"Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go."

— Herman Hesse

An extraordinary amount of balance is required this week. We are challenged to walk the fine line between patient persistence and illogical stubbornness. The waxing lunar cycle, initiated by last Tuesday's Scorpio New Moon (3:48 AM PDT 2° Scorpio), is encouraging us to build up quite a determined 'head of steam'. We may have clear ideas of how we want to proceed in order to achieve our goals. However, Mars turns retrograde at the beginning of the week, which dampens our ability to simply take charge and 'run the show'. Flexibility is required and curiosity is rewarded. The retrograding Mars will [...]

"I'm really interested in the collaborative thing. It's what makes it scary because you never know what it's going to end up like. But you hope. '"

— Meryl Streep

Although we may feel the prospects of upcoming shifts, we don't quite get there this week. For the most part, we are seeking to stay away from making commitments — particularly emotional commitments. Mars is continuing to slow down, ahead of turning retrograde on October 30th, which will increase the tendency to be cautious or uncertain. As well, the Sun transits the last few degrees of indecisive Libra, closely followed by Venus. We have a strong desire for balance which, in this atmosphere, holds us back from [...]

"For though they may be parted
There is still a chance that they will see"

— The Beatles - Let It Be
John Lennon/Paul McCartney

The week begins with the station of Mercury direct, in a trine to Pluto — which allows and encourages us to dig deeper in order to find clarity. Mercury doesn't quite get back to the opposition to Neptune but we still feel some of the initial confusion and indecision until Mercury begins to pick up some speed as the week progresses. Pluto is also nearly stationary direct, beginning to give us some sense that the period of 'Re-Evaluation' is coming to a close. However, Mars is slowing down and will turn retrograde by [...]