NorthPoint Astrology Journal: Your guide to planetary energies for October 1 to 7, 2018 By Pam Younghans

NorthPoint Astrology
Journal

Your guide to planetary energies for

October 1 to 7, 2018

By Pam Younghans

 

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Aspects of Note this Week
All times listed are Pacific Daylight Time. For Greenwich Mean Time, add 7 hours.


TUE: Mercury square Pluto
WED: Mercury biquintile Neptune
THU: Mercury quintile Saturn
FRI: Venus stations retrograde 12:04 p.m. PDT
SUN: Sun conjunct Ceres, Sun quincunx Neptune, Neptune quincunx Ceres

VENUS, the planet named for the Roman goddess of love, goes retrograde this week. When planets are retrograde (appearing to move backward), they are actually closer to the Earth than at other times in their orbit. This proximity brings their themes into stronger focus in our collective experience and in our individual lives -- and the backward motion means that we tend to approach these themes more subjectively than usual. For the most part, we also find it beneficial to be more in review mode than in creation mode related to the planet's areas of influence.   All planets are linked energetically with at least one of the twelve signs of the zodiac, and some are associated with two. Venus is one of the planets that does double-duty, reigning over both Libra and Taurus. As planetary ruler of Libra, the sign of The Scales, Venus has jurisdiction over issues of relationship, equality, and fairness; as ruler of Taurus the Bull, she concerns herself with nature, physical pleasures, values and material resources, and financial well-being.   Venus goes retrograde every 18 months or so, for about 42 days at a time. She is moving very slowly forward this week, and comes to a standstill on Friday, October 5, at 12:04 pm PDT. At that time, she will reverse her course, being retrograde until she stations direct on November 16. THE FACT that Venus is in Scorpio as she begins her retrograde phase greatly influences how we will experience this period. From her throne as queen of Libra, Venus retrograde will ask us not only to consider our alliances in general, but also specifically to review those intimate relationships from the past that involved the use and abuse of power, secrets and hidden truths, and subjects often thought of as being too taboo to discuss in "civilized society." While Libra may be mostly concerned with harmony (or the appearance thereof), Scorpio takes us to the heart of any matter, even if it causes upset.   At the same time, from her position as ruler of Taurus, Venus retrograde in Scorpio will require that we rediscover what we truly value, how we want to invest our energy and resources, and what it means to find our center of calm in the midst of turmoil. As we heed this call to dive more deeply into self-awareness, we will find it is no longer adequate to gloss over those issues that we don't want to face, simply because they make us uncomfortable.   Above all, if we successfully navigate this Venus retrograde period, we will learn the validity of the phrase "True peace comes from within." We will discover that when we try to "seek it without," we are living life based on externals, which will always be variable and therefore unreliable. To be truly and deeply at peace, we must find and dwell in the constancy of our divine self, which is able to ride the Scorpio storms and not be capsized.   A quote from A Twofold Life, by Wilhelmine von Hillern, written in 1873:   “There is also a heaven upon earth in our own breasts. Do not seek it without, but within your heart; then you will not come into heaven for the first time when you die, but remain in it always.” MERCURY plays a vital role in the week's activities (aka shenanigans), starting on Tuesday when the Messenger Planet squares Pluto. We can expect confrontational words, accusations, and arguments early in the week, that interfere with Mercury-in-Libra's yearning for cooler heads to prevail. This square aspect can bring even more "inconvenient truths" to the surface -- as if we hadn't already had a great helping from this particular plate!   Mercury then goes on to form a biquintile aspect with Neptune on Wednesday, and a quintile aspect with Saturn on Thursday. Both of these aspects are members of the same "5th harmonic" family of aspects. Writing about these aspects in his book Dynamics of Aspects Analysis, Bil Tierney references the work of the 20th century English astrologer John Addey:   "John Addey associates the entire 'quintile series' with the use or abuse of power and authority. He also found it to be linked with a pronounced tendency to be very one-pointed and intensely driven in a specialized field of activity."  GIVEN that nebulous Neptune is involved in the aspect on Wednesday, we can expect attempts to obscure the truth, as well as finger-pointing and labeling others as liars. The Mercury-Neptune combination can be very imaginative in a positive way, but it can also be used for deception, where the facts are manipulated to control outcomes. As participants in or observers of this charade, we can feel disillusioned and confused by the competing "facts" that are being offered.   But, we also have a reality check on Thursday, when Mercury and Saturn form their aspect. This may be the culmination of a process, when solutions are discussed. Hopefully, it will be a time when those in authority (Saturn in Capricorn) exhibit integrity in their decision-making process.  NEXT SUNDAY, the Libra Sun aligns with dwarf planet Ceres, and both are in quincunx aspect to Neptune. The desire to please and nurture is strong with the Sun-Ceres alignment, and we may derive our self-esteem from our ability to give others what they appear to need and want.   But, Neptune's involvement means that we may not be seeing relationships very clearly on this day. We may idealize another person, or expect ourselves to be saint-like. We are especially sensitive to how others respond to our efforts, and prone to disappointment if situations do not unfold according to our fantasies.   The key to navigating these challenges is to maintain good boundaries, and to base our self-worth in our capacity for love, not on the outcomes of our specific attempts to express caring. The true solution is found when we can honestly convey affection without going into self-sacrifice. IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: Your relationship with home and family are highlighted this year. It may be a time when you express nurturing in a new way, either through becoming a parent, making changes in your home, caring for a person in need, dedicating yourself to better health and nutrition, or tangibly expressing your caring for the Earth and our environment. In some situations, you may run into differences of opinion, especially if you are revealing facets of your personality that you had once kept hidden. If this occurs, your challenge will be to stay true to your knowing of what is important to you, without falling prey to the need to make everyone else happy.   In light, Pam   http://www.northpointastrology.com/northpoint-journal.html Copyright NorthPoint Astrology 2018. All rights reserved.