Love Horoscope for the Week of September 16

Listen to this article

As is often the case with astrology and life in general, the past is prologue. No matter what the state of your love life now or where it’s going, the past is what brought you here. In that spirit, some of the most important astrological happenings affecting this week actually happened late last week.

First, Mars opposite Neptune (which was exact on Saturday) will be in effect throughout the week. This aspect is a tricky one to deal with. On the one hand, it bears a certain resemblance to Venus opposite Mars: it can increase your sex drive and make you (and others) a little more receptive to a “charm offensive.” Is that good news or bad news? That probably depends on how wisely you approach your (real or potential) partner(s). Or, as my Dad used to put it, “If you fly with the crows, you’ll get shot down with them.” Dad: he loved shooting things.

Also, two events from late last week have shifted the tone when it comes to the pursuit of romance. Both Mercury and Venus have entered Libra. Mercury in Libra is an excellent influence when it comes to negotiating, laying down the flattery, and writing a good love letter. It’s also a good time to negotiate a little peace if you’ve been feuding with a loved one.

Venus in Libra is perhaps the most classic placement for love and relationships (although this alone doesn’t guarantee romantic success). It can’t make a bad situation great, but it can certainly make an existing relationship a little sweeter, and can improve the general tone for beginning something new.

Come to think of it, you might want to take advantage of that Libra energy in both words (Mercury) and deeds (Venus) as soon as possible, because before long, Mercury and Venus will be approaching the square to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Get some romance rolling now, before the two toughest planets in the solar system take Mercury and Venus out back and beat them with a rubber mallet.

Speaking of beatings, on Wednesday Saturn in Capricorn turns direct. This means that the relative ease of the current separation between Saturn and Pluto is about to come to an end. The conjunction won’t be exact until next January… but many will be feeling the burn for a long time both before and after that point. Don’t worry about that too much now, otherwise you’ll miss out on the power to overcome those Saturn-Pluto issues you’ve had in the last year or two, because Mars trine Pluto (exact on Thursday) will lend your efforts to overcome all your obstacles with extra oomph.

The weekend could prove complicated for relationships. On the one hand, Mars trine Pluto will make for a lot of spare sex drive to go around. On the other hand, Jupiter square Neptune (which has been making for some seriously poor judgment all this year) is coming to its last exact peak. And just to really mess with your ability to make sound judgments, on Sunday Mercury square Saturn is complete. See? Aren’t you glad you took my advice about using Mercury in Libra as early as possible this week?