Hey star-gazers!
How are the first days of Mercury retrograde treating you? Aside from some pretty glaring typos in some of my recent blog entries and challenges with getting parts of my website up in the late days of the shadow period, I’d say the level of bumpiness on par with what most of us might expect.
This week is a bit light on the number of transits, but certainly not the intensity, so let’s dig into the forecast for September 11–17, 2022.
***A CLOUD OF MIXED FEELINGS DESCENDS***
We start the week under the potent but illusory energies of the Pisces Full Moon from the day before.
This energy won’t last long, but does have a tinge of The Moon card from the Tarot to it — a kind of elusive, obfuscating quality, which has us wondering if everything that glitters is gold.
While we might have felt a huge emotional release under this Full Moon, it could also have brought frustrations to the fore.
The Sun in pragmatic and task-oriented Virgo can fall into the trap of thinking that certain things in life are exceedingly logical: if we undertake X, then Y will happen. The trouble is, under Mercury’s shadow, station and retrograde motion, which began last week, we might have experienced some disappointments from the god of trickery. The aw-shucks feelings were only amplified by the Moon’s applying conjunction to retrograde Neptune.
One of the things that will be especially important for this week — and, frankly, for the duration of Mercury retrograde season — is that we don’t feel like victims of fate. Given that Mercury retrogrades can bring up old gunk from our past — and for all of us, this could be stuff from last year or even stuff from all the way back in ’09 — it’ll be important to remember that this is just a crunchy precursor to a brand new Mercury cycle.
***MERCURY RETROGRADE WILL HAVE US TAKING TWO STEPS BACK FOR EVERY STEP FORWARD***
In the areas of our lives that I touched on in my previous Mercury retrograde rising sign forecasts, the energy will continue to feel stagnant and defeatist, and, though I gave the wide sextile to the asteroid Sisyphus a positive spin last week, I might have inadvertently downplayed the overwhelming burden of second-chances and perseverance. Mea maxima culpa.
What’s important to remember through Mercury and then Mars’ retrogrades is that these are periods of consolidation, strategy, deliberation and careful planning. Setbacks present themselves so that we can change course and build back better. The last Mercury retrograde of this year in Capricorn in late December, which will cross over into 2023, is all about that lasting, foundational, concretizing energy. (Think Tarot Pentacles energy!)
On the bright side, Mercury’s retrograde motion is relatively short when we consider that all of the major social and transpersonal planets remain retrograde, and Mars’ retrograde motion, beginning next month, will last until early January.
***THE SKY HAS NEARLY NO FORWARD MOMENTUM TO GIVE US RIGHT NOW***
The trouble is, with the Sun still in Virgo for just shy of two more weeks, squared by that Mars in Gemini which has a retrograde Mercury to answer to at the moment, we might feel as though, if we try just a little bit harder, think harder, work harder at gathering intel, collecting nuggets of information, piecing the puzzle together, then we’ll be successful.
I hate to break it to you, but frustration will be the name of the game between our solar, ego desires in by-the-book Virgo, and Mars in a friction-causing square aspect, currently moving through the second home of the god of trickery. Nothing you say, think or do will get much enduring traction in and around this time, so the best thing that can take some of the sting out of this astrological signature is to stockpile the info and ideas you get for later when Mercury goes direct and, most definitely, for Mars’ direct motion in the first quarter of next year.
Now, the other transit in the air as we enter this week is the applying opposition between Mercury and Jupiter.
This is a bit of a repeat transit, since we saw this same configuration in the sky just over a week ago while Mercury was still direct.
The caution back then was that we didn’t want to become overinflated in our thinking, or so greatly pump up news or an opportunity that we couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Now, with both planets retrograde, I think we’ll see this signature come up again, with the twist of that feeling of stagnancy and frustration in the mix.
Here, Jupiter might be expanding our feelings like the Wheel of Fortune is not turning in our favour and, in the sign of Aries where Jupiter has dignity by triplicity, its hot temperament is amplified, with some of that moist quality dried out in Mars’ sign. Jupiter may therefore have less of an impetus to collect and unify, and be more inclined towards impulsivity and separation, which doesn’t help a backward-moving Mercury, or with Mars in twitchy Gemini.
So many planets right now are answering to a backward-moving Mercury — Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, and Venus — that the influence of Mercury retrograde, even if the degrees don’t touch any of your natal or progressed placements, may still be felt on some macro level.
***MARS RETROGRADE SHADOW PERIOD***
Another thing to note is that we’ve entered the Mars retrograde shadow period, which happened around September 3, and so between now and October’s Mars station, events may feel as though they’re becoming heightened — tensions with friends, extended family, siblings, neighbours, or even frustrations with our skills and learning not progressing as quickly as we’d like.
Keep calm and carry on should be the name of the game — stay the course and pay careful attention not to start any new endeavours or initiatives. You’ll likely want to spend the duration of Mars’ retrograde period making a plan for action rather than taking anything on directly, until at least March 2023 (because Mars doesn't exist its post-retrograde shadow until then, but does go direct on January 12, 2023).
If you didn’t catch my rising sign forecast for Mars’ retrograde motion, then make sure you check out the blog post or video version of the forecast for details on where you could experience upsets in various areas of your life.
***CHANGE OF YOUR OWN VOLITION, OR RETROGRADE URANUS WILL FORCE IT ON YOU!***
Lastly, we should note that the week also begins under the influence of retrograde Uranus still within orb of a conjunction with the North Node.
You could therefore still be feeling the after-effects of August’s Triple Conjunction. (Not sure how that energy could be impacting you? Check out my previous written forecast.) The sextile the Moon is forming to this configuration will shift, but the trine to the Sun will linger for at least another few days and then Venus will activate that point, potentially adding in a dose of good money or relationship karma.
At the same time, the impetus behind sudden rebelliousness or an electric, almost magnetic desire for change in the area of our lives ruled by Taurus, remains acute. More broadly, our values in this area continue to be revised and renewed and that Sun is under steaming pressure from a square from Mars, which wants us to do something about Uranus knocking at our doors.
For many of us, we could already have taken action — quit a job, started a side hustle, ended a relationship, drastically altered the way we earn income, or changed up our living situations. If that wasn’t you, then you might be feeling increasing pressure from this aspect this week to make some sort of change that you’ve been putting off. Just remember, if you don’t take action, sometimes malefic Uranus can force our hands and make those changes for us, but tread with caution given the Mercury-Mars retrograde storm-in-a-teacup.
***THE MOON AMPS UP OUR RESTLESSNESS THIS WEEK***
By the close of Sunday, September 11, the Moon enters fiery Aries.
As it briefly makes a conjunction with Jupiter and opposes Mercury, it could heighten the intensity of inflated, hopeful, and optimistic Jupiter in Aries, but, at the same time, experience that tug-of-war feeling from retrograde Mercury in Libra that wants us to see both sides of a story.
This transit will be brief, but don’t make any rash decisions as a result of it, no matter how good you feel about its potential.
Remember that both Mercury and Jupiter are retrograde and so any decisions we make under this transit could be reversed when both planets turn direct. Jupiter is that Wheel of Fortune energy and Mercury, the Magician, so this is a period where we have to take extra care in what we think and say, since we know that our thoughts, feelings, and words have a direct impact on our ability to make ideas manifest in our lives.
The Moon continues its cruise through the zodiac, entering Taurus where, on September 14 it applies to the Uranus-North Node conjunction, temporarily intensifying that pressure on the Sun to change course, alter path, and, in general, act on that restlessness you might be feeling in some area of your life. The good news is, it won’t last too long, but the energy in the sky is awkward and uncomfortable right now. We desperately want something to give — maybe some sort of sign that things will look up for us — and, to get that, we could feel like doing something rash.
Let’s not overlook the fact that Venus in Virgo is applying to a square with Mars, which will perfect on Friday, September 16, though this is a comparatively better week for relationship matters, the real news, I think, is Venus’ last day of visibility occurring the day before, on September 15. This is when Venus undergoes its morning setting and disappears under the Sun’s beams.
***VENUS TURNS INVISIBLE — ROCKY RELATIONSHIP ROADS AHEAD!***
While we could flag the usual conflict aspect with relationships, this is a Venus that’s reaching its Full-Moon-equivalent point of its cycle, only to reach its maximum distance from earth and superior conjunction in about six weeks. Eventually, it will emerge as the evening star, representing a very different Venus.
Venus up to the superior conjunction can be thought of as a pre-Full-Moon Venus, concerned with going forth in the world, considering its values and going after what it desires. It’s often quite energetic, exuberant, and even assertive.
This phase began in January of this year at Venus’ inferior conjunction with the Sun, kicking off a nine-month gestation period of some sort of chapter in our lives coming to fruition.
Consider what Venus rules in your chart — by that I mean, what houses Taurus and Libra rule natally, and where Venus is positioned relative to its current transit. These could be the areas where you might see these significations blended and where the storyline kicked off for you earlier this year.
As Venus now reaches its morning setting, it enters a kind of crisis phase, which can often be felt in close relationships in addition to those areas that Venus rules in your chart. This commences the period of Venus’ metaphorical underworld journey before it’s reborn as the evening star.
As such, we can begin to feel a potential issue that might have cropped up around early August when Venus crossed the ecliptic gain some sort of prominence beginning around the 15th. And, since Venus in the sky is answering to that retrograde Mercury, issues from 2021 — or even way back from ’09 !— might come up, including challenges relating to balance, limitations, boundaries, fairness, and equality. Be on the lookout for old emails to resurface, communications to get heated, or old lovers to make a cameo in your life. This transit can often have a major Six of Cups energy about it.
***CLOSING THE WEEK WHERE IT BEGAN***
Finally, very late in the day on September 16, the Sun perfects to an opposition to retrograde Neptune. You likely will have been feeling the energies a few days before, particularly as that Full-Moon frustration lingers.
This transit could produce some feelings of confusion or uncertainty, and particularly as Neptune is retrograde, it may be resurfacing feelings of past indecisiveness, disillusion, and potentially complex feelings around our abilities to flow and trust in the process of life’s unfolding.
Echoing that “Why don’t things work out for me?” feeling from the beginning of this week, this transit could temporarily spotlight feelings of discouragement, especially in the areas of our charts under Pisces’ authority.
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That’s all I’ve got for you this week. If you found any of this helpful, don’t forget to like, comment and follow and make sure to come back next Friday for another week-ahead forecast!
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*DISCLAIMER: All astrological forecasts are for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. Any decisions that you might make as a result of reading this or any other astrological blog entry are YOURS ALONE and the creator of this blog will not be held responsible! For any legal issues, see a lawyer; for medical ones, consult a physician. None of the information in this blog constitutes actionable advice from a licensed professional. Once again, this forecast is for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!
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