After a whirlwind of a summer, with eclipses and retrogrades unfolding left and right, seeing September on the horizon looks more appealing than ever. The Mars retrograde story that began in June has reached its end, and now we’re left sifting through the ashes of that which needed to be set ablaze. Mars primarily holds rulership over our self assertion, drive, vigor, force, and sexuality. Whichever house Mars is moving through in our charts by transit is an area of life that’s having a fire lit under it, and often in the case of Mars retrograde that fire tends to scorch. Look to your Aquarius/Capricorn houses to see where the primary story was being told. Presently, Mars has reversed out of Aquarius and has landed back into the late degrees of Capricorn, which echoes themes from May when Mars last visited these degrees. We’re currently being reinvigorated by the goals and plans for ourselves that we developed back in spring of 2018 that may have gone askew or totally lost in the noise.
September 2nd is host to the third quarter moon in Gemini, which echoes back to the emotional experiences we faced back on the Pisces full moon of August 26th. Quarter moons are equally as important as new and full moons, but they don’t typically get the same amount of hype. Quarter moons, deserve a shout out though, for they represent shifts in between these major phases that take place on a more internal level. During the waning cycle of the moon we’re breaking down old structures, not starting out fresh with new projects. We seek to renew. The third quarter moon is the closing square from the opposition of the full moon. Third quarter moons were coined a “crisis in consciousness” by the great astrologer Dane Rudhyar. This crisis in consciousness takes place in order to align our actions with our beliefs. We often can have breakthroughs and collapses during third quarter moons, simply in order to realize that we need to act in better alignment with our feelings. During this phase of the moon, we’re assimilating and re-orienting ourselves to the awareness that we gained back on the full moon.
On September 6th, the messenger planet Mercury enters into one of two signs that he has rulership of, Virgo. When Mercury moves through Virgo he takes on some healthy vigor, being in his own sign and moving direct allows Mercury to operate at his strongest and most efficient. Mercury in Virgo invites us to cleanse our minds and spaces of clutter and get ourselves working at our most optimal efficiency. Mercury will remain in Virgo until September 22nd, so take advantage of this time to get your schedule down pact and get your mind and workspace organized! On the same day, Saturn stations direct after many months of moving retrograde. Saturn direct will prompt us to start taking initiative on new responsibilities and projects in our lives. When Saturn is retrograde, it’s best to cut back on taking on too many new things at once. Over the course of summer we were asked to release ourselves from situations that had become tiresome or no longer fruitful. Now, with Saturn direct, we’re encouraged to start involving ourselves once again with new projects and worthwhile obligations. Get to it! Mercury and the Sun in Virgo will aid all of us in wanting to accomplish our goals to the best of our abilities, so take advantage of the work ethic we currently possess!
On September 7th, the Sun in Virgo comes into a disorienting opposition with dreamy Neptune in Pisces. Around these few days we may feel exhausted by our mundane realities and can find ourselves feeling idealistic, dreamy, or utterly tuned out. Allow yourself to zone out to some music, embrace your creatives side, or go see a film! All things that will please Neptune instead of instigate. Sun/Neptune aspects can make us want to escape the earthly plane, and we can be drawn to using drugs and alcohol to help lift us up and away. Do what you gotta do, but just don’t float away too far! On September 9th, we’re graced with a beautiful New Moon in Virgo. This lunar cycle will see our intentions set around becoming more efficient, organized, and precise in our crafts and workmanship. Though this new moon is born in an earth sign, interestingly all of the major aspects that it makes are to planets in water signs, making this new moon full of fertile, wet earth for us to plant seeds of new intentions in. The new moon is opposing Neptune, which tells us the month ahead will have us vacillating between the spiritual and the physical, the reality vs. the dream. The new moon also is trine to Pluto, which signals a smooth transference of emotional healing over the course of the next month. We may find ourselves growing faster than ever before as we see our demons clearly now and can find ways to work with them, rather than against.
On the same day of the new moon, Venus moves into Scorpio, the sign of her detriment. When Venus is in Scorpio, our love nature tends to take on an intensified, emotionally possessive form. This is part of the reason why Venus doesn’t operate at her best in Scorpio, because she can become overly concerned with the possession of a partner, and less so about the give and take of relationship. We may need to keep ourselves in check if we become obsessive about our partners or love interests. Passions run strong now and we have no interest in engaging in superficialities. Expect deep, emotionally intense conversations to crop up between you and bae, and do you best to engage with them.
On September 11th, Mars returns back to his Aquarian stomping grounds, where he resided most of the summer. It’s likely we will be rehashing some of the Mars retrograde themes that arose for us, but this time we will be reaching a sense of completion about the situation. Mars will be moving forward through the Aquarius section of our charts until November 16th, so we have plenty of time to unpack and resolve the underlying story of our summer. Come September 12th, relationship oriented Venus comes into an opposition with volatile, anything goes Uranus. During this day and those leading up to it we can expect to have some turbulence erupt in our relationships or monetary situations. It’s a good time to seek out ways to spice things up with your partner. During this time, the same ol’ same ol’ just doesn’t cut it. If you’ve been rethinking your relationship in general, this opposition can give either one of you the courage to step away from the partnership. Uranus always wants to excite and ignite, so take whatever comes in stride and try to use that energy to do something new instead of sit back feeling stagnant or resentful.
On September 16th, warrior planet Mars comes into a conflicted square with eccentric Uranus. Tempers are easily tested now, as fire and electricity merge to make for some shocking upsets or outbursts. People are easily triggered to anger, excitement, and impulsive action during tense Mars/Uranus aspects, so watch what you say and be aware that others may be feeling on edge. On September 22nd, Mercury moves out of efficient and organized Virgo and into the equality seeking realms of Libra. Mercury in Libra is a Venus ruled Mercury, tending our thoughts and communication towards a calm and peace seeking bent, which may be needed after the fires of the Mars/Uranus square! Our minds long to work on perfecting the balancing act held that is inherently held within all partnerships. The Sun follows suit and enters Libra on September 23rd, tinting our vision with rose colored glasses. When the Sun ingresses into Libra, we come upon the fall equinox, where day and night are of equal measure. Libra strives for this same balance of day and night in all it does. Libra season will have us working out all of the kinks in our partnerships, focusing most on where we can accomplish equilibrium and will bring out the artistry in all of us. Libra season summons the changing colors of fall, the beginning of the end, with all of its dramatic beauty to behold.
September 25th sees the end of the month culminate in a particularly fiery blaze with the annular full moon in Aries. This full moon is perfectly square to Saturn, signaling a conflict within our current responsibilities and inhibitions. Typically, an aries full moon alone would heighten the pioneering, impulsive, and assertive nature of Aries. A full moon in the first fire sign is often a little easier to manage emotion wise, but the square to Saturn speaks of some heaviness on the horizon. Saturn’s influence tends to make us feel isolated, not good enough, or downright fearful. During this full moon, trust that if you’re feeling a little down or alone, it’s not forever. Saturn’s mature and stern influence sure knows how to put a damper on the young, impulsive ram. To add more heat to the fire, Mars is conjunct the south node for the final time of three passes. The ruler of this full moon is Mars, so as the one who is calling the shots, we find him in a pretty weakened and submissive position conjunct the South node, not great for the soldiering, self assertive planet that Mars is. The south node is associated with bad habits from the past- it’s a place where we need to release in order to grow. Ultimately the south node shows us our self sabotaging habits that drain us of energy and impede us from growth, the ones we tend to fall back on when we need a crutch and don’t know what move to make. This may be the time where the Mars retrograde story of the summer really finds some completion, though not without its fair share of struggle and strain. Be patient with yourself and others, for everyone may be feeling this final emotional energy drain.
That being said, I hope you all have a beautiful September! Please feel free to write to me through email or on instagram if you experience any of these dates as particularly on point for you and want to share some relevant astro stories!
Love,
Mack and the Zodiac