The Autumn Equinox this year sees us well beyond the Cardinal Cross of the Summer Solstice, since the Sun was one of the points of that pattern and has moved on 90 degrees in the zodiac. We still have a powerful T-Square configuration going, but this pattern is generally easier to deal with than when all four points of the compass have planets. The empty point, which is around 00 Cancer for this chart, often indicates an area where we can deliberately focus our energy and attention to resolve the tension of the T-Square.

The Sun entering Libra always speaks about relationship issues. As the prime indicator of harvest time (in common parlance the beginning of Autumn, but in a more traditional sense the middle of Autumn, just as the Summer Solstice is really mid-summer!), an additional layer of meaning can be seen in our relationship to the earth and the rewards we can now reap from the spring planting and the summer of tending to growth, fertilizing our crops and weeding out what is counter-productive. Of course, in our society, few of us are farmers in the agricultural sense. But we all do reap what we sow (at least eventually!), and now is a good time to evaluate how well we have done our work of tending to the growth, nurturing and weeding of our relationships.  Fall is a time for looking within, for coming to terms with our work during the previous seasons, and for preparing ourselves to move into the closing time of the year. This can often mean, as well, a time to start considering what seeds we want to plant at the coming Winter Solstice, considered by some to be the start of the astrological year. While it can be viewed as a time of rest from our labors “in the field”, it really suggests that a different type of work is now in store for us. Much as the farmers outside chores shift to inside – canning, repairing machinery and so on – so our work will shift to “inside” work as well.

Sitting loosely opposite Jupiter and Uranus, the Sun urges us to consider what may feel like energies coming from outside. But these tend to be visible to us, similar to someone sitting across a table, right in front of us and hard to miss. Uranus wants us to change our old habits, and Jupiter wants to do so in a big way. Less obvious in our minds is the energy of the square from Pluto. (Squares can be viewed as a person sitting off to the side of us at the table, in our peripheral view.) Of course, Pluto also demands change, so this chart shows a lot of pressure on us to make some changes – or to at least consider them carefully and honestly. Uranus wants change for the sake of change, while Jupiter just wants lots of whatever he touches. Yet Pluto wants meaningful change, wants us to be ruthless in eliminating what is no longer useful in our lives, no matter how painful that letting go may be.

The Sun is conjunct Saturn, so there is a need for self-discipline in this chart, too. Taking personal responsibility to make necessary changes, or an honest evaluation that some things are OK to leave unchanged, will be the best way to handle this Equinox. Being honest does not mean being self-effacing or dismissive, it does not mean self-loathing. It does require an impartial accounting, accepting what we have done right and what we haven’t done right, so we can then see what steps can be taken to improve on both counts. Being true to our selves involves a type of honest appraisal that accepts the truth that we all make mistakes, we all do some things right, and we all have the capacity to learn from both.

Did you make any changes under the pressures of the earlier Cardinal Cross? If so, now is a good time to evaluate their success – or lack of! Since the Sun is square it’s position in that chart, such an evaluation and potential re-direction is clearly an option. If you didn’t make any changes then – either by choice or not – then now is a good time to re-evaluate that decision (or indecision!), keeping yourself open to the possibility of change.

The empty spot for this configuration, as mentioned, is around the 00 Cancer point. The house in your chart where this falls, and any planets you may have near that point, can give you some clues about how to deal with this aspect pattern. Pay particular attention to that house when you consider the pressure to evaluate and / or change your relationship style.

Some key concepts to get you started:

1st house – how you relate to your self image

2nd house – how you relate to your values, value system and possessions

3rd house – how you relate to your local environs, siblings, how you gather and process information

4th house  – how you relate to your home, your personal foundations and how you provide for your security

5th house – how you relate to your children, artistic endeavors, risky behavior

6th house – your work, daily routines and health

7th house – how you relate on a one-to-one level

8th house – how you relate to your partner’s resources, sex, death, rebirth

9th house – how you relate to your belief systems, how you feel about what’s beyond your immediate locale

10th house – how you relate to your ultimate goals in life, how you want to be remembered

11th house – how you relate to your broader circle of friends and associates

12th house – how you relate to your core beliefs and /or how you hold yourself back


Of course, these brief snippets barely scratch the surface of meaning of each house!

As we move further into the autumn of the year, we need to become more aware of where and how we interact in our relationships, not just with others but also with ourselves.  By choosing to use the energies of the planets we can maximize our results.

Take this time to consider the words of Polonius to his son Laertes (Shakespeare’s Hamlet):

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!