Gemini Horoscope for October 2023

This is the month, Gemini, that you emerge – after weeks of dedicated self-study – into the light of a renewed understanding of yourself and of your soul intention. The recent retrograde of Mercury, your planetary ruler, through your sector of home and family, and of your psychological roots, has made for an introspective investigation over the past five weeks of familial dynamics and your dwelling spaces, metaphorical as well as literal. This has been a largely unconscious exploration and you benefit from attempting a more conscious awareness of what the hidden parts of your psyche have been up to. There is a way in this fall period of the ending year that your future vision is jelling in a totally new fashion, assuming greater connection with your most sincere inner principles, and therefore requiring adjustment. Career changes accompanying this shift are more than likely. Such alterations of existing plans might seem sudden, almost out of the blue, and yet have been gestating within the depths of you for lo, these many weeks and months. The New Moon and Solar Eclipse of October 14th takes place in your sector of joy, romance, and personal creativity, all of which might take off like a rocket with the impact of this novel stimulus.


The following was written by our guest columnist Alea Balzer. You can write her at alea.balzer@gmail.com


October begins mid-way through the Virgo lunation cycle initiated in your home and family sphere by the recent September 14 New Moon. This cycle features the emancipatory influence of Uranus in Taurus, connecting foundational topics with your interior and spiritual realms. Be it motivated by eruptions of shadow material or an intentional dialogue with your unconscious, this closing cycle relates to a practical reorganization at your foundations that might honor your needs for both freedom and stability. Mercury, your ruler, retrograde at the start of this recent lunation cycle, has remained in its retrograde shadow period until just before the beginning of October, so that by the 1st you are finally ready to move forward in a more definite way c=and can be more confident of new decisions in this iconic fall month begins.

You enter October with a sense of momentum, with all inner planets in direct motion and Mercury, your ruler, finally entering new territory. That being said, the mental acuity of Mercury in Virgo may be diffused over the first three days of the current month by its immediate opposition to Neptune residing in your career sector. Favoring the creative and imaginative over the rational, you might lack clarity around conflicting home and vocational aims or feel you are far away from a professional dream. A trine to Pluto in your Capricorn sector of shared resources, intimacy, and personal transformation connects changes here to your professional endeavors and home life.

Intensity builds in your Libra sector of self-expression, romance, and children from the outset of the month, peaking at the Solar Eclipse on the 14th. Mars leads the way, co-joining the South Lunar Node over the first week as it applies to a square with Pluto in Capricorn. These transits could align with a letting go or confrontation with the past, possibly related to romantic connections, creative endeavors, or social tendencies to accommodate and please others. They may also illuminate tensions around values, including attitudes towards social capital or changes in the benefits you share or receive from others.

Mercury joins the planetary build-up in Libra on the 4th, which further brings your attention to projects you might have and the sense that your identity is tied up with these. The presence of your ruling planet there could see considerable focus diverted to matters of creativity, romance, children, and fun.

Venus moves into new ground for the first time since late July on the 7th, forming an opposition with Saturn in Pisces and entering Virgo the following day. You may now be addressing more serious realities related to what was revealed over the Venus retrograde period in your sector of communication, learning, and your local environment. This could relate to restructuring your professional responsibilities to accommodate new creative inspiration or an encounter with a boss or authority in your field. Perhaps you are weighing up the benefits of a job and considering its consequences on your mental wellbeing and domestic participation.

Mars enters Scorpio on the 11th, where it will energize your daily work and health routines until late November. His ongoing trine to Saturn and square to Pluto has the potential to be volatile, particularly around charged topics like power dynamics, money, trust, and sex. Pluto, the planet of metamorphosis, is emphasized this month, barely moving in the sky as it stations direct. The Mars-Pluto dynamic offers significant potency for severing ties and transforming unconscious patterns, possibly through encounters with things you may have pushed out of view. Changes and endings will likely support your health and sense of agency and re-energize your career or work commitments, as indicated by Mars' trine to Saturn in your career sector.

The Libra Solar Eclipse on the 14th opens a new six month cycle of change, growth, and rebalancing in your sphere of creativity, children, and happiness that will also play out in your Aries sector of community and long-term ambitions. This might involve a process of creative self-discovery through following your instincts and impulses, particularly if you are accustomed to supporting other people's ideas and projects. Both eclipses this month are ruled by Venus in Virgo, residing in your sphere of home, roots, and family. This indicates that the beginnings and endings being seeded this month are tied to what you have an affinity with and may help to ground you at the roots. A process of realignment toward connections that share similar goals or values may also be underway that will deepen your sense of belonging or kinship.

This major reset in the Libra area of your chart is followed by the rebirth of your ruling planet on the 19th. You might be full of inspired ideas, and your ability to communicate them will likely be strong. Mercury's superior conjunction with the Sun is the culmination point of its retrograde cycle through Virgo, which may reveal or align with the manifestation of ideas stimulated over the retrograde and previous lunation period. Perhaps evolving realities on the home front are connected to children or an increased focus on self-expression and fun. A square from the Sun and Mercury to Pluto is also active from the 18th to the 23rd. This time could align with revelations about an intimate relationship, shared assets or contracts, or an internal shift that may empower your creative expression or sexual exploration.

Mercury ingresses into Scorpio on the 21st, closely followed by the Sun on the 23rd, making your sector of daily routines, work, and health a major activation point. Both planets form a trine to Saturn in Pisces in your career sector, suggesting that strategic use of the drive, energy, and focus at your disposal could effectively serve your professional ambitions—so get clear on what you want to build.

The Taurus Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on the 28th takes place in your sector of the subconscious and the spiritual, closing out energies from many different timelines here and in your Scorpio sphere of health and daily work. These places are known as metacosmos, meaning to be between worlds, where the last eclipse cycle dating back to late 2021 may have felt like a series of transitions from one thing to another unknown thing. As this cycle culminates, you might reflect on how you have been changed through encounters with your shadows, setbacks, and sacrifice. Perhaps you have deepened into your spiritual practice, intuitive gifts, or self-understanding, been on a path of healing, or are finding new ways to nurture your mental and physical wellbeing.

The influence of Mercury's conjunction with Mars in Scorpio, active from the 27th until the 30th, may intensify emotions this lunation. As both planets form an opposition to Jupiter in Taurus, less-conscious behaviors may emerge through mental or physical health issues or conflict related to daily work and responsibilities. As this cycle comes to an end, this transit may work to mobilize you to address an issue you have been avoiding that is no longer serving you, as Jupiter also promises abundant growth in the fertile soil of what has come to pass. Your intuition may be laser-sharp around this time so that keeping a diary and paying attention to your dreams may be insightful. While your mind may be activated and keen to put things into action or fight for your rights, being present with yourself and the feelings that arise at this time, with love and self-acceptance, could be much the best thing for you to do; although sometimes the hardest.