Hello, welcome to Astrology Alchemy. I'm Sheila Bellagio, your host for this podcast. Alchemy is defined as a seemingly magical process of transformation. Spiritual alchemy is the process of pursuing the gold of your true nature. By transmuting the unrefined limiting parts of yourself. In this podcast, I'll offer you inspiring insights from current astrology cycles that support your path of turning your personal lead into gold. More resources are available at the website on the edges of change.com. Welcome to the episode number 3 31 of the Astrology Alchemy Podcast. This is for the week of September 22nd, 2025, and I am your host and guide, Sheila Boje. Here's a phrase from this week's podcast poem. Don't you imagine the leaves dream. Now, well, here's an overview for this week. It's a threshold week. Like so many that we've been in as autumn Equinox initiates a new season of balance. While Mars dives into Scorpio and squares Pluto calling us into deep transformation, the sun's opposition to Neptune brings dreams and confusions to the surface, but also opens portals of vision. This week asks all of us, how do you align yourself at the edge of change with clarity, courage, and creative power? Monday, September 22nd. The sun enters Libra, which marks the beginning of autumn equinox in the Northern hemisphere. That happens exactly at 11:19 AM Pacific daylight time. Of course, those of you living in southern hemisphere, you are stepping into spring now. The power of the Equinox is twice a year in our seasonal journey of the earth around the sun. We have this day of exact balance of light and dark. And for so many of us, the horrific, um, experiences we're witnessing, we're part of in the world right now. The cruelty, the violence, the taking over, and the misuse of power, it can really wear us down. And one of the things about Libra as a zodiac energy sign is it calls us into balance. It is called a cardinal air sign, which means it wants to initiate something, something's in the mind in a new way. The E Equinox turns the wheel day and night balance. Libra season begins inviting you to recalibrate your relationships, your sense of justice, and your commitment to harmony. Equinox is always a time of threshold. Harvesting What has ripened releasing what is done? And this is always, as I offer you, the opportunities to align with the archetypal energies of the astrology cycles starts with you. Because we're all interested in what does it mean for me? And that's good because I feel so deeply that as we do our personal changes that ripples out into the world. But the era we're living in now, we cannot escape the collective and and the global issues because it's so in our face. So as you're at. Attuning to the change into Equinox and balance Hold prayers for our world that we can find a new way to balance the light in the dark. Here's a reflection for the sudden entering Libra. Where in your life are you ready to rebalance so that both light and shadow are honored? And for my listeners, I remind you all of this is in. The show notes on the, on the, um, episode. So if you wanna go back and look at those reflection questions, they're right there. Also, on Monday, September 22nd, the planet Mars enters Scorpio for about six weeks now, Mars is the archetype of the warrior, the protector, the advocate. It's about the holy Y. Let's make it happen. Let's make it go. Moves into the deep water sign of Scorpio. Very intense energy for the next six weeks. Energy intensifies. This is a sea season of penetrating insight, fierce will, and facing what's hidden. The zodiac sign of Scorpio has like x-ray vision to see what's underneath, what's really going on. And Mars can be almost a reckless energy, but it certainly initiates and goes forward and says, let's make this happen. The deep challenge of Mars in its wounded side is an unconscious, aggressive, violent energy. The deep wound and unconsciousness of the Scorpio energy is manipulation, misuse of power, hidden energies. Playing games so we can step into this time of Mars and scope year with our, our beings, our heart open, but deeply grounded and really, really be part of the collective energy that says, I'm going deeper. I'm having courage to look at what I've not been able to look at, and I'm going to have the maturity and care to not react with violence to myself or anyone else. Because we can feel angry when we feel manipulated. Mars and Scorpio, we can feel really rageful when we find out we've been duped or there's been hidden games going on. So just hold this stepping into the six weeks of Mars in Scorpio in a way that is really supporting your courage. To face what is hidden in yourself and in the world, and having the courage to make the changes, the deep emotional changes that are needed. Mars and Scorpio fuels both obsession and liberation. It asks you to confront power dynamics, shadow desires, and your capacity for transformation. Here's a reflection question for this cycle. What hidden passion or fear is ready to be faced with courage and clarity? On Tuesday, September 23rd, the sun in the sign of Libra opposes Neptune in Aries. Now. The sun is the conscious self. It's the aware self and just having stepped into Libra, it's shining the light in us and in the world. About what about balance? What about justice? What about reciprocity? What about right relationship? Now it's opposite Neptune, which is the dreamer, visionary, mystic, altered state one. Neptune just recently into Aries in the last few months is really inviting us to a whole new era of visioning and letting go of the spells we put ourselves under about who we are, Aries, and where we've lost our will. Our ability to initiate, which is Aries. Now, whenever Neptune is involved in a cycle, its energy can be confusing because it's an altered state. Now the sun is this shining light that can be very much with our minds and our awareness. So part of the sun opposite Neptune cycle can be, there's a little bit of confusion. You may feel unclear, dreamy, or disoriented, but this is also a chance to connect vision and compassion. To open your awareness to other realities, not as an escapist move, not as a spiritual bypass move, but as like, okay, what's another way for me to see this? How can I tap back into a greater compassion and unity consciousness despite all of the difficult, um, painful and profoundly harmful experiences in the world right now? Now when the sun is in this opposition to Neptune, it's also in a cycle called trines, Uranus in Gemini and trines, Pluto and Aquarius. Okay, that's an astrological mouthful. Let me translate. We basically have an equilateral triangle in the sky. A trine means two planets are 120 degrees away from each other. Now, in this week, the sun is in the beginning of Libra, one part of the equilateral triangle. Uranus is in the very beginning of Gemini, and Pluto is in the very beginning of Aquarius. So it's like we have this triangle between these three planets. Uranus is the maverick. The awakener, the rebel, and it's recently in Gemini, the sign of ideas and communication and words. So there's this radicalizing of our ideas and our words, which you can see very much playing out from the difficulty of, um, political violence and assassination that has happened. And yet. The trine with Pluto in Aquarius. Pluto says, I'm the transformer and I really wanna touch the bigger collective egalitarian freedom movements for all. So one possibility this week with the sun linked to Uranus, the Maverick, and Pluto, the Transformer, we get to see a bigger picture of how might we align with words and ideas. And narratives, Gemini, that are truly transformative. And how do we keep track and see where we're going under spells a more wounded Neptune so we can really tap more of a vision that might be healing for us and for the world? Because the sun is in harmony with Uranus, the Maverick, and Pluto reminding you that imagination can fuel real change. This is a potent triangle of vision, disruption, and transformation. Don't be afraid to lean in to how those energies might come through you in a good way in your own personal life and in the world. On Wednesday sep, September 24th, Mars in Scorpio squares Pluto in Aquarius. Mars meets Pluto in a fierce confrontation. This is a very, very intense cycle because Mars, by its nature is assertive and it's about personal will. Pluto by its nature is deeply transfer, transpersonal, transformative, and it's about collective will. So we have. Mars 90 degrees away from Pluto just having entered Scorpio. So wanting to take action on deeper emotional feelings and what you're tracking, wanting change, but also could get caught up in working with Unmetabolized Anger and rage. Particularly around feelings of being disempowered, lied to, manipulated, which is wounded side of Pluto. So I really invite all of us this week, do your meditation practices. Do your prayer practices stay grounded, do your exercise, get in nature. It's not about denying the power of this cycle, it's about stewarding it well and with consciousness. This transit can stir up old power struggles, hidden resents resentments, or collective eruptions. Yet it is also an alchemical forge Where will shadow and transformation collide? You're invited to release toxic control and claim authentic empowerment, and I wanna remind you every single one of us who can make some kind of move in that direction this week contributes to the greater changes in the whole world. So don't feel alone. Don't feel overwhelmed. Do your part, your alchemical part, and trust that many of us are doing the same, including the earth. Here's a reflection question. What outdated, outdated power, power pattern in your life is asking to be transmuted into new strength? Thank you, and I wanna give you just a little look ahead because there's pretty significant cycles upcoming in the next few months as I want you to kind of, I'll be talking about them, but I also wanna name them so you, those of you who are sensitive, which is most of my audience, was like, oh yeah, I feel that coming, Sheila. Um, here's a few major cycles that are looming on the horizon. Uh, October 22nd, Neptune will reenter Pisces, return us, returning us into the dissolving waters of collective dream work. We get to finish up what we've been working on since Neptune went into Pisces quite a while. And similarly, November 7th, Uranus, reenters Taurus, where it had been for about seven, eight years, making its final link into that sign, helping us to ground disruption in the material world.'cause there has been phenomenal amounts in the last seven, eight years. As there is now, and then in November 9th to 28th, mercury will have a retrograde cycle starting in Sagittarius, seeming to move backwards into Scorpio, and then going forward again into Sagittarius. Always Mercury retrograde cycles are those three week journeys of slow down, slow the roll with your net, your regular behaviors with ideas, communication, phones, texting, social media, all those things because it's a three week journey of reviewing beliefs, truths, and hidden patterns. More to come on that, but some of my people are really sensitive to Mercury antegrade. So even though it doesn't start for over a month, you may, you may wanna know that it's coming in. I'm sure you're hearing that from other Astrologies people that you're working with. And then finally, just a reminder that this is Equinox week rebalancing to help you prepare for these shifts. Notice the signs of it already stirring because these key cycles coming up are shaping the final months of this calendar year. Thank you so much. I would like to offer this poem. It's beautiful poem for Autumn. It's called Song for Autumn by Mary Oliver. Don't you imagine the leaves' dream Now, how comfortable it will be to touch the earth instead of the nothingness of the air and the endless fresh its of wind. And don't you think the trees, especially those with mossy hollows, are beginning to look for the fires that will come. Six a dozen to sleep inside their bodies. And don't you hear the golden rod whispering goodbye? The everlasting being crowned with the first tought of snow, the pond stiffens. And the white field over which the fox runs so quickly brings out its long blue shadows. The wind wags, its many tails. And in the evening. The piled firewood shifts. A little longing to be on its way, song For Autumn by Mary Oliver. I particularly love this poem. One. I love Mary Oliver, like so many of us, brilliant one portal into nature's mystery and power and transformation, and to honor this poignancy of Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Where things are shifting so deeply. You know, in many First Nation traditions they call autumn the goes within time, and that's slowing down and turning within that which is composting, that which is dying, that which is letting go all the deep changes in the external earth. All the deep changes in our own psyche and that place where we know go in, transform. Harvest let go. So may this week, bless you and may you bless us how you travel this week. Thank you as always for all your support and thank you so much. Those of you who've been telling others about the podcast I've run into by email and even talking to some people in person who've been connected to the podcast by others, thank you so much for that. And I hope that your timing with your own journey of transformation is a sacred one. And I wanna remind you, I have a free workshop coming up on Saturday, October 4th, nine to 11:00 AM Pacific Online, reclaim Inner Sovereignty. It is a free taster workshop for an upcoming six week group coaching immersion. Heal the wounds, break the spells, awaken the sovereign within. It is a guided experience to honor the wisdom in your wounds. Break free from inherited stories and meet the sovereign self who drinks from source. If you're interested, go to my homepage on my website on the edges of change.com back slash homepage. You'll see it right there on the homepage. You can enroll in the free workshop and even if you can't come live, roll anyway'cause you'll get the replay for free. Reclaim inner sovereignty. It's a powerful journey for autumn. You have been listening to the Astrology Alchemy Podcast with your host, Sheila Lange. Resources are available at the website on the edges of change.com. Thank you for listening. Bless your alchemical journey to embrace the gold of your true nature.