Crawling out of the Dark! Partial Solar eclipse in Scorpio! Mars retrograde! Jupiter retrograde re-enters Pisces! All Signs Collective Horoscope (October 24th-30th & beyond!)

Dear NightFall Astrology readers,

“It takes the grace of Trust to turn your life over to the forces of heaven” is this week’s powerful affirmation with the upcoming partial solar eclipse in Scorpio (trust is one the significant lessons of this sign) and Jupiter retrograding back into its mystical home sign of Pisces. We always find the answers we’re looking for in the silence of our inner castle. This eclipse requires us to sit in contemplation and quiet, even though our minds may be racing a hundred miles per minute, with Mars stationing retrograde in Gemini just a few days after. Prayers are always answered, so the catalyst & possibly dramatic event that will propel us into our new beginning will be very obvious. Heaven plays the long game; trust that.

But, this is indeed a time of deep introspection and retrospection where we’ll have the opportunity to get rid of an old situation or coping or self-destructive mechanisms and thoughts that we know no longer serve us. It’s the opportunity to start a new and rise from the ashes.

Here’s your weekly horoscope.

1. Partial Solar Eclipse in Scorpio:

On October 25th at 12:49 PM (CET), the 2-week eclipse portal officially opens with the partial solar eclipse in 2 degrees of Scorpio. A solar eclipse is a New Moon on steroids bringing dramatic, fated and unexpected new beginnings and paradigm shifts, especially regarding leaders and people in charge on a mundane level. Remember, though, a New Moon is actually dark and invisible in the sky, and with this being a solar eclipse, the Sun will also be partially blocked/hidden by the Moon’s penumbral shadow, which gives a double darkness effect!

Without the light of the Moon, its hidden symbolism may suggest it is a “wait and see” time. You may find it to be a time more practically spent observing, dreaming and taking in experience rather than any outward action. Initiate from the level of intention rather than clear and public action. The notion of new beginnings makes this a receiving and collecting time. Think of the conjunction between the Sun and the Moon as a closed door of a house. The door and the hinges are tightly fit, keeping the interior from plain view. All you see is a door. This door is your starting place. You don’t know what your following action may be until the door opens enough for you to catch a peek into the house. What you find may be friendly or not. More will be revealed as the Moon’s light starts growing into a waxing crescent moon.

A Solar Eclipse creates a change that can be felt in our personal affairs over the next six months and, on a larger scale, over the next 18.5 years. This can be a time when we promote enterprise and other self-interests. A Solar Eclipse will push matters to the forefront for immediate attention. The time around the Solar Eclipse is a hectic time filled with stress and demands. It can be viewed as a progressive brainstorming process that develops over time (its effects can be felt up to 2 weeks to one month beforehand!). Again, the invisible Moon at the time of the eclipse makes this an unpredictable time, leaving a period of unknowns to be revealed later. This is a time to proceed with caution when engaging in new projects.

A partial solar eclipse isn’t as intense as a total one, but it’s still a big deal energetically. Many of us notice dramatic changes near eclipse dates. We can also note at the time of the eclipse that the energy grid lines along the path of an eclipse are dramatically wider. Extreme weather, major disasters, and other dramatic events occur immediately around an eclipse.

This solar eclipse is with the South Node in Scorpio, indicating that to get our new beginning, we’ll have to let go of a situation, a person or a thing that’s no longer serving us but to which we’re very attached.

The Sun, the Moon, and Venus are all at 2 degrees in the first decan of Scorpio, associated with the “Five of Cups” Tarot card (also known as the “Lord of Disappointment”), showing that you’re disappointed in how you feel now, like getting the thing did not make you feel the way you wanted. Still, you realise that when you get to the top, it feels very lonely. It’s not indicative of a failure, for you definitely achieved something, but emotionally it feels outdated. And often, it’s more of a letdown than it would have been had you not gone for it at all, and instead, you chose what would feel good at the moment. It’s like pursuing an empty goal, but you feel like once you get there, you’ll be able to feel fulfilled.

Eclipses are when the Sun and the Moon reside on the ecliptic, which is where the Sun’s orbit is; there’s also the North Node and the South Node (they’re mathematical points of the northern and southern intersections of the Moon’s orbit with the ecliptic; they’re not planetary bodies, so in a way, they’re shadow planets).

With this solar eclipse being in Scorpio, the main themes will revolve around transformation, death/rebirth, sex and intimacy, crisis, taxes, loans, banks, inheritances, investments, political and nuclear power, shared resources, secrets, the occult, and all things hidden.

With Venus in conjunction with the eclipse, whatever we’re letting go of to open the next chapter of our lives holds a lot of value to us. The energy will be pretty heavy, chaotic, and intense (as with all eclipses), but this one really pulls on our heartstrings as the Moon is in its fall, Venus is in its exile, and Uranus is (loosely) opposing the eclipse. So, I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you: it can feel gut-wrenching and freeing as we cut ties.

The last time we had a similar eclipse was on November 12th, 1985, at 20° of Scorpio. The nodes usually take 18.5 years to go through the entire zodiac, so yes, the last time they were in Taurus and Scorpio was in 2003/2004, but back then, we didn’t have any solar eclipses in Scorpio, so we’ll have to go back another 18.5 years, which brings us to 1985.

Here are some of the critical world events that coincided with the 1985 Total Solar Eclipse in Scorpio:

• Armero tragedy: The Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted, killing an estimated 23,000 people, including 21,000 killed by lahars, in the town of Armero, Colombia.
• Cold War: In Geneva, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time.
• Microsoft Corporation released the first international release of Windows 1.0.
• 1985 Aeroflot Antonov An-12 shoot-down: A Soviet Aeroflot Antonov An-12 cargo aeroplane, en route from Cuito Cuanavale to Luanda, is shot down by South African Special Forces and crashes approximately 43 km east of Menongue, the provincial centre of the Cuando Cubango Province, Angola, killing eight crew members and 13 passengers on board.
• The Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable are released for sale to the public in the U.S.
• Rome and Vienna airport attacks: Abu Nidal terrorists opened fire in the airports of Rome and Vienna, leaving 18 dead and 120 injured.

As you can see, the 1985 solar eclipse in Scorpio coincided with significant political crises and overturns, natural disasters, and new products being released on the market.

2. Jupiter retrograde re-enters Pisces:

On Friday, October 28th, philosophical Jupiter, which has been retrograde in high-octane Aries since July 28th, slips back one spot on the zodiac wheel into enlightened Pisces. While the backspin wages on until November 23rd, you may still feel some relief. This serenity-restoring cycle can feel like a head trip at first—especially after the frenetic pace of Jupiter in Aries. But like the tornado that transported Dorothy Gale (and Diana Ross!) to Oz, you might feel like a portal opened and snatched you back into another dimension. How to navigate this yellow brick road? Surrender to divine timing and let things flow. (Call it an energy-conservation plan.) Warning: This paranoia-provoking cycle may bring confusion and delusion. Don’t believe the hype! That “news” story sent by your conspiracy-theory-loving friend needs to be scoured for truth with the instincts of a private investigator. Be careful not to hop on the collective fear bandwagon during Jupiter’s remaining tour through Pisces until December 20th. Conversely, don’t drop your guard so much that you put yourself in danger.

Jupiter’s short transit through Pisces will be the most healing for Pisces, Scorpio, Cancer, Taurus, and Capricorn.

3. Mercury becomes invisible and enters Scorpio:

Also, on October 28th, Mercury, as a Morningstar, becomes invisible to the naked eye until December 14th, leading us to sit still with our thoughts and connect to the Divine message through spiritual and esoteric knowledge.

On a more material level, starting new projects related to commerce, trading, business, media, writing, and marketing is harder when Mercury becomes invisible. People ruled by Mercury, Gemini or Virgo, Sun Moon or Ascendant will feel less initiative and more reflective during the invisible times.

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On October 29th, Mercury enters Scorpio (and will remain in this sign until November 17th), adding to the energy of diving deep into occultism and esotericism. During this transit, the mind becomes more suspicious and obsessive about a specific topic and taps into secrets, hidden motives or details. This is excellent energy for investigation, scientific studies, in-depth research and self-analysis, and profound psychological realisations. Our intuition will be off the charts and will reveal itself in the form of intense A-HA moments.

4. Mars stations retrograde:

Sunday, October 30th, comes with a strong FOMO alert! If variety is the spice of life, then season with care over the next two and a half months. Frenetic Mars turns retrograde in Gemini until January 12th, 2023, a cycle bound to churn up confusion and creative insight in equal measure.

Mars is action, aggression, war, drive, and conflict. The sign that it’s transiting indicates what kind of conflict we’ll be having. Gemini is a mutable air sign concerned with communication (including news & media), intellect, logic, a lot of curiosity, brainstorming & changing points of view, short-distance travel, neighbours, and siblings. It’s not Virgo (the other sign ruled by Mercury which is more discerning and concerned with editing the info). Geminis often have a very short attention span but be very conversational, and they’re very interested in getting everything to the surface and talking about it.

Mars in Gemini, therefore, represents debating, verbal conflict, and information wars. However, the dark side of Gemini is argumentativeness, miscommunication, misinterpretation of the facts because we absolutely have to be right, rumours, and gossip. Plus, when Mars stations retrograde on October 30th, it’ll still be squaring Neptune retrograde in Pisces, amplifying confusion and misinformation. Over the next seven months, while Mars is in Gemini, it’d be better to stay open-minded and not take every piece of info or perspective at face value.

Mars will retrograde from 25° to 8° (the shadow path) of Gemini. It usually stays in a sign for about two months, but because of the retrograde, it’ll remain in Gemini for an extended period of seven months. This usually brings a rethinking of the written work of a country (such as the constitution and legislation) if we look at past Mars retrogrades in Gemini.
Mars has retrograded in Gemini over the last 100 years, approximately every 15-17 years. However, it hasn’t been retrograding entirely in this sign: from November 15th 2007, until January 30th 2008, Mars was retrograde in Cancer and Gemini; from October 20th 1990, until January 1st 1991, Mars was retrograde in Gemini and Taurus; from November 6th 1975 until January 20th 1976, Mars was retrograde in Cancer and Gemini (the same goes from November 20th 1960 until February 5th 1961); and the last time Mars was entirely retrograde in Gemini was from October 28th 1943 until January 10th 1944 (this last cycle is the closest to the one we’re having now). 

The current Mars retrograde will peak in December when it will oppose the Sun in Sagittarius, bringing us to the middle of a new 2-year Mars cycle after it conjoined the Sun in Libra on October 8th 2021 (right on Putin’s Sun in his 12th house of hidden plans and intentions).

Indeed, in March and April 2021, the Russian Armed Forces began massing thousands of personnel and military equipment near Russia’s border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the largest mobilisation since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. This precipitated an international crisis due to concerns over a potential invasion. Satellite imagery showed movements of armour, missiles, and heavy weaponry. The troops were partially withdrawn by June 2021, though the infrastructure was left in place. A second build-up began in October 2021, with more soldiers and deployments on new fronts; by December, over 100,000 Russian troops were massed around Ukraine on three sides, including Belarus from the north and Crimea from the south. Despite the Russian military build-ups, Russian officials from November 2021 to February 20th 2022, repeatedly denied that Russia had plans to invade Ukraine.

This new Mars cycle started in an air sign, so the opposition (confrontation) will naturally be in the same element. Air rules our minds and communication; therefore, we can’t really expect an escalation of the current Russia/Ukraine armed conflict to a full-blown world war (this would be more of a fire sign situation or an exalted Mars in Capricorn). The air signs (Libra, Aquarius, Gemini) aren’t war-oriented. We’re talking more about information, communication (hate speech, propaganda, fear-mongering), data, trade, transportation and logistics, cyber wars, conflicts, and accidents. This is a legal and political war, a war for justice and freedom of expression.

Any documents, negotiations, and deals should be double-checked. Robberies and lies can be on the rise, too (Mars square Neptune). Fallouts among siblings and neighbours will be more likely than usual. All of this will be amplified with the upcoming Full Moon in Gemini on December 7th-8th (depending on your time zone).

When it comes to health and healthcare systems, Mars (the ruling planet of accidents and inflammations) retrograde in Gemini (the sign ruling our mind) usually indicates a rise in mental health issues (anxiety, bipolar disorders, panic attacks, and the worst case scenario, dementia). Gemini is also linked to the lungs, indicating a drastic increase in respiratory diseases, especially among children, because this sign rules elementary education, schools and kindergartens. The possibility of ear infections and hand incidents is also heightened during this period. Thankfully, Saturn in Aquarius will be trining Mars throughout its retrograde period and will thus bring some stability, pragmatism, patience, and groundedness to the situation.

On the positive side, Mars retrograde in Gemini can accelerate and enhance our adaptability and reactivity.

In sum, we should avoid chaotic and confusing situations that can lead to deception and lies.

Some events of the October 1943 – January 1944 Mars retrograde:

• WWII: Signing of Moscow Declarations: the Declaration of the Four Nations on general security by the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union and the Republic of China; and the Declarations on Italy, Austria and Atrocities by the first three governments.
• The Holocaust: Aktion Erntefest (“Operation Harvest Festival”) – The largest single-day massacre of Jews in the entire war took place when over 43,000 Jews were shot-gunned to death by the S.S., the Ordnungspolizei and the “Trawniki men” (Ukrainian collaborators) in Sonderdienst formations at the Majdanek, Trawniki and Poniatowa concentration camps in the General Government territory of occupied Poland.
• First Bombing of the Vatican – Four bombs were dropped on the neutral Vatican City; the aircraft responsible was never certainly identified.
• Lebanon gained independence upon the end of the French Mandate.
• The 1943 Tosya–Ladik earthquake in Turkey killed thousands.
• WWII: Bari chemical warfare disaster: A surprise Luftwaffe air raid on Bari, Italy, sank 28 Allied ships in the harbour, including the American Liberty ship SS John Harvey, releasing its secret cargo of mustard gas bombs, inflating the number of casualties.
• WWII: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He established the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in London.
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a Second Bill of Rights for social and economic security in his State of the Union address.
• Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle begin a 2-day conference in Marrakech.

It may look like the current Mars retrograde would be as disastrous as the abovementioned period of WWII, but remember this Mars retrograde starts in-between eclipses and is the ruler of the one with the South Node in Scorpio (the South Node indicates a decrease of the energy of this sign it’s in, in this case, war, nuclear power, conspiracies and manipulation). Whereas in 1943-1944, we had Jupiter, Pluto and the North Node in Leo (increase and expansion of power, leadership, and the ego). Finally, Mars and Saturn (the two malefics) were both in Gemini alongside Uranus (chaos and disruption).

“Everybody dies sometimes
But now I’m coming back to life
Im crawling out, I’m crawling out of the dark”.

Crawling Out Of The Dark by Orianthi.

Your astrologer – Theodora NightFall ~

Bear in mind that this is a general horoscope and is in no way your personal horoscope. If you’d like to know what your birth chart says about your personality and your life’s purpose or discover what the upcoming astrological alignments mean specifically for you, you can book a consultation with me.

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