October - The Spiral Path of Soul Mastery
On the Heels of Eclipse Season
October begins on the heels of the eclipse season, which wrapped up with a rare second New Moon in Virgo and the final solar eclipse of the year at 29°. This last Virgo degree speaks to Soul Mastery, the place where devotion to worthy work and the necessary process of refinement makes its way into our everyday lived experience. With Virgo, the themes have been work, service, health, and the ways we can be critical of ourselves.
Personally, this was an epic eclipse season. The lunar eclipse on September 7th (my birthday) became my “emotional emancipation” checkpoint. While I had known about this eclipse on a cognitive level for months, I had no idea what the experience would feel like. I did my best to cultivate neutrality, lest I get swept up in all the negative ways these energies could express.
For me, the fourteen days, one hour, and thirty minutes between the lunar eclipse and the solar eclipse (which activated the power center of my chart) conjured the image of scraping the seeds and goo out of a pumpkin. You think you’ve gotten it all, but wait—there’s more!
Yes, I was counting the days, hours, and minutes during this period of purging. It wasn’t really awful, just disorienting. There was a lot of work I had planned to do during those two weeks, and almost none of it happened.
Then, on the day after the eclipse window closed, I returned to my overdue task of astrological forecasting for October. That’s when I realized my entire perspective on double moons and how they impact the longer arc of the lunar cycle was tied to this theme of emotional emancipation in a way that both included my personal experience and transcended it.
Most of my personal writing is taking shape in the ongoing saga of learning how to tell the story that wants to be told in a way that honors my experience without unnecessarily exposing others to unwanted attention. Wish me luck with this, please!
The transpersonal aspect of this exploration is something I’m excited to share—both here in this monthly blog and in the New Moon Blessing Book Community. I’ve been captivated by the Moon for as long as I can remember, eager to advance my studies in these watery realms, thanks to a Virgo Moon so close to my Sun and Mars it’s hard to tell them all apart. My saving grace in emotional intelligence has been the South Node in Cancer, which basically equipped me from birth with the ability to feel deeply. What an adventure that has been!
Now I’m applying my Very Virgo mind to the exploration of the variance that occurs each time we have a double New or Full Moon. And I’m sharing as I go which, as you might imagine for someone with all that Virgo in their chart, feels like exposing myself to being wrong in a big way. I recognize this to be the evolutionary edge of my emotional emancipation, so I’m diving in with a healthy dose of humility and trust in the process.
What’s becoming clear is that we are stepping out of a 13-moon season of exploring our innermost being through polarity (and projection), while also tying up loose ends from the eclipse cycle that stretches back to September 2006. If the last 13 months have been about exploring the tension of opposites, this new cycle is an invitation to carry what we’ve learned, and what we’ve been working on, out into the world in a new way.
I’m not saying this is going to be easy… just that it’s different. This also has me wondering about the potential discomfort of the inconjunct aspect of each lunation cycle, which I’ll be keeping an eye on as the months unfold.
From Polarity to Progression
If all this talk of Moon cycles and seasons has you a little confused, you’re not alone. Hopefully, the following example will clarify the concept:
The Full Moon in Pisces on September 7 (lunar eclipse) followed the first Virgo New Moon on August 23.
The Full Moon in Aries on October 6 follows the second Virgo New Moon on September 21.
Virgo and Pisces are opposites, and all of the New Moons since July 5, 2024 have followed that opposite path, starting with a New Moon in Cancer and leading to a second Full Moon in Capricorn.
I can’t help but wonder about the nature of work and how that double Capricorn Full Moon might have been introducing themes of stability, structure, and the legacy we leave behind into each lunation cycle on a subterranean level of the psyche.
The cycle we’re leaving behind was predictable from a polarity perspective: New Moon in one sign, Full Moon in its opposite. The cycle we’re entering is different. It feels like changing the dance steps from back-and-forth to spiraling forward - not a lot, just enough to advance the learning and integration we’ve experienced into the fabric of everyday existence.
This especially rings true given that the new rhythm begins with Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, representing initiation, action, and self-expression.
For perspective, the last time this pattern was present in the lunation cycle was April 20, 2023, with a second New Moon in Aries. The time before that was July 20, 2020, with a second New Moon in Cancer.
I’m still in the early phases of observation and correlation of this data, as well as trusting the process instead of wondering why I’m so captivated by it all. I hope you’ll bear with me, dear reader, and find your own version of emotional emancipation in the process.
Both Paths Are Sacred
It’s important to say, neither cycle is better. Both polarity and progression offer their own gifts. Each provides the tension and release points that shape our evolutionary journey.
The Impulse Forward (Aries Full Moon – Oct 6)
The Aries Full Moon is the first visible step in this spiral. Aries doesn’t wait for perfection, it acts. This lunation asks:
What work have I been devoted to, consciously or unconsciously?
How has that devotion shaped me—and how have others seen me in it?
What is ready to be expressed differently now?
On the same day, Mercury enters Scorpio, pulling our thoughts into deep waters. This is a powerful time for shadow work, therapy, journaling, and courageous honesty. If something rises up, see it not as punishment but as a revelation of another step along your path of Soul Mastery.
Relational Refinement (Libra New Moon – Oct 21)
The New Moon in Libra turns our gaze to relationships. How do we find harmony with others while staying rooted in our soul-centered truth? Libra reminds us that balance isn’t about self-erasure, but about honest exchange where giving and receiving flow in equal measure.
This lunation asks: Where am I compromising too much, and where am I ready to open more fully to connection?
The relational themes are underscored by Venus entering Libra on Oct 13, offering beauty, grace, and the joy of connection. Make time for art, music, or a simple gathering with friends.
That same day, Pluto stations direct at 1° Aquarius. Pluto will not return to this degree. We’re moving forward into Aquarian territory, carrying hard-won lessons from Capricorn’s breakdown of structures and systems beholden to the "old ways."
And while Pluto moves ahead, Uranus remains retrograde in Gemini, reminding us that revelation is still unfolding. We can’t yet see everything. October is a mix of forward motion and continued review.
Then, on Oct 22, Neptune slides back into Pisces and the Sun enters Scorpio. This threshold blends dissolving into the sea of oneness with the demand for penetrating truth. Relationships, spirituality, and transformation weave together here.
Carrying Forward (End of Month)
As October winds down, the First Quarter Moon in Aquarius tests how well we can live our Soul Mastery in community. At the same time, Mercury enters Sagittarius, lifting our thoughts from Scorpio’s depths into broader horizons.
(Psst…we aren’t done with deep-thought territory. Mercury will retrace these steps back to 20° Scorpio in November.)
New truths, new perspectives, new ways of seeing are possible. What once felt solid may shift under this influence. Flexibility of mind is one of October’s gifts.
The Long Arc of Soul Mastery
This new lunar rhythm will carry us sign by sign until 2027, when we’ll meet another double Moon - two Scorpio Full Moons. The Scorpio thoughts and conversations surfacing now around power, control, death, and rebirth will return for review in 2027. What we avoid now will come back to haunt us, but if we use this time wisely the rewards will be well worth the effort.
✨ Remember: you don’t have to know the whole road. Just the next step. 👣
Support for the Journey
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