The September 26 Full Moon falls in Aries the Ram, the sign of the first move. Traditional astrology sets it in high and exposed places like rooftops and ridge-lines, the upland pastures grazed by the flocks. From this we learn that Aries is the sign of beginnings made in the open. It’s the first sign of the zodiac and thus associated with the first strike of the tool, the first claim staked before anyone else is ready to move, and many other ‘firsts’.
What’s Happening During September’s Full Moon in Aries?
Its emblem is the Ram’s fleece, and the fleece is the key to the sign’s generosity. Shorn and grown back and shorn again, wool is a common material that renews itself and feeds a whole chain of crafts and trades. That is Aries at its best: a sign that gives and gives, so long as you know how to work it. Mars rules this sign and the Sun is exalted within it, which is why the sign lends a fighter’s drive and a bright, unmistakable self-belief to whatever planet is passing through it.
The fault of the sign is haste. Aries moves before the plan is finished, striking before the ground is ready. A cardinal fire Full Moon puts the question to you plainly: have you checked your aim before you commit the force behind it?
This month the whole sky bears down on that one question, so keep the ram in mind as you read on. Aries is built to begin; the task this time is to begin well.
Deborah Houlding’s Aries overview at Skyscript is worth the click for her reading of the ram’s “do or die” streak – brilliant at conquest, poor at accepting defeat – and her argument that the impulse to act is the sign’s gift rather than its flaw.
First Things First
Let’s get the tough stuff out of the way: the skies are a bit tense. Both the Moon and the Sun are moving into hard aspect with Saturn – the Moon toward a conjunction from Aries, the Sun toward an opposition from Libra. Saturn has been transiting Aries for a while now and will for a while yet, so this is a familiar weight rather than a new one. When a light reaches Saturn, it tends to cool an expectation that had grown too warm: a setback, or a reality check that trims a hope back to the size of its evidence.
If some such correction is coming, I imagine some part of you already suspects it. Has there been a thought or feeling that has been scratching at the back of the mind for weeks? – some detail you keep stepping around, maybe, or a pacing to things you suspect is too fast? Saturn’s job is to stop letting you look past it, and this is the month to sit with the uncomfortable questions honestly. Am I moving too fast? Ignoring the thing that will make this hurt later? Am I waging a war I won’t win? Or, am I pushing for more ground when I should be deepening the ground I already have? These bite hardest in careers, but the same reckoning fits a friendship or a household, or a debt you keep putting off.
That said, not every misgiving is ‘right’ to trust – some of what that voice surfaces is wisdom and some is only fear – so we do have to put in a bit of work to tell them apart while we can.
Dissension & Argumentation
The other pressure in this Full Moon is louder and more external, and it comes through Mercury – sharpening toward a square with Mars just as the two change signs, Mercury at the end of Libra and Mars stepping from Cancer into Leo. Both sit at the very edge of a sign as it perfects, and that boundary gives the exchange an all-or-nothing charge, the pitch of a conversation that settles something rather than letting it drag. This is the classic signature of provocation – someone’s going to push to be heard, someone’s going to be forced to listen and acquiesce.
You may be Mercury in this exchange, the one who has to push. You’ll know that’s you because you’ve got a case that deserves a serious hearing. This is the month to take a negotiation to its honest limit and insist a point land rather than get nodded past. Picture the courtroom scene in My Cousin Vinny, where Mona Lisa Vito, challenged on her expertise, demands to be taken seriously and then proves on the spot that she knows exactly what she claims to know. Used like that, the square is a gift: it is the difference between being talked over and being reckoned with.
On the Other Side
But you may also be Mars in this exchange, and feel as though someone’s pushing something into pedantry. You’ll know that’s you because the exchange grinds past the point where you want to keep listening. You may well have to fold here – perhaps out of fatigue, or obligation – but be mindful that the first seed of resentment doesn’t take root in that soil. You can let someone win an argument without moving them into the ‘enemy’ column.
And, as a third option – you may not be directly involved in this square at all! The sharpness shown here can just as easily be in someone else’s hands, playing out between two other people while you watch.
The Sun Moves to Sextile Jupiter: Some Relief in Sight
As the Sun moves through Libra it builds toward a sextile with Jupiter in Leo, which becomes exact in the middle of October before the next Full Moon. Jupiter has been in Leo since the summer, so that’s not so new. The fresh element is the Sun swinging around to meet it, opening a warm channel between the two across the coming weeks.
A sextile is help you have to reach for. It’s like a door that’s cracked open for you – you do still have to walk through it. This sextile adds good fortune to those who extend themselves in a spirit of generosity, kindness, boldness and readiness to see new things take shape. For a Full Moon that has such a heavy, somber saturnine flavor to it, this is a welcome change of subject.
So if the days after this Full Moon starts to feel like one long correction, here’s the counterweight. Pick the thing you have been treating as too much to hope for and take one concrete step toward it over the next few weeks. The aspect favors those who go out to meet it.
A Full Moon That Lands on the United States
There is a striking piece of national astrology folded into this lunation. Set the chart for Washington and its two main angles fall almost exactly on the angles of the US founding chart – the rising degree within about half a degree, the midheaven within six minutes of arc.
Within the chart itself, Saturn opposes the place it held at the founding in 1776, and Mars sits on the twenty-ninth degree of Cancer, a degree this administration keeps re-triggering.
This combination is exceedingly rare, and promises that the two weeks following this Full Moon will have a major impact on our nation. The midterms are the near horizon in November; this could feed them, or attach to something at the presidential level instead. It may be something we learn of immediately (likely, as both the Sun and Moon will be in right angles to the horizon), or it may be that something happens in these two weeks with major impact that we learn weeks, months, years later.
The Moon Conjunct Deneb Kaitos, the Tail of the Great Whale
The Full Moon sits on Deneb Kaitos, the star in the tail of Cetus, a sea monster. In the myth, Cetus is the whale Poseidon sends to devour Andromeda where she stands chained at the water’s edge – the beast Perseus has to kill to save her.
The star’s reputation runs saturnian, with a strain of Mars and Mercury threaded through it – the same three planets steering the rest of this Full Moon.
On the Moon the old texts read this star as pioneering and headstrong, a short fuse and a taste for a quarrel. Expert Vivian Robson’s warning is blunt: the star can bring self-destruction by brute force, ruin brought on through one’s own acts. That’s the Mercury and Mars caution again in older language – the danger is in pushing so hard, or so blindly, that you hand people a reason to route around you or cut you out entirely.
To learn more about this fixed star and the constellation it belongs to, including its various names, cultural associations, and history, read about it at Constellations of Words.
Seasonal Guidance for Your Sign Entering Autumn
Autumn’s arrival brings cooling air while the dry quality of late summer persists. The heat that dominated is receding, and the season settles into its cool, dry character. For those who run warm, the shift tends to register as relief – mood, energy, and focus often improve. For those who run cold, the cooling marks the beginning of a more demanding stretch. Root vegetables, soups, and heavier proteins are coming into season and suit most constitutions as the body adjusts to cooler conditions.
These suggestions are drawn from an ancient tradition of thinking about how the body’s constitution responds to seasonal change. They’re offered for consideration, not as rules to follow to the letter – take what applies to your circumstances and leave the rest. To learn more about the theory behind this guidance, see Medieval Temperaments, an article by astrologer Ryhan Butler.
Fire Signs – Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
The cooling that arrives with autumn tends to agree with your constitution – mood, energy, and resilience all tend to improve as the temperature drops. Ease into the season’s relative freedom rather than rushing it; give reserves time to rebuild after summer. Diet moves naturally toward heavier, more nourishing foods: root vegetables, soups, more protein. A glass of wine with dinner suits the season.
Earth Signs – Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo
Entering autumn marks the beginning of the more demanding half of the year for your constitution. Cool, dry air amplifies your native qualities, and the body starts to slow down a bit. Regular exercise matters more in autumn than in any other season – movement directly counters the stiffness and sluggishness the cooling promotes. Shift the diet toward warming and nourishing foods: root vegetables, soups, stews, heavier grains, warming spices. Moderate alcohol has a warming effect that suits the season. Guard against the tendency to contract socially.
Air Signs – Libra, Aquarius, Gemini
As autumn settles in, the cool and dry air begins to work in your favor – correcting both of your constitution’s dominant qualities simultaneously. Mood tends to be more even, focus sharper, and the tendency toward overindulgence easier to manage. Diet can be more varied and substantial: root vegetables, heavier proteins, hearty soups. Moderate wine with meals suits the season. Exercise should be regular and vigorous; this is a good time to build habits that’ll be harder to maintain come winter.
Water Signs – Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Autumn’s cooling is the first seasonal challenge after summer’s ease for your constitution. The cooling air amplifies your native coldness, though early autumn’s dryness offers a partial corrective for the wetness. Exercise regularly – cool weather promotes the kind of heaviness that only movement addresses. Diet shifts toward warming and nourishing: soups, stews, root vegetables, warming spices. Sleep will lengthen as the days shorten; the body needs it. The emotional sensitivity that tends to increase as the light goes is worth anticipating.
Sabian Symbol for 3° Aries
Two lovers are strolling through a secluded walk.
Picture two people on a quiet path, walking slowly, in no hurry and out of everyone’s sight. No audience and no schedule, nothing to prove to anyone – unhurried time with someone whose company is the entire point of the afternoon.
In a month this loud with pushing and contesting, that image is one of rest and peace. It makes a case for privacy: for unrushed hours with a person you love, or with the part of yourself you never seem to schedule any time for. The heart wants somewhere it can feel what it feels without being watched or judged for it, and the symbol says go and find that somewhere.
Its shadow is the near neighbor of its gift. The same seclusion that we might read as intimacy can curdle into loneliness – are you wondering where the other person is? – or into keeping someone too much to yourself, into jealousy that flares when someone else comes near. Being alone and being lonely sit one step apart.
Much of this Full Moon pulls you toward the loud and the public. This symbol pulls the other way, toward the quiet path, out of earshot, where nothing has to be proved to anyone.
Linda Hill has written more on the Sabian Symbols than anyone working today, and her treatment of each degree of the zodiac is worth a visit to her website.
What Might September’s Full Moon in Aries Mean for Your Sign’s Horoscope?
The themes of this Full Moon will play out differently depending on where 3° Aries falls in your chart. What follows offers sign-by-sign guidance for working with the weeks ahead. For a more detailed picture of how this lunation engages your own chart, a consultation with a professional astrologer can help clarify what is personal and what is simply passing through.
Want to see a professional astrologer? I offer birth chart consultations that explore dominant life themes through your present circumstances – whether you’re looking to align your actions with what’s ahead, get a sense of near- and mid-term timing, or simply understand your chart more deeply. Get a sense of what we can accomplish together.
Aries
The appetite for something bold is loud – a creative swing or a romance, a bet placed for the sport of it – and Mars crossing into your house of play only turns the volume up. Pulling the other way, the Sun in your house of partnership wants you to share the stage rather than command it. Both can be true at once. Aim the boldness at the work and the canvas; the argument you win against the person across from you tends to cost more than it returns.
Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Taurus to find out more about your sign.
Taurus
Venus, your ruler, warms the ground of partnership this month – a one-to-one bond sweetens, or a negotiation you had braced for goes easier than expected. There may be domestic complications: Mars is stirring heat under your own roof, the urge to defend your base or gut and rebuild it. The two do not have to collide. Keep the fire pointed at the home project that needs doing and off the people you share the walls with, and you get the partner and the improved house both.
Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Taurus to find out more about your sign.
Gemini
A feeling you have been carrying inside a friendship or a group reaches full volume this month, and with the Full Moon among your people, whatever surfaces gets felt in company rather than alone. Underneath it, Mercury, your ruler, turns the mind quick and playful, with a flirtatious edge, happiest trading wit and ideas for the sport of it. Good conditions for saying the charming thing in a crowd. Watch only the pull to perform – the room warms faster to the person working less hard to win it.
Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Gemini to find out more about your sign.
Cancer
A career or reputation matter comes to a head where everyone can see, because the Full Moon lands at the top of your chart. Could be many things like a role shifting around you, or some agreement is tested. Maybe even an old parental echo sounds beneath it. Everything tender in you wants to pull back toward home, where the Sun draws your attention to roots and comfort. That homeward pull is the steadying resource: find private footing before you answer the public swing, and the change won’t get the better of you.
Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, cocktail, and birthday gift guide for the zodiac sign Cancer to find out more about your sign.
Leo
Mars arrives in your sign this month and lands in a season Jupiter has been enlarging since the summer – so the surge of drive is the new arrival, while the wider confidence is ground you have stood on for weeks. It makes you hard to overlook. The energy is a gift with an edge: aimed at a goal it builds fast, swung loosely it knocks over the very people you need. Point it well, and this is one of your stronger months in a while.
Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, cocktail, and birthday gift guide for the zodiac sign Leo to find out more about your sign.
Virgo
Mercury, your ruler, turns a sharp practical eye toward money this month – what your work is worth, and the number you will ask for. Around it, Venus keeps the everyday exchanges easy like a warm word with a neighbor or a sibling, or pleasure taken in the small daily orbit. Together they open a strong window to raise a question of money or worth and have it land well, provided you lead with tact instead of the insecurity sitting underneath it.
Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, and cocktail for the zodiac sign Virgo to find out more about your sign.
Libra
The Sun is in your sign, and with it the annual return of vitality and nerve – your stretch to lead with yourself instead of arranging life around everyone else. Venus, your ruler, sweetens money and comfort, drawing pleasure and spending toward the finer things. Enjoy being seen, and trust your eye with the purse. Just remember the scale your sign is named for: the fuller you take up your own space, the more deliberately you will need to make room for the people beside you.
Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, and cocktail for the zodiac sign Libra to find out more about your sign.
Scorpio
Mars, your ruler, is driving hard through your house of career and public standing this month, firing the push for recognition – strong fuel, with a live wire in it where a superior is concerned. Venus in your sign softens the delivery, lending charm and a magnetism people find hard to look away from. Lead with that. The pull you exert opens doors a head-on collision with a boss would only bolt shut, so spend the magnetism and bank the confrontation for a fight worth having.
Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, and cocktail for the zodiac sign Scorpio to find out more about your sign.
Sagittarius
The conviction Jupiter, your ruler, has been swelling for months – a course of study or a journey, a belief you want to stand behind – wants an audience, and the Sun hands you one by drawing you toward friends and groups, a shared cause worth organizing around. The big idea has built on its own for a while; this month it finds its people. Bring it to them rather than chewing on it alone. A conviction gains traction in company it never gathers inside your own head.
Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Sagittarius to find out more about your sign.
Capricorn
The Sun lifts into your house of career and public standing this month, throwing light on your work – your best-lit angle of the year, the one that shows your competence to the people who matter. Underneath it, the long Saturn renovation of home and family carries on, the multi-year job of sorting your foundations you have come to know well. The recognition arriving up top means more, and lasts longer, when it rests on groundwork you have already squared away below.
Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Capricorn to find out more about your sign.
Aquarius
Mars swings into the seat across from you, turning a partnership hot – energizing collaboration one day, open dispute the next, sometimes the same bond doing both. Meet it with words rather than force. The measured way of speaking Saturn has been drilling into you for a while is the approach called for – you have been in a long apprenticeship on saying the hard thing cleanly, and this is the month it earns its keep, across from someone bringing plenty of heat of their own.
Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Aquarius to find out more about your sign.
Pisces
This Full Moon brings your money and sense of worth to an emotional head – what you own, and how secure the ground beneath you feels. Venus, meanwhile, is off widening the horizon, pulling you toward travel, a foreign idea, a person from elsewhere who makes the distance look inviting. The tension runs between the two. Enjoy the reach toward the horizon, but settle the security question before you spend your way toward the adventure, or the trip lands with a bill you did not plan for.
Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Pisces to find out more about your sign.
About the Author
Wade Caves is a Brooklyn-based astrological consultant, educator, and published author who has practiced astrology professionally since 2014. He was certified with honors from the Mayo School of Astrology in London and the School of Traditional Astrology (STA), where he now serves as faculty and as principal of the Astronomy and Mundane Astrology programs.
Wade wrote the quarterly World Reflections column for The Mountain Astrologer and currently serves as editor of In Mundo, Skyscript’s world astrology journal. He is the editor and annotator of the 300th anniversary edition of William Lilly’s History of his Life and Times (Rubedo Press, 2015) and hosts the World Astrology Summit, a conference dedicated to advancing astrological technique for diverse audiences.
A sought-after speaker, Wade has presented at the United Astrology Conference (UAC), the Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC), the Astrological Association, and the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR), among others. He has taught intensive courses across the US, Europe, Australia, and Canada.
Before practicing astrology full-time, Wade held an executive advisory role with a data consulting firm specializing in large-scale infrastructure, bringing an analytical and research-driven approach to his astrological work. He specializes in horary, electional, and classical technique with an emphasis on cross-era literacy – connecting ancient methods to modern practice.
At TABLE Magazine, Wade writes monthly horoscopes, seasonal forecasts, and original lifestyle content that connects astrology to food, cocktails, and entertaining – a unique editorial approach that bridges astrology and the culinary world.
Website: wadecaves.com • skyscript.co.uk/inmundo Email: hello@wadecaves.com
Story by Wade Caves
Photo Courtesy of Vadim Sadovski
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