Star City is a column that gazes into the astrological chart of Los Angeles, connecting heavenly bodies to the ground beneath our feet.
Dawn breaks over the city of angels, the sun slowly eclipsing the stars with the blinding light of its being. In the metropolis below, many seek to be as the sun above, obscuring all others to shine in the spotlight. Those who remain entirely self-focused might miss out on discovering who or what Los Angeles might truly be, much as we fail to see the stars when the sun is out. The city has a heartbeat, a nature, a destiny, and she gathers us into it whether we are aware of it or not. L.A. has a Virgo sun located in the Aquarius-ruled 11th House. Hardworking Virgo, who needs to be needed, in the humanitarian, inventive genius of the Aquarius house, forces L.A. residents to go collective or go home. Coupled with her 10th House in Leo fostering solar self-expression, L.A. is a city geared toward supporting the arts and humanities at the collective level.
Let’s have a peek at what the stars have in store for us as we head into this harvest season.
The majority of L.A.’s October harvest falls in her Fourth House, which oversees home, real estate and ancestors. Homelessness, evictions and the indigenous heritage of this land come to the forefront. Aquarius overlays L.A.’s Fourth House, which usually gives the native a restless nature, always moving and nomadic.
Also, two major planets transiting have been causing a ruckus here, namely, Saturn and Jupiter, who mythologically resist each other.
As Saturn, the taskmaster, and Jupiter, the expander, go direct out of their retrogrades in the ides of October, housing issues dealt with in a punishing, strict Saturn fashion will not be received well by Jupiter, who forces the bounds of freedom to widen. Disagreements over where people call home will go down in the sign of Aquarius, so I have high hopes that some of the housing issues plaguing Los Angeles will find community-oriented solutions rather than punitive measures.
Watch out as Saturn moves forward starting Oct. 10; its effects will be felt from the adjusted anti-camping law enacted in July and shifts taking place from the eviction moratorium. By Oct. 18, Jupiter regains its momentum and might have something to say about all this before the month is over in the form of intervening benefactors. For the real estate market, I would peer upon the time following Jupiter’s redress, which should have an impact due to a rise (or inflation) in confidence.
As for the Indigenous ancestors of this land, a Long Beach neighborhood association voted to rename themselves as the “Nehyam Neighborhood Association,” “nehyam” being the Tonga word for “my friend.” We might see more moves like this in October, granting awareness and inclusion. I would not be surprised to see developments in land management based on indigenous sciences.
The other major focus for Los Angeles concerns public health. Aries overlays her house of health and habits, with her moon located here, making her rather temperamental and prone to favor instant gratification. This moon shakes when emotional, so I wonder if she dances with earthquakes from her own intensity, making sure we feel her too.
The event involves the asteroid Chiron, also known as the wounded healer. Chiron is the source of the “Rx” symbol used for prescription medications and was a centaur gifted with healing arts in mythology. Chiron has been in retrograde since July 15, when L.A. reinstated its masking ordinance. I bring this up to give you some idea of its influence. When the Aries full moon on Oct. 20 hits and crosses over Chiron, we should see some announcements regarding public health. I must admit I am also curious to see if she shakes the ground a bit as well. Chiron will not move forward in L.A.’s public health house till December of 2021, so we might have to wait till then for any major breakthroughs.
And one more thing, look to publishing, broadcasting and entertainment in our fair city as Pluto comes out of retrograde in Capricorn in her Third House covering these areas. Pluto, Lord of Hell, will bring about unpleasantries relating to greed, resources and power grabs due to Capricorn. When Pluto moves on Oct. 6, the show to watch won’t be on the silver screen, but rather behind the scenes.
Note: This birth chart is figured by Marc Penfield, seen on astrotheme.com. L.A.’s time of birth: Tuesday, Sept. 4, 1781, at 9:18 a.m.