Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Saturn-Mars Mutual Aspect September 25 – November 9
Venus Transits Libra October 3 - 27
Full Moon in Revati/Pisces October 13
Sun Transits Libra October 17 - November 16
Mercury Enters Scorpio October 23
Venus Transits Scorpio October 27 – November 20
New Moon in Swati/Libra October 27
Mercury Retrograde October 31 – November 20

Saturn-Mars Mutual Aspect September 25 – November 9

Just after the autumnal equinox on Monday, September 23, our power manager, Mars, moves from the Sun's throne room, Leo and on into the harvest-ready fields of Virgo, joining its exalted ruler Mercury and the debilitated Venus, as well as the Sun itself. This occurs on September 25 and brings quite a bit of energy, power and light into the sign of Virgo as September becomes October.

With all planets in direct motion, their messages and effects may become more clear. This appearance of Mars in Virgo will create some tension and pressure, as Mars forces his aspect onto the sign of Sagittarius and the planets posited therein currently, Saturn and Ketu. Saturn from Sagittarius is aspecting the signs of Aquarius, Gemini and Virgo. Sometimes the planets moving through said signs will highlight that aspect even more acutely, especially when the aspect is mutual. This month, the sign of Virgo will be getting attention whether wanted or not.

Mars in Mercury's dynamic sign of Virgo will be ready to convert resources into action and movement while Saturn's cautious conservatism in faithful Sagittarius will act to delay and obstruct the best laid plans of Mars. Obviously, this could make for frustration when we've all been waiting so long to move on.

We count on Venus and Mercury to ameliorate these types of situations and to keep things moving and positive. Mercury moves from Virgo to Libra on September 29, followed by Venus on October 3. This is good dignity for both of these planets. Fall back on the analytical ability, eagerness and humor of Mercury paired with the graceful diplomacy of Venus when the going gets tough.

The mutual aspect of Mars and Saturn does not have to be only filled with head-butting aggression and disagreement. With intention, we can make room for both of these agendas. While Mars and Saturn are not friends and have a fascinating, unbalanced relationship, when harmonized, their energies can combine to build strong structures upon firm foundations. The imbalance between them is that Saturn exalts Mars in Saturn's earth sign of Capricorn but Mars debilitates Saturn in Mars' fire sign of Aries.

We can have power, courage, plans and initiative as we move forward with new things (Mars in Virgo) while at the same time applying humility, learning from past mistakes and taking responsibility for the harm that we have committed (Saturn in Sagittarius with Ketu.) The key is overcoming Mars' fiery tendency toward impatience and aggression while letting go of negativity and fear that disturb our minds from Saturn's ponderous influence.

Venus Transits Libra October 3 - 27

Venus joins Mercury in her own air sign of Libra on October 3, extending the dance of these two communicative and connective planets into a new corner of the ballroom. This also puts some space between the representatives of our two planetary camps, perhaps allowing for a bit more peace. Mars and Sun stay behind in Virgo until later in the month of October while Mercury and Venus move forward into Libra. This gives us a few weeks to get busy in the creative realms, getting results, while at the same time fueling up on bigger foundational shifts that we've been looking forward to for some time.

While in Virgo, both Mercury and Venus were also feeling the heavy aspect of Saturn, which urges silence, caution or separation when it comes to communication and relationships. Exiting to Libra, Mercury and Venus become free of Saturn's censure and Mars' serious focus. This may bring feelings of desire for social interaction and creative production in the form of fine arts, writing or music.

Let's not forget that Venus has been in the underworld for some time, meaning that she has been in combustion with the Sun which disappears her from our sight, making a transition from morning star to evening star over the summer months of 2019. After the superior conjunction of Sun and Venus on August 14, Venus has moved ahead of Sun in the zodiac and will begin to appear as "evening star," showing herself in the western sky after sunset, around October 10.

When it comes to matters of Venus, which include connection with others, creative efforts, artistic expression, entertainment and vehicles, we may feel as if the tides are finally turning and we will regain some enthusiasm and juice for these indications after a long hiatus.

Full Moon in Revati/Pisces October 13

Just after Venus moves to Libra, the Moon moves past Saturn and Ketu in Sagittarius as it waxes. Moon moves into Capricorn on October 6, which also breaks the Kala Amrita Yoga that forms when Moon moves past Rahu and all the planets will be hemmed between the nodes.

The next round of this combination comes into effect October 20 – November 2. This can create an environment in which we feel that things fall into place without effort, either for positive or negative outcome. Therefore, do see the period between October 6 - 20, when the Moon is outside of the bind of the nodal axis, as a time when you may be able to see more objectively and make decisions based on actual information instead of relying solely on intuition. For the first week of that period, the Moon is waxing and for the second, the Moon wanes.

The culmination of the Moon's waxing comes as we see a full Moon at 27º Pisces on Sunday, October 13. Pisces is ruled by the auspicious planet Jupiter, who will be exactly aspecting the full Moon in his own sign to the exact degree, as Jupiter will be positioned at 27° Scorpio on that day. Jupiter's aspect on the full Moon is auspicious and positive for growth.

Revati is the final nakshatra of the zodiac, spanning the final degrees of Pisces and ruled by the planet Mercury. The combination of Jupiter and Mercury rulership in this final nakshatra and final sign of the zodiac signal a culmination and a transition into new territory as we leave behind defunct emotions, irrelevant memories and lost ideas. The conscious letting go of that which is no longer supporting the present is advised during this time. Let's not forget that the combination of Saturn and Ketu in Venus' nakshatra, Purvashada, is also urging us to dredge up, cleanse and flow on.

The Sun and Mars in Mercury's Virgo are opposite the Moon at this time, revealing the data that we need to use in our future plans. There may have been an influx of information that can finally be processed and integrated into the current projects.

Open the mind to sudden inspiration when it comes to creative expression, networking, business plans and relationship conduct during this time. Mercury, nakshatra dispositor of the Moon, will be coming under heavy influence of Rahu at this time, joined by Venus who also rules Libra where this energetic pair are running. Rahu is currently at about 19º Gemini, in his own nakshatra of Ardra. Mercury is also placed in a Rahu-ruled nakshatra at the time, Swati; be ready for that amazing idea, solution or revelation to pop in sideways!

Sun Transits Libra October 17 - November 16

The Sun exits Virgo for Libra on October 17, entering into Venus' air sign, which also happens to be the place where the Sun experiences debilitation. This annual trek through Libra occurs when the Sun's appearance in the day sky becomes markedly shorter and weaker, at least in the northern hemisphere.

The Sun never gets close enough to combust either Mercury or Venus while they are transiting the final degrees of Libra, so use the Sun's powerful light to fuel the creative streak and keep the parade moving.

While this Sun transit through Libra may not be the best for individual pursuits and solo time in the spotlight, it is a good time to compromise individual needs and agendas in favor of group participation and harmony. This also takes the pressure off of the Sun from his enemy, Saturn, who is creating some grey, cloudy weather by aspecting the sign of Virgo, affecting not only the sign but the planets moving through. Even though the Sun becomes debilitated in Libra, it may be slightly an improvement from enduring Saturn's aspect while the Sun transited Virgo.

The Sun's exit from Virgo leaves only Mars in occupation there, clearing the deck for the mutual aspect between Mars and Saturn to be uninhibited by any other planets through November 9 when Mars enters Libra. This may be actually positive in the sense of problem solving, with fewer planets making static between the signs of Sagittarius and Virgo, currently linked by the mutual aspect between two hard driving planets.

Mercury Enters Scorpio October 23

Mercury is leading the charge of the inner planets for now, plunging into Mars' water sign of Scorpio on October 23. Mercury tends to pick up the tendencies and desires of the planets he associates with and will be shifting attention from Venus to Mars as he moves into Scorpio.

Venus and Mercury have been traveling closely together for months, since the last retrograde cycle brought them together in Cancer, back in August. To be fair, Mars has also been lingering around those two, as well.

Scorpio is co-ruled by Mars and Ketu, which will put Mercury and Mars into an exchange of signs between October 23 – November 7, when retrograde Mercury dips back to Libra, to be joined by Mars entering Libra November 10, which will then put Mars and Venus into an exchange of signs. There will be plenty of dancing and partner changes involving Mercury, Venus and Mars this autumn.

This two week period between October 23 – November 7 when Mercury visits Scorpio and engages in an exchange with Mars in Virgo could be very productive. There's also the piece about Mercury joining with Jupiter in Scorpio, which puts the two dispositors of the nodal axis together in one spot.

With Mercury playing the role of student and Jupiter playing the role of teacher, these two planets come together in the transformative sign of Scorpio, just before Jupiter will be moving on into Sagittarius on November 4. Mercury is currently the dispositor of Rahu, placed in Mercury's Gemini while Jupiter is currently the dispositor of Ketu, placed in Jupiter's Sagittarius.

The point of this observation is that the nodal axis tends to cause situations that are quite meaningful and impactive on our life path. During the times that the nodal axis falls in the Jupiter and Mercury signs, we have a strong foundation in learning from life's impositions as well as from our own mistakes.

As Mercury and Jupiter meet one last time while in Ketu's sign (Scorpio), let us truly integrate the difficult lessons that have come to us through the Ketu/Saturn combination in Jupiter's sign, as well as exalted Rahu in Mercury's sign. We win some, we lose some; that is an eternal truth. Our reactions to the uncontrollable situations in life are where we learn the most about who we really are.

Venus Transits Scorpio October 27 – November 20

Venus moves into Scorpio, following Mercury who is soon to station and begin a retrograde cycle which will put space between Venus and Mercury as Venus moves into the deep and cold, icy waters of Scorpio and Mercury moves back toward Mars and Sun in the sign of Libra.

Thus begins a new phase for Venus, recently emerged from a long combustion with the Sun that shifted her appearance from morning to evening. She also emerges from combustion in good dignity in her own sign, supported by friendly Mercury.

Venus governs the realms of relationships, social contracts, human inspiration and the spark of connection that creates bonds between people. The signs of Scorpio and Sagittarius that are coming up on her transit agenda could provide some challenging backdrops as we humans continue to desire all things Venus.

As Venus joins Mercury in the early degrees of Scorpio, Mercury is in an exchange with Mars, creating a flexible bridge of strong creative energy that could be channeled toward almost anything. At the same time, Jupiter is approaching the final degree of Scorpio, readying to transition to his own sign of Sagittarius, where he faces a whole new set of issues as Saturn and Ketu are still closely joined.

This combination of the two "guru" planets, Jupiter and Venus, with Mercury, the eternal and eager student, in the depths of Scorpio could help to connect us to the correct teachers/students and lineages during this time. This will be the last period of time where we are enjoying the exchange of signs between Jupiter and Ketu, who together rule the concept of lineage. This exchange will not occur again until 2113.

By November 7, Jupiter and Mercury will have moved out of Scorpio, leaving Venus to do her thing unfettered for about a week until the Sun also moves into Scorpio on November 16.

This is a good time to withdraw a bit from social situations and find some inner calm and intuitive inspiration. Artistic or creative projects may flourish by cutting away distractions and focusing on the process.

On the relationship front, it is a good time to re-assess the value of making efforts to connect, which may bring up the urge to cut ties with some and reinvigorate relationships with others. The Sun, as significator of the individual self and ego will be simultaneously in Venus' sign, Libra until November 16, which makes it a good opportunity to identify how relationships are serving the individuals and how the unions are nourishing or not.

New Moon in Swati/Libra October 27

The Moon slides into the arms of the Sun just before midnight on October 27 at 11° Libra. By this time, we may be feeling a bit weary of all the shifting about, working and traveling that may have occurred through October. All the planets will be hemmed between Rahu and Ketu, save Saturn who joins Ketu.

The Moon when waning, dark and new struggles to feed us, which leads to feeling tired, uninspired or vulnerable. The Sun will be moving closer to his degree of debilitation at 20° Libra, which may further increase feelings of depression, loneliness or frustration.

Additionally, the dispositor of the Sun and Moon, Venus, will be at 0º Scorpio at the moment of the new Moon, further indicating transition and instability. Finally, the Moon and Sun find themselves in Swati nakshatra, ruled by Rahu and also receiving the aspect of Rahu from Gemini.

This could be a very shaky time where we doubt everything about our new directions. Don't let this temporary shadow ruin the firm foundations that you are building. This is an opportunity to practice mental stability. Bring out all the tools and tricks you have to keep yourself calm and balanced despite the illusions of vulnerability, instability or weakness that may prevail during this time.

Mercury Retrograde October 31 – November 20

The final exciting Halloween prank of October 2019 will be Mercury taking retrograde motion around mid-day on October 31. This turn about happens at about 4° Scorpio and takes Mercury back to 18° Libra by November 20, where he resumes direct motion.

Libra is a good environment for Mercury and will be his location for most of November, where he joins Mars, giving us some energy to get and keep things moving. However, we need to remember that adding retrograde motion to Mercury heightens the energy, which can be channeled for amazing results, but if not strongly directed, could result in a well oiled machine that turns into a jerking mess.

The other factor to consider is that Rahu currently sits in Gemini, giving his aspect to the other air signs, Libra and Aquarius. This puts the new Moon of October 27 under the influence of Rahu as well as retrograde Mercury once he returns to Libra on November 7.

This period of time will not be supportive of initiating important new ventures. Since this initiates on October 31, the point is to try and get things going in October if possible. Mercury retrograde can be fine for keeping things going, refining current procedures or editing works in progress (with a good amount of caution and discipline.) Beware of Rahu's influence as he can give us the most brilliant ideas mixed in with the very worst. Try to keep things slow and deliberate even though things may seem urgent at the time. Haste may make waste.

We will pick up the November forecast with Mercury as he rides around Scorpio in reverse, wearing a witch's costume, spouting the most beautiful poetry you ever heard.