Your October 2022 Horoscope Brings The Party — And The Drama

As of October 2, we’ve finished the third Mercury Retrograde of 2022, a giant-size back-to-school blowout for Virgo and Libra season. Schools reopened their doors to socially maldeveloped lockdown children; understaffed fast food restaurants further embraced robot labor; and the British monarchy went for a new look. Mercury retrogrades come in handy during periods of intense turnover, helping us to hash out the details of the new world order.

That’ll be necessary, because the upheaval is far from over. For the first ten days of October, Saturn and Uranus come into a close square, bringing to a peak the cultural firestorm of the last two years. Since 2021, Saturn (tradition) has clashed with Uranus (change), subsuming us in an endlessly annoying, but ultimately productive discourse over identity, gender, education, and individual freedoms. By December, the mud wrestle of the fates will come to its final, sloppy blows, but count on elevated stakes until then.

The global fury will surge on October 25, with the new moon partial eclipse in Scorpio. You’ll recall the previous eclipse season, in April and May: those salad days of court-legislated misogyny and unleashed troll animus. Good times! This round may promise reversals, reprisals. and hopefully a little revenge, but with the second eclipse going down on American election day, during a fresh Mars retrograde in Gemini, the fever will have to break before the healing can begin. We’re in the recreation now. Stop complaining and find something to hang onto.

No matter how the global maelstrom throws you, you’ll still feel some renewal of buoyancy, as Mercury stations direct on October 2, and a full moon in Aries hits a week later. With Mercury and Venus joining the sun in Libra for much of the month, there’s optimism to be embraced, if you’re willing to look for it — on the dance floor, dinner table, or boardroom. Squares from Libra to Pluto in Capricorn will help you reconcile your ambitions with a changed global reality, but that’s no excuse to let the supposed end of the world get you down. You’ve been under the thumb of the bureaucracy for two years now. Do your best. You deserve to make your dreams come true. Take the October 22 “Venus star point,” when the sun and Venus hit a perfect conjunction in Libra, to throw a glowing, generative party. Then head to the dungeons the following day when the sun and Venus enter Scorpio. Who said you didn’t contain multitudes?

With the advent of Scorpio season, so begins a bracing underworld journey. On October 28, Jupiter, planet of wisdom and synthesis, returns to Pisces for its last tour until 2033. Until December 21, Jupiter will inspire culmination in the final sign of the zodiac, ending a 12 year cycle, before initiating a new creative boom in Aries in 2023. As Mars retrogrades in Gemini on October 30, beginning a period of initiation and meditation, you’re called to seek closure, review, and understanding. Whatever breakup you’ve been delaying, psychedelic trip you’ve been longing to take, or long-running project you feel ready to finish, now’s the time. New Slayers will be called as we head closer to 2023. Take this Scorpio eclipse season to close your personal hellmouth and move into the future.

ARIES & ARIES RISING

There’s quite a bit happening all at once this October. On one hand, Libra season delivers you to your seventh house of public visibility — and they are eating it up! In the more private arena, you’re feeling full of creative capacity, with Jupiter still in Aries through October 28, and an Aries full moon on October 9. These internal and external developments are plenty productive, but they’re not yet in harmony. Don’t try to connect your entire life — your inner evolution, outer expansion, and big-picture calling — just yet. As 2023 approaches, you’ll feel the pieces come together. But in the buildup to the Scorpio eclipse on October 25, in your eighth house of metamorphosis, you’re better served caring for your scattered selves and disparate needs, and not trying to make sense of the chaos.

TAURUS & TAURUS RISING

Yes, Libra season goes down in your sixth house of the body, offering you a download of beauty and physical revitalization. Go out, look hot, etc. But we all know why you’re really reading this. As soon as the sun and Venus enter Scorpio on October 23, in your seventh house of others, all hell breaks loose. On the same day, Saturn finally goes direct in Aquarius, in your tenth house of career. Then, on October 25, a new moon partial solar eclipse in Scorpio fully opens the gate. The seventh and tenth houses are of the most immediately impactful in your chart, reconciling with the people in our lives and the impact we wish to leave. Now’s the time to consider your relationships. It’s officially Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay season; let the flood wash away your past loves, and see who boards the spaceship with you into the future.

GEMINI & GEMINI RISING

Last month’s horoscope advised emotional sobriety. Enough of that! On October 28, Jupiter goes retrograde in Pisces, in your tenth house of career, and on October 30, Mars retrogrades in Gemini, meaning that you have about four weeks to absolutely pound it with all you’ve got. Libra season goes down in your fifth house of creative expression. Go hard, start as many projects as you feel like (even if you can’t finish them), and stir some sh*t along the way. The final two months of the year will offer plenty of time for reflection and reinvention; now’s the time for action.

CANCER & CANCER RISING

Last month’s horoscope called for you to furnish and settle into your home domain. Now comes the house cleaning. The sun, Venus, and Mercury continue their Libra beautification of your fourth house of home and psychological rootedness. But throughout the month, they’ll square Pluto, the planet of karmic release in Capricorn, in your seventh house of others. Whatever inner harmony you’ve established, through and after the retrograde, will force conflict with the messier, soul-draining relationships in your life. November’s Taurus eclipse will go down in your eleventh house of network and community. Start doing the work now of aligning your social life to your needs.

LEO & LEO RISING

Continue the active commitment to rituals, routine, and peace in the house, because once the back half of the month hits, you’re going to need it. On October 23, Venus and the sun enter Scorpio, at the base of your chart: your fourth house of home, family, and personal history. October 25 delivers the second eclipse in Scorpio of the year, after the May 16 edition. Consider the bulk of the summer a break between contractions, all leading up to this final push. Let’s go! Halloween season calls you to bring your fears to life so that you can face and process them. Go in all the way with the intention of releasing what’s been bound up within, whether on the therapist’s couch or at the costume rave. Your life is about to speed up exponentially. Now’s the time to drop the dead weight.

VIRGO & VIRGO RISING

The Mercury retrograde in Virgo likely shifted your inner tectonic plates. Now, the changes begin to reverberate — from inside out. Libra season illuminates your second house of self-worth, while the Scorpio eclipse on October 25 registers new and thrilling transformations in your third house of daily life. On October 23, the asteroid Juno, the archetypal vengeful spouse, goes direct in Pisces, in your seventh house of relationships, inspiring direct and decisive confrontation with your life partners. Over the last month, you’ve overthought your entire existence. Now’s the time to collect practical data. Pay attention to who surrounds you, and how you’re expressing yourself around them. Can your inner circle embrace all the ways you’ve changed?

LIBRA & LIBRA RISING

The retrograde sent you on a tour of your personal underworld. Now it’s out of the grave and into the light, with the sun, Mercury, and Venus touring your home sign for much of October. As the Libra planets face off with Capricorn, in your fourth house of family, and Aries, in your seventh house of public visibility, you’ll find your natural shine challenged by the threatened peons around you. The Aries full moon on October 9 points you to new relationships that will support and sustain you, and not weigh you down in judgment. On October 22, Venus and the sun come into perfect conjunction, inspiring you to step into your best and boldest light. “You’re a god among insects. Don’t let anyone tell you any differently.”

SCORPIO & SCORPIO

On the fifth, the asteroid Vesta, high priestess of ritual life, goes direct in Aquarius, in your fourth house of home and psychological stability. On the same day, in the same house, the moon hits Saturn, emphasizing what you need for emotional stability. Root down now in whatever dark magic or daily rituals you need, because once the latter third of the month hits, all bets are off. The sun and Venus enter Scorpio on October 23, followed by the new moon partial solar eclipse in your sign two days later. With Venus involved in this eclipse, hitting the south node of process and release, you’re in for a massive purge of self. Stick to those routines which give your life order, so that, when the time comes, you can throw your wardrobe, personality and identity into the fire. No sign is better suited for a makeover montage than Scorpio. Goodbye, Porpoise Spit!

SAGITTARIUS & SAGITTARIUS RISING

Until October 30, when Mars goes retrograde, the planet of action surges hard in Gemini, in your seventh house of others. With Mars on fire, and an Aries full moon on October 9 in your fifth house of pleasure and romance, now’s the time to blast off. Collect boys, start collaborative projects you can’t finish, and schedule a psychedelic trip in the mountains. The back end of the month slows everything down, with the inevitable Mars retrograde and the Scorpio eclipse on October 25, in your 12th house of processing. November will offer plenty of time to crash down and reflect; until then, you might as well fly blind.

CAPRICORN & CAPRICORN RISING

Libra season shines the spotlight on your tenth house of career, unfurling the red carpet for spectacular visibility. And yet, as the sun, Mercury, and Venus move through Libra, they clash with Pluto in Capricorn, and Jupiter in Aries, in your fourth house of home and inner stability. Count on a month of confrontations between your public persona and your inner needs, all meant to bring your identity to cohesion. With Pluto ending its retrograde on October 8, the Aries full moon the day after, and a Venus-sun conjunction on October 22nd, you’re in no short supply of firepower. Just make sure that every arena of your life is served, not just the ones up for public surveillance.

AQUARIUS & AQUARIUS RISING

Count on another of 2022’s signature “out of the frying pan” months, a marathon of chaos and excitement that could rip you apart if you’re caught unawares. Saturn, in your home sign, squares Uranus in Taurus, in your fourth house of emotional rootedness. Then, on October 25, the new moon partial eclipse in Scorpio opens another unexpected door in your tenth house of career and ambition. Your assignment? Focus on stability, sobriety and structure. The asteroid Vesta, archetype of the high priestess, goes direct in Aquarius on October 5, just as the moon hits Saturn, in your sign, on the same day. Higher forces are at play with your destiny: stay out of their way, and focus on your stretches, your sleep hygiene, and your Nintendo, until the cosmic flood abates.

PISCES & PISCES RISING

Level up your repressed Martian forces this month. Kindle flame and fury, all for the service of your awakening, unique voice. Until October 28, Jupiter is in Aries, in your second house of self-worth, lighting up your independent sense of value. Meanwhile, Libra season lights up your eighth house of sexuality, and Mars rages on in Gemini, in your fourth house of emotional rootedness. At month’s end, you’ll enter a more meditative, liquid arena of reflection. Until then, you need to blow up the levees and face conflict. Practice declaring what you want, and chasing it. You may be dazzled by what happens next.