Hey star-gazers! This is your weekly astrology forecast for October 9–15, 2022.
I recommend that everyone basks in one of the last relatively slow weeks before the astrology of the rest of the year takes off.
Beginning last week and later this month, many planets begin turning direct, ushering in some welcome and renewed momentum. With eclipse season around the corner, we can expect massive shake-ups not only in our lives, but on the larger world stage.
With that, let’s jump right in and baseline the sky.
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We begin the week under the influence of the Aries Full Moon. I covered a lot of the originating April New Moon lunation and the context for this Full Moon in last week’s post, so if you missed it, you should definitely go back and check it out.
This Full Moon, opposing a Sun-Venus conjunction in the sign of Libra, will be important for bringing a certain aspect of our relationships into focus.
The Moon, conjunct Chiron, and co-present retrograde Jupiter in Aries, may show us where our own resistance to healing has been holding us back and hindering our personal growth.
Given that Venus is currently invisible in the sky and won’t re-emerge until December 2, you may have to wait to get clarity on certain aspects of the relationship issue as something about it could remain hidden until then. This said, the energy of this Full Moon will nevertheless shed light on our own value, independence, individuality and solar path in relation to those closest to us and show us how our goals and aspirations towards pioneering independence could be either helped or hindered by emotional wounds that could be surfacing around this lunation.
Venus, the Sun and Moon are also squaring the asteroid Pallas Athena at 14 degrees of Cancer, which, for some of us, could point to tension culminating in relationships with our fathers or with father figures, or a challenge to our ability to strategically and creatively navigate any conflicts that this lunation could bring.
With Saturn sextiling this Moon, I think there could be an added dimension of obligation, responsibility and weight, which this Moon is carrying, but it may not necessarily be a challenge so much as a beneficial, balancing energy that can take some of the edge off this more fiery and independence-focused Full Moon. In fact, its sextile to Saturn could help simmer down any impetuousness, giving it some moderating restraint. I see this, similarly, echoed by the square to Pallas Athena.
So, in short, this is going to be a decent Full Moon, more tempered than most lunations in the sign of Aries, and illuminating–no pun intended–the theme of healing and our relationships.
Transit chart for the Aries Full Moon. Created using AstroGold for Android.
The other energy in the sky on October 9 is the separating trine between a direct Mercury and a direct Pluto. You heard me right! Both Mercury and Pluto are direct in the sky again and, especially where Pluto is concerned, late-degree cardinal risings and Suns may start to feel a little relief as the weight of having this planet hover over any natal placements has likely been profoundly troubling.
You may recall that the trine between these two planets first activated back on September 27 and Mercury has been holding within an orb of active influence ever since. The difference between last week’s trine and this is that Pluto is now direct and so any previously stagnant energies or even potential disruptions from Pluto dredging up deets from your past will likely abate this week.
As I also said in last week’s forecast, I do like this trine between Mercury in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn, since earth signs help us stay grounded and Pluto can take some of Mercury’s buzzy edge off. This is a great energy to move forward with any dedicated and focused initiatives that you may have been contemplating, especially while the two planets were retrograde.
Pluto lets us go deep and brings intensity to affairs, while Mercury, cruising through the last degrees of Virgo is still in its earthy home, lending it stability and profound capacity for analysis, synthesis and digestion of vast swaths of information. It also allows us for considerable depth in our communications as well. This aspect won’t last long since, on October 10, Mercury will enter the sign of Libra, where it will stay until the end of October.
Over this period, Mercury will cruise through a sign where it enjoys rulership by triplicity, and, between October 20–24, where it is its own terms as well. So, while the best days for Mercurial matters are yet to come, Mercury will nevertheless find itself in a position to be more eloquent in its communications, more inclined towards creative thinking, and perhaps even craving some artistic outlet for its mental energies.
During Mercury’s sojourn through Venus’ sky temple, this could be a good time for journaling to improve our mental and emotional wellness, writing poetry or fiction, or even doing creative things with our hands — like knitting, sewing, or playing an instrument.
Next, Mercury will oppose retrograde Jupiter in Aries on October 11. As you might recall, this is the third time that Mercury will ping Jupiter. Much like Pluto, Mercury pinged Jupiter once while direct on September 2, then again while retrograde on September 18.
My caution back in September was to avoid any expressions of hubris, which could befall a Mercury engaging expansive Jupiter, even while retrograde. This tendency toward overinflation remains a particularly active energy, especially as Jupiter’s heat is amplified in Mars’ sky temple, making it slightly more inclined towards impulsivity and separation.
Under this celestial signature, we may be torn between our own independence, while Mercury contemplates how to balance its ideas of expansive responsibility within the confines of existing relationships. Thank goodness it’s in Venus’ sign, since it may need to rely on the Lesser Benefic’s gift of sweet words, harmony and diplomacy to get its ideas across. All in all, however, these could be welcome energies this week, especially as we have the reactivated Saturn-Uranus square in the background throughout this month to contend with.
Speaking of Saturn, the Sun will trine it on October 11, which could give us a nice opportunity to come down from some of the heightened and emotional energies of that Full Moon.
The Sun, which typically struggles a bit in the sign of Libra, is going to get a very helpful boost of strength from weighty Saturn. With a focus on relationships, Saturn may help this Sun put obligation and responsibilities into perspective, and understand their more expansive role in supporting us attain our goals. I see this trine presenting an effective counterweight to the Saturn-Uranus square, which likely has us locked in an internal battle between what calls us to liberation and where we feel trapped by necessity. It could also help us focus and even zero in on any of the issues that the Full Moon at the start of the week brought up.
The aspect between the Sun and Saturn will ultimately be beneficial for meditation, contemplation and reflection, but also for understanding the nature of where we can’t let our rampant Uranian desires run free at the expense of the emotional maturity that many relationships in our lives demand.
Also occurring around October 11 is a square between Mars and retrograde Neptune. This will be an important aspect to note and manage energetically because it will be in the background of the partial solar eclipse later this month and through much of the early Mars retrograde period. (Not up on Mars retrograde? Check my previous survival guide for this upcoming transit!)
We’ve talked at length about Neptune’s various effects in previous forecasts, but in short, you may want to watch your energies as this square perfects, since it can be a ripe aspect for confusion, frustration, illusion and disillusionment.
One of the challenges that I foresee in managing Mars retrograde, especially in the sign of Gemini, is the forward momentum that we likely craved from Mars in a Mercurial sign. Mars in Gemini is a mover and a shaker: a fast-talking, quick-witted and decisive addition to a sign that’s typically associated with duality, dispersion and lack of focus.
For everyone, it will be important to understand where the forward momentum that a direct Mars brings can get stilted and check your expectations accordingly. For example, if Gemini is on your sixth or tenth house cusps, then Mars can take on action in the areas of work and career, or if it’s on your second and eighth, then it could concern actions in money matters. And, likely, in all these affairs, you’ve probably been hoping for some major action since Mars entered the sign a couple of months ago.
It’s also worthwhile mentioning that Mars will also be out of bounds beginning October 23, including over the retrograde period and through to May of next year. This will lend Mars a number of unique characteristics not typically befalling it when it’s within the confines of the ecliptic, such as tremendous courage, ambition and strength and perhaps even atypical endurance. However, the shadow side is that out-of-bounds Mars can also be predisposed to its more negative traits; in the sign of Gemini, this could portend to rashness, angry words and even violent outbursts.
I point this out not to scare anyone, but to raise awareness that, even if the Mars out-of-bounds energy might not do much more than heighten sensitivities around your agenda in the sign of Gemini, the world around you may be more volatile and so, proceed with caution.
It will be equally important for everyone out there to look to transiting retrograde Neptune in their natal charts, since this is where some of the frustration will be channeled from topically. For example, if Gemini is hitting your ninth in the area of higher learning, philosophy and spirituality, and foreign travel, and Neptune is in your sixth house of work and obligation, then you may find yourself frustrated or disillusioned by the amount of toil that you need to put into any ninth-house efforts. If Gemini is in your fifth house of creative endeavours, then you may find yourself frustrated and disillusioned by affairs and matters of the second house, which could manifest as disappointment in potentially thinking that your creative endeavours, side hustles or entrepreneurial ventures should have beared financial fruit by now.
All this to say, there could be a striking feeling of our sails being zapped of wind over the next little while. This will make persevering more important than ever.
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That’s all I’ve got for you this week. If you found this helpful, don’t forget to like and comment below by sharing how the astrology of the week is playing out for you. You can also subscribe to my mailing list in order to get these forecasts delivered straight to your inbox!
Also, if you’re beginning your astro planning for 2023, then you should know that I’ve started releasing some 2023 forecast videos; not all of these have a text version on this blog, so you’ll note below which are on YouTube only:
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*DISCLAIMER: All astrological forecasts are for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. Any decisions that you might make as a result of reading this or any other astrological blog entry are YOURS ALONE and the creator of this blog will not be held responsible! For any legal issues, see a lawyer; for medical ones, consult a physician. None of the information in this blog constitutes actionable advice from a licensed professional. Once again, this forecast is for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!
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