Congratulations on making it through last week. I’m hearing from a number of people that it was an especially challenging build-up to the Full Moon, which peaked early on Saturday — as in, not a typical Pisces Full Moon at all. Personally, I found it to be marked by a variety of external stresses, internal emotional detours, and a number of interpersonal situations not working out as anticipated at all.

One of the largest and longest-lived storms recorded in our solar system, first observed on Saturn in 2010; pictured here in false color. The blue stripe is the rings seen edge-on; that black band is their shadow. Photo by the Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA.

We can likely chalk a lot of that up to the primary feature of this week’s major astrology: Jupiter in Sagittarius in a long square to Neptune in Pisces (which was directly involved in this Full Moon).

On Saturday, Sept. 21, Jupiter and Neptune will make their exact square for the third and final time in this series; the other exact contacts were on Jan. 13 and June 16. Between now and Saturday, Saturn stations direct in mid-Capricorn — more on that in a moment. You might check your calendar or journal to see whether you can trace a progressing or recurring theme between the first two exact contacts of Jupiter-Neptune and now.

Or does the year feel like one big, smudgy painting: lots of beautiful light and colors, some deep, dark shadows, and not many distinct shapes or clear edges?

You may have a sense that certain ideals and dreams for your future are continually being tested. Even if it feels like you’ve been taking a step backward for each two you take forward, that is still progress. Remember that one potentially effective strategy is to take a gradual, patient, drop-by-drop approach to anything important to you.

Yet we’re still in a zone where emotional and spiritual confusion is likely. How well is your imagined ideal scenario matching up with the actual signposts of reality? For example, what are the demonstrated facts and data of your bank account; your work situation; tangible actions by friends, lovers and colleagues? Where do you have legit options and in-hand or in-print offers and opportunities? Who replies to your messages and follows through on their promises?

And what if you feel like the one who’s not following through? There is a caution with Jupiter-Neptune squares not to promise more than you can deliver. Sometimes it pays to set a big goal, because it can motivate you to work harder and more efficiently. This week looks like a better time to set small goals that you can meet with steady, non-Herculean persistence.

This is what happens when Saturn falls asleep at a party hosted by Neptune and Jupiter. Oh, wait… no; it’s just three Voyager 2 images, taken through ultraviolet, violet and green filters, combined into one image. Photo by NASA / CalTech JPL.

Saturn stationing direct on Wednesday, Sept. 18, could begin helping with that. Particularly since it stations in a square to Mercury and Venus in Libra. On one level, this aspect suggests some needed initiative, stability and discipline available for thinking and working.

Yet, curiously, just like the Jupiter-Neptune square, this square to Saturn can describe challenging negotiations. In part this is because Mercury and Venus square Saturn can feel a little down, a little lonely — and it can be hard to communicate clearly and give an accurate impression if things seem more negative than they really are.

On the more productive side, Saturn and Neptune are in an extended sextile to each other. This suggests potential breakthroughs in understanding.

Recent and upcoming insights might not all be light-hearted, but chances are they will be useful to your deeper aims around healing, growth and what you can offer to the greater good.

Perhaps most importantly: Saturn stationing direct this week marks the beginning of the final leg of approach to the exact conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn on Jan. 12, 2020. That’s ‘the big one’ — the aspect Eric devoted much of this year’s annual edition to. It’s the event that a great deal of what we’ve all lived through this year is seemingly preparing us for, though it remains to be seen what we’ve learned and what it all means.

Saturn and Pluto symbolize the two most dependable agents of change in astrology. We relate to them the events that encourage — or force — us to take responsibility and authority in our lives, and the circumstances that compel us to surrender and release what is no longer working. In the world around us, Saturn and Pluto are reflected in a great deal of stress, chaos, pressure, uncertainty and destruction.

Within ourselves, we have an opportunity to respond with creativity, growth and a willingness to step into our lives more fully. It can be daunting, but it can be done. Stay curious, and stay in touch with the optimism and visions of today and of this year; they may be valuable motivators as you continue onward, even if the picture that finally comes into focus is not quite what you expected to see.