The Courage to Want — The Equinox, the Harvest Moon & Mars in Leo
There is a question we don’t always allow ourselves to answer honestly:
What do I actually want?
Not what would make everybody else happy.
Not what looks sensible on paper.
Not what somebody else has, making us suddenly wonder whether we should want it too.
What do I want?
Mars, in astrology, doesn’t spend much time worrying about that question. Mars recognises a desire and wants to act on it.
Human beings, however, are remarkably good at talking themselves out of things. 😂
It’s too expensive.
It’s not the right time.
What if they say no?
Who do I think I am to ask for that?
Sometimes those concerns are practical and worth considering.
But sometimes they are simply fear wearing a sensible-looking coat.
And this week, the stars invite us to look beneath that coat.
23 September — The Equinox: Finding Our Balance
The Sun enters Libra, marking the September equinox.
Day and night come close to balance. Autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere, while spring arrives in the Southern Hemisphere.
Astrologically, Libra asks us to consider the relationship between ourselves and others.
Where have we compromised?
Where have we listened?
Where have we given so much ground that we’ve forgotten what we wanted in the first place?
Balance doesn’t mean everyone receives exactly the same thing.
And it certainly doesn’t mean making yourself smaller so nobody else feels uncomfortable.
Sometimes balance begins with an honest conversation.
Sometimes it begins with a boundary.
And sometimes it begins with admitting:
I want this, too.
🦋 The Equinox Sabian Symbol — 1° Libra
“A Butterfly Made Perfect by a Dart Through It.”
Oh, this is an uncomfortable little symbol for the beginning of Libra!
The butterfly has completed its transformation. Its wings are beautiful, its colours perfectly displayed.
But someone has pinned it in place to preserve that beauty.
It looks perfect.
Yet it can no longer fly.
How often do we do something similar to ourselves?
We try to preserve the perfect relationship.
The perfect appearance.
The perfect image of who we believe we should be.
We become so concerned with keeping everything beautiful and harmonious that we stop allowing ourselves to change.
But harmony isn’t the same as stillness.
And perfection isn’t always freedom.
A butterfly was never meant to spend its life pinned beneath glass.
And neither were we.
6 September — The Aries Full Moon: The Courage to Be Yourself
On Saturday, the Harvest Moon reaches fullness at approximately 17:49 in the Canary Islands, with the Moon at 3°37′ Aries opposite the Sun at 3°37′ Libra. It is called the Harvest Moon because it is the Full Moon closest to the September equinox.
And suddenly, the equinox’s question about balance becomes much more personal.
The Libra Sun asks:
How do we live together?
The Aries Moon asks:
But where am I in all of this?
Perhaps you’ve been keeping the peace for so long that you’ve forgotten what you wanted.
Perhaps you’ve been waiting for permission to make a decision that only you can make.
Or perhaps you’ve been so determined to do things your own way that you’ve forgotten somebody else has feelings too.
The Aries–Libra axis illuminates both sides of that relationship.
Independence without consideration can become selfishness.
But compromise without self-respect can become self-abandonment.
And somewhere between the two is a healthier question:
How can I honour myself without forgetting the people I love?
🌾 What Are We Harvesting?
The Harvest Moon traditionally belongs to a season of gathering what has grown.
But perhaps there’s something we can harvest within ourselves, too.
What have we learned about our needs?
Which compromises have strengthened our relationships?
Which ones have cost us too much?
What are we finally ready to acknowledge?
Sometimes the harvest isn’t something we receive.
It’s something we finally understand.
And with the Moon in Aries, understanding may be followed by the desire to act.
Not necessarily through confrontation.
Not by declaring war on everybody who disagrees with us. 😂
But by finding the courage to say:
This matters to me.
This is what I need.
This is the direction I want to explore.
The Full Moon’s position also places it close to Neptune in Aries, adding a symbolic invitation to distinguish a genuine inner calling from an idealised dream.
We can listen to our intuition without asking it to replace practical judgment.
Mars in Leo — The Lion Finds Its Voice
As the week draws to a close, Mars approaches Leo, entering the sign in the early hours of 28 September in the Canary Islands and remaining there until 25 November.
Mars represents motivation, desire, courage and the willingness to act.
Leo is associated with the heart, creativity, self-expression and the courage to be seen.
Together, they ask us to stop hiding every genuine desire behind a practical excuse.
Perhaps you want to create something.
Learn something.
Tell someone how you feel.
Apply for an opportunity.
Return to a dream you abandoned years ago.
Or simply enjoy something without feeling you must justify it.
Mars in Leo asks:
If this matters to your heart, why are you pretending it doesn’t?
But wanting something doesn’t automatically make it ours.
Confidence doesn’t remove the need to respect other people’s choices.
And courage isn’t the same as demanding that the world give us everything we desire.
Would I still want this if nobody ever saw me achieve it?
That question can tell us quite a lot.
Mars in Leo Sabian Symbol — 1° Leo
“A Case of Apoplexy.”
Well, Mars certainly knows how to make an entrance! 😂
The traditional symbol describes an overwhelming surge of emotion and energy.
Blood rushing to the head.
Passion rising.
Feelings becoming so powerful that they threaten to take over.
And here comes Mars in Leo, declaring:
“I want it!”
Leo responds:
“Then let’s go and get it!”
And the Sabian Symbol quietly adds:
“Wonderful. But perhaps think before you charge through the door.” 😂
Desire can awaken courage.
Passion can motivate us to pursue something we’ve wanted for years.
But the same energy can become impatience, pride or the need to prove ourselves.
The distinction is between acting from the heart and reacting in the heat of the moment.
Let your passion move you, but don’t allow it to overpower your judgment.
The Cinderella Question
I love the Cinderella image in this week’s theme.
Not because a glass slipper guarantees that fate will deliver everything we ask for.
But because Cinderella didn’t have to force her foot into a shoe that wasn’t hers.
Perhaps the lesson is about fit.
Some dreams look beautiful from a distance but don’t belong to us.
Others feel familiar the moment we finally allow ourselves to try them.
The equinox invites us to weigh our desires with care.
The Aries Full Moon asks us to acknowledge our own needs.
Mars in Leo invites us to act on the desires that remain true.
We need all three.
A heart brave enough to ask, enough self-awareness to know what we’re asking for, and enough consideration to recognise that other people have hearts too.
Three Celestial Lessons
The Libra butterfly warns us against becoming so concerned with perfection that we stop living.
The Aries Full Moon reminds us that our needs deserve a place in our relationships.
And Mars in Leo warns us against becoming so consumed by desire that we forget to think.
One risks suppressing everything.
Another illuminates what we’ve suppressed.
The third gives us the courage to move.
But we don’t have to set the entire room on fire to prove that we’re alive. 😂🔥
Neither suppress your desires nor let them rule you.
Find your centre.
Listen to your heart.
Then take a step that honours both.
💜 Questions for the Week
Where have I been making myself smaller to preserve harmony?
What have I been talking myself out of?
Am I being realistic—or am I afraid of rejection?
Is this desire genuinely mine?
Would I still want it if nobody else knew about it?
And what small, courageous action could I take without demanding that the entire future be settled first?
Cosmic Whisper
The butterfly needs its wings.
The Moon needs its darkness to reveal its light.
The lion needs its heart.
And you need both the freedom to dream and the courage to act.
The equinox brings the scales.
The Full Moon brings the truth of what you feel.
Mars brings the fire.
One asks you to find your centre.
One asks you to recognise yourself.
And one asks you to move.
You do not have to chase every shining thing.
You do not have to make yourself smaller, either.
Know what matters to your heart.
Give it an honest chance.
And let courage begin with one step.
With love, coffee, poetry, and stardust,
— Maggie The Afterlove Voice 💫
My new song “Silenced,But not broken ” is on all streaming platforms.
Lyrics video :
https://ditto.fm/silenced-but-not-broken
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