The Equinox, still buzzing in the air, set the tone. As October begins, the Sun reaches the degrees of Uranus and Pluto, and >pop< goes the T-square.

Each of us is on a teeter-totter of some kind, doing our best to steady ourselves… when suddenly a tree limb lands heavily on one side or the other, making both sides jump and scramble to regain balance.

The first three days of the month offer up an explosive little twist to something we think we’ve figured out.

New Moon in Libra

It is this energy that launches the New Moon on the 4th. If you’ve always told yourself you’d like to practice that age-old astrological trick of deliberately beginning something when the Moon is new, this is a good month to try it.

On Oct 4^th, as close to 5:36 pm PDT as you can, devise a plan. Ask yourself where in your life things are out of balance. Close your eyes and imagine what it would feel like to have balance restored. Meditate on the graceful word equipoise. Then commit to it.

A way to tweak your strategy may occur to you a week later, on the 8,^th when Mercury and Saturn conjoin in Scorpio (the conjunction happens again on the 29th, with Mercury headed backwards). This is a call to inject into your plan a certain psychological savvy. Don’t be frivolously clever, don’t be glib. It won’t work.

Hunker down and subject your ideas to rigorous study. The most productive use of a Saturn conjunction (see last month’s Skywatch) is to regard yourself and your doings as lucidly and objectively as if you were a sharp critic with no axe to grind. The goal is to improve the situation, not make yourself wrong.

Get as many of your details straightened out as you can, in advance of Mercury’s retrograde station on the 21^st.

Change in the Air

The air is full of change this month. Many will attribute this to the season turning over, that pungency in the air. It is true that good old 2013’s days are starting to feel numbered. But there are multiple layers to what we’re feeling.

Partly it‘s from three planets changing signs. Venus moves into Sagittarius on the 7^th, daring us to begin exploring ourselves with free-spirited abandon. After the dank, smoldering retentiveness of Venus in Scorpio (since 9/10) this may prove a refreshing shift.

There’s a celestial clash on the 10^th, though it may not read as such. Venus in fire smacks up against the watery vastness of Neptune, with whom she is out of her depth. Usually, Venus in Sadge tends to rush into a social moment where angels fear to tread, gung-ho and rosy-cheeked; under this transit she’ll encounter inscrutability and chaos.

Just afterwards, around the middle of the month for a few days, she’ll trine Uranus in Aries and be back in her element: fire. Leave this period open for spontaneous recreation.

Full Moon

The Full Moon is on the 18^th, in late Aries/ Libra. Ask yourself how the age-old Self-Other Paradox is playing out in your life right now.  It may seem, at first, as if the question being raised is Whose needs should I prioritize: mine or [the other guy’s]? But more essentially, the conundrum is this: Who am I when I’m just me, as opposed to who I am when I’m with you?

Then there’s another ingress: Mars moves into Virgo on the Ides of October, dividing the month right down the middle. During the first half we’re acting out boldly, during the second half our behavior is no-nonsense earthy. No more frittering-away our time; we’ll feel like getting down to work. Take all that fabulous creativity you exuded when Mars was in Leo (8/27-10/15) and do something with it. Harvest your pumpkin and put it in a pie.

On the 19^th-20^th, Mars opposes Neptune. Like the Venus square on the 10^th, this encounter with the Sea God can confuse or it can elevate. Harbor no expectations; no chewing yourself out for lack of productivity. Instead, let Neptune fascinate you. Get on its good side (you’ll need his favor next month, as we will see).

Note to students: Use the square and opposition to parse the difference between mutable fire (Sagittarius), earth (Virgo) and water (Pisces).

The third ingress of October is Tuesday the 22^nd when the Sun goes into Scorpio, the day after the Mercury station. The bewitching festival of Samhain begins to exert its siren call right around now (my lecture on the deeper meaning of Halloween can be accessed here.)

There’s intrigue in the air. Even straightforward events take on a tone of inscrutability, like a water color brushed with dark indigo wash. A relationship that was utterly ordinary before may start to feel fated.

Cardinal Cross

Amidst October’s twisting and turning energies, Uranus and Pluto are getting ready to peak again. Each day their square becomes closer; it is exact to the minute of arc as the 31^st segues into November first (for a review of the meaning of this epochal transit, click here.)

Pluto will be in his element this Dia de los Muertos.