Declination Forecast September 2023: The Mercury-Mars-Neptune Saga Continues

As September kicked off, we were still under the influence of the Mercury Mars and Neptune saga that started last month and Venus was still retrograde. Venus stationed direct on September 4, and will start to pick up speed soon, but will remain at the station degree of 12° Leo until September 11.

When a planet stations retrograde it doesn’t click on, as you might think – or hope! Instead the station signals a time when the planet is appearing to stand really still on that degree. A good way to picture it is like an exclamation point. 12 degrees Leo is emphasized during this time. And if you have planets at 12 degrees of the fixed signs, you probably have a sense of what I’m talking about. 

Mercury, Mars and Neptune in Aspect

But getting back to declination. Mercury and Mars were both in Virgo last month, and opposing Neptune while also contraparallel. Mars has moved ahead into Libra now, but the declination aspects continue in ways that might sound confusing at first. Because on September 2, Mercury made a contraparallel to Mars. This is because both planets are hovering around the 0 degrees declination mark, which means they’re moving between north and south.

Planets around 0° declination can quickly shift from parallel to contraparallel – as is the case here. Mercury makes a contraparallel to Neptune on September 5, and then Mars makes another parallel to Neptune on September 8. So this declination conversation between these three planets isn’t quite over. 

Mercury is still retrograde, so it may be a while before you’re able to start making sense of this Mercury-Neptune connection. If you’re trying to objectively figure something out, try another approach. This might sound counter intuitive, but take a nap, or sleep on it, and see what happens.

Neptune needs to be honored here. Daydream, or meditate – but maybe not a rigid meditation with a lot of rules and structure. Instead consider more of a space out kind of meditation, or one where you’re shifting your consciousness away from objectivity and into other nonlinear states of mind. 

Mercury stations direct on September 15, but it doesn’t move to the next degree of 9° Virgo until September 20 and will start to pick up speed from there, signalling more forward momentum with whatever new seed has been planted for Mercury to explore over the next three months or so.

For the Mars piece, Mercury makes another contraparallel to Mars later this month on the 25th of September. So there are several opportunities to turn your words into action. Mars is in Libra though, so you might be thinking about how your words will impact others too, and that would be a great intention if so. 

The Moon Out of Bounds in Cancer

There isn’t a lot more declination action this month except for the Moon being out of bounds from September 6 to 11, and from the 21st to 25th. We are in a period of time when the Moon is going out of bounds regularly at least twice a month, and the length of time out of bounds is a little extended.

On September 6 the Moon starts off out of bounds in Gemini and then moves through Cancer while out of bounds. If you do electional astrology – where you’re looking for good dates for important actions, you might note that the Moon will be out of bounds regularly when it’s in Cancer right now. This isn’t necessarily an indication to not take action, but it could emphasize the Moon even more than usual, so make sure that’s something you’re going for in your selected chart.

The Moon in Cancer can be wonderful energy in an electional chart, depending on your intention. 

The Moon Out of Bounds in Capricorn

The Moon in Capricorn will also be out of bounds right now, and this month the Moon starts off out of bounds in Sagittarius on the 21st, then stays out of bounds through Capricorn. This Moon could be a little more tricky in electionals, and you might wait it out, and opt to use this time to reflect on what you’re responsible for.

When you reflect on your emotional reactions, especially in relationships where there is a little dependency in the mix, what part is your responsibility and what part isn’t? The Moon in Capricorn could be a good time to generate some insights there. 

Sun Contraparallel Neptune

Lastly, the Sun is in Virgo right now, so it will make an opposition to Neptune as it approaches 26 degrees, and hits that mark on September 20. Adding in declination, that aspect is already strengthened and in range by September 16, when the Sun is contraparallel Neptune.

This is a time when ideals might clash a bit with practicality. There’s the dream of what we could do, or be, or create. And then there are the practical details that could get in the way of the vision being just as perfect as we imagine.

If this theme is up for you, be gentle with your ideals to avoid the pain of disillusionment. Understand your ideals in their right context – that they are guides. That they are there to keep us inspired.

When we start believing that we really could create a utopia of love peace and absolute harmony here on Earth, that’s when we get into trouble. But holding the ideal of the possibility allows us to reach for it in attainable ways, on a day to day basis. Virgo teaches us to focus on what’s right in front of us and just take that next step, putting one foot in front of the other, doing one kind deed here, and another tomorrow. And eventually those kind deeds add up to a lot of helpful support and loving kindness. 

And with that, I’ll wrap up this month’s declination report. To learn more about declination, check out my course Intro to Declination. And until next time, take good care. 

-Tony Howard

Declination Transit Dates for September 2023

• September 2 – Mercury contraparallel Mars
• September 5 – Mercury contraparallel Neptune
• September 6 to 11 – Moon out of bounds
• September 8 – Mars parallel Neptune
• September 9 – Sun parallel Mercury
• September 16 – Sun contraparallel Neptune
• September 21 to 25 – Moon out of bounds
• September 25 – Mercury contraparallel Mars