After Eclipse Season, September Wants You to Write a Bold New Story
Following a month packed with cataclysmic shifts and emotional shakeups, thanks to eclipse season, September’s astrology may feel like optimism-spurring, uncharted terrain. With the sun moving from service-oriented, cerebral Virgo to balance-seeking, beauty-loving Libra, the overall tone should feel productive, grounding, and peace-bolstering, supporting communication and relationships as we continue to integrate the transformation brought in by August’s eclipses. September 2026 also serves as an opportunity to harness the power of both Mercury and Venus moving direct, given that both will go retrograde in October and November.
At the same time, we have a couple of major planetary connections that could fuel imaginative visions, as well as illusion and even delusion. First, powerful Pluto forms a friendly sextile to dreamy Neptune for the second time this year on September 15 (think back to their first sync-up on July 25 for a sense of how this will affect you). Then, on September 25, the sun will sit opposite Neptune, boosting the potential for confusion and a clouding of rational thought while supporting a surge of creativity and spiritual awareness.
Meanwhile, the first lunations to follow eclipse season—a new moon in Virgo and a full moon in Aries —invite you to be industrious and in tune with your drive.
Venus in Scorpio Can Make Balance Tougher to Achieve While Supporting Intimacy
Just 10 days into the month, Venus leaves its blissful home territory of Libra for a sign it’s innately uncomfortable in: fixed water sign Scorpio, where it’ll remain until it retrogrades back into the sign of the Scales on October 25. In black-and-white thinking-prone, resolute, passionate, and deeply emotional Scorpio, Venus can struggle to infuse our relationships, spaces, and experiences with the harmony and balance it aims to provide. However, this season can be useful for inviting in more of what the intense water sign excels at: deep emotional bonding, forging commitment, addressing deep-rooted wounds, amplifying intimacy, and protecting those you love.
Just be wary of power struggles, obstinacy, and control issues surfacing around September 15, when Venus squares off against Pluto in Aquarius. Tensions tied to money, romance, insecurities within your bonds, jealousy, and possessiveness could rear their ugly heads, and because this is occurring in signs that prefer to dig their heels in versus adapt, doing your best to steer toward a more open-minded take can preempt ongoing rockiness.
Mercury in Libra Brings More Balance and Electrifying Power to Communication
Following a trip through a sign it’s right at home in—supercommunicator Virgo—Mercury, the planet of communication, will enter cardinal air sign Libra on September 10. Typically, this annual transit steps up our desire to hear both sides of any issue, to play referee when conflict arises, to smooth over any edginess in conversations with others by leaning on a heaping dose of diplomacy, and to potentially also err toward passive-aggressiveness in an effort to avoid ruffling any feathers. But that story isn’t quite as clear this year, given that Neptune and Saturn are in Aries, opposite any planet moving through Libra. On September 12, Mercury opposes Neptune, causing crossed wires and boosting the potential for hazy thinking. And on September 18, Mercury’s opposition to Saturn can support serious conversation and mental work but create more work in terms of efforts to connect, move through the world, and engage with technology.
Thankfully, Mercury will also harmonize with the outer planets in fellow air signs: Pluto in Aquarius on September 11-12 (depending on your time zone) and Uranus in Gemini on September 13, ushering in your ability to feel empowered through meaningful conversation and setting the stage for electrifying lightbulb moments. And on September 21, Mercury’s sextile to lucky Jupiter can magnify optimism and turn up the volume on broadening your horizons and pursuing even more ambitious aspirations.
Uranus Retrograde Makes Innovation Possible Through Inner Work
The planet of revolution, rebellion, and sudden change, Uranus, will kick off its five-month-long retrograde on September 10, moving backward through mutable air sign Gemini until February 8. Over the course of these next few months, the awakener planet asks you to go inward, addressing any inner restlessness by exploring your relationship to independence, freedom, and autonomy. And with Uranus in the Mercury-ruled air sign, you could be meditating on taking a different approach to expressing yourself, gathering, processing, and sharing information, connecting with others, learning new skills, perhaps even presenting yourself through social media.
September’s Lunations Urge You to Write a Bold New Story
Not only is September 10 the day that Venus and Mercury change signs and Uranus goes retrograde, but it’s also a new moon in the cerebral mutable earth sign Virgo. It’s the first lunation to follow a rollicking eclipse season that raised questions about your identity and purpose, then presented fated wake-up calls. With that game-changing work in the rearview, this new moon is wired for allowing your inner voice to inform a rational approach to hitting your goals, thanks to a sweet sextile to Mars in intuitive Cancer. Then, on September 26, a full moon in cardinal fire sign Aries conjuncts the outer planets in the sign of the Ram and forms helpful sextiles to Pluto and Uranus in Aquarius and Gemini, respectively, encouraging you to release anything holding you back while calling in daydreams and innovation.
Mars Begins a Fiery, Personal Growth-Spurring Chapter
As the month comes to an end, on September 27, Mars, the planet of action and energy, will enter fixed fire sign Leo for the first time since spring 2025. In the sign of the Lion, Mars will offer you a chance to go after your passions in a bold, confident, leadership-oriented, even theatrical way—for better or worse. Begin to pay close attention to how you are tapping into the dynamic power of Mars moving through the Leo-ruled area of your chart, because once the go-getter planet is retrograde there in early 2027, you’ll be nudged to slow down, reflect, and retrace your footsteps in order to come away from the transit having learned a crucial lesson.