OCTOBER 2014 HOROSCOPE: OVERVIEW

 by Leigh Oswald (London-based Astrologer and Teacher)

 Uranus still continues to square Pluto as he has done for several years and will continue to do for several years to come. All is in flux, all is in change in the world and it is very self-evident to us all. Scotland's decision to stay in the Union is no great surprise, but the genie is out of the bottle in terms of the collective unconscious of many to have more freedom, autonomy and a sense of federalism. Centralisation of power for many feels unacceptable, particularly as that power is increasingly run by big business, rather than the needs and well-being of the people. The Scots are a catalyst for much change in the UK, and represents a desire to fight against the powers of globalisation and to become more tribal and to determine one's own future away from the abstraction of remote powers

Mars (god of war) now in Sagittarius is now bringing a sense of globalised anger and indeed cooperation against any powers that are felt to be threatening and indeed America will be taking more of a leadership role, as Sagittarius is its rising sign.

Mars will be actually going over the American US chart ascendant this month, which suggests that military decisions taken will certainly embroil the US in a protracted sense of international conflict, rightly or wrongly. Confrontations are in the air and the fact that Mercury is retrograde this month between the 4^th and 16^th suggests that for many of us between those dates, there will be a sense of block, frustrations and restriction, and lack of progress. The aim of Mercury retrograde is to force a rethink and review and to step back.  We need then to try no less than to be human beings, rather than human doings.

Days that are eruptive and uncertain are definitely around the 7^th and 8^th when the Sun opposes Uranus and that can also be a time when geophysical disruptions such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis possibly, are likely to be in the ether, especially as a full lunar eclipse will also occur on the 8^th which is always a significant time and brings things to a head that are difficult to confront. Also Venus in eruptive mode squares Pluto on the 8^th.  Climate change issues will also be very much in the collective unconscious as a focus of attention.

The 4^th and 5^th will also be a time of some power struggles and some dark forces being apparent on the globe, but there are also many very positive transits this month, suggesting a wake-up call and awakening and a realisation that some things cannot be hidden away or ignored any longer, not least climate change issues.

The 11^th and 12^th are times of some unexpected events but feel more social than political.

Both David Cameron's and England's chart are very afflicted this month. The repercussions of the military intervention in Iraq and from the Scottish independence issue and promises made in relation to that and its implications for the rest of the UK, will hit him hard. His Sun at 15 degrees of Libra is directly opposed by the lunar eclipse on the 8^th at 15 degrees of Aries. This will prove quite a wakeup call for him in some way around that period, not least from dissenting colleagues and international challenge.

For the USA the lunar eclipse of the 8^th, may well bring some less than uplifting news re the US economy as it opposes Saturn in the USA’s chart, which rules the domain (2^nd house) of finances.

The solar eclipse however on the 23^rd at 1​º Scorpio can bear the fruit of the positive and the new for many.

But there is no doubt that around the 7^th and 8^th are the most critical times of the month when events strike us all as significant.