By: Janette Dalgliesh – Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
I’m doing the Equinox dance!
Everyone gets excited about a Solstice (and they’re right to do so), but for me there’s something extra special about an Equinox.
Derived from the Latin for ‘equal night’, the Equinox is the moment when Earth sits perfectly balanced on its axis – not ‘leaning’ one way or the other, but at the exact correct angle so that the Sun moves directly overhead along the Equator.
Night and day become equal.
At the September Equinox, we’re experiencing Spring in the South, Autumn/Fall in the North. Seasonally, we’re travelling in different directions. Northerners are heading towards the dark nights of winter, while here in the South we’re anticipating the brilliant days of summer.
But, for this special moment twice a year, we share this common experience.
Twelve hours of daylight, twelve hours of dark, uniting us all and reminding us we are all one.
Sidebar: astro geeks in the room might want me to add that it’s not exactly twelve hours for everyone, because of the way we humans measure sunrise and sunset, and because of the way our atmosphere refracts sunlight.
You know what? I don’t care!
We basically experience it the same way all around the world, making this a beautiful time to celebrate unity and connection.
September Equinox sees the Sun moving into the Cardinal sign of Libra.
Ruled by Venus, this Air sign is known for balance, justice, beauty, relationships, ease and grace.
And as the Sun moves into Libra, it is also activating the other Cardinal points – Aries, Cancer, and Capricorn.
Cardinal points bring something from the interior to the exterior; from the private to the public; from the intangible to manifested reality.
Every Equinox or Solstice already inherently contains this Cardinal energy, the potential for change and new directions.
But in 2019, we have a LOT of other Cardinal action going on, with significant heavenly bodies in every Cardinal sign around the zodiac.
In courageous Aries, we find the mysterious centaur, Chiron, our genius guide to the outrageous. Aries is the sign of the impossible quest, and whenever a Greek hero had one of those to undertake, you can bet he sought out Chiron – the best guy to coach anyone to audacious success. If ever there’s a time to take on something you have feared was too big for you, it’s when Chiron and Aries get together like this.
Emotion-oriented Moon sits in her home sign of Cancer, activating our vulnerability, our inherent capacity for compassion and kindness, and our ability to connect in deep and intimate ways. Think empathy galore, converted to actions which help. Meanwhile, North Node also sits in Cancer (with South Node in Capricorn), spotlighting any tensions we feel between our hidden, intimate personal Self (Cancer) and our public, create-a-legacy Self (Capricorn). Lean into the Chiron/Aries dynamic to help figure out how to satisfy both: the desire to feel safe, and the desire to make your mark in the world.
As well as South Node in magically pragmatic Capricorn, we’re really starting to feel the ever-increasing influence of the special Saturn and Pluto convergence dance here. The activation of so much Cardinal energy is a wake up call for us to get cracking on building those solid foundations. Whatever is coming, it’s revolutionary and transformational; and it isn’t only for our own benefit. We take the thing we’re building, and it makes its mark on the world, so it needs to be robust and well-structured. This goes beyond the personal, into the socio-political. This is no time to be sitting on one’s hands, being an indifferent observer.
And of course in Libra, alongside Sun we find Mercury and Venus, which moved into this sign just last week. Astrologer Liz Greene refers to these inner planets as “the foundations of … the ego, the sense of personal self”. They’re about our identity, how we think, how we relate to others. In Libra, there is a strong urge for significant one to one connection, a meeting of minds.
This is all happening against a background of Jupiter (in his sign of Sagittarius) square Neptune (in his sign of Pisces). Think expansive and dreamy, far beyond old, weary boundaries or limitations. New paradigms call out to be born into the world.
And after the recent long (oh, so long!) period of Earth-heavy astro weather, we finally see the balance shift to bring in plenty of Air. It’s lighter and breezier, and there’s a delightful upwelling of curiosity and possibility.
Think ‘infinite lightness of being’ and you begin to get the feel of it.
How best to tap into this energy?
- September Equinox, Sun into Libra, says it’s all about balance. If there’s anywhere you feel a duality, a tug-o’-war between two seemingly opposite urges, find some ways to walk that dual path in the most balanced way for you. Drop the either/or perspective and embrace the and/and. The balance piece is for you to figure out (hint: it’s rarely a simple 50:50 thing – ask ‘what feels good?’ and be willing to experiment)
- With Saturn recently shifting into forward motion after his Retrograde period, somewhere in your life it will feel like the brakes are now OFF. Explore that area to see if there are brand new things waiting to blossom, with your active participation. Do the big blue sky dreaming first; and then feel out the first inspired steps to building the foundation for the dream. Don’t be surprised if the clarity arrives all at once, seemingly out of the blue.
- Celebrate the universality of the Equinox, as each hemisphere heads into its own season of winter or summer. There are people on the other side of the planet who are celebrating Equinox and experiencing equal day and night at the exact same time that you are. That’s pretty damn cool! Call up friends in the opposite hemisphere. Organise an Equinox party on social media. Imagine total strangers celebrating Equinox somewhere far away. Send them a blessing, or raise a glass to them. Jupiter in Sagittarius and Venus in Libra both love a party!
- Create and activate a magical ritual. Solstices and Equinoxes have been focal points for magical and shamanic ceremonies for millennia. You can make it simple (light a candle, dance by moonlight, worship the Sun for a few minutes, spend time in prayer). Or you can create a complex ritual marking the inherent freshness of the Cardinal signs and the season you’re in right now, based on your own sign.
- Start a new conscious creation habit, or rekindle an old favourite – scripting, affirmations, visualising, whatever will reliably lift your vibration and help get you aligned with what you want, more of the time. With Jupiter and Neptune lighting each other up, aim for something wildly inspirational and tapped into your dreams. If it feels too hard, you’re caught in the ‘how’ – go bigger and wilder and even more out there!
- Activate deliberate beauty. That means both deliberately practising the art of noticing existing beauty wherever you are; and bringing more beauty in whatever way pleases you. Your environment, your online world, your spaces, your person. What is already beautiful? What can you beautify? Check out Jacqui Gates on this topic for more ideas.
It’s Spring Equinox for me, and my own natal Sun is in Libra so I resonate strongly with this beautiful sign.
I’ll be spending time visiting with Venus, then celebrating with fresh flowers. I’ll schedule in a little sun worship along with some daydreaming. I’ll set very clear intentions for the next three months, and then I’ll go on a date with Saturn to turn all of that into clear step-by-step plans and goals.
However you decide to mark this Equinox, whether it’s Spring or Autumn/Fall for you – enjoy it!
EXACT TIMES (US EASTERN TIMEZONE)
- 23 September 3:50AM – Sun into Libra (Equinox)
Janette Dalgliesh has a simple mission in life – to wreak more joy in the world. A keen student of astrology, brain science and Law of Attraction, she serves her people through astrology consults, coaching, teaching and writing. If you’d like Janette’s in-depth insights into your own unique astrological chart, you can find her via Facebook, or at her website Resonant Joy. Main article photo by Michael Weidner on Unsplash
