Your November 2023 Horoscope Lets The Light In

Every autumn, the zodiac takes us on an emotional rollercoaster. First comes Libra, the sign of others: a designation which includes friends, mates, and nemeses. Libra acts as an interpersonal mirror, reflecting ourselves in others. And if we see something we don’t like? If we can’t all get along? In comes Scorpio, the sign of destruction and recreation, which commands an inferno, demolishes our previous identities and divisions, so that we can accept hard truths and begin again. The trilogy ends in optimism, as, from the ashes, the fire sign Sagittarius opens on a new dawn of possibility.

We open November in part two of the saga, the darkest chapter, with Mars, Mercury, the sun and the asteroid Ceres in Scorpio. Mars is the god of battle, and Scorpio the ruler of the underworld. Over the past few weeks, we have learned of cavernous underground labyrinths where innocents are held captive; all while, above ground, unceasing devastation razes buildings and claims lives. The wrath and cruelty of Mars has never felt so literal.

On a personal level, this radioactive planetary convergence in the sign of power will absolutely set you off. Ancient rage, buried abuses, and uncovered lies come to the surface. You want justice, retribution, answers. And yet. As the planets blaze through Scorpio, they oppose Uranus, the planet of futurity and change, in Taurus. The last time Uranus was here, FDR launched the New Deal, and began to bring the United States out of the Great Depression. Meanwhile, autocrats like Hitler and Mussolini took violent and oppressive measures to lift their countries out of poverty under the guise of progress.

Uranus will force you to reconcile your anger and reactivity towards some higher ethos. As you begin drafting an Instagram screed, demanding a raise, or launching a fight with your maid of honor — all perfectly valid! — ask yourself: Where is this going? What is the point? Whatever annihilation Scorpio delivers, it always serves a purpose: to level what once was, so that we may rebuild a better world in its place. The new moon in Scorpio, on November 13, won’t make all the loss of these last few weeks suddenly worth it. But if you can own the truth, the pain, and your place in the mess, if you can attain some level of cold sobriety, maybe you can move forward, like Reese Witherspoon driving away at the end of Cruel Intentions.

As the new moon hits, the Hindu festival of Diwali brings light to the ruins, and instructs its revelers to douse our grim world in color. The lights are back on, and all has been revealed. Now what? That question is answered with the advent of Sagittarius season on November 22. In the words of the Sagittarius Lucy Liu, in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle: “Time-out’s over, baby. We’re back in the game.” Right now, your cynicism will be gratified, your reactivity rewarded, but they’ll eventually fade into the noise. But to believe that there’s a way out of this mess, a way forward waiting for us? That will take chutzpah. Sagittarius aims its arrow to the future and doesn’t look back. We’re not asking you to give into toxic optimism. But the choice is yours: Are you going to stay in the problem, or try to live in the solution?

After reckoning with ancient wounds and contemplating a global future, the big picture has to shrink down. There’s only so much we can take. On November 27, Sagittarius lights a full Beaver moon in Gemini, the sign of personal input and influence. We go from macro to micro, which you can manage. How can these harrowing last weeks inform the life you lead, the noise you take in, the people you surround yourself with? “I realized it's alright that the world is crazy,” Christine Baranski says, on The Good Fight, “as long as I make my little corner of the world sane.” One person can indeed change the future. If you can’t fix our global balagan, you can at least imbue your daily life with dignity and integrity. Madonna called it, as she always does: Each of us may be a small candle, but that could be enough to light us into the future.

Though horoscopes apply to sun signs, we advise that you read the horoscope based on your rising.

ARIES & ARIES RISING

As the personal planets pulse through Scorpio, they set off your eighth house of unions, sexuality, and metamorphosis. We like to see you leaping into the unknown, casting your old life behind, and embracing those collaborations or transformations necessary for your growth. But to make sure you don’t look back, the cosmos introduces a little instability into the mix. Uranus, the chaos-maker, is in Taurus, in your second house of finances and self-worth, waiting to oppose the Scorpio triad. At some point, you will go from considering a change to having no choice. It’s now or never. Whatever firmaments you were hanging onto are no longer stable. You will have to ask for help, but it will be worth it. Let yourself be carried into a new, shared future.

TAURUS & TAURUS RISING

Sagittarius season launches on the 22nd, lighting up your eighth house of transformation, which promises a much-needed catharsis. But for the volcano to erupt, the magma will have to get pretty hot. For the first two thirds of the month, Mars, Mercury, and the sun seethe in Scorpio, in your seventh house of others. The people in your life are setting something off, something deep and primal. Is it your myopia? Your narcissism? Your drive for control? With a Scorpio new moon on the 13th, we’re promised a breakthrough and a surrender. Will you let your heart be blasted open, or keep it shut at the cost of everything? Psychedelic, spiritual, and sexual liberation is promised by month’s end…but only to those who can make the necessary sacrifice. See you on the other side.

GEMINI & GEMINI RISING

October’s eclipse season was a psychosomatic blowout. Through grief, processing, and rebirth, you’re now more in your body than ever before. Now, it’s time to road-test this fully-realized version of yourself. Sagittarius owns your seventh house of public visibility, and will play host to Mercury (starting on the 10th), the sun (the 22nd) and Mars (the 24th). Every interaction — romantic, career-related, and even casual — is meant to blast you forward, and further your inner awakening. On the 27th, the Sagittarian sun lights up a full moon in Gemini. What are your relationships reflecting back to you, especially when they’re pissing you off? Engage in all of it, the conflict and the pleasure, all the better to know yourself totally.

CANCER & CANCER RISING

On the 8th, Venus enters Libra, in your fourth house of home, family, and foundations. By the 23rd, Mercury, Mars, and the sun will be in Sagittarius, in your sixth house of the body and boundaries. Your work this month is physical and tangible. Go hard on fall renovating projects and workout classes, and even experiment with different work hours. The planets are trying to shake up your surroundings, to wake you up from the outside in. All this effort pays off on the 27th, with a Gemini full moon in your 12th house of intuition. Something is blooming in the shadows; clear the way so that it can grow in the light.

LEO & LEO RISING

We mentioned last month that Scorpio occupies the “kitchen” of your chart: the fourth house of home, family, and psychic structure. The kitchen is where we bring the cauldron to a boil, where we take what is raw, rough, and ripped from the earth and cook it — for fuel, for vitality, for wholeness. With Mars, Mercury, and the sun in Scorpio, you will have to deal with your family, your pain, and anything else coming up from the core. Remember that Scorpio, in your fourth house, immediately faces off with Taurus, in your 10th house of career and ambition. If you don’t process what’s come from the past, you’ll have no strength for the roads opening ahead, creatively and in your public life. Take it all, break it apart, and meld it into something new.

VIRGO & VIRGO RISING

Since May, Jupiter has been in Taurus, in your ninth house of expanding horizons. Your eye has been on the big-picture prize like never before. And yet! Jupiter is currently retrograde, making the endgame visible, but the way there seem impossible — real Hobbit sh*t. Making matters worse are Mars, Mercury, and the sun burning hot in Scorpio and Sagittarius, at the base of your chart, which concerns day-to-day minutia and home life. Isn’t that a pain? If you can focus your drive on the little things — relining the silicone on your bathtub, calling your mother, showing up for your ritual practice — you’ll be in fighting shape when the way comes unblocked. The month ends with a full moon in Gemini, on the 27th, in your 10th house of career and grand ambition. Start with the small steps, and by month’s end, you’ll be ready to f*ck it up on Mount Doom.

LIBRA & LIBRA RISING

Vengeance season is finally over, as Venus crosses into your home sign, where she belongs. We’ve exhumed and integrated your shadow sides, into a beautiful and powerful composite femme. With Venus in her natural domain, you know how to put your god-given social skills to use. Mars, Mercury, and the sun are in Scorpio, in your second house of finances, and the full moon on the 27th, in Gemini, goes down in your ninth house of expanding horizons. You feel ambitious, driven, and ready for more. It all comes down to your social skills, and your ability to play the game to get what you want. This time, you don’t have to compromise yourself. You know what you’re entitled to, and how to ask for it.

SCORPIO & SCORPIO RISING

Since 2018, Uranus, god of change, has been in Taurus, in your seventh house of others, forcing a total reinvention of your relationship life. It’s not what you dreamed it would be when you were 14, and that’s a good thing. The month launches with Mars, Mercury, and the sun in Scorpio, in your first house of intrinsic selfhood. You are surging with firepower, reborn and awake, feeling unstoppable, as evinced by a new moon in Scorpio on the 13th. But as the Scorpio planets face off with Uranus, your relationships throw a twist in the plan, a wrench in your reinvention. You may see your image reflected back, and it’s not what you thought it was. The grip on your relationship life may be ripped away. Pay attention: Uranus wants to liberate you, even, and especially, from yourself. Whatever crisis comes through the others in your life is meant to teach you, and to deliver you to an even greater threshold of power.

SAGITTARIUS & SAGITTARIUS RISING

Saturn has now retrograded to zero degrees Pisces, back to where it was in March, in your fourth house of home, family, and inner stability. You may feel like all that progress you made over the spring and summer is lost, and you’re back to being rootless, unmoored, and adrift. Not helping matters: the month starts with Mercury, Mars, and the sun in Scorpio, in your 12th house…traditionally known as the realm of self-undoing. Whatever it is, whatever old demons are rising, however you’re watching yourself sabotage everything, the way you said you never would again — face it and own it, all the way, right now. On the 10th, the planets start cruising into Sagittarius, promising a powerful reclamation. By month’s end, your god-given optimism will be restored to you, like Raava returning to Korra. Have faith in yourself through this dark passage, so that you can be hurling thunderbolts into December.

CAPRICORN & CAPRICORN RISING

The personal planets are all in Libra and Scorpio, in the most public domain of your chart. You should be out, charming the crowd and being seen. The new moon in Scorpio, on the 13th, brings new beginnings to your 11th house of community and audience. With Saturn finally going direct in Pisces, in your third house of daily life and rituals, and a Gemini full moon on the 27th, in your sixth house of boundaries, you’re reminded to keep honoring the routines and restrictions which give you a sense of balance. You’re going to be on a roll, from now through Capricorn season. Do what you need to do to stay strong and consistent all along the way.

AQUARIUS & AQUARIUS RISING

Since 2018, Uranus has been in Taurus, in your fourth house of home, family, and roots. Uranus is the planet of genius, awakening, and futurity; as the ruler of Aquarius, it’s here to further your vision. In your fourth house, Uranus has helped you design the life you want, even if it’s a far departure from your parents’ ideals. As Mars, Mercury, and the sun surge through Scorpio, in your 10th house of career and ambition, they’ll face off with Uranus, testing how much you believe in your path, your rhythm, your way of being here. It is possible to have the home and career lives you’ve always wanted, but you’ll have to double down on believing in yourself, your needs, and the path which belongs only to you. Honor your unique style, and victory is yours to claim, at the pace you desire.

PISCES & PISCES RISING

In March, Saturn entered your home sign for a two-ish year redefinition. You’ve partnered with the cosmic renovator in creating a strong, structured, whole sense of self. But over the summer, Saturn lurched into a retrograde. At the start of November, Saturn will be at zero degrees Pisces, its launching point in March, ready to start all over again. What shortcomings did you encounter this summer, what lumps remained in the cake mix, what lessons did you need to move through before you could begin again? As the personal planets hit Sagittarius, in your 10th house of ambition and career, they’ll challenge Saturn, and all the boundaries and breakthroughs of the past six months. You’re entitled to some excitement in the work arena, but what changes within must be respected before you can enjoy the party? This is a chance to integrate both sides — inner and outer — so that you don’t burn out. Honor all you’ve been through, so that you can go the distance.