Tag Archives: autumn

Oct 8 2025

Autumn Season 2025: Compassion, Openness, and a Structure that Supports the Dream

Balance.

This is the word we reflect on at the Autumn Equinox, and throughout the Autumn Season. As we see and feel the shifting of the light and the crisping of the air, the Sun, in the astrological sign of Libra, continues its descent across the Southern sky, gradually weakening in light and height. At this time of year, light and dark are not battling for the sky, but equal in strength. The equinoxes, both Spring and Autumn, are the only times when the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are equally illuminated. In the Northern Hemisphere we are now in-between the extremes of the heat of Summer with its long, languid days just past, and in anticipation of the short, dark, cold days of Winter. We are betwixt and between… a time of equilibrium, a time of balance. A time of transition. It is as though we are between a deep inhale and a powerful exhale, where the moment hangs shimmering and poignant, before it passes away.

Before we started buying our food at grocery stores and super centers, the Autumn Equinox was a celebration of the harvest – the time when, both exhausted and jubilant, we’d successfully brought in the fruits of our labors, preparing and storing them for the winter. It was a time to mark the importance of working together for a common cause, a time to revel in our community as the stronghold of our survival together. This is an idea that is central to the energy of Libra and to this time of year: equality, balance, community, peace, beauty – the peace and beauty of the dying sun, of the vibrancy of the trees in their final blaze of glory, of our relationships and what we create when we are equal together, honoring all sides, balancing all views, and coming to diplomatic solutions that strengthen and protect us all.

Equinox is from the Latin aequinoctium, meaning equal night.” Today the night is equal to the day, yet as we move through time away from the Equinox and toward the Winter Solstice, the days become shorter and and we have less light to live by. What was known to our ancestors, before technology gave us permanent days with electric light, is the part darkness plays in the work of spiritual transformation. The darkness, to which we are absolutely heading as each day passes, is a place that restores us, a space where we germinate, and regenerate. But before we reach the full darkness of the Winter Solstice, we have the opportunity to learn from the harmony and symmetry of the Equinox. We tap into the beauty of internal balance, that sense of equilibrium we

The glyph for Libra represents both the scales and the Autumn sun setting over the horizon, a symbol for equilibrium and peace.

need in order to start preparing for the darkness. In this space of anticipation, when the light is gorgeous, the air is temperate and cooling to the skin, and the riotous, rich colors of ‘Nature in her Fall’ imbue our spirits with gratitude, with generosity – and because we are feeling externally delighted – we find it easy to extend ourselves in love, open to both giving and receiving. The crispness of the season is reviving to the spirit, and for as long as we dare, before the dark and cold drive us inside, we strive toward company among others, pleasures, beauty, harmony, and love. This is the message of Libra.

The particular message of this Autumn Season, found in the astrology of the Autumn Equinox chart drawn for the moment the Sun moved into Libra at 2:20 PM Eastern on September 22, 2025, is one of creating a strong container for the ways we support and hold our loved ones. Emotional connection and communcating from a place of collaboration, as well as a willingness to compromise are the keys during this season that asks us to both balance and release.

There’s a particular sense of being willing to deeply transform personally, while still holding space for others, for new innovative ideas, and for creating structure and strategy around our dreams and visions for the future. This entire Autumn Season is one in which we can ground ourselves in reality of the moment, while also being able to dream what’s beautiful into being. There’s lots of support and opportunity here if we’re will to remain open to others, and to understanding our ideas and desires from different perspectives.

Building on the dream, giving it structure, especially through compassionate exchanges of ideas, is the way forward this season. Be open. Let things be different. We’re in a state of flux for quite some time to come, but this Autumm Equinox energy says, “Collaborte. Don’t do the hard parts alone. This is time for community. This is time to hold what’s real and let the rest go.”

Enjoy this transitional season! It is filled with beauty, in the light and in the shadows.

Astrology Chart for the Moment of the Autumn Equinox – 2025

Sun in Libra, trining Pluto in Aquarius and Uranus in Gemini, opposite the Saturn / Neptune (Saturn in Pisces – Neptune in Aries), conjuncting Mercury and the Moon in Libra

Astrology Chart for the Moment of the Autumn Equinox / Sun in Libra / Sept. 22, 2025 / 2:20 PM EDT
Sep 22 2024

The Autumn Equinox and the Moment of Balance – September 22, 2024

(This is a repost of an article I wrote in 2017, updated with the astrological energy for this Autumn.)

Balance.

This is the word we reflect on at the Autumn Equinox. As we see and feel the shifting of the light and the crisping of the air, the Sun, just entering the astrological sign of Libra, continues its descent across the Southern sky, gradually weakening in light and height. This day is the day of equal day and night hours, when light and dark are not battling for the sky, but equal in strength. The equinoxes, both Spring and Autumn, are the only times when the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are equally illuminated. In the Northern Hemisphere we are now in-between the extremes of the heat of Summer with its long, languid days just past, and in anticipation of the short, dark, cold days of Winter. We are betwixt and between… a time of equilibrium, a time of balance. A time of transition. It is as though we are between a deep inhale and a powerful exhale, where the moment hangs shimmering and poignant, before it passes away.

Before we started buying our food at grocery stores and super centers, the Autumn Equinox was a celebration of the harvest – the time when, both exhausted and jubilant, we’d successfully brought in the fruits of our labors, preparing and storing them for the winter. It was a time to mark the importance of working together for a common cause, a time to revel in our community as the stronghold of our survival together. This is an idea that is central to the energy of Libra and to this time of year: equality, balance, community, peace, beauty – the peace and beauty of the dying sun, of the vibrancy of the trees in their final blaze of glory, of our relationships and what we create when we are equal together, honoring all sides, balancing all views, and coming to diplomatic solutions that strengthen and protect us all.

Equinox is from the Latin aequinoctium, meaning equal night.” Today the night is equal to the day, yet as we move through time away from the Equinox and toward the Winter Solstice, the days become shorter and and we have less light to live by. What was known to our ancestors, before technology gave us permanent days with electric light, is the part darkness plays in the work of spiritual transformation. The darkness, to which we are absolutely heading as each day passes, is a place that restores us, a space where we germinate, and regenerate. But before we reach the full darkness of the Winter Solstice, we have the opportunity to learn from the harmony and symmetry of the Equinox. We tap into the beauty of internal balance, that sense of equilibrium we

The glyph for Libra represents both the scales and the Autumn sun setting over the horizon, a symbol for equilibrium and peace.

need in order to start preparing for the darkness. In this space of anticipation, when the light is gorgeous, the air is temperate and cooling to the skin, and the riotous, rich colors of ‘Nature in her Fall’ imbue our spirits with gratitude, with generosity – and because we are feeling externally delighted – we find it easy to extend ourselves in love, open to both giving and receiving. The crispness of the season is reviving to the spirit, and for as long as we dare, before the dark and cold drive us inside, we strive toward company among others, pleasures, beauty, harmony, and love. This is the message of Libra.

The particular message of this Autumn Equinox, found in the astrological chart drawn for the moment the Sun moves into Libra at 8:44 AM Eastern on September 22, 2024, carries a call to change; transitioning into a brand new paradigm of how we see ourselves as we are mirrored by others.

The feeling tone of this Equinox is compassion, empathy, and recognizing that we are all one – subtley, yet powerfully connected. With the influence of Neptune, this is a time to explore your deep spirituality, and to live through your imagination, through your creativity, and to put forth effort in powerfully visualizing a future that supports your purpose. There is a dynamic of curiosity, and stepping into the Unknown. And there is also a call to action regarding balancing the Self with Others.

Balance is always the key this time of year, and the focus of our balance this year must be that of seeing and honoring others – those we love and humanity at large – while also clearly seeing ourselves. It is the classic Aries (Self) / Libra (Other) dichotomey. How do we honor our own will, and also that of others, while creating well-being and harmony? This is the question to find answers to this Autumn.

Enjoy this transitional season! It is filled with beauty, in the light and in the shadows.

(Sun in Libra, trining Moon in Gemimi and Uranus in Taurus, trining Pluto in Capricorn, opposite Neptune in Pisces, conjuncting South Node in Virgo and oppositie North Node in Aries.)

Astrology Chart for the Moment of the Autumn Equinox / Sun in Libra / Sept. 22, 2024 / 8:45 AM EDT
Sep 1 2024

Virgo Season, the Virgo New Moon, and You – A September Ode to the Time of Harvest

I'm longing for Autumn crisp mornings.

I’m longing for Autumn crisp mornings. I can close my eyes and see the leaves of trees in vibrant reds, oranges, and golds as they prepare to let go and spiral gently down to become the sheltering carpet for tree roots, the soil, and the wee seeds that will hibernate beneath them. I want the burst of sweet crunchy apples, pumpkin bread, communing with friends around my fire bowl on the back patio, sweaters and boots, and the warming fragrance of cinnamon. Autumn is my jam! And September 1st has always been my favorite day of the year. It’s the doorway into the fall of the year. Autumn is not quite within our grasp yet as Summer lingers, but Virgo Season, which started on August 22, and the Sept. 2 New Moon in Virgo tomorrow, are priming us for nature’s transformations that are on the way!

As we enter the month of September, just beginning to leave the ripening heat of Summer behind, we move closer and closer to Autumn. Ten days ago, we entered the time of year that belongs to Virgo, and into the time of harvest. Harvest is a beautiful word that is intricately connected to the symbolism of Virgo, and evokes thoughts and images of toiling in the fields that were planted in Spring, in order to gather in the fruits of our labors that will nourish and sustain us through the Winter.

On a farm, the harvest is, by necessity, a time of discernment, perhaps the most Virgo quality of all. Farmers must analyze the bounty they’ve gathered and decide what to eat now, what is worth putting up for later, and what needs to be plowed back into the field, left to rot and nourish the soil for next year. When harvesting wheat, the millennia old symbol of Virgo, they must take discernment a bit further, so that it becomes an action of effort, separation, and organization. They must thresh the wheat to remove the husks, so that the edible part of the wheat is exposed. And then they must winnow it. Winnow is another beautiful word that means that a strong wind must stir and blow the husks away, removing the chaff – the husks that have been threshed away.

The protective husk is light and easily winnowed from the heart of the grain that is edible and nourishing. The husk serves its purpose as a protector so that that the kernel of the grain can incubate, mature, and ripen. But if the husk were to remain intact, the perfected fruit inside would never fulfill its purpose, which is to be in service to the nourishment of others. That nourishment can be literal, but also means to be in service to others in a way that nurtures their purpose, while living your own.

The beauty of using the metaphor of wheat here is that Virgo, the second Earth sign of the Zodiac, is of the soil. She is of the Earth. She is profoundly connected to its rhythms, the cycles of light and heat of the Sun, and the gravitational pulls of the Moon, and the movement of the waters of life. She is the embodiment of earthy intelligence. Virgo understands and desires everything that nourishes the body, and brings it into the most perfected state of health and well-being possible. Just as wheat is known as the “bread of life,” Virgo, from a more personal perspective, can be understood as the “bread of Self.” During this Virgo Season, which beautifully offers us a New Moon in Virgo as well (new beginnings in a Virgo fashion), be prepared to harvest your true and natural Self. Meticulously work toward separating the chaff, or what is no longer useful in your thoughts, habits and patterns, from the nourishing wheat that is your true purpose now.

The ”now” part is where you might find a bit of a hiccup. As a human doing your best, you still may hold on to old patterns – old chaff that protects a story you tell yourself about who you are, or a goal you once wanted to achieve, or an expectation of self that you haven’t fulfilled. If you really analyze it, that goal or expectation may not have been yours at all, but someone else’s for you. Or you may have evolved beyond the limitations of that particular dream. The old story you’re holding may simply no longer be viable or true. Virgo is the symbol that discerns what’s appropriate for where you are now, and separates you from what’s no longer necessary or serving the path to a more perfected you.

Virgo is about harvesting and honoring the natural kernel of Self; analyzing what you’ve learned, what you’ve accomplished, and with acclaimed common sense and prudence, what you haven’t. The questions become, “How can I separate the chaff from the wheat of what is truly, naturally, me? And if I can do that, how do I release the chaff that isn’t necessary to me anymore, and then maintain and perfect the wheat that is divinely me?” If you’re asking these kinds of questions, you have truly entered the higher vibrational meaning and understanding of Virgo.

I wish for you a healthy Self Harvest during this Virgo Season, and honest and practical new beginnings that serve you well during this Virgo New Moon.

May you bloom into the fullness of your cosmic promise. May the kindness that you give always be returned, and may you find peace and joy in the dance of the Universe.

With love, Michelle