Astro Forecast 10.29.24: The Haunted House of Scorpio
Astro Forecast 10.29.24: The Haunted House of Scorpio
This week, our descent into The Underworld will be pockmarked by jump scares and existential dread. Their formal names are Mars and Pluto.
What is happening?!
Say goodbye to balanced love and hello to unhealthy obsessions, for amenable Libra season has fled and the freaks are now in charge - culturally, politically, and astrologically. It is October 29th, in this foul year of your lord 2024, and the light is truly dimming as we walk deeper into an underworld cave of our own design.
Even in normal times, Scorpio season kicks off weird vibes; Silent Hill kind of vibes, where a house, a city, and a country look totally normal in the buttery wash of daylight, yet quickly turn murky and nightmarish once a switch flips and the night comes. Neighbors turn into monsters once the shadows consume them, and we are constantly anxious of what lurks in our blind spots. The sun starts to go away for larger and larger chunks of time, making our pre-work and school routines feel unnatural and punitive as we shiver, grind coffee in the dark, and curse our alarm clocks. This is the sacred time of dying; of trees shedding leaves and frost taking over gardens to remind humans that we are not invincible nor superior to nature. Clear skies and the novel crispness of early October have given way to blustery nights, fireplaces, and an ancient pagan ritual costumed in sugar and adolescence. We cosplay as monsters to keep the more subtle, deadly villains of time and darkness at bay; a nervous bit of whistling to convince ourselves that the graveyard of humanity isn’t holding a plot for us, when of course, it is. Scorpio season is for endings, and we are not wired to enjoy such things.
This is also a season of exponential intensity thanks to the creeping dread of Scorpio’s rulers Mars and Pluto, who are jockeying into an opposition that could manifest her most maladaptive qualities; extremism, despair, ego, power plays, war, and vengeance. We’ve seen so much already in the collective as we build to this perfection - violent, unhinged rhetoric, assassination attempts, and political and social movements born of the most plutonian desires; the desire to forcefully control others. We are facing our own authoritarian tendencies in 2024, but we laid the foundation for this reckoning a long time ago, maybe in 2008, maybe in 2000, maybe in the late ‘70s, when everyone embraced nukes and decided that Ronald Reagan, that cheerful cypher for Jesus-freaks and corporatists, was a better leader of the ‘free world’ than Jimmy Carter. Most likely, our descent into madness happened the way most descents happen - one step at time down a winding staircase of human evolution, making stops along the way to seal our fate. We grabbed fire from Prometheus at the top of the staircase and continued down, fiddling with Nero while Rome burned on the next landing, greeting Charlemagne as he married the naked ambition of the military state with the twisted fantasy of the Christian cult on the following stair, joining Napoleon as he froze thousands of French boys in the Russian tundra, and on and an and on. We gave the universe Lenin, and Stalin, and Mao, and Hitler. Like the dreaded eighth house, our invisible debts are being made visible with Pluto’s transition, and it looks like the time to settle has arrived. Memento mori, everyone - remember we are mortal.
Our collective energy is not going to harmonize or settle, because we may have an entirely new standard for what ‘fucked-up’ means once mid-November hits and Pluto enters Aquarius. Harsh? Yes, but there is so much cognitive dissonance happening around us that straightforward, unvarnished truth is becoming a hot commodity, one we should seek out and cherish. If we are honest with each other about how monumentally the future could suck, we can meet our destiny with our heads up and our conscience clear, at least.
Plus, wouldn’t it be nice to have everything go super smoothly and be really, really disappointed in my astrology? To be driving to work about a month from now thinking, “Goddamn, that was boring. I’m sending that cranky bitch an envelope of glitter for getting my hackles up.” Let’s keep that scenario in our heads as a goal, certainly, while we assess a stark reality; current events grow more brutal and bonkers with each news cycle, so much so that our ability to assess time has degraded. The nuances of a.m. and p.m., school day versus weekend, and Monday over Wednesday are slowly streamlining into only two segments of time for those of us paying attention - time at war or time in peace, or the time before the U.S. election, and the time after. I hate that my backwards, Crisco-fried country dominates so much astrological discourse, but the eerie alignment with autumn’s dominant transit is hard to ignore. Mars and Pluto will perfect an opposition on November 3rd, and these total psychopath planets guarantee worst case scenarios whenever they have a staring contest; violence, destruction, heat, fire, cutting, burning, and brutal dominance historically coincide with this aspect. Let’s walk into the future with our eyes open and our heads high.
Why would this affect me?
War god Mars is a total asshole, alright? He wants action for the sake of action, and he tends to bring heat, severance, accidents, and other acute violence to any planetary face-off. Pluto is also a huge asshole, but his evil deportment is subtler, sneakier, and plays out over a greater length of time. Pluto is Hades, the receiver of all, the dealer of ultimate justice and punishments, and a fearsome opponent with nothing BUT time on his hands. (He is not dissimilar from Saturn in this way.) When they meet, they typically trigger cataclysmic events that permanently transform something fundamental within humans, society, and our collective consciousness.
The last degree of any sign, when we’re speaking about transits, is referred to by astrologers as the anaretic degree, and this ancient nugget of measurement is responsible for a lot of the more extreme, unhinged behavior we’ve seen from figures both public and private since September 1st, when a retrograde Pluto re-entered Capricorn.
Astrologers derive this concept from the Greek word ‘anareta’, which translates roughly to ‘destroyer’ or ‘bringer of necessity’, because this final moment in a zodiac sign can often violently, bitterly end whatever struggles the planet in question has been emphasizing throughout the duration of a transit. Capricorn, as we have discussed at length, places materialism, status, and power above everything else when the shadows are running things, and when Pluto comes to your house, the shadows will always run things. So this last blast of Pluto is lurking at 29 degrees in the house of Capricorn and vomiting up all of our remaining worst impulses, the ones in which we began indulging circa 2008, and which have been slowly, evilly compounding their effects on us ever since.
When we consider how this transit might affect us personally, the bullshit becomes smaller and more moderate. We may encounter power plays at work and difficulties or arguments at home, because Mars in Cancer is fueled by base emotions, protectiveness, id, and ego. It is also very possible that we will have accidents, or know other people involved in accidents or near-death experiences. The more introverted among us, especially cardinal signs, might experience this transit as a dark night of the soul, questioning or jettisoning entire life or career paths after revelations about what we truly want. Pluto loves nothing more than to point out our flaws in long-term planning before crushing our expectations.
Sadly, the collective experiences are already piling up with this astrology; war is afoot, genocide is in progress, and plutocrats are gatekeeping our money, our government, and our bodies. Nothing lasts forever, though - and that is the real message of generational planets and their fuckery. We are the universe experiencing itself, and the only thing we can count on is constant transformation. Honestly, what did we expect? We’re a bunch of bald primates on a spinning chunk of carbon, riding a celestial Whirl-a-Gig that has no recorded beginning or end. I’m amazed we made it this far.
When do I have to deal with this?
Not to put to fine a point on it, but the Pluto/Mars opposition is extremely powerful and far-reaching, which means it dwarfs any other aspect we’ve been dealing with in terms of magnitude. We can’t really separate the effects of all the planetary movements occurring at once, because dramatic collective events always infect smaller personal interactions, even if we don’t realize it at the time. An example of this is the human tendency to memorize personal incidents in tandem with intense collective events, like knowing where we were and exactly what we were doing when the planes smashed into the World Trade Center in N.Y.C., or when Kurt Cobain shot himself, or what we were eating for dinner as we watched the Berlin Wall be torn apart, chunk by chunk, on national television.
Bearing this in mind, aspects beginning last week are leaking into this week, and everything is coalescing beneath the umbrella of Pluto and Mars being drama queens. So let’s cover the growing intensity piece by piece, including some very on-the-nose manifestations of dipshittery, courtesy of our increasingly craven ruling class and the mouth-breathers who support them.
MON 10.20 - THURS 10.24 - The Sun Squared Pluto So That Powerful Men Could Make Giant Asses of Themselves
Pluto in Capricorn: Sexy, Amoral C.E.O Who Has Killed People for Being Inefficient, Annoying
Sun in Libra: Affable Bartender/Owner Who Gives Great Advice Whilst Own Life is a Dumpster Fire
This celestial dust-up is yet another aspect with its claws out for authority figures and powerful people - usually men, but also other people with archetypically masculine qualities. Pluto never misses when he has a planet in his sights, and the sun isn’t exactly at home in Libra, where he was already debilitated. Metaphorically, as the lord of the dead knocks Apollo down a few pegs with his skeletal elbows, we could see more cases of respected authority figures taking hits in the court of public opinion in much the same way that our sun will be jabbed by Pluto. C.E.O’s, politicians, dads, and other heads of households might be going through it this week as we collectively observe plutonian disgorgement happening in the realms of culture and industry. In a more personal way, we should be cautious of stepping into any leadership roles without a solid plan of action , and we need to be sensitive to the egos around us. Ego-tripping will remain prominent throughout November as Pluto makes hard angles with several other planets, so don’t expect anyone to compromise or embrace reason. They will not.
TUES 10.21 - MON 10.28 - Mars Sextile Uranus Has Us Conferring With Weird New Allies
Mars in Cancer: P.T.A. Mama Bear Who Scares the Shit out of Other P.T.A. Moms
Uranus in Taurus: Crypto Gal Currently Innovating New Hydroponic Weed Technique For Home Growers
Mars in Leo: Highly Paid Action Star Who Has Played A Marine for So Long That He Believes Himself to Be a Real Marine
This is a very emotion forward, femme-centric sextile, and Mars seems to be gathering steam on women’s issues as he steers the ship of Cancer past our technology planet. In an interpersonal way, this could manifest as new, weird connections with disruptive views; organizations perceived as radically left or right may gain momentum as people warm to more intense agendas and are radicalized themselves. Some of us will find communion in things like socialist knitting circles and mutual aid, because Mars in Cancer wants to protect women, children, and the family unit. Expect the toxic online discourse around birth rates and gender relations to worsen, however, as domesticity is weaponized to support various agendas. When Mars moves into Leo on November 3rd, the nurturing, protective traits of Cancer fall away and ego and action will become the focus, which means these more extreme agendas are using October to build support.
MON 10.28 - SAT 11.2: Mars Continues to Build Momentum as He Trines Neptune, While Venus Squares Saturn and Faces Obstacles to Love
Neptune in Pisces: Brilliant and Disorganized Painter Who Hosts Ketamine Parties From his Bathtub
Mars in Cancer: P.T.A. Mama Bear Who Scares the Shit Out of Other P.T.A. Moms
Venus in Sagittarius: College Student Getting Turnt on Her Backpack Trek Through Europe
Saturn in Pisces: Empathetic Border Crossing Polizei Who Thinks Venus is Very Pretty, But Will Not Let Her Through Without the Correct Paperwork
Trines are, by their jupiterian nature, helpful and productive, and one gets the sense that a subdued Mars is looking more for solidarity than combat with this aspect. Neptune has serious love for humanity and all its foibles when he passes through the empathetic house of Pisces, and while he is not yet in his anaretic degree, he’s on his way. Expect to be energized for a fight with this aspect, but our motivation will be based on ideals and a kind of moral righteousness instead of base combativeness.
In a personal way, partnerships could experience friction, restriction, and conflict, but our girl Venus is pretty good at finding an opening for compromise and harmony, even if she has to cajole crusty Saturn in order to get her way. This is another example of the macro elements inflicting themselves on the micro aspects of human existence - the disharmony of the world can indirectly cause disharmony in our own lives, and the lives of the people we love. Take a deep breath when things feel spicy between loved ones this month, and marinate on the deeper meaning of our behavior and our desires. This aspect is giving us the opportunity to strengthen and solidify certain relationships, as long as we can navigate the temporary discomfort of conflict.
WED 10.30 - SAT 11.2: Mercury Opposes Uranus and then Trines Neptune, Lending Wackiness and Serious Attention Deficit Disorder to Public and Private Discourse
Mercury in Scorpio: Psychic, Unsettling Customer Service Rep Who Sees Through Your Bullshit Like a Walking Lie Detector Machine
Neptune in Pisces: Brilliant, Disorganized Painter Who Hosts Ketamine Parties From His Bathtub
Uranus in Taurus: Crypto Gal Currently Innovating a New Hydroponic Weed Technique for Home Growers
Holy watery trine, indeed. Our communication channels are about to get fucking weird, and that’s saying something, considering we just exited a news cycle where people presented serious arguments suggesting that politicians can control hurricanes and immigrants steal and eat suburban pets. He’s not MY god, but Jesus H. Christ, we couldn’t make this up even if we tried. We can expect the fantastical, unhinged ranting to continue, but the blind acceptance of bullshit by the general public will likely diminish.
One of the cool things about this watery Mercury is an enhancement of our poetic, big-picture thinking. Clarity comes to us by widening our perspectives and looking below the surface of speech, something at which both Neptune and Scorpio are very adept. Paradoxically, the more fanciful, hateful, and illusory the messaging by public institutions, the less accepting of lies and manipulation the general public will become. Suspicion of everything will be the order of the week as we seek to disrupt the status quo and combat institutional messaging, likely through art and non-traditional mediums. Mercury will ramp up the paranoia and distrust in our systems, but it will also give us insight into the ways we are duped or mislead, not just by public figures, but by bad actors in our own lives. These are excellent days for correspondence and invention, though - if you have a unique message to get to the world, it will be received loud and clear.
THUR 10.31 - MON 11.9: A Scorpio New Moon Transitions Us To Hyperdrive, Mercury Trines Mars for Some Watery Action, Delivers Secrets Through A Sextile with Pluto…then Pluto and Mars Light a Match and Set Our Old Lives On Fire
Mercury in Scorpio: Psychic, Unsettling Customer Service Rep Who Sees Through Your Bullshit Like a Walking Lie Detector Machine
Moon in Scorpio: Reticent, Artsy Mom Who Seems Nice, Is Actually A Pit Viper
Mars in Cancer: P.T.A. Mama Bear Who Scares the Shit Out of Other P.T.A. Moms
Pluto In Capricorn: Sexy, Amoral C.E.O Who Has Killed People for Being Inefficient, Annoying
This is when shit gets real, my friends. The above descriptions say it all, I think, when we ponder the kind of mayhem these god-planets will get up to between now and mid-November. I sense heavy, angry feminine energy around this election, because OBVIOUSLY. The protective aspect of Mars in the feminine, domestic sign of Cancer is already overwrought, and the anaretic degree of Cancer combined with the anaretic degree of Capricorn, where Pluto is sitting, will be explosive. Think of a wronged mother seeking vengeance for her dead children, or a family matriarch protecting her clan from dissolution. There is a righteousness to the destruction that Pluto will bring, a feeling that it was necessary to tear down ancient, harmful ideas, regardless of any fire or blood that follows in his wake. This is the Pluto return of the United States, and thus the Pluto return of Western empire as we know it in 2024. We are reaping what was sown, and we won’t fully understand the impact of this moment until it is years behind us.
A Final Note On Destruction…
The lead up to Pluto and Mars can be astonishing and devastating, but it can also give us undeniable wake-up calls about what is truly important to our lives and our futures. So much of this newsletter is ominous and cynical, in part because divination is supposed to be ominous. We don’t need to prepare for joy - we need to prepare for devastation! I’m warning us all about terrible shit so that we can anticipate fraught moments before they occur, behave with grace in the moments of crisis, and better synthesize their meaning after the fact. What are we even doing here if we aren’t examining the journey of our lives and the crazy activities that mark them as unique? Why would we bother?
Last week, my kid crashed her car. It wasn’t her car, really, because we’re too poor for that, but it was a clunker gifted to her by the in-laws. In a totally random moment on her way to school, someone clipped her from behind as she attempted a left-hand turn, which spun her into a pole and destroyed the vehicle, touching not one hair on her sixteen year old head.
The transiting sun in Scorpio made a sextile to her natal Pluto on that day, just as transiting Pluto, that bastard, made a sextile to her moon. It was a cliche move from Hades, to be sure; he reminded me of my fleeting, fragile security while simultaneously sparing my kid and saying, “Not yet,” to the destruction of Mars. My Aries child is ruled by the red planet, as I am, as the altar in my house and the sigils on my body can attest. As a Scorpio sun with an Aries ascendant, I have a working relationship with both gods at the helm of all this chaos, and it is precisely that sort of awareness that made me thankful for her car crash.
I’m thankful because I looked through our charts and concluded that she shouldn’t be driving at all during this transit, and the helpful nudge of an accident without injury was the irritating little gift from my angry deities that ensured she would avoid a bigger, scarier accident between now and mid-November. Pluto wanted my attention, and he got it.
Take note of the near misses, close calls, and strange synchronicities that occur over the next month and ponder their possible meaning. Accidents are going to happen. For some of us, this will be nothing more serious than home repairs, neighborhood disputes, and dinner spats, but for others, there are significant portents in the ether. For the collective, our precipice is obvious and imminent; we know we will not continue in our current social, political, and cultural iteration.
The world changes drastically during axis moments, and like everyone else, I am watching the chaos and thinking of all the ways I need to navigate life in two weeks, in a year, in a decade. Do I get cozy with the idea of dictatorship? Join a commune? A union? Carry on and pretend everything is fine, or abandon my life with a bus ticket to some rural Canadian town, change my name to Sandy, and spend any remaining years getting my ass slapped waiting tables?
I’ve been pondering all of this in the same way that so many of us have; feeling crazy, strangled by the waves of cognitive dissonance pumped out by state sponsored news that tells us all everything is fine. Visit a haunted house! Christmas is coming! If we take advantage of these stellar deals we’ll feel So! Much! Better! ‘Buy your way out of the apocalypse,’ our leaders are saying, and that may well be printed on the currency of our impending authoritarian oligarchy. ‘In God We Trust’ wasn’t sufficiently dictatorial, I guess.
I have been bogged down with astrological math and the tunnel vision of the occult, trying to determine our future, weighted by the state of the world, and angry about all of it. This general miasma was wiped away, instantaneously, upon getting a phone call from my kid on Wednesday, October 23rd, and hearing that she crashed her car. Everything else ceased to matter, and that’s how Pluto rolls, my friends - he wants to show you the truth. Pay attention to him. He is cutting through the noise with that old Scorpio truism, memento mori - remember thou art mortal.
The world is going to hell. We’re being jump-scared by porcine, geriatric men and their vacuous lackeys at every turn. Hundreds of thousands of people are being terrorized and killed. America is a trash basket. At least a third of my fellow citizens are fascists, another third don’t care either way, and the last bit of us are bewildered and terrified. There is a ballot on my dining room table and I will fill it out tonight, despite a total lack of faith in its import and meaning. I don’t know what else to do.
I don’t care as deeply about any of that anymore, though, not in the way I did before. Because my kid crashed her car last week, and after I fill out my stupid ballot and doom scroll the stupid news, I will get on my fucking knees and burn herbs and thank my angry gods for sparing her. For all of us, when accidents happen in the coming month, they are reminding us of the things that matter in gut wrenching, acute fashion. Bear witness and repeat the primal truth of your existence, over and over, like a mantra, whatever it may be. I’m reciting it with you.
My kid is alive. My kid is alive. My kid is alive.
We are alive.
I'm so glad you're kid is okay. 🥺🌹🌹🌹🌹