Scorpio by Jeky Young.

When Venus is in Scorpio, it grants an opportunity to do something that is usually avoided in our ostensibly abstinent culture: be open about our desires. Conservative Christian policy on sex is really about valuing appearances over honesty, which might also be said about our political system.

The plain truth may be less unromantic than you might think; and at least it’s real. The evolutionary step would seem to be about being turned on by actual feelings rather than the fantasy that they don’t exist.

Often this comes down to putting things into words and having them acknowledged. Words sincerely spoken, or expressed with curiosity, are a potent tool for affirmation, which is why ‘saying something’ feels so courageous. Today, Mercury makes its exit from a long stay in Virgo (associated with Mercury retrograde) and enters Libra. There, over the next few weeks, it will make a series of aspects to planets on the cardinal cross, including to Jupiter, Mars and Uranus-Eris.

That will provide plenty of fodder for useful conversations, particularly with Mercury in aspect to the Aries Point (see special comment below in today’s Four Winds Almanac).

This live audio class covers the most basic level of astrology: where things happen, the houses. If you understand the houses as environments and groups of themes, you can read a chart. We will hold the class by teleconference at noon EDT on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. You may sign up here.