Astrological Forecast for November 2008

Consider your relationship to change. Probably, part of you wants to grow, evolve, or at least make improvements in your life. Yet there is likely also a part of you which resists and fears change, even when it is obviously for the better. November offers us an opportunity to get in touch with both sides of the equation, perhaps finding a balance.

A good deal of what we’ll be experi-encing in terms of change this month will happen on the collective level, but of course we’re all individually affected by what happens to us as a community. This is a time to realize that our individual melodramas reflect and are part of the collective con-sciousness. While in some areas of life we are more evolved and have some control, in other areas we string along with the crowd, pushed and pulled by the tides of public opinion. Watch and see what this means in your life in November.

The month starts off with the planet Neptune, who’s been traveling backwards in the zodiac since late May, appearing to stop and move forward in the sky on the 2nd. The days around a "station" of Nep-tune, especially the days before, tend to be marked by confusion and misinformation. We can get swept up in a fantasy, say "yes" to a bad idea, or turn away from sound advice with a paranoid mind. Try to avoid making important decisions or committing to a course of action around this time. The station comes close to Election Day so watch for the "spin doctors" to really be spinning.

Election Day itself falls on the 4th, when we have two very powerful aspects. First, Mars is in a tense square to Neptune (still very powerful from his station), suggesting action based on deception or illusion. When Mars and Neptune get to-gether we often have "action beyond the limits", whether it’s driving over the speed limit or pushing too hard for an ideal. The other aspect is a major meeting, an oppo-sition of Saturn to Uranus.

Saturn represents the principle of crystallization, enduring structure and con-crete reality. Uranus is associated with a Promethean energy, bringing light and breaking apart structures which have been crusted over. The energies of these two planets are truly "opposed" to each other. Saturn is conservative, slow, and cautious. Uranus is revolutionary, lightening fast, and generally unconcerned with conse-quences. These two planets will be in aspect until mid-2010, helping us to work out our needs for both stability and change. Obviously, the outcome of the election will say a great deal about which direction we are leaning towards, for now.

The end of the month presents another major change. On the 26th, Pluto takes his final leave of Sagittarius in our lifetime, and perhaps several lifetimes (he’ll be back in the sign of the archer in 2242). Over the last year, I’ve written quite a bit about Pluto’s transition, and I think we’ve seen that the high-flying optimism of Sag has been grounded by the more earthy concerns of Capricorn. The economy, energy prices, concern for the environment, and the collapse of several venerable institutions (mostly financial ones at this point) have all served to remind us that we do live in a material world.

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, and Pluto’s entry into Saturn’s "home" is, like the Saturn-Uranus opposition, an indica-tion that major changes are on the way for the otherwise enduring structures of our society. The play of Pluto, Saturn and Uranus will continue through 2012, serving as the astrologer’s focus for that much-talked-about year. We’ll do well to remember that changes can be painful, but resisting necessary transitions is usually the cause of more pain than the change itself. Usually.

As if to punctuate the emphasis on change, Uranus will also appear to stop in the sky to begin moving forward on the 27th. Uranus stations have an electric, edgy feel to them. While Neptune’s station is a collective martini, Uranus offers us a triple espresso with lots of sugar. Changes that you’ve been contemplating for a while can be implemented now, while new ideas can be truly inspired and brilliant, but you might want to wait a few days to see how they look when you’ve "come down" from the Uranus high. This is also the day of the New Moon, a time when we plant the symbolic "seeds" that will manifest in their own time.

On a more personal level, Venus, planet of love and relationship, values and valu-ables, has a very busy month. On the 3rd, she squares off against Saturn and Uranus. In terms of relationship, we’re likely to demand to know what’s really going on on the one hand, while seeking a degree of liberation from constraints on the other. Finances could be under significant pressure as well. In general, we’re pulled between the desires for security and free-dom, always a difficult balance.

The 12th sees Venus in her annual meeting with Pluto. In our personal rela-tionships, this is an aspect which is about deep connection and bonding, but which also can show power struggles and control issues. Collectively, this is another signi-ficant financial aspect, which has a deeper meaning when we contemplate that growth and abundance is inevitably tied to death and decay in the cycle of time. Venus meeting with Pluto is a kind of dark winter night, the polar opposite of a bright summer day, but just as necessary. That this meeting takes place in the last degree of Sagittarius reminds us to take stock of our beliefs and traditions, to see which ones are really serving us on the personal and collective levels.

November is a heavy month, but there are some lighter days to break the mood. The 10th and 11th have creative aspects between the sun and Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus, allowing for a constructive application to the deeper changes we’re experiencing. Venus makes more harmon-ious aspects to Saturn and Uranus on the 28th and 29th, suggesting that we might be able to harmonize freedom and respon-sibility, after all.