Relationships in Depth

Relationships have been at the forefront of recent world events and, no doubt, of our personal lives. The current lunation began with a new moon in Libra, the prototypical sign of relationships; however, the picture is more complicated this year. For starters, Pluto remained stationary at Aquarius 3°04′ all of last week to change direction and end five months of retrograde motion. With such a fixed focus of its power, Pluto formed a square with Venus—the planet of relationships and ruler of Libra—which was moving retrograde through early Scorpio, precisely the sign ruled by Pluto.

Power in relationships was a major theme regarding the war in Ukraine. It was felt in the decision to cut Ukraine’s access to intelligence and slow down their connection to the satellite network, which impeded their ability to defend from surprise attacks by Russia, causing numerous civilian deaths. Power in relationships also took center stage in the phone call whereupon Trump and Putin agreed on a token sale of diesel fuel that, nonetheless, lifted US sanctions to the Kremlin. And what can be said about the proposed meeting between the heads of state of Russia, China and the United States to “put an end to the war”? Is Trump supposed to represent the European and Ukrainian interests?

At a personal level, Venus retrograde is often a catalyst to reflect on our own relationships, and Venus in Scorpio does that at a very deep level. Power struggles in our personal relationships might have surfaced, too, and may still be causing trouble during the next two to three weeks as the Scorpio season gets underway. This is compounded further by the tightening opposition of Venus with Chiron, which brings out insecurity and defensiveness on issues around our personal sovereignty.

Relationships in Libra…

The second half of the zodiac is where the evolutionary processes force us to confront the “Other”. Just as the first half began with Aries as the primordial impulse to become an individual, the second half starts with Libra symbolizing a strong urge to relate. Archetypally, human beings first reach this stage at fourteen years of age. Relationships can only be formed on top of shared values, even if not necessarily altruistic ones. Therefore, the primary purpose for the Libra phase is to define our value system. Not exactly knowing how to do that, the Libra individual will initially adopt what society offers, taking on the values of family and peers. Further refinement is obtained through trial and error, by the process of forming multiple relationships until a personal value system is uncovered. Someone with such an expertise in forming relationships might show a great deal of tact and be deemed a diplomat, or at least to have a balanced disposition.

The balance, a device that measures mass by comparing an unknown sample against a known standard, is often used as the symbol for Libra to signify the constant search for a personal value system. While the balance in equilibrium may symbolize justice, in Libra the symbolism is one of incessant comparison, measurement and evaluation. The balance is continuously used to weigh Libra’s own subjective desires against the objective reality of society. In essence, a Libra person is concerned with extracting value, always trying to figure out what things, people and, above all, relationships are worth. Astrologers who see the balance in Libra as a symbol for justice are confusing the micro-level negotiation of a relationship (Libra) with the macro-level codification of truth (Sagittarius). Libra individuals are often plagued by indecision precisely because their scales are constantly moving; they are focused on the process of weighing, not sitting on the judge’s bench.

…and in Scorpio

However, it is impossible to separate the initiation of a relationship (Libra) from its deep, binding consequences (Scorpio). The Greeks saw the stars of Libra as the claws of the Scorpion: an eager, aggressive and grappling mechanism of relationship! The late Romans were who sliced the claws away and gave Libra its own constellation with the weighing balance that is often mistook for fairness when, in reality, it refers to hesitation. But Libra and Scorpio form a single operative coupling, using Rudhyar’s terminology. As the root symbol, Libra symbolically draws up the contract to form a partnership based on some pre-evaluated values. But a contract on paper has no life of its own. It is fragile, hesitant, and easily upset by the slightest shift in the wind. Left to itself, Libra is trapped in a sterile loop of endless comparison.

This is exactly why Scorpio is required to stabilize the raw relationship. As the confirmation symbol, Scorpio takes the intellectual contract of Libra and seals it in blood, emotion, and shared substance. At a personal level, this is done through sex; not aimed at biological reproduction or even self-expression but as social and organic integration. In Scorpio, sex is the literal merging of two separate egos into a new, singular compound. Through Scorpio, the relationship is stabilized because it moves from “you and I” to “us”, which involves an interpenetration of energies—emotional, psychical and financial (shared resources)—and the death of the isolated ego: it becomes impossible to act entirely as an individual since our partner’s reality permanently alters our own. Scorpio is the “confirmation” because it proves whether the values Libra evaluated are actually viable when tested in the fires of real, inescapable human intimacy.

Finally, without Scorpio’s intense, stabilizing fusion, society (Sagittarius) and its institutions (Capricorn) could never form. If relationships remained purely Libran, society would just be a superficial collection of polite, disconnected individuals who leave the moment the scales tip. Scorpio creates the dense, unshakeable human mortar—the deep sense of mutual dependency, shared destiny, and psychological bonding. Only when humans are permanently bonded at that deep Scorpio level do they find themselves forced to expand into Sagittarius, where they must invent philosophies, religions, and laws to manage and organize these intense collective unions on a massive scale.

The Scorpio Season

This year’s Scorpio season, when Sun travels through the sign, will begin with a powerful conjunction between Sun and Venus retrograde, in the first degree of Scorpio! The following chart is for such a conjunction, happening in a few hours:

The Sabian symbol for Scorpio 1—”A sight-seeing bus”—emphasizes that relationships must be experienced in the depth of one’s being, both physically and emotionally, in order to become the drivers of civilization in all the complexity of interpersonal relations. Looking at the chart, it is worth noting that, at Scorpio 20°58′, Mercury has reached the exact position where it will change direction and begin to move retrograde three hours later. Both Mercury and Venus (Scorpio 0°45′) will end their retrograde motion within a span of eight hours on November 13 and 14, respectively, as we will discuss in the next article.

Full Moon in Taurus

I won’t say much more about that chart because two days later we will have the full moon with Sun at Scorpio 2°46′ and Moon at Taurus 2°46′. It will occur on October 25 at 9:12 p.m. in California, 10:12 p.m. in Mexico City, or on October 26 at 6:12 a.m. in Central Europe, as shown in the following chart:

Sun will still be forming a conjunction with Venus (Libra 29°31′), even if it is now off-sign. However, the opposition of Venus and Chiron (Aries 28°21′) will have tightened considerably and therefore the issues of insecurity, and even defensiveness, around our relationships may be more pronounced. Given that a full moon is about revelations to make us conscious of what happened in the previous two weeks, the conjunction of Moon and Chiron may bring an intense emotional response to any relationship issues that Venus might have brought to light. As I already mentioned, the full moon will involve, in effect, all four planets, behaving as an opposition of Sun and Venus, on one side, with Moon and Chiron, on the other.

On a different topic, the trine of Saturn (Aries 9°40′) and Mars (Leo 15°38′) is wide and getting wider but it was the mirror that last week showed us the desire to structure military issues around the war in Ukraine—along with the airport attacks in Saudi Arabia, the sinking of container ships in the Straight of Hormuz, and the constant battles in wars being fought around the globe.

Financial Troubles?

No longer moving retrograde, Pluto (Aquarius 3°06′) forms a powerful T-square with the double opposition of Sun–Venus with Moon–Chiron. This is incredibly powerful at many levels because such a configuration will “rattle the cage” of the oppositions. So far I have been talking about the role of Venus in relationships but it is also the planet of finances, and Pluto in Aquarius is a relentless seeker of truth. This is augmented by the fact that Pluto is forming a trine with Uranus (Gemini 4°53′), Aquarius’s ruler. In fact, the Minor Grand Trine driven by Neptune (Aries 2°13′) will become alive once again now that Pluto is no longer retrograde.

The sextile of Uranus and Neptune will form a Yod (or Finger of God) with Sun—and with Venus, to some extent—which means that there will be a Boomerang configuration like the one we had two months ago, at the full moon in Pisces. In a Boomerang, the tremendous pressure felt by the Yod’s vertex (Sun) is ricocheted to its opposition (Moon). In this case, the combined effect of Uranus in Gemini and Neptune in Aries is to try to communicate the truth about some misinformation related to Scorpio issues—once again, with Pluto powering it all from Aquarius. In the financial realm, Scorpio refers to wealth generation through exchange, which means that the markets are essentially Scorpionic. Taurus, on the other hand, refers to wealth accumulation so the Boomerang is telling us to play it safe and avoid the markets.

In general, the financial shenanigans of the AI “industry” have begun to unravel in the last two weeks. The “frontier” companies, mainly OpenAI and Anthropic, have commitments in the form of irrevocable contracts, which will become due in 2027. At this moment, it is unclear how they will be able to meet such commitments. Furthermore, the use of AI is not resulting in significant productivity gains so corporations are cutting AI spending, just when the providers of that technology need to increase their revenues exponentially. Pluto’s T-square may bring tremendous pressure that, at a different level, will continue to be felt in the cost of living for regular consumers. With Mercury (Scorpio 20°44′) moving retrograde, it is likely that contracts will be rescinded, especially since Mars and Mercury are forming a square that adds a lot of pressure.

Sabian Symbols

The symbol of Scorpio 3 (Sun) has the image: “A house-raising”, an event once common in rural America defined by Merriam-Webster as: “the joint erection of a house or its framework by a gathering of neighbors”. In fact, Rudhyar rephrased it as: “A house-raising party in a small village enlists the neighbors’ cooperation”, further explained as the feeling of community demonstrated in a basic joint effort. This is a scene seen in movies about the America West, when a newcomer is ready to build a house and the community gathers to help. As Diana Roche says: “The emphasis here is on relationships, shared experience, group effort, and the comfort of knowing that the support of others is available in times of crisis and need” (my emphasis). Its keyword is Cooperation.

Meanwhile, the image for Taurus 3 (Moon) is: “Steps up to a lawn blooming with clover”, which Rudhyar improved to: “Natural steps lead to a lawn of clover in bloom”, and expanded as the gradual expansion of the individual consciousness after a fecundating experience. Both Roche and Rudhyar remind us that the clover is a symbol of the Triad (“Trinity”), which may refer to the “three natures” in man—in Tibetan Buddhism they correspond to: coarse, subtle and very subtle. Despite being a goal within relatively easy reach, effort is required, as symbolized by the steps to be climbed. Roche gives it the keyword Hopefulness and the theme of a Higher Path, while Rudhyar sees it symbolizing “a stage one should seek with diligence and determination, but in humility and faith, to reach Natural Fulfillment“.

I want to remind you of the new-moon symbol—”Two men placed under arrest”—which spoke of facing the consequences of our actions. That symbol spoke of one particular type of relationships, namely, between individuals and society, but it applies equally well to personal ones. The full moon may attempt to clarify what has been going on and we should use the waning phases to understand its meaning. The Sabian symbols speak of seeking the cooperation of others in order to achieve spiritual fulfillment.

Wrapping Up…

Relationships have been a constant topic of the stars for a few months now, and it won’t go away until later this year. The full moon might reveal how our personal relationships can help us in our spiritual growth.

Pluto has awakened from its retrograde motion with a vengeance, and the world will be awash with truths many shadowy figures would prefer to keep hiding. This will be especially present in politics.

In the new-moon article, I wrote: “The energy will be available at all levels, so don’t be surprised if there are social uprisings in the news”, which seemed rather ominous given what has transpired in France, Portugal, Spain, Albania, Serbia and several other countries. Let’s use the remainder of the lunation to appreciate their plight.

Tonight, Mercury will begin its final period of retrograde motion this year—early tomorrow morning in Europe—so expect glitches in the areas of transportation and communication; it will be a good time to exercise our patience.

Enjoy the full moon this weekend, it should look beautiful.

Always Love. 🌹🙏💖