Before We Dive In Venus is retrograde, Mercury is stationing retrograde, and I’ve had all kinds of weird things happen, including the video background I put up every week suddenly appearing reversed and mirrored without me changing anything. So. Ah! This Venus retrograde, with Mercury coming up behind it, is intense. It’s all good. It’s life, things happening. But it’s hitting my chart big time, and Pluto is stationing direct affecting my chart as I record this too. Scorpio energy can be really exhausting. Water energy can be. I feel tired all the time, but I’m okay. There will be some changes coming. I can’t keep up the pace of weekly forecasts plus new and full moon videos, especially when everybody on YouTube is doing new moons, full moons, and forecasts. There are other things I want to talk about. I’m not making a decision on that yet. [But I wanted you to hear it from me first.] Some News I’m Proud Of One of the articles I wrote for The Evolving Astrologer, the magazine of OPA (the Organization for Professional Astrology), has been picked up and published by astro.com. That’s a big deal for an astrologer. I’m really, really happy, and I hope you’ll give it a read and let me know what you think. Read the article here. London School of Astrology: Chiron Weekend The Chiron Weekend is this weekend, October 17th and 18th (UK time), and I’m presenting on the 17th. It’s all about Chiron coming home to the degree where it was discovered, with many perspectives and discussions. The lineup: Melanie Reinhart, the Centaur Queen as I call her, whom I’m proud to call a friend; Brian Clark, an amazing, amazing guy; Jason Holley; Andrew Smith from Ireland; Barbara Hand Clow; and M. Kelly Hunter. I’m on this thing with people who have been mentors and teachers to me, and I’m loving it. It’s not free, but you keep the recordings in their member portal, and the money goes to charity. It’s a great thing that Frank Clifford, who runs the London School of Astrology, does every year. There are some pre-recorded sessions available now too. Chiron: Returning Home, 17–18 October A not-to-be-missed weekend celebrating Chiron and the 50th anniversary of its discovery – hosted by Brian Clark, Frank Clifford and Melanie Reinhart – with a dozen world-class speakers across ten sessions (including four pre-recorded available to view now). Chiron’s message is more relevant than ever, and this celebratory and fundraising event for the astrological and therapeutic communities will honour Chiron’s presence under a multi-faceted sky. Joining us will be a wonderful array of astrologers and practitioners: Brian Clark, Barbara Hand Clow, Louise Edington, Heather Ensworth, Jason Holley, Kelley Hunter, Dr Michael Kearney, Melanie Reinhart, Chris Skidmore, Andrew Smith, Zane B. Stein and John Wadsworth. Topics include: Chiron’s discovery return in 2027; the Chiron return at 50; building a new vocabulary; approaching Chiron in consultation; Chiron’s love story; Chiron and the heroic quest. Price: £99 (approx US$130, and includes unlimited access to all live sessions + recorded videos). Schedule/enrolment: https://www.londonschoolofastrology.com/courses/chiron50 The Week at a Glance It’s an intense week. Give yourself some real space, especially on Friday. * Pluto stationed direct late on October 15th, square Haumea, and is still sitting at 3°04’ Aquarius. Still churning. Still excavating. * First Quarter Moon on Sunday at 25° Capricorn: the crisis in action. * A fixed T-square at 3°, with Pluto, Haumea, asteroid Lilith, and Venus (who has retrograded back to 3°), widely opposed by Okyrhoe to form a fixed grand cross. * Venus squares Pluto on Tuesday. * A water grand trine builds between Ceres, Nessus, and Mercury. * The Sun opposes Chiron on Wednesday: a last look at Chiron in Aries. * The Sun enters Scorpio on Friday October 23rd at 5:37am. * The Venus Star Point: the Sun and Venus meet at 0° Scorpio at 11:44pm on Friday October 23rd, Venus’s own day. It’s the last Scorpio Star Point in our lifetimes. * Mercury stations retrograde on Saturday October 24th at 3:12am. We start the week with the Moon in Capricorn, moving away from the Sun. It’s gained light, so we’re moving into an action phase. Neptune is at 2° Aries, the degree of the last Venus Star Point in Aries on March 22nd, 2025. Hekate and Chariklo are worth watching. The North Node is moving back toward them. Hekate was the first to turn direct, and Chariklo will turn direct next. Then both will meet the North Node, which is going to be really interesting for creating, writing, and weaving this new story we’re moving into, the one I’ve been promising you for ages. Asteroid Lilith has just opposed Pluto. I barely look at Black Moon Lilith anymore, so I’ve actually taken her off my charts. Asteroid Lilith is shouting really loudly to me. She’s the only physical Lilith (the others are points), and it feels like she wants to be heard. That’s the talk-to-the-hand energy, the rebellious teenager. She just opposed Pluto at the same degree Mars did, and all of these are approaching the South Node, the drain, to release things. Apart from Hygieia (preventative health), only the Sun, Venus, and Mercury have crossed the South Node, and Regulus with it. Jupiter is heading toward it, Mars faster, and asteroid Lilith and Ceres are on their way too. We’ve still got some time to go in this nightmare transition, but we’re moving beyond it. The Cards — A First Glance From the Red Seeds Tarot (Linda Hill, Etsy UK): Eight of Seeds reversed, Queen Bee reversed, and The Sun. And from the Witch Oracle, one of my favourites: Spider Woman. Two reversals while we approach the cazimi. I’m really not surprised. But we end the week on a much more upbeat note. I love Linda Hill’s decks because they’re all based on myths and all the things I’m interested in. I’ve also got her Red Threads Tarot, and I’ve just bought her Red Stone Tarot (I need to read the book first). The Witch Oracle is Witch: Woman in Total Control of Herself by Angie Sullins, with art by her partner, Silas Toball. More on all four cards at the end. Day by Day (Times are Eastern, as always.) Sunday, October 18 — First Quarter Moon. A Cardinal T-Square and a Fixed T-Square. Pluto stationed direct late on the 15th, so we’re only a couple of days past the station, and it hasn’t moved a minute. If you’re feeling rather churny as you read this (I always use that word for Pluto stations), that’s why. Pluto is stationing direct in a square to Haumea, and Pluto is the modern guide of Scorpio. This is deep. We’re still very much in that digging, excavating, purging energy that Pluto stations bring. The Capricorn Moon starts the day by opposing Ceres: needs met and unmet, in the Moon’s own sign. We may get more news about price rises and inflation, needs not being met, and the basics of security feeling very rocky, as they have for many people for a while. Right after that comes the First Quarter Moon, with the Moon at 25° Capricorn squaring the Libra Sun. This is the crisis in action, and crisis literally means crossroads, decision, or turning point. People hear “crisis” and panic, but we have two every month: the crisis in action at the first quarter and the crisis in consciousness at the last quarter. This one is in the initiating, cardinal signs, saying it’s time to take action and start building toward what you want, toward justice, toward everything you want to create in the world. It’s the real go-go-go phase for whatever you set intentions for at the last new moon. Right after the First Quarter Moon, the Sun opposes Eris, the table turner. That makes a cardinal T-square, saying it’s time to shake more tables. And we’re seeing it happen everywhere in the world. Then asteroid Lilith (I love asteroid Lilith) squares Haumea, regeneration and rebirth. She’s already opposed Pluto, and Venus is retrograding back here too. So we have a fixed T-square, all at 3°. That’s really potent: Pluto is still at its station point, and Venus is coming up to square Pluto a… This is a public episode. 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