Mars turning retrograde and a Scorpio Solar Eclipse starring Venus highlight the second half of October. This packed half-month also features Jupiter entering Pisces, Saturn turning direct, three notable aspect patterns, and more!

This forecast covers this half-month’s most important astrological events. Also check out my award-winning This Week in Astrology audio podcast and YouTube video forecasts!

Click astrology graphics to see larger images. Some resource links may occur more than once. This is because many people link to a specific day’s forecast from social media, and might not see an important resource link elsewhere on this page.

As of October 16 …

• The Moon is waxing (there was a Aries Full Moon on 10/9).
• Jupiter is retrograde thru 11/23.
• Chiron is retrograde thru 12/23
• Uranus is retrograde thru 1/22.
• There’s a Sun-Mars-Saturn Grand Trine thru 10/21
• There’s a Venus-Mars-Saturn Grand Trine thru 10/22
• There’s a Saturn-Uranus-Lunar Nodes T-Square thru 12/26
  

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10/16 (Sun)

Venus Grand Trine Peaks

A Grand Trine that started on 10/9 peaks today (10/16) and ends on 10/22. It includes Venus, Mars, and Saturn.

This flowing and harmonious aspect pattern makes “Steady Eddie” energy available for your relationships, finances, and creativity. Mars in Gemini can fire up your creative expression, while Saturn in Aquarius can help you bring positive innovations. The “Steady Eddie” energy comes from the Mars-Saturn trine.

10/19 (Wed)

“Finger of God” Points to Shadow Work

A “Finger of God” aspect pattern, formally called a Yod, could stir up some shadow work in your psyche. That’s because all three of its planets – Ceres, Chiron, and the South Node – carry this theme. It starts today (10/19), peaks on 10/31, and ends on 11/11.

Fortunately, your unhealed wounds and traumas are the main thing standing between you and deeper spiritual awakening. If you have an effective technique for clearing your traumas quickly and efficiently, any emotional challenge is really a healing and awakening opportunity. The obstacle is the way!

My Healing Invocation has helped thousands do this healing work more quickly and easily. You can learn about it in my free online mini-course: Instant Divine Assistance: Your Free Guide to Fast and Easy Awakening and Healing.

This “Finger of God” can also empower you to step more potently into your service as a healer or wisdom-giver.

Mercury Grand Trine Begins

Learning, teaching, and communication get a smooth boost thanks to a Grand Trine featuring Mercury, Mars, and Saturn. It starts today (10/19), peaks on 10/24 and ends on 10/28.

Mercury in Libra can focus your mind on relating or creating. Mars in Gemini can energize your intellectual pursuits. Finally, Saturn in Aquarius can give you endurance and help you think outside the box!

10/23 (Sun)

Saturn Turns Direct

Saturn turns direct at 12:08 am EDT (18°35′ Aquarius). The Time Lord has been retrograde for 4-½ months, since 6/4 (25°15′ Aquarius).

It’s now a good time to move forward with any action steps that have emerged from your Saturnian contemplations. Here are the main reflections I recommended back when Saturn turned retrograde:

This is a great time to contemplate Saturnian themes in your life. Is your behavior mature, responsible and well-structured? Do you make good use of your time? Are you able to “plan the work and work the plan”

How much of your time do you spend alone? (One of Saturn’s archetypes is the Hermit.) If you’re old enough, are you stepping into the role of the Wise Elder?

Sun and Venus Enter Scorpio

The Sun and Venus enter Scorpio today less than three hours apart: the Sun at 3:52 am EDT, Venus at 6:36 am. I go deep into the meaning of Scorpio in my 10/25 Solar Eclipse forecast, so I won’t steal my thunder by detailing all that here.

The nearly simultaneous entry of the Sun and Venus into Scorpio highlights Venus’ meanings of relationship, creativity, and finance. Venus gets star billing in my Solar Eclipse interpretation, so I once again refer you to that to understand the special ways she can help you in Scorpio.

10/24 (Mon)

Mercury Grand Trine Peaks

The Mercury-Mars-Saturn Grand Trine that started on 10/19 peaks today (10/24) and ends on 10/28.

10/25 (Tue)

Scorpio Solar Eclipse

A partial Solar Eclipse/New Moon lines up at 6:49 am EDT (2°0′ Scorpio).

As a New Moon

Any Scorpio New Moon is great for new beginnings or energy in the following areas:

Transformation is a central Scorpio theme. Death and rebirth processes, especially those that are emotional or shamanic, are highlighted. It’s a good time to have effective shadow work processes ready, such as my Healing Invocation.

Wealth is also a Scorpio theme. This could be lots of money, or anything that you value. Anything that makes your life better, tangible or intangible, could count as wealth.

Another Scorpio theme is power. This comes in two basic flavors. “Power over” is all about domination, control and manipulation. “Shared power” is exercised by those who have found their power internally, and want to help others find theirs as well.

Sex, another Scorpio theme, also has two basic levels. The first is simple lust, the raw physical desire for sexual pleasure and orgasm. The second is sacred or Tantric sex. This operates at a much higher level of ecstasy, made possible by the conscious blending of your light bodies.

Scorpio also rules the occult. Occult simply means “hidden”, and in metaphysical terms refers to what’s beyond the five senses. It need not be dark or creepy. Occult practices include astrology, tarot, energy healing, mediumship, and psychic abilities.

As you can see, Scorpio has a lot of themes. Choose the ones that most excite you and dive in!

As a Solar Eclipse

This partial Solar Eclipse will not be visible in North America. But it will be visible from most of Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, and western parts of Asia.

A Solar Eclipse is a New Moon with extra staying power. You can typically work with the energy of a New Moon for two weeks. But you can work with eclipse energy for at least six months!

Aspects

Venus Conjunction

This eclipse’s dominant aspect is a tight Venus conjunction. She’s less than one degree from the Sun and Moon.

This can supercharge Venus’ core meanings: relationship, creativity, and money. On the high side, Venus in Scorpio prefers relationships that are deep, honest, uninhibited, and intense. If friction arises, she’s eager to dive into psychological or shamanic healing techniques that will resolve it. If the relationship is sexual, she craves primal passion or ecstatic soul blending.

Artistically, Scorpio Venus prefers uninhibited, honest, and authentic creative expression. This might include content that’s violent, sexual, or taboo. A good strategy here is to create without a filter, then decide later what should be shared with others.

Financially, Venus in Scorpio puts the planet of money in the sign of wealth! This can open the door to enhanced abundance, but could also go in the opposite direction. Be sure to exercise due diligence when exploring any financial opportunities.

Other Aspects

There are five other aspects to this Solar Eclipse. None of them holds a candle to the power of the Venus conjunction, but act as grace notes to the interpretation.

A loose Pluto square reinforces the Scorpio energy already described, since the sign and planet share the same keywords. A loose trine from Juno, goddess of committed partnership, reinforces the relational theme of Venus.

A wide conjunction from Mercury in Libra can help you learn, communicate, relate, and create. A wide trine from Mars in Gemini can help you get moving toward your goals, and reinforces the theme of learning and communication. Finally, a moderately strong quincunx from Jupiter can help you be more adventurous and support a quest for higher knowledge.

10/28 (Fri)

Jupiter Enters Pisces

Jupiter retrogrades from Aries into Pisces at 1:10 am EDT.

I’m grateful to Renn Butler for letting me borrow the following interpretations from his masterful book, The Archetypal Universe: Astrological Patterns in Human Culture, Thought, Emotion and Dreams. We begin with the more challenging shadow qualities of Jupiter in Pisces, so that we can finish with its positive possibilities. The world needs the flowing possibilities of Jupiter in Pisces now more than ever!

Shadow Qualities

• overoptimism, rose-colored glasses
• spaced-out, impractical idealism
• new age naïveté and gullibility
• blurred distinctions and belief in anything
• overextension
• excessive generosity
• unwise financial speculation
• illusions of easy material return

• mirages of a glorious prosperity
• fool’s gold
• self-indulgence and laziness combined with high expectations
• excessive ritual trappings and ceremony in religion
• spiritual materialism
• wholesale illusions and projections
• esoteric pretensions
• psychic inflation and grandiosity

Flowing Qualities

• feelings of faith and wonder
• grand ideals and visions
• heightened intuition
• exalted dreams
• expansive inner life
• outpourings of creative expression
• dream-come-true optimism
• a feeling of being buoyed or lifted from within
• blissful states of cosmic unity
• reconnection with divine consciousness
• tolerance and forgiveness

• altruism and generosity
• broad-ranging kindness and compassion
• transcendence of factionalism
• human compassion transcending creed or affiliation
• authentic spiritual institutions
• the humanitarian safety net
• all-encompassing shifts of vision
• the re-visioning and re-enchantment of a culture
• consciousness expanding everywhere
• sacred wonders and pilgrimages
• mystical or spiritual education

Life is not a spectator sport. The more each of us embodies the positive potentials of Jupiter in Pisces, the easier it will be for the world’s people, societies, institutions and governments to do the same.

We’re all connected, and your consciousness and actions affect everyone and everything. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world!”

10/30 (Sun)

Mars Retrograde

Mars turns retrograde at 9:26 am EDT (25°36′ Gemini). He’ll turn direct again in 2-½ months, on 1/12, at 3:56 pm (8°7′ Gemini). Mars turns retrograde every 26 months.

When a planet is retrograde, it’s ideal to reflect on its meanings rather than act on them as much as possible. But this is ultimately impossible with Mars, since it’s the planet of action itself!

However, this is a great time to reflect on how you embody the roles of the warrior, pioneer, entrepreneur, and sexual being. How skillfully do you deal with anger and impulsiveness? Do you take action in an optimal way?

Much like Mercury retrograde, Mars retrograde isn’t the best time to take action on major new initiatives … and, yes, 2-1/2 months is a long time. If you can’t wait until Mars is direct, at the very least start your new initiatives under a waxing moon, and when the moon isn’t void-of-course.

10/31 (Mon)

Finger of God Peaks

The Ceres-Chiron-South Node “Finger of God” (Yod) that started on 10/19 peaks today (10/31) and ends on 11/11. Happy Halloween!

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