Current Transits for September 97

Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...

Headlines:

New Moon/Solar Eclispe at 9Vi34, 9-1
Chiron enters Scorpio, 9-2
Mercury Direct Station at 2Vi42, 9-9
Pallas Direct Station at 17Cp49, 9-12
Full Moon/Total Solar Eclipse at 23Pi56, 9-16
Asteroid Follies, 9-20
Saturn trioctile Pluto, 9-22
Mars enters Sagittarius, 9-28

General Outlook for the Month

I won't try to sugar-coat this one. September looks like a pretty rough month. There are plenty of major transitions going on that should have a long-term influence on us. If anything, August was a garbage collecting month (though the garbage truck really didn't need to back over us so many times) to clear things out of our lives. This month starts the new impulses that will take over all that empty space that was created. It's time to get comfortable with change in our lives, because I expect there to be a lot of it in coming months, especially after October. Start noticing the entrance of novel or unusual themes into your life now, as those will probably be the major lessons you'll be working on for awhile. Time to knuckle under...

There are a large number of astrological events this month whose cumulative effect on us could feel quite wearing. These include 2 eclipses, 2 direct stations, one big aspect, and a flock of significant sign changes. That's a whole lot of changes in a short time, so pace yourself and try to maintain a balanced perspective. It's easy to be thrown off center by this ongoing barrage.

I'll discuss the eclipses more fully below, but I want to remind you of a few things first. Eclipses have a bad reputation with most people as bringers of doom and gloom. This reputation is not really deserved, even though the aftermaths of eclipses are sometimes unpleasant. What they bring is deep-seated change, not disaster. But for many people, intent on maintaining a comfortable status quo even if it means stagnation, change is unwanted, even threatening. Sometimes growth is inevitable -- sorry, that's life. Eclipses act like super new moons and full moons, except that their effects generally last 6 to12 months or more, not just one month. Hence, the transitions that begin in September are apt to linger for a long time. Bigger lessons take longer to assimulate. Also, eclipses tend to repeat themselves (right down to the same day and degree of the zodiac!) every 18-19 years. Therefore, you may be finding yourself wrapping up old business that's been brewing for decades, as well as setting the patterns for your life for many years to come. If you welcome the changes in your life (check which house in your birthchart contains the eclipse degree -- that's the area of your life affected), you shouldn't experience undue problems. Look upon it as a pop-quiz on how flexible you are these days.

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New Moon/Partial Solar Eclipse at 9Vi34, 9-1

This lunation chart is a bit of a disorganized mess, even though it contains 2 T-squares. If it weren't an eclipse, I'd be more likely to blow it off. However, this is the opening shot of the next wave of development for us, so the chart deserves a second closer look.

The first T-square (and I'd include the eclipse point in this one) contains a number of transformational clues for us. It stars Ceres (or Demeter, in Greek myths), the Great Mother Goddess; Pluto, the Dark Lord of the Underworld; with Mercury and the eclipse over in Virgo. Normally, Virgo energy is rather mental, even critical, capable of nit-picking anything to death. I feel this superficial usage of the thinking mind is out of balance these days. At a higher level, this mental energy is placed at the service of the higher self, forming the power of discrimination between the real and the unreal. It is opposite Ceres in Pisces, a symbol of nurturing compassion and openness to the great powers of life and death in this world. It's as though we've gotten so enamored with this surface level chit-chat (which totally pervades our culture, especially the media) that we've lost touch with how it feels to be a real, physical being taking part in the drama of Life. The Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece, the main rites devoted to Demeter, were an initiation that took people from being mere social fixtures and reintroduced them to this deeper level of being. Since Virgo is often associated with Ceres, all those Virgo planets are in her service. The way to resolve this is through Pluto in Sagittarius. This path involves diving deep, bypassing the tyranny of belief and religion, in order to rediscover true spirituality and our connections with the world at large. It's easy to become fanatical about any "one true belief", but ideas are never a substitute for the robustness of the real world. This eclipse is marking our entrance into our own initiation time, when the certainties of our lives are seen as shams and falsehoods more often than we'd care to admit. A major arena for learning these lessons is in the tension between self and partners, the need to be responsible for creating our own lives versus the need to harmoniously blend our path with others. It's not easy sometimes to see how these can be balanced. It takes an act of true creativity to see beyond this vision of duality (me vs. others) and grasp that there is no distinction here. You can't prosper if you neglect the world around you, and you can't help the world if your own needs are not being met. There's an interconnectedness here that confounds our simplistic mental outlook. The sense of separateness is the falsehood, while the connections are the truth that we must learn to discern. Remember that Chiron is about to set foot in Scorpio tommorrow -- time to journey into the dark for our own healing. That literally was the path of Demeter's initiation.

Chiron enters Scorpio, 9-2

The most important sign change this month is Chiron's transition from Libra into Scorpio on the 2nd. We had a taste of this influence last winter, although Chiron quickly went retrograde (on 2-13, at 2Sc05) and reentered Libra for some clean-up work. This time, he's staying for good (until 1999). Scorpio is about transformation, change and growth at a deep psychological level. There's a feeling of vulnerability and defensiveness about Scorpio-influenced issues sometimes, because it usually dredges up some of the most powerful and threatening emotions that lurk in the unconscious. Chiron, of course, is the part of the psyche that has been most neglected, hurt and abused -- the biggest wound in life. Curiously, when this wound is allowed to heal, it winds up being the greatest source of strength and authority you'll ever possess. Put these two together and you've got the recipe for some of the most powerful, life-changing forces you'll likely ever experience, especially since it comes the day after the solar eclipse. We needed to sort out many relationship issues that were crippling our partnerships while Chiron was passing through Libra, but those days are behind us now (AKA, take care of those loose ends now!). We needed that outer work done to support us in the next spiritual step, taking a good long look at all the "icky" stuff in our psychic closets. It's time to get comfortable with confronting the so-called "shadow elements" of the mind, the parts of us that we'd rather ignore, had forgotten, or never knew were even there. It's a rule of the unconscious that the thing you most ignore is what winds up most controlling your behavior and your life. This Chiron passage is about awakening a level of inner awareness so great that these shadows are all illuminated and lovingly redeemed. Expect your behavior patterns to become exaggerated and extreme, until you stop yourself in mid emotion and ask, "What's really in control of me now?" Common personality quirks are often the soul operating mindlessly, as if on autopilot. Until you learn to be fully present in the world, it's impossible for the soul to be completely at work in your life. The deepest levels of our being have been struggling to emerge for many years, and this passage through Scorpio is a crucial period of this process. We bemoan the lack of spirit in our lives, when that only indicates that spirit is not being honest about recognizing who it already is. This step of recognition is not easy and is often frightening and painful, but that's the step before us now.

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Mercury Direct Station at 2Vi42, 9-9

Mercury is scheduled to stand still again on the 9th (at 2Vi42, square Pluto) and then slowly resume normal forward motion. This current retrograde cycle, which began 8-17, has been especially brutal so far, since Pluto was standing still at the same time as Mercury. It seems the deeper (and less "desirable") parts of our behavior have been oozing out, just as our rational mind (which normally puts this stuff in sensible order) decided to shut down. The most common emotion to come out the last two weeks (according to many people I've talked to) has been good old rage. Bad communications lead to disagreements lead to full-blown arguments before you realize what hit you. People can't think straight, talk straight, or even listen straight; on a physical level, I've been noticing how I've become clumsy and lose my balance often. Most retrograde Mercury periods feel like the brain is becoming foggy -- this one has been more like a total meltdown. Don't do anything that requires both brain cells until (well) after the 9th.

Pallas Direct Station at 17Cp49, 9-12

The mental meltdown effect is doubled, since Pallas is also standing still on the 12th (at 17Cp49, square Saturn), about to move forward. If Mercury is the thinking mind, the part of us that loves to put everything in the right boxes, Pallas is the creative planning part that figures out how to get things done, while expressing your inner muse. Needless to say, "can do" has frequently turned to "oops" lately. It will be good to get our brains back by the last half of September.

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Full Moon/Total Lunar Eclipse at 23Pi56, 9-16

The Mercury-Ceres-Pluto T-square we saw at the new moon is still active at the full moon, so all the themes I mentioned for the solar eclipse are still important. It's joined by a big fan-shaped pattern of planets at 23 degrees, a complex mixture of altruism, self-determined action, thinking and intuition, plus a hard dose of discipline. Obviously, this chart is full of contradictions that are, at first glance, difficult to balance. Interestingly enough, these two groups of planets are connected by numerous quintile aspects. Quintiles show the need for truly creative solutions to these "conflicts", completely stepping beyond the contradictions instead of becoming mired in them. Many of our problems these days are primarily an issue of a limited perspective, a point of view that can't handle the nuances of life. The world is all of one cloth, but the patterns we weave on it with our minds and beliefs often distort that unity. The path of spirit resembles a dance step more than a simple march -- you must be nimble and agile to shift your balance with every step. The contradictions are present only if you persist in one movement too long. Needless to say, the path before us the next 6 months isn't easy, but it does lead to greater joy in life.

Asteroid Follies, 9-20

Besides Chiron's passage into Scorpio, several other bodies are switching signs in September. The asteroid Juno, the Goddess of Relationship, is shifting from Leo into Virgo on the 20th, staying here until 12-9. Leo is big, flashy and dramatic, a fiery and romantic sign. As relationships go, this placement can seem like a bouquet of only the biggest and most colorful flowers. Juno in Virgo is quieter and more circumspect. Instead of wanting to make a "show" with partners, there's a simple need to just make the relationship work smoothly and effectively. There may be some nitty-gritty details to hammer out with loved ones in coming months, but it's nothing big or traumatic if both people are committed to working together for the good of the partnership. The same day, Vesta, just recently gone retrograde (8-29, at 1Ta45), slips backwards from Taurus into Aries, again (until next Feb 9). This placement is about maintaining your individual integrity, even if it requires living and working alone. There's a strong need to concentrate on tasks of your own choosing that reflect who you are. It will be interesting to see how these contrary impulses work together, given that Juno and Vesta make a harmonious trine aspect today, accompanied by the other asteroids Ceres and Pallas (and throw in Chiron for good measure) in a large, easy-going pattern. The so-called "feminine side" within us is unusually active, so it's worth the effort to see what it's stirring up within you these days.

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Saturn Trioctile Pluto, 9-22

The "big aspect" of the month is the trioctile of Saturn and Pluto, the second of 3 such contacts, on the 22nd. This process began on June 16th and continues until next April 9th. It's hard to imagine a more trying conbination than these two planets. Pluto is about giving in to the deepest inner experience you can, letting go of your preconceptions about who you are and simply being the real you. It has an obsessive power, simultaneously attracting and frightening, that compels you to follow this inner urgency. Saturn, on the other hand, is about defining a concrete role for yourself in the outer world, taking responsibility for being a good and competent person in society's eyes. Saturn has some deeper themes, as well, but most people seem to get stuck on his role as teacher and taskmaster. When the inner and outer worlds connect smoothly, it can feel like a homecoming for the spirit where the higher self slips comfortably into the body and the world around you. But the trioctile connection is rarely smooth. It shows the inner and outer worlds are at odds, competing (or so it seems) for your attention. During this 10 month period, the spirit feels lost in the world and the material plane feels empty and lacking in compelling substance. You may feel drawn to "inner work" that draws you away from everyday concerns, or you may get so caught up in the day to day minutiae of life that the soul cries out, "Is this all there is to my life?" The past two years (during the 5-fold Uranus-Pluto sextiles, which Saturn powerfully emphasized) has been a time to bring together body and spirit, to live fully in the world. With the trioctile now, this shaky combination is being tested and challenged. Body, psyche and spirit, contrary to our common beliefs and misconceptions, are not enemies -- they are all parts of ourselves that must work together. Perhaps the biggest test for us currently is whether we can overcome these false beliefs that divide us into warring camps and prevent us from living in an integrated fashion. As with all stressful aspects, look for the areas of your life that are in conflict and disharmony -- that's the area that most needs your healing touch.

Mars enters Sagittarius, 9-28

Finally, Mars moves from the brooding, inward Scorpio into the exuberant, outgoing Sagittarius on the 28th, staying there until 11-8. If you've fallen into an introverted funk during September, this is just what you need to jolt you out of a rut. Sagittarian Mars wants to go everywhere and do everything, his ambitions know no bounds. If you require a dose of enthusiasm and physical drive, here it is. Try to harness this powerhouse as best you can -- this is a good time to be alive.

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