An Equinox of Connective Healing & Re-Balancing

The Equinox is upon us, signaling the changing of the seasons, for the Northern Hemisphere the turning of Summer to Autumn, while for the Southern Hemisphere it is the turning of to Winter to Spring. In astrological terms, this marks the Sun's ingress (entrance) into the Cardinal Air sign of Libra, which occurs this year on September 23rd at around midnight Pacific time. The Equinox brings our awareness to the theme of balance - as it is a time when the length of daylight is equal to the darkness of night. Here in the Northern Hemisphere it is the subsiding of summer's bright light into the still darkness of winter as the Sun begins to descend southward in its movement through the sky. This marks in Western Astrology the half way point of the zodiacal yearly cycle, which begins on the Spring equinox around March 21st with the Sun's entrance into Aries. As such, we can bring this contemplation and awareness of Earth's seasonal cycles to mind as we reflect at this time on our own process of growth and change.

The energy of Libra represented by the Equinox invites us to inhabit a way of being that allows us to attempt greater balance and relational harmony, and, perhaps most importantly for us in our current global context, helps us see our situation from multiple perspectives. Those who have prominent Libra in their charts are known for their diplomacy, and this stems both from the tendency of Libra to prioritize peaceful human connection, but also from these native's capacity to put themselves in others' shoes— to be willing to try on someone else's perspectives and experiences. When we can drop our own stories, get curious and truly see why and how others behave the way that they do, many times grudges soften, misunderstandings dissolve, and the healing balm of forgiveness can lead us to finding the common ground of Love that truly lies at the center of us all.

This year as well we find Chiron traveling in the early degrees of Aries, opposite the Sun, leading us to new realizations and healing around our autonomy, our sense of agency and choice. As the Sun comes precisely opposite to Chiron in Libra, the potential for healing in relational realms comes to the fore. And while peace and love are often painted amidst rainbows and sunshine, the truth is that the road to that beautiful place is stained with tears and heartache. This is an intrinsic part of the human experience we all are asked to face in the journey of healing ourselves so that we may be in better relation with one other. In this sense, peace is an inside job.

This also brings up the question of how are we to make peace with our enemies, when we cannot befriend the parts of ourselves we have disowned and cast aside? We do well to look with kind and honest eyes upon our challenges with others, and ask with fierce humility what are our pieces to take responsibility for? One interpretation of planets in opposite aspect is that they create potential for projecting our own wounding onto others, especially where the Aries-Libra axis is concerned. So with the Sun opposite Chiron, we may ask, what part of us is hurting, angry, or sad, and being projected outwardly onto others as what we dislike? Remember, what we judge most harshly in others is precisely what we have disowned within ourselves. Our homework is to acknowledge and offer love to our hurt places, so that we're no longer making enemies out of the person across the table for reflecting our own baggage back to us.

We also find prominent in the Equinox sky Jupiter in Sagittarius square to Neptune in Pisces, which reached exact last weekend on Saturday, September 21st. The Saturn and South Node conjunction currently operating in Capricorn, is also making a sextile to Neptune. This configuration, in its highest potential lends us hope, faith, and expansive vision to see forward to a beautiful future, and an exceptionally grounded and structured capacity to manifest those visions into something not only tangible but with a lasting legacy. And, indeed, there are absolutely incredible movements and advancements happening right now in terms of collective human vision taking hold in a gorgeously grounded way. A resounding example of this is the Global Climate Strike led by fierce and inspirational youth, typified by Greta Thunberg, which just last Friday, September 20th became the largest single day climate demonstration in history. The demonstrations amassed an estimated 4 million people world-wide. In the less optimal expression of this astrological configuration, we can find such things as delusion, misinformed notions, and pipe dreams that come crashing to a halt when such untethered fantasies meet the nuts and bolts of practicality. Another face of this could be the skewed, biased, or downright deceitful information flowing through media of all sorts. Humans were not built to process the massive amounts of information most of us are exposed to. Our nervous systems are being asked to filter an overwhelming amount of data and choices, and in that process our discernment for determining what is real and truthful from what is fantasy and fiction can easily fall through the cracks. Saturn comes into the picture here by asking each of us to take our responsibility as consumers of information very seriously— to ask ourselves about the motivations of the people behind the news and information we read and hear, and to follow our own compass for Truth, lest we be led astray by a multitude of voices and distractions in a bottomless ocean of media. What all this Neptune energy can reliably lead us back to, if we choose to follow the breadcrumb trail of synchronicity and beauty, is Divine Love and Compassion, and an extra dose of acceptance for what is so, as we undergo the intense evolutionary process of these rapidly changing times.

On this powerful Equinox, may we endeavor to find balance, healing, and spiritual attunement to Love as we navigate the waters of our troubled world.