The Wheel of the Year: Mabon
Autumn Equinox 2023
Harvesting the Lessons of Love
The Wheel of the Year keeps turning. Here in the North we are entering the season of Autumn, when we have to let go, while in the South, you are entering the season of Spring, a time to grow.
Autumn Equinox is a celebration of the Harvest. What foods can we harvest to sustain us through the winter months? It is considered the second harvest of fruits and vegetables. The first is the wheat harvest at Lammas (August 1), the third harvest is at Samhain (November 1) and is the seeds and nuts harvest.
Psychologically, Autumn Equinox/Mabon is a reset – a time to balance the energies of the summer with the energies of Winter. Life to Death. It’s a time to center and ground ourselves. We are moving into the dark time of the year, a time to go within and nurture our inner lives. (I’ll be starting an online dream group for the Fall and Winter to help you understand what your soul has to say about your life.)
Autumn Equinox is also opposite the Spring Equinox, so it’s like Full Moon energy. We get to see the outcome of Spring’s energies. What have we harvested and learned since the Spring Equinox, which marks the astrological new year. How will that harvest nurture us over the winter? How can we take our harvest and plant it in our soul’s soil for next year?
With Mercury’s recent retrograde, I think it’s important to go back to the beginning – the Spring Equinox chart – to see if we’ve fulfilled its requirements. And so we can see what kind of growth we’ve worked on.
Spring Equinox 2023
At Spring Equinox, all the planets were in direct motion and, except for Pluto in Capricorn, occupied the early Spring signs from Pisces to Gemini. It was a chart of growth and new life. Saturn had just entered Pisces a few weeks before and Pluto entered Aquarius a few days after the Equinox. These were major energy shifts. You can see these energies at work in the world with the union strikes, the climate strikes and weather destruction, as well as in the last dying gasps of old patriarchal mindsets that are desperate to ‘go back’ to the old days of their power.
Saturn in Pisces asks us to dissolve our old boundaries, rules and expectations and give form to a new spiritual structure in our lives, one that embodies the needs of the Collective Unconscious – the World Soul which holds the pain, longing and hopes of humanity. Saturn has been retrograding back through early Pisces since mid-June, bringing rain, floods and emotional challenges to step up our efforts to combat climate change, as well as to release old emotional trauma (Scorpio South Node) so we can get on with life.
Saturn turns back to direct motion on November 4th at 0* 30’ Pisces, back to the beginning to make sure we open our hearts and minds to the suffering of the world, offering us a chance to solidify that more spiritual foundation for moving forward. We are facing the death of our old world’s structures and we need to meet it with spiritual hope and insight, as well as love and compassion, so we can birth a better world.
Pluto went into Aquarius for about two months, offering us a view of the future – including raising moral issues around AI – before settling back into Capricorn and returning to America’s Pluto return degree to make sure we see the corruption of our political and corporate system (the military/industrial complex), which has created the climate crisis as well as a moral one, through lack of compassion and overt greed. This energy of societal evolution is confronting us with the need to decide: are we going to create that more perfect union that our founders envisioned, or will we devolve into petty tyranny and authoritarianism (which means patriarchy entrenching itself for another go around.)
Pluto turns direct on October 10th – 11th, and will return to Aquarius for most of 2024 on January 21st – expect for a brief (3 month) retrograde back into Capricorn right before and during the American presidential election! Will we finally act as citizens who care about the world and freedom, or will we sit back and watch the ‘fathers’ continue their death games? The heavens are demanding that we take responsibility for our world.
At Spring Equinox, the Sun rose above the horizon and entered the tropical sign of Aries. The new Light born at Winter Solstice is finally growing strong enough to overcome winter’s darkness. A new beginning. A Re-birth. All religions celebrate this seasonal change. In fact, all religions seem to be based on the seasonal flow of the year. The Aries Sun is the primal fire of life and light itself, descending into 3D reality. Wherever Aries lies in your chart is where you feel most alive.
The Moon on Spring Equinox was in Pisces, which made it a balsamic Moon – the last phase before New Moon. Under the balsamic Moon phase, we have to finish up old business. I call it graduating from graduate school – we know what we need to do and now is the time to do it. It’s an energy of completion, of sensing your destiny, of feeling secure in what you know. It’s time to finish up old business.
Many of the planets were paired. The Moon was conjunct Neptune in Pisces, opening our hearts to compassion, to imagination, to faith, and squaring Mars in Gemini, opening us to other ways of learning. The Sun was conjunct Mercury and opposite Ceres, opening our minds to new insights, especially about food, nurturing and care of others. Chiron, Jupiter and Vesta combined to help us heal our insecurities about who we are. Venus was conjunct the Taurus North Node and Juno, inviting us into her Garden of Delight. Venus plays a big role in this year’s harvest.
(You can read my Spring Equinox newsletter for more information.)
So with those potentials, what was your harvest like this year? What issues were you hoping to clear up?
Politically, we are seeing that actions have consequences and repercussions, although with the childish goings on in the American Congress if seems some people didn’t get the memo. We are seeing people stand up to power to demand change (climate actions around the world, the union strikes, making the wealthy pay their fair share, the challenges to the abortion decision, etc). The old structures will inevitably fall, but how much will they bring down with them in their refusal to cooperate?
As I’ve said so many times, patriarchal thinking is afraid of death and so refuses re-birth. This is because it really doesn’t believe in the possibilities of new life after death. And so it continues to create death all over the world so it doesn’t have to die. And while Russia is responsible for starting the war in Ukraine and for the many horrors of the war, America and its allies are certainly just as game to continue the war instead of finding a peaceful resolution to it (while the military industrial complex is getting billions of our tax dollars to keep supplying the weapons).
As John Lennon said: Imagine. Give Peace a Chance.
On a more personal note, what has the light half of the year brought to your attention? With Venus retrograding in Leo all summer, and beginning a new Morning Star phase of her cycle, what wisdom have you learned to bring into this new cycle? As Venus left the Evening sky, she asked us to contemplate what Beauty, Love, Truth, Art, Peace and Wholeness bring to our relationships with each other and with the Earth as we move forward. (My new book, Aphrodite: Our Inner Venus speaks to these issues.)
Virgo New Moon, Aries Full Moon 2023
The Autumn Equinox season actually begins with the Virgo New Moon on Sept. 14-15 although the Sun doesn’t arrive at 0* Libra until September 23rd. This Virgo New Moon will give birth to the Aries Full Moon on Sept 29. With this shift in the lunar cycle, one sign gives birth to the next Full Moon opposition, teaching us to move through different energies to weave together new insights.
The Sabian symbol of the New Moon at 22* Virgo is: A royal coat of arms enriched with precious stones. Dane Rudhyar says that this symbol indicates our spiritual ancestry – our soul’s history and gifts. Our ‘royal’ nature as embodied Spirits. When we embrace our spiritual essence, we take up this royal coat and take responsibility for our world. What gifts did you come into the world with? How are you sharing them?
The Virgo New Moon was trine Uranus in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn – forming an earth grand trine – and opposite Neptune in Pisces. So what do you dream of creating? The earth grand trine gives us the possibility to manifest those dreams in 3D reality, as long as it’s a solid, practical, Virgo plan.
What part of the better world do you want to bring into being? Mercury got the message as it turned direct the day after the New Moon. The Virgin of Virgo has a sheaf of wheat in her arms – or perhaps a baby. The Mother and the Harvest. What have you harvested this year? Did you listen to your heart along with Venus as she retrograded in the sign of the heart – Leo? Venus, just out of her retrograde, is conjunct Juno/Hera, the goddess of partnership. What do you love and who can you partner with to achieve it?
This past season of Summer Solstice’s growth and Lammas’ first harvest was overseen by Venus’ retrograde in Leo and by the changing of the Lunar nodes from Taurus/Scorpio to Aries/Libra. Hopefully we’ve learned the Taurus/Scorpio lessons of letting go of old resentments and emotional trauma so we can ground in a new way to Be in the world, and then have the courage (Aries/Libra) to stand up for our values. With Taurus North Node’s ruler, Venus, retrograding and starting a new Morning Star phase, hopefully we’ve healed the past and can look forward to a more centered groundedness, opening to the wisdom of our bodies and our hearts. For too long, patriarchy discredited and demeaned the feminine gifts of intuition, imagination and emotional intelligence. Hopefully, with Venus starting her new Morning Star phase in Leo, we’ll take back those powers and gifts and weld them wisely and well.
With Venus beginning her new Morning Star phase in Leo, she will be a warrioress of the heart. Will you listen to your heart? Eris, the goddess of discord – going against the heart – is conjunct the Aries North Node of destiny. Will we finally have the courage to be ourselves instead of letting others define us (Libra South Node)? To listen to our heart and soul? To work for what we love? To become the embodied soul that we are? We are heading into the age of Aquarius. Have we learned the Piscean lesson of Love? We’ll need it to balance the fixed AIR, idealistic, technological energies of Aquarius.
There’s an unusual, extended month-long Venus-Jupiter square in the signs of Leo and Taurus. Venus just came out of her retrograde at 13* Leo on September 3rd and Jupiter just turned retrograde at 16* Taurus on September 4th. So they are moving slowly and moving toward each other in terms of degrees. If you have planets at 13-16 degrees of the fixed signs you will be most effected by these energies. These two planets of blessings are within 3 degrees of each other from August 18th until September 20th, being exactly square on September 16th.
A 90* square aspect between planets brings tension and a challenge that fosters growth. What have we learned about our values, our self-worth, and our relationships to people, money, and aesthetics? While the fixed energies of Taurus and Leo can stay stuck, this long square can keep us working at it because what we learn will be worth it. Venus wants us to embody joy and connection in our lives – she helps us live in that magical world of ‘falling in love’ even when we’re not in love with a specific person. She invites us to fall in love with ourselves, with others, with nature. To learn to live in that state of grace. Take this season to live how you envision that sense of love.
The Aries Full Moon occurs on September 29th. This is the Harvest Moon, the closest Full Moon to the Autumn Equinox.
With the Aries/Libra opposition, we encounter our relationship behaviors. While Libra helps us be more diplomatic, accommodating, gracious and balanced in dealing with others, Aries is more assertive, self-concerned and courageous about taking a stand. At this Full Moon, our sense of identity needs to be balanced by concern for the other. Our independence must also be concerned with our inter-dependence. The truth is we need our community to thrive and our relationships to help us reflect on ourselves. No man is an island. Our emotions and ideas need to be shared in an open and balanced way.
Pluto is still squaring the Nodes, with Mars in Libra conjunct the South Node, alerting us to stand in our power or else someone else will. Mercury in Virgo is opposite Neptune in Pisces, asking us to use our imaginations instead of falling into delusions. Venus and Mars are working together to help us bring the truth of our hearts into all our relationships.
Autumn Equinox, September 23, 2023
The Autumn Equinox occurs on September 22nd - 23rd, at 9:49 pm HST, 10:49pm ASK, and 11:49pm PDT on the 22nd, and on the 23rd at 12:49am MT, 1:49am CDT, 2:29am EDT and 5:29am GMT.
The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 0* Libra is: In a collection of perfect specimens of many biological forms, a butterfly displays the beauty of its wings, its body impaled by a fine dart. This refers to the archetypal forms, the seeds that we preserve from the fall harvest. The butterfly is a beautiful symbol for the soul. The dart is seen as ‘the dart of wisdom’ but it can also be seen as a ‘sacrifice’ of form to make it sacred. This is the purpose of Virgo’s energy – although I would rather say to make whole rather than to make perfect. Virgo’s goal is to integrate body, mind and spirit to bring into the collective realm (Libra).
The Libra Sun moves below the Equator, taking us into the dark time of year. It is a sign of balance and harmony, a Venus-ruled sign that teaches us the courtesy of relationship, the beauty of the Arts, the balancing dance between Self and Other. It is conjunct the asteroid Pallas, the strategist. What are your strategies for this coming fall and winter? Who will you connect with? What will you learn? How will you meet the dark time of year?
The Equinox Moon is in Capricorn, in the first quarter phase, when we have to overcome obstacles. Capricorn is a cardinal earth sign, which wants to share the bounty of harvest with the collective. This season’s Capricorn Moon forms a grand trine with Mercury in Virgo, just beginning to pick up speed after its retrograde and Jupiter/Uranus in Taurus, expanding our horizons in surprising ways. Once again, this is a combination of energies that might bring in some interesting, original and quirky experiences and ideas.
The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 7* Capricorn is: A veiled prophet speaks, seized by the power of a god/dess. What revelation of divine will have you received in your meditations? How can you be a mouthpiece for revelation?
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With this image in mind, I’ll share my experience of the Goddess’ revelation while I was connecting to Hurricane Lee. If you feel so called, and have your own crystal cave, please join in. But make sure your body can handle the energies.
I received a meditation that directed me to channel the crystalline energies of Mother Earth up to the Sun and then bring those solar-filled crystal energies back down into the Earth in a sacred marriage of Heaven and Earth. For many years during my meditations, I go to a crystal cave. An oval cave, like the one Merlin disappeared into. The crystals let me channel their energies when I need them. It is a place of Beauty and of Light in the darkness of the underworld.
Did you know that crystals have one of the most stable forms on Earth as well as a steady vibration – never changing, unlike humans – and so they help give form and structure not only to minerals but also to bones, shells, soils – everything. This reality also makes them an apt symbol for the Archetypal Wisdom of the Collective Unconscious. Archetypes are basic structures. And so are crystals.
This meditation asked me to channel the crystalline structures of Mother Earth so they can directly receive the cleansing energies of current solar flares and then bring those new energies back down into the Earth to help stabilize it. It seems to be a way of cleansing and re-empowering the crystals which in turn can help stabilize and mediate the changes going on in Mother Earth. Perhaps if we ground in these new solar flairs (my friend Claudia tells me it’s plasma, the electrical component of our bodies) to the crystalline structures of earth, like cleansing our personal crystals, we can hold open the doors between the worlds during this equinox season to help them connect and re-charge.
Once again, anyone doing this meditation needs to take a few minutes to clear out your own body’s energy, so you are a channel for the energy. The energy of the crystals and the Sun will also clean things out but you don’t want to be overwhelmed by it. Don’t overdo.
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Back to the Equinox chart. Venus is moving forward in Leo, past her square with Jupiter in Taurus and approaching the square to Uranus, and conjunct Juno, the energy of partnership. What creative project are you willing to spend your time on this fall and winter? Who will you partner with? I’m going to take some voice lessons and relearn how to play the piano. Good Taurus/Leo projects.
Mars is in Libra, opposite Chiron, the Mentor as well as the Wounded Healer. Whatever side of Chiron’s energy you’re working with, Mars will take that and share it with others. If you know who you are and what you want, Chiron will mentor you to step out of your comfort zone. If you still carry an insecurity about who you are and what you want to do, Mars in Libra will gently open you to who you are when you interact with others. See your beauty and grace in the face of others and learn your worth.
The North Node in Aries is conjunct Eris, the warrioress of the Heart (along with Morning Star Venus in Leo) and square Pluto in Capricorn. We’re still dealing with power. If we go against our hearts, will we fall into the trap of thinking we are powerful, or will we learn the lesson of being a channel for power to flow through when needed.
So did you bring forth the harvest of the Spring Equinox? Can you move forward now, released from the past, especially the emotional past, so that you can open yourself to new insights, new dreams, new life? Many of my dream clients are experiencing deeper meditations and insights, stronger telepathy, more psychic ‘hits’ because their channels are clear. These gifts of feminine spirit are waiting in all of us to manifest. We just have to trust our ‘alternative’ sources of awareness. Clearing up past doubts and insecurities help us do that.
There’s going to be a Solar Eclipse on South Node in Libra on October 14th and a Lunar Eclipse in Taurus/Scorpio on October 28th. I think this is enough for now. I’ll write about the eclipses in the second part of this newsletter next week.
Onward we go round the spiral
Touching Darkness, touching Light
Twice each year we rest in balance
Make choices on this night.
Make choices on this night.
Happy Equinox!
Cathy
