Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Mercury Joins Sun and Saturn in Virgo October 1 - October 17

Fully on track after his recent retrograde through Leo, Mercury drops into his own earth sign, Virgo, for a brief inspection, presumably to oversee the harvest and get advice from Saturn about how he should really slow down. Let us reflect for a moment on the state of Virgo: it is currently the territory of Saturn, who will be joined in the first part of October by Mercury and Sun. Slow moving Saturn has been in Virgo for about one year now, and will remain for another, giving us the ongoing opportunity to explore the territory of Virgo through Saturn's lens. Virgo, being a Mercury-ruled earth sign essentially offers us the problem of how to balance stability and movement, and for humans this has much to due with health of the body, mind and spirit. Without stability in health, we cannot accomplish our goals or pursue our hearts' desires. Without a healthy flow of energy through our bodies and lives, we become stagnant and move toward dis-ease. Saturn in this realm, the hard realist, is able to demand that we take responsibility for creating, maintaining and protecting this balance that is essential to health. Saturn can be unrelenting in his demands for discipline, detachment and karmic responsibility, dealing out obstacles and disappointments until we submit to this ultimate truth. With Mercury passing through this territory briefly this month, it could feel like a breath of fresh air in the face of certain tasks or situations that are moving slowly or are requiring infinite patience. Open up to new ideas and messages that may inject some lightness and fun into that striving for health, balance and responsibility. Jupiter's position in Pisces, which is opposite to Virgo, continues to exert a positive, auspicious force on these efforts and reforms, and joyfully reminds us that those efforts are a part of our spiritual evolution.

New Moon in Virgo October 7

The new moon this month occurs at 20º Virgo, mid-day on Thursday, October 7, in the 13th lunar mansion known as "Hasta" which means "hand," and is located entirely within the sign of Virgo. Hasta is ruled by the Moon and Virgo is ruled by Mercury, who is exalted in Hasta/Virgo and who will also occupy this very same nakshatra, along with Saturn. The day of the new Moon, amavasya, is when the Moon is at its weakest point, so it is best for planning, meditation, or rest, with the idea in mind that initiation of actions should begin the next day, and as the Moon waxes. The stars of Hasta correspond to the constellation known as Corvus, the crow, and appear like an open hand bestowing blessings upon the Earth. The power of this nakshatra is to manifest that which we seek and to place it in our hands. Hasta also promotes practices that aim at health, self-fulfillment and the removal of darkness or ignorance. Hasta's association with the hands also reflects the healing nature of Virgo as well as skill at craft and work with the hands. Maximize the potential of this new Moon conjunction that includes not only Moon and Sun, but also Mercury and Saturn, as it has the ability to energize actions that have to do with health and healing, work with the hands and spiritual practices that bring purification and manifestation.

Venus Retrograde October 8 - November 19

As October progresses, we will see Venus and Mars slipping closer to the horizon as the Sun sets, and soon out of view. On October 8, Venus enters into a 42-day retrograde cycle, which will be the transition time from one Venus cycle to the next. Venus will pass in front of the Sun on October 29 and continue in retrograde motion through Libra, where she'll regain direct motion on November 19 at 3° of her own sign, Libra. During that retrograde period, Venus re-emerges as the morning star, becoming visible to us before sunrise in mid-November. All of that is neat astronomically speaking, but let's translate that into something astrologically meaningful.

Of the planets involved in the new Moon conjunction, Sun, Mercury and Moon will have moved out of Virgo, with the Sun and Mercury present in Libra for various lengths of time during Venus' retrograde through Libra. So, there is a transition begun by the Hasta-inspired new Moon and joined with Venus, who with retrograde motion, brings us the opportunity to take our love, desire and compassion and pack a grip to explore the underworld for a short journey. While Venus may be out of our site for a couple of months, rest assured that her brightness is obscured only by the brilliance of the Sun, and this interaction and closeness of the planets that represent the self, soul and life's purpose (Sun) and beauty, connection and compassion (Venus) afford us the opportunity to review and renew our path toward personal fulfillment vis-à-vis creating connections between our whole selves and the whole selves of others, including the physical planet on which we live and on which we express our humanity. This retrograde cycle of Venus occurring in Libra emphasizes the call to re-create a philosophy of what love and relating mean to one's own soul purpose and expression of desire.

Mercury Transits Libra October 17 - November 4

Mercury's reputation as the messenger comes into play as he brings the energy created by the new Moon in Virgo to Venus in Libra, as she begins her retrograde cycle. So the theme of our task to balance health, responsibility and spiritual awakening is brought forward to integrate with the theme of how we love both self and other. The strong mental and communication abilities of Mercury can be applied toward the creation of a refined, graceful philosophy of love and beauty that is featured in Venus' Libra. Mercury and Venus and natural friends and their qualities compliment rather than hinder the other. This could be a good time to act on projects that require artistic review or editing, or an injection of free and creative thought.

Sun Transits Libra October 18 - November 16

The Sun joins Mercury, Venus and briefly Mars, in Libra on October 18 for his annual trip through Libra, the Sun's sign of debilitation. The Sun's debilitation in Libra can be explained somewhat by looking to what the Sun's strong functions are and understanding why those strengths are not put to the best use in Libra. The Sun and his group of friends, Moon, Mars and Jupiter, share the common bond of representing aspects of the self, such as soul (Sun), emotions (Moon), personal drive (Mars) and spiritual development (Jupiter) while Venus and her friends Mercury and Saturn are representatives of the other in regards to relationship (Venus), connection (Mercury) and selfless service (Saturn.) So, while the Sun is massively powerful at radiating life-giving energy and being an example of how to shine through self-expression, Libra is actually set up to host a forum where expression can be shared and combined, where "we" are more potent than "me." Sun moving through Libra is a great opportunity to explore humility and the sublimation of the ego toward collective or universal goals. We are invited to move out of our own way and to connect with others in order to create beauty.

Mars Enters Scorpio October 20

While Venus moves through her retrograde cycle, her close companion through the past few months, Mars, moves into his own underworld journey by entering the dark waters of his own sign of Scorpio. He moves through Scorpio in about six weeks this time, and while Venus has invited everyone to her gathering to "see what happens," we can be sure that Mars has a plan, and he's going in alone. While we had a lovely summer of flirting, pursuit and combination between Venus and Mars starting in June, these two planets that represent the feminine and masculine aspects of human passion and desire are now going their own ways. Mars represents the human capacity to pursue, hold and utilize power and his sign of Scorpio is the realm of hidden power: the mysterious resources that lie below the earth, below the water, and below our conscious notice. The martial approach that the red planet favors can often disregard consequences such that goals are accomplished come what may. While this type of decisive action is useful, the lack of compassion can create damage or pain, so we are fortunate to have the humility theme of Sun in Libra running while Mars explores the depths of power and the hidden resources that we possess. We are also fortunate that the positive, expansive and auspicious aspect of Jupiter reaches Mars in Scorpio as well as the cautious and disciplined aspect of Saturn from Virgo. So, Mars is going in, but he's riding his brakes whether he likes it or not, and we could use his journey through Scorpio to explore our own dark places, and perhaps find resources there that will aid in creating the health-promoting balance that Saturn and Jupiter are demanding through their opposition.

Full Moon in Aries October 22

The routine begun during the new Moon in Hasta culminates in the full Moon of October 22, which occurs at 5° in Mars' fire sign, Aries, in the lunar mansion called Ashwini, which spans 0°-13°20' Aries. This gives further strength to Mars, as he is the host of the full Moon and occupies his own sign. This also gives a nicely fitted cap to the various roles that the planets play this month as we continue our evolution toward wholeness, balance and integration. The deities associated with Ashwini are the Ashwin Kumars, celestial twin horsemen who act as the physicians to the gods. So, the theme of healing continues, and the action of Ashwini is generally quick. This is a good month to move to the next level or phase, whether on the physical, mental or spiritual level. Overall, the planetary positions for October 2010 shape up in a positive way, with careful forward movement and an open forum in which to explore new ways of creating and connecting.