Mercury’s second entrance into Libra on Monday sets an auspicious tone for the next two weeks, and those two weeks are important. They are the last cosmic breath of fresh air, for at least a month. That’s because an especially challenging Scorpio Sun cycle is on the way. Mercury’s full transit of diplomatic, relationship-oriented Libra will coincide with the Sun and Venus reaching peak Libra strength. Further, Mars is in fellow air sign Gemini and Saturn is in the third air sign of Aquarius, and they will form helpful trines to the Sun, Mercury and Venus. On the 17th the Sun will trine Mars, followed by Venus on the 18th and Mercury on the 26th, and on the 11th the Sun will trine Saturn, followed by Venus on the 13th and Mercury on the 22nd. The 22nd is also when another key air alignment, a Sun Venus conjunction, takes place. But before that, the two will have to move through tumultuous squares from Pluto on the 19th. Translation, Pluto is about to check the soundness of ideas inspired by the planets in clever air signs.
Pluto will not be the only planet testing the peacemaking power of Libra. On the 11th Mars will square Neptune, heaping copious amounts of confusion into the atmosphere, and on the 12th Mercury will make its last opposition to Jupiter on the Aries/Libra axis. The two planets previously formed this opposition on September 2nd and 18th. This time, quick thinking and smart solutions abound, suggesting that agreements can finally be reached. And, this is the last best chance for settling disputes amicably.
Big changes are set for the 23rd, when the Sun and Venus enter Scorpio and Saturn goes direct. There is no hiding the fact that this Scorpio season is shaping up to be one of the most contentious in years. Mars will begin its retrograde amidst two seismic eclipses. The first eclipse, on October 25th, will see the Sun and new Scorpio Moon tightly aligned with Venus, the money planet in possessive Scorpio. The second one, November 8th’s full Moon (lunar eclipse), is the super strenuous one. The Scorpio Sun, Mercury and South Node will oppose the Taurus Moon, Uranus and the North Node. with Saturn forming a t-square to all. Every one of these players will be in the unyielding fixed signs, leaving no room for compromise. November 8th is the date of the US midterm elections, with a Scorpio in the White House. Venus and Taurus are strongly associated with financial markets and assets, food, labor and raw materials, and the planet and sign figure prominently in both eclipses. Lastly, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine moved out of Special Military Operation legal status as Mercury went direct on October 2nd. Given the very real potentials for riots, drastic market corrections, war or any combination of the three, these next two weeks are critical. Under the grace of Libra, it’s time to focus.