Your October 2023 Horoscope Brings A Blank Canvas

In September, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft delivered an intriguing present to our planet: rock from the asteroid Bennu, hovering some 50 million miles away from Earth, said to contain information about the genesis of life on our planet, all those billions of years ago. Not incidentally, Bennu may be headed for our shores — not in our lifetime, but someday. Perhaps the source of our creation and the engine of our annihilation are one in the same. At this midpoint between big bangs, our work is to collect data, make sense of where we come from, and choose the way forward.

Fortunately for you, your calling this October is not to review four billion years of history, but, rather, half a year. Can you handle that? It’s been six months since Aries season launched the astrological new year, over which Saturn plunged into Pisces for a two-ish year baptism, forcing us to examine our boundaries and all the ways we elect the role of victim, martyr, or messiah. Yikes. Over the summer, Venus dragged you into your personal underworld for a scorching and cleansing retrograde makeover montage. Here’s how you’ve been a crazy b*tch in your relationships, here’s how you’ve sold yourself short, and now you’re going to have to own it if you want to crawl out of the grave alive.

Now that you’ve been humbled and humiliated, you’re a blank canvas, ready to receive your calling. Saturn has dipped back to zero degrees of Pisces, where it was in April, and now we can really begin again. Venus and Lilith enter Virgo this October, the sign of synthesis and service. How does everything we know about ourselves inform our understanding of our calling, and our limits? The Virgo Beyoncé, along with Taylor Swift, and soon Madonna, the world’s ruling papal femmes, are enjoying cumulative, celebratory tours, letting their hair down as they look back on their individual eras. Brooke Shields, not satisfied to be the subject of another “what did we do to her?” documentary, is telling her life story on a cabaret stage at Café Carlyle. These were my triumphs, these were my mistakes, this is who I am, this is what I do.

In Virgo, Venus asks you to be specific. Knowing what you know about yourself, what is your lane, and where can you take your place? Venus is the lead actress of the cosmos, the matinee idol. What is your role? On October 12, Mars enters Scorpio, followed by Mercury and the sun on the 23rd. Scorpio is all about power, and how we wield it. Embrace this humility, and this specificity, to choose where and how you unleash your talent — and your wrath.

The conversation around power will hit a breaking point this October, with two eclipses commanded by Venus: the annular solar eclipse in Libra, on the 14th, and the penumbral lunar eclipse in Taurus on the 28th. The Taurus-Scorpio eclipse cycle has raged since 2021, and has taken us through the signs’ themes of fertility, sexuality, abuse, and vindication: the Britney Spears and Amber Heard court proceedings, the shutdown of abortion rights in the United States, and the volcanic Mahsa Amini protests in Iran. As we face the final Taurus eclipse until the 2030s, we look back on all that has been violated, and all that has been reclaimed. Like the inert, unyielding, indefatigable bull, you’re still standing, and ready to go another hundred rounds.

The Libra eclipse, meanwhile, is the first in its sign since 2016, and will be marked by a visible “ring of fire” deemed dangerous to the human eye. In Taurus, Venus plays the role of provocateur. With an eclipse meeting the south node in Libra, she’s Gracie Lou Freebush, a hardass packing heat in her evening gown, trained for combat yet yearning for world peace.

Can you bear the weight of the scales? Of past and future, of reclaimed atrocity and eager optimism? Can you be a victim and a perpetrator, a heroine who has owned her bumpy past? Can you find some wizened, informed neutrality, a way to to fulfill your calling without trying to overcompensate for…everything? In the scope of one year, or four billion, are you an agent of balance, or another rock getting tossed around the cosmos? It’s up to you to decide.

Though horoscopes apply to sun signs, we advise that you read the horoscope based on your rising.

ARIES & ARIES RISING

Last month you closed out a six-month chapter of interior development. Now we go live. The next half-year fires you off into the spotlight; the new moon solar eclipse in Libra on October 14 is opening night. Of course, you’ll not just be debuting the triumphant new you to your admiring public, but to your parents, your past selves, and the entire Greek chorus of dark and disapproving inner voices within. As the sun, Mercury, and Mars coruscate through Libra, in your seventh house of public visibility, they’ll square Pluto, the master of the underworld, in Capricorn, in your 10th house of grand ambitions and expectations. This is an essential underworld crossing, a trial and reaffirmation of the ways you’ve changed. Show Pluto that you’re not backing down on your own future, and the way forward will be blazed with solar clarity.

TAURUS & TAURUS RISING

We likened September’s reprieve to Moses’ years off, hanging with the herds in Midian. Come October, it’s time to go toe-to-toe with the Pharaoh. The Taurus eclipse on the 28th spells out a climax worthy of Charleton Heston. In the Taurus corner, we have Jupiter, planet of wisdom and expansion, making you into the master you were always meant to be. Directly across the way are Mars, Mercury, and the sun in Scorpio, in your seventh house of others. How are your relationships awakening, blocking, or challenging your recently realized power? Moses and Pharoah needed each other, to prove to themselves the depth of their convictions, and where they were willing to compromise. Let every interaction bring you closer to the truth of your mission.

GEMINI & GEMINI RISING

This oughta be good! As the sun and Mercury spark up Libra, in your fifth house of physical and creative expression, you’re well-served booking dates, tennis matches, scrapbooking sessions and anything else that puts you in your body, and in contact with pleasure. Of course, with the scorching hot trio of Venus, Lilith, and Juno entering Virgo, in your fourth house of home and family, and Mars moving into Scorpio, in your sixth house of the body, we know you’re due for some riveting awakenings. One harmless Zumba class may unveil a repressed bastion of somatic information; a positive romantic encounter could illuminate the dark threads of the past. Your assignment is to put yourself and your body out there, and pay attention to what gets activated. You’re dancing with primordial powers now. Let the release begin.

CANCER & CANCER RISING

October’s one-two-punch eclipse streak hits your fourth house of home and family on the 14th (new moon solar eclipse in Libra) and your 11th house of community and legacy on the 28th (full moon lunar eclipse in Taurus). For a Cancer rising, these two houses deal with the same question: Where do you belong? Who surrounds you — at your hearth, your studio, and on the dance floor? As the sun, Mercury, and Mars streak through Libra and bring perfect order to your home life, they’ll initiate a relational house-cleaning. If you’re to invest in your inner life and your big-picture legacy, who do you really want to be there with you? This isn’t a ruthless relationship purge, but a resetting of intent. Be mindful of whom you invite to the party.

LEO & LEO RISING

For a Leo rising, Libra and Scorpio occupy the root houses of your chart — what astrologers refer to as “the kitchen” — occupied by family, close friends, neighbors, routines, and all the daily bric-a-brac that comprises your culture, your point of view, and your world. As the planets progress from Libra to Scorpio, they remind you that the creative fuel is down here. The Libra eclipse on October 14 unleashes new power in this domain; pay attention to what your life is built on. The month ends with a Taurus lunar eclipse on the 28th, in your 10th house of career and ambitions. The lessons and changes in this arena may feel too heady to grasp; put your focus on what you’re eating for lunch and where you go shopping for shower curtains. That’s the source of your future.

VIRGO & VIRGO RISING

Listen, we’ve all been looking forward to this presentation, to the spectacular unveiling of the new you. Venus spent the whole summer in Leo, in your 12th house of processing and closure, hiding out like Madonna between albums. With Venus, Lilith, and Juno entering your home sign this October, and a blast of planets in Libra, in your second house of style and self-worth, you’re ready to launch. What shadows did you face this summer, and how can you bring it all into your public face? The discoveries made and changes you’ve committed to are no longer internal. Bring them to every aspect of your life: change your wardrobe, reassess your income, and restructure your day-to-day. You’ve changed! Don’t be afraid to show it.

LIBRA & LIBRA RISING

The Libra Doja Cat released her album Scarlet, a demonic, Dark Willow reclamation of power and prestige. You, too, are due for a similar redefinition, a raw and real revelation of your worth to the world, and with a new moon solar eclipse in Libra on October 14, it’s now or never. (“B*tch, I said what I said!”) The sun, Mercury, and Mars are in your home sign this month, lighting you up like a solar battery. Meanwhile, the vengeful femme trio of Venus, Lilith, and Juno enter Virgo, in your 12th house of the underworld. Now is the time to integrate dark and light, outcast and people-pleaser, demoness and princess, all into one indomitable, composite whole. If the world wants you, it will have to honor your multitudes. Can you accept your duality?

SCORPIO & SCORPIO RISING

The Libra eclipse on October 14, which goes down in your 12th house of the underworld, features a delightfully evil “ring of fire” effect, which brings up fond remembrances of Barad-dûr and the Ringwraiths. Something powerful and primordial is being awakened, whether you’re conscious of it or not. It’s likely that with the advent of Scorpio season, and the arrival of Mars, Mercury, and the sun in your home sign, you’ll be able to catalyze whatever gifts and intuitions have risen from your inner underworld. With Jupiter in Taurus, and an eclipse in Taurus, both in your seventh house of others, you’re invited to get help shaping what can feel like a raw and overwhelming rush of power. What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Ask your friends, lovers, mentors, and masters for guidance. You’ve spent the last year building up trust and having honest conversations; now you get to cash in and seek wisdom. You don’t have to have all the answers. That you’re the hero is certain; but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a wizard light your way forward.

SAGITTARIUS & SAGITTARIUS RISING

This month’s eclipses go down in Libra (October 14) in your 11th house of community and legacy; and in Taurus (October 28) in your sixth house of boundaries and the body. Everything is connected, and your challenge this month is to examine how your social life filters through your somatic system. Who are you taking in, and what do they make you feel? What is your body telling you about the people and projects surrounding you? You have the power and the discernment to bring your health, work, community, and higher ideals into perfect harmony. It’s not about setting rigid boundaries, but about making subtle adjustments to your input and output. Experiment with your place and priorities, and see what results come from shifting the frequency.

CAPRICORN & CAPRICORN RISING

I had to go through all of that to get here. With the sun, Mars, and Mercury lighting up Libra, in your 10th house of success and ambition, we know this is a time of massive culmination for you. And yet, much of your home sign’s calling is to make peace with the past, to grieve what was lost along the way to this glorious arrival. We’re in the final stretch of the Pluto in Capricorn era (2008–2024), and as the planets boom in Libra, they’ll square the planet of karma and fate, commanding a release of past identities, expectations, and imperatives. If success and acclaim were to show up at your door, would you be ready to receive them? Are you ready to forgive yourself for all the ways you’ve fumbled, or lost your way? Are you really ready for a new beginning? The new moon solar eclipse in Libra on October 14 brings these questions to a head. Face them, and prove to yourself (and the gods) that you’re in it to win it.

AQUARIUS & AQUARIUS RISING

Since 2021, eclipses have fired off in Taurus and Scorpio, blazing your fourth house of home and family, and your 10th house of ambitions and expectations, respectively. Since May, Jupiter has been in Taurus, synthesizing all the lessons you’ve learned about roots and rootedness — be they ancestral, physical, or psychological. As Mars, Mercury, and the sun go into attack formation in Scorpio, they’ll force reckonings between the inner and outer, between your home and your career. Make this a dialogue, not a conflict. Carry the wisdom you’ve gained, and integrate it into your work and home lives. It’s on you to create your vision of a whole and healthy lifestyle. The Taurus lunar eclipse on October 28 ends the two-year eclipse saga for the fixed signs. It’s time to take all the heady changes and apply them to life as you know it.

PISCES & PISCES RISING

Pisces and Pisces risings often get written off as perpetual martyrs, chained to the wheel of fortune, hanging on for life. But you’re just as much a co-creator in your destiny. This month, Libra activates your eighth house of unions and roles, where we decide who we want to be in our relationships and callings. Libra thrives off order and balance, so you’ll be rewarded for demanding clarity, parity, and consideration in all your partnerships. Be direct, and try to find a perfect middle — it may actually exist, this time. With Venus entering Virgo, in your seventh house of others, it’s a bright time to be seen and appreciated. You have the confidence to call the shots on your own terms.