Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes
Your extended monthly horoscope for November is published below in this issue. We published your extended monthly horoscope for October on Thursday, Oct. 1. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope after the Sun has entered a new sign.
Planet Waves Monthly Horoscope for November 2020 | By Eric Francis Coppolino
Aries (March 20-April 19) — The moment we’re all waiting for happens November 13 — Mars stations direct in your sign. The world has a confidence issue. All the wrong people have way too much of the stuff, and too many others are lacking it. I trust that the events since July have taught you how to feel more centered in who you are and what you want. However, the breakthrough may be yet to come. Unusual things help people build confidence: a fire-walking workshop, or sitting in silence for 10 days during a Vipassana meditation retreat, or giving birth. In truth, this thing that so many find so elusive is an ongoing discovery process of what is getting in the way. There are issues that obscure one’s basic sense of belonging in the world, usually ancestral in nature, passed down through the family. You might be worried about something that your great-grandmother found vexing but never mentioned to anyone. You might have taken on a negative comment your mother or father made when you were three years old. When a parent says “anything is possible” or “you are doomed to fail,” that makes an impression. The retrograde of Mars is a hint to look for the ways that, as a young child, you were afraid of threatening a parent or caregiver with your power. Ask yourself what you’re hiding. It could be your sense of humor, or your musical talent, or your ability to organize, or your preference for something. Any hiding at all depletes confidence, whether you’re concealing your face, your voice, your height, your intelligence or your breasts. The next two weeks arrive with a decision that may seem ordinary and mundane, but which is really existential in nature. A seemingly small decision contains a much larger issue. So every choice you make needs to be evaluated on the basis of what you want for your whole life, because that is what you’re choosing.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — You may be questioning whether close partners or your primary relationship can stand the degree to which you are growing and evolving. I would ask, though, do they have a choice? Do you? Are you going to hold up your personal evolution out of the fear that another being might not approve? Well, the answer might not be so obvious. You may still be hesitating. You might even feel guilty that you are in some way forcing another person to accept who you are. The truth is that people either accept you or they don’t, with no forcing or asking involved. People tend to be respectful, or not. Respectful means acknowledging who you are and making space for you to be that person. You can, therefore, afford to take the risk of seeming to push people a little, by doing the right thing for yourself. Your environment will stretch and accommodate, or it will not. The thing you don’t want to do is break faith with people who have faith in you. It is never helpful to squander trust or goodwill. You honor those things through communication, and by a conscious relationship to your commitments. The one thing you cannot commit to is not being you. So that one is out of the question. This puts you in the position of needing to work out your relationships from the position of being you, and not trying to be anyone else. I reckon much of the compromise will be the feeling of explaining yourself. You can do less of that if you invest more energy into understanding and respecting where others are coming from. You may think you have an idea, but it’s mostly your own and much of it will not be applicable to the situation. That’s where you have room for improvement.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Your ruling planet Mercury stations direct in grand style early in the month. However, that chart suggests that you may feel like you’re in a tight spot. Though that spot is mostly in your mind. You are in a situation that you must think through. By think, I mean in multiple steps, being able to hold several thoughts in your mind at once. The whole point of your situation would seem to be to demonstrate to yourself how effective this is. You will need to check in with your own opinion and observations. The single most important thing you can do is to know what your options are. This can take some real thought. You will need to jump over the little fences in your mind, and the tripwire traps, and the gumption sinkholes. Let there never be a situation where you only have one option. If you think you have one then think some more. Be creative. You may be missing some obvious ones. You can pose the question, “If I could do whatever I wanted, what would I do?” That will remove a level of self-editing: the belief or expectation that you cannot really do something or do not have that option. Whatever block you feel is likely to be a mental one. Whatever threat you feel is unlikely to have any validity at all: it may have in the past, but you are now out of reach, and out of range. The challenge here is embracing your inner authority. We’ve all heard plenty of talk about the inner child. There is a more significant element of consciousness, which is the one that allows you to guide yourself through your life, without getting caught in the power dramas of others.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You may feel like you’re losing ground on the career front, though I assure you this is unlikely to be true. You may be experiencing setbacks and delays, though you’re also establishing yourself in some new way: taking some territory and making your mark. The vital factor is that you set the terms of what you consider your life work. You may not have thought of it that way. For many years (ending in the spring of 2019) there were scattering influences that made it difficult for you to focus or take full ownership. But now Chiron has taken over this area of your life. That is about commitment, in Aries and the 10th it’s about the mantle of leadership, and Chiron is inherently a holistic influence. Your learning task is to see the way in which everything is connected to everything else. This is how you need to think to make maximum use of this magnificent, long-term astrology. What Mars spending six months in Aries is about is fully activating the warrior spirit which is to say: your persistent determination. The beauty of this placement is that between you and it, you’re figuring out what you want to accomplish. You’re also figuring out what you need to accomplish, and you’re learning the difference. In these weeks before Mars stations direct, focus one topic, please: those desires and those necessities. It should not be an especially long list. You want to get to the heart and soul of the matter. You might include one or two things that you consider impossible. This will feed you with just enough aspirational energy to go beyond your present capacities. As the Cancerian Marshall McLuhan said, “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a metaphor?” Men and women alike.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — If this year has taught you nothing else, it’s that you must have faith in yourself. It’s true that many people compensate for lack of inner fidelity by investing their trust in external factors, though this is a shortcut that ultimately leads nowhere. The combination of Chiron (a long-term presence) and Mars retrograde (an immediate but rather rare presence) are providing full-strength reminders that you are the only place you need to invest your faith at this time in your life. It is true that relationships provide a seemingly different venue, though they too are based on the foundation of faith in yourself. This is difficult to see in a world where nearly everything is externalized, in a time when it is especially so. Yet experience is the best teacher, and it’s the one that confirms or denies what you might learn in theory. Experience is the test of ideas, and it has taught you much this year. Chiron is the sigil of self-awareness, and you have this moving through Aries in the angle of your chart where awareness of yourself morphs into something far wider, deeper and almost cosmic in nature. Yet this can be obscured by constant self-doubt. This potentially presents a paradox. Many forms of doubt are justified, though it is also possible to have faith in yourself just for the sake of doing so. If you have to assume that one side of the discussion is false — self-doubt, or faith in yourself — start by assuming that the doubt is merely a distraction. Mars stationing direct later this month has the potential to jar something free within you, such as spontaneously discovering the trick of self-confidence. Just remember that you did.
Tailored for Virgo Sun and rising, this new audio reading by Eric Francis introduces you to your astrology through the autumn of 2021. We will take maximum advantage of the power you are drawing from the Earth signs at the time of your solar return: Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, as well as Uranus in Taurus. This is a grand earth trine, and the thing to do is gather momentum in the direction you want to go, and then point yourself there. Eric describes the influence of Jupiter and Saturn ingressing Aquarius later this year. The reading looks closely at Chiron in Aries, accompanied by Mars retrograde in Aries — your most important relationship house. Now with full transcript. Order now for instant access. This reading is included with the Backstage Pass.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — You’ve got to get out from under all this weight you’ve been carrying. What exactly is it, though? Is it from the past, or is it about now? Is it mental or emotional? Have you taken on responsibilities that are not yours, and when did you do that? This calls for a careful evaluation, though a potential issue here is the hidden contract, the commitment you did not know you made, or the effect of karma. To understand these things, it’s necessary to do quite a bit of spiritual work around your family. This involves distinguishing yourself from them, their ideas, their influence and most significantly, their ideas about who you are. This is the real drag, the actual heaviness, and the source of that nagging sensation. The challenge here is that most people have a strong affinity and loyalty to their parents, which is often accompanied by a mix of resentment, guilt and anger. When I say doing “spiritual work around your family,” this is what I am talking about. The thing necessary is to get a sense of all those emotions, and where they come from and what they do to you. They first exist as a morass, and are mingled in with emotional triggers connected to family loyalty and fear of rejection. There is also the matter of unmet needs. You are, however, ready to break loose. This is about a recognition, and a commitment, and a decision and then sticking with the project. You will need help from people who are capable of some objectivity, and who can offer you tools. The most important one is to listen to what your body tells you. Feel, listen, and actually hear.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Mercury is about to station direct in your Sun or rising sign, though part of the retrograde has occurred in the financial angle of your solar chart. This will start to move some of the stuck feeling where cash flow is concerned. Yet there is something perhaps more perplexing going on, which is running into a limit that you cannot see, or identify, but that you can feel and are experiencing. This is not as complex as it may seem. Yes, your current situation is drawing up a memory from late September, though you’ve learned a lot since then. In fact what you’ve learned in that time is what you need to apply now. One approach to take is the one where you make small progress every day. The direction of travel, and any movement at all, are the most important things. You might solve one small problem. You might ask for help. You might prepare a space to work. You might get smaller tasks out of the way, to prepare for a more challenging one. Use whatever psychology works for you to nudge things in the direction you want to go, and be happy with incremental progress. At the same time, you will need to set larger goals, though keep them modest at first. Meanwhile there are certain relationship situations that you’re just not sure about, or that seem to be resisting your efforts to communicate. I suggest taking a similar approach, though remembering that this is somewhat more sensitive. Someone close to you may be presenting you with a paradox, or an approach-avoid situation. You may have the feeling that they are not fully committed. The situation is delicate because ego is involved (in the form of retrograde Mars in Aries), and that is a thing that was designed to be hurt. Start by gathering information, and by summarizing events of the past two months. By midmonth, you will have a better sense where you stand.
The Scorpio File: Astrology Studio 2020
What’s in the Scorpio file? Does anyone really know? This year for your solar return, Mercury is retrograde in your sign. Adding to the mystery, Mars, your classical ruling planet, is retrograde in Aries, about to station direct. Then Jupiter forms a conjunction with Pluto, which takes the story to the level of your soul’s mission on Earth. In this 76-minute astrology reading, Eric Francis unravels the secrets of your sign, and helps you guide yourself through this strange new time we are living in. Price is $44. Original music by Vision Quest. Get instant access here!
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Your inner world is bristling with energy right now, as both Mercury and Venus are moving through the most sensitive and subtle angle of your chart. You may wonder what people will find out about you: your fears, your needs, your weaknesses, your secret longings. You might consider that people already know whatever there is to know about you. You are much more transparent than you may think. You might take some of the pressure off, and hang loose about who and what you are. The nice thing about doing that is that when you externalize your inner nature, you get to see it more clearly, and then you can make adjustments. You can also make discoveries, such as finding that others are more in tune with your preferences than you may have imagined, and also more empathetic toward what you might struggle with. Another thing that may keep you reticent to speak is that you feel your thoughts are a work in progress. You might not want to make any ‘final’ determinations before you’ve thought things through. Yet all thought is a work in progress, whether it’s a book that’s gone through 10 drafts, or how you really feel about all that candy people buy on Halloween. The mental quality to be alert to is the sense that you must conceal something. This is often connected to a deeper situation, such as a fear with an existential root. One of the strongest themes of your chart is whether you’re accepted by society, beginning with your family. Being outcast may be one of your deepest fears. You can work with this. You can do what I call ‘skunk’ people with your real opinion. If you repel certain people, good riddance. Be real and you’ll attract your true tribe.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — There’s an irrational fear of controversy going around — and plenty that is in fact controversial that’s being treated like it either does not exist, or as if it’s just your average day in the city. You must monitor your fear of controversy, or it will shackle your creativity and your social freedom. I know that with Cancel Culture as the ultimate revenge, the mob is always ready to defrock someone else of their personhood. Just remember you’re a Sagittarius, and they can all go buzz off. The best course of action for you is to exercise your integrity. That will inevitably mean going against the grain of public opinion. You are not entirely suited for the overpowering groupthink of the digital age, though you can fall for it. And when you wake up to that you can handle yourself well. You don’t need to be defensive in any way. Your sense of humor is something to keep close to you at all times. Society is in a dire situation right now: not only can it not take a joke; hardly anyone knows what one is anymore. That you can say nearly anything at all and some or even many people will believe it, no matter how outrageous, reveals a disturbing lack of discernment. This is contributing to the herd mentality we are living with. The great trend in the astrology is toward ramping up the cult mentality radically, or potentially, for some, revealing the situation for what it is. You will know you’re witnessing it rather than participating because you’re in a mild to acute state of shock almost all the time. You will see things every day that make your head spin. You might want to scream. This is too much energy for most people, though the cost of conformity is much higher.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — What is your purpose in this world? Do you dance around the point, concerned that it might be too challenging for you to fully engage? Do you struggle with the spiritual aspect, such as plucking up the independence and integrity to stand up to the resistance you might feel? The world has a problem with purpose, on the level of the individual. It is almost always subverted to some group intention, or to some seeming authority. The sense of purpose is thereby cut off or made less sensitive. That is the necessary step in the process of submitting to something other than what you want. You have to be cut off from an inner sense, or ignore it, so that the desire to compose music does not nag you while you’re sorting out sales records for an insurance company. If you want to address your need for purpose, you will turn your sensitivity back up to the point where you can feel both your affirmative desire, and also any frustration with what you’re doing now. The two will come together. It is easier to do what you don’t want while you’re not thinking about what you want. I am suggesting you go in the opposite direction: to engage that conflict consciously, so you can see and feel it and ultimately make a decision. It may be a seemingly small decision, though it will count and it will be relevant. It’s essential that you use every one of these experiences to your benefit. The point of beginning, though, is feeling what you want when it’s there to feel. Do not stuff or subvert or deny or pretend you’re not feeling it, or anything like that. At some point you will need to follow that inner directive, and do the thing your soul is calling for — starting with the first step on a journey of a thousand miles.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Much astrology is headed in your direction over the next two months, particularly in December. Before then, you may be feeling like a snake about to shed its skin, or a caterpillar about to wake up to the fact of being a butterfly. On the more dramatic side of the spectrum, you may be a little freaked out that everything is about to change. You may feel like you have no control over some situation you cannot quite identify; it could be anything, on any day. Whether you’re Aquarius Sun or rising, you experience change in a way unlike many other people. It’s more of a mental challenge and you have a good bit of anticipation anxiety. It’s time to stretch, and to alter your life patterns on a constant basis. You are someone who needs a measure of change for its own sake, as a kind of exercise. This will keep you limber, and you will push back against a tendency to calcify or to be set in your ways. Stop and listen to yourself if you hear yourself say you cannot learn something or accomplish something when it’s coupled with the panicky sensation of wanting things to remain the same. A lot is changing right now both within you and in the world around you. It will help you if you’re part of this rather than having it be something that merely impacts you. Recognize that all change modifies the shape of who you are. That is the thing that you want to be flexible. In truth, it’s your frontier. It’s the place within yourself where you can make the most progress, if that is what you want. Growth, spiritual evolution and exploring new experiences all require change, and this needs to be your best friend and indeed, your personal art form.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Everything else in astrology is changing, though Neptune is still in your sign. This is the factor that is so difficult to describe but which is coloring your whole experience of life. For those who can tap into it and not drown or overdose, Neptune is a superpower. It can grant the ability to be invisible, to shape shift, to work with the idea of ‘image’, or to penetrate a seeming fortress. One of the reasons that you’ve been relatively stable and made the most of the tremendous events of 2020 is that Jupiter, your traditional ruling planet, has been in a strong and supportive aspect to Neptune, the modern planet associated with your sign. Jupiter is now about to make its final conjunction this year to Pluto. This series of conjunctions (really, one event) has been a tremendously helpful tool in the process of defining yourself to whatever you consider the public, your circle of friends, and your professional associates. It is fair to say that you’re coming into your own, particularly your confidence around other people. Keep working that. Remember that most people are deeply insecure, so therefore, you don’t have to be. This also means that a little confidence goes a long way — you can certainly afford the confidence to dare, and you may do something unusually brazen under this month’s astrology. One thing to include there is using your money wisely, with intent, and with a little chutzpah. Resources may be tight with Mars retrograde in your house of finances, though that is about to change. You have many ideas and some of them are excellent. Combine all of these factors with some old-fashioned persistence, and you are poised to do something new, original and exciting.