October 2021 DR. G’s FLUTE HOROSCOPES
by Rachel Taylor Geier
Happy October! Fall is in full swing and so is the Mercury retrograde. Experiencing any miscommunications or technological snafus at the beginning of the month? Never fear – Mercury will go direct on October 18th. Try to wait until after this date to sign any contracts or start any new projects. Clearing the air with the others in your life will also be easier at the end of month. Schedule coffee meetups with your flute section to rebuild camaraderie during this time. Venus and Mars will also be changing houses this month. Venus will help you enjoy the beautiful chaos of your life at the beginning of the month while Mars will help you get back to work in the final few days. Be as flexible as possible for the first three weeks to prepare for this super productive final week.
Libra (September 23-October 22) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
October 6th – New Moon in your 1st house of identity. Reinvent your flute playing this month, Libra. Restructure your practice time to focus on drastically changing elements such as tone, articulation, or technique. Did you get some really good advice over the summer from a flute guru? Give their tips a try this month.
October 7th – Venus moves into your 3rd house of communications. You will be quite popular on social media when Venus moves houses. Take to Facebook and comment on various flute topics or even post a topic of your own. Advertise your next event on Twitter. Take to Instagram Live and host a small performance. Watch the likes roll in!
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 1st house of identity. You have just come out of a period of intense soul searching and now have a better idea of what you want to do with your flute playing and who you want to as a flutist. Now that Mercury is direct, you may start taking action steps towards your newly defined goals. The time to act is now!
October 20th – Full Moon in your 7th house of relationships. There may be a toxic relationship in your environment that will need to change or even end around the time of this Full Moon. Do you have a colleague that is a bit difficult to communicate with? Use the energy of this Full Moon to have an honest, open chat with them. Be patient with their responses, truthful with your sentiments, and search for win-win solutions to any problems.
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 2nd house of income. Your focus will shift onto your job when we move into Scorpio season. This is a great time to seek a promotion at work. What is the next best step in your professional development? Is it teaching a new course? Performing in a new orchestra? What can you do now to help prepare for what comes next? Follow this path.
October 30th – Mars moves into your 2nd house of income. Mars will help give you the energy to update your CV, practice your excerpts, and prepare for your next recital. You are super motivated right now to advance in your career. Follow this inspiration!
Scorpio (October 23-November 21)
October 6th – New Moon in your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. You will spend a lot of time in the practice room this month, Scorpio, likely preparing for your next recital (virtual or otherwise). You may have recently found a new, rather off-the-wall piece that would be a perfect compliment to more standard, crowd-pleaser repertoire. Take it one step at a time. Woodshed creatively.
October 7th – Venus moves into your 2nd house of income. You will be quite popular at work when Venus moves signs. This is a great time to ask your boss for a raise, or at least more high-level responsibilities in your current role. Venus will help you advocate for yourself. You are a super-gifted flutist and ready for the next level. Show them you deserve it!
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. You may have just come out of a time of experimentation with your practice routine. Perhaps you have changed the time of day that you practice or the sequence of exercises. Chance are that you found a method that really works for you. Now that Mercury is direct, you may begin to move forward with your new and improved routine. You will likely find yourself far more productive than you used to be with your practice time.
October 20th – Full Moon in your 6th house of daily work and health routines. You may need to restructure your daily schedule a bit around the time of this Full Moon. Something no longer works the way it used to. Perhaps your priorities have changed and the time you used to allot to practice or teaching is no longer sufficient. What other responsibilities can you delegate to others to free up more time in your schedule for the things that matter the most?
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 1st house of identity. The spotlight shifts onto you when the Sun moves signs, Scorpio. This is the very best time to host a recital! Perform that exciting new piece at an afternoon concert or even on an Instagram Live session. This is your time to shine!
October 30th – Mars moves into your 1st house of identity. Mars will provide you with all the energy in the world to change your life! Do you need to exercise more? Mars will help you create a realistic workout plan. Do you need to practice more? Mars will help you use your practice time most efficiently. Whatever needs to be done to improve your current circumstances, Mars will help you roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)
October 6th – New Moon in your 11th house of groups and communities. You may find yourself joining a new performing group at the beginning of the month. Congrats! You won the audition. This is a great opportunity to meet new colleagues and perform with a brand-new set of musicians. The challenge will be learning to adapt to different playing styles, intonation, and different leadership preferences. This new experience is well worth the effort!
October 7th – Venus moves into your 1st house of identity. You will be very popular when Venus moves houses. This is a great time to host a recital (virtual or otherwise). Select your most favorite repertoire and play your heart out. This performance is more about having fun than career advancement. Enjoy your flute playing and your audience will too!
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 11th house of groups and communities. Were you having miscommunications with ensemble members during the Mercury retrograde? When Mercury goes direct, you will have the green light to work out any issues that may have come up over the past couple of weeks. This is a great time to work out any intonation hurdles or tempo disagreements.
October 20th – Full Moon in your 5th house of creativity and joy. You may need to make some significant changes to a creative project or even abandon it all together around the time of this Full Moon. Try not to panic. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Are you trying to make your work overly complicated? Is there a better way to abbreviate or streamline? Simplify your ideas.
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. You will be setting up camp in the practice room when the Sun moves signs. Practice all of the things! Dig out those super difficult etude books and start woodshedding some of the technical bits. Spend some time on new repertoire. Have you found a particularly interesting new piece? Start working on it.
October 30th – Mars moves into your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Mars will give you the energy and stamina to last through a few intense practice sessions. Remember to take breaks to avoid burnout. Set a Pomodoro timer on your smartphone as a reminder to step away from your flute regularly. Mars sometimes does not have an off button.
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
October 6th – New Moon in your 10th house of career goals. You may be offered a one-in-a-lifetime career opportunity around the time of this Full Moon. Do not pass this one up! This opportunity aligns perfectly with your short-term and long-term career goals. Go for it! Accept that principal position or teaching role with your local university.
October 7th – Venus moves into your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. You will be loving the practice room when Venus moves signs. Sometimes we all need some quiet time to patiently work through technical bits. Slow everything way down and practice mindfully. Listen closely to everything. Create stories behind the music. Break it down and string it back together stronger than before.
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 10th house of career goals. You may have spent the past few weeks reworking your CV and weeding out some of the responsibilities in your career that really do not resonate with you anymore. When Mercury goes direct, you may now take action on your top career priorities. Schedule the meetings. Take the lessons. Sign up for the classes. Apply for the jobs. Take the auditions.
October 20th – Full Moon in your 4th house of home and family. Something in your environment will need to undergo significant changes during this Full Moon. How is your roof? Winter ready? And the gutters – full of leaves? Take care of these home repairs now so they do not cause trouble when the weather gets colder and daylight runs out sooner. Clean the windows and store any patio furniture. This is a really good way to welcome the changing season.
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 11th house of groups and communities. Your attention will shift onto performing groups when we enter Scorpio season. It is likely that you will have a number of performances during the next few weeks. Make sure your rehearsal time is productive by focusing on the sections that need the most work and briefly running through the sections that are already in tip-top shape.
October 30th – Mars moves into your 11th house of groups and communities. Mars will help give you the energy to make it through all of those back-to-back dress rehearsals and long performance weekends. You will be performing a lot during this time! Make sure not to overbook yourself in other areas of your life. Balance your workload as much as possible to avoid burnout.
Aquarius (January 20-February 18)
October 6th – New Moon in your 9th house of travel and higher education. You will be booking a trip around the time of this New Moon. This may likely be a trip that was postponed in the past. Now that travel restrictions have loosened a bit, you are ready for your delayed adventure. Travel safely and make sure your itinerary includes some rest and relaxation in addition to visiting landmarks and attending incredible performances.
October 7th – Venus moves into your 11th house of groups and communities. You will be having a great time in rehearsals when Venus moves signs. Venus makes us all a bit more popular. You may find yourself assigned to a solo in orchestra that truly speaks to you. Play it out! Have fun! Your colleagues will be inspired and impressed by your outstanding performance.
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 9th house of travel and higher education. Your trip is booked. Your back-up travel plans are in place. Your bags are packed. Your international data plan is up and running. If possible, wait until Mercury goes direct to leave for your trip to avoid any last minute snafus. This is a great time to travel as the busy Summer season is over and the holiday season has not yet commenced. Enjoy your trip!
October 20th – Full Moon in your 3rd house of communication. If you are working on an article or a book, you may need to do some serious proofreading around the time of this Full Moon. Review your work carefully. Do all of your chapters support the larger message of your book or have you veered off course? Do your examples support your main idea or is there conflicting opposing information? Do you have too many chapters? Look for ways to streamline your ideas.
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 10th house of career goals. Your focus will shift onto your career when the Sun moves signs. Take this time to reevaluate your most important flute playing goals. Are you on track to becoming the flutist you truly want to be or have your priorities changed over the years? It is totally okay to follow a new path.
October 30th – Mars moves into your 10th house of career goals. Now that you have clarified your career goals, Mars will help you take the first steps to making your dreams into a reality. What needs to be done? What jobs could you apply for to get to the next level in your career? What auditions are available to you? Remember: sometimes just the experience of auditioning in itself is an accomplishment that will teach you valuable lessons about the process and how you perform under pressure.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
October 6th – New Moon in your 8th house of banking and finance. Are you considering purchasing a new flute (or at least making an upgrade to your current instrument)? You may find the financial resources you need to make this happen around the time of the New Moon. This may be in the form of a gift from a wealthy relative or benefactor or a reasonable financing opportunity through your local banking institution. Start making plans to purchase your new instrument in the near future.
October 7th – Venus moves into your 10th house of career goals. Venus will help you to be a very popular flutist when it moves houses. This is a great time to audition to the orchestra of your dreams. Your excerpts will be on point and your committee will be drawn to your unique sound and expansive technique. Just go for it! You may be scared. You may be nervous. But, as the saying goes, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Take the shot knowing that Venus will be there to help you shine.
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 8th house of banking and finance. Try to wait until Mercury goes direct to sign any financial documents from your banking institution. Look over everything with a fine-toothed comb and make sure you can safely make your payments on your current salary. Compare this agreement to any other agreements offered from the instrument manufacturer. Once Mercury goes direct, feel free to sign and start preparing for your new instrument.
October 20th – Full Moon in your 2nd house of income. Something at your job may need to change or even end around the time of the Full Moon. Try not to panic. Remember – As one door opens, another will need to close. Venus may have helped you land a new job earlier in the month. This means that you will likely need to bid your current position farewell. Try to leave as gracefully as possible and retain strong relationships to all of your former colleagues.
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 9th house of travel and higher education. Your attention will shift onto travel as the Sun moves into the sign of Scorpio. Are you craving an adventure before you begin a new job? Book a trip! Now that travel restrictions have loosened a bit, you may be able to rebook canceled trips from last year. Go ahead and start making plans for a short adventure. You’ve earned it!
October 30th – Mars moves into your 9th house of travel and higher education. Plane ticket? Booked. Bags? Packed. Vacation time? Approved! Mars will encourage you to hit the road. Travel safely and make the most out of your time away. Leave your flute at home and only check pesky emails once a day max. Enjoy every adventure that Fall has to offer.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
October 6th – New Moon in your 7th house of relationships. You will make an important new connection around the time of this New Moon. Attend any available networking events (virtual or otherwise). You will likely meet a colleague whose work really resonates with you. Are there any opportunities to collaborate? Set up a coffee meeting to discuss some of your mutual interests.
October 7th – Venus moves into your 9th house of travel and higher education. This is a great time for a vacation. The Summer travel season is over and restrictions have loosened a bit. Use this time to book a Fall adventure. Go hiking in the mountains or visit a newly deserted beach to watch the sunset over the water. Leave your flute at home and just enjoy the beauty of the changing seasons.
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 7th house of relationships. You may have had a few miscommunications with friends, family, and colleagues over the past several weeks. Perhaps your words were unclear, or your emails projected an overly critical tone you had not intended. When Mercury goes direct, set aside some time to clear the air. Talk it all out over cider.
October 20th – Full Moon in your 1st house of identity. You may be doing a bit of soul searching around the time of this Full Moon. An important goal may need to be approached from a different point of view. Are you trying to be an orchestral flutist? How many auditions have you taken lately and what can you learn from your recent audition experiences? Are you auditioning for the right types of orchestras in areas that you wish to live? And, most importantly, do you really want to play in an orchestra? What does it mean to you? Ask yourself some of these questions and change course if necessary.
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 8th house of banking and finance. Your attention will shift onto your bank account when the Sun moves houses. Are you considering upgrading your flute in the near future? Start window-shopping. How much does the next level range in price? What models and/or manufacturers speak to you? What bells and whistles will you need? Start making a budget and list of requirements.
October 30th – Mars moves into your 8th house of banking and finance. Mars will help you devise a reasonable saving plan for the flute of your dreams in the coming months. This is also a great time to look into temporary, part-time jobs that might help you save more money in less time (with a bit of elbow grease, of course). What is your timeline? Can you afford a new instrument by the end of the year? Go for it!
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
October 6th – New Moon in your 6th house of daily work and health routines. You may be adding a few more responsibilities to your schedule around the time of this Full Moon. Have you volunteered to serve on a committee or an advisory board? Are you adjudicating a competition or chair placement examinations for a local band or orchestra? This is an important activity for you. Do what you can to redelegate other responsibilities to colleagues that may want additional responsibilities of their own.
October 7th – Venus moves into your 8th house of banking and finance. This is a great time for attracting the money you need to purchase some of things on your flute wish list. This may come in the form of a gift from a friend or relative, or a financing opportunity from your banking institution. Be sure to read the fine print if there are any payback terms. Try to avoid signing anything until Mercury goes direct.
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 6th house of daily work and health routines. You may have come out of a really unpredictable time in your daily schedule. Were you unexpectedly pulled into random meetings? Asked to sub for ensembles around your community? Performed impromptu recitals? When Mercury goes direct, your schedule will go back to normal. Use this time to restructure your time, leaving more time between lessons, meetings, and performances for any unexpected responsibilities.
October 20th – Full Moon in your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Something that you are practicing is just not coming together around the time of the Full Moon and you may need to rethink how you approach this work. Slow it way down. Record yourself and listen carefully. Is there something you are missing? Take it apart and put it back together in chunks. Rethink your repertoire!
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 7th house of relationships. Your focus will shift onto the others in your life when the Sun moves houses. Use this time to make new friends. If there are any music conferences around your area (or online), be sure to attend and strike up conversations with other flutists you admire. What projects are they working on? Are there any opportunities to collaborate?
October 30th – Mars moves into your 7th house of relationships. Follow up with any new colleagues you met recently. Meet up for coffee (virtually or otherwise) and discuss the possibility of joint projects or recital performances in the near future. They may have some great ideas about creative ways to extend your ideas into the larger community. Follow their lead!
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
October 6th – New Moon in your 5th house of creativity and joy. You will likely be inspired to start working on a creative project around this New Moon. Have you always wanted to try your hand a composing? Do you have a great idea for an edited work or a transcription of a trumpet concerto? The New Moon will encourage you to brainstorm your idea. What do you need to do to get your vision off the ground?
October 7th – Venus moves into your 7th house of relationships. You will spend some quality time with your loved ones when Venus moves houses. Visit a local pumpkin patch and pack a picnic. Take a hike in the woods and enjoy the fall foliage. Leave your flute at home and just enjoy spending time with the most important people in your life.
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 5th house of creativity and joy. You may have wanted to start a creative project in previous weeks but came up against roadblock after roadblock, questioning your ideas before they have a chance to breathe. The New Moon has already given you inspiration to veer off in a different direction. When Mercury goes direct, you may proceed with any creative or crazy ideas bubbling in your head. Try it out! If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, try something else!
October 20th – Full Moon in your 11th house of groups and communities. You may be walking away from one of your performing groups around the time of this Full Moon. Your schedule may have erupted out of control and the rehearsal schedule no longer fits in with your current responsibilities. Or you may have been offered a position recently with another group. It is okay to say goodbye in order to move on to the next chapter in your flute life.
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 6th house of daily work and health routines. Your attention will shift onto the daily grind when the Sun changes houses. Take a critical look at some of your daily responsibilities. How balanced is your life? Are you a workaholic? Are you giving yourself enjoy time to eat, sleep, and do your laundry in addition to being a superstar flutist? If not, are there any responsibilities you can redelegate to others? Streamline your schedule!
October 30th – Mars moves into your 6th house of daily work and health routines. This is a great time to get some exercise. Mars is the Hercules warrior of the Zodiac and loves to work out. Try your hand at running if you are a hiker. Explore a kickboxing class to change things up. Attend a dance class to integrate your internal sense of rhythm with physical movement. Go. Go. Go!
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
October 6th – New Moon in your 4th house of home and family. You may be moving to a new house, a new neighborhood, a new or city around the time of this Full Moon. This is definitely an upgrade for you! Does your new space have a good flute studio set-up? How can you best organize this new environment to support your flute playing life?
October 7th – Venus moves into your 6th house of daily work and health routines. Venus will help you enjoy your daily to-dos a bit more at the beginning of the month. Carve out some time to collaborate with others. Cancers really enjoy hosting gatherings, cooking for others, and making sure everybody is healthy, happy, and well-fed. This is a great time to host a studio masterclass or a get-together with other musical colleagues. Eat, drink, and be merry.
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 4th house of home and family. You may have had a few miscommunications with family members in the recent weeks. When Mercury goes direct, you may begin to clear the air. Schedule a picnic in the park or an outing to a pumpkin patch for some much-needed family bonding time. Calmly discuss any disagreements from the previous weeks with an eye towards practical solutions. Perhaps you will need to alter your practice schedule to fit the needs of your family.
October 20th – Full Moon in your 10th house of career goals. You may be rethinking some of your most important career goals around the time of this Full Moon. Take a step back and review your progress. Are you on the right track to becoming the flutist you want to be or are you living out somebody else’s dream? It is okay to abandon goals that no longer interest you. Remember: All flutists are different. You do not need to have the same path as your colleagues or even your idols.
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 5th house of creativity and joy. Your attention will shift onto a creative project when the Sun moves signs. The Full Moon may have inspired a wonderful new creative project to help you move to the next step in your career. Start brainstorming ideas! What will your project look like? What resources will you need?
October 30th – Mars moves into your 5th house of creativity and joy. Mars will help you made some good progress on your creative project. Are you composing a new work for flute and piano? Start writing! Do you have a great melody or motive that you can transform into a series of movements? Experiment with different types of compositional tricks.
Leo (July 23-August 22)
October 6th – New Moon in your 3rd house of communication. You may be asked to write a blog post or an article about an interesting piece of flute research or a unique performance tip around the time of the New Moon. Congrats! Make sure to outline your project before you begin drafting to ensure your sub-examples all circle back to the main idea.
October 7th – Venus moves into your 5th house of creativity and joy. It is always an inspirational time when the planet of joy moves into the house of joy. Take the time to attend a concert, recital, or even an opera (virtual or otherwise). You may find yourself inspired by something you notice at this performance. How can you add this idea to your own music-making?
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 3rd house of communication. You may have experienced a number of miscommunications over the past few weeks with, well, everybody (particularly via email or social media). When Mercury goes direct, you may begin to clear the air. Invite others out for a cup of coffee (virtual or otherwise) or simply call them up and explain calmly what you had meant and, if appropriate, apologize. Listen carefully to their side – you may have not been hearing them clearly either.
October 20th – Full Moon in your 9th house of travel and higher education. A trip you had planned may be unexpectedly postponed or canceled around the time of this Full Moon. Perhaps a masterclass you were planning to perform in as a live event has been moved online. Try not to panic – Make your video performance as awesome as possible in preparation for this event. Use your flight credits for a bigger and better getaway in the future.
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 4th house of home and family. Your attention will move onto your home environment when the Sun changes houses. This is a great time to decorate your house for Halloween. You may have been feeling a bit drab over the past few weeks. Brightening up your environment with a few decorations or a wonderful piece of art may also brighten your flute playing as well!
October 30th – Mars moves into your 4th house of home and family. Practice at home as much as possible when Mars enters your 4th house. You will have a lot going on at home during this time and you will want to be as close to your family as possible. Perhaps you are overseeing some home renovations or have relatives visiting for a couple weeks. Make your home your true home base.
Virgo (August 23-September 22)
October 6th – New Moon in your 2nd house of income. You will likely be offered a new job around the time of the New Moon (or at least more responsibilities in your current position). Congrats! You won the audition. Enjoy your victory but also use this time to prepare for your new position. What can you expect in this role?
October 7th – Venus moves into your 4th house of home and family. Spend some quality time with your family when Venus moves houses. Leave your flute at home and just enjoy the changing seasons with the ones you love. Visit a pumpkin patch. Take a walk through nature and enjoy the fall foliage. Attend a concert or sporting event together and have a great time. Mozart can wait until tomorrow.
October 18th – Mercury goes direct in your 2nd house of income. You may have had some difficulties at work over the past couple of weeks. Delayed directives and mixed messages may have led to a number of disagreements with colleagues. Clear the air when Mercury goes direct. Schedule a time to meet to iron out all of the details so everybody is on the same page. Bring donuts to help literally sweeten the environment.
October 20th – Full Moon in your 8th house of banking and finance. You may be making the final payment on a loan or credit card statement around the time of this Full Moon. Congrats! You finally paid off your new flute. Saving money is not easy and you may have had to make a number of sacrifices in order to pay this balance. Nice work!
October 23rd – The Sun moves into your 3rd house of communication. Your attention will shift onto a writing project when the Sun moves signs. Do you have a really good idea for an article or a book about the flute? Do you have a favorite composer you would like to write about? Or a new, interesting teaching or performance tip? Start brainstorming ideas.
October 30th – Mars moves into your 3rd house of communication. Mars will help give you the energy to write, write, write, and write some more! You are super inspired by your idea and have a lot of say. Make sure that your writing is structured by creating an outline. This will help you avoid any wasted time writing about examples that do not connect well to your overall message. You can instead turn these ideas into blog posts or previews of your work when it is complete.
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Happy October!