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The Aries Full Moon, September 26, 2026. A return to instinct, feeling, and the wisdom of your emotional body.
This Full Moon Brings You Into Your Body
At the Autumn Equinox, just four days ago, the Libra Sun reached across the sky to Neptune, inviting you to open to your own invisible world and notice what you can see when you close your eyes and feel your way into yourself.
Today’s Full Moon in Aries embraces Neptune on the other side of that Equinox moment, with the Sun in Libra still aching toward them.
The conversation between the Sun, Neptune, and now the Moon, has become deeply emotional, and you know what they say… As above, so below.
What you met, or intuited, or dreamed at the Equinox now moves into your emotional body. Into instinct, feeling, memory… into the things you sense before you know what words to wrap around them.
The Libra Sun illuminates your relationships with your people and your sense of beauty and everything you love. Across the way, the Aries Moon and Neptune are pulling you like the tide into a more intimate knowing, a more tender feeling for your own inner life.
What if this is one of the gifts of the changing light? You discovering that you don’t have to see something clearly to know that it’s there.
I’ve been exploring this in my new Equinox reflection, What You Can See When You Close Your Eyes, and in Forest of Breath, a free guided meditation for sleep that takes you deep into an Autumn forest and beneath an ancient tree and into the quiet between waking and dreaming.
I’ve spent the past couple of days thinking a lot about the Autumn Equinox. It’s one of two beginnings we get all year where we feel a shimmering breath of stillness and balance, where light and dark see each other as partners, as equals… for just a tiny moment. At the Spring Equinox we’re moving into new life and then the heat and color of Summer… but here, now, we’re moving into a season of harvesting what’s ready to nourish you through the shadows, moving into longer hours to rest as the days shorten… and then, comes Winter and darkness.
This Autumn Equinox gives you a lovely pause that you can step into, that you can breathe in and make yours. You can stop moving forward. Stop looking back. You can simply be, suspended between one moment and the next… it’s a threshold. It’s rather like that space just as you’re falling asleep (Autumn) and then again, just as you’re waking up (Spring). The whole of Autumn is a threshold for something not quite tangible.
I said one of two beginnings because the energy that surrounds us when something is born is the defining energy for the whole life of the thing… in this case Autumn. Everything has a beginning and with astrology we can both map and interpret any moment’s energetic signature. You have a birth chart, and so does Autumn.
The energy of this year’s Autumn Equinox opens a beautifully unbounded window into things that can feel like sanctuary. The Libra Sun arrives at this exquisite pause between light and dark, and directly opposite is Neptune in Aries, saying: there are ways of knowing that do not happen through effort, or action, or argument, or even accomplishment. There are things you can only encounter when the ordinary solar ego surrenders to something beyond or inside the Self. Or both.
While the Aries Neptune spills toward the other-oriented Libra Sun, you can enter that stream and flow toward the realm of the subliminal… let yourself merge into the threshold that now exists… open to how you’re enriched when you reach into other realms of being besides constant wakefulness… constant on-ness… that’s Aries… being on fire. Neptune softens that. It becomes more shimmer than heat. If you use this opening creatively, spiritually, you enter an inner environment that’s guided by allowing, by stillness. This is when you learn to trust those liminal tendrils that curl into dreams, into beauty, into love… things that have no body and no fight… but that are openings to another kind of knowing… intuition, inspiration, trust… the Divine. The Divine is an opening that pulls you toward places where you sense what is true and holy.
Every Equinox offers balance. And balance arrives when you can live from your consciousness and will, and also from your interior places, from where beauty and awe, inspiration and intuition rise. They are counters to each other, just as our waking and sleeping lives are. Both are enriched by being nourished by the other.
What happens if you allow yourself to stop being on? To sense instead of do. When you willingly soften consciousness and flow into sleep and dreams. When you deeply experience music and art. When you let beauty move you so profoundly you weep. What happens when you fully love? When you trust your intuition. When you let inspiration work its magic. When you pray knowing you’re tapped into the Divine. When you fully recognize knowing that arrives before you can explain how you know it.
This Autumn invites you into more than the waking mind can apprehend. The gift now, as the light slants, and the leaves take on vibrant hues before their release, is balance between the consciousness that acts upon the world and your interior world filled with dreams, intuition, and awe. Go with the energy of this Equinox Season into sleep. Into the forest. Into that loosening of waking consciousness where another form of perception becomes available. Let yourself go in and under and in-between. Between what you can know by looking directly and what you can only see when you close your eyes.
Forest of Breath: An Autumn Guided Imagery Meditation for Sleep
For this Equinox, I’ve created Forest of Breath: A Guided Imagery Meditation for Sleep for you, where you’ll walk into an Autumn forest where breath, body, trees, and night can bring you gently back to yourself, and lead you into that space that you can only see by closing your eyes…
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
(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
Harvesting Transformation: An Autumn Equinox Celebration of Light and Shadow
Sunday, September 22, 2024 2 – 4 PM Eastern on Zoom $30 via Zelle or Venmo
Join me for this evocative 2-hours of magical communion together! We’ll explore the profound connections between Astrology and Nature-Based Spirituality.
Here’s what you’ll experience:
An Illuminating exploration of the Astrological Energy available during the Autumn Season. Includes the Eclipses on September 17 and October 2.
The beauty of an Autumn Equinox Altar.
The classic & empowering Autumn myth of Persephone, Hades & Demeter
A beautiful and provocative Gratitude & Release Candle Ritual
An Autumn Guided Imagery Meditation
Prayer of Thanksgiving
This workshop fosters a deep connection and understanding of the natural cycles of Nature, as well as personal growth and holistic well-being. I invite you to honor the changing of the season in this lovely and grounding celebration of balance, light, and shadow.
This morning on the way back from dropping my son off at school, my mom, who because of progressive dementia is usually not very cognizant of what’s around her, leaned over and said with joy in her voice, “There’s a rainbow!”
Her joy was contagious and as I looked heavenward and found the arching hues, I was astonished. Not just one rainbow – but two, following the same path, one over the other. On a morning that had been the typical rush and push out the door, my equilibrium was immediately restored. I felt my breath deepen, the corners of my mouth lifted into a genuine smile and my eyes were shining with delight. All because of a rainbow – or actually two.
Mom continued to look up and as we moved through neighborhood streets she craned from side to side to keep the gorgeous spectrum of colors in sight. She started talking about the rainbows she had seen as a child and lamented that she never saw them anymore. She asked with wonder what could possibly cause a rainbow? And I described to her the process of light refracting through water droplets in the atmosphere… I could see that she didn’t understand and because her short-term memory is completely gone I was asked how a rainbow is created several times… but it was so nice to be sharing something in real-time with her, both of us steeped in the natural glory of this phenomenon of light and water in the morning sky.
As I drove along with mom at my side, window down to the cool breeze, truly enjoying my new-found happiness, I realized something with a jolt. Today is the Autumn Equinox! A day when light and dark are equal… a day of equilibrium! My pleasure increased yet again. Here we were, rapt by the vision of the reaching colors, feeling connected, feeling joyous and centered – on one of two days in any year that symbolizes balance, equality, mystery and beauty – the balance to be found between dark/light, good/evil. When we stopped at the next traffic light, I took a picture so that I’d have a way to remember my lovely feelings and symbolic realizations.
Fall Equinox 2011 Astrology…
This particular Autumn Equinox occurred at 5:05 AM EDT, Sept. 23, 2011. Considering our feelings during that rainbow drive, it’s not surprising that the astrological alignments today have much to do with balance and beauty.
The Equinox happens annually when the Sun moves out of Virgo and into Libra – and Libra is all about balance, equanimity, grace, and gaining and maintaining equilibrium. Venus, Libra’s ruler, also has everything to do with pleasure, aesthetics and what we value – if you think about it, it is the things we find most pleasing that we tend to value, hence the connection. And not only is the Sun in Libra, but so is Venus herself, as is Saturn.
Venus and the Moon are in a lovely angle to one another today, and when they combine the energies brighten with a desire to socialize with loved ones and create harmony and peace. There is a gentleness to this combination.
And since Venus is also in a very nice combination with Mars, there is an alluring eroticism in the air just waiting to be tapped into by ardent lovers. (Don’t let this one pass you by!)
Saturn touches Venus as well… some may argue that this combination is barren and austere, putting the brakes on our relationships. But the orb is still wide and there is a bright side to these two coming together… Try tapping into these: Simple beauty. Enjoyment of clear forms. Pleasure through structure. The peace of stillness.
There are other prominent energies today… Uranus is opposite the Sun branding us with some volatile energy that revels in the unique, sudden and revolutionary. This coupling also unleashes the quality of the trickster – so be aware that all is not rainbows and unicorns! Still this is an opposition and mirrors the energy of finding balance and equilibrium that Libra portrays.
And of course, we have the long-standing Uranus/Pluto square, which the Equinox is energizing as the Sun is opposite to Uranus and squared to Pluto creating a T-Square, that brings our attention to the combined archetypes of revolution and breaking down the status quo with destruction, re-construction and transformation. But we’ve been mired in that energy for a very long time…
Today, for this beautiful Autumn Equinox, enjoy the more fleeting energies represented by the Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars… go find a little pleasure.
Autumn arrives with an exquisite pause… stillness. Quiet. The light turns golden and slants through the trees while the leaves begin to burn copper and gold and sienna and release their hold into crisper air.
This threshold between hot light and darkness, between warm bare skin and woolly sweaters, is offering you something unique this year… an invitation into the realm of intuition, imagination, rest, and dreaming, and all the beauty within you can see only when you close your eyes.
Come walk into the Autumn forest.
Lay yourself down and leave cares away.
Lie still with the trees as your body grows heavy and soft.
There, as you breathe with the forest around you, you’ll let yourself go in and under and in-between… until sleep comes.
Forest of Breath is my gift to you.
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