The Color Palette of Transition: Holding Duality at the Autumn Equinox
An acrylic painting I started on the Summer Solstice 6.21.26 and started working on again on the Autumn Equinox 9.22.26—still allowing its creation to unfold.
I am always navigating the quiet tension of how vulnerable I want to be in public spaces. But as we cross the threshold into this new season, my heart keeps whispering that this reflection belongs out in the ether—perhaps as a mirror for someone else sitting in a similar liminal space.
Yesterday, I sent a beautiful newsletter to my community. I spoke about the transitions of the Autumn Equinox, shared local gatherings, and offered a grounding journal prompt to align with Libra season.
But behind the scenes? This past week has honestly found me just crying.
There is something so heavy about the closing out of one season and moving into the next. It brings up a stark remembrance that life is always continuing, even in the moments where we feel like things aren’t moving forward for us, or when there isn’t a clear pathway ahead.
When the Mind is Heavy
This is actually the first year that I haven't done any heavy, external rituals or practices to honor the seasonal thresholds. Today, on the equinox itself, I didn't think I was going to do anything at all. I have been so deep in my intellectual body—my Mercury in Gemini has really been doing its thing—and the collective heaviness of life has left me occasionally feeling exhausted. In those quiet moments, the shadow whispers: What’s the purpose? What’s the point?
In these spaces, I always try to gently guide myself back to finding hope, faith, and trust. But the ability to hold the essence of feeling hopeless while simultaneously opening back up to optimism is a complex, delicate dance.
It reminds me of earlier this year when I got engaged. I was so incredibly happy, and yet, I was so deeply sad. It was a massive milestone in my life—a physical representation of deepening into an eight-year relationship. But it was simultaneously heavy because I couldn't just pick up the phone and call my mother; I don't have a relationship with her.
That moment brought an immense collision of absolute joy and absolute sadness. I had never anticipated how those two extremes would sit in my body at the exact same time.
Choosing Our Colors
When people ask me how I feel, I always realize that feelings are incredibly complex. They aren't a single note. They are like a vast color palette in the mind, a multitude of simultaneous emotions present at once.
The real question of our human journey becomes: What are the colors we are going to choose to paint the canvas of our life with?
That is exactly what this autumn season is inviting us into. It's an invitation to recognize our innate ability to hold this multiple, ever-balancing state of our existence, and remain centered right in the middle of it. It asks us to honor the element of air—our breath, and the winds of change.
The Intuitive Shift
Today, instead of forcing a grand, external ritual, I just stopped and asked myself a simple question: "What would bring me most joy to do in the next moment?"
The answer was to pick up a paintbrush. I returned to a painting I hadn’t touched in a long time. Months ago, I had a routine where I would paint every single day, whether for five minutes or two hours. But life got busy, and exhaustion took over.
Stepping back to the canvas today felt nice. When I paint, my mind stops thinking about anything else—that is my true meditative practice. I didn't need a perfect external setup; I just needed to shift something in my physical body to release the pressure in my mind.
As we move deeper into this autumn season, I invite you to open your heart, too. Allow any fears, worries, or concerns in your mind to just find their way down your body and into your heart space.
Breathe into them. Breathe into the unknown, and find gratitude for the immense capacity you have to experience the beautiful, striking duality of our existence.
Autumn Equinox Somatic Meditation
If you feel a pull to move this reflection from your mind and directly into your body, I have recorded an intimate, ~15-minute Somatic Audio Meditation to support your transition. You can download the audio transmission for $10 to listen to whenever your landscape feels heavy and you need a space to breathe.
(Note: This track was recorded raw at my home with the windows open to invite the literal element of air and wind chimes into the recording.)
Journal Prompts for Libra Season & Autumn Equinox
How are you holding the dualities of your current season?
What complex colors are on your palette today?
What colors do you want to paint the canvas of this season ahead?
If you are craving a slower, more tangible way to attune to the cosmos—away from the noise of screens and digital algorithms—I invite you to join my Astrology Snail Mail Club.
Every month, I weave together seasonal astrology, original watercolor art, journal prompts, and little surprises tucked in for the journey and send it all straight to your real-life mailbox. It is a slow, tactile piece of medicine designed to help you ground into your body and the current collective season.
You can also join the community newsletter here for updates on upcoming gatherings and offers to support you along your seasonal journey.
With Equinox Blessings,
Lisette
♡
