As topsy turvy as the world is right now, October will at least bring with it a feeling of moving on to the next chapter of your/our current story. It’s like we’ve been trudging up this latest hill for months, not exactly sure what lies on the other side. Finally, as one major planet after the other goes direct, we’ll feel as if we have reached the next peak and can look across at what lies before us.

You may or may not like the current view. You may feel overwhelmed or challenged by the realisation that there are several other hills and mountains ahead yet to hike up and down. At times you might even feel a strange excitement that makes no sense to your logical mind. For now, you’re able to look back and see a little more clearly what the past several months has been about. You’re able to look forward and get a sense of what this next part of the movie might be about and what it will require of you. Clarity allows action. It emboldens and encourages you to make decisions that were perhaps murky before.

For most of the year we’ve had the majority of outer planets all retrograde: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. There has been a feeling of two steps forward one step back, lots of revving of the car but no green lights, smoke but no cigar; you get the picture.

While these planets affect us personally, these outer planets also influence social shifts, events and the collective energy. With all of them retrograde, it’s no surprise that 2021 has been a year of collective “soul-searching” and introspection. “What are we doing? Where are we going? What kind of world are we creating?” are some of the most common questions being asked.

When was the last time that millions, if not billions, of people all asked these questions, all at the same time?

As difficult as the last 18 months have been, the silver lining of it all (and some might say the greater purpose on a higher, divine level) is that humanity was due for a “crisis of consciousness.” Crises trigger change, or in this case mass transformation, ready or not. Crises trigger collapses of the old, and births of the new. They trigger breakdowns, which lead to breakthroughs. They crystallize your priorities, make you examine your beliefs, show you what you’re made of, and where your wounds, vulnerabilities and strengths lie. Crises bring people together, and tear others apart. They reveal people’s true colours, confront you with uncomfortable truths and painful untruths. Personal crises do all of these things on a personal level. Social and global crises do all of these things on a collective level.

As humans we tend to like our comfort zones. We don’t like crises very much, as it upsets our preferred state of being in control. So, we don’t generally shake up our social systems, global structures or personal lives without a major trigger – even when a shake up is needed. A crisis acts as that trigger, essentially forcing relatively rapid change within a relatively short period of time.

If we were to look at all this as a binge-worthy Netflix Series titled “Humanity’s Crisis of Consciousness”, the current ‘Season’ started March 2020 and will go through to March 2023: the Saturn in Aquarius Season. Within that season there are many ‘Episodes’.

October, with lots of major planets finally going direct, launches our next new Episode. This will usher us toward the Eclipse Episodes (19 Nov Lunar Eclipse in Taurus and 4 Dec Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius). For now, let’s see what this forward movement has to offer.

We started on October 6 with the New Moon in Libra.

This says a lot about the current theme. Libra is all about relationships, harmony, beauty and love. If you know any Librans, or are one yourself, you’ll know that they don’t like confrontation, like everyone to get along, and generally are pretty good at seeing all sides of an argument. They’ll be the mediator in the centre of a family struggle, helping everyone understand where everyone else is coming from. So this Libran theme of “don’t judge lest ye be judged” is with us this month.

If you find yourself disagreeing with someone, especially if it’s someone you love and care about, take a step back and see if you can see things from their perspective. If you find yourself judging someone, take a step back and ask yourself: “Is the story I’m telling myself about that person true?” Usually, we don’t actually know why someone is doing or not doing something, unless they tell us. We don’t know every detail of their life situation, circumstances, history or soul plan. The news media and social media like to paint groups of people with a broad brush stroke, but in reality everyone is a unique individual with their own story to tell.

This is a month where we are being called to switch on our compassion muscles, and know that community, and connection is what has kept humanity surviving and thriving for hundreds of thousands of years. Now is a good time to remember that never in the history of humanity has segregation, division or discrimination won, served us or been looked upon in hindsight in a positive way. Yet here the world is, dividing society, friends and family, rallied on by the majority of politicians and mainstream media. This isn’t sustainable, if for no other reason than the age-old words: A house divided against itself cannot stand.

It’s very easy to make blanket judgments and assumptions for or against any action. However, for every decision or choice that a person makes, especially these days, there is a person behind that decision with their own unique circumstances, emotional/energetic intentions, needs, vulnerabilities, and experience. You and your friend might equally care about the wellbeing of your community, yet disagree about how to achieve that wellbeing, or the ways in which you show you care. You and your neighbour might equally want freedom, but disagree on what freedom actually looks like, and how to achieve that freedom.

So, this is a good month to try to drop any judgements about people who are doing things differently to the way you are doing them. Set yourself a challenge to drop any stories or beliefs you have about others and ask yourself: Why do I think that? Is that really true?

This quote was included in an email I received this week, and I think it’s a timely one for this New Moon and for the month of October:

"Love is higher than opinion. If people love one another the most varied opinions can be reconciled - thus one of the most important tasks for humankind today and in the future is that we should learn to live together and understand one another. If this human fellowship is not achieved, all talk of development is empty." – Rudolf Steiner, 1906

On October 6 we also had Pluto going direct at 24 degrees Capricorn.

Pluto is the King of Transformation and will, often ruthlessly, show you where you have outgrown an old version of yourself, and what new Phoenix version of you is calling you to rise from the ashes. If you have planets or significants points in your natal chart around 24 Capricorn you’ll be feeling this very personally right about now.

For everyone, Pluto may have shown you recently where you are in your power, or not. (Note: Our power includes how we mentally/emotionally/spiritually respond to something.) You may have gained new insight about how you feel about those in power, and how that has influenced your own relationship with power. Is it time to overhaul some of those beliefs, if they have held you back from unleashing your true self, full potential and essence? Is it time to step into your own power, in a new way? If we have a negative association with what we feel Power is, because of how we’ve seen it used/abused in the world, we can unconsciously shy away from really expressing our own. If you resonate with that, ask yourself:

• What does healthy inner power look like to me?
• What does healthy outer power look like to me?
• Now is the time to be an example of a new sort of power and heart-centred leadership. Pluto also brings our Shadow to our attention:
• What is in your Shadow that is ready to be seen, expressed, healed or transformed?

It’s go time.

The Sabian Symbol for 25 Degrees of Capricorn (which Pluto is now heading to) is “An Oriental Rug Dealer.” Interestingly, reading the description for this degree exactly matches the energetic message of this month:

"An oriental rug dealer" expresses awareness of the fact that being human involves being oriented somehow. One cannot cover all the bases.

A 'rug' is a floor covering... something upon which you stand or walk. Think of it as analogous to a map. You look at a map, locate where you are on the map and where you want to go. From that orientation, you know which direction to travel.

The 'rug', the 'map', is also connected in with a sense of the totality of all things and all beings. As an individual, you can only be oriented in one way at any given time. This is like standing in the light of the sun. Your stance and direction will always cast a shadow. Walk toward the sun; your shadow is behind you. Walk away from the sun; your shadow is before you.

That you are ever oriented in some way is not a dismaying situation. It is a fact of existing. As a 5th degree in this series of symbols, there tends to be a creative genius at play... things tend to work out. So, if you take a position, take a stand, set off in a certain direction, you are indeed casting a shadow, yet, this tends to be a good thing, perhaps clarifying a difficult situation.

Capricorn 25 points to the strength to take a stand, make a choice and accept the full range of consequences for that choice. This indicates a strength of character that brings refreshing clarity in all areas of social interaction.” - Blain Bovee

On 11 October Saturn goes direct at 6 degrees Aquarius

Ah, Saturn. This journey through Aquarius feels like we’ve been in it forever, and we’re only at 6 degrees because of the various retrogrades aaarrrrgghhhh! To summarise, Saturn’s journey through Aquarius is March 2020 - March 2023. Saturn is the authoritarian, restrictive father who has told everyone to “go stay in your room and don’t come out until I say so!” Aquarius is humanity. Saturn goes into Aquarius every 29 years but this time he’s really taking things next level: “No dancing in there! Or friends visiting! Don’t go out even to work or school! Don’t sing!” Aquarius aka humanity have been locked up in their rooms to one degree or other – and because of that, everyone each in their own time, is having their own personal “Hang on a minute” moment. “Hang on a minute, this is a little extreme!”, “Hang on a minute, do you actually have the right to do this?”, “Hang on a minute, you want me to do what now?”

And that’s the point. The stricter the father, the greater the rebellion. The greater the push, the greater the pushback. I watched a great video the other day about the psychological process that happens with people during the creation of a totalitarian system. One of the points the clinical psychologist made at the end is: a totalitarian system always self-destructs, and the more widespread and intense it is, the swifter and more dramatic the destruction. Humans by nature are not designed to be controlled and repressed. We are LIFE-FORCE, and life was designed to grow, evolve and expand.

So the flip side of Saturn is about growing up, taking responsibility, and finally stepping into our sovereignty and spiritual adulthood. Sometimes we only let go of needing external authority when that external authority becomes so repressive we have no other choice other than to say “No more.” Aquarius is also about Freedom, so in the context of this Saturn in Aquarius journey, humanity has the opportunity and challenge over this 3 year period to truly make a quantum leap into a very new way of being, letting go of old systems of authority that are no longer serving us, and stepping into true Freedom.

Another side of Aquarius is technology, and the shadow side of that is trans-humanism: the technological “enhancement’ of the human being, that some see as an advancement and others see as the eradication of our natural soul and humanity. This steering of people toward a life of being tracked, traced, genetically modified and dependent on a digital passport system for basic living, working, shopping and movement is becoming ‘normalised’ very quickly. This 3 year period is our time to individually, and collectively, decide which expression of Saturn we prefer, (Authoritarian control vs Sovereign spiritual adulthood) and which expression of Aquarius do we prefer (Freedom and natural humanity vs Transhumanism and hooking our bodies up to the grid).

The ancient prophecies all suggest that freedom, natural humanity, sovereignty and spiritual adulthood is the next evolutionary step for our new cycle. The energy behind our old cycle wants another crack at the wheel. We are in this pivotal moment where we get to choose what we want as the theme for not only the next 29 years but really for the next evolutionary cycle of 5125 years (Mayan Great Cycle), or even 26,000 odd years if we are talking about the Mayan Grand Cycle. Note: In the ancient calendar, still used now as the Ethiopian Calendar , Dec 21 2012 didn’t actually happen till 27 Aug 2020. So we are right on

Really the choice has already been made. In the same way that winter is followed by spring, and night is followed by day, this control cycle has always been destined to be followed by a freedom cycle. Yet we still have to go through the process of collapse that precedes the rebirth and transformation. We still have to go through the desperate clinging onto the old of a dying energy that has outlived its purpose. Stay strong, and keep your GPS set to what you know humanity came here to create.

On 18 October Jupiter goes direct at 22 degrees Aquarius

Jupiter is the planet of abundance, happiness and good fortune so life always feels more expansive when he’s going direct. Jupiter also rules travel so if a little trip away hasn’t been possible, you just might get a chance to get away as we approach the last couple of months of the year. On this same day, Mercury goes direct at 10 degrees Libra so it’s a perfect day/week to make some plans for the weeks and months ahead with a focus on: What feels good? What makes you happy?

Even though it is hard to plan ahead (which has been good practice for living in the now, and living for the moment), make a list of things you would like to do, new projects you would like to start, family fun outings you would like to go on.

On a final note, I feel to make special mention to the tens of thousands of nurses, doctors, paramedics, healthcare workers, teachers, school staff, police, pilots, airline crew, other essential workers and all those worldwide who have been fired from your jobs or are just about to be, due to the mandates around the v. I stand in solidarity with your right to choose what goes into your body. Thank you to everyone who is standing up for our human rights and medical freedom, regardless of your personal choice. I also want to acknowledge the many who have taken the v despite not wanting to, in order to keep your job, keep serving your community, keep a roof over your heads or see your family. No-one should ever be put in that position of being coerced, shamed, bullied or manipulated into making a medical decision (or any decision for that matter). So much is now known (and not known) about the various safety and efficacy issues, and so much is still not known about the mid and long-term effects. And yet, the governments continue to push and push……

“The UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights has stated that the right to health includes: the right to control one's health and body, including sexual and reproductive freedom, and the right to be free from interference, such as the right to be free from torture, non-consensual medical treatment and experimentation.” – Right to Health, Australian Govt, Attorney-General’s Department

(c) Dana Mrkich 2021

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