O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
Robert Frost from October

Wicked Best

From the fine crisp autumn air to the descent into nature's dying season, there's a dark beauty to the month of October.  There's a lot of heat on relationships early on, with new vitality or awareness cracked open. 

It's a charged atmosphere, very spicy.

  My friend Jamie Walters of Sophia's Children tells me it's a New England saying to do your "wicked best" and that's what's advisable this month.  To work alchemical magic to purge poisons and binding spells, and to shift volatile energies.

The month ends with the ancient fire festival of Samhain (Celtic) or Hallowe'en (Anglo-Saxon).  This tradition lives on, as the most animated reminder of the European indigenous past.  The bonfires of Samhain are symbolic of the purifying heat that will crack open the seeds of new life in the Spring. 

October's Main Events Are: 

• Mercury's retrograde in Scorpio, then Libra from Oct 4th to the 25th
• Power struggles, break-ups and breakthroughs in relationships.
• Two eclipses that activate the will and courage to draw forth buried potential.
• Neptune aspects for forgiveness, and moving with the dark imagination.

Cardinal Crackle

The Sun shines in simpatico Libra until Oct 23^rd for a month of weighing this against that.  In this month after the Equinox, the dark hours begin to hold sway.

  But before deep winter sets in, there’s Libra’s instinct to balance.  And with the boldness of cardinal air (Libra), there’s a strong will to act on what’s not measuring up.

Let’s take note that there’s a solar charge on relating one-on-one in early October.  In the days leading up to the Aries Full Moon – Total Eclipse, there’s a edgy potency with many aspects that strike deep. 

The Sun (Libra) angles to Pluto (Oct 4^th) and then Uranus (Oct 7^th), for social encounters that can seem to have a dangerous or wild undercurrent.  There could be run-ins with authority, or decisions made that involve breaking with convention.  Other possibilities:  battle of wills, airing what’s deeply-rooted, standing your ground, breaking up, a more authentic relating foundation.      

Since these are outer planets shaping big events, the personal wrestling could have to do with changes in how we make sense of what’s happening.  A change of consciousness could be freeing, and lead to a release of vitality, and also a sense of surprising new optimism. 

Much depends on how we handle the explosive energies that are released.  A tip here is to trust your gut instincts, and avoid (when possible) those people or situations (crowds) that are ticking time bombs, for whatever reason.      

Eclipse Big Bangs

October’s early cardinal crackle in relationships leads to a peak that’s electric, and favors the bold.  This is a real wake up jolt out of any stagnation.  There’s a fire grand trine (Jupiter-Mars-Uranus) that makes it one of the most spirited of the year.

The Total Lunar Eclipse in Aries on October 8th is a real wild one, with jolting Uranus right there, in a conjunction.  The action is at 15 degrees Aries (Moon) and Libra (Sun), for a charge in the sphere of "Who Am I...With You?"  There could be realizations of the need to make changes, or with Uranus, these could come spontaneously and with lightning speed. 

Besides the usual caution of not being physically reckless, this is one to be moved by the spirit of fire.  And to let the purifying fire element burn off what’s dead or lifeless in your life.  There may be an unexpected plot twist here, so let’s see what happens.

There could be big shocks or surprises (not always bad) with lingering effects, sometimes up to six months.   Sometimes the first eclipse jostles things, and the second is the finale, like a drama with two acts. 

What follows on October 23rd is the Scorpio Solar Eclipse, which is a very meaningful New Moon at 0 degrees Scorpio.  Venus is there and taking the soulful plunge into Scorpio that same day. 

A stand out theme is authenticity that's soul deep in relationships.  And taking the risk to be real with others, so that the necessary transformations happen that keep the bond vital.

Enchantments

After the volatile edge early on, the month features the higher octave of love, Neptune.  This heightens the mystery of the season, and romance with the dark. 

Neptune combines with sultry Venus (Scorpio) with a trine on Oct 27th for soulful scenes that live on in the imagination.  This mood is vitalized by a Neptune-Sun trine the next day (Oct 27th). 

There's an atmosphere for following the creative imagination, into dark, rich territory.  Into this swirl, comes the day of Hallowe'en/Samhain on October 31st. 

Samhain is one of the great fire festivals, heralding the beginning of winter (in the old tradition).  In The Real Middle Earth, Brian Bates writes on Samhain/Hallowe'en, "The bonfire and the lit brands carried into the fields were a fertility rite impregnating the earth with the seed of the dying sun, so that after a long winter of gestation vegetation would burst forth again in spring."

The veils part and spirits mingle with the living, and wearing masks is a way to blur the lines even more. 

This might be the year to make it real, with your own tradition with roots that reach back further and is more substantial than the throw-away costumes and candy. There's a reason this is the season for spirits -- traditionally it is the time to honor ancestors. One simple way is to create an altar with leaves and other finds from outside, and display them with pictures of the beloved dead.