For the first week in nearly a month, we don’t have eclipses, retrogrades or serious squares to contend with. We’re still dealing with the aftermath, though.

The Full Moon in Taurus on November 17, which I covered in last week’s forecast, is the culmination of the astrologically charged solar eclipse on November 3. If nothing out of the ordinary happened in your life around that time or near the lunar eclipse on October 18, you may get the “message” this week. As usual, it depends on where these significant events fell in your natal chart.

Mercury gains speed this week, another indication that phone calls, e-mails, checks, and other matters on hold since mid-October could come through, possibly all at once, with the Moon in Mercury ruled Gemini on Monday and Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Chiron returns direct at 9 degrees Pisces. As you’ll recall, Chiron was discovered in 1977 and was the first of a new class of minor planets called centaurs, because their behavior is a sort of cross between that of asteroids and comets, just as the mythological centaurs were half-man, half-horse. For the most part, the centaurs were a wild bunch that partied hard, drank to excess, got in brawls, and made off with the village women. Chiron, however, had a different upbringing and became a wise healer and mentor to gods and heroes.

A big part of Chiron’s mythology revolves around a wound that wouldn’t heal. Emotionally, he was wounded by the rejection of his parents. Later, he was shot with a poison arrow and would have been doomed to eternal pain had he not asked to become mortal so he could die. According to ancient authors, he was placed in the sky as the constellation Centaurus, although some sources associate him with Sagittarius. In any case, astrologers began using minor planet Chiron as an indicator of our most fundamental wounds and where we have the greatest capacity to heal.

Pluto returned direct just shy of 9 degrees Capricorn in late September. When outer planets shift motion, they remain at the same degree for several weeks. For most of October and November, Chiron is in a sextile with Pluto by exact degree, and the two will remain at a close angle until Pluto turns retrograde again in April. Pluto is associated with death, regeneration, and rebirth. It’s not hard to see how the two working together can lead to a breakdown, followed by healing and rebirth or transformation. The sextile is considered a friendly aspect, but that doesn’t make the breakdown process any easier.

Plutonic forces are ruthlessly effective at destroying what is old, decaying, and corrupt. I’ve written a lot about this in terms of governments and civilization itself, primarily in the context of the ongoing square between Uranus and Pluto. The square was exact on November 1 but remains close through the end of December. Although we can notice transits of outer planets to planets in our individual natal charts (anyone who’s ever experienced an intense Pluto transit can attest to that), aspects between outer planets such as the Uranus-Pluto square tend to manifest as events that affect large groups of people and global affairs.

The favorable angle between Pluto and Chiron suggests that the breakdowns that have been occurring over the past several weeks – for example, the shutdown of the U.S. government and breakdown in President Obama’s signature healthcare program – could contain the seeds for deep healing. One can always hope.

On Wednesday (Mercury Day), Mercury forms a positive trine to Chiron and sextiles Pluto. At the very least, we should get some good news about the Affordable Care Act. The programmers working on the broken website may get a boost, too. The way also seems to be clear to resume negotiations in Geneva over Iran’s nuclear program. France threw a monkey wrench into the deal at the last minute just as Mercury was stationed to return direct on November 10. Mercury, as you know, rules negotiations. Uranus is associated with electricity and advanced technology, while Pluto heads the nuke department.

On Thursday, the Sun wraps up its journey through the dark sign of Scorpio and enters Sagittarius, the party sign. I rather like the idea that Sagittarius represents Chiron, since it borders Ophiuchus. The snake handler is said to be Asclepius, the first doctor, who received his medical training from Chiron. However, Chiron wasn’t the partying kind of centaur. Moreover, according to some ancient accounts, Sagittarius isn’t a centaur at all, but the satyr Crotus. Rather than being half-man, half-horse, a satyr is a man from the waist up and a goat from the waist down. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could ever get the image out of my head of Sagittarius as a centaur with the bow and arrow. Crotus did hunt, and he cavorted with the muses on Mount Helicon. Jupiter, the ruling planet of Sagittarius, also had the reputation of being a great partier and womanizer.

Speaking of Jupiter, on Tuesday (Mars Day), there is a sextile from Mars in Virgo to Jupiter in Cancer. This is a day for getting a lot of work done and being productive in general. If you’re signing a real estate deal, this is a good day for understanding the fine print and renegotiating any terms you don’t like.

We have yet another sextile on Saturday (Saturn Day), this time between Venus and Saturn. It’s true that Saturn gets a bad rap, and it’s not entirely undeserved. He rains on parades, poops on parties, and delivers depressing reality checks. But Venus brings out his positive side, especially when she’s in his home sign of Capricorn. At his best, Saturn provides much needed structure, discipline, and commitment. It takes work to maintain relationships, the domain of Venus. Under this influence, you can do the work more easily. That applies to finances as well, which also come under the purview of Venus. If you need to sit down and make a budget or do any kind of financial planning, this is a perfect time to do so.

Sunday is a day for sleep, when the Sun makes a square with Neptune. If you partied too hard under the Sagittarius Sun and went home under the influence of Neptune-ruled substances like drugs and alcohol, you might want to have your favorite remedy handy. Or you can just sleep it off.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

© Pat Paquette, RealAstrologers.com, 2013.