By Amanda Painter

Shortly after the Sun and Mercury meet for a conjunction in late Virgo today, they make a tag-team entrance into Libra. Mercury gets there first, ingressing Libra at 11:39 pm EDT Friday (3:39:15 UTC Saturday). Then the Sun follows suit at 9:54 pm EDT Saturday (1:53:59 UTC Sunday) for the equinox.

As you know, the Libra equinox signals the start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, and is one of two times in the year when we experience equal hours of daylight and darkness (the first being the Aries equinox, which commences Northern Hemisphere spring and begins the astrological year). Seasonal shifts are major turning points.

As such, and perhaps because of the visible shift in the day-night relationship, I tend to associate them with very specific tones or moods of emotion and energy — though this can be highly personal.

Some people relish the cooler, crisper air of fall and the sense of settling back down and in; I tend to grieve the loss of warmth, bare skin and long days of outdoor play (especially in the water). Whichever way you lean (and whichever half of the globe you’re in), I think it pays to notice the shift of the season and your response to it.

Astrologically, the equinoxes (as well as the solstices) activate the Aries Point. That’s the first degree (or so) of Aries where issues of both collective (political) and personal importance intersect and inform each other, and this quality gets extended to the first degrees of all the cardinal signs (Cancer, Libra and Capricorn being the others).

So what’s hanging out in the early cardinal signs to greet the Sun and Mercury when they land in the first degree of Libra this weekend? Quite an intriguing collection of objects, it turns out, especially if we look at the first three degrees (written as 00 – 02 degrees) of the cardinal signs.

In Aries, there’s a tight cluster made up of Chiron, Hygiea, Industria and Salacia. Chiron, as you likely know, is named for the mythical teacher and healer and generally functions to raise our awareness about issues we’re ready to address and heal. Hygiea is named after the Greek goddess of health and hygiene. The asteroid Industria relates to industry and industriousness. Salacia, as Eric has written about several times this year, appears to resonate specifically with the salacious side of sex — as represented in U.S. culture by our fixation with sex scandals (as opposed to the pleasure, healing or procreative facets of sex).

Cancer features the asteroid Niobe. In myth, Niobe was punished for her hubris after she boasted of her 14 children, compared to only two (Apollo and Artemis) borne by Leto. Astrologers Alex Miller and Martha Lang-Wescott both suggest Niobe relates to inordinate pride in one’s children or fertility, and the humbling lessons that leads to.

Waiting in the direction of early Libra is what’s known as a supergiant elliptical galaxy named Messier 87 (or M87 for short). It has a supermassive black hole at its center, sometimes referred to as the “Super-Galactic Center.”

I’m not experienced in using this point, but Philip Sedgwick describes it (in part) as representing a “supermassive hunger” in which nothing is ever enough, which in turn can create a physical, emotional or spiritual black hole — but that, once integrated, its energy can facilitate becoming directly involved in healing many people. Sedgwick writes, among many other things about M87, “It demands that you get back in there and deal with yourself in an essential manner.”

Finally, in Capricorn, we have the slow-moving object Quaoar, along with Vesta and Saturn. Quaoar, named after a Tongva creation deity, relates to the dance of the family that has brought one into being. Vesta is the goddess of devotion, sacrifice, holding space and unconventional relationships. Saturn, of course, is the lord of limits and boundaries, authority, structure and time.

Even without investigating some of the other aspects in play between now and Sunday, that is a loaded set of themes. Themes which, I think, relate all too well to our current moment.

One of the things that caught my eye this week was this extensive Twitter thread that has gone viral. Blogger Gabrielle Blair begins by writing, “I’m a mother of six, and a Mormon. I have a good understanding of arguments surrounding abortion, religious and otherwise. I’ve been listening to men grandstand about women’s reproductive rights, and I’m convinced men actually have zero interest in stopping abortion. Here’s why…”

Blair goes on in her series of tweets to describe some basics of female fertility and male biology, and comes to the conclusion that THE factor in the unwanted pregnancies that result in abortion is: men’s irresponsible orgasms.

Blair has thoughts on what “responsible orgasms” by men might look like (vasectomies are mentioned, since apparently many men cannot abide condoms or pulling out), as well as on the challenges and iniquities of female birth control, the dangers of pregnancy, and more. Unfortunately, she does not address the lack of sex education in the U.S., or the sorry state of dialogue between most potential sexual partners, especially in the context of alcohol-influenced hookups. But she does paint a compelling picture of how completely the men in governmental and religious power in this country overlook male responsibility in the abortion conversation; instead, they work to control women’s health options.

Is Blair a representation of Niobe? Is it hubris on her part to write about fertility in this way — or does the hubris belong to men who refuse to consider their partners’ wellbeing? I’m not sure. But I did see that conjunction of Chiron, Hygiea, Industria and Salacia in Aries and think, “Ah, yes: the big business of trying to control women’s sexual health is high in our awareness right now.”

It’s at odds with the governmental/BigPharma/religious complex that has ‘danced’ our current situation into being, as represented by the Capricorn planets. Yet, what kind of healing — on both the personal and collective levels — might be possible if enough people integrate these questions and choices in a more balanced and just way (as suggested by the Libra quadrant)?

And then, of course, there’s Dr. Blasey Ford’s accusation of Brett Kavanaugh. In one sense, it appears to be a signal that the big-money ‘business’ (Industria) of sex scandals (Salacia) is ‘healthy’ (Hygiea) — that is, it still has currency in our culture, in terms of its power. Yet, one year into what has become the “MeToo movement” — however you might feel about it — there does seem to be a perception shift regarding Blasey Ford’s experience, and her decision to speak about it now.

Not in all quarters, certainly. Suspicions are rife that she is coming forward now simply to bring down a ‘decent guy’ who ‘deserves’ a ‘fair’ trial, and that the Democrats have orchestrated it because it’s the only chance to get their way.

I’m seeing many other people, however, working to shift the narrative: they’re framing this revelation in terms of how Blasey Ford has had to work to heal this trauma her whole life, no matter whether Kavanaugh was too drunk to remember the incident — and that missing out on a lifetime SCOTUS appointment is not an undue consequence. They’re pointing out that the senators on the Judiciary Committee who would hear her testimony (if she testifies — she has requested an FBI investigation first) are almost all men, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) being the only woman. They’re aware that Blasey Ford is receiving death threats for speaking out. Many are recalling the way Anita Hill was raked over the coals, thanks to coming forward about the sexual harassment she’d endured, and how Clarence Thomas is now a sitting Supreme Court justice.

This not, by any means, intended to pitch the discussion into an us-against-them, women-versus-men space. Far from it. I simply mean to describe the ways these two cultural conversations reflect a long history of power imbalances, and how complicated the rebalancing process is — and will continue to be.

Chances are, you can see how easy it would be to fall into a “supermassive hunger” for justice — the kind of hunger that can never be sated; the kind of hunger that creates the spiritual black hole Philip Sedgwick associated with the M87 galaxy in Libra (the Super-Galactic Center). Spiritual black holes of that sort remind me of revenge dramas in Renaissance theater, in which there is never justice or equilibrium reached, just a swinging pendulum and a great deal of pain for all involved. I can think of other global dynamics that fit the bill.

Yet, this triple conjunction of the Sun, Mercury and M87 in Libra is opposite Chiron in Aries. Chiron is retrograde, suggesting that much of the current process of learning, healing and finding a point of negotiation is likely to be primarily internal right now — even as we sort through it all via our relationships. I can’t ignore the Aries Point, though, ringing as it is. Any process of integration and healing on a personal level has to have wider repercussions on the collective level. This year’s Libra equinox simply brings a particular phase of it to the forefront. Let’s all get in there and deal with our essential selves.