Astro Forecast 9.12.24: The Shadowy Creep of Eclipses and Elections
Standing on a dark precipice for this long is bound to make us all a little weird.
What is happening?!
The astrology is mercifully subdued this week, fellow cranks, and we might be able to take a deep, grounding breath before screaming into the void of our upcoming lunar eclipse…so that’s nice. The vibe of the week, however, will remain strange and unsettling.
We are still grasping for truth in a liminal space, emphasized by a variety of mutable sign activity in the sky right now. Mutable, or double-bodied signs, as they were called in days of yore, are by definition strange, transitional places. These are the houses that straddle important seasonal and mental changes; Gemini keeps one Twin in harsh, just-thawed spring while the other frolics toward lush summer, and together they create a tension that signaled to ancient people that they had better tend those fucking fields or else they would starve. The next mutable sign in the wheel of the year, Virgo, serves as our school crossing guard from easy, watery summer into disciplined autumn, stressing in their particularly fussy way the need to reap what was sown if there is to be any chance of survival by winter. Sagittarius is the house of unhinged philosophy - The Archer ushers humanity through the death of flora and fauna and into the frozen quietude of winter by stressing inner exploration, fulfillment, and spiked eggnog. (Only a Sagittarius would like eggnog.) Finally, at the end of our vigil over the snowy tomb of Earth, Pisces fulfills the promise of regeneration by leaving one Fish in death, and the other seeding the potential of a spring rebirth. These signs are the pivot points of our lives and they mark each equinox and solstice as a way to say, “Look. Time is passing, jerks, so what are you going to do about it? Pull your human heads out of your human asses.”
Motion, then, as well as an embrace of uncertainty are the main takeaways from mutable seasons. We need to look ahead to new potential as we carry necessary lessons from our previous season and, like mutable Gemini, be willing to hold several competing notions in our heads at once. By midnight on 9.9.24, our sun, moon, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn all occupied double-bodied signs, and the lunar eclipse in Pisces is already gathering power and making us feel unsettled, edgy, and inappropriately chatty, like a bunch of kids doing their best nervous shit-talking before a big audition or exam. A quick online foray exposes normally calm, sanguine people engaging in rambling digital screeds about any number of issues (likely because Mercury is ON ONE in Virgo) and you can practically hear their teeth grinding like gears as they type out their frustration.
The feeling that’s been building all summer - one of a weight pressing us toward some massive, inevitable unknown, is affecting interpersonal relations just as strongly as it is contributing to collective ennui. The solution to this, and a strength of any mutable sign, is to accept that we are not in control, and we never were. The world will spin and events will unfold when the planets are aligned to do so, and no action human beings take will mitigate destiny. Soon, U.S. elections will mirror our descent into the underworld of autumn, wherein commentators and social media might ferry us across a river of political bullshit, like the digital Charon they have become. We will eventually arrive at winter, and instinctually turn our heads toward spring, like all the creatures that inhabit our planet. The wheel of time will continue to turn, regardless of our wishes or anxieties, and we can let that inevitability be our comfort. The only thing that is permanent is impermanence. I know. It sucks.
Why would this affect me?
We still adhere to the lessons of time that have been spoken by Mother Earth and her space compatriots for millennia, even if we aren’t fully conscious of our biorhythms and their synchronicity with nature. This sounds dippy, but it’s true. Consider modern human activity as it pertains to the ancient wheel of the year; even in my dismal, misty home base of the PNW, we bust out new plants, lighter layers of clothing, and strawberry coffee concoctions as soon as mid-March hits. This happens right about the time of the spring equinox, which is also when students take exams and start looking ahead to things like graduation, internships, and other transitional steps to future success. Conversely, academia and all of the hard, cerebral labor associated with such endeavors kick off Virgo season in August, with students and teachers thoroughly entrenched by the end of September. Late November through December is often treated as the ‘fuck off’ season, during which few people expect any deep labor to occur and the collective focus takes on very Sagittarian hues of party, vice, and travel.
Clearly, we utilize these ancient rhythms even when we don’t consciously acknowledge them. Our outer planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, are the harbingers of our unknown future, and they contain within their orbits the consequences of generations, centuries, and millennia. When these icy rocks change signs, which they are all preparing to do on slightly varied schedules over the next five years, they signal massive paradigmatic shifts that obviously affect our collective consciousness, but that also, somewhat less obviously, affect our personal perspectives. They delineate eras and act as guideposts for future generations, who will read about the hell of massive social transitions and wonder, “What must it have been like to live through that?”
Astrology is the practice of tracking astronomical movement and assigning it oracular importance, and mundane astrology does that in a generalized, collective way. Yes, we can look at famous birth charts, and yes, we can make horoscopic predictions for individual signs and events, but I believe that backing up and looking at the entire beast, with a focus on broad archetypes that apply to every human society, provides the most use, and it is particularly useful in moments like this, when we are swimming in chaos, overwhelming options, and uncertainty.
The human animal is so specialized in 2024 that everyone is a main character with their own television channel, Pinterest board, and clothing line. We work narrow jobs in big companies, responsible for uniquely specific bits of information like, I don’t know, UX design for pet owners. We have done these small, menial things for so long that we have forgotten how to think big, and how to see the universe as a multi-system organism in which we play only one small part. We exist in tandem with the universe - were we to ever truly separate, life as we know it would cease to be. The ancients could identify synchronicity between human heartbeats fluttering and the sky murmurations of sparrows, because people of yore had an innate understanding of our interconnectedness with the world. Modern perspectives rob us of this knowledge, and our most essential physical selves along with it, deepening the malaise that humanity currently seems to be experiencing without giving us anything in return. We have severed our connection to the nature that bore us, but it doesn’t have to be this way. In moments of upheaval, we can reclaim our agency through the simple act of marking time. No matter the political or social state of the world, autumn will arrive and we will pivot on an axis; we just can’t see the details of our redirection. Like The Fool, that derpy tarot stand-in for the dawn of humanity, we have to stick our foot off the edge of the cliff, close our eyes, and hope.
When do I have to deal with this?
Uranus stays in one sign for about 6 years, Neptune for 13 years, and Pluto hangs on to one sign for a whopping 20 years, so we will be dealing with existential fallout on the macro level for decades. Claiming some sort of nature-based practice and marking moments on the wheel of the year could help keep us grounded through what is bound to be a chaotic decade. Although there are small aspects hitting us this week/weekend that will jostle our ennui, none will feel so acute or profound as to override the transitory, unmoored feeling we are all experiencing collectively. The following aspects have tighter orbs and are likely to be transitory and personal, though, so you might get a hot date or a thought-provoking argument out of them.
WED 9.11 - FRI 9.13…A Self-Reflective First Quarter Moon + Confrontational Conversation with the Mars/Mercury Sextile
Mercury in Virgo: A Judgmental, Prudish Journalist Uncovering Every Mistake You’ve Made Since Birth
Moon in Sagittarius: An Earth Mama Who Takes Peyote and Gets Crazy Once the Kids are Asleep
Mars in Cancer: The Guy Who Perceives Every Random Comment as a Slight Against His Mother
Our first quarter of the moon is more of a check-in than anything, since it not wise to use eclipses for manifestation or shadow work. Try to step outside of your own head and observe any changes since the new moon , which helps to mark time and stay grounded. Observe, as rationally as you can, which parts of life seem contain the most friction. Which parts contain the least? Check back over your horoscope for a clue as to where this lunation is taking you, and if a different sign is resonating more than, say, the horoscope listed for your sun or rising, it might give you an important clue about your natal chart. Mutable sign uncertainty will continue to affect us thanks to Mercury and Mars; when these two get together, we generate quippy comebacks in record time and will not shy away from tiffs. In fact, you may find yourself feeling zesty for verbal combat, almost to the point of seeking out disagreement so you can prove the opposition wrong. There is little else a Virgo loves on this green Earth than proving someone wrong, especially if it requires itemized receipts. They eat that shit up.
THURS 9.12 - SAT 9.14…The Day of Blowhards, a.k.a. a loud Sun/Jupiter Square
Sun in Virgo: Your Dad Nitpicking Your Financial Routines and Career Goals
Jupiter in Gemini: The Wealthy Old Guy at the Retiree Home Who Flirts, Non-Stop, with Everyone
Have you ever had a man or other authority figure in your life take it upon himself to explain, loudly and in great detail, complicated procedures regarding his car/job/lawn that you honestly didn’t need or ask to know? Have you listened to a well-meaning diatribe about auto parts or pool maintenance simply because shutting him up expended too much energy, and honestly, he was kind of entertaining? This will be the tenor of every dad, leader, and authority figure today, and while it will not be wholly negative or unenjoyable, do not expect a reciprocal experience. The air in every room will be sucked up by those who wish to bloviate on their favorite topics, and it will inspire a jovial, celebratory atmosphere in many people while annoying a few others. As it goes anytime Jupiter is involved, be cautious of overindulgence and egotism, even if everyone at the bar seems to be digging your detailed explanation of how to replace a serpentine belt in the parking lot of the Autozone. We get it, Dad, you’re awesome.
SUN 9.15 - MON 9.16…People Tell Us We’re Pretty and Offer to Buy Us Things, a.k.a. Venus Trine Jupiter
Venus in Libra: The Prettiest, Nicest, Most Diplomatic and Accessorized Person at a Social Gathering
Jupiter in Gemini: The Wealthy Old Guy at the Retiree Home Who Flirts, Non-Stop, with Everyone
It doesn’t take too much to figure out how a heavy, Venusian influence will manifest over the weekend; if we put ourselves out there, admiration and connection are all but guaranteed. Notice how the timbre of this aspect differs from the square between Jupiter and the sun; Venus, in her chariot of Libra, is able to bring a complementary, submissive style to Jupiters chatty, entitled, old guy persona and they become quite charming together. For the singles out there, this is the perfect time to take a chance on someone, or to try out an intense, attention-grabbing aesthetic choice. Coupled folks might want to go somewhere new and different to deepen emotional bonds and have spicy fun. Conversely, if there are relationships in your life right now experiencing turbulence, this is the sort of astrology that can overcome resentment and build a new consensus. Relax, put on cute jewelry, and let the swingers at the cocktail lounge buy you drinks and compliment your vibe.
Cool, what does the Tarot say about this?
This Monday, 9.9, the 4 of Swords reversed obscured our vision for the future and made everyone want to lay down. We continue to have trouble moving toward an ending, likely because we aren’t facing a core reality about the things that need to end. We are experiencing a complicated blindness regarding the past.
6 of Pentacles reversed called our attention to our earthly well-being, or lack thereof, on Tuesday, 9.10. We lack certain things due to a machinated imbalance on the part of someone or something that maintains power over us, no matter how trivial the power may be. Pay attention to practical matters like physical and material health, lest incremental deterioration go unnoticed until it is painful.
On Wednesday, 9.11, The Sun reversed had us tangled up in a big ball of cautious optimism and jaded uncertainty. There are signs of good fortune and progress, but we remain collectively distrustful, and the companion pull of rhodonite indicates that this reticence stems from a desire to protect our hearts. A reversed Sun can indicate that we never fully internalized the darkness and inevitability of The Moon, which is the preceding major arcana, and which corresponds with next week’s lunar eclipse in Pisces. It is possible that revelations in the coming week will untangle some community doubts and fears, but only if we face reality first.
Litha on Thursday, 9.12 recommends we unplug from collective information and focus on natural, embodied activities throughout the day, a directive further strengthened by the companion pull of sunstone, an illuminating, charismatic crystal that wants us to revel in nature in order to manifest our ideal selves. Clean the house, work in the garden, or engage in a purely kinetic activity and stay out of the digital sphere as much as possible in order to remember our humanity.
Knight of Coins is stressing the slow progress of strenuous labor on Friday, 9.13., and the companion pull of amber keeps our focus trained on the embodied, earthly, and physical elements of our lives. It’s possible that all the noise coming out of our communities and social channels is paralyzing us; yes, it is good to be an informed citizen of the world, but we must also go to work, pay bills, and attend to our health and the health of our families.
Saturday, 9.14 brings us The Lovers and choice. Something is solidifying in our minds, and we are ready to concretely choose one path over another, even if it reduces our options for the future. Iolite, a crystal known as “The Viking’s Compass”, accompanies this Gemini-associated major arcana, showing us the right direction, the right decision, and the right path. Pay special attention to Mercury hitting 8 degrees of Virgo today - information that informs our choice might hit public airwaves or saturate social media.
On Sunday, 9.15, The Chariot reversed concludes our week, and it is essentially smacking us in the face with our difficult decision from the previous day. The Chariot is associated with the sign of Cancer, and it represents a grasping of agency after making our important choice.
Visit @alectochaos on IG for the full, wordy breakdown and video of each card pull, and to get the jump on the Mon - Wed card pulls. If you are into that sort of thing.
Fantastic writing! Love your Jupiter in Gemini description 😂