What Astrologers Want You To Know About The (Unpredictable) Energy Of October

October 1, 2022 — 9:05 AM

It’s Libra season, a time where we usually seek harmony and middle ground and enjoy pleasantries and quality time with other people. It’s all about moderation and that easy equilibrium that gets boring in large doses but can be really nice for a month every year! 

Alas in 2022, “balance” isn’t exactly the word that will describe October. We’ve got a solar eclipse, Mars retrograde, and three planets stationing back from their retrograde jaunts—plus the astrological earthquake of Saturn and Uranus back in an incendiary square. 

Translation? There are a lot of moving parts and shifting energies to contend with, making it hard to plan anything concrete. As it turns out, the only constant may indeed be change this month. Consider yourself notified! Here's what to know about October:

We’ll welcome the end of three retrogrades as a trio of planets returns to their senses: Mercury (in Virgo) on October 2, Pluto (in Capricorn) on October 8, and Saturn (in Aquarius) on October 23. Last month was a lot to handle with six retrograde planets—particularly Mercury, which messes with our day-to-day affairs, technology, and interpersonal affairs. We may see some stability return to our daily systems, workplaces, and society again with these planetary shifts. Thank goodness!

Got something to say now that Mercury retrograde is over? Easy now. The boldfaced Aries new moon on October 9 has the audacity to oppose gracious Venus, the ruler of Libra and the keeper of civility. Maybe you’ve compromised a little too much, sacrificed for others, and you’re feeling resentful. It’s awesome to recognize that; not awesome to lash out. 

The October stars are making it clear: we can’t maintain peace at the expense of our principles and individuality. But could we all just be a little nicer and more polite about it? Minding our manners at this full moon might be a challenge, but one worth attempting. Creative challenge for humanity: Find a way to “do you” without treading on anyone else.

So yeah, Libra season isn’t all “love and light,” even after Mercury goes direct. Rule-maker Saturn and rulebreaker Uranus are locked in a 90-degree square within one degree of each other from September 23 to October 23. This energy, which was a huge part of 2021 (remember that insurrection?), pays its last visit, shaking up structures and hierarchies once again. With midterm elections around the corner, things could get really heated.

Scorpio season begins on October 23, which could intensify the energy but also remind us that it’s okay to wait out the madness in our private pods. But don’t think you can control this wave of energy. On October 25, eclipse season begins, another unpredictable two-week period that kicks off with the Scorpio new moon partial solar eclipse. 

The tides turn even more on October 28, as expansive Jupiter, who’s been firing up our confidence in Aries since May 10, backs into Pisces for one last surf, staying here until December 20. 

We’re not out of the retrograde woods yet either. The day before Halloween, the stars serve up some Scorpio-season scaries: Aggro Mars makes a U-turn in Gemini from October 30 to January 12. In this communicative and media-savvy sign, we’re more than a little concerned about how this divided world will lash out.

Mars retrograde in Gemini doesn’t exactly say, “Let’s sit around the kitchen table and talk this out like adults.” Quite the opposite. So keep your own itchy Twitter fingers at bay if you can. Exercise your free speech rights, but with the caveat to “do no harm,” a la the Hippocratic Oath. You might cross-check those incendiary posts with the acronym THINK: Is it True, Helpful, Important, Necessary or Kind? If not, maybe don’t go there.

Read the monthly horoscope for your sign here.