Diving into Balsamic Lunar Phase: Sept 17

 

Personal Almanac by Honeycomb

Sept 17, 2025 

5:03pm PDT 

 

 

Diving into Balsamic Phase  

 

Here's the reminder of what we have experienced so far: 

 

New  Aug 22 11:06pm – Plant seeds and actions ideally based on the theme of Virgo.    

 

Crescent Aug 26 8:44pm – Information comes to us, much of it informed by the wheels we turned on the New, either consciously or unconsciously. 

 

First Quarter August 30 11:25pm.  We do actions that connect to the wheels we turned on new moon and how we were informed during Crescent.   

 

Gibbous Phase September 3 9:52pm.  We sift through data and pull out those points that are important.  We separate the wheat from the chaff.  We refine.  

 

Full Moon Phase September 7, 11:08am  Did we have an important resolution?   How did we find balance?  Did our emotions guide us to a big move?  Did we make changes based on all we have experienced since New Moon (August 22)?

 

Disseminating Phase September 10, 6:58pm   Did we share what we have learned since New moon?  What did we learn through the last five phases?  How did you connect to our inner teacher?  How did we respond to other inner teachers?  What have we learned from others on their own ‘mastery’?  How are we sharing the skills that we have improved? 

 

Last Quarter Moon Phase September 14, 2025 3:32pm

What actions did we take that tie back to the seeds and goals we planted on the new moon?  Did resolutions appear ‘out of the blue’ but when you think back, these results came from the work you did on the last six phases?     

 

After Last Quarter moon, we roll into the final and eighth phase.   Balsamic which starts Sept 17, 5:03pm – Sept 21, 12:54pm PDT.   During these last three and half days of the 29-day lunar month we release.  We release any goals, struggles and or successes.   We are not in the business of doing anything except release.   We can tidy stuff up.  We can throw stuff out.   We can clean our houses and our psyche.  But we do not do any new actions.   We can lay on our bed and zone out on streamers.    We. Let. Go.  

 

Balsamic can be the space where icky feelings come up because our drive is softer.     Just let any ick roll through you.   Because this is a Leo Balsamic moon we are releasing anything attached to ego.   How can you let go of pride?   How can you release being the hero?   How is there a way to clear space for new vitality to roll in?    

 

Balsamic is the gift where we can let go of the debris in our homes, our brains and our hearts.   By allowing stuff to fade away and not form attachment we can prepare ourselves for the next New Moon which in this case happens to be a 2^nd Virgo New Moon and a solar eclipse.  How lucky for us to get to do another Virgo round.   We clearly are getting our schedules and to-do lists in shape in 2025!

I hope these deeper dives allowed you to learn more about the phases in a personal manner these last three weeks.   Remember these eight phases exist in every lunar month.   Try to work the rest of the new moons and the accompanying phases going forward for maximum results.  This is how we get on time! 

 

 

 

 

The Astrology Landscape: September 14 - 20

 

Getty Images: Stock Photos

We are now in the final days of the lunar moon that began on August 22. All the action we started on the new will be processed for our final actions and then our release.    By doing all that we can in the waning moon we will help set up for an optimal new lunar month.   Given that the next new moon is a very potent solar eclipse and a second Virgo New Moon (!) let’s give ourselves the best shot by making the most of these final waning phases.     

 

 

You can read a longer write up on Last Quarter Moon which is the seventh phase in our series of deep dives on the eight lunar phases this cycle.    

 

There is a lot of planetary action during these phases primarily because planets in early Libra are getting in the mix with all the outer planets.  If we were clowns we would be juggling a lot of balls. 

 

We start with nice Venusian aspects with Mars and Chiron.   Opportunities to be motivated by love and solid actions that bring out creativity and tell the person in the mirror it is okay to be celebrated.    There is also a wonky Mars aspect on the 16^ththat could be problematic.   Finding independence is never easy but Mars is looking to negotiate anyway and anyhow which may come at a cost.   

 

Mercury is taking a lot of twists and turns.  It opposes Saturn on the 17^th where the cynical voices in our head and in the world get the most attention.  Then during Balsamic Phase, Mercury is the significant player especially on the 18^th when Mercury enters Libra looking for balance everywhere.   And on the 18^th, Mercury opposes Neptune so seeing the other person’s POV can be helpful and may bring some humanitarian voices out into the forefront.  But at the same time, take note of any voice that sounds like Stockholm syndrome.  Also, on the 18^th a breath of fresh air comes to our thinking & conversations via a trine with Uranus and Pluto.   This is a lot of mixed up action for Mercury who in general likes to move quickly.   We may need side bar railings to hold on tight with this much information coming at us.   

 

On the 19^th Venus moves into Virgo, activating the period where we demand dots dotted, t’s crossed from our loved ones and they demand the same of us.   On the 20^this the first harsh aspect between Venus and Uranus (square) since Uranus moved into Gemini.  Over the course of the next seven years, we will have squares by Venus twice each year, once when Venus is in Virgo and the other time when Venus is in Pisces.   Let’s see how we get informed how this tension plays out around September 20.   It will be weird and renegade thinking could be pronounced.  It may be mentally challenging but maybe in the mess we can still find the love.    

 

Then the last aspect before the New Moon eclipse is Sun oppose Saturn at 10:45pm PDT.    Saturn is the planet of timing and at late Pisces opposing the Sun in late Virgo feels a bit unworldly with on the ground repercussions.   In the old days, doctors used to slap babies when they were born, this aspect feels like an internal slap before the baby is born on the New Moon.  Ouch.  It is connected to the solar eclipse chart so it may be an influence through the next lunar month.  More to be revealed.  

 

9/18: Mercury enter Libra  

9/18: Mercury oppose Neptune (00Aries 53) Fuzzy thinking, conversations that may not be transparent.   

9/18: Mercury trine Uranus (1 Gemini 23) Creative, thinking that is novel, fresh and offers up brilliance and breakthroughs.  

9/18: Mercury trine Pluto (1 Gemini 30) Sharp thinking that penetrates through any muck.  Balance is easy.  Nuance shines. 

9/19: Venus enters Virgo.  This is that three-week process that comes up every year where we experience “I’m critical of you because I love you.”  Are we the recipient of the crits or the giver of the crits or both?   

9/20: Venus square Uranus (1 Gemini 22).  Love and creativity feel tweaked.   Values seem out of place or are ditched.   Being weird sometimes is just weird. 

9/20: Sun oppose Saturn (28 Pisces 30).   Vitality could feel off.   Nervousness gets in the way of strong inner voice.   Breathe.  

 

 

Last Quarter Moon Phase

September 14, 2025

3:32 am PDT  

   

 

Last Quarter moon:  Now we do the final adjustments to the seeds we planted on new. The final call, the final letters to send, we follow all the trails that came up that still make sense.  And we let the other parts lay fallow. It is a time of action but wise action.  It is a time for living “The serenity prayer” 

 

God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change Courage to change the
things I can, and the
Wisdom to know the difference.

 

Focus on:

What final actions can you take based on the seeds that you planted on New Moon.   How do you need to adapt those plans?   How do your plans back on the new (Aug 22-26) match the facts on the ground now?   Do you need to adapt those plans and or goals? Where do you need to pivot?  

 

 

Planetary Notes: 

 

9/15:  Venus sextile Mars (25 Libra 51) Love and actions are in synch.  Acting on values is easy.  

9/16: Venus trine Chiron (26 Aries 12) Finding independence is healing and is motivated by love and values. 

9/16: Mars oppose Chiron (26 Aries 12) What does it mean to go for peace at any cost?  How does it chip at your independence?  

9/17: Mercury oppose Saturn (28 Pisces 46) Thoughts and conversations are serious.   Thoughts that can be negative and sharp. 

 

Balsamic Moon Phase

 

September 17, 2025 

5:03pm PDT  

 

A more detailed write up about Balsamic for our 8 phases deep dive report to come.  

 

Balsamic:   We let go.  By releasing we can prepare for the new.  

 

 

Focus on:  What does it mean to let go of ego?  How can you let go of pride?   How can you release being the hero?   How is there a way to clear space for new vitality to roll in?  

 

Planetary Notes:

 

9/18: Mercury enter Libra  

9/18: Mercury oppose Neptune (00Aries 53) Fuzzy thinking, conversations that may not be transparent.   

9/18: Mercury trine Uranus (1 Gemini 23) Creative, thinking that is novel, fresh and offers up brilliance and breakthroughs.  

9/18: Mercury trine Pluto (1 Gemini 30) Sharp thinking that penetrates through any muck.  Balance is easy.  Nuance shines. 

9/19: Venus enters Virgo 

9/20: Venus square Uranus (1 Gemini 22).  Love and creativity feel tweaked.   Values seem out of place or are ditched.   Being weird sometimes is just weird. 

9/20: Sun oppose Saturn (28 Pisces 30).   Vitality could feel off.   Nervousness gets in the way of strong inner voice.   Breathe.  

 

 

Second Virgo New Moon & Solar Eclipse September 21, 2025 – 12:54pm PDT (29 Virgo 05)

 

 

 

 

 

Dive into Last Quarter Phase: September 14 3:32am PDT

 

Honeycomb Personal Almanac

 

Diving into Last Quarter Lunar Phase 

 

When Disseminating wraps, we move into the seventh phase of the lunar month.   In Last Quarter Moon we feel the impulses to do final actions that tie back to New Moon when the journey of this lunar month began.     It probably feels like ten years ago, but the new moon started on August 22. Take a minute and consider what you have been doing since then and at each of the six phases.   

 

Here's the reminder of what we have experienced so far: 

 

New  Aug 22 11:06pm – Plant seeds and actions ideally based on the theme of Virgo.    

 

Crescent Aug 26 8:44pm – Information comes to us, much of it informed by the wheels we turned on the New, either consciously or unconsciously. 

 

First Quarter August 30 11:25pm.  We do actions that connect to the wheels we turned on new moon and how we were informed during Crescent.   

 

Gibbous Phase September 3 9:52pm.  We sift through data and pull out those points that are important.  We separate the wheat from the chaff.  We refine.  

 

Full Moon Phase September 7, 11:08am  Did we have an important resolution?   How did we find balance?  Did our emotions guide us to a big move?  Did we make changes based on all we have experienced since New Moon (August 22)?

 

 

Disseminating Phase September 10, 6:58pm   Did we share what we have learned since New moon?  How did you connect to our inner teacher?  How did we respond to other inner teachers?  What have we learned from others on their own ‘mastery’?  How are we sharing the skills that we have improved? 

 

Last Quarter Moon Phase September 14, 2025 until September 17, 2025, 5:03pm PDT  

 

Now we are at Last Quarter Moon.  Consider the seeds you planted on New Moon.  How has your schedule and your To-Do list for the last three weeks supported you?    How have you taken care of your body?   How have you tightened up your life during this Virgo lunar month to improve and ‘perfect’ your daily efforts so that they build a sustainable lifestyle full of important goals?    If there are some big moves, you still need to do, what actions can you take on Last Quarter moon to support those goals at New?   Because the moon is in Gemini, the focus of these actions will benefit by a pivot.   What thinking at New now feels obsolete?  Or if it is still a good goal but needs to be adapted to make more sense, how can you make those changes?    Consider your communication, does it match the life you want?   Does it match the goals you set?   

 

For the next three and half days you tap your ability to assess facts on the ground, process that info and then do final actions that support your goals.    This is the final phase that calls for action.   

 

See you in three days when we will move into Balsamic which is the release period.  

Dive into Disseminating Phase: September 10.

 

Honeycomb personal almanac

A dive into Disseminating Phase.  

 

When the Full Moon completes, we begin our sixth lunar phase which is Disseminating.   Disseminating is like Gibbous except now it is waning.    In Gibbous we refine all that is in front of us, now in Disseminating we share knowledge, new skills and insights that we gained from the Full phase or what we have learned in the last two weeks.   A good shorthand is in Gibbous we act like Virgo in Disseminating we act like Sagittarius. 

 

As a reminder here is what we have experienced so far: 

New  Aug 22 11:06pm – Plant seeds and actions ideally based on the theme of Virgo.    

 

Crescent Aug 26 8:44pm – Information comes to us, much of it informed by the wheels we turned on the New, either consciously or unconsciously. 

 

First Quarter August 30 11:25pm.  We do actions that connect to the wheels we turned on new moon and how we were informed during Crescent.   

 

Gibbous Phase September 3 9:52pm.  We sift through data and pull out those points that are important.  We separate the wheat from the chaff.  We refine.  

 

Full Moon Phase September 7, 11:08am  Did we have an important resolution?   How did we find balance?  Did our emotions guide us to a big move?  Did we make changes based on all we have experienced since New Moon (August 22)?

 

 

Disseminating Moon September 10, 6:58pm   until September 14, 2025, 3:32 am PDT  

Reflect on what has so far transpired this lunar month.  What have you learned?   How can you share your knowledge?  What past experiences are you sharing?  Are you in the need to teach?  Or do you need to find a ‘teacher’?  Consider what you can let go now with your insights.     Because this Disseminating is Moon in Taurus the Focus is: How are you sharing the power of patience?  How are you sharing the importance of sitting with something?    How are you sharing inner calm?  How are you sharing the power of practicality?  How are you sharing values?   

For the next three and half days, notice how you tap the power of stability and how you share it.  

See you at Last Quarter Moon in a few days

Astrology Landscape: September 8 - September 13.

 

Photo: Brian A Jackson (Shutterstock) 

The Full Moon continues this week.   The eclipse and full moon in Pisces can rattle us, but luckily the heebie-jeebies are not overwhelming.   Just enough to push us to find an intuitive answer to anyplace we feel ‘off’.     On September 10, the Sun opposes North Node in Pisces and reminds us that faith and spirituality benefit by work.  ‘Zen-ing’ your way through a problem probably won’t work.  Figure out what practices can be used that merge faith and work and then take it forward.   Learning something new can be motivating.  

 

Also, on December 10 the Full phase ends and we move into Disseminating.    We should expect a lot of pivoting in our thinking and our communication on the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th due to Mercury aspects.   A lot of our changes will be how we respond to inspiration and again, daily work will be highlighted.    Even some opinions may be open to change.  Wow.  Imagine that.    

 

 

Planetary Notes:  

 

9/10:  Sun oppose North Node (18 Pisces 20) the tension from the inner world and the harsh reality of the outer world face off.   The spiritual world will not be denied, and reality will not be ignored.   Balance needs to be found. 

 

Disseminating

September 10, 2025

6:58pm   

 

Please note: A more detailed post that dives deep into Disseminating is to come. 

 

 

Focus on:   How are you sharing the power of sitting with something?   How are you sharing inner calm?   How are you sharing patience?   How are you sharing the power of practicality?  How are you sharing values?   

 

 

 

Planetary Notes:

 

9/11: Mercury oppose North Node (18 Pisces 20) Communication and thinking is super focused on the micro however the unconscious is still peeking through our thoughts and may encourage a pivot.  

9/12: Mercury sextile Jupiter (19 Cancer 53) Thoughts and communication get a boost of enthusiasm.   

9/13: Mercury conjunct Sun (20 Virgo 54) (cazimi) look at your calendar.   Are you inspired to add something important to your to-do list?  Something that you know deep inside you that if you do it, it will improve your life.   Now is the day to put in on your list.   

Pisces Full Moon Lunar Eclipse: September 7, 11:08am PDT

 

Lunar Eclipse:  Blood Full Moon (Getty)

September 7, 2025, 11:08am PDT 

Full Moon – Lunar Eclipse 

(15 Pisces 22) 

 

Welcome to eclipse season which starts with the Pisces lunar eclipse and rolls through to the solar Virgo eclipse on September 21^st.   The two weeks between eclipses, as always, will be informative.  That’s a nice word for it.  

 

In general, the Pisces full moon is a reminder to the Virgo Sun, “Hey, you know there is something bigger than you, right?”  Virgo’s love of details and all that is micro is important.   We keep the trains running because of Virgo.  Great.  But Pisces, is the realm of the mysterious and understands there would be no trains running on time if someone had not dreamt of the train and that came from Pisces world.   Of course, all of that is juiced up when it a lunar eclipse.  

 

The chart for the eclipse is a mixed flow.  One on hand, there is a snarky aspect with Venus in Leo, suggesting anyone who takes a victory lap could get pushback and be told in detail why they are not victorious.  It is also a little blech-y around money and values.  But on the other hand, Jupiter, a co-ruler of Pisces, is heading to a sextile with the moon and a trine with the Sun.   Think of a best friend throwing you a party.  “I’m bringing the best champagne!”     However, Jupiter is still stinging from the square by Mars a few days earlier.  There may be some debris from Sept 4 (when the aspect was exact) influencing the full moon. “I’m bringing champagne but I’m on crutches”.    Jupiter in Cancer wants security and betterment to home and family but Mars in Libra, under a stressful square can bring a forceful Tit-for-Tat attitude.  If you have a need, be prepared to hear, “What is in it for me?”  Or if someone comes to you with a request, it may hit your, “Me-again?”  and it is you asking for reciprocation.      The good news is this tough Mars/Jupiter square is waning, so it is not as in-your-face influence as it was on Sept 4.  

 

While Saturn is not in aspect to Sun or Moon it is still an influence.  Saturn returned to Pisces on September 1.  On September 8 the moon (while still in the full phase) conjuncts Saturn.   As a reminder, Saturn’s five month return to Pisces is providing final work on the things that Pisces holds important.   Dreams, arts, intuition, the psyche, humanitarian issues and the power of suspending disbelief.    Pisces is a mutable sign, and the three other mutable signs are all about facts.  Gemini is about the current data on the ground.    Virgo is the data that makes things work, including the body.   Sagittarius is the data ‘over there’ (foreign) or up there (universities) or in there (publishers, churches).   All of them have a strong belief in their data.  But Pisces who, yes, understands the importance of data can also leave his belief and go deep into an internal space, that disengages from the facts, ponders dreamy thoughts and says, “Hmmm… what if.”   Pisces is that unworldly part of the oceans and the farthest part of the universe.  It is the deep and the cosmic inside all of us.   

 

There may be things that appear during these three and half days that could be spurred by a fact that gets our attention.   We then send feelers into our intuition and our dreams for more information.  What information will be our reply?    Saturn reminds us we have a responsibility to tap into the great unknown for answers to questions that may come up later.   Falling into internet rabbit holes may not be just a nonsense trip.  It could be something your psyche is working on that will make sense later.  Let see if some of it makes more sense by the next eclipse when the second Virgo New Moon is in exact opposition to Saturn.   That’s going to be a doozey.   More on that during the New Moon report later in the month. 

 

One more thing, Saturn is the planet of time and timing.   During this eclipse and three-day phase, we may see stories that were impacted by timing.   A person at the right place at the right time and perhaps the opposite a person at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Watch the news for those stories and on a personal level,  there could be bushels of coincidences and synchronist moments during the three-day phase.   See if you bring up something to friend and they say, “Wow I was just talking about that with someone the other day.”    Every time there is a synchronistic event, consider the universe is talking to you.  “Psst you are not alone”.  How perfectly Pisces.     

Honeycomb Personal Almanac 

For those of you who are doing the deeper dive into the eight phases with me this month.   The full phase is when we seek a balance to the new.  

 

Reminder: 

New  Aug 22 11:06pm – August 26 8:44pm.  Plant seeds and actions ideally based on the theme of Virgo.    

 

Crescent Aug 26 8:44pm – Aug 30 11:25pm.  Information comes to us, much of it informed by the wheels we turned on the New, either consciously or unconsciously. 

 

First Quarter August 30 11:25pm.  We do actions that connect to the wheels we turned on new moon and how we were informed during Crescent.   

 

Gibbous Phase September 3 9:52pm.  We sift through data and pull out those points that are important.  We separate the wheat from the chaff.  We refine.  

 

Full Moon September 7, 11:08am PDT until Sept 10 6:58pm.    Look back on the last two weeks and four phases.   What did you learn or experience during each phase?   How are your emotions in alignment with your goals?   On full moon there can be a big emotional break, for no other reason than to get back on track.   Is someone offering up a balanced perspective?   Make the most of the Pisces full moon and lunar eclipse.  

 

See you in three and half days at Disseminating. 

 

 

Diving Into Gibbous Lunar Phase: Sept 3, 9:52pm - Sept 7, 11:08am

 

Honeycomb personal almanac 

Gibbous Moon

 

 

Continuing the deep dives into the eight phases of the moon.  It is time to shift again.  

 

On Wednesday September 3 at 9:52pm PDT, the moon will move into the Gibbous phase.  

 

The three and half days of Gibbous are a time when the waxing moon spreads wide.   Often people will see the Gibbous phase and think they are looking at the full moon because it is almost completely illuminated.    But it is not quite full during Gibbous.    Instead, this is phase where we prepare for what the full moon my bring.  

 

Reminder: 

New  Aug 22 11:06pm – August 26 8:44pm.  Plant seeds and actions ideally based on the theme of Virgo.    

 

Crescent Aug 26 8:44pm – Aug 30 11:25pm.  Information comes to us, much of it informed by the wheels we turned on the New, either consciously or unconsciously. 

 

First Quarter August 30 11:25pm.  We do actions that connect to the wheels we turned on new moon and how we were informed during Crescent.   

 

 

During Gibbous Phase which runs September 3 at 9:52pm - September 7, 11:08am we sift through the data in front of us and consider the goals we set on new moon.  Are the facts now and the goals from ten days ago far apart?  Or does it seem we are in sync having some goals realized or heading somewhere?   What kind of refining do we need to do based on the here and now?  Is there some opportunity in front of us that we almost missed had we not taken time to sort through everything? 

 

Because this phase is tied to 26 Capricorn 55 moon a lot of what is being illuminated has connection to our career and our place in the world.   We benefit during these three and half days by focusing on:  What goals did you prep at New Moon that speak of business and career?   How is there something shaping up that supports those goals?   What does it feel like to answer to your inner CEO?   How are you refining your business acumen?   How do you present yourself to the world?   Does that need a good tidying up?    How does insecurity impact your career?  What can you do to find more support?  What daily practices can you take on that will soften any insecurity?  

 

In many ways, no matter what the month, the Gibbous moon feels very ‘Virgo’  by all the refinement and picking and choosing what is important and what is not.   This is all very Virgo.  The fact we are doing this deep dive on Gibbous during the Virgo lunar month could be empowering.   Take these three days to sort and categorize anything in front of you as either: Important, potentially significant, no longer relevant and finally stupid.  You’ll know what to do once you sort through it all. And yes, that includes sort your thoughts.   Just sayin’ 

 

See you in three days at the Full Moon which is an eclipse btw.