Capricorn Horoscope for October 2023

This is a month, Capricorn, of finding you way though to integration. The previous weeks of the Mercury and Venus retrogrades, with Mercury moving backwards though your sector of higher mind, have seen your beliefs and worldview as the subject of meditative questioning and realignment. This is winding up as October begins. Your creativity is all over the place with a cascade of ideas to try although not all of them will prove viable. The New Moon and Solar Eclipse of October 14th in your vocational sector brings new initiatives to bear in this important area, and yet these are linked to private spaces within you that represent a very different internal reality that yet holds sway over outer world decisions. You might encounter inner wounding coming to the surface and, if so, you do well to pay the closest possible attention. By acknowledging such residue of past trauma you can make great strides in healing these issues so that they have less impact on your conscious activities. Your communication and learning in the second half of the month takes on inner issues, including the very well springs of your moral compass, as you attempt a bold new amalgamation of inner and outer concerns.


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


You meet October mid-way through the Virgo Lunation cycle stemming from the September 14 New Moon that also featured Mercury’s station to direct motion in this same sign, a preliminary to finishing its retrograde cycle by finally escaping its post-retrograde shadow just before the first of October. The New Moon and Mercury standing still took place in your sector of higher mind, so that there has been a strong emphasis – continuing into the initial two weeks of the current month – on thought and philosophizing as well as the importance of inner discernment within your wider quest for knowledge. The liberating presence of Uranus in that recent New Moon configuration also defines the current cycle, encouraging you engage in traveling, learning, and metaphysical explorations that offer you a pathway to creative thinking, and also to self-expression.

That being said, your mind opening to new realms of understanding may require you to move beyond your own orthodoxy. From the 1st to the 3rd, under the influence of Mercury in Virgo opposing Neptune in Pisces, this could be the case. These planets both aspect Pluto located in the final degrees of your sign and on the edge of your Aquarius resources sector. This connects transformation in your identity and self-presentation with your state of mind and those Virgo topics related to the classroom of life. If you feel deflated or scattered over the first three days of October, rather than getting stuck in a mindless social media scroll, you can benefit by using Neptune as a portal to your imagination. You might consider the most exciting or creative way to approach your situation if there were no limits placed on you, no judgments, and no consequences. You have the remaining days of the Virgo lunation cycle to bring things down to earth with a more pragmatic lens.

Intensity builds in your Libra sphere of career from the outset of October, culminating at the Solar Eclipse on the 14th. Mars leads the way, conjoining the South Lunar Node over the first week as it applies to a square with Pluto in Capricorn. The planet of metamorphosis is powerful this month, almost stationary in the sky as it slows to turn direct on the 10th. These transits offer the kind of healing and catharsis that does not come easily. To reap these rewards, you may have to grapple with fear, the shadows of control, and other more complicated aspects of the human experience. Perhaps there are desires or parts of yourself you felt you had to subdue to survive in the world that now seek expression and integration.

The square between Mars and Pluto, active from the 5th to the 9th, empowers you with considerable drive and the ability to make an impact. However, by illuminating the unconscious drives that inform your professional choices or consideration of image, this aspect could also bring into question what power you are truly serving, particularly if you are upholding standards that do not support happiness or authentic self-expression. These transits can feel urgent and activating. If you take time to be present with yourself and honest about your motivations, you may avoid unnecessary explosions.

Mercury joins the planetary buildup in Libra on the 4th, which could bring mental clarity and supports self-advocacy in negotiation processes. The ingress may help you find common ground or compromise if tensions have emerged within your professional world.

Venus enters Virgo on the 8th, moving into new ground for the first time since late July. An opposition between Venus and Saturn in your Pisces sphere of communication, learning, and local environment is active from the 8th to the11th. This transit may illuminate a tension between your values and structures of belief; perhaps your expanded worldview or consciousness demands a confrontation with old modes of thinking that no longer serve you. This may also indicate you are committing to a path of learning or giving serious consideration to communications or a relationship with a mentor or teacher at this time.

Mars enters Scorpio on the 11th also, bringing vigor and energy to your friendships, networks, and long-term aspirations for the next month and a half. The ongoing Mars-Pluto dynamic suggests you may be severing particular social ties or re-assessing self-protective behaviors that prevent a more profound connection with others.

The Libra New Moon and Solar Eclipse on the 14th opens a six-month cycle of change, growth, and rebalancing in your vocational sphere that is intertwined with evolution in your Aries sector of home, family, and belonging. This period may be characterized as one of new determination as you weigh up different options and paths, possibly exploring the polarities of individualism and cooperation as you locate your own equilibrium. With Venus stewarding this eclipse and located in Mercury-ruled Virgo, while Mercury is co-present in Libra, therefore in mutual reception with Venus, this new cycle connects your pursuit of knowledge with shifts in your feelings regarding your psychological roots, your self-presentation and the roles you take on professionally. Inner wounding could come up at deep levels, and if so, it could be with a mandate for the healing of such ancient issues over time. This process may help bring your public-facing self into accord with the laws and principles that inform your life. Mars' trine to Saturn, your planetary ruler, points to the positive influence of your social connections, which could give rise to new work opportunities, reiterating the significance of what you have to communicate and advocate for.

Insight, news, or inspiration related to such vocational matters may arrive on the 19th when Mercury conjoins the Sun. Both planets form a square to Pluto between the 18th and the 21st, suggesting matters related to ambition and authenticity, which arose earlier in the month when Mars moved through the same degree, may now resolve in new understanding. This may also point to the importance of deepening a sense of identity that is external to worldly success or the roles you take on.

Mercury also moves into Scorpio late on the 21st, closely followed by the Sun on the 23rd. You may be a social butterfly for the next several weeks as Mercury, the planet of friendship, travels through your sector of collective participation. The Sun and Mercury both form a trine to Saturn in Pisces upon entering Scorpio so that strategic use of the passion, energy, and focus at your disposal could serve shared long-term goals, particularly those within your local community. Allies, collaborators, and supporters are available to you, so harness the courage of Mars in its home sign to articulate your vision or ambitions.

The final eclipse of the year takes place at the Taurus Full Moon on the 28th, concluding a cycle dating back to late 2021. As it culminates, you might reflect on the evolution of what brings you joy, your creative self-expression, romantic connections, and topics connected to children over this time. This eclipse is also ruled by Venus in Virgo, suggesting what comes to completion here may relate to an ongoing process of heightened discernment that is motivated by your values and evolving life philosophies.

The influence of Mercury's conjunction with Mars in Scorpio, active from the 27th until the 30th, could intensify emotions during this lunation. Both planets form an opposition to Jupiter in Taurus, which could aggravate discord within interpersonal dynamics. Pluto moving through the final degrees of your sign reminds you that attachment or attempts to control things will restrict your vitality, whereas embracing regeneration supports aliveness. While this transit may see you obsessing over drama or fears around endings or change, Jupiter's presence promises the fertile growth of beginnings that are built into whatever is drawing to completion. While it takes courage to stand for what you believe in, doing so supports your wholehearted participation in life, happiness, and genuine connections that support mutual growth.