September Astrology Overview
There’s a new energy seeping into our life since August 23, and that’s Scorpio. Even though Jupiter was in Fixed-sign Taurus last year, we have had a long break (since September 2007) from the energy of stability and resistance that comes from these signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius). But if you have planets in one or more of these signs, the break is over: Saturn and the Nodes are moving into Scorpio.
We had one harbinger of what’s to come, and that was Mercury’s retrograde July 17—August 7. This tracked over the zone that Saturn will traverse in its first year. Mars covers the whole range from August 23—October 6. Scorpio is a sign of Mars’s rulership, and we will feel its dignity as the strength to take on situations that we didn’t have the guts for while in flexible Virgo and conflict-averse Libra. Now we’re ready to define our path more decisively. The clearer we are now, the more we can lay the foundation upon which Saturn can build our future in the next three years’ journey through Scorpio.
Scorpio tests and changes what fails the tests. This is excellent timing, because we need to test our new structures before they get too far into development. We need to stabilize and kick out the old useless detritus of the past. What is decayed and worthless stands out now and screams for transformation. This is felt mostly in our social contacts, especially those situations where the mass of society has created institutions, like those of finance, business, the tax system, politics. Look for an escalation in the drive to make amendments to the US Constitution. (The Founders expected the original Constitution to be completely rewritten from time to time, as often as every few years.)
Keep an eye on Mars during September. We’ll be doing it amidst the final gasps of Saturn in Libra, which is highly charged as it travels over the point of the previous Saturn in Libra as it conjoined Pluto (1982-83). Underneath everything, since last October (2011) we’ve been reliving 1982-83 (even if you weren’t born yet). That was the time the world changed somewhere in our life, and we’ve been trying to get over it ever since. It’s true something wonderful came out of it, even if it was only the truth. However, it may have been difficult, even horrifying in the moment, and it brought something which has since circled inside us, both useful and challenging.
On a deeper level we opened a door to a karmic/personality pattern that needs healing. Whatever scenario was occurring then is now being played out with different characters, specially suited so we can see the truth of it and how it wasn’t quite what we thought. It has a deeper layer to it, and it has been unconsciously driving our behavior and holding us back.
The climax of the current story comes before October 5, when Saturn enters Scorpio. As it does, Mercury conjoins it at the very last minute of Libra, returning us to whatever conditions met us at the time of Saturn’s station retrograde, February 7. Except it has evolved and improved or decayed and died, bringing better harmony with the Cosmos and the dawn of a fresh, bright, uncluttered era.
Mid-month, we are reminded of the ongoing process of world transformation, as Uranus and Pluto make their second of seven squares, this one as Uranus backs over Pluto’s stationary-direct location (6°57′ Capricorn) on September 17-18. The impact of this is augmented when Mercury and the Sun enter Libra to connect the dots in a T-square on September 16—29. Hold on to your hats—it’s going to be a wild ride, with renewed fervor for truth and justice in the face of flagrant misuses of power and cruel disregard of others’ rights. In our personal lives, we have the power to be fair and forbearing, so our family and friends won’t need to start an #occupy movement against us.
September 18 marks the Full phase of Uranus’ yearly cycle, a culmination of events and situations that were activated at the end of March. Meanwhile, Pluto’s return to forward motion (September 17) lets us move in full forward mode with respect to a transformative process that began last December 28 and stimulated an alchemical meltdown from April 10.
Also notable, Venus and Mars make the third of three squares on September 27 (23°09′ Leo-Scorpio), the last of the series that began April 7 as Mars and Venus initiated their newest cycles. (The second square was on June 4, the time of the Lunar Eclipse and the Venus Transit across the face of the Sun.) Thinking back to those times will reveal what interpersonal conflict will open itself to a steady process of resolution at this time.
Meanwhile, Neptune and Chiron continue their journey backward, not far from their return to forward motion in November. Jupiter’s cycle is still opening, and we’ll get hints about what’s to come as the Sun and Mercury square it on September 7—10.
If we face challenges in September, at least some of the celestial players are willing to move to the background while we learn to incorporate yet more transformation into our circumstances. What’s most useful about this is the fact that without this transformation at the deepest of levels, we would continue to be the walking wounded in ways we could not before detect. However painful the detection process, the results will bring lifelong rewards.
(Except as otherwise noted, all interpretations in this astrological forecast are based on a natural chart, using the beginning of Aries as the ascendant, and times listed are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC–7).
A “Void Moon” or “Void of Course Moon” (or “VOC moon” for short) makes no significant aspects until it enters the next sign. Its void period is thought to be a poor time for starting new projects or making concerted effort toward existing plans.
According to William Lilly, the Moon in Cancer (Moon’s rulership), Taurus (Moon’s exaltation), Sagittarius and Pisces (signs ruled by Jupiter, the Great Benefic) “performeth somewhat.” Lee Lehmann reports that she has tested this, and “you can take it to the bank.” Another way of putting how this works in an astrological forecast is that, when an action is taken during the void period in one of these signs, you get “unanswered success.” That is, the lack of planetary action prevents your action from being denied.
Daily Astrological Forecast, September 2012
September opens with Moon in Pisces, making a mellifluous trine to Venus that perfects at 1:02 pm (4:02pm ET), commencing the Moon’s void period, although it can still be used fruitfully. We feel activated when Moon enters Aries at 10:37 pm. In general, it’s a day for creative, non-linear pursuits, as Mercury opposes Neptune, but somehow we perceive a new truth where before confusion held sway. The Mean Lunar North Node enters Scorpio, the South Node into Taurus. Always retrograde, they start at 29°60′. This changes our sense of purpose, goals, and focus, reflected in events as the eclipses move through these signs, starting in November.
The Moon continues in Aries, revealing the day’s obstacle course as it squares Pluto and conjoins Uranus. As the Moon encounters these planets in a weekly rhythm, we get a full perspective on the issues they represent to us over the course of a month.
The Moon remains in Aries, finding harmony with Jupiter before we rise, then handing over to the planets for the day. Venus finally reaches its square to Saturn to bring the past year’s lessons to a place of wisdom, as we focus on integrating what we’ve learned about love and relationship in the past year. Mars creates a peak healing experience as it completes a minor grand trine with Pluto and Chiron (Scorpio-Capricorn-Pisces), tending toward resolutions as Pluto is essentially stationary.
Mercury hits the magic 7°, where all slow planets seem to have congregated, trining Pluto and opposing Chiron. This brings an illumination that opens the doors to a transformational process that results in healing a deep, old wound. The Moon shows us what needs healing as it reiterates the Venus-Saturn square overnight, ensuring that we heal at the deepest possible levels. It is void from 4:06 am (7:06 am ET) until it enters Taurus at 8:41 am, bringing forward another Minor Grand Trine with Neptune and Pluto over the day. This allows us to use deep feeling and vivid imagination to augment our creative and feeling expressions.
Mercury sextiles Mars early in the day to activate us in a productive and organized fashion. The Taurus Moon magnifies this with near simultaneity, adding a tone of grounded enterprise that really shines forth with a Sun connection at 11:54 am (2:54 pm ET) to open the Moon’s void period. Don’t fret; we can still use the void Moon while in this sign of its exaltation.
The Moon remains void in Taurus until 9:10 pm (12:10 am on September 7 ET), allowing us some catch-up time. When Venus enters Leo at 7:48 am, she begins her challenging engagement with Mars. Our relationships become more active as we work to understand each others’ resistance. Where does it come from? Chiron also sextiles Pluto, the second of three, in the waxing phase of their 50+ year cycle. This brings to a second peak the opportunity for transformative healing that we’ve had all year. Moon takes us into the imaginative zone later on when it connects with Neptune—or maybe we’ll just get sleepy.
The Sun reaches its opening square to Jupiter, bringing to our awareness what we might need to do to fully activate the opportunities Jupiter is bringing our way over the next nine months. Moon carries on in Gemini, stimulating our creative intuition by connecting to Uranus and Chiron.
The Gemini Moon conjoins and Mercury squares Jupiter today, echoing the Sun’s revelations of yesterday, adding the mental and feeling components. These four planets are the major players in the First Quarter Sun-Moon square, which comes at 6:15 am/16°17′ Gemini-Virgo (9:15 am ET). Sparks fly as we make all the neural connections needed to really understand what’s going on with relationship processes begun in May-June. These lead to the best possible outcomes as Venus trines Uranus and sextiles the Moon-Jupiter conjunction to form a Minor Grand Trine. This is the third and final week that the same wheel has played out over the planet, resulting in stationary (stuck) weather patterns and energies that resist movement, so we can see with crystal clarity what needs changing.
In the chart cast for the US, the nation’s leader is looking good, his vision of how to manage the country’s role in the world economies harmonizes with the overall picture, although media hotheads would decry his wisdom. Nobody’s home to run the legislature as they focus on electioneering. Much attention is focused on what happens behind the scenes, and this truth is beneficial in helping the population make their choices with wisdom.
The Last Quarter Moon at 17 Gemini carries the Sabian Symbol, “The head of a robust youth changes into that of a mature thinker.” The symbol for the Sun at 17 Virgo is “a volcanic eruption bringing dust clouds, flowing lava, earth rumblings”. Transformations internal and external will exude from events of this week, bringing out new levels of maturity in everyone. A world looks on as processes larger than one life take hold and remind us of our mortality.
A harmonious crop of lunar connections leads to a harvest of deep realizations by bedtime. The Moon’s sojourn through Gemini goes void of course at 3:59 am (6:59 am ET) to bring sweet and potent dreams from the nether realms. Her movement into Cancer at 9:49 am issues a wake-up call to our instinctuitions, and we feel the impact of what we’ve airily created over this lunar cycle, begun August 17, with a late-night Plutonian culmination.
We reach Full Mercury, the Superior Conjunction, at 5:44 am (8:44 am ET) /18°12′ Virgo. Mercury has been consumed by the Sun for nearly a week, and now it will emerge as an evening star (Hesperus), the integrative phase of the Mercury cycle. Moon in Cancer gives us an overnight jolt with a square to Uranus but brings harmonious action through contacts with Mars and Sun stretching over the day.
The Moon in Cancer revs us up for Saturn’s grand finale at month’s end, as it reminds us of the challenges we still need to resolve to bring greater balance into our most important relationships. The psychic wireless lights up when Moon goes void of course at 2:58 pm (5:58 pm ET) on the Saturn contact; work from the inner realms to relieve pressure and communicate what can’t yet be said out loud. At 8:01 pm PT, the Moon enters Leo to lighten and brighten our mood.
Venus finally reaches Uranus, bringing release and relief through pleasant unexpectedness. The Moon activates this in the best way, augmenting our optimism and confidence. We could see the pitfalls of ego and false fronts with a Moon-Mars encounter that could generate conflict, so moderation is also called for.
What could be sweeter than a Fire-Air Minor Grand Trine with Moon connecting Jupiter and Saturn? Although these two planets will not connect until next year, we can enjoy a day of peace and productivity, recharging our batteries before the challenges of the next lunar month make their appearance from Saturday. Enjoy the quietude. The Moon enters its void period at 10:14 pm (1:14 am ET on September 14), with harmony abounding.
At 2:31 am (5:31 am ET), Moon enters Virgo and brings out our analytic side. We may have dreams of organizing our internal clutter as a connect with Neptune comes in the wee hours, preparing us for a day of high productivity, whether internal or external as Moon resonates with Pluto. Make your wishes! It’s the Balsamic Wishing Moon time.
The Moon wings its way through Virgo, dark as it enters the light of the Sun to bring the New Moon at 7:11 pm PT/23°37′ Virgo (10:11 pm ET). Embedded in this event are the ways we’ve set limits and eliminated distractions over the past month in order to clear the way for expansions, which will begin to blossom in the coming month. Even though major events will rumble to the surface at the same time, we can set the stage for our optimum experience now.
In the chart of the New Moon cast for the US set in Washington DC, the weather has calmed, and Indian Summer brings golden warmth to the north, perhaps interpreted as another heat wave. The Senate is unusually logical and efficient, while the House exudes chaos. What happened in May is prologue for the coming month.
The Sabian Symbol for 24 Virgo, the New Moon, is “Mary and her white lamb”. This recalls the nursery rhyme, childhood, and a state of gentleness, purity, and innocence. This can be both a weakness and a strength: a weakness if we push away the wisdom of experience in favor of ignorance, a strength if we allow inner purity to help us see the essence of what we encounter. The issue of protection of the weak and gentle versus “throwing them to the wolves” is already a political football and will come to a peak in our perceptions in the coming month.
The Moon completes her productive period in Virgo on a high note, the conjunction to Mercury in rulership/exaltation at 4:26 am PT (7:46 am ET). At 5:55 am, her entry into Libra launches us into the challenges that we will chip away at through October 4 via the planets in the Cardinal Cross, magnified by Pluto’s station direct. Mercury enters Libra at 4:22 pm, intensifying the effect.
Pluto returns to forward motion at 6°57′ Capricorn to release us from the learning stage of its yearly cycle. While it is stationary direct, its energies beam a spotlight on us that relieves pressure as it reverses the flow to externalize its effects. As the Moon moves through Libra, it translates these tensions into harmonies through Venus and Jupiter in a sweet Minor Grand Trine that offers opportunity to make amends and create agreement.
The elephant in the living room in September is Uranus’s square to Pluto at 6°57′ Capricorn, which is exact today, the second of seven contacts 2012-2015. This brings to a peak our awareness of what’s wrong with the world we live in, both personally and globally, however we see it. This is part perception and part reality, so sorting it out alleviates internal tension, as does looking at what you’ve accomplished rather than what remains to be done in your quest. The Moon takes us on another track into the past, our story from 30 years ago. We have the opportunity to lay new tracks in our relationships if we find the key locked up in these memories. The Moon’s void beings at 4:30 am on this contact (7:30 am ET), so use your dream experiences to brighten your understanding. AT 7:46 am, the Moon enters Scorpio showing us what’s coming in the next chapter of life starting October 5.
The Moon brings out our awareness of what is still in conflict in our relationship life since early April (with roots in earlier events). Pay attention and process the emotions that come up. You can take action once you can come from an open heart—probably not until after mid-afternoon at the earliest.
The Moon ends its active period in Scorpio at 6:11 am (9:11 am ET), giving us access to our inner space until 9:34 am when it goes into Sagittarius. This helps us transcend tensions with soft contacts as Mercury opposes Uranus and squares Pluto at teatime. We are buoyed by optimism in anticipation of future successes in spite of it all, as Venus sextiles Jupiter. Where there is love, there is hope.
The Moon carries on in Sagittarius, offering a perspective that broadens our focus and understanding. We’ll be able to take a more confident and philosophical approach to relationship matters today.
The Moon completes its sojourn in Sagittarius on a note of peace that opens us to what and who we truly love. It enters Capricorn at 12:20 pm (3:20 pm ET), just before today’s lunation. At 7:49 am PT, the Sun enters Libra, the Autumnal Equinox. Day and night are equal over the globe, to unify all consciousness in a moment of balance. This comes just before the next lunar event, the First Quarter Moon at 12:41 pm/0°12′ Capricorn-Libra.
This lunation is extremely powerful in revealing the truth about the deep issues that trouble us on all levels, with Moon and Sun both heading toward contacts with Uranus and Pluto. Moon will bring our feeling awareness to matters we will need to act on when Sun connects with them at the Full Moon next Saturday. All things relationship-oriented are coming to a head over the next two weeks. From the personal to the global, conflict is embedded in this Cardinal (Libra) ingress, which will foster confrontation that undermines the status quo. Under similar energies a year ago, the #occupy movement was born.
In the chart cast for Washington DC, the Cardinal heavies fall in the cadent houses cultivating action behind the scenes. There will be many deals made and broken, secret monies poured into coffers to sway the coming US elections, and power by any means amongst the corrupt. Tinkering with the election process is the prevalent skullduggery.
The First Quarter Moon is at 1 Capricorn, whose symbol is “An Indian chief claims recognition and power form the assembled tribe”. The Sun’s symbol (1 Libra) is “a butterfly preserved and made perfect with a dart through it”. This suggests the juxtaposition between real and false character claiming power. We are moved to examine the situations in our life to discern authentic worth versus a preserved and wooden beauty.
Track the Moon today as it passes by Uranus, Pluto, and Mercury from its position in Capricorn: This will inform us as to processes of deep transformation in the coming two weeks, three months, five years, and beyond.
Our understanding of what needs eliminating from our circumstances is illuminated overnight, feeding hard decisions that can be made as early as today or as late as the end of next week. It’s not that we don’t know what our best course forward is—it’s just that this step will completely change our life and once executed we step onto a bullet train into the future, leaving old conditions quickly behind. The Moon goes void at 2:19 pm PT (5:19 pm ET), offering a brief integration period until it enters Aquarius at 4:32 pm, smoothing the energies with a trine to the Sun.
The Moon traces a kite pattern today, as it waves its magic wand over Uranus, Mercury, and Jupiter to create the perfect opportunity out of our current circumstances. We gain a new perspective as we fly lithely overhead, and when we land we’ll see the path forward.
Yesterday’s harmonies culminate when Mercury trines Jupiter to foster agreement, as the Aquarius Moon activates the near-exact Venus-Mars square. This is the culmination of the series of three squares that began April 7. On the second square (June 4), the Lunar Eclipse and Transit of Venus pulled all the karmic rabbits out of the hat, with multiplicative ripple effects. Now we understand more about purpose and desire, and it’s time to make the changes that will stick, the resolution of a process begun around August 20, 2010. We have until next April to nurture them into form. At 8:33 pm, the Moon enters its void, lasting till 10:24 pm when it enters Pisces.
We’ve been feeling it, and now it’s here: the third of three Venus squares to Mars, at 23°09′ Leo/Scorpio. Although nothing is ever final, this activates an aspect of our relationship life that was unsettled, perhaps in turmoil. This square can augment conflict, leading to separation or union, depending on our will and ability to see beyond appearances. The Moon continues in Pisces, connecting us to a much-needed and much-desired healing energy as it passes over Neptune, Chiron, and Pluto in soothing contacts.
The Pisces Moon moves into the last half of the sign, contacting Jupiter and Mars over the day. Early agitation at missed opportunities gives way to determined action. At 7:35 pm (10:35 pm ET), the Moon is void of course, but in Pisces we can still activate events productively if we are so inclined.
Today bristles with spiky energy, as the Sun opposes Uranus and squares Pluto. This is the full activation of what was promised on last week’s First Quarter lunation and the Libra ingress. The revolution will not be televised, but it will be intensified by the Full Moon, which arrives at 8:19 pm PT/7°22′ Aries-Libra (11:19 pm ET).
The Cardinal energies are intensified by moon and personal motive, giving us strength to take on risk-laden actions. This commences as soon as the Moon enters Aries at 6:14 am: a feeling of spring fever in the fall; a deep thirst for justice that remains unquenched. In our personal lives, we have the power to ride and transmute the energies, but we must also take heed of what they tell us about what needs changing in our lives. Let your agitation be your guide to an internal process rather than an external action that is too harsh.
In the chart cast for Washington, this Full Moon energy is focalized in the election races of the House and Senate. The House will display wild antics and chaos, while the Senate a process more tempered but critical to the fate of the nation for many years to come. This is a turning point in American politics.
The Sabian Symbol of 8 Aries is “a woman’s hat with streamers blown by the east wind”. The Sun is at 8 Libra, “a blazing fireplace in a deserted home”. These symbols perhaps suggest a coming storm, the east wind a sign of perturbed weather, but the blazing fire will warm and protect us when we need it. A strong home can weather the storms of life, and as a strong nation can the storms of freedom versus oppression by the powerful. In our personal lives, we can face challenges knowing we have the foundation of those who love us, an enfolding and strengthening love.
As if to make up for yesterday’s turmoil, the Moon rests, finding harmony at midday with wise Jupiter, the comfort of companionship.
For more than 20 years, Terry Lamb (M.A. Linguistics, UC San Diego; C.A. NCGR, EEMCP) has been helping people to understand how cycles and energies work and interact in their lives. She augments her astrological acumen with energy medicine, Yijing (Chinese Book of Change), cosmology, psychology, and a broad range of health and spiritual studies.
Terry is among the nation’s most knowledgeable, insightful, and engaging astrologers. With pragmatic optimism and compassion, Terry’s approach has helped clients and students find their own way to “walk among the stars”. She is dedicated to using astrology as a way to create our future and free ourselves from “fate”. She goes along with Abraham Lincoln, who said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Her unique approach to astrology can be learned through her home study and apprenticeship programs (contact her directly).
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