Welcome the cool breeze of autumn. What a relief to leave the heat behind. How exciting to learn that crude-oil eating bacteria multiplied and seems to have come to the rescue of the Gulf. For all of us, there are poisons or toxins that seep or pour into the daily experience of life. Sometimes they pour too fast or strong to stop. But eventually, if we are tenacious and patient, we adapt and the tiny facets of life- “the good stuff,” overcomes the pain. We can see it all with a shift in perspective. I hope that gratitude comes easily to you: That you are graced with it. But if it’s hard to grasp, then this is a great season to disperse your obstacles until you can see the good stuff again. If it takes awhile, trust me it is there. Keep looking even if you need help to find it. Happiness is a by-product of gratitude, which are antidotes for misery.

Monarch butterflies are traveling to Central America on tiny wings. Hummingbirds are migrating south, too. They follow flowers. One plant, Mexican Bush Sage, puts on a show of purple flowers just in time to feed them on their journey. Until the moment this plant blooms, it looks just like a green shrub. There is nothing distinct about it at all until the time it’s needed. Strangely, life offers similar “food” for the spirit. But it’s up to us to look for the good stuff. It’s up to us to train our instincts to see a potential banquet even when it looks barren. The more we practice this, the better we get at it. However, it does take practice and maturity.

The collective crude is moving, too. Look at your life and notice where you’ve felt most out of control or deeply emotional. Take a little time to literally feel the emotions and notice the thoughts that have hindered your deep-emotional cleanup. Go ahead- feel them and flow with them, but take a little time to notice your perspective. What can you do to shift it? It’s easy for us to expect, but this is all about giving. That means giving your attention to the good stuff. Whew! That’s a whole lot easier to do when we feel good, but no time is more powerful than when we fear the future. Find a way to give and find an enormous capacity to love. That’s the dilemma and the delight of the Autumn Planetary Potential.

Venus and Jupiter are considered auspicious planets in astrology. Both are strong this season. Both appear to stop in the heavens and give us more time to look for the good stuff. Venus is a love and money planet. At the very least she is charming and understands that the way to freshen your appearance or a relationship is to focus on the good stuff: yours and theirs. Venus is in Libra in the Vedic system. She is willing to feel vulnerable in order to love again. Mars joins her. In the astrology of India, Venus is happier than Mars, but uplifts the warrior. Dare we reach for the same in daily life? Could we extend a hand and hope from both. It is possible to act as if we understand her perspective until we do. And it is possible to push for cooperation by being cooperative. Make the push to reach out rather than to demand. It’s ultimately a choice…grins.

Venus’ Hindu name is Shukra: the brilliant one. She appears to stop in the heavens on October 8th, move backward, then stop again on November 18th and move forward. This is called a retrograde period. She’ll spend the rest of the year in the constellation Libra. Venus is typically bright in the sky, but on October 1st she reaches her peak magnitude of brightness! She is moving very slowly. Watch for her in the night sky. She rises early as the evening star. After this great show, she dims on October 19th and literally disappears from the sky as she sets with the Sun. Symbolically, we all need to have faith that love and abundance are there, even when we can’t see them. In fact, Venus will reappear as the morning star in November. What a surprise!

Since Venus is a love planet, look for love and money in different places and even at different times of day. Trust that they are with you even when you are alone. Look for love to manifest at various times of the day and through you personal connection to life. Inevitably, retrograde Venus brings memories of loves lost or passed. This is a wonderful time to go deep within and acknowledge those you love and your capacity to love and be loveable. Are you willing to love? Are you daring enough to give them or you a chance?

Find the Libra house in your Vedic chart. Notice the Aries house opposite it. This is your zone of love and money. These are great places to find your capacity to love, to be compassionate, to reach out and, yes, to indulge! When Venus is strong it is also great for celebrating the moment. So in honor of this transit, buy a size bigger pair of jeans, or dance more. Venus resents saying “no” to a little extra of anything, and with Jupiter strong, we will probably, collectively, enjoy the party, then hit the diet and exercise plan together in the winter. You say you don’t want to diet again? Then truly enjoy each bite and workout and find a plan that considers cream a health food. There is no need to restrict when you can enjoy the process fully. Could you love yourself even after dessert?

Jupiter is strong until early November. The planetary optimist is the biggest planet in the heavens! He appears to move backward now and will stop in early November. This is when a planet comes as close to the Earth as he can come during the year. Yes, this is good for optimism and may even be too much of a good thing. Jupiter is the planetary ruler of politics and we will have way too much in that arena. Too many promises and too much political preaching: Combine this with Uranus, the planet of change, and expect changes in the legislative branch this winter. Yes, there could be surprises before the old congress leaves. However, I expect civility. I also expect plenty of political promises, too. What do you want from your political party? What is on the top of your list?

October is full of action and plenty of promises. The Democrats and Republicans are promising everything they know we want to hear. The Tea Party continues to be a strong force. They are part of the overall political change. Both sides adapt to issues this group brings to the surface. Whether you are running for office or just trying to get the folks around your dinner table to pitch in with the chores, we find that charm is a powerful action verb. Some will be superficial, others will be conniving, but for most of us, we learn that it is good to cooperate and negotiation means we give as well as get. I hope this trend catches on in the world.

November finds Jupiter and Venus stopped in the heavens. If you happen to have a planet near 29 degrees of Aquarius in your Vedic chart or at 23 Pisces in your Western chart, you won’t have to look. You feel lovely and lucky. Any visible planet in Libra in your chart and Venus is sitting on you, too! Enjoy and indulge a little. Most of all know that you are beautiful right where you are. Watch the political charm turn to economic gains as the Market responds to promises, too. I don’t know who will win, but I expect political uncertainty (that’s Uranus) along with political enthusiasm (that’s Jupiter) to motivate both parties to reach out to the people.

December comes with the political and very public response to the election. It was last month, but it is still in the news and folks are still debating who won or who should have lost. There could be dirty tricks as Mars joins Pluto and Rahu. There is plenty of fear and twisted facts. This combination is potent enough, but the Sun and Mercury join them in mid-month. Dare to rebel and demand a positive spin on the future. Why do we eagerly await the future, then as a year comes to an end every fear flies out of the night? In Vedic astrology we see that this powerful group of planets gathers in a lunar mansion that is all about destruction. It is literally the center of the Milky Way…a black hole. Keep that in mind when you travel down the hole of dread. Both the left and right have financial reasons to keep you afraid.

I promise the future will be better than it seems from mid-December through mid-January. Neither side is above this so it is up to us to dig through the data. Keep an eye out for the hidden camera. No matter how powerful or simple you believe you are; this is not the time to lose your head and presume you can get away with it…any “it”. Even the simplest cheat will haunt you and might just end up on the web. Take the high road; be direct, sincere and respectful and expect the same. Be careful- the punch of the brew in the party punch bowl could be really hard. When Rahu and Pluto join Mars, inhibitions might fall and take you with them. Celebrities and politicians are in the scandal news. Mercury is the planet of communications. We all want to take a break so listen as well as speak, but try this- entertain possibilities rather than demand others embrace yours. It’s the holidays and like the saying goes…everyone has an opinion.

Retrograde Mercury: December 10 through the 30th. Get your shopping done early or expect confusion and delays. If you must wait until the last minute, be kind to your stressed out thoughts and choose something simple. In fact, simplicity or something that is easily consumed would be a great gift. With Venus so strong, I expect sweets and jewelry to sell in abundance. That’s common at this time of year, but this should be uncommonly good for wonderful foods online. That combines indulgence and ease: a time to purchase and consume. Pick a vendor whose products you love. If they make a mistake, you’ll still enjoy the goods. Of course, there will be mistakes, but Venus helps us to be more understanding. Do choose a vendor who makes his customers happy!

Love and Money ebb and flow. They are strong until mid-December. Will you give up on love or the future? Will you look for the good stuff? I expect economic optimism in mid-January. I don’t know where it’s coming from, but things should turn up. As always, remember that I am not an investor or a financial guru; I’m just looking at the planets and giving a forecast like the weatherman. It looks good, but it is far off…smiles.

President Obama is looking more Presidential as the months pass. By early November he is eloquent and charismatic once again. Expect to see him in the Oval Office and on the news…everywhere through October. The Jupiter station in early November makes a powerful aspect to his Mars: the planet of action. As autumn unfolds, he will look less like a President weary of obstacles and more like the passionate man of purpose and charisma we came to love during the campaign. I suspect that he is literally compelled to work with the Republicans, and they with him. Neither side will look good if they refuse to work together on the economy. “We the People” need to demand a plan and not political fight. Expect plenty of changes in the cabinet at the end of this year.

Clinton and Palin have similar and very strong charts. It would not surprise me if Secretary of State Clinton pulls away after the elections. It’s a difficult call, she has given two very different times for her birth…grins. If one is right I expect her popularity to climb. And yes, Sarah Palin’s will, too.

As I write this Glenn Beck has Jupiter sitting on his Venus and his popularity with the Tea Party is enormous. Jupiter returns to this area in December. Expect to see his popularity continue to grow through next year. These are auspicious planets; with enormous celebrity comes enormous responsibility. He’ll have to be humble to manage this. The Sun in his birth chart is only minutes from Mars: He is impulsive. Saturn with them can temper with wisdom or bring enormous inner stress. He’s definitely a man to watch.

Cynthia Novak is a professional astrologer. She can be contacted at metro 817-261-2984. Read Cynthia’s daily astrological message at www.HolisticNetworker.com/dailymessage/ or see www.CynthiaNovak.com Come hear Cynthia’s talk at the Wellness Expo in Addison on Sunday, October 17 at 11:30am entitled “Astrology & You”.

Tags: Astrology