The stars are sending conflicting messages this week, and we can feel as if someone’s standing on our gas and the brakes at the same time. An energizing grand trine speeds us up and nags us to get on with history while Mercury retrograde slows us down and sends us back to reconnect with the past. It’s going to take some patience on our part to mediate these two energies, to productively review our life and get on with what we can.
That ongoing dynamic, occasionally manic, grand trine with Jupiter, Uranus, and Mars in fire signs (Sept 22-Oct 15) continues to rouse the rabble and makes us rebellious where we feel oppressed, depressed where we feel stuck, and excited and engaged where we’re getting somewhere. This energized vibe can really help us do what we love to do. It can help us mobilize resources and deal with a real emergency like the Ebola epidemic. But it can also nudge us to respond to smaller problems as if they’re an emergency when what is really needed is calm and persistent helpfulness.
All while we step around the Mercury retrograde follies. Mercury retrograde (from October 5 to October 26, now backing into Libra) may be good for lots of things, a wonderful time to remember and integrate the past, fix that which was broken, complete what’s been left undone and finally get around to an event that should have been done a long time ago. Ghosts of the past may also walk with us this week and offer an opportunity for healing. But we may have to work around an unusual amount of pragmatic slapstick and potentially serious glitches. Look out for delays and technical difficulties with computers phones electronics. Believe your date when they say they couldn’t call to tell you the subway broke down and they’re running late because their phone fell down the sewer.
The weekend begins under a stabilizing if possessive Taurus Moon; we may want rest, comforting tastes and lush smells to ground us, or want to beautiful our world. Over the weekend a verbal Gemini encourages us to meander through art galleries and down country lanes. Pick apples and let the orchard’s aroma remind us of autumns past. Recent discontent can make us keep wandering, look for greener pastures as Venus opposes Uranus. So reconnect with old friends and allies but watch that restless edge which can diminish familiar relationships and send us looking for and old love or an old path out.
Monday night the Moon enters domestic Cancer and we want to go home and cuddle. We may appreciate a new perspective about our home or homeland. Safety concerns could change our plans. Midweek our attention may be brought to health-conscious and ask us to really look at how our health is related to everything we do.
Let’s help one another deal with the rolling mood swings. Last week’s astrological lineup has left many people wading through a thick tide of emotional flotsam. We may have seen something we didn’t like (in ourselves or our world) or gotten a clear picture of the challenges we face in the months ahead.
This week asks us to assess that new information and bring ourselves back into balance. Bring our life back into balance. Bring in a team of allies and prioritize working together while Mercury is retrograde. Work together rather than harp on whether we’re right, wrong, or can really get to the bottom of the problem.
Friday, October 10: Slow down, back up, relax; there’s no point in hurrying, we may as well make sure we’re doing it right. Mercury retrogrades back into Libra and lets us reconsider recent actions from a friendlier perspective. We can reach out and extend ourselves more comfortably this week. Mid-day brings goodwill but poor luck as the Taurus Moon squares Jupiter. Take each other seriously tonight as the Moon opposes Saturn.
Saturday, October 11: And now for something completely different– or at least that’s what we may want as Venus opposes Uranus this morning and inspires unconventional behavior. Our feelings can be all over the place and so can the conversation. Concentration isn’t it easy, but cross-pollination is. Discuss. Explore. Experiment. Move artwork around, but avoid long term aesthetic decisions like hair color or house paint. Take emotionally-based decisions with a grain of salt; visit Timbuktu, don’t move there just yet. Take good care of ongoing relationships, hold hands and explored together.
Sunday, October 12: We work well with others to accomplish a goal, but may have trouble keeping our minds in one place or following a project through because we’re highly distractible. This mood is good for or puttering through art festivals or tending pre-winter house chores, but we’ll start many projects and cycle between. It’s a good day to talk over past events and hopes for the future, but be prepared to release encrusted assumptions and expectations. Clear the mental clutter. Early evening buzzes sociably as the Moon trines the Sun in air signs but can get klutzy, edgy or impulsive later the Moon opposes Mars.
Monday, October 13: A good day to keep a low key flexible schedule, perfect to meander, connect, grow community, reconnect with old friends and wind our way home as the Moon enters Cancer tonight. Anything more ambitious can be glitch-filled and delay- prone, and end up with the same results. So enjoy. Unexpected meanderings can bring unusual opportunities, snippets of conversation give us more content than trying to sit down and make a point. Take extra time to sleep tonight as our dreams help us process and adapt as the Moon trines Neptune and opposes Pluto overnight. Existential vulnerability shimmers in the air; let the heart reach out to those who cannot go home tonight.
Tuesday, October 14: Reassess; look back at the last two months and see what decisions and projects are working and what needs adjustment this morning in an otherwise rather spacy, who-wants-to-cope sort of time. After midday, we need to feel mutual support and strengthen the bonds of affection as Venus conjuncts the North node. It will keep our heart warm and help us wrap our minds around a suddenly defined limit or remembered loss as the Moon opposes Pluto late afternoon. If an unsettled melancholia drifts through tonight, let’s be kind to ourselves and not blame the people around us for the mood.
Wednesday, October 15: The energy can be of whack this morning but shift into a calm and productive patch midday as the Moon trine Saturn. Wry humor and kindness help. Odd pressures and communication glitches increase this afternoon as the Moon squares Mercury, we don’t seem to have enough time and would really rather not deal, and can be touchy about our perceived inadequacies, so don’t mention the mistake we just made, we know.
Thursday, October 16: The mood is generous, overstated, and subjective; we can get a little egocentric and more high-maintenance as the Moon enters Leo and the Sun conjuncts Mercury. Check in on beloveds and clients; a little attention brings a lot of gratitude. The big sweeping arch of history may manifest dramatically. A touch of emotional melodrama at home can help us clarify what we need as long as we don’t take it too seriously. Work towards resolution of the story.
Starcodes 