September Overview

Uranus in Taurus turns retrograde September 1:
September 1, both Uranus and Pluto begin annual retrograde cycles. Both tours will extend to late January 2024. The workings of outer planet retrograde cycles can be less obvious than a personal planet like Mercury, but they do make their mark. All retrograde cycles put increased attention onto a specific target. Their purpose is to assess from a different angle and to gain more perspective.

Uranus, retrograde in Taurus to the end of January 2025, continues to intensify an evaluation review aimed at a reinvention breakthrough. While in retrograde, Uranus works below the surface on a bring-it-up-to-speed, and/or shatter-the-sound-barrier, mandate. Along the way you can experience sudden insights, premonitions, fresh downloads, inspired moments, or flashes of genius.

To awaken, to liberate, to reinvent. The purpose of Uranus retrograde is to prompt a more objective awareness of our creative process. Can I/we survive this? Can I set myself free of this? Can the rebel or anarchist in me find higher ground so I can thrive rather than just survive? Uranus retrograde in Taurus aims to bring that evaluation process up to speed so that we stop relying on old and outdated programs, and instead, choose to implement the more effective updates. Depending on how the transit triggers your chart, Uranus retrograde can invite you (or force you) to a wake-up call.

Pluto retrograde revisits Capricorn, September 1:
September 1 to November 19, Pluto revisits Capricorn for a final time. We will not see this Pluto transit again for another 248 years! It is the end of an era for the collective. You could feel it as an end of an era of your personal life too. If you have planets at the very end of Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn, you can feel that you are facing a momentous threshold, that you are moving through something life altering. Pluto marks a milestone passage. On the approaching track, the same can ring true if you are born at the start of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius.

Pluto, evolutionary agent of the soul (collective, generational, personal), is a change maker influence. Leaving no stone unturned, when Pluto makes dynamic aspect your chart, you will go through a significant passage of time (12 to 18 months at peak) that will leave a permanent mark on your life. Pluto’s evolutionary mandate is non-negotiable. You can choose to comply with Pluto’s requirements, or you can be dragged to the finish line. Either way, change is your net gain.

Since 2008, Pluto has been at work on a finishing and cementing mandate. There are two main levels to this transit. Pluto’s finishing work has been aimed at dismantling structures of the past that have defined realty at all levels (includes the constructs of what we feel is necessary to survival), toward ending that which has exhausted its usefulness, which has out served its natural lifespan. For any life that is left in the old form, Pluto in Capricorn has been at work to refashion it into an altered entity.

On the building track, Pluto has been actively in development regarding a preliminary set-up phase for newly forming priorities that are soon to gain prominence. This finishing stage seeds and solidifies a new reality. What is currently in development has been long in the works. Some of it has been developing in obvious and observable ways. Some of the development (the larger portion) has also been in operation by stealth, at underground and unseen levels.

For the entire revisit (Sept 1 to November 19) Pluto will be in transit at the very last degree of Capricorn. Various astrology schools consider the anaretic degree (29 degree, last of the sign), as degree of fate for tending to lingering and unfinished remnants of the past. It is typically viewed in the negative as a point or influence of weakness, destruction, or collapse. To reframe it in a positive light, what has purpose makes its way into reality. What is meant to be, will be carried forward. If it doesn’t hold value, it won’t survive. Mercury/Saturn (opposition) during the eclipse makes the writing on the wall too obvious to ignore.

Pluto retrograde in Capricorn will encompass the USA election and elections held elsewhere. This transit sets an opportunity backdrop to review and rework the past, to make new choices, to breakdown walls, barriers, limits, limitations, judgements/rationales, and glass ceilings.

New Moon in Virgo, September 2:
Make a list! Once you see it on paper, you’ll be better able to stay on top of it. Just past the new moon, you will get a better sense of what you do and do not have to work with. Coinciding with the new moon, Mars/Neptune (square) in dynamic aspect can initially produce confusion, uncertainty, dissipation, or drain, but that will give way soon enough. As Mars moves past Neptune, it will inform, reveal, expose, inspire, or trigger. As the week moves along, you will pick up a better feel for how to play it and what works best for you. Take it step by step and allow extra time to get better organized and fully into work mode.

Mars enters Cancer, September 4:
Mars, the action planet, typically spends 6 weeks in transit through a sign. From September 4 to November 3, Mars tours touchy, feely Cancer. That is not the end of this transit. Due to an upcoming retrograde cycle, Mars will revisit Cancer for the first quarter of 2025 (from January 6 to April 17). As of September 4, Mars is at the start of an activation and implementation cycle that will extend through the beginning of May next year.

Aside: This Mars transit works in tandem with the 10-month Saturn/Jupiter transit that I covered in last month forecast. (Saturn/Jupiter is the shaping tool of our contemporary reality. This planetary pairing defines a 20-year social/economic cycle, with significant momentum shifts/thresholds crossed at 5-year and 10-year marks). August through June of 2025 takes us through the first quarter of this growth and development cycle.) Note, the advance of time is both a resource and a teaching tool. Implement wisely. Give time the respect and attention it requests of you, and reward will come in due course.

Back to September: Your comfort zone, better quality self care, self preservation, personal safety, and security is the driving force while Mars tours Cancer. This energized incentive can be driven by a desire to feel more settled or “at home,” inside yourself or in your day-to-day world. To feel more rooted and safe, to be more in touch with how you really feel and what you really need, to nurture and feel better nourished – these are the cornerstones from which we build and create a foundation of security. Mars in Cancer also activates all matters related to home, family, home, real estate, nourishment and caretaking. On the broader scale, this transit can also rev up matters to do with domestic and national safety, security, and protection.

The driving force can be triggered by a need, a perceived vulnerability, or actual threat to one’s sense of security and safety. Where do you feel the need to protect or preserve? The transit can target where you feel most at risk. Mars is in its “fall” in Cancer. What does that mean? Right out the starting gate, warrior Mars must first face its own vulnerabilities and emotional insecurities. To the plus, the transit will put you in motion to create a better security. That’s a good thing in itself.

Mars in Cancer is well used for reconnecting with yourself (chicken soup for the soul) and for feeling your way through the circumstances or challenges of the moment. Pay attention to your instincts. What signal do they give you? There is a reason for these emotional responses and triggers. While Mars tours Cancer, aim to acknowledge how you feel in the most honest way you can. This transit heightens emotional sensitivity. You may struggle with a circumstance or with facing yourself, but do not let it be the reason you hold yourself back. Use this transit to feel your way through your emotions, through your strengths and vulnerabilities. Simply naming your fear or insecurity is an act of bravery. Sometimes, it can be this one (simple, sometimes not so simple) act that begins the process of reclaim and gain.

Mars in Cancer assists you to respond with more self awareness. Self care comes first. Turn that good mothering in on yourself. Go gentle, be tender, and when necessary, show yourself the tough love too. Tend to yourself as best as you can, and you will set a good foundation and be on track for what comes next – namely, Mars in Leo.

By November, Mars in Leo will fuel greater confidence and courage, and sets a backdrop for meeting with greater success. Creative instincts can kick in beautifully. Under this transit there is a greater potential to actualize more of heart’s desire and life’s reward. We will get a taste of this transit in November to the start of next year, and more fully by mid April 2025 forward.

To the plus, Mars in Cancer will keep you driven to build a better comfort zone regarding your personal life. This transit activates matters to do with home/home base, family, childhood, the past, real estate, and inheritances.

Mars moves to a revitalization, resurfacing, or resuming track as of September 20. Along with several good/opportune Mercury transits in the week that follows (notably September 24, 25), by September 29, Mars/Saturn (trine) set a backdrop for timing it right. September ends on an informing, fruitful (or fruition) track ahead. Sun/Mercury at superior conjunction (new cycle, fresh insight/opportunity on go) precedes the Solar Eclipse in Libra on October 2. The end of September and beginning of October can be favourable for relationship or contract undertakings (karmic/actual), and legal matters.

Mercury enters Virgo, September 28:
September 6, 7, Mercury/Uranus retrograde sets a backdrop for a shift of perspective or momentum. In general, there is a natural sense of readiness to roll up the sleeves. Sun/Saturn (opposition September 7) also brings a sense of time on the move. Mercury is completely done with its post retrograde shadow by September 12. By the time the equinox arrives on September 22, we are all likely to feel the change of season is already up and running, that we already have put a few weeks under our belt.

September 8, the same day Mercury begins a three-week tour of Virgo, Pallas Athene retrogrades back into Sagittarius (repeating the Feb to mid May tour). This transit (warrior goddess archetype) will continue to keep up the hunt, to fight for freedom, justice, and for truth to the end of November. Escalation re migration, invasions, religious crusades, and fighting factions can continue for the present. (The solar eclipse on Oct 2 could see important contracts/agreements signed. Let us stay hopeful for a cooperative advance re peace keeping missions.) Expect to see good (even record breaking?) voter turnout for the USA election in November (and plenty of action between now and then!). (Pallas Athene in Sagittarius extends to November 30.)

Coinciding with lunar eclipse in Pisces on September 17 (see next paragraph), Mercury/Saturn (opposition September 18) can put the reality into play in a significant threshold crossing way. Either you will see positive results for efforts applied, or it will be time to face the reality with added objectivity, to face the loss regarding what was never going to produce the goods. If it is a balloon popping experience for you, you can take heart in knowing that what follows will accelerate the process of moving forward. If you will allow yourself to shift the focus, to see with a new set of eyes, you are likely to find yourself on a better track quicker than you may anticipate. What moves out of the way now paves the way for better reward in the not-too-distant future.

September 17: Super Full Moon, Partial Lunar Eclipse in Pisces: 7:34 pm PDT:
Watch for this super full moon eclipse in Pisces to reveal, expose, or dissolve, to bring what has been on brew and/or hidden from view to the surface. It could be a potential, an under-utilized resource, the opportunity to heal, correct, or improve. The eclipse could present an opening to revisit something unfinished, (karmic or actual), to release it or transcend it. Even if a solution is not ideal, it may be workable. What shows up and/or transpires holds more potential that will unfold over time (also to the end of the year and to the end of next year in a full circle way.) The dream could become the reality for some.

For others loss or disillusionment can be in the mix. If this is the case for you, know that positive contributions from sun, Pluto, Uranus (trine in earth) and Venus/Jupiter (trine in air) set an opportunity backdrop for moving onto a more productive or lucrative track. The eclipse can hold corrective or healing potential. An eclipse in Pisces can hold effect not only for personal and private life matters, but it can also be of influence at the mass or global scale. All topics related to the Pisces and Virgo archetypes are featured by this eclipse: work, health, medical matters, agriculture, hospitals, jails, social services, drugs, alcohol, addictions, the movie industry, religion, ideals.

Watch for the lunar eclipse to keep the action going for the week that follows. (September 19 and 21 can put synchronicity or good timing on your side. Act on instincts or inspirations of the moment.)

Libra Equinox, September 22:
The Libra Equinox is accompanied by the transit of Venus in Libra shifting gears with Pluto (square aspect) before moving into Scorpio. If you are sensitive to the energies, have been skirting around something, or you have been sitting on the fence, you can feel this Venus transit as significant shift. Venus in Scorpio, a precision influence, can help you to zero into what is most potent, lucrative, empowering, and/or worthwhile.

September 24 to 30 hosts a good run of stars. Mercury in Virgo trines Uranus (September 24) and Pluto (September 24). Both dates are excellent for getting it up and rolling, and/or connecting the dots: i.e. for talks, meetings, interviews, the job search, new hires, negotiations, buying and selling, studies, marketing, promotion and improvement or renovation projects (health included).

Mercury enters Libra on September 26 to begin three-week tour of the sign (to Oct 13). Mercury in Libra puts the focus onto alliances, relationships, social involvements (events, social media), contracts (actual/karmic), collaborative ventures, and legal matters. Mercury meets with the sun on September 30 by superior conjunction (far side of the sun). This planetary pairing is illuminating and informing. It is also a preliminary trigger for the total solar eclipse in Libra on October 2 which features Mercury as a key player. Watch for a key event, contract, circumstance or key individual to be a newsmaker. (Eclipses always bring transitions and passages of note.)

Mars/Neptune (square) opened the month with an element of uncertainty. September 29, Mars/Saturn (trine) finishes the month on a solidifying and productive track.