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

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

Mercury Retrograde in Gemini – May / June 2015

Heart

(Pre-Shadow: May 4 – May 18; Mercury Retrograde: May 18 – June 11;
Post-Shadow: June 11 – June 27, 2015)

There are SO many ways to look at this powerful Mercury Retrograde in Gemini that’s coming right up, especially with this dynamic Neptune influence…  I’ll start with this in case you don’t make it past the first paragraph: First, the practical advice: BACK UP all your data, no matter where it lives or how secure you think it is. Get your tires and your oil changed and your 5,000 mile check-up. Replace that head gasket or that timing belt that you’ve been putting off – but do it quick. Now the good stuff: If you have a spiritual practice, turn to it fully and embrace it wholeheartedly – it will support you beautifully now. (If you don’t, and have always wanted to, then go get one – prayer, meditation, yoga.) It’s not the time to embark on a completely new idea or project, but if you have artistic or design talents that have been sitting on a shelf, take them down and dust them off. If you’re planning to travel… perhaps rethink your plans until later-ish June, unless your journey is spiritual, compassionate (I’m thinking about Nepal), or artistic in nature. If you’re thinking of signing a contract or pushing a project, it’s truly time to step away, allow the Gods their due, and get a more artistic, more inspired, more elegant appraisal of what you’re doing and what you’re expecting – and listen to your intuition around this process – instead of what your ego craves. If you’re musical or poetic and haven’t been practicing, GO! Give you instrument and your voice free reign! If you have addictive tendencies or are prone to overdo ANY feel good props, it’s time discover that inner strength you know is there and just say no. And if you’re into intellectual, inspired beauty, boy howdy, this is the time for you. Deeply connect to that beauty and love…

Bottom line? STOP PUSHING. LISTEN TO YOUR INTUITION. OPEN TO YOUR ARTISTIC NATURE. LET GO AND LET GOD. GET SOME PERSPECTIVE. SURRENDER. ALLOW. RELEASE INTO THE SUBLIME. TURN ON YOUR LOVE BEAM. THINK AND SPEAK YOUR INNER BEAUTY.  (It’s the THINK part, right? Yes, you can think loving thoughts to and about yourself. )

We’ve been in the pre-shadow period of Mercury Retrograde since May 4.  So even though Mercury doesn’t officially go retrograde until May 18 (just 2 days from now!) for all intents and purposes, WE’RE ALREADY IN IT, and have been for almost 2 weeks. Probably not a surprise to those of you who are sensitive to this one.

I started hearing the lamentable stories right at the beginning of May… and simultaneously began to hear the incredulous question, “Why does it feel like Mercury is retrograde?” I was surprised at first, knowing the retrograde was a couple of weeks away, but when I started looking at it I realized how this particular retrograde is probably a precocious one. 🙂

Understand then that from a FEELING PERSPECTIVE Mercury IS and HAS BEEN retrograde since May 4. The trickster planet is really slowing down in its orbit right now, which is the initiation into the actual retrograde. And that phenomenon is made extravagant by the fact that Mercury is in its own sign of Gemini – the sign it naturally rules. AND, Mercury is in a square aspect to Neptune… confused much? That’s frequently what Neptune combined with Mercury brings on when operating at the lower vibrational level… lots of confusion and chaos in processing information, communicating effectively, memory, travel, technology, basic intellectual understanding, etc. etc. etc.  So even without the retrograde motion of Mercury, due to the connection between Mercury and Neptune, we have this type of non-focused energy as a base line…

God-MindAND THAT’S WHY YOU WANT TO ELEVATE THE ENERGY. Consciously operate from the higher vibration level of Mercury Retrograde in its own sign of Gemini squaring Neptune.

HOW??? is obviously the question.

This is all truly about the God Mind, so the answer is by doing the suggestions I gave earlier: connect to God(s) and your spiritual core; align with your artistry – whatever form that takes; surrender your ego and listen to your intuition (it will pay off I promise). TELL YOUR STORY WITH TRUE FEELING… because in the telling will arise insights and aha’s that need to be pulled from your unconsciousness.

Let your thoughts, your speech, your writing, the way you move through your life reflect the goodness within you.  If you’re having a hard time connecting with that loving place within, then mentally AND emotionally go inside… Mercury Retrograde is the king of digging deep and coming back with amazing personal insights that inform the current energy pattern.

During this time, between now and June 27 (when we’re past the post-shadow), if you’re challenged by a choice between logic and compassion – go with compassion. The purpose behind this retrograde is to learn to find the peace of compassion and grace despite a busy mind; to connect to your inner divinity even while questioning everything; to engage your dream now and in a few weeks give it a voice rather than simply staying in the dreaming. The goal is to rest and restore your mind with indulgences into fantasy and beauty so that they can inform your future with a new, divinely inspired perspective.

Obviously this Mercury Retrograde impacts everyone, but if you have the Sun, Moon, or personal planets in Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius or Pisces, this Mercury Retrograde is especially for you! 🙂

 

To get you in the proper head and heart space for this Mercury Retrograde, please enjoy watching this video: 40 Acts of Compassion
I promise you’ll love it!

 

If you’ve never read my Mercury Retrograde article, this is a great time!
Mercury Retrograde – The Unlikely Healing Gift