Pisces Monthly Horoscope

MONTHLY OVERVIEW
Waiting to exhale, Pisces? Deep. Breath. Out. Since 2007, you’ve been earning your veritable Ph.D. in relationships, and finally, this month, your marathon reaches the finish line. For the last five years, you’ve hosted tough Saturn into your relationship houses, a commitment boot camp, of sorts. The upside? Well, you’ve had to get crystal clear on your priorities and values in all manner of partnership—in business, friendships and romance.

From September 2007 to October 2009, Saturn was in Virgo, your committed relationship house. Since then, taskmaster Saturn’s been in Libra, your eighth house of sex, intimacy and joint resources. Over the last three years, you’ve stopped handing your one-night stands the keys to your home, car and heart (and let’s not even discuss the marriage fantasies that started before the second date). You’ve had to proceed with caution and take your time getting to know your love interest, something your dreamy sign doesn’t often do. The payoff, though, could be a real-deal intimate connection—marriage, a family, living together, a 100-percent committed partner you can trust—and the realization that nope, that stuff is NOT overrated. Some Pisces may even have learned how to fly solo and love it—a big step for your serial-monogamist sign.

Over the last three years, you may have suffered a loss or carried the burden of caring for an ailing loved one, perhaps needing to rely on your inner circle for support in ways that stretched your comfort level. One Pisces we know lost a parent during this transit and surprised herself by how much she needed to lean on her people (who were all too happy to help, it should be noted). Sober Saturn in Libra taught you to open up a little more than usual, to soften up, allowing people into those mysterious Pisces depths you keep hidden. Being vulnerable wasn’t so bad, was it?

Other items on Saturn’s curriculum? You may have gotten schooled in business, particularly about joining forces with others and working out the nitty-gritty details, such as how much revenue to share, how to budget better and how to be more resourceful overall. These were not easy lessons—perhaps you encountered messy conflicts with your new partners—but the good news is, you either worked it out or walked away.

Lucky for you, if there are lingering intimacy issues, the energizing Sun is in Libra the first three weeks of the month, making this an ideal time to get real with yourself on what’s standing in the way of true love and intimacy. You’re in a serious mood for love, preferring to cozy up with your honey than to be out partying with the masses. On October 15, the new moon in Libra, your eighth house of soul-merging, will give you another chance to truly open up to your love. You want the unvarnished truth, and you want it now. If you’re single or partnered, this is a chance to peel back another layer, exposing and expressing yourself to your honey, or even just yourself.

On October 6, Saturn moves into Scorpio, your ninth house of optimism, global travel and higher education. Great news: the next three years bring a MUCH easier Saturn transit. You may decide to return to school for that degree in anthropology you always wanted. Or you could find yourself traveling more for work. Even if you’re sent to new locales— Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Cleveland—you may be aching to get away entirely on a work-free vacation. With Saturn’s hard work ethic, pleasure trips will be harder to pull off now, and may need to be scheduled well in advance. Don’t be a martyr and waste your vacation days, as so many people actually do. Just try to enjoy the vistas wherever you go and indulge in some quality R&R in your hotel room—(bonus!) on the company dime. You may even learn a new language or trade, perhaps opting for law school or applying to a Ph.D. program. Or you might just take your spiritual discipline more seriously, carving out regular time for meditation, yoga and prayer. It could be time to hang your own entrepreneurial shingle, turning a hobby into a profitable venture. The world is your oyster…as long as you’re willing to work for it.

Your home life could have a couple of bumpy patches, as Jupiter goes retrograde (backward) in Gemini, your fourth house of home and family, from October 4 until late January. For the next four months, you’ll be feeling pretty internal and reflective on all domestic matters. If you have a move planned, you may decide to delay it, based on unforeseen factors, like, say a leaky ceiling. Perhaps you’ll feel some tension with your relatives, especially the female members of your family. Addressing them openly and honestly is the way to go with truth-telling Jupiter retrograde—but do add a special measure of tact when you express yourself. This is an excellent time to reconnect with old relatives from afar or female friends with whom you’ve lost touch. A trip to your hometown could shed some light on old, nagging issues. Perhaps you’ll be reminded that your childhood wasn’t as tragic (or idyllic, for that matter), as you’ve spent the last 20 years making it out to be. Seeing your roots through objective eyes might be just the truth serum you need.

LOVE & ROMANCE
Prepare to dance the two-step, Pisces, as love planet Venus swirls through Virgo, your seventh house of relationships all month. If you’re in a couple, this is a perfect time to get your romance on. Light candles and treat your sweetheart to a decadent bubble bath. Queue up some sexy music (perhaps by your Piscean sister, Nina Simone) and serve a gorgeous gourmet meal.

Oh, and work the fine art of compromise. Instead of insisting, in your subtle yet persuasive way, on playing by your rules, now is the time to listen carefully to your partner’s needs and desires, too. Stay open and truly consider both sides. If you’re single, this is a perfect time to meet someone who is real relationship material, someone you’d actually bring home to Mom and who’s willing to put in equal effort to form a strong alliance.

All month, sexy Mars is barreling through Sagittarius, your swanky and sophisticated 10th house. Now is the time to go upscale on your dates or even just for after-work drinks. Ditch the dingy corner pub in favor of a classic hotel bar. Look your five-star best this month, dressing up a little more than usual. If you opt for business casual, show some edge, perhaps adding a sexy bustier underneath a well-cut jacket. Appear like the class act you are—someone worthy of meeting the parents—but also someone who’s up for a wild night. You know, that whole “charming on the streets, freak in the sheets” deal that your dualistic sign does so well. Work it!

Also in the confidence-boosting column, serious Saturn is finally exiting Libra, your eighth house of intimacy, after a challenging three-year stay. This, of course, came on the heels of two and a half years of Saturn in Virgo, your house of partnerships. During this five-year stretch, you’ve dealt with your fair share of heaviness on the relationship front. Saturn rules boundaries, but in some cases, they felt more like barriers. You may have been separated from your sweetheart due to tough circumstances: living in different cities, heavy work schedules, one of you caring for a relative in need, a divorce that took forever to finalize (making you a bit secretive with your more judgmental friends). Whatever it was, you had to cultivate a storehouse of patience, even having less of the date nights, physical touch, and transcendent sex you craved.

Or, perhaps you were the one who was less than emotionally available at times. Intimacy, vulnerability, marriage vows—well, to some of the Zodiac’s fishies, that’s akin to being caught in a fisherman’s net. Figuring out who you are and what you want—and then trying it on for size with another living, breathing human being? That took some courage—if you even dared to go there. However, the beauty of Saturn shaking your relationship foundation to its core is that these hard-won lessons shall not soon be forgotten. Maybe you’ve experienced more than one painful split. Or you’ve had to come to terms with a fantasy love being unbearable in reality. Or you had a child, teaching you the REAL meaning of unconditional, permanent love. You know what you want now…or at least, what you DON’T want. It’s a good place to start.

Thought you were a pro at compromise? Well, you may have discovered a few, uh, limits there, too (if not actual brick walls). Perhaps you feared losing yourself or your freedom if you got too deeply involved with your sweetheart…or maybe getting “bored.” Sure, everyone deals with that one some level, but these last few years, you really had to stare down your fears about emptiness, that dreaded part of our existence. Perhaps you learned when to hold your ground and when to give in. You figured out, in short, what really matters (and it’s not the idealized, fairy tale version of love). Since you’ve been working your fingers to the bone on this front, Saturn may just leave a parting gift, if he hasn’t already: the end of a toxic relationship or the happily-ever-after of a solid soul mate, marriage or a real-deal commitment. Whaddya know: this way better than any Hollywood ending you could conjure. Why? Because it’s yours to keep, Pisces. Truly.

MONEY & CAREER
Cue up your espresso machine. With motivator Mars in Sagittarius, your 10th house of ambition and professional coups, this month is an incredible time to plant seeds that could have a long-term impact on your career. Expect to have a packed work calendar this month, as new opportunities come flying in. If you want the challenge of stretching your limits and taking your talents more seriously, you’ll be thrilled with all that the new projects, gigs and honors coming your way. This is a great time to really put yourself out there as an expert in your field. Take those headshots, build your website, print up some business cards and start passing them out. And don’t let us hear the whole “I’m not ready” excuse. You’re as ready as you’ll ever be, so put yourself out there and let go-getter Mars take care of the rest. A little hustle will pay off big-time.

Speaking of easing up, sober Saturn is leaving Libra, your eighth house of joint finances, on October 6. Can we get an amen? Saturn’s placement here has been tough on money matters, though its trials have certainly pushed you to treat your money and property with newfound respect. Perhaps you had to scrimp in brand-new ways, streamlining your budget, even if it meant (gasp!) at-home pedicures. But using your precious resources—and yes, that includes time—more wisely made you all the richer in spirit. Perhaps you got laden with an unexpected tax bill, or your interest rates went through the roof. You could have experienced a painful business (or even personal) divorce, leaving a beloved project orphaned, or at least adrift, while you hashed out new terms. If you were trying to unload property, you could have had some issues selling and been saddled with high property taxes in the interim. Maybe your partner experienced a setback or job loss, putting you in the provider hot seat.

Saturn’s effect can really slow movement down, creating annoying burdens. The silver lining, though, is that it also presses you to find creative solutions. We know one Pisces who went into business for herself after losing her lucrative day gig on Wall Street. She’d always wanted to try her hand at design, but was too gun-shy, given the fiscal risks. When she lost her safety net, she said, “What the hell?” and took a gigantic and ultimately successful leap in starting up her own storefront. If you had to let go of a money pit or a possession that was psychically and financially draining, rest assured: you needed to unburden yourself, as hard as it was to say goodbye.

So all that painful recounting ends with good news: the hard times are over! On October 6, structured Saturn moves into Scorpio, your ninth house of higher education, where it will stay for the next three years. This is a great time to return to school, especially if you’ve had your eye on a certain degree or certificate program, perhaps in nursing, law or interior design. Building your skillset and knowledge base can help you get ahead. Consider doing transformational work to help you understand people. No matter what your industry, you’ll benefit from learning about what moves and motivates others. Plus, Scorpio energy is all about lifting the hood of the metaphorical car, to find out what makes everything tick. As a naturally intuitive sign, you’ll thrive in this energy. So use it to your advantage by learning how to be more persuasive and better at sales.

In essence, you’re selling yourself. Now is the time to project confidence and enthusiasm. You have your own brand of magic, where certain contacts, jobs, and helpful people just seem to fall perfectly into place, as if without effort. In reality, your strong spiritual vibrations are attracting these “lucky” opportunities. So why not place a little value on your innate gifts and manifesting powers, instead of treating them as just business as usual? Not everyone can put a finger on the collective pulse like you can—and that’s quite a skill. Amplify your image as someone who’s compassionate AND capable, friendly but not flaky.

HEALTH: MIND, BODY & SOUL
Take your hands off the wheel, Pisces. By now, you have a clear picture of what it means to let go, or as Imogen Heap sings, of “beauty in the breakdown.” Saturn in Libra, your eighth house of intimacy and cleansing, brought this lesson home on so many levels for the last three years. Hopefully, you were proactive in drawing lines around all the crap that doesn’t serve your higher purpose, like, say, the toxic boyfriend, your wine habit, using sex for power, the list goes on. Otherwise, your control issues could have very well manifested as an illness—or just straight up codependence, where you soaked up toxic vibes from those around you, loved ones and strangers alike. Saturn loves boundaries, and if you failed to insert them where appropriate, you felt the consequences in real-time. Saturn delivers its messages through tangible form. Whether you ailed from sudden migraines or a drained bank account…the smoke signals were clear: it was time to balance between giving and receiving, to know when to hold on and when to let go.

After several setbacks, you likely made changes to your lifestyle and habits so that you could stop swimming upstream and go with Saturn in Libra’s spiritual and metaphysical flow. Maybe you strengthened your connections to all that is mystical and unseen, putting your faith in the spiritual world, since the material world seemed so fraught. Otherwise, you may have gotten depressed or felt defeated, which is always dangerous territory for Pisces, who can easily slip into a victim mind-set. Mantra, anyone?

Fortunately, this trend ends October 6, not to return for another 30 years, when you’ll be older and wiser. Between now and 2015, Saturn visits Scorpio, your ninth house of optimism. This trend can renew whatever faith has been tarnished. It also pulls you out of isolation and connects you to some truly wise and inspiring people. Open up to community, especially people on a higher frequency.

So if you’re seeking and open to religion, march on down to your local church, synagogue, mosque, temple or whatever appeals to you. A spiritual home base will make a big difference in keeping the faith. If you’re already ensconced in a spiritual community, open yourself up to meeting a mentor or just looking at your own sense of transcendence from a fresh perspective. For the next three years, open your heart as you study, explore, travel and seek. Cultivate reverence for life’s deepest mysteries.

You’ll be all the happier to have a home away from home, as your own address could get a little dodgy sometimes. On October 4, benefic Jupiter goes retrograde (backward) in Gemini your fourth house of home, roots and nurturing. This four-month stretch is an excellent time to revamp your relationships with family, especially the women in your life. Use this time of reevaluation to see them in a new light. Take a step back and view the others for who they really are—and not who you insist they should be. If you’ve been codependently trying to get this person to see the light, take a page from Colin Tipping’s brilliant book “Radical Forgiveness,” ditching the old “I’m OK, you’re OK” platitude for a more real “I’m not OK, you’re not OK, but that’s OK” mantra. Try this healthy approach as much as you need to, especially when conflict heats up. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the amount of oxygen this breathes into old, outworn dynamics.