Betwixt and between the eclipses we have two important events this week: Jupiter returns to Pisces on Friday for some unfinished business, and Mars comes to its station on October 30th, in preparation for its retrograde journey back through the sign of Gemini.

Please forgive any typos and/or word salad. The brain is still trying to adjust to a new normal. And of course it is challenged to do so as we take a detour into Eclipse season. We’re all going to feel the South Node Eclipse drain. Mars slowing for its retrograde at the end of the month does not help. However, what we do have going for us this week, is Saturn’s station for its direct phase. And so the gradual march forward begins. To find out more about the Eclipse and the station of Saturn, click below.

We stand at a threshold. We are entering Eclipse Season, Saturn is appearing to slow for its direct station on the 23rd, Mars is also slowing for its station at the end of the month. And as Mars appears to slow to a standstill it makes a lengthy transit to Neptune which lasts through November. And in the middle of all this change, uncertainty and resolution, we have a new Venus cycle beginning on the 22nd. To see what some of this could all mean, click below.

We are in a state of transition as Pluto comes to station for its direct phase. This is because Pluto is poised to make its way through the final degrees of the sign of Capricorn, and so bring the end of an era. Over the next few years Pluto will be moving between the last degrees of Capricorn and early Aquarius. The Pluto in Capricorn era is giving way to the Pluto in Aquarius era. And in the process a lot of loose ends will be tied up before we move on.

Mercury (finally!) stations direct this weekend. But like a lingering hangover, we aren’t fully out of the retrograde woods yet. It takes some time for Mercury to pick up speed again. And added to the mix is a confabulating opposition to Neptune. Lucky for us, a close trine to Pluto will act like a lighthouse in the storm, guiding us through the prevailing fog.

So glad to be home again in order to greet the New Moon in Libra. With a strong opposition to Jupiter, a conjunction to retrograde Mercury, and at the apex of a configuration called Thor’s Hammer, we are being asked to find the still center at the eye of the storm. The New Moon in Libra falls on September 25th (or 26th, depending on where you are in the world) at 2º Libra 49’; at 5:55 pm EDT, 2:55 pm PDT and 10:55 pm British Daylight Time. To read more, click below

The Full Moon in Pisces is a time of culmination and release. Friday night/Saturday we have the Full Moon at 17º Pisces 41’ conjunct Juno and Neptune, and tightly sextile Uranus. It becomes exact just hours after Mercury stations for its retrograde phase. We are being asked to both slow down and pause. It is time to release, revise, reassess, and move on, processing what we have learned along the way. Dream deep, and find ways to connect with yourself. It will help to bring you where you need to be.

This week Mercury appears to slow down for its retrograde station on September 9th/10th, at 8º Libra 55’. It is exactly opposite Jupiter this weekend, which will extend all the way through to the 20th of September, due to this retrograde phase of Mercury. Including Mercury we will now have a total of 6 planets in their retrograde phases. In some way we are being asked to slow down.

The New Moon at 4º Virgo falls this year on Saturday, August 27th (or Friday the 26th, depending on where you live). With a very tight square to Mars, just having entered Gemini, we’ll all be impatient and hell-bent to get things back to order. But not too fast! Virgo will not want us to miss any of the very important details.

Uranus stations this week on August 24th, for its retrograde phase. These 5-month retrograde phases are important times of growth; and allows for adjustments to whatever changes have occurred or will occur in the foreseeable future. Also this week, Mars enters Gemini where it will remain for an inordinately lengthy period of time (from August 20th thru March 24th). Usually spending only a few months in a sign, Mars will be in Gemini for 7 months, energizing and waking up this area of your natal or solar chart.