The Cosmic Story: Autumn Equinox 2023

 

 

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 4^th 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 10^th – 11^th, and will return to Aquarius for most of 2024 on January 21^st – 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 23^rd. 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 3^rd and Jupiter just turned retrograde at 16* Taurus on September 4^th. 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 18^th until September 20^th, being exactly square on September 16^th.

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 29^th.  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 22^nd - 23^rd, at 9:49 pm HST, 10:49pm ASK, and 11:49pm PDT on the 22^nd, and on the 23^rd 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 14^th and a Lunar Eclipse in Taurus/Scorpio on October 28^th. 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

The Cosmic Story: Spring Equinox: Emergence and Rebirth & Pluto Goes into Aquarius

 

The Cosmic Story: Spring Equinox 2023

Emergence and Rebirth 

 

 

Spring Equinox: Autumn Equinox

While I’ll be talking about the northern hemisphere and the Spring Equinox, I want to acknowledge those of you in the southern hemisphere as you begin to let go of the light and slide into the fall.

The Equinox impacts both the North and South in the same way – there is a balance of day and night, light and dark. That moment of balance happens twice each year, as the sunlight waxes and wanes.

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.

In the South, you’re gathering in the harvest. Up North, we’re beginning to see flowers emerging. The crocuses have come out, heralding the return of life. If you haven’t already, it’s time to ground yourself in Mother Earth’s life and death cycle. We belong in the natural cycle: many of our cultural problems come from being cut off from it.

The choices we make for this new year will have ramifications for the next few years. With Saturn’s entry into Pisces, we have the chance to completely regenerate the roots of our sense of security and grounding. While it might seem scary to root ourselves in the waters of the Collective Unconscious, what we’re really being called upon to do is to root ourselves in our spiritual beliefs. Which means, establishing a strong spiritual practice so we stay centered while our collective culture undergoes a much needed transformation. To be in the world (society) but not of it.

 

 

At Spring Equinox, we emerge from our Winter hibernation and prepare ourselves for another year of growth. Each year we learn something new about ourselves and each year when we integrate that new part of ourselves, we create a new story. This year’s new story is about Freedom. The freedom from patriarchal rules and perspectives and beliefs. That doesn’t mean we throw out the baby with the bathwater. It means freely choosing what you value and how you live those values, without the guild, shame and fear that patriarchy thrives on. Clean out your psychic ‘gut micro-biome’ of unhealthy self-talk, negative emotions and most importantly, fear.

Open yourself to your community and to the causes that you’re passionate about. That’s what Spring is all about. Coming Out. Emerging.

March’s Astrological Shifts in Energy

Spring Equinox is the beginning of the new astrological year. This Spring Equinox comes in the midst of important collective energetic shifts. 

 

 

The first was Saturn going into Pisces on March 7^th. For the past, tumultuous five years 2018-23), Saturn has been in the two signs it rules: Capricorn and Aquarius (along with Uranus). Our physical and mental lives have been shaken up, our illusions about our collective life shattered. As Saturn’s archetypal energy of structure and security begins to dissolve in Pisces’ oceanic womb of our collective psyche, our sense of reality is going to shift. Just look at the hot movie of the year: Everything, Everywhere All At Once. It’s about parallel worlds and alternative realities. And most important, it’s a story about the power of Love.

The Aries New Moon, March 21^st, occurs one day after the Equinox, naturally aligning with the shift in season. (This is often not the case with Aries New Moons.) There will be a second Aries New Moon at 29*50’ on April 20^th, switching the lunar cycle from New Moon/Full Moon in complementary signs to Full Moon/New Moon. The last time it flipped with two New Moon was in July 2020 and it flipped back in August 2021 with two Full Moons in Aquarius (a Blue Moon).

On March 23^rd, Pluto, the planet of evolution/death&rebirth/power, dips its toe into Aquarius for a little over two months before moving back into Capricorn, giving us a preview of changes and challenges we’ll be facing as a society when it finally stays in Aquarius from 2025 – 2043. 

 

 

When Pluto moves into a sign, it usually picks up on what’s really not working right away. In 2008, when Pluto moved into the sign of Capricorn – the sign ruling financial systems, government, collective institutions – we had one of the worst financial crises we’ve faced. Instead of taking the bull by the horns and addressing the real issues of wealth inequality and power, the government gave banks the money they needed and left people to swing in the breeze. Instead, they could have allotted each of us a certain amount of money that could only be used to pay off debts, thereby laundering the money for the banks through us, keeping all of us economically healthy.

But they didn’t. Perhaps because Pluto was just beginning to show us what was rotten in the system. Now as Pluto ends its stay in Capricorn, we’re seeing another bank failure out in Silicon Valley. A nice tidy bookend to these past 15 + years. What will be our response now? How did this happen again?

If we take this as a metaphor for our inner lives, what have we been ‘banking’ on? And have we put our energy into a solid structure?

When Pluto moves into Aquarius, we’ll be dealing with new ideas about our society, about what is fair, about technology companies and how we use and abuse social media. (I love to imagine us getting rid of social media during these years. It reminds me of an old Star Trek: Next Generation TV show where they pick up some people from our time who were in frozen stasis floating in space until cures could be discovered. When they asked about TV - social media wasn’t around at the filming - they were told ‘we got rid of that along time ago’!)

The last time Pluto was in Aquarius our constitution was written. Pluto in Aquarius is invested in our personal power and our freedom. It’s interesting, and a bit disturbing to once again see them using astrology for their own purposes, that right-wing conservative money is funding a push in red states for a new constitutional convention to re-write our constitution – perhaps to institute a more Christian-based society. This is another aspect of Pluto in Aquarius – manipulating public opinion through mass media.

Pluto will be squaring the Nodal Axis in Taurus/Scorpio most of the year. This new vision of life must include the Earth and all of Nature. It will also bring about major transformations in our political life. Last time Pluto was in Aquarius, the French Revolution brought down the monarchy and shifted power to the people.

Aquarius as a fixed air sign: there are certain cosmic laws that shape our society and certain ideals which shape how we see our purpose in life. How we live those ideals is up to us. Air signs always speak to the need to improve our communications and personal networks. But Aquarius, especially, asks us to look at our experience as individuals in the context of society. What is our social responsibility? What part do we play as an individual member of our local community, the national community, the global community? We have the next 20 years to figure that out. But it starts with us, now. If we want to create a better world, we all have a part in making it happen.

So let’s watch and see what Pluto’s first ingress into Aquarius (March 23 – June 11) brings up for ourselves and for the world.

Mercury went into Pisces on March 2^nd and conjuncts Neptune and then the Sun at 27* Pisces on March 17^th. Then Mercury goes into Aries on March 19^th, right before Spring Equinox. So watch for Mercury conjunct the Aries New Moon and how it affects what you want to plant for this year.

 

Venus started March off in Aries connecting with Jupiter on March 2^nd. Luck and beauty. Truth and Compassion. Venus moves into her own sign of Taurus on March 16^th, right after she squares Pluto in the last degree of Capricorn. Venus rules money, so let’s see what happens with the bank crisis. Venus conjuncts the Taurus North Node on Spring Equinox and conjuncts Uranus in Taurus on March 30^th. 

 

 

Mars ends its long retrograde, 7 month journey in Gemini on March 25^th, finally arriving in Cancer to see how home, family and emotional security are feeling. Gemini offers a wide range of ways to think about life and the world. With Mars there for so long, have you settled on a new world view, a new paradigm that helps you understand the world? Mars in Cancer probably just wants to be home for awhile. So slow down that mind of yours and sink into your feelings. What do you desire most? When Mars moves into Cancer, it squares the Spring Equinox point of 0* Aries. What challenge will be offered us when Spring Equinox Aries Sun’s ruling planet moves into the soulful waters of Cancer?

 

 

Spring Equinox, March 20, 2023

The Spring/Autumn Equinox occurs on March 20 – 21, 2023 at 1:24pm AKDT, 2:24pm PDT/ 5:24pm EDT/ 9:24pm UTC/GMT.

 

 

When the Sun gets to the equator and enters the tropical sign of Aries, the fire of Spirit once again descends on us. The spark of life gets ignited. That’s Aries quest: Who Am I? What am I? Wherever you have Aries in your chart is where this spirit awakens in you. It has called to you from your birth, and it gets re-ignited each year on the Spring Equinox. 

 

 

The Aries Sun, so soon after its conjunction with Mercury, will continue that Mars/Mercury vibe we’ve been under while Mars retrograded in Gemini. Mars and Mercury’s blended energy indicates an energized Mind, and with the Sun conjunct Mercury for this Equinox chart (which influences the year), we’ll be having to make some clear decisions about what we want to accomplish this year.

The Equinox Sun semi-square Uranus in Taurus pushes us to include Mother Nature’s evolutionary genius in our plans. It’s time to adapt to a new world. Uranus awakens us to higher Mind – it connects us to cosmic consciousness. But as in the myth of Saturn cutting off Uranus’ phallus to stop him from coupling with Gaia, this cosmic consciousness has to be mediated by Love. We’ll see this cosmic message come up when we look at Venus.

Ceres, the dwarf planet, concerns how we nurture ourselves. Ceres in Libra is exactly opposite this Aries Equinox, reminding us to include others’ needs in our decisions.

The Pisces Moon, however, is 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.

This feeling of endings and new beginnings is echoed by Pluto in the last degree of Capricorn and Mars in the last degrees of Gemini. Something is coming to an end. Something new wants to be born. First, lay to rest the old story so you can put all your energy into the new one. 

 

 

Conjunct Neptune, this Pisces Moon gives our Equinox emergence a sense of destiny, a sense of spiritual initiation, and a great connection to our dreamworld. With Saturn sinking into this same collective womb, what we imagine for ourselves will connect with the imaginings of all of us. The more we focus our 3^rd Eye/ Imaginal Eye/ Moon on that better world, the more opportunities we’ll have to meet others who have those same passions. This is the time to let go of the old, Aries’ ‘I am alone in this’ belief for the Aquarian ‘I can be myself with others who I resonate with’.

With Mars squaring Neptune on March 14, the best use of this square energy in the Equinox chart is to stay open to your spiritual insights, using Mars to expand on what you intuit by looking up what symbols are appearing in your dreams and external life. And then learning to integrate them when Mars moves into Cancer. A great example of Mars square Neptune in Pisces is the character of Waymond in Everything, Everywhere All at Once. He’s compassionate, kind, willing to cooperate – he just wants people to stop fighting and to be kind. A spiritual warrior and redeemer.

There is big Aries’ energy in this Equinox chart, with the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, Chiron and Vesta in Aries. This is good warrior energy, energy to give us courage to look at this ‘emergence’ as a real new beginning for ourselves and the world. This is the virginal energy of the goddess Artemis, which can stand on a frontier and take the risk of crossing over into new terrain.

I always think of Aries as the scouts of the zodiac. They go out alone and find what the tribe needs for food or safety. They recognize the signs before others do. So look for the signs of what you need and follow after until you find what you need. Since Mars is out-of-bounds, meaning it’s outside the normal north-south range of latitude for the Sun, there’s a maverick quality (thank you for this Pam Gregory) to how we might want to approach things. A bit of a rebel, a bit of just following your own path.

Venus is conjunct the Taurus North Node this Equinox, once again telling us, “All you need is Love” to see the truth of our world’s imbalance. Time to let go of our American identity of being ‘consumers’ and begin to take up our work as citizens and stewards of Mother Earth.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 1* Aries is: A woman just risen from the sea. A seal is embracing her. This is an image of a new impulse, a new feeling tone arising from the Collective Unconscious. This will be echoed during the Beltane part of the season when Aphrodite becomes our goddess guide. The seal is important in Celtic mythology and comes as the Selkie, or seal woman. This symbolizes our imaginative and creative abilities. When a new feeling life arises, it is accompanied by these qualities.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 19* Pisces is: A master instructing his disciple. This speaks to ancient spiritual wisdom being passed down. This is an image of initiation into the mysteries. Coupled with the Sun’s symbol, we are invited to use our intuitive abilities as well our ancient wisdom to guide us through the next year.

The Sabian symbol for Venus and the North Node at 5* Taurus is: A widow at an open grave. This is a great symbol for letting go of the past. And also to recognize that we are part of a natural cycle of birth-growth-flowering-harvest-release-death-rebirth.

The tenor of the chart is a strong energy that wants to push for action. All that Aries energy needs an outlet. The outlet is to Uranus, 45* away from the Equinox Sun. The best way to utilize this Uranian energy is to go out and listen to what the Earth is saying. Listen to your imagination. There is a mystical aspect to this chart with the Moon, Saturn and Neptune anchoring in Pisces, the Moon connecting the Lord of Time and the Lord of Eternity/Timelessness. Focus on what needs to be finished up and how that connects to your new ideas and hopes for this year.

Spring Equinox: The Season of Emergence

The Wheel of the Year keeps spinning. As we leave behind the Winter Solstice/Imbolc season of visioning and head into the Spring Equinox/Beltane season of flowering and new growth, we’ll see what our visions can produce.

 

Persephone ~ Susan Seddon Boulet

 

There are many goddesses we can call on for this season. In many ways, the most important one is Persephone, who returns each Spring from her stay in the Underworld where she is Queen of the Dead. This is emphasized by Ceres, the Roman Demeter and Persephone’s mother, opposite the Equinox Sun. In the Greek myth, at first she is called Kore, the Maiden. While she is out in the fields picking flowers, she is ravished away into the Underworld by Hades, the Greek Pluto, and becomes his bride. She has no name before she is ravished. When she returns in the Spring, she has a name and is a Queen, a woman of power and purpose. We have all gone through the darkness of the past few years, gone into our own private underworlds and hopefully dealt with our Shadows, so when we emerge this Spring, call on Persephone – Spring Maiden and Woman of Power – to help you step into this next part of your story with grace and beauty.

While Persephone epitomizes the returning energy of Spring, she is part of a deeper mystery along with her mother Demeter. You can read about Persephone’s return at my Wisdom Chronicle blog.

The Spring Equinox season includes Beltane, the cross-quarter fire festival that occurs when the Sun reaches 15* Taurus, between May 1 – 6. We’ll call on the great goddess Aphrodite for Beltane, but for these next six weeks, here are a few more Spring goddesses who exemplify the first flowering of the season.

Ostara

Pagans celebrate Spring Equinox as Ostara, the festival of Spring and new beginnings. We get the name Easter from this Anglo-Saxon goddess, Eostre, since so many of our Christian holidays are based on ancient pagan celebrations.

Ostara is the goddess of increasing light and warmth and the balance between light and darkness. Ostara was associated with rabbits, who symbolize fertility. This is Her legend.

 

 

Ostara is the goddess of spring. She is the divine maiden that brings forth the first light of day and springtime. Ostara is responsible for resurrecting the world after winter’s frozen grip has been withdrawn.

She blows the warm winds of springtime over the lands. Fields and trees become green again, and flowers blossom. However, one year, Ostara came a bit too late.

Already feeling a little bit guilty for arriving late, the Goddess Ostara was appalled when the first thing she encountered was a little bird who lay dying on the forest floor, his wings frozen by the snow.

Filled with compassion, Ostara took him as a pet or, as some versions of the tale have it, her lover. Feeling sorry that the poor wingless bird could no longer take flight, she turned him into a snow hare and gave him the ability to run rapidly so he could evade all hunters. Honoring his earlier life as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs in all the colors of the rainbow.

Eventually, the decision backfired when the goddess became enraged with his numerous affairs. In a fit of anger, she threw him into the skies, where he, unfortunately, landed under the feet of the constellation Orion (the Hunter). He remains there to this day and is known to us as the constellation Lepus (The Hare).

Softening her attitude a bit, Ostara allowed the hare to return to earth once each year to give away his colored eggs to the children attending the Ostara festivals that were held each spring. (https://goddessgift.com/goddesses/ostara/)

This is a goddess who feels compassion, love, jealousy and forgiveness. She is a goddess of fertility and her totem animal is the Rabbit. (Where do you think the Easter Bunny comes from?) In medieval times in Europe, the March hare was seen as a fertility symbol, and a sign of spring. This species of rabbit is nocturnal most of the year, but March is its mating season, and so during March, hares are seen all day long.

Maia

Maia is an ancient Roman Goddess of springtime, warmth, and increase. She causes the plants to grow through Her gentle heat, and the month of May is probably named for her. Her name means "She Who is Great". Through the increasing warmth of Maia's spring season, flowers and plants sprouted and grew.

Flora

 

 

Flora is an ancient Goddess of blossoming plants, especially those that bare fruit. Without Flora, there would be no fruit, no harvest, no honey. In her myth, Flora was a nymph of happy fields. One Spring day while she was roaming meadows of new grass and wildflowers, Zephyr the god of Breezes saw her and fell in love. For her wedding gift he gave her the gift of perpetual Spring. Zephyr filled her garden with every kind of blooming flowers and called her Queen of the Flowers. She was the goddess who scattered seeds of narcissus, hyacinth, violets and more – she scattered the seeds for grains and fruits as well. Honey from her flowers were her gifts.

In Rome, her festival, the Floralia, took place from April 27 to May 3 and was marked with dancing, drinking, and flowers. Her priests released hares and goats, animals of great fertility. Women wore brightly colored clothes to symbolize the variety flowers and garlands in their hair.

Blodewedd

 

 

Blodewedd is a Celtic Spring goddess who was created by the Welsh Bran and the wizard Gwydion with magic from nine spring flowers to be the wife of Llew Llaw. This got around the curse Gwydion’s sister Arianhod had placed upon her son, preventing him from taking a human wife.

Artemis

 

 

Artemis is the Greek goddess of the Moon, sister to Apollo, god of the Sun. She was the divine huntress and the nurturer of young girls before they matured into women. She lived in the wilds and the girls before puberty came to her sanctuaries and were her ‘bear cubs’. They learned to be free and in their bodies, before they were condemned to be married and shut away without any rights. Artemis is the Virgin, the goddess who belongs to herself.

Just as Spring gives birth to so many beautiful and diverse plants and flowers, so too we have many goddesses to choose from. But what they all share in common is the idea of blossoming. The goddesses of emergence help us to get out of our shells and explore the world in new ways.

So have a blessed Equinox, both North and South, and may you blossom so that your harvest is full!

Blessed Be!

Cathy