Between the Worlds

The September 2005 Forecast

Mac Users: Evidently the script used to place color in the forecast creates some unreadable code for you. Until I get this problem resolved, please download it as a pdf.

PDF of the forecast.

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Past forecasts

Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are retrograde. Venus is in rulership. Saturn is in detriment.

Venus conjoins Jupiter	16°23' Leo/Aquarius	September 1
Pluto returns to direct motion (stationary direct SD)	21°50' Sagittarius	September 2
New Moon	11°21' Virgo	September 3
Mercury enters Virgo (rulership)	0°00' Virgo	September 4
Venus sextiles Pluto	13°40' Leo	September 4
Mercury opposes Uranus	8°28' Virgo/Pisces	September 9
Venus squares Chiron	28°11' Libra/Capricorn	September 9
Venus enters Scorpio (detriment)	0°00' Scorpio	September 11
Mars quincunxes Jupiter (1st of 3)	20°50' Taurus/Libra	September 12
Sun squares Pluto	21°52' Virgo/Sagittarius	September 14
Mercury trines Mars	21°33' Virgo/Taurus	September 15
Mercury squares Pluto	21°53' Virgo/Sagittarius	September 16
Mars quincunxes Pluto (1st of 3)	21°54' Taurus/Sagittarius	September 17
Virgo Full Moon	25°16' Virgo/Pisces	September 17
Jupiter sextiles Pluto (waning [last quarter phase])	21°54' Libra/Sagittarius	September 17
Mercury conjoins the Sun	25°23' Virgo	September 17
Venus squares Saturn	7°43' Scorpio/Leo	September 18
Venus trines Uranus	8°06' Scorpio/Pisces	September 18
Mercury trines Chiron	27°57' Virgo/Capricorn	September 19
Mercury enters Libra	0°00' Libra	September 20
Sun trines Chiron	27°56' Virgo/Capricorn	September 20
Jupiter quincunxes Mars (2nd of 3)	22°31' Libra/Taurus	September 21
Saturn quincunxes Uranus (waxing [crescent phase])	8°00' Leo/Pisces	September 21
Sun enters Libra (fall)(Autumnal Equinox/ Mabon)	0°00' Libra	September 22
Venus squares Neptune	15°06' Scorpio/Aquarius	September 24
Venus sextiles Saturn	4°31' Libra/Leo	September 20
Mercury quincunxes Uranus	7°52' Libra/Pisces	September 24
Mercury sextiles Saturn	8°24' Libra/Leo	September 25
Mercury trines Neptune	15°01 Libra/Aquarius	September 29
Mars begins backward motion (stationary retrograde S℞)	23°17' Taurus	October 1

All dates are based on Pacific Time.

Blue = harmonious/Red or orange = challenging

Blue-shaded events are part of the same harmonious pattern.

Red-shaded events are part of the same challenging pattern.

Events in bold are more significant.

The confluence of the Sun’s opposition to Uranus on August 31^st and Pluto’s direct station on September 1^st created the perfect storm in New Orleans in the last week of August. This carries warnings of the shape of things to come, because Uranus will eventually catch up with Pluto in 2012. That’s a long way off, but while they are in squaring signs, we will continue to get glimpses of what they can bring. Both are planets of disruption, and we can expect maximum disruption from their contact. This is certainly the case with Hurricane Katrina. Although we have yet to see what all the disruptions will be, difficulties with oil supply is the first expected and reported. These planets do not directly rule oil — Neptune does. Still, Pluto is involved in anything where a large amount of power is amassed, as it has around oil, its use, and its supply. Uranus is involved in disruptions. These three planets will increasingly represent the challenges we will face with oil as supplies dwindle (or are disrupted in whatever way). All this information is by way of laying the groundwork for discussing what lies ahead this fall.

Saturn Again, As Usual

I talked about the fixed grand cross that will activate the stabilizing force over the coming 18 months in last month’s forecast. This fall we get a big hit of what that’s about as Mars makes a retrograde journey through Taurus, one of the fixed signs. Mars will revisit the degrees from 8 through 23. This means it will make three contacts (forward-backward-forward) with Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune in the fixed cross, as well as the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Moon as triggers. Only three planets (Chiron, Uranus, and Pluto) are not part of this large configuration.

What does this mean? Whenever there are so many planets involved in a pattern, it means that there is one consuming focus that people have in their lives. It may not be the same for all people, but there is usually some way in which one large issue affects everyone according to their own unique situation.

During the fall — in fact, from August 12^th through February 3^rd — Mars and the things it symbolizes will rule our concerns. Mars is momentum, forward motion, and aggression. During its retrograde, these may be curtailed. What is more emblematic of our forward motion than our gasoline-combustion-engine-driven vehicles? It is my suspicion that gasoline (and heating oil) prices will be so high that people will feel as though their momentum is curtailed. It could put a crippling burden on many people’s budgets and cause them to curtail spending in other areas. The fallout will land in predictable places and predictable responses from the federal government and business world.

September Offers a Reprieve.

That’s getting ahead of ourselves, however. While Mars is still direct, which it is in September; and the Sun is still in Virgo and Libra (non-fixed signs), which it is for the whole month as well; our attention will focus elsewhere. It’s not that gas prices will not be high — they will. The people will just expect that it’s going to be a temporary thing related to the hurricane, and they can hold out until things return to normal. When Mars turns retrograde, they’ll see that it’s a longer term situation, one that may never disappear, and then they’ll start to make some changes in lifestyle. Even if they want to be able to afford to fill the tank of Ford Expedition, they may have to acknowledge that they can’t reasonable do that any longer. Although demand for SUVs and larger vehicles has dropped, we may see the bottom drop out of this market as people seek to dump their used gas guzzlers any way they can. These vehicles will become even more of a status symbol, as only the truly wealthy will be able to afford these land-bound yachts. This may not all happen this fall, but we’ll see the beginnings of this phenomenon.

For now, it’s all about the mutable signs — Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces — and we have the two most volatile planets in them, Uranus and Pluto. We’ve already seen the hurricane, and (just as mariner and astrologer Sean Lovatt notes in his incredible research on hurricanes) the biggest storms happen when the Moon sextiles the Sun because the combined effects of these two planets’ gravitational pull is optimized for wave and storm surge action at the sextile.

There’s no doubt that there are volatile periods this month. However, the most explosive of this mutable period have already occurred. The others — the 9^th, 14^th, and 16^th – 17^th — are suggestive of aftermath events rather than primary ones. If you look at the second chart, you can see that the “red” pattern is broken up, not so coherent as before. This will coincide with fewer, less powerful events than last month.

Making the Most of the Mutables

The mutable signs work with the integrating force. The process of integration makes things whole, but it also must work with many, often disparate, energies in order to achieve wholeness. This requires flexibility, and this is the most prominent characteristic of the mutable signs. They flex and bend; they move around obstacles rather than through or over them. When the planets populate these signs, they challenge us to be flexible, but not too much so. Too much flexibility is spineless, over-analytical, wishy washy, and fickle — all terms leveled at the mutable signs. We may have difficulty discerning the truth of a situation because there are so many facets of the issue to consider, or we may want to take the easy way out of a dilemma. Mutable signs tend to over-promise (but with sincerity) and give up on things too easily. The truth can also become pliable under mutable consideration.

This has been a far more challenging issue at other times. These signs are relatively de-emphasized because the planets of the “middle ground”, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, are not in these signs this month. Our mutable challenges will be somewhat mild, especially in contrast to what has been endured on the Gulf Coast.

Making the Most of the Blue Pattern

If the red pattern is less coherent this month, the blue pattern lacks even more unity. There are, however, some notably good planetary contacts that we can take advantage of. By enlarging them in our focus, we can use them to draw to us the future that we want to experience.

First, there is a sort of earth grand trine, especially as mid-month approaches. The Sun and Mercury will trine a slowing Mars, allowing us to squeeze the last few ounces of easy action out of it before it begins its backward trek. Then they will trine Chiron, enhancing our healing processes.

Early in the month, the two benefics Venus and Jupiter make a beautiful pair in the night sky. Until the 11^th, we can still make occasional use of their combination to facilitate our progress even though their conjunction passes on the 1^st. They will continue to enhance our evening skies for another couple of weeks.

Finally, while Mercury is in Virgo, the sign of its greatest strength, many good opportunities remain to be found.

Subtle Changes in Long-Term Cycles

On the 17^th, Jupiter harmonizes with Pluto as they begin the slow wind-down of their 13-year cycle. This cycle began in November 1994; we have two more years in it to go. It’s time to take stock of what we’ve accomplished since its start and integrate what we’ve learned into an enduring wisdom. It will have to do with empowering ourselves to be who we really are.

The second of these contacts occurs on the 23^rd, when Saturn quincunxes Uranus. This is nearly at the halfway point in a cycle which began in 1988 in Sagittarius and has to do with finding the right balance between freedom and structure, as well as between self-direction based on inner truth and direction given us by others. It also symbolizes the interplay between the status quo and the renewing influences in government and culture. They will be at odds with each other and seem irreconcilable in some way. This seems to be coming out in the battle over Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. It will emerge in our own lives in its own way unique to our circumstances. Because of these contacts, September is a good time to take stock of these deeper rhythms in our lives.

Feeling In Between

For many reasons, we are likely to feel “in-between” this month. It’s before the Mars retrograde; it’s after the first signals we got of the fixed-cross activity but before it really coagulates. In addition, there are several quincunxes and a couple of yods forming this month, which suggest that situations will arise that are difficult to resolve right now. When this happens, we need to stay in the “ambiguous place”, because that’s where the creativity is. Once we take a position, we’re “safe”, because we’ve created predictability. However, as new information emerges (and it will), we may find that we could have made a better decision if we had waited.

Regardless of this, there are still good energies to be tapped if we know how to focus on them and draw them into our lives.

A Glimpse Ahead

As Venus climbs higher in the sky, it does not hurt to recall that this heralds the next Venus retrograde. Although it does not come until December 24^th, it helps to know that we are winding down in the current 18-month cycle of relationships and possessions. We needn’t take that on yet, however, only be aware that a time of scrutiny and mobility in these areas is coming soon.