Horoscope: October 15 to 21, 2018
Astrologer Pam Younghans writes this weekly astrological journal based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.
Highlighted Aspects for This Week
All times listed are Pacific Daylight Time. For Greenwich Mean Time, add 7 hours; for Eastern time add 3 hours.
MON: Mercury conjunct Venus
TUE: Sun opposite Eris
WED: Pluto square Ceres
THU: Mars semisquare Chiron
FRI: Mercury sesquiquadrate Chiron, Mercury trine Neptune, Mercury square Mars
OUR THOUGHTS are drawn to concerns of a deep nature when Mercury and Venus align in Scorpio on Monday. With Venus currently retrograde (appearing to move backward), we may be pondering loves that were lost, intimacies experienced or betrayed, and the truth and consequences of investments made by our hearts and our wallets. We may even reconnect with a romantic interest from the past, or be revisiting what we once thought we loved in other ways.
Wherever our minds wander, we will be exploring our feelings and passions, seeking to know what is in our hearts, that we may not have clearly seen before. This can be a powerful time for heart-to-heart conversations, as long as both parties are willing to be honest and vulnerable, able to share as well as listen to truths that may not be particularly comfortable to speak or to hear.
ON TUESDAY, the Libra Sun opposes dwarf planet Eris in Aries. The balance is unsettled with this polarity in effect, and we are more likely to draw battle lines than we are to find common ground. While the Libra Sun is motivated by the need to return to a state of equilibrium, Eris expresses discontent at the expectation that she will quietly fall into line, now that certain issues appear to be completed.
This unease carries into Wednesday, when Pluto and Ceres are in exact square aspect. In Roman mythology, these two immortals are bitter rivals over the well-being of Ceres' daughter Prosperpina (Persephone to the Greeks), who is abducted by Pluto and taken to the underworld.
The square between the two dwarf planets -- which, while exact to the degree on Wednesday, is in effect for a week or more -- only exacerbates the power struggle between masculine and feminine forces. Ceres in Libra is shocked to find that her preferred tactic of appealing to another's sense of fairness does little to dent the armor of domineering Pluto in Capricorn.
I mentioned this square in last week's Journal, since the aspect was a part of the New Moon chart. While tensions may peak this week, the theme of knowing what to fight for and what to let go of (when to bob and weave, and when/how to land a punch) continues throughout our current four-week lunar cycle.
WITH MARS in hard aspect (semisquare) to Chiron on Thursday, this is not a good day to try to force an issue. While we may feel the confidence and the drive, our energy field is not quite coherent, leaving holes that an adversary can use to undermine our efforts. Loved ones will also be feeling unsure and vulnerable, so even if well-intended, our attempts to be assertive can cause unexpected damage.
Mercury is also in hard aspect (sesquiquadrate) to Chiron on Thursday/Friday, so our communication skills may not be as strong as we perceive them to be -- an additional reason to leave any type of verbal confrontation for another day.
FRIDAY is a complex day, with Mercury in a harmonious trine aspect to Neptune, but also in a challenging square aspect to Mars. The Mercury-Neptune trine enhances our imagination, intuition, and ability to express compassion and understanding through our words. But, the Mercury-Mars square tells us that speaking our truth can meet with anger and obstacles. It's a bit like having an angel speaking into one ear and a devil speaking into the other.
The question becomes how to navigate these two influences, that occur so closely together!
One way might be to consider the timing of the aspects. The Mercury-Neptune trine occurs in the very early morning hours (2:46 a.m. PDT), so may influence our dream state more than our waking consciousness. If we can capture the messages we receive during sleep, and open to the empathy in our hearts upon waking, it is possible to let that higher-frequency attitude carry into the rest of the day. Then, by the time the Mercury-Mars square perfects (10:23 a.m.), we will have already been practicing mindfulness and loving-kindness for some hours, making it a little easier to access that perspective when we meet with challenges.
On the other hand, what might be the higher purpose of having these two disparate aspects occurring within hours of each other? While Mercury-Neptune can be understanding, it can also be too conciliatory in some circumstances, shifting us into rescuer/victim/martyr mode. If we are tempted to fall into that tender trap, perhaps the Mercury-Mars combo will help us stand our ground, so that we do not slip into passivity when a certain assertiveness is called for.
IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: You are on a mission to find your deeper truth this year, Libra. In your solar return chart, your ruling planet Venus is in determined Scorpio and is also retrograde, taking you on a profound journey into your core. As you seek to know yourself and your true motivations, you come to realize that while relationships are of tremendous import in your life, an honest and loving relationship with yourself is actually of the greatest significance -- and provides the most life-enhancing rewards. If your sojourn takes you into some shadowy places and you uncover what you may judge negatively, remember to love those aspects of yourself that have been motivated by fear, and to shower them with the light of compassion.
About the Author
Pam Younghans is a professional astrologer, editor, and writer. She lives in a log home northeast of Seattle, Washington with her beloved animal companions. She has been interpreting charts professionally for over 25 years. If you are interested in an astrology reading, e-mail
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