November Astrology: Phoenix Rising

The astrology forecast for the next two weeks centers on Scorpio and Leo, the fixed water and fixed fire signs of the zodiac. The Sun is moving through Scorpio and building toward a 90-degree square with Mars and Jupiter in Leo. A square is a tense angle that signals pressure and forces action, like reaching a crossroads where you have to make a decision.

The Scorpio House

Each of us has one or two houses in our natal chart ruled by Scorpio and one or two ruled by Leo. Those are the areas of life where this square is playing out for you.

The Scorpio house is where your emotions run deep, and that sensitivity is a reservoir of strength. It’s also where you keep your sharpest analytical defenses. Scorpio isn’t innocently naive, and it can’t afford to be. It carries a karmic attunement to the stormier, more intimate undercurrents of human nature: jealousy, betrayal, abandonment, grief, possessiveness, even revenge.

The Sun entered Scorpio on October 23. Mercury, now retrograde, has been in Scorpio since September 30, and retrograde Venus has moved in and out of the sign since September 10. Have you felt that psychological pull lately? It’s the part of you that can’t help but investigate and brood, that wants to scratch the surface and dig into the meaning underneath.

The Leo House

The Leo house is where your pride is on the line. Here you carry a sincere desire to shine, to be uninhibited and unselfconscious. Leo longs for acceptance and validation, a response to a karmic memory of being rejected. The inner child remembers feeling ignored, and that leaves behind a residue of vulnerability and a huge appetite for attention.

Jupiter has been in Leo since June 30, and Mars joined it on September 27. Have you been under enormous pressure around confidence and acceptance? Do you know you’re worth more than what you’re getting?

Mid-November Square

You can see the built-in tension. The Scorpio/Leo square highlights where we crave love and approval but feel guarded and cynical about being judged or exposed. This is where trust has been wounded, and it’s also your chance to do something about it.

The inner dialogue might sound like this: “Should I bother? Will it even matter? Can I trust this, or am I being silly? I know my baggage and the places I’ve done wrong. Am I actually deserving of joy?”

Some people believe your mistakes define you. I think what defines you is what you do to correct them. This square is intense and full of pressure, but it sets the stage for creative action that supports a subtle yet total transformation: the mythological phoenix rising from the ashes, freed from its old form.

Mars Enters its Shadow

Let’s talk about Mars for a minute, because it matters for what’s coming up. Mars usually moves through a zodiac sign (30 degrees) in about six to seven weeks. When it goes retrograde, it lingers in the same area much longer, and that’s the cycle we’re entering now.

Mars is still moving forward through Leo. It will enter Virgo at the end of November, then slow to a crawl and station retrograde at 10°26′ Virgo on January 10, 2027.

Today, November 5, Mars is at 20°56′ Leo. That’s our starting point. Because of the retrograde, Mars will back up to this exact spot in spring 2027, station direct, and retrace its steps into Virgo. That means the planet of action, self-assertion, passion, and initiation will spend seven months covering the same 19 degrees of the zodiac. Wherever 20° Leo to 10° Virgo lands in your chart, this is your battlefield.

I’ll have a more specific Mars retrograde forecast for you in the coming weeks. For now, pay attention to what’s coming up around instinctive action and the use of force. Mars pushes us toward what we want. It’s the warrior for the ego.

The First Week

Now let’s zero in on the next two weeks. Mars is closing in on Jupiter while the south node backs up into them both, all in Leo. The exact conjunction is November 16, but its effects will ripple out between November 9 and 20.

The Moon is the first trigger. It makes its monthly conjunction with the Sun on Monday, November 9, forming the Scorpio New Moon before dawn. By that afternoon, the Moon squares Mars, then Jupiter.

This New Moon begins a dynamic week. Mercury and Venus are both slowing in their retrogrades, preparing to station direct on Friday. All week, something seems to be shifting in the collective perspective: a new approach to relating, a revised understanding of value.

On Tuesday, November 10, the Moon enters fire sign Sagittarius and builds toward a trine with Mars and Jupiter in the early morning hours on Thursday. Fire trines put us into overdrive. Enthusiasm for exploration peaks, and restrictions feel intolerable. Watch for carelessness leading up to this aspect, though. Fire trines can carry us away from reality, and that will be most noticeable Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The Following Week

Mars makes its conjunction to Jupiter at 1:24 a.m. EST on Monday, November 16, with the south node in tow. This amplifies strong convictions and compels us to defend them. Brave action can open new pathways, making Sunday and Monday good days to set doubts and insecurities aside and stoke the flames of personal faith. The downside is that this union may embolden some people to abuse their power. Remember that Mars is the warrior, and Jupiter can inflate egos to the point of recklessness, blowing things out of proportion.

Midweek brings tension as the planets form hard angles. On Tuesday morning, the First Quarter Aquarius Moon opposes Jupiter, then Mars. The Scorpio Sun squares Jupiter on Wednesday and Mars on Thursday, putting the Scorpio/Leo issue in the spotlight. Dramatic energies are boiling over, and wounded feelings can bruise the ego. Look for ways to be objective rather than getting swept up in resentment and acting from fear.

The pressure is real, but so is the phoenix: what you chose to do with it can burn away the old pattern and leave something freer in its place.