Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Venus Resumes Direct Motion September 5
New Moon in Leo September 13
Mars Enters Leo September 15
Sun Transits Virgo September 17 – October 17
Mercury Retrograde in Virgo September 17 – October 9
Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipse in Pisces September 27
Venus Transits Leo September 30 – November 2

Venus Resumes Direct Motion September 5

On Friday, September 5, Venus resumes direct motion at 21° Cancer. Venus' retrograde cycle has transformed her relationship with the Sun from rising after the Sun to rising before the Sun, taking on the role of "morning star."

Venus is an energetic planet that compels us toward enjoyment of life through relationship, creation and entertainment. Through Venus we seek comfort and pleasure, the juice of life that can come through many different channels. This desire to connect with the enjoyable facets of life can be dazzling to the extent that we may renounce other responsibilities, whether to self or others, in the pursuit of feeling good.

We talk so often of Mercury's retrograde cycle, but what are we going through with Venus' retreat? Something that Mercury and Venus share is association with rajas guna, the quality of movement and action. Both Venus and Mercury want to move and act; with retrograde motion of planets, this can make the energy of the planet even stronger, so during these retrograde periods, our desire to move, connect, act and do may rise. Indulging this desire may not always be the most productive thing, but it may be the thing that needs to happen to move things along.

With Venus' status as ruling relationships between people, this retrograde cycle that began in Leo and ends in Cancer may have brought us on the "re" journey with relationships in general: revise, re-establish, review, reject, rewind, retreat.

This new story of Venus will strongly include Mars. During the last week in August, Venus retrogrades into an exact conjunction with Mars. After resuming direct motion on September 5, Venus will travel in tandem with Mars, within 10º of one another through November 24. Venus overtakes Mars in early November, widening the gap by early December and ending the close conjunction that goes on for about three months.

The conjunction of Venus and Mars for an extended period, especially after this retrograde cycle of Venus, could signal some intense desire and action that flourishes in the realm of relationship in the coming months. Before wondering if it will be good or bad, realize that it depends on the individual charts involved and that also Venus and Mars will travel together through three signs: Cancer, Leo and Virgo. This will be a journey involving movement and building. In Leo, the pair will be influenced by Jupiter and in Virgo, by Rahu. Life is never dull!

At any rate, by the beginning of September, early risers should be able to see strong, steady Mars and sparkling, shiny Venus in the eastern sky before sunrise.

New Moon in Leo September 13

Just after midnight on September 13, the Moon conjoins the Sun at 27° Leo, ruled by the Sun himself and in the lunar mansion Purvaphalguni, ruled by the planet Venus.

Leo and the planets in it are supported on one side by the Venus/Mars conjunction in Cancer and on the other by Mercury/Rahu in Virgo. Rahu will be only 11 degrees away from the Sun/Moon combination, close enough to cause a partial solar eclipse.

This hemming in of the new Moon by both benefic (Venus and Mercury) and malefic (Mars and Rahu) planets indicates mixed results with actions initiated during this new Moon. What we create during this time may be inspired by the desire for connection and exchange with others (Venus and Mercury's influence) but could also be affected by conscious or unconscious needs for control that cause manipulative tactics (Mars and Rahu.) The eclipse energy could make it particularly difficult to be aware of how our unconscious fears or desires may be affecting our actions.

Aside from these influences from planets flanking Leo, there is also the planetary aspect of Saturn from Scorpio that continues to hit Leo. This can bring obstacles, difficulty, sorrow or obstruction but also practicality and detachment. Balancing this is the expansive presence of Jupiter with the Sun and Moon in Leo, showing how we can learn and grow from any situation.

Mars Enters Leo September 15

After encountering retrograde Venus on August 31, Mars continues to press forward out of the sign of Cancer, where he is debilitated, and into Leo, a friendly and supportive sign. Mars breaks into Cancer on September 15 and moves through Jupiter-occupied Leo through November 2, 2015.

Mars and Jupiter are friendly planets in a friendly sign, so we may feel this combination fuels the growth of projects for the six week period between mid-September and the beginning of November. The pure nature of Jupiter combining with the strength and drive of Mars can propel us in a positive direction.

Mars from Leo will create a mutual planetary aspect with Saturn currently occupying Scorpio. Mars can aspect four signs from himself while Saturn can aspect 10 signs from himself, putting these two planets into an aspect relationship as long as Mars is in Leo. This could create tension between the planet of drive (Mars) and the planet of stability (Saturn.) Tension can be quite a useful state if used in the proper applications. How many situations arise in life where both courage (Mars) and patience (Saturn) are required?

Saturn is currently connected to both Mars and Ketu by his transit through Scorpio, which is co-lorded by Mars and Ketu. From Leo, Mars will be aspecting Saturn's sign Aquarius and also Pisces, currently occupied by Ketu. This brings Mars' intense focus toward Saturn and his position in Scorpio. All three planets involved in this situation, Mars, Ketu and Saturn, are considered to be challenging planets that generally deliver situations that require strength, detachment, fortitude and surrender.

We may be facing some situations during this Mars transit that could be steeped in challenge that is required for us to grow beyond our current borders.

Sun Transits Virgo September 17 – October 17

The middle of September is shaping up to be pivotal: New Moon Partial Eclipse on September 13, Mars changing signs September 15, Sun moves to Virgo on September 17, followed quickly by the initiation of Mercury retrograde on the same day.

Just after midnight on September 17, the Sun exits Leo and enters Virgo, joining Rahu and Mercury. As always, the Sun spends about one month in each sign, exiting Virgo for Libra on October 17. The Sun joins the north node, the head of the dragon, Rahu, this year while in Virgo, bringing us an eclipse pair with the new Moon of September 13 and the full Moon of September 27. The Sun's transit through a sign occupied by one of the nodes, Rahu or Ketu, signals an eclipse pair (one at new Moon, one at full Moon), which happens twice per year.

The Sun joins Mercury in Virgo, who is strongly positioned there. It is said that Mercury's conjunction with other planets causes Mercury to join the cause of that planet, as Mercury's energy is flexible and changeable.

Virgo is the sign of the harvest; the Sun will certainly contribute to that job while in Virgo and it is likely that Mercury will appreciate the powerful Sun's help "bringing in the crops." This could also be a good period of time to work on presentations or creative projects requiring word craft and communication: screenplays, musical recordings, lesson plans, etc.

Mercury Retrograde in Virgo September 17 – October 9

Mercury entered Virgo on August 22, joining a strongly positioned Rahu. Mercury passes through the degree occupied by Rahu during the last few days of August and moves quickly forward until he stops and assumes reverse motion on September 17 at 22° Virgo.

Mercury's retreat through his own sign of Virgo brings him to within one degree of another encounter with Rahu. Mercury will resume direct motion at 7º Virgo while Rahu continues in retrograde motion from 6º Virgo. It is perhaps a blessing that easily-influenced Mercury will encounter Rahu exactly only once.

Mercury is the ruler of Virgo and enjoys enhanced abilities while transiting there. Retrograde motion of Mercury can cause very strong expression, maybe too much of Mercury's qualities, which can include easy exchange, quickness, flexibility and movement. This can be cause for system overload, too much information, crossed lines of communication, haste making waste and unstable thought processes.

Even though the exact encounter with Rahu happens only once for Mercury gone retrograde, before the retrograde cycle even begins, Rahu's presence in Virgo may still be quite influential on Mercury. Rahu's presence can be cloudy, smoky, obscuring and confusing.

This is a clue that one thing we can do is to keep our actions slow and deliberate during this time, while trying to keep our heads above the smoke in the room. Perhaps the image of the giraffe may be good to keep with us during the time that Mercury occupies Virgo. We may be slightly afflicted by having to analyze dirty data. Work hard to regain perspective if you find yourself in a situation where it is difficult to discern what is true. Do not be pushed forward by a sense of urgency that has no basis in reality.

Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipse in Pisces September 27

Depending where you are on the planet, the moment of the full Moon and exact time of the total lunar eclipse could be either on September 27 or 28. In US Mountain time zone, the eclipse of the full Moon happens after sunset on September 27, around 8:00 pm, as the Moon rises in the east.

The Sun will be at 11° Virgo, just four degrees from Rahu, while Moon will be at 11° Pisces. The Rahu-Ketu axis will be at 7° Virgo-Pisces for this total lunar eclipse visible for many parts of the world.

It is generally not recommended to do important actions during an eclipse; in this case, the Moon (mind, manas) is being eclipsed by Ketu, the headless one. Perhaps not the best time to require precision in thought! This could be a good time to withdraw from intense or important actions in favor of rest, relaxation or meditative practices.

The eclipse pair of September combined with the Mercury retrograde cycle spanning mid-September to October 9 could point toward the best approach to September coming with patience and steadiness in the face of instability or lack of information. Less is more, this month.

Venus Transits Leo September 30 – November 2

As September closes, Venus steps into Leo, joining Mars and Jupiter. Venus continues to gain ground on Mars and the two will keep tight step together, moving together into Virgo on November 2, as they exactly conjunct. Together, this trio should be quite brilliant in the eastern sky before sunrise. More on the powerful conjunction of Mars, Venus and Jupiter in Leo in the October 2015 forecast...