The Fall Equinox, also known as the First Day of Fall, balances the hours of day and night. Already in Metro-Detroit we’ve lost an hour of daylight since September started. We’ll lose another 3 hours until the Winter Solstice offers a scant 9 hours to catch the weakened sunshine. Joyful celebrations brighten those long nights of the nadir of our year as we begin the 6 month climb that will add 6 hours of daylight until we reach the peak 15 hours on the Summer Solstice. Looking both backward to the warm months and forward to the snow is a natural part of seeking balance. Now is the time to treasure the last warm days of the year and to hunt up rakes and new apples. Explore what made the lighter months good and plan for ways to brighten the darker months.
Astrologically, the Fall Equinox marks the line between Virgo and Libra. This ends our time of detailed Virgo preparations like the squirrels storing nuts in anticipation of leaner times that practical Earthy Virgo knows is coming. During our Virgo New Moon we doubled our power to prepare ourselves, even as Uranus in Retrograde spends the rest of the year testing our resolve and resources. Virgo is well suited to the tasks ahead, encouraging hard work and careful accounting.
While planning remains strong as we enter intellectual Libra, our perspective widens from the details to larger issues of leadership. We are called to find balance on the scales of justice, the symbol of Libra’s reign. Libra energy ripens us for objective judgements when turned outward. Beware that your efforts to weigh your many options don’t lead to indecision, a common flaw of Libras when faced with choices that don’t affect others. This Uranus Retrograde is highlighting areas that still need the energy of change. Libra’s sense of fair play will have ample topics that beg for adjustment as Uranus challenges to us to review the upsets it created in 2021.