Sun-Venus Conjunction

Sun-Venus Conjunction — Discriminating Judgment

"Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others."

— John F. Kennedy

There are powerful imperatives building this week — a week that includes the retrograde station of Mercury and the inferior conjunction of Venus and the Sun on the Libra/Scorpio cusp. The week begins with a 1st Quarter Moon — the Moon's square to the Sun from Libra to Capricorn — which we might hope would provide enough clarity to put a 'plan of action' into effect. Mars carries a great deal of energy into the week, coming off of the challenging Mars-Venus square (at the Libra New Moon, October 10, 8:49 AM PDT 17° Libra) followed up by last Friday's highly motivating Mars-Saturn fire sign trine. However, Mars doesn't find as much traction this week and we struggle to make focused commitments and maintain confidence. Venus returns to make the second of three squares to Pluto on Monday, keeping us feeling 'stuck' — but also increasing our determination to make progress no matter the tactics or the cost. The Sun (ruling Mars in Leo) arrives in Scorpio on Friday, setting up next Sunday's Taurus Full Moon (9:11 PM PDT 2° Taurus/Scorpio) which will tightly square Pluto. Pluto is extremely powerful, having just stationed direct, and is asking us to make profound changes. Imperatives always increase as we head toward a Full Moon and while this week's imperatives seem to be driving us forward, the landscape will shift dramatically at the Full Moon and the strong fixed sign energy can be extremely frustrating if we've built up a 'head of steam'. We should be especially careful not to make too many commitments ahead of the Full Moon. Although we may not see exactly where this is all heading, we can definitely feel that we are on an extraordinary 'precipice'. The strength of our determination is extraordinary but we may struggle to focus our attention on exactly what we want to accomplish. Nonetheless, this is a highly transformative process which is gaining new potency. Faith in 'the process' is necessary in order to avoid becoming distracted or blindly obsessed with taking action without a clear sense of direction. The Sun and Moon's square to Pluto at the Full Moon will encourage us to lock in our determination — but with both Mercury and Venus both retrograde, we'll do better to focus on more investigation and methodical consideration, rather than trying to make 'forward progress'. The Sun's conjunction with Venus on the Scorpio/Libra cusp, ahead of the Full Moon, suggests the need to pull together the strength of Scorpio and the discriminating judgement of Libra in order to take advantage of the great power of Saturday's Sun-Venus conjunction. Venus will return to Libra to rule next Sunday's Full Moon from a position of considerable strength, encouraging us to continue to make use of the judgment and reason offered at the beginning of the lunar cycle at the Libra New Moon. Once the Sun reaches Scorpio, we may be inclined to keep our insights to ourselves — waiting for just the right moment to lay out our 'findings'. The return of Venus to Libra suggests that we're more willing take the time that we need to hear from 'all sides', even when we've already made our decision.

We're generally lacking much control over Sunday's situations, circumstances, and events but there is considerable support for creative pursuits if we are able to allow the flow rather than stifle our impulses or try to exert too much control. Otherwise, this is generally a day to simply 'go along to get along'. We're likely to feel 'stuck' in an uncomfortable 'holding pattern' on Monday. Nonetheless, the tension is quite motivating, encouraging us to seek resolutions and 'dig deep' for meaningful answers — answers that we are more likely to find 'within' than from any external sources or developments. Tensions seem to magically dissipate on Tuesday, leaving significant potential for self-indulgence or laziness. However, there are significant opportunities for progress if we are able to stay focused and avoid tempting 'side roads'. We are primed for some remarkable breakthroughs on Wednesday — although the process may seem quite chaotic. Irresponsible action is especially problematic, leaving us open to significant manipulation or disillusionment. There is a rather subtle independent streak in Thursday's environment that opens the door to brand new perspectives that are free from our 'old programming'. We may find ourselves prone to some kind of obsessive pursuit but it is likely that what we are seeing is holding our attention so profoundly that we simply 'can't look away'. The strength of our determination is extraordinary on Friday but we may struggle to focus our attention on exactly what we want to accomplish. This is a highly transformative process that is gaining new potency. Saturday's imperatives suggest conflicting aims. We might like to draw broad conclusions based on our shifting perspectives and take quick action but we should be especially cautious about making new commitments.