The energy in the sky is finally starting to gain momentum after a slow start to 2024. January’s astrology kicked off the year with a Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius and Capricorn, making Mercury’s usually direct line to communication and efficiency a little frenetic. In February, however, Mercury’s back in direct action and moving into logical and straightforward Aquarius, where Mars and Venus will soon follow. All three celestial bodies will meet Pluto in Aquarius at 0 degrees, charging the air with a need to act. Remember: Pluto just returned to Aquarius in January, after its dip back into Capricorn. Now, in direct motion, it will remain in Aquarius until August 31. It will take one last spin in Capricorn from September 1 through November 18 and move back into Aquarius on November 19 where it will remain until March 8, 2043.

Let’s cut to the chase: The final Mercury retrograde of 2023 will arrive on December 13th. We’ve survived two of these chaotic astrological happenings so far this year, and the third and final one will test us and frustrate us as all Mercury retrogrades tend to do, but survive it we will. This particular backwards dance will begin in Capricorn, move to Sagittarius on December 23, and turn direct on January 1 2024, so we’ll be starting the new year off a bit unstable.

As expected, 2023 has been a year of massive shifts, a trend that will continue in 2024. Luckily, instead of rushing to the finish line, we will be inspired to slow down and embrace reflection, allowing us to catch our breath.  December kicks off with the sun shining in Sagittarius, a future-oriented sign whose influence has us asking all sorts of philosophical questions. What have we learned from the materialistic decadence of the past that can help us create a more functional and inclusive future for all? With Pluto shifting to Aquarius almost for good on January 20, deeply meaningful themes are on our minds.

This month is a time to anchor ourselves amidst the intensity, to find space to process all that’s happened since the planet plunged into turmoil last month. This won’t be the easiest mission to tackle, and it will require some self-discipline. The year has been filled with non-stop change, from Saturn’s move into Pisces, Pluto’s pivot between Capricorn and Aquarius, Venus retrograde and October’s eclipse season.

For those of you who are unaware, The Tower tarot card in a spread symbolizes sudden change, upheaval, and awakening. It’s a card to pay attention to and to heed its warning.  My coven has a mantra that we use when one of us receives this card during divination, “Let the Tower fall.” You can’t stop the inevitable, you can delay it, but then that just creates even more mayhem. So this month I say to all of you, “Let the tower fall.”

As if the summer hadn’t been transformative enough with retrograde season, October continues to bring us potent alignments. This October will be a powerful cosmic month and a time of growth, revelation, and change with two potent eclipses that are sure to create major shifts in our lives. Eclipses are the way we experience accelerated change, however, at a deeper level, they are our biggest opportunities for self-actualization. Being catalysts for spiritual transformation and evolution, eclipses bring both endings and beginnings that shape our perspectives. Therefore, the best medicine for October is to embrace surrender and acceptance. Practicing self-care and rituals remains our go-to practice, but we must remember that eclipses are not meant to be harnessed for manifestation practices, they are more about honoring our process of deep transformation.