Welcome to your September 2020 forecast!   Click on “read article” and scroll down til you find your sign of the zodiac….

Beyonce, the quintessential Virgo!

VIRGO (AUG 22- SEPT 21)   September—what can I say?  The month begins with a Pisces full moon the night of the 1^st , along with Mercury in your sign lining up with Neptune for some extreme mushiness.  Just to give your emotional muscles a workout, Venus in Cancer pairs up with Mars and Saturn in a big trifecta of Cardinal energy. You want to focus but you’re having trouble.  You want to join with others in common purpose, but you feel a bit stuck and don’t know which way to turn.  You’re weepy and unsettled. At the same time Mercury in late Virgo makes a nice angle to the Lunar Nodes, so the only way to handle things is to opt for sweetness and connections with loved ones, and just let go of the agendas for a minute.   Then along comes Mars retrograde on the 9^th, and in Aries, no less, not a comfortable sign for you.  Everyone will feel stymied, thrown for a loop. You absolutely have to go with the flow — and for over two months!  The advent of Mars retrograde always feels surprising, because we are just not used to the re-direction of energy and purpose.  We – and you especially—are used to things happening a certain way.  So whatever plans you had in your highly organized planner, just let them go. There is nothing you can do but go with where the current takes you, not where you thought you were going. By the 12^th we have a few days of delicious Neptunian influence, and it is a good time to stretch your imagination. By the 17^th, the day of the extremely productive and wonderful new moon in Virgo, there is a pretty angle between Mercury and Jupiter which brings delightful communication, and the Venus-Uranus lineup at the same time is expansive, creative, even romantic.  But—Mars retrograde is inching into position with Saturn, where it spends the next few weeks.  Under normal (not retrograde!) circumstances this would feel restrictive,

Lily Tomlin, one of my favorite Virgos!

stressful, perhaps bringing the ability for very hard work but otherwise kinda draining.  With Mars being retrograde, you may find interesting opportunities for leadership and action.  You may find tremendous clarity about what work you need to do to make the world a better place.  Of course, September gives our planet the last swipe of Saturn and Pluto’ s heavy oh-no-the-world-is going- to-hell feeling, so avoid paranoia, social media, polls, and things that ramp up your anxiety.  Attend to self-care very consciously!  The Fall Equinox falls on the 22^nd and the Sun passes into Libra. Mercury in Libra makes a series of quick and aggravating angles to Pluto, Saturn, Mars.  Like I said—prioritize self -care!  The month ends with the Mars Saturn aspect very much in play—expect to feel frustrated and have to re-direct, re-deploy your efforts, and re-define your goals.  Your Virgoan adaptability will stand you in good stead!

LIBRA (SEPT 22-OCT21) Oh honey.  If you weren’t overwhelmed enough, the month starts with a helluva full moon in Pisces the night of the 1^st, with mushy Mercury-Neptune influences.  Keep the Kleenex handy! At the same time you’re really triggered in the relationship department by the Venus, Mars, Saturn lineup in the cardinal signs of Cancer, Aries, and Capricorn – which put the focus squarely on your Libra self.   Where are your people?!  You need your people during this time of weirdness and apparent global meltdown!  Get ready for September 9^th, when Mars turns retrograde – and in Aries, no less, your opposite sign.  This long transit (2+ months) always catches us by surprise, because we are used to things going a certain way. With Mars retrograde…um, they don’t.  You might feel a doldrum come over you; it might be hard to mobilize your best-laid plans.  You just have to go with where the energy is, as opposed to where it isn’t.  Meanwhile the Virgo Sun opposes Neptune for a few days on the 12^th—find some inspiration, or binge-watch the Muppets.  Soon after on the 15^th Venus in Leo makes a nice angle to Uranus for some excitement and stimulation, just in time for the gorgeous Virgo new moon on the 17^th.  Mercury in your sign squares Jupiter, facilitating great communication, while Venus and Uranus stretch your boundaries. Try to ignore that Mars retrograde is angling up to Saturn, creating a weird and somewhat stuck dynamic for the rest of the damn month. Then it’s the Fall Equinox on the 22^nd when the Sun enters Libra.  Yay.  Mercury then proceeds to square off against Mars, Pluto, Saturn, irritating the hell out of you and sparking some tension. The Saturn-Mars retrograde aspect gets more and more exact as the month goes on.  This is a weird one—if it weren’t retrograde, I’d advise you to hunker down and get some work done.  With it retrograde, you may not be able to get work done—you may find yourself having to redirect your energies and re-set your goals. Priorities will become very clear, I imagine.   Not a bad thing, really.

SCORPIO (OCT 22-NOV 21)  September is a helluva month, the start of a few of them.  It kicks off with a gorgeous Pisces full moon on the night of the 1^st,  with dreamy and inspired Mercury-Neptune influences. Forget about work!  The Venus, Mars, Saturn combination has you thinking you should do this, you should do that, but somehow relationships are more important than painting the house.  Put some energy into people close to you.  And if you can, get ready for Mars retrograde on the 9^th.  That means – get ready for your plans to shift, for things that were going easily to stop or suddenly take a different direction.   This long (2+ months) transit requires a serious commitment to going with the flow. And, to make it more complicated for you, Mars is retrograding in Aries, a difficult sign for you, an energy which brings out a desire to struggle.  Any situations that have rankled you that you have put up with may become untenable while Mars is retrograde. So get ready for surprises and the unexpected.   There are some bright spots this month, however.  The 12^th brings a nice Sun-Neptune aspect for a few days of creative inspiration, followed by more creative vision on the 156^th when Venus and Uranus do their thing.  There is a gorgeous new moon in Virgo on the 17^th with excellent communication dynamics.  Mercury in Libra makes a quick pass past Pluto, Saturn and Mars just in time for the Fall Equinox on the 22^nd.  This Mercury action is likely to create some tension and snappishness, especially as Mars retrograde gets closer and closer to its aspect to Saturn, which takes us all the way til the end of the month.  On the one hand, you’re feeling stuck, and on the other, there are some surprising openings for action, if you can be flexible and redirect your effort.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22- DEC 21)  September opens with a dreamy Pisces full moon on the 1^st, exacerbated by a strong Mercury -Neptune influence.  Venus, Mars, and Saturn conspire to make your to-do list ridiculously long  but Mercury and Neptune make it hard to focus and do much of anything. Oh well.  Venus and Mars also put the focus on relationships, and yet you are torn when the important people in your life want you to do things you can’t get to… Thank you Neptune!  Meanwhile Mars turns retrograde on the 9^th in fiery Aries.  Oh jeez. This long transit is a challenging one (it lasts 2+ months!)  and it requires the utmost in Sagittarian flexibility from you.  Mars retrograde will throw you for a bit of a loop, putting a wrench in some plans but creating other openings at the same time… When Mars is retrograde, plans and actions and goals don’t roll forward in the ways we have come to expect. Any unresolved anger or frustration you have could also come up for you, so be careful. But back to September.  The 12^th brings a few days of Neptunian inspiration, amplified a few days later by a nice Venus aspect to Uranus starting on the 15^th.  The 17^th brings a beautiful Virgo new moon, full of inspiration and vision and excellent exchange of ideas.  Use it!  The Fall Equinox falls on the 22^nd and the Sun enters Libra.  Mercury in Libra zips past angles with Pluto, Saturn and Mars, making you crabby and tense.  Mars retrograde spends the second half of the month in a closer and closer angle to Saturn—and yeah, pretty close to Pluto.  Things feel grim.  This is a difficult aspect when Mars is direct, but it will perhaps make priorities and goals very clear while it’s retrograde.  In any event, you will have to refocus, redirect, re- commit in some different ways.

CAPRICORN (Dec 21-Jan19)  September begins with a juicy full moon in Pisces on the night of the 1^st, with Mercury and Neptune making you extra weepy and seeing ghosts everywhere.  Venus, Mars and Saturn are lined up together, pulling you  towards shared efforts with others. You are feeling pressured and have a lot to do, and god knows you want to do it right, um…even perfectly.  Let me say right now—don’t be too attached to outcome!  Mars is about to turn retrograde on the 9^th, so expect a redirection of all that Capricorn energy you’re putting into things.  This is a long transit, first of all – a good two months plus—and secondly, it’s in Aries, and thirdly, because it’s in late Aries, it’s retrograding past all the big planets in Capricorn  in the course of its retrograde, sparking some intensity for you.  It’s not bad—just intense. Mars is such a big part of our daily effort, and when it turns retrograde, it’s like someone put the brakes on your efforts, meanwhile the Aries part wants to forge ahead.  With Mars retrograde, there aint no forging. You must go with where the energy is, not where it isn’t—even if that means changing direction and changing plans.  But back to September… By the 12^th the Sun lines up with Neptune to really spark your creative juices, followed a few days later by more spark and vision when Venus aspects Uranus.  The Virgo new moon falls on the 17^th – a highly generative, creative moon—with great aspects for ideas and communication.  Nice!  The Sun enters Libra on the 22^nd, and it’s the Fall equinox.  Mercury in Libra makes a quick set of angles to Pluto, Saturn, Mars, and here comes crankiness and tension.  Everyone is feeling grim because Saturn and Pluto have gotten close enough to make us all worried about our fate and that of our dear planet. Then to make things stranger, Mars retrograde spends the second half of the month in an angle to Saturn.  Under normal circumstances this is a restrictive aspect that is really good for hard work.  In this context .. hmm… seems like it’s about using the restriction to create new openings and new directions.  Redirect, recreate, redefine, reorient.

AQUARIUS (JAN 20-FEB 19)  So a juicy full moon in Pisces ushers in the month on the night of September 1^st, carrying potent Mercury-Neptune aspects that make you inspired but weepy, feeling the losses of the past year. Venus, Mars and Saturn all line up to give you the oomph to reach a shared goal; however the real emphasis is on relationships, and so “shared” is the key word here.  You want to achieve something that’s meaningful for the group, for your peeps.  Get ready—Mars turns retrograde on the 9^th, and so you may feel you have to put the brakes on.  When Mars goes retrograde it can feel like a shock or surprise, because suddenly the energy of Mars is redirected.  If you are someone who is used to planning and then carrying out those plans… well, things may not go the way you thought, just sayin’. You absolutely have to roll with wherever Mars is taking you.  Then on the 12^th there a few days of dreamy, inspired Neptunian influences, followed on the 15^th by Venus and Uranus stirring up your visionary and creative instincts. The 17^th brings a gorgeous Virgo new moon, which besides all the creativity it stimulates, it also is a great lunation for exchanging ideas and for communication.  The Fall Equinox occurs on the 22^nd, when the Sun enters Libra.  Uh oh, Mercury in Libra then makes a series of  angles to Pluto, Saturn and Mars, exacerbating tension , while at the same time Mars retrograde gets closer and closer to an angle to Saturn.   Under normal circumstances in response to that aspect, your astrologer would say, go build a stone wall, or refinish your floors, but with Mars retrograde, plain old hard work may not be the answer.  You need to redirect your energy, refocus it, be able to go with the flow and find new opportunities for action.  Expect the unexpected!

PISCES (FEB 20-MAR 19)  Welcome to September: you get a whopping Pisces full moon on the night of September 1^st, with strong Mercury Neptune aspects that inspire and perhaps overwhelm you with emotion.  It’s a weeper!  Meanwhile Venus, Mars, and Saturn line up together and you feel pressured to get things done, even though the real issue is that you want shared activity, shared purpose. Forget about the action and connect with the people you want to be with.  Then get ready to hit a speedbump when Mars turns retrograde on the 9^th. Eek!  This is a long transit (2+months!) which always flummoxes us, because suddenly things just don’t go as planned, and the energy drains out of what you thought you were doing.  You need to have a serious commitment to going with the flow.  It is important to go where the energy isn’t, and not to force anything to happen.  But back to September…. By the 12^th the Virgo Sun opposes Neptune, for a a few days of inspired spaciness. Then Venus makes an angle to Uranus by the 15^th, bringing excitement and a thirst for change, just in time for the beautiful new moon in Virgo on the 17^th.  Ooh, this is a delicious new moon, with stimulating creative aspects and a great emphasis on communication and the exchange of ideas. Use it!   The Fall Equinox occurs on the 22^nd, when the Sun enters Libra.  Mercury in Libra makes some quick and pesky angles to Pluto, Saturn and Mars. Annoying.  You’re edgy and cranky—but so is everyone else.  Mars retrograde gets closer and closer to an angle with Saturn for the entire second half of September.  Feeling hemmed in?  Frustrated?  But somehow Mars retrograde creates openings, and if you can be flexible – and no one is half as flexible as a Pisces—if you can redirect your priorities, your sense of what to do,  interesting things will happen.

ARIES (MAR 20-APRIL19)  September begins with a big Pisces full moon on the night of the 1^st – early on the 2^nd to be exact—with strong Mercury Neptune aspects.  Just go for it—allow yourself to be a weepy mess and tell all those ghosts around you how you feel about them. Venus, Mars and Saturn are all lined up to make you feel like there is something you need to be doing, a shared effort that’s really important. The most important effort is to pay attention to loved ones right now. That’s the meeting you have to attend, so get to it.  And get ready for Mars in Aries turning retrograde on the 9^th.  Mars is in its home sign, your sign,  all fiery and fired up, confident and inspired.  When it turns retrograde the fire changes. Suddenly energy that has been focused in one place shifts to another—it’s unexpected and maybe a shock.  You might feel yourself putting the brakes on some big plan.  The important thing is to go with the flow like you have never gone with the flow before.  Seriously.  You can’t push or force anything; you have to follow where the energy is, not where you had planned it to go. This may not be an easy process for you, and it’s gonna last over two months.  By September 12^th the Sun opposes Neptune for a couple of days of dreamy inspiration, followed by Venus and Uranus shaking things up, making you antsy for freedom and change.  There is a gorgeous new moon in Virgo on the 17^th with wonderful communication  angles in addition to the Venus Uranus creativity flying around. Try to harness it!  Then it’s the Fall Equinox, when The Sun enters Libra, your opposite sign. Mercury in Libra makes some quick but intense angles to Pluto, Saturn ,Mars. Oy vey.  You’re tense and scrappy.  Meanwhile  Mars retrograde closes in on an exact angle to Saturn for the second half of the month.  This is usually a difficult and perhaps restrictive and stressful combination, good for getting a really hard piece of work accomplished. This time, you may feel oppressed and hemmed in by Saturn but Mars retrograde can create openings you did not expect.  You need to be flexible and be able to redirect your sense of purpose, reacting to circumstances with a strategic leadership.   Go for it.

TAURUS (APR 20-MAY 20)  Well, September starts with a powerful full moon in Pisces on the night of the 1^st, a lunation that carries strong Mercury-Neptune  influences of inspiration and sense of connection to the collective.  At the same time, Venus, Mars and Saturn all line up to pull you into more work, more demands, all that sound good and reflect important shared purposes.  But the deeper purpose right now is relational, so whatever you do in this strange run-up to Mars retrograde has to be about prioritizing relationships.  Ah, Mars retrograde – it’s coming on  September  9^th; and this is a long transit, lasting over 2+ months.   Get ready – its retrograde turn always feels weird and slightly shocking, since the steam goes out of one effort and into another.  As an earth sign, you are used to things happening a certain way, and when Mars is retrograde, things move kinda sideways, or they don’t move at all. You may run into a doldrum of sorts initially, and keep in mind Mars has to do with goals, plans, work, effort, forward motion. All you can do is go with it, following where the energy is and not forcing it to be where you want it to be. Mars retrograde is less about acting and more about reacting…at least in the first phase.  Be patient and flexible.  But back to September…  By the 12^th  the Virgo Sun opposes Neptune for a few days of creative inspiration, followed by more creative expression on the 15^th when Venus mixes it up with Uranus.  Enjoy it, especially on the delicious new moon in Virgo on the 17^th which also brings great communication energies. The Fall Equinox occurs on the 22^nd, when the Sun enters Libra.  Mercury in Libra makes some challenging angles to Pluto, Saturn and Mars, and everyone is tense and cranky. Saturn and Pluto are raising the levels on the apocalypse-o-meter and everyone is stressed.  Self care, self care, self care, loving kindness, etc.  Keep in mind that Mars retrograde gets closer and closer to Saturn all month long, especially in late September.  This typically restrictive influence is likely to create some unexpected openings but the key is to remain flexible, to be willing to change plans, change direction, revisit goals and strategies.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20)  September begins with a full moon in Pisces on the night of the 1^st. “Everything is everything,” as Lauren Hill sang, and there is nothing like a Pisces full moon to erase the boundaries between you and everything on the planet. Mercury in Virgo aspects Neptune so it is an extra – sensitive, extra weepy full moon.  Meanwhile Venus, Mars, and Saturn have you feeling like you have a ton of  things to do and you had better do them all right, if not perfectly.  You know how good that rabbit hole makes you feel, so stop it.  Focus on relationships, and just don’t stress the work stuff…. Because because because Mars goes retrograde on the 9^th and goals and plans and agendas go sideways for two -plus months. Remember that when Mars shifts to retrograde, things feel weird—where we had planned to put energy may suddenly feel empty and not appealing. Your only job is to really go with the flow, really pay attention to where the energy is easy and flowing and where it’s not.  Situations that have been bugging you may become untenable. But back to September… by the 12^th the Virgo Sun opposes Neptune for a few days of dreamy inspiration, followed by even more creative sparks on the 15^th when Venus and Uranus mix it up.  All of this is in time for the beautiful Virgo new moon on the 17^th which also really favors communication and the exchange of ideas.  Enjoy it!  Then the fall Equinox comes on the 22^nd when the Sun enters Libra.  Mercury in Libra makes some quick and anxiety producing contacts with Pluto, Saturn and Mars, and thus begins not the easiest part of September.  Keep in mind that Saturn and Pluto are quite close again (and for the last time) so people are wigged out about the state of our world.  Mars retrograde gets very close to Saturn at the end of September, and oy.  This is normally a pretty stressful and restrictive aspect yet with Mars retrograde it is likely to be  different.  There will be openings for a different kind of action, a different kind of leadership, if you can re-direct, refocus your priorities and plans.

CANCER  (JUNE 21- JULY 21)  The month begins with a big beautiful full moon in Pisces on the night of September 1^st. The veil  between the worlds feels awfully thin, and you’re feeling everything.  Mercury and Neptune are also conspiring to make this one a real weeper, so keep the tissues close.  Venus, Mars, and Saturn make you want to get a lot done, but the doing needs to be focused on relationships and community.  Who cares about that to-do list?  After all, Mars goes retrograde on the 9^th, ushering in over two months of weirdness, where  effort and goals and plans may change.  Where you thought you wanted to put energy may feel suddenly not so appealing.  It is really important that you go with the flow and not be attached to outcome for the sake of it. But back to the month at hand. By the 12^th the Sun in Virgo opposes Neptune for some dreamy inspiration. Right after that, Venus and Uranus stimulate your desire for change and expansion, inspiring you to take some risks.  This is all just in time for the beautiful new moon in Virgo on the 17^th, which also brings  great energies of communication and interchange.  Enjoy it.  The Fall Equinox comes on the 22^nd when the Sun enters Libra.  Mercury in Libra makes some quick and challenging  contacts with Pluto, Saturn and Mars, and things get a little edgy..  Saturn and Pluto are quite close again (and for the last time) so people are worried about  the state of our world.  Stay away from social media and random paranoid theories. Mars retrograde gets very close to Saturn at the end of September, and  this normally quite stressful aspect may change with Mars being retrograde. If you can re-direct, refocus your priorities and plans, and reorient yourself, reacting to where the energies are pulling you, you will be able to find a fruitful path forward.

LEO (JUL 22-AUG 21)  September opens with a big full moon in Pisces on the night of September 1^st, carrying potent Mercury-Neptune aspects that make you inspired but weepy, feeling the losses of the past year. Venus, Mars and Saturn all line up to give you the oomph to reach a shared goal; however the real emphasis is on relationships, and so “shared” is the key word here.  You want to achieve something that’s meaningful for the group, for your people, your family.  Get ready—Mars turns retrograde on the 9^th, and you may feel a speedbump or two – or three..  When Mars goes retrograde it can feel like a shock or surprise, because suddenly the energy of Mars is redirected.  If you are someone who is used to planning and then carrying out those plans in a certain way… well, things may not go the way you thought. You absolutely have to roll with wherever Mars is taking you.   It is more about reaction than action.  Then on the 12^th there a few days of dreamy, inspired Neptunian influences, followed on the 15^th by Venus and Uranus stirring up your visionary and creative instincts. The 17^th brings a gorgeous Virgo new moon, which besides all the creativity it stimulates, it also is a great lunation for exchanging ideas and for communication.  The Fall Equinox occurs on the 22^nd, when the Sun enters Libra.  Uh oh, Mercury in Libra then makes a series of  angles to Pluto, Saturn and Mars, exacerbating tension , while at the same time Mars retrograde gets closer and closer to an angle to Saturn.   This is all under the shadow of Saturn and Pluto, which  are once again very close in the sky, ramping up everyone’s anxieties about the future of the world. Under normal circumstances, the Saturn Mars aspect  is a a difficult one, one that is good for hard work but it’s not a light and breezy aspect.  Normally your astrologer would say, go build a stone wall, or clean out your basement, but with Mars retrograde, plain old hard work may not be the answer.  You need to redirect your energy, refocus it, be able to go with the flow and find new opportunities for action and for strategy.  Expect the unexpected!