The autumn equinox, dressed in bittersweet tweeds, approaches March 21st at sharp 03:33 Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), as summer, like a sunburnt parent by the seaside, folds up its parasol of sky, looks for its keys, and quietly walks to its car parked forlornly up the road. Alas.
Astrologically, the autumnal equinox announces the season of Aries, the Cardinal fire sign of youth and vigour. In Latin, equinox means “equal night” and there are two of these dates per year – approximately March 20th (autumnal) and September 23rd (vernal). During these wafer-thin transits, nighttime and daytime are perfectly balanced in terms of their respective lengths. Given this, it makes sense one of the equinoxes always occurs in Libra, with its symbolic Scales perfectly measuring out light from sun and moon.
It is this lovely choreography of light and dark that gives both equinoxes a special place in the cosmic dance. Along with the winter and summer solstices (the shortest and longest days of the year, respectively), these four dates are ones of pure potential. They each align with the Cardinal signs–Libra (Spring equinox), Capricorn (Summer solstice), Cancer (Winter solstice), and Aries (Fall equinox). But of these four Cardinal signs, Aries is the most potent. William Ramsey (a favourite astrologer of deep yore) put it thus: “the true time from whence judgement is to be raised for the exact knowledge and predicting of future natural events in the Elements for any year, is when the Sun enters the first point or minute of Aries."
The “first point or minute of Aries” this year will be occurring on the early morning of March 21st in Sydney and we can expect a double espresso shot from the heavens when the Sun (also known poetically as Phoebus) hits this autumnal equinox. Like every other planet, the Sun has strong and weak points in the sky. Other than Leo (the House it rules), Phoebus loves no sign better than Aries, where it jibes with the initiatory, take-no-prisoners energy of the Ram. The fire of Aries+its Cardinal position at the equinox+the exalted Sun=best moment of the year to supercharge a project in your life. It’s a transit for fire, enthusiasm, ego, and confidence.
In contrast to the boundary-averse, we-are-all-one-soul season of Pisces, think of this equinox as a “me-first” day. Go solo. No group dynamics. No trying to understand the motivations of a friend. No politely listening to your boyfriend’s exhausting EDM in the car, when you just want to hear the sun-dappled magic of J Dilla on repeat. Aries season in general is about the rugged individual and competition. It’s a time of charging forward and getting ahead. With that in mind, make the equinox more about stating what you desire in romance and career: “I want to take over this company. I want to take this person out on a date.” Aries equinox is about “taking” not “giving.”
More than all that, this equinox should be about “doing.” Aries is active, proactive, even reactive. It shoots first and asks questions later. “Just Do It,” Nike’s eternally brilliant slogan, equally applies to this equinox. So, on this day, finalise something you’ve been “meaning,” “intending,” or “hoping” to do. It’s time to take yourself outside the realm of wishful thinking and put yourself into the world of action. Have you been “planning” to start a web-site on Wix? The equinox is the day to actually sit down and confront it.
While the northern hemisphere is experiencing the Spring equinox in Aries after a long Winter, we are lucky to get a blast of this energy as our meandering Summer ends. For us, we should use the caffeinated effects of the autumnal equinox to regroup and refocus after beachy months of what the titan of 17th century verse, John Milton, in his epic, Paradise Lost, would have called “ignoble ease and peaceful sloth.” The equinox on the 21st is saying it’s time to put your vibrant beach towels away: Wix is waiting.
