The First Week of October, 2023
Observing in the midst of a storm...
What a month is ahead of us, the changes start rolling in. I decided to unpack this month from week to week, this is a week from October 2nd to 8th.
After a few months of going inward, redefining certain areas in our life, taking it easy, we are quickly moving into the month when all the internal work, the grounding, the creative desires, the value shifts and relationship dynamics are going to start unraveling and the new knots will start forming. Most of the month Pluto in Capricorn is barely moving, preparing to turn direct. Plutonian background, that gains more power as the month progresses. The static position of the lord of the underworld is going to make some major connections to the most impactful transits of the month, and with the Eclipse energy present the whole month, we need to find internal anchor to ground us, so these swirling energies won’t uproot or create a sense of disconnection, not now. The storm is always, be it collective or personal, here to test our ability to observe, connect to the center and to be guided. Do not try to take control over this process, do not try to get your way at any cost, this is a liminal space of trust and observation.
The first week of the month starts off with Mercury in Virgo forming opposition to Neptune in Pisces at 25º degrees on October 2nd. This opposition is one of wishful thinking, expectations and confusion. But it doesn’t have to be, as always when Neptune shows up in transits or in natal chart, turn to its highest form, dream up the world, but let those dreams out on paper, on the dance floor, canvas, music sheet, whatever it may be. Too often Mercury opposite Neptune is an unintentional deception or misleading, and we mostly do it to ourselves. Again the themes of this month are observation and courage, not judgment and shame. Dream up, and observe yourself dreaming up.
On October 3rd, Lilith enters Virgo for 9 months. Here we are going to come face to face with the shadow side of our daily routines and habits. Whether you have a shaky relationship with routine, or routine is your life, the roots, the fear or shame behind that attitude will be looked at. Lilith is archetypally associated with freedom and radical authenticity, in Virgo, we have to ask ourselves how our minds and our daily habits can lead us further away from freedom. Freedom that has to do with physical health and focusing on details that truly matter.
On October 4th, Mars will conjunct South Node in Libra. This transit has been active for days. Mars is about severing or cutting, it is about taking an active approach towards one’s goals. In Libra the goals have to do with relationships, partnerships, sense of harmony, art, justice. The South Node is about the past, something that has fulfilled its purpose or ran its course, and Mars is here, though feeling out of place is asked to initiate, in a proper cardinal manner, the necessary separations and endings. So with the New Moon Eclipse on October 14th a new chapter can be introduced to us. This chapter may as well involve the same participants, but it will have to feel completely new.
On the same day as Mars meets South Node, Mercury enters Libra. This is the most diplomatic placement for Mercury, a peacemaker and a social persona is made here. Our mind can become more authentically inclined, more visual, this is a transit for curations and taste making, sharing latest inspirations and allowing ourselves a bit of vanity to pay extra attention to the connection between our style and our mental attitudes. Speaking or writing of the essence of partnerships and the perils of compromise, matching colors to our thoughts, the art of sweet nothings.
The weekend promises to be an intense one, as on Sunday, Mars in Libra squares Pluto stationary at 27 degrees of Capricorn. There is a sense of pressure a lot of us will feel, probably already feeling, this is like you need to face the challenge, the goal, but it is either unclear what or who is the challenge, or you find it hard to master the energy to face it, or facing it might present further unwanted consequences. Whichever way, consider that this pressure in itself can lead you towards more harmonious resolution, but in time and with you surrendering the need for a specific outcome. This pressure is doing things to you need to face with infinite compassion and trust. Right now you need to find a balanced way to get this static energy moving along. Up your exercise routine, cold or cool showers, nature time, calming foods, colors and sounds can be helpful. Mars with South Node in Libra squaring Pluto during the Eclipse season is a test for our nervous systems. It is going to test our ability to find an anchor within, when we feel in our bones the rising tide of changes, we can’t succumb to unfounded panic and act out of fear.
Venus leaves the dramatic and expressive lands of Leo on October 8th, and enters the mutable earth sign of Virgo. With Venus in Leo, we had to reconsider some of our ambitions, passions and creative pursuits, as maybe, what we though we wanted, wasn’t it at all. And maybe who we thought we wanted, wasn’t the one. The only way we could have found a way back to our deep desires and needs is through profound inner child work, playfulness and the reclamation of joy. For Venus in Virgo attention to details is a love language. Acts of service, another Venus in Virgo love language, has to be dealt with very carefully right now. When we are in the process of figuring out the path forward on the ground that is constantly shifting, being of service out of inner uncertainty can very well bring opposite results. As soon as Venus enters Virgo, she starts forming an opposition to Saturn in Pisces. Though brief, this transit (together with Lilith newly in Virgo) can dampen our spirits and the sense of momentum gained while Venus was in Leo. This Venus has a tone of strictness to her, especially with Saturn opposition, as she understands that value and true joy has little to do with indulgence and self gratification, and a lot to do with tending to the earth, to our body, to the places that ache and need us to heal. Till next week, lovers!