(13 October 2024) The transits this week suggest a time of transition. With Pluto and Jupiter having just turned retrograde last week, and the Jupiter-Sun aspect now separating, there could be a smaller reservoir of optimism as the week progresses. With less Jupiter in the mix, we could see more self-interested behavior as collective wisdom recedes in the background. This may also impact financial markets which may become more risk-averse later in the week. Much of the recent rise in the markets has coincided with Jupiter’s alignments with Chiron, Mercury and the Sun. While all three alignments are still fairly close, they are nonetheless separating and thus gradually weakening.
As it happens, this 120-degree Sun-Jupiter aspect also coincides with the 90-degree Sun-Mars square that is exact on Monday, October 14. This marks the early week as a time of abundant energy that could translate into courageous actions and bold assertions. This is a good time to initiate projects requiring confidence and intestinal fortitude, especially in the face of opposition.
The first half of the week also may benefit from a strong Venus influence. Venus opposes Uranus on Monday, trines Neptune on Tuesday and then sextiles Pluto on Thursday. Tuesday stands out as particularly auspicious since the Moon will conjoin Neptune and thus accentuate the Venus influence at midday EDT. Tuesday is therefore a very good time to schedule appointments, meetings and social events of all kinds. Creative pursuits are also highlighted, especially those related to the arts or women. The spirit of compromise and the consideration of others may also be more in evidence here as Venus prefers cooperation over conflict. Thus Venus will provide a helpful counterweight to any potentially aggressive Mars influence on Tuesday and Wednesday.
By Friday, the favorable influences of both Venus and Jupiter could fade more significantly as their respective alignments move further out of orb. While positive influences may be less apparent at the end of the week, we should also note that there will not be any clearly negative alignments either. Next weekend could see some change in that respect as Mars enters sidereal Cancer, its sign of debilitation, on Saturday. A debilitated Mars tends to bring out the worst of Mars, such as rash actions, conflict escalation, and aggressive behavior, often without regard for consequences. Moreover, this will begin a very tense and difficult opposition aspect with Pluto and could reinvigorate the nasty side of the Sun-Mars square. The Sun will square Pluto next week, while Mars is due to exactly oppose Pluto in early November.
