A Respite Begins

After the two eclipses, we arrive at an astrological lull. The next events mentioned in the preview for 2026 are the conjunctions of Jupiter and Mars with the South Node (oppositions to the North Node) followed by their own conjunction; all happening in mid-November, just in time for the midterm elections in the US. Of course, the lunisolar cycles prior to November will continue to bring opportunities for evolution. However, I’ll take advantage of such a lull to advance the novel I want to publish in 2027, so this is the first of four articles that will be relatively short—especially when compared to the summer series.

Quick Recap

We are likely trying to make sense of what the lunar eclipse revealed to us. Its Boomerang configuration, you may recall, told us not to rely on our critical mind—symbolized by the conjunction of Sun and Mercury in Virgo—when trying to understand what is happening around us. Instead, we were encouraged to have patience and trust the inner workings of the processes unleashed this year.

If we focus solely on the external chaos, we see the two main wars—in Iran and in Ukraine—causing death and destruction while wrecking havoc with the world economies. Although there is no energy for what we have called “the old paradigms”, their supporters are still clinging to power, and they remain in control. That is, until the expected economic crisis happens, probably triggered when the AI bubble bursts. In the meantime, we must remain confident that everything is proceeding according to plan.

A Month of Personal Work

I see two different lunations happening between now and November: the first one, which will begin this week, asks us to concentrate on our inner work, while the second one, a month from now, will be more about modifying the manner in which we relate to our communities in general.

The new moon will occur on September 10 at 8:27 p.m. in California, 9:27 p.m. in Mexico City, or on September 11 at 5:27 a.m. in Central Europe. Sun and Moon will be at Virgo 18°26′, as shown in the following chart:

I will briefly analyze three major themes that I see in the chart:

• Sun and Moon are forming two nearly-exact aspects: a sextile with Mars (Cancer 19°45′) and a sesquiquadrate with Pluto (Aquarius 3°21′).
• At Scorpio 0°31′, Venus will have entered the sign a few hours before the new moon.
• Uranus (Gemini 5°42′) was stationary also a few hours earlier and it will be inching retrograde at less than 1% its average speed.

Sabian Symbol

To better understand the aspects formed by Sun and Moon, let’s look at the Sabian symbol for Virgo 19, the degree where they will be located. It has the image: “A swimming race”, which Diana Roche sees as a symbol of Competition; by focusing on the race aspect, which extols how individuals are stimulated to “perfect and refine their unique skills and talents”.

Not surprisingly, Dane Rudhyar sees the symbol from a completely different angle: focusing on swimming. He expands the image as the stimulation that comes from a group effort toward a spiritual goal. To become an expert swimmer, an individual has conquered a new element; and water always symbolizes psychic energy. Rudhyar actually questions whether the symbol suggests the competitive spirit at all. He sees the ego-centered ambition to succeed and be ‘first’ as a sign of “expectable spiritual failure”. He writes: “[Isn’t] the competitive spirit so valued by our civilization a sign of failure to understand the deeper reality of existence? What is needed is Emulation, not competition.”

Energy and Willpower

If we focus our efforts on competition, the Sun and Moon aspects with Mars and Pluto will provide energy and willpower so we may succeed at winning over others. But, if we imagine the mystical goal of crossing the river and reach “the other shore”, a seeker after spiritual rebirth actually does not strive alone. Mankind, acting through the most advanced individuals, is the one taking a step toward “rebirth”. Seeing it that way, we will want to emulate them, and both Mars, from the water sign of Cancer, and Pluto moving retrograde, will assist us this month.

Relationship Healing?

Venus in Scorpio provides energy to dig deep into our relationships and it will be in an exact opposition with Chiron (Taurus 0°14′); this will allow us to transcend our insecurities and defensiveness, providing we do the introspective work required. Pluto, ruler of Scorpio, will be forming a T-square with the Venus–Chiron opposition, offering a large reservoir of willpower—once again, assuming we are willing to look inside ourselves. Chiron in Taurus is reflecting issues related to our self-worth, so that would be a good place to start focusing.

Venus will begin to move retrograde on October 3 from Scorpio 8°29′, until November 13 when it will be at Libra 22°52’—a position it had this past August 31. Venus is therefore currently moving through its retrograde shadow: every degree it transits between August 31 and October 3—including the early degrees of Scorpio—will be visited three times by Venus. And for many of those degrees, it will be forming a square with Pluto, which will make the reservoir of willpower available to work on our relationships for most of what’s left of the year.

A Time for Reassessing

With Uranus retrograde, every slow planet from Saturn (Aries 13°03′) to Pluto will be moving retrograde throughout the lunation, until Pluto changes direction on October 15. On the one hand, Uranus will tighten up again the Minor Grand Trine but, on the other, these will be times to take stock about the energies we’ve felt lately, especially in July and August. Sadly, I doubt the world will take this opportunity to rethink and change course. Rather, it will be interpreted as an end to the pressures to behave differently. Those living from the old paradigms will try once more to resume their policies of extraction to no avail. Alas, there is not much we can do.

I remind you that Neptune (Aries 3°24′) is driving the changes and its modus operandi is one of dissolution, acting like a powerful acid. And it has been working with Pluto for dozens of years: their sextile will be just 0°03′ from exact at the new moon and, in fact, it will be exact once more on September 15. Those are powerful energies reflecting some equally intense processes operating within the collective unconscious of the human race.

Wrapping Up…

The “big boys” are taking a break and their energies invite us to reflect and reassess our reactions to the world that is beginning to unfold. It is a time to become proficient on a new environment, learn to “swim” in it and emulate those who are ahead of us in the “race” for a new “rebirth”.

Looking all around us, we will see people taking advantage of the energy and willpower available to win petty races while trumping over others. However, let’s keep in mind that the same energies can be used to work together on a loftier spiritual goal.

At a personal level, the next few weeks are perfect to complete the work we may have been doing in our relationships. Remember how the eclipses asked us to be patient. Venus is going through degrees it will revisit twice more, so this is a good time to try and work on our relationship issues knowing that we’ll get an opportunity to reflect on what worked (and what didn’t) and act once again.

Declare your intentions for the month on or before September 9 at night.

Always Love. 🌹🙏💖