Dutiful Drudgery or Divine Dance: September 2025 Eclipses

It is not often I feel called to expound upon eclipse energy beyond covering them in my monthly astrology forecasts.  The eclipses of September 2025, however, are an exception.  They are part of a remarkable lunar cycle.  How we move forward now is vital to our future experience.  Any progress we make or goals we achieve are rooted in the mundane:  the simple practices and routines that we establish and adhere to going forward.

Some astrologers lean toward dire predictions about eclipses.  I am not one of these.  Eclipses are doorways, portals to possibilities and opportunities.  Certainly, if you are off track in any facet of your life, an eclipse impacting a point in your astrology chart can be painful and feel like a setback.  But if you are in alignment with your soul contract and path, eclipses emphasize and magnify where you are headed.

September 7^th and 21^st mark the final eclipses of 2025.  They are rooted in the New Moon of August 23^rd at the starting point 00 degrees Virgo; while the following New Moon on September 21^st occurs at 29 degrees of Virgo, the final degree of this earthy sign.  Symbolically, then, both Alpha and Omega are represented in this lunar cycle.  The August 23^rd New Moon gives us a blank slate and the next New Moon on September 21 seals our fate being the final eclipse of the year.

 Virgo is the ninth and middle earth sign of the zodiac.  She is the work horse, logical, dutiful, regimented, and committed to service.  Her key phrase is:  I analyze. She rules the future through grounded work, health and wellness practices, systematic planning and preparation.  Virgo is a mutable sign, meaning adaptable, flexible and versatile.  She doesn’t shrink from tailoring or changing up habits to be more useful.

In ancient lore, Virgo the Virgin derived from the vestal virgins keepers of the eternal flame.  This sign is rooted in ceremony and ritual.  These are not lofty but humble, workaday routines moving us from dawn to dusk.  Hygiene, exercise, eating, work, service, rest and sacred schedules are her wheelhouse.  Line by line, step after step, Virgo yields practice into perfection.  There is no harder worker. Think of a master in any field, art or industry. Virgo knows the very fabric of our lives is woven from the daily habits that turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

It is important to mention animals here and the role they play in our lives.  Virgo governs animals and the animal kingdom.  Why?  Because Virgo rules service and animals are in service to humanity, whether actually or modeling how to live in accord with nature. Pay close attention to how animals figure into your life through eclipse season.  Are you adopting a new pet? Saying goodbye to a much-beloved pet?  Taking care of an animal, yours, another’s, or adjusting the regimen of an animal friend? 

With our blank slate, the August 23^rd New Moon at 00 degrees Virgo asks us to look at our daily habits.  Are they healthy?  If not, we cannot be of optimal service to ourselves, let alone others.  Healthy routines begin with our mental and spiritual wellbeing.   Ruled by Messenger Mercury, Virgo says:  You become what you think.  The New Moon starting point of Virgo offers a fresh page to create practices charting a brand new future. 

To make sure we change up the regimens of lives, Radical Uranus figures largely in this lunar cycle from August 23^rd to September 21^st.  The great change agent insists life won’t become stale by running rote around a hamster wheel.  Uranus precisely challenges the August 23^rd New Moon.  In communicative Gemini, Uranus asks us to be flexible with our words and thoughts, to speak and write differently…

Dueling with the Virgo Sun and Moon, we are tasked with changing how we think, speak and write, beginning with how we talk to ourselves.  Watch your inner monologue.  What are you saying to yourself?  Now is the time to use affirmations, or try new and different ones.   

Practice makes perfect and Virgo IS practice, dedication, commitment, rehearsal.  Your dreams and desires are great and all that.  But how will you achieve them?  Virgo is the how of the zodiac, the through line from beginning efforts to end results. 

Uranus persists on flipping the narrative.  As we enter September, the month of back to school and work, fresh from vacation, we are invited to create new lives born out of fresh routines.  Only days into the month, Radical Uranus turns retrograde on Friday, September 5^th.  This happens to be just two days before the Full Moon eclipse on the 7^th.  A Full Moon is energetically laden to begin with.  A Full Moon Lunar eclipse even more so.  Add quake-and-shake Uranus shifting directions to the mix, and we have quite a combustible situation.

Uranus is known as the Great Awakener, aka, the great pot stirrer of the zodiac.  It is the older sibling, or higher octave of Messenger Mercury, ruler of Virgo, tied very closely to the Sun at the time of the eclipse.  Hear ye, hear ye: Get your house in order, no excuses, clean up your own life and back yard  before you worry about or criticize another.  Instead of issuing purity tests, this eclipse demands you scour and purge your own imperfections. 

No one, not a single one of us is perfect.  Yet all of us are divine. With the Sun in Virgo and Moon in Pisces, eclipse themes are control vs. surrender, detail vs. unified whole, analysis vs. belief, service vs. suffering.  Virgo is the epitome of efficiency and optimal system function.  She keeps the trains running on time; while Pisces is transcendent, completely immersing with the divine, and flowing with the unknowable.

In short:  we are commanded to control what we can about our lives and surrender the rest. Give it up.

Do you get the message now?   If you refuse to heed the call, Radical Uranus has other plans for you, otherwise known as a cosmic two-by-four.  Surprise, shock, sudden and striking events that seemingly occur out-of-the-blue to wake you up (hence Uranus’ moniker, the Great Awakener).  Our soul is a segment of the Divine, a slice of the Spiritual pie so to speak.  It knows best.  When we deviate too far from our soul path, the contract that we co-created prior to incarnation, Uranus is tasked with bringing us back to our soul commitment.

And no, this is not always fun. Think of your car getting out of alignment.  You bring it to the mechanic to have the steering straightened out.  Uranus is the mechanic in this case. Humanity always has free will. So if you choose to drive away from the shop and revert to your old habits, expect a bigger wake-up call next time around. 

Between eclipses is a notoriously energetic black hole.  As I mentioned in my September astrology forecast that dropped last week, a plethora of planets shift from one sign to another.  This makes for an unsettled two week stretch leading into the final eclipse of this year on Sunday, September 21^st.

Just as the September 7^th eclipse was remarkable, laden with unpredictability of Uranus’ change in direction, the September 21^st eclipse at the very last degree of Virgo is unusually pronounced as the Sun enters Libra the very next day, marking the Autumnal Equinox.  Virgo rules health and regimens; Libra rules balance.  Through healthy regimens, we are called to bring into balance the various facets of our lives: health, work, social, play, service, family and rest.

The caution is the drive for perfectionism and forgetting our own needs in the quest to please others. Balance what pleases you in equal measure to being of service. If we get lost in life’s minutiae and details, Virgo’s dutiful drudgery, we neglect the divine dance awaiting us.

Walking with Destiny

 No ordinary time now.  We know this intuitively; but the cosmos confirms our feelings repeatedly during September.  The fairly relaxed, calm respite that August afforded us gets left in the dust as the planets shift into overdrive this month.  Prominently featured are two eclipses with Radical Uranus turning retrograde on the eve of the Full Moon lunar eclipse on September 7^th.   Expect the unexpected. You may feel the very ground beneath your feet shake.

Take a breath, two or three.  For that matter, any work and wellness practices that you routinely rely on will be crucial in September to regulate your mind, body and spirit.  It is no accident that the Sun is cycling in practical, health-conscious Virgo as the month begins, helping us manage what unfolds. Now is the time to create healthy practices if you haven’t already.

The Divine knows how best to support us; and is arguably working overtime now with essential help.  During September, it is very important to remember that the Universe does not say no; it says, not now or there is something better in store for you. When something does not work out or is not happening as fast as we would like it to, Divine timing is at play.  It always is; we just tend to forget that. 

While the superpowers of the Virgo Sun are efficiency, practicality, healthy habits, routines and systems for our optimal functioning, the cautionary side of Virgo is perfectionism, worry, guilt, micromanaging aka, excessive control.

Drilling down these traits is Messenger Mercury’s entrance into Virgo straight away on Tuesday, September 2^nd.  Keep a firm grip on your inner control freak this month.  Pay particular attention to your mental hygiene because: what you think, you become.

Better to lean into Virgo’s polarity sign Pisces.  These two signs are 180 degrees opposite for good reason:  Virgo plans and prepares where Pisces dreams. Virgo controls where Pisces surrenders. Virgo is systematically detailed while Pisces is sublimely immersive.  One is earthly, the other divine.

Practical versus illusory: we’ve been dancing on this push-pull axis most of 2025 since the lunar nodes shifted into Virgo-Pisces in January. Now as we move toward the final lunar eclipse of this year, our lesson is to dream, plan, prepare, practice and surrender.  Repeat. There is no mistaking the clear planetary message.

The Yiddish phrase:  we plan, God laughs will come in very handy during September.

As the waxing moon builds toward the Full Moon lunar eclipse on Sunday, September 7^th there is a particular feeling that something’s gotta give.  In fact, many have felt cracks in the dam leaking, energetically so to speak.  Mother Earth has been warning us for a while now sounding the alarm through earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity and epic flooding.  Lest we forget, humanity is not separate, above or beyond Planet Earth.  We are of and from Her. Remember? Dust to dust.  To believe otherwise is foolhardy.

The cosmic alarm bell rings at full blast when just two days before the eclipse, Radical Uranus, the Great Awakener and change agent extraordinaire turns retrograde.  Shock and surprise are its calling card, how it rises up to greet us.  Aligned to Powerful Pluto, god of the underworld, Uranus in Gemini may unleash a tsunami of information; particularly as Messenger Mercury is tightly conjoined to the Virgo Sun and opposite the Pisces Moon on this Full Moon lunar eclipse. 

Everything waits for the Moon.  And no one will be able to out run the gigantic spotlight she shines on Sunday, September 7^th.  The nitty-gritty appears for everyone to see.  The recent Coldplay concert kiss-cam incident comes to mind.  Turn away, duck and cover as you might, you will be seen. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to worry about.

The devil is in details so beloved by Virgo, especially the Virgo Sun-Mercury duo.  They wield their scalpel to cut away anything unessential; while Taskmaster Saturn in Pisces washes clean any residual debris.  At the final degree of Pisces at the time of the eclipse, Saturn churns up our emotional sea.  29 degrees Pisces (big water) is the end of the line astrologically.

Here, Saturn calls the karmic shots; what is not meant to be is washed away completely.  Talk about a tsunami.  Don’t even bother trying to control or cling to anything not divinely intended for you. Mother Earth is integral to this clearing.  She is purging and shaking off what is no longer relevant for our future. Watch for hurricanes and flooding.

Our home Planet Earth along with her cosmic counterparts are setting the example, modeling for us with clear messages taking the form of sweeping emotions, immense earth and water activity, fear and its counterpart faith, strong intuition, significant dreams, prisons, hospitals, health and mental wellness matters, daily work routines and practices, imagery via social media, film, photography, and spiritual callings. 

In the wake of the eclipse, as in the aftermath of any storm, is a calm, in this case, a stunned silence. We sit with what has happened and grapple to re-group.

The period between eclipses is a notorious energetic black hole.  You may feel ungrounded, walking between timelines, a surreal time out of time.  This is actually a good thing.  Humanity is indeed shifting from mind to heart-centered, led by the soul rather than logic. We’re not dispensing with the mind and its gifts; but rather putting these to work as instruments to be used by our soul, rather than the other way around.

During this time frame between September 7^th and the second eclipse on the 21^st, be sure to drink plenty of purified water, walk in nature, and practice steep self-care.

Just after mid-month all four interior planets change signs, like dominoes, one right after the other.  On Thursday, September 18^th, Messenger Mercury enters lovely Libra, aligning helpfully to Radical Uranus and Powerful Pluto.  Our wish is our command.  Thoughts, words and intentions are extremely powerful now.  You are what you think you are.  This could not come at a better time as we approach the New Moon. 

The very next day, Valuable Venus turns into practical Virgo.  Grounded, humble and reality-based in Virgo, Venus streamlines our relationships to suit our future needs.  Anyone not integral to our future health and well-being will be sidelined.

Enter the final eclipse of 2025:  the New Moon solar eclipse on Sunday, September 21^st.  At the final degree of Virgo, both Sun and Moon underscore the aforementioned clearing out of what does not serve our future selves. This eclipse means business and cleans house down to the studs, our very roots.  The definition of efficient, the Virgo sun and moon (our will and emotions) join forces here to cleanse and purify us of anything unhealthy whether body, mind, or soul.

Thus, a great time presents itself to set your intentions accordingly.  Squeaky clean and feeling fresh, what do you want to accomplish over the next month, season or year? Hand-write 3-5 intentions to manifest and then plant safely in the softening earth; just in time for Fall Equinox

Monday, September 22^nd, both the Sun and Motivating Mars change signs.  The Sun marks the Fall Equinox by turning into Libra, beckoning us to bring balance to our lives.  What brings you into alignment? Makes you feel beautiful?  Incites peace and harmony? Remember your own self, your needs, wants and desires over the coming month; as Libra tends to be so focused on others that it can forget herself.

The very same day, Mars enters Scorpio, sign of transformation.  Our intuition and spidey senses tingle.  Trust yours as it is 100% correct.  What the New Moon eclipse in Virgo purified and cleansed, Mars now digests and regenerates what is yet to be.  Mars challenges Aquarian Pluto through the end of September, prodding us to transform aspects of ourselves through non-mainstream, alternative modalities.  In short, try a different approach or strategy because the same old tactics just will not work in the new frontier.

The Mars-Pluto conflict may have some burying their heads in the sand.  Wake me up when it is over, some say.  While others say, never give an inch or some may take the whole mile.  Instead of stubbornness or distrust, this catalytic duo invites us to look at what we are resisting or refusing.  During this Libra season, we are invited to balance our lives through mediation, compromise and negotiation.  Where can you give a bit without giving away everything? 

Where can you open up and engage willingly?

Where can you begin again?

Where can you balance your needs with those of others?

That is the place to start.

Of Special Note:

ZENATHON!  is ON!!! Join me on Sunday, September 14th in Sharon, MA for a day of peace, learning and incredible vendors!  I am offering a class on the current astrology influences including a forecast for 2026.  For more information and tickets, please visit:  www.zenathon.org

Are you in search of a healer?  Don't know where to look to find excellent, vetted alternative and metaphysical practitioners?  Check out The Seekers Field Guide!! I am so thrilled to now be a guide and offer my services with this groundbreaking resource offering a directory of the best healers in the business. Visit:  www.seekersfieldguide.com to learn more!

The 3 Wise Women is off and running!  Our community is about to celebrate its first anniversary. Join us!  We are three veteran metaphysical practitioners offering community, conversation and connection via zoom every first Tuesday of the month @6 pm eastern.  For just $10/session, feel safe among like-minded seekers to ask your wildest woo questions and learn from each other.  To enroll:  www.cathyripleygreene.com

Mystical Messages features my monthly astrology forecasts if you prefer listening via podcast.  Also featured are cutting edge healing arts practitioners.  Tune in and listen through Youtube, Apple or Spotify or hear previous episodes:  www.hilaryharley.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Shift

Exhausted and wired at the same time is a complaint shared often with me; and I must confess, not a feeling unknown to me.  It is the result of overwhelming energetic bombardment we are currently enduring in this time known as The Great Shift.  We are experiencing far, far more than planetary passages now.  Solar flares, geomagnetic storms, Schumann Resonance (the earth’s pulse) changes and much more than I am aware.

The sheer volume of energetic waves to navigate is both exhausting and energizing.  I feel that there is both never enough time for adequate sleep, (and when I do wake up, I am still exhausted), and yet weirdly eager and ready to get going.  There is so much to do! This massive energetic push and pull reminds us that there are forces much greater than ourselves at work; and that all we can do is show up and do the work.  Our work is a call and response with the Universe, playing the cards we’re dealt to the best of our ability.

Due to the very strong energies at play, allowing time for integration and development is essential. Fortunately as August begins, we are afforded the perfect time to do just that!  Messenger Mercury has already been retrograde for two weeks and has another ten days until it turns forward motion.

Cosmically, we are let off the hook so to speak, to play hookey, go on vacation for the next ten ten days until Monday, August 11^th.  Rest, restore and renew now.  Valuable Venus has just entered compassionate Cancer the Crab slowly joining Generous Jupiter.  Both align to the Moon in intuitive Scorpio on August 1^st inviting us to flow.  Allow. Swim with the current, what carries us.  It is a time to soak in self-care. Choose what is most soothing and what feels relaxing. You will be very glad you did.  Further, you might not have much choice now anyway as trying to push forward on projects and pursuits yield little if any traction. The more you push, the more pushback you will get during the first ten days of August.

Magic is afoot as we move toward a waxing Moon. 

First, on Thursday, August 7^th, Motivating Mars enters lovely Libra.  The rough and tumble planet of action is not especially comfortable in graceful, relationship oriented Libra.  However, any awkward edge is enormously softened by Mars’ flowing alignment to Powerful Pluto in Aquarius and Change Agent Uranus in Gemini, forming what is known as a grand air trine.  These planets are the movers and shakers of the solar system. With such powerful planets in connective and communicative energies, our thoughts, words, and technology are extremely potent now through mid-August.  Ideas flow, connections are seamless, groups and teamwork are effortless, communications are well-received.

This is like being given a Harry Potter magic wand.  

What will you do with your wand?  Where will you point it?

Just remember to control the wand and not allow it to control you.  Because your wish is its command. If ever there was a time to be careful for what you wish for, this is it!   To effectively control your wand, or the power of your thoughts, focus on what you do want (not what you do not want).   Visualize, write, then speak your desire.  Pause.  Then watch what you most desire manifest quickly.  Faster perhaps than you ever dreamt possible.   

Have you ever thought about someone only to receive an email or phone call from that person?  Thought about a song and then it comes on the radio?  Thought about an old, favorite movie then it appears on television?

These are small examples of the intentional communication energies at play from August 7-20^th.  We are all getting strong lessons now in the power of intention.

The stage is set.

Under the glaring spotlight of the Full Moon in revolutionary Aquarius on Saturday, August 9^th  Messenger Mercury, the planet ruling communication, turns direct motion the very next day on Sunday, August 10^th.   Everything is exposed now, all of it, the dirt and the blessings.  This is an incredibly auspicious and powerful Full Moon. 

Opposing the creative Leo sun, this innovative Full Moon knows no bounds.  It runs on information, takes ideas and invents what never existed before.  Radical, independent and non-comforming, this Moon could care less whose toes it steps on; rather, may step very intentionally on specific feet to make a point, be heard and seen.

Those seeking attention will indeed get it now, regardless of reason or purpose. To expect the unexpected during the second weekend in August is a major understatement.   If you thought 2025 was too much, too fast, this Full Moon says, hold my beer.

We have crossed the Rubicon, passed the tipping point of no return.  There is no going backward.  Resistance is futile, as is trying to hold on to what once was or re-creating the way life used to be.

Not only is Messenger Mercury now rolling forward, it aligns smoothly to Neptune and Saturn in Aries.  Feeling fierce and fearless?  Time to tackle your dream; for there is little but our own internal blocks and resistance to stop us now.  And need I emphasize:  This is no time to play small.  Leap and the net will appear.  The moment is upon us to take up space, to be heard and seen, to walk with destiny.

It is particularly safe to do so the week of August 11-17^th while Generous Jupiter and Valuable Venus travel together in maternal Cancer the Crab, aligning helpfully to the lunar North Node in Pisces.  This configuration has our back and acts as a guardian angel by heightening our intuition.  Silver linings appear.  You know.  You don’t why you know; you just do.  And you are correct.  

You might have some extra time on your calendar only to receive the call you’ve been waiting for to fill that gap.  You might get held up in traffic only to be spared a life-threatening car accident.  You get the idea.

With Mercury moving full steam ahead, sign the key documents, launch your projects, book your travel plans, or purchase the large ticket items you’ve had your eye on. 

Our grand designs will be called into sharp focus at the time of the New Moon on Saturday, August 23^rd.  In practical Virgo, both Sun and Moon ask us to get real, to make a plan, and to be prepared for what is to come.  All of our ideas are terrific but if they lack basic common sense or a plan to execute them, how will you see the results you desire, asks this New Moon?

Remember to hand write three to five intentions or goals you seek to manifest over the coming month or season.  Plant in the soft earth to be harvested at a future time.

A few days later, Valuable Venus emerges out of her Cancer the crab shell and moves into Look at me Leo.  Aligning to Neptune and Saturn in fiery Aries through the end of August, we are rarin' and ready to go.  Good thing we set those intentions on the New Moon last week! We have energy to burn.  Now, it’s time to bring your plans to life. 

Of Special Note:

ZENATHON!  is ON!!! Join me on Sunday, September 14th in Sharon, MA for a day of peace, learning and incredible vendors!  I am offering a class on the current astrology influences including a forecast for 2026.  For more information and tickets, please visit:  www.zenathon.org

Are you in search of a healer?  Don't know where to look to find excellent, vetted alternative and metaphysical practitioners?  Check out The Seekers Field Guide!! I am so thrilled to now be a guide and offer my services with this groundbreaking resource offering a directory of the best healers in the business. Visit:  www.seekersfieldguide.com to learn more!

The 3 Wise Women is off and running!  Our community is about to celebrate its first anniversary. Join us!  We are three veteran metaphysical practitioners offering community, conversation and connection via zoom every first Tuesday of the month @6 pm eastern.  For just $10/session, feel safe among like-minded seekers to ask your wildest woo questions and learn from each other.  To enroll:  www.cathyripleygreene.com

Mystical Messages features my monthly astrology forecasts if you prefer listening via podcast.  Also featured are cutting edge healing arts practitioners.  Tune in and listen through Youtube, Apple or Spotify or hear previous episodes:  www.hilaryharley.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up in the Air

As months go, July lends itself to jumping off the hamster wheel of life and into the road less traveled.  This is not only driven by gentler weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere but school vacation schedules and yes, nurturing Cancer the Crab energy.  Warm, compassionate, nourishing Cancer rules the stomach, breasts and womb. The first water sign of the zodiac, Cancer focuses on family, house and home, food, ancestry and nation. 

The slow feel of July is particularly noticeable this month as three planets will turn retrograde.  It is a welcome change after the gangbuster action of May and June.  Cosmically, July is a busier month than the past few months; but we are downshifting out of overdrive in the fast lane and on to the lazy, winding scenic route in first gear.

And: One of the most fortuitous aspects in all astrology welcomes us as July begins.  The Sun and Generous Jupiter are tightly paired offering comfortable familiarity and abundant security.  Think big comfy couch, a heartfelt hug, your favorite delicious home-cooked meal, or coming home after a long trip away. This is expansive Jupiter joining with the Sun in Cancer the Crab.

Their combined warmth stays with us through the July 4^th weekend, lending hope that despite appearances to the contrary, all will be will at home, whether local, national or global. In the best sense, Cancer offers reliable, time-tested wisdom.  She is the trusted counselor we turn to when the chips are down or we have an achievement to celebrate.

She reminds us to take deep comfort now, that there is so much more than meets the eye, so much more happening behind the scenes, divinely orchestrated, beyond our comprehension, working out for our highest potential and fullest well-being, if only we trust.  Will you?

Our call to trust is amplified by Spiritual Neptune turning retrograde on Friday, July 4^th.  We tend to feel the outer planetary gear shifts far less than those closer to the Earth, such as Mercury, Mars or Venus.  Still, it is worth noting Neptune’s reversal of motion, especially as it is so tightly joined to Taskmaster Saturn.  In fiery Aries, take care with matches, stoves, grills, engines, campfires, or fireworks, of course. 

In Neptune’s wake, Change Agent Uranus enters communicative Gemini on Monday, July 6^th.  It has been 76 years since we’ve experienced this planetary combination during Uranus’ last tour through Gemini from 1941-1949.  So most of us alive on the planet have not experienced this energy which will last until 2033. 

Infinitely more comfortable in Gemini than earthy Taurus, Uranus heralds breakthroughs and awakening en masse.  How we communicate and use technology will be seismically different in seven years when Uranus moves out of Gemini.  Television was a significant development of the last Uranus in Gemini cycle.

Fortunately, Uranus aligns seamlessly to Pluto in Aquarius for the next few years, easing our experience of this shift. How we gather, integrate, share and use ideas, language, and information will be dramatically altered over the next seven year Uranus cycle.

Think of how you communicated before cellular phone technology or the internet came along.  Whole generations cannot imagine life without these communication devices.  That gives us insight into how unimaginably we will exchange information by the mid-2030s when Uranus enters Cancer the Crab. 

Along with communication, Gemini also has to do with ground transportation, siblings, community, sales and marketing.  So expect developments on these fronts as well.  Helpful to remember now that in the name of progress, the only constant in life is change.  

Uranus enters Gemini under the waxing light of the Full Moon on Thursday, July 10^th.  In practical Capricorn, the Full Moon aligns to Motivating Mars and the South node in efficient Virgo, grounding us and offering reality based solutions.  These earth energies serve as a counterweight to the otherwise lofty, heady planetary placements in air and fire signs.

Just two days later, Task master Saturn turns retrograde.  Serving as a bookend to its counterpart Neptune, Saturn retrograde in Aries puts life on the backburner to simmer.  What was urgent or emergent now does not seem quite so immediate.  Instead, you might rather feel the urge to go to the beach.

Relaxation mode sweeps us up fully in its grasp on Thursday, July 17^th when Messenger Mercury turns retrograde.  The third of three planetary retrogrades in just two weeks, Mercury in Leo turns our minds toward vacation and play.  No matter your budget, now is the time to take a day, long weekend or extended time off to re-set and refresh.  Fertile and festive Leo beckons us to take a chance, to explore with childlike creativity on canvas, paper, day tripping down the road, making sand castles or mud pies.

Manage your expectations about how much will be accomplished the second half July and the first part of August.  People are out of the office now so do not expect prompt replies.  Best to wait until after August 11^th to make significant purchases, including houses, cars, appliances, booking vacations, or buying electronics, especially communication devices. As always, if an urgent large-ticket item must be replaced (such as a washing machine, cell phone, laptop, refrigerator), make sure you buy the extended warranty as you may need it down the line.

The Sun enters Leo on Wednesday, July 23^rd towing the Moon in its wake to deliver the New Moon in Leo on Thursday, July 24^th.  Opposite Pluto in Aquarius, the Leo Sun and Moon draw distinction between our individual needs versus the group and community. Where do you end and others begin?  The New Moon aligns helpfully to Saturn and Neptune in Aries, meaning that creatively, we are on fire.  For every problem, there is a solution if only we look around. Now is the time to experiment, to see what works and what does not.                                                                                                                     

Leo says:  No dream is too big; no ask is too great.  So hand write three to five wishes you seek to manifest over the following weeks, months and seasons.  Plant these intentions in the ripe earth or set safely alight.

Soon enough, your time is going to come.  Meanwhile, make some popcorn, put your feet up and enjoy the show.

Of Special Note:

Are you in search of a healer?  Don't know where to look to find excellent, vetted alternative and metaphysical practitioners?  Check out The Seekers Field Guide!! I am so thrilled to now be a guide and offer my services with this groundbreaking resource offering a directory of the best healers in the business. Visit:  www.seekersfieldguide.com to learn more!

The 3 Wise Women is off and running!  Our community is about to celebrate its first anniversary. Join us!  We are three veteran metaphysical practitioners offering community, conversation and connection via zoom every first Tuesday of the month @6 pm eastern.  For just $10/session, feel safe among like-minded seekers to ask your wildest woo questions and learn from each other.  To enroll:  www.cathyripleygreene.com

Mystical Messages features my monthly astrology forecasts if you prefer listening via podcast.  Also featured are cutting edge healing arts practitioners.  Tune in and listen through Youtube, Apple or Spotify or hear previous episodes:  www.hilaryharley.com

 

Firing on All Engines: Pistons Working Overtime

Honestly, the word that best captures the energy of June 2025 is piston.  I grew up in a mechanically inclined household but still had to look up the meaning of piston.  From the Cambridge American Dictionary:

piston

noun

 /ˈpɪs·tən/

an engine part, usually a short, solid tube or round, flat object, which moves up and down or forward and backward inside a cylinder, and causes other parts of an engine or machine to move

In short:  The piston causes the engine to move.   Why this word this month of June?  Because we are the piston in the engine of life, driving forward now. We are totally engaged this month. Every single part of us is switched ON, working and in continual, almost perpetual motion.  There is nary a cosmic pause, glitch, retrograde or eclipse disturbing the energy or standing in our way.

Described in seasonal terms, by June 1^st, nature is fully blooming. Tree leaves are completely out; flowers are opening; fruit is beginning to mature on the vine.  And so are we.  Ripe, ready, like high noon under a full moon all at once.

May’s fiery threads continue into June. Four planets now cycle through Aries and Leo as the month begins. These are innately creative signs charged with inciting action. Aries instigates, is the veritable initial spark that gets the fire going.

How this translates into our personal lives varies. Collectively, June heralds a call to action. Our free will steers how we answer the call.  Yet all of us feel massive motivation. To DO. To barrel forward. To accomplish, to check boxes, to change.  Obstacles on our path ahead are seen and considered but will be powered through, gone around, over or under.  Nothing will stand in the way of our mighty engine steaming ahead. Fully eight out of 10 planets cycle through fire and air signs during the first week of June.  These do not take NO for an answer much less know the meaning of the word.

Not until Friday, June 6^th do we come back to earth in any substantive way. Valuable Venus moves into its own sign of Taurus.  She tussles with Pluto over old versus new ways of tackling the issues at hand, vying for practicality, the tried and true rather than different or alternative tactics.                                                                                                   

Help is on the way just a few days later.  Messenger Mercury shifts into nurturing Cancer the Crab on Tuesday, June 9^th, joined the next day by Generous Jupiter on June 10^th, marking a distinct pivot for our energy and how we move forward. The titans Jupiter and Saturn have been dueling since early April and continue to do so through mid-July.  In Gemini and Pisces, the duo created a thick, hazy spin of smoke and mirrors, treacherous, deceptive, manipulative illusion to wade through.

Saturn has already shifted into Aries and now its Jupiter’s turn to move on. Jupiter’s entrance into Cancer the Crab marks the fourth of five outer planets changing sign within eight months’ time, a very short stretch given cosmic movement. It’s been twelve years since Jupiter has cycled through this maternal sign. The planet of abundance, prosperity and expansion is considered exalted, or especially effective in Cancer.

There is a reason that Jupiter, Titan of Abundance, relishes its tour through Cancer.  Where modern life often relegates Cancerian energy to the back burner as passive, Jupiter recognizes the legendary icon of compassion that Cancer really is:  the cradle of civilization, the initial nurturing impulse. Think Mother Mary, Mother Theresa or Quan Yin.  Heaven knows, humanity needs every ounce of this blessing and grace now.  Jupiter delivers. 

The first, primal water sign of the zodiac, Cancer is compassion and care.  The Crab rules home, family, the Mother and mothering instinct, food, ancestors, housing, real estate, diet, breast and stomach, our country of birth, psychological roots and biological inheritance.  In other words, everything from your deepest subconscious patterns to how (or whether) you set the table, to Aunt Betty’s pearl earrings.

As Jupiter enters Cancer joined by Messenger Mercury, both challenge spiritual Neptune and taskmaster Saturn in Aries, feeding our continous call to action.  Yet in a notably different way than May or early June.  Now, we seek nourishment, to assuage a nurturing yen related to house and home, family, food, ancestors and nation, our homeland.  Notice the difference in energetic quality.  If ever there was a time to get things done and knock off your task list, this is it.

This momentous shift occurs as we approach the Full Moon in Sagittarius on Wednesday, June 11^th highlighting our grand life adventure.  The fiery Sagittarius Moon searches for the truth, through learning whether academic or daily living, exploration, travel and spirituality.  Full Moons represent culmination and fruition. Expect examinations and tests now.  Make sure you prepare and study well. 

It all comes down to how well you have integrated life’s lessons.  Full Moon tests are nothing to fear but rather afford an opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of a subject.  What have you learned? That it is better to forgive than to hold a grudge; better to tell the truth than to deceive; better to honor your responsibilities than shirk them.

Reverberations quake and shake in the aftermath of the Full Moon.  We are awakening, literally and metaphorically.  Change agent Uranus is now in the final degrees of earthy Taurus.  An uncomfortable pairing to begin with, Uranus and Taurus make for strange bedfellows. Taurus rules the Earth, what you can see, feel and touch. Taurus manifests.  Uranus pivots, redirects and surprises.  Uranus awakens. Their combined effect prompts us to realize what is truly of value, whether our time, energy, skills, talents, money or other resources are used wisely. 

Enter the great ah-hah moment.

Sometimes, it can take an earthquake or dramatic life event to tear off our blinders.  From June 12^th to 18th is such a time. Just as Uranus finishes in the final degrees of Taurus, Motivating Mars concludes its tour through dramatic Leo.  Both Uranus and Mars are agitating, unsettling and disruptive.  They drive us to pay attention.  And boy, do they get our attention now. When these two are at an impasse of epic proportions, expect the unexpected.  Watch for unpredictable, sudden and seismic events.  This is not necessarily unhappy or unfortunate energy.  It can represent ground breaking discoveries and eureka moments.  But it may also hold disruptive climate and resource shifts.

Uranus-Mars continue their uneasy stand-off even as the latter moves into Virgo on Tuesday, June 17^th.  The remedy is to pause and take a break from anything holding you tightly in its grasp. In other words, stop worrying or obsessing over that which you have little control.

A very good thing then that the Sun moves into Cancer on Saturday, June 20^th, marking the annual summer solstice while joining Generous Jupiter. Together, the duo rush in where angels fear to tread.  Every year, the Sun makes its annual conjunction, or pairing, with Jupiter. In any sign, this pair is the one of the most fortunate aspects in all of astrology. During June of 2025, we are very blessed as they unite in nourishing Cancer the Crab.  Help, guidance and assistance abound if we only just ask.

The grace afforded by Jupiter and the Sun is further enhanced by the New Moon on Wednesday, June 25^th.  The trio challenge Neptune and Saturn in Aries, emphasizing the call to action underscoring the entire month.  Moving deeper into the watery sign of Cancer, we are called to tend to ourselves, our loved ones, and our home environments with great care.  Yes, we can lavish money and resources where asked; but if we’ve learned anything this year, our devoted time, energy and skilled attention are what is actually needed most.

 

Of Special Note:

Are you in search of a healer?  Don't know where to look to find excellent, vetted alternative and metaphysical practitioners?  Check out The Seekers Field Guide!! I am so thrilled to be a guide and offer my services with this groundbreaking resource offering a directory of the best healers in the business. Visit:  www.seekersfieldguide.com to learn more!

The 3 Wise Women is off and running!  Our community is about to celebrate its first anniversary. Join us!  We are three veteran metaphysical practitioners offering community, conversation and connection via zoom every first Tuesday of the month @6 pm eastern.  For just $10/session, feel safe among like-minded seekers to ask your wildest woo questions and learn from each other.  To enroll:  www.cathyripleygreene.com

ZENATHON is back!  Please join me for an amazing day of learning, healing and peace on Sunday, September 14, 2025 in Sharon, MA.  To learn more or buy tickets:  www.zenathon.org. Contact me directly for discount code.

Mystical Messages features my monthly astrology forecasts if you prefer listening via podcast.  Also featured are cutting edge healing arts practitioners.  Tune in and listen through Youtube, Apple or Spotify or hear previous episodes:  www.hilaryharley.com

  

Bonfire of Vitality

May links us to planting season. We till the soil of our lives and focus on what we want to grow, to see blossom and eventually harvest.  May is inevitably entwined with Taurus, the first earth sign of the zodiac.  It rules resources both tangible and intangible, such as our skills and talents harnessed to acquire fuel for our survival as well as our material comfort.

Yet while the Sun moves through Taurus this month, it is the fire signs, especially Aries that prevail. This energy is most helpful to drive us forward to build momentum after the protracted wintertime inner planetary retrogrades of Mars, Venus and Mercury.

Aries doesn’t hesitate, ask around or look for permission.  It leaps into action. And on May 1^st, so does Valuable Venus boldly entering Aries straight out of the gate. Though the goddess of love is not particularly comfortable in this fiery sign, Venus does direct our energy to get on with life and quickly. 

She joins Neptune, both aligning to Mars in creative Leo with Venus aligning helpfully to her counterpart Mars the entire month to boot! The glamourous power couple loops Messenger Mercury into the Aries brigade and you can fairly hear the cosmos calling out:  Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. If the second half of April found us waking up like bears emerging from hibernation, the beginning of May finds us on the move and actively in the hunt. Slackers:  stand aside.

Our initiative, spark and spunk is bursting. We’re high on rocket fuel. There’s zero room for hesitation now. Those hesitating aren’t just lost, they’ll fall leagues behind. Feel the power surge, that we can topple skyscrapers in a single bound. There is no one and nothing to stop us. Let them dare even try. Headstrong, bold and brazen, you may not listen to others who try to reason. Think reckless teenager taking his parents car for a spin when they’re away for the weekend…a classic case of a rebel without a cause, on a mission but to where exactly?

All ideas may not be great ideas now. 

So how do we direct this bonfire of raw vitality? Pacing. Pacing is critical now.  Be completely honest with yourself and others.  It is essential not to burn yourself out by taking on more than you can reasonably manage. Be selective. Refuse to bite off more than you can chew.  Only commit to people and projects that you can attend to. Evenly parcel out your tasks.  If you experience a flood of business, ideas, or demands, ask for help, assign tasks to a schedule, and above all delegate. You can say yes and figure it all out later as long as you have a plan to show up, do what you say you were going to do, and honor your commitments.

The last thing you want to do is drop the ball and become known as feckless.

The great news is, what you already have going on in the hopper has more than enough gas to see your efforts through.  Anything waiting in the wings will take off now.  The first week of May is the time to sprint. 

There’s really nothing to slow us down, save for Powerful Pluto turning retrograde on Sunday, May 4^th, though we do not feel these outer planetary reverse gear shifts as we might with Mercury, Mars and Venus. There’s not much of a cosmic brake pedal to speak of to hold us back until the second weekend in May when Messenger Mercury enters methodical Taurus and challenges Pluto in Aquarius. 

This aspect is a blessing in disguise as it gives us momentary pause to consider our options amidst our urge to rapidly charge forth.  Especially as it falls under the waxing light of the moon which reaches its apex on Monday, May 12^th. In secretive Scorpio, all the dirt and grime comes up and out to be revealed under the spotlight of this Full Moon.

It follows that mid-month holds some very dicey days.

The Scorpio Full Moon aligns to the lunar north node and Saturn in Pisces.  We are in the flow and in the know.  Feel your intuitive spidey senses tingle.  They are indeed accurate. While others may talk and persuasively convince you that your feelings are misguided, do not take the bait. You are being tested now. Trust yourself.  Do not doubt or dismiss what your gut informs you under the spotlight of this powerful Full Moon. 

Hit the pause button before replying or committing to anything or anyone.  This is essential. With three planets in fiery Aries, we want to rush in where angels fear to tread.  Indeed anger and violence are brewing and brimming to overflow. People are easily triggered and trigger happy. To agitate things further, the Sun conjoins Radical Uranus from May 15-19^th signaling a sea change in values.

How we assign and prioritize value is shifting monumentally now.  With whom and how we spend our time and energy, how we earn our living, apply our skills and talents is under careful scrutiny.   In the wake of such a revelatory Full Moon, this is peak shake up and shake down energy. Expecting the unexpected is an understatement.   

Take a walk, take a breath, and definitely hold your tongue now.

During this same stretch, Motivating Mars challenges Messenger Mercury, rendering particularly stubborn energy.  Watch for people digging their heels in and refusing to budge an inch, looking for fights, or throwing obstacles and roadblocks in your path.  The best case implies you will not receive any response to your inquiries. Watch for those drawing lines in the sand with real attitudes of this is mine and that is yours.

Fortunately, this impasse abates by May 21^st when the Sun enters flexible Gemini aligning to Powerful Pluto. Overnight it seems we can move mountains.  People are receptive to our ideas and want to hear more.

The cosmic gear shifts are just getting warmed up. The planets are ready to roll.

Late on Saturday, May 24^th, Taskmaster Saturn enters Aries.  Joining inspirational Neptune at the creator degree 00 Aries, Saturn takes the concept of cosmic power couple to the next level. Where Neptune dreams, Saturn builds.  In trail blazing Aries, this dynamic pair is an unstoppable force.  Together, they refuse to take no for an answer and will climb over, go around or barrel through any impediment to their mission.  They are brazen and see no reason to adhere to traditions or customs just because something “has always been done that way”.

Saturn and Neptune will travel together in Aries until the end of August.  Bold, brash and pioneering, they fearlessly try anything new simply for the experience.  Their motto is leap and the net will appear.  What is the worst that could possibly happen?  You will find yourself forging new paths, engaging with new people, experimenting with fresh ideas and methods, and more.

Just make sure you keep an end goal in sight.  Aries energy is easily distracted. Watch for tempers flaring and surging anger.  Avoid raging just to rage. Use this dynamic influence for good.

Heading into the end of May, we make our way to the New Moon very late on Monday, May 26^th.  The Sun and Moon in communicative Gemini tightly conjoin the sign’s ruler Messenger Mercury.  A powerful trio form our very own personal public relations and advertising agency. They will sign, seal and deliver your deepest desires.  So take the cosmic cue to set your intentions.  Carefully hand write three to five goals or wishes you seek to manifest over the coming weeks and months.  Then bury these in the softening earth or set safely alight.

The heavy winter months are behind us; the long slog is over and done.  Point yourself toward the future and watch the road open in front of your eyes.  You can fairly hear the theme song “Ain’t no stoppin’ us now…”playing as we step forward. We are on our way.

Of Special Note:

Are you in search of a healer?  Don't know where to look to find excellent, vetted alternative and metaphysical practitioners?  Check out The Seekers Field Guide!! I am so thrilled to now be a guide and offer my services with this groundbreaking resource offering a directory of the best healers in the business. Visit:  www.seekersfieldguide.com to learn more!

The 3 Wise Women is off and running!  Our community is about to celebrate its first anniversary. Join us!  We are three veteran metaphysical practitioners offering community, conversation and connection via zoom every first Tuesday of the month @6 pm eastern.  For just $10/session, feel safe among like-minded seekers to ask your wildest woo questions and learn from each other.  To enroll:  www.cathyripleygreene.com

Mystical Messages features my monthly astrology forecasts if you prefer listening via podcast.  Also featured are cutting edge healing arts practitioners.  Tune in and listen through Youtube, Apple or Spotify or hear previous episodes:  www.hilaryharley.com