Astroblogick

Mars in Scorpio

    As we’re still simmering in last week’s Full Moon fallout, major developments continue to unfold against mostly-calm skies. Mercury, having ended retrograde last week, begins to gain forward momentum in Libra while continuing to move through its retrograde shadow until breaking new ground Nov. 3, just before the New Moon in Scorpio. News and information moves at a better pace while we shouldn’t expect too many surprises until next week when Mercury three-peats its hard aspects with the outer planet trouble-makers.

    The most noteworthy geocosmic event this week involves Mars’ entrance into Scorpio, the sign of its rulership on Oct. 30. After having lost its mojo these past six weeks in Venus-ruled Libra, where compromise and diplomacy are the name of the game, Mars in Scorpio is ready to act with little restraint. Unlike Mars’ other sign of Aries, where action tends to be forceful yet indiscriminate, Mars in Scorpio tends to act in an almost surgical fashion.

    Among other expressions, Mars in Scorpio is likely to coincide with a curtain being pulled back, exposing covert actions and underhanded behaviors over the course of the next six weeks. Obviously, this will find expression through the ongoing findings of the Congressional Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. This will expose governmental and congressional parties behind the funding, planning and execution of the attempted coup. Hard to say how all this is going to turn out, yet with Mars in Scorpio, there could be considerable nastiness being expressed, particularly from the accused.

    On a more personal scale of expression, Mars in Scorpio lends itself to tightly-formulated plans of action that get to the heart of the matter instead of simply acting on the surface features. There could be a temptation to act in sneaky or manipulative ways in order to get one’s way although there’s likely to be future blow-back from anything less than clear and upfront intentions and motivations. Sexual expression and desire could also get a strong boost while Mars occupies Scorpio, but whether that translates into anyone getting laid remains to be seen.

Lunar Gardening Report

    Sunday and Monday are poor days for much of anything garden-wise aside from general maintenance with the Moon in agriculturally-sterile Gemini, but good for stuff like raking, cutting and clearing. Some of the last, best days for planting and fertilizing can be found Tuesday and Wednesday with the Moon in highly-fertile Cancer. With the Moon entering the fire sign of Leo as well as its Last Quarter Phase on Thursday, the garden gate closes for all manner of planting or fertilizing until Nov. 8, when the Moon takes on light in Capricorn.

Daily Forecast (For all signs)
(Times are Eastern Daylight/-0400UTC)

Sunday, Oct. 24: The Gemini Moon suggests windy conditions and a flurry of activity early, before a wave of disconnects and discombobulations trouble the air. Heart-to-heart conversations aimed at becoming clear within the context of our closest relationships without rancor are highlighted late afternoon. After that, it would be better to move the focus away from the linear world and redirect it into pleasurable distractions and altered experiences; like watching a big-screen movie in an actual theater (Moon square Neptune).

Monday, Oct, 25: If you intend to make a big push today, best put your shoulder to the wheel before 10:00 am when the Moon goes void-of-course (VOC) in Gemini, remaining “void” until the Moon enters Cancer at 5:00 pm. We might notice a subtle shift from a mental frequency to an emotional one tonight and over the next two days. Family, parents, ancestry, tradition, home, real estate and security themes predominate, making this a favorable time to tend to any of these items.

Tuesday, Oct. 26: Public health might be at the center of an emotional debate midday, particularly when it comes to parents and their children (Cancer Moon-Chiron). Water, in all its forms, becomes a major source of concern today while toxic releases and poisonous politics muddy the waters of public perception and credible action (Venus square Neptune). Confusion, deception or paranoia may trouble our relationships if we’re not being honest or are fearfully holding on to something too tightly. Sometimes you gotta let it go.

Wednesday, Oct. 27: The Moon continues to tread the emotional waters of Cancer this morning while giving imagination and inspiration their due. A general state of unease predominates midday before a more direct engagement involving power and control asserts itself around suppertime. Restlessness or agitation are possible after midnight, so it would be best to avoid watching the news before going to bed.

Thursday, Oct. 28: With the Moon whistling down the sunny side of the street in Leo, a more robust and energetic vibe is possible right now. Adding to our exuberance, we find one of the more auspicious indicators of good fortune in the realm of love and money dominating (Venus sextile Jupiter). Be aware that the sextile aspect requires we show up and put some energy into the prospect if anything is to be gained. Late afternoon sees the Moon enter its Last Quarter Phase, marking a time of adjustments and preparations for a week of closure ahead of the Scorpio New Moon. A sense of weariness may settle on us in the early evening with duty, responsibility, accountability and consequence being the source of the problem.

Friday, Oct. 29: Shaking-off whatever troubled our sleep last night, the Moon continues to wane in Leo with unexpected changes in the early morning hours while lively conversation might be part of an amazing dining experience tonight. With the Moon set to oppose Jupiter later tonight, too much of one thing or another could leave you tossing and turning.

Saturday, Oct. 30: With the Moon VOC in Leo until 2:09 pm, it would be good to hold-off on final decisions, agreements or major purchases until the Moon enters discerning Virgo at that time. Accountability and consequence make a strong showing this morning as power collides with limitation while we’re being asked to take personal responsibility for something (Sun square Saturn). After squirming under the cooperative restraints of Libra these past six weeks, Mars enters Scorpio, a sign under its rulership where he takes off the gloves. The next six weeks are likely to coincide with revelations regarding covert, corrupt and illegal actions and behaviors as well as matters pertaining to the abuse of power. Confusions, deceptions, half-truths and bold-faced lies are possible today as Mercury makes its third and final quincunx aspect with Neptune. I would suspect that this will touch-off a rehash of previously touched-on matters during the time of Mercury’s retrograde station in late September. The best side of Mercury-Neptune is likely to take the form of Halloween parties where we can become something other than our usual selves. Boo!

Copyright 2021 Gary Paul Glynn

The Harvest

    Here in the Midwest, autumn has been taking its sweet time in nudging summer off the calendar with the trees only beginning to show signs of turning. Also running a bit late is the Harvest Moon, marking the first Full Moon following the Autumnal Equinox. Last month’s Full Moon took place two days ahead of the Equinox, so it didn’t count as the true “Harvest Moon,” despite seeing it called that in the mainstream media. Whatever you call it, now seems an apt time to be harvesting whatever we’ve sown on personal as well as collective levels of decision-making.

    This week, the Full Moon falls on Wednesday, Oct. 20, exact at 10:57 am (Eastern), activating the late degrees of Aries and Libra (27Ari/Lib
26) which falls on a rather sensitive location in the zodiac. Although this Full Moon takes place on Wednesday, its fingerprints are all over the coming week due to the fact that Aries’ ruler, Mars is highly active all week while being closely tied to the Full Moon by aspect.

    By itself, the Aries Full Moon tends to illuminate the polarity and potential tension between the needs of the self (Aries Moon) and the desires of the relationship (Libra Sun). Considering the fact that there are still a number of planets in Libra, the best route is through compromise and diplomacy over hard lines and coercion. Finding win-win scenarios is really what the Aries-Libra polarity being highlighted by the Full Moon is all about.

    On a collective scale of expression, we will continue to dip into extremes in terms of world events and politics as well as manmade and natural disasters. Seeing this Full Moon intersect with Mars-Pluto-Eris would suggest more shake-ups to the status quo as we watch the world of separation and alienation placed under considerable duress at this time. Perhaps rolling with the punches is the best we can do right now as we watch the old world collapse in on itself in order to make room for something completely new.

Station-to-Station Direct

    As I’ve mentioned in recent posts, October contains four separate planetary stations with slow-motion Saturn and Pluto having just barely moved direct over the past week, continuing to amplify their qualities of consequence and change. On Monday, within ten hours of one another, both Jupiter and Mercury will end retrograde as they station in the air signs of Aquarius and Libra, respectively. Air signs are indicative of communication and travel, movement and measure with an added emphasis on financial markets and legislation for Jupiter and an added boost from info-centric Mercury.

    Jupiter’s station in the late degrees of Aquarius (22Aqu19) places even greater focus on legal issues surrounding democratic governance (Aquarius) with a particular emphasis on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. With ongoing subpoenas and testimonies, we should expect the committee to ratchet up its activities this week in tandem with Jupiter’s station.

    Adding to the same equation is Mercury, ending its three-week retrograde on Monday in early Libra (10Lib07), coinciding with a massive release of information, particularly with Mercury’s association with documents, testimonies, reports and the Media. With Mercury resuming direct, heading back the way it came, we should expect to revisit a number of news items and revelations that have been in our faces since early September, continuing until Nov. 3 when Mercury finally exits its retrograde shadow.

On a personal scale of expression, Mercury direct is a green light for all manner of contract signings, online orders, complicated purchases and other outwardly-directed actions. Even so, it won’t be until November that we’ll break any new ground, so this would be a good time to complete what needs to be completed while loosely planning the next move following the Nov. 4 New Moon when a fresh schedule and new opportunities begin.

Lunar Gardening Report

    Excellent planting and fertilizing conditions are available Sunday under the Pisces Moon; a good day to repot houseplants and prepare them for the approach of winter and indoor living. The Aries Moon is active Monday through Wednesday morning, better days for cutting, clearing, mowing, raking, turning compost and other autumn gardening projects that don’t involve planting. If you’re looking for more favorable dates to sprout, plant or feed, Thursday and Friday are your best days with the Taurus Moon emphasizing soil and roots. The following Saturday and Sunday are poor days to do much in the way of gardening activities, making it a better weekend to do something else instead.

Daily Forecast (For all signs)
(Times are Eastern Daylight/-0400UTC)

Sunday, Oct. 17: An odd day in store under the surreal auspices of the Pisces Moon providing a backdrop to some kind of power-surge coming to our attention (Sun square Pluto). Manipulation, compulsion, corruption and cruelty are defaults of Sun-Pluto, whereas deliberate engagement speaks to powerful, effective and shrewdly calculated actions expressing the true power of Divine Will. Alas, the potential for self-deception and disillusionment runs strong, so opting for a more passive, less-consequential approach to the day (such as a picnic or a movie) would be a far better way to enjoy the day. Besides, with both Jupiter and Mercury stationary (motionless) ahead of ending their respective retrogrades tomorrow, the psychic atmosphere may seem like a held breath and major initiatives are placed on hold.

Monday, Oct. 18: Courts, legislation, laws and law enforcement, religion and politics, financial markets and matters involving growth and expansion are looming large as Jupiter stations direct in late Aquarius (22Aqu19). On personal levels of expression, this can be a good thing due to Jupiter’s association with optimism and good fortune, the flip-side being waste, arrogance and hubris. Ten hours later, Mercury stations direct, ending retrograde in early Libra (10Lib07), amplifying news, information, media and transportation themes. The Aries Moon lends itself to a more heated background tone with a strong impulse to act, as the Moon grows towards Wednesday’s Full Moon in Aries. Aries’ ruler, Mars, makes an appearance tonight when it forms a flowing (trine) aspect with stationary Jupiter, suggesting a major legal development is in progress. Health news dominates.

Tuesday, Oct. 19: Today we’re experiencing the impact of yesterday’s Jupiter-Mercury stations in air signs, amplifying the communication element with unexpected twists to the story as the day progresses. The Aries Moon continues to wax toward its opposition with the Sun to form the powerful Full Harvest Moon in this sign tomorrow. In many ways it’s a good time to act, provided you see the path ahead clearly while using discernment when it comes to impulsive desires to set into motion anything of major import that carries long-term consequences.

Wednesday, Oct. 20: Harvest Moon. Recent developments reach some kind of apex today with the Full Moon illuminating the late degrees of Aries and Libra (27Ari/Lib26), exact at 10:57 am, involving the Pluto-Eris square that the Sun elbowed Sunday. As this is the first Full Moon following the Equinox, it’s considered the late Harvest Moon and a time to reap that which has been sown, a time of consequences and decision. Allies and enemies come into the equation, along with the polarity between one’s personal needs (Aries Moon) and the desires of our partners (Libra Sun). Finding a balanced, happy medium through the art of compromise tends to be what works best. With the Full Moon setting-off a VOC period, be mindful of decisions and agreements made between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm going astray as we await the Moon entering Taurus and we feel our feet touch the ground.

Thursday, Oct. 21: The Full Taurus Moon suggests the potential for greater levels of practicality and productivity, of putting ideas into motion. With Mercury beginning to resume forward momentum, whatever we put into motion now in the information sphere is more likely to stick. Unexpected developments just before sunset might require flexibility on our parts while a deeper, potentially more serious kind of tremor under our feet is likely to grow into the evening hours as one of the more volatile geocosmic aspects becomes exact (Mars square Pluto).

Friday, Oct. 22: On this last full day of Solar Libra, it’s likely that we’re looking at some form of extreme event or action taking place that smacks of terrorism and the dangerous use or abuse of power (Mars square Pluto). This can also manifest in the way of natural disasters or large-scale accidents and are all part of the ongoing collapse of antiquated structures. Closer to home, soft comforts and delicious food are reflected in the harmonious aspects being formed by the Moon in sensuous Taurus.

Saturday, Oct. 23: Shortly after midnight, the Sun takes leave of Libra for the deep, emotional waters of Scorpio where it will reside for the next month. Happy Solar Return, Scorpios! It’s likely to be a rather active, if not hyperactive, day with the Moon making tracks through Gemini with news, communications, gatherings and travels dominating the scene. Although there’s plenty of space for social entertainment tonight, there’s a more reflective vibe predominant just before nightfall which may have little appetite for inane distractions and mindless chatter. Even so, this vibe isn’t long lasting and after a beer or a glass of wine, our power of discernment will begin to happily fade into a gale of laughter.

Copyright 2021 Gary Paul Glynn

Truth and Consequence

    I’m going to keep it short and sweet this week as we wait to see what unfolds from the recent Sun-Mercury-Mars cluster in Libra this weekend. Most of the current forecast period appears to be a reprieve from last week’s commotion as well as a time of build-up before the Full Harvest Moon on Oct. 20.

    In terms of immediate geocosmic activity, the only real stand-out is Saturn, ending its 18-week retrograde, hovering in early Aquarius (06Aqu52) before shifting to direct motion on Sunday night. Most of last week and all of this coming week are under the high-gravity auspices of stationary Saturn as we see matters pertaining to hard truth, responsibility, duty, accountability and, above all, consequence, return with a vengeance.

    For those of you following the news, Saturn direct will show us what happens when you defy legally-issued, Congressional subpoenas. Each passing day seems to carry a new bombshell revelation while high-profile criminals are allowed to roam freely, continuing to spread lies and threaten democracy. Now that Saturn is back from its extended, retrograde vacation, it’s time to get real and come down hard.

    This also happens to be the last full week of Mercury retrograde. Having experienced an interesting two weeks thus far, I’m more than ready for retrograde to end on Oct. 18, the same day that Jupiter also ends its retrograde. As many readers undoubtedly noticed, last week’s Facebook outage and whistle-blower news took place with Mercury retrograde bumping against some of the more chaotic planets. It seems as if this particular Mercury retrograde period is given to reconsider, review and contemplate what the future might be without reliable online platforms, not to mention our utter dependence on them

Lunar Gardening Report

    With the Moon in its waxing phase this week, we have a number of fertile days to put stuff in the ground, although that doesn’t apply to the Moon in Sagittarius Sunday through Monday morning where cutting, clearing, weeding, raking and pest control are the best ways to roll. Monday afternoon through late Wednesday afternoon show the Moon in Capricorn and good days for planting garlic bulbs and late season crops requiring strong root development. All bets are off on planting stuff late afternoon Wednesday through Friday when the Moon is passing through agriculturally barren Aquarius. After this, the strongly waxing Moon will occupy the ultra-fertile water sign of Pisces on Saturday and Sunday, a sign that favors sprouting, direct seeding, transplanting or repotting just about anything as well as fertilizing or cutting to encourage growth.

Daily Forecast (For all signs)
(Times are Eastern Daylight/-0040UTC)

Sunday, Oct. 10: Yesterday’s commotion of cosmic proportions spills over into today with laws, courts and legislative developments building a charge as the Sagittarius Moon taps the Sun-Mars-MercR conjunction. Tonight, at the same minute as one of the more deluded lunar aspects takes place, Saturn, the planet most closely associated with consequence and accountability, stations direct in early Aquarius (06Aqu52). We should expect something coming down hard and unequivocally now and over the next several days. On a personal scale this would be a good week to take it off autopilot and become more sensitive to anything we might have overlooked since last May when Saturn went on vacation.

Monday, Oct 11: Indigenous People’s Day. On this renamed federal holiday, there is an attempt to dumb something down despite stationary Saturn holding feet to the fire. The atmosphere is likely to take on considerable gravity and seriousness when the Moon enters Capricorn (Saturn analog) early afternoon. Ambition, production, hard work, industry and full accountability are the best approaches to the overarching signatures. Hard to believe, but communication could grow even more unpredictable as we move into the late night hours with the potential for exaggerated retrograde symptoms and a bad case of nerves (Mercury retrograde quincunx Uranus).

Tuesday, Oct. 12: With the Capricorn Moon forming a series of hard-edged aspects to a series of planets today, we might be seeing further lessons on duty, responsibility and accountability. Mercury retro weirdness all morning, peaking midday with sudden changes in the status quo while tonight shows frustration, impatience or anger throwing someone off balance. Approaching midnight, the Capricorn Moon reaches its First Quarter Phase, marking a time of course corrections ahead of next week’s Full Moon - a late Harvest Moon.

Wednesday, Oct. 13: Following some type of power stroke, the Moon will spend most of the day void-of-course (VOC), beginning at 7:00 am through 4:47 pm when the Moon enters Aquarius and the focus becomes more social with an added emphasis on groups and communities. A more mature, sober approach to relationships, finances and social values is emphasized this afternoon (Venus sextile stationary Saturn) while we contend with potential deceptions and misdirections (Sun quincunx Neptune) later tonight.

Thursday, Oct. 14: Early morning speed bumps are possible when the Aquarius Moon joins stationary Saturn before it gets an attitude adjustment via Venus around sunrise. Early afternoon is best for making any Mercury retro-related corrections while late afternoon may coincide with unexpected changes in plan. A more expansive, upbeat tone is likely tonight ahead of one of the more positive geocosmic signatures becoming exact tomorrow morning.

Friday, Oct. 15: This could be a great day, at least on a personal scale of expression with the Sun forming a flowing, trine aspect to stationary Jupiter while the Aquarius Moon joins it at sunrise. The downside to this aspect speaks of excess, waste, hubris and legal troubles, especially with regard to ongoing investigations. Although harmonious Sun-Jupiter aspects are typically considered excellent for major movements, the fact that the Aquarius Moon will be VOC between 8:30 am and 10:20 pm tends to rain on this particular parade. In addition, with both Jupiter and Mercury stationary ahead of turning direct on Monday, this is an inauspicious day to form agreements or sign contracts due to the constantly-changing landscape. The best way to enjoy this potentially expansive day is to avoid voluntarily engaging with anything that involves long-term outcomes.

Saturday, Oct. 16: The Pisces Moon lends a dreamy patina to the day’s activities; excellent for creative work, movies, books, naps and time spent near water. The healing potential of love is on display early afternoon (Venus trine Chiron) while minor disharmonies may need to be navigated in the late afternoon. Such things might be the subject of productive dialog tonight even as we should be alert to deceptive or psychotic behaviors or actions troubling the waters (Mars quincunx Neptune).

Copyright 2021 Gary Paul Glynn