Energy Update: November 2023

November is a “9” Universal Month [11 (November) + 7 (2023) = 18 = 1+8 = 9] in a “7” Universal Year. 9 is the number of endings and completion in numerology which means that December is a “1” month of new beginnings. November is the divine right time to wrap up loose ends and prepare for the new beginning that arrives (a little ahead of schedule) in the month ahead.

The Setup

We begin the month with the Sun, Mercury, and Mars in Scorpio; Venus in Virgo, retrograde Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus, retrograde Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, and Pluto in Capricorn.

By month’s end, the Sun, Mercury, and Mars will have moved into Sagittarius and Venus will have moved into Libra. Additionally, as part of our retrograde season, Saturn will station direct in Pisces and Mercury will enter its pre-retrograde shadow in Sagittarius.

The Nitty Gritty

All eyes will be on the sign of Scorpio this month as both the Sun, Mercury, and Mars transit the fixed water sign of the Scorpion. The Sun and Mercury travel in close contact with one another but only meet up with slower-moving Mars once a year and this year, it’s in the sign co-ruled by Mars (along with Pluto).

Additionally, each of these three personal planets (here we consider the Sun a planet in terms of its impact on human beings) will meet up in opposition with our Big Hitter planets Jupiter and Uranus who are both retrograde and working their way through Taurus. It’s worth noting that the opposition of Taurus-Scorpio has been highlighted throughout our last eclipse cycle that ended in July and was especially forceful during our Taurus lunar eclipse on 10/28/23.

Jupiter and Uranus can make things feel big and VERY urgent. And our personal planets, well, they keep things personal. The big days of the month to watch will be when the Sun meets up in conjunction with Mars, and when our three personal planets form an opposition with Jupiter and Uranus.

The month begins slowly with no non-lunar aspects until Friday 11/3 when the Sun opposes retrograde Jupiter in Taurus and Venus opposes retrograde Neptune in Pisces. We are deep in the dark season now and the planets are reflecting this – the beginning of November will be a time for introspection rather than action. There may be some confusion in the air and the path may feel unclear. If this is how you are feeling, you are right on time.

We’ve got a lot on our plate but no more room in our bellies, so to speak. Saturn turns direct on Satur(n)day, 11/4, at 00° Pisces. Before the planets station (aka switch directions either into or out of retrograde) they appear to stand still or hold their degree for an excessively long time. This always tends to create a sense of stuckness that is further amplified by Saturn’s propensity for serving up the hardest lessons in life. When Saturn is stationed retrograde, we often feel like we can get away with things and shirk our duties to ourselves and our progress in life; these transgressions come due fast once our planet of Consequences resumes its regularly scheduled consequencing.

Although we have exited eclipse season, the opposition between Mercury in Scorpio and retrograde Uranus in Taurus, aided by Saturn’s station, may feel an awful lot like eclipse energy. Our half-moon in Aquarius on Sunday is going to create a fixed t-square with Mercury and Uranus and carry with it a lot of our waning eclipse energy. Something may need to come to light as both Mercury and Uranus co-rule the mental experiences of being a human being. Trust what is revealed over this weekend, even if you have to sit in a fair bit of discomfort.

By Monday, 11/6, Mercury in Scorpio and Venus in Virgo are working their way toward making moves through the last degrees of their current signs. Mercury trines retrograde Neptune in Pisces which might pull the wool over our eyes and make it challenging to perceive things clearly. Venus trines Pluto in Capricorn – this is an indication that something about Venusian pursuits (love, money, and connection) needs to be revised or reworked in some way. This is part of an ongoing cycle that began during Venus’s retrograde cycle in early 2022 where she went retrograde in conjunction with Pluto at the same degree of Capricorn.

In a world where the only constant is change, we all can get bogged down in our desires for consistency and the status quo. Venus enters her home sign of Libra on Wednesday, 11/8, and relationships of all kinds will be taking the front seat. Keep in mind here that this is unseasonal – we should be doing relationship stuff in Libra season. Venus is still playing catch up to our Sun and Mercury after her long retrograde in Leo this summer and we’re feeling the aftereffects.

This is a major theme of this month where things may feel uncomfortable and out of place.

Mercury will also change signs this week. They make a quick sextile to Pluto in Capricorn on Wednesday (again, their retrograde cycle in January of 2022 also conjuncted to this point with Pluto in Capricorn, an interesting double whammy for the week) and then enter Sagittarius on Friday. This also puts Mercury square with recently direct Saturn in Pisces which again highlights that something may be revealed or needs to be uncovered during this time.

The weekend of 11/11-11/12 looks like a good time to stay the fuck home. Mercury and Saturn will still be squaring off which shows us that communication might be a powder keg. Mars in Scorpio opposes retrograde Uranus – that’s the spark. Expect some explosions so don’t play with anything flammable that you don’t have to. This is a weekend to lie low and stay out of the crosshairs of unpredictable people.

The new moon at 21° Scorpio will fall early in the morning (EST) on Monday, 11/13. The Sun has almost caught up to Mars now and tensions will be running high as it, too, opposes Uranus in Taurus. This is a pretty major stellium (Sun, Moon, and Mars) in Scorpio and may make people act more Scorpionic – think secretive or paranoid as is fitting of their general personality. Mars in Scorpio can be prone to intense revenge fantasies, so beware the people who jump to conclusions or project too much of their other shit onto others during this time. If that’s you, try to step away from that trigger before you blow yourself up.

Uranus is always too much. It is a feature of the planetary energy itself. Keep in mind that it can be likened to the lightning bolt of the Tower card in the tarot and it almost always strikes without any warning. You may not be able to stop yourself once triggered, so make an effort to lie low and play it safe if you have to. And cut yourself (and your Others) some slack if you cannot. The Sun and Mars will meet up in exact conjunction on Saturday so all week the energy is just going to keep building.

On Wednesday, 11/15, Mercury in Sagittarius and Venus in Libra meet up in sextile with one another so there is a slight chance of compromise in all of this, but only if those involved can get over their egos and remember to be empathetic of others. Mercury in Sag tends to think that they are always right and Venus in Libra has a habit of trying to lovingly control rather than listen. Still, a small chance is better than no chance.

By Friday, both the Sun and Mars – in near perfect conjunction at 25° Scorpio – trine retrograde Neptune in Pisces. Que the waterworks. The weekend of 11/18-11/19 is the kind where everyone is crying but nobody knows why anyone else is crying. You might not know why YOU are crying. But get it out. Let this be a release valve after all of this tension from eclipse season.

There is pain close to the surface. On Monday, 11/20, our Sun sextiles Pluto in Capricorn and Mercury in Sagittarius trines Chiron in Aries. Change is hard. Moreover: change hurts. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do it.

This energy carries through much of the week. On Tuesday, Mars sextiles Pluto which may show us (finally) a hint of the way forward. On Wednesday, the Sun enters Sagittarius, and Venus in Libra opposes Chiron in Aries. The next day, the Sun squares off with Saturn in Pisces.

We have two choices during this. We can hide from our pains and keep on hurting ourselves or others, or we can face them head-on and try to find a way to fix things for the future. Both have near-immediate consequences. Mars enters Sagittarius on Friday and squares off with Saturn on Saturday 11/25. Remember Saturn RULES consequences.

Also on Saturday, right on schedule, Mercury enters their pre-retrograde shadow at 22° Sagittarius. Mercury will retrograde on 12/13 at 8° Capricorn for the fourth and final time of the year. I’ll talk about this more in its own post in the near future.

As the month winds down, we experience our full moon at 04° Gemini on Monday, 11/27. The day is also marked by Mercury’s first of three squares with retrograde Neptune in Pisces. Note here that Mercury is the ruling sign of Gemini, our lunar star of the day. There may be choices that need to be made here, but also a lot of indecision and analysis paralysis.

The truth is that some of the choices may have already been made for us during this time as Venus in Libra meets up with our South Node at 22° Libra the next day. One could, if one was so inclined, call the South Node the butt end of fate, and not be amiss. A lot of what is taking place now (in 2023, in the world, and in November in particular) has been in motion for a long time now. Now the dominoes are falling and your only option might be to try and step out of the way, if you even can.

It’s a sour way to end a month, but it is in line with our “9” numerological energy. Sometimes you need to suck it up and pay the piper. Sometimes you just need to mine the lessons if you can, or just move on. December will be a fresh start of sorts.

The Details

11/3 – Sun in Scorpio opposed retrograde Jupiter in Taurus, Venus in Virgo opposed retrograde Neptune in Pisces
11/4 –Mercury in Scorpio opposed retrograde Uranus in Taurus, Saturn stations direct 00° Pisces 11/6 – Mercury in Scorpio trine retrograde Neptune in Pisces, Venus in Virgo trine Pluto in Capricorn
11/8 – Mercury in Scorpio sextile Pluto in Capricorn, Venus enters Libra
11/10 – Mercury enters Sagittarius, Mercury in Sagittarius square Saturn in Pisces
11/11 – Mars in Scorpio opposed retrograde Uranus in Taurus
11/13 – New moon 20° Scorpio, Sun opposed retrograde Uranus
11/15 – Mercury in Sagittarius sextile Venus in Libra
11/17 – Sun in Scorpio trine retrograde Neptune in Pisces, Mars in Scorpio trine retrograde Neptune in Pisces 11/18 – Sun conjunct Mars 25° Scorpio
11/20 – Sun in Scorpio sextile Pluto in Capricorn, Mercury in Sagittarius trine Chiron in Aries
11/21 – Mars in Scorpio sextile Pluto in Capricorn
11/22 – Sun enters Sagittarius, Venus in Libra opposed Chiron in Aries
11/23 – Sun in Sagittarius square Saturn in Pisces
11/24 – Mars enters Sagittarius
11/25 – Mercury enters their pre-retrograde shadow 22° Sagittarius, Mars in Sagittarius square Saturn in Pisces
11/27 – Full moon 04° Gemini, Mercury in Sagittarius square retrograde Neptune in Pisces
11/28 – Venus conjunct North Node 22° Libra