Those who have learned to become aware of the subtle energy that underpins the material realm often sense the “disturbance in the Force” that precedes outbreaks of conflict, violence (from volcanos to mass murders), and disruptions in our society.

They also can sense the gathering, the intensification of the Force that precedes positive, creative, and innovative breakthroughs. These psychic/energetic events bring new perspectives and help us reconnect to the joy and beauty that is possible here within time and space.

Both the disturbances and the intensifications are reflected in the planets, and this month’s New Moon chart brings storm warnings. It also shows us how to find protection from and a path through the storms.The chart speaks of pressure and explosions, of revolution and fighting for control, of intense feelings and repressed emotions unleashed. It also speaks of excitement, innovation, technological, scientific, and psychological breakthroughs.

(We may even get a halfway-decent infrastructure bill here in the USA. Or Congress may just implode. Hard to tell these days.)

It is not a calm chart, but with a little planning and foresight, we can use the storms’ energy to shift what is stuck in our lives and make needed changes, instead of just riding them out.

Next, a few paragraphs for the astrologers among you, then we’ll look at what we need to ponder and where we need to take action to make the best of the month ahead.

The Astrology

The chart is cast for November 4, 5:15 pm EDT, Washington, DC., which means angles and houses can be read for the USA. The ascendant is 26° 19’ Aries.

The New Moon is in 12°40’ of Scorpio, tightly opposed a retrograde Uranus. Mars is in a tight and approaching square to Saturn.

The orbs are a little wide, but I’m going to invoke translation of light here and point out that what we are looking at is Sun, Moon, and Mars, all in Scorpio, creating a T-square out of the powerful Saturn-Uranus square that has been in orb pretty much all year.

Keep in mind that Mars rules Scorpio, and the Aries ascendant of the chart cast for DC. Saturn is likewise in a sign it rules, and disposing Pluto and Jupiter.

That’s an awful lot of Mars and Saturn calling the shots here.

Deep breath.

But while we are stretching orbs, let’s not overlook the wide but approaching trine of the New Moon to Neptune. Mercury and Venus are sextile, so some more gentle influences will modify events. Onward.

Buckle Up

I’m not going to gloss over the fact that this is a high-pressure, high-stakes chart, and changes may be sudden and extreme. Even if the changes in your personal life are relatively minor, because of the energetic connections we have with others and our world, you will be influenced by the experiences of others.

They will be influenced by you, as well. We can’t help that we put our personal energies out into the world. That’s just part of being alive and in a body.

There are techniques of mind and will, of body and breath, that can help us modulate our inner experience in ways that have tangible external effects. In other words, as we work on changing our inner experience, those changes radiate out into the world.

So keep that in mind next time you are grumping around, focused on your anger, or your pain, or caught up in self-pity. Work to change the focus of your thoughts. Explore ways to change your perspective on whatever situation is bothering you, even in a small way. Change is easier under the current sky, and small changes add up.

If you’re not in a headspace where you can change your perspective, if your inner emotional turmoil is overwhelming, and/or your physical situation is untenable, then don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Your healing is important, not only to you, but to those who care about you.

In these times of tumult and change, if you can reach out a helping hand, do it. If you need a helping hand, don’t hesitate to look for one, and take it.

Breaking the Chains

“I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.” Jacob Marley in “A Christmas Carol” 

Pressure and high stakes are not problematic in and of themselves. In fact, they can lead us to take great leaps towards our desired destinations. But we do need to be paying careful attention to what’s going on inside us and around us to take those leaps, or we may find that we are held back by invisible chains.

Some of those chains we forged for ourselves. Others were placed on us, particularly in childhood. This is a good time to identify those chains and work on removing them.

We are not chained by responsibilities we have freely taken on. What and who we love and care for connects us without the need for chains.

We are not chained by authentic moral obligations. Those, too, are consciously accepted, and while they may be a burden we carry, they do not bind us.

Mostly what chains us are the limiting and false beliefs we hold.

We hold some beliefs consciously, while others are buried in the subconscious. When we search for and find those subconscious beliefs, hold them up alongside our conscious beliefs, then compare them to our core values and to what we know to be true, we will find some of the links in those chains.

Beliefs are the source of much of our emotional turmoil. Once found and acknowledged, those beliefs can be modified or discarded entirely, which frees us from the chains they forged.

This is not a one-and-done process, but one that requires continuous attention and inner work. If you aren’t sure how to do this work, investigate your own spiritual tradition for its methods, or pick up a copy of “Touch the Earth, Kiss the Sky” for some ideas and suggestions for further reading.

Dreams and Visions

In addition to our inner investigations to find what holds us back, this month is a good time for visionary work. It’s also a time when visionary work is desperately needed.

These dreams and visions are not of a future seen through wraparound rose-colored glasses. We are on the shifting sands of massive climate change and in a whirlwind of social upheaval. What we need are visions of compassion, dreams of joy, connections with Spirit, and reminders of the breathtaking beauty that life on Earth can offer.

Those visions are the ones that will make these challenging times transformational instead of simply destructive.

As any actor can tell you, it’s possible to recreate emotional states through memory, mental focus, and a willingness to open to your emotions.

Once you’ve found what’s holding you back, try recreating some past feelings. The ones that inspire you to create, that remind you of how you want the world to be, the emotional memories of joy, love, deep appreciation, and communion with other beings.

Find the emotional depth and richness that feeds your soul, and anchor those emotions into your body, into your mind.

Look for the courage that comes from your soul’s determination to grow, and remind yourself of the support available to you from a vast network of ancestors, deities, and helping spirits. Tell them that you are ready to move forward, and ask for their help. (It’s important to ask.)

Then seek your visions of what the future looks like.

Visions are like a seed crystal around which reality coalesces, and they are made up of not only thoughts and ideas, but emotions as well. Keep them front and center this month.

Be clear in your own mind about what you want, and what you believe. The more coherent, clear, and constant your personal energy is, the stronger the effect you have on the world around you.

The Work of the Witch

We are deep in the time of increasing darkness, a season when we turn within, when we consider the cyclic processes of life and death, connect with our ancestors, and make choices about what we will keep, and what we will leave behind in the old year.

It is a time for divination, for peering into the dark scrying mirror in search of spiritual guidance. It is also a time for looking in the silver mirror, honestly confronting ourselves, and making needed changes.

As the Wheel turns into the dark, I will leave you with a quote from Patricia Moneghan’s marvelous book "Seasons of the Witch" that beautifully encapsulates this season of the holy darkness. She begins by noting that the harvest is in, and that is a reason
for celebration. But then she gets to the heart of these post-harvest months, noting that:

" … nothing more is growing. Nothing more will grow this year.
There will never be more than there is now. And the winds of
autumn descend to tear seed from stalk, to scatter what has not been captured …

Such communion! As we pick the pumpkin from its shriveled stalk, as we press the juice from apple’s flesh, as we tear out carrot life by its roots, we taste the deepest knowledge we can have: we need others to survive. That we breathe only because something has died. That we make our own flesh of the flesh of the world."

May you find rest, renewal, and inspiration within the darkness of the waning year.

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