The Heat is On

Astro Notes for New Moon in Libra cycle (October 14 - November 13)

I want to begin this month by looking at the astrology of the recent horrifying events in Israel/Palestine.

The big picture is that we are still in the vice-grip of Pluto in late Capricorn and Pluto square the Lunar Nodes until the end of the year. The last half of 2023 is an enormous squeeze, dredging up material from the depths of the personal and collective unconscious, calling on us all to honestly examine our shadows and make the necessary reforms. If we have access to the right kind of internal and external support, it’s a profound opportunity for growth and maturation. But it’s also the kind of pressure-cooker environment in which we could be tempted to act these primal energies out. It all depends on the level of consciousness we’re able to bring to the surfacing material.

Within this general milieu of sustained intensity, on the morning of October 7 when the attacks began, Mars had moved into a tight square with Pluto. By October 8, the square became exact.

Mars square Pluto, in its most unconscious form, is the aspect for expressions of brute force and ruthlessness, naked aggression, and violent sexuality. When the god of War meets the god of Death in a tense aspect like a square, it unfortunately has the potential to trigger events like the ones we saw October 7-8.

Furthermore, Pluto turned direct on October 10. Whenever Pluto stations and turns direct, for several days on either side Plutonic themes become amplified— intensity, power, the shadow, sexuality and other primal drives, etc.

The other factor is that the attacks occurred in the lead up to eclipse season. Eclipses open a portal of time characterized by heightened drama and intensity during which consequential events tend to occur. Their influence can be felt up to a week before the day of the eclipse. And indeed the Hamas attacks occurred seven days before the New Moon Solar Eclipse on October 14.

Eclipses always come in pairs, a solar eclipse at the time of the new moon (when the Moon moves between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the Sun’s light) and a lunar eclipse at the time of the full moon (when the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon, with the Moon falling in the Earth’s shadow). A solar eclipses is like a new moon on steroids, bringing major new beginnings and a lunar eclipse is a full moon on steroids, offering some kind of significant karmic completion.

The New Moon Solar Eclipse on October 14 was conjunct Mercury, square Pluto and opposite Chiron.  It was a South Node solar eclipse, meaning that an important chapter from our past closed in order to make way for a new beginning. With the challenging aspects to outer planets Pluto and Chiron, it was/is an especially intense passage that may have caused us to feel subject to events unfolding beyond our control. Yet it was also a deeply cleansing process with the potential to awaken us from our complacency and focus our minds on what’s most important to us, especially (being in Libra) in the realm of our relationships or relational patterns.

The two-week period between Solar and Lunar Eclipses is known as the eclipse window. It’s normally a powerful time to engage in shadow work since the cosmic cauldron is already turned up to boiling. This year that’s especially true since at least part of the eclipse window falls in Scorpio season, that annual time of the year when we are called to look more intensely at what is hidden in the unconscious. Mars moved into Scorpio on Friday October 13, Mercury enters Scorpio October 22 and Sun October 23. Honest, intense soul-searching, direct communication, and powerful, decisive action become the name of the main game for a few weeks.

Thankfully there is some blessed cosmic relief from all the pressure and intensity.  From October 19-24, we have a lovely Jupiter-Venus trine in Earth signs, bringing a welcome opportunity for a touch of sweet pleasure for the body and/or enjoyable social contact for the heart.

Then from October 26 through to November 6, there is a Grand Trine of Venus, Uranus, and Pluto, also in Earth signs, offering the exciting possibility of the rebirth of love and friendship, including an opportunity for powerful healing of our capacity to love as well as deep romantic and sexual breakthroughs. In recent times, we’ve been engaged in a lot of hard relational work, discerning what’s true and what’s no longer aligned in our long-standing relationships. In this context, we can look forward to the Grand Trine as a potential reward for our labor.

This auspicious aspect pattern is in play during the Full Moon North Node Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on October 28. As a North Node eclipse, we have the chance to come into greater alignment with our evolutionary purpose. The Moon is conjunct Jupiter, putting us in an expansive and confident mood, though we may have to contend with challenges from others to our big visions, as the eclipse is opposite Mercury and Mars in Scorpio. Ultimately, though, with the Full Moon’s ruler Venus in that beautiful grand trine, we have an opportunity to catch a magic current that carries us in the direction of our dreams.

On November 2, Saturn turns direct at zero degrees of Pisces. Saturn has been retrograde since June 17. Saturn retrograde periods occur every twelve months, for about four and a half months each. During these periods, we are working out karma from our past. Depending on how we’ve behaved in the past, we’ll either be learning lessons in relation to missteps or receiving rewards for good deeds. Since June, we may have been through a time of testing to ensure we are ready to take on extra responsibility relating to our careers or families, or we may have been required to look at where we have become stuck in a negative expression of Saturn qualities, such as depression or isolation. By the time Saturn turns direct, we hopefully will have integrated these lessons and are ready to move forward with our next phase, one that will lead us to greater achievement and recognition.

From November 8 leading up to the new moon in Scorpio on November 13 we face another volatile passage with Mars opposite Uranus, in a broad t-square with Saturn. Mars-Uranus hard aspects bring a tendency for rash and impulsive action; with Saturn’s constraining influence in the mix this can — in its lower expression — result in extreme frustration or explosive acting out. I suspect this might be a time when we see significant repercussions of the Hamas attacks playing out in the world news.  On a personal front, we would do well to apply our maturity to avoid potentially damaging flare ups of anger, and instead direct that energy toward liberating ourselves from old reactive patterns.

Digging in the Dirt

Astro Notes for New Moon in Virgo Cycle (September 14-October 14)

As we begin the new monthly cycle, the big picture is that Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are all still moving retrograde. This can make us feel a bit like we are trudging uphill with heavy garments on, especially if we keep trying to push forward at our usual pace. Pluto is still in Capricorn, where it will remain until January 20 next year, driving consciousness into the depths to flush out those structures that belong to the era that is dying. We are still digging in the dirt, pulling out our gnarliest psychic knots from their roots. We are still preparing the ground for the much more expansive and future-oriented phase that will arrive next year when Pluto moves into Aquarius and Jupiter joins with Uranus in Taurus (more on that another time).

Nonetheless, there are gems to be mined down here. The New Moon in Virgo on September 14 formed a gorgeous Grand Earth Trine with Uranus in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn, creating a magical window through which to bring something new into manifestation. Earth is the element that brings our vision into form in 3-D reality. A Grand Earth Trine involving the New Moon means that the intentions we seed at the start of this cycle have the support of the cosmos to happen for real. Further, Neptune — the planet of transcendence — is also involved in this configuration, at the apex of a ‘kite’ aspect pattern that gives the Grand Trine energies focus and direction (see chart below). It means that we are rewarded this month with a green light to go for our highest dreams (Neptune), as well as the capacity to do the work needed to bring them into actual form. At the same time, with all the retrograde action taking place, we would do well to cultivate patience with ourselves and embrace the need for times of slowness and self-care.

Chart for New Moon in Virgo, 'Kite' aspect pattern highlighted

(cast for Mendocino CA, where I live)

The Sun moves into Libra on September 23, marking the official start of autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern. The Equinox is the time of year of greatest balance between day and night, light and dark, summer and winter. This principle of balance lies at the heart of Libra. Libra’s role is to bring any situation or relationship into greater harmony, whereby all parties involved feel met as fundamental equals. Libra is associated with the law because it understands something universal about fairness and equality. On a deeper level, Libra represents the spiritual law of Karma, where every action, right or wrong, is balanced over time. Because of this higher order understanding, Libra is exquisitely relational.

It is not just because of Libra season, however, that relationship themes are likely to be strongly up this cycle. Venus has been in Leo since June 5 and will remain there until October 8, an unusually long 4-month sojourn in one sign. During that time, Venus passed through a powerful 42-day retrograde period that asked us to reflect deeply on what we really want in our relationships. Many of us will have had important realizations in that period about what is really true for our hearts. Since Venus started moving direct again on September 3, we have been able to act on those realizations, in some cases taking steps to bring closure to relationships and in others redefining or renewing the relationship's form.

The process of negotiating these changes in our personal relationships will continue as a major theme this cycle. Throughout the month of September, Venus in Leo is in a close sextile with Mars in Libra, bringing the energy and drive to act on the deeper truths of our heart.

The full moon in Aries on September 29 continues this theme, being ruled by Mars in Libra. We will be looking to balance the polarities of healthy self-interest on the one hand with consideration for the other — though at the full moon we will want to align with the assertive Aries energy to overcome any self-defeating patterns of over-giving.

When Venus finally moves into Virgo on October 8, we’ll be ready to get practical about the improvements that we’re feeling called to make in our relationships and to do the work required to get to where we want to go.

On October 10, Pluto turns direct and two days later Mars leaves peace-maker Libra for transformative Scorpio. We will most definitely feel the shift in intensity as we will also be approaching eclipse season, beginning with a tense New Moon and solar eclipse on October 14.

Yes, more intensity on the way — I sometimes wonder these days if I will ever get to retire that phrase. But these last few months of Pluto in Capricorn are also truly a goldmine for anyone on a path of transmutation. I recommend lining up your alchemical container of choice now to allow you to dig deep in the dirt for the treasures hidden beneath the rocky surface.

Catching Our Breath

Astro Notes for New Moon in Leo cycle (August 16-September 15)

The new moon in Leo on August 16 is conjunct Venus (in retrograde) and Black Moon Lilith. This brings an intriguing mix of the extraverted, masculine, solar energy of Leo with the more introverted, mysterious, feminine energies of Venus retrograde and Lilith. Venus rules matters of the heart and Black Moon Lilith represents our deepest repressed desires that yearn to see the light of day. We are being called to pay attention in a different kind of way, to listen to the signs from our bodies, our dreams, our fantasies, and to integrate these energies into our sense of who we are. There is an opportunity here to experience how these feminine energies deep within us come alive when they receive the light of our conscious attention, and how those energies, when honored, in turn nourish and empower our masculine sense of purpose.

Yet with the new Moon also in an exact square to Uranus, the planet of sudden change, this process of spiraling into the depths of our psyche may in some ways be forced upon us by unexpected outside circumstances. We are being asked to follow the truth of our heart wherever it leads us, even if at first it seems disruptive or surprising.

Also at the time of the new moon, and extending throughout the month of August, we have an auspicious ‘kite’ aspect pattern involving Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and (first) Mars, then Mercury.

This configuration represents the beginning of a five to six year period when this harmonious ‘minor grand trine’ pattern involving all three outer planets will be in effect. Considering all the current angst about a potential catastrophic breakdown in society, this transit is very significant because it points much more in the direction of a creative transfiguration of our current drama than its tragic denouement.

We focused on this aspect pattern during our recent Flowing into Change experiential astrology workshop. We asked participants to step into each of the planetary archetypes involved and explore their nature through direct experience. One experience really stood out. When one of the participants stepped into the chart to pick up the symbol for Neptune in Pisces, a palpable presence of deep feeling and profound silence came into the room. We had already explored the nature of Pluto, Uranus, and Mars in connection to each other via a Grand Trine, which involved an extremely dynamic, creative, and combustible energy. But Neptune calmed and deepened the whole field.

Then my co-facilitator Kahreela had the insight that Neptune in the final degree of Pisces was holding space for our grief for the demise of the entire Piscean Age. Many astrologers have noted the symbolism of Pluto moving into Aquarius as a sign of the beginning of the Aquarian Age, but I’ve not heard anyone noting that Neptune at 29 degrees of Pisces symbolizes the dying of the Piscean. For those of us in the workshop, this insight led to the profound understanding that treating the collapsing Piscean Age as if it were a dying person was crucial to prepare the ground for our birth into the Aquarian.

The Sun moves into Virgo on August 23, bringing a shift in mood from the playful exuberance of Leo season to a more pragmatic focus on making preparations for the work cycle ahead. Virgo is the responsible adult of the zodiac, taking care of all the unglamorous practical tasks that are crucial to bringing any vision into manifestation on the Earth plane. The things that tend to make us feel good during Virgo season are attending to all those items on our to-do list that help us feel we have our ground.

Yet while Virgo is a practical sign, this year some of our preparations are likely to be more inward. Both Mercury and Venus will be retrograde from August 23-September 2, with Saturn, Chiron, Neptune, and Pluto all in retrograde, and Uranus joining them on August 29. This brings a more internal time conducive to reflection and review. Even though we won’t see much evidence of visible progress, it’s a crucial opportunity to align the ideas of our mind (Mercury) with the truth of our heart (Venus). It will be important to remember this when the going seems slow, particularly given Virgo’s tendency toward self-judgment when things are less than perfect.

Permeating all of this — the ongoing background mood until January 20 next year is dominated by Pluto’s presence in Capricorn, which is applying titanic pressure on outdated structures within ourselves and society to transform or die. As excruciating as this process might feel, it’s crucial to realize that we are now approaching the final stages of the birth canal and that this passage therefore offers our last major opportunity to transmute patterns from our deep unconscious that have been burdening us for as long as we can remember. When Pluto moves into Aquarius next year, the mood will become much lighter and more future-oriented. Understanding this can help us to reframe our current struggles as a precious opportunity, the release of dying forms necessary to enter the mystery of birth.