Sun enters Libra: Justice begins at home

Dearest Cancer risings, the sun is in your 4th house until October 22nd.

In just a few days, the sun will become eclipsed by the moon at 10 degrees Libra, alongside Mercury. While there is certainly much dialogue occurring in the depths of your natal chart, that doesn’t necessarily mean that any agreement is happening.

In the last month, my husband and I begun marriage counseling. It’s something we have intended to begin since before we were married, but kept forgetting and forgetting and forgetting… until some thorns could no longer be ignored.

When I think about the three decans of Libra, I think about a cycle that occurs in all long-term relationships (which I will refer to as “marriage” here for both time and Venus’ sake): first, a thorn appears in the form of an inequality or imbalance somewhere. It’s easy to live with at first, to maintain the peace, but it eventually grows to the point where it must be acknowledged. Certain illusions of peace within the relationship must be shattered, hidden feelings must be brought to light, and both sides must provide their testimonies to each other.

Justice’s horn shatters that peace which conceals inequalities, yet it is only through their recognition and rectification that a lasting peace may be wrought.

Austin Coppock

What occurs next is a testing of bonds. The original vows, the ones we make to begin the marriage, aren’t necessarily directly referenced, but they are present in the minds of both people. The second decan of Libra is ruled by Horkos, the Greek daimon who is the brother of the three Fates. Horkos’ job is to protect oaths, and this part of the relationship cycle is about testing the oaths made between two people, to see how resilient they are. Discussions of failed obligations, unfulfilled promises, and shared responsibility are common here. It can be uncomfortable, but ultimately this part of the cycle concludes when both parties decide to remain committed to their marriage oath: the union continues on.

The third part of this cycle is a delicate balancing act, much like the gyroscope that represents the third decan of Libra. The truth has been laid bare, commitments and re-commitments have been made, grievances have been aired. This is the morning after a bloody battle, in war speak (Venus’ other language). Moving through this part of the cycle is a constant act of calibration, both parties equipped with new awareness and sensitivities to their partners’ inner worlds, which in turn lays the groundwork for new thorns to form and the cycle to begin again.

As the sun passes through this cycle in your 4th house, as it does every year, the cycle I’ve described here becomes exclusively about you and yourself. That is the union that has formed thorns which need naming. The promises you make to yourself are the most fundamental promises, and breaking them requires acknowledgement. It is your own inner balancing act that must be called forth for examination and upkeep.

Justice begins at home. Treating yourself as someone with whom you’ve entered into holy union, in turn, brings you into a more holy union with the world around you. There is deep compassion and care in the act of bringing a conflict or issue to light and moving through it. Even for those who haven’t had much experience in being treated safely in conflict, it is a gift you can always give to yourself to be gentle with yourself when you notice yourself falling short of the promises you’ve made. You can name the thorns in your own side and not blame yourself as you pull them out.

Solar eclipse in Libra

This is not a comfortable eclipse for you, as it not only calls into question how committed you’ve been to yourself, but also the environmental and psychological factors which affect your ability to show up. The antidote to this is never to double down on shame or self-flagellation. Sometimes it’s a better idea to look at the promises you’ve made to yourself and ask if they still need fulfilling. Sometimes versions of ourselves need certain things that we desperately want to give them, but after a while it becomes evident that you’ve reached the same conclusion by taking another path. Don’t become bound to inner narratives and stories you’ve committed to but can no longer happily oblige. There’s no freedom in being bound to a past self’s version of the future.

Thank you for reading.

My 4th house guidebook, Homecoming, is available here.

Check out my other Substack here.