VIRGO: Sad to say, not all Virgoans may be in the best of health at the moment. Some of you had a problem that flared up in July and again in August. And someone has a remedy for it. Keep a lookout for that remedy, because you will win a competition connected with it. Other Virgos may find themselves off sick. At least this gives you more time for entering competitions (if you're up to it. If you're not, the Planetary set-up is better mid-October. Please remember though, Astrology can act as a guide, and personalised Astrology could even show up problems, causes or even solutions that conventional medicine doesn't see, but it should not be taken as factual diagnosis. Please see the relevant expert for health problems.) However, for all Virgos, keep looking in chemists and drugstores, as it is there that your best competition entries will be. Check your bottles of pills, not just because you should be reading the label anyway, but because there will be a survey, a website, a promotion, or something connected that will lead you to a healthy prize!

Think about balanced arguments when writing your slogans. Mars gives you (apart from a headache) the motivation to say something strong, but not much time to sit and think about perfecting what you said. The Equinox this month is about balance and thought. So don't things till the last minute and then just rush off something, you need to be planning carefully, writing, re-writing, refining and judging what you send in, if you are to impress the judges. And if you are a judge, you will be looking for that balanced phrase. And a word of warning, don't let it get personal!

If you play the lottery, you stand a better chance of winning during the first two weeks of September and really, gambling isn't advised after that. In fact, it's not the best time for that anyway. But at least you'll have some birthday presents.

The Autumn Equinox is very much a time of reorganisation, getting rid of what is now redundant, tidying up, making new or better starts. You may not feel like doing it, but get your "comping" life and accessories tidied up and organised for a new season. Go through old stuff, throw away out of date entry forms, start a new tracking system… Do all this before the Sun leaves your Sign on the 23rd.

LIBRA: Your Ruling Planet, Venus moved into your Sign last month and will still be there for the first week of September, so use her love-y influence: find the love theme in the competitions you enter, use romance to influence your tiebreakers, enter a competition to win a weekend break for a couple - even if you don't have anyone to go with, you soon will have.

Partnership is mostly well-starred this month, so go for joint efforts and get the best out of that newly formed friendship too. A brilliant idea hits you on the 7th - get a partner to help you get it into shape.

Get your entries in early this month, though. Mercury is in your Birthsign for the whole month, generally assisting you with all forms of communication and encouraging ideas to form. But from the 15th onwards, this Planet's influence goes the other way. Mercury is the Messenger and if he's in a good mood he'll deliver your messages without tampering with their meaning. But if he's in a frivolous mood, he's likely to send them to the wrong place, change the wording around, mess up the spelling or generally dilly-dally on the way. So write your postcards clearly, making sure you specify which is the sender and which is the addressee, check the answers and put them in the post now!

With Venus in your Money House, you could succeed at gambling, especially on the 17th and 18th, but if doing the lottery, choose numbers you would not have normally and avoid 8's and 2's. Find horses with these keywords in their names: flash, amber, electron, yellow.

When the Sun moves into the Sign of the Scales on the Autumn Equinox, September 23rd, remember what your Astrological Sign symbolises - harmony and balance - and use this principle in your comping. From finding balanced phrases for tiebreakers and harmonious words in your writing and poetry, to finding the balance between entering competitions and some sort of life!

SCORPIO: If you're involved with some sort of group, make sure you all know where you stand, because changes and possibly friction are likely. It may make things difficult for a quiz team and very tricky indeed for a lottery syndicate, if there isn't firm agreement amongst you. Maybe it's not a good time to get involved, it seems nobody can quite get it right in your eyes and as you're going through a social clearout, it maybe best to go it alone until things settle down mid-month. Pick the lotto numbers yourself, going for 5, 14, 25, 41, 50 or 55. After the Autumn Equinox, on the 23rd, you will feel creative and a lot calmer too, with Venus in your own Birthsign. Use her romantic connotations in your tiebreakers, nice lovey-dovey ones, slogans based on historical lovers, you know the sort of thing - stuff about Anthony and Cleopatra and all that. And with this Planet's influence bringing love into your life, better start looking at wedding comps!

SAGITTARIUS: Your Ruling Planet is in the "comping area" of your Chart and Pluto in your Sign is now behaving a whole lot better - how can you lose?

If you followed the rules of comping Karma and have been helping others, now they'll help you. The more luck your fellows had, due to your input, the more luck will now come your way.

6th: Your boss is watching you!

13th: Use wit in your tiebreaker!

21st: A domestic appliance makes its appearance!

23rd: Share with friends!

30th: Very nutty!

CAPRICORN: Still too stuck with work commitments to devote time to competitions? The answer is to work extra hard during the first half of the month, so you can rack up some time off or at least to get the pressure off you for the rest of the month. That's the theory, anyway. The problem is that once the pressure is off, the comping conditions won't be quite so good.

Fortunately, you've already sent in loads of entries prior to now and much of the assessing is still going on. Results will soon surface and you may be amongst the lucky ones.

After the Equinox on the 23rd, you'll find a better balance between work and play and at that time, you'll gain new allies and comping friends.

It isn't your luckiest time, but it can be your most prolific. Start thinking about contests that can help you stretch yourself, use your imagination and develop your creative talents. If learning something new is the only prize you gain this month, that will be a jolly good win.

AQUARIUS: A bit of reorganization might be good now. Start getting rid of stuff you don't need any more (like those out of date entry forms you kept because you liked the colour) and clear out your folders of "slogans". You don't need to keep them, you have everything you need right there in your head - your imagination will be bright in September, with good, inspired ideas coming on the 9th, 10th, 17th, 18th, 27th and 28th.

Games of chance are not recommended, this month you should use your creativity and particularly your skill. If you still want to play the lottery, go back to favourite numbers or old numbers that came up for you in the past.

Get yourself in order for the Equinox, when your luck will improve (after the 23rd) and think "makeover" - kitchens, bathrooms, gardens and you, yourself. In fact, make yourself over anyway, because around this powerful time the currents of change and positivity that you generate will translate to things that you want to happen!

The trouble with PISCES is that you get hooked on things. You're spending a lot of time and energy pursuing that BIG win but it looks as if someone close to you is getting really irritated about it.

There is confusion in your mind and there are dreams in your head - somehow they don't seem to be coming true right now but you know they will, if only people would let you work at it!

This month though, you may need cut down quite drastically on your comping, if for no other reason than to keep the peace. This will actually help you though, because this process alone is part of the luck you make for yourself, by guiding you into the right area. By the Autumn Equinox, when the Sun moves into your House of Secrets, you will have perfected an M.O. that suits everybody (you do your comping in secret!) and not only will that improve your luck, but it will certainly improve the atmosphere.

You DO devote yourself to others, but they don't always notice it. Don't worry, they will. Especially when that BIG win arrives to benefit them all!

Probably not the best time for accident-prone ARIES to be competing in sporting events. (If you have to, though, take extra care and think about using different tactics instead of pushing yourself to the limit all in one go.) Instead, you should be relaxing on a break and entering leisure type competitions. Games that you enjoy playing, crossword and other puzzles for prizes and of course, contests to win cruises, pampering, anything where you don't really have to do much. A chair and/or a fridge full of lager would be nice!

Send or submit entries on the 5th and 6th. Also aim to submit your answer by internet or to have any other kind of entry read or judged at 4pm (GMT) on the 4th. Colours, clues and keywords: gold, orange, yellow, king, sun, cat, eagle, stage, act, govern, reign, four, six.

When the Sun crosses into Libra on the 23rd, this will put the emphasis on partnership and if there is a dual effort that can start building up from that time, it will bring fun and will also lead to a better understanding of that particular relationship.

Check something written on a gold and blue card.

TAURUS: Those in caring professions will do well in specialist competitions. With Venus, your Ruling Planet, now in a position to do things for other people, you will enjoy researching and providing answers. Get yourself into a team of find collaborators, you will share the rewards.

Venus moves into Scorpio on the 8th, bringing lurve into your life (so not much time for comping, then), so let the emphasis be on partnership things.

The Autumn Equinox brings balance, but also asks you to look at opposites. Whilst this is a time for you to fill gaps in your life (i.e. what's missing that you would like to win?) but it also suggests you look at how certain things and people complement each other. Play a "pairs" game, use even numbers, use contrasting colours. Use the partnership concept in you slogans, too (you know the sort of thing, salt and pepper, cats and dogs, Morecambe and Wise...)

GEMINI: Saturn is still in your Sign, slowing things down but encouraging you to take time over your entries to make sure they are right and in particular, that the follow the rules to the letter. The Sun is still in a compatible constellation and favours domestic matters and family members want to have a say in what you do at the moment. Get them involved - but don't forget Saturn's influence: check the rules! One per household? Make sure you all agree on whose one it is going to be.

Use Saturn's influence in the most positive way you can: enter comps that have a long lead time, use tried and trusted methods, stick the old chestnuts in, do stuff to do with retirement, old age, insurance, etc.

The written word is good for Geminis (write in black, or print using black ink and a conventional font.) But don't forget that your own Ruling Planet goes Retrograde on the 15th for the rest of the month. This means that your talking may not amount to so much, so don't bother with phone comps and do the quizzes some other time. Aim to get postal entries (marked VERY clearly) in early in the month. Make sure stuff on your computer is backed up too.

The 22nd and 23rd are good for a small money prize.

A Gemini will win their weight in something.

CANCER: Luckiest time is at the very start of the month and also at the very end. In fact, something you win once, you will win again. If you tried something early in the month and get a second chance later, do more or less the same thing.

3rd: Money and travel.

7th: Ring up.

9th: A labour-saving device is important.

11th: A child's picture is significant.

13th: Yes, you can gamble, even though you're superstitious. Just pick lucky numbers.

20th and 21st: Be inspired by a dream.

22nd: A team effort works.

23rd: 4.56 am (GMT) is the best time.

24th: Friend's luck may change things greatly.

29th: You are at your most inspirational. Trust your initial feeling.

29th/30th: Pay attention to a dream or vision.

LEO: Just how lucky can you get? This month simply abounds with gifts. If you have been thinking about home improvements, something you win (even if it's small) will inspire you to get started.

This is important, because now you need a comfortable and cosy environment. You also need a little "comping corner" and now is the right time to create it. A new lamp or light is important and should be positioned nicely and have the right colour to give you confidence and creativity - a soft, golden glow from this will work wonders.

The 7th is a lucky day and money-luck should be quite reasonable this month. Friday the 13th should actually be a good day for you - but if you fret and you're superstitious, you'll turn the luck away. So have fun and relax (but hey, don't relax so much you fall asleep at the helm of your little ship, otherwise it will never come in!)

The 14th also holds surprises for you (pleasant, if you deserve them) and something that goes on without you on the 21st have an advantage.

The Equinox on the 23rd will be a time of leisure and relaxation - a holiday is indicated.

29th: What you cook up will mean something special.

30th: Something will disappear. Well, you can't win 'em all.

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