The planets in September help us to rapidly move on the big changes which most of us are initiating in our lives. It’s follow-through month.

Sun is in Virgo for most of the month, then in Libra for the last week. Leo New Moon on August 18 begins a Leo energy field which lasts until New Moon in Virgo on September 17. These three signs—Leo, Virgo, and Libra overlap in different ways during September. For instance, Leo’s ruler, Sun, is traveling through Virgo during most of the month. And Virgo’s ruler, Mercury, travels through Libra during the entire month.

Leo, Virgo, and Libra are all social signs. They need people, conversation, a give and take with others. Those professions which deal with the public, from food service to medical service, abound in these three signs. September, then, is a great month for social interaction.

Virgo, the over-riding influence, is about doing things right—correcting mistakes, solving problems, learning skills—whatever it takes to become more healthy and competent. Leo is about letting your sun shine—dramatizing yourself and your life for your audience, warming everyone around you with heart energy. And Libra takes us into the spiritual, idealistic realm of relationships, where social justice and balance are paramount.

Within this milieu of great social activity, we continue to experience the theme of the times, the great Gemini-Sagittarius polarity. Ideas, communication, philosophy, religion, and politics are all associated with this polarity. So are advertising, marketing, and promotion. We just began to experience the Pluto-Saturn opposition in this polarity, with powerful Pluto in Sagittarius opposing Saturn, the Builder, in Gemini. This opposition means that now, from August 2001 to May 2002, we are undergoing major structural transformation in our lives.

Gemini and Sagittarius are mutable signs. The other two mutable signs are Virgo and Pisces. Mutable signs are flexible, versatile, mentally and often spiritually oriented, and often indecisive. Whenever Moon travels through any of these signs, the Gemini-Sagittarius opposition is stimulated, and there is action. This happens for a couple of days each week.

Now, in addition, we have Sun in Virgo—for much of September—vitalizing planets in both Gemini and Sagittarius. Communicating, planning, studying, and thinking are mutable activities which Sun will encourage. The first two weeks in September are very busy.

A special date is September 8, when Mars finally finishes its 8-month sojourn in Sagittarius, and enters Capricorn. This is like morning-after. Capricorn brings high-flying Sag down to earth, and we sober up in a hurry. Sun in common-sensical Virgo helps our grounding.

Saturn turns retrograde on September 27, and will travel in reverse (from earth’s vantage point) until February 8. Government, economics, and all structures—social and physical—will be emphasized in the days around this date. Business will slow down and turn inwards, focusing more on internal matters during the next few months..

In summary, we will be very busy during September, and most of that activity will be connecting with other people—to learn, to express, or to balance.