September is a definitive U-turn month as six planets will be retrograde by the second weekend. Five of them are the slow-moving outer planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. In all fairness, they spent one-third to half of the year in this reflective position, which doesn’t necessarily mess with the day-to-day machinations of our lives. If anything, outer planet retrogrades are a chance to recalibrate and course correct. We could all use that sometimes. The tricky one is Mercury, the planet of communication, technology and travel, but more on that later. As always, September is a transitional month, as it brings the energy of Virgo. Being the only mutable earth sign, Virgo’s energy is calming and grounding, with the finality of helping us put our lives in order before the season ahead. Leo season is always intense, so the opportunity to catch our breath is more than refreshing.

August is one of the most important months to pay attention to astrologically speaking. We begin the month under the triple conjunction of Mars, Uranus, and the Lunar North Node. (You can read by blog post about that here.) While this conjunction concerning due to the volatile influence of both Uranus and Mars, it can also be read as a huge opportunity to move in new directions. Planets and placements in Leo’s three fellow fixed signs (Taurus, Scorpio and Aquarius) will apply pressure to sensitive areas of our lives. This pressure will force us to make real changes. Uranus and the North Node connected since 2007, much less interacting with Mars. We’ll feel the intensity of this trio as they are in Taurus creating an extra layer of tension.

From today, July 29th and all through the month of August, there is troubling energy coming our way. This energy peaks on July 31 as Uranus, the planet of change aligns with the Lunar North Node which karmically represents our destiny in this life, and what we are here to accomplish. Both are in Taurus, a stable, fixed earth sign. The next day, Mars enters the mix. (However, these events may happen on the same day in your time zone.) Mars will be conjunct Uranus and the North Node from July 22 to August 15, while Uranus stays within a few degrees of the North Node for the rest of the year and into February 2023. While unsettling energy is not something we ever like to experience, the energy from the North Node gives us some reassurances that it’s leading us to a higher future; that it’s helping to unlock events that can help us to ascend in consciousness, not just on an individual level, but as a planet.

The past few years have not been easy. I’m not going to reiterate the litany of our woes; we all know what we have been living with. With the karmic North Node in conservative Taurus (an earth sign that rules the economic markets and material goods) and the South Node in Scorpio (which rules investments, violence and the body’s reproductive system), these events sadly do track with astrology.

As we enter June, we are still under the beams of the new moon in Gemini, which occurred on May 30. With eclipse season over and the moon now gaining light, the astrology of June provides the perfect terrain to integrate all the movement that took place in April and May. While the overall theme of “great change” that characterizes 2022 remains active, the natal planets will be in stronger positions, helping us achieve more of our goals.