Setting the Stage: The Libra Ingress

15° of Aries rises, falling in the bounds of Mercury, the decan or face of the Sun. Mars ruler of the Ascendant, has just moved into his nocturnal sign of Scorpio which is the 8^th sign. Mars is in sect which gives him additional strength. He is sextile Venus who is in fall at 3 degrees of Virgo in the bounds of Mercury.

It is a nocturnal chart as the Sun is below the horizon, in the 6^th place by quadrant, or whole sign 7^th.  

Venus rules Libra, the 7^th sign and Taurus, the 2^nd sign of the quarter, she is in aversion to Libra, but can see by trine to manage the 2^nd sign relating to the resources of the people.

Venus is a morning star as she rises ahead of the Sun and is visible in the predawn sky, but as noted, she is in fall in Virgo. She disposes of both Moon and the Mercury. There is a mutual reception between Venus and Mercury by sign and as mentioned Venus is placed in the bounds of Mercury.

This suggests we need to pay close attention to Mercury over the next couple of months.

The Moon is emerging from the beams and gaining in light, her next and indeed her only aspect, will be to square the exalted Jupiter in the fourth sign of cancer.

Saturn who rules the MC degree/10^th and the 11^th sign of Aquarius is retrograde in Pisces in the 12^th house where he has his joy. He is moving backwards to trine Jupiter in 7° for perfection.

The majority of the planets are on the western side of the horoscope with only Saturn in the East.

There was an eclipse just prior to the Sun’s Ingress at 29 Virgo 05. So the following should be considered in light of that eclipse.

Historical cycles:

The last time we had Sun, Mercury and Moon in Libra, Venus in Virgo, Mars in Scorpio was 12^th October 2023. This was the time of the Autumn Statement when various tax cuts for both the working people and businesses were announced by the then Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. He also lowered National Insurance taxes. This is in stark contrast to the current (mis) management by the Labour government with Rachel in charge. According to Wiki, at the same time (October 2023) at the Labour Party Conference Starmer promised NHS reform, more police officers and they would build 1.5 million new homes.  

There were the same issues happening with Israel and Gaza as are happening today. Add in the war between Ukraine, EU and Russia. The same issues relating to the “migrant crisis” were also under the spotlight, but with the Rwanda plan as part of the discussions through the Autumn period and finally, just before the Capricorn Ingress, inflation fell to 3.9% and there were strikes by the RTM and the Junior Doctors. Plus ca change!

As you know, Venus has a regular 8 year cycle, so every 8 years at the Libra equinox she will be found in Virgo. To find the Moon and Mercury in Libra is not quite so predictable, but nonetheless it does happen fairly frequently, there is a gap of approximately 10 years and then a cluster of years when they are together.

The last time at the Libra equinox when Venus was in Virgo and Mercury in Libra was in 1982. That Autumn in the UK there was an estimated 14% of the workforce unemployed. When I tried to ascertain the percentage today (15/8) on the Government website, it notes the LFS is less reliable than usual at the moment. (The percentages range from 4.7%-21%).  On the 30^th September 1982 the UK Inland Telegram service closed.  On the 12^th October 1982 the end of the Falklands War was celebrated.  If only we could see the two main current horrendous wars ended, that would be a joyous occasion indeed.

The polls showed the Conservatives under Thatcher were at an approval rating of 44%. Today Labour’s approval rating is -56%! But, this is equal to the Conservatives rating in 2024.

Leadership and the State of the Nation:

Currently we are still in a situation where we have no Religious Leader and both of our “Leaders” are somewhat battered. Will this quarter bring relief to either?

Saturn ruler of the MC/10^th is in his own bounds, but in the 12^th of institutions, (this includes hospitals), he is retrograde, ex Sect and will retreat to 25⁰ Pisces before SD.  He last held this position on the 6^th April. He was on 25⁰ from the 5^th – 14^th April. During this period the FTSE plunged and the USA imposed tariffs on our exports. There was an increase in household bills, the price of stamps went up and King Charles and Queen Camilla marked their 20^th Wedding anniversary. Parliament was recalled to discuss the close of the Scunthorpe Steelworks and still the Birmingham Bin Men’s strike continued which has not been resolved to date.

Before going into consideration of likely outcomes for this quarter, let us look at the conditions of the other planets not so far considered.

As mentioned earlier, Mars the Ascendant ruler, is the planet of energy, fire, protection, turbulence and war. He has just moved into the 8^th sign of Scorpio, his nocturnal sign. It is a cold, wet sign and can signify rotting, turbulent or stormy weather. He is quite strong with regard to his placement via Sect, triplicity, terms and decan. He does not see the Ascendant, but does apply to the MC/IC axis. Venus has left Mars behind, so although he will aspect her degree, she has moved on.

The 8^th sign/house also denotes the assets of our partners and our financial relations with others. Mars cutting through here can, according to Green[1]  . . . denote the death rate and duties, as well as death of soldiers, surgeons, people following occupations of Mars; deaths of people of the type of the sign occupied… deaths through diseases of the sign occupied, or through accidents and fires.  Happy stuff!

It is being conjectured, the Chancellor may seek to further tax everyone’s home, let alone the death rates. But, this is the house of the assets of our partners, so could it be, she will seek to send more of our non-existent monies to partners overseas or from overseas? Time will tell.

Before the quarter is over, Mars does aspect both Jupiter and Saturn in late October. With the three superiors in water signs, this may indicate some turbulent, stormy, wet weather that could impact the working people. Equally it could point to civil unrest, excessive force and maybe the armed services being deployed.

Generally when forecasting weather, we use the ruler of the IC and aspects to it and the IC. You then factor in the quarters of the Moon to gain an insight as to weather conditions, but I feel it would be too much for this brief article.

Jupiter is the planet of abundance, some say excess, but one of his ancient names was Jupiter Pluvius, the bringer of Rain. When he is in Cancer, the sign of his exaltation, we would expect life giving, gentle rain. However, being located in the 4^th advancing towards the IC does suggest slightly more than gentle rain.

Jupiter is also the planet of law and religion. In this Ingress chart he rules the 9^th house relating to foreign affairs, shipping, sciences, law courts, judges, religious persons and religious and educational institutions.

There are issues currently rumbling regarding changes to our legal system, which has been described by many in the media as a two-tier system, and issues around those from abroad being given priority housing.  Jupiter also rules the 12^th house of institutions, including prisons, hospitals and those who seek to cause trouble to the people of the kingdom.  We must not forget Jupiter is also the planet of charity and many seek to provide relief to those from other countries, but possibly this will be the cause of some undoing to many.

As noted above, matters may arise towards the end of October regarding governance and laws relating to our land and who controls it and us. We already know our food production is down considerably and food inflation is rising. With the forecast rise in electrical and gas prices, this period could see a touch paper being lit.

If we turn now to Saturn, the rule of the MC and 10^th sign, he is located in Pisces in the 12^th sign.

In the past we had only one “Ruler”, the King. He was denoted by the planet ruling the MC. However, after the civil war, (1642-48) Great Britain was governed by Parliament, Oliver Cromwell became the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth from 1653-1658. Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, but it was only in 1721 England had her first Prime Minister (Robert Walpole). It took until 1868 when the role of Prime Minster became much as it is today. In fact there is no law or statute for office of prime minister. It exists only by convention!

Under Thatcher and Blair the office of Prime Minister “blossomed” into total control by one person. The prime minister is one of the world’s most powerful political leaders in modern times. So although the King or Monarch no longer wields control over the affairs of the country, the Prime Minister is still “Appointed” by the King.  This somewhat long digression is to show how difficult it is to actually decide whether the Monarch is indicated by the Ruler of the MC or, if it should be the Prime Minister.

Of course, this is to overlook the Sun as the Monarch. So other than being in the 6^th house by quadrant system that is related to disease, unions and the forces, there is not a lot we can say about the Libra Ingress and our two “rulers”.

The MC degree falls in the bounds of Mercury at 6⁰ Capricorn. The ruler Saturn, is located in the 12^th. Knowing the Monarch is not in good health, this seems to fit. However, what about Starmer? He is the Commandant of this body politic. Can we use Mars as the exalted ruler of Capricorn? Mercury fits neither party.

Normally we would take Mars to indict the common people as ruler of the Ascendant, but he is in aversion, so we need to take the exalted ruler of Aries to indicate the people. This we can do as the Sun sees the Rising sign, albeit by opposition and in fall. Symbolically this may indicate the people are “out of sight” and being in the quadrant 6^th, they are seen as the “rustics” or working class. They have no power.

If we take Mars to indicate Starmer: he is fixed in Scorpio and giving his strength to the assets of our partners or those who oppose us. To my mind, Mars seems to describe Starmer who seems intent on encouraging war and supporting NATO and Europe with our assets. If you go back to the Aries Ingress, Mars is in fall in the 2^nd house; so the peoples assets are damaged and washed away from them.

Taking Mars who is entrenched in the 8^th, it suggests a leader (Starmer) who is turned away from the people but in the hands of our “open enemies” or partners.   

The planet with the closest aspect to the MC degree happens to be Mercury into who’s bound the MC falls.  Mercury was the Ascendant ruler of the Aries Ingress and through this year, he has his retrograde periods in the fire element.   Mercury is hidden in the shadow, can get up to much without being visible. He is nocturnal ruler of the air signs so has some authority. He can see to manage the 3^rd house of all forms of communication, which as we know are now under the directives of the legal system. Free speech is quashed and indeed, to apparently make adverse comments is now an imprisonable offence.

The 3^rd also relates to travelling inland. Returning again to Green, he says of Mercury in the 6^th (& here I cherry pick!) . . . discontent among workers; references to these subject in Parliament; discussion on matters of health or hygiene.  Mercury in the 7^th . . . Treaties or regulations affecting other countries, . . . sometimes much diplomatic activity goes on which does not become public.  How much do we the public know anyway about negotiations with other countries, their Ambassadors or Leaders? 

We know we will see a rise in our utility prices during this quarter. Venus, indicator or the assets of the people is in the 6^th in fall.  Food inflation is high and expected to rise further due to lack of food production and the need to rely on our partners from whom we buy our products.  Let me call on Green one last time regarding Venus in the 6^th: if afflicted shows high expenditure on army or navy, unemployment, or sickness. We know we are seeing a huge rise in turbo cancers, particularly in the young. They make up the largest growing section of our disability benefit sector. Sadly this is confirmed by Grok accessed 27^th August 2025:

The younger working-age group (16–34) is experiencing the fastest growth in disability benefit claims relative to its population size. This group saw an 86% increase in the number of disabled people since 2013/14 (1.5 million more), compared to 27% for 35–64. PIP new claims have doubled across all working-age groups since 2021, but the rate is highest for under-25s, where mental health conditions dominate (70% of claims). A 20-year-old today is as likely to claim as a 39-year-old was in 2019, reflecting a “health shift” downward by age. Factors include post-pandemic effects (e.g., long COVID, affecting 3.3% of the population), rising mental health issues, and easier claim processes (e.g., remote assessments reducing dropouts from 26% to 14%). Approval rates remain stable at ~51%, indicating genuine need rather than system “loopholes.” for detailed breakdowns, see DWP’s Stat-Xplore for PIP by age/condition.

With Mundane Astrology, there are many considerations to take into account such as the lunations, ingresses of each planet into a new sign etc.  We then have to read all these charts back to the Aries Ingress, so you can see why I always say, to write out the influences in full would lead to a book!

During this quarter we have both Jupiter and Mercury turning Retrograde and Saturn eventually SD.  Venus moves from Virgo through to Sagittarius within this quarter and Mars goes from Scorpio into Sagittarius.

Let us start with a comparison of the placement of the planets in the Libra Ingress against the Aries Ingress.

In the 2025 Aries Ingress, Mercury ruled the Ascendant indicating the people. We now see Mercury is exactly opposite his position in the Aries Ingress.  

Jupiter has just passed by degree the position of Mars in the 2^nd house of the Aries Ingress. This suggests a “fast, big cut” to the land and property of the country. Property prices are starting to stagnate and fall. There may be a further quick drop in assets of the people, but we would need to also compare the Capricorn Ingress with the previous ingress charts to see if this will be the case for the remainder of the Solar Year.

[1] Mundane or National Astrology. H.S. Green. L.N. Fowler circa 1910.

Other than the Sun, the first planet to change signs will be Mercury; he moves out of triplicity and becomes peregrine. Scorpio is the 6^th house of the Aries Ingress, so there will be an emphasis on matters connected with the 6^th of the root chart (unions, disease and servitude) and the 9^th of this Ingress chart.  This movement is followed a few hours later by the Full Moon across the Aries Libra axis that indicates there may be tensions between the people and our “partners”. Not only do we have these events over the 6^th/7^th of October, but at the same time, Jupiter perfects a trine to the Saturn of the Aries Ingress again placing an emphasis on the assets of the people and the Ruler.

Throughout October, Jupiter and Saturn start to come together and perfect their trine early October, but, as they are coming together, Mars is also on the move and trines Jupiter on the 28^th and then meets Saturn on the following day, the 29^th. What might this herald?

When I searched for dates from 1900 when these three planets perfected a trine, the only date to show was 1994 on the 31^st August. The main event of note on this day was the IRA declared a ceasefire.  However, Mars was in Cancer, Jupiter was in Scorpio and Saturn in Pisces.  

Obviously they did all trine by sign, several times over the past 125 years, but not perfected a trine.  They had a similar sign trine in 1906 (Mars in Scorpio etc), and then the next configuration across the three water signs was in September 1965 and again in 1967.

Autumn of 1965 saw BP strike natural gas in the North Sea and the Moors murderer, Ian Brady was arrested with several of his victims recovered from Saddleworth Moor.  The first Labour party member, Horace King, was appointed as the Speaker of the House of Commons.

In 1967 the three were trine by sign during February to early March. This saw the foundation of the British National Front; the launch of the second Polaris nuclear submarine and the North Sea gas was pumped ashore.  The journalist Polly Toynbee uncovered letters relating to the British Government secretly funding Amnesty International.

So can we expect similar this time around? All things are possible! However, I will say from mid October through to the Full Moon on the 4^th December, the various planetary configurations do look somewhat challenging, but then we are all affected by the machinations of other countries and their leaders.  Let us all come together and pray for peace and strong, valiant leadership to guide our country through the Autumn period.