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Super-Syzygy

The October 2006 Forecast

by Terry Lamb

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Past forecasts

S eptember was chock full o’ events, between the eclipses and the gathering formation of planets. A way to describe the impact of the eclipses became crystallized in my mind as these powerful events rippled through the lives of myself and others in my awareness. Although their energies have slipped from our primary focus, they are still there, impelling us forward, shaping our motivations and the decisions that we make because of them.

However, what draws our attention now is a gathering “super-syzygy” in Scorpio. Although some may treat it as something that has never happened before, planetary clusters are not infrequent. They herald new beginnings and a period of more intense focus (regardless of the sign they are in). The way the planets interweave as they connect creates a unique story that holds great potential for growth and expansion if we can tap its force. October is all about the anticipation of this gathering and its intricacies, including the larger cycles that play a major contextual role.

The Power of Eclipses — A Look Back at September

First, let’s get the context brought to us by the eclipses: Eclipses occur in sets every 5½ months. Usually there is one solar and one lunar eclipse, although there occasionally may be three in a grouping. The eclipses in a set occur two weeks apart, because they are, if you will, “hyper-lunations”. That is, a solar eclipse occurs on a new moon, while a lunar occurs on a full moon. They may occur in any order, solar or lunar occurring first, depending on when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align so that the shadows of Moon and Earth fall on each other. This always occurs when the Moon and the Sun reach at the same time one of the two places where their orbits cross each other.

From the perspective of our consciousness, each time we experience a set of eclipses, it’s like a new chapter in the book of life. As the eclipse approaches, we feel an urge to complete things in our life to prepare for the new chapter (5½-month eclipse period). When the eclipse arrives, we feel it more strongly if it contacts something in our birth chart (within three degrees, if you’re checking). Under those circumstances, we are likely to experience events that will change our lives, even dramatically alter the path we are traveling. More often the effects, even with a direct contact, are more subtle. They may involve changes, but they can be changes we initiate ourselves, such as a decision to travel to someplace you’ve never been or to bring a new child into the world.

Some people have vivid dreams at the time of an eclipse. In 1989, an eclipse occurred on my birthday. I had recently found out that I was pregnant with my second child. That night I dreamt that it was time for the birth, and the baby just fell out. After that, I felt certain that the birth would proceed quickly, and I made arrangements to manage that eventuality. As it turns out, my son was born in 2½ hours.

Eclipses open a doorway to the future. They are like a “cold boot” on life. Activity comes to a standstill at the time of the eclipse. The expected light of the Sun or Moon suddenly goes dark. The disruption of light disrupts our awareness, and new ideas and ways of looking at things emerge. After this powering down, life restarts itself with a fresh perspective and direction.

The time between two eclipses is a time “between the worlds”. Situations are unsettled, the way unclear. One shoe has dropped, but we have to wait for the other shoe to know the full story, how to plan the next chapter in our life.

Think back on what happened in September, around the 7^th and the 22^nd, and write down what issues arose at those times. (You can go +1day.) Then think about how you changed your life as a result of those events and write your thoughts down. This will provide you with a compass to direct you for the coming five months, until the next set of eclipses comes on March 3 and 19 next year.

While September’s eclipses are a backdrop to October’s events, you will see how they are critical to how you interpret and direct your actions this month.

One Foot on the Accelerator, the Other on the Brakes

For the first time since July, the planets are once again gathering in one of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) — this time Scorpio. All the faster moving bodies will be there — Moon (for 2 ½ days), Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. This grand gathering will begin on October 1^st, when Mercury enters Scorpio. Mercury then begins its long engagement with Jupiter, which will lead eventually to complicated positive results. The story of how we get there, however, may be circuitous — the stuff novels and “stranger than fiction” tales are made of.

If Mercury and Jupiter are the foot on the accelerator, Saturn is definitely the foot on the brakes. These planets will carry forward the theme that we’ve been playing out since last July (2005) and established circumstances last fall that we are still dealing with. This is as it should be — the planets have not finished with us in this area yet — so relax and enjoy the ride! First, let’s see what Mercury and Jupiter have in store.

A Golden Opportunity Period — With a Dose of Drama

When Mercury and Jupiter make harmonious contacts, they create multiple windows of opportunity occurring every day. When they follow the rules in a straightforward manner (literally moving straight forward), our affairs proceed in a similar fashion. However, there is an added complication this time. Although Mercury and Jupiter are in harmony, Mercury turns retrograde after it passes Jupiter, so these planets have three contacts. Usually this means that the story isn’t finished until after the last contact. This is made all the more interesting by the fact that before Mercury makes its final contact with Jupiter, both planets go into Sagittarius. Because Jupiter will now be in a sign of its rulership, this bodes well for our plans.

So, here’s how it will play out, in all likelihood: Plans started under the influence of Mercury-Jupiter will flow smoothly toward resolution and may reach a preliminary state of completion that is satisfactory before the 22^nd. However, new circumstances that have a bearing on the situation will also emerge that complicate the matter or promise greater return or reward at the cost of a delay and with some risk involved. Around the 28^th, the situation may appear to encounter major complications, even be completely lost. Over the following three weeks, those complications will crystallize and become resolvable. By November 8, no new complications will appear, but circumstances will not clear for unfettered forward motion until after the 17^th. Once this date has passed, you will be able to move ahead rapidly, but your attitude toward or perspective of the situation will change before it is completely resolved, during the last week of November. Final resolution opens the door to new prospects and higher, yet attainable, goals.

Make It Work for You

The keys in this are: 1) Don’t give up when you encounter an obstacle; and 2) refuse to accept a pessimistic “failure-oriented” perspective. Keep a winning (win-win) approach, and look for the way it can be done, not all the ways it won’t work. Allow yourself to be shown and guided to the right ingredients, and don’t be rushed or pushed by someone who is in fear.

This is how a Mercury-Jupiter-influenced situation will evolve if it is allowed to proceed “organically”. Organic processes usually produce the best and most robust outcome. If you need a different, more miraculous process, it is possible, but this comes only through allowing the universe to carry us and not “pushing the river”. If we push, we will encounter resistance and it will take longer, not less time.

This scenario does not necessarily apply to situations which are not under the Mercury-Jupiter influence. (This is why astrology often appears unreliable or hard to pin down.) For other situations which were started before Mercury moved into Scorpio or were started during the 16 hours of any day when Mercury and Jupiter do not rule the relevant areas of the heavens, different patterns will play out.

Turn Dreams into Reality

But as mentioned above, Mercury and Jupiter aren’t all there is to it. Saturn stands sentinel over our Jupiterian affairs as it has all year, through the 25^th. This means that our actions are not merely responses to our local and present circumstances but hearken back to pledges we made and inspirations we had in May 2000, when we began a new cycle for turning dreams into reality. I know for me this came only as a vague thought that has cast a long shadow into my life in ways I could not possibly have dreamt of (and that are positive beyond my wildest imaginings).

This was the beginning of the 20-year Jupiter-Saturn cycle, and this year we’ve experienced the second salvo of that round, in which we discover how we’re doing in accomplishing our most deeply held goals and dreams. Critical dates related to this year’s turning point experience are December 16 (2005), June 22, and October 25. Events tied to these dates can occur even a month before or after they occur, but they should be easy to spot — it’s a relatively large undertaking that has presented challenges and obstacles to you in reaching your current life goals.

You can be sure that these matters will be involved, at least on background, during October, and that the choices you make this month will influence your path in significant ways. This is nothing to fear, only to be aware of. If you can step up to the plate and stare each challenge(r) straight in the eye, you’ll be on the right track. This does not mean that some adjustments will not be necessary — in fact, we can expect them to be required. Rather it means that by being alert to where we need to adjust, we can take advantage of this time of flux.

Lest We Forget . . .

There are even deeper processes at work that I have explored at length over the past year. The primary of these is the Saturn-Neptune contact (see September’s forecast, plus any in the past year for more information). The first of three contacts occurred in August and are involved in the current volatility of oil prices, among many other phenomena. This interaction will have the effect of extending the situations we’ve been working with since last year through June 2007. This will be the final volley across the bow of life from the fixed signs for some time.

The Gathering Super-Syzygy

With the Jupiter-Saturn contact creating the context for our experiences, several other planets headed toward Scorpio will eventually make contact with them and add spicy details to our story. This is typically experienced as a building of tension, as when a rubber band is slowly stretched taut, but it doesn’t have to be if we are not fear-driven in our daily activities. The urge we are most likely to feel most prominently during this time is the urge to make things happen more quickly than they would on their own — to disrupt the organic process.

The focal point of this gathering occurs on the 24^th (shown in Chart A above with its harmonies highlighted and in Chart B with its challenges). In this particular gathering, there are actually two clusters of three planets. If you have placements in your chart in either very early degrees or the 20's of the fixed signs, you will be able to take full advantage of these syzygies to transform your life. Although the 24^th is the peak of these events, they are spread from the 22^nd through the 25^th. While this is the time of the tightest bundle, it is more a time of quiet than of activity. It is as the planets spread out that we will see our level of activity grow.

This spreading out occurs mostly in November, but we will notice a new peak of events every week on Saturdays and Sundays before Thanksgiving.

A Subtle Release

On the 29^th, Neptune returns to forward (direct) motion. This will bring back to us events and experiences we had around the dates of February 6, May 10 and 22, and August 7–11. Now you should be feeling the relief that comes from knowing something more about a situation that mystified or confused you. You will understand. Between now and next February 8, you’ll have the chance to apply this knowledge to complete the processes and projects you began earlier this year.

Waves to Ride

You already know the story about Mercury and Jupiter and how to use them to coast into shore. Venus and Mars also make contact this month, but in a way that shows that the universe has a sense of humor. It is a relatively rare event when Venus and Mars conjoin, and one to be celebrated at the very least, if not used to our advantage. However, this particular conjunction occurs just as both planets enter Scorpio. Consequently, we have a mere 8 hours in which to take advantage of their contact. If you want to use these planets to support your activities, you have a window from the time Venus enters Scorpio at 2:58 AM on the 24^th until 5:07 PM on the 25^th (Pacific Time). After that, it is possible to use them through November 15, but it becomes more complicated.

This means that, where Venus and Mars usually bode well for relationships, the window for the smoothest flow to conflict resolution is unusually narrow. Still, we can, with skill, find agreement with others at any time, and love will always conquer all if we allow it to.

There are other harmonies to remind us that we live in a beneficent and generous universe (in fact a larger than usual number) throughout the month. Opportunity is the theme of the month as Jupiter showers us with blessings through its contact with the nodes. This is in effect all month and bodes well for any undertaking in spite of any apparent obstacles.

What’s Ahead

In November, we can look forward to the energies that build up during October to dissipate. These two months promise to be an exciting time which can be used to great advantage by all who seek it with patience and honor. Just as the planets illustrate, this is a time of gathering together. If we can gather together with others with an open mind and heart, there’s nothing that can stop our good fortune and happiness.

Significant Planetary Events

Chiron, Uranus, and Neptune are retrograde. Venus is in rulership. Saturn and Mars are in detriment. Sun is in fall.

Mercury enters Scorpio	0°00' Scorpio	October 2
Venus trines Chiron ℞	4°28' Libra/Aquarius	October 3
Mars trines Neptune	17°12' Libra/Aquarius	October 4
Pluto squares the Lunar Nodes	24°19' Sagittarius/Virgo-Pisces	October 4
Mercury squares Chiron ℞	4°27' Scorpio/Aquarius	October 5
Full Moon	13°43' Libra/Aries	October 5
Sun trines Neptune ℞	17°08' Libra/Aquarius	October 10
Mercury trines Uranus ℞	11°27' Scorpio/Pisces	October 10
Mars sextiles Saturn	22°27' Libra/Leo	October 12
Chiron returns to direct motion (Stationery Direct)	4°25' Aquarius	October 12
Venus trines Neptune ℞	17°06' Libra/Aquarius	October 13
Mars sextiles Pluto	24°31' Libra/Sagittarius	October 15
Mercury squares Neptune ℞ (1^st of 3)	17°05' Scorpio/Aquarius	October 15
Sun sextiles Saturn	22°47' Libra/Leo	October 16
Venus sextiles Pluto	24°37' Libra/Sagittarius	October 19
New Moon	28°40' Libra	October 22
Sun conjoins Mars	29°44' Libra	October 23
Mercury conjoins Jupiter (1^st of 3)	23°06' Scorpio	October 23
Mars enters Scorpio (rulership)	0°00' Scorpio	October 23
Sun enters Scorpio	0°00' Scorpio	October 23
Mercury squares Saturn	23°24' Scorpio/Leo	October 23
Venus enters Scorpio (detriment)	0°00' Scorpio	October 24
Jupiter trines the Moon’s North Node	23°17' Cancer/Scorpio	October 24
Venus conjoins Mars	1°03' Scorpio	October 25
Jupiter squares Saturn (3^rd of 3)	23°32' Scorpio/Leo	October 25
Sun conjoins Venus	4°11' Scorpio	October 27
Venus squares Chiron	4°33' Scorpio/Aquarius	October 27
Sun squares Chiron	4°34' Scorpio/Aquarius	October 27
Mercury starts backward motion (stationary retrograde)	24°16' Scorpio	October 28
Mercury ℞ conjoins Jupiter (2^nd of 3)	24°14' Scorpio	October 28
Neptune returns to direct motion (stationary direct)	17°02' Aquarius	October 29
Mars squares Chiron	4°36' Aquarius	October 30

All dates are based on Pacific Time.

Blue = harmonious/Red or orange = challenging

Events in bold are more significant.