by Silvianne K. Delmars | Oct 24, 2024 | 
This week’s astro update begins with a last quarter Moon in fiery Leo on Thursday, October 24, and ends with a New Moon in Scorpio on Friday, November 1. Here are the highlights (all times in PDT).
Thursday, October 24
At 1:03am the Moon at 01 Leo 24 will square the Sun in Scorpio. This signals a shift in focus during this Libra lunation that started with the New Moon in a householder sign, further enhanced by last week’s Full Moon illumination of the Aries Libra axis. With this Last Quarter Moon edging into rambunctious Leo, squaring the Sun just two days after its move into willful Scorpio, the spotlight is on themes of healthy self-exploration.
The Moon will be passing the Beehive cluster today and tomorrow, rising after midnight and visible through dawn. Look for them in the east just before dawn. Castor and Pollux, the bright stars of the Twins constellation, can be seen above along the ecliptic and Mars is nearby too.
Friday, October 25
Leo overstory Venus, still traversing the third chakra portal of personal power, continues to rise higher in the western evening sky after sunset. She will be with Antares tonight, the royal star marking the heart of the Scorpion constellation, in the sign of Sagittarius.
Leo overstory Mercury reached 15 degrees separation from the Sun yesterday, exiting the threshold to the underworld, in its evening star Hermes phase. Look for it in the evening sky, low to the horizon, below Venus.
Saturday, October 26
The waning crescent Moon will be near Regulus this morning and tomorrow morning as well, towards the east a few hours before dawn. This powerful royal star marks the heart of the Lion constellation, currently in the very first degree of Virgo, heralding the possibility of a beautiful synergy between these two archetypal energies. How might Virgo’s dedication to sacred Earth rhythms be enhanced by the innate sovereignty of royal Regulus? Tune in to find out!
Monday, October 28
Gemini Overstory Mars continues in the final, gestational phase of his 2 ½ year synodic cycle, incubating the new Cancer overstory cycle set to begin in January. Early this morning he is making a flowing trine with retrograde Neptune in Pisces. Another reminder that Neptune’s foggy world continues to envelop us in the mists, as it slowly completes its 13-year journey through its resonant sign.
What inspiration is coming through as we prepare to envision a broader spectrum of healthy masculine archetypes, to include Cancer’s gift for authentic nurturing? Although Neptune is not visible, Mars rises before midnight and should be easy to spot in the pre-dawn sky. He has now exited the Sacred Hoop, having passed by the feet of the Twins constellation.
Venus in Sagittarius is also getting a Pisces activation today, as she squares retrograde Saturn, who is visible well above the eastern horizon after sunset, traveling across the sky and setting a few hours before dawn. With an open view of the night sky, you can tune in to this 90 degree relationship after sunset, with Venus above the horizon to the west and Saturn high in the sky towards the southeast.
Tuesday, October 29
Jupiter continues to be visible all week, rising late evening and shining brightly through dawn near red Aldebaran, the royal star in the eye of the Bull constellation
Wednesday, October 30
Messenger Mercury in deep feeling Scorpio is getting celestial world transmissions today and tomorrow, as it opposes Uranus in Taurus this afternoon, and trines Neptune in Pisces tomorrow. This is a timing that urges us to get out of our heads, as we seek inspirational messages from heart- and body-based sources. A good time for deep dream work, kinesthetic practices, or delving into artistic pursuits that activate non-rational feeling states. Or just put on some music that speaks to your soul and let it move you where it will.
Thursday, October 31
The slender waning crescent Moon can be found near Spica yesterday and today. Look for them about an hour before sunrise to the east. Spica is the brightest star in the Virgin Priestess constellation. An excellent activation for tuning in to this powerful constellation, seen by many cultures through time to represent the Great Mother archetype, with Spica itself representing the life-giving grain.
Friday, November 1
The New Moon is exact this morning at 5:47am, at 09 Scorpio 35. Astrological cross-quarter Samhain is exact on November 6, when the Sun reaches Scorpio 15. However, many modern cultures celebrate this time when the veils between the worlds are thinnest during these few days as October transitions into November. This is a powerful New Moon for creating ancestral ceremony – both for healing and for celebration. This is some of the most important work we can be doing, as humanity, and the Earth herself, face a great reckoning at this time of endings and beginnings.
Seen in this light, the Chandra symbol for the New Moon degree, Scorpio 10, points to the transformational power of bringing to light our ancestral stories, the stories of our individual, and collective, source.
In his commentary, John Sandbach tells us that “… the special alchemy of this degree is turning the mundane into the precious by seeing it as precious. And at a higher level even those things which we consider tragedies, failures and mishaps have about them something beautiful in the way they are so personally tailored as learning experiences. To see them in this way is the special power of this degree, a power which is redemptive and liberating.” – John Sandbach, The Circular Temple
As we take radical responsibility for the circumstances of our life, including the ancestral threads that conspired to weave the net that holds us in this life, we can finally appreciate the synchronicity that brought to our soul the lessons it most longed to learn in this lifetime. And we can celebrate our ancestors, warts and all, even as we face head on the tragedies they both created and endured. As we free ourselves at last from lifetimes of accumulated guilt and shame, we also liberate our ancestors and the generations going forward, creating a powerful gateway for the emergence of a New Earth reality.