With the heavenly spheres continuing their ever-shifting course, we can breathe a sigh of relief as September sees a return to some small modicum and elemental and modal balance. In contrast to much of August which lacked any major planets in air signs, Mars, even in its detriment in Libra, is something that we’ll happily take if only to inject some form of mental puzzle into our lives, breaking up the earth-bound practicality that seemed to characterize the summer. While the God of War classically struggles in Aphrodite’s domiciles, this may be the month when our capacity for creative problem-solving is tested. Nowhere will this be more apparent than in the domain of our personal relationships: romantic, platonic, or collegially work-related.
Venus channels fearless Ishtar from her courageous seat in fiery Leo. As the Morning Star, she’s liable to have Mars refusing to take ‘no’ for an answer in the weeks ahead. And, with Mars having abandoned the rational practicality of Virgo in the waning days of August, its ride through the sign of the scales may be tempestuous. Mars’ only major aspect is a challenging opposition to retrograde Chiron in Aries on September 24, making the next few weeks a master class in holding the tension of the opposites. How well do we integrate the feelings of others when what we so desperately want is on the line? Will the wounds of the past have us holding back in lieu of keeping the status quo with important people in our lives?
Thankfully, there’s a little hope on the relationship front as Venus turns direct on September 3. Retracing her summer steps through the Sun’s sky temple, the last of her three-peat transits with Jupiter, Uranus, and Chiron will perfect this month — and each time with a celestial body that is or has just turned retrograde. This is the final act for storylines commenced back in June, which might have seen the topics of money, wealth, creativity, innovation, sudden changes, and relationship healing spotlighted. The squares to Jupiter and Uranus on September 17 and 23 respectively, as well as the trine to Chiron on September 29, are the only major aspects Venus makes this month, but while she’s raring to go, the planets she kisses may be more hesitant dance partners leading us to question whether the timing is right to move forward on myriad fronts.
We may not be back to benefic blessings from the Universe as Venus’ turn direct sees the retrograde baton passed onto Jupiter. The Greater Benefic stations retrograde from September 4 to December 30, making for a potentially underwhelming period where we really get to test the adage, “Good things come to those who wait.” With the archetypal money-maker, expander of horizons, foreign traveller, seeker of wisdom and erudite philosopher taking its turn on the backwards rollercoaster, we may see the brakes suddenly applied to our best-laid plans. And, of course, we can’t overlook that the fact that many of the trines that Mercury, the Sun and Venus form to Jupiter this month will take place while Jove is in its retrospective mode. Though the mathematical configurations between the planets suggest positivity, don’t expect any of these cosmic meet-ups to shower you with good fortune, unless, perhaps, you count the wisdom of hindsight as an especially auspicious gift.
When Mercury turns direct on September 15, we can all resume the population of our personal diaries without fear of last-minute cancellations and impromptu rescheduling. Mercury, however, will remain in Virgo until October 5, leaving us to pick up the pieces and clean out the muck of any retrograde mess it might have left for us. On the bright side, in its more diligent earthy home, Mercury is a stellar problem-solver. Donning its analytical hat, a direct Hermes will be in fine form to help us make intellectual sense of August’s havoc.
Before that, however, its conjunction with Sol on September 6, initiates Mercury’s new synodic cycle. Embrace the planet’s Promethean newness: this is the commencement of a vital rebirth where we can contemplate new ideas and make fresh plans, backed by the certitude and scrutiny of a domiciled and exalted Mercury in Virgoan finery. This may be a helpful energy to underpin the Virgo New Moon taking place between September 14–15. We can turbo-charge our personal renewal, getting our lives back on track after any retrograde derailments.
The retrograde Saturn storyline sticks out like a sore thumb throughout most of this month. In a quincunx with Mars to start September, we may be overlooking something crucial involving emotional boundaries and more circumspect care with our personal well-being. The sign-based oppositions to the Sun and Mercury — pulling double-duty in their oppositions to retrograde Neptune as well — suggest a fundamental tension between what we think we want and what we feel to be true. The Sun’s opposition to Neptune perfects on September 19, just before it slides into Libra, accentuating the polarity between our solar agenda and the dreamy side of our intuitive longings.
On September 23, the Sun enters Libra. As we prepare to usher in the numinous darkness, the tonal shift shouldn’t catch anyone off-guard. Now we turn to the harvest of seeds sown earlier this year. The journey ahead is one of contemplation but also possibility as we set ourselves the arduous task of surveying all that has come to fruition and what may have been left to the wayside as the ebb and flow of eternal planetary movements demanded different things from us over the course of the year.
With all the social and transpersonal planets retrograde this month, the emphasis on stock-taking will be amplified not least because these planets of expansion, possibility, imagination and transformation are all in their more interior phase. Pluto will be the first planet to turn direct in October, but, before then, we have a much-needed opportunity to rethink major changes implemented earlier this year which could have seen everything from our work lives to our financial health take wild rides on the planetary fairground. How are you managing the reckoning of all that you cast aside? Have the changes you implemented met your expectations? Use this time to contemplate necessary course corrections as needed.
The month closes with the Aries Full Moon on September 29. The nested lunar energies see plans set in motion under the Virgo New Moon two weeks earlier come to a head, while the intentions seeded under the Aries New Moon back in April may come full circle. The energetic profile back in the spring was more catalytic, with the April 20 lunation taking place on a potent solar eclipse. That lunation was a watershed for new beginnings and necessary endings in the ram-ruled areas of our lives. Check in on what was seeded by re-visiting your rising sign horoscope for that lunation.
The fiery Aries Full Moon will be a welcome injection of spritely energy, opposed by that exiled Libran Mars and disposited by firecracker Venus in the last degrees of Leo. Venus will conjunct Juno in Leo at the moment the lunation perfects, spotlighting the themes of partnership, creativity, and the sacrifices we need to make on all these fronts for the realization of our hopes and dreams.
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