Tuesday 21 September – Full Moon in Pisces 00:55 GMT

Wednesday 22 September – Mercury square Pluto 14:12 GMT

Wednesday 22 September – Sun into Libra 20:21 GMT

Thursday 23 September – Venus opposite Uranus 10:41 GMT

Saturday 25 September – Mars trine Saturn 22:50 GMT

Monday 27 September – Mercury Retrograde 6:10 GMT

Wednesday 29 September – Venus trine Neptune 17:14 GMT

Wednesday 29 September – Sun trine Saturn 23:19 GMT

Friday 1 October – Venus square Jupiter 00:31 GMT

Friday 1 October – Mars opposite Chiron 13:59 GMT

Friday 1 October – Mercury square Pluto 15:27 GMT

Saturday 2 October – Venus sextile Pluto 8:47 GMT

Sunday 3 October – Sun opposite Chiron 16:50 GMT

Monday 4 October – Mercury trine Jupiter 1:05 GMT

Wednesday 6 October – New Moon in Libra 12:05 GMT

Neptune and Pluto sums up this Full Moon – confusing and intense. The confusion might lift (as much as the confusion is able to lift at all throughout 2021) soon after this Full Moon, but the intensity doesn’t let up. We have some positive support (or expansion of what’s there, which isn’t that supportive) from Jupiter in its trine to Mercury. 

As Mercury rules Virgo (the Sun’s sign) and Jupiter rules Pisces (Moon’s sign – traditional ruler), there is some space for bounty and faith admits the mire of murky depth and web we are wading through. It’s like our feet are in it, we can’t get anywhere fast, and yet perhaps our minds are able to hang out in a realm of perspective, optimism and hope. We might feel a little abundant in our wading.

I like to think that perhaps we feel we will gain from this dredging somehow. Depth is the name of the game right now. We can see our distractions, avoidance strategies, addictions and all else that takes us away from our deeper issues all the more. Or perhaps we just see everyone else’s first, before our own, and marvel at the craziness of it all. The latter is more likely.

Let’s not forget Mercury squaring Pluto, adding a large dose of intensity into all situations. What is running us, what are our roots? Trying to begin, commit to or fulfil obligations is not an open door right now. It’s as though there is a lot in the way – treacle – to slow us down. 

“Open yourself towards those dark, formless and obscure feelings that rise to the surface and reveal themselves in order to be seen.”

Eris squaring Pluto is also activated by Mercury in retrograde period – the Goddess of discord and chaos battling it out with Pluto the lord of the underworld. This is a background aspect brought to the foreground by Mercury (and to come degree Jupiter).

Yet this is never a bad thing. The energies are attempting to direct and redirect and teach us the way of the tao in such a way we might never need to go back to school. How much will we learn to listen this time around? When they energy isn’t there, do we push it, make it work where it doesn’t. How can we work with a clear STOP, DO NOT ENTER?

What is it that we are so desperately trying to resolve? Usually it’s something we need to spend less time on. Usually the obsessive, compulsive quality betrays something much deeper than we are willing to entertain or journey into. We have access to a more subtle field of consciousness at this time, for some it will border on paranoia, other it will reveal truth.

Even the searching for purpose and life’s meaning. It’s usually right in front of you, with you all along and yet we go everything else looking for the thing that might somehow give us back to ourselves. Nothing outside of you will give you back to yourself.

“Let go of needing to know your purpose… The only purpose of life is to reveal its presence to itself. It simply watches, listens, and breathes. It’s our essence.”

The deep programmings on show for us to see, some more than others of course are currently party to this information and we can’t simply help but look incredulously at those still in it with wide eyes and open mouths… anyway, the deep programmings are very much connected to, what stops us being a human being, that is a person with a soul that feels and connects to others and ourselves?

I would say one big programming:

“The more you wish to be like others,
the more you will be trapped by your own ideas.
Recognise the trap of self-fulfilling prophecies and hypnosis.
I can’t… One is not allowed to…
That’s impossible… It won’t work anyway… I have to… etc.
How do you trap yourself?”

Yes, we are all feeling trapped. Trapped by ourselves, the world and life. The individuals and collective inner victim traps us. We feel unable to escape ourselves. We project, blame, and give away our power in all manner of ways. We don’t want to be here, this is the Neptune in Pisces issue, it’s where we prefer to stay in the illusion that deal with reality.

Some of us are more aware and try mitigate it, some deny it, resist – and there are many ways to not deal with the deeper issues. And yet is it now that we are to deal completely with the deeper element – or if we were to just follow the process – are we still at the surface swimming around, aware of the shark lurking in the waters?

We have to sink deep down into the murky waters of all of what we have created in this world. We have to see clearly how we have gotten to where we are. The only way to see that is through our connection with our own depth.

Awareness is also part of this story and the astrology perfectly reflects the annoyance of awareness without any answers. A Full Moon (Sun and Moon) is sesquissquare and semi-square by Uranus. Plus other planets doing these same aspects to other planets, with the Sun is a half-square to Venus, Venus square and half to the Moon and then the Moon is half a square to Uranus. It’s like unreasonable background noise.

And it’s not exactly paralysing, but it is like a constant fly in the ointment, a tension that cannot be released, perhaps the feeling as though no outside action or words can relieve the situation. Just time and wait and see is what we are left with. That might make us feel panicky and out of control, or we might respond with ‘so be it’, the energy is not saying resolve, so I will not.

It’s a big teaching for all, to let ourselves and other people sit in the mire, wallow in the confusion and mud without trying to resolve it, to see and feel the fear, confusion and suffering, to not jump in to fix it. How can this be humane for ourselves and others? A lot happens in these moments that we can’t always put into words, but the soul learns.

I don’t believe this is a given response that we must always follow, there is a time for action and resolution. But it is not now. There’s a larger game at play that requires us to reach beyond the small individual experience into something that teaches through the unknown, the suffering, the pain and the irresolvable resolution except in the most precise sense of timing you cannot plan for it, but you do need to trust your body, gut, life and the Divine.

This is all challenging physically, emotionally and mentally, perhaps more mentally as for some it’s a 180 degree turn table that feels like so unnatural.

So this has been building for a few weeks now, since we had all the planets hit their retrograde phases. Like a pressure building inside, with no outlet valve except a deep breath in and out and a recentre.

Since it’s being processed deeper within, it’s like we are getting clearer on what it is that’s happening within that is not working, or at least receiving clear glimpses of it. The Sabian symbol is “a man gaining secret knowledge from a paper he is reading”. To quote Bovee Blain the Sabian symbol guru, for this degree he says ”slowly. Do read the usual stuff carefully because something everyone else missed is likely to be contained therein. Secret knowledge can be a game changer. Once you have it, move fast.”

Yes secret knowledge. It will find you. Retrograde energy speeds us up, makes us feel trapped in the physical reality, and the antidote is we need to slow down. Many planets are retrograde, with Mercury turning retrograde on 28th September, and already slowing down. The message is quite clear, slow down to retrieve the ‘key’ to speed up.

This is not easy energy to manage. We are naturally less familiar with retrograde planetary energy, unless we live with lots of retrograde planets in our natal chart, than direct planetary energy. With an abundance of retrograde energy, we feel in uncomfortable territory.

How do we respond? We might feel like taking breaks from ‘reality’. Here we still have the luxury of taking breaks from ‘reality’. In some countries, there is no such thing currently. There is no break, since the reality they are in cannot be avoided, it’s too stark and overwhelming.

Whether escaping will help comes down to if it’s a pattern for us we need to address or not. It also depends on what we expect to get from the escaping? What do we not want to deal with, distract ourselves from because it feels insurmountable. It’s outside and inside I would say. Escaping can bring relief or prolong the issue that needs confrontation, exacerbating the issue.

Either way, we are about to go deeper. We get some help from Mercury, Jupiter and Pluto. Mercury (about to retrograde) trine retrograde Jupiter but square retrograde Pluto. Pluto goes deep down, dredging and Jupiter goes upward giving us perspective.

Mercury square Pluto for such an extended period of time is likely to really put the pressure on our communications, and some power plays with others. But I think it’s showing us much more for us individually and collectively.

Importantly though, Mercury is squaring Pluto at this Full Moon into October. This is because he turns retrograde at the square and trine point and slowly backs away, but so slowly that he’s still in aspect until 8th October. However by 4th, Mercury is exactly trine Jupiter and moving out of square with Pluto. This says to me it’s getting easier – temporarily.

Temporarily because the next few days have a lot of emphasis on the intense aspect pattern between Sun-Mercury retrograde – Mars, in relationships oriented Libra, which is exact on 9th. More on that in the next post.

Ultimately though, we cannot really move into resolving these issues with each other – there are too many levels, dimensions, too many versions. I think there’s little option to go within and come from this place. If we try to orientate from this more surface, superficial, distracted, unfulfilled space, how can we expect it to really work out?

The collective global awakening process is saying work out your own stuff so we can move forward collectively. Libra is soon to receive Mars and the Sun. Lets spend this time mining ourselves and resisting the impulse to jump into whatever relating comes our way.

There’s a lot of opportunities to connect now that the Sun is moving into Libra. But take your time to choose your group, people, tribe, friends. Venus in Scorpio urges intimacy but it’s not with everyone. And more than anything we need it with ourselves, still, despite it being Libra season.

So it’s a go slow vibe. No rush, the answers come from this space now.

More on Pisces Full Moon September 2021 see Card Guidance