Swati is the nakshatra that falls in the middle of Libra and shows our soul’s path of individuation. It is ruled by Vayyu, the wind, and Rahu, the north Node who magnifies our delusions and sprays them out into the world.  Libra is the sign of Others and indicates the vacillations of the mind that make it difficult to make decisions or commit to things as we allow our friends and lovers to sway us this way and that. Swati means sword and it is by wielding this sword that we cut through the illusions of assumptions that mire our relationships with others. We may think people are against us, or pushing us to do things, or are even thinking of us at all in the choices they make, but often this is not true. Even if it is somewhat true, we are rarely the center of anyone else’s choices. If we are centering others in our own actions and decisions then we really need to evaluate this. When we do something “for someone else” it may not be what they need at all. Much of what passes as “doing things for others” is not actually that at all. What is the best way to navigate this when you care oh-so-much about keeping the peace and having harmonious relationships? Communication for the win! Ask people questions. Tell people your honest feelings, needs, and desires. Check in with others and give them feedback on your inner experience as well. So much confusion, pain and heartbreak could be mitigated if we did not feel afraid of allowing others to know where we are truly at, or if we were not hesitant to find out where they are and what’s true for them.

Saturn is finally moving direct again, as of October 23rd, after almost 5 months of retrograde action! If you’ve been feeling stuck, unable to commit and lacking clarity on what does and does not deserve your energy and time, you will feel a huge wave of relief as all the commitments and pressures that have been building up within you are ready for action. Don’t be surprised if your sudden clarity includes not just what you want to commit to, but what you no longer want to spend your time on as well. With Saturn giving a 10th house dristhi (energetic gaze) to the 4 planets in Libra, we can expect to cut things off, including relationships, that do not enhance our status or capacity to show up responsibly in this world, as much as we also might become certain about committing to what does serve this purpose.

Unfortunately, as Saturn moves direct, he passes the retrograde baton to Mars, who is beginning his apparent backtracking trip on October 30th. This is a review of our courage, discipline, action, and anger and is unfortunately not traversing the best signs for Mars’ energy. We are in the midst of a 7 month bout of Mars in Taurus, within a one month visit to the very first degrees of sidereal Gemini. This is an alignment that does not necessarily channel our fire into productive and disciplined action, rather increases the chances that we become argumentative and black and white in our thinking. By November 13th, he will be back in Taurus, but there, as we may have found since he first entered on August 10th, we have a tendency to be more lazy than disciplined and pleasure-focused than courageous. This Retrograde period will last until January 12th, 2023, so we have 2 1/2 months to really evaluate the ways in which we fold on ourselves and what we need to feel strong within ourselves so that we can even show up for the others in our lives. Mars is about individuation and shows us that if we show up first for ourselves (think morning practices, meditation, yoga, exercise) then we are more able to be present in our relationships. We often offer our energy to everyone and everything else first and then give ourselves whatever time remains. If none remains, we may blame everyone else. This is teaching us that we are actually responsible for our own actions and energy. What??!!

Finally, this New Moon is the celebration of Diwali throughout India and all over the world. Diwali is the Festival of Lights and comes at this particular moment as the Sun, our source of power, authority, light and our direct connection to source is in debilitation in Libra. The Sun is debilitated in Libra because here we give our power away to others. We allow the ebb and flow of other’s reactions and demands to us to determine how we hold our power, as opposed to honoring the light within and being strong in our own selves. Diwali is reminding us that the light is always within, no matter how dark it gets outside. It is a 5 day celebration, beginning on the 13th lunar phase of the waning moon and reaching apex on Lakshmi puja on the 15th tithi, the New Moon itself. What kind of blessings might we ask for from Lakshmi? Are we not yet tired of wanting things outside of ourselves that then bring us little satisfaction because we have not done the inner work to graciously receive these blessings anyway? This is particularly true in the realm of love and relationships as we often desire to experience love and connection so much, we forget that they also require us to face some of our biggest triggers and fears and wounds. May we be blessed with the grace, vulnerability, generosity, and self-awareness that can guide us in our relations with others and help us find the highest level of happiness, which does not require any other being to do anything else in order for us to experience it! Shrim!  And so it is.