October Astrology Forecast: Eclipse Season Returns This Fall!
As if the summer hadn’t been transformative enough with retrograde season, October continues to bring potent alignments in the sky! It is now Fall, and the leaves have started turning red while floating in cooler and crisper temperatures due to the sun’s lower elevation. According to New Orleans-based astrologer and guide Raquel Reyes, “This October will be a powerful cosmic month and a time of growth, revelation, and change with two potent eclipses that are sure to create major shifts in our lives.” Eclipses are the way we experience accelerated change—however, at a deeper level, they are our biggest opportunities for self-actualization.
Reyes affirms that “Being catalysts for spiritual transformation and evolution, eclipses bring both, endings and beginnings that shape our perspectives. Therefore, the best medicine for October is to embrace surrender and acceptance, as often, we find the wheel of fate and destiny turning on our behalf, which means we get to release control and let go of the pressure,” she adds. Practicing self-care and rituals remains our go-to practice, but we must remember that eclipses are not meant to be harnessed for manifestation practices—they are more about honoring our process of deep transformation.
Venus, Mars & Relationships
A strong theme of the astrology of 2023 has been figuring out our relationships, and this work deepens in October. From October 1 to October 11, Mars will be conjunct the Lunar South Node in Libra. During these ten days, we could see our ambition, energy, and diplomacy traveling through a black hole. Reverting back to old ways of dealing with triggering situations will be easy, so make sure to stop and ask yourself: Do I really want to repeat the same outcome as the previous times?
Around the same time, the other relationship planet, Venus, forms its yearly opposition with Neptune in Pisces. Reyes affirms that around October 10, “all of us could benefit from looking at boundaries and responsibilities in our connections. We could be looking at our role in relationships and making choices around how we want to show up moving forward. This is an excellent time to check in and review, to realign and make adjustments, if necessary, so that everyone’s needs are being met and healing can take place within all our connections, not just romantic relationships.”
Pluto Goes Direct
Also on October 10, we begin hearing the roar of a sleeping giant. Tiny but extra-powerful, Pluto wakes up from its five-month nap to make quite an entrance! As one of the key players of the astrology of 2023, Pluto has been ending its fifteen-year journey in Capricorn, slowly dipping into Aquarius. As Mars in Libra activates it by square on October 8, followed by Mercury and the Sun on October 20 and 21, we can expect to witness shocking news involving powerful people. Scorpio season begins two days later, on October 23, and so Pluto takes the energetic reigns of the month, just in time for the season of the witch!
At a personal level, Pluto brings any of us with personal planets between 25 and 29 degrees of the cardinal signs, to embrace radical change in our lives. The ego conflicts and power struggles that occur in our lives now have a deeper meaning, and are a wakeup call to inspect the motives behind our actions. Embracing holistic, transformational practices like hypnotherapy, meditation, and visualization are the easiest ways to work with Pluto, as this is the planet that rules our subconscious mind.
The Last Eclipse Season of 2023
Eclipses always come in pairs, with the first one being a new moon solar eclipse (Ring of Fire), and the second one being a full moon lunar eclipse. According to Reyes, “The October 14 Ring of Fire solar eclipse is the first to illuminate air sign Libra since March of 2016!” As far as themes for this eclipse, she believes, “We could be considering new beginnings in relationships and connections of all kinds. Themes of justice, fairness, and balance could permeate both collectively and personally. We’re invited to find harmony and embrace the beautiful side of life as epiphanies arrive and deep healing takes place at a soul level.”
The very last eclipse of 2023 arrives exactly two weeks later, on October 28. Reyes affirms that “this full moon lunar eclipse, happening in Taurus, marks the end of a two-year cycle that began in November of 2021.” Since full moons are about wrapping stuff up, endings should now be pronounced. “We may experience a major release that feels both sacred and necessary. A cycle is now coming to an end so new realities can come to exist for us. Our focus could be on security, finances, self-esteem, and the material realm. Adjustments to how we’re building our lives and legacies could be highlighted. We’re being called to review what is (and is not) sustainable for long-term success and happiness,” she says.
Scorpio Season Magic
After squaring Pluto, Mars and Mercury enter the waters of Scorpio, followed by the sun on October 23. If there was ever a time to test your witchcraft abilities or enter the world of magic, that time is now! Whether you need to overcome intense emotions, release the past, or connect with your spirit guides, there is help from beyond the veil. Asteroid Ceres, the cosmic divine mother, also swims in this profound waters of transformation. And while the most mystical time of Scorpio season is the end of October and the beginning of November, the sun lends its illumination to this shamanic zodiac sign until November 21.
A magical witch herself, Reyes affirms, “This three-planet combination creates an extremely magical atmosphere that awakens our inner mystic, which can be very empowering. Our intuition will be at an all-time high, making October an especially beneficial time for rituals of all kinds. With special access to our emotional depths, we may come to find that we have the drive to accomplish anything we want, this month and beyond.”