Going through loss, and a look into your (pretty notable) week ahead
New moon in Libra, Neptune re-enters Pisces, Scorpio season begins, et al.; transits for October 19th–October 25th
This week has a lot going on – a new moon, Neptune returning to Pisces to complete its 15-year pass through the sign, Scorpio season beginning, and more.
Before I get into the upcoming transits (and revisit a transit that came in my absence this past week), a personal note:
I’m really struggling. My cat, Sheepchop, became gravely ill last Wednesday and I had to make the impossible decision to let her go on Saturday. This was the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make and I don’t know how I’m going to recover. Sheepy was an angel and she was truly the center of my life – as a natural homebody who also works from home, I spent practically every minute of every day with her for the nearly four years she was with me. We met at a time when we were both in shambles — I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown spurred on by physical horrors, psychological torment, and burnout at large; she had been placed in the shelter at eight years old when her owner was hospitalized (he ended up passing away). As a terrified, completely shutdown foster, she was put under my care the day after an eclipse. This was my third fostering experience and I hadn’t intended to adopt any of my foster cats, but after two or so days with her, I knew she was my cat. We were a perfect fit. I told her that we were going to heal from what we were going through together and we did.
She and I were so much alike. She was a true Venusian who just loved to lie in bed, snuggle and be pet, sniff everything we ate, and live life slowly and peacefully, though she too had a good amount of anxiety. She almost always lay behind me during readings (it seemed like she really liked the vibe when I was super present with what I was doing – again, Venusian as can be) so most of the clients I’ve met with in the last four years also met her and witnessed her ridiculously fucking cute otter-esque poses and other angelic stances. She was unimaginably gentle (on the rare occasion that she’d had enough pets, she’d gently tap your arm to let you know, and she scratched me once in four years, accidentally, when I was playing with her while she was high on catnip), patient (she never rushed me as I was getting her food together, for example), and she loved all people. She was very human in some ways, like in how she loved to drink water from a glass instead of a bowl, and she seemed to understand English. One strong example: for a few weeks a couple years ago there had been a mouse wreaking havoc in my kitchen and Sheepy, being the queen of Venus, hadn’t been very interested in hunting it. One night I sat down and had a talk with her, telling her that I need her to take care of this mouse, that she’s the only one who can. The next morning I was woken up by that strange meow at the foot of my bed as she stood there holding the mouse in her mouth. The bond and trust between us were powerful. Even toward the end of our time together when I had to wash her in the sink, she didn’t really resist. She just looked at me, almost relieved, seeming to trust that I knew what I was doing.
It has been five days since she passed and I have finally been able to slow the round-the-clock crying and panic attacks, but I am in a lot of pain. I’m starting to level out a little and it will be good for me to get back into my work a bit, but the space she occupied in my life and in my heart is very raw and it pulses constantly with longing and ache. I’m going to miss her forever. I have a good support system around me and we’re grieving together, and I appreciate your patience and kindness during this extremely difficult time.
Since I wasn’t able to write the forecast for this last week, I want to revisit one of the transits that began during my absence. On October 13th, Venus entered Libra, its diurnal home sign, where it’ll remain until November 6th. Venus in Libra is the artist and the queen of connection. She understands how every little thing we do, say, and adorn ourselves with speaks volumes on the essence of our character. She uses personal style as an unpretentious art form and continually opens the door to connection. In all of our shit-talking and draining of her deeper substance, we often forget that Libra is a cardinal sign, a sign of initiation, creation and leading. She creates in artistic ways, initiates and forms relationships, and leads by suggestion, wafting delightful scents from the front porch and out into the street. Come in. Good food is here. Cider is mulling. Corn is popping.
Venus in Libra is a reminder to connect with those we love and allow our connections with others to be grounding tethers to reality, lean into gentle kindness and artistic expression, and bring ourselves back to what matters more than all the manmade bullshit the world has created: love, support, and compassion for one another and devotion to doing what is right, what is fair, and what is ethical. We generally tend to focus single-mindedly on Libra’s status as a Venus-ruled air sign and neglect another crucial part: Libra is also the sign where Saturn exalts and thus there is a Saturnian seriousness, gravity, commitment, and code of ethics within Libra too. Venus in Libra is full of Venusian silk and fruity saliva and rests on a bed of love and commitment to doing what is right. She is not just frills and sweet words. She is a deep feeler with a strong moral code, and she takes connection and all that it entails very seriously.
Before the horrific events of the last week took root I had started creating something to help us all tune into our inner Venusian and what Venus has to offer. It includes a lot of suggestions for indulging in the senses, being present in the moment, and connecting with others in real, genuine ways. I’ll continue work on this when I feel ready, but I wanted to mention it here.