Another October has now been consigned to history. November has begun. In an interesting bit of timing, the Moon left Pisces behind to enter Aries just as the new month was getting underway. It may well prove a lunar ingress to remember.

Aries is generally recognized as where the zodiac cycle of signs starts over. In large part, that particular designation has to do with astrology’s central reference point and primary trend setter: the Sun.

The annual solar return to Aries every March initiates more than just a new season. It’s also the one and only vernal equinox – astrology’s version of New Year’s Day.

Given how the Sun provides so much of astrology’s context, it’s fair to consider how any other object crossing into Aries can somehow be in emulation of the Sun. Hence, even though the Moon is not currently in one of its more significant phases, Luna can reasonably be thought of as having just turned a page in unison with the civil calendar.

A big part of the Moon’s place in astrology is as the Sun’s complement. To paraphrase Robert Hand, the Sun has a straightforward correlation with daylight and what is commonly understood to be consciousness (being aware of and interactive with the world).

As would befit an association with nighttime, the Moon’s astrological symbolism is more subtle and subjective than that of the Sun. The same can be said of forms of consciousness which correspond with the Moon.

To have November initiate with a newly Aries Moon is thus indicative, but not clearly so. Some patience will probably be required of you as the month goes on. It would, for example, be a good idea to simply be present with any unbidden sensations you woke up with today.

With a Full Moon coming up overnight between Friday and Saturday, anything which seems unassociated now could conceivably fall into place rather quickly — given a chance.

Indeed, if November is starting off to imply anything, it is the value of proof. By all means, pay attention to (and, if possible, work to develop proficiency with) your intuitions, but don’t ignore hard evidence.

As the month wears on, you may have to do some detective work. In all probability, however, your greatest labor will be to honor the facts that find you. If you can do simply that, a November beginning with an Aries Moon will conclude with your being more coherently whole than ever before.

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The Moon is now moving through Aquarius until late Sunday. Such a lunar position by itself highlights deeply felt issues in common. The fact that the Moon will also be in its first quarter phase tonight (Friday) is informative for those who seek an empowering resolution of those issues.

Each of astrology’s twelve signs is a unique combination of element (fire, earth, air or water) and quality (cardinal, fixed, or mutable). Both Aquarius and Scorpio (where the Sun is now moving) are fixed signs.

Signs which share the same quality are either at right angles or in opposition to each other on the zodiac’s circle. Because of that, any two objects which are expressing through the same quality of background will be in what astrologers call “hard aspect” to each other.

The word “hard” comes with baggage. For astrologers, not all of that luggage is appropriate. Granted, correlations with challenge can rarely be ruled out when interpreting the most prominent of hard aspects. Yet, by the same token, the inevitability of a corresponding reward for acting on difficulty should not be forgotten when reading conjunctions (objects in the same degree of the same sign), squares (90 degree separations on the zodiac) or oppositions.

Interestingly, the best known lunar phases (New Moon, Full Moon, first and last quarters) all represent hard aspects from the Sun to the Moon. Tonight’s lunar first quarter, for example, is the “opening” square – a separation of 90 degrees from the Sun to the Moon which takes place one week after the immediately preceding New Moon and one week before the Full Moon to follow.

Appropriately, the Moon at quarter phase is half lit and half dark, a fitting symbol for both the challenges and rewards a square aspect represents. That’s where you come in.

Much as with politics, astrology is everybody’s business. In both cases, participation is rewarded with a proportional amount of influence. Lack of involvement, on the other hand, usually results in a forfeit.

It should be pretty clear for anybody paying attention that politics is too important to be left to professional politicians. The same principle can be said to apply to astrology. Either way, informing yourself is a crucial requisite for participation.

Simply being aware confers you a surprising amount of power. Acting on that awareness empowers you even more. It should therefore be no surprise that history’s most infamous authoritarians all have at least one thing in common: discrediting or blocking access to any source of information which is at odds with what the putative leader professes.

Of course, it takes two to tango. Despots could not exist were they not enabled by those who choose to be not only ignorant, but also hostile towards anybody who contests a dictatorial point of view.

All of which leads back to tonight’s lunar first quarter. Because the Sun and Moon are in square aspect to each other, a challenge some sort of is likely to go with your territory this weekend. If you know simply that, you have a leg up on those who don’t.

Beyond being aware, perhaps the most salient meaning behind this particular First Quarter Moon has to do with what the nature of any challenges will probably be.

With both Sun and Moon in fixed signs, the most likely difficulties will have to do with knowing the difference between maximizing the light (for instance: persistence and definition) and minimizing the dark (for example: intransigence) sides of that quality.

That’s because, with a Full Moon coming, all which light represents in the context of fixed signs will implicitly prevail over this next week. If you will but act to have the same thing happen in your life (and ideally, in community), the two weeks which follow will be all the more likely to see an integration, rather than a dominance, of darkness in the second half of our current lunar cycle.

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By Amanda Painter

What’s the difference between merely falling down a proverbial rabbit hole and following your instincts to uncover a mystery, or to get beneath the surface of something in a way that changes you? The activities can look the same at the outset. Is the defining factor one of practicality — that is, what you do with what you discover, or how it changes you?

Installation in the 2011 Sacred & Profane Festival, Peaks Island, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Over the next couple of days, the prominent astrology seems to relate to these ideas, thanks to some very strong connections to the sign Scorpio.

First up is today’s conjunction between the Sun and Jupiter in very early Scorpio (exact at 2:09 pm EDT / 18:09 UTC). Jupiter magnifies what it touches, and the Sun represents your conscious awareness. So if you happen to be in a bad mood, feel wronged by someone or tend toward the darker side of life, this could be a reminder to watch out for overdoing the sharper side of Scorpio’s emotional palette.

Yet solar Scorpio is also the time of year when the veil between our world and the unseen realms is said to get thin and permeable; and Jupiter also represents things such as learning about topics remote to your usual experience, philosophical understanding and the ‘superconscious’. You might take a moment to notice what you’re being invited to dive into and explore, or to feel and sense more deeply.

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By early Monday, the zodiac will look a lot different than it did only two weeks before. On Oct. 9, Venus and Mars were both still in Virgo, just starting to separate after briefly sharing the same degree of that same sign on Oct. 5. Meanwhile, the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter were clustered in Libra’s latter half.

Then, on Oct. 10, Jupiter concluded over a year in Libra to begin a similar residence in Scorpio. A week later, Mercury followed Jupiter’s footsteps. In between those two ingresses, Venus made one of its own with a Libra homecoming.

On Sunday, Mars will move on to Libra too. About ten hours later (either late Sunday or early Monday – depending on your time zone), the Sun will begin its annual tour of Scorpio. That’s an unusual amount of celestial shifting for such a short period of time. Unsurprisingly, the corresponding fortnight is already proving to be an eventful time in the world – and probably your life.

Quantity is not everything, however. Quality counts too, but often in a way more subtle than numbers or frequency can express. Therein lies a clue for how next week could very well differ from this week (and the week before), assuming you can accept a premise that what’s above somehow correlates with what’s here below.

Archetypes represented by the Sun, Moon and planetary bodies basically remain the same no matter where those emblems are moving on the zodiac. A change of sign tends not to alter the figure so much as the ground. Hence, once the current flurry of cosmic motion from one field of expression to another has subsided, it will implicitly be easier to ascertain whether and/or how the context of your life has shifted.

You may, for example, find it easier to either stand out or blend in next week – and not because you are in any way much different. For that reason, you might want to experiment with how you dress, the places you frequent and whose company you keep while also noting how any of those new contexts change the quality of your life.

In addition, it would probably be a good idea if you were alert for shifts in how the world responds when you are in your usual haunts, doing as you usually do. In all probability, any such trials and observations will not be empty exercises, either.

That’s because the spate of astrological ingresses now reaching the end of its run has more than likely manifested as a background shift. As result, a lot of people (predominantly those who pay no attention to astrology) will either miss new openings or wonder what happened with accustomed portals.

Besides the evident advantage of actively reevaluating your environment for any alterative (or recently altered) niches, tinkering with your life can be fun. We are, after all, entering a season when wearing masks and costumes is a predominant party theme.

When you get right down to it, temporarily assuming the appearance of a pumpkin doesn’t commit you to become one. Intentionally incurring just such an experience, however, could go a long way towards your having a deeper appreciation of all you have and what you can bring.

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By Amanda Painter

Today there’s a New Moon in Libra that’s just loaded with energy. Chances are you’ve already been feeling it this week. Despite the fact that a Moon waning to its new phase tends to be lower-energy, this one is plugged into a high-voltage outlet.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

That outlet’s name is “Uranus”: the planet of revolution, surprise and invention. Uranus is in late Aries. And at 3:12 pm EDT today (19:12 UTC), the Sun and Moon will make a conjunction to each other (the New Moon) exactly opposite Uranus.

Depending on where Libra is located in your personal chart, you might have already felt some unexpected disruptions in recent days as the Sun has been moving into position. And you may not have felt like you’ve had the energy to deal well with everything that’s coming your way — thanks in part to the Moon winding down its current cycle.

If that’s been the case, consider cutting yourself some slack. Give yourself a hug (real or metaphorical), take a few breaths, and remember that being a conscious, caring human being in our current world takes a lot of energy, awareness and flexibility. Sometimes, due to a confluence of circumstances, our emotional resources run thin; and that makes it incredibly difficult to roll with unexpected disruptions, curveballs and the needs of loved ones.

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“Throw me tomorrow.”
— David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels

Mercury entered Scorpio during the early hours of Tuesday for most of you. Earlier today (Wednesday), speedy Mercury briefly shared the same degree of Scorpio in conjunction with Jupiter. Tomorrow, the Sun and Moon will meet in late Libra to renew the monthly cycle of lunar phases for a New Moon.

Less than two hours before the Libra New Moon is exact, the Sun will be precisely opposing Uranus (in late Aries) on the zodiac. Shortly thereafter, the Moon will move on to Scorpio as well. And those are just highlights.

It could very well be an understatement to say that the astrology leading up to, during and immediately after New Moon Thursday is interesting. How that description corresponds to earthly events remains to be seen, but it’s worth noting that very few people are both acutely aware and downright bored at this time.

Perhaps a change of perspective will help. Imagine yourself far above the solar system, looking down on the ecliptic plain in which all the major planets move, orbiting the Sun.

From such a detached and elevated point of view, you would see Mercury and Jupiter lining up on one side of the Sun. Almost exactly on the other side, you would see the Moon, Earth and Uranus moving to align as well. To say the least, it would be a striking tableau – one you might describe as a series of cosmic gems on a very long string.

On the zodiac, the same scenario is being represented by four sign rulers (the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Jupiter) all bunched near the cusp between Libra and Scorpio with Uranus basically on the opposite side of the circle. While that particular arrangement does not resemble a string of celestial pearls, you could portray it as something with a similar implication: a lot of energetic representation along a narrow axis.

In addition to being part of a concentrated corridor, all the objects involved in tomorrow’s New Moon complex (including some not mentioned above) will also be in fascinating geometric relationships to yet other planets and points.

Even with all the emblematic focus, however, New Moon Thursday is likely to come with less than a proportional amount of clarity.

That’s because of where a lot of the solar system’s archetypes are on the zodiac right now. In addition to the Moon, Mercury and Jupiter literally being out of easy view, this particular Libra New Moon will feature a figurative component evident only to astrologers.

For centuries, it has been common among astrologers to exercise at least some restraint while interpreting objects in either the very early or very late degrees of a sign. A “void of course” Moon is but one example. New Moon Thursday will have many.

In addition to the sign rulers already cited, an impressive number of other prominent astrological indicators (including, but not limited to Mars, Venus, and Saturn) will all be relatively close to a sign cusp when the Sun and Moon conjoin tomorrow.

All told, you might say this year’s Libra New Moon will be very much like the proverbial “Thursday’s child” of ancient rhyme. While there will likely be a certain quality to the time (which you may have already noticed), the event probably has “far to go” before its potential develops fully.

As result, some restraint on your part would probably make the rest of this week better for you in the long run. This does not mean you should be meek or hesitant. It is only to say that you might want to wait for more evidence to make itself apparent before jumping to conclusions you might later have to recant.

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It’s Friday the 13th. Even though this combination of day and date has nothing to do with astrology, nearly all of us live in a cultural environment where the ancient art of cosmic contemplation is equated with arbitrary superstitions. If you doubt this, go to a library and note what books are arranged on the same shelf with astrological tomes.

It was not always so. For most of what human history we know of, nearly all people lived close to the Earth with constant awareness of the sky. There was no separation. Seasonal rhythms were commonly known to be in sync with celestial cycles.

Now, it’s different. Uncommon are those who need or care to know when and where dawns and sunsets will occur. Even more scarce are those who understand how the Moon will rise later tonight than the night before. Indeed, for many of us, to simply see the Moon, planets and stars (much less keep personal track of them) is a challenge.

Then, there is disparagement. Many are the astrologers who respect astronomy and those who practice it. Unfortunately, such esteem is rarely returned. That’s just one example of how inequality in relationships and a devotion to intransigent partisanship has come to presently underlie much of human interaction.

Even within a typical individual, division and resulting inner conflicts have become more rule than exception. Perhaps separation has been sowed on purpose. Maybe it has simply been one thing leading to another. At this point, all we can say is that the situation has been a long time in coming, and is almost certainly not sustainable.

Enter Venus. Shortly after 6 am EDT (10:11:07 UTC) tomorrow, the brightest planet in our sky will leave Virgo behind and move on to Libra. From an astrologer’s point of view, it will be an implicitly auspicious ingress. Given all the types and levels of separation which now characterize so much of our human condition, however, the outcome of Venus moving through Libra until Nov. 7 is far from certain.

It is unlikely that all divisions and conflicts in the world will resolve peacefully during the next three weeks or so. After all, anything which has been a long time in coming is also likely to be a long time in changing. Fortunately, the same is not necessarily true for you.

We human beings have a wonderful capacity to at least begin changing our lives for the better in a short period of time. Just one choice can make a big difference. Even more likely to show results is the conscious revision of a behavior pattern over time.

If you want to know what Venus in Libra will mean, no conscientious astrologer will be able to tell you for sure. On the other hand, should you inquire what it can be made to mean, one possible answer will stand out. That’s because Venus usually moves quickly, just as you are capable of doing.

While the world is too often slow to change, you don’t have to be. What changes you would like to eventually see in the world can plausibly get started with you over the days to come.

Judging from the context (astrological and otherwise) of Venus’ ingress to Libra tomorrow, you might be surprised what a difference you can make. Based on what the world seems to need now, a little love will go a long way – especially if it is given to at least the same extent it is sought.

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By Amanda Painter

If you’ve been feeling a need for some energy to shift, you’re in luck. This week sees two major planets changing signs: Jupiter left Libra and entered Scorpio on Tuesday; and on Saturday, Venus will exit Virgo and enter one of its ‘home’ signs, Libra.

View from above the Kennebec River, between Waterville and Winslow, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Jupiter spends about a year in each sign. So if you think back about 12 years, you may get a sense of how this planet’s expansiveness influenced your life.

What grew? What became so magnified that you could no longer ignore it? What benefits (even if they appeared in disguise at the time) came your way? Although the area of your life where this occurred will depend on where Scorpio falls in your natal chart, you can also get more clues by thinking thematically.

For example, astrologer Debbi Kempton-Smith begins her section on having natal Jupiter in Scorpio by writing, “You’re as horny as a three-balled tomcat — people can just tell you’re brilliant in bed.” She adds later, “You love excess in business, religion or love.” Does that ring any bells?

Astrologers Frances Sakoian and Louis S. Acker initially note that things like “joint or corporate finances, taxes, insurance, and legacies” relate to Jupiter in Scorpio. But they also mention interest in “the occult, mystical aspects of religion, in life after death, and in telepathic communication with those of the unseen realms” — as well as acquiring “secret information regarding the private affairs of others.”

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