Astro4Business Weekly Forecast – October 4 – 10

Anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

Hello, everyone.

This week holds the New Moon, Venus assuming retrograde motion, and a couple of Mercury aspects to powerhouse planets.

Phases of the Moon

We begin the week with the Moon heading into darkness, just before the New Moon conjunction with the Sun on Thursday. The first part of the week is a time for handing off, cleaning our desks, and preparing for the next new phase of the cycle. It is a time for assimilation of what has passed and if there are still some loose ends lingering, you may have to just let them go. The dark of the Moon is the midway point between the past and the future; an “empty, dormant interlude” according to astrologers Dane Rudhyar and Leyla Rael, which is quietly gathering the potential that will be released at the New Moon.

On Thursday we encounter the New Moon and by Saturday we enter the Crescent phase. On the day of the New Moon it’s important to be open and aware, but it’s not the time for action. Something new is being birthed but we won’t clearly recognize it for a couple of days. As the new project, product, or task becomes more and more apparent, our role is to overcome any resistance, hesitation, or lingering doubts from the past. A new cycle is beginning!

Mercury

Mercury, the planet that represents our rational thinking and communication processes, forms a couple of difficult aspects this week. This can cause meetings, presentations, and negotiations to be challenging and tense.

The first contact, on Tuesday, is a square aspect with Pluto in Capricorn. We’re likely to receive a message from the “powers that be” in our business life, one we may take as unfair or at least unbalanced in perspective. What we learn may cause a crisis or a necessary reorientation.

We’ve been here before; this is an opportunity to react from a new perspective. For example, if we hear from our banker that our loan has been denied, we have two choices. We can react with hostility or fear or we can take this as a signal that there is another opportunity we have yet to explore. Old ideas and past solutions won’t work this time; we have to adjust our plans while boldly reaching out for new answers.

On Friday, Mercury joins Saturn in Libra. This is an annual event, great for business planning and gaining sage advice from a respected mentor or adviser. Especially following the Pluto aspect of Tuesday, we may just hear the very key we were looking for: a system, strategy, or partnership that will bring us out of the woods.

Venus

On Friday, which is Venus’ day, the planet of creativity, relationship, and assets begins 40 days of retrograde motion. When a planet is in retrograde motion, its normal outward-focused function is reversed. While powerful insights and progress can be gained, the normal activities of the planet may seem unavailable. If you are normally socially extroverted, don’t be surprised to need much more time alone. If your creative inspiration comes from contact with others, you may find you would much rather sequester yourself with your materials. You could also find your recent progress with diplomacy and negotiations reversed for no apparent reason.

During this time, don’t automatically think you are losing touch with your staff, or assume your clients are disappointed. Relationship reversals are normal during Venus retrograde. We’ll explore this fascinating subject, including what to do and what not to do, more in a post later this week.

Have a wonderful week and let me know how it goes!

Do you have a question for me? See the “Work with Ellen” tab at the top of this site for my Straight to the Point Response service.

For an overview of the month, see the Astro4Business Month Ahead – October 2010

For more info on the business descriptions of the planets mentioned this week, see