Sun enters Libra
Sun enters Libra
22nd PDT 23:50 / 23rd AEST 16:50
Today the sun makes its ingress into Libra, a sign symbolized by the scales of justice, indicative of cosmic law and order. Nature thematically echoes this idea of balance via Libra’s 0-degree correspondence to the equinox, a moment of equal duration of day and night. Yet “balance” may now be little more than an aspirational sentiment.
Conventionally, Virgo season is heralded as an opportunity to get one’s affairs in order. Systems are put in place. Schedules are amended. In the northern hemisphere, we pare down in preparation for winter hibernation. In the southern hemisphere, we attend to spring cleaning to relieve ourselves of winter clutter. Yet our best attempts to Marie Kondo our lives were botched this time around, derailed by Mercury’s retrograde trickery and further impeded by the retrograde shenanigans of the outer planets. The past month more likely saw us slipping into shell-shocked surrender than finding joy at the Container Store. If we *did* manage to clear some clutter, we probably lost important documentation in the process. Or, took the wrong bag to the donation center.
And although we’ve had a chance to catch our breath over this last week, as the sun enters Libra, we’re also ramping up to eclipse season. How we conduct ourselves relationally is this month’s big to-do. After all, social politics are the dominion of Libra, a sign which views “us” relative to “them”. Ironically, Libra is the only astrological constellation represented by an object, which in some sense might be intended to subvert personification and therefore projection. But a season of reflections and projections it is!
Our most important homework in the days ahead is to pay special attention to the reactions that other people’s behavior arouses in us. There is a very good chance that frustration with the conduct of friends, partners, or that one irritating coworker, reflects our own personal conduct - conduct we would rather ignore or rationalize away. That thing they do that grinds our gears? We do it too! Yet this season spotlights how we often attempt to distance ourselves from habits or behavior that we deem problematic by invoking moral superiority or claiming ignorance. Or, our discomfort may reveal something even more interesting: jealousy!
How might our dis-ease with other’s forthrightness or courage point to our *own* longing to be more forthright and courageous? Yet our fear of rocking the boat compels us to criticize these attributes rather than celebrate them.
How might another’s motivation to pursue their passions trigger our resentment? Are we truly offended by their initiative? Or is it our own desire for comfort and our acceptance of the status quo that prompts us to choose a more achievable objective?
There are, of course, many advantages to the season. Polite conversation and a willingness to compromise are something of a lost art these days. Peace accomplished through negotiation is the ideal alternative to bloodshed. But whether harmony can be realized without conducting a candid self-assessment of our own priorities and proclivities will be put to the test in the coming weeks. This will be an especially hot-button issue during the sun’s interactions with the south node. Passivity may seem like the easier alternative. But if we are to attain *true* peace, not just interpersonally, but within, looking in the mirror and being honest about what we see will be essential.
Written by Nyssa Grazda
