Point of No Return

The total lunar eclipse brought key events all over the world as expected. On Sunday, the day of the eclipse, the Primer Minister of Japan resigned while Kyiv’s plainly-named “government building” was seen on fire after a Russian attack that involved hundreds of drones. On the tenth, three days later, the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was killed by a rifleman at a Utah university gathering. And a day later, on September 11, the UK sacked its ambassador to the US upon discovering that his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein was closer (and lasted longer) than he had previously disclosed. The same day the Brazilian Supreme Court found the ex-President Jair Bolsonaro guilty of plotting a military coup in an attempt to cling to power. Perhaps the cherry on top was Poland invoking article four of the NATO alliance, which compels all members to convene and resolve a security issue that one of them is having; in this case, the incursion of many Russian drones into Polish airspace.

Yet, there is a feeling of continuity amid the chaos, perhaps because we have had an entire lunation in Virgo, a sign that knows how to endure what is deemed necessary, even reaching self-sacrifice, for a higher goal. There is little doubt that the energies of change are well on their way and it is time for a practical approach to living with said change. The current lunation began, you probably remember, with its new moon in the first degree and had its full moon in the middle degree (16th). Given that the upcoming lunation will begin in the final degree of Virgo (30th), the alpha, mu and omega phases of the sign have been energized by Sun at the key lunation phases. Not only that, the last two occurred with eclipses! We will explore the emphasis on Virgoan archetypes as we go along. The second new moon will begin a day before the September equinox, when Sun enters Libra, and three days prior to the final closing square between Mars and Pluto, which has a very powerful chart that I will analyze later.

Understanding the Eclipse?

When talking about the lunar eclipse, we said that Mercury would have its superior conjunction with Sun on September 13, a day before the Last Quarter phase makes us question what we have learned since the eclipse. I spoke a while ago about the notions of combustion and cazimi in astrology. Briefly, these are terms to define the effect of Sun on a planet with which it forms a conjunction. A cazimi is formed when the other planet is within 1° of Sun; it is said to enhance the “heart motive” of the process symbolized by the planet. Combustion, on the other hand, is when the other planet is in the 1°–8° range; it is said to “blind” the process of the planet involved to the point of releasing its energy in unexpected or unconstrained ways.¹ I bring this up because Mercury was within 1° of Sun at the Last Quarter phase, which made our rational mind and our senses work “from the heart” when perhaps asking ourselves what the eclipse was all about.

The Messenger at Work

Continuing with Mercury, it was opposite Saturn on the 17th, and is leaving Virgo on the 18th, when I will hopefully publish this article. Mercury in Virgo is fastidious, obsessed with detailed organization and hyper-critical. In many ways, Mercury in Virgo is about discrimination: the keyword for the Sabian symbol of Virgo 1, where we had the previous new moon. However, upon entering Libra, Mercury will form an exact opposition with Neptune and a Grand Trine with Uranus and Pluto for a powerful Kite configuration with their Minor Grand Trine. In Libra, Mercury will express the masses’ desire for recognition and self-sovereignty (Neptune in Aries) in the area of diplomacy. It will have the information unearthed from the sordid depths of our culture (Pluto in Aquarius) which is now being revealed (Uranus in Gemini). Like any good messenger, Mercury is forming the Kite days before Sun will form it around the solar eclipse, bringing a message from the transpersonal process in charge of elevating our collective level of consciousness. Such a process is represented by the Minor Grand Trine.

Innovation in Relationships

Venus will enter Virgo on September 19 and it will immediately form a square with Uranus that will be exact the following day. Although it is the opening square of their synodic cycle, the two processes are not intimately linked and tend to interact by bringing innovation to Venusian areas, such as the arts, finance and, above all, relationships. The square is a highly energetic aspect that seeks to build something using the two energies involved, in this case by taking concrete steps to refresh our relationships or even start a new one. However, at the same time, Venus is at the vertex of a Yod that has the sextile of Neptune and Pluto as base, therefore also making contact with the other Minor Grand Trine planets. This suggests the use of our intuition as guide to innovate. Oh, and although off-sign, the sextile Venus forms with Mars will provide more than enough energy to innovate; with Mars involved in its own square with Pluto, as we will see shortly.

Solar Eclipse in Virgo

But let us first look at the solar eclipse as a powerful seed of potentialities that will directly influence the next lunar month and, indirectly, the next six months. On September 21, the new moon and partial solar eclipse in Virgo will occur at 12:54 p.m. in California, at 1:54 p.m. in Mexico City, or at 9:54 p.m. in Central Europe. The conjunction of Sun and Moon will occur at Virgo 29°05′ as seen in the chart below:

The chart is crisscrossed by trines and quincunxes, shown in green. Those are aspects with a creative flow of energy that will be available for realizing some of the seed potentialities. The most important aspect, the conjunction of Sun and Moon, is in an off-sign Grand Trine with Uranus (Gemini 1°22′) and Pluto (Aquarius 1°29′). It also forms oppositions with Saturn (Pisces 28°28′), exact earlier that day, and with Neptune (Aries 0°48′), which will be exact on the 23rd, right after the equinox.

Fecundating Energies

As leader of the Kites, Sun is symbolically gathering information about the transpersonal process mentioned earlier, so Moon can be fecundated with it and then used throughout the cycle. The fecundation will happen in the anaretic degree of Virgo, where the sign’s archetypes are intensified, but the cycle will develop with Sun in Libra since the equinox will occur on the 22nd, the day after the eclipse. In its role of pilot, Neptune in Aries will focus what is revealed by Pluto and Uranus (inasmuch as Neptune can focus) through a lens of compassion as well as disinformation. The other pilot, Saturn in Pisces, may try to give form and structure to the essence of those revelations.

Other energies include the aforementioned off-sign sextile between Venus at Virgo 2°49′ and Mars at Libra 29°40′ which, when seen with the Venus–Uranus and Mars–Pluto squares plus the sextiles of both Uranus and Pluto with Neptune (or Saturn), together form five-sided polygons of supporting energies around the Kites. By the way, Mars will enter Scorpio a few hours before the September equinox, a sign in which Mars is very powerful.

Sabian Symbol

The original Sabian symbol for Virgo 30 is: “A false call unheard in attention to immediate service”, which Rudhyar reworded as: “Totally intent upon completing an immediate task, a man is deaf to any allurement”, expanded as the total concentration required for reaching any spiritual goal. My objection to Rudhyar’s version is replacing the word ‘service’ with ‘task’. Whereas both refer to Virgo, being of service is one of its highest archetypes, suitable for the anaretic degree. Diana Roche says that it dramatizes the principle of discrimination or the ability to choose wisely. It also alludes to the self-assurance of an individual who knows his true calling. The main theme for the symbol, according to her, is: A Higher Call to Duty.

In Context

This is the final symbol of the hemicycle related to individualization and its message is that on all decisive occasions what must be done has to be done so intently that no outer voices can penetrate the mind, much less the soul. In the words of Rudhyar: “The neophyte stands at the gates of the sacred Pyramid. There is only one step he can take—ahead, or he is lost.” It will soon be time to relate with the other, time to meet the Beloved expected by the Sphinx. The Night Force that impulses relatedness will be prevalent between now and the end of the astrological year; until next spring.

The current lunation began in the first degree (“A man’s head”), which we interpreted as a symbol of true discrimination, implying both analysis and intuition. The cycle culminated in the middle degree (“An orangutan”) that we described as a confrontation with the wilder side of our psyche, which could be a karmic confrontation. Having discriminated to choose one’s path, and overcoming our wilder (and karmic) daemons, we are urged not to waver and instead ignore the siren’s calls.

Closing Mars–Pluto Square

In every lunation, the waxing phases are full of activity as we try to realize many of the potentialities present at the new moon. Whereas events during the waxing phases are part of the process of actualization of potentialities, those in the waning phases have the purpose of making us realize what was shown to us at the full moon. As you will see shortly, we will have a unique situation where the closing (waning) square between Mars and Pluto will occur early in the waxing phases of the lunar cycle. Such a square will be exact on September 24 and its chart is beyond powerful:

Despite being a chart of the Mars–Pluto square, let us begin by looking at the same-degree air Grand Trine between Sun (Libra 1°42′), Uranus (Gemini 1°19′) and Pluto (Aquarius 1°27′), still a part of the Kite with Neptune (Aries 0°44′). The opposition of Sun and Neptune is meant to bring consciousness about the faceless masses of people seeking to be recognized and treated like human beings (Neptune in Aries). Once again, Pluto and Uranus will be unearthing and communicating information about their reality, their truth.

Violence and Cruelty?

However, this time Pluto will be in an exact square with Mars, considered one of two triggering planets in astrology. It is not uncommon for a hard aspect with Mars, especially a conjunction, square or opposition, to be accompanied of actual events. The other triggering planet is Moon and it will be in an exact conjunction with Mars, just 0°02′ apart! A conjunction between Mars and Moon forming an exact square with Pluto is enough to send shivers up and down any astrologer’s spine, and that is before we consider that Mars and Moon are in Scorpio, ruled by an out-of-bounds Pluto where it acts as the raw power of transformation without having “adult supervision”. Unfortunately, when the square Mars–Pluto involves Mars in Scorpio, the events tend to be violent with shades of cruelty. To top it all, the Moon–Mars conjunction is at the vertex of a powerful Yod with the sextile of Uranus and Neptune as base.

Changes are Inevitable

The astrology of the times is clear: big changes are coming. It is highly unusual for the three transpersonal planets to change signs at what is practically the same time, taking into account their 84-, 165- and 249-year cycles. Furthermore, they are all changing from Yin signs, where a process cements (or destroys) previous initiatives, to Yang signs which begin a new initiative. Moreover, such a transition is made while the three planets form a highly-energetic and self-sufficient configuration: a Minor Grand Trine. I have previously spoken about the last time the transpersonals formed such a configuration; specifically, during the Second World War that brought a radical change in humanity’s consciousness. I have also been on record saying we will not have another world war this time around, other than perhaps an economic war, even though we will undoubtedly witness more cruel violence.

Pluto was the first to move from Capricorn to Aquarius. Its first entrance coincided with the release of ChatGPT which fueled the current AI craze. Pluto made its third and final entrance in Aquarius last November and it is already unearthing truth about the Capricornian institutions it empowered in 2008–2024 when it was trying to consolidate the Sagittarian globalization it started in 1995. Neptune dipped its toe in Aries last March but will return to Pisces on October 22, where it spent the last thirteen years trying to consolidate the “oneness” imagined when social networks began as it moved through Aquarius (1998–2012); instead enabling disinformation and “fake news”. Finally, Uranus briefly entered Gemini last July but will return to Taurus on November 8. In Aries, Uranus has powered revolutionary movements that rely on despots, like Mussolini and Hitler in 1927–1935 or Trump (and many others) in 2011–2019. Afterwards, when Uranus moves to Taurus, they try to consolidate power using territorial arguments, giving rise to fascism. However, in Gemini, Uranus becomes less interested in land and more in the acquisition and utilization of information, which could be shown as advances in communications.

One More Dark Cloud

In their new signs, Pluto will continue to seek the truth to be categorized and disseminated by Uranus. Both planets will work under the guidance of Neptune which, in Aries, will help us move straight ahead as it dissolves the structures erected under the old paradigms. Alternatively, it may keep us tilting at windmills while distracted by a cacophony of rudderless voices. But all three planets are currently moving retrograde, going over the same degrees in a reflexive way as they reconsider the meaning previously given to do better the next time around. Of course, I am speaking metaphorically since that is not how planetary processes work. However, it is how humans work; we often reconsider and do things differently if given a chance. The processes represented by the transpersonal planets seldom operate at the individual level but instead create conditions that shape the sociocultural environment of many individuals. It could be said that reconsideration is in the air.

To reconsider something, we have to relive it in our minds. This is the main reason why we are living a collective déjà vu, rehashing the same issues and confrontations about what is clearly obsolete by now. At first glance, it may seem like we are stuck in a vicious cycle, and such a feeling will be further energized when Neptune returns to Pisces and Uranus to Taurus. Next year, after they reenter Aries and Gemini, the old paradigms will be deprived of the supporting energy they need. Something new will gain momentum but it is currently hard to predict exactly what. The darkness we are living will start to disappear as soon as those planets stop moving retrograde. Saturn will lead the way on November 28, followed by Neptune on December 10 and Uranus on February 3, 2026; a few days after Neptune reenters Aries on January 26.

Wrapping Up…

I am writing these last few words while free speech is attacked front and center in the US (Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show has just been cancelled) and in the UK. Yet Trump is treated like royalty in London. The aforementioned Kite configuration with Mercury as leader helped us know what is really going on in Gaza, where the UN Commission on Genocide today declared that Israel is indeed in the midst of wiping out the Palestinian people from the planet. Today, the senator Bernie Sanders is the first to use such word in the US Congress.

I am somewhat concerned about Wednesday, September 24. I have seen few historical charts as powerful as the Mars–Pluto square one. All of us should envision a large cocoon of light above Earth, our planet will need it.

That said, these are the last gasps of what has been built by the insatiable greed of many powerful individuals. This, too, shall pass. As the Sabian symbol indicates, it is time to keep our focus on the higher good, ignoring what comes in the nightly news.

Please declare your intention, keeping all of humanity in your meditations, by Saturday night.

Always Love. 🌹🙏💖

Notes

1. Strictly speaking, traditional astrology speaks of cazimi as being within 0°17′ of Sun. Also, in addition to combustion, some astrologers use the term “under Sun’s beams” for the 8°–15° range of distance from Sun, which is supposed to weaken the other planet. ↩︎