Chodesh Cheshvan 5786
October 22 - November 20, 2025
Constellation/Mazal: Scorpio (Ekrav) ♏︎ – The Scorpion
Tribe: Menashe | Letter: נ (Nun) | Sense: Smell
Element: Water (Fixed - Establishing Emotion)
Planetary Ruler: Mars (Traditional), Pluto (Modern)
Cheshvan, called “Mar Cheshvan,” is the only month in the Hebrew calendar with no holidays — yet its stillness is not emptiness, but a deep reservoir. The “mar” (bitterness) becomes mayim (waters) when we enter the emotional, interior landscape that this month rules. Cheshvan is the month of hidden sanctity — where all that was revealed in Tishrei through awe and joy must now be integrated into daily life. What was celebrated outwardly must now be lived inwardly. The silence of Cheshvan is not absence, but incubation.
Retrograde Neptune re-enters Pisces on Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, Day 1. This is Neptune’s final foray into his native watery constellation; the planet of fantasy and imagination returns to fiery Aries in January 2026, where he will stay through March of 2039. It’s literally the last chance during our collective lifetimes to dip back into the pool of Pisces and fish for what swims beneath the surface. The area of your natal chart ruled by Pisces deserves your full attention during this transit (October 22, 2025 – February 15, 2026). Cast your line and see what you pull up.
This final Neptune-in-Pisces passage is a collective spiritual audit — the last act in a 14-year dream. What remains of your illusions? What has dissolved to reveal compassion? The tide is going out; what remains on the shore is truth.
The Sun enters Scorpio on Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, Day 2. Jupiter in sensitive Cancer makes a square to Wounded Healer Chiron in Aries. Like a mother gathering her children to comfort their fears and heal their wounds, we too have that powerful nurturing spirit at our disposal. This aspect invites a Binah-like maturity — the ability to hold pain without identifying with it, and to transform emotion into wisdom.
The Scorpio Sun squares Pluto (now stationed Direct in Aquarius since October 14) on October 24. Mercury in Scorpio trines Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn Retrograde in Pisces on Shabbos Parshat Noach. Let the healing tears flow like the waters of Noach, but don’t drown in them! Listen to the voice of the Teva (“ark”) calling you.
Mars in Scorpio trines Jupiter in Cancer on October 28, supersizing the energy and drive needed to focus intently on any task at hand.
The First Quarter Moon in Aquarius comes October 29, as Mercury enters Sagittarius and opposes Uranus in Gemini. “The truth will set you free” — but can you handle the truth, or the freedom? Both are tremendous responsibilities.
The trine of Scorpio Mars to Retrograde Saturn in Pisces injects vitality into creatively structuring a new and improved reality — one which emerges from a long-nurtured dream.
Venus in her native sign of Libra opposes Chiron in Aries and squares Jupiter in Cancer on November 2. Things need to be “Fair and Square” — or beware! This is 11 Cheshvan, the yahrzeit of our mother Rachel, matriarch of the Jewish People and mother of Joseph and Benyamin (whom she birthed before dying). Both Joseph and Benyamin have a special relationship with the concepts of justice, equity, and reciprocity. These qualities are at the forefront now. Rachel’s tears — “Rachel weeps for her children” (Jeremiah 31:15) — are the archetype of divine empathy, the healing waters flowing beneath the surface of Cheshvan’s transformations.
Mars in Scorpio briefly trines Neptune in Retrograde Pisces before the “Action Hero” planet enters Sagittarius on November 4, after which he opposes Uranus in Gemini. That’s a Mutable mash-up which may make the target a moving one. Sagittarius’ arrow needs to know where to aim! Don’t let that arrow fly before you actually know what you’re doing.
The Full “Super” Moon in Taurus on November 5 is on the opposite side of the Jewish year from the Full Moon of Pesach Sheni. As Pesach Sheni is the holiday of second chances, the Full Moon of Chodesh Cheshvan may be the holiday of the cat with nine lives. If Pesach Sheni is a season of renewal, the Full Moon of Chodesh Cheshvan is a season of resurrection. This Supermoon bridges the physical and the spiritual: Taurus grounds what Scorpio awakens — it’s the body’s resurrection to match the soul’s rebirth.
Mars sextiles Pluto and Venus enters Scorpio on November 6. Personal power, dynamic energy, and charisma make the already irresistible even more impossible to refuse. Bob Marley says: “If you know your past, you know where you’re coming from.” Take a lesson from lessons already learned! Use your people-power for good, not for personal benefit.
Uranus, which only recently entered Gemini, is Retrograde and re-enters Taurus on Shabbos Vayeira. Uranus won’t re-enter Gemini until the end of April 2026, but when he does, he’ll stay there until May 2033. Again, we have a window of opportunity to retrieve anything left behind from the Uranus-in-Taurus era (May 2018–2025). Examine the Taurus area of your natal chart for clues as to where those missing pieces might be hiding. This re-entry into Taurus comes on 17 Cheshvan, the day the Great Flood of Noah’s era is said to have begun. Surfing those floodwaters of expanded consciousness is the work now. Taurus reminds us that enlightenment must be embodied — awakening means integration, not escape.
Mercury in Sagittarius stations Retrograde November 9 and returns to Scorpio November 20. The planet of communication doesn’t station Direct until November 29 and returns to Sagittarius by December 12. Altogether, Mercury won’t pass his original Retrograde shadow until December 17. Mercury may shoot the arrow of truth before he stings with the Scorpion’s tail — but only if he has to. This retrograde refines how we speak belief: Sagittarius wants to proclaim truth; Scorpio demands depth. Let your words be arrows of awareness, not weapons of ego.
Jupiter in Cancer stations Retrograde November 11, and the Last Quarter Moon in Leo shines in harmony with the Northern Taurid Meteor Shower. Retrograde Mercury in Sagittarius conjuncts Mars the same day: beware of boisterous bragging being misinterpreted as “fighting words.”
The Sun trines both Retrograde Jupiter in Cancer and Retrograde Saturn in Pisces on November 17. This is 27 Cheshvan, the day that “the earth dried” (Genesis 8:14) and G-d commanded Noah to “Come out of the ark.” The same is being said to us this very day — come out of the ark, and fill the world with the knowledge of G-d. What was preserved in the ark of your inner world must now be lived in the outer world.
The Retrogrades are in charge when Mercury re-enters Scorpio, opposes Uranus in Taurus, and trines Neptune in Pisces on November 20. The Sun conjuncts Mercury, and Uranus in Taurus sextiles Neptune in Pisces at the New Moon in Scorpio on November 20. As we stand at the cusp between Chodesh Cheshvan and Chodesh Kislev, we find yet another layer of complexity to the story we were hoping would be simpler. The way forward is almost never a straight line — in this case, it’s more of a swirling spiral, pushing upward and outward.
As Genesis (the band, not the book) reminds us:
“In the door a harvest feast is lit by candlelight /
It’s the bottom of a staircase that spirals out of sight /
You’ve got to get in to get out.”
We’re in. We’re so, so in. Now that we know we’re in, we have the power to get out.
As Cheshvan ends and Kislev approaches, the inner waters begin to still. What was submerged now reflects light. The work of this month is emotional alchemy — transforming floods of feeling into rivers of wisdom. The silence of Cheshvan prepares the soul for the spark of Kislev. What is integrated in darkness will soon illuminate the world.
Cheshvan is the Ark between the storms — the month of inner navigation. The floods may feel endless, but they are the very waters that carry us toward renewal. The Torah ends the Flood story with: “And G-d remembered Noach.” So too, in every depth of your journey, remember — you are remembered.
