An Eclipse, Equinox, & Invitation to Evolution
The Virgo New Moon eclipse takes place on Sunday, September 21st at 12:54pm Pacific & 3:54pm Eastern at 29° 5', the second Virgo New Moon of the season.Part I
As we approach the autumn threshold here in the Northern Hemisphere, one we’ve reached dozens of times before, we’re met with the distinct sense that things are not as they’ve been in earlier versions of this turning point, for this particular period carries with it a tone shift that seems to permeate all facets of our lives from start to finish, inside and out, and one that can’t be ignored. The planets and their continued revolutions through the sky are no doubt responsible for this milieu, powerful portents of what’s to come in the ever-unfolding cosmic cycle.
The good news is that I won’t be telling you to go and hide under a rock until the specific planetary transits are finished, nor will I similarly recommend that you wait it out without leaving your house, only to emerge after the challenging period is over. This would be an insult to your intelligence and your potential, and you’d likely miss half your life (or more!) if you assumed this approach when powerful transits came to the fore. Instead, the invitation here is to do what we Tantrikas are pretty into doing, and most of the time: to engage your life and all that the planets are bringing to your doorstep with as much skill and awareness, grace and godliness, as you can manage. Sure, there may be some buffoonery, and you may get tripped up a few times before finding a rhythm that seems to befit you and the times we’re living in, but once you do, the momentum you gain reminds you of what it means to be alive, to be a divine being having a human experience, and that this is exactly what you signed up for, provocations and all. At some point along the way, you’ll likely recall that you chose to show up at this time, and for these experiences, in order to remember who you actually are and all that you’re capable of, reclaiming for yourself what in other times would undoubtedly be labelled as heresy, hypocrisy, or hocus-pocus, and is now just called living your truth or your best life. Hashtag.
Saturn has retrograded back into the sign of Pisces, where it will be until mid-February of 2026, yet for this eclipse, it’s making quite an exact opposition to the Sun & Moon in Virgo. Now remember, ‘the only way out is through’ in this case, and there is no need to hide under the aforementioned rock for this cosmic event. Instead, one might ask the old gaffer of planets (aka Saturn) how to move, work, and dance with him in a way that begets results and invites some good ol’ self-reliance that we may not have had before. Saturn does not do handouts, and for good reason. If he did, we would not move through the necessary trials and tribulations required for us to become the wiser, more discerning, aware, and capable individuals that make our world a better place. Saturn does not want us to shirk responsibility, but to take it on in a way that is aligned with our sagely selves, committing to a grand task or a powerful work that will indeed move us in the direction of embodying the beings we came to this planet to be. And while in traditional astrology he might be considered the worst of bad luck planets, that’s only if we’re allergic to doing the work that reality is asking of us, setting clear boundaries in ourselves and lives, and dedicating ourselves to the task(s) required. Evolutionarily, all this is important for embodying our most integral selves. Otherwise, our potential is left blowin’ in the wind and we never actually get to it. This time around, anyway!
In the sign of the Cosmic dancer, yogi, and meditator, Saturn wants us to get real about letting go of ‘stuff’ that’s not in alignment with who we are anymore. Whether this refers to bad habits we’re still engaging in that we know we shouldn’t, old stories we have of ourselves that just don’t fit anymore, outgrown identities that feel as flimsy as tracing paper, or truly anything of the sort, we’re asked to face the proverbial music and do the heavy lifting required of us to set boundaries for ourselves, and ones that have us remembering our most epically amazing natures that have been with us all along but have likely been playing a great game of hide-and-seek. If this makes no sense to you, perhaps this will: ‘inquire within.’ Or ‘it’s an inside job’. Or, quite simply, you are a magnificent being beyond space and time who put on a body suit to come to this planet in order to co-create with the inherently intelligent energy that made you and is alive within you, that constantly reconstitutes you over and again, in order to co-manifest your destiny, to deeply know and full-heartedly share your magic, and to evolve beyond any limiting ideation that keeps you trapped in karmic, epigenetic, societal, familial, or any other confine that you take on in order to feel safe or to evade your true soul path. Hopefully that was clear!
Neptune, also retrograde but in the sign of Aries for now, lies in opposition to the New Moon eclipse as well. Neptune always asks us to let our intuition guide us even if we can’t see the way forward, to let the soul voice who always knows the way be the one we truly give credence to, for anything else is bound to take us on a meandering path that moves us away from our innate knowing. Neptune wants us to tune into this knowing, releasing what keeps us from following our heart of hearts. Confusion arises when we don’t take the time or make the effort to know this infinite aspect of ourselves, to develop our intuition as well as our capacity to heed its guidance, and our lives become such a misrepresentation of our soul’s journey that we’d rather numb out and obliterate our own consciousness than lean in and know who we really are, living from that version of ourselves, the one that is a merging of our limitless spirit selves with our somewhat fallible human ones.
Aries is always in need of a challenge, and it seeks experiences that call forth its own bravery and courage in order to feel vital and alive. It needs daunting events that push its energy to the extreme, forcing it into the realm of fear, adrenaline, and cortisol, only so it can know what it’s capable of, claiming the archetype of the hero or heroine within, and in so doing, living with the knowledge that it can do unnerving things even when it didn’t feel like it had the capacity for them in the first place. With Neptune here, we’re asked to courageously be the shining beings we came to earth to be, meeting our fears head on, facing them down, and proving that they cannot keep us from embodying our most vibrant, real, and expansive selves. We are encouraged to embody Christ Consciousness, Buddha Nature, and the most divine presence within, and while this premise tends to get religified in most parts of the world, it truly has nothing to do with morality, and everything to do with letting the deep inner presence that has taken form within us all lead the way. When we allow this facet of ourselves to take the reigns, we live our potential in the world, weaving our own magic and beauty into the fabric of life, enhancing the whole in the ways that only we can. This part of us does not get caught in BS agendas or extremes, and it certainly knows how to stand clearly for what is in alignment with the best and highest good for ALL. And the world could definitely use a lot of that right now.
Now, all of this is engaging with the Virgo New Moon eclipse, one year into the Virgo-Pisces eclipse cycle. Virgo is virtuosic at rhythms and routines, systems and techniques that allow it to be effective, efficient, and excellent, for it is truly a sign of mastery. This is only if it can get out of its own way and stop taking life as a personal affront, leaning into the knowing that it has potent magic and immense beauty within, that it’s deeply valuable to the whole, and that its gifts are so important that the world would not be itself without them. Virgo is here to fully bring its skills and talents into being, continuously honing and refining them to be of greater service to reality, as well as to find the fulfillment that inherently comes with this endeavor. It wants us to pour ourselves into what we came here to do and what is alive for us right now, creating the healthy boundaries in our lives to make it so, courageously facing our fears as part of the process. And rather than letting these fears or the inevitable work ahead daunt us to the point of giving up, it asks that we continue to show up for it, fine-tuning our daily, weekly, and monthly schedules and lives to align with the task we’re engaged in. ‘Something has to give’ from time to time, and Virgo is expert at knowing what it is, shifting its life accordingly to show up in the ways it can be most efficacious, not those that have it doubting itself or its potential and forgetting its significant part to play within the whole.
Uranus in Gemini trines this New Moon, asking us to stay open to the signs, symbols, and omens that life is throwing at us so that we may know undeniably what is most authentic to who we are now. This energy helps us to receive the memos from the universe so that we can get super clear as to what we need and want in the moment that has nothing to do with what we’ve been conditioned to need or want and everything to do with what our inner guidance systems already know. It encourages us to not become overwhelmed by the immense amount of information at our fingertips, and to instead engage with it in a way that is in tune with our deep truth, letting this come to life through our perceptions, thoughts, and voices as we share this truth in ways that are profound and meaningful. A harbinger of change, Uranus encourages us to embrace the shifts that are in alignment with our authenticity, moving deftly toward what we’re co-creating.
Pluto always wants us to face ourselves in ways that create deep and profound transformation. This transformation refers to karmic, epigenetic, societal, familial, and human patterns and stories that keep us hiding out in certain parts of our psyches without questioning them or attempting to understand them, letting them instead dominate our actions or non-actions in the world. As the Lord of the Underworld AND the Riches, Pluto wants us to dive deep into the subconscious terrain to alchemize the fears and traumas in this life and prior ones so that the energy that was caught within those patterns can move freely in the system, becoming fodder for the hopes and dreams we are here to actualize. We’re meant to reclaim those parts of our souls that we inevitably had to hide in times prior in order to fit in and gain a sense of belonging. Aquarius (and Uranus) needs us to march to the rhythm of our own drum and to be committed to uncovering exactly what that means, following the truth that is alive and well within us. “Energy is neither created nor destroyed; it is only transformed,” and working to shift all that aims to hold us back so that we can more easily heed the guidance of our most knowing selves is even more key now that Pluto is in Aquarius for the next 18.5 years.
Putting all of this together, we are meant to bring our super powers to the fore now, setting healthy and real boundaries that allow us to embody our spirit selves who obviously knew what our mission was before getting here, and who are ready to bring it to action. It’s game on, and the knowing within is ready to help us courageously claim our places in the world: as divine beings having a human experience; as valuable members of the human family who have gifts to share and authentic ways of sharing them; as powerful bringers of change who are ushering in a new (but actually super ancient) way of being that has humanity operating at its optimal potential, not just despite but because of, all that has sought to hold us back and keep us down for eons. And guess what? You’re one of the ones we’ve been waiting for. Ready or not, it’s go time. Let’s do this!
But here’s a bit more good news if you’re feeling slightly trepidatious at the prospect of all this. Consider this Fall and Winter a dress rehearsal. We’re getting major glimpses, or more accurately, massive looks and feels of what’s to come. The Spring of 2026 will usher in what we’re sensing now in a much bigger way, and we’ll be invited to all I’ve written about with even more gusto and moxie. How can you try some of these themes on now to do the spadework that will inevitably benefit you when we emerge from the cold season and are reborn into the world around the Vernal Equinox?
Part II
The Autumn Equinox is associated with the elemental phase of Metal in Chinese Medicine, as well as the Lung, the skin, our sense of and ability to smell, and the emotions of Grief and Letting Go. The leaves on the trees give us a spectacular show as they shift from green to gold, fiery orange, and bright burgundy, the last Yang surging before they float poetically to the ground to eventually decay and become fodder for the forest floor and all who call it home. There is an inherent knowing of when to burst into the most vibrant color of all, when to let go and begin to move inwardly, how to gestate deeply and nourish fully, and when it’s time to grow again, how to reach for the heights that we are meant to experience, eventually finding the joy that delights us and carries us through the darker times.
With the immense shifting taking place with the planets and on our own planet, attuning ourselves to Nature’s wisdom only serves to reconnect us with our innate nature, now an invitation to gather the blessings and gems of time spent in the lighter half of the year, drawing them to us as we prepare to go within. We are asked to release what we’re not meant to carry across the threshold, knowing that it, too, will be transformed by the earth, reborn in another shape and form when the time is just right. And we will be lighter moving through the portal that welcomes us more fully into our own selves, shedding what is no longer required to marinate in the truth of what has always been with us. In this act of relinquishing, we give ourselves the necessary space within our experiences, eventually more able to gestate what will inevitably make itself known in the months that follow.
My wish for you is that you give yourself the time and space to percolate in all the ways you’re meant to, able to claim your place as the cosmic being that you are, standing brightly in your gifts and sharing them even more brilliantly, knowing both the value of yourself and all who are a part of your human family, and that you remind them simply by your example what it means to shine together. May we put all pettiness aside and choose to do the work we committed to long before we had a name, lifting one another up and reminding each other who we really are when one of us has forgotten the way. May we know who we really are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, and may we live from this place in every moment possible.
Blessings to you on this autumn equinox and new moon eclipse!
