This October, we’re reacquainting ourselves with the Libra-Aries axis, energies that we have become very familiar with since the Eclipses began in these two signs in April of 2023. This axis urges us to reflect on our connections with others and how we balance our personal desires with our social interactions.

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Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Design Life Podcast. Today, we are jumping back into a story that we've been reading and exploring off and on for the last year and a half. We are examining the energy of Libra and Aries, an axis that we have become very familiar with since the eclipses began in these two signs in April of 2023.

Now, this particular axis is very much about "the other." It concerns our relationships with other people, our connections to other people, our social experiences, how we relate to, connect with, and enjoy other people, and how we share ourselves with others. It is also about ourselves—our inner motivating force and our inner innovator. The inner part of us that wants to embrace life and go after it full force because we want to for ourselves. This axis is very much about our drive and passion, as well as our need for love, connection, and support from others.  

How do these things go together? How do we pursue the things that truly feel good for us, that supercharge us, and make us feel like who we are and who we most want to be, while also staying connected to other people and respecting what they want, their needs, and their values? How do we bring each other along for the ride without letting go or losing one another?

So, let's get into more details regarding this energy and this conversation. My name is Hollis Maloney. This is the Design Life Podcast, and today we're discussing the lunations of October 2024. We basically opened the month on October 2nd with a New Moon eclipse at 10° of Libra. This is a South Node eclipse, and this is a storyline that we have become very familiar with. The first South Node eclipse in Libra of the series happened on October 14, 2023, and we just had one in March of 2024, on March 24, to be specific.  

You can look back to those dates and reflect on what you were doing around those times. I love to look back in my photos or journal and explore what was going on in my life, what I was thinking, and what I was feeling. Recognize what between those dates is connected to what's coming up for you now.

Libra is a sign that's very much about our relationships, harmony, balance in our relationships, justice, and cooperation. It's about creativity and is ruled by Venus, so it very much pertains to beauty, creativity, what we're attracted to, and what we attract into our lives—what we value and find valuable. Libra can sometimes be about indecisiveness and passivity, but I'll get to that in a second.

There's been a story evolving regarding your relationships, your understanding of beauty, harmony, and social order. Consider how you were thinking about these things in October of 2023 versus now. What has changed in your understanding of justice? What has changed in your understanding of social cohesion and how you show up in social situations in a way that is aligned and empowering?

Libra can be very passive and people-pleasing. Wherever Libra is in your chart, you can look at that area of life and ask yourself: How much do I people-please? How much do I contort myself to appease others in this area of my life? How much have I moved away from that? How much have I stepped into a better understanding of allowing myself to show up more wholly as I am, even if that means making other people uncomfortable, even if that means disrupting others and the status quo?  

Living in full embodiment means showing up more honestly, which allows for more honest social interactions with others. You can attract more people who align with your values. This doesn't mean you have to be abrasive or rude; you can still be kind and thoughtful. But it means you don't have to please everybody, and not everyone has to be your best friend. How have you been embracing that mentality and way of being in your social world over the last year or two? What has changed for you?

Eclipses are not times to set intentions. As we've discussed, it's really a time to observe, watch, rest, and let the energy come up. So, it's a good time to ask yourself those questions. What has changed? What is different? What do peace and harmony mean to me now versus two years ago? What does justice mean to me now versus two years ago? What does social order mean to me? What does beauty mean to me now? When I look at what is beautiful, how has that evolved? How have I let go of preconceived ideas of what beauty is, what creativity is, or what artistry is? How has that evolved and shape-shifted, and how am I recognizing beauty from a more expansive place?

The South Node, where this eclipse is happening, is very much about letting go and shedding old ways of being. It’s about closing a door so that we can open up to something new, make way for new energy, and embrace evolution.

Everything in astrology, everything in humanity, is about expansion, right? The universe is always expanding. It's expanding right now, so it's always about expansion. It's always about involving more into ourselves, allowing space for more, and shifting into more expansive ways of thinking rather than reductive ways of thinking and being. In the same sense, how have you expanded in your view of what relationships need to be? How they need to be orderly or not orderly? How has beauty shaped and changed itself? How has cooperation shaped and changed itself? How have you let yourself become more expansive in how you show up in your relationships?

So, that is the New Moon eclipse at 10° of Libra on October 2nd. Again, if you have any planets at 10° of Libra or thereabouts or the other cardinal signs—that's Cancer, Capricorn, and Aries—you might be really feeling this one. The same if you have any planets at the other air signs of Gemini and Aquarius, 10° of those signs as well.

The last thing I'll say about this quickly is that this eclipse is conjunct Mercury. Mercury is right here with the Sun and the Moon, so this really has to do with our sense of expression. It's a really good time to notice how you are showing up in your conversations differently, how you're relating to people differently, how you're speaking up for yourself differently, or how you are expressing or not expressing yourself in some ways. It's a really good time to pay attention to your words and how you feel based on what you say or don't say, or what people say or don't say to you. Observe the conversations, observe the words, observe the dreams as well, and what it is that's being expressed. The communications you're having offer insights. Whatever you notice, you're meant to notice. So allow yourself to just pay attention and see what comes up for you.

This is the final eclipse in this series. We're going to be officially moving into the series of Virgo and Pisces next year. You might feel like you're putting a bow on some relationship stuff or some issues regarding your people-pleasing or indecisiveness, or your sense of cooperation. It might really feel like this is wrapping up a story and you're ready to move on to a new energy.

Alright, after that eclipse, we have a Full Moon in Aries on October 17th at 24° of Aries. This also relates to the eclipses that we've been experiencing because they've been loud, right? The Libra-Aries eclipses we've had since 2023 have been loud. Big things have been happening since then, both in the world collectively and on an interpersonal level. It would be remiss not to mention that this Full Moon is also part of this bigger story we're experiencing. We're going to have one more eclipse in Aries in March of 2025. That will be the final wrap-up of the story. But for now, this Full Moon is illuminating a part of the story that has to do with your motivation, your sense of competition, your sense of assertion, and impulsiveness, and the kind of initiating, pioneering energy—that inner spark that is lit within you.

Aries is a sign ruled by Mars, and Mars is currently in Cancer. So, there's something about your emotions guiding you in the direction of what you are motivated to take action towards. There's a story evolving around the Aries part of you that wants to go after what it wants. It's the first strike of the match. It's when you're ready to do something, you just do it. You don't think about it. You don't contemplate it. You don't question yourself. You just do it.

There's a part of yourself, a part of your life that has been growing in the area of your chart that Aries contains, that you have been hungry for. I want you to think about what's been growing steadily over the last year and a half since April of 2023. What is something new that has been a little bit impulsive or surprising that's been building in your life? What do you feel compelled to work on, build, express, or grab that you're just gravitating towards? What has been building in your life that feels like this extra expression of you that perhaps came out of nowhere or is surprising you? Maybe it's a part of you that you've dismissed for a long time that you now feel ready to embody and own as yourself.

You can look at your chart to see where Aries rules for more clarity on where this could be happening. It could be in your career, your committed partnerships, your writing projects, or with your family. But there is something about you taking ownership of a part of you that you may have disowned or dismissed, and now you are saying, "Nope, this is me." This Full Moon is illuminating that same story again, reminding you that, yes, this is you. You're ready to embody this, and maybe that means you are letting go of more of the people-pleasing side or the side that wants to make everyone comfortable. You are embracing this part of yourself that you once thought was not worthy of being seen because you thought it would make others uncomfortable. Now you're saying, "I'm done hiding. I'm ready to tend to this part of myself that wants to be expressed and shared."

I say more power to you. Again, do it thoughtfully and in a way that does not harm others. We're talking about Aries being ruled by Mars. Mars is very much about competition and cutting things out of your life. It's the warrior, the fighter. You don't have to fight about it necessarily, but definitely embrace and let yourself be in the part of yourself that says, "This is me, and I want to express it. I want to share this with everyone."

So, it's another level of growth, expression, personal motivation, and passion. Definitely explore what has been building here, not just in the past six months since the New Moon in Aries or that eclipse in Aries we all heard so much about in April 2024, but also since April 2023. What is the long-term story that's been building here, and what is being perhaps released or expressed now?

Again, the ruler of this lunation is Mars in Cancer. So, there might be some big emotions around this time because Cancer is very much about emotions. This also might be a story that feels like it's being lived out a little longer because Mars is about to go retrograde, and we're about to have another eclipse in Aries—not soon, but in March 2025. So, just know that this story is not finalized. It's a story that's been evolving, but there is more to it, and it will come to a culmination. You might come to a greater understanding of it come March next year, but right now, it's more important for you to just be in what feels like it's ready to be released.

If there are emotions that need to be released, if you need to cry it out, or if you need to do something cathartic that is perhaps athletic or requires movement or building heat in the body, it's a really good way to utilize this energy. Doing some constructive or fun activities like card games, board games, or a healthy game of volleyball or soccer is also a great way to channel this energy without misdirecting it. Because there are emotions involved and personal healing involved, the passion might come out in unexpected ways. Emotions might rise to the surface and be expressed, potentially surprising you. If that happens, just know it's part of the energy. You can always go back and amend things later, but in general, it might be a high-heat kind of part of the month. Do what you need to do to cool down your system and observe what has been building that feels ready to be expressed now.

What is the storyline that you're still in, what's building, and how do you want to continue committing yourself to this part of you that is asking to be embraced and integrated as part of who you are, regardless of whether it makes people uncomfortable or disrupts the status quo?

So those are the lunations of October. It's a social month, very much about how we interact with other people and how we interact with ourselves. The Libra-Aries axis is so interesting because Libra is ruled by Venus and Aries is ruled by Mars. So, you know, the "cosmic lovers" are in play this month. This Libra-Aries axis helps us tap into "Who am I? How do I want to express myself, and how does that support or not support how I connect with others on a personal level?" What is the real true balance of social disruption, which we need every once in a while, and social cohesion, which we also need?

I think about it like this: if you're having a conversation with friends and someone makes a witty comment, everyone laughs. That's the social disruption, usually pointing at something funny or ridiculous, and that's Aries energy. Then you have moments in the conversation where you're bonding and connecting, relating to one another, and that's Libra energy and Venus energy. So, you can think about this month as that kind of play between the moments where you're having difficult conversations and the moments where you're bonding. Either way, you're connecting, relating, and interacting with one another for the benefit of expressing yourself and becoming more cohesive with others.  

So, I recommend observing your relationships, your conversations, your energy, and your emotions in relationships. We will get through this on the other side. It's not necessarily a rough month, but because this is tapping into the energy of the eclipses we've been having, it might feel like a story is starting to come to a conclusion or close. Goodbyes and endings are never easy. There might be things you're ready to let go of, but it might also be tough to let go, and that's okay. Remember, you're making space for lots of goodness, evolution, and growth. Relationships are always evolving and changing, and you are always evolving and changing. There is so much possibility, spaciousness, and connection on the other side of this.

I hope it's a really beautiful October. I hope you get some great clarity in your relationships and around who you most want to be by integrating these different parts of yourself that may have really been needing your support and integration. Leverage the motivating energy when you have it, have the conversations when you need to, and enjoy. We will see you again next month in November, where we will talk about the New Moon in Scorpio and the Full Moon in Taurus. Until then, wishing you all a really beautiful October.