by Steven Forrest

The month of October brings us a hot combination of Scorpionic energies and quite a lot of nodal stimulus as well. This promises to provide us all with a bouncy ride, but one which might do us all a lot of good. We will see it reflected in our own lives and hearts, and it will certainly leave its signature on the headlines.

One quick take-away is that this panel of astrological energies is guaranteed to bring out the best in the best of us, while simultaneously accentuating the worst in the worst of us. All in all, I expect that bodes well for the kinds of people who are motivated to read or listen to this newsletter. 

The headlines, however, are likely to be a different story.

The Scorpionic energies begin with a bang. Pluto, the modern ruler of Scorpio, stations on October 2 at 20 degrees 38’ of  Capricorn. When a planet is stationary, its amperage hits the ceiling. That heightened Pluto effect should last dramatically for a week or so on either side of the actual date of the station. Naturally, people with sensitivity to that part of Capricorn will experience those energies most vividly.

Next comes the parade: Mercury enters Scorpio on October 3. Venus enters Scorpio on October 8. Finally, the Sun enters Scorpio on October 23. All of them remain there through the end of the month, carrying Pluto’s “opening statements” forward.

Meanwhile, the nodes of the Moon remain in Cancer and Capricorn, as they have been since November 15, 2018 and will be until June 4, 2020, when the north node retrogrades into Gemini. 

That’s a big subject. I’ll say a few words about it in this newsletter, but for deeper background, have a look at my last November’s newsletter.

What I want to talk about this month is the fact that four major aspects will be made to the nodes before Halloween:

• The Sun squares both nodes on October 6.
• Mercury trines the north node on October 12.
• Venus trines the north node on October 18.
• Mars squares the nodes on October 22.

How does all of that tie in with the intensified Scorpionic themes, and with the current sign positions of the lunar nodes themselves?

Here’s the big picture: we have the evolutionary drama of the nodes in the background. The pain and longsuffering symbolized by Capricorn are trying to open their hearts to a kind of healing that is eminently available – but only if we can recognize it. The questions are simple: are you tired enough yet? How much longer can you go on putting one foot in front of the other in the face of the endless, hopeless hurt of this crazy world?

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Added to that underlying dynamic, we have a powerful pulse of Scorpionic energy. Inevitably, Scorpio brings buried energies to the surface, where they either can be healed and released, or where they grab the steering wheel and start mowing down pedestrians.

The third and final ingredient is the fact that the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars all take turns triggering the nodes. Those aspects are guaranteed to precipitate events that reflect the whole spectrum of possibilities we have just cataloged. They open doors for healing – and they might provide opportunities or stimulus for “acting out” frustrations, angers, and resentments. 

Let me start with an analogy. Imagine a good, strong woman locked in an unsatisfying marriage. Maybe kids are involved. Maybe they own a house. 

Maybe her husband never hits her or treats her abusively. Maybe he is just cold and distant. Maybe the last meaningful conversation they had occurred five years ago. They are “keeping on keeping on,” for practical reasons and for the sake of the children.

She is like the famous frog in the bucket of slowly heating water.

I initially described this woman as “good and strong.” Those are Capricorn qualities, and obviously most people would think of them as virtues. But in reflecting on this woman’s situation, we see the dark side of Capricorn. In a spirit of self-discipline and self-denial, she is enduring enormous emotional privations – even ones that she does not need to endure.

Ask this woman how she is doing, and she is likely to say that she is okay. But she is not okay. Her strength has blinded her to her pain. That is the Capricorn dilemma.

Now imagine that this woman has a wise friend – someone with lots of Cancer energy, obviously symbolizing the healing path of the North node. 

One day, the friend – who understands the realities of this woman's marriage – hears her say that she is “doing all right.” The friend sees through it. She does not argue. Instead she simply holds this woman in her arms. She does not let go. At first there is resistance, then there is surrender. Tears soon follow. 

And simply crying is a miracle sometimes.  Who knows why, but it helps. That is one of the mysteries of the sign Cancer.

The whole world has a backlog of pent up pain – for everyone on the planet, the south node is now transiting through Capricorn, in other words. That is the collective karma that is currently ripening. That is one reason we see such an epidemic of negative projection about the human future. So much looks impossible, depressing, or hopeless in the world. Not to belittle the daunting realities the human race is actually facing today – they are real enough. But we are also wrestling with the distorting effects of shared pain rooted in prior lifetimes –  in all of the dispiriting events of human history, in other words. That karma is now manifesting. We are re-creating some of those ancient realities.

With all the Scorpionic energy in the mix this month, our ability to hold those energies out of consciousness is diminished.

The good news there is that, for some of us, the emergence of that hurt leads us to put aside our stoicism and simply ask for a hug.

The bad news is that, for some of us, as the pain surfaces, our feelings of resentment and anger increase proportionately. The next thing that happens is that we want everyone else to hurt the same way that we do.

We will surely see both of these phenomena. My hope in writing these words is that I can encourage a few of us to be mindful of the fact that it is time to attend to the needs of our own hearts. And if we do that – and only if we do that –  we can offer some comfort to some of our fellow travelers in this passion play.

Meanwhile, October brings those four transiting aspects to the nodes. Each event will last for a few days;  each one offers specific possibilities for getting this healing process right.

Let’s look at them in order, one at a time.

The Sun squares both nodes on October 6.  This aspect overlaps with the Pluto station on October 2, and the Sun is always a mighty force in its own right. Basically, everything we have explored so far should be utterly obvious right from the beginning. For better or for worse, the process starts with a very loud bang.

Mercury trines the north node – and sextiles the south – on October 12. This is a time for conversation. Putting feelings into words has always helped people. “Psychotherapy” is the template here, although let’s include a long talk with a dear friend as well. Synchronicities will abound – books you need to read will fall off the shelf and land on your toe.

Venus trines the north node  – and sextiles the south – on October 18. The words “I love you” are an enormous comfort. Be brave; say them. Hugs have figured in all we’ve been considering. Now is the time to ask for them and offer them. The arts can be a balm to the soul. I picture you listening to your favorite musical recording a little too loudly, with tears pouring down your cheeks. Van Morrison does that for me; you know who does it for you.

Mars squares both nodes on October 22. This aspect is something of the “final exam” on what you have potentially been healing for the past three weeks. If you have not done the work, then there is likely to be some kind of outburst now – anger, an accident, words you wish you could take back. If you have done well, you ice the healing-cake with an explosion of exuberance – you dance the night away, you lose yourself in Dionysian rhythms and Pagan delights, you make love as if you were still eighteen years old.

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