Astro Happenings
Over the past 3 years, I’ve been participating as a occasional host for monthly astrology calls for members at the Shamanic Astrology Mystery School. In 2018, I’ve been doing them almost every month. In those calls, myself and another astrologer (usually Daniel Giamario or Cayelin Castell) discuss the “astro happenings” as I like to call them for the next calendar month. Anytime I review the next month, there are always some interesting insights and surprises that appear and this month is no different.
September is an equinox month, which in this case, the Sun crosses the projected equator from the north to the south (bringing Autumn, then Winter to the Northern Hemisphere and Spring, then Summer to the Southern Hemisphere). The summer leading up to this year’s Sept equinox has been highly active, setting up for a synchronous equinox period, especially just after the equinox.
Starting with the night sky, there are 4 visible planets in the early to mid-evening sky. Starting from West to East: Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. All of them are easy to spot and one can trace a line from the sunset through the 4 planets in a rough estimation of the path the Sun will travel over the coming months through January. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this in tuning into and forming a experiential relationship with the planets.
Highlights of September
Saturn goes Direct
At the time this article was published, Saturn is about to move or “station” direct on the 6th at 2 degrees 32 minutes in the sign of Capricorn. This is one of the signals that the planet will move into a square position with the Sun (90-degree aspect), meaning the ringed planet will be near the center of the southern sky while the Sun sets in the west. This square aspect actually takes place on September 25th, a day which will have numerous other “happenings” as is written below.
This planetary direct means the planetary intention is moving “forward” again. But this is really only the center of a 2-week period when Saturn barely moves at all in the sky. Saturn is “sitting” near the top of the Archer’s bow in the sign of Capricorn, a place of extra tension is felt overall in the collective. This “sitting” of Saturn focuses that extra tension, which, in turn, can create crises to be resolved through the motivation that Saturn brings. The word, “crisis” means a fork in the road or decision point.
If you’re feeling the pressure to decide or wondering why you are feeling pressure. This could be a great time to let go of a burden that no longer serves or is unhealthy. Identifying your path and outlining your responsibilities to living that path. We humans are living journeys and always in motion even down on a sub-atomic level. If you are finding you are trying to force something to work that will not work, it is time to question that action or plan. It can also be a great time to find a path with longer-term growth that is more aligned with your soul’s path.
Mars and Venus
September 11th and 12th are further important markers for Mars and Venus, respectively. I’ve written about the planet Mars and its journey through the night sky extensively. On September 11th, Mars ingresses (moves into) back into the sign of Aquarius and the constellation of the Goat-Fish. It was in the sign of Capricorn for about a month but prior to that was in Aquarius for about 3 months.
The continual inquiry of the masculine as it relates to its expression through Aquarius is one of universal longer-term questions of our age. Aquarius represents the leading edge or avant-garde of thought, consciousness, experimentation, colorful eccentricity, breakthroughs and revolutionary and love of the mind can be seen quite often in scientific and technological advancements. One will also find it in radical spiritual movements or on the fringe of idealism and the concepts of universal love. How can a healthy masculine show up to embody these in a way that breakthroughs take place to the benefit of humanity?
On September 18th, Mars and Uranus in Taurus come into a square (the 3rd successive square since May). This is part of the overall Mars intent to balance the mind (Aquarius) and body (Taurus) where great appreciation of Earth’s bounty and pleasure is balanced with mental experimentation and thought-forms.
In regards to Venus, her last conjunction (while in direct motion) with the Moon in the sign of Scorpio takes place on the 12th until she disappears in the glare of the Sun. This is known in Venus circles as the 7th Gate and Crown Chakra Gate. Venus represents the feminine principle in Shamanic Astrology and her cycle is celebrated regularly (as it has been throughout most of history, especially in ancient Mesopotamia and the Mayan people centuries before the Spanish arrived.
This Crown Chakra Gate represents the 7th Moon-Venus conjunction since Venus first appeared as an “evening star” back on February 19th. It is an activation of the crown chakra and the re-gathering of personal power in full sovereignty of the feminine. Questions we can ask ourselves is how to embody the fullness of her being in passionate desire for aliveness and vitality for its own sake? In a larger question of the “metagoddess”, when Venus rose in the early morning for the first time back on March 31, 2017 in Aries, how can she also rise to draw up her fearlessness and utilize that in her mission and purpose to devote herself to something worth living for?
Autumnal Equinox and the Days Following
The equinox is about “equal days and equal nights” everywhere on Earth. It takes place on Sept 22nd (or 23rd, depending upon your location on the Earth) However, technically speaking, that isn’t exactly true on the same day due to various regional, atmospheric and topographical differences all over the globe. For example, the official sunrise on the day of the equinox in Portland, Oregon is 7:00 am and sunset at 7:05 pm so there is a 5-minute difference there. There isn’t an equal day/night until 3 days after the equinox. But the definition of equinox is close enough plus as the Sun travels across the equator (from a geocentric perspective), that is what marks the seasonal boundary heading into the next season.
As an exercise, you can check your sunrise/sunset times anywhere on the planet right here and find out your closest equal day/night date.
A few days after the equinox, on the 25th the following astrological/astronomical happenings take place that truly highlight this month in synchronous intrigue.
- Full Moon (Harvest Moon) in Aries (2 degrees)
- Chiron regresses back into the sign of Pisces for the first time since April 17th
- Mars at the same astrological degree/minute as it was when it was on opposition with the Sun (4 degrees 8 minutes in Aquarius)
- Mars in conjunction with the Lunar South Node (3rd time in the last 4 months) – 4 degrees 10 minutes in Aquarius
- Saturn squares the Sun – at 2 degrees 51 minutes Capricorn (Sun at same degrees but in the sign of Libra)
- Venus at its maximum brightness of -4.78 for the year (Sept 24-25)
This is relatively rare that so many happenings are taking place on the same day (Pacific time zone). We do indeed live in interesting times as the Chinese proverb goes. We are in a long, drawn-out multi-decade completion of an age with an overlap in nursing the very beginning of another age. The masculine itself is experiencing a revolution both in response to the feminine but also from within. Something new a previously unseen is emerging into this world from the masculine, drawing with it a retrospective look to what has been for many generations.
Saturn’s square brings up another stage of the journey Saturn is making to meet up with Pluto in 2019 and 2020 in Capricorn. It is bridge and liberator from what no longer worked and a chance to create a whole new operating manual for the collective and in relation to the Sun in Libra, an unfolding of what no longer works with relationships, a new operating manual for that is also up for a new foundation. We all know there is no “one way” or even “two ways” to do relationship. We have been discovering many paths of intimate relationships, friendships, working relationships, family relationships, etc., the world over. Saturn can help us move the energy in a more authentic direction with purpose and form.
Chiron’s passage back into the sign of Pisces for the last time in about 50 years will help us with the wounds of giving too much, finding compassion for our own selves and learning to evolve through the heart-space even we are faced with our own vulnerabilities. Allowing that which is fractured to see the light within us and process it in a way that the wound no longer controls our actions and decision-making capacity, especially as it relates to our heart and spiritual paths.
Lastly, a Full Moon very close to the equinox point is exceptional. Traditionally, this Moon is known as the Harvest Moon, which is the closest Full Moon to the Autumnal Equinox (Northern Hemisphere). It is a time when most of the final harvests of food and other plants are gathered to store for the coming winter. This is also a time of sacredness and community for sharing and support (The Sun moving from Virgo to Libra) of our friends and loved ones.
Other Notable Days in September, 2018:
- Sept 7th – Neptune in opposition with the Sun
- Sept 17th – Moon conjunction with Saturn
- Sept 29th – Pluto stations Direct at 18 degrees 45 minutes Capricorn
As one can see, there are many Astro Happenings this month! I haven’t listed them all here but it motivated me to share this in writing. I am off to a personal retreat in California and will be back on the evening of the 10th.
I wish you all a blessed and sacred equinox and happy sky watching too!
Erik