"Emergence" by Eleanor MacQuarrie Campbell

Beginning of November

I have been looking at November’s astrology and wondering how much more of this rapid change can we absorb. It is exhausting, although perhaps some of our tiredness comes from trying to carry on as the person we were, when it’s becoming more obvious that something within us has already begun to change. We can keep fulfilling our commitments on automatic pilot while quietly realising that our heart is not quite in the same place it was, things are changing. With November beginning on a reflective note and what with the evenings drawing in, I can understand the appeal of becoming a little less available to give ourselves time to think. Does the life we have organised around ourselves still allow room for us to grow?

Mercury in Scorpio turns direct on the 13th and Venus in Libra on the 14th, so the first two weeks of the month continues the review of relationships and values that began during October’s retrogrades. Mercury encourages us to acknowledge what is bothering us, while Venus asks whether our arrangements are fair. I think reciprocity matters here, we may love someone, understand their difficulties and accept that occasionally they need considerably more support than we do. But over time, does that care go both ways? When we need someone to listen, are they available, or does the conversation somehow just return to them? We may simply just be too tired for another conversation that goes nowhere, yet sometimes what really ends is our willingness to keep pretending that something is acceptable.

The Scorpio New Moon on the 9th offers a moment to consider what we would like instead: more consideration, some pleasure, or simply something to look forward to.

Does the life we have organised around ourselves still allow room for us to grow?

Mid November

As Mercury and Venus turn direct, we may find it easier to put something we have been thinking deeply about into actual words. Perhaps an arrangement no longer suits us, or an answer we gave earlier needs changing or clarifying, we are allowed to reconsider, although this can come as a shock to people who preferred our original answer.

Between the 12th and 16th, Jupiter and then Mars meet the South Node in Leo, before Mars and Jupiter form their conjunction at almost 26 degrees on the 16th. A conjunction begins a new cycle between these planets, so what might be taking shape here? Mars concerns the willingness to act, while Jupiter helps us believe that something is possible, together in Leo, they can encourage us to put more of ourselves into what we do. With Mercury and Venus changing direction too, what we think, what we want and what we feel willing to do are all clamouring for attention.

The South Node brings familiar behaviour into this picture. Perhaps we are realising that we have taken an old way of being as far as we can, and something needs to change. We may have spent years being the reliable one, the accommodating one, the person who manages. Other people know what to expect from us, and we know how to provide it. Better the devil you know, eh? But maintaining an increasingly unsatisfactory arrangement can occupy so much of us that we fail to notice an opportunity to do things differently.

Leo brings creativity and enjoyment into the picture. Returning to or discovering an interest we enjoy can remind us that we have a life beyond our responsibilities. It need not become a business, benefit somebody else or prove that we are good at it, just enjoying ourselves is a very reasonable purpose.

Venus and Jupiter, the two traditional benefics, offer a warmer thread through November, Venus connects supportively with Mars on the 10th and Jupiter on the 28^th, demonstrating affection, company and pleasure deserve a place alongside all this serious consideration of ourselves.

Mars also makes a supportive connection with Chiron on the 19^th, when we may still remember being criticised or turned away, but now feel more determined to try again. “Hug the Monster”, as they say. Facing something we fear can strip it of its power and of course discovering that we can cope helps us build emotional resilience.

Around the 18th and 19th, the Sun challenges Jupiter and Mars, so enthusiasm may run ahead of judgement. We could promise more than we can manage or become rather determined that somebody should agree with us. This applies to public figures too, although a shortage of confidence in that stratosphere rarely seems to be their difficulty.

Saturn and Neptune remain retrograde in Aries throughout the month, Neptune holds our longing for something kinder and more meaningful in our lives, while Saturn asks what we can realistically give towards that goal. Compassion with discernment brings these energies together, although understanding someone’s difficulties does not necessarily mean agreeing to carry them indefinitely.

understanding someone’s difficulties does not necessarily mean agreeing to carry them indefinitely

End of November

The Gemini Full Moon on the 24th is close to Uranus and trine Pluto, followed by the exact Uranus and Pluto trine on the 29th. This could bring in new information that could unsettle an established view, changing how we understand a personal situation or a public explanation we have accepted.

With Uranus in Gemini and Pluto in Aquarius, there is a wider question about who shapes our thinking. News, social media and increasingly artificial intelligence influence what reaches us and how it is presented. We cannot investigate everything, but we can pause before repeating a claim, particularly one that immediately makes us angry. It seems certainty travels remarkably well without evidence.

Mars enters Virgo on the 25th, bringing attention to how we organise everyday life, if we want more time for ourselves, what needs changing in the diary? Could a task be shared, an arrangement simplified or a commitment reduced?

Venus opposite Chiron on the 29th may touch a familiar feeling of being unwanted or insufficiently valued. Before deciding that we have asked for too much, perhaps we should consider whether we have asked it of someone who cannot give it. Their response may tell us something about the relationship, but it cannot tell us everything about our worth.

A Closing Thought

I think November gives us an opportunity to catch up with ourselves, particularly where being useful, agreeable or dependable has left little room for what we personally need and want, which is more affection, more involvement, something we enjoy for its own sake. Can we make room for those things without immediately deciding that somebody else has a better claim on our time and just slip back into our old habits never moving on. It is true that other people  prefer the version of us that required less consideration, but we are shedding that skin, and a bright, shiny, recently upgraded human being is starting to emerge.

Beyond our own lives, questions about fairness, power and whose needs matter are being played out on the world stage. Political decisions and economic pressures affect what we can afford, what we fear and how we treat one another. We cannot individually direct all of that, but we can and do have a part in it through what we support, what we repeat and what we accept as normal. With so many people telling us what the future ought to look like, I think it matters that we remain able to recognise what we value ourselves.