FROM YUCK TO YUM

The Great Cosmic September Stew, featuring Mercury Retrograde, Double Eclipses, Jupiter enters Libra and more!

I sincerely hope you had a chance to relax and enjoy a break over the summer because the first part of September is not for the faint of heart.  Remember, though, that it is always darkest before dawn; and by the end of the month we are blessed with beauty and light.

Before dessert we must take eat our leafy greens:   September 1 opens the month with a powerful solar eclipse, the first of two in September.  Eclipses act as doorways to our lives and distinct markers of events, often life changing.  For some, these doorways present opportunities:  will you walk through the door?  For others, they are pushed, or forced, through a door like it or not.  For anyone born in the early 1960s, especially 1963-1965, or who has planets at 9 degrees Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces or Gemini, this eclipse will resonate strongly.

So let’s unpack this event.  At 9 degrees Virgo, the Sun and Moon sharply challenge the Saturn/Mars duo in Sagittarius and oppose Neptune in Pisces.  This eclipse means business.   Our emotions and will in Virgo is about health and work; opposite Neptune, the great Cosmic Cleanser, we are prompted to clean up our act:  body, mind and soul.  With Saturn/Mars wedged in between these two configurations, there is an urgency to get going, get down to brass tacks.  Saturn rules time and tells us:  there is no more time to waste; it is high past time to focus on your life lessons, difficult as they may be (and we all have hard lessons), to make a plan, a to-do list and apply yourself.

This is where Motivating Mars in combination with work-horse Saturn is tremendously helpful.  The pair kicks our behind to act.  Mars also supplies the energy to do the work.  Endlessly fiery in Sagittarius, we are invited to make an adventure of life, to make an exploration with curiosity and imagination of the tasks ahead.   Yes, there is work to do, but why not have fun while doing it?   We might as well as since the coordinates of this eclipse supply abundant discernment, clarity, focused energy, and efficient application of will to get the job(s) done.  Wow.  We aren’t given any excuses now.  Not let off the hook in any way, shape or form.

As with any cosmic energy, it is ours to steer, to make the best of the hand we are dealt.  Or the hand we have gradually dealt ourselves over time.  There are significant blessings too with this eclipse to help us along the way, directing our words and efforts with careful precision.

First, Generous Jupiter and Messenger Mercury are tightly conjoined in Virgo at this eclipse, lending great weight and impact to our words and actions.  Mercury is now retrograde until September 23, so it is best to hold off on signing contracts or investing in major purchases until then.  However, any creative endeavors, especially those involving writing, technical expertise, detail, spirituality, health care and organizing will benefit immensely during this time.   A re-minder to make use of RE words during Mercury Retrograde:  review, rest, restore, recycle, repair…

It is an excellent time to purge possessions and cleanse our habits and habitat, more so than other Mercury retrograde cycles due to the Sun/Moon daring Neptune and Lunar south node.  Where do you need to get to the root cause and core of what no longer serves you?  To stop the cycle and repetitious burden of ___________ fill in the blank.  Remember:  insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome.  This eclipse demands we jump off the hamster wheel, review the habits that got us into the rat’s nest we find ourselves in and reinvent like crazy.  Virgo rules habits, patterns and routines.  Jupiter and Mercury in Virgo provide innumerable ideas and diligent focus to retrain our brains and patterns, and thus our lives.  Did you know it takes 60 days to master and instill a new routine?   With focused mind and emotion offered by this eclipse, we have a ripe opportunity to be our own change agent.  “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” said Ghandi.  No time (Saturn/mars) like the present.  The hour is nigh.  The caution here is focusing too hard on the trees and losing sight of the forest. Virgo loves details and perfectionism.  So step away from yourself and see the big picture of your life.  Again, Sagittarian Saturn/Mars will help you now.

Another blessing of this eclipse is Venus (planet of love and money) in its home sign of Libra.  She reminds us to strike a balance between myriad facets of our lives so one part does not dominate the others.  Relationships are easily formed with her help:  both to ourselves and others.  We’re reminded that beauty matters and to bring it into our lives regularly.  Buy yourself some flowers.  Venus also rules grace.  Being gracious to others and allowing grace for ourselves by forgiving past mistakes, remembering we are human, perfect just as we are.

The third blessing of this eclipse is the terrific aspect between the Lunar North Node and Transformer Pluto in Capricorn.  Talk about a cosmic helping hand.  This pair aligns our desire with accurate direction, like a NASA GPS.  It points to True North:  where we need to focus our efforts (our work, health, family, relationships, you name it), provides the road map, how-to guide and practical steps to get the job done.  This pair isn’t sexy but man, talk about efficient.  The first week of September, the Sun joins this pair in Virgo to underscore the work-horse pair of the entire eclipse pattern.  Take advantage!

The second and final eclipse of 2016 falls on September 16^th, in Virgo-Pisces.  The Full Moon lunar eclipse finds Mercury bound to the North Node and the Moon joined to wounded healer Chiron opposite the Sun.  The key note here is emotional surrender.  As a Sufi healer once told me when I was struggling with a problem, “Surrender and surrender now”.   In order to heal emotionally, give it up.  Not give up.  There is a difference.  Control what you can, what is manageable.  Try not biting off more than you can chew.  You can go kicking and screaming, resisting, fighting and pushing back at life.  Or, you can surrender to the Flow.  Be guided and carried by life’s current.  This is such a time.

Each of us thinks we control our lives, destiny and future.   And to a certain extent we do.  But during days like September, a dose of humor is essential as we RE-member the Yiddish expression:  We plan, God laughs.   Plot, plan and prepare your grand design but be sure to include Plan B, C and D.  Just in case.  The good news is that Virgo is great at that:  devising a back-up plan.  Because as we emotionally surrender and fall blindly into the safety net beneath our existence, we will need a ladder (or 2 or 3) to climb back up and to the healing work required.

A gentle reminder:  the time period between September 1 and 16 acts like a gigantic black hole.  Especially given the overlap with Mercury retrograde, it is most effective to use this time for planning and preparing, mapping out exactly what you want and where you want to be by the end of this year and into 2017.  Any major decisions that are brewing are best to hold off committing to or acting upon until after September 23^rd.

Smack dab in the middle of the eclipses, Generous Jupiter enters Libra at an attention-getting degree on September 9^th.  Relationships blossom, love abounds, money grows.  Jupiter, the planet of abundance, is comfortable in this sign of harmony, softening the harsh edges of our lives.  It prompts us to beautify ourselves and homes.  For the entire next year, we feel the graceful goddess’ touch:  update your wardrobe, invest in art and new home décor, host a dinner party, reach peace accords in long-standing problem relationships.  Libra is truly lovely energy.  Venus also rules money so you may find money flowing in more readily and steadily over the next year.  Or at the very least, flowing.  Put your intentions and energy toward this!

As if we haven’t had enough cosmic stirring in the first half of September, the energies really kick into high gear at mid-month.  It is like the unfolding and blossoming of a flower, one petal after another, stunning, gorgeous, and very natural.   On the 23^rd, Messenger Mercury finally turns direct motion.  YAY! And the very same day, the Sun enters Libra, marking the Fall Equinox, joining Jupiter.  Every year we are blessed with the annual pairing of Jupiter and the Sun.  This year it occurs in Lovely Libra on the very same day Mercury directs our thoughts and speech forward.  You can verily hear and see the Universal embrace of life, beauty rising everywhere, humming, the autumn colors, vibrant crisp air filling our lungs, source of precious breath.  This moment is deeply spiritual and acutely magical:  for beauty, art, relationships are the reason we breathe, and keep on breathing.  Without them, life is eminently drab, devoid of shape and purpose.

The next day, September 24^th, Venus enters Scorpio, deepening and enriching our relationships and (hopefully) bank accounts.  Where this planet cycles through in your chart, discussions about joint resources, how to spend shared assets becomes easier.  Money flows in this sign.  So does sex.  May you be blessed with both!

Two days later, Transformer Pluto turns direct motion in Capricorn.  What has been a trudge through darkness, more drudgery than we ever expected, gradually lightens up – adding to the energetic flow and flowering.  Step by pragmatic, realistic step, we move forward again.  By the 27^th, Motivating Mars joins its big brother Pluto in Capricorn at an attention-getting degree.  If you haven’t felt the cosmic push yet, you will.  Dive into life in all its glory and living color.   Down to earth and every bit in its element, Mars in Capricorn harnesses the best of our potential, energizes us to build baby build like never before.  This is the supreme manifestor combination.  All month long we have wondered and wandered about our lives and dreams.  Now, we are shown.  Given the answers and energy to act.What will you create?