Autumn Equinox 2008

The Sun enters 0 Degrees Libra at 8:45 a.m. PDT, 11:45 a.m. EDT Monday morning, September 22nd this year. The Autumn Equinox of 2008 has arrived. Here in the California Sierras the breezes are blowing and white clouds are scuffling across the blue sky. The evenings are cooling rapidly now and squirrels can be seen scurrying about gathering their food stash for winter.

The day and night are equal in length ever so briefly on this pivotal day in the celestial year. Soon the night force begins to gain in strength and we head towards the darkest, longest night at the Winter Solstice in December. For this time, however, we can focus on how to stay in balance between our individual needs and desires and the pull of relationships. Are things fair? Are they feeling harmonious and equitable? Is there a nicely balanced give and take?

Let’s look at this Ingress Chart for Washington DC, the capital of the United States. We know from the news headlines that this nation is facing an enormous financial crisis. This crisis certainly has global implications. If there is a ‘law of synchronicity’ at work the Equinox Chart should rightfully be a mirror. We immediately are drawn to that tense and emotionally charged T-square between the Sun, Moon, and Pluto. That dynamic feels strained, vulnerable, and perhaps ominous. The Moon in Cancer represents collective feelings stressed to the breaking point with insecurities and exaggerated fears (Moon also opposite Jupiter in Capricorn). The Moon in the 8th House indicates the life-death struggles implied for so very many, while Pluto and Jupiter in the House of substance and money reveal the forces of power at work. Are all of these forces visible? Probably not. Raw survival issues are at stake, and the stakes are getting higher. Pluto, now direct, will be conjoining the Sun in the Winter Solstice chart, which may mean that a real struggle for power is still building in intensity and momentum. The hopeful sign is a Pluto sextile Venus in Libra and a Venus trine to the Moon. Perhaps much can be mediated if thoughtfulness and right relationships are included as a priority. There is much of the element of AIR in this chart, indicating the willingness to listen and communicate in order to heal and integrate any imbalances. Finally, old man Saturn in Virgo sits at the top of the chart opposite Uranus in Pisces. Great tensions exist between the old guard and the new, between short-term solutions and efforts to control with logic and analysis opposed by broad-scale evolutionary changes that are sweeping the globe and asking for greater universality and creative inventiveness in the face of potential chaos. Saturn trines Jupiter, both in Earth. Practical solutions are called for that includes everyone, not just special interests, not just the elite. Earth-friendly, life-sustainable solutions will help maintain the balance point.

Given the dynamics of the time as mirrored to us in this Equinox Chart, should we feel powerless in the face of daunting forces, or should we each take direct action right where we are to meet the challenges of potential spiritual growth?

I prefer to stay optimistic and join with others in working together for a better world for all of us, as well as future generations, in this time of taking careful and thoughtful action, whether in our own personal lives or with the growing need to address collective issues on every level. The Autumn Equinox signals a time of entering fully into relationships with the purpose of harmonizing the whole.