Astrological Forecasts

Happy Autumnal Equinox.  Go balance something.

Seriously.  This is one of the two days of the year when there are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night, everywhere, all over the world.  (The other day, of course, is the vernal equinox, the first day of spring.)

On the first day of autumn, the Sun crosses the celestial equator, heading south.  The Sun rises exactly due east on the horizon, and sets due west.  Go out and look.  Be careful driving, though, because a lot of streets run due east-west, and you could get sun-blinded at sunrise or sunset.  If you’re familiar with the neighborhoods, of course, you already know this.

It also means that in the Northern Hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and the nights longer.  Being a hardcore stargazer, it pleases me to think of the nights getting longer.

This year the Moon is in the tropical sign Leo when the Sun reaches 0 degrees Libra.  In 1999, though, we had the Moon in mid-Pisces when the Sun entered Libra.  Had the Moon been nearer the end of Pisces, or at 0 degrees Aries, we would’ve had a full moon to go with the autumnal equinox.  This was close enough, though, that (in the San Francisco area at least), if you went outside at sunset you’d see the new risen Full Moon.  If you faced north (or south, I don’t care) and reached out your arms, you could “hold” the setting sun in one hand and “hold” the Full Moon in the other.  Now that’s balance!

Checking the ephemeris, it seems we won’t have another autumnal equinox Sun and (almost) Full Moon until September 2018.  For the Sun and Moon to (almost) repeat their positions in 19 years tells me that the Metonic Cycle is involved (something we normally only think about in terms of eclipses).

Enjoy having a little extra balance in the world, if only for a day!