Author: Alison Price   –   Published: September 2024

Equinoxes

The Sun

Every day the Sun transits about 1° through the Zodiac. It always moves forward and never retrogrades. Every year the Sun enters each the cardinal sign in turn. These cardinal ingresses are the four special days that mark the seasonal changes.

Aries Equinox

When the Sun enters the cardinal air sign of Aries, it is the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere.

Libra Equinox

When the Sun enters the cardinal air sign of Libra, it is the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere.

Equinox Charts

When working with these equinox charts you can get a general view of what’s coming up globally for everyone. You can cast solar season charts at the two solstices and the pair of equinoxes.

Business Quarters

In the business world, people talk about Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4. Business quarters divide the whole calendar year into four. The first quarter is January, February and March, the second quarter is April, May and June, the third quarter is July, August and September, and the fourth quarter is October, November and December. Each quarter slightly under 100 days each and it’s good chunk of time for measuring trends.

Solar Quarters

Cardinal Ingresses

The solar quarters all start as the Sun enters one of the four cardinal signs, which are Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn.

Seasons

These special days signal the beginning of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. And yes, I’m talking Northern hemisphere-centric here.

Southern Hemisphere

I spent most of my life living in the southern hemisphere, so I do understand that the seasons are swapped over. But because I now live in the northern hemisphere, I’m going to be talking mainly northern hemisphere-centric in this edition.

Solar Quarter Start Chart

Sun Enters Cardinal Sign

So as the Sun entersa cardinal sign, the exact point that is the time you set the chart for.

Zero Aries House System

The example chart I have here is also set on the house system called Zero Aries because we are going to be talking globally here.

If you can just get your head round that, even though I’m in Vancouver, the actual chart will be the same for everyone if you put it on the Zero Aries.

Zero Aries

When a chart is set on Zero Aries, you do dismiss the Ascendant and the house cusps. What we focus on are the planetary positions in the signs and the aspects between them. You are looking for general trends and themes for the quarter.

Sun at Zero Degrees

In an equinox ingress chart, the Sun will always be at 0° of the cardinal sign.

Overarching View

Turns and Balances

Remember, when you look at the annual equinoxes (and solstices) charts, they are snapshots of the transits at one of the four cardinal ingresses.

These types of charts can be informative for general trends for three months in a year, and in this case, for the last season of the year.

Forecasting Astrologer

If you are a forecasting astrologer, it is always good to see what the wide-ranging trends are at these turning and balance points for the Sun.

I think it’s always interesting to take into consideration each season’s start chart.

I hope you have a wonderful season wherever you are.

Solar Cycles

Below are a few more podcast eisodes featuring discussions around the solar cycles and solstices and equinoxes.

Author Bio

Alison Price: Professional Astrologer

Alison helps you uncover your individual creativity and lead a fulfilling life using your own astrology. She shares her wisdom from the heart with a touch of humor. She offers Consultations for everyone and Coaching for Aspiring Astrologers.

If you’d like to get in touch with Alison, you can reach out to her via email at starzology@gmail.com.

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