We begin October with Libra in command, the Scales who forever strive for harmony and balance. Venus rules Libra—goddess of love, beauty, and the feminine. She’s extra potent this month as she prepares to retrograde for the first time in two years. We’re now entering a period of deep recalibration around love, relationships, and sexuality. We’re plunging into our depths—transforming how we approach romance, femininity, and our sense of self-worth. There’s a quality of choicelessness as we transmute and release discordance in these domains, both in our personal lives and the collective. It’s time to step into the power of our inner feminine, destroying any blockages to healthy love, peace, and harmony. We can now forgive ourselves, acknowledging and releasing deep traumas. We can embrace the full spectrum of who we are, embodying true worthiness, acceptance, and grace.

Pluto Stations Direct

Pluto stations direct on October 1, ending a months-long cycle of releasing all that we’ve gripped too tightly—any toxic patterns, addictions, behaviors, relationships, or circumstances that have impeded our growth. Our slates are now clean, our vessels emptier, as we make way for the new. The key now is to take responsibility for what we can change, and surrender to what we can’t. We’re finding balance between taking action and feeling our innate peace and equilibrium.

Venus Retrograde

Venus Retrograde begins October 5, lasting until November 15. When any planet retrogrades, its energy becomes more pronounced and potent, and it undergoes review, reassessment, and recalibration. Ruling relationships, love, peace, and our values, Venus retrograde will bring these issues further to the fore. We’re questioning societal dynamics around how we relate to the feminine, and personally examining our inner feminine to see what needs adjustment or elimination. Moving through Scorpio, Venus’ journey represents deep transformation. Rather than placating higher powers, or weakening ourselves to make others more comfortable, we’re more fully inhabiting the strength of our gentleness and receptivity. We’re prioritizing compassion and tenderness, recognizing them as the source of our greatest power.

This is a beautiful period to reflect on how we love as we transition into higher frequencies of connection. Dynamics around dating, the arts, and intimate partnerships are all set to change and become deeper, more deliberate, and more meaningful. We’re rapidly becoming healthier, more balanced, and holistic in our closest emotional connections, which, as always, begin with forgiving ourselves and releasing limiting, judgmental beliefs about who we are.

Mars Exits Shadow Zone

After a long and challenging journey of Mars Retrograde, the masculine planet finally leaves his shadow zone on October 8. We’re moving out of immense frustration, bounding into our future lives and selves, more liberated and free. The masculine has shifted, and we can now focus on making room for the feminine polarity to step into her power.

Libra New Moon

The Libra New Moon arrives on October 9—a peak of passionate intensity. Building on previous transits, this marks a fresh start around love, peace, beauty, and the arts. Forming angles to Ceres and Neptune, we may feel especially tender and caring toward those closest to us. Venus, Libra’s ruler, is now retrograding, and we’re officially beginning new cycles around how we relate to one another—and how we form intimate partnerships. Squaring Pluto, this New Moon brings deep alchemical changes. We’re liberating from toxic and oppressive powers, even within ourselves.

Taurus Full Moon

The Taurus Full Moon on October 24 conjuncts Uranus, planet of shock and surprises. New patterns are emerging in our deepest emotional subconscious. This is a potent time to break out of old ruts and release any stale energies or situations that still hold us back. With the Moon conjunct Uranus while the Sun conjuncts Venus, we’re revolutionizing love, beauty, the arts, and relationships. We’re building new paths forward as we question the status quo and liberate from unhealthy dynamics. Powerful change is underway as the feminine in each of us rises like shoots from the mulch. It’s time to embrace our authenticity—to celebrate who we are without shame or apology. Fears of abandonment, old grief, heartbreak, societal conditioning, and beliefs that we’re not ‘good enough’ are ready for resolution. Freedom is possible, and it starts with loving ourselves fully so we can extend our hearts to others.

October 2018 Summary

October is defined by Venus—planet of love, relationships, peace, and acceptance. This month, the Sun is in Venus-ruled Libra, while the New and Full Moons fall in Libra and Taurus—both Venusian signs. On top of that, Venus is about to station retrograde for the first time in two years, igniting a powerful, transformative period of female empowerment and recalibrating our notions of love, beauty, and tolerance. Sexuality, intimacy, and relationships are at the fore. Personally and collectively, we’re breaking out of toxic patterns and reformulating how we relate to one another, beginning with ourselves. We’re uprooting thousands of years of patriarchal hierarchies as we shift into a matriarchal age. This does not mean replicating patterns of abuse, but empowering everyone to step into their strength, with full acceptance, compassion, and tolerance. After the frustrations of an arduous Mars Retrograde, we’re now bounding ahead, owning the strength of our gentleness and receptivity, and releasing old traumas and past harms. We’re rapidly making way for the new paradigm, set to begin in 2020—which is meant to be a golden age of egalitarianism, emotional maturity, and blazing love.

In the midst of changing leaves, may we feel our hearts pulsing with color. May we anchor into peace and equilibrium, loving ourselves fearlessly, without question—so we can offer our grace, kindness, and gentleness wholeheartedly, to those we hold dear.

To schedule an astrology reading with Juliana, visit here, or write: info@etherealculture.com

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