October 2023By Bob Mulligan (a personal note is at the end of the newsletter) October Highlights October starts idealistically, but with some confusion. On the 2nd and 3rd, Mercury (perception) is Opposite, then Contra-parallel Neptune (higher love). We see the world in a beauty that doesn’t yet exist. On the 8th, Venus goes into Virgo; practical applications to create harmony catch our attention. On the 10th, Pluto turns Direct. Internal friction has been building for several days and now gets released. Mars (energy) moves into Scorpio on the 12th; this gives a boost for all our projects. The middle to the end of the month is dominated by the forcefulness of two eclipses – Solar Eclipse on the 14th and Lunar Eclipse on the 28th. The first one stimulates the urge to push our projects over the finish line. The second one brings deeper conflicts to the surface. We have trouble letting go of the things that hold us back. The New Moon Solar Eclipse The New Moon is an Eclipse on the 14th on the 21st degree of Libra at 1:54 PM EDT. This chart has no fire. Charts with no fire have staying power, against the odds. We will see much accomplished during the next month, but also this chart will be triggered over the next few years, bringing victory when defeat looks imminent. With Mercury and the New Moon on the South Node of the Moon (karma), we will try to get others on board with our endeavors. Because Mercury in Libra is in mutual reception with Venus in Virgo, we are inclined to see what we can do to help others. Venus Opposite Saturn shows blockage and doubt. However, Mars is Trine Saturn and Sextile Venus. This shows determination and effort bring success, but also teach something. The Sun enters Scorpio Sun enters Scorpio on the 23rd at 12:22 PM EDT. The Sun/Mercury Trine Saturn promises some stability and disciplined mental activity. Venus separating from a Trine to Jupiter shows the general anticipation for abundance to keep rolling on. But the real message here is that we need to be grateful for what we have, without expectations of more to come. With six planets in fixed signs, and the passive elements of water and earth dominating, it takes tremendous disruption to move us forward and away from our pre-canned responses to activity. Mars Opposite Jupiter supplies the competitive spirit to get us moving. The Moon Square Uranus shows that the general public is restless, fickle, and in the mood for something new. We demand something new, and will get it. The Full Moon Lunar Eclipse The Full Moon Lunar Eclipse is on the 28th at 4:23 PM EDT on 5 degrees of Scorpio/Taurus. We are pulled in two directions. Do we stay on the path in front, or turn in a new direction? With Mercury Conjunct Mars Opposite Jupiter, we are polarized. To see the truth and live it is enough. Trouble emerges when we are determined to convince everyone else that our way is the only way. With no planets in Fire or Air signs, we have to be willing to go it alone. This implies that great sacrifice is necessary for a few months. Slow but real progress is possible if we tend our own gardens. The Weeks From the 1st to the 8th nothing seems to work when we are in a hurry. We can be factually right, but if our timing is off, we just make more work for ourselves. We have to be free to do our own thing, but seeing what everyone else is doing helps us stay attuned to our environment. From the 9th to the 15th our fascination with detail can actually impede our progress. Going with the flow is not just a slogan, it is an attitude toward life and others. Regardless of how self-reliant we are, our connections determine our progress. After testing the water and finding common ground, it is full steam ahead. From the 16th to the 22nd data and symmetry work in tandem. Partnerships have to make sense if they are to have lasting value. Arrangements made in haste as a matter of convenience will come back to haunt us later. We can be honest, kind, and stand on higher principles, if we remember why we are doing what we are doing in the first place. From the 23rd to the 31st a tendency to languish works to our disadvantage. Comfort and progress are not consummate bedfellows. Cherished habits and possessions that were comfortable, but are now just impediments, must go. New insights come with new information. Integration is slow. Coq au Vin must cook slowly to be edible. Tempura must be cooked at a blisteringly high temperature quickly, or it is a mess. Identifying each allows us to use the correct technique at this time and place. The Days 1st – Sunday – Mars Quincunx Uranus, Mercury Semi-sextile Venus – Oh God, we are full of enthusiasm and at the same time, a vague doubt regarding the potential success of our plans casts a shadow over the apparent window of opportunity. We have to move forward. We make progress if we make time for reflection without incrimination. 2nd – Monday – Sun Contra-parallel Mercury, Mercury Opposite Neptune – Self-assurance is a good thing. However, we need more that bravado to win others over to our cause. Also, facts alone do not move people. We need to split the difference between doubt and blind faith. We listen to others and still hold tight to our basic premise. 3rd – Tuesday – Mercury Contra-parallel Neptune, Mercury Trine Pluto, Venus Quincunx Neptune – What to do? We know in our heart that we are missing certain facts. Still, circumstances require us to act. What is most important is to remember what Meher Baba’s sister, Mani, said, “What you do isn’t important, how you do it is.” Being kind never goes out of style. Don’t burn bridges. 4th – Wednesday – Mercury Sesquiquadrate Jupiter, Mercury enters Libra – Success or failure is timing dependent. The road to happiness is paved with attention to detail, but also the concerns of other people. Detachment gives perspective, but also a front row seat for the stage performance of our own lives. Does the message in the fortune cookie open up new avenues of inquiry? 5th – Thursday – Mercury Quincunx Saturn, Sun Semi-square Venus, Mars Quincunx Neptune – Good intentions are not enough, but it is the correct starting point. Waiting for a sign that it is time to move forward is the next step. We may still be evaluating when the bus stops in front of us. We must come aboard if we don’t want to miss out. It all starts in the mind, but we do have to act at the appropriate time. 6th – Friday – Venus Quincunx Pluto – We have all the required ingredients, now we need to combine them. Synthesis is a magical process that can happen by accident, but we can be a conscious participant if we have a recipe. Guidance doesn’t have to be a straitjacket. Improvisation has its place, just as does the rulebook. 7th – Saturday – Venus Contra-parallel Mars, Sun Quincunx Jupiter – Love conquers all. If we lead with our positive feelings and cling to good wishes for everyone, great strides are made. Controversy, resistance, confusion are merely opportunities to intensify, purify, and learn. Knowledge brings greater economy of effort. 8th – Sunday – Mars Square Pluto, Venus enters Virgo – Bitterness doesn’t make us better. Finding the correct focus for our affections is like planting healthy seeds in good soil. A reckoning is coming; karma created in this life now will manifest in this life. Helping others is to channel a divine attribute. Opportunities appear unexpectedly. 9th – Monday – Mercury Sesquiquadrate Uranus, Sun Sesquiquadrate Saturn – We take insights seriously and barriers secondary. When lightning strikes, all we need to know is if it will affect our lives. Quieting down allows us to hear the thunder. Criticisms and objections offer us important openings to correct our course of action. Still, we have an objective and must keep on track. 10th – Tuesday – Venus Opposite Saturn, Pluto turns Direct – There is an audience for the tune we are singing. We reach them by kicking it up a notch. This is not to sing louder. A different tempo and a higher key may achieve better results. There is a reason that we like the things we are drawn to, and there is a reason that they are sometimes out of favor. Making peace with the cosmos brings us joy and universal appeal. 11th – Wednesday – Mercury Parallel Neptune – Even though inspiration comes from a higher source, other people are the vehicle that carries the message. We aren’t switching values or methods, just perspective. Love grows when it is shared. A new civilization will be built on the consciousness that is dawning now. The fight is just beginning and victory comes when we eliminate our lower selves. 12th – Thursday – Mars enters Scorpio, Mercury Quincunx Jupiter – Max Steiner hated “As Time Goes By”. For reasons beyond his control he couldn’t eliminate it from the musical score of “Casablanca”. What did he do? He used his great talent to weave the song in various forms through the entire movie. Today our ‘teacher’ is not in love with the lesson we must learn. We go on the internet and find a way to embrace it anyway. 13th – Friday – Mars Trine Saturn, Mercury Sesquiquadrate Saturn – Great energy brings great accomplishments. We must surrender the idea that we must understand in order to do. Postponement is not necessary and we should not get in our own way. The inertia of old habits will actually serve us well if we don’t demand a map in order to take initial steps. 14th – Saturday – The New Moon is an Eclipse on the 14th on the 21st degree of Libra at 1:54 PM EDT – Planning can be particularly fruitful, if we take time to gather our thoughts, meditate, or maybe journal. Physical strength, applied in the correct course of action, multiplies our efficiency. Helping others whom have no means to help us in return, multiplies our inner rewards. Feeding the better angels of our nature lessens the hold of the unreal. 15th – Sunday – Sun Contra-parallel Venus, Sun Quincunx Uranus – We can change partners; is this the right thing? Just because we can’t save everyone doesn’t mean we can’t help someone. Cynicism is the enemy of growth. It is time to be bold and risk failure. If something isn’t working, evaluate and eliminate. Something must go in order to move on. 16th – Monday – Being in a hurry can work to our disadvantage. The hunt for buried treasure needs to be put on hold so we can identify our real path forward. Taking a shortcut may leave us in a more complicated spot. Trying to save time and money can end up costing a lot more of each. Still, some motion is probably more useful than sitting. Movement and patience allows us to see more clearly the road ahead. 17th – Tuesday – Mercury Quincunx Uranus, Mercury Contra-parallel Venus – A quick two-step takes us out of the main circle. If we are smart, we sit on the sidelines for a while. Good sounding ideas that have no way of becoming real things can still serve a useful purpose. Mission and feeling have to work together. Life is no fun if we don’t have our heart in what we are doing. 18th – Wednesday – Mercury Semi-square Venus, Mars Parallel Saturn, Sun Quincunx Neptune – There is a hustle to see how much can be accomplished. Work seems to multiple. Before we exhaust ourselves, we need to see if we are creating more tasks that don’t really have to be ours. Different compartments of life contain different information about what needs to happen. Getting appropriate balance between the various aspects of living requires effort, but the whole process should be fun if we are doing it right. 19th – Thursday – Mercury Quincunx Neptune – To have faith in things unseen is a blessing, when it is based on Truth. If we are on the right track, it doesn’t matter in the slightest if other people come along with our insights. We must respect other people’s point of view as being right for them. Our job is to know what is right for ourselves. 20th – Friday – Sun Conjunct Mercury, Mercury Square Pluto – We are really lucky today if we take what is given; reach out and encompass more space. Then relax and let the rest go. It is easy to be swept up in the myriad of long standing difficulties. We have to face that there are some real unpleasantries in life that cannot be overcome at the moment. It will only be a few more months before all of this changes. 21st – Saturday – Sun Square Pluto – If we don’t personalize any slights that come our way, we are on the golden road. Choosing to do things in a familiar way keeps us growing without much risk. The regular routines bring home the bacon. If we follow the path of duty, we can move on to other more exciting and interesting things. 22nd – Sunday – Venus Trine Jupiter, Mercury enters Scorpio, Sun Parallel Mercury, Mercury Trine Saturn, Venus Sesquiquadrate Pluto – The most rudimentary and practical insights bring surprisingly quick results. Our job is to feel grateful, and to recognize the bounty of creation as it comes to us easily and most naturally. Obsessive or addictive behavior can bring defeat when victory would have been clearly ours. Knowing when enough is enough is a blessing. 23rd – Monday – Sun crosses into Scorpio, Mars Contra-parallel Jupiter – Our natural inclination is to play for all or nothing. At best, this is a time of ground clearing; waiting for a new planting. Not so good is when we are paralyzed or act without forethought. Stress can build up and we end up making enemies instead of friends. Self-restraint and calmness go a long way to secure a path forward. 24th – Tuesday – Sun Trine Saturn – Discipline buys us time to negotiate. Confusion and misunderstandings can make it difficult to reach agreement. When we think we know what is going on, chaos around us may go underappreciated. Careful measured steps help us make sense of the new reality we are living in. 25th – Wednesday – Mercury Parallel Saturn – Patience and effort of the past period start to pay dividends. Understanding emerges. We have suffered by trying to make our perceptions fit into our familiar categories. Pre-existing patterns emerge as if by magic, if we just let the environment talk to us. 26th – Thursday – Mercury Contra-parallel Jupiter – The sleeve of values covers the arm of data. Contemplation brings deep insight if we trust and stay relaxed. Slowly we start to see what is really important, and it isn’t what we thought. Playing spin-the-bottle with a group of strangers isn’t a great idea. When we listen we learn something. Evaluation without judgment is instructive. 27th – Friday – Mars Sesquiquadrate Neptune, Sun Parallel Saturn – The emotional composition of our search for the right direction is the key to finding satisfaction. Sometimes just relaxing when things feel right is enough. The grand crusade can wait for another day. Others join us if they are on the same wave-length. 28th – Saturday – Mercury Sesquiquadrate Neptune, Mars Opposite Jupiter, the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse at 4:23 PM EDT is on 5 degrees of Scorpio/Taurus, Mercury Opposite Jupiter – The eagle has landed; it all makes sense. We can relax; the world is catching-on and catching-up. Competition should be for fun, not for self-enhancement. If we are smart enough to let our guard down, we learn a great deal about other people’s values. The race belongs to the swift, but also to the helpful. 29th – Sunday – Mercury Conjunct Mars – Today is a great day to perform surgery. Cutting into someone or something is definitely favored. However, most of us are not doctors trying to save someone’s life by performing an emergency tracheotomy. Almost all of us have the capacity to get in an argument, start a fire, or drive over the speed limit. The energy unexpressed carries its own problems. The options today involve finding a safe way to express our quest to break free. 30th – Monday – Sun Contra-parallel Jupiter – Opportunity knocks. Is this a trap? Learning to trust life and the circumstances that present themselves does not mean being naïve. To fall back on the comfort of friends may mean we are facing life head on. Indecision may be better than the wrong decision. Forward motion is good if our reach doesn’t exceed our grasp. 31st – Tuesday – Venus Trine Uranus – Exploration leads to trying something new. Many of the same old problems exist, but we can see them with different eyes. It is fun to take a road trip, even when we know exactly where we are going. To see the landscape and our friends and partners with new eyes is a blessing. We need to savor them. Bob Mulligan is available for personal appointments, astrology classes, and astrological material. Call him at 239-261-2840 or by e-mail at bobmulliga@aol.com. Visit our website, www.theastrologycompany.com My Personal Note People asked about the timing of our move up here to Myrtle Beach. Yes, this was the only time that made sense astrologically. All other things being equal, I would have preferred to move later, but there was no other astrological moment that worked. Long years of experience have taught me to always go with the astrology. “Yesteryear” is a fascinating memoir, written by my long time friend, Kathleen Burt. I have a printed copy by my bed and plan to re-read it. I read it in manuscript form some time back and wrote an endorsement for it. I was really, really looking forward to plunging into another journey through it. It got postponed for a few weeks because something other than my newsletter and client appointments has captured my attention. My book, “The Heart of Astrology” is being published by IBIS Press. The next few weeks will finish up the details of how we proceed. After almost 20 years, this is a blessing. If you ever miss a newsletter, let me know. Here are a couple of songs I thought you would enjoy: https://youtu.be/8QwvqKMXhL8?si=hCeMExgvQhnG58zp https://youtu.be/6jXrmAKBBTU?si=8S3ml8iD30Ef5rIb “We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.” Orison Swett Marden Bob Mulligan is available for personal appointments, astrology classes, and astrological material. Call him at 239-261-2840 or by e-mail at bobmulliga@aol.com. Visit our website, www.theastrologycompany.com. | 
