Autumn Equinox

Autumn Equinox - Change With Vulnerability

"And all at once, summer collapsed into fall."

— Oscar Wilde

This week begins with the Autumn Equinox, ushered in by the Moon's trine to the Sun and Pluto just before the Sun arrives in Libra. Later in the week, that remarkably stabilizing and beneficial Grand Earth Trine is followed up by another Grand Trine, Mercury's trine to Uranus and Pluto on Tuesday and Wednesday, which suggests feelings of confidence coupled with powerful intellectual ability. However, there is a strong and seductive undertow — Mercury's opposition to Neptune — suggesting a significant vulnerability to 'magical thinking' and deception. Venus, ruling the Autumnal Equinox, squares Pluto before heading into the 'deep waters' of Scorpio. The Venus-Pluto square suggests some inner stress that we aren't particularly interested in sharing or talking about. Under the waning lunar cycle, there is an especially strong feeling of 'closing down' (or 'winterizing', perhaps) and pulling back from significant pursuits and initiatives in an effort to regroup, analyze, and review. It is important to try to put 'first things first' and 'thread the needle' of this particularly complicated environment. We may be inclined to trust ourselves or others a bit more than we should — we may be relying on more support than we really have. Overconfidence, leading to disappointment and discouragement can lead to surprising collapse that we don't see coming. On the other hand, with responsibility and awareness, there is also extraordinary potential for miraculous recoveries and rebirth, given the significant importance of Pluto's involvement. Mercury arrives in Libra by early Thursday morning (1:08 AM PDT) and will join the Sun at the lunar South Node early next week, ahead of next Wednesday's Libra New Moon Eclipse (11:49 AM PDT 10° Libra). Ruled by Venus in Scorpio, the Superior Conjunction of Mercury and the Sun can encourage us to dig deeper in order to understand what others are thinking and feeling. However, at the lunar South Node, our vulnerabilities are exposed and our ability to communicate becomes more difficult and we can begin to feel quite threatened. Knowing who to trust is a challenge. Trusting others will continue to be an issue throughout the next lunar cycle and we will need to very closely examine any deep-seated feelings of inferiority. Whatever can be exposed and dealt with this week will certainly make our journey through the next lunar cycle more productive. Holding on too tightly to misguided or outmoded ideas has the potential to produce serious instability and scattered energy as we move forward.

Sunday offers a rather easy-going mood but we aren't terribly inclined to be open or share our feelings. We are looking for an opportunity to regroup and review. There is a broad optimism on Monday. However, we may be tempted to follow some dead-ends or stir up situations that quickly spiral out of control. Trust becomes an issue on Tuesday even though we may find some exciting and productive interactions. We may not see the complications until it is too late. Wednesday's powerfully intellectual environment brings exposure that can lead to powerful awakenings. Information that comes to light will make an extraordinary and lasting impact. The atmosphere changes significantly on Thursday. Intuition is likely to offer significant help in understanding the best way to proceed. We're inclined to try to work on our own, at our own pace, on Friday. Sensitivities are easily aroused. We may be feeling some disappointment at the degree of our progress on Saturday. Nonetheless, discouragement will only stall our progress — faith and gratitude are called for.