October 2022 Monthly Horoscope: What Astrologers Want You To Know

It's Libra season, a time when we usually seek harmony and middle ground and enjoy pleasantries and quality time with other people. It's all about moderation and that easy equilibrium that gets boring in large doses but can be really nice for a month every year! 

Alas in 2022, "balance" isn't exactly the word that will describe October. We've got a solar eclipse, Mars retrograde, and three planets stationing back from their retrograde jaunts—plus the astrological earthquake of Saturn and Uranus back in an incendiary square.

We'll welcome the end of three retrogrades as a trio of planets returns to their senses: Mercury (in Virgo) on October 2, Pluto (in Capricorn) on October 8, and Saturn (in Aquarius) on October 23. Last month was a lot to handle with six retrograde planets—particularly Mercury, which messes with our day-to-day affairs, technology, and interpersonal affairs. We may see some stability return to our daily systems, workplaces, and society again with these planetary shifts. Thank goodness!

Got something to say now that Mercury retrograde is over? Easy now. The boldfaced Aries new moon on October 9 has the audacity to oppose gracious Venus, the ruler of Libra and the keeper of civility. Maybe you've compromised a little too much, sacrificed for others, and you're feeling resentful. It's awesome to recognize that, not awesome to lash out.

The October stars are making it clear: We can't maintain peace at the expense of our principles and individuality. But could we all just be a little nicer and more polite about it? Minding our manners at this full moon might be a challenge but one worth attempting. Creative challenge for humanity: Find a way to "do you" without treading on anyone else.

Scorpio season begins on October 23, which could intensify the energy but also remind us that it's OK to wait out the madness in our private pods. But don't think you can control this wave of energy. On October 25, eclipse season begins, another unpredictable two-week period that kicks off with the Scorpio new moon partial solar eclipse.

The tides turn even more on October 28, as expansive Jupiter, who's been firing up our confidence in Aries since May 10, backs into Pisces for one last surf, staying here until December 20.

We're not out of the retrograde woods yet either. The day before Halloween, the stars serve up some Scorpio-season scaries: Aggro Mars makes a U-turn in Gemini from October 30 to January 12. In this communicative and media-savvy sign, we're more than a little concerned about how this divided world will lash out.

Mars retrograde in Gemini doesn't exactly say, "Let's sit around the kitchen table and talk this out like adults." Quite the opposite. So keep your own itchy Twitter fingers at bay if you can. Exercise your free speech rights but with the caveat to "do no harm," a la the Hippocratic oath. You might cross-check those incendiary posts with the acronym THINK: Is it True, Helpful, Important, Necessary, or Kind? If not, maybe don't go there.