☪ Hello again! The world’s been on a wild ride lately, especially since covid began. I hope that you and yours are all doing well nevertheless, and I’m glad to “see” you again.
The end of the year is fast approaching, so I took a look at all the planetary stations in effect.
Stations occur when a planet is turning retrograde (SR)—apparently stopping and moving backwards in the zodiac—and when it’s turning direct (SD) and moving forward again. A stationary planet becomes stronger for the duration of the station’s orbs, not just when it’s exact. I visualize a stationary planet as a runner who stops and plants his feet, then hurtles something like a ball of that planet’s energy toward us. I use one-degree orbs for stations; many astrologers use a different orb. In my opinion, we feel a station from one full degree before it’s exact to one full degree after. I’m listing the exact stations that include or follow today’s date, Oct. 13th. Dates may vary by one day.Oct. 8, Pluto SR, 26 Capricorn 07
Orbs of station from July 30 - December 13
Oct. 23, Saturn SR, 18 Aquarius 35
Orbs of station from September 17 - November 26
Oct. 30, Mars SR, 25 Gemini 36
Orbs of station from October 18 - November 10
Nov. 23, Jupiter SD, 28 Pisces 48
Orbs of station from October 31 - December 18.
Dec. 4, Neptune SD,
Orbs of station from October 1 - February 2, 2023
Dec. 29, Mercury SR, 24 Capricorn 20
Orbs of station from December 25 - January 1, 2023
The Pluto station on Oct. 8th has long orbs, from Jul. 30 to Dec. 13. Themes can include power versus powerlessness, death and dying, the deep unconscious, sexuality, depth psychoanalysis, “Plutocracies” (government by the rich), nuclear power, espionage, purging, elimination, catharsis, the personal or collective Shadow, and that which must “die” or change to make room for something new. We feel this globally and, if you have planets in late Capricorn, Cancer, Aries or Libra, you’ll also feel it personally.
The U.S. government will definitely feel it, because this station occurs just over a degree from the U.S. birth chart’s Mercury—which stations on Dec. 29 at 25 Capricorn--and in the orbs of the U.S. birth chart’s Pluto return. (For more on America’s Pluto return and how it may affect the different Sun signs, please see the article on this website.)
What’s Pluto doing on our Mercury? Previously hidden information and communication may come to light. How and what our nation communicates may undergo scrutiny; so may the wording of our Constitution and other laws. As I write these words, the former occupant of the White House has been subpoena’ed to testify before the Congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, and I suspect that a great deal of previously hidden (Pluto) information (Mercury) may arise (Pluto). Notice what’s been happening on the Internet. Social media companies (Mercury) have closed some accounts (Mercury) because of their owners’ racist, incendiary or false statements (Pluto rules scapegoating.). The suicide (Pluto) of a UK teenager has exposed Internet discussions (Mercury) of suicide that may have depressed her further and encouraged her to end her life.
The Saturn station on Oct. 23 at 18 Aquarius 35, with orbs from Sep. 17-Nov. 26, calls for excellent reality-testing, maturity, and making an effort to adapt to reality by changing what’s no longer working and what we’ve outgrown—on a global level. If you have planets in the middle of Aquarius, Leo, Taurus or Scorpio, you’ll feel this personally. Inflation is rampant, and energy may be harder and harder to come by as Russia restricts its oil exports. Italy is delaying when it turns central heating on in its public buildings, and asking people to tolerate colder indoor temperatures this winter. Saturn may provide us with more wake-up calls about the global economy, fuel supplies and sources, the conflict in Ukraine, and the dangers of climate change that may already be out of control. We need to face these realities and work to correct them as soon as possible.
On Oct. 30, Mars makes a retrograde station at 25 Gemini 36, with orbs from Oct. 18-Nov. 10. It’s a time to count to 100, not just to 10, before you assert yourself, and to think strategically (Saturn) about which battles you truly need to win (Mars), because you may not have all the facts (Pluto), and because people who lose their tempers may say things they later wish had been left unsaid (Mars). Please note that during Oct. 18-Nov. 10, three planets will be retrograde: Pluto, Saturn and Mars. What they rule will seem to “go backwards" during this time, which may translate into delays (Saturn), impatience about them (Mars), and a growing sense of what a momentous era we’re navigating as best we can, as well as how important it is to get most of it right (Pluto).
Next, on Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving, Jupiter makes a direct station at 28 Pisces 48. If you have planets in late Pisces, Virgo, Gemini or Sagittarius, you’ll feel the station more that the rest of us will. Jupiter co-rules Pisces, so it’s powerful here. The orbs run from Oct. 31 - Dec. 18. Jupiter appreciates the good things in life and feels deserving of them, so you might want to keep an eye on how much you indulge yourself at the Thanksgiving table. I don’t mean to starve yourself. I just mean that stopping before you’re full is wise, because it takes a while for the stomach to signal the brain that it’s had enough. It’s also wise to be extra-careful about drinking and driving, a theme repeated in the Neptune station I’ll discuss below. Use the Jupiter station to be more compassionate, supportive and giving—helping at a soup kitchen on Turkey Day might turn into the best Thanksgiving you’ve ever had.
On Dec. 4, Neptune makes a station at 22 Pisces 38. Its orbs run from Oct. 1 to Feb. 2, 2023. Collectively, this is a prompt to consider what the Dalai Lama said in the 1990s: “The twenty-first century will be spiritual, or it will not be.” If you have planets in late Pisces, Virgo, Gemini or Sagittarius, you’ll feel the station personally. It conjoins the Jupiter station discussed above. Both planets rule Pisces, and their wide conjunction in that sign at their stations should make their influence particularly powerful. The time when their stations overlap, from Oct. 31 - Dec. 18, will increase the strength and effects of both planets. We need more times-out than usual, because we need more quiet time to meditate, reflect, pray, relax, do inner work, do creative work, pursue a creative hobby, listen to music, write in a journal or a dream journal, and contemplate whatever spiritual beliefs or ideals we have. (Atheists can do this too. Ask yourself: What makes my life the most meaningful? What qualities of human nature do I believe are good, so they inspire or guide me?) The more we try to be 100 percent extraverted during Neptunian times, the more we may experience the pull to pay attention to our inner lives as interfering with our attention to our outer lives. We feel distracted and absent-minded. Distracted people make mistakes, forget things, and feel tired more easily than others do. It’s worth your while to take out those adult coloring books and marking pens, or enroll in a drumming class, or resume doing yoga. You need to enter an altered state in a way that doesn’t interfere with your ability to handle your outer life, and that involves choice and some activity on your part, rather than zoning out with Netflix all weekend. Enjoy feeling the Force, however you choose to do so—meditation’s first benefit is that it calms our busy, chattering minds, which most of us would welcome these days.
