The Equinox has come and gone, leaving us stranded at the entrance to the next season.  This week sees us plowing past the threshold into the heart of the coming quarter’s dynamics.

This week Mercury finishes his 9 week scamper through the fields of Virgo with an opposition to both Uranus and Jupiter in Pisces.  Meanwhile Venus and Mars conjoin in Scorpio only days before Venus’ impending retrograde.

Harvest Calculator

Mercury traverses the final degrees of Virgo this week, entering Libra this Sunday after nearly 9 weeks in Virgin’s field.

9 weeks certainly seems like an awfully long time for Mercury to tarry on a single set of messages, but has been more than necessary.  The messenger’s time in Virgo was helped clarify exactly wtf happened over the summer, detailing damage reports, calculating costs, and thinking through the disorienting personal changes.  Scorched Russian fields and drowned Pakistani ones mirror the inner landscapes many have had to harvest.

One Last Thing

And so Mercury has see-sawed back and forth through Virgo, tallying costs and calculating futures.  But the messenger has one final meeting before he departs for the swinging scales of Libra.

This week Mercury opposes Uranus and Jupiter in Pisces, amping the airwaves with more positive, if surprising, news.   The pending pair of conjunctions heats the aethyrs the entire week, cracking open minds that strange waters might rush in.  Mercury’s opposition to Jupiter and Uranus completes Mercury’s time in Virgo, the 10,001 details finding coherence and meaning when finally taken as a whole.

On Sunday the messenger takes off his accountant’s clothes and enters Libra, where he’ll be intent on finding a way to balance books and perspectives.

Although harmony is certainly Mercury’s intent, the clear thinking needed to calculate harmonies will be challenged by Venus, the lady of the scale’s fulcrum.  Venus, already deep into the shadow of her retrograde, has descended into the sewers beneath the white palace and found a number of flushed alligators, as well as a few dead lover’s corpses.

Venus will continue to have difficulties keeping her poise while high stepping over raw emotional sewage, making her role as the fulcrum of the scales rather difficult for her.  The mind’s next phase will be characterized by this challenge: to retain clarity while the passions run wild.

What Happens In The Tunnels, Stays In The Tunnels

Mars and Venus conjoin in the 13^th degree of Scorpio, on Sunday, October 3^rd.  This tantric conjunction is unusual, as it is the second one in only a few months. This speeds up the cycle of evolution for relationships, very much in keeping with this year’s theme of forced transformation through crisis.

Not only is it the second Mars-Venus conjunction in only a few months, it also occurs less than a week before Venus turns retrograde, layering the already shadowed combination of planets with depth and difficulty.

The Mars-Venus conjunction occurs on Sunday, October 3^rd, though we’ll be feeling it all week.   Mars’ and Venus’ secret rendezvous takes place in the dark tunnels below the white palace, their winding walls enclosing intimacies, their banks directing underground rivers of passion.  There is depth to found here, but danger lurks as well.  Rivers of raw passion are easily polluted, and many unions that occur in these shadowed halls will be tested by their own intensity.

Horoscopes

Horoscopes represent a fraction of the insight astrology has to offer.  However, they are fun and can be useful.  Reading your Sun, Moon and Ascendant is suggested.  Take a special look at the Moon if you were born at night.

Aries:  The Ram

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week trigger an important series of insights into the relationship between your tangible difficulties and intangible issues.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra sees communications shift to your significant relationships.

Venus and Mars’ conjunction in Scorpio triggers an intense exchange of energies and resources.  You are in a place where the exchange of sexual, energetic and material resources is heightened considerably.

Overall, there is a tremendous focus on relationships and the resources exchanged between partners.  Do not be seduced by the emotional component.  Retain awareness of the conditions which are necessary to maintain an equitable partnership, be it romantic or business.

Taurus:  The Bull

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week provides a series of insights connecting beneficial social contacts and the thinking you’ve been doing about your lifestyle.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra shifts the focus of communications to the number of details and practical necessities that must be balanced before proceeding onward.

Venus and Mars’ conjunction in Scorpio has a direct impact on your significant relationships, seducing you into arrangements which may not be sustainable.  Enjoy what is possible in the moment, but remember that moments are just that.  Taken in combination with the Mercury-Jupiter/Uranus oppositions, the troubling of the boundaries between friends and lovers is suggested.

Gemini:  The Twins

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week connects new professional developments with the ongoing reconfiguration of your living situation.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra shifts the focus of communications and considerations to creative endeavors.  Good times will compete with productive ones for your energy.  A sustainable balance is always preferred.

Venus and Mars’ conjunction in Scorpio sees two tunnels opening beneath you.  One is an entombment in works, while another will simply allow you to bury yourself in distraction.  You’ll have to choose which cavern to commit yourself to.

Cancer:  The Crab

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week, connecting short and long term plans, the near, the far and what lies between.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra shifts the focus of communications to your living space.  A quick number of changes and refinements to your living space is called for to steady your vehicle for the descent into the season ahead.

Venus and Mars’ conjunction in Scorpio unleashes a raw energy within you.  Multidirectional, it flows as easily into creative endeavors, sexual escapades and decadent good times.  Irrigate the river as you will.

Leo:  The Lion

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week sees the final installment in an ongoing attempt to connect your resources with other people’s.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra shifts communications to your neighborhood and those you casually encounter.

Mars and Venus’ conjunction in Scorpio has important implications for your living space.  You may well find yourself living in a den of sin.

Virgo:  The Virgin

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week mark an important series of moments in your relationships, romantic and otherwise.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra slows down the frantic pace of communications that has developed over the last several weeks.

Mars and Venus’ conjunction in Scorpio sees opportunities for debaucherous activity all around you.  You may want to beware a bit of the magnetism you’re exuding, though.  Not every stray you pick up is worth bringing home.

Libra:  The Scales

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week, connecting the thinking and rethinking you’ve been doing about yourself to potential fixes for concrete issues.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into your sign brings communications into your world for the next two weeks.  Consider it a bit of time to smooth out your stroll before plunging into the season that lies before you,

Mars and Venus’ conjunction in Scorpio has important implications for the financial aspects of your relationships.

Scorpio:  The Scorpion

Mercury passes through the final degrees of Virgo and opposes both Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week, connecting your web of friends and contacts with creative projects and general good times.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra brings the conversation to the forgotten bits of your relationships, as well as the fun you don’t usually have.

Mars and Venus’ conjunction in Scorpio brings relationship issues to the forefront.  This is a significant conjunction, beginning a more-than-a-year long cycle of relationships.  Your native love for intensity will find a home in the relationships that emerge over the coming cycle, but first you’ll need to be initiated into the way and the price.

Considered along with Mercury’s oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus, the Mars-Venus conjunction is likely to problematize the boundaries between friends and lovers.  Tread carefully.

Sagittarius:  The Archer

Mercury’s passes through the final degrees of Virgo and opposes both Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week, bringing what is likely a positive end to over 2 months of considering and reconsidering your professional situation.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra steers the conversation to your wider circle of contacts.

Mars and Venus’ conjunction in Scorpio energizes the hidden and neglected energies within relationships.  You’ll need to wrestle what writhes beneath the surface up into the cool light of autumn.

Capricorn:  The Goat

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week, connecting big plans and small ones, the near with the far.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra lights up communications in your career sphere.

Mars and Venus’ conjunction in Scorpio sees you making your way through social channels, some a bit less clean than you may prefer.  Work the angles and the people involved, but don’t assume that everyone involved is committed to playing nicely.

Aquarius:  The Water Bearer

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week bring a number of discussions about personal and shared resources to a close on what may be a surprising note.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement  into Libra highlights long distance communications, as well as thoughts and plans you have to travel about.

Mars and Venus’ conjunction in Scorpio highlights the importance of relationships in your professional sphere.  There are likely hidden layers to the connections you’re in the midst of.  Making peace with what lies beneath is highly advised.

Pisces:  The Fish

Mercury’s pass through the final degrees of Virgo and oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces this week bring a number of ongoing discussions to a close on a positive, if surprising note.  Shortly thereafter, Mercury’s movement into Libra turns down the volume a bit on the intensity of communications you’ve been making over the last several weeks.  There is a segue, instead, into discussion about resource sharing arrangements.

The Mars-Venus conjunction in Scorpio sees an intense joining of energies. You’ll likely find this rather dark tantric pairing writhing within the confines of your worldview, and perhaps of in the distance, embodied by a distant love or lust.