Ruthlessness, Relentlessness, and a Willingness to Play Hardball When Necessary: Some Light-hearted Themes for January 2018

Venus and the Sun come together in exterior conjunction at 18 degrees Capricorn on January 8, and these bodies are also conjunct transformative powerhouse Pluto (exact Jan. 9).

We're shedding some old layers and priorities now, streamlining operations, powering through, and securing new position within social and professional frameworks that will provide the best long-term return on our investments of talent, work ethic, experience, and energy.

This is a powerful time to "set yourself up" in some way - professionally, socially, financially, or maybe all three. There's some alchemical shifting underway in the structural set-ups, some possible movement, some room for advancement. 

Certain scenarios have come to their natural conclusions (hopefully without any ugly scenes), signified by the Sun and Venus conjunct the dwarf planet related to death and endings (Pluto). The natural turning over of the soil here provides openings and opportunities - but ones that must be taken on with serious consideration for our energy reserves and available resources.

The Sun-Venus-Pluto conjunction at 18/19 Capricorn is sextile Mars-Jupiter in energy-conscious Scorpio (exact January 9), and each step of the way, we have to be asking ourselves: Is this worth the investment of time, energy, skills, work, talent, and emotional/psychological space? Am I receiving a reciprocal amount of benefit if I take on new position or new responsibilities?

If not, some intricate restructuring is required. 

Capricorn is a sign of personal ambitions, but we can't let our ambitions and desire for status foolishly out-strip our energy reserves or resources. We have to be very cautious on that front. Things are quite stretched.

With Pluto a little over halfway through its transit of Capricorn, exposing the yuck in the structural frameworks and institutions of Planet Earth, there are plenty of bad deals and shoddy situations to avoid at this time. Circumstances require shrewdness. Actually, let's take that up a notch - circumstances require ruthlessness, relentlessness, and a willingness to play hardball if necessary as we take full control of ourselves and our affairs.

We may be working with some "No More Mr. Nice Guy" situations.

Some Astrological Back-up as Mars Meets Jupiter in Scorpio

Action, aggression, and desire planet, Mars, forms its one and only exact conjunction to Jupiter in Scorpio on January 6 (4:39 p.m. PST), and we're required to put some of our hard-won, deep-down knowledge and wisdom into action.

"The year-long transit of Jupiter through Scorpio brings benefit when we successfully draw on
the wisdom we've gleaned and the experience we've gathered from the more difficult and
arduous events of our lives...

"[Themes] may become particularly heated in late December 2017 and early January
2018 as transiting Mars forms its one and only conjunction to Jupiter in Scorpio, exact January 6 at 17 degrees. This potentially-inflammatory Mars-Jupiter conjunction may require us to actively reinforce new lines in the sand with others. We may have to fight (Mars) to get beneath the surface artifice to the true story. There is the potential for some aggression around the time of this conjunction, which could include some underhanded moves. Employ the X-Ray vision-wisdom to stay on top of the proceedings."

As astrological back-up, I'm offering a duo of articles on the Jupiter in Scorpio transit for a special price. (Please note: people who were patrons at the time that the articles were published have already received them.)

These are both substantial articles, offering insight into the transit of Jupiter through Scorpio, which lasts until November 2018.

For $11.25, you will receive:

"Jupiter in Scorpio: Wisdom Drawn from the Still Depths of the Soul" - the main Willow's Web Astrology article for the Jupiter in Scorpio transit, originally published September 15, 2017 with themes extending to November 2018

"Jupiter in Scorpio and Successfully Updating the Expression of Scorpio for the Aquarian Era" - originally published October 17, 2017

You can purchase the Jupiter in Scorpio Duo by PayPal or email money transfer.  

Moderating The Urge to Let Fly As Mercury Stations Direct in Sagittarius

Communication and intelligence planet Mercury is about to go direct (December 22 at 5:51 p.m. PST) in the sign of its detriment (Sagittarius) in square aspect to foggy Neptune in Pisces, and oh goodness, people are going to want to let fly. 

There are some pent-up things on our minds, being held (for now) on the tips of our tongues. There are some blazing truths we're just itching to lay down in the most dramatic and effective ways possible. We're pretty well ready to give the whole damned planet a piece of our mind.

Pow! 

This urge is exacerbated by an applying conjunction between war planet Mars and truth-related Jupiter, both transiting Scorpio. The exact Mars-Jupiter conjunction occurs January 6, 2018 at 17 degrees, and there is pressure building as far as ripping the lid off the underlying (and often intolerable) reality of things.

But with Mercury conjunctions to moderate Saturn still fresh in our minds - exact November 27 and December 6, moving to a final one January 12 - we might just think better of this. We might decide to take some time before speaking or communicating. We might express our fiery-potent truth in a more moderate, responsible, or purposeful way. We might find new places to apply our powerful perspectives, ones that will provide more substantial public positioning for long-term success and influence.

Basically, it's a marathon, not a sprint. 

Sagittarius isn't known as the most patient sign, however, and Mercury isn't known as the most patient planet. 

With Mercury stationing direct in Sagittarius, a sign the messenger isn't very comfortable in, there's a higher likelihood that we will be a little unintentionally blundering in our communication styles. Verbally stepping on a few toes. Inadvertently insulting people with an innocent, offhand comment or observation. General foot-in-mouth tendencies. Potentially a little obtuse as far as the effect our words and perspectives have on others.

Consciously reining things in a little and working to say things as precisely as possible are helpful tactics. 

The Mercury in Sagittarius square to Neptune in Pisces indicates some collectively-karmic conversation, exchanges, and information flow. Mercurial connections and interactions have an element of "divine dispersion" involved now that is somewhat out of our control. Certain words/ideas/concepts/information are going to be dispersed through us and through our exchanges in order to reach their targets. It's up to us to lay it down as succinctly as possible and then to let it go.

Remember: with the energy of an extended Mercury-Black Moon Lilith conjunction in Sagittarius still in strong effect, conversations and written or verbal exchanges can be quite loaded. Words are more powerful (and potentially inflammatory) than usual and can hang in the air.

Certain subjects are like quicksand. Crystallized rhetoric combined with charged emotions could drag us into exhausting back-and-forth and round-and-round exchanges that get us nowhere. 

We don't want any "I wish I could take that back" scenarios unfolding here because, under these energies, the fallout from certain exchanges letting people know how you really think about it all! could literally last for years. (So no ugly holiday scenes, even if your tongue has teeth marks in it from biting it so much...)

With Mercury somewhat frustrated in Sagittarius until entering Capricorn on January 10 (combined with that Mars-Jupiter conjunction in Scorpio), many will be looking to unload verbally and will take pretty much any excuse to do so. We're going to have to duck and weave a little to avoid becoming verbal dumping grounds. Don't inadvertently provide a soapbox. Manage your emotional reactions so that you don't get drawn into a big old waste of time and energy masquerading as a conversation or discussion.

Understand, as Mercury makes this uncomfortable station in this uncomfortable sign in this uncomfortable square to Neptune, that we're all a bit mentally raw. We're all a little overwhelmed. We're all sick of the bullshit we see going on all around us, every day. 

Hold people accountable for their stuff, but ultimately, keep your gaze where it belongs - on the corrupt and hierarchical power structures and the power players pulling strings within those structures. Don't blame each other or humanity as a whole for the socially-engineered Hell being intentionally brought down upon us by the inhumane power web that has taken hold on Planet Earth.

Each truth plays its part in the greater whole. Say what you need to say, but don't get hung up on the results or the effects of that expression. That's not up to you. The universe will pick up your words and give them the wings they need, mysteriously and miraculously ensuring that your blazing arrows of truth reach their rightful targets. 

Mercury enters Capricorn on January 10 at 9:09 p.m.

Become a WWA Patron; Get Good Stuff.

I'm not trying to sell you on this, but now is a really banging time to become a Willow's Web Astrology patron.

All new patrons will receive the most recent patron article, "The Saturn in Capricorn Transit is Kicked Off With a Six-Planet Stellium," a super juicy number covering themes for the upcoming Capricorn stellium, as well as a stellium in Aquarius in 2021.

Until December 31, 2017, new patrons will also receive the main Saturn in Capricorn article, "Saturn in Capricorn: An Astrological Overview for Long-Term Strategic Planning," as a bonus. This article is 7,000+ words and intensively covers the aspects and challenges of the three-year Saturn in Capricorn transit.

So until the end of 2017, new patrons receive two very substantial patron articles right off the bat ($22.50 purchased separately), both of which provide an astrological view that carries us forward over the next few years on Planet Earth. 

I'm also coming up on the 10-year anniversary for this site in February, and there will likely be a fun draw or two for the patrons in celebration of that and to thank them for their support. New patrons would have a chance to enter draws for nice WWA products, also.  

Please understand that nothing on this blog is free. It all takes time, energy, and effort to craft. It draws on tens of thousands of hours of education, study, experience, and observation over 20 years in the fields of sociology, journalism, media, astrology, metaphysics, activism, natural health, and others.

Writing is work. Journalism is work. Astrology is work. Activism is work. 

It's all work. Not a hobby. Not a charity. Not a fun and entertaining past-time. 

Patronage allows me to post more "free" content on the blog throughout the year, and it also allows me to continue with activist/journalist efforts, which, while unpaid, are important and very energy-consuming.

As newspapers are closed and mainstream media becomes consolidated by and filtered through fewer and fewer people/corporations, independent sites like Willow's Web Astrology are important for the type of soulful reporting and laying-bare-of-truth via the astrological framework that you will not find elsewhere.

As mentioned, I'm coming up on my 10-year anniversary for this site in February 2018. If you've been reading here over the years and finding valuable insight and perspective, please consider becoming a patron. You will not only have access to highly juicy patron articles (I had to go rogue to get the photographs for the last article!), you will be providing value in return for value you have received. A fair exchange.

I can't guarantee how much work I will be able to offer for "free" on the blog in this new year, but patronage does help me to continue doing this work amidst the challenging conditions of the times. 

You can become a patron for as little as 35 bucks per year. This is in Canuck funds, so that will be around $28 US. (I'm not sure of currency conversion rates for other currencies, but let's hope the Canadian dollar is weak in the face of your own towering currency!)

Happy Solstice 2017, WWA readers, patrons, and customers! Keep on keeping on with your fine selves. 

 

 

Individual articles:

Jupiter in Scorpio: Wisdom Drawn from the Still Depths of the Soul 
- this 5,000+-word article delineates and interprets the year-long Jupiter in Scorpio transit
$10.50 

Saturn in Capricorn: An Astrological Overview for Long-Term Strategic Planning 

- this 7,000+-word article delineates and interprets the three-year Saturn in Capricorn transit and includes information about the Chiron ingress of Aries and the Uranus ingress of Taurus

$11.25

 The Saturn in Capricorn Transit is Kicked Off With a Six-Planet Stellium

- this 4,500+-word article interprets the January 2017 stellium in Capricorn, as well as an upcoming stellium in Aquarius in 2021.  

$11.25

That Black, Black, Black Moon Truth

Bringing more beauty to this world and to my life!

I was part of an art market recently, and the brilliant awesomeness of Aryelle Attridge-Weeks from two tables away was near-blinding! Lucky for me, she is not as scared of other humans as I am (or she fakes it nicely). She suggested an art trade, and she also enjoys cow photos! Perfect. I'm delighted to have her gorgeous watercolour print on my wall. She worked previously as a tattoo apprentice and I love the combination of tattoo culture and fine art.

Yesterday was the eight-year anniversary of me being poisoned by the fluoroquinolone antibiotic Cipro. There's not a day that goes by that I do not experience some sort of pain, dysfunction, discomfort, or emotional/psychological horror directly caused by this drug.

I was mis-prescribed the terribly dangerous Ciprofloxacin in late 2009 for a very minor urinary tract infection and was never given any warning about the potential side effects, despite a Black Box Warning about tendon rupture that already existed on the drug. The Black Box Warnings did not trickle down to prescribing physicians, and most of the people describing the damage done to us by fluoroquinolone antibiotics have not been believed by the medical establishment.

In light of the current "dark truth-telling" themes with Mercury retrograde conjunct Saturn, Venus, Sun, and Black Moon Lilith in Sagittarius, I thought I would interject a little Black Moon-style truth into the following articles, pulled from mainstream media sites. (Bold All Caps, just to be uber punk rock/stereotypical internet activisty...heh)

"The Fascists Got Me With Fluoride Pills" would make a good folk-punk song...

From a July 26, 2016 article by Maggie Fox, "FDA Strengthens Warning on Powerful Antibiotics":

"The Food and Drug Administration strengthened the warnings about one type of antibiotic Tuesday, saying they’re too strong (STRONG = "POTENTIALLY DEADLY OR PERMANENTLY DEBILITATING") to be used for sinus infections, bronchitis and simple urinary tract infections.

(EXCEPT HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PERMANENTLY DAMAGED, DEBILITATED, OR DISABLED EVEN SINCE THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BECAUSE FLUOROQUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS WERE PRESCRIBED AND DISPENSED AS JUST THAT - FIRST LINE ANTIBIOTICS FOR MINOR INFECTIONS? THEY'VE BEEN PRESCRIBED AND DISPENSED LIKE THIS FOR DECADES NOW WITH DOCTORS DENYING OUR STORIES ABOUT THE DEBILITATION. THIS DAMAGE WAS KNOWN ABOUT FOR DECADES, AND THE MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT KEPT DOLING THESE DRUGS OUT WITHOUT WARNING!)

The drugs are in a class called fluoroquinolones and include levofloxacin (as known as Levaquin) and ciprofloxacin (Cipro). They can cause serious and sometimes permanent side-effects. (A LAUNDRY LIST OF MORE THAN 50 SYMPTOMS, SOME EXTREME/TERRIFYING, MANY LIFE-THREATENING. THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THESE DRUGS WILL SHORTEN THE LIVES OF MANY OF THEIR VICTIMS.)

Mercury Retrograde in Sagittarius: Know What You Believe, and Believe in What You Know

Look at that face! 

Photos: Willow

Mercury retrograde December 2 - 22, 2017, from 29 degrees to 13 degrees Sagittarius

Communication planet Mercury has just stationed retrograde (December 2) on the potent anaretic (29th) degree of truth-telling Sagittarius in close conjunction to Saturn and Black Moon Lilith.

This indicates that we're receiving some mental processing time, some final integration of truth and understanding we've been gathering throughout the entire Saturn in Sagittarius transit (December 2014 - December 2017). 

With the strong influence of Black Moon Lilith on the Mercury retrograde process, this truth and understanding may have some dark elements or difficult angles.

Certain truths - about ourselves, about our world, and about our places in that world - are sinking in here, and we'll ultimately be shored up, supported, and validated (Saturn) in that truth.

With the strong influence of Black Moon Lilith in Sagittarius, some of the truth requiring full integration now is a little difficult to swallow. Some of the truth and understanding we carry - and that we are being called on to share in the world - may be difficult for others (or ourselves) to accept. Sharing what we know may bring us into frictional contact with others and with the society around us. It may put us at odds with accepted consensus reality. So there is an element of drawing on our deepest faith and also on our sense of duty and responsibility. These are things that can fortify us in challenging messenger roles. 

The information and perspective we are being called on to share may involve truth that the mainstream society refuses or even violently rejects. This may be truth - deep, dark, and concentrated - that society will do almost anything to deny, silence, or stuff down.

Under these placements, our voices, our words, may unintentionally trigger others, especially those of a more establishment-friendly perspective (even alternative-establishment). 

The Saturn in Capricorn Transit is Kicked Off With a Six-Planet Stellium

This article is available to Willow's Web Astrology patrons, or it can be purchased for $11.25 by PayPal or email money transfer. It includes information about an upcoming six-planet stellium in Capricorn, as well as themes surrounding the Saturn in Aquarius transit and six-planet stellium in Aquarius in 2021.

A companion YouTube video for this article can be viewed here.

A previous article with similar themes from December 31, 2011: "Sun Conjunct Pluto in Capricorn: The Awareness of How Deep it Really Goes Is Lit Up This NYE"

Until the end of 2017, all new Willow's Web Astrology patrons will receive the main Saturn in Capricorn article (7,000+ words) as a bonus.   

 Individual Articles:

Jupiter in Scorpio: Wisdom Drawn from the Still Depths of the Soul 
- this 5,000+-word article delineates and interprets the year-long Jupiter in Scorpio transit
$10.50 

Saturn in Capricorn: An Astrological Overview for Long-Term Strategic Planning 
- this 7,000+-word article delineates and interprets the three-year Saturn in Capricorn transit and includes information about the Chiron ingress of Aries and the Uranus ingress of Taurus
$11.25

Saturn in Late Sage Squares the Wounded Healer: We Shall Exhibit Reckless Glee About the Hardness of This Life!

As Saturn completes its transit of the sign of the centaur in a loosening square (as of November 2) to wounded healer Chiron in Pisces, we're channeling the buoyant and insouciant spirit of Sagittarius in the face of all difficulties. 

We shall exhibit reckless glee about the hardness of this life!

How hilariously difficult this human existence can be! How humourously impossible the collective conditions in which we find ourselves! You want us to untie which knots? And they have been knotted tight for how long now?

You really do have to laugh a little about it all, don't you? 

Illuminati Hollywood itself couldn't have come up with a grander or more complex collective clusterfuck for us to navigate!

Luckily for us, Sagittarius is a highly humourous sign. It can find the amusing zest and zeal in almost any situation. So as no-nonsense Saturn has been transiting the sign (since December 24, 2014), we have been challenged to apply this Sagittarian humour and zest for life within even the most sombre and trying of circumstances.

(And I hope, wonderful readers, that you always perceive the (dark) humour running through this writing, as well as the inspirational and empowering intent as I cut a swath through muck and mire and nefarious shenanigans a-plenty...)

The Most Terrifying Ghouls and Goblins on Planet Earth Wear Suits and Ties

 At my neighbours' house. Should I call someone???

As Jupiter sets up shop in Scorpio and we enter the dark half of the year in the northern hemisphere, we're under some fairly intense astrology. The ugly truth is being exposed under a Sun-Jupiter conjunction in Scorpio combined with a Venus in Libra square to Pluto in Capricorn - or at least, it's starting to make the overall emotional climate a little uneasy, a little anxious, a little agitated.

As the veil between this world and the spirit world thins, we have a particular challenge related to the truth (Sagittarius) about our material circumstances (Saturn) on this planet.

Sagittarius relates to freedom, and Saturn relates to constriction and limitation. As Saturn in Sagittarius closes in on its final exact square to Chiron in Pisces (November 2) at 24 degrees of the signs, we are uncomfortably aware of the ways in which our freedom is being inhibited or hindered and the effects this has on our psychic and spiritual health (Chiron/Pisces).

We are now nearing the end of the Chiron in Pisces transit. The wounded healer has been transiting the sign of spirituality and collective psychic space since February 2011. Chiron will enter Aries in April 2018, retrograding back into late Pisces September 2018 to February 2019, before entering Aries again for the duration of its transit, until April 2027. 

So the truth we are being confronted with as Saturn in Sagittarius forms this final square to Chiron in Pisces (under an 11-degree Taurus Full Moon opposite Sun-Jupiter in Scorpio November 3) is something we've been chewing on for a while now. It's those big issues, those big problems, that seem to have no answers - certainly no easy answers. It's the causes of difficulty or pain we can't quite put our fingers on. It's the bouts of despair or overwhelm or hopelessness that often can't be linked back to a single, specific source. 

Jupiter in Scorpio and Successfully Updating the Expression of Scorpio For the Aquarian Era

 

This article is available to Willow's Web Astrology patrons.

Until the end of 2017, all new WWA patrons will receive the Saturn in Capricorn article (and it's a beast!) as a bonus. After that, there will be a charge of $11.25 for the article. 

Jupiter in Scorpio: Going Beyond the Tip of the Plutonic Iceberg to Get to the Full Truth of the Matter

As mentioned in the Jupiter in Scorpio patron article, one theme we can expect during this transit is the blowing up (Jupiter) of sex scandals (Scorpio), particularly involving webs of power. 

One of the stories blowing up in mainstream media just as Jupiter entered Scorpio (October 10) involves a group of women, including multiple well-known actresses, accusing powerful Hollywood film producer and Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein of sex-based crimes ranging from sexual harassment to rape. According to accusations, it seems Ole Harv expected more than just a standard screen test to get hired on his films. 

At the time of the Jupiter ingress, the Sun and Mercury were conjunct in Libra (arts, beauty, justice), forming frictional squares to Pluto in Capricorn (toxic business/corporate hierarchy, toxic power dynamics). 

Further developments stemming from the time around the ingress can be expected when Mercury catches up to Jupiter in early Scorpio October 18, as Venus in Libra squares Pluto October 27, and then as Mars in Libra squares Pluto November 19. 

Now, one could see this as a simple Jupiter in Scorpio theme - the spectacular (Jupiter) outing of one nasty character misusing his power and prestige in heinous and sexually-based ways (Scorpio). 

The truth is, though (and with Jupiter, we're going for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth), this is just the tip of the Plutonic iceberg as far as the corrupt-to-the-core Hollywood machine.

Where Pluto or Scorpio is involved, if anything does manage to surface in the mainstream psyche (including through mainstream media coverage), it is just the beginning of the uncovering process, the initial catalyst. In order to bring about real, grand-scale change from what is exposed, we have to pick up that single thread, follow it, and keep following it: unraveling things, deconstructing things, digging, digging, digging, and seeing where it ultimately leads.

There's a relentlessness required - not often found within the glossy facades of Hollywood. 

We have to be looking at all elements of corrupt power, at how the entire machine works, rather than focusing on individual scenarios as isolated events. 

A Quick Shift in Social/Relational Tone As Jupiter Enters Scorpio

We have a final burst of social and relational development/expansion underway as Jupiter completes its transit of cardinal (leadership, initiatory) Libra before entering fixed (steady course, set conditions) Scorpio for a yearlong transit starting October 10.

With Venus and Mars conjunct in Virgo until mid-month, squaring Saturn in Sagittarius and opposing Chiron in Pisces, we're seeking to set just the right tone, addressing any nagging details in our relations with others that may require some attention or polishing. There's a particular focus on the way we interact/the way others interact with us in a work setting. 

Practical adjustments and actions, along with pointed conversations, could alleviate some of the building mental and psychic stress indicated by these aspects.

We're working hard in a hands-on way to make things just right in the physical realm (Virgo) so that things are hunky dory in the psychic/metaphysical realms (Pisces), as well. 

We're bringing the skills of the master craftsperson (Virgo) to our relationships and interpersonal dynamics (Venus/Mars). We're looking to apply our personal truth (Sagittarius) in practical, daily ways (Virgo), particularly in our relations with others. We're looking to walk our talk in relationships and social settings in a precise and straight-forward manner, fulfilling the social and work-related functions that feel right for us - nothing more, nothing less. We're looking to remove the influence of detrimental self-sacrifice, unfair projected expectations, illusions, blind spots, and inflated ideals from our relationships and interactions.

As the Sun and Mercury come together in interior conjunction at 15 degrees Libra in square aspect to Pluto in Capricorn (October 8/9), there may be some interpersonal friction or complexity urging us into our full social positions. There is a "taking charge" impetus, extending throughout the fall season, which must be balanced with the conciliatory and harmony-seeking nature of Libra. Like sand in our underwear, social irritations and points of friction can produce the impetus and motivation to propel us forward that last little bit as Jupiter completes its transit in the sign of the scales.

Conversation, information flow, the written word, and our own thoughts and perspectives (Mercury) can be particularly motivational as far as any changes that have to be made with that last bit of cardinal sign juice.

It's in our best interests - even if it's a little uncomfortable or scary - to address any nagging details or issues in our relations with others because the social and relational conditions we're in the final stages of creating now will be with us strongly over the next year as Jupiter settles in to its transit of fixed Scorpio. The social/relational course has been set, to a great extent, as Jupiter leaves Libra and enters Scorpio. The cardinal sign (Libra) initiates; the fixed sign (Scorpio) follows through with what was initiated.

Jupiter will be throwing an immediate (and I mean immediate) spotlight on the emotional and psychological subtext as it enters Scorpio. The social facade that brought us benefit during Jupiter in Libra is going to slip a little, and how people really feel underneath it all will become more apparent, especially as we move through October and November (Scorpio season). Teeth may be bared a little. Backs may get up a little.

So quickly, practically, and proactively addressing any problematic areas is in our best interests before they get blown up under Jupiter in Scorpio. Clear the slate as much as you can, even if it means gathering your courage to do so.

We have an extra layer of challenge now as far as eking out our precise social/relational positioning, as Mars in Virgo forms a square to Saturn in Sagittarius October 11 and an opposition to Chiron in Pisces October 15.

Venus in Virgo will square Saturn in Sagittarius October 8 and oppose Chiron in Pisces October 11.

As Jupiter moves from Libra to Scorpio, the dispositors (key influences) over its expansive proceedings shift from lovely Lesser Benefic Venus to hardcore mofos Mars and Pluto. So things immediately take a more Martian/Plutonic tone, and the social graces that brought us favour under Jupiter in Libra will fall flat if they are not fully authentic and honest, if they are designed to gloss over sticking points or beefs.

The Mars-Saturn square (along with the Mars opposition to Chiron) lays out an initial challenge for the Jupiter transit of Scorpio.

We may feel as if our forward-ho motion is stalled in despair-inducing ways under these aspects. We may feel as if our will is thwarted and our motion painfully restricted. There can be a feeling that any action taken is pointless or that it will not bring desired results. There can be fear related to taking any action at all, creating a feeling of being stuck in the current circumstances or problems. In my observation, the Mars-Saturn square is particularly harsh for men, unfortunately coinciding with an increased possibility of suicide, as Saturn can convince us (erroneously) that our problems will be this tough forever and that there is no way out. The Mars-Saturn square indicates "between a rock and a hard place" frustrations, but remember: any acute challenges are temporary, and things generally seem more difficult than they really are. 

With Mars transiting Virgo, there are small changes, improvements, and adjustments that can move things in the right direction - albeit in a slower fashion than may be desired. Remember that there is wiggle room here - even if it doesn't feel like it. We have to keep trying.

Any wet blanket effects should ease up as we move into the second half of October.

 A more Scorpionic view of the proceedings is wise...

So yes, things are taking a bit of a deeper, darker tone here as we move into the dark half of the year in the northern hemisphere. This more serious tone will then be reinforced as Saturn leaves Sagittarius for Capricorn at December solstice, followed by a six-planet stellium in Capricorn in January 2018.

This is nothing to fret over - just be aware of the quick shift in tone, and adjust accordingly, especially in your relations with others. A little more wariness, a little more space given around potential sticking points, playing your cards a little closer to your chest. Foreknowledge can help us to stay out of the interpersonal frictions (or even straight-up meltdowns) that may be stirred up as Jupiter gets its footing in Scorpio. 


For a full treatment of the Jupiter in Scorpio transit: Jupiter in Scorpio: Wisdom Drawn from the Still Depths of the Soul