The Equinox Alignments

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Mercury (in retrograde motion) passes between the Sun and the Earth exactly at the Libra equinox — a rare event, connected to many other planets in the same pattern.

Dear Friend and Reader:

JUST AS THE SUN INGRESSES LIBRA on Thursday at 9:03 pm EDT, Mercury passes between the Earth and the Sun, aligning exactly with both. This fleeting moment is our harbinger of the season to come. It also describes how many people will be involved in ever-larger cycles of events as we approach the corresponding Aries equinox in six months.

There are many topics to cover right now that the current astrology weaves together — from the multiple crises in Ukraine to the economic situation to major developments on the virus front. In this article, I intend to stick mainly to the astrology, so that we have that as a reference and foundation.

I will do a close reading of the chart and take up some of the major news events as the top story on tomorrow’s Planet Waves FM. Please watch for that email or check in Friday evening. If you are not technically proficient in astrology, the article below contains plenty of interpretation. I give the astrological details for those who are curious.

This conjunction serves as a cosmic trigger, a massive physical and magnetic wave coming through to light up the landscape.

The Aries Point is Alive

When the Sun aligns with the equator or one of the tropics (as it is doing now), that is described as the “Aries Point.” That simply means that the Sun is making an aspect to the first degree of Aries (currently, an opposition), which in turn tells us that the season is changing.

Tonight, just as the Sun’s rays square up with the equator and day and night are equal length nearly everywhere, something else happens: Mercury passes right between the Earth and the Sun, doubling the effect. This is the midpoint of Mercury retrograde (which ends Oct. 2) and technically called the interior conjunction of Mercury and the Sun.

(It used to be called the “inferior conjunction,” but Melanie Reinhart and I took a vote one day and unanimously changed the name.)

This conjunction serves as a cosmic trigger, a massive physical and magnetic wave coming through to light up the landscape.

The Aries Point is a wild thing — it does not exist as a physical object, yet it has all the influence of one. This may be associated with the presence of a massive galaxy called M87 sitting at one-and-a-quarter degrees of Libra. I’ll come back to that in a second.

Meeting of the Deeply Personal and the Vast Impersonal

The effect of the Aries Point is like standing in the intersection of deeply personal and vast, seemingly impersonal events. This is described beautifully in a Talking Heads song: When the world crashes in into my living room / Television man made me what I am.

Many potent objects are lined up in the first degree of the cardinal signs — though the very new newcomer is centaur Asbolus in Cancer. As I describe in the horoscope for that sign, this is about learning to trust your intuition and to follow it at all costs.

Opposite Asbolus is the Pluto-like body Ixion, which confronts us with the suspension of morality and ethics. This is the issue that nobody is pointing to: where went the difference between right and wrong? It’s always been a little shaky; now it seems to have vanished from popular culture and many individual lives.

There are Very Large Forces at Work

Sunday, Sept. 25 at 5:54 pm EDT, the Moon and Sun align in early Libra, another equinox event. This is conjunct previously mentioned M87, a galaxy so massive that it has 15,000 mini-galaxies orbiting it.

This galaxy has astonishing powers of attraction, on both the physical and energetic levels; then in the world of interpersonal relationships, it tries to consume what it has drawn in. In a personal chart, it describes endless emotional need, as if filling up a black hole. Be cautious of this energy in the coming weeks, which has the power to bend space, time and known reality around itself.

Speaking of large, the Moon/Sun conjunction is opposite Jupiter, now retrograde in Aries. There is tremendous momentum and torque with Jupiter to one side, and Moon/Sun to the other — with the Earth spinning in the middle. In a way it’s like combining a Full Moon with a New Moon — with Jupiter being 318 times heavier than Earth.

Jupiter enlarges, exaggerates, and adds momentum. Note that retrograde Jupiter enters Pisces for one more brief stay on Oct. 28, returning to Aries on Dec. 20, and finally reaching Taurus on May 16, 2023. Said another way, between Dec. 20 and May 16, Jupiter will cross all of Aries in one fast swoop.

If one thing is clear from reviewing the events of 2020 and 2021, we need to be more discerning about what is deemed to be the unquestionable truth. However, if we admit the reality, we were swallowed whole by something we were told was beyond doubt.

The Pholus Factor

In this aspect pattern is centaur Pholus in Capricorn. Apart from M87, Pholus (a Chiron-like body) is the radical accelerant in this aspect structure, a point so active that it contains thrust sufficient to spin matters out of control.

Fortunately, Pholus is in a structured aspect pattern, and in Capricorn, though it is still a driving force. Still, we have the setup for something that sounds good, but which is a very bad idea, to get traction. Beware of those.

If one thing is clear from reviewing the events of 2020 and 2021, we need to be more discerning about what is deemed to be the unquestionable truth. However, if we admit the reality, we were swallowed whole by something we were told was beyond doubt.

Note that the usual “screw you, you’re wrong,” does not qualify for doubt or discernment. I keep expecting humanity to learn from these mistakes, though apparently this takes longer than I was planning for.

This aspect has the power to stir up a lot of chaos, particularly with slow, powerful Mars making a series of squares, not just one.

The Mars-Neptune Factor

One last point — apropos of the ruler of Aries, which is Mars. The main event between now and March 2023 is Mars retrograde in Gemini.

While the retrograde spans from Oct. 30 through Jan. 12, 2023,  the effect started a while ago and actually lasts through March 25, when Mars leaves Gemini and enters Cancer. These expanded dates cover what are called the shadow phases before and after the retrograde itself.

Mars was last retrograde in Gemini more than 30 years ago — it’s a rare event.

One other thing makes this Mars retrograde extra special: It starts in a square to Neptune. I mentioned that those who have this as a natal aspect know that it’s something they must devote special care to.

This aspect has the power to stir up a lot of chaos, particularly with slow, powerful Mars making a series of squares, not just one. The first is coming up soon, on Oct. 12, with the retrograde square happening November 19. The last is March 14, 2023 — right before Mars enters Cancer.

The Mars-Neptune square has three main issues. First, it can be wholly committed to self-destruction. The Steely Dan line, You go back, Jack, do it again, must have had this aspect. It has the feeling of never being willing to learn from mistakes. Obviously, its special dharma is to learn how to do just that.

Second is that unless other factors intervene, it honors no practical considerations. It is incapable of honoring time limits, boundaries, commitments or long-range concerns. It will pretend that these things do not exist, until it hits some wall or boundary.

Until I personally stopped her, she would say absolutely anything in an interview to rally the audience and get attention (and then onto the next, ever-larger show) — and she would change her story as she went along.

Does the Truth Exist? And Who Cares Anyway?

Finally, with Mars-Neptune, you can find yourself in a situation where people think that there is no such thing as the truth, or that the truth is irrelevant. This was always part of the human condition; it is now becoming a permanent joke.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Poornima Wagh, the charlatan “double Ph.D. in virology and immunology” who was making her way around the podcast circuit, has this aspect in her natal chart.

Until I personally stopped her, she would say absolutely anything in an interview to rally the audience and get attention (and then onto the next, ever-larger show) — and she would change her story as she went along.

In her self-created but nonexistent quest to prove that there was no SARS-CoV-2, virus, she claimed she had the blessing of the NIH (meaning Fauci), and also that Robert Redfield of the CDC screamed at her for two hours, and on and on.

My favorite interview question for her, deserving of a Pulitzer nomination, was, “What was the title of your Ph.D. thesis?” She refused to answer. It was total horse shit, and I was the ONLY person who dared to question her. Even though she has been irrevocably exposed as a fraud, people still cling to her in hope that some part of what she is saying is true.

Just because everyone believes in something does not make it true. Just because something frightens you does not make it true.

Beware of a Diversionary Event

We are going to be living with that very aspect for months on end.

This is why I am cautioning of a diversionary event of some kind that serves as a distraction until the much more important developments of March 2023 are made ready to put into place.

Just because everyone believes it something does not make it true. Just because something frightens you does not make it true. Just because being afraid is considered spiritual nourishment does not make it so. Belief does not validate the truth.

On that note, I wish you a most auspicious equinox into New Moon and plan to be with you Friday night in the usual place and time.

With love,