Hi Everyone

October will be more intense than September because there are two eclipses, the last of 2014 and everyone’s favorite retrograde – also the last one of 2014. So, let’s take them in order.

Mercury goes retrograde on October 4^th at 1:02 p.m. at 2⁰ Scorpio. He will back into Libra on the 11^th and stay there for the rest of the month. Actually after October 23^rd when the Sun moves into Scorpio, Mercury will be the only planet in an air sign. We’ll have all fire and water, with two planets (Pluto and Mars) in earth. This reinforces the theme of the lunar eclipse – balance between ourselves and others, between masculine (fire) and feminine (water) energies. (See below.) Mercury will go direct again on October 25^th at 3:17 p.m. at 16⁰ Libra. These three weeks are a wonderful time to re-group, re-pair, re-think and re-treat. These retrogrades also slow us down. Mercury is the planet of how we process information and how we think. This three-week period scramble, if you will, the “normal” flow of information, so we can take time to discern and to think things through.

Eclipses in general interrupt the flow of electromagnetic currents to the earth and gravitational pulls are increased. They are intense interplays of Sun and Moon, which open energetic vortices that provide opportunities for deep-seated change and revelations. They are times where we can take our understanding and actions to the next level.

Lunar eclipse is a super-charged full Moon, providing illumination to those areas that remain in the dark places of our consciousness (probably because we don’t want to look at them). This eclipse will be visible from a large chunk of real estate, including the North America, the Pacific Ocean, Australia, and most of Asia. In the US the moon will turn red – Blood Moon – before dawn on the 8^th.) Lunar eclipses also represent increased opportunities for service and for transformation of old ideas we hold around the issues represented by the signs the Sun and Moon are in. In this total lunar eclipse the Moon will be at 15⁰ Aries and the Sun will be at 15⁰ Libra and will occur on October 8^th at 6:51 a.m. The Libra/Aries polarity is all about balance between ourselves (Aries) and others (Libra), healthy relationships with all living things, and about balancing the male/female polarities within us. Joining the Moon in this eclipse is Uranus, planet of rebellion, destroyer of old patterns of thinking and of the visionary. Also note that this eclipse occurs during Mercury’s retrograde, reinforcing the opportunity for us to go within to discern the thought patterns that no longer serve us. And if that’s not enough, there is a trine (easy flow of energy) in fire (inspiration) with Jupiter in Leo and Mars (ruler of Aries) in Sagittarius and the Moon. All fire signs are on a quest: for Aries, it’s the quest for High Self; for Leo it’s the quest for the divine within; and for Sagittarius it’s the quest for Truth.

Solar eclipses represent new beginnings in areas represented by the sign both Sun and Moon are in – in this case the intense and complex sign Scorpio. This partial eclipse will occur on October 23^rd at 5:57 p.m. at 0⁰ degrees Scorpio. (This occurs just after Mercury goes direct.) Not only does the eclipse represent a new beginning but it will occur right at the beginning of the sign. Scorpio is a sign of intense and deep insight into others and ourselves. It cannot be fooled, sees in the dark places in ourselves (and others) and thus brings an opportunity for deep healing and transformation. Venus, planet of Love and Beauty, moves into Scorpio on the 23^rd, joining the Sun and Moon, and Neptune, the higher octave of Venus, planet of compassion and redemption, trines the eclipse.

Hope you have a wonderful October and take advantage of the opportunity for transformative change that the dance of the heavens is bringing to us all.

Peace and abundant blessings,

Margaret