Stellar Insights: September 3 - 9, 2018
Photo by Seth Macey via Unsplash
Monday begins a 15-week exploration in which we will capture a much deeper and more thoughtful understanding of just what it is that we value and truly find beautiful, that which serves not only as a mirror of but as a repository for our love.
The reason? Venus has entered the swathe of the sky in which her retrograde path occurs. Her dance of reversal, beginning October 5, occurs between 11 Scorpio and 25 Libra, the celestial terrain she just entered. Given that Venus dances over this territory three times—now in its pre-retrograde phase, during her retrograde dance, and after she turns direct again on November 16—it’s the canvas of both time and space upon which we will weave deeply etched understandings. Over these many weeks, we get the opportunity to experience a certain landscape of learning from one perspective, and then from another, the synthesis of which will then provides us with deeply forged insights.
Consider marking the advent of this three-plus month exploration on your calendar. Perhaps you acknowledge this Venus journey by marking it with a heart, or a phrase that weaves in love or beauty or pleasure or any of Venus’ other teachings. To me, doing this broadcasts an intentionality to ourselves (and the universe) that we are opening to discovering the learning that is about to be offered. By marking time with such intention, it may give us a little extra wayfinding when the retrograde period begins, notably if we’re finding it challenging. Turning back to the pages of our calendar to this week, we may see this symbol of our intentionality as a stanchion of strength that infuses us with the awareness we need during Venus’ retrograde, a reminder of the gift of patience, and that waiting and seeing--rather than pushing forward--is often the path to progress.
The importance of calendars—and time and schedules et al.—may also play a more important role this week given that time-keeper Saturn is stationing, set to end its current retrograde cycle on Thursday. When a planet stations, the archetypes it represents seem to broadcast themselves more palpably in the collective. Therefore, time—and all that connects to it, including looking at our life through the lens that there is only so much time and we should prioritize how we want to spend it—may really catch our attention. Other themes that may also be quite noticeable this week are those Saturnian realms such as the economy, the rule of law, business, the patriarchy, and the integrity of built structures. Our attention may also turn personally to the foundation of things, as we better understand the importance of having strong design principles. It’s a time when we may see how cutting corners may cut off our vitality and that time is a vital ingredient in any recipe.
What we encounter in this realm may stir great understanding within us, understanding that actually repatterns our approach to architecting structures in our life. The reason being is that messenger Mercury this week not only makes a harmonious alignment to Saturn but also to change-the-system Uranus. This may have us remember that limits can be liberating, that rather than just be experienced as something that restricts freedom, that they can actually be a key element that helps to sculpt creativity and productivity, and the freedom that comes from this. (Given that the Sun occupied a similar spot during the Full Moon on August 26 to where Mercury currently is, we could find that we’re able to more fully broadcast elements of the illumination that we gained then.)
The New Moon arrives on Sunday. With both the Sun and Moon in Virgo, we could find ourselves focused in upon details, seeing how we can be more organized so that we can craft approaches that allow us to be of greater service in the fulfillment of our ideals. With Neptune opposing the Sun and Moon, we may also see how form and formlessness inform each other, as we experience what emerges when we allow the rational to seed the imaginative and the imaginative to impregnate the rational. It also connects with Jupiter and Pluto, providing us an expanse of learning that feel deeper rather than superficial. For more on the New Moon, including wellness suggestions, see this article I wrote.
Astrological Highlights
September 3
* Mercury/Venus Sextile
September 5
* Mercury enters Virgo
September 6
* Saturn stations direct
September 7
* Mercury/Uranus Trine
* Mercury/Saturn Trine
* Sun/Neptune Opposition
September 8
* Venus/Mars Square
September 9
* Venus enters Scorpio
* Virgo New Moon
Dates noted reflect Eastern Daylight Time