2:05 pm PDT October 1, 2020

  9:05 pm UTC October 1, 2020

Awakening  Aries

As with every Full Moon, the Moon’s 180˚ opposition to the Sun illuminates the shadow of the sign the Sun is in at the time. Libra, the sign of relatedness, can become indirect, superficial, or overly pleasing in its shadow expression. This Aries Moon is conjoined with Chiron the wounded healer, so we are dealing with the shadow and the wounded aspect of Aries as well. Aries’ brash and fiery nature can degenerate into insensitivity, aggressive impulsivity, and narcissism when not properly contained.

Other than a very wide square (90˚ angle) to Jupiter, this Sun/Moon opposition doesn’t form any other aspects (angles) to other planets, making these forces, and our awareness, a bit like it’s running loose and disconnected from the rest of what’s happening in the psychic atmosphere. Chiron’s presence in the mix brings us to the awareness of how brutally wounded humanity has been since being in the throes of the patriarchal overlay (slavery, capitalism, profit over people, etc.) for thousands of years. With the world population growing at over 7.8 billion people, it’s really in our faces now. What are we going to do with it all? With each other? The way through, as Carl Jung pointed out, is self-awareness, owning up to the loss, the grief, the abuse we have wrought either consciously or unconsciously toward each other and the ecosystem as well.

But first, many of us have to wake up. And October is going to be a month of awakenings. First of all, Saturn has gone direct as of Sept. 29^th, and Pluto will go direct on the 4^th of October. These two “big players” in Capricorn, in the arena of karma, combined with Jupiter in Capricorn have been wreaking havoc and upheaval in our established norms since January of this year. Their configuration, which happens once in about 735 years, is symbolic of the sea change that is happening planet-wide at this timing. And when these players of karma go direct, they become more actively and outwardly expressed. Saturn rules the laws and structures of our society, and Pluto is the force of breakdown and renewal.

This revolutionary signature gets a boost in October with Mars and Eris conjoining, the brother and sister of aggression, both retrograde. Retro planets make their energies felt within our psyches, and stir up unconscious contents. Mars (how we take action) and Eris (unaddressed aggressive energies) coming together make for lots of mischief, as they form challenging squares to the Dynamic Trio in Capricorn. Mars square to Saturn can result in unregulated or undisciplined action, like a pressure cooker whose valve may be faulty. Mars in square to Pluto makes for overly forceful actions, revolutions, riots, trouble-makers. It can also make for exceptional courage in the face of danger. Our little egos can easily get angry and offended under such conditions, unless we breathe, count to ten, enforce our boundaries, and use the Libra Sun, the peacemaker, to establish an awareness of these energies within us, even if it’s just a nod of mindfulness. In this way, we can let go of our judgements and our ruffled feathers, becoming more humble and move on.

Mercury is already slowing down its movement, in preparation for its upcoming retrograde on October 13^th. Mercury, the trickster, the messenger of the gods, the ruler of communications and ballots, will be retrograde until November 3^rd, Election Day in the US. Its direct motion will not begin to take effect until that morning, and even then its direct motion is not felt for some days, even weeks. There is no doubt astrologically that the energies around the Election results will be murky, and results undecided for some time, at the very least not until Mercury comes back to the degree at which it stationed, which will not be until November 20^th. And even then, as we know, much hangs in the balance. Many probable realities are vying for assertion in the next few months. Which ones will we give our energy to? When Mercury stations on the 13th, it opposes its higher octave, Uranus, the revolutionary. This is where we can “slip-stream” our reality, when things are not necessarily what they seem to be, when what appears to be a done deal can change to something else, turning on a dime. The 13th is also the same day when Mars exactly opposes the Sun (contention, disagreement, battle of wills). So we need to tread really carefully in October.

The North and South Nodes, those points in the sky of the Moon’s orbit where it passes the Earth’s orbital path are the pathways of karma, fate and destiny in astrology. Interestingly, they presently are in the same signs as they were in Trump’s chart. They will be passing over his Sun and Moon this month. This then is a make-or-break time for him, where the seeds of what he has sown will come to fruition. With transiting Pluto and Saturn in opposition to his natal Saturn, this is often an indication of loss and massive restructuring of one’s life. His powerful North Node destiny can work either for or against him, but it will be very powerful in any case.

Whatever the outcome of the upcoming election, it is certain we have much work to do, to weather these cultural, political and biological storms that are brewing in every town and city. Humanity is up for a karma review, and what we’ve done so far doesn’t look very good for the delicately balanced environment of Planet Earth, or for our race as brothers and sisters. We all can work each day to hold more loving energies in our hearts, knowing that this brings us toward possibility of healing, no matter the situation. Staying centered and witnessing our old beliefs and scripts running in our minds, helps us to avoid identifying with them and getting caught up in the fervor of archetypal dramas, so prevalent now around us in the psychic soup of our present day world.