For thirty days we have been walking through the underworld, with Venus in Libra retrograde since October 3 and Mercury in Scorpio retrograde since October 24 carrying lanterns ahead of us. Scorpio season has deepened the dark, and together they have been stripping away the stories, habits, and agreements we outgrew until only the bones of what is true remain.
Today Eris in Aries, the goddess of discord and chaos, opposes Venus in Libra for the second of their three meetings, and what lies buried in those bones begins to rise like something long submerged. Venus in Libra keeps the peace and Eris in Aries pulls back the curtain on what that peace has been hiding, so an old resentment or an honest word may come out today. Discord like this carries a gift, because it shows us which truths we have been softening to keep everyone comfortable. Eris opens the week, and the days ahead keep unveiling.
The veil is still thin after Day of the Dead, and my sense is that our ancestors are watching this week. Our most powerful planets, Uranus in Gemini, Neptune in Aries, and Pluto in Aquarius, have been moving this year in a rare and supportive harmony, and this could be a turning they set in motion long ago. We are still at the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, when power slowly passes from the few into the hands of the many, and this week may carry us a step further along that path.
The last time Venus was retrograde in Scorpio, in 2018, a record number of women were elected to Congress, and I see the same stripping away behind it. When the old stories about who belongs in power fell away, what remained was the truth that women were ready to lead, and the voters chose them. Tomorrow we vote, and with Mercury in Scorpio retrograde the count may move slowly and early reports may shift, so this is a time to stay steady and let the numbers settle.
On Wednesday Mercury in Scorpio sits exactly on the Sun in Scorpio, a meeting called a cazimi, which means "in the heart of the Sun." The air clears, the way fog lifts from a lake, so that a dream, a conversation, or a line in a book can arrive with the weight of an answer. There are rumors that the war with Iran may escalate as early as Wednesday, and my heart goes out to the people on every side of it whose lives hang on decisions they had no voice in. A moment like that shows the whole country what is lost when those in power lose their connection to the people they serve.
What we hold in our own hands is our insight, our work with the shadow, and our roots in the ground. And this may be a week to lean on one another too, by checking in on neighbors and sharing what we have if necessary. The New Moon in Scorpio on Sunday night closes the circle that Eris opened on Monday, since Scorpio keeps the secrets and by then a good deal of what was hidden has come into the light. Scorpio is also the sign of death and rebirth, and with the veil still close, endings come gently. Sunday is a good night to set intentions in response to whatever this week has revealed, naming one thing that is ready to end and one seed you want to plant in its place.
Go gently with the truths this week, Lionesses, and let something old end well.
Which truth have I been softening to keep the peace?
What in my life is ready to end so something truer can begin?
What do I want to plant at the New Moon in response to what this week brings?
Love,
Kris
THIS WEEK'S TRANSITS
November 2 (Monday)
Venus Rx in Libra opposes Eris in Aries
Venus retrograde in Libra opposes Eris in Aries for the second of three oppositions, and Eris, the goddess of discord and chaos, uses the moment to bring forward the truths that people would rather not hear. Venus in Libra wants peace, fairness, and a pleasant surface, while Eris in Aries speaks bluntly and shows what the peace has been covering, so an old tension, an unspoken resentment, or an honest observation about a relationship can rise today and make a room uncomfortable. Discord of this kind carries information, and the question for your inner architecture is which truths you have been softening to keep everyone comfortable and which ones you are ready to say plainly. Personal authority grows when you can hear an unwelcome truth, or speak one, and stay steady while the room adjusts.
November 4 (Wednesday)
Venus Rx in Libra sextiles Jupiter in Leo \ Sun in Scorpio conjoins Mercury Rx in Scorpio (cazimi)
The Sun in Scorpio meets Mercury retrograde in Scorpio at the exact heart of the Sun, a cazimi, and this is the clearest moment of the whole retrograde, when a message from a dream, a conversation, or a line in a book can arrive with the weight of an answer. Whatever you have been turning over since Mercury turned retrograde in Scorpio on October 24 is likely to settle into one clear sentence today, so keep something nearby to write it down. On the same day Venus retrograde in Libra sextiles Jupiter in Leo, which sends a warm and generous current into the relationships Venus has been reviewing, and a sincere word of appreciation to someone close to you carries further than usual. Together these two transits show that insight and affection support each other, and that the person you are becoming has room for honest knowing and for an open heart at the same time.
November 8 (Sunday)
New Moon in Scorpio (11:02 pm PT)
The New Moon in Scorpio opens a lunar cycle in the sign of depth, trust, and transformation, and it arrives while Mercury is retrograde in Scorpio and Venus is retrograde in Libra, which makes this a night for setting intentions with the long game in mind. Scorpio rewards intentions that name what you are willing to be changed by, so the most useful wishes are the ones that make you a little nervous and a little thrilled, such as the vulnerability you are ready to practice, the pattern you are ready to retire, and the kind of power you want to hold in your life. Treat these intentions as seeds that will be tended over the coming weeks, with Mercury in Scorpio and Venus in Libra both turning direct within days of this New Moon to give them momentum. Authority built in this lunar cycle grows from the inside, in the place where your values and your desires have already agreed with one another.
