Leo Forecast for October 2008

It's an exciting month, for you've lots to do! Expect many calls and meetings, trips to take, and many new people to meet. Your home is going to be a big focus too, and this month and next will be your most important month of the year for making home-related decisions.

Mercury, planet of intelligent life, will be retrograde, so there will be the usual delays, slipups, mislaid items, and one or two mechanical breakdowns. I am so sorry to report that - in a month this busy, you need everything to go smoothly, but alas, Murphy's Law ("if it can go wrong, it will") will be at play. Some things can't be helped, dear Leo.

Still, during the first half of October, delays will benefit you, so when they begin to crop up, see them as ways of slowing things down long enough to take a closer look and to do extra research. Mercury will slide backward in Libra, the sign that rules your solar third house of communication, perception, judgments, and thinking, the very area of life that Mercury rules. Something you thought was over and done may now come back for a different, untried solution. Be very careful when handing in documents, for you may have flaws that you aren't even aware of, such as having pulled the wrong figures, quoted someone inaccurately, or other errors. We all need to double check work before we hand it in.

You may be asked to sign a contract, but it would be unwise to do so until Mercury goes direct, October 15, but more correctly, after a few extra days, October 20, the date when Mercury will fully regulate its orbit.

Virgo, ruled by Mercury, is the natural ruler of your solar second house of income, so once Mercury regulates its orbit in the last third of October, you'll be better able to sort out your finances. If a check that's due you has been missing or late, you'll finally get paid at that time, but it is doubtful that it would happen any sooner.

You will be able to travel, too, and after last month's tense full moon, September 15, it sounds like you are due for a little quick vacation. You may return to a place you used to go, perhaps to catch up with certain relatives. It would be fun. (I mentioned the full moon that fell on September 15, operative plus or minus four days, because it may have brought you very unexpected, difficult news about your finances. If you would like to access last month's forecast, the previous month is always available to you - look for the link under my summary.)

If you take a trip earlier in the month, you will likely travel by car to a place closer to home. It still will be refreshing, and perhaps you can catch some of the fall foliage. You should go!

As I alluded to earlier, your home will be shaping up as quite a center of attention in the months ahead. Beginning October 4, Mars will enter your home and family sector and stay there until November 15. Mars will stay six weeks, and that's plenty of time because the effect of Mars is always like a caffeine high!

The winter holidays are on the way, so it's not too soon to start counting the glassware, washing the windows, and having the rug shampooed. Once the new moon arrives on October 28, you'll have a lot of people coming through your place, and you'll want it to look great. Now some of the people may be guests, and others may be repairmen, painters, decorators, brokers, and other types!

Mars provides motivation, and Venus, beauty - together these planets will help you make your home a place that is a true reflection of the style that is "you" and your lifestyle. Mars' presence is particularly exciting, for it's the first time in two years that Mars has been there to help you, and because the Red Planet will remain there six weeks, you will have the chance to fix up your present space or move into a new one.

The actions you take at that new moon October 28 will affect your home and/or family for a year or more to come. Look at all your options, dear Leo - you'll be surprised at how beautifully your plans fit into place. This new moon will be in the perfect angle to Neptune, so you will find many ways to express your creativity.

Romance will flourish too this month, especially over October 10-11. Invite your sweetheart or mate for a special meal you whipped up yourself. (If single, make sure you have that meal at your apartment for best results. This month home is where your luck resides.)

I also like Tuesday, October 14 - look your best when Pluto and the Sun join forces to help you stand out.

Venus will move into your true love sector for the first time in a year on October 18, to remain there until November 12. This will herald a four-star period for enjoying romantic time together, and if single, for meeting a possible new romantic partner.

Your best romantic weekend of the month will be October 25-26, extending through Monday, October 27. With Mars, planet of energy, and Jupiter, the ruler of your house of romance and planet of luck and happiness, in perfect sync, that weekend should be simply sensational. You can entertain at home if you like, or take a romantic little trip together to give you time to focus on one another.

Next month, from mid-November though December, when Mars moves into fellow fire sign Sagittarius, your romantic/social life will reach peak new levels. Hurry and get your home improvements done! You've got some serious partying to do and it all comes at the sweetest time of the year - when parties proliferate.

Most romantic dates: October 4, 18, 21, 25-26, and 31 (give a party at home).

Summary

Your home will be a pulsing center of activity, thanks to the presence of Mars in your home sector. If you need to locate a new space, then look at listings and browse apartments or houses this month, as Mars will bring options. Venus' presence will ensure that you will become enthusiastic about what you see.

Still, signing a lease or buying a house while Mercury is retrograde is not recommended, so be kind to yourself and wait until October 20 to finalize things. If you sign with Mercury retrograde (prior to October 20) you'll need to make unanticipated changes later, ones that could throw you into a tizzy when they come up. If you need a new roommate, as hard as it may be to wait to choose one, do so, or you may be searching for a new one sooner than you expected!

Fortunately, when it comes to home and family matters, more cosmic help will arrive later in the month, and you'll be glad you held out. Your annual new moon will appear in your domestic sector on October 28. From then on, you'll have until November 12 to get your key domestic plans in place - more than enough time, because this time you'll find more options than you really need! It'll be as if the whole world opened up for you!

This seems to suggest that although Mars will coax you to act hastily early in the month, you'd be wise to hold back while you continue to do research, consider your ideas, and to see what else comes up later - as almost surely something will. The new moon on October 28 will help you further by bringing new options into the mix. As you see, when it comes to October, patience pays off.

Entertain at home on or just after October 28 - but only if you are not moving, renovating or making repairs, of course! Doing so would be fun. Your best days for a dinner or cocktail party would on October 9, 10, or 11, when Venus will send a loving glance to Uranus. Add one of your biggest and most exciting date to entertain - Halloween, October 31 - when Mars and Uranus, working together in the best sense, will have guests arriving in really exciting costumes! This could be a Halloween for the record books!

Travel is also emerging as an important item on your agenda. The most important point of the month will be October 14, when the full moon will likely have you journeying over many miles, possibly overseas or to the opposite coast of your country. You may go away for any reason, but there is some indication you'd go to complete family business or to view real estate options.

That won't be your only opportunity to get out of town - you'll have others too, and they'll be less distant and more accessible. Those short trips may be return trips to places you've always loved but haven't seen in a long time. Mercury retrograde will have you looking back to earlier days, with happy results.

Romantically, you are entering a spectacular period. Venus will begin to grace your fifth house of true love from October 18 to November 12. Then, in the second half of November, Mars will begin to cook up some amazing sparks in the same area of your chart. November and December will be banner months for meeting a new love or for drawing closer to love you already have, dear Leo!

You have lots of exciting date nights coming up, with some of the best being October 4, 14, and your two gold-star days, October 25-26. Also, don't forget to throw a party on October 31, your last but not least romantic date of the month!

Key dates:

Home and family matters become a big theme: from October 4-31. Then, the new moon on October 28, operative until November 12, will bring you even more options.

Mercury will be retrograde in your home sector until October 15, but won't regulate its energy until October 20. Sign no important papers and order no expensive items, especially not electronic ones, until after October 20. If you do, you won't be happy with your selection or the way your item performs.

If you're not moving or renovating, entertain at home. Choose any day from October 9 to 11.

Take a key long trip October 14 (plus or minus 4 days) possibly to view real estate options or to complete family business.

Most romantic dates: October 4, 18, 21, 25-26, and 31 (give a party at home).