November 2019 Insights
Summary of Key November Changes
Oct 30 - Nov 30 Mercury (communications) retrograde in Libra (sign of relationships)
Nov 4 Jupiter (optimism, education, spirituality), enters own sign Sagittarius (knowledge, spirituality) for about 12 months.
Nov 10 Mars (ambitious energy) enters Libra (agreements & relationships). Mars and Venus exchange signs (i.e. Mars in Venus' sign; Venus in Mars' sign), creating a link between those planets and signs.
Nov 12 A full Moon in Aries, Sun in Libra (partnerships, one-on-one agreements)
October: With the benefit of hindsight
To fully appreciate some of the beneficial changes coming in November, it is useful to examine last month's activity with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight. Let's be clear, October was a tough month for many clients and in world events generally.
A basic search of significant news events this past month, reveals massive street protests and violence spanning across three continents. Chile, Lebanon, Catalonia/Spain, Iraq, Syria/Turkey, and Hong Kong all managed through major headline events that were initially sparked by seemingly small local grievances spinning completely out of control, especially over the last few weeks. Even though each of these events was unrelated, they all reflected the common themes of inequality, injustice, corruption, and broken commitments between governments and their respective citizens. Each was sparked by pent-up frustrations that exceeded typical norms. As it stands today, most of these violent protests are ongoing.
Of course, there was also the Brexit impasse in the U.K., heated Trump impeachment proceedings in the U.S, the spread of deadly wildfires in California, and a host of other issues - but the street protests in particular seemed especially noteworthy given their disconnected, yet pervasive nature.
Astrologically, the primary factor corresponding with these violent dissents is the mutual aspect between Mars (aggressive energy) and Saturn (stubborn resistance). It’s not rocket science. Aggressive energy + Stubborn resistance = (Growing frustration, Anger, Violence)! Since this transit lasted longer than usual, the prolonged nature of pent-up frustrations led to a rising tide of global violence and protests. If those protests eerily reminded you of the spontaneous protests during the “Arab Spring” in 2010, you’re not alone. A very similar Mars/Saturn aspect was connected to those protests as well. In fact, the only difference in 2010 was that Mars and Saturn reversed signs from the current October/November 2019 transit.
On an individual level, specific outcomes depended on where the Mars/Saturn aspect fell in a person's birth chart. Anecdotally though, clients reported much higher levels of upset, frustration, upheaval and unexpected tragedy. In almost all the cases I covered this month – those events related primarily to this Saturn/Mars aspect. The transit won’t be missed.
November 2019: Macro Outlook
Two very significant astrological events in November present us with the expectation for improvement relative to what we've been watching (or experiencing) in October. First, Jupiter, our strongest most positive planet, moves into its own sign on November 4th. When planets are in their own sign, events generally correspond to the positive characteristics of that planet. Therefore, we would expect to see situations develop that slowly elevate a spirit of optimism, confidence and an increased sense of global justice. Slowly, because it will take some time for Jupiter to fully move into its sign and because energies change gradually; they don’t turn “on” and “off” like a light switch. Second, the Mars/Saturn aspect described in earlier paragraphs will finally disappear on November 10th after Mars enters the sign of Libra. By mid-November, I expect things should start to ‘feel’ a little better. But, don’t expect overnight miracles.
At a minimum, the combination of these two events suggests that the extreme levels of street violence are likely to start settling down, resolving, and/or dissipating. Now... no one is going to be dancing or singing “Kumbaya” in the streets!!... But, some of the more violent themes are likely to settle, especially as we get closer to the end of November and early December.
When Jupiter enters its own sign on November 4th, it will mark the beginning of a one-year (mostly positive) transit for Jupiter that should correspond with a general sense of optimism, justice, and education. Of course, as the saying goes, “your mileage may vary." Individual results depend on the set-up in your own chart and there are certainly other factors that will bring unique challenges. But the upcoming Jupiter transit is definitely significant. That said, even Jupiter's influence will ebb and flow over the next 12 months since it will speed through the sign of Sagittarius and temporarily dip into Capricorn (it's weakest sign) in late March. It will then reverse course (retrograde) and re-enter Sagittarius, but we'll review all of that in future updates. For now, we expect some of the fiery temperatures to subside over the next several weeks and months.
Many of you may be wondering, what (if any) impact the changes in transits will have on the impeachment proceedings in the U.S. I’ll comment on impeachment proceedings in a later update since that will take quite a bit of additional explanation.
Relationship Weather Alert:
Partly cloudy communications with a chance of stormy behavior
From Nov 10 - Nov 21, Mars and Venus will sit in each other's signs. Typically this brings a deeper connection between the effected signs and the planets in them. When Mars and Venus connect, it generally brings out passions. Sometimes, raw, physical and emotional...Passions. But, that also depends on where and how they interact.
In this case, Venus (the planet of agreements & relationships) is in Scorpio (the sign of change, transformation and manipulation), while Mars (the planet of energetic change), sits in Libra (the sign of agreements & relationships). In other words: energetic fiery passions meet (and potentially disrupt) the balance and harmony in personal and business relationship, contracts and agreements.
Further, Mercury (the planet of interactive communications) will be retrograde and in the same sign of relationships (Libra) along with Mars. The retrograde motion of Mercury often brings complications, disruptions and breakdowns in communication. Since this is happening in the sign of Libra (contracts & relationships), it suggests this is the area of life most impacted by a breakdown in communications.
And for the icing on the cake…. there will be a Full moon in the constellation Bharani on November 12th, that brings the "power to carry things away"; a dynamic force that is linked to the discarding of “old” to make room for the “new”. The full Moon will fully aspect Mars and Mercury, therefore contributing its strong emotional influence. It will be wise to stay alert for and not get sucked in to, potential relationship dramas. Remain alert for emotional triggers in relationships, as well as spirited miss-communications, misunderstandings, and “weaponized” emotional manipulations (aka…”guilt-tripping”).
On the positive side, this could be a window when, despite the potential for relationship upheavals, that finances from business agreements could benefit & prosper.
In the chart of the U.S. this combination will likely relate to global trade discussions. Without going into too much astrological detail, I would not be surprised if there wasn’t some kind of negative upheaval related to the China trade deal during this time frame. I will review more of the U.S. situation next month.
[1]All signs are based on the Vedic sidereal method. The sidereal system uses distant stars to fix the starting point of the stellar signs (e.g. Aries). Western astrology uses the Vernal (Spring) equinox, to determine where Aries beings. Hence that starting point for Aries changes every year in Western astrology due to the earth’s precession, whereas it does not change in the Vedic sidereal system.