Hello, friends!

Our retrograde season continues in October with a number of themes I want you to know about. It’s a time when knowing the astrology can really help us adjust our expectations and avoid errors. Why?

Because the first few weeks of October look super constructive coming off the heels of September. We’ll start mending or moving past the snags we hit recently. But we can’t get ahead of ourselves, as things take another turn toward month’s end when life re-intensifies. It’s great to know the cosmic plan shows a twist in store. We’ll just tailor our approach!

Let’s take a look at what’s happening. The image below is our teaching for the month.

Saturn is still in tight square with Uranus this month. Expect climate, economic and political problems to remain forefront globally. On a personal level, the first few weeks of October may help us re-envision certain aspects of life and (flexibly) begin a building process.

September 29 – October 23: Venus in Libra

Venus spent most of last month in Virgo. Virgo is a tough section of the sky for Venus to travel. Instead of making nice (as Venus usually aims to do) Venus urged us to analyze any ways we feel dissatisfied with ourselves or our current life.

Imagine yourself a lump of cotton fresh off the stalk. Venus spent September pointing out a mess of tiny seeds embedded through your fibers prompting you to clean things up. For me, the sheer number of seeds to tend to was surprising. Dealing with things in a patient, fair-minded way all month took all the strength I had. What part of your life did Venus pick at? Your weight? The mess in your basement? Your relationship? Or budget issue?

Lucky for us all, the New Moon in Libra lifted things last week. I know you feel it! The energy is lighter and things seem bearable again.

Only time will tell whether that thorny situation is really behind you. With Neptune highlighted at the beginning of October, we may gloss over something for the time being out of sake for making headway.

In any event, Venus travels through Libra this month. We deal with others better, do some peace-making, and restore hope where it was recently hard to find.

October 9: Full Moon in Aries

Full Moons maximize the power of whatever else is going on in the sky. I like the October 9^th full moon and think it’s packed with healing potential. There’s a complex but beautiful pattern happening from which we can benefit.

Is there a complicated interpersonal dynamic happening for you right now? Where you want to be heard (by that boss, mother, lover, son or co-worker) but want to be sure a hard conversation is constructive? The energy is ripe October 9^th.

That said, the exchange may not be easy. Emotions may rise as things unfold. But in the end, you are supported in (1) achieving what you want or (2) seeing something you really needed to see more clearly. So speak your piece / find your peace on the 9^th.

October 11-18: Sun & Venus trine Mars & Saturn

Early October also gifts us with initiative, insight, and ideas. Our mental and emotional faculties are quite strong. You’re supported in learning, communicating, handling others diplomatically, and deal-making. There’s a good sense of timing here and the potential for something important to click into place.

Have something you need to design, write, or market? A resume to draft? Big presentation at work? This is your time!

My only caveats are: (1) don’t push too hard in a murky situation, and (2) avoid any decisions you can’t revisit / adjust later. Anything you’re beginning now, the plans you’re making, and the commitments you enter must allow you LOTS of flexibility over the next few months.

October 19-29: Pluto, Scorpio & South Node Eclipse (oh my!)

As the last third of October nears, our landscape changes. The Sun, Venus and Mercury end “make nice” season when they, one by one, square Pluto and enter Scorpio. October’s end intensifies everything. The breezy air becomes emotional, passionate, and demanding for sure.

Scorpio and Pluto have an ability to highlight the deeper, more unconscious parts of ourselves. Pluto particularly prompts us to behave in certain ways in an effort to control what happens in our lives. I’m not talking about your using the mind to make wise decisions. Pluto is a driving force within us that’s hard to see. We spot it working against us when we catch ourselves avoiding our fears at all costs, sometimes using an underhanded approach. Some common examples to get you thinking:

• You have a long track record of romancing unavailable partners. You’re tired of it, but somehow it keeps happening. What is it about the other person’s unavailability you find comfort in? Does their unavailability feel safe? Does it help you avoid commitment, vulnerability or the uncertain outcome of love?
• You’ve been at the same job 20 years and hate it. It’s unfulfilling, doesn’t pay what you deserve, and you complain about it all the time. But something in your gut prevents you from taking a leap and sending out resumes. Did a tumultuous childhood leave you fearful of change? Does the risk of something new shake you to the core?

All of us have Pluto complexes. They can be traced back to a past experience which instilled in us a behavior pattern – not one that is good or healthy – but one that’s familiar and “safe”. Overcoming such patterns require us to ignore what feels like a survival instinct when it arises. It’s f#@king scary! I chipped away at mine for years but SO happy to say, that unhealthy “survival instinct” is nearly GONE.

I find it helpful to stop ALL outward action when the impulsive response comes. I then force focus back inward. I remind myself: The only power I have in life is how well I control my response to life’s uncertainty. I can’t avoid it. Everything external, no matter how predictable or secure it appears, will always and forever be changing. This is time’s only promise. So,

To the extent there is anything in your life you feel a gut-wrenching need to control, YOU ARE BOUND. It is only by overcoming the desire to exert control over it that you will ever be FREE.

The eclipses of October 25^th and November 8^th are a demand from the universe that whatever deep change God/Source/Universe believes you’re ready for takes root now. Let’s do it!!! That scary monster is not under your bed. It’s in your head and your emotional memory, but YOU. CAN. OVERCOME IT. Book a reading. Let’s name it and talk about it.

October 30: Mars stations retrograde in Gemini

Remember my earlier note to avoid zealous planning and unworkable commitments? Mars – the planet of action – comes to a stop October 30^th and turns retrograde. That means:

• Anything you dealt with or worked on between August 21^st and October 30^th will take longer than expected to finish / resolve.
• An unexpected glitch may require you to revisit your schedule.
• Your effort and time feels less effective than normal.
• You may be scattered, easily sidetracked, and juggling lots at once.
• You may continue in limbo over a big decision. It’s not about the solution so much as finding peace until clarity arrives.

Whatever you do over the next 4 months (Mars retrograde ends in January), do not fall prey to the false belief that your efforts are ineffective. What needs to happen to set our course right is happening on time. Trust the process.

The month overall reminds me of a passage from the Tao Te Ching that speaks to the importance of flexibility. Such an outlook can really help us this month, when forward movement and planning must save space for the unexpected.

A man is born gentle and weak; at his death he is hard and stiff. The grass and trees are soft and pliable in life; dry and brittle in death. Stiffness is thus a companion of death; flexibility a companion of life. An army that cannot yield will be defeated. A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind. The hard and stiff will be broken; the soft and supple will prevail.

(Chapter 76, Lao-Tzu translation)

There is so much in the current astrology that is meant to test our presumptions about where we’re going. That’s a good thing. The divine has a plan for each of us more magnificent than we, in our extremely limited viewpoints, could ever figure out.

Finally, I’ve come to terms with the impossibility of covering a month of astrology in a monthly newsletter. I’m posting more on social media and much of that is material I don’t cover here. PLEASE FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM so you get astrology updates in moments you need them most.

xo,

Jules