A September of Tending and Trust

September 2026 begins as something of an exhale moment, as we are in the two-week period of the waning moon after the stormy weather between eclipses from August 12th to 27th. Each Eclipse Season brings along its own flavor of karmic intensity and big, swift movements of transformative energy, and as we sit with what has transpired in the past few weeks, it may be helpful to allow things to settle, and to take stock of all that has moved through in the blustery winds of change.

This recent Eclipse Season first brought a dynamic combination of Leo and Aquarius energies, revealing shadowed egoic patterns, focalizing creativity, and amplifying individual expression in the context of broader social groups and cultures. The Lunar Eclipse along the Pisces/Virgo axis illuminated both our capacity to keep hoping and dreaming for a bright future, and the value of small, actionable steps that help us each create a fulfilling life, a culture of kindness, and a world where all beings can feel free. So, in the first week of this month, we are in that time of integration after all the tumult of Eclipse Season, of which the full ripples will continue to be felt and seen as the coming months unfold.

Hoping for and envisioning a better future is not to minimize the immense weight and difficulty of our times, which are likely stretching each of us to somehow embrace paradox and nuance, and to traverse the landscape of a world that is changing exponentially with each passing week. All throughout this month, the rest of the year, and into 2027, we have the outer planet alignment of Pluto in Aquarius, Neptune in Aries, and Uranus in Gemini, all in flowing aspect to one another. This is truly a remarkable time to be living through. These outer planets move very slowly through the zodiac, so to have all three of them so closely aspected to one another is quite rare, and a consequential turning point for our world. Because these planets are in the first degrees of fire and air signs, this signals that the collective atmosphere feels very dynamic, experimental, and volatile. With all the advancements and innovations there becomes unprecedented possibility, and in the same breath so much is collapsing and crumbling before our eyes. It is a tremendous ask for each of our bodies, hearts, souls, and nervous systems to contend with how quickly the world is changing.

Come September 10th we have a pivotal day, as the New Moon in Virgo begins the next lunation cycle. On that same day, Uranus stations retrograde, Venus moves into Scorpio, and Mercury moves into Libra. As the Sun meets the Moon in the sign of the maiden, we are called to hone our discernment, to keep what is useful and shed what is not, and to really put ourselves to task and get our hands to work. Virgo reminds us of far more than just perfectionism and tidying our sock drawer. Virgo shows us that every detail we tend to with love and diligence creates greater coherence and wellness for the whole, especially when there is intentionality woven into those small activities. This New Moon also brings a wave of fresh energy, with Mercury, Venus, and Chiron all occupying 0 degrees of their respective signs. We are invited to bring our presence to whatever wounds exist around value, worth, and resources. We may come to see during this moon cycle the ways we can tend to the arc of our own healing and one another’s, and what new story wants to be told through each of us. With Uranus stationing, his presence is quite pronounced and strong, so we can perhaps expect more surprises, aha moments, breakdowns, and breakthroughs.

On the 17th, Chiron, after a brief appearance in Taurus this summer, is backtracking into Aries, where it will remain until next April when it steps forward once again into Taurus until 2034. This last stint of Chiron in Aries could have us doing a final introspection on those themes that have been evolving and percolating since 2018. Given Neptune and Saturn's current placement in Aries, this adds another dimension to the inquiry at hand. Perhaps we can ask ourselves: how can we take greater responsibility for pursuing what truly brings us vitality and excitement?  This final passage of Chiron through Aries asks us to actively dismantle the distortions of cultural conditioning that live within us, and to step more fully into the truth of who we are.

On the 22nd we have one of the most important astro holidays of the year, the Libra Equinox, when the Sun moves into that sign. It also signals the change of season from summer to autumn in the northern hemisphere. It is the day when the light is equal to the dark, beginning to diminish as we move toward winter. It is a potent time of remembering balance and feeling into the celestial rhythms and turnings. Libra season brings with it the quest for connectivity, for beauty, for fairness, and for a world where we are all watching out for each other… and hopefully even doing it in style.

The September month winds down with the Full Moon culminating in Aries on the 26th. This Full Moon is in very close alignment with Neptune, which points to a time of greater access to dream states, to imagination, and to hope. Yet it is also easy, during Neptune times, to feel lost or scared in the face of uncertainty, and to fall into the various ways we humans act out when faced with a lack of control. Perhaps the invitation of this late-month Full Moon, as it sheds light into our lives and our world, is this: to build resilience amid the uncertainty, and to channel the powers of imagination to create and weave the future that we want, trusting deeply in the greater wisdom of life. In our current context it is only human to feel worry, doubt, fear, rage, sorrow… all of these.

It is up to us to exercise our conscious choice in how we occupy the helm of our own awareness. Can we find space within ourselves for both grief and gratitude? How might we tend lovingly to the pain, and sow the seeds of the world we want to see flourish and grow?