presenting us with greater possibilities. At times we will be united in feeling isolated even as that very experience of isolation teaches us the value of that uniqueness.
It just doesn't come easy - it takes work.
But not to worry - we have time. The Aquarian Age is going to last a while ... another two thousand years or so. We're in a phase where we're learning to convert distress into opportunity, and that isn't all that easy for anyone.
It's uncomfortable.
But then, so is growth. Living through all that not knowing and being on the edge of both excitement and disappointment isn't easy.
And that too is the Aquarian Age way.
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Unbeknownst to us, the universe is
unfolding as it should.
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