Summary
Mercury Transits Virgo October 1 – 18
Venus Transits Leo October 1 – November 2
Mars Transits Libra October 3 – November 15
New Moon in Virgo/Chitra October 14 (Annular Solar Eclipse)
Sun Transits Libra October 17 – November 16
Mercury Transits Libra October 18 – November 6
Full Moon in Aries/Aswhini October 28 (Partial Lunar Eclipse)
Nodal Axis (Mean Calculation) Moves to Pisces/Virgo October 31
November 2023 Headlines

Image Credit: Mithun Kunwar

Summary

For an in-depth analysis of specific planetary placements, please continue with the full planetary forecast.

Mercury Transits Virgo October 1 – 18

At the time of this writing, current events show the US Government on the brink of shutdown, which would go into effect at midnight of October 1st. Already scheduled has been an interesting event in which the great friends Mercury and Venus will each be stepping into a new sign nearly simultaneoulsly, on the morning of October 1st. (Update: the US figured out how to keep the government open, just before Mercury and Venus changed signs on October 1.)

After a rather long stint in Leo, the Sun's sign that's all about establishing individual stability, Mercury begins a run into his own earth sign of Virgo, pushing up his sleeves and getting ready to hammer out the details. This will be a quick but effective transit, as Mercury pushes on to Libra October 18th. Mercury joins the fiery pair of Sun and Mars in Virgo, with Mars moving quickly through the border into Libra on October 3rd.

Mercury will be rushing toward the Sun, quickly entering into the state of astrological combustion that occurs when any planet comes within close range of the Sun, observationally speaking. The idea is that its difficult for that combust planet to express or push their agenda due to the brilliant power of the Sun drowning out the influence of the combust planet.

That said, of any of the planets, Mercury is most often combust due to being the first planet out from the Sun. Perhaps Mercury has something to teach in the sense of how he manages trying to get the message through despite excessive amounts of interference. During this first portion of October, tap into the agility, flexibility, enthusiasm, and attention to detail that a strong Mercury offers, no matter what the environment or circumstances supply.

Venus Transits Leo October 1 – November 2

Shortly after Mercury transitions out of Leo and into Virgo, Venus follows up with her own dance move, sliding through the gandanta between Cancer and Leo on October 1st. Similar to Mercury having just managed a long stint in Leo, Venus has spent a fair amount of time in Cancer since the summer, due to a retrograde phase. You may have noticed a fabulous, shining being that rises before the Sun these days. That's Venus!

This will actually be a return to Leo for Venus, who dipped into the Sun's territory briefly between July 7th and August 7th as she initiated the retrograde period that shifted Venus from "evening star" appearance to "morning star" appearance.

While the Sun is distracted by combusting Mercury, Venus is moving into his territory with all political and social skills honed and sharp. During the month of October, as the dramatic events like eclipses and nodal axis moving unfold, Venus moves through Leo, absorbing the powerful aspects of difficult planets such as Saturn, Rahu, and retrograde Jupiter like Wonder Woman. This could be a great month to practice deflecting negativity while at the same time not taking any of it personally.

Another support that Venus gives this month is through the opposition to Saturn, also currently retrograde and strongly placed in his own sign. This almost looks like a social revolution designed to rebalance power dynamics in favor of the usually powerless or marginalized. Lessons could be strongly pushing the reality that what is bad for one is usually bad for others and conversely, when the collective succeeds, all succeed.

Mars Transits Libra October 3 – November 15

Mars departs Mercury's earth sign, Virgo, on October 3rd, plunging him into the sky space that currently holds Ketu, the south node of the Moon. Ketu has occupied Libra since April 2022 and this will be the first time Mars has joined Ketu while in Libra. Mars and Ketu's last interaction came in January 2022 while in Scorpio, the enigmatic environment that they co-rule.

Mars and Ketu as co-rulers of Scorpio have some similarities, such as both being fiery in nature, as well as being associated with strength and power. Ketu is depicted as a headless body, while Mars rules the head in the body. Together, these two planets can create an aware and capable combination of logic and intuition.

Mars and Ketu most strongly conjoin during the first couple weeks of October, which could manifest as a deeply transformative time. Both of the eclipse events in October will be influenced by Mars' presence in Libra, adding in a measure of fire, passion, and courage that could be welcome spice during a time of adjustment.

New Moon in Virgo/Chitra October 14 (Annular Solar Eclipse)

As the Moon moves in to join the Sun at 27 degrees Virgo, an annular solar eclipse path will trace across the Americas during the day of Saturday, October 14th.

The Sun and Moon will join in the nakshatra of Chitra, ruled by the planet Mars and by the deity Twastar, the architect of the Universe. Chitra is the sky space that spans between the signs of Virgo and Libra, associated with the magic of artistic building. The eclipsing entitiy for the Sun and Moon is Ketu, also moving through Chitra and on the verge of shifting from Libra into Virgo for the next 1.5 years.

The energy of eclipse can vary based on the location, associated planets, and other intricate factors. At the base, eclipses are a temporary shadowing of the expected light, which can result in an ominous darkness that can reveal and expose the fears and turmoil caused by the removal of comforting, empowering forces of light that we normally associate with the kingly Sun and the queenly Moon.

Solar eclipses can cause a momentary lapse of confidence, causing doubt that can delay or destroy a chosen path. The good news is that sometimes these sudden retreats can accidentally cause an intervention that turns out to improve and shed new light upon an already decided upon course of action.

One way to approach this uncomfortable moment would be to understand the nature of Virgo, Libra, and Chitra, the nakshatra that bridges the two. Let's also keep in mind the pending shift of the nodal axis, moving attention from the Aries-Libra axis to the Pisces-Virgo axis.

Since this is the Sun's last few days in Virgo for the year, just at the time the nodes are preparing to move, we may be wise to analyze what's ready to move out of focus in favor of new horizons. The analytical, precise demands of Mercury in Virgo may need to give way to some of the idealistic social risks of love-oriented Venus.

Sun Transits Libra October 17 – November 16

The Sun moves through the sign of Libra from October 17th through November 16th, which sounds simple, but turns out to be somewhat dramatic. Libra is the sign of debilitation for the Sun and this annual transit is spiced up by the eclipse axis making its final marks on the opposite signs, Aries and Libra.

While the Sun may tend to struggle in Libra, meaning that the agenda of self-concern that the Sun represents meets some resistance in Venus' idealistic sign of social responsibility. For the remainder of October, there is a fix in place with Venus, ruler of Libra currently placed in Leo, the sign of the Sun. This improves conditions for each Venus and the Sun, elevating them from simply transiting through signs that are uncomfortable to shining brightly and functioning optimally.

This exchange of signs between Venus and Sun in the latter half of October is supportive of collaborative creative projects that allow individual expression to blend and harmonize with the expression of others. This could also manifest as exploration of how relationships can thrive with the right blend of togetherness and solo crusing.

Mercury Transits Libra October 18 – November 6

Continuing his run through friendly territory, Mercury leaps into Libra on October 18th, in the midst of the eclipse energy and the pending change of nodal axis. Who better to manage the chaos, offering fine tuning adjustments, and cheerfully spreading the word about how to find help?

Mercury neutralizes the current intensity coming into Libra with his presence. With both fiery Mars and Ketu receiving the confusing compound aspect of Rahu and Jupiter in Aries, we could be feeling some passion about how to advance, moving toward goals and attaining outcomes.

While Mercury is great with analysis and data mining, this could be a bit much for making decisions with a clear head. The temptation to charge forward and get things done will loom large; it may be wise to consciously step back to consider the details and the long term effects of whatever brick you may be laying at the moment.

In the midst of the drama and chaos, keep Mercury's sensors clear because the information we pick up during the latter half of October will help us make decisions about what to fix and what to toss in the near future.

Full Moon in Aries/Aswhini October 28 (Partial Lunar Eclipse)

A lunar eclipse at the full Aries Moon of October 28th acts as a spooky prelude to All Hallow's Eve, which this year also marks the movement of the nodal axis across signs.

The Sun will occupy his debilitation sign of Libra, but in added strength due to an exchange of signs with Libra's ruler, Venus, who is in Leo for all of October. With the recent solar eclipse and Venus' strong influence on the Sun at this time, we are closing our eyes momentarily to our individual needs in order to feel into the fabric of community and the strength that comes through voluntary sacrifices for the benefit of all.

The Moon becomes full at 11 degrees Aries, which also defines the star space known as Ashwini, the first nakshatra ruled by the twin healers and horsemen known as the Ashwin Kumars. Also placed in Aries and flanking the Moon will be the eclipse inflicting Rahu, receding into the borderland between Aries and Pisces, and causing a partial shadow on the otherwise bright Moon.

The Sun opposite in Libra will be placed in the nakshatra Swati, ruled by Rahu, giving the ingenious shadow maker Rahu the upper hand in this full Moon eclipse. Joining the Sun and Ketu are Mars and Mercury, pushing a great amount of energy into this eclipse event. There will be seven of nine planets occupying this opposition: Jupiter, Moon, and Rahu in Aries opposite Sun, Mercury, Mars, and Ketu in Libra.

Also interesting is that the remaining two planets are also participating in opposition, with retrograde Saturn in Aquarius opposite Venus in Leo. The final few days of October, we could be left feeling like on some level, a stalemate is occuring that will leave an obvious mark on the future.

Nodal Axis (Mean Calculation) Moves to Pisces/Virgo October 31

The Nodal axis is formed by the always opposite 8th and 9th planets: Rahu, the North Node of the Moon and Ketu, the South Node of the Moon. These mostly invisible points only show when they line up with the Sun and Moon, causing the casting of shadows and the temporary loss of light that we call eclipses.

In jyotish (Vedic astrology), these shadow planets play an important role, with Rahu revealing the pull of irresistable desire in our lives and Ketu symbolizing the stubborn seat of the spirit that likes to resist the pull of earthly delights in favor of soul-level liberation.

In reality, the nodal axis reflects the axis of the Earth itself, which does tend to wobble, also causing the projection of itself, the nodal axis, to also wobble. We therefore have the actual position of the node to consider, which we call the "true node" calculation.

That said, the overall trajectory of the nodal axis is in reverse motion to the normal path of the observable planets through the sky space. We have another calculation for the nodal axis called "mean node" which averages the position of the axis so that it always appears retrograde. These two calculations of the nodal axis, mean and true, will result in two different dates in which we are observing the axis to change signs.

On October 31st, we are watching the smoothed out, averaged calculation of mean node shifting so that Rahu moves from the early degees of Aries to the late degrees of Pisces while simultaneously Ketu moves from the early degrees of Libra to the late degrees of Virgo.

The true node calculation shift will come almost a month later, on November 29th. This implies that due to the unstable and wobbly nature of life here on Earth, we could feel this shift in our own lives and horoscopes starting in late October, all the way through November.

Rather than thinking oh, great, nothing is going to be settled through November, you could turn it around and think, oh great, nothing is settled yet! This gives me a chance to make adjustments or take advantage of surprise opportunities! Hold on, let me wax my surfboard in preparation!

After an eclipse pair punctuates the transit of Rahu in Aries and Ketu in Libra, we may have discovered new information or seen details in a different contrast that helps us to choose our path forward, which may look different now, even from a month ago.

Overall, October may be a good stretch to make those final cuts, say goodbye to what has been obstructive, and use any new data to inform adjustments and course corrections. It may not be easy, but in the end, could feel like a few steps closer to freedom.

To all who celebrate, I wish you joyous celebrations of Navaratri and Dashain!

November 2023 Headlines

Venus Transits Virgo November 2 - 29
Saturn Direct in Aquarius November 3
Mercury Transits Scorpio November 6 - 26
New Moon in Libra/Vishaka November 13
Mars Transits Scorpio November 15 – December 27
Sun Transits Scorpio November 16 – December 16
Mercury Transits Sagittarius November 26 – January 31
Full Moon in Taurus/Rohini November 27
Nodal Axis (True Calculation) Moves to Pisces/Virgo November 28
Venus Transits Libra November 29 – December 24