the sun moves into libra and persephone season begins with an ECLIPSE. cardinal risings, your time is now.

a familiar descent beckons, but this time there's a map.

the stars above:

libra season has begun, cardinal risings take heed. between the final ketuvian solar eclipse in this sign (conjunct mercury no less) or the LAST series of squares from libra (venus, mercury + the sun) to pluto in capricorn, the next 30 days are truly an underworld affair.  pluto’s final rx thru cap has us going back, deep into the center of The Thing to retrieve a treasure we couldn't reach before. but first, the devil in the details: 

• 09/22/24 the sun moves into libra as venus squares pluto in capricorn exactly. the conditions a planet faces during it’s ingress leave an energetic imprint on the entire transit and this power struggle between venus (goddess of love + devotion)+ pluto (planet of underworld decay + corruption) is not a bug this month, it’s a feature.

•  09/23/24 venus ingresses into scorpio and her underworld season has officially begun. venus will be ruling the solar eclipse from scorpio, unable to witness her home sign BUT she will be making contact with libra’s exaltation ruler saturn. structure is there but it may appear on the outskirts of where it is needed the most.

• 09/26/24 mercury enters libra joining the site of the upcoming new moon eclipse. on the one hand, mercury here brings a measure of Libran diplomacy/solution to any battles that may be erupting as the astrology grows more intense. on the other, mercury conjunct ketu is a mess for mental landscapes. if irrational but familiar anxieties start to surface, the solution with ketu is ALWAYS spiritual. pray, meditate, release, dissolve. these aren’t meant to be carried any further.

• 09/29/24 - 09/30/24 mercury cazimi conjunct ketu (oh my) as the malefics meet in a watery trine.

• 10/02/24 our final new moon solar eclipse in libra. an ending hiding in a new beginning wherever libra rules in your chart.

• 10/03/24 - 10/08/24 venus travels in between a trine to saturn and a trine from mars. the trine to saturn brings stability + balance to past venusian affairs but the trine from mars may reawaken the beast within. tremendous time for creative + romantic potency but be careful around acting out on base impulses.

• 10/12/24 pluto stations direct and the building tensions of the last two weeks come to a boiling point but pluto will be stationary until 11/19. get comfortable, we’re going to be holding this pressure point for a while.

• 10/13/24 mercury squares pluto at the final degree of libra before crossing into scorpio. whatever happened between venus and pluto here at the end of last month comes back into focus as our minds turn to scorpio.

• 10/17/24 full moon in aries that is not quite an eclipse as the moon is out of range with the north node BUT any lunation copresent rahu is going to deliver some fated illumination. venus is in the final degree of scorpio this time sextiling pluto in capricorn. there is opportunity towards resolution here that didn’t exist with the new moon + her square to pluto. if you can, take it. you’ll want to resolve any lingering business between them before their next conjunction/cycle. clean the slate.

• 10/18/24 venus enters sagittarius! and a new era of mutable benefics begins.

• 10/22/24 the libra sun squares pluto in capricorn for the LAST time before ingressing into scorpio. scorpio season begins and WE MADE IT.

libra season, the descent

libra season begins with the autumn equinox (in the northern hemisphere anyways), a day of perfect balance between day & night. the sun surrenders its dominance and the nights grow longer + the days grow colder.  

because of the equinoxes, 0° aries + 0° libra are important benchmarks in the seasonal calendar the tropical zodiac is built on.  the aries ingress chart has long been used to predict the coming world events for the first 6 months of the seasonal year with the chart of the libra ingress representing the events of the final 6 months of the year.  

this year’s ingress features a libra rising with the ascendant falling perfectly in between the sun + ketu, putting extra emphasis on the events of the upcoming solar eclipse (as a treat). and where is venus, ruler of the libran sun and south node? in the final degree of her sign perfectly squaring a 4H pluto/hades, about to begin her descent to the shadow realm known as scorpio.  libra season has always been persephone season but this year her mythic presence is wholly undeniable.

artist: June Leeloo

pluto’s catalysts (usually a major loss of some kind that defined an identity) trigger unwanted eruptions of emotion, the surfacing of forbidden desires/drives, fears/phobias whispering their curses into the winds- things that once spoken or seen that can never be taken back. that’s why plutonian descents into the underworld can be so terrifying, they go DEEP into territories few of us want to permanently reside in. there is a line of demarcation with pluto, distinct eras of before & after. there’s who you were before your naivety was stripped from you (persephone’s abduction) + who you are after you know things.

but the most important thing to remember among all these final squares from libra to pluto in capricorn is that we have been here before (since 2008 to be precise). the same thing goes for the new moon/ketu eclipse, this is not our first round.

persephone’s descent is scheduled, and she isn’t able to refuse her fate (like anyone else in pluto’s crosshairs) but she’s not a kidnapped child anymore. she’s the queen of the dead + mother to a god and most importantly, now she knows her way around hell, as do we.  because of that, any struggles that surface now in the cardinal axis of your chart are unlikely to be new plotlines. no, this is well worn material that you may have hoped was behind you but one more descent into the abyss may be required. but THIS time you have a map and a lantern! gamechangers. truly.

both pluto + ketu deal with the distribution of fate through our ingrained tendencies, habitual reactions and unconscious behaviors (aka the choices we are most naturally inclined to make are what determine the future we meet). so if you find yourself falling into familiar patterns, lucky you! if the moves you make in response to repetitive triggers feels foreign, uncertain + emergent you’ll know you’re on the right track towards release.

the  events of this month, especially around the solar eclipse will need months / years to fully reveal their final forms. lunar eclipses can have very bright, immediate reveals but a shadowy ketuvian solar eclipse does not give up the goods that easily. patience is good (patient curiosity even better). 

future lore:

artist: June Leeloo

if there is one thing I want to leave you with (in the face of what may have been a buzzkill forecast) it is this; libra is and always will be the sign of our relationships, how we relate to the people we love and the world around us. this month’s ketuvian/plutonian quest to confront irrational fears, align with (primal) instincts, and power up with the potency that only abyss diving brings might seem…antisocial. but whatever surfaces this month is not only very likely to come thru our closest relationships, it’s also the stuff those unions are forced to bear the weight of when left unresolved.

the square between libra and capricorn is the quest for justice/equanimity in the face authoritarian overreach. libra can be too quick to fold here, seeking hasty resolutions at it’s own expense or worse, avoiding the situation entirely. libra’s quest for solutions that serve the many may not get a lot of support from pragmatic + efficient capricorn but that doesn’t make them wrong. somewhere between the rock + the hard place lies a secret third thing that can deliver true union between what seem like irreconcilable options. if you get wrapped up in the primordial power struggles we’ve been discussing? try and hold the tension between them until that third way finds you.

anyways, happy libra season everyone! may it be potent, may it be true, for the good of all and harm to none. and with that, adventure AWAITS.

see you in the shadows…

emilie