Midlife Transits

Happy Birthday, Libra! This is the month of your birthday wish new moon, which falls on the 7th. Since Saturn is in your sign, this new moon occurs right after a conjunction between the moon and Saturn. For some Libras, Saturn represents a parent or an aging relative that you need to care for. For others, it represents their own sense of parenthood or similar responsibility. In either case, this new moon puts you in touch with your ability to care for others in a practical way. Your wish for the year will probably reflect that in some way.

This month’s full moon is in Aries, the second this year. Last month’s full moon in Aries was on September 23 at the beginning of the sign; this one on October 22 is at the end. That’s twice the full moon is illuminating your shadow, the sign opposite yours. In fact, your shadow is getting illuminated by the skies like crazy, at least as a long term trend. If you’ve ever considered psychotherapy, the next 12 months might be the time to engage in it. Next year, Uranus will move into Aries for the long haul, into your 7th house. The 7th house is the house of counselors and therapists, and it will be bursting with insights for a long time to come.

If you’re already a psychotherapist yourself (a higher than normal percentage of Libras are), your practice is likely to be volatile, exciting, and subject to change over the next year and beyond.

Even if you don’t think you’re interested in psychology, you can learn a lot from the field while Saturn is in your sign. Saturn encourages objective self-evaluation while in a person’s sign; no planet has a clearer eye, and these days he’s interested in you and what makes you tick. Although it’s a weird concept for Libra, the sign of thinking about other people, you have full permission to ponder yourself for awhile. Take advantage of it. It won’t last forever; this one good chance to get to know yourself as you never have before.

This month’s new and full moons place more emphasis on your chart than they usually do. There’ll be a second full moon in Aries, an astrological rarity. That happens on October 22nd at the end of your sign; the previous one was on September 23 in the beginning of your sign. The new moon on the 7th is in the sign opposite yours, Libra.

The new moon follows a conjunction of the moon to Saturn in your 7th house, making it rather a cold new moon. Put really bluntly, it’s a chance to come to terms with some sort of distance in a key relationship, whether that be physical distance, emotional distance, or spiritual distance.

The first full moon of the year in your sign in September is not all that far from the moon opposing Saturn, which makes it a bit of a stifling full moon. It’s like Saturn won’t leave you alone! The second full moon on October 22nd is a bit softer because the moon is now far from Saturn and closer to hazy Neptune. Still, with both Uranus and Jupiter now out of your sign, your freedom is being somewhat restricted. Be patient; you’ll get a fresh burst of planetary energy in February of next year. For the time being, it’s okay to spend the fall and winter in chill mode, metaphorically and literally.

By the way, while we’re talking about the moon, it always represents the mother. If you haven’t called yours lately, give her a ring.

Well, let’s see, tons of Libra energy to start out the month. There’s the sun, Mercury, and Saturn, plus a new moon on the 7th–all clogging up your 6th house of work and health. It’s possible that you will feel like your workload is killing you or that some sort of a non-life-threatening health complaint is bothering the heck out of you. Fortunately or unfortunately, Saturn is not the sort of planet to tolerate crybabies, so you’ll need to do your whining and complaining when you’re not actually on the job.

The thing you would be mostly likely to want to complain about would be a lack of visibility or recognition, because that’s what Saturn is like. You work real hard, no one seems to care, and then you get a reward when Saturn leaves the sign. You should understand that this dynamic is both ongoing and particularly intense this month. It will ease up by the full moon described below, because that’s when the inner planets drift away from Libra.

On the 22nd, we have a second full moon in Aries this year, kind of unusual. Both fall in your solar 12th house of solitude and reflection. Feel free to indulge in both. This time period is also when you can do your venting. Since the moon always relates to one’s mother, you might want to give yours a call. Maybe you can vent to her!  Sometimes full moons in the 12th also relate to visiting someone in the hospital.

Only 2 more days of Virgo energy! By the 3rd of the month, you’re free of that when your ruler Mercury moves into Libra. That’s good for you because Virgo represents the moody 4th house in your chart, and you’ve had enough of that, what with Saturn whining in that sector of your chart until relatively recently.

Now the energy shifts to Libra. The sun, Mercury, Saturn and a new moon on the 7th will all highlight this sign. Your love life may get a boost or the effects may be rather subtle. The 5th house, which Libra represents in your chart, is normally an exuberant happy house. Saturn, however, is a rather subdued and even sad planet. It’s almost as if the energies can sort of cancel each other out. Instead of the highs and lows of love, you can get stability instead.

There are other possible effects of this emphasis on your 5th house. You could gain greater control over your love and dating relationships. You could find your life partner–make an intention at the new moon if that’s your desire. Or you could start dating someone older.

Sometimes the 5th house also relates to one’s children. Same principles apply–stability in their lives or your relationship with them. Or greater control (perhaps just the desire for it). Solving of problems in your relationship with them. Or even realizing that your kids are growing older!

On an unrelated note, Mars is in your 6th house of work this month. Time to perform on the job! Aggressive measures for maintaining your health are also favored.

Everything’s in your solar 4th house this month. Okay, not everything. Just the sun, Mercury, Saturn, and a new moon on the 7th. This is superb if you want to withdraw from the world, hide out at home, lay low and stay out of sight. It’s also good if you feel like being bossy, because the sign that represents your solar 4th house is Libra, a cardinal sign that loves to direct things. Time to be king or queen of your castle. This is particularly true because you’ve got Saturn there. Saturn is the planet of authority and it may be time for you to exercise some with regard to your home and family. Carve out a domain for yourself.

Or…. you could go inward and do some deep soul-searching. Lots of choices with abundant 4th house energy.

The other major energy of the month is Scorpionic. The sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars will all spend some time in this sign. The most potent energy is Mars in Scorpio, which lasts almost all month long. Mars in Scorpio is a get things done kind of energy. It can perform miracles for your love life if you execute a carefully crafted plan to energize it this area of your life. No shyness or wimping out! Mars loves adventure dating, even if you don’t. Of course, your idea of an adventure doesn’t have to be rugged; it could be a trip to Vegas, a night dancing or clubbing, etc.

All the Scorpio energy is also good for creative projects or for just clowning around, taking the kids on fun outings, and so on.

The choice is yours–hang around the house or go out and have fun. Or a little bit of both.

The signs of the month are Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius. Libra represents your solar 3rd house of wanting to dominate the conversation. Normally, successful Leos are pretty good about not doing that. They may toot their own horns more readily than most, but they know that a big part of charm is letting the other guy talk. Listening shows confidence and Leo is big on confidence.

But these days, Saturn has muscled his way in to your third house and Saturn likes to dominate everything. Pair him up with the sun, Mercury, and a new moon, and you’ve got an unusual amalgamation. Saturn is insecure by nature and can never figure out whether to talk too much or too little, Mercury likes to chatter, while the sun is the planet of confidence. Meanwhile, the new moon just wants a fresh start, and you can’t blame her.

The trick is to figure out how Saturn can pursue his agenda of letting your voice shine with more authority than you’ve had before without letting him go accidentally overboard by making pompous pronouncements or getting all shy because he wants to impress people and doesn’t know how to do it. Translation: think before you speak, but do speak up.

The Scorpio energy is represented by the sun after the 22nd, and by Mercury, Venus, and Mars. This energy is about getting your house in order, literally and metaphorically. It’s also about hanging out at home with your partner, spooning and honeymooning if circumstances allow.

Finally, Mars enters Sagittarius on the 28th. This ushers in about 6 weeks of energy that is about entertainment, fun, outrageousness, getting dressed up and going out, donning costumes for Halloween, exaggeration, laughter, performing and a bunch of other delicious Leo-compatible stuff.

Early born Virgos are feeling the benefits of Pluto, who is in a better and better mood these days, especially now that planets are strolling into compatible Scorpio. Pluto can boost your love life or improve your dealings with children. More generally his competence can help you carry out whatever your Virgo heart desires, or perhaps more accurately, whatever superhuman feats your Virgo mouth has volunteered you to do. Enjoy the flow.

Meanwhile, the sun, Mercury, Saturn and the new moon on the 7th hang out in your solar second house. This essentially means that you’ve got a lot to juggle when it comes to your finances. Saturn in the 2nd can be associated with a financial tumble. Or it can be associated with recovering from previous financial stumbles. Your solar sign of finances is Libra, and by nature it likes to spend and perhaps even treat money as a plaything.

Saturn, on the other hand, disapproves of clowning around with anything so serious as money. This mismatch of impulses can have you feeling like you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, as the saying goes. You might as well get your finances as organized as possible now, while you’ve got the energy behind you–as next year Uranus will re-enter your other financial house, the one that deals with debt and loans and joint finances. Lord only knows what tricks Uranus will want to play there, so juggle your accounts now while the juggling is likely to be effective.

Jupiter and Uranus have a couple of degrees of separation between them this month, but they’re still pulling pranks in your 5th house. This is meant to be fun and funny. Hopefully, it is. The 5th house is the sector that relates to children, including yours if you have any. This is the kind of influence that makes them happy, but also encourages them to do surprising things, like suddenly elope. Some people like these kind of surprises; others hate them. Avoid or embrace the children in your life accordingly.

The 5th house also relates to your love life and the same dynamic applies. Embrace or brace yourself for surprises.

Meanwhile, the sun starts the month in aristocratic Libra. Mercury, Saturn and the new moon also highlight the sign of Libra this month. In a roundabout way, these influences relate to the sign of Scorpio’s secret belief that it deserves high rank and privileges by divine right or innate merit. This subconscious belief drives many Scorpios to attain success and others to narrow their eyes and want to pull out the voodoo dolls against the forces that deprive them of their birthright.

Lots of Scorpios don’t even know they have this belief; that’s sort of the point of subconscious beliefs, they drive you by operating below the surface. Saturn is flushing out these sorts of subconscious ideas these days, so that you can acknowledge them honestly and use your Scorpio powers for good. In other words, it’s not enough to just feel intuitively like you’re a cut above, you’ve got to actually act like what you want to be. So do that; pick a role model if need be and adopt his or her desirable traits and actions.

You’ll get plenty of planetary help in that endeavor. The sun enters your sign on the 23rd. Mercury enters your sign on the 20th. Venus is in your sign all month, thanks to a retrograde. And Mars is there until the 28th. No excuses for not taking absolute charge of your life!

There’s a lot of energy this month in Scorpio, the sign that represents your solar 12th house. The sun doesn’t enter Scorpio until October 23, but Venus and Mars will be there most of the month. Mercury will also enter the sign on the 20th.

The 12th house is where one’s inner child is said to hang out. It’s the infantile subconscious mind, the one without any manners or civilization yet, the primal instincts. With Mars here, don’t be too taken aback if sudden irrational spurts of rage come up, or if you don’t feel like being too polite. The influence will pass. Of course, it may turn into sudden rational spurts of rage when Mars enters your own sign on the 28th. On the good side, Venus in this position can be quite helpful if you need a doctor, some form of therapy, or prescription drugs. You’re likely to get good care.

The other main energy of the month is Libra energy, which focuses on your solar 11th house. Saturn has settled into this part of your chart for the long haul, and this month the sun, Mercury, and the new moon join him. Saturn is about dealing with restrictions, in this case restrictions on things like your friendships or your goals.

The sun and Mercury this month just make you more aware of what is actually a long-term trend. Sometimes this kind of energy also means bossy friends or friends who try to exercise authority over you. This can actually be quite helpful if you’re looking for a mentor. Maybe you should consider searching one out around the new moon on the 7th.

Oh, the sun is in your lordly solar 10th house this month until the 23rd. The 10th house is the sector that reflects your rank in society, status, perks, privilege, prestige. If you like these things, now’s the time to go after them. The new moon in this sector (in Libra) on the 7th can help you gain more authority at work or elsewhere if you set an intention and follow through with the work to match the desire.

Saturn is also in this sector of your chart for the next couple of years, and it’s true he could be causing you some problems. As Mercury passes through this sector and over Saturn you may become quite aware of someone in your world who takes the authority trend too far by being downright authoritarian. If there’s no one of this description in your vicinity, it’s also possible that Mercury will nudge you to let you know that you yourself are behaving in an authoritarian manner. If you get hints to this effect, it’s a clue to back off a bit. Authority comes naturally to your sign, but Libra is all about balance and not carrying things too far (not that I’m implying that you usually do; Saturn may have just gotten a bit carried away). If it’s someone else that’s bedeviling you, this month’s stars are also a clue to back off. It’s a sign you need a bit less work time and a bit more not worrying about work time.

The sun starts out the month in Libra in your solar 9th house. This is the sector that Saturn’s moved into, and it’s the sector of beliefs. Saturn here can do a number of things. It can push you toward developing a set of rigid beliefs that it wants you and everyone else to adhere to. It can encourage you to push your already existing beliefs onto others. Or it can bring you into contact with others who are dogmatic about their beliefs. If you’re getting the idea that Saturn is kind of pushy here, you’d be right. With the sun moving this sector, a new moon here on the 7th, and Mercury traveling through, you’ll get a chance to take a conscious look at what Saturn is doing in this sector for you so far. If what Saturn is doing is getting on your nerves (or other people’s), you have a chance this month to talk to him rationally and take charge of the situation. You need to decide how comfortable you are with Saturn’s pushiness and adjust accordingly.

On the 23rd, the sun moves into Scorpio and your solar 10th house. The 10th house is the house of greatness, or delusions of greatness depending on the situation. It’s also the house of ambition, the desire to succeed and so on. If you aspire to greatness and success, you’ll have help from more than the sun this month. You’ll have Venus and Mars here almost all month long. This happens more rarely than you might think. Time to go after what you want and maybe make a little money in the process. Your prime opportunity time to go after riches is the 20th through the 26th. Yes, there may be a little delusion involved, but if you don’t get too carried away, delusion can function as inspiration and vision.

Well, it’s possible that your chart will spend a fair amount of time in a bad mood in October, thanks to the sun, Mercury, and the new moon in Libra, the sign where Saturn is now residing. Libra represents your solar 8th house, the house in a person’s chart that likes to brood over past wounds, damage, and harm done. Saturn only intensifies that element of the house because Saturn kind of likes to brood, too. Of course, Saturn may not do that in your chart, but he does get a bit grumpy in the 8th house, if only because he’s worried about money. As the inner planets mill around Saturn, you may become aware of whatever it is that has his undies in a bunch. Admittedly, Saturn almost always has his undies in a bunch; that’s his job–to point out problems. Might as well find out what yours are, while the other planets are querying him.

In a twist of fate, the other main influence of the month is Scorpio energy via the sun from the 23rd and Venus and Mars all month. Scorpio is the patron sign of brooding over past wounds. If no one stops the sign, it will whip itself into a neurotic frenzy. In your solar chart, Scorpio represents your sector of understanding the big picture. Hence, if you want to understand your circumstances this month, you might as well understand what childhood or later wounds you are carting around and figure out what annoys you about your life. This is actually very healing for Pisces people and nothing to be afraid of. It’s actually good for your soul; it gets you in tune with your deep feelings. And your sign kind of likes that.

Saturn

Saturn got right to work following his return to Libra, mixing it up with his foes Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries. First, he decided to co-sponsor Glenn Beck’s Rally to Restore Honor on August 28, 2010. He teamed up with Uranus in Pisces to take advantage of Uranus moving briefly out of volatile Aries. He decided to lend his support to Mr. Beck in order to get out his message that honor is a good thing (Saturn loves honor) and was gracious enough to share the platform with Uranus in Pisces’s message about the importance of religious, particularly Christian, faith. Pisces happens to be the sign of Christianity.

Saturn’s only requirement was that Beck’s rally remain relatively friendly and non-political in tone, even if otherwise volatile political figures such as Sarah Palin were involved. Somehow, he managed to use his Libra persuasiveness to keep the rally on track, probably much to the disappointment of Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries, who were hoping for more controversy and outrageously extreme shenanigans.

Now, Saturn is using his current Libran temperament to show an unexpected side of himself: a sense of humor and wit. He’s gotten behind Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity on October 30, 2010. He’s even gotten behind Stewart’s buddy Stephen Colbert to help sponsor Colbert’s competing faux rally, March to Keep Fear Alive.

In an exclusive interview, Saturn weighs in on his latest ventures on to the Washington Mall:

Did you ever think you’d be working with Jon Stewart, a comedian and purveyor of fake news? Fake isn’t normally your style and neither is comedy.

Well, it was out of the question when I was in Virgo. My schedule was packed with doom and gloom during those days. But now I’m in Libra, and I thought it would be a good time to show off my dry humor. People forget that Libra is a witty sign. And Jon & I really connected on what the core message should be. By the way, he’s a Sagittarian and actually very honest. Not fake at all. Outspoken, but truthful in his own way.

What’s the message?

Well, he agreed to promote all my core virtues: moderation, reason, sanity, talking through disagreements with civility. I like the slogan “take it down a notch for America.” I’m trying to get everyone to take it down a notch these days and it’s rough going. I thought this would be a fun and effective way to make a statement. I’m getting really tired of those Hitler signs and Jon & I were on the same page about that.

We have humble goals, and I like that, too. I’m a humble guy at heart, but I have a duty to do my best to put forward a point of view that’s being drowned out by the extremism of Pluto and the, excuse my language, insanity of Uranus in Aries. We gotta do something. It’s a real problem. I always say that, but I mean it. So even if we don’t get a big crowd, it’s a worthy effort.

You’re sponsoring Stephen Colbert’s competing March to Keep Fear Alive, why’s that?

Well, I’m the official planetary sponsor of fear, so you know, it was a no-brainer!

Seriously, though, I’m hardly ever in a sign where I get to make fun of myself in a dignified way. I’ve worked with Stephen on honoring our troops and a few other things, and he’s a good guy. So I agreed to a little teasing for a good cause. And really, this is the perfect time to do it, because Pluto’s taken over my natural sign, Capricorn, and pushed the fear thing way to an extreme. And I’m not about extremes, you know? I’m about realism and caution, but I’m not one to go off the deep end. So Stephen will help me take a few digs at Pluto, and Jon will help me take a few digs at Uranus in Aries. I don’t have the drama quotient that those two bullying planets do (excuse my language, I have great respect for both of them, I just disagree, no offense intended), so I’ll take any exposure I can get. And it’s, you know, it’s good to stretch myself, lighten up a little, kind of slip the message in. We really need the message!

Glenn Beck and Jon Stewart are usually thought to be on the opposite sides of the political spectrum. Why did you agree to work with both? In fact, some people would call both of them extreme in their views and that seems counter to your message.

No, no, that is the message. We can work together. I’m non-partisan. I can work with everyone. If people will just give me a chance, we can actually solve some problems, little by little. You know, you may have extreme feelings, but if you can be polite for a day, we have a chance. Maybe 2 people disagree, but maybe both have something to offer. If we can refrain from attacking each other, we have a chance. That’s my message. I’m really very serious about it.

Even with our differences, we agree on a lot of things. My job is to help us realize that, maybe help us figure out what we agree on, so we can counter some of those extreme influences that are out there. These rallies aren’t… they’re modest, but it’s a start and I intend to keep working on this for the next couple of years.

Good luck. Thanks for talking with us.

Thank you for helping me get the word out.

It’s Mars in Scorpio time and in honor, this week’s podcast is on acupuncture and astrology. Mars in Scorpio is the placement mostly closely correlated with acupuncture in my unscientific experience. If you’ve thought about trying acupuncture, this transit (through October 27, 2010) is a good time. Mars is sharp objects such as acupuncture needles and Scorpio is healing or regeneration.

I found the conversation with acupuncturist Fernando Escobar to be fascinating, even though I’ve already had acupuncture treatments in the past. I had no idea just how Scorpionic the treatment is in terms of its ability to get at past traumas for deep healing. I also found out that Traditional Chinese Medicine isn’t all that traditional, and that classical approaches to acupuncture are more holistic. I was also surprised at how much training is required and by the wide range of things acupuncture can be used to treat.

There’s also a segment at the end that talks about whether or not you’re a good astrological candidate for acupuncture.