Libra season is here and with it comes October and the last quarter of our calendar year. Much of October sees us amidst our third Mercury Retrograde - the final backspin for the planet this year - so expect some all round troubles in communication. But there is good news too, Libran energy is notoriously social, and with Australia slowly approaching its 70 percent double vaccination targets, expect some shared moments and happy returns ahead.
To see what's in store for you and how the stars and planets will affect you in October, Astrologer Clarisse Monahan shares your horoscopes below.
LIBRA
Usually the Sun in your sign makes for a magical season: partnerships more harmonious, work-life balance intact. But this year the Scales are going to feel a bit tipped. For one, Mercury is going retrograde in your 1st House of Self until the 18th. This is a transit notorious for gaffes, flubs, and misunderstandings. Difficulties expressing yourself to your partner will be par for the course til mid-October, when Mercury goes direct again. These miscues might take a harsher edge with the co-presence of belligerent Mars in your 1st House, as well. Libra is social. Mars is anti. Libra loves to weigh other viewpoints. Mars does things unilaterally. Struggling to balance an inherently off kilter Mars will be a challenge this month, so here’s a suggestion: don’t try to keep things all perfectly measured. When the cosmos gives you lemons (Mars) make lemonade: use that Martian energy to push beyond your Libra indecisiveness. Be less deliberative and more assertive.
SCORPIO
Everyday is going to feel a bit like Halloween this month, which is to say, dark and deep, just how you like it. For starters, the Libra Sun will be submerged in your 12th House of the Unconscious, Secrets, and Enemies until the 23rd. A Libra Sun emphasises partnerships, but when transiting your 12th House, it might energise darker themes regarding a loved one. Are they hiding something from me? Or am I hiding something from them? Am I getting tricked or treated? The co-presence of your ruling planet, divisive Mars, in your 12th will only serve to intensify these questions. On the 23rd, the Sun enters your 1st House of Self, which should bring you into the light a bit. Still, the Sun in Scorpio is an intense transit in its own right--one that will have you feeling powerful, supercharged, ambitious, and libidinal. The month climaxes on Halloween, when Mars joins the Sun in your 1st. By this point, you should be so aglow with Scorpionic mystery superpowers that Halloween costumes will be unnecessary. Everyone will just know--there goes the Stinger, that new Avengers hero.
SAGITTARIUS
Since your ruling planet, maximal Jupiter, went retrograde in June, you’ve likely felt that your Archer’s arrow has been pulled back on its bow, with no target to hit. This sense of existential suspension could be coming to an end around the 18th, when Jupiter goes direct in your 3rd House of Communication. This transit coincides with another planet going direct on the same day: Mercury, the Messenger,, after a pesky retrograde. With these two planets going forward again, expect a lot of energy around the written or spoken word. Remember, too, that Jupiter brings luck and success--so use the latter part of the month to think about penning a personal statement for university, a prospectus for a grant or an overview for a project. Make sure, however, to structure your communication, because Jupiter with no clear target can veer into mere sound and fury, signifying nothing.
CAPRICORN
You are perhaps the most solitary of the signs, but this month the Sun-in-Libra is saying: come in from the lonely cold, gentle Goat, for there is much to be had through the power of partnerships that the Scales provide. Indeed Libra energy relishes being with a mate, so buddy-up accordingly with someone at work this October. Why? Because there’s a lot of cosmic energy concentrated in your 10th House of Career and Public Self. Until the 23rd: the Sun, Mars, and Mercury are all camped out there. Caffeinated Mars will give oomph to finish projects (but also anger, so keep it Capricorn cool with your colleague). And what of Mercury? It usually furnishes precision and communicative prowess, except it is going retrograde until the middle of October. This retrograde is famous for causing errors in messaging, so make sure you and your partner check each other’s work before sending it out for public consumption and by extension recognition.
AQUARIUS
Penny-pinching Saturn (your ruler) and generous Jupiter have been hibernating like two big bears in a retrograde slumber deep within your 1st House of Self for the past few months. However, they are both awakening soon (Saturn on the 10th and Jupiter on the 18th). When planets go direct, the focus moves from inward to outward activity. What have you been planning? Now is the time to move on your impulse to start that long-yearned-for blog on Danish interiors or obscure cuisines. Lucky Jupiter will be pumping in your sign for the next three and a half months and won’t be back for 12 years. It’s time to let loose before sad Saturn takes over and flies solo in your 1st House in 2022. Or, as the bittersweet Robert Herrick, Renaissance poet, so aptly put it: “gather ye rose buds, while ye may.”
PISCES
In general, the witchiest houses are these: the 12th (the Unconscious) and the 8th (Sex, Death, and Transformation). Now look at some of your major transits this month: your ruling planet, Jupiter, finishes a 4 month retrograde and goes direct mid-month in your 12th House (heightened intuition); the Sun will be in the occult 8th House until the 23rd (increased desire to focus on intimate partnerships, enhanced sex drive). And to top all that off, on the 23rd, the Sun shifts into Scorpio (dark arts, libido, and obsession), where it lights up your 9th House of Travel, Learning, and Spirituality (you”ll be drawn to esoteric books or learning how to make talismans). Your world this month, in other words, is one of grimoires, rituals, spells, deja vu, scythes and dreams, intuitions, forebodings, hidden motives, intense longings, forks in the road on lonely country highways, darkened windows, slanting rain, empty jewel boxes (lined with black velvet), the rustling of leaves that gaze like gothic spires.
ARIES
The cosmic focus for you this month is on your partnerships, relationships, and significant others, which, given your unilateral nature, could be a challenge but also a chance for some emotional development. You have the Libra Sun (partnerships, balance) in your 7th House of Relationships until the 23rd, indicating the need for emotional negotiation. Your ruling planet, bellicose Mars, is firmly planted here as well, where it remains until Halloween. Mars energy tends toward disequilibrium. Will you use it for division and stacking the Scales to your advantage? Or will you focus on making things Libra “even” rather than odd with this 7th House activity? On the 23rd, cosmic energy shifts from Libra’s inclination toward equanimity into intense Scorpio season, which is more topsy-turvy. The Scorpio Sun is lighting (or darkening, depending on your view) your 8th House of Sex, Intimacy,Transformation, and Shared Finances. Again: an emphasis on sharing and the other, but now with a darker vibe. Try to keep some Libra balance for this transit. Don’t revert to a me first attitude, especially around money matters with your intimate partner.
TAURUS
You and Libra share the same ruling planet, luxe Venus, so there is a kind of sympathy between your signs, especially when it comes to beauty. With the Libra Sun lighting up your 6th House of Routine until the 23rd, go with Venus vibes and make the season about strengthening your beauty regimen: new skin or hair care, new workout, or a slightly more stringent diet (no more Gougéres after the charcoal grilled Wagyu). The bottom line: add some beautifying rituals to the 6th House, so you can sparkle a bit more in time for the end of the month, when the Sun moves into Scorpio and your 7th House of Relationships on the 23rd. Scorpio makes things intense, libido-heavy and freaky. Buckle-up and strap-on your... helmet...for some high octane intimate encounters with your significant other or others.
GEMINI
‘‘The Comedy of Errors” names one of William Shakespeare’s more minor plays, but it could also be the title to the first half of your month. Your ruling planet, Mercury, the Messenger, is going retrograde until the 18th, so expect miscommunications, particularly related to your 5th House of Creativity and Romance, where the Libra Sun will dallying until the 23rd. Unlike, say, the more tragic 12th House, the 5th is all fun and games--and its levity will add a touch of tavern humour to Mercury’s miscues (should they arise). On the 23rd, the Sun shifts into Scorpio and your 6th House of Routine. The 6th tends to be a humdrum house, but with Scorpio’s intensity energising it, don’t be surprised if work (or other routines like exercise) become a bit obsessive for this month-long transit. If you find yourself poring over the fine print of contracts at work until midnight, take a step back, have some ice cream, and watch an episode of something easy going, like “Gossip Girl.”
CANCER
A month to focus on home, father, mother, or their surrogates. The Libra Sun (balance, partnerships) limns your 4th House of Home and Security until the 23rd. More than any other sign, you derive happiness from the hearth, so with the benevolent Libra Sun in the 4th, expect an auspicious few weeks of home life. However, there could be a bit of wrinkle on the 6th, when the New Moon goes conjunct with hot headed Mars. Emotional outbursts could result that day. A better way to spend that Martian energy on the New Moon would be to start a new project around the domicile with a partner or parent. Indeed parents should be an area to focus on this season. The 4th House is connected to the Father (or Father figures). And the 10th House, where you have a full Moon on the 20th, is connected to Mothers. Take her to a spa, dinner, or send her a kind word on the Full Moon. And around the New Moon, have Dad come by to check out something at your crib so you can do some bonding.
LEO
The Cat has a bit of a tricky Libra season, with the Sun highlighting your 3rd House of Communication until the 23rd. Usually a good transit, but with Mercury, the Messenger, going retrograde until the 18th, you might find it harder to put pen to paper. Organising thoughts while communicating could also be a problem. And when you do send things off, misunderstandings could easily ensue. Business associates or partners, in particular, may be scratching their heads over your communication style for the first part of the month. Not much to do but be super vigilant with your proof-reading, even if it’s a struggle. On the 23rd, when the Sun shifts to Scorpio season and into your 4th House of Home, you might start to get obsessive (Scorpio) about projects in the domicile. That’s not necessarily a bad thing--it’s just a Scorpio thing.
VIRGO
Your ruling planet, Mercury, the Communications Director of the Zodiac, is retrograde until the 18th of the month. While a Mercury retrograde is an irksome time for everyone (delayed messages, lost mail, passwords not syncing), it’s even more vexed for you. Virgo thrives on order and precision (both of which Mercury is known for), but with the Messenger Planet spinning backward you may feel your crisp world coming undone ever so slightly at the seams. Make sure to read bank and loan statements extra carefully and give ample time to get important financial-related documents organised. Indeed the Sun in your 2nd House of Finances could be especially afflicted by Mercury’s cosmic chicanery til mid month. On the 23rd, the Sun moves into your 3rd House of Communication. With Mercury going direct by then, Virgo order will feel more restored in speech and action.
Image: Ferdinand Stöhr on Unsplash
