Astrology of the Week Ahead with Chani Nicholas - The Week of October 28th, 2024: Reclaiming our power with the New Moon in Scorpio

Episode Date: October 28, 2024

Episode 202 In this podcast, New York Times best-selling author and astrologer Chani Nicholas discusses the astrology of the week and what it might mean for us all. The astrology of the week of October 28th, 2024, pulls focus toward our personal power and the legacies we leave. Thanks to the New Moon in Scorpio, we’re reminded of both our potency and mortality. A few days later, Mars (the planet of action) opposes Pluto (the planet of underworld journeys), emboldening us to be strategic and unrelenting in our search for hidden truths. Is it tense? Absolutely. But this celestial setup spurs necessary shadow work and introspection. Let’s get into it. This episode covers: Mars’ trine to Neptune on October 28th Venus’ square to Saturn on October 28th Mercury’s opposition to Uranus on October 30th Mercury’s trine to Neptune on October 31 The New Moon in Scorpio on November 1st Mercury’s trine to Mars on November 2nd Mercury’s sextile to Pluto on November 2nd Mercury’s ingress into Sagittarius on November 2nd Mars’ opposition to Pluto on November 3rd Venus’ opposition to Jupiter on November 3rd Mars’ ingress into Leo on November 3rd This episode was recorded on 10/01/2024. For more, check out your free daily horoscope on the homepage of the CHANI app — now on iOS and Android. The music featured in the podcast was created by Latashá. Want to make 2025 your best year yet? Check out our brand-new, limited-edition 2025 Yearbook. Filled with 300+ pages of 2025 astro readings, rituals, affirmations, and activities for all 12 signs, this beautifully crafted print resource is designed to be your go-to guide for all things astro in 2025. You can order yours at chani.com. But word to the wise: Limited means limited, so act fast.

So over the past couple of months, maybe even over the last year and change a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons have asked me what this time of the year looks like. And I'm just going to tell you right now that this week is very fraught. It's very tense, astrologically speaking. But that's also just spelling out what we already know and already feel, correct? I am recording this in the past. It's September where I am. But I'm not that far away from the end of October and November. And it doesn't take an astrologer to tell you that everyone's going to be a little extra tense this week.

A little extra sense. stretched. And that's exactly what the astrology is reflecting. Hello and welcome. This is the astrology of the week ahead podcast. I'm your host and Astro Bestie Channie Nicholas. And in this episode, we're going to talk about the astrology of the week of October 28th. There's so many things that are happening astrologically in this week. There is a Mars Pluto opposition. which spells out something happening that is not above board. Mars often deals with theft, a steel of some kind. And Pluto is a planet that talks about what happens underneath the

surface, what is lurking just below the surface. So it's a really good week to be on the lookout for scams. I don't know if you're feeling that, if that's in the air, the ethers, but that's what the astrology says, it's a big deal, A of all. B of all, we've got a Mercury Uranus opposition. That's another very tense aspect. And it's about communicating something that is a little earth-shattering or awakening or disturbing to the peace or important in terms of the truth. So there's that. And in the midst of everything, there is a new moon in Scorpio. Now the new moon and Scorpio is ruled by Mars. So we know that there is a new beginning of something we need to be very cognizant about. This is not the time for rose-colored glasses. This is not the time to hope that everything will just work out. We are in Scorpio season. We are working with a Scorpio new moon. We are working with a Mars opposing Pluto. which means we cannot be ignorant and we should not feign innocence in the face of anything.

We should be very, very wary and on the lookout for everything that is and could go on behind the scenes, in weird metaphorical dark alleys, in back rooms, in all the places and spaces that we can't normally see. We should be ready for this moment. You know what I'm saying? We don't go into the dark forest with a, I hope it works out kind of attitude. We shouldn't do that. That would be silly. But before we get into all of that, I have a special announcement for you. So usually at this time of year, we put out the guidebooks, which are an extensive PDF book of information for you. They've been super popular.

Thank you so much for engaging with them. And even a lot of you print them out and post about them. We love hearing how the products land with you. A lot of you have asked over the years for us to print them. print out a physical copy that you can hold in your hands and refer to you. You also ask a lot for different versions of this so you can figure out what your friends and family also might be going through in the upcoming year. Well, may I introduce you to the 2025 yearbook. Y'all, this is such a gorgeous physical book. It's a limited edition. It is going to

to sell out. We only print so many. It is 300 pages filled with information for every single sign. So you can look up your rising sign. You can look up your sun sign. You can look up your moon, your Venus, your Mars, whatever you want. You can also look up all your besties and your family members and maybe even your crushes and see what they are going through as well. I cannot wait for you to see this. It also, of course, has stickers because everything we do has stickers that are compostable. May I add? Go to channing.com for all the info and to get your copy and maybe a copy for all the people that you want to get copies for as well. All right.

Back to the astrology at hand. Okay. So, you know, all week we're building towards something. because it is on Sunday, November 2nd, that Mars makes this opposition with Pluto. So it's going to color the whole week and it's also going to color into the next couple of days because of this. Think of it as such. The planets that are way far away from the Earth, they move really slowly. So they kind of act like anchors or they do act like anchors.

in our little system. And then the planets that are closer to us, they like whip around. And so when the faster moving planets come to make an aspect with the slower moving planets, it's as if the reverb, we think of it like this, the reverb happens as that faster moving planet is going up to make that aspect to form that relationship with that slower moving planet. And then even as it moves through the exact point and into the couple of points away from it, there's still that relationship, right? It's like when we see somebody across the room and maybe we're like, oh no, oh no, they're at the party. I didn't know that they were going to be here. And you're like, okay, I'm feeling it. I'm feeling it. I'm feeling it. You bump into them at the snack table.

And then you have the meeting. You have the thing. Maybe it's a meat cute, depending on the planets. and then as you walk away, you're still feeling it, right? And probably for the rest of the night and into the next day, you feel it. That's like the reverb. Well, astrology is the same way because we're moving in and through cycles. It's not just the moment things happen. So I'm making such a big deal about this because Mars is a really big deal, not just this week. But Mars is going to station retrograde in December.

and Mars retrogrades are a really big deal. So everything about Mars becomes pronounced during them. But not just during the retrograde itself, also like that reverb situation. As we move closer towards the exact dates of the Mars retrograde, and even as we move away from the Mars retrograde, there's that kind of reverb period. because Mars moves into its pre-retrograde shadow phase, which just means that right now, we're in that, just FYI, right now Mars will backtrack back to where it is once it's in its retrograde.

So, we've been in the Mars pre-retrograd shadow for a little bit, but now that it's making this very tense opposition with Pluto, There's something here that gets teased out. And the thing about Mars is that it's about a lot of things. It's about courage. It's about valor. It's about strength. It's about fighting.

It's about war and conflict. And it's also an incredible strategist, depending on where it is and what it's doing. But Mars as a deity that is about, being on the battlefield, it has to have strategy, right? And so it's about all of those things. But it's also, especially when you look at a lot of ancient astrological texts, Mars has a lot to do with theft. And Pluto, a modern planet, so you're not going to find stuff about it in ancient astrological texts. That doesn't make it bad or good. It's just a little different. It's newer on the scene. But Pluto is said to be an underline.

underworld deity. So it deals with things that are underneath the surface, whatever is going on on a subterranean kind of level. So we have these motifs, theft, battle, being cunning, hopefully, having strategy, hopefully, and dealing with the nefarious things that happen in the dark, in the shadows underground. And that being one of the massive themes of this week and this moment, right? It's not just this week because of that reverb effect. And because these two planets are pretty gnarly. And they also, when they're in aspect with each other, they do cultivate an incredible

determination and desire to win. this is not a combination that's like, oh, well, we tried. Let's go home. No, no. This is a combination that's like, we will try every single thing that we can and we will not relent. We will not give up. We will not back down. So if we're talking about an opposition, we're talking about two things at odds with each other or connected to each other, both and. And if we're talking about being relentless, then we want to make sure that we are being as relentless, more relentless than maybe our opposition. No? We want to be as strategic, more strategic than those we might be momentarily in opposition with. No? We want to

outwit, out smart, out strategize, whoever it is we're in opposition with? No? I think yes. This is Mars and Cancer. So it is not the greatest functioning strategist. So we can't get lost in our feelings about things. We have to think long term. We have to consider who and what might be harmed if we don't buckle down, buckle in. I don't know what the word is, the phrase is,

if we don't do the thing that we need to do in this moment as a chess move to take care of ourselves, future generations, et cetera. Nothing in this life is perfect. No person in the world is perfect. I don't even believe in saying people are good or good. not good. I believe in considering the choices people make and saying, I like that choice, that engenders trust, I didn't like this choice. So I'm going to fight you on this. Or I'm going to be curious about this. Or I'm going to go toe to toe with you on this. I like these things. I do not like this thing. Or I don't like any. Or I don't like any. I don't like any. I'm of these things that that person did. I don't like any of the actions they take. I don't think,

I mean, I can give them a little props for this or that, but I don't trust the decisions they make. That's Mars. But Mars and cancer wants to take things personally and have it be about what's comfortable or what we want in order to feel safe instead of thinking strategically as about what it is we can get in this moment. So Mars is making that opposition to Pluto. It is a reverb for this entire part of the year. It's going to come back once it is retrograde and oppose Pluto again, but from Leo. So basically a little bit different, but also quite the same.

Because by the end of the week, by the time Mars opposes Pluto, it's at the last degree of cancer because Pluto is at the last degree of Capricorn. So this is a moment of closing something up. This does feel like some kind of ending, right? When things happen at the very end of a sign, it's like everything is exhausted. Everybody involved is exhausted. We're at the end of a race. I don't make these things up. This is just astrology. Just so happens we might also be at the end of a race and now we're here. But because of this setup, because of the planet's involved, it's saying, okay, everyone might be exhausted, but do not look away. Do not let anything slip. Be strategic in this moment. That's my advice to everyone and all of us,

including me. Okay. So I just spent a lot of time talking about one thing that's happening this week because it is so influential. Traditional astrologers say that Mars rules Scorpio because it did for thousands of years before we knew about Pluto. And modern astrologers say Pluto rules Scorpio. Either way, both of them are involved in this setup. And this setup is ruling. the new moon. The new moon happens on Friday the 1st of November. And so because Mars is ruling this new moon, or you could say Pluto, and there's this tension, it says that this is a very tense, fraught new beginning that we're probably going to have to circle back to come the beginning of January and even into next year. This is not an uncomplicated problem.

because Mars is going to station retrograde in December and spend so much time in cancer in the sign that it's in now. So we're going to be returning to something. We have to be ready for a long-haul struggle and there's going to be consequences to everything that we do right now. A Mars retrograde is never soft or easy. We could say that about every planet retrograding, or especially the inner planets retrograding, the quicker planets retrograding. But because Mars is about conflict,

and because it scrapes through one section of the zodiac over and over and over again during its retrograde, and it really takes its blade, its sword, and makes a mark somewhere. We have to understand what it is we need to cut from the situation. We have to understand how to trim the fat, so to speak. We have to understand what the conflicts are that we have to engage in and that we're going to lose some things.

That's the cost of going for the thing we need or want or are determined to protect. because Mars is going to spend so much time in cancer in the new year in 2025, not to get too far ahead, but, you know, we're almost there. We want to think about, again, how do we be strategic in making sure that we're fighting for long-term safety, security, care in the best way we can in this massively imperfect and flawed world situation and moment. Okay. So that's like a collective rant. That's my collective like moment. Whatever we're doing now, whatever feels like a struggle right now, whatever feels like a fight, it's going to stay with us in the new year. It just is. The first couple months of the year, most of January, most of January,

February, March into April, Mars will be in cancer. Not in this very degree that it's in right now, but it's going to be in this area of our chart, of the zodiac. And again, we're returning back to this situation or a close proximity of it in the beginning of January. So I just feel like we shouldn't expect things to be easy right now. Maybe in our personal life, they will be. We don't know. But collectively, I think we're in for something that requires us to think strategically long term. And I want to talk about Mars in your chart, and I want to bring us on a journey in terms of how we can actually work with Mars right now. Because I think it's a really important thing to do. It's one of those harder situations, harder planets to work with. And so it teaches us the most. Mars and Saturn will teach us everything we need to know.

Honestly, if you work with them, they are tough teachers, but wow, are you ever transformed afterwards. All right. Monday's astrology goes like this. Mars, again, makes a trine to Neptune. Lovely. We're moving towards the things that are ideal. Great. Venus makes a square to Saturn. it's a little bit less enthusiastic. So it feels like there's some work to do on Monday, but we want it to be work that is also inspiring to us. It's also a really good day for some relationship boundary setting, as always. And I mean that for everything. Like if Mars is making this trying to Neptune and saying, okay, let's move towards something that we're inspired to partaken, then Venus square Saturn is. is going to say, great. I love the artistic vision. I love the idea. I love everything about this. Saturn is going to say, and this is the shape of it. This is the work. This is the schedule. This is the timeline. Do you have the capacity to actually do it? So it's a good kind of mix of idealism and a reality check. On Wednesday, Mercury and Scorpios were thinking deeply. We're having conversations

about things that aren't necessarily obvious or upfront or on the level. They're hidden, right? We're needing to scour for info. Mercury is making opposition to Uranus or Uranus, however you want to say it. This is another point of tension or contention. This is something that's been going on underneath the surface or something that we stumble upon, we research, we get to the bottom of, and it feels like a surprise. awakening type of event. This is a, oh my God, I didn't know that that was there. Like we're

digging in the ground for something and the shovel hits an object. We dig it up and it is a shocking surprise. So great. Another point of tension and some information that we didn't know up until this moment. It is a wrench in the works and it is something that is going to try to probably pull focus or be disturbing in some way, disturbing the piece, which can be good. This is good astrology to use to get the message out there, to demand things, to be loud, to be clear, and also to be provocative. This is very provocative messaging. So those with Mercury and Scorpio probably already know how to do this, but it ups the

ante with Uranus involved because it is provocative in a very cunning way and also a very loud way. So by Thursday, Mercury goes on to Trine Neptune. This is another one of those lovely messages. We get a download. It's actually really good for your intuition, for creative thinking, for allowing yourself to think outside the box. So I think there's going to be some really interesting conversations Wednesday and Thursday. And then on Friday, we have the new moon in Scorpio. Now, new moons and full moons in Scorpio always lead with an intensity. That's just Scorpio's game. This is never a simple moment. It's never going to be a simple beginning. It's complicated. It's messy. It's Scorpio. It wants to get to the truth. You can't get to the truth and be simple and demure and easy about it.

You got to get dirty. You got to get in there. You have to be willing to grapple with your humanity and everybody else's and the fact that we are all complicit in some really awful things that we would like to divorce ourselves from all the time. But we can't because we live within systems. that are messy and honestly violent and awful. And then we also are humans and we tend to integrate everything that we're involved in. And the waters we swim in, the air that we breathe, we incorporate that. And we are messy. We are the problem. We are the solution. We are beautiful. We are the entirety of it. And Scorpio is like, never forget. You are all the problem. You are all

the things also. So a new moon on Scorpio is yes, a new beginning. Yes, it's powerful. Yes, it is stirring us awake to our own power. Yes, this is the time of year. I breeze by Halloween, Sowan. This is the time of year where we are encouraged to remember we will pass away. this life is not promised to us. It could end at any moment. We too will become an ancestor to somebody. What legacy are we leaving? It's a time to remember to honor our ancestors, to think about their lives, to metaphorically or literally offer them something, feed them in some way, honor what it is that they gave to us. think about how it is we're embodying that lineage, that energy, those lessons, to contemplate grief, loss, and the human condition.

And also to experience the mysteries, right? Like on the 31st, on Halloween, Sowan, if you celebrate, we've got a Mercury Trine Neptune, which is a beautiful time to commune with the spirits. it is the time of year where it's said that the veils get really thin and that we can be more opened to communicating if we want i'm not saying it's a good thing or a fun thing or whatever it's a thing so you know take it seriously but if we want to communicate with those beings those people those family members that have crossed over or again at least to say thank you at least to receive the dream or the intuition or the inclination that you have, that they're around,

that they're here, that they're guiding you, that they're even just like part of your DNA and yourselves, that you are never separate from anybody that you've loved. You can't be. You've incorporated them into your entire being. And being cognizant of that can help us to have appreciation for the life that we're living. And hopefully we stop taking it for granted. So all that to say, I love the messenger, Mercury, being in Scorpio, the planet of mystery and transformation, and the life and death cycle and rebirth cycle. And that this time of year, and to many people this day, the 31st of October, but also the following weekend and into the next week, into the beginning of November, is also about obviously honoring our ancestors and saying thank you and remembering that death is a thing that will come for us all. That's Scorpio's message. So what are you doing with your life? Are you living it? And if you're not, why?

you don't have much time. You really don't. Neither do I. This is the reminder. So this is a new moon, a new beginning to really grapple with that fact, always. And then also because it's ruled by Mars and Mars is making that opposition with Pluto, on a personal level, this is what I want us to think about. What is it that we're struggling with? What part of our power is still unconscious to, unconscious to us. What part of our power is still laying in wait for us to uncover it? What are we needing to dig into the soil of our life to find? What kind of root systems are we getting more familiar with that are in us? What do we need to compost? This is a Mars heavy moment and we're going into a Mars hefty cycle that's going to last for months. And so we need to be very conscientious

that we each have tools that can be used as weapons or as constructive devices or as both, depending on the situation. So how are we related to our power? How are we related to our impact in the world and how are we conscious of the marks that we make, the ways in which we move through the world independently, but knowing full well that we're also interdependent species. Because Mars is going to spend so much time in cancer, we're going to be thinking a lot into the new year, in the new year, about how we protect what's vulnerable in ourselves and in the world. And it's going to be a big deal. So on Saturday, Mercury makes a trine to Mars. It's really good for articulating something that is challenging but needs to be pointed and said in a specific kind of way. It's good to win an

argument. And then Mercury is going to sextile Pluto. So Saturday is a really good day for comms. It's a really good day to drive the message home. It's a really good day for having transformative, potent, powerful conversations. Now, Mercury is also the one who takes account of things. It tallies things up. It counts the ballots. It counts the accounting. So the fact that it's going through a very disruptive moment on Wednesday says something about how the accounting is or isn't working. And that it goes through a better kind of moment on Saturday is helpful and hopeful to me. It's about being able to possibly attack what needs to be attacked and uncover what needs to be uncovered in terms of information and tallying. And then after

all of that, after Mercury makes a trine to Mars and a sexile to Pluto, it enters Sagittarius. So it changes signs. Now, do I want Mercury in Sagittarius when it needs to can. to something? I do not. You know why? Because Mercury and Sagittarius is an amazing adventurer. It's an amazing friend on the journey. It's like, oh my God, I had the best ice cream. You won't believe it. I want to take you. And you're like, great, let's go. And then four hours later, you realize they're taking you to a different state or country because they love the journey. And you're like, oh my God, I have a meeting in 20 minutes. Why am I on this journey? So it doesn't get to the point quickly. I'll just say that. And I also just want to say like it's a beautiful signature for gathering wisdom. It just takes its time. So let's be mindful of that going into the week. then on Sunday Mars makes that exact opposition to Pluto.

Okay, so here we are at the exact moment. And they're at the end of their signs. Pluto is at the end of Capricorn. It's going to be there for a little bit longer. And then Mars is at the very end of cancer and it's about to leave cancer. So again, it feels like something is tense and also exhausted and also about to end for this moment and then we're going to come back around in January to a very similar setup. They're going to be in slightly different signs, very different signs, but they're slightly

shifted, but they're also right where they basically are just in a different style. So Mars makes the opposition to Pluto. Okay. On the same day, Venus makes an opposition to Jupiter. which is like completely opposite. Couldn't be more fun or better. And I will say that in this situation, Venus types do well because Venus is receiving blessings from Jupiter.

Jupiter's receiving blessings from Venus. So there's something like celebratory about this. There's also something that could go into extremes. We could go into extremes being celebrated. before we should. We could go into extremes about going into and having too much of a good thing, too much of a good time, that kind of vibe. I do like it, though, because it seems to like lift the mood because the Mars Pluto is so tense and leaves such a mark and is like, oh, this problem seems exhausting. It also is probably not going to go away anytime soon. So the Venus Jupiter

lifts the mood and helps us to carry something through that needs the expansive energy that it's going to bring. Venus is in Saj, super adventurous. Jupiter is in Gemini, wants a million different things, but together they help to rally the senses, the crowd, the people. And then Mars moves in to Leo. And this is where it will station retrograde in December. And this is a very flashy moment. Mars in Leo is quite dominant because Leo knows how to be the center and knows how to pull focus. And Mars there is quite a performative warrior, if you will. So, because it's stationing retrograde in the sign, we know that.

we're really deep in a moment that we're going to be circling back around that has to do with how we show up for conflict and how we sharpen our skills at dealing with conflict because conflict is inevitable, but violence doesn't have to be. I say that all the time, but it's never not true. I didn't make that up. I'm not the one who came up with that. I've heard it from a lot of different people and I think it's brilliant because we have to learn how to deal with conflict. We do. It's just a fact. It's just part of life. But it doesn't have to lead to something that is going to scar us and damage us and our relationships in the world. It doesn't. And that's, I think, one of the great struggles that we're in right now. And as Pluto hangs out at this last degree

of Capricorn, and it just so happens that United States is having the last couple of days of its official Pluto return. Pluto being the same sign it was when the country was founded, born 200 and some odd years ago. This is a very important moment for this country. I don't make this stuff up. It's you can read it in any book. It's just how the timing works. It's just how astrology works. So, for you personally, it's how you want to add to this moment collectively, obviously, if you're part of something collectively happening. And then for you, on your, like, just intimate personal level, it's about how you want to embody the kind of conflict resolution that you know is needed at this time. Because our problems are only going to

get more complex because of all the things that we live within, because of climate catastrophe, because of all of it. So because we know our problems are going to be more complex, they're going to require a greater kind of creativity and desire to get into the complications of things and to be like, okay, this is the conflict. Great. That means the solution is also here. Let's lead in that way. Mars in Leo is about leadership. And it's about how we work through. through conflict in a way that demonstrates the kinds of leaders we want to show up as. And as it stations retrograde, we're going to be reviewing that in great detail. So go into the Chani app.

Read your Mars placement just as the first piece of information. Think about what it's doing by sign. That's how it expresses itself. Think about what it's doing by house. And then think about and read all of the other planets that. it is an aspect to you in relationship with. And then next week we'll talk a little bit more about how to think about your Mars and how to work with it. Until then, I'm sending you all the blessings, all of the love, all of the strategy, all of the desire to win at the thing you know you and we

need to win at. And that there's steps. to winning, right? We've got to win this piece and then we try to win this piece and then we try to win this piece and then we can't do it all at once. It's just not possible. So what is in front of us that we know we need to win first in order to do and engage with the other things that we know we can win at something like liberation for all everywhere? I get so excited every Friday for this email that gets sent around in the Channy Company because it's an email of all of the lovely emails and app reviews that you all have left in the app store and we're just forever grateful for the effort and the time and the thoughtfulness that everybody puts into them.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I wanted to leave you with this one. It's called my daily and weekly ritual. The first thing I do on my phone every morning is read my astrology for the day. on the Chani app. It grounds me and gets me to think about my day in a more intentional way. I love my weekly reading every Sunday. It gets me to think about how I will be heading into my week and what energy my team might be experiencing at work as well. All right, Joe. That's the reading. Sending you a lot of love, like I said before. And if

this podcast, if this app, the Chani app, is useful to you, if you enjoy it, if you engage with it, share it with a friend. Please, it means the world to us. If you have the time, write us a little review in the app store. If you want to send this podcast, if you're listening to this on Spotify or any other little app for podcasts, send it to your bestie. And Remember that everything we do collectively, everything we do individually is so potent and so powerful. And that's how we do things collectively. I love you. Bye for now.