The wheels are turning, if ever so slowly: October-November 2021 astrological highlights: Mercury Retro in Libra and more …

Mercury’s Retrogradation and more

Welcome to my thoughts on the 2021 October-November‘s astrological highlights.

This year’s third and final retro period of Mercury began on September 27 and will end on October 19, between the 25^th and 10^th degrees of Libra.

Extremely significant, during this time and into early November, is the thrice recurring and difficult 90 degrees angle (square) from Mercury to Pluto in Capricorn (September 22, October 2, November 2). This is an intense transit, affecting in particular they way we are communicating with each others, personally and collectively. Deep resentments, feelings of mistrust, desire for addressing what we perceive as wrong doings and to explore hidden agendas are prevalent and could cause violent and divisive clashes of opinion, where emotions and prejudices can overtake reason and balance (Libra).

Great examples of this effect are the events that took place around the time of the first pass of the Mercury-Pluto square (September 22); just to pick a few:  substantial and rare earthquake in Victoria (September 22); first (ongoing) volcanic eruption in fifty years in the Spanish Canaries Islands, that began destroying homes and livelihoods on September 19.
As volcanoes were blowing fire and the earth trembled, violent protests also erupted in Victoria and elsewhere, where negative sentiments against anti-covid measures reached a fever pitch. I believe that more of the same is in the cards for October and early November. Saturn and Uranus will be more highlighted instead in November.

In October the Mercury-Pluto square will be compounded by the October 6 Libra New Moon, when Sun and Moon will be aligned to fiery and antagonistic Mars; the October 10 conjunctions of Sun to Mercury (when Mercury orbits at its closest distance from us, within the Earth’s orbit) while both will conjunct Mars; the 90 degrees angle from the Sun to Pluto, on October 17, and of Mars itself to Pluto, on October 22; as well as at the Aries Full Moon, on October 21, when both Sun and Moon will be in square to Pluto. Navigating these severe transits will be a challenge for everyone, no matter your view on things. To positively deal with these difficulties we need to cultivate self reflection, to cast light on our psychological projections, always at the heart of fierce enmity and obstinate postures. We could then find in ourselves what it is really that we are fighting against, the enemy within.

Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter turning Direct, October 7, 11 and 18 October, respectively

The end of these cosmic timekeepers’ retro periods seem to me important, considering that it was they which marked the 2020 global crisis we are still deeply immersed in, with their conjunction in Capricorn.
It has to be a positive development that Pluto will be slowly but surely moving on from the degree/s that were highlighted by the conjunctions.  Saturn, by moving forward, will be getting closer to the third square with Uranus, authority versus rebellion, in Fixed, highly opinionated Signs of Aquarius and Taurus (the very last pass exact on Christmas Eve), hopefully putting an end to the intense antagonism that has brought so much disturbance at the collective and personal level, fuelling feuds within countries, communities, families and friends.  In December also Neptune and Chiron will turn Direct; and Uranus in January 2022. Things should start to move on in new directions because we may have done, for a while, revisiting the past, over and over.

November 2021 Highlights

The Scorpio Sun will square Aquarius-Saturn (October 30) and oppose Taurus-Uranus (November 5). Then Mercury and Mars, also in Scorpio, will conjunct on November 10 and also form the same square and opposition to Saturn-Uranus on November 11-14-18.
Furthermore the Scorpio New Moon, on November 5, will oppose Uranus and square Saturn also. And the Full Moon, on November 19, will be the last Lunar Eclipse of the year, when Sun and Moon will instead form a right angle to Jupiter. This Eclipse Season will end on December 4 with a Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius.

In November then the Sun, the Moon, Mercury and Mars will all become suitable conduits for the polarizing square Saturn-Uranus, by anticipating and perhaps enhancing its disruptive nature: more wars of words, more emotionally charged confrontations, and an even greater need to find some middle ground, where different viewpoints can be shared without escalating into full blown conflicts. As Pluto in October warned us not to project our dark shadows into others, Saturn-Uranus in November warns us against becoming again pray to rigid and uncompromising ideologies.

It is interesting to notice that the Glasgow Climate Change Conference will take place between October 31 (the same day Mars enters Scorpio) and November 12, when all the transits described above will be active.