New Moon in Sagittarius

This is later today, the 29th November, around 12:15 GMT.

Sagittarius is about hope, optimism, open vistas, new possibilities. Moving forward, basically.

And moving forward looks like the theme of this new moon all right. Getting on with life and moving into the future with a renewed sense of purpose, even though you're still reeling and you'd rather lie in bed with the covers over your head.

I think this past November has ripped our faith in business-as-usual from us. Everything has changed, right? There are new realities to be attended to now, and there's no going back.

Helpfully, the way forward and the way backward are clearly mapped out for us here. This new moon tightly squares the north and south nodes, which are about the path of growth (north node) vs. the path of stagnation (south node).

The north node has been in Virgo for the past year. This means the path forward is about intense pragmatism. Attending to daily reality and doing what needs doing, however routine and mundane it may feel. Staying grounded and focused on the little tasks and details.

The south node is conjunct Neptune in Pisces. This means the path backward is toward delusion, fantasy, misguided romanticism, self pity, addiction, emotional ungroundedness. Drowning your sorrows or trying to evade reality.

It's easy to illustrate! Way forward:

Way backward:

Easy to illustrate, but maybe not so clear-cut in reality. Having Neptune on the south node means we are all dealing with some level of delusion these days. It's easy to think you're on the right track when you're actually on the exact wrong one. There is a lot of misinformation and self-deception swirling around.

This is where Saturn in Sagittarius can help us. At best, this is about honesty, integrity, walking your talk and having a solid plan. It's about having a moral compass that helps you distinguish right from wrong, truth from falsity.

Saturn is loosely conjunct Mercury in Sagittarius for this new moon, which will hopefully be a sobering influence on our minds and speech. Sagittarius can be bombastic and rigidly ideological – and that's a danger here. And it's something we've all had enough of at this point, lord knows.

Luckily though, the dispositor of all these planets in Sagittarius is Jupiter in Libra – sign of balance, fairness, social grace and seeing the other's point of view.

What this means is, reciprocity and moderation are favoured. Fact-checking and thinking before you rush to judgement are favoured. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is favoured. Tact and peacemaking are favoured.

These Libran qualities will be severely tested, though. Jupiter in Libra is involved in a cardinal t-square right now: squaring Venus and Pluto in Capricorn, opposing Uranus in Aries. Aaargh.

With this, you can expect shake-ups and power struggles, in relationships especially – and abrupt endings in some cases. Things are not going to stay static, no matter how hard we try to maintain the status quo. Deep-seated issues will be brought to the surface – and this is not a comfortable process. Arrangements that have outlived their usefulness will be battered at till they break.

This is in effect for the rest of the year, so it's a good idea to drop your cherished notions of how things ought to be, and focus instead on working with what's at hand.

It isn't about resignation and despair though - that is Neptune-south node swamp stuff. Sagittarius is about hope and enthusiasm, and new moons are about beginnings. So this new moon in Sagittarius is a great time to begin something you find inspiring and uplifting, or to seize a new opportunity.

But as this sky is also relentlessly practical, your dreams must be able to work in the real world. No pie-in-the-sky stuff here, no escapist bullshit. There are big possibilities, but you have to keep your head screwed on and be willing to put the boring work in to make things happen. Nothing is just going to be magically handed to you. You have to keep on being a grown-up and doing your Virgo.

The nice thing is, you'll be a lot happier these days if you do your Virgo. It's not drudgery at all. Focusing on routine, boring, everyday tasks is how you get to feel like a functional human being instead of a confused mess.

And we are all a bit of a confused mess right now. This is a crazy time, and it won't be getting any less crazy for a while. So please try to remember your Virgo (humility and attention to reality). And your Jupiter in Libra (civility, fairness, ability to compromise) to boot.

Full Moon in Taurus

This is tomorrow, the 14th November, around 2 pm GMT.

It's a supermoon, as I'm sure everyone has heard. The biggest one since 1948 apparently – and we won't see another this big and bright till 2034.

Given the societal tensions we've been seeing and the way full moons amp up people's passions, I'd be kinda nervous about this...except this full moon is in settled, stable, reality-based Taurus. That should calm the emotional tone down a bit and make the tension easier to manage.

The story the sky is telling right now is one of tension, though. Go figure. Basically, everybody is angry, people are taking extreme stances and it has become very hard to know what's true. Talk about politics at your peril - firefights are the norm now.

--We have the sun in extremist, polarizing Scorpio, and this is intense by definition. Plus we have Uranus in Aries (populist rage) sending an edgy inconjunct to the Scorpio sun, triggering bursts of destructive collective anger.

--We have Mars (aggression, drive) in the revolutionary sign of Aquarius, in mutual reception with Uranus (shock, revolution) in Aries, a sign which is all about individual will - and this is about popular rage in action. People out on the streets demanding change.

--We have Mercury (speech, communication) newly in Sagittarius, where he is prone to ideological ranting. He is aspecting Mars in Aquarius. This fires up the rage and the potential for wounding, crude, shocking (and/or incisively insightful) communication.

--We have Neptune in Pisces stationing direct on the 19th November, nearly exactly conjunct the south node. This is a swamp of confusion, delusion, lies, inertia and stagnation. Destructive nostalgia; the pull of old addictions, utter head-fuckery and bewilderment.

--We have Jupiter in Libra getting set to square Pluto in Capricorn (exact 24th November) and oppose Uranus in Aries (exact 26th December). This is a test of our civility, our tolerance, our ability to find common ground in the midst of disagreement. It is also a painful magnification of the sense of a corrupt power hierarchy (Pluto in Capricorn) and individual rage against it (Uranus in Aries).

In short, we have not seen an end to populist rage, or to duelling ideologies, or to polarized discourse. Or to the reign of utter crazy bullshit and delusion. Or to the dissolution of everything we thought to be true and stable...

We are still dealing with the aftermath of the transformative, destructive Uranus-Pluto squares (2012-2015), and we will be dealing with this for a long time. Recall that the last time we had a series of squares between these two planets was the 1930s, during the run-up to World War II. This is similar.

Pluto (toxicity, corruption and transformation) entered Capricorn, sign of the establishment, in 2008. That was the year the banking system fell apart. It was propped up at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.

Then Uranus (shock, revolution) entered Aries, sign of individual will and combativeness, in 2011, and collective anger erupted. That's when we watched the birth of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which demanded accountability from governments and the financial system. That's also when we saw the Arab Spring explode all over the Middle East, as people took to the streets to demand change.

Pluto and Uranus squared each other seven times between 2012 and 2015, and they hit like a wrecking ball, reducing a lot of lives to ruins. Populist revolt and shocking violence (Uranus in Aries) vs. extreme efforts on the part of authorities to maintain control, though the systemic rot could no longer be hidden (Pluto in Capricorn). Syria is a perfect example of how this sort of thing plays out on a collective scale - and with Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, the horror of that war can't be contained to just Syria; it is a contagion affecting the entire world.

But on the individual level, plenty of people have been through their own private apocalypses these past few years. Much of this (job and home loss and financial difficulty especially) is tied to the collective catastrophe - the failure of governments and the financial system to provide stability.

This year, to top it all off, we had three squares between Saturn (structure, order, reality) and Neptune (dissolution) – and this has dissolved the scorched earth right out from under people's feet. We no longer know what to expect. The future has always been uncertain, but this is something else entirely. None of it makes sense. And this uncertainty fuels more extremism – people retreat to polarized viewpoints when their sense of stable reality is threatened.

So here we are, at this supermoon in Taurus, and I hope it brings some calm and pragmatism, because we all have to figure out how to move on from here. New foundations have to be constructed; new realities have to be attended to. The old ones are torched.

The sky offers some clues as to how to move forward. Chiron in Pisces (a sense of existential woundedness) supports the full moon, and this says to me that compassion is the right response to turmoil – hard as it may be to come by. Compassion for the oppressed, and for the suffering that underlies the rage of the oppressors. We are all in this planet-sized shit show together.

Chiron is also about healing, and I hope some of that will be on offer. Because the collective polarization and savagery have grown hard to bear.

Another way forward is highlighted by the north node in Virgo, now exactly opposing Neptune and the south node in Pisces. I have been harping on about this for ages, but it bears repeating: pay attention to reality, to the bedrock facts of your everyday life. Attend to the little details of what needs doing. Stay grounded, serve others, help whenever you can, keep to your routines. Do not get stuck in the swamp of your own inertia or delusion or emotional ungroundedness.

All this is easy to say, but it will be pretty damn hard to do. Especially as Neptune stations direct later this week conjunct the south node, and in square to Mercury. It will feel like a complete headfuck, and the temptation will be to retreat into cloud-cuckoo land or a bottle of gin. Try to stay anchored in reality, one mundane task at a time. This has been important all year, with the north node transiting Virgo. But it is absolutely imperative now.

There is a yuuuuge need to accept and be willing to work with reality at this full moon - we must get down to business. We have Venus newly in security-seeking Capricorn, moving to conjunct Pluto on the 25th November - and this, along with the Scorpio-Taurus stuff, is about a fairly ruthless, realistic assessment of the bottom line in relationship and money matters. What you give vs. what you get back.

And by “bottom line”, I don't just mean money – I mean energy, though money and energy are often interchangeable. With Jupiter in balance-minded Libra, exchanges have to be fair, above-board and equal. The energy drains have got to go. This may entail getting rid of things you're quite attached to, and it will hurt.

But you have to drop the dead weight in order to move forward - and the dead weight in this case may be your dreams and illusions about how life should be. We have to work with what life IS.

This is not a time for burying our heads in the sand - this full moon is all about accepting reality, working with it and striving for fairness and balance in the face of conflict, delusion, polarization, shock and instability.

New Moon in Scorpio

from here

This is today, the 30th October, 5:40 pm GMT

A new moon in Scorpio is always witchy – the dark of the moon is a time of powerful, shadowy inceptions, and Scorpio is a forceful and covert sign, having to do with sex, death, the taboo, regeneration and transformation.

But this new moon is especially witchy. It falls nearly on Samhain (now Halloween), the pagan festival of the dead – the time of year when darkness is in ascendancy and life retreats underground. Traditionally, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was thought to be most porous right now.

And this new moon reinforces the Samhain theme of the thinning of the veil. It is conjunct Mercury in Scorpio (deep, incisive, instinctual thought and communication) and trining Neptune in Pisces (dreams, dissolutions, spirituality, art).

Mercury and Neptune together mean magical communication. So this is about messages from the depths – our minds will be open to the Otherworld / the collective unconscious /the great beyond – or the will of God, if you like. The lunar cycle this new moon opens looks very deep and quiet and full of inward revelation to me. Intuitive in a shadowy, instinctive way.

But the new moon also sextiles the north node in Virgo, which is about humility, realism, routine and systematic work. So this is deep intuition that can be put to everyday use – practical magic.

In short, it's powerfully magical, full of the potential for healing and regeneration. It's the exact right time for doing magical rituals, channeling messages from the beyond, making art and music, committing to a spiritual practice. (Or having lots of sex. There is a big relationship slant to all this, which I'll get to – and Scorpio requires intense merger, ahem.)

I think it looks great. It doesn't make any harsh aspects. Very like last year's new moon in Scorpio, really - a serpent's egg, full of coiled-up power and depth.

You can trust your gut and your intuition here – there is solid guidance at hand. There will be something to build on. A a new idea or revelation, a new possibility, a dream with solid potential.

--And maybe a decisive ending. What is no longer viable will have to fall away so that something new can take shape.

Mercury-Neptune contacts can be flaky and ethereal to the point of incoherence and delusion. But because this is a new moon in unsentimental, no-bullshit Scorpio - and because we have the pragmatic north node in Virgo involved - we are not talking half-baked New Age nostrums here. Quite the opposite. This is about grounding the otherworldly and ethereal in the here-and-now, putting it to work.

The point is regeneration and healing. Virgo and Scorpio both have an association with healing: Virgo is good at identifying problems and crafting solutions in a detail-oriented, systematic way. And Scorpio weeds out energy drains. It zeroes in on whatever is diseased, rotten, false; and it does all the life-or-death, disgusting work no one else wants to do – it drains out the pus, amputates the gangrenous limb, sews in the sutures.

So you put these energies together and you have a very unsentimental, surgical kind of vibe, focused on survival and regeneration.

Reinforcing this theme, we have the rulers of Scorpio (Mars and Pluto) both in Capricorn, sign of work and structured achievement. They are still loosely conjunct for this new moon, and Pluto is beneficially aspecting the Virgo north node.

Mars and Pluto together do not make for the most fun influence – this combination is known for killer rage and eruptive violence. And though Mars is moving out of the conjunction, he'll be squaring Uranus this new moon – an influence that magnifies the potential for shocking violence and accidents. So be careful driving and operating machinery this month, please! And avoid rage zombies.

In spite of this potential violence, I'm inclined to see the Mars-Pluto stuff as beneficial here. It means there is vast energy and drive to put toward whatever needs fixing or (re)building in your life.

--Here is hexagram 18 from the I Ching - on repairing a rotten situation.

With the current Mars-Pluto stuff, if poison bubbles up out of the depths - it is a symptom of a larger problem, and you can potentially address the problem at its roots right now. It is not a time for ignoring the ugly stuff - you have to be willing to dig deep and get your hands dirty.

So I think it's beneficial overall, even if it manifests as some kind of eruptive ugliness.

Another beneficial influence: we have love and money planet Venus now in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is an optimistic, free-spirited sign; Venus in Sagittarius is tolerant and happy-go-lucky. So this is great!

Plus she is in mutual reception with Jupiter in Libra – ie, Venus is in the sign Jupiter rules, and Jupiter is in the sign Venus rules. And these two lucky, traditionally “benefic” planets are also in beneficial aspect.

This is really lovely and bouyant, especially for relationships. A bit of fun and lightness in an otherwise very heavy and serious sky.

But it's not all kittens and ice cream. Venus is also conjunct Saturn, and this is exact the day before the new moon. This conjunction can represent some form of limitation, delay, blockage or fear - especially re. relationships. But it also denotes great seriousness about the future, and a willingness to commit to a vision of what's actually possible. And to work for it..

So there are limits and boundaries here, and maybe endings – what's not actually possible or workable will have to fall away, so that something real can take its place. Trust your gut on this. You will know what cords have to be cut.

At the same time, there is a future for the building here. There are dreams that can come true, given a bit of work.

All in all it looks very positive to me. Jupiter in Libra, remember, is about balance and fairness, being able to see the other's point of view and to compromise... also big love and luck in relationships. And paired up with Venus and Saturn in Sagittarius, this is about realistic plans re. partnerships and money.

It looks like love that can go the distance, or a solid new direction, or a grounded and sincere kind of happiness. You just have to trust in it and be willing to put a bit of work in. Jupiter and Venus together denote a gift, but this is the kind of gift that takes good faith and commitment to secure - and time, and patience. It's not just going to fall into your lap.

Luckily, the Mars-Pluto conjunction will supply the necessary stamina and drive.

--All that said, we are still dealing with the north node in Virgo opposing Neptune and the south node in Pisces. This is a slough of despond – a real swamp of fantasy, delusion, addiction and escapism. So please keep in mind, you have to keep moving past the pull of destructive nostalgia and addiction. There is really no going back; you know that. And no running away either.

The north node in Virgo dictates the way forward: humble, systematic work. Don't let your emotional ungroundedness or moodiness get the better of you. Just focus on the day-to-day details and keep dealing with what needs doing as it comes up. If you start freaking out about the future or obsessing about the past, try to do something grounding and healthy. Or focus on how you can serve others.

Full Moon in Aries

by Eugenia Loli

This is early tomorrow morning, the 16th October. 5:23 am GMT. Maybe you're already feeling it! This is a big one - violent and explosive, with long-lasting effect. It's a turning point and it involves shock. If you can stay out of fights, listen to opposing points of view and mind your manners, you'll be doing well.

This full moon is a supermoon, which means it's closer to earth than usual and will appear larger. It's in Aries, a warlike, impulsive sign. It's conjunct Uranus, an explosive, shocking influence. And it squares the extremely violent and transformative Mars-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn (which is exact the 19th October).

Mercury (mind, communication) in Libra is involved, also in square to the Mars-Pluto conjunction. So there's the possibility for deep mental change and transformative communication – or deeply hurtful exchanges fuelled by eruptive rage.

Expect shocking news and fraught exchanges. Also shake-ups in relationships – the need for partnership and co-operation coming up against deep anger, rebellion and the demand for personal autonomy and space. Manipulation and shitty covert power dynamics are likely to be exposed.

This looks like Jupiter in Libra's first big test to me. Jupiter is about luck and blessing; Libra is about civility, harmony, balance and partnership. For the next year, as Jupiter transits Libra, your happiness and luck depend on being polite, diplomatic and able to see all sides of a situation – not just your own point of view.

Under this full moon, we are likely to see people acting out like big, moody, self-absorbed babies, spewing vitriol and aggression. It'll be too easy to lash out from a sense of wounded ego or personal grievance; also too easy to overreact to insults and imagined slights.

But with Jupiter in Libra and the north node in humble, pragmatic Virgo, that kind of behaviour is absolutely not going to do you any favors. Blessed are the peacemakers under this sky - the coalition-builders, the patient workers for equality and constructive change, the upholders of public decency and civility.

Peacemaking is easier said than done - there's a lot of provocative idiocy and outright delusion flying around right now. But you're sure not going to get anywhere by yelling about it. Jupiter in Libra is not a fan of crudeness, rudeness or people who make scenes - so please try to take the high road.

Michelle Obama's "when they go low, we go high" is actually a really good slogan for this full moon, and her recent speech on sexual harassment represents a productive use of shock and rage, in the interests of justice and deep, progressive social change. That's the sort of balancing act that's called for here, though knee-jerk rage is the simpler option.

New Moon in Libra

This is on the 1st October, 1:11 am GMT.

This is our first new moon with Jupiter in Libra - a sign he'll be moving through for the next year. And it just happens to be a new moon in Libra, conjunct Jupiter. So clearly, this is Jupiter in Libra's big inauguration party. The month ahead will bring the themes of this transit into focus.

Jupiter is about luck, expansion, opportunity. And Libra has to do with relationship, beauty, harmony; enacting and maintaining a balance between self and other. Also fairness and justice.

So with Jupiter in Libra, Libran themes are emphasised. Luck this year is on the side of manners, diplomacy, balance, fairness and peace-making. Working with others instead of shooting off on your own, being able to see all sides of a situation and to find compromise.

Libra is also about romance, and that's a big emphasis at this new moon: solid, lovely new beginnings in relationships. We are definitely not talking flings - this is a very deep and serious vibe. Big love!

I say this because the dispositor of the new moon is Libra's ruler, Venus... and Venus is currently in Scorpio, a sign of emotional extremes and psychological depth. So the new beginnings here are very intense and all-or-nothing - there is no room for wishy-washiness or frivolity. What cannot go the distance will fall away.

Venus also trines Neptune in Pisces and sextiles Pluto in Capricorn. This is dreamily romantic but also very solid and grounded and deep. It's a beautiful combination.

But there are hints of conflict implicit in the promise of this new moon. Pluto and Mars in Capricorn are squaring Jupiter and the sun and moon - and this is pretty fighty. A lot of potential for crappy power plays and hotheadedness here.

And keep in mind: we are dealing with cardinal signs, which are about initiating things. So it looks like a big conflict is at its inception here. I think it'll come to a head at the full moon on the 16th October, which looks violent and difficult.

So lovely as the new moon is, the month ahead is not going to be stress-free. Sometimes peace and harmony require conflict - and conflict appears to be what's coming. The danger at the full moon is of conflict escalating out-of-hand.

But I guess we'll burn that bridge when we get to it...

(see here)

It's fitting that Jupiter's inauguration party at this new moon in Libra should be so big and lovely, but also so full of the potential for violence. Jupiter's transit of Libra is going to be marked by the same themes, as he gets himself tangled up with the lingering Uranus-Pluto square later this year. There will be no more exact squares between Uranus (revolution) and Pluto (destruction), but these planets are still in aspect, and Jupiter's transit of Libra is going to magnify the potential for violence and destruction implicit in their interaction.

But with Jupiter in Libra, please remember peacemaking and diplomacy are favoured. There is really no such thing as going it alone - we all have to interact with others and try to respect divergent view-points. Civility is favoured, whether or not you agree with someone's ideology.

And the north node is still in Virgo, meaning the way forward is still about humility and quiet, patient, systematic work...and pragmatism. Grounding yourself in everyday reality instead of escapism, delusion and emotionally-driven fantasy.

Full Moon Eclipse in Pisces

This is tonight, Friday the 16th September at 8 pm GMT.

It's a penumbral (partial) lunar eclipse in the final sign of the zodiac: Pisces, which is concerned with the dissolution of form and of ego. Also sacrifice, faith, magic, art, drugs, delusion - whatever dissolves the boundaries between this world and the Otherworld, or between the self and the larger cosmos.

Full moons symbolise culminations or endings, and Pisces is the final sign of the zodiac. And eclipses are supercharged. So the symbolism here is definitely of an ending.

Potentially a painful one: a Pisces moon is sensitive, idealistic and emotionally porous, and for the eclipse she will be conjunct Chiron. Chiron signifies a wound that will not heal, but can become a source of knowledge. In Pisces, the wound can be to our faith in life; our sense of a transcendent, guiding purpose. Or to our ideals, illusions and romantic fantasies.

So basically we are looking at a very thin-skinned, vulnerable emotional tone. This is aggravated by a square to Mars in Sagittarius, which can be a bombastic, aggressive, impulsive influence – like someone who insists on pushing their agenda without any sense of tact or emotional subtlety.

Extreme emotional sensitivity vs. tactless aggression - someone is likely to get hurt here.

--But there is also the potential to transcend your sense of injury by focusing on the larger picture, having faith in the grand design, serving others. Some kind of sacrifice might be called for - of ego, maybe.

The moon opposes the sun and retrograde Mercury in matter-of-fact Virgo, and Mars squares them. The Virgo stuff, especially with Mercury retrograde, is about caution, humility, getting your facts straight, thinking and rethinking before you open your mouth. A focus on the small, mundane, practical details; also a need to serve others.

With the north node in Virgo (and tied into this eclipse) - this is the way through. I've been harping on about this for months, but it bears repeating: do not let a mood of hopelessness or despair get the better of you. Keep attending to the small, practical stuff. One foot in front of the other, one mundane task after another – keep your mind on the little daily tasks at hand and don't look too far ahead, because the road ahead is unclear at present.

We had the final pass of the Saturn-Neptune square on the 10th September, and it's still very tight – so basically the future is all up in the air. Worrying about it and allowing yourself to get depressed is counterproductive. So is indulging the longing to escape your present circumstances – and that includes drowning your sorrows or succumbing to your addictions. You have to keep dealing with what's in front of you in a systematic, practical, organized manner, because there is really no other way out. “The best way out is always through” - per Frost.

The poem that quote is taken from illustrates the mood of this full moon pretty well...it's about a woman going crazy (moon in Pisces) under the weight of her domestic duties (Virgo), and telling a traveler (Mars in Sagittarius) her story.

The poem is ambivalent as to her fate – but this sky is not so ambivalent. Virgo is definitely the way through, so keep doing what has to be done. Despite broken illusions, hopelessness, dreams of escape, despairing moods and the sense of the ultimate futility of existence – just keep doing your Virgo.

It is likely that the issues we are dealing with under this full moon have to do with relationships. Jupiter (as of the 9th September) is in Libra, sign of marriage and close partnership. And Venus in Libra has been tangled up with Pluto and Uranus – gods of transformation and shock - this past week, sparking off big, abrupt shifts in relationships. Venus squared Pluto on the 11th September and she opposes Uranus, planet of revolution and disruption, for this eclipse...the exact opposition is on the 18th September.

With Venus opposite Uranus, the relational shifts we're looking at may be abrupt endings – but this can also be about radically transforming the way you relate, giving people the space they need to be themselves, detaching from drama and shitty old power dynamics, examining and transforming your patterns and your unconscious control issues re. relationships...

So it doesn't have to be about endings! But if you are facing the end of something, please keep in mind that every ending is also a new beginning. Mars is beneficially aspecting Uranus, and this is about freedom, personal authenticity and new vistas opening up. As Jupiter (travel, luck, expansion) is now in Libra, these new vistas are likely to be about relationships.

(Urgh, sorry. SO cheesy. But it fits.)

I think things will be easing up and feeling more dynamic in the weeks ahead. We will be past the intensity of eclipse season. Then our nerve-frazzling Mercury retrograde ends on the 22nd September, a few hours before the autumn equinox.

At the equinox, the sun moves into Libra – and this year the sun will be conjunct Jupiter in Libra. This is a big, happy, creative influence, especially re. relationships. Maybe a little over the top, but exuberant and hopeful!

The next day, Venus changes signs – from Libra to all-or-nothing Scorpio. Venus in Scorpio has her issues (drama, power games, obsession, jealousy, betrayal), but in this case she's well-aspected. So I would read this as being about great intensity and depth in relationships: true love. To the death.

Then Pluto resumes direct motion on the 25th September, in beneficial aspect to Mercury and the north node in Virgo – practical restructuring is underway! Earth-shifting life changes become workable.

We have a new moon in Libra the 1st October – the sun, moon, Jupiter will be conjunct in the sign of relationship, marriage, harmony, balance and justice. This opens a new chapter where Libra matters are concerned – or a whole new book altogether. I think it looks like a really solid new start.

It's all pretty exciting. So if you feel low at this full moon, don't fret, and try not to act out. Have faith. It's just a mood; better days are ahead.

New Moon Solar Eclipse in Virgo

This is tomorrow morning, the 1st September, at about 10 am GMT.

We have a lot going on in the sky this month, ushered in by this harsh and intense solar eclipse in Virgo. I think September will ask a lot of us. It looks stressful, weird, anxious, head-melting. Things are in flux in a big way. People with a lot of planets in the mutable signs (Pisces, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius) will be especially hard hit.

The good thing is, there is a very clear and defined way through, and it is built into the chart of this new moon: keep doing your Virgo. Keep doing the jobs that need doing, quietly and humbly. Keep fine-tuning your routines, keep adapting to change in a simple, straightforward, constructive way. If you're having an existential crisis, do the dishes or mop the floor or walk the dog. There is always something (or someone) that needs taking care of.

Keep your focus on the humble, the everyday, the functional...even (or especially) in the midst of chaos and uncertainty about the future. If you try to think too far ahead these days, or on too large a scale, you're liable to get depressed or overwhelmed – or to be flat-out deluding yourself. So just attend to the boring, everyday, small stuff as it comes up, however fucking irritating it may be. Boring and mundane is the way to go here.

Also, we are dealing with a lot of mutable energy here – so adaptability and flexibility are important. If you hit roadblocks, delays and annoyances this month (which you will!), try to accept them with humility and grace. Find a way around them; be willing to alter your plans. And have some faith that the fog will dissipate sometime, and the road ahead will become clearer.

The other thing I'd say is – try to have a sense of perspective (Saturn in Sagittarius) about your anxieties (Virgo). I know that people are facing difficulties at this time – but there are problems and PROBLEMS. If you are not fleeing a war zone right now or holding onto your kids in an overcrowded dingy in the Mediterranean, you're relatively lucky.

Remember your situation is probably workable no matter how hard it feels. It's important to try to find a way to work with it, because running away from difficulties or trying to ignore them is not going to go so well under this sky. Throwing up your hands in despair and giving up is also not really an option. I mean, you could do that, but it will only lead you into worse trouble. You have got to deal with the choices you've made and the messes that need clearing up.

This new moon eclipse opposes Neptune and the south node in Pisces, so escapism will pull at us. (Beware drink, drugs and romantic delusion.) It also squares the Saturn-Mars conjunction in Sagittarius, meaning we'll likely be feeling like miserable, frustrated, angry shit on a stick.

Keeping the focus practical and reality-based under this kind of moody cosmic weather will be hard, but very beneficial.

Big stuff this month:

We have a Mercury retrograde through Virgo that started yesterday (August 30th) and will go on till the 22nd September. Expect the usual Mercury retrograde stuff: jangled nerves, jumbled-up communication, information overload, glitches in devices and travel plans. Plus brain fog, anxiety and distraction courtesy of the Saturn-Neptune square. Fun stuff!

We have Jupiter ending his yearlong residency in Virgo on the 9th of September, and entering Libra. This is a big shift, and it actually looks like a nice one. Jupiter in Libra will be about balance, justice and harmony, especially in close relationships.

This new moon is Jupiter in Virgo's last big party – and he exits the sign conjunct Venus and Mercury, which is great for cleaning up your relationship messes via precise, effective communication before he enters Libra. If you've been doing your Virgo work, you'll benefit from this.

The next day, we'll have the third and final Saturn-Neptune square, exact on the 10th of September. This is a reality (Saturn) dissolving (Neptune) influence – potentially very disillusioning and disorienting. It looks like it could involve some relationship nastiness and power plays – Venus squares Pluto the next day. So be warned.

Saturn square Neptune is really the event of the month - the aspect that colors everything. Truth, clarity, rules and limits (Saturn) vs. bullshit, dreams, addiction and escapism (Neptune) - and I've already told you ad nauseam which side of the equation you want to be on, with the north node in reality-based Virgo.

Then we have a full moon eclipse in Pisces on the 16th September, and it looks fairly emotionally wounding. Painful stuff. I'll get to that closer to the time.

Finally, we have Pluto stationing direct in Capricorn on the 25th September. This looks OK! It's about deep structural change though, which is never exactly comfortable.

The upshot is, we don't come out of September the same as we went in. This month, is a scene-changer, and maybe you'll find yourself in a different play altogether by the end of it.

Keep in mind, plenty of people are not going to be in their right minds this month. Maybe cut them some slack unless they're going around shooting people. And if it's you that's going crazy - focus on the practical, and please get some kind of help if things are really bad. Your issues are workable, and they're not unique to you - other people can help! But it'll be easy to lose sight of that fact.