Now that we’re past 1st September, here in Australia our calendars tell us we’re in spring, but spring doesn’t really take effect until the Spring Equinox on the 23rd, and what a spring it looks to be. I’ll explain more below.
The month starts with Venus still dazzlingly bright in the Western evening sky just after sunset. Last month on the 21st she and Mars met up for a rendezvous. Now Venus moves ahead of Mars, although visually she’s seen above Mars throughout the month. If you’re out stargazing, be careful not to mistake Mars for the star Spica, much brighter than Mars.
In this Mars-Venus dance, Venus now acts as leader, showing Mars the benefit of negotiation, co-operation, respect for difference and diplomacy whenever different needs or values conflict. This doesn’t mean being fake (a downside of Venus), but it does mean acknowledging, listening and responding, rather than running or attacking. Mars demands honesty & direct communication. Venus demands patience, courtesy and time to reflect before making decisions.
The energies of Mars assertion and Venus negotiation are being role-modelled in Australian politics with the ongoing intense talks to move beyond a hung parliament. The election happened at the time Mercury went Retrograde (21/22 August). We are certainly witnessing Mercury Retro acting out big time in Australian politics. We can only imagine what’s going on behind the scenes with meeting after meeting to sort out differences and reach agreements.
In our personal lives, Mercury Retro operates similarly. We want to move ahead but find ourselves slowed down by ‘issues’, either with others or within ourselves. When these obstacles arise the best approach is usually to pause, reflect and view things from a different angle. Once we’ve sorted out our behind-the-scenes glitches, we can move forward with important insights. Mercury goes Direct on 13 September, but we won’t be completely out of the woods until Mercury moves past the degree of the zodiac it went retrograde at (19 Virgo) on 27 September.
Back to the topic of Venus and Mars and how they affect love, romance, marriage and relationships of all sorts, including business connections… Venus moves into Scorpio on 9 September and Mars follows by entering Scorpio on the 15th. Unpleasant truths around power imbalances, manipulation or secrets can emerge when Scorpio is highlighted. We become more sensitive to noticing infidelity, energy drainage, underhand competition, bullying, win-lose dynamics. Yet Scorpio also shows the great advances that can be made when people join powerfully together with honesty and transparency.
Relationships of many varieties are being put through evolutionary leaps throughout September while Mars and Venus have their ongoing conversations and/or arguments. Yet the reward is a ‘kiss and make up’ on 4 October when Mars catches up to Venus, reminiscent of Venus catching up to Mars on 21 August. So, in late September / early October, new relationships find their feet, previously estranged relationships have a chance to reunite and clear cobwebs, outgrown relationships sort out the nuts and bolts of separation dynamics, and those who are single and wishing to be partnered have a greater chance of meeting their significant other.
If no significant other arrives, don’t lose heart. Venus and Mars are in a complex dance that continues until almost the middle of next year, by which time many relationship confusions resolve. September is the month for improving truthfulness, intimacy and trust, and talking through tough issues.
It’s interesting to note that the day after Mercury shifts Direct again, Pluto – the planet that rules Scorpio – shifts Direct too (on 14 September). This emphasises the importance of finding the right way to handle truths. Some issues are raw and delicate – Pluto indicates a psychologist, counsellor or therapist might be needed to help find ways to address big truths, discern the right approach with secrets, or help work through anger, grief or loss.
Last month, Uranus jumped back into Pisces and this month, on the 9th, Jupiter joins Uranus there. With both Jupiter and Uranus travelling Retro in the final degrees of Pisces, we are taken through a powerful review of the past seven years. Uranus brings awareness upgrades to whatever zodiac sign it’s in. Over the past seven years in Pisces (since March 2003), Uranus has tried to wake us out of false hopes, dreams, fantasies or illusions. In effect, Uranus has been trying to get us to withdraw from other people’s expectations or fantasies of who we are and how we should be, including the dreams our culture encourages us to accept.
In Pisces Uranus says ‘discern what is a false dream for you, recover from the disillusionment and frustration of walking in false dreams, find ways to discover your real dreams and devote time to them.’ From 9 to 28 September, Jupiter and Uranus travel powerfully together to help us jump out of wrong dream tracks. Sometimes we are following our authentic dream, but then our dream changes. This is also a possibility when Jupiter and Uranus connect.
The strongest date of the Jupiter-Uranus alignment is 19 September. If you have been following your own genuine dreams, around that time you’re likely to get confirmation that the dreams are becoming real. It might’ve been a long hard slog over the past seven years as one illusion and/or safety net after another dissolved to make way for authentic self-expression, so celebrate the days around 19 September when you may very well get a lucky break. If it doesn’t come then, don’t lose heart. Uranus continues to bring breakthroughs in Pisces until March 2011.
If you’re inadvertently hooked to something that’s still undermining your efforts, you’re likely to get a deeper awareness of this around the 19th so that you can unplug from it, shift it and be ready for a breakthrough between now and March. Or if your dream does not show signs of manifesting in the form you wished it to, September is a month to let go of exactly how you wanted your efforts to pan out and surrender to divine wisdom regarding how your soul purpose materialises. Don’t give up hope, stick strongly to the core of your truth, keep the flame lit and wait to see what surprises unfold.
Although the Cardinal T-square/Cross that was effective throughout July and August now starts to wane, it continues to reverberate. September started with an earthquake through Christchurch’s city centre in New Zealand, and floods here in Victoria. Throughout the T-square there have been floods, earthquakes, massive oil spills and more. It’s important to ponder what part of our own personal lives is being shaken out of an old entrenched pattern and thrown onto a new track. The September Equinox, the real start of Spring, happens on the 23rd and activates the 00 degrees Aries/ Cancer/ Libra/ Capricorn points which have been getting shaken up by the Cardinal T-square/Cross.
Needless to say, we haven’t seen the last of this massive alignment. Interestingly, the Full Moon falls on September 23rd at the Equinox. Full Moons tend to exacerbate already existing energies or bring to light something previously hidden. Whatever you’ve been dealing with in your personal life under the Cardinal T-square/Cross alignment of July and August could get another input surge then. It’s not looking like a quiet Equinox but it is looking like a transformative one.
The Full Moon is in Aries at 00 degrees. It’s an exciting, energising, optimistic Full Moon. It’s a Full Moon that encourages us to break through into the new and come out of our shells like newborn creatures cracking out of eggs.
The New Moon is in Virgo on the 8th. Just like the zodiac sign Scorpio, Virgo doesn’t miss a trick. Scorpio picks up emotional details and nuances, Virgo picks up the material, practical ones. September is a month when we are not in any way supported to remain in denial. We are each being snapped into new awareness moment by moment and the Virgo New Moon is all part of this. Being the zodiac sign of discernment, Virgo helps us face facts and problem solve.
Overall throughout September we are urged to keep creative, keep passionate and to keep moving while above all doing our utmost to keep things real. Wishing you some lucky leaps forward.