This is a month long identified by astrologers as one of the year’s hotspots. Reason one is that the new Moon of September one is a partial solar eclipse, and forms a precise triangle with the two heavyweight planets Saturn and Neptune; a potentially toxic mixture.
Secondly, the Sun makes a square to Mars on September 13. Then the full Moon of September 16, another partial eclipse, conjoins Neptune and Chiron (ouch!).
Just to add a frisson of cock-up and uncertainty, Mercury is in retrograde, asking all members of the zodiac to not be in such a darn hurry.
Both eclipses mirror those of six months back, on February 22 and March 9, so some of you may find events from that time re-arriving for pay-off (or pay back!). The ‘mutable’ signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces are those most under pressure.
Your astrologer has mused before about Gemini politicians finding their ambitions brought up short by the opposition of Saturn (George Osborne, Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone), though rightly taken to task for saying that Jeremy Corbyn (b. 26/5/49) had also seen his ‘hopes of leadership dashed’. More accurate would have been ‘Hopes of leading a unified party dashed’. Mr Corbyn’s stars currently look quite savoury, but the sustained opposition of Saturn in November suggests further challenges to his authority.
The other Gemini politician still standing is Donald Trump (b. 14/5/46). Time and space do not allow a detailed look at Trump’s birth chart – which is as remarkable, alarming, duplicitous and delusional as you would expect – and better astrologers have already done the heavy lifting. North America’s Mountain Astrologer devoted several pages to Trump earlier this year, concluding his stars for the Presidential Election were those of a winner, but that he wouldn’t actually become President. The current edition of the UK’s Astrological Journal has two forecasts (one by a modernist, one by a traditionalist), both predicting Trump’s bid will fail, a view widely echoed among other star-gazers.
The month’s other big news is the shift of the giant planet Jupiter into Libra on September 9 for the next twelve months, a big bonus for air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) and for anyone born 24, 36, 48, 60 or 72 years back. Libra is about relationships and justice, so issues surrounding gender, racial and economic equality are a hot tip for coming months.
Finally there is the annual Autumn Equinox, exact on September 22 at 14.21 GMT, when day and night stand poised. Wishing a joyous, Jupiterian autumn to my readers.
Virgo
The last twelve months, with Jupiter in your skies, now reach a climax. Your horoscope is, frankly, overloaded with planets making significant aspects, promising an ultra-busy month, albeit one when your capacity to intervene in your affairs is oddly muted.
The first culprits are a pair of eclipses at the full Moon (September 1) and the full Moon (September 16). Eclipses are points of uncertainty when the Sun’s cosmic current is momentarily interrupted (the Moon, of course, borrows her light from the Sun). As such the days around them are inauspicious for start-ups and big calls, especially when – culprit three – your ruler Mercury is backsliding through your skies (until the 23rd).
This all gives the first three weeks of September a provisional quality. You may yourself returning to issues from last month or further back (February/March for example), which is fine for all acts of revision , restoration and even resurrection. As much applies even to partnerships, where Neptune’s involvement may spell enchantment and/or disillusion. A lot hangs in the balance. Quiet, considered judgment called for (see below for the wild stuff).
Still, this is your birthday month, the Sun is on your side and even a retrograde Mercury is empowering. In terms of staking out your claim, polishing your brand, and reminding folks what a smart cookie you are.
Jupiter may deliver a final pay-off – we are talking actual money or plain old glory or a free trip – before it moves onto to its new position in your cash zone, more of which next month. Perhaps the most difficult challenge comes from Saturn, at least for birthdays circa September 1. Where Jupiter has helped all of you, especially over last winter, Saturn now checks up to ensure you put in the necessary effort for long term sustainability, both now and in the months ahead.
Love and romance don’t get an easy ride during your birthday season – there are too many outside pressures, too much uncertainty – but in the last week of the monthVenus takes up a more enterprising position where friendship and something stronger overlap, while mars moving into Capricorn from September 27 makes the following six weeks a rip-snorter for singles and couples alike, while for the creative among you, an outpouring of your very soul is called for – and at double quick time. Happy Birthday.
Libra
Your horoscope sets you a somewhat contradictory schedule in September. In the secretive twelfth house of your solar chart there’s an annoying retrograde of Mercury (until the 23rd), alongside a lunation that includes a solar and a lunar eclipse. This is hardly a call to arms, more a suggestion that some of your deepest issues must be addressed alone, especially if they lie anywhere along the mind-body-spirit axis. You are looking for insight and healing, while duty to others may also be involved.
On the other hand comes your obliging ruler, Venus, powerful in her own sign of Libra, and passing over your birthday Sun at some point before September 23. Now that is a call for a ‘soft’ offensive, a request for all the charm, grace and diplomacy you can muster, along with a display of your sartorial finesse (and people so notice – look at the response to the wardrobe of your fellow Libran Theresa May). Art, artiness, creating and admiring others’ handiwork should feature strongly.
Then there is is the planetary omen of the month – the coming of Jupiter to Libran skies on the morning of September 9 for a year long transit of your skies, a subject to which we will be returning. These are early days for the ‘good fortune’ associated with Jupiter. Suffice to say that a more expansive, more ambitious vision is the first requirement.
The weekend of 17/18 September may well supply you with a few clues about Jupiter as the just-gone full Moon passes opposite you . With the Moon joining Prometheus and the pair opposing Venus in her pomp, this looks a giddy time, not least for partnerships of the electrifying kind. Throw your own party if necessary.
Your romantic life, should you be interested, looks potent and pushy in the first three weeks. With Venus ruling it could hardly be otherwise (in astro-ese she is ‘sole dispositor of your chart’). Venus, Pallas, Mars, Prometheus – your ‘scope is brimming with powerful females and wayward men (neither of them necessarily hostile). Looks like you have your hands happily full.
The Sun’s arrival at the Equinox, September 22, opens your birthday month in a blaze of Jupiterian majesty; a good time to listen to Holst’s Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity. Your mission, should you accept it, is to likewise embody largesse and nobility, an on onerous task to be sure, but one that you can have a lot of fun pursuing over the next year.
Scorpio
Acres of people are all very well – you got ‘em – but what about little old you? Where’s the me-time in the juggling act you are currently obliged to perform? The answer is… not far away, but much of September calls for patience. Mercury sliding backwards through your eleventh solar house can put a lot of action into your social circle, even if some of it is catch-up and ‘Oh hello how nice to see you again’. Getting out the house has much to commend it, but the wheels of industry turn frustratingly slow.
Still, a lunation that involves two eclipses, the first opposite Neptune at the new Moon of September 1, the second at the full Moon of September 16, holds more powerful tides for watery creatures like yourself. Neptune opposite the new Moon and Chiron opposite the full Moon, both in Pisces, bring Scorpio’s emotional core to the surface. Eclipse points are, in part, about destiny – as were February’s – so you may find yourself realigning love affairs and romances with some fierceness. Asteroid Juno in your own skies (and the mysterious wild woman Black Moon Lilith) both bring an uncompromising quality to affairs of the heart. Venus behind the scenes describes secrecy, either your own or undeclared feelings from an admirer.
Once Venus arrives in your skies – on Friday September 24, just in time for the weekend – you are on the front foot, dressed in finest Scorpio garments (a tad gothic or flowery?) and on a charm offensive or suffused with Scorpio hot blood. The shift of ruler Mars into Capricorn on September 27 – where the red planet is by antique tradition ‘exalted’ – works entirely in your favour. Frankly, you look quite the terror in October.
As for the impersonal, outside world, ruler Mars in your cash zone for most of September concerns earning, gaining, acquiring. Make the most of it as skinflint Saturn is less obliging and makes a six month financial plan imperative.
Sagittarius
Action stations! September screams out as a moment of change – if only in your attitude – but may even deliver revolution. The key player is Saturn in the Centaur’s skies, now moving forward purposefully through autumn and winter. You get nothing from Saturn without effort, but shovel energy and determination into your most dearly held plans and you will be paid back handsomely.
How soon? Not likely this very month, which holds copious amounts of ambiguity. A new Moon near the peak of your ‘scope squaring Saturn is a spur to action, but with a couple of eclipses and a retrograde Mercury involved, better to plan and sit on your hands than make precipitate or non-reversible decisions. The last twelve months have raised a lot of dust, not least in your professional and/or domestic worlds. Let it settle. You can catch up with the action later in the month, once Mercury has resumed normal service.
The full Moon at the root of your ‘scope on the 16th is another eclipse; no biggy if your domestic situation is signed, sealed and delivered, otherwise a reminder that there are decisions to be made on where and with whom you live; an ongoing issue best sorted out later this month or next.
Your attention may be well away from home and career. Venus, powerful for the first three weeks of the month, brings collegiate activities to the fore – teamwork, collective action – a theme amplified once your ruling planet, Jupiter, breaks fresh ground from September 9. Jupiter is here for a year, but wastes little time in making its presence felt in your affairs, with the 9th and 26th offering a glimpse of what is to come or an actual breakthrough down at the clubhouse or in the committee suite at work.
Both Venus and Jupiter bring with them a touch of less structured, more intimate affairs. The weekend of the 17th, when Venus meets Prometheus, the planet of surprise, looks a jack-in-the-box couple of days. Enjoy.
Capricorn
Tick tock. Planets are queuing up to hit the ‘High Noon’ spot on your horoscopic clock. Perhaps you can already detect a few faint chimes on the breeze thanks to Venus reaching the zenith of your solar ‘scope, whence she will be followed by Jupiter, from September 9, and the Sun, from September 22. With Mars entering the Mountain Goat’s skies on the 26th, September looks suspiciously like a New Chapter in your affairs.
Nonetheless, you start the month with Mercury in rewind, which will make the first three weeks of September feel like you are being hauled backwards. With two eclipses involved, on September 1 and 16, it’s a go slow perfect for revision and renegotiation. Have a few Plan Bs to hand, especially where travel and appointments are involved.
Some of the month’s – indeed the year’s – most important action takes place in secret anyway; long term plans look hush hush for now, with ruler Saturn behind the scenes. As your astrologer has previously suggested, the heavyweight planet supplies your main time frame, reaching your skies in December ’17 when your full might can be unleashed upon an unduspecting world – not so far away.
In solar astrology – ie media forecasts – the sign of Libra represents your most public life, the arena where you gain recognition (rarely a shrug-of-the-shoulders matter for Caps) and with Jupiter here for the next twelve months, acclaim is yours to win. Despite Jupiter’s claim to be a ‘lucky’ omen, the giant planet represents challenge, not least to think big and to dare. The Equinox on September 22 opens your bid for glory, but, as they say in football, you have to work hard. No problem there then.
You can use this new Jupiterian phase – for a more personal transformation. – it rolls round every 12 years, so scratch your head about 2004 and 1992.
The arrival of Mars on the 27th – by tradition, ‘exalted’ in Capricorn, in the Goat’s skies – puts matters in your hands. Will power and physical prowess are part of the equation as you head into October and a very intense few weeks on your calendar.
Mars, of course, is also a ‘relationship planet’ – the spice to Venus’s sweetness – and with both planets on your side in the last few days of the month, sparks may fly. Romance is where you find it in the meantime; the office water-cooler looks a good prospect, especially if you have a female boss or arty man in your sights. The weekend of September 10/11 could be obliging.
Aquarius
One part of Aquarius’ reputation is as Space Cadet, questing boldly into new frontiers of consciousness, technology and social organisation. Fair play. Yet let’s not forget that an Aquarius was a Roman public plumber, and that your traditional ruler, Saturn, is an eminently practical planet.
Just now your practical streak, if you can locate it, is a major ally. September sees hyper-activity across the financial axis of your solar ‘scope – a lunation with a pair of eclipses, a retrograde Mercury – which make the first three weeks less than favourable for major fiscal initiatives, but imperative for keeping an eagle eye on your cashflow and portfolio of judicious investments.
That wayward Mercury may be pulling your chain in terms of a friend, ally or lover changing his/her mind, or simply turning a bit chilly. Personal affairs have an element of instability, not least around the full Moon of September 15/16. Patience called for.
Staying on a practical tip, Saturn remains onside in your zone of collective action and social organisation. Saturn is in co-operative mood, but applies rigorous terms and conditions where teamwork is concerned. Dealing with The Group – committees, sporting clubs, art classes and so forth – may prove an exacting task. Given Saturn’s relentless quality, however, the right balance between little old individualistic you and the collective must be found. Give it time.
Other, more joyous news arrives in the shape of Venus in your fellow air sign of Libra until September 23; a handy omen for those of you conducting love affairs, or involved in education. (Also for single Aquarians looking for a date – dress up).
Jupiter, planet of exploration, grand ideas and noble pursuits, also shifts into Libra on September 9 for a year’s long stay, firstly emphasising that questing side of Aquarius. An enormous, globe-spanning trip is one possibility, or indeed any activity that expands your mental or physical horizons. The Space Cadets among you can find a way to commandeer your own version of the Starship Enterprise.
The solar system’s giant also promises to induct you into the company of Jupiterian types; plush big thinkers, voyagers, intellectual and artistic movers and shakers. Libra being the sign of relationships, Jupiter here is no bad thing for love affairs, especially of the long distance variety. It’s early days, but the encounter of the Sun and Jupiter on September 26 is a way-opener into a bolder future, as is all of October.
Pisces
The reputation of your sign as dreamy and unrealistic is pretty much toast these days. The astrological times have moved on. Nonetheless, with Neptune, planet of idealism and deceit, in your skies and bang opposite a new Moon on September 1 – it’s also a partial solar eclipse – bury your more trusting nature, sit on your hands, and avoid decisions for a few days.
Oh yes, and September also sees Mercury to do one of its three week retrogrades, again in opposition from Virgo. It all looks as slippery as, uh, a Fish!
With this much action across the main axis of your solar ‘scope, partnerships of all stripes are in the frame, not necessarily in a bad way, but with Mercury in rewind a few changes of mind from the other side, if not downright flakiness, are in the mix. The final days of your Jupiter ruler being in opposition end on September 9, and while Jupiter may have brought you and that certain someone closer together, don’t expect clarity with the other party until later in the month, when Mercury ends its go-slow. Enemies and open conflict are best dodged. Watch and wait!
Plus, you have a Pisces full Moon to contend with on September 15/16 – no bad thing if you want to hog the limelight, but unreliable for Big Decisions.
Despite the kerfuffle, however, you are in a serious phase career wise. Saturn in the life path sector of your scope has resumed its advance and its demands. With Mars there too, it looks like a phase when you have to tough things out while you wait for more accommodating times. Solo work may be the solution to busybodies at work, whose day will soon be gone, once Mars moves on at September 27.
Much of the month’s other planetary action is in Libra, where Venus is briefly lodged to add intensity and, perhaps, intrigue to your romantic and sexual life. Libra, your solar eighth house, is a somewhat cryptic sector of your horoscope – there may be a lot of secrecy going on – but with r Jupiter moving there for twelve long months, its better nature is emphasised. That includes money, not just your wages but wealth that you gather from investing, doing mortgage deals and windfalls from long lost Uncle Joe in Arizona.
If you are feeling depleted, spiritually and physically, Jupiter offers a course for transformation, resurrection even, though these are early days, and your way to become a phoenix from the flames properly begins at the Autumn Equinox, September 22.
Aries
A competitive streak runs through the Ram’s psyche – this is the sign of ‘Me First’ after all. Your desire to get in front and stay there is admirable, and a quest for which your horoscope offers much support in the coming months. In September especially, your Mars ruler burn brightly for you from the far-flung sign of Sagittarius, more of which shortly.
First, though, you have to attend to the mundane matters signified by a lunation in Virgo, with its accompanying retrograde Mercury. If you are not on top of your paperwork and admin, then cut to the chase and get desks cleared promptly. Revision and re-assessment are favoured, along with a cleansing Virgoan attitude to the mind-body-spirit axis, which looms forcefully at the full Moon of September 16
You can’t spend September in the sauna however. There are other people to consider. The first three weeks of September find Venus – a major signifier for partnerships, lovers and open enemies in your case – in opposition, turning up the heat, longing and anguish on dealings with Significant Others. If you are fighting a duel of some kind (in a marriage for example!), you are on the back foot, especially if your opponent is a forceful female. If you are not in conflict, Venus in opposition is a winner for romances and friendships.
As much holds true for a few weeks every year, yet all your dealings with partners and kind-of partners – any permutation from friendships, singing duets, business associates, old flames, ex’s, envied rivals – are supercharged once Jupiter reaches Libra on September 9. Key dates here are September 18, when Venus passes Prometheus, and September 26, when Sun and Jupiter collide.
Whether Jupiter signifies the arrival of Someone Swell or a time to wave sayonara on a previously hallowed relationship is something to discover in coming months. The balance between independence – a powerful theme just now – and coexistence may take some working out.
Bear in mind, too, that the autumn equinox is always a signal that you are running on a low battery, physically speaking. This year you have Mars in fiery Sagittarius to help keep your dynamos humming, though the loftier meaning of this transit is a quest, perhaps a physical ocean-hopping affair, perhaps a n elevation of consciousness and understanding. Mars moves on at September 23, but Saturn in the same position suggests that your questing spirit is a big part of this autumn and winter’s outlook.
Mars moving across the roof of your ‘scope in the following six weeks is pushy and decisive. Looks like you’ll be firefighting, metaphorically speaking, this autumn.
Taurus
As every Taurus knows, persistence brings success, and September is certainly a month for persistence, albeit not consistent persistence! How so? The month is dominated by a lunation in Virgo that includes a solar eclipse at the new Moon of September 1, and a lunar eclipse on September 16. Eclipses are uncertain, lights-out moments so the days around both are not ideal for initiatives, or even for keeping on keeping on. Better to take time out end enjoy yourself – the Sun in Virgo, as last month’s forecast pointed out, about pleasure.
A retrograde Mercury in the same sign is entirely about maintaining effort, without banging your head against a wall. Patience (which Taurus does), and revision of plans and schemes is absolutely part of the picture until the communications planet straightens out on September 23. You get a helping hand when the waning Moon passes through your skies on the 19th and 20th and aligns sweetly with Sun and Mercury.
The month’s major planetary shift – Jupiter leaving Virgo for Libra on September 9 – is less obliging though hardly scary. The giant planet has been doing you favours over the last year – think about it – winning you a few Brownie points and, perhaps, giving your social life a boost. The first nine days of the month bring this cycle to a hopefully glorious finale. Then, for the next twelve months Jupiter asks you to work that little but harder for your gains, and to get in physical shape to achieve as much. The season of Libra, beginning at the Equinox, will help put you through your paces.
A couple of other planetary shifts change the mood on the last week of the month. Mars leaves Sagittarius for Capricorn, a fellow earth sign, adding vim and vigour to your plans and, with a hint of luck, bringing a vitality packed lover (probably male or male-ish, possibly from far-flung shores) into the orbit of singletons. Your undisputed ruler, Venus, in opposition from September 24 has a similar theme as part of its remit – a new head-turner, or the renewal of an existing affair – the flip side being that in matters of dispute, jealousy may be a factor.
Gemini
Coming at you from all sides? Your horoscope earlier this year – six months back at the eclipses in Pisces to be more exact – is similar to that confronting you this month with a vast triangle of heavyweight planets confronting you. If you feel anything like comfortable, you are doing well.
September’s first news is the lunation in Virgo at the root of your ‘scope, accentuating the ties of family and home. Jupiter has been doing as much for the last twelve months, when relocation/expansion/change in your domestic empire has been on offer, forced on you even. Eclipses there suggest a new start, or the culmination of what you have done in the last half year.
The simultaneous retrograde of your totem planet, Mercury, suggests extricating yourself from one situation and moving to the next may prove more time consuming than you bargained for. The first three weeks are not ideal for signing binding agreements.
Opposite you lies Saturn and officialdom’s relentless demands that you keep up, play the game and succeed; you are promised a long march through autumn, so stay resolute. Mars remains in opposition but only until September 26. Avoid bruising encounters with foes, friends and all degrees between enmity and amity. You don’t have to roll over like a puppy to other’s demands but choose your moment to make a stand – preferably the last week of the month, when Mars is out the way and Mercury is back on your side. Play for time.
At the pinnacle of your solar ‘scope is Neptune, sowing a bit of confusion about career and which bosss you should salute. The full Moon of September 15/16, an eclipse, could turn into a way-marker – you’re on parade just then so keep your wits whetted.
If all that sounds a tad overpowering then take comfort from events in your kindred air sign of Libra. Venus here makes socialising and date-chasing de rigeur, and once Venus moves on at the 23rd, the Sun takes over to reward those looking for happy times. ‘Let joy be unconfined’ is also one message from Jupiter, which takes up position in Libra for twelve months from September 9. Joyousness aside, Jupiterr also smiles on those in creative, artistic and academic endeavours, and those wishing to increase their authority (in the nicest possible way). Honest integrity works, being a blowhard (a Jupiterian faultline) doesn’t. Start as you mean to continue.
Cancer
‘Don’t sweat the small stuff ‘ – not vexing about trivial issues – has become an item of common lore. The trouble is, there’s plenty of small stuff around and it matters. A pair of eclipses plus a retrograde Mercury in your third solar house – makes communications a key factor. Expect to spend an inordinate time clarifying issues and timetables and haggling about who promised what to whom. Until the 23rd, when Mercury straightens up and flies right, deals are provisional. That foggy Neptune is in the mix makes the chances of he chances of obfuscation higher than usual.
Old business is, however, good business.. Mercury in retrograde offers a chance for the revision of manuscripts, flow charts and projects that are gathering dust. The eclipses make such matters more important than usual, while Saturn and Mars in your zone of graft emphasise this is work that Must – and Can! – Be Done.
Sweating the large stuff is also on the agenda in September and, more importantly, beyond. Cancer is a Cardinal sign (pushy!), and over coming months you face planets from your similarly pushy fellow cardinals, Libra and Capricorn.
Strong this month is Venus in her own realm of Libra, asking you be on best manners and to ruffle no feathers in the family circle. A bigger deal is the arrival of Jupiter at the root of your ‘scope on September 9 , though unless you are born close to the summer solstice its ‘influence’ rolls along later in the autumn. A step up the professional ladder and/or an expansion (or resolution) of your domestic situation deserve some focused, medium term planning. Your public profile – which essentially means the job(s) – becomes a more urgent matter around September 18, with developments following in October.
Do you have any time and space for matters of the heart? These, too, grow more pressing- and more promising – as September progresses. Venus lines up sweetly from September 24 and Mars, fierce in Capricorn, not so sweetly from the 27th. Venus spells a sensual love-in, Mars a potential ding-dong with you know who (partner, pal, ex). For those in the dating game, late September and October look exciting, for those going steady, commitment becomes issues.
Weekend of the month could be that of the 23rd-25th, when your Moon ruler in Cancer shines brightly on your most personal concerns.
Leo
With any luck, you can jump right over the troubled lunation in Virgo (between September 1 and 16) along with its two eclipses and its retrograde Mercury, and take a ride on the fire planets that give your ‘scope such a dashing air this month. In personal terms – romance, ambition, creativity, the social shindig – your stars have much to offer.
First, though, consider your situation in the purely mundane terms of cashflow and finances – likely not your favourite subject since a King or Queen should have all the dosh she or he needs, right? Well, maybe! Jupiter culminating in your cash zone is a handy omen for sudden showers of gold and silver, but backsliding Mercury suggests uncertainty in fiscal calculations – do your sums over and over until they make sense. While you are at it, chase down every last tuppenny bit you are owed. Even your generosity has its limits.
Jupiter’s shift into Libra on September 9 for the next year is encouraging for any of the giant planet’s long-held associations; education, learning, teaching, writing (plus, these days, the electronic media), and matters philosophical. Once your Sun ruler joins Jupiter at the Equinox (September 22), your social and business life gather speed.
The three major planets in your fellow fire signs of the Centaur and The Ram are, perhaps, where the month’s most urgent action lies. A month with Mars in your romance zone promises a torrid touch – the weekend of the 9th and 10th is positively incendiary, and the following weekend, when Venus lines up with Prometheus could be a repeat performance.
Take your pleasures and dates where you find them, since later in the month brings a more mundane, practical emphasis. Mars in your zone of routine and work means just what it says on the label; graft. Venus’ arrival at the root of your ‘scope is a reminder of where you go when you have finished partying, done working and need comfort and delight. Even royalty needs a homely palace.