September is an outgoing, fast-moving month—despite a Mercury retrograde for the last half of the month. And despite the receptive Virgo energy-field.

Virgo is a sign of analysis. It is a time to pay attention, and to develop better techniques and skills for accomplishing one’s goals. Back-to-school time applies to life in general during Virgo season. There is always more to learn or to improve, and during Virgo time we can see exactly how to do it.

Work and service are particular Virgo themes. What is our greatest service? Our "right work"? What are the conditions we need for maximum performance? Virgo is the sign of the harvest, and we need to decide what and how to harvest earth’s abundance, and that includes our own talents. And we need to work to bring those products and potentials to usable form.

Virgo energy includes "the services," as well as service in general. All public services, including police and military, are emphasized during Virgo’s season. GW Bush has Mars, the planet of goal-oriented action, in the sign of Virgo. He turns easily to police and military action.

GW’s Mars conjoins Black Hole Apsu. Apsu was the Babylonian (Baghdad?) Lord of the Abyss, the waters which surround and hold up the earth. Many of the principals in the O.J. Simpson trial had close contacts with Apsu. Nuclear explosions are connected with Apsu, as well as the first World Trade Center bombing.

As with Pluto, Black Hole action can be very compulsive. Mars itself transits Virgo this month, and it is at Apsu’s degree from September 11-15. It also conjoins GW’s natal Mars then, thus beginning a new two-year Mars cycle for him. Mars, a planet of action, describes how we use our aggressive energy.

Mercury begins its retrograde journey September 14, during the Mars-Apsu period. For the next three weeks we will review and rewrite the past. It may have to do with the structural transformation whose beginning was marked by the 9-11 terrorism.

The infamous Pluto and Saturn, both involved in that ten-month deep change process, are being highly stimulated from September 6-October 14. (Many articles and paragraphs about this difficult process can be found in the archives.)

Jupiter, freshly into Leo, is eagerly moving along to bless all Leo energy for the next year. Jupiter’s biggest hit this month is its opposition to Neptune in Aquarius, effective all month, but exact on September 11. Ironically, on this anniversary date, this can be a deceptive aspect. Jupiter, King of the Gods, expects a lot and usually gets it. Cosmic Neptune can be carried away by dreams and visions. With grandiose Jupiter, those visions are big ones, and may bear very little relation to a common reality.

Jupiter with Neptune encourages idealism. It is especially important now to use this analytical and practical Virgo energy to check the substance of ideals with both the current reality and the reality one really wants, and to stay grounded and centered.

Jupiter and Neptune also stir a general, nonspecific restlessness. We have urgings for greater perspective and new adventures, but we can’t quite see the mysterious future which beckons us.

For some, the sleaze aspects of power, greed, corruption, and sex beckon, as Venus moves through Scorpio. Special testing days are September 24-25.

Grand trines in fire and air throughout September further promote flights of fancy. Here, review of past experiences encouraged by the retrograde Mercury can help us remember consequences before we take off for what could be a fall. Remember Icarus, who flew too close to the sun? Jupiter in Leo is like the sun, and encourages us to be blinded and burned by our own ego attachments, especially when connected with cloudy, foggy Neptune.

It is important now to notice our feelings before getting carried away by head trips. And others’ feelings as well. Compassion is a particularly important quality now, with the air-fire tendency to run over feelings. Retrograde Mercury in Libra can help us with consciousness of others.

The dominance of fire and air elements also means that literal fires will tend to proliferate. Drought and dryness will thrive.

There are two other main themes in September. One is great strides in technology, especially in regard to weapons and surveillance. The other is corporate money. There will be new revelations of corruption, which will lead to a backlash of more secrecy and cover-up. The period around mid-month will be particularly active.

The weekend of September 20-23 is very high energy. This includes Equinox, which ushers in the fall season. Fighter Mars Squares powerful Pluto then to portend a season of violence—probably fueled by out-of-control Jupiterian fantasies of being king-of-the-hill, as well as by continually emerging corruption scandals.

This is an ideal set-up for a wag-the-dog scene at the White House.

Our biggest personal challenge in September is to stay grounded in our own real selves, and our own real lives. Simply witnessing ourselves in a non-judgmental way is a very effective pathway to knowing ourselves. Yes, witnessing is simple—but very difficult to remember to do. Virgo and retrograde Mercury can both help us learn to use this extraordinarily effective technique for staying centered in self.