Master of Disguise: Happy Moon-in-Leo Halloween!

My Halloween weekend forecast is a simple one: with the Moon in dramatic, showy, party-hearty Leo, and the Sun, Mercury, and Venus in equally dramatic, provocative, secretive Scorpio, the stars are perfectly aligned for you, regardless of your Sun sign, to attire yourself in a costume and mingle at a masquerade, not sit home alone watching horror movies and scarfing down bite-size Hershey candy bars. Of course, since Halloween falls on a Sunday this year, you can actually do both--go out and socialize tonight, stay home and go into a candy-corn-induced coma with your favorite cinematic psychopath tomorrow.

Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) and water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) should have a particularly wild time.

Trick-or-Treat!

Tail End of Libra: Another Full Moon Will Launch Us into Scorpio

I hope everyone enjoyed the imaginative, romantic, soothing energy of the Sun/Neptune trine in airy Libra and Aquarius (exact 10/19 at 8:20 a.m. EDT) and was also able to surf the dynamic, expansive wave created by the trine between Mars in Scorpio and Jupiter in Pisces (exact 10/20 at 9:42 p.m.).

However, today that Mars in Scorpio made a challenging square to Neptune in Scorpio at 11:37 a.m. EDT, and I fear that many of us, caught between dreaming (Neptune) and doing (Mars), wiped out. (Some of the literal forms this wipe-out may have taken: food or alcohol poisoning, drug ODing, viral infection.)

Adding to the emotional intensity is the imminent Full Moon in Aries, exact at 9:37 p.m. EDT. The Sun is now in the last degree of Libra, and is obviously going out this year with a bang, not a whimper. You may know already that this is the second Full Moon we've had in Aries (the first being the Harvest Moon of 9/23). Optimistically speaking, this gives us a second chance at harvesting our relationship between ourselves and others, finding that elusive balance (Libra) between fulfilling our needs and wants and those of the people with whom we share open, aboveboard connections.

(Please note that the 7th House, which is associated with Libra, is where all of our relationships that are there for all the world to see are located--for hidden friends and enemies as well as secret romances, go to the Pisces-ruled 12th house, and if there is a decidedly unequal or unsavory power dynamic involving sex or money, head to the Scorpio-ruled 8th house.)

With the Sun's entrance into Scorpio tomorrow at 8:35 a.m. EDT, the Northern Hemisphere plunges into the heart of autumn. The last bit of summer, which lingered in NYC well beyond the Autumnal Equinox, has faded away; foliage will soon reach its peak as the temperature continues to drop; and at the centerpiece of the zodiac's most intense, transformative sign is Halloween, followed by the Day of the Dead. The benign pumpkin is carved into a scary Jack-o-lantern; the dead rise from their graves; horror movies are spotlighted. Hordes of costumed children may no longer wander about their neighborhood trick-or-treating after dark, as my generation did back in the '70s and early '80s, without a squadron of parents hovering nearby to protect them (and also to ration the candy booty instead of letting their kiddies go into their annual sugar coma). But if NYC is any indication, Halloween seems to be, more than ever, an adult-oriented holiday (sexy nurse costume or ridiculous politician mask optional). Interestingly, the majority of Gen-Xers, born 1961-81, have an outer planet in Scorpio--either Neptune (1961-70) or Uranus (1975-81). Stay tuned and see if Halloween becomes more popular with septo- and octogenerians in the 2040s and '50s!

Between tomorrow and 10/28, we will have four planets in Scorpio (Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars), and with Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces, there is an awful lot of emotional, intuitive water energy going on. So it won't come as a surprise that the next five days will most smile on the water signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Capricorns should also benefit, but Taurus and Virgo may find some resistance if they push their practicality or pragmatism too hard. All that water is urging us to go with the flow, even though Scorpio is admittedly the most stubborn and controlled (and controlling!) of the water signs.

Stay tuned for my Halloween forecast!

Venus and Mars Don't Go Out on a Date When They Meet in Scorpio

Venus und Mars, Giovane, c. 1590


This weekend is marked by the Venus/Mars conjunction in sexy, intense, mysterious Scorpio (exact Sunday at 5:59 p.m. EDT). Combine this energy with the Moon in fiery, extroverted Leo, there could be some pretty wild parties going on--but whether you are single or attached, try to get some alone time with the one you feel love (Venus)and lust (Mars) for even if you are also tempted to be a bit of an exhibitionist (Leo) regarding your sexuality (Scorpio).

This is a great time to explore your sexuality with a partner who is open-minded. If you are tempted to role-play, make a porno video, go to a sex club, read erotica together by candlelight, or dig out your adult toy chest--or visit a kink-friendly shop for fur-lined handcuffs or patent-leather boots--go for it. Even if you don't have a partner with whom to experiment, you still have yourself, and you have every right to turn yourself on if no one at that party you go to (or crash) responds to the sexual magnetism you are radiating.

Please note, however, that Scorpio is a sign of extremes and can be self-destructive, so here I'm going to slap on that "Play It Safe" label in glowing neon letters. This warning is particularly true for those of you who are Cancers or have Cancer Rising, Aries or Aries Rising, and Taurus or Taurus Rising. (And how about if you happen to be a Scorpio or have Scorpio Rising? Well, you're probably too hot to trot to listen to me, but yeah, that goes for you, too.)

If sex is out of the question this weekend for whatever reason, since Scorpio is also connected to clairaudience, you may wish to dig out that ouji board and hold a seance. A film noir festival would also make good use of this mysterious, deep energy, as would a seafood feast (ideally a clambake on the beach, but Red Lobster will do) with dark chocolate for dessert.

Interestingly, Venus is now moving more slowly than Mars--and the love planet will turn retrograde on Friday 10/8, at 3:06 a.m. EDT. Venus does not often experience retrograde periods (unlike Mercury!) and I take this to mean that whatever goes down (or up, or sideways) this weekend, you will soon have second, or third, thoughts about it. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but do keep that in mind in case you either are tempted to pop a pretty serious proposition or are the "popee."