Aries Horoscope for October 2023

This month might be your coming out party, Aries, into your next phase. There has been something of a lull over these past two months or more, with both Venus and Mercury in retrograde, or recovering, right up to the beginning of October. You have been gathering information and ruminating on attitudes of service to others around you, integrating the needs and demands of others. New facets of what you hold deep inside are also becoming more clearly present in conscious form. This has to do with the way that you conduct key relationships in your life and the way that you are able to hold contrasting points of view simultaneously. With the New Moon and Solar Eclipse of October 14th in your opposite sign, much of this will become more concrete. This is a powerful lunation in an important sector of your chart, indicating a fresh beginning for key relationships and for yourself. This is especially so with Mars, your ruler, simultaneously entering your sector of intimacy and personal transformation. You do well to pay the closest attention to what is manifesting within you, which may be nothing less than a totally a new stage of your personal development.

The following was written by our guest columnist Alea Balzer. You can write her at alea.balzer@gmail.com

The October month begins in the wake of an interesting Virgo New Moon from September 14 that infuses the first half of the month with a deconstructive and reconstructive quality tied to Mercury's retrograde and the unpredictable highlighted presence of Uranus, the awakening planet, in your sphere of personal resources. While rearranging the furniture of your daily life to optimize health, time, and productivity remains an emphasis, this part of the Virgo lunation cycle may offer a sense of momentum or progress in these first two weeks, now that Mercury has left its retrograde shadow and is moving through new territory in its high-functioning home sign of logical Virgo.

The energy of the Full Moon in your sign in the final days of September also remains in the air as you enter October. Feelings related to your sense of self, needs, and the roles you inhabit for others may be amplified. The current lunar cycle provides much support for you to make functional changes in your life if a disconnect between what you fill your days with and what makes you feel vital is coming up. While Mercury is indeed direct, its opposition to Neptune in Pisces over the first three days of the month might inhibit focus or clarity in your daily communications. This transit points to the influence of your subconscious or self-sabotaging patterns, possibly raising mental and physical health matters or a need to slow down and recenter. A trine from Mercury to Pluto in Capricorn also brings your vocation into the mix.

There is a certain amount of volatility and urgency in the air in October; taking time out to be present with yourself and curious about what is coming up for you will likely be helpful. This might be particularly worthwhile in the first part of the month as relational topics build in intensity, culminating in the Libra Solar Eclipse on the 14th in your house of partnership.

What sets the scene as October begins is a powerful conjunction between Mars, your planetary ruler, with the South Node in Libra as it applies to a square with Pluto. This transit points to the return of the repressed, possibly exaggerating repeating relational dynamics or situations that keep you lock step with the past. Be it conflict or passion, you are likely diverting significant energy to shared projects or a partner right now.

Pluto in Capricorn is making its presence felt this month, barely moving in the sky as it slows to turn to direct motion on the 10th. With Capricorn ruling the most visible place in your chart, namely your career sector, you may be called to look at unconscious drives and biases that inform your professional choices and consideration of your image—perhaps through a confrontation with standards you hold that do not support happiness or authentic self-expression.

Mercury's ingress into Libra late on the 4th may aid in conflicts within one-on-one partnerships, with an eye for win-win solutions despite differing perspectives. This could also support contract negotiations and deliberations within business partnerships.

From the 5th to the 9th, a square between your ruler, Mars, and Pluto indicates you have considerable stamina at your disposal to make an impact through joint projects, although it could bring into question in investing your energy what power you are serving.

On the 7th, Venus moves into new territory for the first time since late July, opposing Saturn in Pisces and entering Virgo the following day; active until the 10th, the Venus-ruled areas of relationship and finances could run into obstacles or at least slow down. Now that Venus has finished her review in your sphere of self-expression, joy, and romance, some hard work could be required. You could find yourself working with the shadows of doing "the mature thing" as you pivot to prioritize new desires or values. This might relate to creative projects, children, or extend topics associated with the current lunation cycle.

Mars moves into Scorpio – your sphere of intimacy, shared resources, and transformation – on the 11th, simultaneously trining Saturn in Pisces. The continued connection between Scorpio's co-rulers, Mars and Pluto, supports life altering transformation for you, and more specifically can signal severing bonds or modes of relating that are no longer in integrity. This may require courage and have material consequences. Mars' trine to Saturn, lasting through the 13th, indicates difficult changes now are in integrity with an internal restructuring process. If you have a lot of work to do, these transits support constructive use of energy or firming up boundaries around shared resources and investments. The Sun's simultaneous opposition to Chiron in your sign at this time may bring up wounding around self-assertion or a sense of your identity being diffused within a partnership.

On October 14th, The New Moon and Solar Eclipse takes place in Libra, your opposite sign, and sparks a new cycle of significant growth and change there, corresponding to your relationship sector. With respect to partnership, marriage, and one-on-one connections, this period may foreshadow major endings, beginnings, or new chapters. This cycle is intertwined with an earlier period – from the time of the Aries Solar Eclipse in April of this year – of accelerated evolution around your personal growth and embodiment. Over the next year and a half, a series of eclipses across the Aries-Libra axis could help you explore the tension of being vulnerable, loving, and cooperating with others alongside needs to assert your will, follow your instincts, and be courageous in a life that feels your own.

On the 18th, Mercury conjoining the Lunar South Node and the Sun adds a final flourish to the activity in your Libra house. Their proximity and the Sun’s square to Pluto, active from the 19th to the 21st, indicates this time may align with news, insight, or illuminating conversations about relational and career topics that have come to a head this month. You may have more clarity or confidence to communicate your ideas or needs around this time.

Significant mental and physical drive may be diverted to topics of emotional and material bonds, debts, and contracts as Mercury enters Scorpio late on the 21st, closely followed by the Sun on the 23rd. Both planets form a trine to Saturn in Pisces, suggesting that you have internal strength to support any changes that are going on.

The final eclipse of the year takes place on October 28th with the Taurus Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse in your sector of personal resources, values, and self-esteem. This is the culmination of eclipses across the Taurus-Scorpio axis —you might have to think back to late 2021 and consider what changes have come to pass in relation to this eclipse cycle. These could be along the lines of your sense of abundance, security, and finances, as well as material and energetic give and take within your close connections.

In this dramatic Full Moon as well, emotions could be heightened due to the influence of Mercury's conjunction with Mars in Scorpio, your sector of intimate partners and personal evolution, active from the 27th until the 30th. Both planets form an opposition to Jupiter in Taurus, which could inflate tensions around conflicting values or prompt challenging conversations within relationships around money or sharing. While Uranus continues to be a wildcard in the Taurus sphere of your life until 2026, you may begin to feel a stronger sense of agency and self-confidence related to your skill set and material circumstances. Both eclipses this month, on the 14th and the 28th, are ruled by Venus in Virgo, which implies that the changes being activated at this time are in service of a realignment to what you authentically value and love. This may help you to cultivate a sense of joy, connection, and creative fulfillment within your daily life and work.

Aries Horoscope for October 2023

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