Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.
-A.A. Milne
Boys and girls, it has been a month, hasn’t it? If you’ve been feeling overworked, overwhelmed, and generally over just about everything, you’re not alone. September is often celebrated for its abundance and when it’s tomatoes in the garden or grapes on the vine, it’s great: when it’s all the phone calls you can’t keep up on, the bills that come due, or the tasks you’ve been putting off, it can feel like a psychic avalanche. And with Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and even Pluto in retrograde, the universe feels a whole lot like a big giant celestial soup being stirred in the wrong direction. No one could blame you for feeling like a soggy crouton stuck in the middle.
The good news is that this wacky retrograde chowder thins out and by mid-October it’s gonna feel like a silky velouté just in time for saucy Scorpio to close out the month. Lilith also enters Libra at the beginning of October, meaning that your deepest darkest chocolate desires will get to run wild in direct transit. Wait until the 11th or so to tell your crush what you really want to nibble on; Mercury retrograde until then might make it all come out a little awkwardly, and no one needs that.
The one retrograde that does continue until the end of the year is in Chiron and if you haven’t yet figured out how to engage with that one, now is the time. Chiron is known in the zodiac as the wounded healer and its retrograde motion is an important moment for self-reflection and confronting long-buried trauma. With the air clearing up and the solar system getting back into order, you might finally have the time to sit with some of your most painful parts. Don’t run from it, and let yourself feel what it is that Chiron has in store for you. If you can do the work that Chiron retrograde asks, you’ll end the year having grown like a peanut plant in a pumpkin patch. Because we may not always fit in where we are, but we can always find a little bit of earth to call our own.
Aries (21 March - 19 April)
The Chiron retrograde is in Aries and there’s no way around the fact that it’s hit you hard, little Ram. Lots of stuff is coming to the surface, in particular in partnerships or family matters for you, and it’s getting harder and harder for you to ignore it. You may feel like you’re a hamburger without a bun these days, and that everything you say is being taken out of context or just totally wrong. Mercury going direct will help you communicate much more clearly and easily, but don’t be surprised if you’re still left a little bruised. But hey, good news! The full moon at the end of October is in your home planet and will make you feel braver than you have in a while. Barbecue at the beach and eat ice cream in the sand, whatever makes you feel young at heart. You’ve earned it.
Taurus (20 April - 20 May)
The retrograde soup has been particularly hard on you my dear Bull, and although you’ve done your best to try to hold it down, the cracks are definitely starting to show. But things loosen up a lot for you by mid-month, and you should even start to feel it by the time Lilith enters Libra after the 6th. Mercury enters Venus on the 17th, which will help you finally find the right way to say what’s been on your mind for the past few months. Jupiter going direct will make you feel a whole lot better about the future but don’t be fooled by the offers that may come up, especially if they’re delivered by past friends or colleagues. Hold out for something better and make them chase you cause guess what? They will. You’re a slow-growing vine but you’re worth the wait.
Gemini (21 May -20 June)
Oh Gemini, if anyone could have danced on the tightrope of these past months it would have been you, and you’ve probably been the only one out of your crew that’s actually thriving these days. September was a bottomless cornucopia for many; for you, it was an all-you-can-eat buffet that never got old. That’s great news for you but now that it may all skid to a halt, be careful not to fall on your face. Between us, we know you’re not great at admitting when you trip up and you have a tendency to blame the crack in the sidewalk for not warning you. But you got this transition Gemini, and the transition into Scorpio gives you the opportunity to deepen something you started over the summer, whether it’s work, romance, or a kitchen garden. Keep digging, there’s more to discover.
Cancer (21 June - 20 July)
My sweet, beautiful, long-suffering crab. If anyone deserves a break from these past months it is absolutely you, and if anyone is going to refuse to actually acknowledge this simple fact, it is also absolutely you. The Chiron retrograde has given you a lot to think about and even more to feel, and as we enter the month with Moon in Cancer you’re really out there for the world to see. You’ve probably felt like one of those giant meat wheels spinning slowly in the window and being basted with its own juices to the delight of passers-by, haven’t you? The good news is that you get a break from some of it with the transit through lofty Libra. The challenge is for you to recognize and submit to it, and to let yourself relax. After all, even plant-based steaks taste better when they’ve rested a bit.
Leo (21 July - 20 August)
Like Gemini, you too will have exalted in the roller coaster of the past few months, but just as even the mighty sun needs to set, our trusty Lions will need to rest their heads in the coming weeks. If you’re the kind of Leo that gets to canning and bottling as soon as you start harvesting, then October will be the month you start filling up your pantry and looking forward to the months ahead where you’ll be baking pies that bring back the sunniest days of summer. If you’re the kind of Leo that spends a lot more time basking than they do prepping, you’ll have a lot of lovely memories in stock but little else. Take heart my Lion, there’s nothing wrong with being the life of the party. But just remember that when the music ends and everyone else gets in their cars to go home, you can’t really blame them for not wanting to go out for breakfast, can you?
Virgo (21 August - 20 September)
The best gardens have a variety of seeds and plants, and that diversity enriches the soil and actually makes it even more fertile for the coming seasons. You do know a thing or two about fertility, Virgo, and this month you’ll find yourself reaping some of the rewards from the work you’ve done in previous cycles. But keep two things in mind my almost always lovely but sometimes prone to humblebragging friend: first, be aware that you’re swimming in abundance at a time when a lot of others are feeling the psychic pinch, so keep it cool until Mercury edges out of retrograde and you’re not misunderstood by the people you love the most. Second, when you’re grabbing your bounty this month, go for the middle roots. The stuff that is buried deepest, like your Chiron retrograde, is still pretty stuck; the shallow plugs haven’t had time to mature yet. Be a carrot.
Libra (21 September - 20 October)
This is your time beautiful Libra, and you’ll find yourself basking in the Autumn sun of your birth sign with a renewed vigor and perspective. However, you’ve actually been learning a bit about yourself in the past few months, haven’t you? Funny enough, it seems to have taken a whole lot of off-kilter moments in the universe to make you realize how much you value balance, and how much you need others to achieve it. You’re a funny one Libra because you’re cool as a Kirby cucumber and to the outside eye, it may look like you don’t need anyone or anything to get your shine on. But here’s the thing: the retrograde-athon (especially Saturn) reminded you that having a little bit of a buffer between you and the world may not be so bad and that there’s no shame in getting by with a little help from your friends. So this year, celebrate your birthday with a meal, invite the ones you love, and cook it together. I promise, it’ll taste better than you ever imagined.
Scorpio (21 October - 20 November)
Scorpio, Scorpio, Scorpio. We both know what this is about, but for the rest of the class let’s just say it. You thrive on a little bit of chaos and tend to find your best footing in the midst of a storm that’s got everyone else heading for the turnip cellar. The past month has been almost morbidly amusing for you, watching everyone else twisting and turning and feeling even more centered as a result. But on the inside, you know you’ve got to do that soul searching that’s been on your calendar since the Summer, and Mercury moving out of retrograde means that it’s finally time to have that uncomfortable conversation with yourself. Chiron isn’t going anywhere for another few months and if you want to really reap the benefits of sensual Lilith in even slinkier Libra, you’ve got to make it happen. It might take a bit of effort but you’ll be oh so glad you did it.
Sagittarius (21 November - 20 December)
My mother is fond of saying, “stress comes out sideways”. Even though it often annoys me when she says it, it’s most annoying when it’s true. This doesn’t need to be your mantra this month, Sag, but you’d do well to keep it a little close to your mind until the Cosmic Latte has a chance to cool down. Mercury retrograde is always a challenge for our straight talking archers, and Chiron’s therapeutic winds are perhaps letting a few repressed emotions leak out onto the surface. So if it feels like maybe you need to grab an extra Tofutti bar or go heavy on the pesto that you diligently preserved for fall, do it. Stress can be a good reason for a good meal, too.
Capricorn (21 December -19 January)
You know what gets my goat, Goat? People are way too quick to call you a party pooper when in reality you’re just trying to look out for a cold winter where there may not be enough nuts to go around. You know that you’ll do just fine on a leaner diet of moss and whatever else you find hanging off the side of your mountain, but you worry about what will happen to the rest of the pack. This month, dear Capricorn, you might flub those lines in spectacular fashion, and it could take a little time to set things right. But you keep doing you. Keep your course and keep filling the pantry for the winter, despite what all those grasshoppers have to say. But try, if you can, not to hold it against them if they ask for a cup of flour sometime in the meager months.
Aquarius (20 January - 18 February)
My great grandma used to have the most amazing talent: she could look in her refrigerator and pull out leftovers from ten different meals, throw them together with a little olive oil and magic, and serve a completely different dish that always seemed to be enough to feed whatever army showed up at her little apartment in Brooklyn. You’re gonna feel a little bit like Great Grandma Dig this month, water baby, but with ideas instead of tiny containers of pasta or chicken. Or, maybe those too, who knows? The world is swirling and that inspires you far more than any mere mortal, and you love getting swept up in the soup. Get yourself dirty and don’t hold back, but keep two things in mind. First, not everyone swims as fast or as long as you do. Second, sometimes you need to go a little bit below the surface to really see whats gliding alongside you. Why not get a little emotional this month and see what shakes out?
Pisces (19 February - 20 March)
Boy oh boy, Fishy, when it rains it pours, doesn’t it? You’ve had the world on your shoulders for a couple of months now and the load is getting heavier by the day. You’ve never been so inclined to swim in a school but the disconnect you might be feeling between friends and family is probably enough to make you wonder where you made the wrong turn and how the heck you’re supposed to swim back. All these retrogrades wear on your tender skin but the conclusion of them will make you feel a little more loved and a full moon in Aries on the 20th gives you that burst of warmth you’ve been missing. But all that work you’ve been doing on your inner garden in the past few months isn’t in vain, and the weeds are starting to look more like flowers than they ever have before. Keep going, it all ends nice.