ASTROLOGY THIS WEEK: SEPTEMBER 2 - 8
Monday, September 2nd
3:43am PST: Sun conjunct Mars at 9°Virgo41’
Generally, Sun and Mars together build quite the fire. As Virgo is an internal sign, the Sun and Mars here support us in focusing our efforts inward. Reflect on physical, tangible and practical changes you’d like to make in your life. Focus on taking the first steps towards these shifts without trying to accomplish and account for every detail at once.
This aspect is also useful for helping us confront some of the more challenging aspects of our personal characters. There is a danger here wherein we may be inclined to intense, specific and exhaustive self-criticism. On the other hand, it is difficult to take steps towards healing a wound if we are unwilling to look at it. Sun and Mars hold up a candle for us to examine faults and flaws. Make sure your self examination is meaningful. Virgo is a sign of process. Remember that confronting issues is a mere first step. Mars is eager to jump into action but don’t hold yourself to a standard of making big changes in an obscenely short amount of time.
9:26am PST: Venus in Virgo square Jupiter in Sagittarius, both at 15°15’
Venus here is the reserved, frugal and cautious creature. Might like all the elements of a plan to be in place before she proceeds. Depending on our inner natures, higher selves, social and familial conditioning, we might be more inclined to a cannonball or testing the waters with but a toe. This aspect reminds me of a power dynamic where someone with more normalized privilege not understand, and even appear annoyed, at another person’s careful, attentive and perceptive (yet possibly - and rightfully - cool) movement. This aspect teaches us that being slow and smart might not seem like the most fun but often produces more meaningful memories. Squares are generally resolved not by force but by time. By learning which behavior to allow first while the other takes the backseat. Generally, squares require us to practice the one which is more challenging for us. Venus needs self reliance rather than Jupiter egging her on. Jupiter needs self-restraint rather than jubilantly taking up an insensitive amount of space. As both of these planets are benefic, we’re likely to find smooth sailing. Trust your ability to analyze a situation. Set yourself up with the details you need to be safe and brave in your relating. Then add a dose of faith and let go of attachment to the results.
Tuesday, September 3rd
8:40am PST: Mercury conjunct Mars at 10°Virgo27’
Mercury and Mars in Virgo sharpen the pencil with which we write our internal and external monologues. Notice your inner critic. Chances are, if you’re being nasty to yourself, others are also feeling your icy air. Malexpressed, this can have us swinging between hot and cold extremes wherein we feel like hot shit one minute and a piece of shit the next. Virgo in process is persistently attaining new levels of awareness. If you are aware enough of your activity to make a judgement about it, then you also have the skill to notice that judgement. Reign in the part of yourself that is handing out moral evaluations of every effort. Instead burning yourself or others for being human, burn the part of you that’s trying to play god. Virgo helps us make the journey that brings the divine into substance. If you notice that you can’t get out of your head, channel the energy into a physical practice that is meditative. This practice might be obvious sport-like activity such as walking, running, cycling, climbing, swimming or yoga, but it can also look like breath-work or singing or it can be part of your maintenance routine such as washing dishes, sweeping or folding. Throw every thought into the fire of your practice.
6:40pm PST: Cazimi Point - Sun conjunct Mercury at 11°Virgo16’
This is a clarifying moment. Mercury cazimi in its home sign of Virgo is an embodied kind of understanding. As you grasp what you’ve been trying to fathom, find a way to give this lucidity physical form. Write down your thoughts. Have the hard conversation. Give yourself an opportunity to apply wisdom through experience. Whether you are breaking a routine down or weaving one into being, let your body sing the notes as much as your mind.
Wednesday, September 4th
4:27am PST: Venus in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces, both at 17°28’
Venus/Neptune aspects are the ultimate divine dream. Can send us into a sweet kind of symphony or a deluded daze. Generally, Venus in opposition to Neptune will force us to confront our longing. Will show us a vision of what we desire but will not necessarily give it to us. Perhaps we notice the desire to connect in a particular way because this aspect draws attention to what is lacking. On the other hand, this moment may appear to give us the love we want, for us to later see part of the image we may have missed. On the Virgo/Pisces axis, this aspect reminds us that no love comes without suffering and that suffering is not necessarily something we want to avoid. It teaches us that suffering, when practiced meaningfully, can be a profound motivator for healing. It can support us in saying no to what hurts us or yes to something we’ve previously denied ourselves. This aspect also instructs us that the depths of our heartache is also the depth to which we are capable of compassion for self and others. It asks us to see that divine kinds of love between two beings requires real work, communication, service and sacrifice we want to sustain it.
Thursday, September 5th
5:37am PST: Mercury in Virgo trine Saturn in Capricorn, both at 14°03’
If there were ever an aspect for creating and solidifying a plan, this would be it. Mercury and Saturn are both in domicile, lending them extra support in an already easeful elemental connection. While this aspect certainly wants us to work, effort may feel less strenuous than usual. If there is something you’ve been putting off because it feels overwhelming, try applying yourself to start it in the day leading up to this trine. Saturn moves much slower than Mercury, teaching us the benefits of long-term engagement; wisdom we can only learn over time. Try to release the expectation of accomplishing this task. Instead, focus energy on building a structure that allows you to get blissfully lost in the process, like a painter who’s so enraptured by the strokes of shifting light that they don’t realize how much time has passed. Remember that work too, can be a joy.
Friday, September 6th
12:11am PST: Mercury in Virgo square Jupiter in Sagittarius, both at 15°30’
I recently heard another astrology talk about the mutable signs as “ways of seeing”. Mercury is the grand meditator, sees and connects all the details, moving messages this way and that, up and under and around again. Jupiter is equally interesting but less interested in particulars. Cares more for universal truths and short slogans containing wise words. Together, they challenge us to see in an integrated way. This is not about finding answers, but formulating the right questions. Rather than getting stuck in specifics or bi-passing your process with vague jargon, use this moment to clarify what you actually want to know. What is causing distress? For example, if you are asking the question “should I leave my job?”, you might be better off asking what is inspiring you to make that inquiry in the first place? Perhaps you are experiencing an aggressive coworker or perhaps you want to move across the country. Perhaps your commute is physically stressful or maybe there is a project for which you don’t have the right resources. Investigate your questions. Confront the gut instinct that caused you to entertain them. Then formulate a question that gets closer to the core of what you need to understand.
2:56pm PST: Sun in Virgo trine Saturn in Capricorn, both at 14°01’
This aspect brings energy to the plan or project you may have started when Mercury trined Saturn earlier in the week. The Sun here supports Saturn’s long-term ideas with critical feedback, review and actions that lead to a positive end result. Acting like the producer on set, the Sun in Virgo accounts for all the extraneous connections, specifying roles and gathering resources without missing a beat. Use this day to dive into some of elements of work that might be less creative, but are required to keep a process in motion. A professional painter can’t spend all their time blissfully conversing with the light. There is canvas to be stretched, pigment to be mixed, frames to be fashioned, studios visits to be had and e-mails to be sent to galleries. Check the nitty gritty off your list. Appreciate the work you and others do behind the scenes. Words of affirmation go a long way.
8:44pm PST: Venus in Virgo trine Pluto in Capricorn, both at 20°47’
Venus and Pluto together form a potent bond. Name what’s not working. Discuss your desires. Face the pros and cons, the practical, physical and functional elements of your relationships. Analyze ways to better understand yourself, and if in a relationship, each other. Share the acts of service that are most meaningful to you. Have the confidence to request your craving, no matter how strange or kinky (this can be sexual but it can also be simple - like the way you prefer the recycling gets sorted). Pluto is like compost, dead remains needing time and temperature to turn it back into nutrient matter. Tangible experience, no matter how difficult, has the power to bring people closer together. Practice brave, rather than safe space for yourself. Ask for consent and availability before you jump into a level of relating for which another person might not be ready. Consider what longing came up when Venus opposed Neptune early in the week. Take actions that give form to your desire through actual, rather than imagined, experience.
Saturday, September 7th
12:19am PST: Mercury in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces, both at 17°24’
Mercury here thinks Neptune is delusional while Neptune believes Mercury lacks imagination. Getting lost in fantasies and ideals can mean missing real and valuable experiences. When we choose to be uninformed, to bi-pass the tangible reality because our make-believe world is better or easier, we cut ourselves off from connection with others and our ability to heal and participate in life. Neptune might avoid suffering or discomfort. Mercury in this aspect challenges Neptune to arrive in a real way; to empathize with others who might not be like us, to show up at meetings, to write and offer real thoughts and opinions, to become informed about struggles that aren’t necessarily our own but are part of the context of the world in which we live. Ironically, Neptune, when not operating under extreme delusion, offers an infinite well of compassion. In Pisces, Neptune summons Mercury to soften their edges. To stop demanding the world fit into tight perfect boxes. To be less limited in their beliefs. To allow mistakes. To surrender incessant cynicism so they can sustain themselves. To suffer meaningfully rather than maddeningly.
Sunday, September 8th
8:27am PST: Sun in Virgo square Jupiter in Sagittarius, both at 15°42’
When we become obsessed with a specific ideal, we miss opportunities to expand the possibility of what we might accomplish. Likewise, when we are overly dogmatic or righteous in our so-called “universal truths”, we fail to see real flaws in our beliefs. Sun in Virgo wants to address the specific ailments of those afflicted. It wants clear action and tangible results. It understands that the divine is in the details. Jupiter in Sagittarius wants to provide a platform of optimism. Wants to shoot for the stars so it arrives somewhere close to celestial. Don’t avoid the earthly problems. Your big dreams are supported by solid actions, no matter how small. Likewise, it’s okay, helpful even, to find a spiritual guide for your process. Religion and spirituality, like any tool, are not inherently bad. It is how they are used that creates positive or negative impact.
8:07pm PST: Mercury in Virgo trine Pluto in Capricorn, both at 20°46’
Sometimes, changing the way we work will change the results. Shifting our approach, our focus from one task to another, our perspective from bird’s eye to worm’s eye view can be a life-saver. On the other hand, sometimes it’s the work that works on or through us. This aspect reminds us that the most difficult element of our work is often knowing when to step away from it and when to engage. When to push through (which comes with knowing you are both capable and building stamina) vs. when to take a break. Collaborate with your method. Aim to change. Virgo shows us that minimizing is often a secret key. Prune a tree and it will grow more branches.
9:13pm PST: Mars in Virgo trine Saturn in Capricorn, both at 13°59’
After a week of supportive earth trines, this aspect brings focus and careful, committed action. Often Mars and Saturn in aspect can feel like driving with the emergency brakes on. In this configuration however, Mars (who is usually hitting the gas) in Virgo is skilled in the art of restraint. Throws fervent energy at tiny tasks. This can be incredibly useful under Saturn’s strong and authoritative gaze. Saturn here instructs Mars in practical and valuable application of aggression. This reminds me of the narrative in The Karate Kid, where the kid is instructed by his mentor in the meticulous and seemingly frustrating work of trimming bonsai trees, or waxing a car. Later, the muscle memory, meditative focus, and commitment to the process show themselves as applied skills in the art of self defense. Take this time to consider and act on what you need to learn that will reinforce your expertise when you find yourself in more advanced or complicated levels of your process.