Eclipse Season - Oct 2023
October starts with several long-standing aspects in place, a kite, a crisscross of yods, even more squares and enough oppositions to start an earthquake…and then eclipse season delivers the power blow.
2nd October: Venus Trines the North Node conjunct Eris
Immediately the loving, beauty planet Venus makes a smooth trine to the longest standing aspect, North Node conjunct Eris @ 24’ Aries. Venus is travelling with sister Goddess, asteroid Juno, the marriage broker, and these two, full of heart sense, might well be asking the questions in the most honest, forthright and gracious way. C’mon, say it they chorus…their addition to the defiant Eris at the doorway to our future (the North Node), brings support to any romantic endeavours. The ‘where are we heading’ conversation can be conducted with confidence. In fact it is probably long overdue.
3rd October: Mars opposes the North Node conjunct Eris
What might be forcing the hand is Mars in Libra, the sweet talker, who may be bringing up examples of past lovers, past ‘relating’ to control the outcome. Mars in this set up, is your ‘show and tell’ teacher, and will make sure you can break free from any previous patterns or conditioning.
7th October: Venus Leaves the Shadow Zone @ 28’ Leo
Venus actually re-creates the Yod she started this retrograde period with on 23rd July, adding a deep sense of unease that many felt palpably during the period - this was no ordinary retrograde. The Yod had Pluto’s power excavating deep into our soul, and then Neptune, drawing us away from our current reality. Venus at the tip, was ready to reveal what our heart’s energy was manifesting for us, a serious look at who we show up as and what we bring to the party. Now that she is exiting the shadow zone, opportunities to exercise (or exorcise) our new found heart sense and love capabilities might be surprising and even challenging.
8th October: Mars Squares Pluto
Now our hearts have had the download of Leo wisdom, Mars in Libra will go to any lengths to keep things harmonious, even if that means keeping the merriment and wine flowing, keep ignoring on an industrial scale, keep avoiding like it’s a superpower. Mars is in detriment in Libra you see, and is not able to act according to his dynamic ways. Arguments could ensue, now that he meets his higher octave, Pluto, in a square. Both want to control the outcome and anything Mars has shoved under the carpet plays right into Pluto’s hand, the master of all things hidden. Let’s see what deceit these two can unwittingly expose in what feels like an own goal by someone in massive denial.
9th / 10th October: Venus Ingress Virgo
The Moon adds a wave of mystery and perhaps karmic reminders to Venus as she finally steps into the pure lands of Virgo. She meets the brave and sexy Lilith at this zero degree spot and the combination of Venus heart energy, Lilith sacral and the Moon’s magnetic presence, is an invitation to use your Virgo discernment. At 0’ Virgo, everything becomes renewed, a fresh start, but with a sense of duty and honesty we must portray. The three are in opposition to heavy, restrictive Saturn in Pisces, so serious considerations must be given to the commitment and effort required to keep going on any new path that has suddenly opened up.
10th October: Pluto Direct
Pluto is obviously sitting on the Pluto Return point of America, and therefore the West, which has been hit three times already. This is the key to force deep, unnerving change, to ‘evolve or die’, to take hold of the power that has become unwieldly, either in our personal lives if this touches any of your planets, luminaries or angles, or on the grander scale of global corporate interests, to ensure that we are not heading towards the dystopian future being planned in plain sight. Pluto will make sure that long standing structures that enable us to self-actualise via our careers, but go to feeding the pockets of the top 1%, are now revolutionised - this is the fourth industrial revolution. Nothing is more certain than change with Pluto’s deep, analytical stare, and we have to work with Pluto - not against his karmic power, because that would be fatal. Pluto doesn’t leave Capricorn until November 2024, so we have a while to process these epic, life-changing shifts.
12th October: Mars Ingress Scorpio
Mars’s entry into Scorpio ups the ante, presses the button, turns up the dial on intensity in many situations, but mainly the deep excavation that is going on, into the underworld and the sub-conscious, the collective un-conscious, to wake it up and give it energy. Saturn in Pisces is now at 0’ Pisces, so Mars is in a water trine, drawing on the levity that Saturn brings to any situation. And this means the excavation isn’t just a quick look into the inner workings of our soul and move on, no. Saturn will ensure Mars will get to the point without any dilly dallying, so personally, we can expect scenarios where we have held ourselves back, given our power away or not recognised our own creativity. Mars and Saturn working together can have maximum, super-charged efficiency - so a time to ‘get stuff done’. Even though the searing investigation might prove problematic, it will bear fruit once you get to grips with the idea that it is not a logical process. These are water signs, ruling the emotional and psychic realms, and their action may well be defiantly beyond reasoning.
14th October: Solar Eclipse 21’ Libra
The shadow of this eclipse goes right across America from bottom to top, West Coast to East, first hitting land in Oregon at 9:13am. As this eclipse sits on the South Node in the sign of relationships, past loves, past life marriage contracts and prime relationships may come forth to be revisited in some way. A Solar Eclipse on the Libra South Node will demonstrate where we have made an effort to maintain harmony and had to heavily compromise, or denied our own self-expression in order to hold a family or financial dynamic (or both, eg: arranged marriages). These are times when you have pretended to be ‘other’ in order to keep the peace, or taken one for the team, or been led astray by love without commitment, so now is the time to work on your relationship style and whatever baggage you bring to partnerships in general. There are two further eclipses in Libra (in 2024), and as eclipses work on a 18 year Saros cycle, we can also look back to 2005/6 to see what was happening then to relieve some of the blocks holding us back from love and unity.
16th - 18th October: Sun Yod On The South Node
Whilst we think we are working on our relationship programming, the Sun then moves into position to actually sit ON the South Node, which is like doubling up on the eclipse energy, and a re-activation of its themes, so there is no escape. The Sun here wakes up our personal senses around the deep, sub-conscious conditioning of the sexes and how that may have affected us in the past. A battle of the sexes may ensue, or the internal struggle to gain harmony within or with partners may play out - and especially where you have made allowances for partners, sacrificed yourself in situations that now seem out of date. On the 20th, Mercury joins the Sun’s Yod and of course dials up the discussion around this, so don’t be surprised if anyone wants to form an opinion on how you might conduct relationships in the future.
21st October: Sun (and Mercury) Square Pluto
The Libra Sun is still conjunct Mercury - providing a brilliant enhancement of imaginative thinking, ideas and harmonious connections, yet on the 21st they both square Pluto - the Dark Lord himself. What we may have felt was just a personal reset of our boundaries, now forces its way deeper and more powerfully into the threads that connect us to our tribe. A square to Pluto can deliver a powerful kick back on long-held fantasies, a destruction of dreams that we hold dear in our lives. This feels like a shocking ‘about turn’, an antagonistic afront, but is in fact, an opportunity to gain traction on some issues, and release some karmic binds that keep us attached to people and the past. At this moment, the Moon conjuncts with Pluto, drawing us into a karmic loop where we cannot but help feel deeply, the crushing weight of unspoken expectations. We need to take back our power…of course the Libra Sun with Mercury is teaching us that love is the answer and engaging in open heart relating, rather than holding a safe distance, is the way forward. Thanks to the Moon, forces unbeknown to us, draw us into conversation with the right people at the right time to facilitate that.
21st & 22nd October: Venus Trine Jupiter
Help is at hand to remind us of our own requirements, lovely Venus in the precision of Virgo is making a trine to the ‘more than generous’ Jupiter, to show us where the benefits in all this self-analysis lie. Whatever relationship issues are being diagnosed or re-lived, Venus in Virgo teaches us that any small action, with good intention is a viable move in the right direction. Not just the note taking and detail diligence around our daily habits, but creating the beauty, emphasising the sacred bestowed by Venus is the grace and mindfulness we need to nourish our soul and get the results we so desire. Venus in Virgo is the magic hidden in the miniature that needs a little delicate care to flourish.
22nd & 23rd October: Mercury & Sun Ingress Scorpio
As Venus gently reminds us to stay true to our heart’s course, thinking planet Mercury ingress Scorpio and the excavation deep into the underworld power flow continues. Mercury gets the same stamp of authority from Saturn, that Mars got on entering Scorpio, the ‘All Areas Backstage Pass’, the ‘no holds barred’ tell all, that dishes the dirt. And in the middle of this deep dirt dishing, the Sun also joins Mercury and Mars in Scorpio, and with it, even more doors open to top secret, classified ‘Area 51’ and all its mysteries. Of course we need to take responsibility for what comes out of this Pandora’s Box, and as Mercury, Mars and the Sun will all oppose Jupiter and Uranus during their Scorpio season, we know the evidence we find in this journey, will be mind-blowing and shape shifting.
28th October: Mars Opposes Jupiter For Lunar Eclipse
The first of these oppositions comes exact on 28th, with dynamo Mars thrusting its way from within the shadows of Scorpio, to oppose the abundance of Jupiter in Taurus in a powerful set too of might and turbo energy. This is a volcanic rumbling of seismic proportions and gives a supersonic thrust to the Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on the same day. All this activity in Taurus is incredibly explosive, we may feel the earth move, and can possibly bring about a new understanding of our physical reality. Perhaps Area 51 will really reveal its secrets, but other possibilities include ground-breaking medical breakthroughs, honest scientific data, more awareness around what makes a woman or a man, perhaps new ideas around fertility. The eclipse here can bring all the misgivings and quite a bit of mischief to the surface. As the Moon is blocked out, we are given over to earthly concerns and the lower beings held within its structure are allowed to rise - and of course in earth sign Taurus we will all feel these rumblings, and no doubt our bodies and Mother Earth will respond in surprising ways. Taurus also represents MONEY, and as the eclipse is conjunct the expansive power of Jupiter, the flow of cash, the control of finance, the production of wealth, gets thrown a massive curve ball, and it is for us to experience planet earth’s big evolution with ringside seats.
29th October: Mercury Conjunct Mars Opposes Jupiter
The day after the eclipse, but really in combination with its eruption, Mercury connects to Mars in Scorpio, drawing up all the pain and misgivings, the self-sabotage and underhand tactics, at odds with the planet’s best interest, to the surface. Kapow! Mercury and Mars together in Scorpio do not take any prisoners. Topics such as the plundering of earth’s resources, the squandering of its wealth, the organisation of control in Smart Cities, the overbearing surveillance, the CIA, and the industrial trafficking of children, are all ready to have their day of revelation - and ALL in antagonistic opposition to the Taurean Lunar Eclipse, upscaling the manifest reality of earthly concerns of intensive farming, over sexualisation of children, synthetic meat, insect burgers, weather control, cutting up our body parts to create alternative genders. All of this writ large and on a massive scale of interest that will play out over the next six months.
31st October: Venus At Tail Of The Kite
It is now Venus’s turn to take up the position in Virgo, at the tail that drives the long-standing kite aspect, headed up by Neptune in Pisces: enhancing the grand delusion, highlighting our most fantastical dreams, magnetising earth into new dimensions. Venus, picking her way through Virgo, deciphering what’s right for our hearts, showing us that diligently pleasing yourself with nourishment, but also offering yourself sweetly to service to help others is what makes flowers grow. On the 31st of October she makes a super flourishing trine to Uranus in Taurus in an electrifying activation to grab our attention. This is manifesting magic and Venus here teaches us to choose what’s right for us. To tune into our heart’s desire, feel its energy and then put in the work to make it happen. She shows us how deeply nourishing it is to follow our heart with small acts of vital contribution to help our wellbeing blossom, our health to bloom. And at the back end of this long-standing kite, that leads us to the Neptunian dreamscape, there is the real Venus beauty being created by the Virgo diligence of ritual that makes all things sacred, and brings about our blessings.