solar / lunar eclipses and retrogrades with Alice Sparkly Kat
New Moon in Virgo: September 1st 2016
We start September off with a nice new moon in Virgo opposite retrograding Neptune. This means that we will put some conscious effort into making a new relationship to the part of ourselves who plan our routines, analyses our moods and plans, and decides what to put time and effort into. If this planner persona isn't working well with the part of ourselves who thinks in big ideas and about what we want out of life with totality, then we can expect some inner negotiating.
Full Moon in Pisces: September 16th 2016
That new regimen we began in the full moon reaches its culmination now. Maybe we learned a skill or two or deconstructed an idea we have. Whatever is it we gained, we share what we put that care into first with our friends, then with our wider community. Give and absorb this time. This is a time of interaction and we'll improve one another on a spiritual level.
Jupiter in Libra: September 9th 2016 to October 10th 2017
As Jupiter begins its journey through Libra, we'll begin to have new opinions about our social identities. Expect some outlandish opinions that you don't agree with, maybe even on who you are, to come flying your way soon! The point of any Jupiter transit is to change minds and to create new perspectives to change your experience. Be sure to embrace mental flexibility during the next year or so in matters relating to social justice, identity politics, and oppression no matter how right you may think you are prior to the transit to receive what Jupiter wants to give. Jupiter doesn't deal well with any sort of didacticism.
Mars in Capricorn: September 27th 2016 to November 9th 2016
With Mars in Sagittarius, we were working out a certain stance through which we approach the world. This past summer was a summer of reworking the mindset through which we approach our very existence. As Mars transits Capricorn, what we want to achieve through that mindset becomes a priority. Because Mars is exalted in Capricorn, this next three months is the best time for really getting things done. We can plan out how we want to do work and follow through in a diligent way. Those new ideas Mars in Sagittarius has given you will bloom through the next step of (backbreaking or not) work.
Venus trine Neptune: September 30th 2016 to October 1st 2016
Love and addiction are about to get very comfortable with one another. This transit will begin at the very end of the month, bleed into the next, and won't last long. Any love affairs started around this time will seem beautiful but be more about how things seem than anything with a structure. If you have any cyclical habits, they will pop up again in this relationship. Just after fashion week, this transit also inflates glamour with real wealth.
Uranus Retrograde: July 29th 2016 to December 29th 2016
If you have any planets in Aries, Libra, Capricorn, or Cancer, you experienced a personal rebellion against patterns that were instilled into you during your upbringing last Fall in some area of life, depending on what planet. Think of the sense of individuality that you were pushed into back then. This retrograde will continue that pursuit. Last year's retrograde was specifically about nourishment, choosing nourishment between self and other, and how to explore the fantastical without hating the day-to-day. This month, the retrograde will be about changing how we relate to desire to become free. By embracing desire as that which takes us from stasis into movement and realizing how we chain ourselves down by only desiring one thing, we learn to love the potential of desire and use it for our own benefit. Later the exertion we put into what we desire will need liberation, just to make sure what you're exerting yourself for isn't superficial or wasteful.
Saturn square Neptune: September 10th 2016
We'll end this report by talking about Neptune a little more. Neptune, again, is what puts our lives into scale. Neptune is concerned with how your life seems and draws a big picture of it. This planet is not about the little things. Through Saturn square Neptune, we'll have to put some effort into redesigning our futures so that our plans match up to our ideals. Our most idealistic selves either must become more pragmatic or we consciously make plans that frame our lives in a big picture way. At the beginning of the month we changed our routines for this big picture. Now, we are considering this picture with all the seriousness we can muster to make sure it is feasible. Don't forget, as you do this, about Uranus over there, freeing desire from one object to take advantage of its wide potential.
alice sparkly kat is a Brooklyn-based astrologer. she has written and lectured extensively on astrological research at Bruce High Quality Foundation University, Dixon Place, and Ars Nova.