Month Ahead: October 2022
Eclipse Season is back! Mercury, Saturn, & Pluto all station Direct. Jupiter re-enters Pisces, & Venus conjoins the Sun. Mars finally slows down & stations Retrograde at the end of the month
Transit Listing
Oct 1st (2:11 PM ET) Venus in Libra opposes Jupiter at 03º02’ Aries
Oct 2nd (5:07 AM ET) STATION: Mercury stations Direct at 24º11’ Virgo
Oct 6th (11:55 PM ET) Mercury in Virgo trine Pluto at 26º07’ Capricorn
Oct 8th (5:55 PM ET) STATION: Pluto stations Direct at 26º06’ Capricorn
Oct 9th (4:54 PM ET): LUNATION: Full Moon at 16º32’ Aries
Oct 10th (7:50 PM ET) INGRESS: Mercury enters Libra
Oct 11th (9:06 PM ET): Sun in Libra trine Saturn Retrograde at 18º41’ Aquarius
Oct 12th (1:46 AM ET): Mars in Gemini square Neptune Retrograde at 23º21’ Pisces
Oct 12th (3:23 AM ET): Mercury in Libra opposes Jupiter Retrograde at 01º41’ Aries
Oct 14th (2:20 AM ET): Venus in Libra trine Saturn Retrograde at 18º39’ Aquarius
Oct 17th (6:05 PM ET): Sun in Libra trine Mars at 24º30’ Gemini
Oct 18th (10:20 PM ET): Venus in Libra trine Mars at 24º42’ Gemini
Oct 19th (9:33 AM ET): Sun in Libra square Pluto at 26º08’ Capricorn
Oct 20th (2:02 AM ET): Venus in Libra square Pluto at 26º08’ Capricorn
Oct 22nd (9:00 AM ET): Mercury in Libra trine Saturn at 18º35’ Aquarius
Oct 22nd (5:17 PM ET): SYNODIC CYCLE: Venus Cazimi at 29º26’ Libra
Oct 23rd (12:07 AM ET) STATION: Saturn stations Direct at 18º35’ Aquarius
Oct 23rd (3:51 AM ET) INGRESS: Venus enters Scorpio
Oct 23rd (6:35 AM ET) INGRESS: Sun enters Scorpio
Oct 25th (6:48 AM ET) ECLIPSE: Solar Eclipse in Scorpio at 02º00
Oct 26th (11:36 PM ET): Mercury in Libra trine Mars at 25º31’ Gemini
Oct 27th (9:08 PM ET): Mercury in Libra square Pluto at 26º12’ Capricorn
Oct 28th (1:09 AM ET) INGRESS: Jupiter re-enters Pisces
Oct 29th (3:22 PM ET) INGRESS: Mercury enters Scorpio
Oct 30th (9:25 PM ET) STATION: Mars stations Retrograde at 25º36’ Gemini
Welcome to the month ahead forecast everyone. October 2022 is one of the months I’ve been anticipating for a while now since it brings some of the more major shifts in the Astro Weather for the next few months. October can be refreshing in many ways since Mercury will finally station Direct after being Retrograde for the past three weeks. Additionally, Saturn will station Direct after Retrograding since June 4th, 2022. We will finally start to find some forward motion, hinderances, and delays be removed from establishing more structure, firmness, and stability in the house Aquarius rules in your chart. Saturn has a tendency to show structures that are brittle or fragile when Retrograde and reviewing ways to reinforce to longevity. Saturn governs things that are old, ancient, and enduring. A big theme of Saturn this month though is that it will get the closest to a square to Uranus on October 4th. They’ll be 37’ arc minutes of a square to each other, and it echos themes that have been ongoing since 2020 of labor, government, resources, disruption, instability, and the governments efforts to restrict and suppress revolution and change. Saturn is overcoming Uranus, and so Saturn has the upper hand in this square, imposing restrictions that contain the volatility of Uranus. Saturn seeks to establish order while Uranus disrupts that order. This tension between these two planets cannot be ignored through October, especially since this kicks off the beginning of the month.
Mars stations Retrograde; Grand Air Trine, Saturn trine Mars
While Mercury and Saturn get ready to station Direct, on the other hand, Mars is getting ready to station Retrograde at the end of the month, on October 30th. Mars stations Retrograde every 2 years, and it does so when it trines the Sun. The Sun ingressed into Libra last month, and as we move into October, we’ll start to see the ongoing configuration between Mars & Saturn be activated by the Sun. We have a very interesting Grand Air Trine forming all month from all the planets in Air Signs. The Sun in Libra will trine Mars in Gemini and Saturn in Aquarius. Whenever any planet is trining the Sun, it will either station Retrograde or Direct. Mars and Saturn are on different sides of the Sun. The Sun’s trine to Saturn from the overcoming position will cause Saturn to station Direct, but Mars in the overcoming position to the Sun will cause Mars to station Retrograde. Mars and Saturn recently made a trine to each other, and this ongoing connection has further developments that cause us to look deeper at what is going on in the house Gemini and Aquarius rules in our chart. Mars in a trine to Saturn can indicate secret, hidden, or cunning actions, plots, threats, and harm; long term or chronic issues with health; slowness and patience with actions, premeditation, and restraint in action (Valens emphasizes going to prison or being legally restrained); because this configuration is in Air Signs, it shows challenges particularly within social settings, communication, and interactions.
The slowing down of both Mars and Saturn is this moment of intensifying the malefics: a moment to re-engage with Saturn, and a moment to review Mars. The malefics represent natural extremes of hot and cold, Mars moving towards extreme heat and Saturn towards extreme cold. When they station, we are focusing on extreme forces in the world that work against us, can be malicious, and dealing with matters of harm and injustice.
It is a moment to re-engage with restraint, inhibition, self limitation, and binds, since Mars is having us review our actions, fighting, conflict, and contests through its Retrogradation. These two malefics are currently in agreement which confirms the harm and challenges Saturn indicated at the square (took place on Aug 7th). The malefics in Air signs can indicate challenges with wind and air, since both malefics bring extremity in their natures, in the air signs they indicate extreme experiences with that element, in this case winds. The Sun is not in a position of strength here in Libra though as its trying to balance these tempestuous storms, and that’s really what the vibe is for October. Storms at sea. Rain, flooding, lighting, thunder, dark puffy clouds.
Venus mediates the malefics, temporarily.
How we maintain balance through these storms is what Venus and the Sun ask questions about. Venus is at home in Libra this month, and it is commingling with the Sun. Venus at home has strength to bring temperance and balance, especially in matters of diplomacy, reconciliation, peace, and justice, all things Libra signifies. Venus is tasked with handling and trying to bring balance to the agreement (trine) of the malefics (Mars and Saturn) causing destruction and harm. Venus wants diplomacy and fairness, and Saturn wants restriction and order. Mars wants action and protest. Venus is the mediator between two very angry malefics who are in agreement to conjure schemes and plots. When the malefics are in agreement for the month it does have the potential for major conflict to manifest, since the extreme malefic nature is strengthened by virtue of the same element.
There will be this element of peace, or the illusion of it, that is maintained for most of October, but then Venus will conjoin the Sun (Oct 22nd) at the end of Libra and they will both move into Scorpio, and then Mars will station Retrograde at the end of the month. The efforts to maintain peace from Venus are not as consistent as she enters the sign of her exiled, Scorpio, ruled by Mars, and then Mars choses to station Retrograde and go against, defy, and rebel the restrictions that were set in place by Venus and Saturn. Mars in Gemini currently shows challenges and harm towards children, school, journalism, education, information, media, and harshness with words, contradictions, disputes, lies, and falsity. Saturn in Aquarius is the law, government, and old people giving power and authority to implement these things into law. This shows an agreement between propaganda and corruption of information, knowledge, and scholarly matters with the state, government, and older leaders. Mars brings debates and contest over accuracy of knowledge. Twins and duality are highlighted as Gemini is the sign of twins. Things get thrown out of balance and swing towards selfishness and ego as Mars gains more responsibility for other planets as they enter Scorpio.
Jupiter’s re-ingress into Pisces
These challenges and attacks on peace cause us to really think about the state of fairness, balance, compassion, and honesty and Jupiter will Retrograde back into Pisces (October 28th) where it will return back to its home sign. Jupiter signifies the truth, honesty, faithfulness, vows, commitments, and promises, and its return to Pisces causes us to revisit these topics. What is honesty when there is contradiction? Jupiter’s ingress back into Pisces will encounter a square to Mars Retrograde in Gemini, but their square aspect will not go exact this year. They actually won’t even square in these signs, it isn’t until May 2023, when Jupiter enters Taurus, and Mars enters Leo. So we see tension between these two planets start forming this month, and for all of November, but it doesn’t go exact until next spring.
I’ve noticed amongst the opinions of people that their experience of Jupiter in Pisces was underwhelming and left them with more questions than answers. I’ve come to realize that Jupiter in Pisces does give a sense of wandering, aimlessness, and floundering, like a fish swimming through the vast sea with no destination. Jupiter gives us the ability to imagine, to dream, to see visions, and I’ve seen Jupiter show up a lot with photographers and people who work in cinematography. The vision, capturing a visual, and experience, a production, its all Jupiter. Jupiter gives a vast and wide imagination just like the sea, but it also does not promise materialization without action and a plan. Jupiter earlier in the year was in Pisces, but disappeared in the sky since it was combust (conjunct the Sun, on March 5th, 2022), so Jupiter was in a period of ending its cycle and birthing a new one. This was primarily a time of renewing visions, putting a rest to old ones, and trying to find a new goal, passion, and muse. We get a moment to relook at these goals in the house Pisces rules but with more refinement and purpose. The desire of Jupiter in Pisces is not a selfish one, but one that helps others, is collective centered, and looses ones’s self in the other.
We see the seeds of what was planted blossom and sprout once Jupiter entered Aries on May 10th, 2022. In that first week of May before Jupiter entered Aries, from May 3rd to May 10th, Jupiter was in shadow at 28º-29º Pisces, so the things that took place in May would be things that Jupiter has to revisit and review for all of November. Jupiter’s shift into Pisces can also mean an abundance of water, reviewing issues of water, flooding, especially since there will be planets in Scorpio towards the end of October. We find Jupiter brings an abundance of Water energy going into November. This will be the third and final time Jupiter makes its ingress into Pisces, and its a moment to re-examine the house Pisces rules in your chart. Dreams are like seashells, sometimes the shoreline is filled with them, and other times it is empty and there is nothing. Refinement is needed during this time. Jupiter will be moving back to a co-presence with Neptune, which brings illusion, undiscerning acceptance, removal of restrictions, freedom, and limitation, but in a deceiving or misleading way. We get a moment to relook at the presence of Neptune and what illusions it is creating of bliss in the sign of Pisces, almost as an omen for what Saturn will come to deal with by March 2023, bringing more seriousness, sobriety, and slowness to this house of your chart.
Venus Cazimi: Venus conjoins the Sun in Libra
The main theme of the month is justice and fairness. What exactly does justice look like? Venus will conjoin the Sun (October 22nd) and when any planet conjoins the Sun, it is said to be in the heart of the Sun, and at this moment in time, we are able to get to the heart of the matter of what that planet represents. It’s also a moment where Venus will officially change phases too. She will go from being a Morning Star, visible before sunrise rising in the East, to an Evening Star, visible after sunset setting in the west. This moment when Venus conjoins the Sun is a moment of rebirth for Venus as she is Cazimi (kasamimi, كصميمي). Venus in Libra brings diplomacy, justice, fairness, and beauty to the center of our focus for the month. How do we find personal justice in our own lives? In the world? With our relationships? Relationships are especially important and there are many changes in relationships this month as we have planets stationing Retrograde and Direct. Shit is flying all over the place this month, to be honest, but truthfully what else can we expect from Libra Season? Balancing things that are in an active state of motion, like a dancer balances their body and their weight as they shift from move to move.