Monday, October 12–18,
Energy This Week

This week begins with six planets in retrograde. Saturn, Neptune, and Chiron, which are in retrograde in Aries, leave a powerful impression with their fiery and oppressive energy.

Fortunately, Pluto turns direct again this week, but Mercury retrograde in Scorpio begins as early as October 24. Venus is also currently retrograde in Scorpio. In Scorpio, topics such as intimacy, trust, jealousy, self-worth, emotional attachment, and security are given special astrological emphasis.

These themes take on a deeper and more intense significance in Scorpio. What has long been simmering beneath the surface may become increasingly clear. Old patterns, relationships, and beliefs that no longer serve us call for a new approach. On October 20, Venus and Pluto form a tense aspect. The tension between love, desire, and control is already building.

During this period, old feelings may resurface. A memory, a conversation, or an encounter may show you that a certain issue hasn’t been fully resolved yet. This doesn’t necessarily mean that someone from the past has to return or that a relationship has to be rekindled. Sometimes it’s simply an opportunity to understand why something affected you so deeply and what you’ve learned from it. Venus in retrograde invites you to reexamine your own values and discover what you truly need to feel loved, secure, and valued.

It’s not just a matter of who we love, but also why we continue to form bonds with certain people or situations. Are our relationships based on trust and reciprocity, or do fear, dependence, and the need for control sometimes play a bigger role than we’re willing to admit?

All these developments make the energy, on the one hand, slow and sluggish, and on the other, confrontational and “piercing.” You may feel restless, tired, and sluggish. As if everything is stuck and you’re going around in circles. You want to move forward but can’t seem to make any progress, even as you long to do so. Your mind may also feel cluttered, restless, and foggy. At night, you may lie awake because of ruminative thoughts or strange, recurring dreams.

This week isn't about pushing forward relentlessly, but about daring to pause and seek out silence. It is a time when insights can mature into conscious decisions.

Lunar phase: waxing moon.

October 15: A harmonious connection between the Sun in Libra and Jupiter in Leo

This connection brings a little more space and optimism. While Venus in retrograde encourages you to look inward, this combination can help you see possibilities again. You can become more aware of your talents, your creativity, and the opportunities that arise when you dare to put yourself out there more.

It is an invitation to have faith in what is possible without losing sight of reality. Growth comes not only from recognizing opportunities, but also from the willingness to actually do something with them.

Take a moment to examine what’s holding you back. How can you explore new opportunities and collaborations? And what—or who—do you need to take concrete action? Keep in mind, however, that both Jupiter and Leo can magnify whatever they touch, and together they can lead to overconfidence and delusions of grandeur. Don’t make it so big that it dies a beautiful death; instead, take one small step forward every day.

October 16: Mars in Leo trine Saturn in Aries

Mars in Leo forms a trine with Saturn in Aries. This connection is both harmonious and constructive. Mars represents drive, initiative, and courage, while Saturn is associated with discipline, responsibility, and long-term development.

Mars in Leo wants to act from the heart and express itself, while Saturn in Aries calls for us to handle our personal power with maturity.

This energy helps you translate your enthusiasm, feelings, and desires into concrete steps. Where you may have previously had doubts or spread your energy too thinly across too many different things, you can now make more conscious choices about where to focus your attention.

Mars and Saturn help you channel your energy in a focused way and actually follow through on your decisions. They help you set boundaries without reacting impulsively. And they help you build something that has long-term value.

October 16: Pluto direct in Aquarius

In astrology, Pluto is the planet associated with profound transformation, power, control, hidden processes, and rebirth. During the retrograde period that began in May, the focus was on inner exploration. You were invited to examine your own shadow aspects, situations in which you try to hold on to control, and structures that have run their course.

Now that Pluto is moving direct again, the energy is shifting from inner processing toward visible change. What you’ve discovered and allowed to mature over the past few months can slowly take shape in the outside world—not by forcing it, but by consciously creating space for what wants to continue growing.

In Aquarius, Pluto touches on themes such as freedom, technology, collective responsibility, social systems, and the relationship between the individual and the group. On a personal level, you may feel more and more clearly where you no longer want to conform to the expectations of others. You may develop a need for more autonomy, honesty, and space to follow your own path.

Pluto also touches on something much more personal and profound. Sometimes you just sense that something isn’t right anymore, that an old version of yourself is slowly fading away. This can be confronting, but it is precisely there that renewal can take place. Pluto invites you to go to the core: What must truly die—even if it’s painful and uncomfortable—so that something new can be born within you?

Perhaps you’re still like the caterpillar that retreats into its cocoon. A time of stillness, of turning inward, and of letting go—a time when you don’t yet know what will ultimately emerge. Or perhaps you’re already a step further along in your process and have shed your cocoon. Then it’s time to spread your wings—free, light, and effortless.

With Pluto in Aquarius, this transformation extends not only to you as an individual, but also to the world of which you are a part. The changes you undergo internally are not separate from the larger movement taking place around you. Pluto works slowly, but thoroughly and inexorably. Once he sets something in motion, it ultimately cannot be pushed back to the way it was.

Let go of the past, and trust in the space that emerges when you dare to let go.

“What are you holding on to, even as you feel deep down that it’s time to let go? What fear is being stirred? Where do you feel it in your body? And what might emerge within you or in your life if you listen to your deepest feeling and dare to let go?”