If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget about it. This is real astrology for the real world. If it's real astrology for yourself that you want, you can get it by phone or in print. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT). Also please be aware that, while I never change a forecast once it's published, I do post errata to acknowledge typographical errors and the like.
Don’t feel bad
because the sun went down
the night has wealth untold.
-- Rickie Lee Jones
 

What happens in September is what’s written here, if past results are any indication. This forecast is tomorrow’s news, in other words. Take, for example, the storm and seismic stuff. As per last month’s forecast, the "unusually strong storms with high winds and heavy precipitation, extreme tidal surges, and of course a raft of newsworthy magnitude 5+ quakes and volcanic eruptions" came through right on schedule. The heavy rains and historic flooding in Pakistan began during the July full moon geocosmic stress window as described in advance, and gathered momentum through the August 10 SuperMoon new moon and the full moon on the 26th. It is being described as the worst natural calamity in that country’s history; more than 700,000 people are homeless in its wake.

In Africa, Niger was hit by the worst flooding in 80 years starting within the August 10 SuperMoon window: half the country’s population is now homeless. And tropical storm Mindulle struck China on the day of the August full moon – the same day that Hurricane Danielle reached Category 2 strength in the Atlantic. The Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador has been erupting on and off since the lunar eclipse of late June, intensifying in late July (during the full moon period specified in that month’s forecast), continuing into August. Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano erupted on the day of the August full moon as well, and Sumatra’s Mt. Sinabung began rumbling just a couple days after that full moon – breaking out in a full-fledged killer eruption on the 28th. (Note too that my August forecast described the longitude of the Indochina peninsula as at risk of storms and seismic activity around the time of the full moon - and of course, Sumatra is right in that longitudinal zone.) All but one entry in the USGS list of significant earthquakes worldwide for August occurred during the SuperMoon stress window specified in my forecast for the month. (They ranged from 6.6 to 7.3 in magnitude.)

September brings another SuperMoon, the second in a trio of new moon perigee-syzygies that began with the August 10 alignment. This one falls on the 8th, the 110th anniversary of the Galveston hurricane, which struck on the very day of a SuperMoon and remains the deadliest natural disaster in US history. There’s a very long history connecting SuperMoons to newsworthy and even historic mega storms with high winds, heavy precipitation and flooding; as well as extreme tidal surges and moderate to severe seismic activity, including both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. (The SuperMoon section of my 2010 World Forecast Highlights defines this alignment and provides a selection of its historical manifestation.) A case in point that I haven’t mentioned before is the one that gave rise to what Japan calls the kamikaze, the divine wind. The term first arose in connection with a storm that wrecked a Mongol invasion fleet on the night of November 20, 1274 – within the geocosmic stress window of the SuperMoon alignment on the 15th, which was extended through the 20th due to the peak lunar north declination on the 19th. The Mongols tried to invade Japan again in 1281, but that fleet too was destroyed by a storm, another kamikaze – on August 12, within three days of a total solar eclipse. Extreme lunar alignments – whether SuperMoons or eclipses – bear watching.

The September 8 SuperMoon falls at 15° 40’ Virgo – six hours after lunar perigee (the Moon’s closest approach to Earth), five hours before the Moon’s southward crossing of the celestial equator; making this an extreme extreme lunation. At the time of the alignment, Venus and Mars are conjunct in the sky, and the Great T-Square of 2010 is still very much alive: Saturn is in a waning square aspect (270° arc) to Pluto, and opposing the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. Expect the usual, during the geophysical stress window that runs from the 5th through the 11th: an upsurge in newsworthy extreme tidal surges, severe storms with high winds and heavy precipitation (and subsequent flooding), and moderate-to-severe seismic activity (including magnitude 5+ earthquakes and volcanic eruptions).

No place on earth is beyond the reach of at least one such disturbance, but astro-locality may offer a few hints as to places most at risk during this particular SuperMoon window. For example, there’s a longitudinal risk zone running from Cape Town, South Africa up through Belgrade in the Old World, over the poles and then through western Alaska in the New; as well as a horizon arc sweeping down through eastern Canada and the US Atlantic seaboard (directly through New York), and across western South America in the New World, emerging to sweep through Indonesia and eastern China (touching both Hong Kong and Beijing). Whether you’ll be in one of the indicated zones during the September 5-11 risk window or not, it’s a good idea to have your emergency kit ready just in case – the bottled water, the candles, the dried and canned foods, the go bag etc.

Speaking of emergency kits, there are other geocosmic risk windows to be aware of this month. September opens under the aegis of the north lunar declination peak on the 2nd. In effect from the 1st through the 3rd, this one isn’t nearly SuperMoon class, but it does indicate a higher than normal risk of tidal surges, strong storms and moderate to severe seismic disturbances (magnitude 5+ quakes and volcanic activity). Being planetary in scale, the lunar declination maximum is planet-wide in scope. If there are any particular risk zones, they may correlate with the Moon’s meridian arc, which is centered along the longitude of Lima and Washington DC in the western hemisphere (including the Caribbean and the US Atlantic seaboard). Jakarta and Hanoi mark the centerline of the lunar meridian arc in the eastern hemisphere, sweeping through Indonesia, the Indochina Peninsula, central China, Mongolia and Siberia. (There’s also a lunar horizon arc sweeping northeasterly through Africa, from Nigeria in the west through Libya and Egypt in the east, on across Turkey and into Russia and Siberia.)

With the Moon reaching maximum declination south of the celestial equator on the 14th, the tides that stir the seas and atmosphere and crust of our home planet are heightened from the 13th into the 16th; and again from the 20th through the 26th, under the aegis of the full moon on the 23rd; as well as from the 28th into the 30th, surrounding the north lunar declination maximum on the 29th. Once more, there’s an elevated risk of headline storms with damaging winds, heavy precipitation and flooding during these intervals; as well as moderate to severe seismic activity (magnitude 5+ earthquakes, volcanic eruptions). These are not likely to be the biggest such events of the year, but they still hold a lot of dangerous potential and certainly do bear watching.

The whole of Planet Earth is at risk during all of these shock windows. More focused risks for the period around the 14th are likely centered along the Moon’s meridian arc, a longitudinal zone that runs from southern Mexico through the Gulf into Louisiana, and northward through the US Midwest and on into Ontario and Manitoba to cross the pole and come down through the intersection of Siberia, Mongolia and China southward across western China, Nepal and eastern India. The full moon on the 23rd appears to hold the second highest potential of the month – just behind the SuperMoon on the 8th – when it comes to really damaging storms and seismic events. For one thing, it’s tightly configured: the Sun and Saturn are conjunct at one end of the sky, opposed by the Moon, Jupiter and Uranus at the other; with Pluto and the moon’s nodes turning the whole thing into a Grand Cross in the heavens – or at least a T-Square, if the nodes be left out. (Leave ‘em out at your peril!) Left out of the pattern, but still worth noting, is the Venus-Mars conjunction: everything happens with passion, and that includes destruction. It all adds up to a lot of focus. Speaking of focus, there are a few special risk zones suggested in the astro-locality map for the September 23 full moon: eastern Alaska and the Yukon and east Africa and the Middle East in particular; along with eastern China, Japan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Australia in the eastern hemisphere and east central South America in the west.

Another of the July into August forecast components that came through right on schedule was "the fires, crashes, clashes and explosions" factor. It "accompanied the Mars-Saturn conjunction of late July," and as I wrote in last month’s forecast, this trend was "bound to continue well into August, with the Red Planet and the Ringed Planet staying so close in alignment for so long. Arguably," I wrote, "because it feeds into the Great T-Square pattern (which include Venus, up to mid-month), this looks to be more or less continuous through the 13th, with peaks around the 1st and 13th." A prime example of that trend was the outbreak of hundreds of wildfires in Russia starting in late July. The fires did over $15 billion damage, and finally began to subside on the 13th as heavy rains fell on Moscow under the aegis of the August 10 SuperMoon.

One thing that sets September apart from August is a relative easing of those "if it bleeds, it leads" headlines. Homo sapiens won’t go bonobo-style pacifist by any means, but a relative scarcity of dramatic Mars alignments this month suggests only a nominal (rather than exceptional) rash of fires, crashes, clashes and explosions. Accidents, criminals and terrorists are a statistical fact of life, and there are any number of wars going on around the world still, so it’s not as if peace and quiet will break out all over the world in September. And there’s still a Venus-Mars conjunction going on (not exact until October 3, but within a few degrees all month); which is great for passions good as well as evil. That said, I still expect a little less carnage this month than last – except perhaps around 10th and 11th.

Another more positive development I expect this month is something I wrote about in my Monster in the Gulf Facebook note back in early June, where I spoke of the September Jupiter-Uranus conjunction as the harbinger of the BP Macondo blowout in the Gulf of Mexico being capped with a relief well at last. Jupiter and Uranus make their exact alignment this month on the 19th, but remain within a single degree throughout September. (Some kind of follow-up cap work may be needed around the time of the early January, 2011 repeat Jupiter-Uranus alignment.) And in any event – official BP and government statements to the contrary – the cleanup work will ultimately stretch into decades, as stated in my June note.) There’s more to this Jupiter-Uranus alignment than the relief well, mind you. As noted in my 2010 World Forecast Highlights, this alignment points to "scientific and technological breakthroughs that will be important in shaping the new industries of the air sign Chronocrator century . . . precursors, not full-blown commercial developments – much like the telephone or light bulb in the 1870s, or the transistor in the 1940s.)" Discoveries in physics, astronomy and astrophysics look to be especially important this month as well.

Speaking of Facebook notes, please be aware that if you’re not following my Facebook and Twitter pages, then you’re not up to speed with what I’m doing and forecasting. My website gets updated at least weekly, and sometimes several times a week. Sending updates to Facebook and Twitter takes a lot less of my time - no HTML coding to worry about - so I can do it far more frequently there. If you'd like a quick take on what's happening - including what I'm doing in the markets - and it doesn't require a personal consultation, you can always find out what's on my mind (astrological and otherwise) via those two free social networks. If you missed the action and the profits on my Dow and euro shorts, share purchases etc. in July and August, it's because you're not following me on Facebook and Twitter.

As for shorts and shares and such, September is no time to go on sabbatical if you have money in the markets. I devoted an inordinate amount of time to what’s happening in the markets in last month’s forecast, and described factors which remain very much in effect in September. So I’ll refer you to the pertinent portion of my August forecast, if you’re not already up to speed on it. We’re not by any means out of the sovereign debt default crises yet, but there has been an uptick in markets generally since the beginning of the Venus Max cycle back on August 20, as forecast. (Take, for example, the triple-digit gain in the Dow following Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke’s speech on the 27th.) This is no one-way day-after-day lift ticket, so anyone in the markets needs to be eagle-eyed and quick of hand over these next several months, as we go through the Venus Max cycle (which ends in January) and its mitigating signals for the markets. The kind of improvements one would expect under a Venus Max must be seen in the context of the economic and political uncertainty and adjustments at work now and through the final Jupiter-Saturn opposition in March 2011. Sometimes better simply means "less bad", and we have to accept that. Less bad looks like the operative term in September, at least until the end of the Mercury Max cycle on the 19th, when the little planet reaches its greatest western elongation. (After that date, you might want to consider the occasional long position as part of a diversified portfolio.)

Speaking of Mercury Max, I’ve described this cycle in great detail in my August forecast. Suffice it to say that all things Mercurial are crucial during the Mercury Max phase; infrastructure, commerce, information, communication and transport being prime examples. Absent careful investigation and planning, and conscientious follow-through, all such things are apt to go off track during these cycles. Mercury's Max phase is a time for focus, concentration, planning, investigation, information-gathering, follow-through and communication - all the qualities of the active and involved mind, in short. All are emphasized and highlighted during this cycle, to an unusual degree. You’ll see it in your life. You’ll see it in the headlines.

Strikes and other disruptions affecting transportation and communication (e.g. postal, phone, mass transit, trucking, airline, shipping, dock and warehouse workers, teachers and all manner of media) will likely grab headlines through the 19th. Weather both terrestrial and solar (including geomagnetic storms) can play a part in the kind of breakdowns described here, but human inattention (and sometimes malicious action) is a part of the mix as well. Power failures due to infrastructure breakdown and computer network disruptions caused by hacker attacks, software vulnerabilities, heavy traffic and the like are also just a crossed wire or a keystroke away from a major mess at these times. Be sharp, be focused, be ready.

In closing, I’d be remiss not to make a special mention of the Venus-Mars alignment that’s within a few degrees of exact pretty much throughout September. It’s a hangover from the August 20 exact alignment, and it continues well into next month (following the October 3 exact alignment). Passion is the keynote of Venus-Mars lining up in the sky. That’s all well and good for romance, affairs, parties, orgies and such – so this is no time to sit around contemplating your navel when you could be slurping shots from someone else’s. Animal spirits can get really animated at times like this, from the local meet market to the financial markets. Just remember, passion cuts both ways: crimes of passion tend to get up a head of steam when Venus aligns with Mars, too. (The weekend of the 11th and 12th would be a good time to mind your manners.)

SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)