Skywatch is posted!

Here’s a snippet for early September:

September begins on the heels of a Full Moon eclipse that occurred on August 28, an event that served as a catalyst to activate unconscious issues that had previously been hidden.

For the first time in many months, we are no longer under the influence of major planetary cycles involving the slower-moving outer planets. This means that there are fewer major issues that require our full attention and we are likely to feel that our lives are moving more quickly in a forward direction. This will become more particularly clear when Pluto, which has been traveling retrograde since March 31 of this year, turns direct on September 7 followed the next day by Venus turning direct. This summer we have had a high number of planets in retrograde motion which has kept us looking backwards with the necessity to keep re-doing and re-vising various aspects of our life. Once Pluto and Venus change direction early this month we may notice a definite surge of energy as we begin to look ahead once again.

Saturn enters Virgo on September 2 after spending the past two and a half years in Leo. Leo is the sign of kingship and royalty (as well as the expression of a healthy ego), and Saturn’s travels through Leo have brought significant challenges to leaders of all nations. These difficulties were particularly pronounced during the dance between Saturn and Neptune that took place over the past year, but with Saturn leaving Leo for more conservative Virgo we are likely to see a reduction of the flamboyant grab for power that we saw under the Leo influence. Virgo is a hard worker, and well-suited to Saturn’s demand for discipline and responsibility. (Read more about Saturn in Virgo here.)

Jupiter has been approaching the final sextile (harmonious aspect) to Chiron since early August. Jupiter is the expansive urge which calls on us to seek adventure and meaning in life, and Chiron is the healing influence, asking us to dig a little deeper into the painful areas of our soul and psyche so that our wounds can be released. This is the end of a longer-term dance between these two planets since the end of December 2007 that has been an underlying positive influence to the more difficult cycles we have endured.

We are also concluding another Jupiter cycle: the square of Jupiter to Uranus and its urge for radical change. Under this influence we have been urged to seek a more authentic experience; Jupiter wants liberation and Uranus desires freedom and autonomy, and the two acting in conflict creates a tremendous revolutionary force. Any resistance to change will be broken down as we head towards the final phase of the cycle in early October.

For the first few days of September we are likely to experience quite a bit of saber-rattling as Mars (aggression) approaches a square to Uranus (rebellion) which culminates on September 3. This is a reactive time where resistance to authority is in full swing. With Mars in talkative Gemini now, aggression will be expressed primarily through words. Lovely Venus makes a harmonious aspect (sextile) to Mars on the same day which will soften the effect somewhat and help to alleviate angry reactions.