Cancer Monthly Horoscope

Your home is always a bustling hub of activity in October as the Sun makes its annual pilgrimage through Libra, heating up your fourth house of family and domestic affairs until October 22. This year, energizer Mars is in Libra until October 30, a once-every-two-years visit that can add excitement and stress to your nest in equal measure. If tension brews under your roof, don’t be surprised, especially since communication planet Mercury is also retrograde in Libra until October 18. Whew! There’s a lot of energy moving through this domain, and it could get kicked up like a dust storm.

Thinking of moving, renovating or making changes in your family? Tap the Libra new moon on October 6 to begin the process. But take your time, especially with Mercury retrograde. Start a Pinterest board or check out a few different neighborhoods. If possible, hold off until later this month for any binding decisions.

It’s not just Mercury who’s tangling wires. Since mid-August, all five of the slow-moving outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) have been retrograde, causing some of your big-picture plans to be stalled or stuck. This month, these galactic giants start to turn direct: Pluto on October 6, Saturn on October 10, Mercury and Jupiter on October 18. As they do, expect to feel momentum return to key areas of your life, particularly relationships and financial planning. Always good news!

A major career moment arrives at the October 20 Aries full moon, which floods your ambitious and successful tenth house with manifesting beams. A project you’ve been working on since as far back as April could come together or finally get the recognition it deserves. 

Two days later, on October 22, Scorpio season begins! Bring on the fall romance because this sizzling sign also happens to rule your fifth house of passion and creativity. Artistic Crabs (and there are many of you) will get a visit from the muse. Others may see the stork stopping by as the fifth house also rules fertility. Either way, it’s a beautiful four-week cycle to bring joy and vibrance back to every part of your life. Who couldn’t use some of that?

As the natural ruler of the zodiac's fourth house, you're usually "in the zone" during Libra season as the Sun travels through the foundation of your solar chart and draws out your nurturing and domestic side. Your attention is focused on the most personal parts of your life: your family, home and inner life. Hopefully you've got root vegetables roasting in the oven and a "vintage botanicals" Pinterest board underway. Ambitious plans and worldly duties can wait. (Priorities, people!) 

With energizer Mars in Libra, it’s a great time to tackle a renovation or home-based project, launch a cottage industry or get a jumpstart with holiday planning (it’s never too early). But don’t spend ALL your free time between those four walls, especially if cabin fever starts to mount. Things could get tense with relatives and roommates, females in particular. Mars is in “detriment” in Libra—it’s the planet of war, and Libra is the cosmic peacekeeper—so it will take extra effort to maintain balance during this tenuous transit. 

Time for a new start at Chateau Crab? Refresh your nest at the October 6 Libra new moon, which will kick off a six-month growth period around your living situation, family and self-care. If you’ve slipped into old emotional patterns that aren’t serving you, like venting your anger, complaining or excessive caretaking, let this day bring a spark of awareness that it’s time to make a change. Seek out new strategies to express your desires directly, and also remember that it’s nobody else’s job to take care of your adult needs either! 

If you've been considering a move, talking babies or craving family time, the October 6 Libra new moon is the perfect day to start hunting for your dream home and making plans for your clan. Your efforts today will unfold between now and the April 2022 Libra full moon. The Libra new moon will arrive in conjunction with go-getter Mars, which will energize your efforts at house-hunting or channeling your inner Joanna Gaines. With six planets in air signs today, the most intimate and vulnerable zones of your chart are in the spotlight. It’s a great day to deepen your bond with a relative or even to do a little Feng Shui or space-clearing in your home. 

Transforming your relationships is an important item of business starting October 6, when karmic Pluto ends a five-month retrograde in Capricorn and your partnership zone. Have you been embroiled in a power struggle with a key person? Maybe you’ve been hashing out deal points but keep stopping shy of signing on the dotted line for a professional venture. Energetically, something’s been holding you back or getting in the way of making things official…but perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise? Now that Pluto returns to forward motion, you can see these dynamics more clearly and work to balance them. With cuffing season underway, it’s a great time to apply your new insights to an existing relationship or with new long-term prospects!

On October 10, structured Saturn wakes up from a four-and-a-half-month retrograde in Aquarius and your eighth house of intimacy, shared finances and merging. Since May 22, the taskmaster has been reverse-commuting, forcing you to take a hard look at how well you play with others. Issues of trust may have surfaced, along with old fears and doubts.

 

Some Crabs separated from a partner (either business or romantic) while others had to work through an unresolved block around jealousy or control. Your mojo may have gone into slow-mo with restrictive Saturn bottlenecking your erotic eighth house. Debt, a legal issue or real estate challenge could also have been a source of frustration.

 

Hopefully you used the time for repair work instead of locking yourself into a stubborn mindset. Saturn's main quest was to help you streamline your plans and make sure they were rock-solid—as opposed to overly ambitious (read: destined to fail). Inspector Saturn isn't here to punish you, even if it feels that way. Rather, this planet acts as an astrological auditor, ensuring that you build your long-term success on a stable foundation. That means NO cutting corners on your path to power, partnership and prosperity, Cancer! With mature Saturn now powering forward in Aquarius—where it will remain until March 2023—you can take any hard-won lessons and apply them. The longevity of your investments, both emotional and financial, depends on it.

Get ready for more momentum, Cancer! On October 18, both expansive Jupiter and communication planet Mercury wake up from their retrograde naps. Mercury will move forward in Libra and your fourth house of home and family, restoring order under your roof.

Jupiter’s been in powered-down retrograde since June 20, reversing through Aquarius and your eighth house of merging, shared resources and investments. Jupiter is making a yearlong sojourn through this sign from December 19, 2020, until December 28, 2021. This intense cycle will find your closest relationships evolving on a deep level as you explore new ways to combine your superpowers.

 

When Jupiter arrives in your eighth house—which only happens every 12 years—it can be a "marriage, babies and breakups" cycle. You could unite with a soulmate or have a searingly sexy attraction that blazes into an erotic awakening. But don't expect a lighthearted romp with boundless Jupiter in this intimate sector. The all-or-nothing eighth house plays for keeps. If your body gets involved, your heart will as well. Have you been confused about which direction to go in a relationship? Once Jupiter resumes direct (forward) motion, the answers should start to reveal themselves. 

Catalyzing this cosmic energy, Jupiter will form a speedy trine on October 18 to go-getter Mars, which is in Libra and your fourth house of home, family and emotional foundations. You could be exchanging keys (or packing your stuff) faster than expected. If you’ve been holding back some deep emotions, this day could bring a big release.

 

Ready to make some big money? As Jupiter shifts into full speed in that eighth house of shared finances and wealth, the rest of the year is prime for payout. You might discover a niche that drives passive income, or make a lucrative investment. A large lump sum could come in through a commission, loan, refund or affiliate earning. You might write a sizable check yourself for a down payment or to whittle away debt from credit cards, school loans or back taxes. Since the eighth house rules mergers, stay alert for opportunities to join forces with a well-connected group between now and December 28. Your combined superpowers could make you a formidable team! 

Your career is front and center on October 20, when the year’s only Aries full moon beams into your tenth house of success and ambition. Something you’ve been working on for the past six months—a promotion, leadership role or status-boosting initiative—could come through at last. Are you craving a new professional path or a change of nine-to-five scenery? These transitional moonbeams could bring an exciting new opportunity. Look back to Aries new moon on April 11 for clues of what you could manifest today or over the next two week. Full moons can bring endings and transitions. You could be ready to depart one professional path for a new, more fulfilling one. It never hurts to circulate your resume or refresh your LinkedIn profile.

Be especially careful right after the full moon, when combative Mars locks horns in a tense square with vengeful Pluto. Touchy Mars is in Libra and your emotional fourth house until October 30, making you thin-skinned. As the red planet clashes with Pluto in your relationship zone, strong emotions may get the better of you. If you find yourself at your wits’ end, pause for self-care instead of forcing a conversation or staging a stormy confrontation. A key relationship could blow up—and perhaps this will be a good thing in the long run. Sometimes, things just have to come into the open before they can get better. But if there’s any way to have this showdown another day, you’ll have less damage control to do. Unless someone’s behavior or actions need to be addressed immediately, take a timeout to assess the right course of action.

Some well-deserved fun arrives on October 22, when the Sun moves into fellow water sign Scorpio and your fifth house of pleasure, passion and play. Creativity spikes with your mojo; a fall romance could heat up before the holiday season begins. If you’re in a relationship, get some date nights and fun outings on the calendar, along with a few occasions to pull out your glam gear, even if it’s for a small event you host. (You look adorable in athleisure, Crab, but you also clean up nicely!) Scorpio season ignites your fifth house of creativity, a time to get free-range with an artistic project or put your talents on display.

When lusty Mars joins the Sun in Scorpio on October 30, the passionate energy gets dialed up another ten notches. Suddenly, you’re turning heads and attracting attention with little effort, a cycle that will last until December 13. Enjoy basking in that admiration and let the spotlight reveal your multifaceted talents already. You could draw fame quickly with Mars here, but warning: Drama is just as eager to find you. Your emotions are heightened and the filter is off with combative Mars in this expressive zone. Watch those knee-jerk reactions!