The Full Moon in Taurus rose less than a day ago, and we are still living inside its light. Full Moons bring to the surface whatever has been growing quietly for months, and Taurus, the sign of the body and the earth, shows us what has taken root through how our bodies feel. If you woke up this morning tired or tender, the moon may have left something with you.
Today the Sun in Scorpio makes its exact tense angle to Pluto in Aquarius, though many of us felt it building yesterday, and Pluto, the god of the underworld, presses on whatever the Full Moon just showed us. This is the first step of a descent through the week, and the parts of us that usually stay quiet come forward today, so the kindest thing we can do is let them speak before we decide what they mean.
Venus in Libra has been on her descent since early in the month and passed the halfway point of her retrograde on Friday, and now Mercury in Scorpio, retrograde since Saturday, joins her. Both planets are walking old paths again, and as we travel inward with them, the memory of our ancestors begins to stir, along with what they knew, what they carried, and what is ours to release.
On Wednesday, Venus in Libra faces Chiron in Aries across the sky, the second of their three meetings. Venus carries what we learned about love and Chiron carries the oldest wound around being allowed to be fully ourselves, so together they show the shape of the rules we follow in love, such as how much to soften and how quiet to stay. Many of those rules came to us from our mothers and grandmothers, who learned them from the women before them, and Wednesday is a chance to ask whose voice taught us to hold back, and what we have been suppressing to stay safe.
On Friday, the day before Samhain, Mercury in Scorpio squares Mars in Leo and words come out sharper than we intend, so writing the hard thing on a page first and letting the heat cool before we speak will protect what we want to keep.
Samhain begins at sundown on Saturday and carries through Sunday, with Day of the Dead on Sunday and Monday, and the veil between the living and the dead grows thin enough that our ancestors hear us clearly. Everything this week has been leading us down to this door, and we arrive having looked honestly at what we carry. Slow down this weekend and honor those who have passed with intention, setting out photographs and small tokens of them and taking your time with each one. You might ask what they carried that was never meant to be yours and what you are ready to set down on their behalf.
Go gently this week, Lionesses, and let the descent be slow.
What have I been avoiding that keeps returning?
Which rule about love did I inherit, and who carried it before me?
If I could speak with my ancestors, what would I want to say to them, and what would I want to ask?
Love,
Kris
THIS WEEK'S TRANSITS
October 26 (Monday)
Sun in Scorpio squares Pluto in Aquarius
The Sun in Scorpio, which began its season on Friday, squares Pluto in Aquarius, and the friction brings forward the parts of the self that have been quietly running things from the background, such as old loyalties, habits of control, and long-held opinions about who holds power in a group. Pluto in Aquarius asks what you believe about your place in the collective, and the Sun in Scorpio supplies the depth to look at that honestly, so a mindful check-in with the quieter and less presentable parts of your psyche gives you back the energy you have been spending to keep them out of view. Personal authority grows when every part of you has a voice in the decision, and a person who allows that tends to feel like one whole person by the end of the day.
October 28 (Wednesday)
Venus Rx in Libra opposes Chiron Rx in Aries
Venus retrograde in Libra opposes Chiron retrograde in Aries for the second of three oppositions, which pulls the tender question of how much of yourself you give away for the sake of harmony into direct view. Venus in Libra holds your values around partnership, fairness, and being liked, while Chiron in Aries holds an old wound around claiming your own identity and taking up space, and the opposition places the two across from one another so you can feel exactly where closeness with others asks you to shrink. This second pass gives you another chance to notice the relationships and agreements where you have been quiet about what you want, and to name one of those wants gently and plainly. Healing here comes as you discover that your authority and your capacity for love grow together, and that the people who care for you have room for the full version of you.
October 30 (Friday)
Mercury Rx in Scorpio squares Mars in Leo
Mercury retrograde in Scorpio squares Mars in Leo, which puts a restless and reactive edge on a stretch of the month already given to second thoughts, and the first impulse to say the sharp thing or push a plan through is worth holding until you have read it over once more. Mercury in Scorpio searches for the truth underneath what people say while Mars in Leo wants to be seen acting boldly, so the heat between them settles best when it moves through the body, through a letter you never send, or through a long walk. The soul work here is learning to tell the difference between an urge and a decision, since personal authority shows up as the ability to choose your moment, and clarity tends to come to the person who waits for it.
