The Anglo-Saxon name for September was Haligmonath, Holy Month. Its goddess energies include the signs of Chaste Virgo and Judicious Libra, and the transmuting portal of Fall Equinox, which marks the shift into fall, the season of transmutation.
As sunlight begins to acquire a tone of shade, and students bustle back to school, there’s certain sense of urgency to get things done. Virgo’s diligent industry has kicked in, and this year it carries the special power of the recent Solar Eclipse New Moon of August 21. Conjunct Mars, that portal gave September’s first waxing Moon cycle an intensity and assertiveness that emboldens the Virgo Sun, imbuing our will to work with new impetus.
For most of the month, Mercury will be retrograde or in storm (a week of slow movement as it turns direct) and shadow. Until the New Moon in Virgo of September 19, when the messenger planet also emerges from shadow, our drive can help us plow through obstacles—most of all, our own inertia—making of these days a time of breakthrough on things we began previously.
Mars, planet of action and Lord of the recent Eclipse, also gets his spoon, or rather his sword, in the pot of planetary influences, keeping our energy level up.
On Saturday, September 2, the warrior of the solar system trines Uranus in Aries, sign of Mars’ rule, and he does it from 28 Leo, the degree of the recent Solar Eclipse. Themes that were detonated then will tend to flare up, and the meaning of that Eclipse will probably become more apparent.
In politics, brute testosterone is apt to be unleashed. Yet the Eclipse also unleashed heart potential. If we listen to and act on our higher instincts, we can open new doors for the energy of love. Crisis situations triggered by both of August’s eclipses can become opportunities to take a stand for kindness that actually brings us closer to significant others, kindred souls, and all sentient beings.
Don’t be surprised if these concerns and ties, along with a sense of urgency in our personal projects, will keep us even busier than usual during Sun’s transit through Virgo, sign of the 24-hour worker, and making a dent in our sleep schedules.
On Sunday, September 3, Mars is again on stage as he takes a hit from Mercury retrograde in Leo. It’s a good time to review priorities since the year began, and organize for action.
In fact, we should try to act this same day, since on Tuesday, September 5, Sun pulls the covers off the dreamer as he opposes mystical-magical Neptune in Pisces, sign of its rule. Objectivity is put on hold, and communications may lead to confusion, but this is great time to prepare for the next day’s Full Moon in Pisces, which calls us to retrieve our powers of visualization, intuition, and celestial love in a way that allows us to function in the world of appearances.
Also on September 5, Mars enters Virgo, lending its vigor to our follow up.
On Wednesday, September 6, Moon goes full in Pisces, shifting from her waxing to her waning phase. Conjunct Neptune, this lunation brings to light the area of our charts and lives that the planet of dreams, compassion and angels happens to be transiting at 13 Pisces.
This is the Wine Moon, a portal of altered states of consciousness that awakens our yearning for connections and states beyond the material world.
But wait, there are some surprise ingredients in this cauldron’s brew: First of all, Luna makes a close sextile to Pallas, asteroid of worldly strategy, in grounded, prosperous Taurus.
The Sabian symbol underscores the call to apply her gifts.
A LADY WRAPPED IN A LARGE STOLE OF FOX FUR… The use of intelligence and mental subtlety as a protection against trials…
Dane Rudhyar’s commentary on this symbol reminds those who have high ideals to nonetheless heed our positive animal instinct and apply our acuity to create a strategic context that allows us to operate in the world:
The key to its interpretation is fox fur… In symbolism and mythology, the fox is always a clever and subtle animal… spiritual will and the ability to stand facing tests are crucial and necessary in any challenging situation that an individual meets within a power-oriented group. But the sword-like will always has to be shielded, and intelligence or acumen can be the most precious help in danger.
It is a personal (i.e. “animal” or “instinctual”) shield, perhaps even a camouflage. It hides the central will, but it keeps the individual from central hardships… It is a self-protective way of meeting the inclemencies of weather, actual or psychic, which abound as one leads a life consecrated to a vaster Whole, for this very consecration arouses strong enmities. THE NEED FOR PROTECTIVE SHIELDING IS IMPERATIVE, AND GLAMOR CAN BE AN EFFECTIVE SHIELD.
The mutable nature of Virgo and Pisces tends to adapt to the will of others. Yet this portal’s vibrations, and those of the entire month, call us to take the driver’s wheel.
Full Moons are usually better for culmination than for seeding, but this one works for both.
Suggestions for Sun and Rising Signs at the Wine Moon, 2017
Aries
This Wine Moon helps you reconnect with your calling to help others, a strong call but one you tend to ignore or postpone. Find a way to do it that is not only compassionate but smart. Support a spiritual teacher or cause that serves from the heart.
…. Get the rest of the signs and the whole story now! Become a Premium Subscriber! Or, if you are already a Premium Subscriber, log in here.
Crystal Pallas Pomeroy, Maya’s daughter and astrological protégé, offers in-depth astrological consultations from her home in Mexico, in person or via Skype. She is a noted author as well as a regular radio and television commentator on esoteric topics, and leads a spiritual and healing ministry in Mexico City. Crystal offers workshops on astrology, the sacred feminine, indigenous spirituality, and the goddess in beautiful locations throughout Mexico. Her book Angels & Goddesses (Llewellyn, Spring 2022) is available now. Reach Crystal by email here.