Full Moon in Aries

The astrology forecast for the week of October 3, 2022 through October 9, 2022 features Mercury forming a lovely trine to Pluto, Pluto turning direct in Capricorn, and a Full Moon in Aries.

The good news is that the cosmos slows down for the first week of October. But make sure you get plenty of rest, because the rest of the month is ferocious. Get prepared!

Cosmic Overview

I recently received a call from a friend. She is relatively astrologically knowledgeable, but she told me during the call that the energy was wonky because all these planets are retrograde (at the time – Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were retrograde). She blamed the planets for why situations were not working well in her life.

Another friend, who is more metaphysically inclined, told me that the world was in a disturbed state because all these planets are retrograde. I must admit, I rolled my eyes at this one. The world has been in a disturbed state since, well, since forever.

The main issue is that often we blame the planets (or other people) for our problems, rather than take responsibility for the choices we make in our lives.

Even today, I had a client question me if things will improve in her life when Pluto turns direct on October 8th.

So, I thought I would explain a few things in this weekly update.

Let me begin with Pluto. Pluto takes approximately 250 years to go around the Sun. He’s a slow mover, and even though his orbit is elliptical, meaning he spends more time in some signs than others, he still crawls through the zodiac.

Pluto went retrograde on April 29^th and turns direct on October 8^th. That is a little over 5 months that he spends retrograde, and if you include the ever-popular planetary shadow obsessions, he is pretty much in retrograde watch for the entire year. That’s right – he went into shadow in early January of 2022 and will go out of shadow in January of 2023, only to return to being in shadow a few days later.

I will be perfectly honest. I do not pay attention to the outer planets when they retrograde, because what’s the point? Pluto is still Pluto, and he reflects collective issues, not personal ones. He represents our urge towards survival and the elimination, destruction, amputation, and eventual rebuilding of the sign he is moving through. In Capricorn, Pluto is concerned with the destruction and elimination of corrupt leaders, which has steadily been going on since Pluto moved into Capricorn in 2008.

Now, I pay attention to when Pluto stations in aspect to an inner planet (The Sun, The Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars), because it seems to trigger the transformation of the planet, he aspects. By stationing, I mean on the same degree as the other planet, and I only use hard aspects (conjunction, square opposition).

So, what retrograde planets do I pay attention to?

Simply put, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. They are personal planets that reflect issues we deal with daily. Mercury is how we understand life and communicate that understanding to others. Venus is our urge for relationships, and Mars is our ability to go out into the world and get what we desire. However, I will also say that I do not believe these planets DO anything to us. When these three planets are retrograde, they reflect periods where we should review the areas of life ruled by those planets. We all need times of reflection to ensure that we are on the right path, and these planets give us the ability to course correct if necessary.

In closing, don’t fear retrogrades and don’t blame them for situations that occur in your life. Instead, use them for what they are — times when we should pay close attention to the themes of the planets.