October 15th ~ 22nd
“Pandora” by Lawrence Alma Tadema
Jupiter Stations Direct October 18th
“Hope” is the thing with feathers ~ That perches in the soul ~ And sings the tune without the words ~ And never stops at all; ~ Emily Dickenson
This is a critical week in what could feel like a critical month of transitions. When this month began we had 6 planets plus Chiron retrograde. Since then first Pluto stationed direct, which was followed by Saturn direct station last week. This week both Mercury and Jupiter will station direct. Jupiter stations on Sunday or Monday (the 17th or 18th) depending on where you are in the world. Whenever Jupiter stations, whether direct or retrograde, it always does so with a supportive trine to the Sun. This can lend an air of pleasant optimism and hope for the future, despite all else that may be going on.
This is when we get hopeful news; when we receive encouraging results for our our efforts; or the causes and conditions are finally coming together that will allow an aspiration or our hopes for the future to finally be fulfilled. Jupiter speaks in potentials and possibilities, but when it stations direct as it does this week, we are given a glance at what it might look like to have our dreams unfold. With the trine to the Sun, Jupiter speaks to us through the heart. This year, both Sun and Mars are trine Jupiter, bringing us that much more courage and motivation to move forward with our goals and aspirations.
We’ll need all the help we can get this week. For even as we are being encouraged by the Sun/Mars trines to stationing Jupiter this weekend, we are also in the shadow of a simmering powder keg of a Full Moon interlaced with all sorts of treachery and betrayal. So hold on to your dreams, and do not let them go, and allow those to be your guiding light, even if and when we are being taunted and tested by having to walk through the gauntlets in our lives.
Mercury Stations Direct October 18th
She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gathers them and gives them back to me in all the right order. It’s good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind. ~ Toni Morrison (Beloved)
Mercury stations direct on Monday, October 18th. When it stationed retrograde on September 27th, Mercury was trine Jupiter, trying to get us to connect with our highest truths and vision for the future, the promise of which is being implied by both Mercury and Jupiter stationing direct within the same day. Jupiter brought the inspiration and anticipation. And as Mercury now stations it is making a trine to Saturn, which is asking us to think in terms of what we can do to practically make our hopes and dreams a closer reality.
There is even more to the story of this direct station of Mercury, for as it stations direct this week it is also making an opposition to our wounded healer Chiron while sextile Venus. This helps to tie in the prevailing Saturn/Chiron sextile of 2021, while giving us a personal appreciation of how that sextile has been insinuating itself in our lives. With the opposition between Chiron and Mercury now lurking, we may have been feeling besieged by our own doubts, reproaches and worries creeping into the infrastructure of our minds. But the Venus sextiles to Saturn and Mercury and its trine to Chiron this week are bringing us the remedy for what undermines and ails us. And it is doing so on an ornate and sacred platter.
When I look upon the Chironic people in my life, what I see is the grace and beauty of wisdom honed over the course of time. Raw, vital, unconditional. A knowingness that can only come through experience and pain. But it is precisely because of their pain that they can see what the rest of us cannot. The gifts that are revealed to us through Chiron can only be found beneath, and because of, these ancient scars, these remnants of the wounds embedded in the soul. But when Saturn is sextile Chiron, as it is has been this year, we are being shown the value and usefulness of these gifts, these talents… this divine wisdom.
Chiron is not only our wise healer, but also our teacher, our pathfinder and guide. And as Mercury stalls for its direct station this week, it is awakening us to our own inner wisdom, gifts and talents, and reminding us of the value of these gifts, and the understanding they bring, not only for ourselves, but for everyone with whom we come in contact. May we all strive to be like the sacred Chironic teachers in our lives, who gather the jumbled pieces, and return them back to us in all the right order. For that is what this direct station of Mercury can do for every one of us, as we reorient ourselves to the direct phase of Mercury, and what we usually think of as normal.
The Full Moon in Aries October 20th
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” ~ Yoda
The dwarf planet Eris was only just discovered in 2005, but has since become something of a key player in our astrological pantheon. At the far limits of our solar system, she moves so slowly that everyone born after April 1923 has Eris in a single sign, the sign of Aries. This week the Full Moon in Aries will be conjunct Eris, the goddess of discord and chaos, while square Pluto, the Lord of Darkness, and opposing the Sun and Mars, somewhat seething, weakened and beleaguered in Libra. Full Moons are like culminations, exposing the ramifications of choices made and actions done in the past. And this Full Moon could well be riddled with consequences and revelations.
Aries is a fiery and tempestuous sign. Its ruling planet is the warrior planet Mars, which will oppose Eris and square Pluto at the full Moon, as is also the Sun, creating a tense t-square. Oppositions and squares always create tension and often conflict. And due to the discomfort of that conflict reaching a level that can no longer be ignored, we feel the urgency to take some kind of action. All the more so with the God of War, the Lord of the Underworld, and the Goddess of Discord all in full armor, and ready to take on all challengers. Mars may not have his usual weapons at his disposal in the sign of Libra, but he is still ready to fight with whatever means are available.
Any state of oppression, any meanness, abuse of justice, or impossible situation will feel untenable under the rays of the Aries Full Moon. It can bring feelings of desperation, as any overly excessive demands will no longer be tolerated. However, we would all do well to tread lightly as we approach this fiery Moon, since when Mars is in Libra (as it is now), the one who is the aggressor is more likely to lose.
Eris is not afraid to pit herself against even the most extraordinary forces. Even the gods themselves. Even fate. Pluto has to do with power and those who wield the power in society, whether that be authoritarian leaders, oppressive governments, mega corporations or the bullies in our own lives. Eris in Aries has no fear, will find the weaknesses in her opponents and hone right in.
But there are lessons to be learned from the Full Moon in Aries while Mars is in Libra, even and especially when in desperate circumstances. Mars/Pluto/Eris will feed on even the smallest remnants of revenge, resentment, and jealousy; and aggravate any fears surrounding abandonment, treachery and betrayal. However, when in Libra, Mars is expected to operate according to the rules of Libra, keeping the peace and maintaining the status quo, even if and when the hordes are battling at the gates, taunting and threatening your well-being. It is only thru peaceful and non-violent acts of resistance that we can make any headway when Mars is in Libra.
In the mean time, if you find yourself in an untenable situation, gather your allies and wait for a better time to advance later on. And by all means avoid throwing additional fuel on the embers of any smoldering fires. In this case it is wisdom, not cowardice, to retreat to safer quarters, and wait for a better time to proceed.
The Full Moon is also showing us those things that we need to let go of, and have to stop doing: what are we overly attached to? addicted to? And what are those things that we have outgrown, and may be holding us back and preventing us from growing? What is keeping your light from shining in all its glory? For this is what is needing to be purified.
You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone ~ any person or any force ~ dampen, dim or diminish your light. ~ John Lewis
For next week’s horoscopes, click below: