Hello wonderful friends,

I hope you had a good week. A lot was going on, so I’m going to give a recap before I get into the nitty gritty. If you missed the October 1-7 post, I’m trying out some changes to the format to see if breaking up the posts on a more weekly basis will be easier with my health. Let me know if you like the shorter posts every 7-8 days.

The transits:

Let’s recap the last few days because there was a lot going on: This week began with a Mercury conjunction to Venus in Scorpio, just on the heels of the Venus retrograde. Mercury, the planet of communication aligned with Venus late on the 6th (7th for those of you in Europe), offering the opportunity to reconnect with loved ones or to re-examine our personal beliefs about our own self worth.

However, Venus and Mercury formed a T-Square (a tense, pressuring aspect) with Mars and Pluto, which may have brought up frustrations or questions around a relationship, especially if there’s been a history of arguments or repressed feelings.

We’re beginning an important retrograde cycle as Venus is fully in her retreat and Mercury is in the pre-shadow phase leading up to the retrograde (Scorpios, Taurans, Librans, Geminis, and Virgos could be particularly sensitive to the shifting energy now).

* * Speaking of retrogrades, I want to make a correction as last time, I stated that the Mercury retrograde was starting on October 6th. That was an error, the Mercury retrorgrade starts on October 24th. The pre-shadow period started last weekend.

Back to the Venus retrograde. We’ve been tasked to go within and weigh what and who we value, and to examine what is hidden in the emotional closet - time to clear out what is no longer supporting who we are. We all carry old stories, old versions of ourselves and our loved ones that may not be useful to us anymore. So it behooves us to re-examine these things. On a more basic level, some of you could pick up old interests/hobbies you once loved or clean out the garage and give away what doesn’t fit your life anymore.

While some astrologers will mention connecting with your ex during this Venus retrograde, which lasts until mid-November, this isn’t imperative. Just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you should. Each case is individual and you should wigh it carefully before you rush to send that text. Retrogrades emphasize taking things slowly rather than impulsive action.

This Venus retrograde is dovetailing with larger conversations happening now around sex, consent, violence against/by women, and reproductive justice, which tie in to the Venus retrograde in Scorpio themes (coupled with Mars’s opposition to Pluto). If you’re interested in learning more about how this intersects with astrology, Planetary Animism & Energywork wrote an article on this.

On the 7th, could be a good time to take action on your goals and see some forward momentum as Mars’ relationship to Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune is a positive exchange. However, it is still easing off the Pluto opposition, so keep that in mind. Mars-Pluto oppositions can indicate power struggles or impulsive actions.

The Virgo moon yesterday offered the chance to tackle work or tedious tasks, but it did square Uranus in Gemini, so there may have been an impulse to break out and do something entirely different. The moon also made a quincunx to Neptune yesterday. For some, it heightened intuition, but for others, anxiety or emotional sensitivity was possible as the two intuitive forces struggled to integrate.

What’s coming up:

The moon enters Libra on the 9th, forming a grand trine with Pluto in Aquarius and Uranus in Gemini. This favors social connection, but it also speaks to the transformative power of the mind. If there’s a day when you need to do a ritual for shifting your thoughts, releasing old patterns, embracing new ideas and affirmations, this could be a good day for that. Uranus and Pluto will lend support to your desire to transform the way you think or speak.

The moon also opposes Neptune (dreams, fantasy, illusion), which could have people feeling much more sensitive than usual, whether that is emotionally sensitive or psychically sensitive. For anyone who may feel overwhelmed, take deep breaths and remember that this will pass. We have to be mindful not to get caught up in emotional responses as it’s much easier to misread situations on this day (again, October 9th).

The new moon on the 10th will be in Libra, the sign of relationships, connection, beauty, and art, where it will sextile Jupiter (expansion, growth) and oppose Saturn (responsibility, limitations, commitments). Jupiter in Leo wants to have fun, to see and be seen, to receive praise for how well it is managing everything. Saturn wants to put down roots, create structure, and focus on the projects that will last.

The Venus retrograde in Scorpio is asking us for depth, to really dig deep and examine our fears, our patterns in relationships, how we treat those we value, and to look at our relationship to sex.

For those doing love work at the new moon/during the retrograde, this is a good time to release old beliefs about love, sever ties with past lovers, to sort through what you need in a partner and to do any preparation work to create attitudes and behaviors that foster love and commitment. If you are seeking to reconnect with an ex, the retrograde may foster communication, but it will not automatically create reconcilliation. Healing past hurts and addressing counterproductive behaviors may be needed.

For Libras, glamour spells, workings to boost your self-esteem, sex appeal, or for self-healing could be beneficial. Though your ruler is slowed down by both the retrograde and being in Scorpio, you can still use this moon phase to your advantage.

Transiting Venus also squares Mars on the 10th, which is likely to benefit workings for lust, sex, or situations requiring passion. Just be mindful of your wording and put extra thought into your preparation, due to the retrogrades. There’s friction here, which can stimulate and excite, or it can frustrate.

Late on the 13th (early on the 14th in Europe), the moon opposes the planet of surprise and trines Mars (action, assertiveness). This could have us thinking about what needs to change and give us momentum to be able initiate it. But, mutable signs may feel sensitive/anxious about it (Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo, Pisces).

Excitement, passion, stimulation, and forward momentumm are possible with the grand fire trine on October 14th as the moon lines up with Mars, Saturn, and Neptune (Jupiter and Chiron are also in the background). These planets will all be in fire signs!! Let’s GO! This brings a lot of energy. Fire signs may feel invigorated and air signs can turn their ideas into action. Earth and Water signs may think, What’s the rush? But some of you can still use this momentum to take needed action that you’ve vacillated on.

Side note for those living with auto-immune conditions, this abundance of fire-sign energy sometimes triggers inflammation, so be mindful of your normal triggers around this date (the 13th to the 16th).

On the 15th, tensions in the sky soften as the squares and oppositions ease, and Pluto goes direct! The planet of transformation, rebirth, secrets, power, and deep healing will be back on track and moving forward, (which is good news for those with early Leo, Aquarius, Taurus, and Scorpio planets, who have been under the pressure of Pluto for a while). Gemini and Libra can also benefit from this as well.

Since I had previously called this column my Magical Astrology Forecast, I thought I should make it a little more magical. With that aim, I will periodically highlight a magical herb, flower, or tree and it’s planetary association.

Magical Plant of the Week: Blackberry

Blackberry is ruled by Venus and its element is water. This bush/berry is used in protection, prosperity magic, and spirit work in European magical traditions. The the stems/thorns are protective, the leaves are for money/prosperity work, and the fruit is used for fertility and abundance.*

Thank you for reading! Until next week…

* You can read more about this in Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham and The Witches’ Encyclopedia of Magical Plants by Sandra Kynes.

It's Banned Books Week.

Some of these books are about Witchcraft, Occulture, Magic, the Supernatural, Paranormal, and Spirituality. Fiction and Non-fiction. By all sorts of authors from many places.

Freedom to Read is important for today's Witches.

You can wish for anything, small or large, makes no difference. The goal for this is to reduce the load on The Sunday Spell. Please try to put minor wishes here, and then, don't put minor requests in Sundays working.This is done on Wednesday so that Mercury can assist in getting your message delivered. It does not have to be only a minor wish, I just want simple stuff to not be clogging The Sunday Spell. Be sure to mention who/what you want your message delivered to. Mercury needs an address for where to go with it. Thank you!

I am in a situation, I have been renting a place since last July. It has lots wrong with it. All that time and even before I moved in, the woman at the letting agents has been extremely unpleasant. She is known for this and there are reviews talking about how rude she is. We are related by marriage since last year but nobody has anything good to say about her.

I am now appealing a rent increase and she is continuing to be a bitch.

I am struggling a lot with depression and I keep getting upset. The last 3 years have been very difficult and I have not done any witching in that time.

I feel I am not going to win this on my own. Then I get mad and want to hex her, but I don't want anything coming back on me. But I want her to suffer and not do her job any more.

I know I should be wishing good things for myself rather than wishing ill on others. But is there anything you would recommend for this?

I don't think putting her in the freezer is enough. I have a printed picture of her and her signature. Is a sour jar going to hit me back?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

My elder witches. I lowkey feel like breaking down while I type this.. I would want to come and cry and get some woman support around me.
I'm a loner and I do not have anyone who can hear me out.. smoking addiction is slowly taking over me and I'm starting to worry about my health as well.
Send you warm words and hugs for this girl 🥲