November 2020 Forecast w/ Astrologer RickLevine: There Must Be Some Way Out of Here
We are finally approaching the culmination of this extraordinary year!
With Mercury and Mars slowly inching out of retrograde, we may feel like we are “hanging in the balance” or “stuck in glue” but we are beginning to see some forward momentum as we head into eclipse season.
While November may have a feeling of weariness and déjà vu, we can find solace if we surrender and set our sights on the long-term vision.
This month we’ll see Venus attracting us to something unexpected, an aspect to the Full Moon that comes with some good news, and little pieces that start to come together and reveal big progress.
Read the below interview with astrologer Rick Levine for your November 2020 Forecast and guidance to help you navigate the cosmic tides.
Amanda: Rick we’re here for the November forecast. If we had to start with a theme, what would you say?
Rick Levine: There’s a few songs that come to mind. There’s Bob Dylan’s song…
“There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief.”
We’re in a strange period of time right now, but we’re right on schedule. That’s the magic of all of this.
We are at the beginning of November and we are exactly on course.
Amanda: So what is “on course”?
Rick Levine: November is the penultimate month of the year, we have most of the year behind us.
And yet we don’t have most of the activity behind us because we have yet to have the culmination of what has been arguably one of the most intense and craziest years that we have ever seen.
The sheer number of events that have been stuffed into this year that have stretched us even further, one way or another, has been extraordinary.
And we still got two months to go.
I don’t want to say we haven’t seen anything yet because we have, but we definitely have some strangeness to work our ways through.
Yet even the strangest and most unpredictable won’t really be that strange compared to where we are now.
The good news is that we are toward the end of this. And the importance of this year will last, hopefully, for a long time.
The obvious elephant in the middle of the room is the election – the American election. It’s hung in the balance.
Regardless of who you were behind in this election (if you were behind anyone), I think that many people are just surprised with how evenly balanced the entire thing is on some level.
It’s a lot less extreme than most people might have thought that it would be. And I think that says a lot.
The significant thing is the combination of Mercury direct mid-day on Election Day (November 3rd), that was just one piece of a much deeper and more powerful transition.
We are not out of the woods yet.
After being retrograde for three weeks, Mercury (still inching forward very, very slowly) made an exact square to Saturn.
Mercury at 25 / 26 degrees of Libra makes an exact square with Saturn at 25 / 26 degrees of Capricorn.
When Mercury turned direct on Election Day, that square was still within about a half a degree of orb. That square is made for the second time on November 6th.
And so we’re hung in this place even though Mercury has gone direct.
Mercury (the planet of intellect, of thinking, of communication), 90 degrees to Saturn (the planet of constriction, the planet that says, “No, not yet”)… This square wasn’t going to allow anything to complete.
So it’s really not going to be till the weekend (November 7th – 8th) or till next week when we begin to get some forward movement on all this. And we still won’t have resolution.
We began this year with a Jupiter / Saturn / Pluto / Mercury / North Node / Sun cluster in Capricorn.
Early in the year, we had the Saturn / Pluto conjunction on January 12th setting the tone of the entire year. But then we had Jupiter conjunction with Pluto on April 4th.
Now, remember Pluto is the underworld. Pluto is that which is buried, that which is hidden.
When Saturn (the planet of boundaries) and Pluto (the planet of disintegration) do their dance like they did back in January, boundaries brush up against each other and they often form a great deal of stress intention.
And then typically the boundaries realign in some way. This conjunction is associated often with religious and ideological and even national boundaries. Major wars and conflicts often correspond with this.
Interestingly enough, a virus is an invasion of our boundary. It’s a disintegration of our boundary. The Saturn / Pluto alignment very closely coordinates with many major pandemics, including Black Death.
So that is a significant piece.
But the other piece in all of this is that Jupiter lined up with Pluto on April 4th.
When Jupiter lines up with Pluto, there is often a bubbling up or an expansion of things that were buried.
This also, like clockwork, corresponds with a variety of pandemics and the reason for that is because Jupiter is inflationary.
Many other astrologers immediately looked at the Jupiter Pluto conjunction on April 4th and said, this is going to be a peak point in this pandemic. And sure enough, the last weeks of March and the first week of April was when Italy and New York city were just exploding, so to speak.
What’s interesting here is that we normally think of Pluto as the underworld, as that which is hidden, the unconscious even, that which is out of sight.
And Pluto is expansive. In some ways, things should just get gradually bigger.
I’ve spent some time with scuba gear and a regulator in my mouth down beneath the surface in water. And one of the things that you realize is that as a bubble comes up to the surface, the bubble expands and expands and expands until by the time it reaches the surface and comes out into the open, it is, or can be, a bit explosive.
So in a way, this Jupiter / Pluto conjunction that caused an explosion, or a peak, back in April. Well, it wasn’t over yet because Jupiter and Pluto made a second conjunction on June 29th.
Why are we talking about this?
Well, one of the key events of November is that on November 12th, Jupiter will make its third and final alignment with Pluto.
So this is a key piece of November.
On the 13th, Mars turns direct and it will take Mars a few days for it to really get itself back in gear, even a week or so. I don’t think we’re going to see real clarity on this towards the middle / end of November, but there’ll be some movement certainly by then.
The planets are either moving direct, or ready to move direct, but…
We’re not yet freed from our feet stuck in this kind of sticky, epoxy-like super glue that’s not letting us move forward yet. But we will.
Amanda: So you’re thinking that we aren’t really going to have a lot of clarity on things pretty much this entire month.
Rick Levine: I think people will have clarity, but that’s not the issue anymore. The issue is not having clarity when clarity is different for me and for you.
People who have too much clarity think they know what’s going on. I would include myself in that. And we don’t.
It becomes less an issue of clarity than it is an issue of recognition of the multiplicity of perspectives.
And that doesn’t mean that one person who has a perspective needs to grant the other person’s perspective as the truth. But I think we need to grant that the other person’s perspective is the other person’s perspective. And that’s something that I think a lot of people are not willing to do.
I think there’s forward movement this month. I think we begin to see that we’re going to unstick ourselves from this state of being trapped in the middle.
We have two eclipses coming up. And I think that all of this becomes fuel for the forward movement and the progression of moving into territory that we’ve never been in before.
We’re moving into new territory.
Amanda: Let me ask you a question about Saturn, Jupiter, and Aquarius.
This year has been a lot about restructuring our existing systems and structures. That’s been one of the things that’s come to our awareness, which would be Capricornian.
Would you say that Saturn and Jupiter moving into Aquarius would start to invite us to rethink the way we treat each other?
The multiplicity of perspectives and how we actually engage with each other within that multiplicity?
Rick Levine: I think that that could be part of it.
I think it’s also beginning to look ahead and thinking about, rather than what’s wrong with the current structure, how are we going to change the current structure?
What are we doing as we watch some of the main pieces of the current structure disintegrate before our eyes?
We begin to look off into the future.
I think it was Bucky Fuller who said, rather than fixing structures that exist, or saying what’s wrong with them, you make structures that are better.
Improvement happens by visualizing something that’s better.
And then that eventually replaces it. And I think that we’ve been in this process of the deconstruction of what is.
To some extent, the Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius become an envisioning of (or a visualization of, and then a movement into) that which is in the future rather than in the past.
But let’s not forget that Pluto stays in Capricorn until the next presidential election. So we’re not done with Capricorn.
Pluto definitely has the last word, which is kind of Pluto’s job anyhow. Even though we are moving ahead, Pluto’s not going to let us be done with what we need to attend to as the old structures, the old beliefs, or the old systems… are thoroughly deconstructed so they can be reconstructed anew.
Amanda: Okay. So we have Mercury squaring Saturn as it’s turning direct in the beginning of the month.
On November 12th, we have the Jupiter / Pluto conjunction.
On November 13th, we have Mars going direct.
And then we have a New Moon on the 14th and the Full Moon eclipse at the end of the month. Do you want to go into those a little bit more?
Rick Levine: Sure. So the New Moon on the 14th occurs at 23 degrees of Scorpio.
And so anybody who has a planet in their chart at 20 to 25 degrees of Scorpio, Aquarius, Taurus, or Leo (the fixed signs), this New Moon will square their natal chart and perhaps bring more energy into their life.
The New Moon at 23 degrees of Scorpio is sextile Jupiter at 23 degrees of Capricorn. And this is what we call a partile aspect. The word partile just means within the same degree.
It’s a partile / sextile and sextiles are supportive. They’re cooperative. The energy flows – not as easy as a trine because they’re in the same element, but the energy still flows and it works together.
And so this indicates that there is something expansive, positive, optimistic, and uplifting that we can feel around this particular time.
However, Venus is at 22 degrees of Libra, which is a semi-sextile. And semi-sextiles can be annoying. They’re not an easy flow of energy. They’re disjointed, if you will.
So we have the New Moon sextile Jupiter and we have Venus squaring Jupiter. And this is the irritation of that semi-sextile, because on one hand, the New Moon feels fine. It feels like the transformations are unfolding as they should.
That New Moon is also sextiling Pluto. And that means that Venus is squaring Pluto and squaring Jupiter. And this is a bit of a tougher aspect.
This is an aspect that has us going deeper than we want to go.
This is an aspect that brings stuff out into the open that may not necessarily be as pleasant as Venus would like it to be. This New Moon is powerful from those perspectives.
And then on top of that, there are two other things that kick in to this New Moon.
Mercury reaches 5 degrees of Scorpio on the 14th, which forms a quincunx with Chiron at 5 degrees of Aries.
Chiron is the healer. Chiron is the mentor. Chiron is the teacher. Chiron represents our vulnerabilities that, if we become aware of them, we can work with them.
Mercury quincunx to Chiron is awkward. Words that are meant to heal might just rub people the wrong way.
Mercury then makes an opposition with Uranus. And Mercury opposite Uranus can be brain shattering.
We have a combination of events here that can be quite powerful as far as bringing things out into the open and turning things around and making something happen.
Is this a finality? No.
But it’s a New Moon and it is a point of separation from what it is that’s been going on that allows us, or forces us perhaps, to move on into the future.
And by November 14th, Venus is square both Pluto and Jupiter in Capricorn at 22 / 23 degrees.
It takes Venus a few more days before it squares Saturn on November 19th. And so here we see another replay of the being trapped, of being stuck, maybe a setback of some sort.
Venus then moves into Scorpio on the 21st, the same day that the Sun moves into Sagittarius.
The energy through this middle part of the month up through the 21st is certainly ready to shift and does make some shifts. And there’s a handful of trines in there that sweeten the energy.
On November 9th, the Sun trines Neptune and Mercury trines Neptune on the 23rd.
And these are energies that allow the imagination to think about the possibilities, and to open us up to the future – perhaps not restrained by what we feel is holding us back in the present moment.
Amanda: Okay. So I think the last piece is probably that Full Moon eclipse.
Rick Levine: I think so. Although on the way to it, Venus moves past the square to Saturn and then Venus moves into Scorpio on the 21st.
Venus opposes Uranus on November 27th. And that Venus opposing Uranus is saying, “All right, I like the future”.
There’s this kind of attraction to something completely different than what we thought.
And Venus opposing Uranus often is a twist of fate and a surprise. And that leads us then up to the Full Moon eclipse on November 30th in Gemini.
So this is an informational Full Moon. This is a Full Moon that has to do with thinking, with thoughts, with communication. And yet they’re not necessarily grounded.
And the difficulty of this is that the Full Moon is making a sesquisquare (a square and a half) with the entire Capricorn pack.
And so this indicates some real dynamic stress. Going back to the election, this may be after some rules or some things have settled, but the way in which they settle may make some people really upset.
This Full Moon is in this awkward aspect with Pluto. It indicates to me that something’s not okay.
And on the day of the Full Moon, Mercury makes a sextile with Saturn, which I think is good news. I think that helps the cause, whatever the cause may be. It gives us a sense of the truth. It gives us a sense of this may not be the way you want it, but this is the way it is.
Eclipses stir up things that force us to let go of something that we held onto in the past.
And so, coming into eclipse season, I think we have some of that stuff stirring up. Both the New Moon and the Full Moon are beginnings of the ending.
It’s the transition that began maybe a year ago or more, before the actual Saturn / Pluto conjunction in January. It’s like there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
I think that there is an opening that we are coming to.
Amanda: Okay. So what would you say to people who feel that feeling of being trapped or being stuck?
What would you say the astrology is inviting us to do if that’s the way that we’re feeling?
Rick Levine: I think the astrology is inviting us to do as it always does; to be aware of what’s external and not beat the crap out of ourselves trying to swim against the tide.
And again, this does not mean to just be quiet.
Patience isn’t being quiet, it’s not being lazy, it’s about doing your work while you’re waiting for a tide to ride in the right direction.
I come back to that surfer analogy that I use sometimes. It’s the active watching and paying attention, making sure that when the wave comes, you’re ready to jump on it.
We need to pay attention to the long-term because we are so wrapped up in a point intensity and focus. Slow down the process so that Pluto can do his work in the most constructive manner.
Amanda: So in summary…
We are in a culminating moment of the year.
You quoted some Bob Dylan: “There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief.”
The song is a very humorous, but kind of a dire mixture of things that just don’t go together. Everything in that song is not quite right.
There’s this feeling of weariness and like we’ve been here before. And how do we get out of here?
So we are going to feel like we’re still hung in the balance. There could be some forward movement, but no real resolution.
We might have our own clarity. That doesn’t mean we collectively have clarity. I might know exactly what’s going on and you might know exactly what’s going on. We’re both clear. And yet our views of clarity can be very opposed.
And that’s the curiosity of this moment.
We have a Jupiter / Pluto conjunction, then we have Mars direct, and then we have a New Moon bringing things out into the open that aren’t necessarily pleasant.
There’s kind of awkward and annoying energy around that New Moon as well. So it’s a little cluster right there in the middle of the month.
Rick: It is a little bit of a cluster and it is a bit of a turning point unto itself.
You know, the month is confusing energetically. It doesn’t mean that it’s confusing, but it’s like lots of little pieces that don’t necessarily all go together.
And yet when you put them all together, there is progress that has begun to occur, whatever that means.
Amanda: All right. So, Venus squares Saturn on November 19th and there could be this sense of a setback, feeling trapped.
And then we have Venus opposing Uranus on November 27th, which could bring about some sort of twist of fate.
Rick Levine: Yeah. Something unexpected, an attraction to something Venusian that we don’t normally like. But it could also be something that occurs out of the blue.
Amanda: Okay. And this is collectively and personally.
Rick Levine: Oh yeah.
Amanda: And then November 30th, we have the Full Moon eclipse
Rick Levine: They take something from the past. They flip time around and often have us looking back and then letting go of something.
Amanda: And you’re saying that Full Moon eclipse also indicates a real dynamic stress, which may make people upset.
Rick Levine: I think all month we have that going on.
Amanda: Exactly. Okay.
And you are advising us not to swim against the tide, that this is a time to be in active waiting.
So you’re not saying necessarily put your head in the sand and just wait until it’s all over, but also don’t waste your energy fighting battles that aren’t going to be won or aren’t going to be won by attacking.
To cultivate our energy and channel it more consciously or strategically.
It’s a little all over the place and that’s kind of the hum of this month. And so we’re choosing how to dance with that. And in this, there’s a little bit of a surrender to the energy.
Pay attention to the long term. Don’t try to really make sense of it right now.
Have an understanding of the energy of the month. Knowing this enables us to help the people around us who may be holding their breath and waiting.
And this enables a sense of peace amongst the chaos.
Rick Levine: Yeah. I definitely agree with that.
To learn more from Rick Levine, check out his Astrology Hub courses:
Astrology Foundations and The Astrology of Relationships
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The above interview has been edited for readability, you can watch the full-length forecast here: