How to Move Forward
Jupiter’s trine to Saturn (Aug. 31, 2026, 3:17 pm PDT) is the first of three trines between them over the next year – the other two are on April 3 and July 11, 2027. Aspects between these planetary opposites forge an uneasy alliance between expansiveness and restraint. When they come together in a conjunction, it’s like having one foot on the gas and the other on the brake: it’s hard to move forward at all. But the trine suggests a smoothness that’s almost unconscious, like the expansion and contractions of lungs during breathing.
Jupiter working well with Saturn has the potential to move society forward.
There was such powerful promise in that Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at the 2020 Winter Solstice, at 0º Aquarius. It was so beautiful in the night sky, and its placement in Aquarius felt so exciting after a long, Capricorn-heavy year. Maybe, we thought, this heralded a new age of coming together to do great work. But as Pluto entered Aquarius in late March 2023 and spent a couple of months parked at that magical 0 degree, we began to glimpse the potential downside of the Aquarian vision.
This series of trines, though, offers an invitation to work together smoothly, and hopefully, to make some positive changes. Under this Jupiter-Saturn influence, we are driving with one foot on the gas and then the other foot on the brake – which offers a much better chance of getting somewhere!
The Sculptor’s Chisel
We have more gifts than we know, and the greatest is the honor of being one true, authentic, and utterly unique self. We get only one chance to be this person, with this body and this biography. It seems to me, well past my second Saturn return, that the entire process of living exists only to bring us closer to who we really are. As T.S. Eliot wrote, “…And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time.” When we encounter bumps along the journey – hard transits, if you will – we’re given a chance to chip off more artifice.
Take this week’s square from Mars to Saturn (Sep. 1, 2026, 6:21 am PDT). Imagine Mars is the sculptor’s chisel, and Saturn is a huge block of marble. What’s inside that cool chunk of rock? The sculptor thinks he knows… and his mission is the hard work of uncovering it.
Mars made its conjunction with Saturn on April 19, and a sextile with Saturn on July 19; you may not remember the dates, but check your texts and emails– your memory of an unpleasant interaction might be triggered. What if something that felt (and probably was meant to be) pushy or cruel or hateful was the hand of an unseen sculptor, taking its first big whack at you, trying to release the beautiful figure it sees in you? Now, the sculptor removes the next layer of unnecessary rock and begins the fine carving.
Fully Baked
Mercury making a sextile aspect to Mars (Sep. 1, 2026, 2:59 am PDT) presents opportunities to put words and ideas into action. Mercury in Virgo, however, likes to take its time choosing both its words and its actions carefully. That’s fine, but this is a quick aspect, and we could miss some opportunities altogether if we deliberate for too long. At least, grab a couple of nascent possibilities and throw them into Mars in Cancer’s oven until they’re fully baked.
Any combination of Mercury and Mars can bring confrontation – but sometimes, confrontation is necessary, and the sextile is a friendly aspect that usually brings harmony after the struggle. So if you have to clear the air, go ahead – but bear in mind that Mars is in sensitive Cancer, and others might take offense where none was intended.
Bleep!
This week’s Last Quarter Moon (Sep. 4, 2026, 12:51 am PDT) is in Mercury-ruled Gemini (with the Sun in Virgo, Mercury’s other home sign). At the Last Quarter we look over our shoulders at what we’ve done and failed to do, and occasionally, there will be regrets. Particularly with Gemini involved, they could be regrets over things we’ve said.
Born at a Last Quarter Gemini Moon, I’ve said plenty of things I regret. Just the other day, a kindly viewer tipped me off that a video I’d uploaded might benefit from a little trimming. When I watched it, I was mortified to hear myself – enormously frustrated at the technical challenges of finishing the video – blurt a frustrated expletive that I’d overlooked clipping out! I hope no one was offended by it, but I have to admit that I had a good laugh at myself when I heard it.
Sometimes, though, our past words can have far more serious consequences. In the modern age of social media, most of us have, at some point, spoken – or posted – in haste and repented at leisure.
Coming on the heels of a hot-tempered Mercury-Mars aspect, this Last Quarter Moon is a moment to focus on and tame not only our tongues, but our busy, chattering, Mercury minds. The calmer the mind, the more control we have over what we say, and the fewer regrets we’ll have to live with in the long run.
© Words and Illustrations by April Elliott Kent
