Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Venus Transits Virgo September 9 – October 3
Mercury Transits Virgo September 10 - 29
Full Moon in Aquarius/Purvabhadra on September 13
Sun Transits Virgo September 17 – October 17
Saturn Resumes Direct Motion September 18
Mars Transits Virgo September 24 – November 10
New Moon in Hasta/Virgo September 28
Mercury Transits Libra September 29 – October 24

Venus Transits Virgo September 9 – October 3

Venus has been working behind the scenes for many months. As a planet that prefers appearing in the night sky, this means Venus has been seen only in the morning and disappears into the day sky after sunrise. After the superior solar conjunction in Leo in mid-August, Venus is pulling ahead of the Sun in the zodiac, which means Venus will now rise and set after the Sun, giving us a dusk appearance starting in October.

July, August and September are months in which we are not seeing Venus appear due to proximity with the Sun, as Venus approached and overtook the Sun in the zodiac due to her slightly more rapid movement through the signs. This began with Venus joining Sun in Gemini, involving herself in the eclipse energy as Rahu is also currently occupying Gemini. Venus continued through Cancer and Leo in proximity with the Sun, Mars and Mercury and extends this trend into Virgo.

Venus is debilitated in the sign of Virgo, where she will transit under increasingly crowded conditions from September 9 – October 3. Generally crowding is difficult to interpret astrologically, as the planets are all vying for power of action and expression. In this case, the crowding goes in the favor of Venus, a planet that enjoys social situations and diplomacy anyway.

Debilitation should not be seen as a purely negative connotation in interpreting planets in charts or predicting how they will affect us in transits. When there is any kind of weakness or lack in our lives, we have an opportunity to bolster and feature that part of ourselves. Debilitation is a call to action, an invitation for improvement. There is also the concept of "neechabhanga," the reversal of debilitation. This does not make the debilitation go away, but instead uses that debilitation as a springboard for growth.

Mercury is the lord of Virgo who is also exalted there and is the forever friend of Venus, who happens to be debilitated in Virgo. Mercury will follow Venus into Virgo on September 10, and as an exalted friend of Venus, may be able to help transform Venus' debilitation into a strong rally for vitality, social justice and diplomatic relations during this month.

Mercury Transits Virgo September 10 - 29

Mercury follows Venus into his own sign of exaltation, Virgo, on September 10 and immediately rushes into an exact conjunction with Venus on September 11, which puts these two friendly planets into a state of "planetary war" which occurs when two planets are vying for space within a degree of one another. Without dwelling in the variations of the rules of planetary war, we can know that this close conjunction will last from September 11 – 15 as Mercury overtakes Venus and moves ahead in the zodiac.

Being friends and having similar goals, any kind of fighting between Mercury and Venus may end up like this short cartoon.

For the last two weeks in September, the synergy and energy created by having exalted Mercury propel debilitated Venus may be quite noticeable. With Saturn's 10th aspect coming to Virgo from Sagittarius, this could be a productive time if we use the discipline of Saturn to focus our efforts on getting a realistic series of tasks done on a daily basis.

The energetic companionship of Venus and Mercury working in tandem will continue as both planets move into Venus' own sign of Libra, which will be a theme of the October 2019 planetary forecast.

Full Moon in Aquarius/Purvabhadra on September 13

On September 1, we see Moon waxing in the sign of Virgo after the new Moon of August 30. The Moon passing through the signs of Cancer – Scorpio will put us into the state of partial Kala Amrita Yoga for short periods of time in the coming months until Venus passes by the nodal axis.

We will experience these periods from August 27 – September 7 and September 24 – October 4. This particular planetary configuration can promote both intentional and incidental actions that work to push us toward the channels that we are to travel in the upcoming days. Watch out for connections and opportunities that are strangely appropriate, magical, fated but require us walking on unstable ground or giving up obvious lines of protection or security.

As the Moon waxes past the nodal axis, we may become more clear and able to analyze the events that may have transpired since the end of August when we experience the light of the full Moon at 27° Aquarius late in the evening of Friday, September 13.

This is also a good time to remember that through January 2020, we have both Saturn and Rahu aspecting their co-ruled sign, Aquarius. Since mental and emotional energy can be voluminous around full Moons, we must consider the effects that Rahu and Saturn can add on, which would be pressure/practicality from Saturn's side and paranoia/innovation from Rahu's. This could be an amazing time to either lose your mind or come up with a fantastic invention. Be careful in there!

The nice energy of Purvabhadra comes through with the rulership of Jupiter, which we can draw upon to keep up on the path and guide us with wisdom and positivity. With the Sun and Mars in Leo strongly opposing the Moon at this time, this also gives us a good anchor to the truth about what it is that we really want on an individual level.

This full Moon brings all four members of the Sun group into play: Sun, Moon, Mars and Jupiter. These four tend to help us build, plan, grow and expand. This full Moon should help to reveal the people, places and things that are in place to help us toward those ends, while also exposing that which is threatening our growth so that it can be recycled, discarded or transformed.

Sun Transits Virgo September 17 – October 17

The mighty Sun of course prevails in all signs of the zodiac, but moving from his throne room of Leo into Mercury's workshop of Virgo always shifts the mood somewhat. While the Sun is in Leo, we can focus easily on what it takes to make ourselves happy at the heart and soul level. Especially this year, with Mars in step with the Sun, it was easy to recognize what type of fuel we need to get our engines running.

When the Sun moves into Virgo, we go from recognizing our needs to taking the steps required to actually move toward a state of contentment after some moments of self-awareness and realization. Virgo is the sign of health, where we can analyze the factors that are either creating or destroying our physical, emotional and mental vitality. Any factors such as relationships, consumables and activities should be pushed through the Virgo mill, where we can discard the unhealthy and glean the nutrients from the good stuff.

Again, we are having Saturn's aspect upon Virgo at this time, bringing with it the reversal energy of Ketu. That tight conjunction of separative planets is urging all of us toward dispelling illusions that obstruct the truth and purifying the waters on both a literal and figurative level.

With so much energy in Virgo at this time, this could be a good time for doing physical cleanses of the body, living and working spaces, gardens and parks as well as reassessing friendships, health routines and work habits. Bringing natural remedies into the mix could be effective, as Mercury and Venus in Virgo would promote food and herbs as medicine. Simply spending more time in nature could prove to be most effective in creating new habit patterns and cleansing residue.

Saturn Resumes Direct Motion September 18

Saturn began a retrograde cycle on April 29 at 27° Sagittarius, joining already retrograde Ketu near that degree. Since then, we have seen these two weighty planets behind an energy of breaking apart and destroying deep bonds, which has brought forth the opportunity to sweep away the corrupt pieces and cleanse the environment to prepare for new beginnings.

Before sunrise on September 18, Saturn will stop and stand at 20° Sagittarius, from where he will resume direct motion, slowly increasing the space between the planet who applies hard pressure (Saturn) and the south node of the Moon (Ketu), the causer of eclipses and reversals. This has been an intense conjunction that has precipitated some crumbling of structure. When the dust settles, we should be able to start moving forward with new plans, building from the ground up.

Whatever your intuition tells you about where to let go in your life is likely quite valid. If you have been resisting the act of breaking, destroying or dissolving something, it is likely due to Saturn's influence, which can be the source of anxiety or fear when we resist the stark reality that Saturn represents in his movements.

Those who have notable placements in their horoscope between 20-27º Sagittarius have likely been experiencing action in that field since late April, when Saturn and Ketu joined at 27° Sagittarius. They separate at 20° Sagittarius and then Saturn retraces the furrow he has plowed while he advances in forward motion from September 18 through the New Year. Once 2020 turns over, Saturn will be moving through the final three degrees of Sagittarius and into his own sign of Capricorn on January 23, 2020.

While that degree range may be sensitive, we can understand what Saturn has been wanting from us by analyzing back to his initial transit into Sagittarius, late October, 2017. Saturn's excavation through Jupiter's fire sign began at that time and has given us a retrograde cycle each summer, approximately April – September.

Saturn may have caused us to focus intensely whilst transiting in the realm of life that Sagittarius represents in our horoscope. For example, a Libra rising native would be feeling Saturn in the 3rd house and perhaps could be going through a difficult time with siblings, pain in the hands and arms or similar pressure in significations of the 3rd house, like hobbies, physical energy levels, etc.

As Saturn resumes direct motion, we will experience about four months of Saturn completing his final pass through the last ten degrees of Sagittarius. What has been turned up, mowed down and bowled over in the past couple of years may be calling for some very basic, foundational attention, patience and understanding. This will be a good period of time to tack down some important life lessons before moving on to the next set. We may feel like its time to get our ducks in a row, only to find that the ducks have all gone to another lake.

Mars Transits Virgo September 24 – November 10

Mars moves from the Sun's welcoming sign of Leo into Mercury's earth sign, Virgo, on September 24, joining Mercury, Sun and Venus. This will create an intense focus on the signs of Sagittarius and Virgo, as two strong planets will be placed in those signs and mutually aspecting one another. Saturn aspects Virgo (and all planets therein) by his 10th aspect and Mars aspects Sagittarius (and all planets therein) by his 4th aspect. This dynamic will be in place for Mars' entire transit of Virgo, for about six weeks.

With the forward motion of Saturn and Jupiter, we may be feeling ready to move ahead with our plans. Mars in Virgo will have boots on the ground, plans in place, resources ready and the power button turned on. Especially during the time that Mercury is also in Virgo, only a five day stretch from September 24-29, we may feel we are ready for lift off.

While going forward and making things happen is supported by Mars in Virgo, Saturn's aspect on Mars encourages us to take action with deliberation and patience. Don't roll over obstacles without looking at the details around you. There may be foundational issues that need to be addressed that will cause deeper problems down the road if not handled now.

Virgo, ruled by Mercury, is known as the sign of health, plants/gardens/harvest, digestion, medicine and other such things. With Mars' power in place there, it is a good time to re-wire diets, health regimens, schedules and exercise routines. Making changes to daily habits isn't easy; the strength, focus and will power of Mars is helpful in steering us in new directions.

New Moon in Hasta/Virgo September 28

The Moon slides up and aligns with the Sun at 12° Virgo on September 28 for the monthly new Moon moment. This occurs at mid-day, and within the lunar mansion of Hasta, ruled by the Moon itself. The Moon joins four other planets in Virgo, all of which are spread into the three different nakshatras that span Mercury's earth sign.

With all of the stops lifted, we are feeling the momentum of new beginnings, picking ourselves up and thinking about creating a new set of circumstances. This new Moon reminds us of the requirement to stop and rest, to take time for good food, social time, exercise and time in nature. Mercury's exalted status in Virgo, present with this new Moon, reminds us that within us, we all have a source of child-like energy that is able to restart our engines, but it must be fed and replenished, not continually depleted.

Having entered into the partial Kala Amrita Yoga after Moon leaving Gemini on September 24., we may feel a bit like we have our hands tied on a certain front and this new Moon moment may be a good time to quietly assess what is possible or not in the present circumstance.

Mercury Transits Libra September 29 – October 24

Mercury moves out of his crowded sign on September 29, into Libra, making a very short exchange of signs between Venus and Mercury. Venus will follow Mercury into her own sign of Libra on October 4. This short spell between September 29 – October 4 should be a really energetic, inspired period of time. Plan for getting projects off the ground; it will be good for social events and communications.

Not only is Libra a "movable" sign, meaning it promotes beginnings, initiation and action, but also the planets moving into Libra in the near future will be moving out of Saturn's aspect on Virgo and into Libra, Venus' air sign. The only planet pushing an aspect onto Libra at this time is Rahu, whose energy is akin to that of Venus', so should be a positive force in the sense of enthusiasm and energy to assist in getting the word out.

Saturn's aspect tends to put the brakes on the best laid plans of even the most organized people and planets, so the transits of the inner planets through Virgo is slowing things down a bit this year. Even the harvest of the US midwest farmers will be coming late this year due to a late start and heavy precipitation in the spring.

With both Jupiter and Saturn resuming direct motion and the planets moving out of Saturn's gaze, we should be able to roll forward a bit during October, watching the pieces we are leaving behind recede into our rearview mirrors. In December, astrological weather may be heating up once again as Jupiter joins Ketu and Saturn in Sagittarius for a brief time; all three in one sign from November 4, 2019 – January 23, 2020, when Saturn moves into Capricorn.