YOUR OCTOBER 2016 ASTROLOGY READINGS
This month, your astrology readings revolve around the masks we wear and the personas we portray.
Think about the different masks you put on when you go to work, school, are with your partner, your friends, do you recognize a line of similarities weaving between them?
What makes us hide?
Fear.
Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of the unknown.
We paint ourselves with the traits and say the words we think others want to hear. We mold ourselves into whatever box we think we need to fit in order to please.
It’s not surprising that 7 of the 12 cards pulled this month are from the Major Arcana.
Representing only 23 of the 78 card deck, Major Arcana cards speak to our character, subconscious and personal development, whereas Minor Arcana cards speak to individual situations.
As the days get shorter and colder, do not revert into yourself. Don’t make yourself smaller. Don’t hide behind a false exterior.
In the 12 readings for the signs below, I define 12 of the different masks that we all wear at different points in our lives. Though each sign pulled a specific message from the Universe, you may benefit from reading all the messages and reflecting on how, where and why you have also experienced these at one time or another.
Aries (March 22 to April 20 ) - Five of Pentacles
This is the mask you wear when you’re suffering and put on a prideful, or self-pitying face instead of asking for help.
The figures on the card are suffering, there is no denying it. They turn away from the warm light of the church with scorn. ‘You take your warmth and affluence, we’re undeserving and inadequate to have what you have,’ they seem to be saying.
When you’re rejected, worn down or experience physical illness or poverty, it’s easy to defer to a “me vs. them” attitude. It's weirdly gratifying to put on a hard front and try to tough it out. It’s satisfying to have a pity party sometimes because we're able to convince ourselves that the matter is out of our hands.
Hey, Aries! Note the times in which you become defensive this month. Reflect on the patterns. Reflect on your reactions. Reflect on how your mood shifts, how your words change, how your emotions bubble. There are some valuable lessons to be learned (plus, you'll be able to avoid the suffering quicker!).
Taurus (April 22 to May 20) - Temperance
Temperance is a beautiful card; the message of which is balance.
Taurus people are known to be grounded, stable, reliable. All characteristics we also see in Temperance.
However, when being grounded turns to stubbornness, stability turns to caution, reliability turns to predictable, we become jaded when others take advantage of us, or we find ourselves stuck in the same position.
Temperance is not necessarily a mask we wear, nor a persona we try to portray, but rather something we strive to be.
As part of the Major Arcana, the Temperance card relates to our higher self, what we strive to embody. The key is being mindful of when you’re forcing yourself to be humble, or feeling cocky in your wisdom in order to achieve this state. Be mindful every day of where you’re acting intemperate, and open yourself to not letting your baser tendencies take you over.
Gemini (May 21 to June 21) - Nine of Wands
When you’re betrayed by someone or let down in a brutal way, it’s natural to put up extra defences when even a remotely similar situation starts to manifest in your life. Similarly, when you’ve made it a goal to achieve something and you’re faced with adversity, it’s often a tendency to hold onto our dream with a ferocity that skews our perspective of the bigger picture.
This is the mask we wear when we’ve been let down or have hit walls with our progress one too many times. We become jaded, frustrated and even self-righteous about how much we’ve overcome and how we’re tough enough to keep going.
You know you have it in you to achieve anything you put your mind to, you know you have the energy and the ability to get it done despite setbacks - why do you need to become a grouch in the process? Ask for help. Join a mastermind group. Give yourself a rest day! Nobody is questioning your abilities, so don’t get to the point where you start to.
Cancer (June 22 to July 22) - The Devil
Vice is in all of us. I’d be the last to say I don’t enjoy indulging whenever I can. But the problem with the Devil card that it forces us to reflect upon and face our inner world.
When you’re indulging just to show off, to prove that you have the material means, when you're putting on a front to show everyone your material wealth, or when you're denying your body its needs and pushing forward to keep going to prove that you can, your inner world suffers. You’re not acting authentically. Can you really enjoy these things when you’re so focused on proving yourself? Are you not trying to compensate for something?
The other side of the Devil is not only playing in vice, but being powerless to do otherwise. Addiction, hopelessness, ignorance, fear… When you’re acting through any of these lenses, any joy you could be getting from these experiences - cause partying can be truly joyful! - is tainted. Because you still have to wake up the next day with true yourself.
Leo July 23 to August 22 - The Sun
The Sun, your ruling planet, dear Leo, is your guiding light this month.
As the days get colder and shorter, as the year starts wrapping up and you start to reflect on your accomplishments and how much further you have to go, you are going to be pleasantly surprised to find a inner source of positivity, strength and absolute confidence in yourself to keep going.
This is the type of persona we strive to live in alignment with, perpetually. To always be a beacon of light and positivity, not matter what life throws at us.
Unfortunately, this isn’t possible to embody all the time (unless you're, like, the Buddha), so really own this message this month and you’ll be able to make it last for longer than usual.
Virgo (August 23 to September 22) - The World
The World card! Lucky you! Or rather, what an excellent opportunity for growth and reflection.
The 22nd and final card in the Major Arcana, this is what we’re aiming for in our walk through life. Enlightenment, achievement, self actualization.
As you move through this month, and far into the future, with every step, every moment you wash your hands, sit down to a meal, hug a loved one, every moment of life, think about how you can embody this fullness. This deep satisfaction. This pure sense of fulfillment, knowledge that life exists only in the present moment, regardless of what form this moment takes. At the moments of our highest highest and lowest lows, can you be the World?
Libra (September 23 - October 22) - Ace of Pentacles
Ace cards present us with opportunities. In the case of the Pentacles suit, this is an opportunity for material growth. Maybe a business opportunity, a really great networking connection, a new lover, these are times when the stars align and put something in your lap that you never dreamed possible.
What comes to mind is the mask we put on when we feel something is going really well for us, or see all these different things coming into play, and we talk with confidence, and trust in ourselves, yet, we’re missing the follow-through. We’re not taking the necessary steps forward to do anything with these gifts. Because guess what? You could have the best opportunity in the world, but if you don’t sit down and put in the work to take advantage, the opportunity stays just that - an opportunity.
Scorpio (October 23 to November 21) - Seven of Swords
This is an easy mask to spot in others, not so easy in yourself.
The sneaky cat, the lone wolf, the trickster. Someone who shows up to the group project meeting with smiles and charisma, and then disappears until presentation day and goes last, using all the work you did as their content.
The mask we put on when we’re clearly avoiding something difficult. We smile and say “it’s totally going to be fine” as we search our minds for ways to get out of it, rather than make it happen.
Not only do you let yourself down in these situations, but you let others down too.
Think outside of yourself and the immediate future. There are long term consequences when you act dishonourably. Not just in a “karmic” sense, but in a really tangible sense - your group members are going to suffer, your partner suffers, your landlord suffers, whoever has to bear the brunt of you not following through has to be there and suck it up. Something that you need to be doing instead. Take the hit, pull the all nighter, make it happen regardless of the sacrifice, and then embody the lesson to ensure you're never put in that sort of situation again.
Sagittarius (November 22 to December 21) - The Hierophant
This is the mask we wear when we find ourself ascribing wholly to an institution or belief system.
I remember when I first started University, I thought I had discovered the absolute truth when it came to living well. I felt high and mighty in the trenches of education, speaking from the purity and elevated status of academia. But alas, the real world exists! And it exists outside of any sort of bubble that being part of a religion, institute of higher-education, club, team or the like create.
The values, ethics and moral codes of these systems are often profound and true. We often need to ascribe deeply to a group in order to grow and develop.
A Hierophant is “someone who interprets secret knowledge,” and in this definition lies the key to your message for this month; look for opportunities for personal growth and development in a group setting, but do not lose sight of what your role is - to interpret and strengthen yourself with this new knowledge, do not make the knowledge become bigger than you.
Capricorn (December 22 to January 20) - The Empress
The Earth Mama persona is one of my favourites. I love feeling love! I love experiencing love! For and with everyone and everything that comes into your path, the Empress represents the pure joy of being a being on this earth.
Wear the sensual mask of the female archetype this month. Tap into the endless abundance of the Universe and spread joy and love! What can you do to nurture love? What can you do to create something new? What can you do to tap into your sensuality?
Aquarius (January 21 to February 18) - The Moon
The mask of the unknown, of fear. When our world is turned upside down, when we are thrust into upheaval, when things start appearing in our thoughts from our sub-conscious that we’d rather not face, we often revert into ourselves, grasping at people or things that we know to be stable and constant.
But the Moon brings with it the chance to move through a difficult time, or face something difficult from our past, because it knows that this is what's needed for you to grow. The Moon knows and sees everything from every karmic cycle you've ever lived! And when we shed our fears, we are able to move forward with light!
Pisces (February 19 - March 21) - Three of Pentacles
There are 2 sides to this card; the novice/apprentice with newfound knowledge and enthusiasm to make a difference, and the wise/experienced with years of practice and lessons to call upon.
In either position, when we put on a mask to try and puff ourselves up, either with unfounded cockiness, or with pretension, we destroy our ability to make bonds. People are repelled by our inauthenticity and it becomes difficult to work together.
This month, embrace the group. Look for those with more knowledge than you and share your knowledge with them. We only advance when we seek out opportunities to learn. And we become masters in our field when we seek out opportunities to teach.