The new Moon

The Moon in Virgo is ruled by the Mercury and possibly Ceres. Virgo is an earth sign, mutable in mode; it emphasizes the harvest, grain, service, health, and discrimination in the sense of making fine distinctions and using discriminating judgment.

At this time Mercury is retrograde; it will turn direct September 13 GMT (Eastern standard time is 4 hours earlier). In actuality a planet turning retrograde or direct stands stationary before changing its apparent motion in the zodiac. During the period from September 12 - 14, Mercury will be stationary direct at 5° Virgo 23. Pluto will turn direct September 14 and be stationary direct from September 10 - 17 @ 2° Capricorn 47. It seems to me that the degrees at which their motions change is more important than the days. Consulting Marc Edmund Jones' or Dane Rudhyar's Sabian symbols might be helpful for information on the degrees, might not. Both are available online.

During this cycle Mars and Venus are conjunct, moving from Libra at the new Moon to Scorpio at the full Moon. Generally Mars is considered the male principle, Venus the female. They get a lot of interest because they are considered the essence of sexuality. A conjunct between the two results in push-pull situations. Be careful of overspending and unexplainable attractions. If you really feel you must have that over-priced trinket, walk away. If it's still in mind a few days later, go get it.

Joined in a T-square are Jupiter-Uranus (Aries/Pisces), Saturn (Libra), and Pluto (Capricorn). Of these four, only Saturn is direct, muting the other members of the square and making their effects more behind-the-scenes. Saturn is exalted in Libra, where it's not so stern, more inclined toward tolerance and fairness.

This new Moon occupies the U.S.'s 10th house, as it did last month, but this time is conjunct the cusp of the 11th house. The Sun and Moon in this placement emphasizes credit and the public employment rate (skyscript.co.uk.).

The T-square, containing an active Saturn and passive Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto, has natal Venus in Cancer and on the cusp of the 9th house completing the square. This should bring issues of timing to the fore in long-distance travel, international communications, and negotiations with foreign entities. That the planets are square implies some difficulties; that Venus and an exalted Saturn are present should make things more even, may add a pleasant tone to otherwise stessful situation(s).

Mars and Venus are in the 12th house approaching a conjunction with the U.S.'s ascendant; this will be discussed more later, in the full Moon portion.

This full Moon balances on the Aries/Libra axis, where the Sun-Moon dyad stands at the equinox points, 0° Aries/0° Libra. Cafe Astrology has good description of the Moon in Aries.

In addition to the full Moon enlivening the equinox, Mars and Venus -- rulers of Aries and Libra and polar opposites -- are conjunct each other.

The moon is conjunct the T-square discussed earlier and square newly-direct Pluto. There could be

Feelings of frustration due to delays and barriers which you encounter on your road to progress; the elimination of support for family or others; strong urges and desires to control or channel your emotions. -- Michael Munkasey, Midpoints: Unleashing the Power of the Planets)

Ceres is square Neptune-Jupiter, both retrograde and part of the T-square with Pluto and Saturn. This asteroid has been tagging along with Pluto for most of this year and was closest March through May. According to Greek mythology the two are not friendly. For more information about asteroids take a look at this article by Michael O'Reilly at Neptune Cafe -- Introduction to Asteroids