Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Venus Enters Libra September 1

Venus moves into a sign that she rules, Libra, on September 1. Venus rules art, love, beauty, and relationships. This planet's energy encourages devotion, diplomacy, and acceptance of the other. The idealistic nature of Libra, by virtue of its quality as an air sign, is a fertile ground for the propagation of peace, love, and harmony. Libra is associated with balance, which to me can signify especially the balance between the self and the other. It is when we honor and accept both ourselves and others that true harmony and balance can exist. The lessons of Venus could be a powerful remedy in the many diplomatic efforts that are hopefully being made at this time, when the rumors of war are many. Because of a Venus retrograde cycle that will occur in October and November, Venus will hold court in her sign of beauty and relationship through the remaining months of 2002. This bodes very well for anyone in whose life relationship is important, from individuals, to businesses, to nations. That includes almost everyone, so anyone would be well advised to attempt to channel this energy into their own lives. Venus can be honored through devotion to a harmonious relationship, through entertaining and sharing with friends, through indulgence in the creativity and enjoyment of art, music, and dance, and through any action that beautifies our bodies or environment. If anyone is in the mood to redecorate their home or to revamp their wardrobe, this fall would be an excellent time to do that. Establishment of new ideas or approaches to the way we are involved in relationships would also be an excellent endeavor for this upcoming season.

Mercury Retrograde in Virgo September 15 - October 6

Mercury is in Virgo, the earth sign that he rules, throughout September and October. Mercury does not only rule Virgo, but is also exalted here. This is the only sign/planet combination that has this occurrence. So, needless to say, Mercury's mutability, flexibility, skill in communication and exchange, and general mercurial nature is readily expressed while in Virgo. To fully drive the point home, Mercury will be performing his most well known stunt this month, going into retrograde motion. As I have said before, the planets when going retrograde aren't really stopping their orbits and changing directions. The planets move in retrograde only apparently to us, observing here from earth. When planets are retrograde, they actually are closer to the Earth, so their effects are often felt in a stronger way. Each planet has its own style while retrograde, and Mercury's is certainly notable, and often unforgettable. This retrograde cycle will begin on September 16, and will end on October 7. I have found that the effects of Mercury retrograde can be felt for a short time both before and after the cycle. Truly, ever since Mercury entered Virgo on August 23, I have personally been experiencing extremely strange phone behavior, as well as other communication and exchange phenomena that I usually associate with Mercury retrograde. As our culture is so reliant on Mercury ruled devices such as phones and computers, it is often obvious to even the astrologically skeptical that something is going on "up there." While it is always a possibility for communication breakdowns, mishaps and unexplainable glitches to occur while Mercury is retrograde, my experience has been that when Mercury is retrograde in Virgo, these glitches are slightly less catastrophic. Virgo is an earth sign that is also of the mutable quality of Mercury. Virgo energy can signify healing, medicines, organization, practicality, and ability in work done with the hands. Mercury as the Messenger can also play a role in diplomacy, in conveying important information and bringing the right people together to form connections. Hopefully, Virgos abundant energy, practicality, and skill in communication will be utilized by those who are in the position to make important decisions that may affect the entire world in the upcoming weeks and months.

To begin with, Mercury likes to move: he travels most quickly of all the planets around the Sun, taking about 88 days to make the circuit. Compared to the other planets, he moves quickly through the zodiac and across our birth charts. Mercury rules an air sign (Gemini) and an earth sign (Virgo), both of which are of mutable nature. As a swiftly traveling planet, Mercury represents qualities that are spawned from such behavior: communication ability, adaptability, practical application of quickly assimilated information, seeing both sides (or all sides) of an issue, and flexibility. Mercury's airy qualities are easily detected in the archetype of Gemini, the realm of quick communication and exchange of ideas and information. But of more interest presently is the underlying quality of Virgo, Mercury's earth sign, the sign in which this current retrograde cycle is occurring.

Like Gemini, Virgo is associated with a strong intellect, good communication skills, and nervous sensitivity. Being an earth sign, Virgo is the realm of the practical manifestation of ideas that Mercury so easily assimilates. Virgo is associated with health and healing, and rules medicine. The earth influence encourages Mercury to apply his information in a physical way, and Virgo has the reputation for producing skilled and accurate craftspeople. People with much Virgo influence often seem practical and capable in various arenas, and may have the tendency to move and shape (with athletics, yoga, etc.) their bodies as a form of preventative health care.

Mercury's retrograde cycle occurs approximately three times per Earth year. Each year Mercury's three shots at coming closer to the Earth will occur in signs of the same element. For example, this is the third Mercury retrograde cycle of 2002, the first of which was in Capricorn in February and the second of which was in Taurus in May/June. Therefore, 2002 has been marked by Mercury retrograde in earth signs. The earth element represents our material resources, which in modern times is largely symbolized as money and the financial realm. In many ways, we have seen the transformation of our approach to resources this year. With the stock market in such a tentative state currently, perhaps Mercury's purpose has been to reveal to us Earthlings the illusion of financial security. The collapse of the Twin Towers (Gemini), aka the World Trade Center (earthly finances), was somewhat of a harbinger of this shift in our perception of what words like money, finances, and power actually mean.

This type of transformation is not revolutionary. If you do the math, you will find that Mercury makes a retrograde tour of the earth signs every four years. Perhaps Mercury has been around so many times that he realizes that humans so quickly forget that it's well worth it to remind us often. This Mercury retrograde in Virgo is the third show in a sequel that should allow us to find a new approach to the material realm. The intense and transformational quality of Mercury retrograde in his own sign of Virgo has amazing potential to allow us to find a new fit. Perhaps that is why the people I encounter are so busy presently; we are all fired up about organizing our lives around a new approach to supporting ourselves physically. For some this could be an attitude change, for others a new commitment to taking their health into their own hands, for others a new job or other avenue of service. I've seen many people letting go of "stuff" this year on many levels, combing through the objects and attitudes with which they surround themselves and carefully choosing what gets to stay.

Sun Enters Libra September 18

Jupiter remains in his sign of exaltation, Cancer, and within the lunar mansion of Pushya, which is ruled by Saturn. This position reflects well Jupiter's ability to provide intuitive wisdom, good fortune, right speech, and psychic purity. Pushya is especially good for beginning new ventures that require hard work and discipline, such as starting a business. Jupiter's position here bodes well for those who seek a spiritual understanding of life. The three planets I've spoken of already could serve to elevate the consciousness of the world in the next few months if harnessed diligently.

Now, with all of these benefic planets in such strong positions, one may come to the conclusion that it could be possible to make world peace this fall. Rarely, though, is any period of time that harmonious, and the positions of Mars and the Sun could play a part in challenging the potential for peace, understanding, and harmony represented by the positions of Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury. The Sun is in its own sign, Leo, for the first half of September. The Sun represents the monarch, the proverbial father, authority, and government. In our birth charts, it can show the condition of our father and also the true nature of our soul. While the Sun is in Leo, we can truly feel its power and majesty, especially here in the northern hemisphere, where we experience the Sun in Leo at the end of our summer. Mars, another fiery planet of power and courage, joins the Sun in Leo and remains in Leo until October 5. Mars and the Sun are friends, and the image I get with this combination is of a powerful ruler holding court with the full power of his army at his behest. As we come upon the anniversary of the tragedy of 9-11-01, we see Mars in a position in which he throws an aspect, or influence, on Ketu, the south node of the Moon. Mars and Ketu have had somewhat of a play in the past year's history, by virtue of their fiery and explosive conjunction in the sign of Sagittarius during the period surrounding 9-11. It doesn't take a genius to realize that most of the struggles that are presently at work in our modern world center around the power gained by controlling the flow of oil. It is my feeling that oil is represented within Mars' and Pluto's planetary energy, The internal nature of Ketu also reflects the fact that our oil comes from the inside of the earth. So, Mars' position in Leo could be triggering some volatile and aggressive energy. From Leo, Mars aspects Ketu, which is posited in Mars' sign of Scorpio, which I also associate with oil, and with anything powerful that lies beneath the surface. Unfortunately, Mars, the military planet, conjoined with the Sun in a fiery sign could have the gumption to start a fight. It will be interesting to see how Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury will influence the diplomatic process. Like the Sun with the power of Mars behind it, Dubya may become a bit too confident and continue to ignore the opinions concerning the gravity of attacking Iraq that are seemingly being expressed by everyone on the entire planet besides him. The danger of the Sun/Mars power combo in this position seems especially high during the new Moon on September 7, 2002. In a chart cast for the moment of the new Moon in Baghdad, the Sun, Moon, Mars, and the Ascendant are all placed in Leo. This puts Jupiter in the twelfth house of loss and expiration, weakening his usually good influence. The Moon when new is also weakened, and we often see the power of the proud father (Sun) taking precedence over the nurturance and connectivity of the mother (Moon.) In addition, the Moon is the Lord of Jupiter for his entire transit through the sign of Cancer, and with the Moon in a weakened state, her tenant, Jupiter has less chance to extend his good will. On a personal level, be aware of decisions made and projects begun during this new Moon. The tendency toward self-centeredness could be strong, and we would be well advised to gather the advice and opinions of others to avoid mishaps and regrets.

Full Moon in Pisces September 21

By the full Moon on September 21, the ball could be back in the court of our corps of diplomats. The Sun will have entered Virgo, joining Mercury in his own sign, and giving Mercury influence over the Sun. This is a good thing in this case. Also, the full Moon occurs in Jupiter's sign of Pisces, putting the strong-while-full Moon in an exchange of signs with Jupiter. This kind of relationship creates some strength and ability, much like a net stretched out between two people. If we can keep our guns in our holsters until the middle of the month, we may have a chance at making some peace and opening the channels of communication between world powers. As we all watch on, wondering what the powers that be are going to pull next, we have the opportunity to make changes in our personal lives, and to transform the energy and power that we all have into tools of conscious living. Thanks for tuning in, and best wishes to all this month. Peace.