FOR SOME, autumn is the loveliest of the seasons, and the Equinox in Old Albion delivered some beautiful skies, when day and night come perfectly balanced and the Libran light is …just so.
The new Moon of October 1st at 1.11 BST is a joyous one, with benevolent Jupiter tied closely to the invisible new Moon. As the Sun moves away from Jupiter over coming weeks, the giant planet will become a prominent feature of the night sky.
The new Moon also finds Mars aligned from Capricorn, where the red planet finds its traditional exaltation; a potentially combative combination but one sure to raise sparks for the four cardinal signs that mark the solstices and equinoxes, the hinges of the year.
October boasts a second new Moon on October 30 at 17.38 GMT, just in time for Halloween, which belongs to another quartet of annual festivals celebrated during the months of Taurus, Leo and Aquarius – another story. This new Moon swaps Libran light for Scorpio mystery and what Scorpio John Keats (b. 31.10.1795) described in his Ode To Autumn as the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”, one of the most quoted lines in English verse. The rest of the poem is pretty good too!
Wishing a fruitful season to all my readers.
Libra
Fancy your chances? You absolutely should. The first day of October brings a glorious new Moon in your skies, one that is conjunct ‘lucky’ Jupiter, said planet now being the most important signifier in the Libran solar ‘scope for the next twelve months, and especially now.
Simple good fortune is one thing that Jupiter can deliver – a shower of shiny five pound notes, a free ticket to Easyville in the country of your choice – but the giant planet is also associated with personal growth, an expansionary mind-set, and a spiritual quest. You can refer back through Jupiter’s twelve year cycle for reference; 1968, ’80, ’92, 2004. The important thing is to consciously set out your goals for the next year, when you have a following, if occasionally wayward, wind.
The easiest goals to achieve are those in accord with Jupiter’s energies; these can be materialist – money, promotion at work – or devoutly religious, this being the planet of religion. Personal relations are a more slippery subject. Jupiter, like your Venus ruler, is a magnet for social action, and willing to max the credit card to throw a party and show everyone a good time. The annual visit of Mercury, communicator and facilitator, from October 7-25, helps keep your wheels oiled and your thinking and talking sharp.
Romances, whether your coupled-up or singularly single, are another matter. Here your best plan is attraction and beguilement. You can reach out, but avoid provocation. Mars, ruler of significant others, is currently strong in Capricorn and somewhat antagonistic. Pushy people are to be expected, especially at the 4th and at the madcap full Moon of the 16th, and should leave disappointed by your refusal to engage. Contrary to some descriptions, Librans don’t always accommodate others in order to keep the peace – they are as likely to get confrontational – but diplomacy and charm rule during our birthday season. Let there be peace in the valley.
That full Moon sprawls across the weekend of 15/16 September. It’s conjunct freaky-deaky Prometheus (Uranus to the squares) so expect a few oddballs to come rolling through, while the asteroid goddesses Juno (marriage) and Ceres (fertility and capability) are also in play. It’s an emotional high tide, good for realisations and romantic flings but not for making grand pronouncements. Wait a few days.
The month of Scorpio, from October 23, pushes financial issues… in a good way. A forensic, relentless mind-set is called for, get the damn accounts out the way. You need space to pursue nobler visions. Ruler Venus may already have helped bring more cash money into your hands, from 18 October she moves onto Sagittarius, where family and community feature more strongly. A good time to embrace estranged siblings, arrange the village bonfire party or enjoy a day at the races. But do enjoy. Happy Birthday.
Scorpio
You don’t have to wait until your birthday month to party. Venus in your skies until October 18 asks you to step out in style, flirt and engage in intrigue (well, you are a Scorpio). Plus, the new Moon of October 1st finds Venus perfectly aligned with Neptune in your ‘scope’s pleasure and romance zone (steady with the bottle), plus, with a couple of other goddesses in play, Juno and Black Moon Lilith, you look pretty wild and deadly from here.
That new Moon is, as ever this time of year, behind the scenes, calling for some mind-body-spirit action to offset Venusian excess. With a little judicious balance, you could be on a winning streak in October, since no sooner has Venus moved on than your birthday season dawns on October 23. A mere week later you have your own new Moon, at dawn October 30, featuring a sweet aspect to Neptune (pass the bottle) and a conjunction with communicator Mercury.
These are excellent omens for the creatives among you (writers, painters, musos, etc), for inspired insights and for general administration – Neptune is not inclined to orderliness but the Sun and Mercury are. Restate your boundaries in romances, re-apply yourself to financial affairs, where, as you know, there is simply not enough of the folding stuff coming in.
Ruler Mars spends the entire month in Capricorn, where tradition holds the red planet is ‘exalted’ ie forceful. With Mars in an earth sign complementing watery Scorpio, you look ready to take a new broom to friendships, sinister siblings and, indeed, to simmering but slightly toxic relationships. When Mars passes Pluto (a modern contender to be your ruler) on October 19, things may become…intense. Romances need an element of enchantment, n’est-ce pas?
Sagittarius
The activities of your undisputed ruling planet, Jupiter, are always of interest, especially the giant planet’s annual shift from one zodiac sign to the next. Jupiter’s arrival in Libra and its conjunction with the new Moon of October 1st spells out themes not only for October but for the year ahead. In some respects Jupiter in Libra describes an easier ride than you have had over the last year, when domestic and career issues have been, shall we say, awkward.
You get no easy rides from Saturn, which is very much the dominant force in Sagittarian lives just now, but Jupiter opens new avenues for co-operative ventures, for committees, teams, volunteer work, political activity, maybe banging the drum for social reform. Fellow travellers tend to come onside. There is safety in numbers.
Jupiter equals possibility, Saturn equals necessity. Big decisions you have been postponing now loom – anytime between here and Christmas works to declare them, but ducking out of them looks difficult. You will be pressed. The arrival of Venus in the skies of the Centaur on October 18 should sweeten the atmosphere, magnetise delightful friends to your side and add lustre to your love life. Be at your most glamorous/dashing. The full Moon of October 15/16, a weekend, also has a touch of giddy melodrama to it.
In general you are promised a fast turnover to events. The season of Scorpio, beginning October 23, is not exactly your moment in the Sun – you may feel like hiding – but the important thing is work and the sagacious investment in your future that you are now required to make. What your gifts and willpower achieve now has implications way into the future (finances included). Time to get to work.
Capricorn
Like all astrological planets, Mars is an ambiguous bundle of energies. Is the red planet, as Holst characterised it, a ‘Bringer of War’, a mindless thug? Or is Mars a powerful athlete and red-blooded lover (think Scarlett O’Hara)? With Mars ‘exalted’ in your skies for the next six weeks, you can choose its role according to taste. At the least, Mars is about physical and mental energy, and October and November are months where you can accomplish much in a short space of time. To put it in blunt, modern jargon, you look weaponised.
One downside to a Mars transit is a tendency to upset other people, especially but not exclusively at the beginning and end of October, when the planet squares off against the new Moon and Jupiter on the 1st, and against Prometheus at the new Moon of October 30. Beware the ‘red mist’ descending, a warning also relevant to the full Moon weekend of October 15/16 and, indeed, to the following week, when Mars passes Pluto, a long term resident in Capricorn’s skies. Avoid any proposals that have an underhanded, ruthless flavour.
Happily, there is plenty of activity in Scorpio – water to your earth – to keep you on the straight and narrow. Venus here until 18th, and the Sun from the 23rd, lend you ‘emotional intelligence’, provide good company (friends, fellow travellers), and, if you are looking, a hot date or two. Mars the lover looks in business.
Business, of course, always matters to a self-respecting Goat, and the new Moon of October 1st sets the tone for an entire year when your public life and career are under examination…in a good way. Jupiter atop your ‘scope promises a few deep-pocketed bigwigs involved in your affairs, and the necessity to bump along with them for patronage and goodwill. Openness and transparency – not always a virtue associated with your sign – are required; Jupiter in Libra is, in part, about justice being seen to be done.
Aquarius
This looks more like it. Not that the cosmos has been especially unkind to Urn Bearers this year (those of you born in ’73 or ’86 may disagree), but the new Moon of October 1st hits a very sweet spot in your solar ‘scope. The equation of a new Moon conjunct Jupiter in the ninth house is textbook stuff. Major travel (perhaps unplanned) and free trips to groovy destinations for some, for others a hike up the career ladder, especially those involved with education, the legal system, public administration. A more mature, philosophical approach sweeps in. Outer space and deep science may become pre-occupations.
The Urn Bearer, let’s keep in mind, pours for all, and any public role you have, especially if your grappling on behalf of fellow human beings, is a source of challenge and reward this autumn. Your Saturn ruler remains onside to cope with sub-committees and administration, and a succession of planets passing over the roof of your ‘scope promise constructive engagement with the powers that be. The new Moon that arrives at the end of the month, on October 30, places you firmly in the limelight; time to perform.
Your more personal life, lovers and so forth, looks curiously entwined with your public role just now (office romance anyone?). Asteroid Pallas parked in the middle of your skies lends you the look, and hopefully feel, of command, while planet Prometheus, your alleged modern ruler, can steer agreeably nutty people your way. Social hotspots arrive on October 11, 16, 19 and 28.
Any financial shenanigans from September – and with a wayward Mercury and two eclipses then, they look likely – need to be tidied up promptly. You will be travelling – metaphorically or literally – at speed this autumn.
Pisces
Sometimes destiny moments creep up on you. Like now, a time for letting the past drop way and engaging in what may look like a daunting future. At least, that’s the message from Saturn sitting in your career zone and squaring the ‘destiny points’ that are the lunar nodes.
The two nodes – eclipse points – are enigmatic, not least in Vedic astrology where they are considered as the ‘shadow planets’, Rahu and Ketu. Sometimes they are seen simply as past and future. Certainly the eclipses that Pisceans have faced in March and September find you shedding a skin, maybe even a partner. Ruler Jupiter in opposition emphasised a re-orientation. With the eclipses gone and Jupiter moved on, your first job in October is to clean up the leftovers of September’s go-slow Mercury retrograde. Take your sick laptop to the tech clinic, honour the promises you made, remind others of their unfulfilled promises. The brakes come off fully at the 7th.
Jupiter’s new position and the new Moon of October 1st put long term financial plans in the frame; education in the messy business of mortgages, pensions and savings plans may be called for if you are not already genned-up. Jupiter is the benevolent money planet, so there is promise and virtue in your planning.
More immediate faces of officialdom are represented by Saturn, now renewing its demand for career focus, and Mars, newly ensconced in Capricorn, asking you to reassert your place among fellow professionals. Being a team player is a strong theme in October. Wheel and deal among your network.
As ever around this time of year you have the support of celestial bodies in fellow water sign Scorpio. Venus here until the 18th oils the wheels of romance – new or established affairs both look steamy, especially around the 13th/14th. The advent of the Sun into Scorpio on October 23 brings momentum to affairs of the heart, as does the new Moon of October 30. Whatever your gender, there seem to be a lot of powerful women in your pack.
Aries
The season of your opposing yet complimentary sign, Libra, rolls round every year at the autumn equinox, but only once every dozen years is the Libran new Moon joined by Jupiter, as it is on October 1st, when all one-on-one relationships are thrown into the spotlight over the short to medium term.
Spouse, lover, ex, friend, ally, bridge partner, rival or sworn enemy: all or any present a somewhat challenging face in October, under the Libran lunation, and then on through the autumn as Jupiter makes its first opposition since 2004. Libra, as you may have noticed, is a sign capable of being just as pushy as yourself, so you are somewhat on the back foot. The good news is that Jupiter, as the ‘Greater Benefic’, promises a just outcome, be that meeting Someone Swell or deciding one or other relationship is no longer delivering. Or the alimony agents catching up with you!
The picture is complicated in October by the presence of your undisputed ruler, Mars, which stands at the peak of your ‘scope, up in the place where you trade for achievement and fame, and in perfect alignment with Jupiter and the new Moon. If your birthday is in March, you are at the corner of a triangle of cardinal signs, for which the astrological term is ‘Ouch’.
An exalted Mars in Capricorn is all for you making a splash in your chosen profession – high profile a must this month – but it may well involve an elbows-out tussle for recognition. The trick will be how to push your interests without harsh conflict – you know, fisticuffs around the office water cooler. The descent of the dread Martian red mist must be averted.
The pace looks relentless, but hard-grafter Saturn remains onside in Sagittarius, and you hold an ace card with Prometheus still in your skies. The maverick planet is joined by the full Moon over the weekend of the 15/16, when you can live it up mightily… if you avoid going the full werewolf. Venus in Scorpio with fellow wild women Black Moon Lilith and, spells strong sexual heat. That is a lot of plates to keep spinning.
Taurus
Even if September was full of pleasures, slow progress was unavoidable under a retrograde Mercury, and for the first week of October you are playing catch-up. Something bold and new is signalled by the new Moon conjunct Jupiter on October 1st. Falling in your hard working, results-oriented fifth house this lunation calls for scrupulous routine and Virgo-standard efficiency, especially now but continuing throughout the months ahead as Jupiter proceeds. Perhaps you are the bold, new presence in your workplace!
There is plenty going on elsewhere in your ‘scope. Mars in Capricorn will stretch your horizons, perhaps throw in a jaunt abroad or usher in a refreshing face from far shores. For the pursuance of both hands-on material tasks to which the Bull is partial (growing, building, d-i-y, carving statues, baking artisan loaves etc) and more cerebral pursuits (up in the ivory tower, bringing down books from the shelves, peering through the telescope) an exalted Mars is an enabler. Its passage past Pluto mid-month may bring a corporate influence into your affairs. Be wary.
Bang opposite you lies a parade of planets and asteroids passing through your complimentary sign Scorpio, the place where major relationships are played out; lovers, friends, spouses, ex, enemies. Once the mighty Sun arrives in Scorpio on October 23 you can expect to be put somewhat on the back foot in such relationships. More intriguing is your ruler Venus in opposition until the 18th, joined by the asteroid goddess Juno and Black Moon Lilith. You won’t be left in doubt about who is friend or enemy under that line-up. And it looks hot, especially during and just after the full Moon weekend of October 15/16, and the 17/18th, when the Moon is in the Bull’s skies.
Gemini
Well what do you know, here’s a chink of blue sky – no, an actual stretch of it – to offset the squalls of early 2016. Still, having had Saturn in opposition for a year or two now, one gets used to that planet’s ‘Do-what-you-have-to’ diktats. September’s eclipses may have brought a change, too, notably one concerning your terms of employment (or lack of). Dig in your heels.
Jupiter in your fellow air sign of Libra promises something quite different. For the next year the planet is in the place where work and pleasure can merge, especially for the creatives and social idealists among you. The joy of art and craft, and of active social engagement, are etched into your ‘scope for the nest year. Since the Libran fifth house also represents romantic joy, delight in offspring, invitations to posh parties (accept every invitation), you look quite in the pink.
The new Moon of October 1st, next to Jupiter, is a seed moment, the perfect time for a fresh initiative. The Moon in opposition on October 6/7th, the full Moon of the 15/16th and Moon in Gemini days 19/20th are all perfect, hyper-active days when your skill set – organisation, talking, adding the human touch – speeds your plans. Looks like a lot of running round – just your thing.
Venus moving into opposition in October 18 is another reason to run around, at least if you’re in the dating game. Venus represents allure, but also the joy of successful partnerships – its conjoin with serious Saturn at the new Moon of October 30 could be a game changer for some associations, whether getting long term about things or unpicking the bonds that tie. Mars and Pluto meanwhile turn up the heat on joint financial matters – who pays for what. Here, accept no bullying.
Once the Sun moves into Scorpio on October 23 the pace is bound to slow, but – and here’s the joy of Jupiter – there is blue sky even in autumn’s dark days.
Cancer
Coming at you from all sides? The Crab is at one corner of the cardinal cross (Aries, Cancer, Libra Capricorn), signs that align with the solstices and equinoxes. Your fellow cardinals are highly active in October, meaning you are being pushed by Jupiter, provoked by Mars and shaken by your celestial ruler, the Moon, when he reaches fullness in Aries over the barmpot weekend of October 15/16.
That trio will keep you well occupied this month, while planets in your fellow water sign of Scorpio promise dreamier dates and sweet emotional connections. Venus is in Scorpio until the 18th, alongside Juno and Black Moon Lilith, a pushy girl gang for sure, and you should be able to wangle some high jinks out of their transit; the 4th, 8/9th and 13th all look hunky dory.
The Sun arrives in Scorpio on October 23 and the new moon of the 30th, with Mercury in tow, promises a period of emotional serenity (ish) and more command over your affairs, personal and professional.
Jupiter, now at the root of your ‘scope for the time in twelve years, may also spread accord in your all important domestic set-up. Cancerians can get sick of being told that they are stick-in-the-house homemakers – many are out-in-the-world movers and shakers – but they tend not to relocate too often. Jupiter provides that opportunity, should you want it, or to enlarge and upgrade the magnificence of Crab Mansions. Finding accord with The Clan is another Jupiterian offer.
There are limits to how much peace in the valley you can enjoy just now, Mars, in opposition until mid November, make sure of that. First recognise that in any spats, fights or showdowns you are likely outgunned (Mars in the Goat is fierce). Relations get less confrontational later in the autumn. You are strongest around on the 21/22nd. Let’s hope that Mars represents a dashing warrior type who will sweep you off your feet. Mars conjunct Pluto on the 19th a tad spooky. Sensors up!
Leo
There is a terrific sense of release to the new Moon of October 1st. In part that’s down to Mercury straightening up to fly right after a mischief-making September. Mostly, though it’s down to Jupiter’s arrival in Libra where the giant planet blows air for your fire, and smiles on any roles that involve teaching, learning, speaking, writing and communication. Out in the community with a notebook and a camera is another possibility. One on-going theme of your ‘scope is Geminian, which means being here there and everywhere at once. It’s time to leave the den and go hunting.
There is little chance of you lazily sunning yourself this autumn in any case. Saturn the taskmaster is not forcing you to work, but with the ringed planet to obligingly sited now, you’d be crazy not to apply yourself to Saturnian matters – career, responsibilities, property and parents. The establishment is on your side if you show willing.
That notion is hammered home by Mars in Capricorn for the next six weeks, which for Leos spells steady graft, the kind you only get through if you stick to your schedules and show discipline. Get tasks done. Lots of Leos have planets in Virgo in their natal chart (and vice versa); tune into those.
There would seem to be plenty of distractions available. Activity in Libra provides sparring partners for your intellect, the full Moon in fiery Aries at the 15/16 hands you a carousel of a weekend if that’s what you are after. Venus also stokes up some fire sign action from the 18th, when the planet of romance moves into your romance zone. Sweet, whether you are haply trothed or singularly footloose. Although Saturn somewhat blots out Venus at the new Moon of October 30 – an odd moment – you otherwise wear the crown. Enjoy.
Virgo
Some of you may be yearning for calmer times after a birthday season that looks something of wild ride – a pair of eclipses and Mercury going haywire in your sign promised as much. Your horoscope, however, shows little inclination to keep calm, though Mercury returning to normal service does mean you get a week to catch up on September’s events and get your pencil case tidy.
The chief agitator among your stars is an exalted Mars, now coursing through fellow earth sign Capricorn and promising lots of action on the social front, a hot-blooded romance, a winning streak on the sporting field and a burst of creative action, however you like to define that – all hands-on, arty crafty activity is in favour. Emotions run high…in a good way. The weekend of the 8/9th has an ardent glow to it.
Mars also drags in the less accommodating energies of Pluto around the 19th – a cue for an encounter with an actual plutocrat perhaps, or an offer from a semi-sinister corporation (is there any other kind?).
Venus, too, is working hard on your behalf until the 19th, joining with two other queens, Black Moon Lilith and asteroid Juno to sow peace and harmony among friends, siblings and get you out of the house. The green planet change sign to joins Saturn late in the month, when you can expect professional demands to intensify. Work – one of your favourite things – and handling officialdom both look insistent through to Christmas.
The new Moon of October 1st is in your cash zone, next to lucky ol’ Jupiter, now moved on from your skies to Libra. Jupiter is the money planet par excellence, so the next month (and beyond) promises the odd windfall or, more reliably, a positive inflow of funds should you put your mind in that direction. Even Jupiter calls for active co-operation.
One-on-one relationships have had a perplexing caste to them at times this year. Neptune, a sometimes alluring sometimes misleading bundle of energies, has been strong in opposition. Relations with a spouse, an ex or a future squeeze have likely been vague, drifting in and out of focus. With eclipses gone and Neptune less prominent, you get more clarity, surer boundaries an, returning to Mars, more control. Be active.