Transit Forecast September 2020
To Protect and to Serve - September 2020 Forecast
Mars takes center stage again in September as he slows to a standstill in the early part of the month, turning retrograde in Aries on the 9th of September. Mars entered Aries at the end of June and stays in Aries until the beginning of 2021. Six and a half months! Four times longer than usual. Mars is dignified now as the planetary ruler of Aries. Mars gives us the power and adrenaline boost to obtain the objects, the lessons, and the rewards of Aries. And to roar about our achievements from the top of the hill. The lessons or attitude of Aries is the will to survive, to preserve self and to stay alive at all costs and is accentuated to the extreme with Mars in Aries. This is why both political parties are shouting that the survival of the Republic is at stake this election. And it is no accident that our President, with Mars on his Ascendant at birth, is playing out one of our most obvious examples of Mars in Aries and what some people will do to win.
Mars in Aries gives us the element of surprise. The dawn raid, the sudden attack. There is a swiftness now of events that wield extreme change. Battles will rage in the name of survival and survival of the fittest. Look at all the protests, shootings, and thefts these last few months. The millions who are on the brink of surviving and the many who are dying. It is an unavoidable fact that more of these examples of the extreme and negative powers of Mars will manifest in the coming months.
What is also inevitable is that there will be resistance to such actions. Resistance to the acts themselves and also to the people instigating these events. The positive side of Mars in Aries will give us all the assertiveness and courage (and at times fool heartiness) necessary for us to step out into the void and cut a path toward our destinations. To winning back or securing those things that contribute to our, and our family’s, survival. And to helping others do the same. It is the ability and the dogged determination to advance at all costs toward those destinations, those achievements, that will ensure our safety and our independence. Rarely do you get to tell Mars in Aries what to do. And I am not just talking about the physical plane here. Warriors exist on every level.
With Mars retrograde we are going to see a vast number of persons pushing themselves beyond their comfort zones, reaching into the levels of Hero and Heroine. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Retrogrades internalize the energy of the planet involved. With Mars retrograde I like to use the example of a pressure cooker. Being in Aries only adds more fire and more heat to the mix. The venting of all that Mars pressure may not be as easily focused as it can be in other more level-headed signs of the Zodiac, exploding out now in every direction.
The key of course is to harness that almost perpetual energy source BEFORE we explode. To specifically, and very personally, direct a steady stream of energy and pressure in the directions we WANT it to go. This is the focus and gift of Mars in Aries. Vent, Baby, vent. Just be sure that you are the one in control of the venting, not your unconscious. Apply yourself. Don’t hold it in this month. Face your anger and irritation. Turn it to the light. Find a campaign worth getting behind or create one yourself, and focus the pressure cooker in that direction. Then let ‘er rip. And it does not have to be something that someone is already doing. The pioneer, and the discoverer, the trailblazer and the daredevil are all of the nature of Mars and Aries.
Records will be broken again and again. Remember last months record breaking heat in Death Valley of 130 degrees. Mars in Aries. Remember the insane number of lightning sparked fires in the West last month? Mars in Aries. Remember the massive explosion in Lebanon? The humongous hurricane Laura? All by-the-book classic examples of Mars in Aries. All survival issues. All shocking yes, yet all were predictable. And Mars in Aries reminds us of that. It is where we become the cosmic Boy or Girl Scout. Getting and being prepared.
I will repeat again what I said last month. You want to be able to move on a moment’s notice. Whether it is about personal or political or economic survival. Have your evacuation bags and supplies ready to go. Or the phone numbers to your legislators and emergency services ready in the wings. Double check the supplies in your first aid kits. Maybe not so much for yourself. Maybe you will be the one who plays the hero this month and helps another to survive.
There are going to be plenty more sudden surprises as September rolls on through. Odds are they will revolve around maritime and religious issue as the Sun opposes Neptune on the 11th and around economic and supply chain issues as Venus squares Uranus on the 15th. And you can bet I am going to be tuning into the first presidential debate (if it actually happens) on the 29th as Mars makes its second square to Saturn. Men fighting. Young and old. On stage and off. Who has the sharpest blade. The stinging blow. The show must go on. Should be a great example of why we need to take personal responsibility and individual action and not leave it up to the power brokers of the planet if we want to maintain our freedoms and means of survival.
The underlying aspect throughout the rest of this year, and this election, right up through inauguration day is Mars squaring Saturn. Since the beginning of August up until late January of 2021, Mars stays in a square aspect to Saturn. This is like someone flooring the gas pedal of a street racer while simultaneously holding their other foot on the brake. Lots of heat, noise, and skid-marks but no traction. All dressed up but (since many are locked down) nowhere to go. Or more accurately, all dressed up and afraid to go. Remember the dark side of Saturn brings out our worst fears. The light side of Saturn gives us our just reward. If you have been treating others in negative ways throughout the years behind us, then yes, you do have something to fear. It is called karma. If you have been treating others with the dignity and respect, they deserve these years gone by, then yes, you get to have your cake and eat it too. This is one of the immutable laws of Saturn, you reap what you sow. When Mars is square to Saturn, we see the writing on the wall. We know which way we are headed and, try as hard as we might, we rarely can change the outcome. I say rarely. For those who have the fortitude and the stamina (remember what I have been saying since the Spring about not burning out too quickly this year) to persist and delve into the deep end of the pool, or climb the dizzying heights of possibility. September is going to bring some amazing results, especially after Jupiter turns direct on September 12th.
It is encouraging to me that the three big players of 2020, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto all turn direct soon (Jupiter on the 12th, Saturn on the 28th and Pluto on October 4th). This brings so much of what has been happening in the dark since their retrogrades in May to the surface. Many of the backroom deals that have taken place this Summer are exposed. Many secret agreements come to light. Progress will again be seen even if that progress still falls under 2020’s grand lesson of letting go. We are not done yet. There is still one more pass of the rototiller coming in late October and November of 2020. At least in September we get to steer the rototiller in the direction we want it to go come this Fall.
Mercury moves from the perspicacious and persnickety sign of Virgo into the loveable and loquacious sign of Libra on the 5th of September until month’s end. This should lead to more civil dialogue than when it was in Leo and Virgo last month. If you found yourself just throwing your hands in the air last month and saying “I’m not even going to try and explain myself because I know it will lead to an argument”, you might want to attempt the dialogues again in September. Just throw in a few compliments for good measure and remember not to do ALL of the talking. And make your attempts during the second week of September for once Mercury squares Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto mid-month it will make communication much more of a chore during the third and fourth week.
On the 24th of September Mercury will enter the shadow zone for the coming Mercury retrograde that we will see in the second half of October, so keep an eye out for issues in the last week of September that could come back to bite you late next month. Be as clear and clean as possible after September 24th and on through the middle of October. This way you will not have as much to clean up when Mercury goes retrograde October 13th in Scorpio. It is a lot easier to deal with Mercury in Libra than it is with Mercury in Scorpio. The former tends to act and speak with civility. The later is much more prone to lashing you with their tongues.
Venus, the planet of attraction and amore’, has a rough start to the month as she opposes Saturn during the Full Moon in Pisces on September 1st. Watch the tendency to whine about all the travails of the world at this time. With Venus still in Cancer the first few days of September opposing Saturn, and the Full Moon in another water sign of Pisces, “woe is me” is a common refrain. If you want to have some serious and sensual moments with your loved ones, wait until Venus enters Leo on the 6th and then start with what you love about them first. Venus in Leo throughout the rest of September loves to be honored and recognized for the beauty that is brought into the world. And if you really want to score points plan a few surprises for your loved one’s mid-month as Venus squares Uranus on the 15th.
The New Moon in Virgo on the 17th brings accountability and service to the fore and pushes the martyrdom and victimization of the Pisces Full Moon early in the month to the back of our minds. It is no longer “how could they do that?” but “how could I heal that?”. The Virgo New Moon, along with the Sun still in Virgo until the 22nd, gives us one of the best weeks of the year to make a personal difference in our immediate environments. To refine, to purify and to strengthen our community, our families, co-workers, and friends. To fix what is broken. To heal what is sick. And to dedicate ourselves to paths that leads to more of the same. It is no longer about clamoring and commenting on the events unfolding around us. As of mid-month, it is all about the actions we take and the efforts we put forth, regardless of the results. Much of the results of our actions this month will not be seen until after the Winter Solstice.
The Autumn Equinox chart for Washington, DC on the 22nd, when the Sun moves into Libra, has a strong T square of Mercury opposing Mars with both square Pluto. And all of this, outlets into the US 8th house conjunct the US Mercury. The concept that Presidents are rarely voted out of office when the country is at war will be tested here. With the US Mercury in the 8th currently being opposed by transiting Pluto we do not want to go down the road of sacrificing our young to the demons of society. This Fall we must all guard against being walked backwards into a fight whether it is of the physical or psychic type, matters not. Especially as Mercury retrogrades from Scorpio back into Libra the weeks before our election, turning direct right on Election Day. The US Moon, which represents all of us, the people of this country, is right on the Autumn Equinox Ascendant for Washington, DC. Now that is what I call people power. And that is what I call the power of Pluto, the masses, to take down, dissolve and reconstitute the Saturnian structures of government and corporate strictures. The tides in the affairs of men and women are rising high this month and next, readying to wash away and wash clean the shores of our country. It will be up to every one of us to act accordingly and humanely as this happens, not like a looting horde taking advantage of a power vacuum, stealing away with everything they can get their hands on, but like a caring community that seeks to restore a sense of security and dignity to all. Protection and service is no longer something we can sub-contract out to another. No longer something we can ignore and look the other way. This month and into the Full Moon in Aries at the beginning of October, it is up to us all to let no act of injustice, however big or small, go unanswered. From the corner grocery store to the halls of government, only that which we ALLOW to happen, happens. That is the main lesson of September. That is the main lesson of Mars in Aries. To be continued in the October Forecast.