The Stars Are Like Letters…
“The stars are like letters that inscribe themselves at every moment in the sky. Everything in the world is full of signs. All events are coordinated. All things depend on each other. Everything breathes together.” – Plotinus
We see astrology as the art of exploring the archetypal correlations between the movements of the planets and human events. If you follow along long enough, you will learn to see archetypally, understand the human condition a little better, and perhaps gain enough freedom through insight to make more satisfying choices.
Follow the current transits with this planner. You can follow the moon cycles if the current transits don’t seem to apply to you (see Are You In the Hot Seat?). Following the moon is easy and will add richness to your experience of the sky. See the Guides for more on tracking your own personal cycles.
Post questions in the comments.
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Where Are The Planets This Month
August 22-September 22, 2021
All times are given for U.S. Eastern Standard Time (New York, NY).
☉ Sun: Virgo
☽ Moon: Full Moon in Aquarius → Last Quarter Moon in Sagittarius → New Moon in Virgo –>First Quarter Moon in Gemini → Full Moon in Pisces. This moon cycle highlights the Cross of Service to Spirit (also known as the Mutable signs).
☿ Mercury: 18Virgo57 – 24Libra28
♀ Venus: 7Libra54 – 13Scorpio38, ☪Venus Evening Star 5th Gate: September 10, 2021 29°14′ Libra 12:48 AM EDT
♂ Mars: 15Virgo11 – 5Libra03
♃ Jupiter: 26Aquarius51 Rx – 23Aquarius23 Rx
♄ Saturn: 8Aquarius42 Rx – 7Aquarius09 Rx
⚷ Chiron: 12Aries19 Rx – 11Aries08 Rx
♅ Uranus: 14Taurus47 Rx – 14Taurus20 Rx
♆ Neptune: 22Pisces23 Rx – 21Pisces33 Rx
♇ Pluto: 24Capricorn45 Rx – 24Capricorn 21 Sx
Night Sky Views
Stars of the Sun in Virgo Sky from Stellarium https://stellarium-web.org/ This is the view without atmosphere, if you could see the stars and the sun at the same time 🙂 As you can see, the Sun at 0 degrees Virgo is lined up almost exactly with the star Regulus, the “heart of the lion.” Read more about Sun in Virgo on August 22, 2021.
Stars of the Sun in Virgo Sky from In-The-Sky.org https://in-the-sky.org//skymap.php
Are You In the Hot Seat?
These transits will supercede any of the transits in this planner.
Do you have personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars), angles (Asc, MC, IC, Dsc), Nodes,
- or Pluto at 24-27° Capricorn, Cancer, Aries, or Libra? You’re in a Pluto transit.
- or Neptune at 20-23° Pisces, Virgo, Gemini or Sagittarius: You’re in a Neptune transit.
- or Uranus at 11-15° Taurus, Scorpio, Leo or Aquarius: You’re in a Uranus transit.
- or Saturn at 7-13° degrees Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio: You’re in a Saturn transit.
- or Jupiter in later Aquarius or early Pisces: You’re in a Jupiter transit.
For more on the planets and how to find your natal planets, see the Transit Guides.
Outer Planetary Alignments
*NEW* Saturn conjunct Pluto – Okay, okay, I just listened to Richard Tarnas on the Planets in 2021 (recorded in February this year) and we need to include Saturn conjunct Pluto as a still active and ongoing archetypal activation. This isn’t the activation of 2020 where Saturn and Jupiter were both extremely close to Pluto. But Saturn is within 15 degrees of Pluto and still active, simmering away, like after the full boil when we turn the heat down and simmer until the meat falls off the bones… ba ha ha! Saturn pulled more than 15 degrees away from Pluto from April to July, but as of August 1 is now within 15 degrees again and will remain there through December 2021.
- Saturn cj Pluto within 15 degree orb: October 18, 2018 – December 18, 2021 (excluding April-July 2021)
- Saturn cj Pluto within 20 degree orb: December 1, 2017 – February 17, 2022
This is heavy medicine. Deep transformation with lasting consequences, authoritarian clamp downs, war, cold war, civil war, confronting systems of power, confronting the shadow, even evil. The high potential is the transformation and evolution of the deepest structures of the social order–institutions, government, commerce, our moral concepts of right and wrong. Doing this work requires all our courage and moral resolve. These are still on the wind together with the more prominent Saturn square Uranus energy as we approach the end of 2021.
I recommend the final comments from Tarnas’ video where he reflects on the times we’re in, reflecting on the work of women abolitionists in the 19th century: “how noble those women were, and they will go down in eternity for the nobility of what they did and the courage they brought to their tasks.” Because this is what we are being asked to do now. Here is the video teed up to that point, and a meme inspired by his speech:
The Circle of Elders – The outer planets remain loosely clustered in the same quadrant of sky, within 100 degrees, none closer to each other than 14 degrees, with Uranus slightly separated from the rest. Arrayed like this, they feel more like the Circle of Elders than ever, taking turns transmitting a teaching or administering a test for the initiates, as the faster-moving Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars take turns transiting the outer planets.
The personal planets and outer planets are arranged on opposite sides of the sky from each other in what’s known as a see-saw pattern. The bowl pattern of early summer has been steadily dispersing and now settles into a back and forth pattern: Call and response, flipping between polarities, alternating between personal and big picture perspectives, highs and lows, agony and ecstasy, seeking but maybe not finding balance.
As Mars falls farther behind Venus, it makes its transits to the Circle of Elders on an increasingly separate timeline from Venus. She’s doing her own thing, meeting the transpersonal archetypes on her own terms, as does He in his own extraordinary internal and private process. Venus opposed Neptune on August 9, but Mars doesn’t oppose Neptune until September 2. Venus opposes Chiron on August 26, and then Uranus, last of the Elders, on September 23. Mars opposes Chiron on October 1 but will take a long time to oppose Uranus, reinforcing Uranus’ position on the outer edge of the Circle. Not that the Visionary Revolutionary doesn’t weigh in by means of trines and quincunxes. It and the rest of the outer planets each take turns standing in quincunx or trine, occasionally square to the more fast-moving luminaries of the September sky.
Saturn square Uranus – Aquarius-Taurus. This long-lasting square has stayed mostly within 5 degrees since January 2020, but loosens now to 7 degrees out of exact square for most of September before tightening back up in preparation for the last exact square on December 24, 2021. The long-lasting pressures to rewrite norms and rules, break down institutions and structures, and the air of general conflict and periodic grim collapse may ease up a bit before a crescendo at the end of the year. For those who have enjoyed the tumult and opportunities to change the way we live and work in innovative ways brought by these times, you can look forward to a milder version of this ongoing influence through 2022 as the square continues to pass in and out of 5 degree orb through 2022. Read more about Saturn square Uranus in last month’s planner. Anyone with personal planets or Saturn at 7-13 degrees Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio is undergoing a Saturn transit complicated by this Uranian square. Anyone with personal planets or Uranus at 11-15 degrees Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, or Scorpio is undergoing a Uranus transit, likewise complicated by this Saturnian square. See Transit Guides for more.
Saturn sextile Chiron ~7-11 degrees Aquarius-Aries. Although this sextile remains mostly within 2 degrees during 2021, and will make another exact sextile around Thanksgiving 2021, it widens to a 4 degree orb by the beginning of sun in Virgo and remains there through September, lending a milder background harmony between the Master Wounded Healer and the Lord of Structure and Karma. They support each other, one mitigating the consequences of the other, particularly whenever the Saturn square Uranus alignment is triggered by transit.
Neptune sextile Pluto – This aspect marks the Postmodern or Modern Era depending on your reference, from the end of World War II until 2037 (using a 5 degree orb). During this time, the world’s spiritual, psychological, and human developmental belief systems opened up and embraced a great variety of forms. Previously hidden esoteric knowledge can now be found easily online. Psychological language and profiling have become part of the common vernacular. Its very long lasting nature makes it hard to see, but we will get to experience life without this gentle sparkling influence within 15 or 16 years.
The second Aquarius Full Moon on August 22 is called the “Sturgeon Moon” by the Farmer’s Almanac, it is also the third of four full moons to fall between the June Solstice and September Equinox (normally there are three in a seasonal quarter). Some almanacs call the third of four full moons in a quarter a “Blue Moon.” Source: https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20210822_08_100. Astrologers would certainly agree in this case to calling the second full moon in a sign a Blue Moon!
The Mars-Venus Saga
Most people in personal transits don’t seem to be noticing the Mars-Venus activations. This means that your personal transits are top priority.
Mars with Mercury (within 10 degrees August 10-29, exact conjunct August 18, 2021). When Mars spends more than two weeks with Mercury, archetypal possibilities include social media influences, friend group influences, gossip, perhaps digesting information or knowledge of some sort, talking to people, sharing information or even a period of mental productivity! When Mars disappears into the sun’s glare on August 23 for the next three months, it will still be near Mercury.
How is it that Evening Star Mercury is still close to Mars even when it has become invisible in the Underworld? It’s mostly got to do with Mars’ orbit so much farther away because its orbit lies outside our own and is now on the other side of the solar system from us, while Mercury’s is much much closer. Mercury isn’t easy to see, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, but you can see it in the twilight glow in some parts of the world, whereas Mars is completely hidden.
Mars opposite Neptune (In orb August 17-September 17) Mars finally makes its opposition to Neptune in the Circle of Elders on September 2, 2021, 1:42 PM EDT at 22°06′ Virgo, completing the initiation Venus completed earlier in August–not in the ordinary light of day but in the presence of Great Mystery. Mars is with the sun now. Perhaps Neptune will show him the illusions and fantasies which are requiring him to die to his old self. Or perhaps Neptune will grace us with a vision to carry us through the next three months as we transform the way we operate in the world, the things we fight for, how we identify ourselves (Mars)!
In any case, this is the first major outer planet initiation by Mars in the Underworld. How Mars handles Neptune’s shadow (illusion, delusion, confusion, dissolution, poisoning) and light (creative inspiration, ecstasy, unity, timeless love) will certainly set the tone for the first part of Mars’ journey with the Sun.
Mars enters Underworld September 7, 2021. Read more.
Venus Evening Star + Mars Underworld – For 3 months, from August 23 to November 23, 2021, Venus will be shining as the Evening Star while Mars passes through the Underworld lost in the glare of the sun. It’s a long initiation and Venus will go through four Evening Gates during this time (4th-7th–heart, throat, brow, and crown), in a process of empowerment and identity formation. Mars is in deconstruction and transformation by fire and ordeal which hinges on social and marital contracts in order to bring forth a powerful new vision (retrograde Mercury will conjunct Mars’ exact alignment with the sun at 15 Libra). In the love affair, things go deep and transformational, but surely any plans and goals must go on the pyre. This is true as well for those in the internal Mars-Venus process.
Venus’ Power is Elevated, so lean in to love, beauty, magnetism, flow, spatial non-linear process, presence, collaboration, groundswells, watersheds; the archetypal feminine.
Mars’ Power is in the Fire, so surrender and let go of action, agency, plans, linear cause-and-effect expectations, aggression, progress, competition, heroism; the archetypal masculine.
☪Venus Evening Star 5th Gate September 10, 2021, 12:48 AM EDT 29°14′ Libra. Read more.
The Power of Venus – Venus is the Goddess of Beauty and Love, the archetypal feminine. But is also non-gendered as embodiment, as nature, as our possessions, and as the so-called material world which we are beginning to remember is always radiant with energy and presence. Venus at its deepest essence is the unity of spirit and matter: the anima and the anima mundi, and this unity is commanded by love. The deeper your love, the more complete your command. Thus did Jesus turn water into wine, command the storms, and rise from the dead.
You can cultivate the power of your love to magnetize what you love into your life. Find a clear and simple love that lights you up with joy, then remind yourself of it whenever you need a boost. If “the power of your love” doesn’t feel readily available, then try focusing on the current Venus Gate to clear out contradictory beliefs and desires, to forgive and let go, find unity to reclaim your vestments of power.
The 2020-2021 Venus Cycle – The current Venus Cycle began on July 3, 2020, entered the Morning Star phase from July 9, 2020 to February 12, 2021, Underworld phase from February 13 to May 2, 2021, Evening Star phase from May 3, 2021 to January 1, 2022, and completes on January 8, 2022.
You will notice eight gates in both the Morning Star and the Evening Star phases. These represent conjunctions with the crescent moon (we don’t include the conjunctions Venus makes while moving retrograde). Ordinarily there are seven, but this cycle has eight in both the morning and the evening sky! This accounts in part for the extraordinary power of this Venus Cycle.
But we can look farther to 2020 to really understand the power of this Venus Cycle. We all experienced the once-in-a-lifetime moment of 2020, and most of us remember the triple conjunction that defined it. The last time Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto aligned within 5 degrees of each other was in 1285 AD! Conjunctions represent birth points – beginnings, and the Venus Cycle which began in June 2020 represents the embodiment, growth-testing, and transformational vestment of the archetypal power and intentions of that rare triple conjunction, in that Venus is about embodiment, the union of spirit and matter!
If you have natal points aligned with (conjunct) any of the key points in the Venus Timeline, these will reveal more about your own personal activation during this cycle. The most important points would be the two times when Venus was aligned exactly conjunct the Sun: at the beginning of the cycle at 13°35′ Gemini and at the heart of the Underworld phase at 5°50′ Aries. But all alignments with points during the cycle have information which can help frame your experience.
Mercury
Mercury’s Outer Planet Transits August-September 2021 – Just as Mercury raced to catch up with Venus and Mars’ pattern of transits to the outer planets in the end of July, now Mercury continues to follow after Venus as they pull away from the Sun. Mercury will keep following Venus higher into the evening sky until the end of September when Mercury pauses and then turns swiftly back toward the Sun and Mars. For now, mind and narrative follow the Venus process more closely than Mars.
Astrology Planner
August 2021
August 2021
22 – SUNDAY
🌕 Full Moon (Day 15) 25°02’ Aquarius – 08°37’ Pisces – brilliant Jupiter lies a fist width west of the moon tonight.
⦿ Mars trine Uranus Rx 14°47′ Virgo-Taurus 2:38 AM EDT – Blessings favor innovative action, provides an exciting and glittering send off for Mars’ entry into the Underworld tomorrow. (In orb August 13-30)
🌕 Full Moon 29°37’ Aquarius 8:02 AM EDT
⦿ Sun 0°00’ Virgo 5:35 PM EDT
23 – MONDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous Moon (Day 16) 08°37’ – 21°53 Pisces – Near invisible Neptune tonight
⦿ Venus trine Saturn Rx 08°39′ Libra-Aquarius 8:48 AM EDT (In orb August 18-28)
24 – TUESDAY
🌖Waning Gibbous Moon (Day 17) 21°53′ Pisces – 4°50′ Aries – Invisible Chiron lies a fist width east of the moon tonight.
⦿ Mercury opposite Neptune Rx 22°19′ Virgo-Pisces 9:13 PM EDT – Stimulated imagination, flights of fancy, delusions, mysteries revealed…this is a good time for meditation, reflection, and to postpone practical work or plans. (In orb August 18-31)
25 – WEDNESDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous Moon (Day 18) 4°50′ – 17°27′ Aries – Near invisible Chiron tonight
26 – THURSDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous Moon (Day 19) 17°27′ – 29°46′ Aries
⦿ Venus opposite Chiron Rx 12°12′ Libra-Aries 9:24 AM EDT – The Goddess, the anima, the internal embodied presence, your love faces the Master Healer & Teacher. Will the initiation bring healing insight or health challenge? The key as always is to seek a higher state of consciousness for, as Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” (In orb August 18-September 3)
⦿ Mercury trine Pluto Rx 24°41′ Virgo-Capricorn 10:23 AM EDT (In orb August 22-30)
27 – FRIDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous Moon (Day 20) 29°46′ Aries – 11°50′ Taurus – The moon sails across the late night sky near invisible Uranus tonight
⦿ Mercury quincunx Jupiter Rx 26°14′ Virgo-Aquarius 11:05 AM EDT (In orb August 26-28)
28 – SATURDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous Moon (Day 21) 11°50′ – 23°44′ Taurus – The moon lies a fist width east of the invisible Uranus tonight
⦿ Venus quincunx Uranus Rx 14°45′ Libra-Taurus 1:43 PM EDT (In orb August 26-30)
29 – SUNDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous Moon (Day 22) 23°44′ Taurus – 5°33′ Gemini – The moon lies on its north node tonight
⦿ Sun square Nodes 06°09′ Virgo-Gemini/Sagittarius 2:56 AM EDT(In orb August 20-September 7) – Frustrations, delays, conflict. But perhaps by staying present, going where the life force takes you, perhaps by digging into the power of Virgo radiating from the sun you may be able to drive the wheels of change forward in a powerful way. The moon near the North Node adds weight to the forward motion side of things as it tips into the last quarter phase. In the Hero’s Journey, the last quarter moon is where we return to the world with a gift from the great powers. **SEE UPDATE BELOW**
30 – MONDAY
🌗 Last Quarter Moon (Day 23) 5°33′ – 17°22′ Gemini
🌗 Last Quarter Moon 07°09’ Gemini 3:14 AM EDT
⭐ The moon reaches its last quarter phase as it climbs toward its height in the very early morning. It will appear overhead at sunrise and set around noon. Yesterday and today give us some interesting insight into the sun-moon relationship via the nodes, with the sun squaring the nodes and the moon at nearly the same time.
⦿ Mercury enters Libra 1:09 AM EDT
31 – TUESDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 24) 17°22′ – 29°17′ Gemini
⭐ Mercury is at its highest elevation in the evening sky, and shining brightly at 0.1 magnitude but will be very tricky to see in the Northern hemisphere in the west at sunset.
⦿ Sun quincunx Saturn Rx 08°10′ Virgo-Aquarius 4:46 AM EDT (In orb August 29-September 1)
September 2021
1 – WEDNESDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 25) 29°17′ Gemini – 11°22′ Cancer
2 – THURSDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 26) 11°22′ – 23°43′ Cancer
⦿ Mars opposite Neptune Rx 22°06′ Virgo-Pisces 1:42 PM EDT –(In orb August 17-September 17)
3 – FRIDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 27) 23°43′ Cancer – 06°23′ Leo
⦿ Venus quincunx Neptune Rx 22°04′ Libra-Pisces 8:12 PM EDT (In orb September 2-5)
4 – SATURDAY
🌘 Waning Crescent (Balsamic) Moon (Day 28) 06°23′ – 19°24′ Leo
⦿ Sun quincunx Chiron Rx 11°54′ Virgo-Aries 1:20 AM EDT – Life is inviting you to let go of old wounds or insoluble problems. (In orb September 2-5)
⦿ Mercury trine Saturn Rx 07°54′ Libra-Aquarius 9:30 PM EDT (In orb August 31-September 9)
5 – SUNDAY
🌑 New Moon Phase (Day 29) 19°24′ Leo – 02°45′ Virgo
⦿ Venus square Pluto Rx 24°31′ Libra-Capricorn 11:06 PM EDT – Venus in hard aspect to Pluto is prone to passionate love affairs and obsessions which is usually best re-channeled into creative outlets. However they’re expressed, the archetypes want to help you to evolve your notions of creativity and love. (In orb August 31-September 10)
6 – MONDAY
🌑 New Moon (Day 1) 02°45′ – 16°26′ Virgo
🌚 New Moon 14°38′ Virgo 08:52 PM EDT *New Info*
This is an excellent time to begin an inspired creative or sacred work project, or to begin to connect more fully with your spirituality because this year, amazingly, the Full Moon in Pisces on September 20 will line up within 6.5 degrees of Neptune, which is the embodiment of Pisces! The depths of creative imagination and spiritual connection get amplified even more than usual both around the full moon AND throughout the entire moon cycle which begins today!
For those of you who haven’t really been feeling the building cycles of activation this year (especially since March) and who want to get on the ride, this is a great point to get on the ride! All it takes is intention to follow along with the cycles. This will be a plunge but Pisces holds a very very wide net. Wide as the universe, wide as eternity…
The New Moon in Virgo does still ask us to attend to the details that matter, so perhaps crafting a beautiful little statement of intent is the thing. But also, loving Virgo doesn’t ask you to be perfect, just that you pay attention to – what – is – here – and the sincerity and HUMILITY of your intention will go very far indeed. Virgo recognizes the preciousness of even a grain of sand, so come little fish – come swim in the cosmic oceans of eternal love…
⦿ Mars trine Pluto Rx 24°31′ Virgo-Capricorn 8:19 AM EDT – Help or blessings for the hero undergoing his ordeals is available from Shiva, Lord of the Underworld, the deep psyche, the evolutionary edge. Or perhaps you simply experience this as extra power, passion, and vitality! (In orb August 28-September 15)
⦿ Venus trine Jupiter Rx 25°00′ Libra-Aquarius 9:05 AM EDT – A wonderful time for love, beauty, fun, friendship, opportunity. The Goddess at the end of her 4th Heart Gate initiation gets an extra boost of support, blessings, or opportunity to BE THE BLESSING! (In orb September 1-10)
⦿ Sun trine Uranus Rx 14°39′ Virgo-Taurus 9:28 PM EDT – This is an especially good time to begin an innovative project or break out of your old routines, perhaps a time of extra sparkle and glamour. The Life Force supports all innovative things right now! Take a risk, break the mold, bring something new into the world.(In orb August 31-September 12)
⦿ Mars quincunx Jupiter Rx 24°56′ Virgo-Aquarius 11:50 PM EDT – Meanwhile, the heroic ordeal to transform the way we engage in the world brings an opportunity to let go of grandiosity or excess. (In orb September 4-9)
7 – TUESDAY
🌑 New Moon Phase (Day 2) 16°26′ Virgo – 00°23′ Libra
⦿ Moon conjunct Mars 25°21′ Virgo 3:24 PM EDT – The hero faces a fresh trial in the underworld.
⦿ Mars 10° conjunct Sun 25°18′ Virgo 1:27 PM EDT
Mars enters the Underworld slowly dimming into the twilight glow from July until September 7, 2021 1:27 PM EDT 25°18′ Virgo. Whether Mars shows up as a male character in your story galvanizing your underworld journey, or within yourself as the hero, warrior or effective agent in the world, this period will be characterized by confrontations with the Shadow both within and without, crisis and trial, the need for transformation, death and rebirth, catharsis and passion, soul retrieval through being laid bare to your feelings and truth. It is important to remember that even in the underworld, Mars loves a cause worth dying for. Finding that deep cord of passion will help you find your way through the maze.
The lower stakes relationship dramas of July get replaced by something more profound. This could be held within the context of a committed relationship, as well as in the form of a new deeper more intense underworld love affair — passionate, cathartic, transformational, unlikely to endure but worth it. Finally, one can imagine a transformational love story in which the male lover is completely absent but whose absence provides the galvanizing force.
Hopefully the insights we gain from Mars in the Underworld will help us to make choices consciously so that we aren’t forced to it by circumstance. Just knowing and understanding Underworld processes will help considerably.
What is the Underworld process? Underworld processes tend to strike from your blind spot, so as to activate your deepest emotions, and catalyze true transformation. Because each person’s needs will be unique, it’s really impossible to predict Underworld processes. If you’re looking for an archetypal image, conjure Gandalf’s stand at the bridge — “You shall not pass!” That’s a good one, though I’ve never seen anyone actually go through it!! lol
If all this sounds too intense, try the exercise below. It’s said to go more quickly if you grab the bull by the horns and surrender to the process. If that doesn’t work for you, that’s totally okay too. There is not right or wrong way to do this!
Exercise for Mars in the Underworld: Get a notebook and answer this question: “What are my deepest fears about the Underworld Journey of Mars?” Once you have completed it, you can keep it to look back at, rip it up, or burn it as you wish with all the ceremony you see fit. And rest assured that none of these things will happen. Underworld processes can’t be predicted, remember? This is about freeing the Life Force, re-shaping or restoring it, a process not very easily achieved in a controlled or abstracted state of mind. Surrender is a very good skill to develop that will serve you throughout your life and has nothing to do with inaction or passivity. You may also be able to lean on your Venusian powers in lieu of Mars’ normal capabilities.
8 – WEDNESDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 3) 00°23′ – 14°31′ Libra – The very new crescent shines briefly in the evening sky tonight very near Mercury
⦿ Mercury opposite Chiron Rx 11°45′ Libra-Aries 12:30 AM EDT – This is a good time to think, write, speak about health issues or insoluble problems. Mercury is still in its Evening Star phase and very open to creative solutions. (In orb August 31-September 17)
9 – THURSDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 4) 14°31′ – 28°45′ Libra
⭐ Venus conjunct Moon (5th Evening Star Gate) – although the exact alignment is tomorrow shortly after midnight, tonight is the best time to see the star and crescent in the western evening sky.
10 – FRIDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 5) 28°45′ Libra – 13°02′ Scorpio
⦿ Venus conjunct Moon 29°14′ Libra 12:48 AM EDT
⭐ Look for the Evening Star and Crescent Moon in the western evening sky in the twilight glow. The moon will be above and east of Venus because the exact alignment will have occurred about eight hours earlier.
☪Venus Evening Star 5th Gate
September 10, 2021, 12:48 AM EDT 29°14′ Libra – In the Myth of Inanna, the Queen of Heaven reclaims her fifth center of power here at the fifth gate where Venus makes its fifth conjunction with the waxing crescent moon in the evening sky since it rose as Evening Star in May. Although the exact alignment happens on the morning of September 10, the best time to see the bright Evening Star and crescent moon will be the night before on September 9 in the western sky – the best time as always to see these luminaries is before full dark when only they and the very brightest stars are visible in the twilight glow. As it gets darker and darker, stars clutter the view.
The 5th center of power is traditionally associated with the throat or voice. In the ongoing love story, whether the flash-in-the-pan lover of summer is gone or a new love affair has gone deep, the intensity and need to speak up loud and powerfully may feature strongly this month. Venus moves into Scorpio hours after entering the 5th gate, so there may be quite a few verbal barb, but with Libra crowning the opening, she cannot reclaim the full vestment of power without considering Libra’s concerns: fairness, civility, the equal rights of the other, the greater needs of society, and the greater symphony which can only be had when all voices are included.
Ultimately, the last degree of Libra implies that you will need some very exceptional political skill and grace, or perhaps community support, to retrieve your voice, but still backed by those deeper reservoirs of power which Scorpio accesses by moving life force energy up from the deeper wells within the body and the psyche.
This gate carries distinct political and activist overtones. In addition to its traditional resonance with partnership and marriage, Libra carries the cultural content around politics, the law, government, and social justice. Scorpio kicks a** and takes names, moving mountains to create change. Scorpio facilitates whatever transformation is necessary, be it cathartic orgasm or death and compost! We are still in Saturn conjunct Pluto – facing the Shadow (that which is hidden, be it light or shadow), even confronting Evil as we strive to transform systems of power, government, laws, rules, judgments, structures of social order (15 degree orb through December 2021, 20 degree orb through February 2022). We are also still in Saturn square Uranus changing the way we live and work, technology, how we imagine ourselves, how we solve problems (10 degree orb through November 2023, last exact alignment coming up in mid-December 2021). So this particular Venus Gate resonates particularly strongly with the background archetypal wave by calling us to speak up and speak out, against the Shadow wherever we see it and in advocacy for changing the way we live and create!
Anyone turning 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72 (a multiple of 8) this year is going through their Venus Return. If your birthday is sometime between mid-September to mid-October, this is likely your personal Venus Gate! Tune in and receive a direct transmission from this Venus Evening Star on September 10 and throughout the rest of the month until the next gate. The Goddess, your personal capacity to call to you what you love, is incarnating now at a deeper octave within you – open your arms wide to embrace her!
⦿ Mercury quincunx Uranus Rx 14°36′ Libra-Taurus 12:17 PM EDT (In orb September 8-12)
⦿ Venus moves into Scorpio 4:39 PM EDT – Venus spends most of her fifth gate initiation in Scorpio (read more), imbuing the retrieval of her voice with intensity and passion. Venus in Scorpio is the sorceress, tantrika, the Jedi Queen accessing the deeper reserves of life force both in nature and in the body. She is ecstatic and powerful and was hated for centuries, demonized and marginalized by the patriarchy. Even today, though desired and admired, wielding her full power usually feels dangerous. But Venus in Scorpio loves with the fullness of the life force and opens all she touches to the power that runs through all living things. She can bring you back to life as well as accompany you through hell. Love her and she will heal you like no other.
11 – SATURDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 6) 13°02′ – 27°17′ Scorpio
12 – SUNDAY
🌒 Waxing Crescent Moon (Day 7) 27°17′ Scorpio – 11°28′ Sagittarius – The moon lies on its South Node tonight
13 – MONDAY
🌓 First Quarter Moon (Day 8) 11°28′ – 25°34′ Sagittarius
🌓 First Quarter Moon 21°16’ Sagittarius 4:40 PM EDT
⭐ Mercury at greatest elongation (farthest separation from the sun). Although bright at 0.1 magnitude, it will be very hard to see in the northern hemisphere in the west at sunset.
14 – TUESDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 9) 25°34′ Sagittarius – 09°34′ Capricorn
⦿ Sun opposite Neptune Rx 21°47′ Virgo-Pisces 5:12 AM EDT – (In orb September 4-23)
⭐ Neptune reaches its annual opposition to the sun, rising at sunset tonight. However, it is invisible without a telescope, so this will not allow for a better than normal unaided view of the gas giant. Nonetheless, it is like an annual full moon for the planet, magnifying it in our consciousness in other ways. This is a wonderful time to dream a new dream, connect with the celestial realms for inspiration, or to clear out the old illusions and mixed signals that block your connection with the Muse. If you do shamanic work, this is a good time to focus on work in the celestial world. If you are a creative type, this whole month should be very creative for you. Or you may become vividly aware of any blockages to the easy flow of information back and forth across the timeless sea. If you are fortunate, these blockages may simply be melted away, as Neptune is wont to do. If you have been living in the shadow of Neptune, swimming in a haze of confusion, sleepiness, escapism, or addiction, this is a good time to simply ask for help from the Great Dreamer. Sometimes just ten minutes of meditation helps so much, as if it allows a circuit with Neptune to complete and which doesn’t even need to breach the surface of the conscious thought.
At opposition, Neptune will be at 28.92 AU, 7.8 mag, 2.4″ in diameter, and located at 23h30m30s RA, and 4°27’S declination. Read more about Neptune.
⦿ Mars moves into Libra 8:13 PM EDT
15 – WEDNESDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 10) 09°34′ – 23°27′ Capricorn – The waxing moon lies near invisible Pluto tonight
16 – THURSDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 11) 23°27′ Capricorn – 07°12′ Aquarius – The moon crosses the sky a fist width east of Pluto and quite near Saturn tonight
⦿ Sun quincunx Jupiter Rx 23°56′ Virgo-Aquarius 10:18 AM EDT(In orb September 14-18)
⦿ Sun trine Pluto Rx 24°24′ Virgo-Capricorn 9:52 PM EDT (In orb September 10-22)
17 – FRIDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 12) 07°12′ – 20°49′ Aquarius – Jupiter shines very near and to the east of the moon tonight, with Saturn to the west
⦿ Venus square Saturn Rx 07°20′ Scorpio-Aquarius 2:14 AM EDT – Connecting with what you love must eventually face obstacles, which it does now, and here shows its grit or stumbles over them. (In orb September 12-21)
18 – SATURDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 13) 20°49′ Aquarius – 04°14′ Pisces – Jupiter shines to the west of the moon, with Saturn strung farther to the west along the ecliptic
⦿ Mercury quincunx Neptune Rx 21°40′ Libra-Pisces 12:18 AM EDT(In orb September 15-20)
19 – SUNDAY
🌔 Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 14) 04°14′ – 17°27′ Pisces – The moon approaches full shining to the west of invisible Neptune tonight
20 – MONDAY
🌕 Full Moon (Day 15) 17°27′ Pisces – 00°25′ Aries – The full moon shines near invisible Neptune, ruler of the full moon’s sign!
🌕Full Moon 28º13′ Pisces 7:55 PM EDT
The Full Moon in Pisces
Pisces is a Water sign and is the sign of compassion, spirituality, dreams, intuition, mysticism, creativity, and inspiration. When the moon holds this energy it enhances creativity, receptivity, and depth of feeling.
If there’s one moon of the year that brings us big spiritual energy, it’s the Pisces Full Moon. Occurring every year during Virgo season, the sign of sacred service, Pisces enhances spiritual devotion. This combination packs a potent punch.
You can drop into this energy in the most simple way – by living your life as an act of love, service, and devotion. And, conversely, by simply going with the flow, following the muse of inspiration, and finding your own ecstatic connection with that rhythm.
Make a practice of doing what needs doing, and paying attention to what is right in front of you. As you engage with your life in this way, the spiritual love that is your essence ripples out and into the world.
The Full Moon on September 20 is called the “Harvest Moon” by the Farmer’s Almanac, because it falls closest to the September Equinox (just two days later on September 22). Unfortunately it will not be especially large but of average size due its position midway between perigee (Sep 11) and aopgee (Sept 26). Bede (8th c AD) calls the fourth lunar month after the June Solstice the “Holy Month,” and Charlemagne’s biography gives this as the “Wood Month.” Source: https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20210920_08_100.
⦿ Venus quincunx Chiron Rx 11°13′ Scorpio-Aries 12:12 PM EDT (In orb September 18-22)
⦿ Mercury trine Jupiter Rx 23°32′ Libra-Aquarius 6:52 PM EDT (In orb September 13-28)
21 – TUESDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous (Day 16) 00°25′ – 13°07′ Aries – The just-past full moon shines near invisible Chiron tonight
22 – WEDNESDAY
🌖 Waning Gibbous (Day 17) 13°07′ – 25°34′ Aries
⦿ Mercury square Pluto Rx 24°21′ Libra-Capricorn 9:11 AM EDT – Frustrations, anger, mental blocks all relate to the deepest unspoken motivations, the condition of the life force, or show you a place where you can grow in consciousness. (In orb September 13-30)
⦿ Sun 0°00’ Libra 3:21 PM EDT
⭐ This is the September Equinox, known in the Northern Hemisphere as the Fall or Autumnal Equinox and the beginning of Fall. In the Southern Hemisphere, it marks the beginning of Spring. Today, the day and night are equal in length, and the sun rises due East and sets due West. But the sun is moving very fast from north to south along the horizon, so this is the only day to see the solar equinox alignment along the horizon. The sun’s equinox position is 11h58m RA, +00°07′ declination. Source: https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20210922_07_100
Working with the Transits
How to Find Your Transits this Month
- Look at the transiting planets this month and note the locations by degree (number).
- Look at your natal planets, nodes, and angles, and note their locations by degree (see “Finding Your Natal Planets” below). Find any transiting planets that match within 1 degree of any of your natal planets. Next, make note of any which match within 5 degrees. You may download the printable worksheet here.
- Use the “Aspects Chart” below to determine the aspects. The 0-1 degree alignments are the most powerful, while the 2-5 degree alignments move into the background (sometimes adding emphasis or coloring other transits)
- Advanced: Next, you can rank your transits by importance. This is a complex art that takes years to master, but we have created a guide you can use to get started, below called “Ranking Transits by Importance.”
- A personalized transit reading by an experienced astrologer would give you information you can’t find here, but we encourage you to dive in and track the astrological transits for yourself. You are the best mediator of your life, and there is a richness and subtlety that comes with following the astrological seasons directly for yourself! Keep a journal (use the print version of this planner or your own journal), and enjoy the ride!
Questions?
Post them below or email katy at katymorikawa.com. Subscribe to the newsletter for updates 🙂