October 2017 forecast
Big Picture: What’s essential for growth comes into view, requiring that we loosen the grip of comfortable habits and experiment with new forms. Time for emotional detox and rebirth with Jupiter in Scorpio!
You don’t need astrology to know that the culture is undergoing a large shakeup around “me/we” issues (whether that’s me in relationship with a person, family, country, ecosystem, planet, galaxy, etc.). This month, with several planets moving from Libra to Scorpio, our ideals about relationships run into deeply held feelings and assumptions from the past that need transformation. Power struggles and pain are often the first level at which we meet this, but beneath it something new is trying to be born.
Astrologically, this shows up as Jupiter (the god image that identifies larger patterns of meaning) enters the sign of Scorpio for a 13-month transit. Scorpio has a reputation for secrecy but its really because the level of interlinked feelings and knowledge go so deep it’s hard to speak in tweet size or “have a nice day” idioms. Astrologer Steve Forrest reminds us that both Moby Dick and the first Sherlock Holmes story were published during a Jupiter in Scorpio period. (The CIA was also founded when Jupiter was in Scorpio.) With Jupiter in Scorpio, we are compelled or inspired to dive into deep waters and lose our bearings, and yet at some level of awareness, we are also asking, “what’s the larger meaning of this experience?” Obsession and passion are part of Jupiter in Scorpio’s modus operandi, and used well, they help us live more fulfilling lives. That’s different from being totally controlled by the obsessions and passions so let your navigator self keep dialoguing with other shipmates!
Take away points for October
· Any unexpected upsets are clues to understanding your deeper motives for why you pursue whatever you pursue. Are you Ahab obsessively pursuing Moby Dick whatever the cost because of an old wound? Or are you Sherlock, willing to live with uncertainty (“it is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of data”) in order to discover fresh insights and unexpected solutions?
· Mars and Venus are our go-to planets this month, which means the two questions up for daily practice this month are
o What is it I really value and desire (Venus) and is that changing?
o Am I pursuing my desires (Mars) in ways that are congruent with my values or am I separating means from the ends?
October Highlights
October 1-3: The month opens with an intensification of Mars/Venus action: time to become more conscious of what you really want and what you really value. Are you waging a campaign just to feel powerful or will these efforts really support your true ideals and ambitions? [Mars and Venus trine Pluto.]
October 5: This Full moon in Aries calls for some transformational experience around the ‘me/we’ dance of relationships. So instead of reacting habitually in power games, try bypassing comfortable neural roadmaps and instead tell your story in new language and metaphors. Practice with some stories about your family, your purpose, your beliefs about food—anything shake up assumptions and see what else is beneath them. [Mars/Venus conjunct in Virgo; Full Moon as 12. ° Aries opposite Sun in Libra square Pluto; Jupiter opposite Uranus]
October 8-10: Any obstacles (Saturn) surfacing now may be helpful clues to gaining a richer perspective on what you’re really pursuing. Excellent time for research and re-thinking in a given area. Don’t shy away from hard and detailed work because close attention to the daily grind’ is what can open up the deeper mysteries here.[Venus and Mars in Virgo square Saturn, oppose Chiron; Mercury square Pluto; Jupiter enters Scorpio on Oct. 10.]
October 14-15: Good time to explore the I Ching’s advice to ‘work on what has been wounded.’ It may be a recent loss of faith, some longstanding painful issue, or some area in your outer or inner garden. But there’s an opportunity to relate to it with a greater sense of wholeness and belonging now by interacting in new ways around the issue. [Mars opposite Chiron. Venus enters Libra.]
October 19: This high voltage New Moon in Libra says that whatever you start now is powered by the desire for innovation and freedom. But is it innovation and freedom for a purpose or a reactive instinct for rebellion? If we can hold the space for both the desire to belong and the desire for freedom, we may discover new ways to imagine and structure our relationships that honors both sides of the equation. [Sun and New Moon at 26 degrees Libra opposite Uranus in Aries.]
October 23-31--: With the Sun and Mercury joining Jupiter in Scorpio, we start to get clues (depending on where Scorpio is in your chart) of what areas are demanding expansion and deepening in our lives. Sex, death, corporate finance, shared resources are all keywords for Scorpio. More profoundly, Scorpio speaks to that level of emotional drives and instincts that cause us to move out of our comfort zone in search of the deeper energies of life. [Sun enters Scorpio, joining Mercury and Jupiter.]