It’s the end of October, but Scorpio season is only getting more powerful. After Saturday’s square aspect between the Sun in Scorpio and Saturn in Aquarius, Mars returned to his underworld home of Scorpio. Between veils, where time is far from linear, apparitions are to be expected. Apparitions, we know, exist on both sides: ancestors, ghouls, past selves, and ex-girlfriends alike. Likewise, Mars in Scorpio can feel both natural and supernatural. In Scorpio, Mars tunes into the undercurrent of will, the psychic power of one’s own influence. As the days grow shorter and shorter, we rekindle our relationship to the dark. The reshaping of our days allows us to perceive the ways that our communications and our agreements naturally flow toward further possibilities. Monday’s trine between Mercury in Libra and Jupiter in Aquarius can be the spell that seals the deals, if we want. We become more aware of the power of our words — how saying something makes it more real; how self-affirmation is also spell work.
Monday also ushers in an inconjunct aspect between the Sun in Scorpio and Chiron in Aries. This aspect is an uncomfortable reminder that while our words have power, it can be difficult to access that power when we have been taught to fear it in ourselves. This fear takes many forms, like not asking for what we want and agreeing to what we don’t. Mars’ transit through Scorpio can heighten these feelings, encouraging obsessive behavior. Scorpios pride themselves on their perception and ability to *know* another person. This week is a good time to remember that setting up dominoes isn’t the same thing as witnessing people for who they are.
Besides, Mercury in Libra is still in the shadow of their retrograde until November 3rd, managing to square Pluto in Capricorn before rounding into the clear. Avoid secret tests, especially in response to the communication breakdowns Mercury Rx could have brought up. With Thursday’s opposition between the Sun in Scorpio and Uranus in Taurus, it’s important to only uncover as much as you are ready to know. Especially in relationships where certain truths can pull the entire foundation out. Put whatever detective energy that bubbles up to good use: Read a mystery novel, dig up a time capsule, uncover a sexy money-making scheme. Variations of the last option will find a great deal of support from the universe as Venus slides into Capricorn on Friday the 5th and Mercury sidles into Scorpio.
Mars has officially touched down in Scorpio and while it may not be returning home to you, you’re sure to feel the sweet and purposeful relief of Mars returning to a sign where he feels at home. But, just because Mars is at home doesn’t mean he’s bound to take it easy. In Scorpio, Mars’ driven nature turns a little obsessive and a lot more secretive. Here, Mars wants the truth but often wants it one way, setting up tests to confirm what he knows and limiting his chance to learn something new. Here, Mars is all-in or ambivalent to a fault. Tune into where these energies live in you and what they feed on. What if you fed them something from outside your personal life? Like mystery novels, bird watching, or ancestral research?Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
Venus, your ruling planet, can have a good time in Sagittarius, but it’s prone to overextend too, because it can be hard to say no to the possibility of a new experience or learning opportunity. It’s a good thing then that Venus slides under the stars of Capricorn this Friday, and gets to work tying up loose ends and making sure there’s space and time for whatever it is you’ve called in. In the meantime, it would do you good to put a cap (haha) on making any new agreements, and spend some time reflecting on the experiences you’ve had so far and how they’ve affected you. Change is internal first — private — but it becomes more powerful with acknowledgement. And then, with witness. This is an incredibly transformative period of your life and it’s not one you’re meant to experience on your own.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
The last few days of Mercury’s shadow period should feel not unlike a plane’s final descent after an inordinate amount of time waiting to be okayed for landing. The angle might not be graceful and there’s bound to be some air pressure issues, but feeling movement in the right direction is sure to get you through it. If Saturday’s uncomfortable aspect between Mercury and Neptune ushered in disillusionment or disappointment about a dream opportunity, then Monday’s trine from Mercury to Jupiter arrives just in time to remind you that one door closes so another one can open. And, while obsessing over what you were owed or what’s already past is an appropriate Scorpionic pastime (especially when Pluto’s in the mix), it’s a distraction. Pay attention, Gemini, there’s a new gate awaiting your arrival.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
Living in this Capitalist World, whether you mean to or not, may have you believing that the creative force within you is at odds with what you need to do to make a life for yourself. Living alongside the market might have you straining to make a product of what invaluable magic pours from you. It’s true that you will often be asked to choose — not only between what brings you pleasure and brings you security, but also between what you believe is sacred about you and what others see as your skillset. Between what’s marketable and what’s marked as other. But, Cancer, deep down you know that these dichotomies hardly capture what your creative force can do for you. The longer story is richer and wilder, so stay with it and let it enrich you.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
When you’re going through a Big Change, it can be tempting to make it bigger — to change everything and start again from scratch lest some aspect of your old life creep into the future you’ve begun to build and steer you off-track. Of course, it’s your right to change whatever needs changing, to quit a job, to take indefinite distance from anyone who reminds you of a self you no longer identify with. But, before you yield to your heart’s yearning for a grand turnover, consider whether the instinct to do so comes from old patterns rather than new ones. It’s a lot easier to burn a bridge than to repair it, but the easy way now can create some hardship for a future you. Especially if the bridge in question is a valuable connection.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
It’s true that Mercury is still in its retrograde shadow until November 3rd, and that Saturday’s uncomfortable aspect between Mercury in Libra and Neptune in Pisces might have thrown a wrench into the mix — especially if that mix is negotiations between you and someone you’re in a relationship with. But, there’s something to be said for being a mutable Earth sign ruled by Mercury! When a wrench appears, you’re usually the first to notice, retrieve it, and put it back in the toolbox. Mercury makes a flowing trine to Jupiter in Aquarius on Monday, clearing the way for a new agreement altogether, one that’s sure to fill up your schedule with unique opportunities for connection and collaboration. It might seem counterintuitive, but so long as you don’t let your pride get in the way, you’re bound to get what you want.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
There are moments in our lives when taking a step back can feel a precious kind of grace, when clarity surfaces like our reflection on a river’s surface: moving and dependent on the light. But, sometimes, that kind of retreat is not readily available, sometimes our most transformative moments require our attention. With Saturday’s uncomfortable aspect between Mercury in Libra and Neptune in Pisces behind you, and Venus still moving through Sagittarius, it’ll be important for you to acknowledge which mode feels best for you at this moment so you can meet whatever you’re working (and living) through on your own terms, no matter how it might come off to others. You are your best and most knowledgeable guardian, you teach others how to take care of you by example.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
It’s another week with the Sun under the stars of Scorpio and another week of attention that Scorpios yearn for and fear. It can be scary getting what you want since you have to admit what you want to yourself and, in doing so, open up the door to both expectation and disappointment. Dutifully, Mars in Scorpio enters through that door and gets to work, trying to secure your heart’s desire as secretly and steadfastly as possible. There’s something to be said for keeping your cards close to your chest, but there’s also something to be said about recognizing that life is not a poker game. The number of cards is infinite, the kinds of hands other people are capable of playing can’t be predicted — no matter how psychic you are. Strategize if you must, but leave space for surprise. It just might move you.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
As a fire sign with a penchant for seeking out new adventures, you’re not exactly known for your ability to savor. But Venus’ last days in Sagittarius are the perfect time to practice appreciation and reception. There are gentle and small pleasures available to you this week, if you give yourself the space and stillness to notice them and, in noticing, enjoy them. Venus in Sagittarius loves stimulation, engagement, playful rituals, and odd jobs that pay well. When the opportunity for these things glimmers, give them way. Monday’s trine between Mercury in Libra and Jupiter in Aquarius sweetens the deal, possibly filling your pockets or securing an opportunity that you’ve been thinking about for some time — especially if friends are involved.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
Anyone who has ever taken time to know a Capricorn knows you are far from the conservatives you’re made out to be. Perhaps it’s Capricorn’s tight reins on whatever they’re tinkering on that has some people mistaking discipline for stuffiness. While you’re probably more or less used to being misunderstood, there’s nothing like Scorpio season to kick up feelings of alienation, especially after the square between the Sun in Scorpio and Saturn in Aquarius. These feelings echo down the week, possibly coming to a head when Pluto in Capricorn is squared by Mercury in Libra on Tuesday. Just remember: You don’t have to prove who you are to anyone. Being known is a powerful desire, but to witness someone — to really see them — is also a gift. Not everyone can receive that gift from you. Not everyone is equipped for it. Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
Saturday’s tense square between the Sun in Scorpio and Saturn In Aquarius might bring up some self-esteem issues for you, especially when it comes to your reputation. This week is a great week, then, to really sit with and examine the expectations that you have for yourself. How realistic are they? How often are you your own worst critic, holding yourself to standards to which you would never hold someone else? How often do you acknowledge the work you’ve done and celebrate it? If your sense of accomplishment is a little murky, Mercury in Libra’s last days in retrograde shadow can support you through this inventory. Jog your memory week by week, back to Libra New Moon in October, and write it all down if you have to: the little things, the big ones, the heartaches, the bids for joy, the way you’ve taught yourself to live through this.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
Mercury’s inconvenient aspect to Neptune on Saturday casts a shadow on your week, especially with Mercury in Libra still in shadow mode until Thursday. But, unlike Bonnie Tyler, you don’t have to live with a shadow on you all the time. And, you don’t need to spend excessive amounts of energy finding common ground between you and whoever’s got you jumping through hoops — no matter how good you are at keeping peace. The peace must sometimes be cultivated internally before it can be negotiated. You can reclaim your time and your light by dedicating some of your mental space toward defining what you’d actually like to be doing — and with whom — so that when you find yourself compromised, you can recognize it.
Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
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