Product versus Process

We are still reeling from the August eclipses as September gets underway.  Tumult and upheaval abound.  Our greatest task now is to focus on the path forward, one foot in front of the other.  So it is a very good thing that the Sun is moving through earthy, practical Virgo.

Virgo.  Humble, magical, real.  Her qualities are often overlooked. Virgo is the weaver who keeps life running smoothly.  This month, we need her gifts more than ever.  Virgo rules systems, practices, routines and habits.  Service, health, wellness and animals are her super powers. Her key phrase is I analyze, or,  I serve. If you have planets in Virgo or in the 6^th house of your birth chart, you are familiar with her energy.

Virgo invented the work ethic. Her purpose is to serve.  She takes stock, assesses what must be done, any needs to be filled and resources to be tapped.  Then gets down to work creating useful results.  Virgo can work herself to the bone making sure the product or service she delivers is perfect. Therein lies a trap for Virgo: never quite feeling good enough.  She can lose the forest for the trees, drowning in details.

So when working with Virgo energy, it is imperative to occasionally step back from your work, take a break, go for a walk. Virgo reminds us this month to integrate breaks into your work, wellness and lifestyle routines.  Breaking up the daily grind gives you distance from the immediacy of your work, changes and refreshes your perspective.

The August 28^th Full Moon lunar eclipse in Virgo set the stage for September and what to expect.  Where our vision and dreams may be grand, the Sun in Virgo brings them into reality.  That product, business, book, person you want to create?  Virgo creates a plan, a schedule, task list and grounded focus to make your dream happen.  Virgo even has back-up plans B, C, and D!

We may very well need to call for back up as we move past the reprieve of the Labor Day holiday weekend.  Cosmically speaking, September is fairly quiet the first week.  This is excellent news for back to school and work routines getting underway. 

That said, watch for turbulence heading into the second weekend of the month.  Between  Thursday, September 10^th and Saturday the 12^th, planetary gear shifts abound creating unsettled energy.  First, Valuable Venus moves into secretive Scorpio on September 10^th. 

Here, Venus draws our attention to our joint assets, money, and power.  For the better part of September, Venus challenges Pluto in Aquarius. She wages a power struggle over how to best use the resources at hand.  Keep your cards close to your chest.  Remember: knowledge is power. Guard your best interests, both material and information.  You will know when the time is right to share what you know.

I say this because only a few hours after Venus shifts into Scorpio, Messenger Mercury begins its cycle in Libra, aligning to Pluto and Uranus.  The trio hands us a magic wand.  Where we point it, we manifest quickly. We are very receptive now to ideas, people and intelligence crossing our paths; so much so, that we may leap before looking. 

Just be careful what you wish for. 

Venus in Scorpio hits the brake; prompts us to check with our intuition. Do the prospects at hand align with your values?  If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.  So, pause and look under the hood, probe deeper if something or someone doesn’t quite feel right. You will be very glad you did as change agent Uranus turns retrograde, also on Thursday, September 10^th.

Typically, we do not feel the shifts of outer planets.  Uranus is the exception.  The only planet to rotate vertically instead of horizontally, Uranus operates differently; and so we may feel its gear shifts. Now, we feel it turn retrograde motion.  Uranus deals in surprise, shock and awe.  It rules earthquakes, lightning strikes and all things sudden.

Pivoting retrograde on the eve of the New Moon in Virgo, Uranus may redirect our best laid Virgo plans. Virgo and Uranus are incongruent energies.  Virgo is prepared and well-equipped.  To which Uranus says, hold my beer.  However, Uranus does not upset the apple cart for no good reason.  Its purpose is to align our lives with our highest soul path.

When we are running old repeating patterns into the ground, Uranus serves as the instrument of change.  Think of the term happy accident; or silver linings that emerged from plot twists in our lives.  Take for instance this quotation by Arianna Huffington: 

 “In life, the things that go wrong are often the very things that lead to other things going right.”

That sums up the divergent turns Uranus brings to our paths. Where Virgo wants to, loves to, needs to control the steps along the path, Uranus knows better.  Called the Great Awakener, Uranus embodies the very definition of the Yiddish phrase We plan, God laughs.

And so, as we move toward the New Moon in the wee hours of Friday, September 11th, with both the Sun (our identity) and the Moon (our emotions) in the earthy, systematic, fully prepared sign of Virgo, Uranus says think again.  You might just be collecting pieces of your plans scattered about by unexpected upheaval.

Is it inconvenient?  Yes, in the short term.  But mid-September serves as a vivid reminder that process is more important than the product. Life is actually about the journey, not the destination.  Earth is a school.  There really are no accidents or failures here.  Only learning.  And Uranus delivers a plethora plot twists awakening us to higher lessons.

What makes this stretch particularly dynamic is Generous Jupiter at an attention-grabbing degree of Leo.  Think maximum volume, IMAX technicolor imagery.  Highly creative, up for anything, and loaded with drama, Jupiter at 15 degrees of Leo raises the ante just when Uranus shifts into reverse.  Watch for jaws to drop. The ether is stirred and shaken now.

Given the unsettled energy, it may take you a day or two to collect yourself to set New Moon intentions.  September 12^th and 14^th are the most opportune days to handwrite 3-5 goals and wishes that you seek to manifest over the coming season or year.  Plant these in the earth or set safely alight.

I wouldn’t exactly say the dust settles down after the mid-month turbulence; however, the cosmos is relatively quiet until Wednesday, September 23^rd when the Sun enters Libra, marking the autumnal equinox.  Libra invites us to balance ourselves in equal measure to others, our work-life obligations, and our own needs and desires.

The Sun is our identity and how we engage with the world.  In Libra, art and beauty come to the forefront.  We are invited to make our world more attractive.  This may take infinite forms, from the simplest to more complex.  Get a new hairstyle, visit an art exhibit, or rearrange your furniture to be more welcoming.  Beauty does not need to be expensive; but it may require an investment of your time and energy.

Especially lovely about this year’s fall equinox is that for the first time in memory, the Libra Sun aligns to both Uranus and Pluto.  The trio forms a grand air trine, a super-charged magic wand through the end of September.  Behold what you create where you point that wand!  The energy paves the way for smooth relationships, groups, technology, communication, design, and negotiation.

This is incredibly helpful energy as we move toward the Full Moon in Aries on Saturday, September 26^th.  The Aries Full Moon tightly conjoins spiritual Neptune opposing the Libra Sun.  Aries is the warrior while Libra is the diplomatic negotiator.  Watch for those on a mission from God, and heated negotiations, whether locally or internationally.  Current or new conflicts abroad are easily enflamed around the time of the Full Moon.  If you are working through relationship challenges, put your cards on the table.  A very direct and straight forward approach is best. Ask for what you want.  You are heard and seen now.

Reaching the month’s final few days, Motivating Mars enters fiery Leo on Monday, September 28^th while Messenger Mercury joins Venus in Scorpio on Wednesday, the 30^th.

We are all steamed up as spiritual Neptune in Aries aligns to a heavily embattled Mars.  Since Mars is the warrior, the caution here is dramatic action, whether threats of or actual violence.  Those who feel backed into a corner, dismissed or suppressed will rise up now. 

By the end of September, we are staring down a proverbial abyss.  Mars opposes Pluto in Aquarius and both challenge Venus and Mercury in powerful Scorpio. Expect transformative shifts in the collective mindset.  A giant mass switch is triggered.  The narrative has now flipped.  Suffice to say, there are no easy answers. 

How to manage?  Focus on your values: what takes front and center stage in your life by importance.  May this be based on love.

Of Special Note:

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Let Your Freak Flag Fly

Freaks and geeks unite!  Your time has come.

Each one of us is blessed with quirky, non-mainstream personality traits. Whether we reveal these quirks for others to see depends on myriad factors. Suffice to say in the coming year and a half, it will be easier, more comfortable to share your inner freak.

The reason?  From late July 2026 through March 2028, the lunar nodes have shifted into Aquarius and Leo.  Every planet in our solar system has a north and south node, invisible points which refer to the intersection of planetary orbits with the Sun’s path.  The nodes are 180 degrees apart, representing distinct polarities.

Our Earth’s Moon also has a north and south node.  Modern western astrology includes the lunar nodes as directional markers. The lunar north node calls our name, both individually and collectively.  The south node indicates what we have already mastered and is to be shared with others. Symbolically, the north node looks like headphones while the south node resembles a horseshoe. We cannot “do” the north node enough, since we are drawn toward this energy, even as we release what we’ve integrated related to the south node.

Every 18 months the lunar nodes change zodiac signs. For the past year and a half, the lunar nodes have been cycling through Pisces and Virgo, the spiritual-work axis. The north node has called us toward music, dreams, divine inspiration, water activities and the charitable realm; while the south node in practical Virgo grounded us in reality- based systems and healthy practices, in short, keeping it real.

As they do every year and a half, the lunar nodes changed signs, most recently in July. Unlike the planets which rotate forward, the nodes move in reverse direction through the zodiac, thus bringing the lunar nodes now into Aquarius and Leo, the connector and creator axis. These two are the problem solvers of the zodiac.

So let’s take a look at what this means for the coming year and beyond.

We will start with our Moon’s north node now cycling through Aquarius.  It repeatedly calls our name, beckons us to the qualities of Aquarius. You will be drawn toward all things Aquarian.  What does this mean?

The 11^th and final air sign of the zodiac, Aquarius is ruled by the outer planet Uranus, the only planet that rotates vertically instead of horizontally.  Its divergent axis tells us what to expect from Aquarius: eclectic, different, unusual, innovative barely describes this sign. As idea generators and information connectors, Aquarius’ key phrase is I KNOW; its job is to spread and share knowledge to uplift humanity.

Diving deeper, Aquarians are unique, one of a kind, highly individual and march to their own drum.  They follow a completely different frequency, usually one that others cannot access or sense. Because of this they are often labeled eccentric and remote. Aquarius is however, the sign of genius. People born under this sign are ahead of their time and work toward the collective benefit.

Think of just two very famous Aquarians exemplifying these traits: Thomas Edison, who still holds the patent record for his inventions, and Abraham Lincoln who emancipated slaves held captive in the United States.

Although an air sign which gives the sense of movement, Aquarius is a fixed quality.  Like other fixed signs Taurus, Leo and Scorpio, Aquarius can be intensely focused and steadfast in its purpose.  Some might say stubborn or rigid. As the only final fixed sign of the zodiac Aquarius does have a reputation for being unshakeable or immoveable.

But can this be considered a fault when they know for certain there is a better way for all?

Other more malleable and flexible zodiac signs are not so sure, caught up in doubting and second guessing. For this reason, Aquarians are labeled radical and revolutionary as they stay the course exploring uncharted territories. They are the rule breakers. Their patience is legendary.  As inventors, innovators and humanitarians Aquarians need to be patient while the rest of us catch up and harken to the frequency they’re long a tuned to, a frequency in pursuit of connecting us, to ourselves and to each other.

Aquarius is the connector and conductors of ideas.  As such, it rules groups, teams, friends, networks, the collective and collective consciousness.  An interesting point considering that it also represents rugged individualism.  So how does that work exactly? How can Aquarius rule the eccentric individual and the group? 

Think of it this way: a musical group, say a jazz quartet, or for the more athletically inclined, a soccer team.  Each player, whether a musician or athlete, is talented and skilled in their own right.  Yet when each individual plays with other team members, beautiful music happens or goals are scored.  As the saying goes:  team work makes the dream work.  Each individual plays their part for a collective purpose.

To circle back the lunar nodes: how does the north node of the moon in Aquarius affect us here on planet earth?

As the Aquarian north node cycles through our astrological charts, we are increasingly called to fulfill own unique individuality.  Your evolution and growth may cause those you’ve kept company until now to fall away.  This may mean going it alone until the right team or group emerges to suit your evolving self.  Heads up to people pleasers.  Stay true to what speaks to you. There is no reason to be fearful; rather, Aquarius energy is detached and observant, rather than emotionally involved in a particular outcome. Use emotional distance as a tool now to go where you are called.

With shifting group dynamics it is natural to expect changes in relationships, whether friend, family, romantic, professional, spiritual, and creative. Watch for the rise of new groups aiming toward beneficial quality of life. While the purpose may be altruistic, results might not always bear this out.  Think mob rule during the French Revolution.

Hence it is very important to remember that the purpose of Uranus and its sign Aquarius is to align us with our highest potential, truest path even at the expense of upheaval in our lives.  Hold firm and steady. Keep your eye on the long-term goal: where you want to be in one year, three or five years.  Aquarius rules change; pivoting and redirection are its wheelhouse regardless of any ensuing chaos. Expect the unexpected. Expect to be surprised.

As the connector and networker of the zodiac Aquarius rules technology.  Watch for further developments across the technology sector and breakthroughs in long-standing concerns, particularly in STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. How we communicate by March 2028 will change to say the least.

Now let’s look at the polarity of Aquarius, the lunar south node in Leo.

Leo the lion is grand energy!  Time to get your party shoes on and celebrate.  Create a reason for joy even if there is no “official” purpose. Leo is the sign of self-expression. It’s key phrase is I Create. Leo rules children, those you produce of your body or mind, any projects or products, along with risk taking, romance, games, hobbies, holidays and vacations, sports, theatre, costumes and make up, and parties. In short, Leo is the FUN, playful sign. It wants to have a good time and brings you along for the festivities.

Wherever the Leo lunar south node cycles through your chart over the next 18 months, you are releasing, sharing and contributing fun, creativity and joy. This is really something to enjoy and look forward to.

Even if the Leo south node is cycling through areas of work, health, professional or spiritual sectors of your chart, you are invited to greater depths of play.  For example, if you were brought up to believe that taking vacation to rest and enjoy life is a waste of time and money, the Leo south node gently encourages your inner child to come out for unscheduled, unscripted relaxation.

In your chart’s house of spirituality, watch for vivid dreams, solutions to vexing problems or questions, generosity with non-profits and charities you are involved with, lifting up others with your time and attention.

Speaking of attention, astrologers kiddingly refer to the sign of Leo as Look at me Leo. Since it rules theatre and drama, a caution here is unnecessary drama and the people that create it.  As the lunar south node represents release, should you find chaos-makers crossing your path over the next year and a half, the planets invite you to say goodbye and let go of such people. Your need for them is over and done.

Another caution is excess. Leo sure knows how to get the party started but it is not great at calling it quits. So remember:  it is better to leave the party at its peak.

As we enter a brand-new era, it is incredibly helpful to have the Aquarius lunar north node drawing us toward what is possible while the Leo south node releases endless options. Both Aquarius and Leo rule creativity in some form; Aquarius invents and innovates with its mind while Leo manifests from his heart. Both zodiac signs are problem solvers. One connects the dots, the other playfully finds solutions. Neither take no for an answer.  They might hear objections and see obstacles tossed in their path. But their dogged determination moves Aquarius and Leo steadily forward. So will you!