Enlightened Empaths

It’s time to take a peek and explore the astrological influences for October 2026, filled with retrogrades, new moons, and planetary shifts! Samantha and Denise share and discuss how these influences may impact personal growth, relationships, and self-care.

The Venus retrograde beginning in Scorpio on October 3rd and later returning to Libra, gives us the opportunity to look at issues around trust and emotional safety, reciprocity in relationships, potentially unfinished romantic and friendship issues. A good question for empaths: Am I taking care of other people at my own expense?

Communication may need a little more care and finesse. You may want to wait before sending emotionally charged messages, ask direct questions rather than assuming, and allowing conversations to unfold over time. The full moon in Taurus on October 26th emphasizes the body and physical stability. Regular meals and sleep, spending time outdoors, being aware of overstimulation, practicing breathwork and gentle movement could all be beneficial and help you self-regulate.

Early October: Avoid rushing relationship decisions; watch for emotional escalation.

Around October 10: Set intentions for balanced, mutual connections.

Mid-month: Review personal boundaries and release outdated emotional roles.

Late October: Communicate slowly, verify details, and prioritize physical grounding.

Please remember these are potential energies, you always have choice and free will. Hope you have a wonderful month of October!

Please join us in welcoming Amelia for this Share Your Light episode. Amelia shares her transformative journey through dreams, internal family systems, and creative expression, offering insights into healing childhood wounds and navigating midlife transitions with grace and self-awareness.

Through Artsy Partswork, Amelia offers IFS-informed peer support and dreamwork while focusing on the identity shifts that come with midlife. She believes our dreams and inner parts can invite us to become curious about who we are beneath the roles we’ve carried for years, while supportive friendships can give us the courage and companionship to discover who we’re becoming.

After spending much of her life keeping parts of herself hidden, Amelia is now exploring what it means to be more visible, trust her own inner wisdom, and create spaces where women can say, “Me too.” Her approach isn’t about telling people what to believe. It’s about creating a safe, curious space to explore what they already sense within themselves.

For more information about Amelia and her offerings, please visit: artsypartswork.com

It’s our monthly episode featuring stories, questions and comments from listeners in our Enlightened Empaths community! Please join us as we explore insights on intuition, dreams, environmental concerns, and personal growth.

If you would like to submit a question or story for a Community Connections episode, please email us: enlightenedempaths@gmail.com

For more information on Samantha’s services and upcoming events: samanthafey.com

Denise and her offerings are at: thegratefulmessenger.com

Melissa Ann Lester is an integrative healer, author, mentor, and teacher whose work weaves
transpersonal psychology, somatic practices, energy medicine, and earth-based wisdom.
Rooted in a holistic, trauma-informed approach, she supports others navigating moments of
unraveling, awakening, and deep transition as they reconnect with their inner wisdom and
return home to themselves.

Her own healing journey began with therapy as her entryway, and eventually she felt called to
be a witness and guide for others, serving as a Licensed Professional Counselor for more than
ten years. A series of spiritual initiations profoundly deepened her work, ultimately leading her
to answer a soul-led calling: releasing her clinical license to offer healing that integrates the full
spectrum of the human experience — mind, body, and spirit.

Melissa holds a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling, is certified in Complementary
and Alternative Medicine, is an Usui Reiki Master, and draws from her studies in somatics and
earth-based wisdom. For now she walks alongside individuals in one-on-one work, with
seasonal programs and group offerings beginning to take shape. She lives in Decatur, Georgia,
with her husband and two cats, where she is happily surrounded by trees.

You can follow her writing in her monthly musings newsletter and find her at
www.melissaannlester.com and on Instagram at @melissaannlester.

Have you ever wondered if there was a way you could connect more fully with your own inner thoughts and programming in order to enhance your life? We all can by becoming more aware of the power of our subconscious mind!

The subconscious mind is the silent architect of our reality; it interprets symbols, stores every experience, and shapes our decisions long before our conscious mind catches up. When we have a clearer understanding of how it works, it gives us the ability to reprogram our inner world so we can make the life shifts we are ready to manifest.

Exercises to retrain the subconscious:

Mirror Exercise – speak to yourself in the second person. Your subconscious receives this as an instruction, a task to complete, rather than a wish. “You are successful” or “You are healthy, wealthy and happy.”

Gratitude Letter – Write a letter to yourself as though your goal has already happened. Use the present tense.

Symbolic Visualization Ritual

Choose one goal.

Identify three symbols that represent that goal.

Spend 2 minutes visualizing each symbol in vivid detail.

Repeat daily for 21 days.

The more you get to know your inner world, the more you are able to shine your own light more brightly!

For more information about Samantha and her offerings:samanthafey.com

Denise and her services can be found at: thegratefulmessenger.com