The Wednesday Witch October Astrology
The Aries full Moon on October 1, starts the month off with a bang. We’re in the middle of peaceful Libra season, ruled by Venus in her Goddess of Justice manifestation, but the current political context will not let us rest. The passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg sounded an alarm bell throughout the land. The forced sterilization of women in ICE detention facilities is yet another horrific confirmation of the genocidal practice of our current administration. There is much work to do this Libra season as we prepare for a presidential election that will decide the fate of human rights in this country for a long time to come. Let RBG and whistleblower nurse, Dawn Wooten, serve as inspiration for how to approach this time. Much courage and fierce determination is needed to steadfastly focus on our ideals.
The Mars retrograde that began on September 9, and will last through November 13, is complicating this experience. Mars usually rushes forth, but while retrograde it holds back. Our drive is delayed, but that gives us opportunity for consideration of choices. One benefit of practicing meditation is being present for situations as they arise, instead of just reacting out of habit. There is a pause that we can take advantage of, if we’re able to stay connected to our breath, which allows for greater agency. The Goddess of wisdom, Athena, is our patron and guide through Libra season. Athena taught the world the art of diplomacy. Being able to listen to someone who disagrees with you, consider the merits of their argument, and respond from a place of balance. This is the yoga ideal of skill in action. Athena knows that justice is a constant struggle, as life on earth inherently draws us into conflict. Aries exists on the opposite polarity from Libra, but we need both skill and action to move forward. This Moon is giving us insight into what we need to progress with a more effective strategy.
If you’d like to embody the energy flowing through at this Aries Full Moon, please join me for a community yoga classto explore the fire of Mars cardinal sign on Thursday, October 1, at 9AM EDT. This is a 1 hour online class via Zoom. The ace of wands will be our inspiration as we explore what it means to embody passion during the Mars retrograde. This is an all levels class. Some familiarity with yoga is helpful. Register here.
Love takes on an earthy flavor when Venus enters Virgo on October 2. This is not Venus’s favorite sign. The Virgo priorities of service and duty push Venus' pleasure pastimes to the side, but there are many benefits to the goddess of love traversing through this mercurial terrain. Venus in Virgo (Viv) has style and grace, and never sacrifices function for form. Viv’s a minimalist who applies the polish just where you need it, and nowhere else. Venus is moving quickly and will only stay in Virgo until October 27. Libra season will have more of a refined edge, thanks to Viv, but when all the work is done, she knows how to get down with the best of them. Focus on making the world a more beautiful place, and you’ll get the best of Viv.
Mercury opposes Uranus on October 7, on its way to stationing retrograde at 11 Scorpio on October 13. This will trigger a revisiting of topics that were active in November 2019. Mercury stationed retrograde at 27 Scorpio last Halloween and went direct on November 19 at 11 Scorpio--the exact degree of it’s retrograde station this year. What was going on for you in the Scorpio area of life? You’ll go deeper with all of that over the next three weeks. Old issues may resurface, conversations will be brought forward, more information will be revealed, and a chance for greater closure is possible. Take advantage of the deep healing available with this retrograde.
Mercury starts to backpedal on October 17, opposing Uranus for a second time on October 19, before making its way back into Libra on October 27. Whenever Mercury crosses signs during a retrograde there is a dialectic between the topics and priorities of those signs. As soon as the Sun entered Libra, President Trump announced he would not commit to a peaceful transfer of power if (when) he loses the election. In order for democracy to function, we need a calm, orderly, and truthful election process. We can expect that much will be revealed about the chicanery and subterfuge this administration is willing to engage in to steal another election during this time. This retrograde is not good news for American democracy. It will be easier to hide and misplace things, like the truth. Mail regularly gets lost during retrogrades and that’s without the entire system getting defunded. He is seeking to defraud the American people of due process yet again.
Mercury station directs on election day, November 3, at 25 Libra. Whatever happens, the Gemini Moon is going to broadcast the news from the heavens. Election day is important, as Trump has said he will not honor ballots counted after that time, but it’s what we do over the next month to safeguard the election process that matters. Full participation in our democracy is what many brave leaders fought and died for over centuries. Let’s go all out for voting rights and protections this Libra season.
The Libra New Moon on October 16, is a balancing act that encapsulates the best and most difficult of Libra season. In a cardinal grand cross opposite retrograde Mars and a t-square with Saturn and Pluto, this beautiful Moon is being challenged by some formidable foes. The good news is there are no surprises here. We’ve been contending with these malefic elements for quite a while: the Capricorn crew since December 2017, and Mars in Aries since June 27. Venus is ruling this lunation from Virgo, and the overall theme is improvement. We’re sick of the patriarchy’s sh*t, but what can be done? How can we fix what is broken in our world? How can we return the earth to homeostasis? How can we learn to leave together in peace? How can we take care of ourselves while also showing up well for others? The answer is to cultivate refinement while seeking adjustment. Libra is an air sign of infinite possibility. We’re only limited by what we have imagined and enacted on earth so far. There is so much more available to us if we open our minds.
The hope and blessing of this lunation is its magical placement in the heavens. The Moon and Sun conjoin at 23.53 Libra on the powerful fixed star Spica. The brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, located in the sheaf of wheat held by the harvest maiden, Spica is one of the most benefic fixed stars, granting prosperity and good fortune. Spica rules periwinkle, mugwort, and emeralds. Fixed stars are far far away and their energy is more pure. By connecting with them we can bring down divine forces needed on earth for positive evolution. On the Libra New Moon, meditate on what feels out of balance in your life or in the world. You don’t actually have to do a sitting meditation. My favorite form of meditation on full or new Moons is walking in the woods. Contemplate who and what is trying to knock you off your game. Zoom out to gain greater perspective. Later, light a green candle and ask whatever benefic beings you connect with (Venus, the angels, etc.) to show you the path towards greater harmony. Poise, grace, and balance only come with practice. We have to fumble and fall down to achieve that perfect pose, but every dancer will tell you its worth continuously striving towards.
Despite all the tension in the air, there is a beautiful flow with the earth trine between Venus and Jupiter on October 19. This is a favored night for romance, with the Moon in Sagittarius picking up on the good vibes. Whatever you do, you’ll discover an easier and more enjoyable way to do it. We have to savor the pleasure where we can find it these days, so make the most of this passing fancy. The second opposition between Mercury and Uranus also takes place on October 19. You might find yourself speaking unexpected truths. If there’s someone you’ve had your eye on for a while, this is the time to come out with it. You’ll be rewarded handsomely for your honesty.
The Sun enters Scorpio on October 22, and the witchiest astro season begins! All hail the scorpion, creature of the dark with the sharp pointy sting. Oh, how humans love to obsess about what we fear: what lies beneath, where we go when we die, if magic is real (it is!), and what that means about the nature of reality. Most people avoid these topics because there are no easy answers and the deeper you go, the further you’re in, but Scorpio isn’t afraid. The association with sex and death is the reason its the most googled sign in the zodiac. Scorpio season is peak autumn. The last leaves fall and crunch on the ground. The earth is stripped bare of her covering. We see things as they really are, without ornament. It is a painfully honest period. What Scorpio season lacks in greenery it makes up for in magic. This is a time of liminal space, when the veil between the living and the dead thins, and we’re able to touch the realm of our ancestors most easily.
Children of the lunar realm, like witches and healers, traditionally inhabited sacred positions in ancient society, but one that was set apart. Gifts of psychic sight and the facility to converse with the dead are markers of unique ability but also difference. It is during Scorpio season when the barriers between the worlds melt, and these practices become easier for all people, that we celebrate the inner witch, wizard, and magician that dwells within all of us.
The first week of Scorpio season is big. Retrograde Mercury makes its inferior conjunction with the Sun at 2 Scorpio on October 25, seeding all of the wisdom gathered over the last two weeks. Retrogrades through water signs reveal what has been obscured within our emotional landscape. We can not deny what has been uncovered once it is revealed to the Sun. Pay attention to what comes pouring through. Venus enters Libra on October 27, the same day that Mercury moonwalks back in on the opposite end of her sign.The two will not meet in the middle, as Mercury stations direct at 25 Libra, reprising that unfortunate square with Saturn on November 3, and glides back into Scorpio on November 10, before Venus is halfway through its travels. There is movement in the air and the Scorpio wants to understand all of it.
Venus in its home sign of Libra is in a amiable position to preside over the Taurus Full Moon on Halloween, October 31. The Moon in partile conjunction with Uranus will light up the night sky and rain tiny thunderbolts down on all who dare to trick or treat without following covid safe protocol. There is a fabulous fierceness to this lunation. Uranus has been in Taurus since March 2019, but has not covered more than the first decan. Astrologers warned that the political agitator of the zodiac would go hard for environmental justice during its 6 year stint in Venus' fixed earth sign. Indeed, it seems that what has been predicted for climate change will come to pass even sooner than expected. It's not too late for us to move in a different direction, but our action must be swift. Let the electric inspiration of Uranus send us hurling in a radically different direction than the course the patriarchal death eaters have charted for us.
The pagan holiday of Samhain, on October 31, is the celebration of the third feast, and the day when the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest. It is a time to honor our ancestors and beloved dead. Ancestor worship is an ancient, universal custom that keeps us connected with family members who have passed. Even if we never met our family when they were living, we share DNA with our ancestors and wouldn’t be here without them. We honor them in part to give thanks for our life. Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead), is celebrated throughout Latin America from November 1-2. Other parts of the world call that hallowed time All Saints and All Soul’s Day. The beloved dead can be anyone from friends to cultural elders--those who made a contribution from which we benefit artistically, politically, or culturally. Visiting cemeteries, cleaning graves, decorating altars, and leaving a food out are all ways of celebrating Samhain.
Samhain is also when we stop to consider our own relationship to death. There are many spiritual traditions that place great importance on dying well. But in order to die well we need to live well. What that means depends upon each individual. Death with dignity is no small feat. There are many factors and forces that inhibit people’s individual dignity in life, and these daily injustices add up to higher mortality rates for people of color, queer people, and low income folks, amongst others. It comes as no surprise that racism has a profound impact on quality of life and wellness. Health disparities for people of color have been well documented. The murder of Breonna Taylor by the police in her own apartment has further confirmed that police brutality is a public health crisis. If black women are not safe in their own home then where are they safe? If the police officers who kill her are not held accountable, how will anything change?
Myself and many people I know have lost loved ones to addiction and suicide over the past several months. Our patriarchal system is waging a war of attrition and just surviving is exceptional at this point. The pandemic has compounded difficulties already at play and our communities are at risk. LGBTQ youth are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide as their straight counterparts. We need to heal our relationship death, and to life, in order for everyone to thrive. Samhain is the time to weave this magic.
If you’d like to teach the little ones in your life about Samhain, look for the next installment of Pagan Baby: All Hallows’ Eve, coming soon.
May the blessings of Libra and Scorpio season be abundant. May you seek and find balance. May we move towards healing for the greatest good of all beings on earth. Blessed be.