Welcome to November! If you did not catch last month’s article and would like to catch up, you can find that here. If you enjoy my articles and want to be updated when they are live you can subscribe to my newsletter! This is completely free, you can enter your email on the main blog page.
Major Transits
11.04 - Saturn stations direct in Pisces
11.08 - Venus enters Libra
11.10 - Mercury enters Sagittarius
11.13 - New Moon in Scorpio at 20º
11.17 - Mars Cazimi in Scorpio at 25º
11.22 - Sun enters Sagittarius
11.24 - Mars enters Sagittarius
11.27 - Full Moon in Gemini at 4º
Major Aspects
11.03 - Sun opposite Jupiter, Venus opposite Neptune
11.04 - Mercury opposite Uranus
11.06 - Venus trine Pluto, Mercury trine Neptune
11.10 - Mercury square Saturn
11.11 - Mars opposite Uranus
11.13 - Sun opposite Uranus
11.15 - Mercury sextile Venus
11.17 - Mars conjunct the Sun trine Neptune
11.20 - Sun-Mars sextile Pluto
11.22 - Venus opposite Chiron, Sun square Saturn
11.24 - Mars square Saturn
11.26 - Mercury at the Nodal bendings
11.27 - Mercury square Neptune
11.29 - Venus conjunct the South Node
Delineation
In the first half of November, Scorpio is a very dominant sign in the sky with Mars at home here along with the Sun and Mercury. I've already talked about this sign extensively in the Lunar Eclipse article, but something to be emphasized here is irrevocable change. This is accentuated by Mercury, Mars, and the Sun all making oppositions to Uranus, an agent of change, but especially the sudden and surprising kind.
Scorpio season heralds a time of alterations, both little and massive "deaths" in our lives, some of them coming that have been hidden from view. This likely isn't anything new to those who find themselves in tune with zodiacal wheel, but I think it's important to emphasize that planets in Scorpio change things in such a way in which we can never go back to a previous form. Once you know and see, you can't retrieve something back from the jowls of Cerberus, you cannot leave in ignorance once something has been divulged.
In true Scorpionic fashion, I've managed to make this sound drastic and fatalistic, but even the best experiences change us permanently. When someone kisses you, wiping the kiss off won't remove the experience or un-change the dynamic, it is now forever altered and, perhaps you want it to be this way. This is why there is such a dilemma when making certain decisions– once it's done, it's done (per Libra, the sign that comes right before Scorpio). Or if there is a case where the damage can be remediated, it likely requires a lot of time, energy, money, or pain to restore it to its previous state and who knows if it will ever be exactly the same. These are the kinds of experiences we have during this season, but especially when multiple planets are here at the same time. Under a Plutonian sky, things cannot go back to the way they were before, but they can instead, be continually transformed. If you understand the implications of this, that something cannot be restored completely but changed in other ways, this could be a great season for making impactful decisions– especially if you don't want something to be reversible.
On Earth, permanence is actually, paradoxically, impermanence too. Something becoming permanent means that something else cannot last in its place. Inking a tattoo onto your body means that the previous version of yourself with blank skin is gone now. A death in the family means that you can never bring that person back, but this experience may strike the rest of the living with how limited our time is. I bring up this permanence-impermanence paradox because it's actually something I mentioned at the beginning of the Saturn in Pisces transit– Saturn will be stationing direct on the 4th, so let's talk about him!
Saturn is the planet of limits, it is our reminder that we are limited in time, limited without proper fuel and hydration, limited without the daylight, limited by the bounds of fate, limited by our own capacity. No amount of discipline or hard work or planning can truly save us from the inevitable. In the sign Pisces, we are reminded of this because it is a sign of memory, the unconscious, the spirit. This lesson of impermanence may echo through November as we are now clarifying the first chapter in the Saturn in Pisces story.
Saturn ingressed Pisces on March 7th 2023 traveling to 7º before stationing retrograde on June 17th. Now, nearly five months later, Saturn will begin moving forward again retracing its steps until it clears the station degree on February 14th 2024. I have a very unique perspective of this transit as this has been the year of transiting Saturn square my natal Saturn. Whenever we have direct contacts with a transit, we may interact with its themes on a deeply personal level– and really with all transit articles, I urge you to look at your personal planets and degrees to discern how your own experience may differ from or align the greater collective. That being said, the way I have experienced Saturn in Pisces has been very:
trusting-without-seeing-the-full-picture
confused-at-all-times-and-not-in-a-cute-way
am-I-surrendering-or-am-I-just-delusional?
oh-shit-I-didn't-even-know-I-needed-boundaries-here
why-god?
okay-this-is-an-addiction
For November, I'd like to highlight "oh-shit-I-didn't-even-know-I-needed-boundaries-here" as this is a typical Saturn station theme, but oh boy, even more in the sign Pisces. First, it's good to note that a boundary is a limit. Sometimes our limits change! If I haven't eaten, my tolerance for the effects of alcohol is going to be significantly lower than if I drank with a meal. The speed limit may fluctuate on this road depending on school hours– on a week day, it's 35 so as to mind the children crossing the road and on the weekends it's 50. When Saturn was domicile in Capricorn and Aquarius over the last 6 years, those limits were hard, final, and brutal edging on a set of rules more than a fluctuating limit.
From what I've witnessed, this was fairly necessary in some situations, a domicile Saturn transit will draw lines in the sand for our health and safety. Saturn in Pisces, a sign it is not strong in, is very different. It's like all of the walls have collapsed and there are no rules anymore. Pair it with a nodal transit through Aries and well, there are no limits because we haven't fully tested them out yet. If you've never had a drink before in your life, how would you know that it only takes x amount before you're absolutely hammered? Throw up all night and you'll probably pay more attention to your limit from here on out.
From March 7th to June 17th, we were testing the waters and feeling out these foreign situations and their correlating transits (there were quite a few astrological changes in March if you remember!). June 17th to November 4th, it's likely that some of us fell on our face, painfully finding the limit in the process or on the contrary, maybe it went well and you've managed to deconstruct a crushing weight that no longer plagues you. Now, in the Saturn direct post shadow, we're repairing whatever damage was done in the retrograde phase and integrating whatever we may have encountered since March. By the end of February 2024, we'll be in the next chapter of this Saturn transit, wading through new waters to try it all again with the same, but slightly different themes.
Venus will enter Libra on the 8th staying all month long and giving us 2 full weeks of dual dignity with Mars in Scorpio who is, from this point on, no longer the final depositor in the sky. Typically, planetary dignity is nice and it still might be with both of these planets at home in their own signs, but two things to consider:
1. Venus transiting Libra means more South Node activation– it perfects at the end of the month
2. A strong Mars, while precise, maximizes impact (a word I've liked using a lot during this transit).
In October, the Sun, Mars, Mercury, and of course the Moon during the Solar Eclipse, all made conjunctions to the South Node emphasizing relationship partings, difficult decisions, injustice, and general lapse in judgement. Last month was heavy for many of us. The South Node is a kind of excavation, revealing and digging up the bones of a thing, ancient and archaic, even if it's new it reminds us of something else. This is why it's a symbol of decrease, something that through the unearthing process, we can hopefully dissolve so as not to irritate us later down the line. The trouble is, we have to dig through the ugly, decayed thing, breaking it down until it no longer stinks.
Mars will help us with this. I don't think it's a coincidence that we see Venus meeting with the South Node and Mars in Scorpio, the placement of the surgeon or the war general, at the same time. These three are getting away with murder together, ridding us of the body. "The body" and what is contained within it will differ for all of us, but these two houses in your chart will tell you quite a bit about what is no longer living, but is really instead, draining you to stay a zombie. This isn't a new story either, luckily at the least, we are used to activation here in the last month however, Venus brings a certain tenderness and emphasis on our moral failings than the previous planetary transits through this sign.
Mars in Scorpio will conjunct the Sun on the 17th at 25º creating a "cazimi" where Mars will be held in the heart of the Sun. Cazimis are typically days of clarity and revelation pertaining to the planet, sign, and house it may fall into for each of us personally, and since it's Mars we're dealing with, this is specifically clarity on what must be executed. It's possible that we've been using our energy in ways that has worked against us in the past, positioning us towards greater loss than is necessary, but Mars in Scorpio gets to the very soul of a matter, drawing in the power needed to direct us towards gain. The Sun offers us a window of clear sight into the very "heart" of situation and if we can take advantage, we can arrive to a deep understanding of what must be done and how. Scorpio does often bring an element of seriousness and the profound to everything it does as it is here to see beyond what may be physically presented. This is a very auspicious day (and I would say the week surrounding it as Mars does well in combustion due to its likeness in nature to the Sun) to pay attention to, whether this is "good" or "bad" is a matter of perception more than anything, but we can count on it to be impactful regardless.
Something that I do feel is important to mention: whether you are flying high at the cazimi or feeling like you've been set on fire, we all come to a halt as soon as Mars ingresses Sagittarius on the 24th as it will immediately square Saturn. Mars square Saturn can feel like hitting a major road block. Mars wants to speed forward while Saturn has you chained at the border. There is potential for frustration, but it's best not to ram your head into the wall, find another way or tap into a sense of patience if you can. Each planetary ingression to Sagittarius will run into a challenging square with Saturn as soon as it enters the sign, keeping this in mind may help with your patience. The square between Pisces and Sagittarius will speak to the tension between feeling lost and the potential of adventure, it is a test of faith and surrender. To further the discussion of Sagittarius season:
On the 10th, Mercury ingresses Sagittarius, on the 22nd the Sun follows, on the 24th Mars joins them creating a Sagittarius stellium in the sky. While its opposite sign, Gemini, and its brother (from the same planetary ruler) Pisces, may produce duplicates, options, and opposing sides rooted in the intricacies of detail or emotion, Sagittarius has a target. At first it seems very silly that Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter the planet of variety and diversification is also the archer. When we think of aiming an arrow at a target, it might bring to mind a singular goal or objective, but then, no archer ever has just one arrow. I picture the targets as belief systems, or cities to travel to, or educational degrees while Sagittarius, the archer, hits one after the other as if to validate them all. Maybe its target was once a bachelor of arts and now they've signed up for law school. My own chart and stellium ruler is Mars in Sagittarius and I've always resonated more with Omnism, the respect or belief in all religions at once (which again, like I said with the concept of impermanence, is kind of paradoxically the disbelief in all religions at once). Sagittarius can see not just this or that like Gemini is apt to do, instead it sees the potential in all.
This Sagittarius season is the first that we get with its ruler, Jupiter retrograde, in the sign Taurus. These signs together, while inconjunct and unable to see each other, are both geared towards systems. The difference is that Sagittarius is often more open and less stubborn about tradition and hierarchy than Taurus, but it is certainly no less defensive about its own school of thought and universal knowledge no matter how controversial. These two are both teachers and with Jupiter retrograde in Taurus ruling the planets gathered in Sagittarius, we'll need to watch out for know it all behavior. It's likely that we could find ourselves preaching to the wrong people, the ones who may never "get it" or who purposefully choose not to. It's also important to watch for excess in November and December in all things. Overspending, overshooting, blowing something out of proportion before we have all of the details, these are all possible this season.
While the Sun, Mercury, and Mars will all answer to Jupiter retrograde, Jupiter answers to Venus in Libra our final depositor now that Mars has left Scorpio. We have already talked about this transit however, Mercury in Sagittarius will make a sextile to Venus in Libra. Though aspects to Venus from the Sun and Mars will never perfect before she leaves home, the sign based sextile may still be felt as well. This is the fight for unity. Unity against injustice, unity of thought, morals, and belief. Mercury and Venus are both such fast moving planets that it may be just a ripple in a larger story, but a ripple still creates movement, a connection point. We have an opportunity here for revelations around what has been holding us back in the Libra sector in our charts (our relationships! our ability to make decisions! the faith we have in our own judgement!), sometimes we need to hear something said in just the right way, by just the right person, before it clicks into place.
The last thing I'll touch on for the month ahead is the New and Full Moons– as many of you know, I tend to write about each lunation separately (the Moon is my one true love, my heart, my fascination, my muse) but it's nice to have a heads up as these foreshadow the dominant themes that will be beginning and climaxing in our lives.
On November 13th, we have a New Moon in Scorpio at 20º conjunct Mars and opposing Uranus. It's likely that something is starting here, but it's rather abrupt and it is requiring a little sacrifice. It could be that something new comes about after receiving some harsh news or deciding that something can no longer continue the way it has been, but this could unexpectedly turn out for the better if it initially seems challenging. On the other hand, it could be a "taking back our freedom" moment, forcibly evening the scales.
Scorpio is a sign that speaks to: transformation, endings, debt, loans, autonomy, and power. You may see something like this at the forefront of your life at the time of the New Moon.
On November 27th, we have a Full Moon in Gemini at 4º square Saturn and opposing Mars who is still closely under the Sun's beams. The Moon is ruled by Mercury in Sagittarius sextile the Venus-South Node conjunction, square Neptune retrograde, and answering to Jupiter retrograde in Taurus. A rough one, not going to lie to you. This completes the New Moon in Gemini from June 17th 2023 (the one with that tight square to Neptune) something could come back around from that time. It's likely that whatever we couldn't face or clearly see back in the summer is now unavoidable and requiring more responsibility from us. Gemini likes to show us its other face whenever it's already given us the polar opposite.
Gemini is a sign that speaks to: communication, duplicity, facts, intellect, nervousness, transportation, siblings and peers.
Thank you for reading if you made it to the end, despite some of the challenging astro weather, congratulations! You've made it through your first eclipse season with the nodal axis in Aries and Libra. Let's get into the rising sign horoscopes.
Rising sign horoscopes
*Usually I write a paragraph each for all 12 signs regarding the month ahead, but I have had a very full plate recently and don't have have as much energy to put into these this month. Instead, I'd like to shorten them to a mini vibe check according to dominant transits. Hopefully I'll have space to resume my typical length in December! Nevertheless, enjoy.
Aries risings
Vibe check: Major 8th house/9th house activation. You are in the process of shedding skin so you might be a bit lighter on your travels. Find intimacy in philosophy and knowledge this month.
Taurus risings
Vibe check: Major 7th house/8th house activation. These are the houses of connection, partnership, and other people's "stuff" you are really seeing into the other this month, getting closer and evolving as you see fit.
Gemini risings
Vibe check: Major 6th/7th house activation. These are the houses of health, routine, the things we do habitually, and the potential to connect with those we see each day. Partnership is essential to growth.
Cancer risings
Vibe check: Major 5th/6th house activation. These are the houses that bond over innocence, make sure you include a bit of innocent fun into your daily life, explore and expand your routine.
Leo risings
Vibe check: Major 4th/5th house activation. You're tapped into your true nature this month. You may be thinking about your family and childhood quite a bit. Make some time for romance too!
Virgo risings
Vibe check: Major 3rd/4th house activation. You may be quite busy, but make sure to rest and retreat to the inner world, the family, and your roots when you're done for the day. Communication and perspective becomes important.
Libra risings
Vibe check: Major 2nd/3rd house activation. Money is on the brain, it's possible that you'll need to speak up about things that matter most to you especially as they pertain to your value system. Be open to exploring new perspectives.
Scorpio risings
Vibe check: Major 1st/2nd house activation. This is about the time of the year that you evolve as a person, what security blankets have you held onto and which ones mismatch the person you are becoming?
Sagittarius risings
Vibe check: Major 12th house/1st house activation. For you, paranoia is what often keeps you from self discovery. You have to dare to lose, to fail, to sit in the goodbyes and the endings.
Capricorn risings
Vibe check: Major 11th house/12th house activation. It may be time to let some of your big ideas go, when you evolve so do your dreams. It's okay to realize you want something different. Surrender to it.
Aquarius risings
Vibe check: Major 10th house/11th house activation. You're focused on the grand picture and the kind of authority you hold in your own plans. Connection and community is important to your goals.
Pisces risings
Vibe check: Major 9th/10th house activation. Exploration leads you to new ideas, you're considering things you never have before. What you learn plays into the roles you step into and new objectives.