Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Venus Transits Libra September 5 – October 1
Mars Transits Virgo September 5 – October 21
New Moon in Leo/Purvaphalguni September 6
Retrograde Jupiter Returns to Capricorn September 14
Sun Transits Virgo September 16 – October 16
Full Moon in Pisces/Uttarabhadra September 20
Mercury Transits Virgo August 25 – September 21
Mercury Enters Libra September 21
Mercury Retrograde in Libra-Virgo September 26 – October 18

Venus Transits Libra September 5 – October 1

Venus moved quickly through Virgo, Mercury's earth sign where Venus finds debilitation. This situation was ameliorated once Mercury arrived on scene August 25, helping to protect and encourage Venus' creative flow, which could come in very handy right now in light of the many who are ever suffering of health issues, which is an indication of Virgo.

Virgo also indicates the harvest and storage of food and medicines for use through the winter; the remediation power of Virgo is strong, especially when Venus and Mercury and working together. Late August and through September, Venus and Mercury are on a mission to rejuvenate, remediate, recreate and rehabilitate.

When Venus shifts to her own air sign of Libra on September 5, we may already be on a road to recovery. This quick transit could indicate either new social connections or re-establishment of relationships. While Venus and Mercury in Virgo focus on rejuvenating the body and establishing new health routines, Venus in Libra will bring forward the importance of connection with others, relationships and creative initiative.

Venus' entrance into Libra also reminds us of the aspect Saturn currently gives to Libra, his own sign of exaltation. This influence remains in place through January 2023. Saturn's influence can be felt as pressure, which is great for sculpting if applied with finesse.

The current retrograde status of Saturn could help to revive projects, initiatives or relationships that have been on hold, especially while Venus transits Libra from September 5 – October 1. Allow the winds of change to reveal new routes toward completing abandoned work. This is a good time to breathe new life into established structures.

Mars Transits Virgo September 5 – October 21

On September 5, Mercury, ruler of Virgo is conducting a one-in/one-out operation as Venus moves from Virgo to Libra and Mars moves from Leo to Virgo. Mercury acting as flux between the creative spark (Venus) and the force of strength (Mars) during this time could make our current building projects run a bit more smoothly.

Mars joins Mercury in Virgo and this pair will be interacting quite a bit through mid-November. Mercury and Mars come from different teams, so they don't fall into the category of "friends," but they do make great co-workers, especially in fields like technology, research, agriculture and project management.

Virgo is an earth sign with a dual nature, ruled by energetic Mercury who also becomes exalted while in Virgo. Mercury is the only planet who becomes exalted in a sign that he rules. As the sixth sign of the zodiac, Virgo is a great environment for learning, working hard, establishing health routines, analyzing data and many more practical activities that keep energy and currency flowing.

This could be an amazing stretch of time to plod forward with infrastructure and foundation building. Remember that until mid-October we will still be in "retrograde season." This could create a sense of impatience in Mars and Mercury who may be eager to get things moving, while the greats Jupiter and Saturn put the finishing touches on the strong foundations and robust systems needed to carry forward big plans and projects.

By the time Mars moves to Libra on October 21, Saturn will have resumed direct motion at 13º Capricorn on October 10 and Jupiter will have resumed direct motion at 29º Capricorn on October 18. Additionally, Mars' co-worker Mercury will be doing a retrograde phase from September 26 – October 18, bouncing between Venus in Libra and Mars in Virgo. We may not feel abundantly productive during this time, even though we are working hard. Look for the results as Jupiter and Saturn return to direct motion.

New Moon in Leo/Purvaphalguni September 6

After Venus and Mars shift signs on September 5, the sign of Leo is solely occupied by the luminaries, as the Moon joins the Sun at 21º Leo, in the nakshatra of Purvaphalguni. In the western hemisphere, this new Moon comes around sunset time, as the Sun and Moon join and then sink from view. An array of other planets should be visible in the western sky "above" the Sun+Moon: Mars, Mercury and Venus. Venus will be seen near the bright star, Spica/Chitra.

This may feel like a calm, low-tide moment in time, where pending turn-around has not yet manifested despite a recent flurry of work, movement and changes. The Sun is strong in this equation, swallowing any ability of the Moon to reflect his light but standing as the king in his own sign of Leo.

The strength of the Sun to grant clarity and illumination is what gives Earth both light and life. Jupiter stands in for the Moon and reflects the Sun's positive and wholesome power back as he opposes the Sun from Aquarius. This is a positive aspect on a promising combination. The retrograde status of Jupiter may indicate that we must be patient, faithful and wise while we diligently reach for the higher fruits.

Purvaphalguni nakshatra is ruled by the planet Venus, who will be well-placed in her own sign of Libra, in the nakshatra of Chitra. The Phalgunis are one of the nakshatra pairs that include a "former" and a "latter." "Phal" means fruit, so the implication here is that fruit has been ripening, flowers are going to seed and the harvest is coming.

At this time in the northern hemisphere, we literally experience this time of the Sun transiting the Phalgunis as the major time to harvest fruits and vegetables, which will soon go to seed for the next cycle. Purvaphalguni, the time of the ripe fruit, is ruled by Venus, who certainly knows what to do with the clean, fresh fruits that we harvest around this time.

As the Moon moves forward away from the Sun, waxing through the line of other planets along the way, we may feel some momentum building on one side as Mars, Mercury and Venus are up and away on creative projects, planning and resource gathering. At the same time, the unstable status of Jupiter and the entrenched strength of hesitant Saturn could leave us with some doubts about pushing things too rapidly, for good reason.

Retrograde Jupiter Returns to Capricorn September 14

PS: Sorry to some of my clients! I've been saying September 20...

The great and expansive Jupiter who pushes us into right actions, pursuit of wisdom, balanced judgement and support of children as the future will be changing status frequently in the next seven months. This could signal unexpected or uncomfortable shifts, either internally or externally, that cause reversal in course when it comes to projects that involve growth, education, legal matters and religious conventions.

Here are the important upcoming Jupiter dates:

September 14, 2021 – Retrograde Jupiter rejoins retrograde Saturn in Capricorn
October 18, 2021 – Jupiter resumes direct motion at 29º Capricorn
November 20, 2021 – Direct Jupiter enters Aquarius for 5-month rapid transit
April 13, 2022 – Jupiter enters Pisces for 1 year transit

For now, let's focus on September. The speed of both Jupiter and Saturn at this time is way below average due to the retrograde status. This creates a grinding effect on the particular range of the zodiac where this occurs. For Jupiter at this time, plying slowly through the juncture between Aquarius and Capricorn, he is riding through signs ruled by unfriendly planets, but on another level is also in the nakshatra of Dhanishta, ruled by Mars, who is a friend to Jupiter.

Jupiter lends a positive aspect to Leo and the Sun until September 14, almost up until the time that Sun moves to Virgo. Additionally, Jupiter is aspecting and promoting all of the air signs until mid-September: Aquarius, Gemini and Libra. Jupiter will struggle a bit to fill our space with joy and positivity during the remainder of the retrograde cycle through mid-October. The nature of that struggle could shift a bit as Jupiter moves out of Aquarius on September 14, where at least he alone had the reins.

Saturn's earth sign, Capricorn, is the debilitation sign for Jupiter, showing the symbolic struggle for positive growth while weighed down by practical responsibilities and material limitations. Jupiter will spend just over two months back in this environment, which is strongly occupied by Saturn himself who contracts while Jupiter expands. The tricky part of this pairing, at least through mid-October, is that both of these giants will be moving very slowly, grinding down in retrograde motion. It is hard to predict the direction the upcoming events will encourage due to this retrograde combination of these two impactive outer planets, but some type of retreat may seem like a good idea.

With Jupiter and Saturn again conjoining briefly but loosely, we can think back to events that arose in December 2020, when Saturn and Jupiter made their "Great Conjunction." Great Conjunctions occur about every 20 years; an interesting study when applied to historical events. Since Jupiter will not actually conjoin by degree during this visit with Saturn, that December 2020 conjunction marks the actual moment.

To think of events inspired by this conjunction as moving us into a new 20 year cycle that will certainly manifest as individualized personal experience as well as collective conditions, may help us as we fine tune and adjust to this new, broad view.

After mid-September, with Jupiter joining Saturn in Capricorn, we may have a sense of deflation as we are brought back to the drawing board due to obvious flaws. Let's remember that Rahu is still strongly placed in Taurus, which is creating a constant wind that keeps the detritus from collecting but also kicks up a good amount of dust, making the environments a bit cloudy and unpleasant. It's the unpleasant circumstances that often inspire problem solving.

Sun Transits Virgo September 16 – October 16

The Sun moves out of Leo, his own sign, and into Virgo on September 16, joining Mars and Mercury. This could add a good burst of power to whatever work is being conducted by Mars and Mercury in the upcoming month as Sun transits Mercury's active earth sign.

Virgo and Capricorn are both feeling the amplification energy that Rahu throws out, which could manifest as an oscillation between chaos and moments of innovative genius. The Sun and Mars are great at focus and clarity, so this added fire energy in the workplace could be useful, as long as the chaos doesn't create anxiety or panic that pushes that fire into aggression.

With the Sun in Virgo, the solar energy also beams into Pisces, Jupiter's watery sign that can always use some focus. Wherever the Virgo and Pisces axis sits in the personal horoscope, this area of life could benefit from the strong Virgo flow at this time.

Things may get a bit disorganized as the big work goes on, but keep your eye on the prize and pay attention to details. Don't let small red flags become foundational flaws in the future. Take care of problems, look at the numbers and execute plans that make practical sense.

Full Moon in Pisces/Uttarabhadra September 20

After waxing past the file of planets that stretches from Leo to Capricorn, the Moon becomes strong and full at 5º of the sign Pisces on September 20. The full Moon is always an opposition between the Sun and Moon, which brings a state of shining light that reflects back and forth.

With Mercury and Mars joining Sun in Virgo, this could be a good time to pause and reflect about how relationships are working, as well as to analyze and problem solve how to make things flow more smoothly. Mercury and Moon are planets associated with the mind: our intellect and our emotions. Having these two "eyes" on how we may be asserting individuality too strongly (Mars and Sun) could give good answers on how to dial back the "I, me, mine" when it comes to matters of "us."

The nakshatra rulers of the Sun and Moon in this event also bring back this theme of collective vs. self that could have been challenging in early August when the Sun and Saturn came into opposition. Doubts that arose about relationships at that time could re-emerge, as the Moon in Uttarabhadra has Saturn's influence and the Sun in Uttaraphalguni is bolstered, as it is a nakshatra ruled by the Sun himself.

This is a good time for an objective look at how we as individuals are acting within relationship and then to engineer the adjustments needed to fulfill both parties' needs.

Mercury Enters Libra September 21

Mercury will be starting his bounce routine after the full Moon, entering Libra on September 21, where he joins his friend Venus. This tryst will go on until October 1, by which time Mercury will be retrograde and return to his workshop with Mars and Sun.

From the vernal equinox time of September 21 through month's end, we could find ourselves needing a break from all of that harvesting, analysis and self-effort. This could be a good time to step away from the work bench and be a bit more social.

By the time Mercury returns to Libra in early November, the scene will be much different, with Mars and Sun burning through the after-party and Venus well on her way in Jupiter's Sagittarius. So enjoy the fun and inspirational vacation that Mercury and Venus can put together at the end of September.

Mercury Retrograde in Libra-Virgo September 26 – October 18

While the potential for fun to be had is there, it may be a good time to buckle up and back up just before the party gets started. Mercury will be extremely potent once he assumes a retrograde cycle on September 26 through October 18. Mercury with Venus is energized; adding retrograde to that could be downright exciting.

When we're excited, it can be fun, but we are also at risk of losing our focus and making mistakes. Make sure the important ducks are lined up before you run off to the park. Back up information systems and double check communications before they are sent to avoid silly mistakes.

By October 1, retrograde Mercury slips back into his own sign of Virgo, joining Mars and Sun. This could again be a nice time for getting through to-do lists, setting plans, lining up resources and preparing for the progress that may become more noticeable as Jupiter and Saturn resume direct motion in mid-October.