October features four planetary stations. Mercury’s (10/18) is the one that gets the most press, but it is the least consequential.
Stopping in the sky
Mercury retrograde has become a cliché of pop astrology. Interestingly, it’s often mentioned with a laugh, which seems to imply “I know I shouldn’t be blaming a transit for having lost my car keys.” Perhaps Mercury’s stations get the most press because this planet seems to lend itself to event-level interpretations (although it, like every other symbol in astrology, has deeper implications.)
Another probable reason is their relative frequency. But in astrology, rarity signifies profundity. The less frequently something happens, the more it warrants our attention. For example, a transit that occurs only once in 250 years (Pluto conjunctions) is considered a bigger deal than one that happens every 28 days (the Moon).
All planetary stations are, in general, anomalous, in that they represent an apparent suspension of the
normal course of things: something stops moving. Or appears to. It’s a geocentric illusion, but it nonetheless defies the premier law of the Universe: that everything is always moving (planet derives from Greek planan, “to wander.”)
All of this month’s stations are direct. Saturn’s is on the 10th, putting the spotlight on limitations of one kind or another. This is a good time to honor the law of contraction. A week later, Jupiter stations. That’s when we might light a candle to the law of expansion. Two contrasting principles, highlighted back to back.
Most of us think we like Jupiter (growth) more than we like Saturn (restriction), but these twin stations illustrate their equality in cosmic terms. The question is not whether increase is better than decrease, but whether the two are in balance.
For every thing there is a season…
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Acceptance
Pluto (breakdown/ renewal) stations on the sixth of October. This is the day the Moon is New (4:07 am PDT), giving it added punch.
Cardinal square
This will be tested towards the middle of the month. Pluto, strengthened by its station, will be squared by the Sun and Mars in Libra (10/16-22). Against the backdrop of something breaking down, the human ego will come into play. Our best bet is to try to identify what needs to be eliminated – it will probably be obvious — and make ourselves the agent of the process.
Fighting it would not be a good idea. Especially when Mars is involved, inner resistance to the inevitability of Pluto tends to manifest externally, in unbecoming ways. Our resistance tends to magnetize power plays, either our own or those of others.
Pluto has been in Capricorn (government) since 2008. We all know how this has been playing out in the wider world, particularly since it headed up that notorious line-up in early 2020. We may be less aware of how Pluto works in our individual lives.
When a planet stations it’s often easier to see and feel, so use the first week of October to get close to the law of regeneration.
Retrogradation turns a planet’s lessons inward, where we digest them internally. We have been in review of the death/rebirth process since late April 2021, whether we’ve realized it or not. Locate where in your chart it has been transiting. That’s where something has been deteriorating, so that its essence can take a new form.
Pluto has been coaching us in acceptance: to accept that endings are just as organic and right as beginnings. Psychological, material emotional or ideological, it’s a perfectly organic process. Once the planet goes direct, this acceptance should be easier. Or at least, more conscious.
Power plays
This will be tested towards the middle of the month. Pluto, strengthened by its station, will be squared by the
Sun and Mars in Libra (10/16-22). Against the backdrop of breakdown, the ego will come into play. Our best bet is to try to identify what needs to be eliminated – it will probably be all too obvious — and make ourselves the agent of the process.
Fighting it would backfire. Especially when Mars is involved, inner resistance to the inevitability of Plutonian decay brings out the worst in both planets. Power plays tend to arise. Either our better instincts are overridden by an urge to control, or we attract the control trips of other people.
