As an astrologer, I’ve really been dreading the September Newsletter. Yes, I know I should be more clinical than that. I should be unimpressed with astrological phenomena and just report on them. I know this. But, I find myself apprehensive about September.
There’s really nothing new, well except for the Mars Retrograde, but it does appear to be more of the same—only more intense. The Mars retrograde in Aries square to Saturn in Capricorn cannot be underestimated when it comes to difficulties and hardships. The two malifics are just trouble when they are in square aspect, and when they are each in their rulers, well, it’s even more brutal.
Oh, I don’t mean the world is ending, and I don’t mean tragedy will strike, that’s not the nature of square aspects. But it does mean tension, difficulties, harsh circumstances that will prompt personal growth. Growth in this case will be a lot like child-birth. It’s gonna hurt before we get to hug the baby, but we will get to the baby.
So, without any further ado, here we go…
9/5 Mercury enters Libra: Mercury is so often misunderstood as to influence and purpose. It represents more than mere communication, it also represents the neutrality of the messenger. In both Roman and Greek mythology, Mercury [Hermes] was the androgynous god of the mind and communications. This god when astrologically in the sign of Libra is the god of harmonious exchanges.
After a long summer of not so harmonious communication between ourselves and others, and even self to self, we may in fact find ourselves at a pleasant impasse in the month of September. Enjoy it. It’s not going to last very long, and the rest of the year is problematic regarding communication and how we relate to our world.
Libra is a cardinal sign and therefore an initiating [begins a season] sign. It is an air sign, signifying our connectedness to one another on the mental plane. Libra is associated with the part of us that wants to bond and see people find common ground, a way to agree and ultimately accept one another even while we know there are areas of disagreement. Libra represents such descriptive words such as; relationships, marriage, romance, charm, harmony, balance, partnerships, appreciation, and beauty.
Unfortunately, even with Mercury in this airy sign, while in Libra, Mercury will make a square aspect to Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto all in Capricorn, and an opposition to retrograde Mars in Aries. This T-square is challenging, and although it can be difficult, much can be accomplished during this time if we but do our own research, seek information that will enlighten and inform, rather than re-inforce old ideas about the world and each other. We need to increase our knowledge in order to use Libra and its compromising nature to good effect.
9/6 Venus enters Leo: Venus makes a transit into Leo, so in some ways we will have lots of focus on romantic issues, and a lot of drama regarding all the things we hold dear..
People will find themselves flooded with people and/or things they desire and want. Not in a bad way really, but definitely a little more dramatic. The desire for luxury items and/or that really hot girl or handsome man will surface. All attractions should pick up during this time. People will notice attractions more. It’s normal. Well, normal for Venus in Leo.
9/9 Mars goes Retrograde @28 degrees Aries, will go Direct 11/14/20 a 3 month Retrograde in the Mars ruler Aries, and out of the post-retrograde shadow 1/4/21. Mars will be in Aries from 6/29/20 to 1/4/21 — an almost 6 month transit in Aries.
I did some research regarding a retrograde Mars in the sign of Aries. You’d think it would happen more often than it does. I looked at the past 5 centuries, and the pattern seems to be Mars goes retrograde in Aries [its ruler] only 3-4 times a century. That’s not a very common phenomena.
Then I thought, well, maybe it is common. I didn’t look at the other signs or how often Mars goes retrograde in the other signs. So, I took two random centuries to look at, the 15th and 20th centuries, and without boring you on all the details, Mars retrograde in Aries is not common, but not as rare as I once believed.
The most common signs for a retrograde Mars are Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio. You can see that this is a consecutive progression of 6 signs, so this is probably due to the orbit of Mars, and the relationship to Earth. That makes sense to me. That’s what all transits are based upon.
The least common retrograde Mars signs are Taurus, Aquarius and Pisces. Both of those signs only showed up twice in each century with Mars going retrograde. Aries and Capricorn were the next least common with 3 retrogrades a piece for Mars.
While I was doing my research, I began to see a pattern emerge. I found that regardless of the dates when the retrograde occurred, the year itself was eventful. Since Astrology is an observable art, I observed that any Mars retrograde in any year, affected the entire year, not just the dates of the retrograde. I think we can all agree this is certainly true for 2020, but some years stood out historically that bore this conclusion out.
1933 – Mars was retrograde in Virgo for FDR’s first inauguration. He died in office.
1941 – Mars was retrograde in Aries from 9/7/41-11/10/41, but Mars was in is post-retrograde shadow when Pearl Harbor occurred. Mars is considered a war planet, and Pearl Harbor was the entrance of the US into WWII, ‘a day that will live in infamy’ said FDR. Notice that the retrograde Mars at FDR’s inauguration in 1933 would still be affecting his presidency when another Mars Retrograde resulted in 1941. Mars is the planet of war.
1960 – Mars was in Cancer, but in a pre-retrograde shadow on Election Day. JFK died in office from injuries sustained from a gunshot wound. Mars rules fire arms.
1980 – Mars was retrograde from 1/16/80-4/6/80 in Leo. It was a dramatic year for Presidential campaigns, and Carter was facing the Iran Hostage crisis. It was the election of Reagan, and there was an attempted assassination of President Reagan while he was in office. It also made Carter a one-term President.
1988 – Mars retrograde in Aries, and Bush Sr. was elected, and he was also a one-term President.
1992 – Clinton was elected in the pre-retrograde shadow with Mars in Cancer. The Clinton Presidency was considered by many to be the beginning of bitter partisan politics in the United States. Clinton was impeached, and he was hampered by scandal while in office.
1995 – The longest government shut down in US history with Clinton and
Gingrich at an impasse. Many consider this year to have changed politics in the US forever. Mars was retrograde in Virgo at the beginning of 1995.
I’ve used recent history because it’s easier to make my point with recent events, but almost every Mars retrograde in any sign, seemed to affect the year in a profound manner.
I urge each of you to reflect on these years in your own life, remembering any events that had a profound impact. Understanding a Mars retrograde will become easier to understand if you look and reflect on what occurred in your life during previous retrogrades. Remember Astrology is not ‘magfi8cal thinking’, it is an observable art. So, observe your own lives and learn something new to help you in the future.
Which brings us to 2020, with Mars Retrograde @28 degrees Aries, Direct 11/14/20, and out of the post-retrograde shadow 1/4/21. Mars will be in Aries from 6/29/20 to 1/4/21 — an almost 6 month transit in Aries.
Additionally, the US election this year is on 11/3/20, and you can see that Mars will be retrograde on Election Day. Given early voting, and mail-in ballots, the entire election process will be under a Mars Retrograde. I don’t expect this election to be smooth, or orderly, and I would say that if there were only a Mars retrograde affecting the election. But, there are also the squares to Saturn and Pluto, and this does not bode well for the election.
I cannot say who will win, but regardless of who wins, their tenure as President will not be smooth. Just sayin’
For most of us, the upcoming Mars retrograde is just more of the same 2020 harshness. I can say that we can endure this, and we will survive, but I also know that saying that is not comforting when we are each in the middle of our own crises. It’s been a tough year, and I’m afraid it is going to be a while before we are out of this. Remember, this too shall pass. It’s the nature of astrology and life—it will pass, and we will go on into our futures.
9/13 Jupiter goes Direct @ 17 degrees Capricorn, and will make its station on 9/12/20, and will exit its post-retrograde shadow on 12/6/20.
This most important part of this is that Jupiter will be making a square aspect to Mars, and will make conjunctions to both Pluto and Saturn again. We saw this earlier in the year, and while I hate to say it’s again more of the same, it is more of the same. Jupiter in this instance is not necessarily a good thing because of the intensity of the Mars square and the conjunctions, Jupiter should expand the influence, not necessarily soften it. In other words, this is round two, so buckle up and wear a helmet.
9/22 Sun enters Libra: The basic Libran nature is diplomatic and charming, but this year, the Sun will be making some harsh aspects to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. I can imagine you will all be quite happy when I stop harping on the squares, conjunction and oppositions this year, but truth be told, this is so dominant this year, that I would have nothing else to say each month. It’s just that prevalent in each month.
Libra season is generally filled with idealistic behavior and thoughts, emphasizing a generally peace loving nature. It’s an easygoing and sociable time, in general. It still will be, but it will be less amenable than usual due to the opposition to Mars, and the Squares to Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. Take advantage of the good times, and appreciate them regardless of how short lived they might be this year.
9/28 Mercury enters Scorpio: Mercury moving into the passionate, emotional and fixed sign of Scorpio suggests that the mental tone around us will display these qualities. Mercury is about how we connect with the world around us and share communication, so there is likely to be more to what meets the eyes (or ears!), while this planet travels through Scorpio.
We will all probably need to peel back a few onion layers in order to get the ‘truth’ during this time! The sign of Scorpio doesn’t just trend toward privacy, it is passionate about privacy and its secrets. That doesn’t necessarily indicate there is “something to hide”, it only indicates that people will want to keep things private during this time. That’s not a crime; it’s human nature.
9/29 Saturn goes Direct @ 25 degrees Capricorn, will make its station on 9/28/20, and will be exit the post-retrograde shadow 12/27/20. In addition, 8/14/20-10/11/20 Mars Square Saturn [exact 8/24/20-8/29/20 @ 26 degrees and 9/28/20-10/1/20 @ 25 degrees]
This isn’t generally important in any other year, but this year, and yes, I am repeating myself, the aspects to other Cardinal placements is important.
As Saturn goes Direct and makes its Station, it will make an exact square to Retrograde Mars in Aries @ 25 degrees. Planets aspecting while at a Stationary degree, whether Stationary Retrograde or Direct, become more important. It makes the degree itself more important, and means that the effects of the square aspect will last longer.
Stationary planets aren’t understood by many astrology enthusiasts but generally, it makes the nature of the planet/s involved dominate the chart. In 2020, Saturn has been dominant anyway, and this square to Mars will only intensify the effects.
I am not saying it is a disaster, but it is a time of difficult decisions regarding what is the best way forward. What is the best course of action? These decisions are VERY important this year, under these aspects, and we will all have to be careful with decisions that will impact the future. Saturn pauses here at its station to give us the time to fully understand just how important these decisions might be.
Moon Transits: I’m including some transiting Moon information, basically due to the fact that when the Moon is in Cardinal signs, it will make hard aspects to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn or Pluto [and sometimes the Sun and Mercury].
The Moon travels quickly through a sign [2 ½ days in each sign] so the Moon will aspect all of these planets over that period of time. I’m not going to address the Moon cycles, only when the Moon transits a Cardinal sign [Aries, Cancer, Libra, & Capricorn], as those are aspects bound to impact you all.
These aspects are difficult and may cause some frustration emotionally. While most find this unsettling, I can testify that these are the exact periods of time to do some inner work, self-evaluation, and self-realization. We are forced to go inward to understand our own emotional nature, and I urge each of you to do just that.
Keep an eye on the dates mentioned below, so you can plan a quiet day as much as possible.
9/5/20 Moon in Aries Square Jupiter, Square Pluto, Square Jupiter, and Conjunct Mars
9/11/20 Moon in Cancer Square Mercury, Sextile Uranus
9/12/20 Moon in Cancer Opposite Jupiter, Trine Neptune, Sextile Sun, Opposite Pluto
9/13/20 Moon in Cancer Opposite Saturn, Square Mars
9/18/20 Moon in Libra Sextile Venus, Square Jupiter, Conjunct Mercury
9/19/20 Moon in Libra Square Pluto, Square Saturn and Opposite Mars
9/23/20 Moon in Capricorn Square Sun
9/24/20 Moon in Capricorn Trine Uranus
9/25/20 Moon in Capricorn Conjunct Jupiter, Sextile Neptune, Conjunct Pluto, Conjunct Saturn, Square Mars, Square Mercury
That’s it for the month. I wish each of you a healthy September, and know that all of you are in my thoughts for the remainder of the year. We will all see this year through. We will endure. We will make it.
~ Cait
