September Astrology Forecast: Tying up Loose Ends Before Fall

Sagittarius season is months away, but September truly feels like that special moment in which we are pulling the bow string as far back as possible before shooting the arrow forward. With a total of seven planets in retrograde motion as we enter September, we could still have more questions than answers. Astrologer Nicholas Polimenakos from Sparkles of Gold agrees; he sees “a push-and-pull dynamic that brings the need to slow down so we can sink into a mindset of reassessment.” According to Nicholas, this contradiction of energies is mainly brought by Venus starting to move forward in Leo on September 3, while Mercury is retrograde in Virgo, “which can feel like having one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake,” he adds. 

However, Nicholas thinks this might be just the astral medicine we now need! “One thing to remember about the month of September is that the sun is in mutable earth sign Virgo, which helps us tie up loose ends and transition from Summer to Fall in the Northern Hemisphere and Winter to Spring in the Southern Hemisphere.” “Virgo is the sign that focuses on details, self-analysis, and bringing order to our daily life through repetition and routine. Mercury will be retrograde in Virgo for the first half of September, bringing reflection and review in the area of our chart ruled by Virgo,” he adds.

Retrograde Luck!

Venus finally moving forward starting September 3 is the astrological event Nicholas is most excited about. “After forty days of being retrograde, grandiose in its quest of expression, Venus will now show us the lessons learned when it comes to what we desire. The passion fueling those desires will be showcased around September 16, when Venus squares Jupiter for the third time since its Leo journey began back in June,” he adds.

On September 4, the other benefic planet, Jupiter, stations retrograde in Taurus. Today, the moon will also be in Taurus, super-changing Jupiter while the planet of luck is also receiving a square from stationing Venus and a trine by the sun and Mercury retrograde. This does feel like a fortunate day or even week, when an opportunity that didn’t quite gel in the past could suddenly show up at our door! If you have any planets between 11 and 16 degrees of the fixed signs, you could be running into some sweet and maybe even unexpected news! 

The End of Retrograde Season & a New Beginning

September’s energy picks up around midmonth with the arrival of the September 14 New Moon in Virgo, followed by Mercury going direct, in the same sign, on September 15. Nicholas thinks that the overlapping of these two events will generate sparks: “Exciting and refreshing, this seed moment brings a breath of purity to the Virgo story happening this month. There are times Virgo influence is accused of being “all work and no play,” but this new moon truly feels thrilling due to Uranus—the planet of unorthodox energy and inventive ideas—electrifying this can-do Virgo lunation.”

To harness this new moon and the official end of what astrologers call “retrograde season,” Nicholas recommends applying all the learnings from the previous months. “The second half of September is an opportunity to reclaim and enact the new systems rebirthed during Mercury’s backward journey. Take a step-by-step mentality and balance it with spaces of release by recognizing when to give your brain and your nervous system a rest. After all, Virgo is about achieving efficiency through the balance of our “systems,” he adds. 

Fall Equinox 2023

If you don’t get your docks in a row for the new moon in Virgo, don’t fret. Another opportunity comes a week after when the sun enters Libra on August 22 at 11:50 p.m. Pacific Time, heralding the 2023 Fall Equinox! This is when many of us could truly feel shifts, and opportunities to create positive change in our lives will abound now with the sun forming a trine with transformative Pluto. However, because the sun will also form an imbalanced quincunx with retrograde Saturn in Pisces (exact on September 24), this will be a season during which we must focus on what we must do and not only on what we want to do. 

Having a clear strategy that blends both intellect and intuition will also be key. Asteroid Pallas Athene in Libra enters the picture now, providing the need to balance the right brain and the left brain, in order to succeed. This will not necessarily be an easy task with the Capricorn moon clashing with Pallas, instigating us to only be driven by reason. This is when asteroid Vesta, currently traveling in Cancer, enters the scene to deliver the message that sticking to the ancient and ancestral practice of sacred rituals could be the tool we need to find this balance. 

Full Moon in Aries

September closes with a highly individualistic and freedom-seeking full moon in Aries, reaching climax on Friday, September 29 at 2:58 a.m. Pacific Time. According to Nicholas, this could be the moment in which we truly wrap up the entire retrograde of Venus, as today features the last square of three between Venus in Leo and Uranus in Taurus. Repeating themes from July 2 and August 9, this is the astrological aspect that’s been all over the news, “instigating break-ups” or “liberating some from stale relationships”—it depends on which way you decide to see it! 

At that time, Mars, the other relationship planet and the ruler of this lunation, is conjunct the Lunar South Node of Destiny. Today, we could wake up finally knowing what we truly want—and for many of us, that could mean “walking alone.” But that doesn’t mean that impulsivity should be part of the equation when expressing our desire for freedom. Venus in Leo will be forming a sextile with Mars in Libra, which, according to Nicholas, “harmonize with each other through the “Art of Relating.”