The Cosmic Story: Eclipse Season Autumn 2023

 

The Cosmic Story: Autumn Eclipse Season 2023

Unstuck and Ready to Rock

 

Have you ever felt stuck in a recurring nightmare, or a recurring issue/habit/behavior that never gets resolved, no matter how many times you work on it? I have.

Do you perhaps find yourself dealing with a health, relationship or work issue that suddenly makes you confront yourself?

If so, you’ve entered the Eclipse Portal! And change is on the way.

 

 

Eclipse season comes twice a year, depending on the signs of the Lunar Nodes. Lunar nodes are points in space where the planes of the Sun, Moon and Earth intersect. These points travel backwards through our zodiac and change every 18+ months.

There is a North Node, ascending above the ecliptic (the Sun’s path), and a South Node, descending below it. Astrologers see the South Node as the place we’ve come from and the North Node is designated as the place we need to grow into.

Right now, the nodes are traveling through the Spring and Fall signs of Taurus/Scorpio and Aries/Libra. This was the transition year for the nodes, moving out of Taurus/Scorpio and into Aries/Libra on July 17^th.

The Moon’s nodes travel backwards in terms of signs, moving from 30* - 0*. However, whenever the nodes shift, we have a set of hybrid eclipses – eclipses that occur in both the old and the new nodal signs. That happened last April and May with the second Aries New Moon solar eclipse and the following Scorpio/Taurus Full Moon lunar eclipse.

We have the last hybrid eclipses in this cycle coming up in October, with an annular solar eclipse in Libra on October 14^th and a partial lunar eclipse in Taurus/Scorpio on October 28^th. We are shifting our attention from the need to release past emotional traumas and embrace our true values and self-worth, to finding our courage to stand up for those values and for ourselves when we relate to others. 

 

3 Fates 

Eclipses always herald a time of change. We can see the whole 6-week eclipse season (two weeks before and after the two eclipses) as a portal, which opens to our past, so we can work with it in the now to create a more conscious future.

This is where astrology and the imagination are helpful in decoding and releasing the old story and birthing a new one. Astrology gives you the archetypal structure being resonated and the Imagination fills in the blanks with your personal story.

Give your pain meaning and you heal.

Before I talk about the eclipses, I want to mention a few of the important planetary energies occurring in the beginning of October.

An ongoing aspect has been Pluto in Capricorn squaring the Aries/Libra nodes. This aspect has been part of this summer’s New and Full Moon charts. The state of our world (Capricorn) is challenging us(Aries NN) to do something about it (Libra SN)!

October 4^th – Mars conjuncts the South Node in Libra (opposing the North Node in Aries), bringing up old relationship patterns and testing our will power to take a stand for ourselves and make a change. South Nodes symbolize the old behavior patterns that need transforming by the energy of the North Nodes. Libra is the sign where we take other’s needs into consideration. Because of patriarchy’s expectations, we (especially women) have all learned to go overboard and so lose our own standpoint. 

 

 

Mars, which rules the Aries North Node, is bringing his standpoint to the Libra table and negotiating a change in consciousness. Since the Aries North Node is conjunct Eris, the Warrioress of the Heart, Mars can channel that energy into the negotiations. More open-heartedness, more truth can change everything. This is the New Masculine.   Ultimately, Libra longs for balance. Which means putting yourself on the scale!

October 4^th – Mercury enters Libra. Mercury has been in Virgo since July 28^th, retrograding from August 23^rd until September 15^th. It finally leaves Virgo, hopefully with a clear head and some plans, for Libra where we get to see how we interact with others with our newfound perspective. Can we make our communications charming and witty rather than condemning and nasty.

Aphrodite/Venus (ruler of Libra) says that we can use our charm and wit to  communicate and connect to the Other. Once that happens, things change. 

 

Aphrodite & the 9 Muses 

October 8^th – Venus finally leaves Leo after a 4-month stay while she retrograded and started a new Morning Star phase. Venus and her Greek predecessor Aphrodite ask us to learn how to stay in that state of ‘love’ consciousness where we feel connected to ourselves, to nature and to others.

Venus heads into Virgo, where she can ground in what she learned about herself in Leo, the sign of individuation (aligning with your true Self). Virgo is symbolized by the Virgin Mother – the Woman and Child/sheaf of wheat – and when Venus is in Virgo, she takes up her virginity again and checks in with herself to see what she learned and created during her stay in Leo – her child, her harvest.  

Dance, sing, play music, paint, write, study, recite, cook, create!

October 10^th – Pluto turns to direct motion after being retrograde since May 1^st. In May, Pluto was dipping its toes into Aquarius but re-entered Capricorn on June 11^th to revisit the state of our collective culture. It’s obviously a mess: politically here in the United States, in the Middle East, in Ukraine, as well as everywhere in terms of climate change. Transition to a more conscious approach to Nature on a global scale is speeding up and in many cases, winning against corporate/state institutions. 

 

 

As Pluto moves forward again, will the citizens of the world hold our leaders accountable? Pluto backed up to within 20’ of the US Pluto return, so this is the last wakeup call we Americans get to ‘turn this ship around’. The question we have to ask is Can we make a democracy work? The answer is yes, if we the people do our job as citizens and participate.

October 14^th – Annular Solar Eclipse – New Moon in Libra/below

October 23^rd – Sun enters Scorpio

October 28^th – Taurus/Scorpio Full Moon partial Lunar Eclipse/below

October 31^st – All Hallows Eve/ Samhain

April’s First Eclipse in the Aries/Libra Axis

The first eclipse in the new Nodal axis of Aries and Libra occurred last April 20^th as a second New Moon solar eclipse at 30* Aries. That eclipse was conjunct Jupiter and Chiron, urging us to explore our self-identity, to dig deeply into our inner world with courage. Uranus and Mercury were conjunct in Taurus, asking us to consider Earth’s creative genius and think outside-the-box for answers to our pressing climate issues. Pluto was just a month into Aquarius and slowing down to turn retrograde, so it empowered the Taurus/Scorpio nodes to finish up business and transform. A sextile/trine from Saturn in Pisces to the nodes helped us access spirit – the end of the transformation process. Ceres in Virgo opposed Neptune in Pisces, energizing the imagination to help in the integration process. For more, see the Beltane Newsletter.

Annular Solar New Moon Eclipse: Saros Series 134

 

 

On October 14, the second eclipse in the new Nodal axis will also be a New Moon solar eclipse, this time in Libra. It is a South Node eclipse, which means it will concentrate on releasing the shadow qualities of Libra. South Node qualities are easy and comfortable to get lost in and so this eclipse can be a release of old karma, the old story around relationships, negotiations, beauty, justice (Libra), and the birth of a new story. This is especially true for people with planets or nodes from 18* - 26* of cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn).

This will be an annular solar eclipse, which happens when the Moon is at or near its farthest point from Earth as it passes between the Sun and Earth. Because the Moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the Sun, leaving a ring of fire around the Moon.

Saros Series 134

This eclipse is part of Saros Series 134, which started in 1248, repeating every 18+ years, and which ends in 2510 – as you can see, these eclipse series work through about 1300 years. The theme of the first eclipse is worked out during the whole cycle. This year’s eclipse is the 44^th of 71 eclipses in this series, more than halfway through, so it’s a good time to work out the issues.

In the first eclipse of this series on June 29, 1248, the New Moon eclipse occurred at 8+* Cancer conjunct Neptune. On the positive side, there was a nebulous, imaginative, spiritual aspect to this originating eclipse, aided by trines to both Saturn and Pluto in Scorpio. This Scorpio conjunction adds strong self-control, ambitions, endurance and a profound desire for change and transformation leading to the development of a secure personality.

Pluto (planet of transformation) and Saturn (planet of Karma) together often indicate having to overcome intense issues and hard circumstances to grow the soul. In Scorpio, this might indicate a deep dive into the unconscious to discover what was needed for nurturing the soul (Solar eclipse in Cancer).

But Mars in Leo (EGO) was exactly square Pluto and Saturn, causing these intense emotions to flood into the Cancer New Moon. Looks like power plays and frustrations, a push and shove kind of energy that keeps things stuck and not moving forward. Add in lots of protection from the Cancer eclipse. This would easily result in intense anger, power tripping and force that probably needs to be transformed and used in overcoming those obstancles. This eclipse series is all about overcoming obstacles to self-awareness and self-nurturing.

And this solar eclipse is all about getting unstuck. Changes might seem to unroll rapidly. Hang on and stay focused.

Eclipses are times of intensity. We can feel things are changing. They can bring in new energy or cause some issues if we haven’t done our work. This eclipse will travel up the western half of the United States from South America, but will be felt by everyone.

If this Saros series began with the energy of stuckness, this Solar Eclipse will move us forward. We are being given the energy to get unstuck! Unstuck from old unconscious habits, unstuck from old relationship patterns, unstuck from over-compensating for everything and everyone. To get unstuck we need to believe in ourselves and want to change how we live with others and in the world (the eclipse squares Pluto).

The question asked is: How do you overcome the fear of being stuck so you can move forward in life?

***************

Libra Solar New Moon Eclipse 2023

The Libra Solar Eclipse occurs on Saturday October 14, 2023 at 9:55 am AK, 10:55 am PDT, 11:55 am MT, 12:55pm CDT, 1:55 pm EDT and 5:55 pm GMT.

Libra is a cardinal AIR sign, initiating changes in the season (Autumn) as well as changes in how we interact with the world around us and between us. We come out of our Virgo self-examination and integration to bring ourselves and our gifts, hopes and will into the larger world. When you ‘know yourself’ (the gift of Virgo), then you have no trouble bringing that self into play with others.

Libra’s gifts concern our social interactions. Our marriages and partnerships, our alliances, peace and diplomacy, legal matters and the court. Libra is also concerned with the Arts, with fashion and beauty, with social status as well as equality. All these are gifts of Aphrodite/Venus, the ruler of Libra.

Venus is the ruler of this eclipse. She has just been through her retrograde in Leo, and she is now in Virgo opposite Saturn in Pisces at the eclipse. She understands the collective longing for peace, for love, for security (Saturn in Pisces). In Virgo, Venus’ virginity wants to be of service to Libra relationships. Venus wants us to bring more courtesy, more kindness, more balance, more love into our relationships. This is not a sign of weakness; it takes strength to stay loving in our chaotic world.

If we did our work this summer while Venus was in Leo for 4 months, our self-worth is strong and centered in our own creative vision. As Venus passed through the last degrees of Leo and the first degree of Virgo, she connected with the ancient Royal star of Regulus, the heart of the Lion. 

 

 

In her present Leo Morning Star phase, Venus is a warrioress – but one who defends the heart of life. This connection to Regulus is her call to leadership, a call to conscious women to speak up about our culture, our communities and our values.

Women have always defended the family, the community, the land. Women need to step away from patriarchy’s demand for alligance to consumer capitalism and reclaim our real power – the power to connect with each other and with nature. If we can look at things from this perspective, we can find new solutions to our problems. (Instead of banning books, perhaps we need to ask people who want to ban books to not come to our libraries.)

Mercury is close to the Sun and will conjunct it on October 20^th on the degree of the South Node, so our Minds are awake and aware of this new energy.

Mars in Scorpio trines Saturn retrograde in Pisces and sextiles Venus in Virgo, giving us the emotional strength to open ourselves to change. Mars has already gone past its square to Pluto, so we won’t have to deal with power plays that can delay our journey to transformation. Cosmic time says it’s time to get unstuck!

Autumn is the time to let things go. The truth is, it’s time to let our old stories go. A new story wants to be born.

Taurus/Scorpio partial Lunar Eclipse: October 28^th

Because we are in a hybrid lunar cycle, the New Moon in one sign is followed by the Full Moon in the next signs.

 

 

The Taurus/Scorpio Full Moon Lunar Eclipse occurs on October 28, 2023 at 12:24pm AK, 1:24pm PDT, 2:24pm MT, 3:24pm CDT, 4:24pm EDT and 9:24pm GMT. 

The Libra New Moon solar eclipse gives birth to the Taurus/Scorpio partial Lunar Eclipse. Venus is the ruler of both Taurus and Libra, so the initiator of soul is our guide here. Her one unbreakable rule is to always honor Love. As we break free from our stuck habits, we will have to face the emotional pain that got us stuck in the first place, give it the love it deserves, then lay it to rest and let new, more authentic habits and behaviors create our new story.

Pluto is now slowly moving forward again on it’s way back to Aquarius, and it is still squaring the lunar nodes in Aries and Libra. What are our social and personal moral obligations to our country and culture? What is our place and purpose in the NOW?

At the solar eclipse, Venus in Virgo was opposite Saturn retrograde in Pisces, helping us embrace and embody a spiritual discipline. Now, Venus is opposite Neptune for this Taurus Full Moon eclipse. Venus is channeling our collective longings (Neptune) for a better world into these eclipses through her spiritual practices and rituals, first for ourselves (become it yourself) and then for everyone.

Mars and Mercury are conjunct at 11-12* Scorpio opposite Jupiter retrograde in Taurus. This is a great time to speak your truth, to live your truth and to stay open to other people’s truth. Otherwise, you could use this aspect to tear down others with your sharp tongue and bullying attitude.

The Taurus Full Moon is conjunct Jupiter retrograde, expanding our need to find our own inner security and self-worth. This Jupiter enhanced Full Moon is an open channel for the deep information that Mars and Mercury turn up in Scorpio.

When the Nodes are in Aries and Libra, it is a call to renew our self-identity, to embrace our inner spirit and explore our life and live it. Look for new connections, new ideas, new relationships, new work. As we let go of our old co-dependent habits in all our relationships, we can create a more truthful, heartfelt world where courtesy, honesty, kindness, graciousness, and pleasure are the norm.

So please. Get Unstuck. Then be ready to Rock!

May we all stay balanced as we welcome the Winds of Change,

Cathy

The Cosmic Story: Part Two -- Solar Samhain, Taurus Total Lunar Eclipse and Hekate, Goddess of the Crossroads

 

The Cosmic Story: Part Two

Samhain, Taurus Total Lunar Eclipse and Hekate

The Taurus/Scorpio Total Lunar Eclipse 2022

We’ve had a few weeks of tremendous stress and change, starting with Jupiter retrograde heading back into Pisces for a check in on October 27^th – 28^th, Mars in Gemini going retrograde on October 30^th and All Hallow’s Eve/Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos/the Day of Dead on November 1^st – 2^nd. And don’t forget the Scorpio Power Gate of Samhain on November 7^th.

These weeks are bracketed by this season’s eclipses. Eclipses occur when the Sun, Moon and Earth are on the same plane in space. Then the Earth or the Moon can block the light of the Sun – the Earth for lunar eclipses and the Moon for solar eclipses. The solar eclipse on October 25^th highlighted a release of an old story, habits, behaviors and a planting of a new spirit of regeneration. (You do know the old story isn’t working anymore, don’t you?) We get this blessing because the Moon – our unconscious psyche – faces directly into the Sun, our consciousness. There is a sacred marriage between our unconscious and conscious sides. Our energies come into a different balance and open us to change. 

 

Tuesday's Taurus lunar eclipse indicates what we are directed to learn and incarnate, since it’s conjunct the lunar North Node in Taurus. The North Node indicates our collective destiny. A Full Moon is the full blossoming of what was planted at the proceeding New Moon. It is fully illuminated so we can see the result of our plantings. Did something grow or did it fail to prosper? 

 

With a lunar eclipse, that Full Moon blossoming is overshadowed with our Shadow! We get to see what is stopping us from that blossoming. Lunar eclipses can change us by showing us what we haven’t wanted to look at. Our earthy nature gets in the way of us manifesting that perfect blossoming. But once we name it and own it, we change things. Our shadows turn into the golden light of consciousness and open our awareness in unexpected way. Especially this lunar eclipse. Let’s look at it.

The Taurus Full Moon total lunar eclipse occurs on November 8, 2022 at 3:02am PST/ 6:02am EST/ 11:02am GMT. 

 

 

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 17* Scorpio is: A woman, fecundated by her own spirit, is “Great with Child”. This beautiful image reminds me of the Woman of Revelation – A portent appeared in the heavens. A Woman, clothed with the Sun, standing on the Moon, crowned with Stars, in labor giving birth to the Savior. The Divine Feminine and women will save the world!

 

 

This image calls on the Divine Feminine within each of us to birth our original blessings and soul-purpose. This idea aligns with the Gene Key for this eclipse, for the Taurus Moon has the Second Gene Key, which is associated with the second trigram of the I Ching – the Receptive/the Feminine. The Second Gene Key is called, Returning to the One.

This Gene Key’s shadow is called dislocation. It is a feeling of not knowing where we are in time or space. It feels like now, doesn’t it? Since this is my birth Gene Key, I can say that it makes us feel like we’re isolated, that we don’t fit in, that we’re lost. But the reality is that we are never lost on a soul level, that we are part of Mother Earth’s biosphere. Our human consciousness feels like that because we’ve been separated from Nature by our patriarchal culture. But once we look at this shadow and embrace it, we find the gift, which is called orientation. When we re-orient our awareness of life toward spirit, we can live more harmoniously, with an increased electromagnetic field that attracts what we need to live a full life. The blessing of this Gene Key is Unity, being able to live in an awareness of our interconnection with all of life.

We do all this through our connection to the Divine Feminine within, to our soul’s song for us. Once we shake off our patriarchal paralysis, we can embrace our bountiful Being. What a gift that will be for all of humanity – and for all the rest of nature which has had to deal with our destructive ways for too long.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon and Uranus at 17* Taurus is: A symbolic battle between ‘swords’ and ‘torches’. This speaks to our cultural polarization, doesn’t it? The swords/guns of one side, the torch of freedom on the other. (See below for the symbolism of the torch and Hekate, the Goddess of this Samhain season.) It’s so much easier for the ‘old’ to go to war than to carry the light into the future. Everything going on in the world is a result of the negative energies of the patriarchal paradigm. Instead of allowing people our freedom, the dominators would rather kill us and the Earth than retire to their easy chairs and let go. Whether they use weapons or money, they refuse to create a better world – and the saddest part is we have the intelligence and the resources to do it. We just don’t have the will. Perhaps this eclipse will give it to us.

 

So, back to this intense Full Moon. All the energies of life (Taurus) and death (Scorpio) culminate on November 8^th, the U.S. Election Day, with a total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus/Scorpio – seen over the whole U.S. This is the first Election Day total lunar eclipse in American history, not set to happen again until November 8th 2394. What makes this Full Moon eclipse so extra powerful (Scorpio and Taurus are powerful in themselves) is that the Taurus Moon is aligned with Uranus and the North Node opposite the Scorpio Sun conjunct Mercury and Venus, with both sides of the Full Moon square Saturn in Aquarius.

The heavens are showing us that there’s LOTS of FIXED energy around – six planets and the lunar nodes in fixed signs. Which means stubborn, intractable, powerful, building energies will be in play. Look at all the red lines (stressful) in the chart for Washington D.C. But I want to believe that the needs of the future will win out, and the surprises that Uranus, which symbolizes freedom, rebellion, unexpected surprises, always promises might be that the US election will go against conventional wisdom. I want a surprise finish! If so, there will be crazy challenges. Whichever way things go, we’re in a for wild ride.

The Scorpio Sun joins Mercury a few hours after this eclipse, while Venus has already connected with the Sun on October 22^nd at 29* Libra just a few days before the Scorpio Solar Eclipse. So these three planets are in harmony, having connected with each other in the past few weeks. Venus is our feminine nature, which is being renewed as an Evening Star of Wisdom. We are not supposed to hold onto emotions (e-energy in motion): they move through us in 90 seconds if we allow them to. Venus goes willingly into the dark to embrace what has been neglected, degraded and unloved.

Mercury is the Mind, which can name what is happening and even guide us on our underworld journey. The Sun is our conscious awareness of what we have learned. These three planets in Scorpio can take us deep within ourselves to discover hidden riches as well as old emotional pain. The work here is transformation – letting go of stuck emotions so new energy is available to us. So we can become ‘great with child’, with our new life and story.

Taurus is the most grounded sign in the zodiac. It’s the sign of Mother Earth, the one who takes cosmic energy and creates life. Taurus Moons like stability, security and pleasure. And of course, the beauty and simplicity of Nature. In a worldly way, Taurus rules safety and security, money, possessions, beauty, love and values. With Uranus conjunct the Moon opening us to Earth’s creative evolutionary genius, our ground might be shaken but we won’t necessarily collapse if we stay true to ourselves. (But the stock market might.)

The most important gift of Taurus is our values – what do we value? Patriarchy values money, domination and power. The Divine Feminine values love, heart-centered wisdom, community, beauty and truth. What do you value? What we value will come back to us, so meditate on what you truly desire.

This lunar eclipse can create a strong energy pattern that can help us manifest what we set our hearts on. (I keep saying manifest because Taurus is the zodiacal sign of manifestation. It is the foundation of whatever we build. Taurus takes Aries original spark of spirit and shapes it into something. Gives it a form.)

Scorpio is where we rub up against each other, where our emotional barriers stop us from connecting because of past trauma. This eclipse can bring down those barriers. With Venus and Mercury acting together to assist our descent into our Shadow lives, we can be gentle with ourselves and name our wounds for what they are. Once named, they can be healed.

I believe the basic wound we all share is that we’ve been told we aren’t the beautiful, abundant, creative beings that we are. Our wound is that we hide our true Self behind barriers erected through mistrust and fear, expectation and desire until we don’t know who we are. We all have been wounded emotionally, physically and spiritually. Our hearts have been ravished of their hopes and dreams. Isn’t it time to reclaim them? If we do, perhaps we can create a new society that opens up our spirits instead of shutting them down.

That’s what we had to release during the Scorpio solar eclipse. Our false selves, our wounded selves. Did we plant a need for a new blueprint for connecting our ego-selves to our inner Self/Spirit? At this lunar eclipse, perhaps we’ll see the results. At the first quarter Moon in Aquarius (November 1), we’ll be tested in our resolve to write that new story. How is it going for you?

Total lunar eclipses are points of closure, completion and endings, which shine a light on what we’ve been unaware of. The result is permanent change. This is a long lunar eclipse, with totality lasting about an hour and a half, and about six hours in total. The longer the eclipse, the more time afterwards it takes to work things out. So the next six month should see the results of what is manifested.

The important thing to remember is to not get caught up in the drama – we are living in a chaotic moment that needs to happen if real change is to occur. So hang onto your hats and enjoy the winds of change and don’t get blown off course. Stay in your heart and love your people, be kind to others and make connections with like-minded people.

There is so much fixed energy in this chart. Fixed signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius – want to hold on tight to the energies they’re working with because that’s their job! They want to concentrate the energy. With Saturn squaring this Full Moon eclipse and Uranus, last year’s struggle between the old vs the new, the past vs the future (Saturn/Uranus square) might get played out, especially here in the US.

In the larger world, we might expect earthquakes, with literal, financial and personal earthquakes. And in the US, I’m sure there will be fighting over the election results. Just BREATHE! Things need to breakdown so we can break on through the the other side.

These times will bring up great frustration, because there seems to be no outlet – Mars, the co-ruler of Scorpio, is retrograde and sort of lost in Gemini’s need to do a million things at once. Mars retrograde is also inconjunct Pluto in Capricorn, setting up a power struggle, and squaring Neptune retrograde, which can leave us mentally scattered, although it’s great for creativity and spirituality. As you can see, poor Mars will be confused, frustrated and uncertain how to act.

What is the thing that wants to be acted upon? What are you not doing and why? This is the thing that Mars going retrograde in Gemini (sign of learning, communication, perspective, travel and knowledge) will pose for us. What do we know and how do we want to perceive the world? Is it a matter of perspective? Of belief? Mars in Gemini is overloaded with ideas and perceptions. Mars turning retrograde will push that energy to stop moving so fast and really look at what is gong on NOW.

Jupiter is basically on the 0*Aries World Axis, but has moved back to 29* Pisces, the omega point, where it stays until it turns direct on November 23^rd. Jupiter aligns once more with Neptune in Pisces to remind us that we are the world, we are the children, we are ONE. Uses this time to imagine a better world (it’s getting easier to see since the patriarchal world is showing its worst side as it dies).

As you can see, these next weeks will be intense. And the dark is rising, since we’re in the season of Samhain until Winter Solstice. This dark time is a time for contemplation and inner seeking. Solar Samhain (when the Sun hits 15* Scorpio) is on November 7^th, so we are still in the energetic field of accepting Death as our advisor. Can we let go of fear and face the dark?

 

When we face the darkness which we associate with Death, can the Crone be our guide? Since it’s the season of Samhain and Halloween, and the witches are coming out to dance, I say we look to the Crone Goddess Hecate, the ancient guide to the human journey into darkness and death. And then back into rebirth.

Hecate, the Goddess of the Crossroads

 

It’s interesting that Christians called Hekate ‘the Queen of Witches’, a reminder of her power to free women from patriarchal rules and roles. As one young twitter user sang, a WITCH is a Woman In Total Control of Herself. All the patriarchal religions want to control women because we are powerful – we are the Mothers who give birth to life and men never lose their need for our comfort and support. Under patriarchy, a woman who was not controlled might not give men that love and comfort, so she had to be controlled.

Unfortunately, that’s just not the way it works. Freedom breeds love. Control breeds hate. In the Piscean Age, men condemned women (and some men) for being witches, not only because they feared magic, but also because they especially feared Women’s Magic.

How powerful must women be for such a long and consistent persecution?

 

So Hekate is the guide for those women who belong to themselves. Who are not afraid of their inner darkness, which is just unknowing. Women know this darkness with our bleeding. We know it with our giving birth. We know it in our body. Women live this cyclical nature, so we are not afraid to take Hekate for our guide.

Hekate is the great Goddess of the Crossroads, the initiator into the mysteries of death and rebirth. At her triple crossroads, magic happens – we can be blessed or cursed – but we will be challenged. What happens really depends on what’s in our heart. We curse ourselves when we let our fear of death stop us from making choices and changing. We step into our blessings when we trust our choices and step onto our path. But we have to choose. That’s the point of a triple crossroads. A choice is called for. Our world is at a crossroads. Will we pick freedom or fear?

 

One of my ‘big’ dreams while I was studying at the Jung Institute was about a triple crossroads and a dynamic change.

In the first part of the dream, I was facing a wounded lion. Then I was sitting on an old-fashioned buckboard wagon at a triple crossroads. I looked up and saw in the sky the waning Moon (the Crone/Hekate Moon) and a giant tidal wave about to descend on me. I closed my eyes and thought ‘this is it’. Then I opened my eyes and saw that the tidal wave was gone and there was a new crescent Moon shining in the sky what the old Moon had been. And then I was given a blessing.

This was the beginning of a big change in my life. Because I did make a free choice after this dream. I later discovered that Hekate, the Crone, often changed into Artemis, the Virgin.

Whether we think of her as a Goddess, an archetype or a cosmic law of life, Hekate is still vital to us today. Especially so, since She is well acquainted with death and rebirth. She saw Kore ravished away by Hades, the God of Death, and told her mother Demeter about what had happened. Hekate is the archetypal energy within us that sees our inner process and the possible outcomes (roads) we might consider taking. She understands our fears, our hopes and dreams and what we are striving for. She is our companion in the darkness, and lights the way with her torches – whether in the form of dreams, intuitive perceptions and most importantly, our heart’s desire. She is a great guide for the uncertainty of our times. While we don’t know what the future will bring, we don’t have to face it alone. We have Hekate to guide us safely through the dark.

Hekate was worshiped all over the ancient world and is still called upon by women and occultists as Goddess of Magic and Healing. She is an opener of the way, and the Goddess of Thresholds; hence her keys, opening the door to a new start while locking the door on the old story. She is a Goddess of in-between places, like dawn and dusk, places of transition and liminality. She carries two torches to light the way in and out of the dark. 

 (It’s interesting that the Statue of Liberty, holding a torch and wearing the 7-rayed crown of Hekate, lights our way to freedom – perhaps an echo of Hekate there?)

 

 

I’ve always thought of Hekate as a more ancient Goddess than the Olympians (she was a Titaness) because she was free to wander the three world – the heavens, earth and the sea, as well as the Underworld, where she ministers to Persephone, often known as another aspect of her triple nature. Hekate was free to wander the world, independent of the patriarchal need to marry off the ancient goddesses to their newer male gods. Although in different times and places, Hekate is associated with a god or children, she never loses her freedom.

Most importantly, Hekate gets her power over heaven, earth and sea from her mother, Asteria, the starry cosmos, who was associated with divination by dreams and astrology. Hekate’s association with dreams and prophecy comes from her mother Asteria as well as her association with snakes and oracles.

Just as you have to seek those in-between realms to open to prophecy, Hekate as the Goddess of Thresholds takes us into those other realms, using her keys to help us close one part of our life and open the door to another. As such, She is Goddess and guide to those transitioning from this world to the next in death.

She can help us get over the fear of Death, allowing us to go gently into that sacred transition. Our world could do worse than look to Her for guidance now, and at the hour of our death. 

 

courtesy of Katlyn Breene 

If we take her as our guide, Hekate stands with her two torches, her keys, and her protective dogs, ready to light the way, open the door and scent out the path we need to take to meet our Death – and awaken to our Re-birth.

In this time of great turmoil and transition, please go and vote. While neither side is perfect, it is up to we, the people, to initiate change. And while we might not trust the system completely, it is the only one we have at the moment. So vote for change and then make sure it happens.

Samhain Blessings,

Cathy