The Autumn Equinox is on September 22, a few days before the Harvest Moon on September 29. The Equinox does not track the lunar cycles, although the Harvest Moon typically occurs near the Equinox. Instead, the Equinox occurs when the Sun’s center crosses the celestial equator, which is an imaginary extension of the Earth’s equator line out into space. The Sun, which usually rotates at a slightly tilted posture, moves from north to south as it becomes almost upright. At this point, the length of the day and the night are relatively equal. In the Northern Hemisphere, this occurs in September.
After the Equinox, the days grow shorter and nights longer and the temperatures become milder. When society was more agrarian than it is today, the bright Harvest Moon provided extra light at twilight and in the early evening allowing farmers more time to bring in the rest of their crops.
I appreciate these seasonal events and honor how they gently, predictably mark the passing of time while the transiting planets stimulate our personal growth and social evolution.
This month Venus is finally going direct this month after several weeks in retrograde motion. Mercury will also go direct and this will clear our heads to some extent. Jupiter and Uranus will be in harmony this month and playing nicely with Pluto and Mercury and the New Moon in September 14.
But Mars in Leo is full of mischief as the month ends, eventually squaring Pluto and forming a 150-degree inconjunction (aspect of making adjustments) to Uranus. This could temporarily stir up everyone’s passions and tempers, or turbo charge their energy and imaginations.
Nevertheless, I am expecting the Equinox and the Full Moon to be fairly quiet, if the aspects have any say in the matter, especially since 4 outer planets will all be retrograde. This will ease us into the holiday season.