As astrology’s chief diplomat, peace-seeking Libra is in for a strenuous cycle. The quirky quincunx will be a key feature of 2023’s Libra Sun transit, but transformative Pluto is also set to play a prominent role in unfolding events. Under a quincunx, it’s as if the views being expressed by one side are completely alien to the other and consequently do not compute. Meanwhile, Pluto is about to station, amongst a series of squares from the Sun, Mercury and Mars, a Libra solar eclipse and a nodal t-square involving provocative Mars. In short, the hallmarks of Libra, cooperation, fairness and equanimity, will be stretched to their limits as the sign of grace comes under pressure.
A quincunx forms when planets are 150º apart. Unlike trines, which find planets in the same element (fire, earth, air or water) or squares and oppositions, which find planets in the same modality (cardinal, fixed or mutable), planets in a quincunx share neither element nor modality. The condition can impede understanding and strain negotiations and attempts to find common ground. While in Libra, the Sun, Mercury and Mars are 150º from Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus and the same distance from Saturn and Neptune in Pisces. On the Taurus front, lofty ideas proposed from Libra may find entrenched, unyielding realities on the ground. In the Pisces direction, intellectual arguments from judicious Libra, no matter how sensible, are only one facet of Pisces’s imperative to integrate all perspectives. September 30th’s Mars quincunx to Uranus, coming the day after a full Aries Moon and the final Venus square to Uranus, should demonstrate the difficulties inherent in the Libra Taurus combination. Next, the Sun will quincunx Jupiter on October 7th and Uranus on the 15th, and Mercury will quincunx Jupiter on the 12th and Uranus on the 17th. Because Taurus and Libra are ruled by beautifying Venus, elegant solutions are possible under those meetings. On the other hand, like trying to mail down jello, the nebulous nature of Pisces is likely to stymy desires to reach definite agreements under the Libra Pisces alignments. The Sun will quincunx Saturn on September 24th and Neptune on October 18th, Mercury will quincunx Saturn on the 5th and Neptune on the 19th and Mars will quincunx Neptune, also on the 5th. The confusion of the quincunxes will be set against the backdrop of some hard cardinal angles, Pluto’s station and sign changes for Mercury, Venus and Mars, making the first eleven days of October significant. This is also when Mercury and Venus will exit the shadow zones of their recent retrogrades.
As noted in my previous article, Mars is about to conjoin the South Node in Libra on October 4th, beginning a square with Pluto that will become exact on the 8th. Mars and Pluto in cardinal signs are intent on leveling outmoded paradigms, so that new ones can be birthed. That said, their capacity for destruction fosters a baptism by fire for the newly born. Being the furtherest planet out, Pluto’s shifts into and out of retrograde are the longest. Also, the start and end points are the most intense phases of retrograde cycles. With its station set for October 10th, Pluto’s tense influence will be in effect throughout the Libra Sun cycle. Stressful dates involving Pluto include October 8th’s Mars square, October 15th’s solar eclipse at 21º Libra 08′ and loose 6º square, the 20th’s Mercury square and the 21st’s Sun square. On the 23rd, the Sun will held into Scorpio, concluding one of the more exacting Libra cycles of late.