October Horoscopes

Astrology of October
Current Configurations
Past Months

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

October 2007

Current Astrology

	The Sun is in Gemini
	The Quarter Moon is in LibraThe First Quarter Moon is in Libra: All day
	Next Mercury Retrograde Aug 23 - Sep 15

October Horoscopes

by Henry Seltzer

The Astrology of October features Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, along with Saturn and Chiron, and yet another Mercury retrograde taking place mid-month, just one day after the New Moon, and lasting throughout the rest of the month. The Libra New Moon also triggers an expansive and illuminating Jupiter – Uranus square, forming up this month for one last pass. The future-oriented and expansive planetary energies of Jupiter and Uranus are antithetical to the limitation and contraction represented by Saturn, busily keeping the lid on the status quo. Saturn is slowly moving over the next two years into a square alignment with Pluto, currently in Sagittarius. This square will not complete until both Pluto and Saturn have changed signs, and as it perfects in the fall of 2009 there are likely to be fireworks. The current Saturn emphasis might be seen as a precursor to that larger and mightier movement, when we are likely to discover the true meaning in our times of conservative authoritarianism and accompanying social unrest. We are now only on the fringes of that greater cataclysm.

As Jupiter remains in square with Uranus through the first half of the month, in Sagittarius and Pisces respectively, we are stimulated with new ideas and ideals for a better solution. The seeds of this new world to come through the chaos of its birth are all around us, and will definitely be called into service at this vital time. The New Moon of October 10th triggers this square as it also aspects Venus in Virgo, just coming into alignment with Saturn, and with the Moon's nodal axis. The square between Jupiter and Uranus represents enlightenment and changing perspectives, a positive note to counter the potential thoughts of doom and gloom constriction and despair, and has been building since Jupiter stationed last August. It has been and continues to be exciting to contemplate the possibility of finding a new way to get through our pressing social problems, which is, after all, only a motion away. If we were all only to find ourselves on the same page at the same time, what miracles could be accomplished! The "we" that I am referring to is, of course, every person currently on the planet. It may seem like an impossible dream, but that is the kind of vision that is blowing in the wind currently, in contrast to the dire cautionary symbolism represented by Saturn and the powers that be.

In the midst of the outer planet energies swirling around us at this time, Chiron, squaring Mercury as it stations retrograde on the 11th, represents the increasing consciousness of painful past patterns of conditioning that are ripe for review and discard, especially with the liberating symbolism of Jupiter and Uranus at our disposal right now. The important mid-month configurations remind us also that our own personal transformation will, as in one piece of a holographic image, effect a corresponding change in the world around us. We can choose to keep on making ourselves miserable, that is certainly one choice, or we can join a movement toward freedom from the past. Letting go of our grip on dysfunction is the key to happiness, in this or any other situation, but especially so in these climactic times.

Transits to the U.S. Chart

Last month we felt that the period of time of mid- and through to the end of September was likely to bring more revelations regarding the military, including potentially of deception, and the problems in Iraq. This was because as the September 11th Solar Eclipse dawned it not only conjuncted U.S. Neptune, representing idealism and potentially deception with regard to all of the nation's activities (square to U.S. Mars) but especially with regard to the military, since it accompanied the nation's Mars return.

Of course the biggest story of the month was the report on Capitol Hill of General Petraeus, who became the Bush administration stand-in for explaining the conduct of the war to the American people. Even as staid a news organ as The Washington Post called his performance before Congress as "looking more [and more] like a White House con job in the making." It was unprecedented in the first place to put a high-ranking military officer in the position of front man for the civilian-oriented administration, and not only that, the gears connecting his performance to the White House were showing. The Post report went on to state "The Bush administration has been trying for months to restore its credibility on Iraq (as well as stall for time) by focusing on Petraeus -- President Bush's "main man" in Iraq -- and his report to Congress. But now it turns out it that White House aides will actually write the "Petraeus Report," not the general himself." Meanwhile, the administration spin was that the military would be explaining their strategy for continuing the war. Further along in the Post article it references an over the summer Bush speech: "David Petraeus, the general on the ground, will be bringing his recommendations back to the Congress on or about September the 15th. And I think it's going to be very important for all of us to wait for him to report." More spin and manipulation of the information regarding the pursuit of the war is of course not surprising; it is only amazing that such shenanigans have come to be the norm and go largely unremarked.

The other big military-related story this month, although under-reported, was the banning of Blackwater civilian contractors from Iraq by the al-Maliki regime, which lasted four days. These unregulated instruments of U.S. power in the region, who are responsible for providing security for Western diplomats and businessmen, have been getting further and further out of control. Some of them had fired, apparently indiscriminately, into a crowd in Baghdad on Sunday September 16th, killing at least 8 civilians (see the full story) and resulting in the short-lived ban.

As more information comes to light about actual operations in Iraq and as the fortified embassy continues to rise, which will employ over 1,000 workers, a different picture emerges than what the administration's various spokespersons are willing to admit to. It does not seem as though there are plans for there ever to be any meaningful withdrawal of forces. This administration is indeed becoming famous these days for saying one thing and doing another. In another example, also from the previous month, as they were observed touting the priority of climate change, and convening a big-eight summit on the issue, while ignoring U.N. efforts to put teeth into the expiring Kyoto protocols and quietly engaging in behind-the-scenes activities to dismantle the recent California initiative for rolling back greenhouse gas emissions.

Another mid-month surprise was the statement included in the memoirs of Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve appointed by Reagan, who is not really known for being exceptionally liberal. He caused a bit of a furor when he stated "It saddens me that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows; the Iraq war is largely about oil." Again, the remarkable thing is that the sentiment is not more wide-spread. Like the situation of an addicted family, the true motives for this war are an "elephant in the living room" that few will openly acknowledge. Perhaps, similarly to the addict, it is owing to the shame involved.

This month, once again the mid-month time frame appears very interesting. The Libra New Moon of October 10th is exactly on the nation's Saturn/Chiron midpoint as it conjuncts U.S. Saturn, representing the executive branch, while opposing U.S. Chiron (and trining U.S. Mars) perhaps bringing once more to the forefront of consciousness the embarrassment and pain of this White House engineered war. The next day, as Mercury retrogrades, it aspects U.S. Uranus while it trines the U.S. Sun/Venus midpoint, so that more and sudden revelations could potentially come to light at this time. Transiting Pluto continues to aspect U.S. Moon and also Mercury, signifying the transformation of public opinion, and at the time of the New Moon, transiting Jupiter at the Ascendant of the U.S. chart will also aspect U.S. Moon, by quintile. There is an optimistic note sounded by this last configuration, indicating that perhaps the time has come at last for constructive thinking surrounding all the issues confronting the American public right now, including deception in high places and global warming.