New Moon in Libra

This is on the 9th October, 4:45 am GMT.

Libra is about relationships, aesthetics and social graces. It also has to do with justice, fairness and equality, as for relationships to work harmoniously, the balances of interpersonal give and take have to be roughly equal.

As new moons signify new beginnings, a new moon in Libra can be about new artistic projects or beauty regimens. Primarily though, we are looking at new beginnings in the realm of relationships. And the relationships being addressed here are deep, intense ones. The sign is known for wanting to keep things light and pleasant, but this new moon looks quite heavy and dark and obsessive – potentially uncomfortable. This is some Libra noir.

The sun and moon are squaring Pluto, king of hell, newly direct in the no-nonsense sign of Capricorn. That aspect makes for plenty of psychodrama in relationships. In addition, Libra's ruler (and dispositor of the new moon) Venus has just stationed retrograde in Scorpio.

Scorpio is an obsessive and intense sign, and Venus doesn't function very well here – you get a lot of toxic power dynamics, hidden corruption, betrayal, jealousy, triangles, emotional manipulation etc. You can also get fanatical loyalty and love unto death – it's either the best or the worst of relationship, with no grey areas. But the ugly stuff is unfortunately more common.

And with Venus retrograde till the 16th November, you're likely to have old lovers or friends popping up from the grave, messaging you on facebook or whatever. Or old relationships may reappear in your head for re-assessment. You might gain some clarity on why dead relationships had to end, and understand how to avoid making the same mistakes and enacting the same pathologies again.

Suffice it to say, relationship karma will be hitting hard this month, and it's inadvisable to start any new relationships until after Venus stations direct on the 16th November. (The same goes for making luxury purchases and investments, or re-vamping your look drastically.)

It may be hard to hold off, because we'll also have a square between Venus and Mars in Aquarius which speaks of hotted up romantic urgency and frustration, but if you want more than a fling, wait. If a fling is all you're after, go ahead – but don't be surprised if things get complicated and punishing under this sky. With Saturn and Pluto now both direct in Capricorn, sobriety, integrity, hard work, realism and limits are very important. These grim gods do not look kindly on flightiness or flings. They reward focus and commitment.

We are headed for an explosive full moon in Taurus on the 24th October, the culmination of a very intense month. Aaargh, let's see what happens. It should be interesting. Try not to get your knickers too twisted up before then. Sublimation of sexual angst into some kind of creative work might help.