Conflict or Accord? It’s going to be one or the other this month. While the first half of the month we bask in the Sun in fair-minded Libra, its peacekeeping qualities become diminished when Venus (Libra’s ruler) joins Neptune and Uranus and turns retrograde on October 5 until mid-November. This year, Venus will spend the first part of its retrograde (from October 5 to 31) in intense, erotic Scorpio, dredging up power struggles, forcing us to look at intimate ties and dangling tempting-yet-toxic “sex with an ex” scenarios. Then from October 31 to November 16, Venus will back into her home sign of fair-minded Libra, the ruler of committed relationships, mutuality and marriage. When Venus is it demands that you see your friends and lovers through the lens of reality, rather than with rose-colored filters. But is your chief complaint a deal breaker or is there something to learn here by addressing those issues together? A wise therapist once said, “It’s not that successful couples don’t have conflict, because they do; it’s how they work through those conflicts that determines the strength of their relationship.” While this is not an ideal time to get married, it would be a good time to renew marriage vows or commitments to a partner (business or personal).
On October 8, this is an important New Moon given that Libra’s ruler Venus is currently back-tracking through Scorpio. For our new beginnings to work, we will need to join hands with Venus as she explores the underworld. We also cannot expect new doors to open until others are firmly closed. As Mercury enters Scorpio on October 9, it’s probably true to say our heads are in the game now, along with our hearts. Communication has the potential to become more intimate as we express what we were afraid to say before. However, on the flip side, some may become more secretive if trust is a problem.
We go further down into the dark, when the Sun moves into Scorpio on October 23. But it is appropriate for this time of year. The harvest is in and we enter into a contemplative and reflective time. In Scorpio, the Sun helps in illuminating upon our relationships through a more in depth understanding of them. However, as a water sign, Scorpio's energy is more intuitive than logical and more instinctive than reasonable. Scorpios place great importance and are usually focused on uncovering what lies beneath the surface to identify find truth, down to its core. While the Sun is in Scorpio, make a conscious effort to listen to your gut feelings more often, nurture your intuitive abilities, and give in to the Sun's urging for us to dig deeper. It is through this deeper, fuller understanding that allows us to push through, become empowered, and then transformed.
The October 24 Taurus Full Moon keeps us from getting too entrenched in our minds and tunes us into more mundane and material matters. Step out of intense Scorpio for a minute and ground yourself by poring over your budget or spending quality time in nature.
Mercury enters Sagittarius and its shadow zone on October 31 as it prepares to turn retrograde in November. It might feel like there’s been no let up at all this year. But the cosmos deems these reviews as necessary. During this next retrograde we will examine our judgments and beliefs. Mercury Rx will also backtrack into Scorpio as well so coming on the heels of Venus retrograde through this sign, it’s clear we have a great deal of collective and individual shadow work to do.
As I mentioned previously, Halloween also see Venus moving into Libra for the remainder of the retrograde period. This will give us two weeks to hash out compromises, fight for what’s fair and attempt to find common ground with each other. Justice overall will be a huge topic and since Venus is associated with the feminine principle, women’s rights are certain to be a huge determining factor in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections.