September Astrology 2026 and the Neptune-Pluto Sextile: Something's Happening!
September's stars bring Chiron back in Aries, Neptune sextile Pluto, a fabulous Virgo New Moon and excellent Aries Full Moon plus the Autumn Equinox even as Venus enters her retro-shadow... It's all systems go!
September Astrology
This is a revolutionary time.
September enters with Pluto out of bounds, signifying a unique time of change and grass roots revolutions returning “power to the people” now and until 2035.
We also have the rare ongoing beautiful harmony between Pluto, Neptune and Uranus, a bow ready to be drawn and birth a brand new human consciousness.
And we have the wonderful shorter term influence of Jupiter trine Saturn active August 2026 - July 2027 - the most solid aspect in astrology for positive long term initiatives! This one hits a high note on September 1st.
So September enters strong!
This month is a dynamic new beginning.
With two powerful eclipses behind us, issues have been churned up and new energy has already started building up to take us toward brand new shores. It’s now time to work hard to release the past.
And the next nine months will be crucial. With multiple back-to-back retrogrades of Venus, Mercury and Mars, an ongoing triple conjunction in Leo ripening ‘karma’ and changing the leadership landscape, and with the Jupiter-Saturn trine maturing into Spring-Summer 2027, the next nine months will be doing their utmost to see us leave the past behind and step into a brand new future.
But let’s take a quick look at the September Astrology of 2026. Key features include the Autumn Equinox (September 23rd), and two majestic lunations: a Virgo New Moon on the 11th and an Aries Full Moon on the 26th - both brimming with positive potential!
WEEK ONE: August 31 - September 6: Venus Shadow
September enters on a high with Jupiter trine Saturn hot on the heels of August 31st. It is a productive Virgo season. Venus enters her retrograde shadow too as we prepare to go on a trip in October to retrieve hidden parts of our soul.
September 1st Venus enters her retrograde shadow
Venus is already in her retrograde shadow since September 1st, gradually setting closer to sunset, and reaching her brightest moment on September 22nd. Venus will go retrograde on October 3rd and all the way until mid-November. And so it is time to prepare for a major reassessment of our choices, relationships and investment of money, time and energy. We may even be about to jump into a timeworn to retrieve part of ourselves from the past, or even enter a weird relationship cocoon, either alone or with someone else, to discover a different side to ourselves.
But all that is still to come, in October. Right now, you can feel that period coming, that need to reassess… It's an eery feeling of an inner journey looming. And it is.
September 1st Mercury square Saturn (09:58 UT) and sextile Mars (13:21 UT)
September enters on a serious note with Mercury square Saturn and sextile Mars. The moment calls for some serious thinking, but also the courage to take action. This combo is quick to anger and easy to depress, but also fabulous for rigorous thinking and swift targeted action. Mercury is at its furthest from the earth right now and travelling fast.
September 4th Last quarter Gemini Moon (07:51 UT), Venus opposite Eris (09:24 UT)
By the 4th there is great excitement, exuberance and commotion. The Moon hits its waning quarter in Gemini, side by side with Uranus and approaches a sextile to Jupiter - good times! And Venus opposes Eris, giving licence to our preferences and affections to express themselves freely. An outspoken, exuberant, fast paced day.
WEEK TWO: September 7th-13th: Virgo New Moon
This week offers a strong, exciting and dynamic fresh start! That’s down to a wonderful Virgo New Moon. Mercury, ruler of Virgo, finds itself in a lovely little spot, connecting with the beautiful triangle in the skies that’s calling us all to new dimensions.
September 10th Uranus Retrograde 6° Gemini (18:27 UT), Venus trine North Node (01:UT BST), Venus enters Scorpio (07:06 UT) & opposes Chiron (17:15 UT), Mercury enters Libra (16:20 UT)
Barely a day before the New Moon, we have Uranus station retrograde electrifying the atmosphere with nervous anticipation of things unknown. Tension is running high and you can’t tell if you’re excited or anxious not knowing what’s next. Time to begin processing and internalising all the crazy changes that took place since early February.
At the same time Venus harmonises with the Lunar Nodes, opening great big highways for bridge building. Venus leaves Libra and enters Scorpio a few hours later, an area it will backtrack over on October 25th and then again December 4th. Venus is well-mannered and suave in Libra, her own sign; whereas she is naked and raw in Scorpio, Mars’ sign. Let’s what all this to and fro will bring over the next few months in how we understand human relationships. With Venus opposite Chiron too, we can expect some raw and vulnerable emotions coming to the surface.
Mercury also changes signs on the same day, leaving its own sign of rulership, Virgo, and entering Libra. While Mercury prefers more neutral, computational and clinical ground, Libra is still a good place for Mercury, especially when it comes to seeing both sides of a coin and weighing pros and cons. Also, Libra allows Mercury to plug into that wonderful triangle in the sky over the upcoming Virgo New Moon. Things are getting interesting!
September 11th Virgo New Moon (03:27 UT)
September brings a really positive Virgo New Moon at 18°25' Virgo in near-perfect sextile to Mars.
All systems go!
This is an opportunity to take the initiative and make a start with projects and improvements you want to see materialise over the next six months. This is the first non-eclipse New Moon in Virgo since 2024. Some space at last to take our own initiatives where it concerns the detail of our lives and not be put upon by events to act.
Virgo loves to work and be productive. Virgo loves perfect efficiency and functionality, with nothing going to waste. Virgo loves the kind of health that allows peak performance, uttermost wellbeing, and all the little physical pieces being so seamlessly in place that they melt into the background and allow our divinity to shine. All these things Virgo loves. That’s the aim even (however they go about it). And this New Moon is about making things work! And it is about work. It is about keeping at it, day in day out. And about all those small tweaks and improvements that will make a vast difference. A goo time to focus on Virgo themes like work, health, diet, exercise, and other daily rituals and routines that form the bedrock of any kind of mastery. Go for it!
The Sabian Symbol for this Virgo New Moon is “a Swimming Race”
Is this mankind operating in a brand new and more fluid element and perfecting new skills? Or…is it a race of spermatozoa?
Something new is being born. Something new is emerging.
September 12th Mercury trine Pluto (15:59 UT), opposite Neptune (16:37 UT)
This is the first part of Mercury’s lovely concert in the skies. As Mercury trines Pluto and opposes Neptune, this day lends itself to deep penetrative thought and inspirational concepts. Let something bigger flow through you to aid you in this new beginning.
Mercury will be in a happy, exciting space now, and more or less until September 21st, leading up to the Aries Full Moon.
WEEK THREE: September 14th-20th: The Neptune-Pluto Sextile is Back - so is Chiron in Aries!
Chiron goes back into Aries this week to stay until mid-April 2027. Time for one last pass on the wound of I AM. Neptune sextiles Pluto too plucking some deep hypnotic chords in the universe. Something deep within our souls is awakening. The whole world is humming a low barely audible tune of bio-spiritual evolution.
September 14th Mercury trine Uranus (02:39 UT), Sun sextile Mars (19:52 UT)
This is an exciting start to the week. Mercury in Libra trines Uranus in Gemini, opening up the space for electrifying conversations. And Mars sextiles the Sun across Virgo and Cancer, allowing for effective, emotionally fulfilling and dynamic initiatives. A day of action and commotion.
September 15th Venus square Pluto (18:34 UT)
This is a day of super intense affections, sexuality, secrets and even power struggles. Money could create power imbalances. A good day to bond and get closer, even if the terrain is not always smooth.
September 16th Neptune sextile Pluto (02:08 UT)
Here we have the low chords in the background that are shaping our world. This is a slow moving cycle and these planets only come together every 500 years or so, moving barely a few degrees down the zodiac each time.
Their last conjunction was in 1891-92 signalling the birth of the modern era. This, now, is their opening sextile and it’s been going on for a while… It started in the post-war era in the 1950s, becoming exact in 1950-56, then in 1976-86 and finally now, for a final run, in 2026-2032. Notice how the interplay of those planets seems to define eras…
Right now, we are in the third and final phase of a process of awakening that was seeded in the late 19th century and has been striving to reach the light in the 1950s. Can we finally move into an era that is truly post-war? Can we begin to make the most of the wonderful leaps in consciousness, technology, and evolution that sprang up at the turn of the previous century?
This cycle won’t actually culminate until the early to mid 2100s. Right now, we are living in a time equivalent to the waxing crescent moon of a new cycle of consciousness, seeded at the turn of the 20th century and striving to come into being. At this stage, we’re still trying to break away from the past and grow in light, in a process that is larger than us. All we can do is do our bit.
September 18th Chiron back in Aries (02:52 UT), Mercury opposite Saturn (10:00 UT), First Quarter Sagittarius Moon (20:43 UT)
Chiron moves back into Aries to don his warrior armour one last time, right before moving into Taurus for good on April 14th 2027.
Chiron in Taurus will begin a new curriculum, teaching us all about the wisdom of the body and the earth.
For now, it’s time to grab our hero’s cape for one last fight for our right to be masters of our fate. The mantra is “I AM”. Uncompromising, rebellious warrior spirits are hotting up again!
Chiron almost trines the South Node from the final and so called “anaretic” Aries degree upon entry into Aries. This tends to bring crisis and an urgency to action. A waxing quarter Sagittarius Moon trine Chiron and the Node brings added pressure on the day.
Chiron stays in that crisis degree until early to mid-October so this whole period could bring an urgency to fight and claim back any lost sense of power and sovereignty.
Mercury opposes Saturn on the same day and our thoughts take on a sober timber. Obstacles may appear in travel and communications urging us to slow down. News ask for a deeper strategy. Words incur commitments. Take a moment to think it through.
September 20th Mars square Eris (20:18 UT)
By Sunday, we get a gloves-off, raucous day with considerable free and rebellious energy.
WEEK FOUR: September 21st-27th: Aries Full Moon!
This is the week of the Autumn Equinox and Aries Full Moon, which arrives right atop Neptune. There is a madness in the air! Something important culminates filling the world with great longing…
September 21st Mercury sextile Jupiter (22:50 UT)
Here we have good vibes, tolerance and easy conversations. A generous intellectual spirit abounds. Mercury now completes his ‘in good spirits’ conversation with all the various players in the sky, the one that started with the Virgo New Moon, leading to a wonderful Aries Full Moon.
September 23rd Autumn Equinox / Sun in Libra (00:05 UT)
The Autumn Equinox arrives as the 22nd gives way to the 23rd of September - at least in the northern hemisphere. It’s Libra time! Harvest. Time to level the fields, reduce excess, weigh things up, come together in equal partnership and exchange, use the scales to find balance, and generally initiate the kind of civilisation, culture and social exchange that will see us through the winter. Not a time to go it alone. Find your counterpoint.
Happy Birthday Libra!
September 26th Aries Full Moon (16:49 UT), with Sun opposite Neptune (01:36 UT) and trine Pluto (05:34 UT)
This month’s Full Moon is in fiery Aries at 3°37' bang on top of Neptune in Aries. It is also trine an urgent Mars, and sextile Uranus and Pluto.
This Neptune-Uranus-Pluto combo is that wonderful energy that characterises our times, a promise for the future, even amid all the difficulties, a potential that is there if only we tap into it. This is a glorifying, romantic, transcendent lunation, right at the pinnacle of that arrow that points toward the greatest human potential. It can be inspirational, allowing us to reach higher states of consciousness. Or it can be maddening, inebriated and feral, letting the irrational mind run wild.
A maddening streak is a distinct possibility with Mars, ruler of this Full Moon, at the final and critical degree of Cancer, trine the Moon and in mutual reception with it (i.e. Moon and Mars are in each others’ signs). This is a passionate emotional extravaganza of a Full Moon!
Either way, the Moon is in Aries. Time to step forth bravely and experience some sort of flow state.
Good old Saturn is close by, widely conjunct the Full Moon to keep us steady. We may require some rest the next morning…
The Sabian Symbol for this Full Moon is “Two Lovers Strolling on a Secluded Walk”
Here we have the power of polarity: the powerful magnetic energy generated by the free interplay of perfect opposites.
We also have romance emphasised twice!
September 27th Mercury opposite Eris (06:43 UT), Mars square Chiron (11:58 UT)
This is a bit of a raw day. Words are spoken readily, without fear of offence. But actions may still hurt. Take it easy.
WEEK FIVE: September 28th-October 4th: Mars in Leo...
The key event this week is Mars’ entry into Leo. Leo will be the host of Jupiter and Mars retrograde, plus the South Node and eclipses in the coming months… Expect bold dramatics over a long period of time.
September 28th Mars enters Leo (02:48 UT), Sun trine Uranus (16:21 UT)
Mars enters Leo and the Sun trines Uranus. Exciting times. A good day for daring initiatives.
Mars in Leo can be proud, bold and chivalrous. He can also a big kid that throws its toys out of the pram. We are entering dramatic times. Mars will stay in Leo for a prolonged period, as this will be the sign of most of the upcoming Mars retrograde (Mars goes retrograde January 10th-April 1st across Virgo and Leo).
In particular, Mars will stay in Leo until November 25th in the first instance, then revisit Leo 21 February - 14 May 2027, where he will station direct on April 1st. Watch this space!
Also watch out for Mars opposite Pluto, trine Neptune and sextile Uranus coming up on October 2nd-3rd, a potentially explosive moment. The game is afoot!
September 29th Mercury trine North Node (22:06 UT)
This is an important day for news and communications. If you want to reach audiences this is the day to announce things! Something key is being said.
September 30th Mercury opposite Chiron (03:15 UT), Mercury enters Scorpio (11:44 UT)
September ends with Mercury’s entry into Scorpio, where he will enter his own retrograde phase on October 23rd.
Mercury opposes Chiron just before leaving Libra, when polite words and white lies will no longer cut the mustard. Scorpio is next in any case and Scorpio likes to get straight down to business.
And Into October...
We are now fully out of eclipse territory (takes about a month) and entering into a strange kind of retrograde territory. The August eclipses having delivered their message, it’s now down to us to work through anything in our past that’s still holding us back and prepare the ground for something new.
The next many months may contain waiting and delays, but they will give us the time to clear space, sort through everything and decide what’s important, putting in the work required to create something new. All this will take time and persistence. Mercury in Scorpio has both, plus the penetrating gaze to match.
The start to October is rather intense, with Mars opposite Pluto and Mercury in square, Venus stationing retrograde, Mercury entering its retrograde shadow, and Sun opposite Saturn - and all that by October 2nd- 4th. September is a chance to get into a good headspace so we can tackle it all head on.
Article by YourAstroGenes
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