October Horoscopes

Astrology of October
Current Configurations
Past Months

Aries	Libra
Taurus	Scorpio
Gemini	Sagittarius
Cancer	Capricorn
Leo	Aquarius
Virgo	Pisces

October 2006

Current Astrology

	The Sun is in Aries
	The Quarter Moon is in CancerThe First Quarter Moon is in Cancer: All day
	Next Mercury Retrograde Apr 21 - May 14

October Horoscopes

by Henry Seltzer

The Astrology of October features Venus and Mars, together with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, symbolizing the enormous degree of cosmic epiphany and transformational pressure coming our way lately. Jupiter and Saturn are also making their last pass on a square alignment that has been off and on all year and especially since last summer, indicating a crisis in action regarding the personal or the social impulse that originated in the spring of 2000. Since that year coincided with the divisive election campaign of GW Bush, we might regard this summer and on into October as a testing period of time for how well this current administration has succeeded in evoking the will of the people who participated in the election and in carrying out its objectives.

There are two phases to this current monthly cycle, before and after the late Libra New Moon of October 21st, and in the second phase we look tend to more deeply into our underlying motivations. Venus and Mars are also prominent factors in the skies at this time, beginning with the Full Moon of October 6th when the Sun occupies their mid-point. Their conjunction perfects at the New Moon of October 21st, resulting in a rare quadruple conjunction of Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars. With this Sun and Moon ruled by Venus, relationship with all our kin is therefore emphasized, together with drawing closer to intimate others. The triple conjunction of these three personal planets, minus the Moon, continues into Scorpio up through and including the First Quarter of October 29th, when they are squared by Chiron and the Moon and when Mercury also retrogrades in close conjunction with Jupiter in Scorpio, still squared by Saturn.

With the powerful transformational effects of Pluto also involved in this configuration from the time of the New Moon onward, the last part of October represents an entirely important time of reflection and deep concern with the issues of right relationship in our lives – the way that we treat each other in the so-called battle of the sexes and the way that we treat each other across social and cultural lines as well. Looking back on this period of time from the perspective of the next twenty years, what may well stand out will be our relative failure or our success in treating all men and women as brothers and sisters, part of our human family, whether they are of the same or of different racial make-up and cultures than ourselves. No person is an island to paraphrase Donne, who famously wrote the line as early as the 17th century; therefore do not seek to ask for whom the bell tolls, or the flag waves at half-mast, "it tolls for thee."

Transits to the U.S. Chart

Last month we indicated that the fifth anniversary of 9-11 might well be key for U.S. public perception, especially regarding deceptions practiced in the run-up to war and with regard to the role of the media in keeping this country informed as well as the proper role of the military. This has certainly proven to be the case. It was quite interesting to see in large circulation on the Internet that the cover of a late September issue of Newsweek for Europe and Asia had an Afghan fighter with the title "Losing Afghanistan" while the cover for American consumption had a photographer's life story. As the Bush White House approval rating plummeted, what proved to be the most significant event in the first half of the month was the anniversary itself, creating a long-needed discussion of the way that event and the sentiment of the American people was co-opted in favor of an illegitimate war of conquest, perhaps for economic gain, although few are openly admitting that last possibility. But at least the covers are beginning to come off in terms of what has been done "in our name" to perceived enemies in the third world.

In the second half of the month we were treated to the spectacle of an American president going to congress to plead his case for allowing the torture of foreign prisoners, as was disallowed in a bill that had already been passed, and getting his wishes met, followed by the passage late last month of a draconian bill that denies those same foreign prisoners the right of habeas corpus, the ancient entitlement of an accused person to confront the charges against him in a court of law. These and other horrors are coming out in such a way as to actually seem to be counter-balancing the sway of right-wing support for the republican agenda for the first time in recent history. Since Jupiter and Saturn are currently in their first square, or "crisis in action" following their conjunction in May of 2000, this would seem to be symbolized in the astrology of our times as well as on the street.

In the current month, there is hope for an emerging compromise of some sort to the radical polarization of our time. The election is nearing, and the Venusian and Martial energies are reaching for a balance point, belying the actual possibility of a fresh war that might conceivably be introduced as a distraction, or at least this is our hope. Pluto is emphasized in the current month's configurations, joined by the trine to Saturn, while Pluto still aspects quite exactly the position of U.S. Mercury, as does Jupiter and at the very end of the month a retrograding Mercury. Mercury in the U.S. chart symbolizes the public communication process and especially the media, which is still likely to undergo a form of transformation. Over the next two months we will likely be drawn to taking a still closer look at the role of the media in forming public opinion. If the truth, and all the truth, is finally let out, that would certainly seem to be the best chance to resolve the mess that we in this country have gotten ourself into over the last five years.