JOURNAL
FROM EQUINOX TO EQUINOX:
The Celestial Forecast - September 2025
By Marianne Jacuzzi
M.A., E-RYT 500, Jyotish Visharada, Jyotish Kovid, Jyotish Brihaspati
In contrast to the fiery and explosive energy of these past months, this autumn and winter will bring an apparent calm. As days shorten and the balm of darkness wraps all landscapes in stillness, you just might believe everything is settling into familiar categories. But make no mistake: there is no turning back to the past. Revolution is still in the air. Both in our personal lives and across the globe, major transformation is underway. The polarities of good and bad do not apply. Ambiguity, contradiction, obfuscation and deception reign. A new world order is emerging, its form as yet to come into focus. Rahu is strong in Aquarius, his shadow hiding secrets, manipulating outcomes, and generally casting a haze of confusion wherever his gaze strikes.
A partial solar eclipse occurs precisely at the autumnal equinox this 21 September. If you opened this journal promptly, the energy of this event will already be intensifying. This eclipse invites a moment of deep contemplation. It’s oblique force sets the tone for the months to come, so it is significant no matter when you happen to be reading. Take a minute to visual this celestial configuration.
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With the Sun’s rays shining directly over the equator, light and darkness are equal across the globe, a moment of poised harmony. Moon then passes between Sun and earth, forming a “deep partial eclipse”. Partial means the Moon obscures only some of the Sun’s light. Deep means the amount of light eclipsed is significant. If you happen to be in the South Pacific, this eclipse will be visible. For the rest of us, we can visualise internally this dramatic phenomenon: the Sun will appear as a bright crescent, a golden smile illuminating the morning sky.
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SOLAR ECLIPSE - Sept 2025
Reading this celestial smile as an omen, I intuit beneficence ahead, divine blessing in the form of a joyous cosmic affirmation of whatever it is we are becoming. Yet a grinning sky could also suggest a warning: we need to take heed as well. Do not overstep any boundaries. Curb expansive appetites and turn inwards to seek hidden jewels. Playing with fire is dangerous. Riding these waves of contrast requires skill, and that is precisely what we require going forward. We need to hone our life-skills in order to channel this oblique energy towards self-awareness, growth, spiritual renewal, and enlightened transformation.
Sun and Moon come together at 4°52’ Virgo, in the Nakshatra of Uttar Phalguni. A fixed or sthira naksthatra, Uttara Phalguni promotes stability, structure and permanence. It facilitates building homes, laying foundations, planting trees and ploughing land. You can take that both literally or metaphorically. But as you apply it to your life for the months upcoming, remember it is strong roots you want to establish into nourishing life-enhancing soil. Virgo is a garden, where Divine Mother is powerful, the Virgin Mother who is Artemis in the Greek tradition, who rules over all growing things and exercises profound discernment. Virgo invites us to separate the wheat from the chaff. Beginning in late September, apply this winnowing to your personal life, weeding out everything superfluous, toxic or suffocating, everything blocking the healthy growth of your worldly talents and soul essence. Virgo fosters refinement. Like the pressing of flowers to extract their perfumed oil, like the crushing of grapes and ageing their liquid in wooden caskets to produce fine wine, Virgo deals in pure essences.
Mercury resides in Virgo also at the time of the eclipse. It is his sign of exaltation. As the discriminating intellect par excellence, Mercury in strength will provide momentum for insightful discernment. As the days shorten, spend more time in meditation, in contemplative prayer, in classical yoga, in wandering in nature. All these endeavours will assist you in establishing roots into healthy soil. You will need this fortification. At the solar eclipse, a fiery papakatari yoga contains Virgo, with Ketu in Leo and Mars in Libra. Burn-out could be a risk. Let purposeful intentions guide you, fuelled by a measured dose of dynamism, which Mars can provide. Just be mindful of the dynamite of too much pitta, which can overwhelm and disorient you. Fortify yourself with comforting self-care in the form of oil massage, adequate sleep, sattvic diet and nourishing soup.
It is most significant that Retrograde Saturn in Pisces falls exactly opposite the New Moon, almost to the degree. Though Saturn can make for delays, for obstructions and for hard lessons along the way, his direct gaze offers the discipline we all need to stick to our chosen sadhana. Saturn brings steadiness and perseverance, insight that matures into wisdom. As the Lord of Yoga, he blesses this New Moon with the promise of spiritual harvest . . . eventually. So stick to whatever path you have chosen for your spiritual growth. This solar eclipse sets the tone for an autumn and winter of personal transformation of the highest order.
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NAVARATI
Never doubt that the universe will provide. On the day after the solar eclipse, Navarati begins. This nine-day festival celebrating the triumph of Ma Durga offers the perfect opportunity to dive deeply into fruitful sadhana, in alignment with millions around the globe and millions of souls stretching backwards in time and forward into the future. Durga is the Mother Earth Goddess, the goddess as power, strength and courage. Unable to defeat the demon, Mahishasura, the gods combined their forces to create the goddess Durga, and after nine days of battle, she defeated the demon on the tenth day. The celebration of Navarati invites us to enter into this mystery, to relive it as our own internal struggle, to overcome the demons of pessimism, despair, lethargy, indifference, anxiety and fear and to emerge rejuvenated. Ma Durga is the Divine Feminine, the Devi who appears under many guises. She is the Shakti, the visible face of Lord Shiva, the creative energy that generates everything that is. She rides a tiger. And we can ride with her, victorious over all the obstacles that block our spiritual evolution.
Navarati comes round every year of course, but this year it occurs between highly significant astrological phenomena. Beginning the day after the solar eclipse on the autumnal equinox; eighteen days after it completes, Jupiter begins his long station at 0° Cancer. (18 = 9 x 2: the sacred number nine doubled!). Entering into the power of this festival is the best way to prepare for Jupiter’s station, which is the most significant astrological event of the months ahead. So what to do? Aside from the traditional pujas and rituals, in which you may or may not be able to participate, there is much you can do on your own.
Fasting is a traditional practice. But you don’t have to starve yourself, just keep food simple, moderate and sattvic. Think of fasting as an all-over sensory withdrawal. Unplug yourself from the digital world, so no social media, no newsfeeds, no bombardment from the noise of the world. Instead, connect with the natural world. Get your hands into the soil, your bare feet if possible on the earth. Let this connection remind your cells what they are. Dirt consists of the corpses of life that existed before. Our bodies are made of this dust, and to this dust they will return. Sensory stimulation keeps our focus on the physical body, which is a kind of wall, obscuring realisation of the body of light we truly are. Chanting sacred mantra is a beautiful practice to cultivate, especially during Navarati. Sound is vibration, and sacred vibrations work very subtly but powerfully to transform our awareness into light. All forms of authentic yoga and meditation bring spiritual renewal. These sacred practices during Navarati will fortify you with courage and wisdom, strength and purity.
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OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER: DARKNESS INTO LIGHT
In mid-October, three planets change signs. Venus enters Virgo on 10 October; Sun enters Libra on 18 October, both into their signs of debilitation. And on 19 October, Jupiter enters Cancer, his sign of exaltation, where he will remain at 0°, right on the cusp between Gemini and Cancer, until 6 December. Though these extreme placements could generate tension, conflict and worldly challenge, they also conceal a secret celestial momentum for the spiritual renewal that Navarati initiated.
How these alignments will affect your life obviously depends upon your personal birth chart, which only a private reading can clarify. However, all of us can benefit from attuning ourselves to the current transits of the planets. Venus and Sun become debilitated every autumn, when light is decreasing and the natural world turns inwards into cold and stasis. Time is cyclical, not linear. Everything comes round again and again, though never repeating with quite the same configurations. Each return includes a flowering of something unique. This year it is Jupiter’s extraordinary station at 0°, which counterbalances the annual debilitation of Sun and Venus.
When debilitated, planets become very weak for what they indicate. Ego-identity recedes when Sun loses strength. Passion for romance, beauty and sensory delights cloys when Venus is weak. When this happens, worldly challenges may arise from which important lessons can be learned. However, circumventing all that worldly turmoil, see the opportunity for transcendence this annual dual-debilitation presents. Jupiter, planet of higher knowledge, will hover upon the cusp of his exaltation sign, Cancer, where intuition becomes heightened, while both Sun and Venus turn us away from worldly pursuits.
The yogic practice of trataka is a beautiful way to honour this time. Try it and see how it brings your energy in harmony with the stillness and contraction of autumn and the fallen state of Sun and Venus. It is very simple, best done in the darkness of evening. Sit in a comfortable meditation posture with your back straight and face a single lit candle. Focus your gaze upon the tip of the flame. Without straining, try not to blink. When tears come or your eyes feel very tired, close them and visualise the candle flame at your third eye. When the internal image fades, place your cupped palms over your eyes for rest. Repeat a few times if it is comfortable. This practice improves concentration, relaxes an agitated mind, and serves as gateway to higher practices of transcendence. This autumn it should be more powerful than ever with Jupiter’s influence from 0° Cancer.
The chart of the New Moon in Chitra on 25 October shows the configurations active for most of October. A soft or tender nakshatra, Chitra enhances aesthetics. Art, music, dance, learning, craftsmanship, and the sparkle of multi-coloured jewels are all attributes of Chitra. Mercury and Venus form a parivartana yoga for much of October too, bringing the discerning intellect of Mercury to combine with the aesthetic delights of Venus. Give expression to your creativity in October. The cosmos will support you. But remember that the highest beauty is truth, as John Keats so eloquently expressed in his poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. Creative pursuits can further spiritual growth, especially when ego recedes and art serves to glorify the sacred, as in classical Indian art and the gothic cathedrals of Europe.
However, contradiction and conflicting energies remain an enduring theme. At this New Moon, the four planets residing in Libra do not sit quietly. Mars and Mercury are classic enemies, their combined energy always a source of tension. And Rahu from Aquarius casts his trine aspect onto Libra, an unsettling force stirring up obsessive desire for something. Be aware of this disturbing undercurrent. It’s one of the factors creating ambiguity and confusion at this time.
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JUPITER STATIONS ON THE CUSP OF HIS EXALTATION
This year Jupiter’s extraordinary pause for nearly seven weeks at 0° Cancer portends something unusual. Beginning the year in Taurus, he sped through Gemini in five months. He enters Cancer in mid-October, where he will remain at 0° until early December, when he retrogrades back into Gemini. This is a highly unusual transit for Jupiter, who usually spends an entire year in one sign. The great beneficent light that is Jupiter exalts in the watery medium of Cancer. Later in 2026, we can look forward to his actual period of exaltation as he progresses through the sign of Cancer. This October and November, however, he only reaches the cusp. The border between signs is an inherently unstable place, its very nature twixt and tween. On the one hand, Jupiter will be exalted, and so beaming forth a glimmer of hope, of optimism, of grace and good fortune. Yet on the other hand, he will be stalled. It’s as if all of the above will be held in suspension, tantalisingly visible but out of reach, a preview of what’s to develop in 2026 briefly coming into focus. A light will appear at the end of the tunnel. Depending upon your personal chart, you may experience something quite exhilarating. But be mindful not to overextend. The tunnel will darken again.
Jupiter exalts in water, and from watery Cancer he aspects the other water signs. Water comes into prominence in 2025, with Mercury retrograding in water and Saturn and Neptune residing in watery Pisces. We saw last summer when Mars joined Ketu in Leo and cast his 8th aspect upon Pisces that a disastrous flood occurred in Texas, USA. However, Jupiter’s aspect is benign and should bring forth the positive qualities of water during his station at the edge of Cancer. The fluidity of water enhances creativity, imagination, intuition, sensitivity, perception and inner vision. Water has substance but no stability. It flows to fill and form whatever container holds it. Its inherent instability facilitates change. Though each of the three water signs indicates a different quality of water, they all manifest something life-enhancing, pure, and and liberating. All will be activated by Jupiter’s aspect from Cancer this autumn and early winter. Look to Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces in your chart for clues as to how this transformative energy will express for you.
SCORPIO ENERGY TRIGGERED
In November, the energy of Scorpio becomes strong. A mysterious, intense and passionate place, Scorpio is fixed water, a deep, dark swamp whose bottom we can never fathom. The New Moon in Anuradha on 20 November invites us to revisit the past. With five planets retrograde (including Neptune and Uranus), expect past life issues and old karmic patterns to surface. Nothing seems clear, because ambiguity, contradiction and deception lurk in the depths that Scorpio represents. However, the spiritual practices you took on during Navarati will prepare you for a smooth transition through this challenging phase. And the depths of Scorpio also provide a fecund medium for metamorphosis. The New Moon occurs just minutes after Moon’s exact degree of debilitation. Moon is already weak when new, and this placement only adds to the risk of poor judgement. Everything depends upon the state of Moon in your chart, but we all should be aware that Moon darkened by the Sun and debilitated in Scorpio means a slippery mind. As always, spiritual practice is the best remedy for steadiness. Some say enlightenment and madness are two sides of the same coin. Both take us out of ordinary reality. But will it be to profound insight or to mental instability? This New Moon provides a doorway to either possibility. Also residing in Scorpio at this time are Mercury retrograde and Mars. So the same tension they generated together in October will be reignited here in the more difficult placement of Scorpio, with Mars strong in his own sign. Though Jupiter’s aspect from Cancer offers relief, Mars will be combust so extra feisty and frustrated.
SAGITTARIUS - GEMINI AXIS TRIGGERED
On 6 December, Jupiter retrogrades back into Gemini, and so will no longer aspect the other water signs until much later in 2026. Retrograde Jupiter forms an anchor in Gemini. By the end of the year all the faster moving planets except Moon will be lined up opposite in Sagittarius. And Moon will come round to that point in due course also. Jupiter retrograde indicates unresolved issues from the past, whether in this life or a previous life. The New Year is a classic time for reassessment, for revisiting the past and forming resolutions for the future. As the Anuradha New Moon in November initiated that process, the alignments at end of year will supercharge it. The mental acuity of Gemini orients Jupiter’s expansive intelligence towards precise analysis and focus. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Sun each bring a unique issue for the wise judgement of Jupiter to consider and assess. Since Jupiter just retrograded into Gemini, he’s at the very end of the sign. Each of those faster moving planets will come exactly opposite to Jupiter at some point in January 2026 as they transit to the end of Sagittarius.
Pay attention to those exact degrees and how they impact your personal chart. This is a time of powerful transformation, both personally and globally. Sagittarius and Gemini triggered together provide the possibility for deep insight and radical redirection if harnessed wisely. Both are signs of knowledge, Jupiter owned Sagittarius being the place of higher truth and Mercury owned Gemini of shrewd analysis. But this polarity can also manifest as conflict. Ideals (Jupiter) and practicality (Mercury) can be at odds with one another. As we move into 2026, these are the issues you need to resolve in your life. The parivartana exchange between Jupiter and Mercury will assist, because the different qualities of mind come together in an harmonious blend with Jupiter residing in Mercury’s sign and Mercury in Jupiter’s. As always, the first weeks of the New Year are perfect for retreat. Select the important books you’ve been meaning to read and curl up by the fireside to read, reflect, and contemplate your path ahead.
TIGHT CONJUNCTION IN UTTARA ASHADHA
The themes of the last half of 2025 reach greater intensity as the New Year begins. At the first New Moon of the year, five planets come together in Capricorn, six if you include Pluto! All of them are tightly conjunct in the nakshatra of Uttara Ashadha, a fixed or sthira nakshatra. This powerful configuration reinforces the energy released at the solar eclipse of October 2025, which occurred in Uttara Phalguni, also a sthira naksthatra. Once again, a sthira nakshatra favours permanence, stability and structure. It’s about laying down foundations, planting firm roots into good soil. All the planets residing together in Uttara Ashadha partake of this quality. The Shakti of Uttara Ashadha gives the power for unstoppable victory. Its symbol, an elephant’s tusk, is the blessing of Lord Ganesha, a symbol of the absolute. As moveable earth, Capricorn is about putting things of the earth in order, finding the right place for everything in the hierarchy of value. Though much grace can flow from this configuration, so many planets in one place also creates confusion. Try your best to remain grounded and steady at this time.
The undercurrent of ambiguity running through the last few months comes to the surface again with this tight New Moon conjunction. Sun and Moon form the centre of the configuration, with Mercury and Venus flanking them in a shubhakatari yoga. The beneficent light of this yoga uplifts Sun and Moon. However Mars and Pluto (to include the outer planets) flank the shubhakatari yoga. And so their malefic energy surrounds the entire configuration, including the inner kernel of beneficence, casting doubt, disturbance, conflict and danger over everything. The Mars-Mercury tension, which has been a constant for months, becomes most acute. These two enemies reside minutes apart and so form a planetary war. Despite these strong indications for rough times, Moon in Capricorn provides a potential for grace. It’s a hidden boon not known to many. Since Moon exalts at 3° Taurus, which is the Navamsa of Capricorn, a Capricorn Moon can provide boons similar to exaltation. How this all plays out in your life and in the world remains in precarious balance.
For the world, I predict a continuation of the strife, conflict and confusion of the last good while. The eclipses of early spring reinforce this trend. An Annular Solar eclipse occurs on 17 February 2026, at 4°36’ Aquarius. All the planets tightly conjunct in Capricorn in January will cross over that eclipse degree early in the New Year. Expect sudden unsettling disturbances, though probably not as intense as those of 2025. What’s been set in motion will continue until Jupiter is fully exalted. The total Lunar Eclipse of 3 March 2026 could also exacerbate these tensions. Sun will be tightly conjunct Rahu in Aquarius and Moon tightly conjunct Ketu in Leo. The Nodes are powerful in those signs. Joined with the luminaries, the king and queen of the heavens, momentous breakthroughs or breakdowns could occur. The Nodes are slippery, harbingers of change. Yet at the Lunar Eclipse, Venus has already moved into exaltation in Pisces. Despite the continuation of turbulence, light appears on the horizon. For you personally, everything depends upon how you navigate these energetic extremes.
NEW MOON IN PISCES
The New Moon chart just before the spring equinox suggests an exciting see-saw of possibilities. Powerful malefic forces indicate renewed struggles, yet grace and beneficence flow from an exalted Venus. The new world order coming into being is not taking shape smoothly. Acceptance and patience are required, as well as mindfulness and discernment. Mercury retrograde in Aquarius is surrounded by the malefics Rahu and Mars, and so is malefic himself by association. Rahu is particularly strong since he is sub-lord of Aquarius and also the ruler of the nakshatra Shatabisha. All three planets actually reside together in Shatabisha, forming a configuration of intense malefic energy.
However, Shatabisha is the nakshatra of a hundred physicians, a healing medium. In the world, this could mean advances in medicine, with AI becoming more sophisticated and taking the lead. Rahu is technology, Mercury analysis, and Mars dynamism. Rahu prominent provides the momentum of obsessive, driven desire. Though this could mean positive breakthroughs or something nefarious like bio-warfare, I suspect Jupiter’s positive aspect upon Aquarius will obviate the possibility of anything too disastrous. Mitigation flows from Pisces also, where exalted Venus resides with the New Moon, and together with Moon, surrounds Saturn and Sun (and Neptune) in a shubhakatari yoga. That is the star of hope, lighting the way forward.
Though the contrast of opposing energies powering revolutionary change remains a theme that runs throughout these months, that light at the end of the tunnel is becoming ever brighter. Given human nature, radical change does not usually come peacefully. But the peace we cultivate in our hearts can radiate outwards, its ripples generating small miracles, victorious just like Ma Durga. Poignant lessons about the fragility of life will teach us to honour each moment with gratitude. Some of us will become worldly warriors, entering the battles for a better future. Others will retreat into stillness, finding refuge in an ever-expanding vision into the absolute. Yet we are all on a journey of spiritual evolution, different as the paths may be. Beyond the usual recommendation to remain committed to sadhana, always the best practice for cultivating the forces of grace and light, benefits will flow from everything you do to create stability, to grow robust roots into nourishing soil—both literally and metaphorically. The Sthira nakshatras of Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Arshadha each receive powerful triggers in the months ahead. They provide the clues. Establish a firm footing in what is most precious in life. Look first to the earth itself, the soil that nourishes all life; and then to the subtle un-manifest ground, of which the earth is merely a mirror. From this foundation, all salubrious metamorphosis emerges.
Jai Ma!