Astrological Forecast for September 2007

September’s astrological picture gets us back down to business after the summer’s slower pace. We have an outer planet changing signs, two planets changing direction, and a partial solar eclipse, peppered with some charged aspects between the planets. The theme for the month is impulsivity and action - doing first and thinking later is likely to be an issue for many of us, but if you’re putting well-thought out plans into motion, you’ll be able to accomplish a great deal.

The month starts with Saturn’s move from Leo into Virgo on the 2nd. In Leo, Saturn had us questioning our creativity, romance, and fun, but in Virgo the focus moves to issues of service. Expect, for example, that health care will once again be in the spotlight for the next three years, and we already have Michael Moore’s Sicko setting the table for the debate. Hopefully, this time we’ll be able to do something positive with this important issue.

Also keep an eye out for the sort of "can’t do" attitude in public discourse that’s typical when Saturn lends his heavy hand to Virgo’s already self-critical attitude. In politics, Saturn in Leo restricted the "king" (or those who would act as such), but in Virgo there can develop an air of far reaching pessimism about accomplishing anything, which can, paradoxically, leave many people searching again for a strong leader when Saturn moves in the next sign, Libra. We saw this in Saturn’s last transition from Leo to Virgo to Libra, which occurred through the presidencies of Nixon through Reagan.

The 3rd is so packed with aspects that we won’t have much time to reflect on slow-moving Saturn for long, though. Messenger Mercury squares off with Pluto, Mars squares Uranus and sextiles Venus, while the sun is square to Jupiter, all on the day of the last quarter moon. Suffice it to say that the impulse to act may be impossible to resist, but try to keep a little sense of balance. It doesn’t look like we’ll have any trouble expressing ourselves, but we might let words fly that we’ll regret on a less charged day. If you have something that needs to get done and have been waiting for an opportunity, wait no more.

On the 7th, Pluto stations to move direct. Pluto stations charge the days on either side with a powerful, instinctual energy. Anger and sexuality are equally likely to come to the fore now, all the more so if they’ve been repressed.

The next day, September 8th, Venus stations to go direct after more than a month of retrograde motion. Give her a couple of days to get up to speed, but her direct motion gives the green light to new romantic relationships, business partnerships, and artistic endeavors. Take the time around her station to reflect on what you’ve learned about your values over the last 40 days (and 40 nights). Venus retrogrades are times for us to reconnect with our deepest values, and to discover what we really want in our relationships. Now that she’s moving direct again, we have the opportunity to put our discoveries into action.

The 9th is yet another supercharged day, with the sun in opposition to revolutionary Uranus, an aspect which puts actions ahead of debate, or at least makes debates feisty. Mars is also in a soft trine to Neptune, which adds to the "anything’s possible" tone of the day.

No point in relaxing too much, as there is a partial solar eclipse on the 11th (this is only a partial eclipse, so there’s no reason to head to the South Atlantic, where it will be visible). Solar eclipses are powerful New Moons, and as such they are beginnings. Thus, they sometimes feature significant events on the day of the eclipse, but often need to be "triggered" by other astrological events in the future, or even the past. Many of the aspects in the early part of September are close enough to trigger events associated with this eclipse, adding to the power of the first days of the month.

Then again, the latter part of September is also chock full of powerful aspects, including a Sun-Mars square on the 17th, a Sun-Pluto square on the 19th (also the first quarter moon, a natural "trigger"), and a Mars-Pluto opposition on the 21st. These aspects all push us towards action, perhaps without reflection and almost certainly without consulting others. Beware of bruising other’s feelings, or getting your own feelings hurt.

Another aspect on the 21st has a very different tone, and that’s an opposition of Venus, goddess of love, to Neptune, ruler of the seas. This aspect suggests high romanticism and perhaps even getting fooled into believing something is there when it isn’t in the area of relationships. Taken together with the Mars-Pluto aspect, and the general tone of the month, we’re likely to go along for the ride. This isn’t a month for sitting back and dreaming, even if that’s perhaps the best use of Venus-Neptune. Going for the ride can be invigorating and fun, as long as we don’t expect the thrills to last forever.

The Sun moves into Libra on the 23rd, marking the beginning of autumn, and signaling the end of the exciting aspects in September. The only remaining major aspects this month are easy aspects between Mercury and Pluto, Mars, and Saturn. These aspects should help if there’s a need to patch things up after all the excitement at the beginning of the month, as communication flows much easier now, and taking another’s perspective is more of a possibility.

September’s Full Moon is on the 26th. Usually a time of high energy, this month the Full Moon may get lost in the shuffle. Still, it is an active time, and without the distractions of the early part of the month it might be easier to accomplish tasks and stay focused. September’s Full Moon, after all, is traditionally known as the Harvest Moon, the working moon of the year.