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?

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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: 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: Cancer New Moon, Venus Retrograde, Lammas

 

The Cosmic Story: Venus retrograde in Leo: 

Time to upgrade our Hearts.

Transformative Cancer New Moon

 

The rest of this summer, including the August 1^st cross-quarter holiday of Lammas, the first harvest, is under the influence of Venus’ retrograde in Leo. Venus is sinking lower in the evening sky as she finishes up her 9 ½ month journey as an Evening Star and will turn retrograde on July 22^nd at 29* Leo. Because of her retrograde, Venus will stay in Leo for 4 months, from June 6^th to October 8^th. Venus will join the Sun at 20+* Leo, when it starts a new Venus Star Point to begin its Morning Star journey.

Every 8 years, Venus’ orbit creates a 5-point star, a pentagram. For the coming years, the 5 points of this star will occur in Gemini, Capricorn, Leo, Aries and Scorpio (soon to move back into Libra). So Venus is tying together the energies of learning and communicating, of responsibility to the community, of our creative express, of our courage to be ourselves and of our psychological transformation. All qualities we need to upgrade for the personal and collective issues we face.

When a planet extends its stay in a sign due to its retrograde, we are energized to deal with the issues it raises. Venus helps us focus on our values, our relationships and listening to our body’s wisdom. On a more mundane level, our money issues want to be resolved. Our financial system is broken – Wall Street is basically gambling. Corporations are recording unprecedented profits and still getting government handouts. The wealthy pay less taxes than regular workers. Not the best security for anyone except the power brokers.

If you’re interested in learning more about Venus’ gifts to us, my book Aphrodite, Our Inner Venus will be out this August. It explores Aphrodite/Venus’ myths and dives deeply into the psychological aspects of her gifts of Beauty, Love, Sexuality, Relationships and Wholeness. This most important energy is the Initiator of Soul. 

 

 

 

This week the Lunar Nodes (signs where eclipses occur which point to our collective destiny) are changing from Taurus/Scorpio to Aries/Libra. For the past 19 months, we have moved from Scorpio South Node, letting go of our emotional trauma to North Node Taurus’ wealth of body wisdom, as well as listening to Earth’s evolutionary genius. Now we’re moving into 19 months of becoming more self-reliant (Aries North Node) and away from relationship co-dependency (Libra South Node).

That means that while Venus has been the ruling planet of the Taurus North Node for the past 19 months, Mars, the ruler of Scorpio, took a back seat. Now those roles will be reversed. The Mars-ruled Aries North Node will be taking the lead now, while Libra’s South Node ruler, Venus, steps back. During this retrograde, Venus does step back and reviews and revises her Leo attitude. What does that mean for us?

Venus retrograde is a time to re-evaluate how we’re living up to our values and our partnerships. Since Venus/Aphrodite deals with beauty, we’re being asked to consider if we need to meet some collective standard or if we’ll learn to see our own unique beauty. Since she deals with sexuality, we are asked if our sexual relationships are about power and manipulation or about the sacred quality of this most intimate experience. We’ll be asked to examine how we express our love to self and others. Love is not for the weak-heated. Love takes work! 

 

 

Leo is a fixed fire sign, giving us a big bonfire of warmth, generosity and fun. But it can also make us proud, overbearing and self-centered. Leo is the sign of the Sun, of the Heart and of the Child. With all that concentrated fire, we need to express ourselves in some creative way. How will Venus retrograde in Leo spark your creativity? Look to your Leo house to see where you’re being asked to re-wire your connections.

There’s some entitlement that goes along with Leo’s energies. It is, after all, the sign of the King and the Queen. Americans, especially some of the younger generations, have an entitlement issue. Our expectations often go beyond our means. But it’s also the baby boomers, with Pluto in Leo (1938 - 1958), who have raised those expectations. Nobody seems willing to sacrifice (to make sacred) for the greater good anymore.

With Venus retrograde in Leo, Venus will be transiting the baby boomers’ Pluto. Where do we need to evolve our creative expression for the good of all? It’s time for we baby boomers to grow up and become Elders. Where do we need to sacrifice for our children and our children’s children for the next 7 generations? The Uranus in Leo generation (1955 – 1962) will hopefully come up with some out-of-the-box ideas about how we can change things. Hopefully, our artists/musicians/storytellers will remember their archetypal purpose and take the lead to help that change come about.

Venus turns retrograde on the feast day of Mary Magdalene, the Sophia to Jesus’ Christ. Will we listen to our Sophia Wisdom? Will we remember that we are the Christ Spirit having a human experience? 

 

 

Venus turns retrograde conjunct the fixed royal star Regulus, in the heart of the Lion. This is a call for feminine leadership as the Goddess returns to birth a new Age. The Sabian symbol for Venus retrograde at 29* Leo is: A mermaid emerges from the ocean waves ready for rebirth in human form. The mermaid is one of Venus/Aphrodite’s manifestation. The mermaid symbolizes an intense feeling intuition that is still partially unconscious – it has no legs to stand on yet. This symbol indicates that those intuitions need to take form in 3D reality. Artists recognize this state of being, when their creative ideas need to take a form or else they disappear back into the collective unconscious to be picked up by someone else. What is the new feeling/intuition that wants to be birthed by you?

The Sun and Venus meet up on August 13^th at 20*Leo. The Sabian symbol is: American Indians perform a majestic ritual to the Sun. Like the Native Sun Dance, it is time for us to call on sustainable life-energies, sacrificing our ego desires for the greater good. This is the energy that will arise during Venus’ Morning Star phase. Will we create and sacrifice and help our tribe prosper?

Venus turns to direct motion on September 3^rd at 13* Leo. The Sabian symbol is: Old Sea-Captain rests in a neat little cottage by the sea. This is a reward for learning to move from outer experiences to inner soul realms. Venus is directing us inward, to grow our souls. That’s the only way we will truly learn to love ourselves so we can love our neighbors.

With the Lunar Nodes shifting signs in mid-July before Venus turns retrograde, we need to ask if we’ve learned our lessons. As we exit Venus-ruled North Node Taurus, have we done all we can to honor the Earth and our physical well-being? With record breaking temperatures recorded these past few weeks, will we step up and demand climate action from our leaders? Mother Earth is weeping rivers of tears, enduring hot-flashes and burning with rage at what we’ve done to her beautiful gift of life.

With our new Mars ruled North Node destiny, will we have the courage to stand up for our values and for our children? If not now, when? North Node Aries can help us find our sense of identity and sense of purpose. Look for where Aries lies in your chart. This is the original spark of creation that wants to take form in your life. Now is the time to embrace who you are, warts and all. With the South Node in Libra, we have to stop being wishy-washy, stop giving our power away to others, and stop wanting to keep things on the surface. These next 19 months will help us define ourselves and our relationships. If we can’t be truthful to those people we are closest to, what does that say about us? Aries NN will give you the courage to face the truth and stand up for it.

In this time of intensifying climate change and war-mongering, we all feel the underlying collective fear and anxiety. This is the challenge of the end of an Age. Can we let go of our consumerism and learn to live with less, sacrificing what’s unnecessary so we all create a better world? We can if we concentrate on who and what we love.

Cancer New Moon

The Cancer New Moon occurs on Monday July 17 at 11:31am PDT/ 2:31pm EDT/ 7:31pm GMT.

 

 

This intense New Moon only connects to all the outer planets, which means that it brings up more than personal issues. The outer planets – Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris – are transpersonal, meaning they effect all of us as a collective. The Sun and Moon in easy aspects to Uranus and Neptune indicate that we need to wake up to our dreams.

Monday’s Cancer New Moon is opposed by Pluto retrograde in Capricorn squaring the Aries/Libra nodes, with Eris, the warrior goddess, conjunct the North Node. Can we turn our collective attention to our home world and its healing, or will we continue to allow the elite their ‘winner take all’ attitude? The lines are very clear now in America – the wealthy and corporate interests own our leaders and are stopping the changes we need to make. They are using inconsequential ‘moral’ issues to keep people divided when we all agree that climate change and equality and freedom must be addressed. This opposition is squared by the nodes, indicating we have to re-examine how we see ourselves as part of a partnership with the rest of society. Are we a separate unit or are we all are connected?

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” as Spock said.

Interestingly, the personal planets are all aspected by the social planets, Jupiter and Saturn, as well as Uranus. Mercury in Leo squares Jupiter in Taurus, opening our minds to new solutions to Earth’s problems. Mars in Virgo is opposed to Saturn retrograde in Pisces, asking us to be of service to humanity and to Earth. Focus on the important stuff and don’t get distracted. Venus slowing down in Leo squares Uranus in Taurus, waking up our feminine leadership qualities that will be under consideration during Venus’ retrograde period.

Venus in Leo wants us look at ‘what we value’. Her wisdom says that Love is the important thing. Love for our family, for the Earth, for each other.

All we need is Love.

Blessing of the Lammas harvest for us all,

Cathy