Libra I begins at the moment the Sun crosses the line from Summer to Autumn, at 9:04 pm EDT. This is the moment of the autumnal equinox, the hour and minute that the Sun crosses the terrestrial equator from north to south. In Libra, the Sun is in his fall or exile, described as being “like a man under house arrest in the house of a sick man.” It’s a difficult status for the Sun, and a difficult time of change for us all.

The decan itself is administered by the Moon — appropriate for the other luminary to take over as the Sun goes into exile. The Moon is said to manage the dark half of the Zodiac as though she were in her terms from Libra to Pisces, as the Sun is in his terms from Aries to Virgo. What does this mean? Normally the five terms or bounds in each Zodiac sign belong to only the five visible planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn. A planet in its terms is said to be in the chariot — an honored figure like the grand marshal in a parade, like some mayor, alderman, or local businesswoman raised temporarily to prominence by political, economic, or social success. For the Moon to behave like she is in her terms in six zodiac signs, it suggests an unusual prominence to gut reactions. The signs Libra through Pisces tend to be above the horizon in the summer night-time, while the signs Aries through Virgo tend to be above the horizon during the summer day-time. The Moon is coming into her own power — a strange thing, given that a king has just come to the British throne for the first time in seventy years. In astrological medicine, the first decan of Libra is associated with the health of the kidneys and lower back — things that are very much controlled by whether enough you have enough water in you, flushing toxins quickly through the body’s natural filtration system.

Ancient Alexandrians acknowledged the Erinyes during this ten-day period: the Eumenides, or Furies, were the spirits responsible for punishing the violators of the sacred bonds of trust that underlay all of society— children who harmed their parents, youths who harmed their elders, guests who harmed their hosts, slaves who harmed their masters, householders who harmed their city, and citizens who betrayed their state. Numerous groves of trees in Greece were dedicated to them, often at places with the water sources of important streams or in other environmentally precarious locations — the inviolability of these places was a synecdoche for the punishment they promised to those who violated the bonds of hospitality or loyalty among persons. The Greeks of the Bronze Age into the Classical Era appeared to be genuinely terrified of their spiritual power: During the first production of the trilogy of plays called the Oresteia by Aeschylus about the son of Agamemnon, actors dressed as the Eumenides burst through the central door onto the stage in monstrous costumes with giant masks of snake-like hair, ravaged clothing, and painted skin. There was a riot in the theater, as fifteen thousand people stampeded for the exits, terrified that the actual Furies had arrived to punish the guilty. By the time of Alexander the Great, some of this terror had been subsumed into an agreement that human law-courts and legal processes, rather than divine wrath, would punish these kinds of transgressions. It bears noting that in the ancient Mediterranean world, the Furies (Eumenides, or “The Kindly Ones” is a euphemism, designed to prevent their immediate attention) were held in the same kind of awe and fear as some modern heathens consider the Wild Hunt — divine forces that punish the guilty and destroy transgressors. It’s hard not to notice, as with a king replacing a queen on earth at the same time the Moon Queen replaces the Sun King in the sky, that a former American president is being circled by speculations of treason. Are the Erinyes closing in?

The Mercury cazimi — a fancy word meaning a conjunction with the Sun itself — takes place today, too, bringing a special clarity to this day’s routine communications. Expect to understand your health better, your relationship to employees, and your comprehension of your relationship with pets to improve as a result of what happens today. The sixth house is also associated with working class power and potential — it’s hard not to notice the rising imbalance between workers and employers, and wonder if the Moon and the Sun are putting thumbs on the scales just now.

The dodecatemoria, or twelfth parts of Libra I (each 2° 30′ wide) are given to Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn. These tell a story of a rebalancing of relationships through market forces, an unplanned revelation of secrets, the threading of a narrative through the light of the dying embers of the fire, and practical actions taken in darkness. We can expect this narrative to break open at several different levels in a fractal way: expect the details of sordid affairs to come to light, along with tales of public corruption at local and state levels, and the drama of geopolitical hijinks reversing public action with private leverage.

Planetary Positions

The season of Autumn begins with a night chart, with the Sun and Mercury both in the sixth house and therefore cadent and out of sight in a night chart. This strips many of the planets of their dignity — since the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars are all below the horizon with the Sun; and both Saturn and Jupiter are both above the horizon —none of the planets are well positioned to help us these next ten days.

The Fixed signs are in the Angles this time around, granting unique opportunities. The Ascendant, Uranus, and The North Node are in a fairly tight relationship to one another in the First House in Taurus, promising a fair degree of public upeheaval in our material selves — plugging away at daily routines, particularly in trying to maintain personal autonomy and spiritual programs, may prove challenging in the ten days ahead. The South Node in Scorpio activates transformative argument with spouses and significant others — if you listen as much as you talk, if you reveal your whole hand in private to your loved ones, you will find the next ten days much easier going. Saturn retrograde in Aquarius puts knowledge workers back in the office, at least for a little while — but anyone with negotiating power should be presenting their ideal or preferred work-arrangements, along with the practicalities of those arrangements, to supervisors; negotiation may be effective. The Moon in Leo in the fourth house (and the Twelfth Mansion) activates combative and constricting influences at home — financial matters may be somewhat squeezed.

The Mutable signs are in the Succedent position, providing a mix of obstacles to be overcome and occasions for personal action. Mars in the second house of financial matters are subject to harsh and quick change, and new latitude for cost-cutting; monetary wiggle room should be sought in the realms of grocery store, spa, hair salon, barber shop, and clothing boutiques. It’s best to have a plan of action, a strategy, rather than a definitive cost-cutting program. Neptune in Pisces in the eleventh house indicates ongoing fluidity in your arrangement of alliances and partnerships with others, while Venus in the fifth house suggests that a more analytical approach to our pleasures and pastimes may be warranted — nobody likes to put their addictions and habits into a spreadsheet, but maybe we should.

The Cardinal signs are in the Cadent position, insinuating that starting new projects or investing in new programs may not yield the desired results, especially not in the current timeframe. Jupiter retrograde in Aries in the 12th house implies that personal leadership is impossible if no one is following you; the upcoming opposition to the Sun in Libra suggests difficulties in wrangling legal and contractual matters to a conclusion we find satisfactory. Today’s Mercury cazimi promises clarity about issues related to our health and daily schedule, but also warns us that the ability to act on this discovery may not come for another few weeks. Pluto retrograde in the ninth house amplifies the challenges of travel and of higher learning, while diminishing the rewards and returns of such engagements with the world.

Horoscopes by Rising Sign

Decan I of any sign (usually covering the 21s of the month to the first of the following month) is free to all visitors; Decan II is only available to Patreon and Ko-Fi.com subscribers; and Decan III is available to Patreon, Ko-Fi, and MailChimp subscribers.

Taurus: Sudden changes in physical or emotional life are likely, as financial resources are burned or surgically removed; you have great opportunities in this field, but expenses must precede revenue at this time. Household and career are subject to both hinderance and conflict; family members (both chosen and blood) cause practical difficulties that are outsized compared with expected rewards — but the rewards may be better than you think. Clarity emerges for both routine and social relationships with others — but some of your friendships could use better boundaries; be wary of people whose enthusiasm and excitement outruns their information.

Gemini: Possessions and financial matters burn you in ways that hurt —take care in the kitchen and workshop, but be willing to overstep your preconceived gender norms, too. If you’re a girly-girl, don’t be afraid of the screwdriver or power saw; if you’re a man’s man… it’s ok to put on an apron and learn to take the heat of the kitchen, or to whip up the perfect Bloody Mary, or play Chop’d with a box of mystery ingredients for family. Both your professional and household commitments will require you to step into unfamiliar roles in coming days — learning to walk clearly in realms that you think “aren’t your responsibility” is a key commitment of the next ten days. Have your spiritual meltdown about it in private: walk tall in public, don’t mind the haters.

Cancer: You have let another be in charge of deciding where you go and what you do for a while, and they have made most of the plans. But whatever emerging clarity you have about your own home or familial life requires that you make some changes, and work with your intimate friends to bury some of those bad habits. There will be some difficulty around funding the shifts, but you can do much with little, nonetheless — remember Maria from the Sound of Music, and what she did with a few curtains. Flag your intentions clearly to those most affected, but be prepared to proceed without approval, knowing that fairness is on your side and that this division is unlikely to last into October.

Leo: You have clear plans to charge into places and activities which feed your soul and help you connect with intimate friends and close family, that you know will bring happiness. But someone — a business partner, an old rival, is likely to breath fresh life into problematic obstacles. Your ideal living situation is like to be changed or challenged by practical restrictions; it’s up to you to use prior expertise to solve the unexpected crisis. Figure out how to support a sibling in their efforts to secure justice, just recognize that the learning journey to understand their issue may be a solo labor, one likely to cause divisions. Your daily labors are amplified, provided you can put your butt in the chair where you do the work.

Virgo: Your ordinarily analytic and careful mind may be spurred to new creativity, solely for your own happiness and self-indulgence. It’s OK. It’s not going to last and it’s not contagious — but enjoy it while it’s here! Lean into it a little, and allow yourself to resurrect that fantasy of being a great artist for a while; take those old records off the shelf and dance to them by yourself. You can build a spreadsheet to track your contributions to a fairer society if you want, of course, but make it pretty. Some of your friends may be sloshing emotional messes full of passion and nearly empty of factual information — some of your creativity could be exercised on emptying their cup and refilling it, as well. but facts alone won’t help — again, make it pretty. You have greater freedom with work-related resources than usual, but also a more watchful supervisor eager to find fault: I know you’re rigorous in your accounting, but explaining your thought process this time around will also require laying out some of your gut feelings, too.

Libra: The kind of clarity about self, and how you want to spend your days, that you’ll get during 21-23 September is rare — a Mercury cazimi only occurs six time a year, and usually only one of them every four years will occur in your house of self. Unfortunately, it’s likely to be the kind of awareness that comes from an employee talking back to you, a health scare, or a solid intellectual smackdown where you know you’ve made a mistake. Try not to push the lesson down into the subconscious as trauma, and accept that there are lessons to be learned from the test. A creative reincarnation of your highest vision can come from a moment like this, and goes you a chance to restructure your relationship to money and to your faith community, to how you command your bad habits, and how you allow friends to wash away your boundaries. You can’t fix everything today — you can hold on to the vision.

Scorpio: Some of your routines with signficant others may have become stale and overly ordered. Review your own expectations of how things should be, and see if you can invite surprise and spontaneity back in somehow: the irony is that you have to plan, so that they can be surprised. The success of the wonder you create, though, will be dependent on how well you’ve collected the components of their delight — taking them out on a surprise sushi date when they’re averse to oceanic food is, well… fishy. Be alert for making the practicalities of your surprise be aligned with your financial realities, too — and recognize that no one was ever shot for doing a little extra cleaning around the house.

Sagittarius: There’s a strong line of contrast between what you want to do for enjoyment’s sake, and what you feel you must do to earn a living. You have great freedom to assist with a partner’s financial situation, but you may not be able to help them with the turbulence or the speed and fluidity of their professional sphere. You have to get creative about resurrecting your own creative endeavors, and find the joy in your professional labors again — and this means working your contacts and relationships more effectively than you have done recently, on a daily basis. Treat marketing and advertising as daily practice these ten days.

Capricorn: In the Queen’s state funeral on Monday, her household staff marched ahead of the gun carriage that held her body — all of them potentially unemployed the moment the parade was over. You know something of that right now: doing all the hard preparations for a challenging journey, and then having to make that experience happen in public before critical eyes, fearing the immediate restrictions in the event of a mishap. All outcomes seem outsized right now, and your daily efforts bring a constant risk. The fan will spray its fecal matter where it will, and there’s little to be done but your best in professional circles; allow yourself to be surprised and delighted in private entertainments, and keep peace with significant other(s) — the storm will pass, but not yet.

Aquarius: A period of review has begun in your life, in which you can consider your career in detail — what you wanted it to be at this point in your life, and what it actually is. It’s not necessarily time to change direction, or pick up the pace; but the reality is that some doors are closing, and others are opening but may not be open forever. Where do you really want to be, what do you really want to do? How are your goals aligned with the surprises your family has thrown at you? How does the current crap in your workplace affect your partner’s / partners’ dreams, or create conflict with your most statistically significant other? Do you have clarity about how travel and learning opportunities are eating into your health and daily routines? There’s a lot of questions on the table, and the fact that you may be in some financial straits is a reason to answer those questions and not put them off for a more opportune time.

Pisces: Something is sloshing around inside you, and you probably feel an urgency to tell all your friends. But your enthusiasm is perhaps out of alignment with reality, and a thorough review of facts vs beliefs is probably in order. Marshal yourself — where should you let your passions lead you, and where should facts help you discern proper action when it comes to finance and your closest allies? Where are your beliefs leading you into conflict with a spouse or partner? Where do your opinions put your children at risk, or others who rely on your responsibility? Sad to say, your closest friends may not be the best source of reliable research right now — you have to be prepared to let reality disappoint you. It might not, I admit — but if you don’t double-check your beliefs against the harshest criticisms, you may be stepping into a dangerous undertow.

Aries: There’s a bunch of videos that pop up on social media these days of big, burly guys chopping wood without their shirts on — and a range of reaction videos that stutter between analysis of technique and ah… “creative Venusian responses.” That’s the balancing act you’re running right now: between deliberate analysis of the usefulness of this technique or that set of tools, and reacting with both creativity and pleasure in response to all the beauty around you. Nearly anything you do these days has financial implications, whether it’s buying a pumpkin spice latte or planning to buy a house with a significant other, so watch your wallet.. BUT — recognize that you’re surrounded by a range of sensual opportunities, and ‘bringing the sexy back’ to your daily endeavors in the workplace is not off the table. Just don’t, you know, cheat on your partner by having sex with your boss during your upcoming business convention. That’s going to leave a stain that won’t come out.

Colophon

Colophon

I have a Patreon account for those who want to support this column as it continues its third year. Those funds support artists, artisans and thinkers that I regard as contributing to the well-being of the world. You can also buy me a Ko-fi in $3 increments; any column I write after receiving a Ko-Fi donation will be open to the public).  You can also schedule an appointment with me using Accuity Scheduling, for a natal or solar return consultation.

If you want to read some of my astrologically-oriented poetry, the largest collection is called A Full Volume of Splendor and Starlight, available through my Etsy shop, and containing poems and hymns to the planets, constellations, decan deities, and Moon Mansion angels. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.

I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I want to thank the team that develops iPhemeris for the addition of Terms and Decans to their charts. I also use Hugh Tran‘s Physis typeface to craft logos for this blog, as well.

I use Christopher Warnock‘s The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock‘s 36 Faces for much of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me.