The Cosmic Storyteller: Samhain, the Day of the Dead & Aries Full Moon 2021

 

Samhain 2021 & October 20th’s Aries Full Moon

What needs to die so we can create something new?

 

 

Samhain/Halloween 2021

Although most of the leaves here in southern Rhode Island are still green and the temperatures have been in the 70s until today, Autumn is definitely here in New England. And believe it or not, in two weeks we once again turn the Wheel of the Year to Samhain – the days of the Dead.

While we celebrate Samhain on October 31^st – November 1^st, astrologically it has moved to November 7^th, when the Sun is at 15* Scorpio, the power gate of Scorpio. So the whole week is a celebration of the Day of the Dead, All Saint’s Day, All Souls Day and Samhain. The Sabian symbol for 15* Scorpio is about developing the higher mental ability to imagine future-oriented growth.  That includes beyond death!

As the light grows dimmer here in the North, the days of springtime are arriving down South. And they’re celebrating Beltane instead of Samhain and letting the Faerie Folk come visit through the veil to bring fertility back to the land.

Here in the North, the veil thins and Herne the Hunter with his pack of belling hounds will give chase across the sky as the souls of this year’s departed are gathered so they can cross through the veil of Death.

 

The Wild Hunt

As we face the death of the year, and all the deaths after the last two years, death is very much on our minds. This is the seat of people's deepest fears. The truth is most people are afraid of death. Even if you don’t subscribe to a religious belief anymore, those beliefs are rooted in the DNA we inherited from our ancestors. And they were told to be afraid of Death!

Since Covid, death has become a conscious companion, one most people want to ignore until the last moment. Sort of how we are ignoring the environmental crisis until the very last minute. But don Juan’s advise to Carlos Castaneda, ‘Take death as your advisor’ is an idea that helps us make the right decisions for our lives.

Samhain is a great time to reflect on our beliefs about death as we enter the season of death. Astrologically, we are approaching the end of a 20-month cycle of lunar nodes in Gemini/Sagittarius which has pointed us in the direction of examining our beliefs, shedding those limiting beliefs that no longer serve life.  This leaves us open to new ideas and new beliefs.

During these last few month of this lunar node cycle, we are challenged to face our beliefs about death, during the time of greatest darkness here in the North. The other astrological indicator forcing us to face our fears is the big aspect of 2021 – the Saturn square to Uranus. This is a challenge of old vs new. Saturn is the archetype of 3D reality while Uranus opens us to unseen alternative realities. Saturn represents fear while Uranus symbolize freedom and awakening.

So what do we have to awaken to that will diminish the fear everyone is feeling?

We can begin by examining our relationship to death and to change. For our fear is not only about our physical death but also about the death of old societal structures that no longer serve the common good.

What are our beliefs about Death? Lets quickly explore what the majority of people in the world believe about death. While this certainly doesn’t represent everyone’s beliefs, these beliefs form a collective cellular memory that is lodged in the Collective Unconscious/World Soul and our individual DNA.

 

Christianity has affected so much of the world. And its teaching about death is cruel. (And so opposed to what Jesus’ death proclaimed – that death is nothing to fear because the soul lives on.) Christianity has taught that we are sinners and so most probably we’ll go to either Hell or Purgatory when we die. Which basically means, we are bound to burn in a fiery place – either for a while or for eternity. Not many people make it to Heaven, so can you blame people for not wanting to die? Death is pain and suffering, and we get enough of that here in this world.

So we could say, the fear of death comes from an old belief that sits in our unconscious and rules our emotions around death. It’s so telling that our patriarchal religions teach this fear of death and yet patriarchy has killed millions of people through the last 5000 years of its power. Patriarchy has caught us up in a paradox: with its fear of death it creates more death through domination and control. It seems that patriarchy has become a death culture since it’s killing a lot of people, animals and plants as its’ poisons – ideas, chemicals, wars – kill Mother Earth and her children.

 

Hell

 

Judaism is much kinder. It believes in an afterlife where you re-connect with loved ones. But you don’t necessarily stay in ‘heaven’ – you come back in a body again when the Messiah comes and reigns on Earth. So you might have to wait awhile to come back.

In Islam, people are commanded to follow Allah’s laws and will be judged after death on their behavior during a life of trials. Then they will be sent to either paradise or hell depending on their good or bad behavior during life. Another fiery ending depending on what kind of life you’ve lived.

 

Reincarnation

I don’t know a lot about individual Eastern beliefs, but many eastern religions believe in Reincarnation, giving people the responsibility to do good, so their future lives are good. Many Native American tribes believed in Reincarnation and so were not afraid of death. A Lakota Sioux prayer ended with the phrase, ‘It is a good day to die’ showing a warrior’s determination to give his life for a good cause.

And the Celtic people were not afraid of death, believing in the transmigration of souls or reincarnation. There are hints of the idea of reincarnation in early Christianity (the Gnostics) and the New Testament, but once the Roman empire became entangled with the Church, it denied this belief so the authorities/ patriarchs could better control people who thought this life was their only lifetime to achieve salvation. (btw, what kind of god creates bad children?)

 

The Wheel of the Year

As we see from the Wheel of the Year, Mother Earth has lessons about life to teach us. She teaches us that both life and death are a natural part of the life cycle, and so death is not to be feared. When people die, their souls survive and move through other worlds, choosing to reincarnate here or perhaps in another world. Just as the trees lose their leaves in Autumn and grow them again in Spring, so does each soul incarnate to live out its own unique experience. When our life is over, our souls reflect on lessons learned and purposes fulfilled. We meet with our fellow souls, reuniting with loved ones.

This belief that death is just another aspect of life implies that we need to give Death the respect it is due. We honor our dead by remembering and celebrating their lives.

The Gemini/Sagittarius lunar nodes invited us to let go of old beliefs, so we could find some new ones to base our lives on. Have you done that these past few years?

A new belief could be that death is a birth into a new life of greater consciousness, one in which our Soul remembers who it is and why it came to Earth. A place of peace and rest and learning. A paradise? Maybe.

 

Ancestral Healing Spirits

 

This Samhain we have many, many souls to mourn and celebrate and send on their way through the veils. Beloved family and friends – my older brother Brad, who died of complications from Covid, was a warm, kind, charismatic man who died before we wanted to let him go. A beautiful, sweet troubled young woman who was too sensitive for this world. And so many others.

There are also millions of souls who have died from Covid, war, famine and other cruelties of our capitalistic, militaristic world that we don’t know personally. There are also the billions of species – plants and animals – who have died because of human caused climate change in fires, floods, heat, cold and extreme weather.

We are all connected, and as so many humans and other species die, we are left with holes in our web of connection. When we create rituals to honor Earth’s seasons, we can consciously repair those holes. So this Samhain, let your light shine out into the growing darkness and let’s begin to repair those broken connections with others who have suffered loss.

 

Ancestor Spirits

Samhain is also a great time to connect with the Ancestors – both our personal ones and those parts of our soul which have knowledge from other lifetimes. This wisdom can help patch those holes and make us stronger.

Use this next season, from Samhain to Winter Solstice and the rebirth of the Light, to think about what beliefs and ideals no longer serve you. And then let them go with gratitude for what they gave you in the past. It’s time to make some changes.

Women are better at releasing and changing because our bodies do it every month during our fertile years. So we women are especially being called to help people and souls release themselves from energies that no longer serve us.

The Divine Feminine always emerges to birth new life, a new epoch, a new world.

Aries/Libra Full Moon: October 20, 2021

'Only the paradox comes anywhere near to comprehending the fullness of life.'

Carl G. Jung

With the arrival of Samhain, the dying of the light before its rebirth, we begin to shed our old skins. To go into the darkness and wait for the mystery to manifest.

But this week’s Aries Full Moon is a call to begin to put ourselves out into the world in new ways. A new beginning and an ending. A paradox.

What makes this Aries/Libra Full Moon so potent is its connection to Pluto in Capricorn and Eris in Aries. Both these dwarf planets stand for transformation – Pluto, the transformation of society and Eris, the more intimate transformation that calls us to stand up and follow our hearts.

The Aries Moon is conjunct Eris, the warrioress who causes discord if we refuse to follow our hearts. This Aries Full Moon demands action, since Aries, as the initial impulsive fire of life, wants to move and shake things up. Aries is the energy of new beginnings (once again the paradox of endings and beginnings). It can push us to make necessary changes in our lives, or it can make us impulsive and angry. If you make conscious choices now about what you want the future to look like, this Full Moon can help you begin to bring your intentions into reality. (Although be patient!  The new world isn't here for a few more years. This is the time to test and hone your skills.)

With the Sun in Libra opposite this Aries Full Moon, we reach a culmination and fulfillment of those seeds we planted at the October 6^th New Moon at 13*25’ Libra. That same day, Pluto turned direct and is now heading to its own American Pluto return on February 20, 2022. (2.20.2022) This Full Moon squares Pluto in Capricorn, ensuring that we take into consideration the big cultural changes that Pluto in Capricorn has engendered since 2008. 

 

The Balance of Feminine & Masculine Energies

The Libra Sun concerns the Other, how we relate to other people in a fair and balanced way.  We often say Libra is about our relationships -- and it is.  But it's about more than romantic relationships.  Libra is the lesson that teaches us how to treat another person or the world in a respectful way.  With Aries Moon concerned with our own self-identity, this Full Moon each year always has us readjusting our relationships - I/Thou relationship. This year is especially intense since Mars joins the Libra Sun while Eris joins the Aries Moon. Our instinctual response (the Moon) is shaped by the intensity of Eris to do the right thing for our hearts, while Mars is challenged to act on that inner knowing.

Mars joined the Libra Sun a few days after the Libra New Moon and while the Sun is moving away from Mars, it is still energetically connected to the planet of action, desire, will and courage. And Mars ‘rules’ the Aries Moon, so our need to make things happen is tempered by a more balanced Mars. Hopefully, it's energy can make us more aware of other people’s needs, and give us the ability to balance our needs with those of the Other.

Both Mercury and Jupiter turned direct on October 18^th, so their energy is strong as they slow down and change direction. Jupiter forms good aspects to this Full Moon, encouraging visions and possibilities of future connections (Aquarius).

Mercury in Libra is opened to opportunities to see our heart’s truth by Venus, the ruler of Libra, who is in Sagittarius now. These two planets form a YOD with Uranus in Taurus, another Venus-ruled sign. Yods are called ‘the finger of God’ or ‘the sword in the stone’. It is an aspect of powerful adjustments. I read this YOD as a commitment to listen to the Earth and our body (Uranus in Taurus) to find our truth (Venus in Sagittarius) and to communicate (Mercury in Libra) it to the people we are in relationship with.  

 Another way to say this is:  Are we willing to make the necessary 'adjustments' to change our value systems?  Taurus is the sign where we determine what we find valuable as well as what our VALUES are.  Uranus in Taurus wakes us up to the truth that if we want to heal the planet and heal ourselves, we have to re-connect to Mother Earth's biosphere and live by her values.  The plants and animals are our teachers for these lessons.  Our body transmits our electromagnetic field to the rest of nature. Uranus says 'your body is your tuning fork'.   

So this Aries Full Moon is a new beginning, an opening for us to change our ways and do things differently. Then we can spend the Samhain season figuring out what needs to be shed, laying the dead to rest so that new life can emerge for ourselves and our society.

I just listened to an interesting talk by the German astrologer, Alexander von Schlieffen, on the astrology of the next few years until 2026. We’re definitely not out of the woods yet, but in these coming years, the outer planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto – will be revising and reworking our society. Hopefully we’ll each have a part to play, if only to bring down the corporate control of our world by turning away from conspicuous consumption for a simpler, peaceful, more creative life. When people have time to be creative, they do not turn to useless entertainment to fill their time.

“The snake that cannot shed its skin perishes.” Friedrich Nietzsche.

 

So, let us release what no longer serves a fuller, deeper, more creative life.

Merry Meet and Merry Part and Merry Meet Again!

Cathy

 

 

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

~ Wendell Berry ~

(The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry)

The Cosmic Storyteller: Mercury retrograde Dances with the Outer Planets

 

The Cosmic Storyteller:

Mercury retrogrades as Outer Planets Go Direct

  Autumn Equinox: Balance & Release

Fall arrived here in Wickford in a mix of cloudy and sunny weather, but today the clear sky, hot sun and cool breezes made for a perfect September day in Rhode Island. We are blessed to live here at the ocean’s edge. We stand on the borderlands between earth and ocean, between known and unknown. 

That's also true for this time we live in.  We are all living on the borderlands, looking into a mysterious and unknown future.  In reality, life is always uncertain like that, but we Americans have gotten complacent about our well-being, quietly accepting a world on the brink of disaster, instead of embracing much needed change.  Change is the only constant of life.  The world is evolving, whether we want it to or not.  Unfortunately, it's really de-volving.  Earth's biosphere is unhealthy.  It's unraveling each time a species goes extinct from human pollution and over-population.  I just read that 23 more species went extinct this week.

What kind of crisis will wake us up?  I know that if we are brave enough, and strong enough, and wise enough, to consciously evolve with the times, we could create a different kind of world.   

The questions I always ask when discussing modern society is, "What culture poisons its own people and food?"  "What kind of people are we to care so little for our children's well-being that we're not willing to sacrifice our comforts for a better life for them?" 

These are just some questions we could ask ourselves for this important Mercury retrograde period.       

  Ma'at's Scales

The Sun moves into Libra, the sign of the Scales, at the Autumn Equinox. A day when the light and the dark are balanced. It only happens two times a year – at the two Equinoxes, Spring and Autumn. It brings the light/dark back into balance for a moment before it heads back toward imbalance.

That’s what Autumn Equinox embodies – the need to re-balance after the exuberance of Summer’s light and heat (our Southern brethren will be emerging from the dark and cold and embracing new life and heat.). Since we are part of Earth’s biosphere, we too are heading into the cold and dark time of year, a time to withdraw into ourselves and dream of next year’s life. This Equinox is the time to take stock of our lives – asking “what have we learned and where are we headed?”

The Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is celebrated around Autumn Equinox. It is a day to look within and see who you’ve been and what you've done for the past year. To look at your shadow and bring it into the light. It is a time to see, acknowledge and then let go of what no longer serves your life. Because, this night also determines what the next year will bring. As you acknowledge and know your gifts and faults, you have to forgive yourself, make amends when needed and pledge to remember and change. And grow!

This is a night of choice for pagans as well. We sing at the Equinoxes:

Onward we go round the Spiral,

Touching Darkness, touching Light.

Twice each turn we rest in balance.

Make choices on this night.

Make choices on this night.

This is a time to make adjustments within ourselves. It is an adjustment that needs to be made each year as summer passes into fall, in either hemisphere. In our pagan rituals, we ask, “What have you harvested this year? What are you releasing this year? Have you gathered your seeds for the future?”

The wheel of life turns ever onward.

To everything (turn, turn, turn).

There is a season (turn, turn, turn).

And a time for every purpose under Heaven.

(Pete Seeger)

In this time of cultural breakdown and change, the best thing we can do is to return to our roots – to the rhythms of Mother Earth. When there’s trauma, we get whacked out of rhythm with ourselves. So we need to reestablish that rhythmic re-patterning that the seasons, dancing, music and drumming give us. Once we re-establish our own rhythm, we can bring more balance and harmony to those around us. 

Mother Earth’s seasons ground us and can lead us back to center. (Uranus in Taurus is connecting us electrically to Mother Earth.) Every day She helps us understand the different tempos of Life, and grounds us in ‘reality’ at the same time as She takes us into a different reality – the reality of her living Earth.

In Chinese medicine, this is the season of the lungs, skin and intestines, those organs that help us release toxins, and those things that no longer serve us. Just as the trees lose their leaves in the Fall, so do we release what no longer nourishes us, allowing us to make room for new life.

We don’t have to let fear keep us from this next part of our journey into the Dark. For the seeds we hold in the dark will be the ones that blossom next year. Make choices on this night!

"Fear holds you still when you need to move,

and moves you when you need to be still.

Fear makes you silent when you need to be loud,

and loud when you need silence.

Fear closes your throat when you need to breathe.

Fear weakens your hand and blinds your eyes.

FEAR is a danger. Know your fear. Face your fear. Practice."

Elizabeth Vaughan, Warsworn

Maybe you’re wondering what this has to do with Mercury retrograde. Well, we’re here. Mercury is the Messenger god, the one who can travel through all realms of life. If Mercury represents the Mind, then it tells us the Mind can travel all over the cosmos and into the underworld. It doesn’t just stay in 3D reality.

 

Mercury retrogrades are all about purifying our perceptions. We do this by shifting our attention and energy within. If we let our minds race ahead of our hearts, we run into trouble. Mercury goes retrograde so often because it orbits so close to the Sun. From Earth’s point of view, it looks like it goes backwards at these times. Symbolically, we need to take heed. Our society has us rushing around with too much on our plates. Our consciousness can only hold so much before it needs to backtrack and rethink, release, reorganize, redo, and/or remember things. 

The Sabian symbol for Mercury going retrograde at 26* Libra is:  An Eagle and a large white Dove change into each other.   What happens when Love is our will and our will is to do the work of Love?

 

Hermeticism states: As Above, So Below. As Within, So Without. The within and without are the same. If we live in outer turmoil, look for the inner turmoil and tame it. Mercury/Hermes is the Mind and our mind focuses our energy. Where we put our attention matters. Do you see why it’s so important to use this time to tame the mind and let it re-discover silence? When the Mind is silent, the heart can be heard. And then we know what to do.  Then the Eagle will turn into the Dove.

This year, all three Mercury retrogrades are in AIR signs – the signs of communication, learning, connection, teaching, ideas, relationships and inspiration. It means we need to re-think how we live. In Aquarius, Mercury connected us to envisioning our future with our group mind. In Gemini, Mercury helped us re-examine old beliefs so we could open our minds to new ideas. In Libra, Mercury will ask us to incorporate new ideas about justice, balance and fairness between people, in private relationships and in society.

While Mercury moves back through Libra from September 26^th - 27^th to October 18^th, it will square Pluto in Capricorn twice: once on October 1^st before Pluto goes direct on October 6^th and again on November 2^nd when Pluto is direct. This indicates a deep course correction for some of us. Pluto deepens the Mind (Mercury) – whether with deep thoughts or by taking us deep within our own souls, since Mercury is the only god who can travel between realms. Either way, Pluto is definitely a call to the Underworld.

Thankfully, Venus, the ruler of Libra, is in Scorpio, the sign of Pluto’s Underworld, so if we do the work now, she will be there to help us. Help us connect with our deepest wounds, our deepest sorrows and our deepest desires.

 

 

Mercury went retrograde on September 26^th - 27^th at 26* Libra opposite the dwarf planet Eris in Aries. Eris reminds Mercury that we must listen to our hearts if we don’t want discord in our lives. She reminds the Mind that it can stand up for the heart’s wisdom.

Next, Mercury will trine Jupiter in Aquarius on October 3^rd and again on October 31st – November 1^st, after Jupiter turns direct on October 17^th – 18^th. Mercury and Jupiter energies make a powerful combination, for Jupiter opens the Mind to encompass Spirit, community and possibilities. Jupiter moving forward again can open us to outer abundance, good fortune and growth, and can also help us find meaning in our lives. So on Mercury’s third trine to Jupiter on Samhain/ Halloween, you might try to use your Mind to open yourself to your ancestor spirits. Remember, Mercury can travel to the Underworld. They are there to help and heal us if we let them. At least spend some time honoring them.

Finally Mercury doesn’t get back to exactly trine Saturn at 7* Aquarius but it’s close enough at 11* Libra when it turns direct. This aspect will give your mind strength, focus and discipline. Keep what works and let go of what doesn’t.

Pluto in Capricorn going direct will be heading to next year’s Pluto return in America’s 4^th of July birth chart. We are due for a revolution. We can make it be a peaceful revolution of ideas and expansive freedoms if we each stand up for peace, justice and fairness. If we learn to listen to those we don’t agree with, instead of getting snippy about it. Listen and learn.

Individually, Pluto going direct will show us how much of the old patriarchal order we’ve let go of in our lives. The rules live within us. Break the old rules and make new ones.

Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius can now continue what they began with the new cycle of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius that started December 21, 2020. The future belongs to new ideas and new possibilities. We cannot go back to some fake idyllic time -=- although hearing kids out playing in the neighborhood on warm summer nights would be delightful.

Individually, Jupiter and Saturn’s new cycle in Aquarius indicates that the wave of the future is community oriented. Whether we call ourselves tribes or families, like-minded and like-hearted people will build community together. Coming to a town near you soon!

Finally, Mercury retrograde will form inconjuncts to Neptune in Pisces on October 5^th and to Uranus in Taurus on October 11^th – 12^th. With the inconjunct to Neptune, watch out for communication confusion or misunderstandings with others. With Uranus, since both Taurus and Libra are ruled by Venus, the needed adjustment between these two planets might just be to slow down and ground in all the wonderful ideas you’re having. Uranus stimulates the Mind to cosmic proportions, so once again, ground and center before you rush into anything too wild.

With all the interaction with the outer planets, this Mercury retrograde has a lot to teach us about connecting to these big energies. Try to go slow so you can integrate the lessons. This is about showing us how we’re connecting to the collective Mind. Do you have something to share? Now’s the time to do it.

This important Mercury retrograde can be a time for you to expand your vision of your life.  Why are you here if not to take a stand on what is happening in our world.   There is so much work to be done.  Perhaps Mercury will help you find how you can engage in the world.

The New Moon in Libra occurs on October 6^th at 14* Libra, just hours before Pluto turns direct at 25* Capricorn. Mars and Mercury are close to this New Moon, so we might feel like we have to do something, speak out about something or mediate something. It will also inconjunct Uranus in Taurus, so watch out for sudden surprises that you’ll have to make adjustments for.

Find out where Libra is in your chart and you’ll know what areas of life will be effected by the Mercury retrograde. In my chart, it’s all happening in my 5^th house of play, children, creativity and fun. I’m re-writing an old screenplay into a book and it is fun and creative. What are you doing?

Whatever is happening in your world, don’t forget you can always go out into Nature and let Mother Earth ground and center you. The future is not fixed! Let your Mind rest in silence and find your truth.

Happy Equinox,

Cathy

 

 

Fall Song

Another year gone, leaving everywhere
its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves,

the uneaten fruits crumbling damply
in the shadows, unmattering back

from the particular island
of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere

except underfoot, moldering
in that black subterranean castle

of unobservable mysteries -- roots and sealed seeds
and the wanderings of water. This

I try to remember when time's measure
painfully chafes, for instance when autumn

flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing
to stay -- how everything lives, shifting

from one bright vision to another, forever
in these momentary pastures.

~ Mary Oliver ~

(American Primitive)

The Cosmic Story: Virgo New Moon 2021

 

 Virgo is the sign of the harvest.  It is the Virgin Mother, whose child is the grain that sustains life.  She is Isis and Horus, Mary and Jesus.  You and what you've created this year.

So what have you harvested?  Many years ago we had a harvest ritual and at the time, my 6 year old Virgo son (who just turned 41!) whispered to me what he had harvested.  Each year we learn something new, we create some new pattern in our lives.  This is the time to think about what we've accomplished this year and give thanks.

Virgo is the sign of discernment, of giving our attention to the details of life.  By bringing more attention to our everyday tasks, we imbue them with spirit, we make our lives sacred. 

Being more of a 'go with the flow' type of woman, I have struggled for years to have a daily routine.  But I'm working on it and this month is a great time for me -- and for you -- to finally give each part of our lives the attention they deserve.

But it's not only about paying attention to details, because Uranus in Taurus lends us his awakening powers with a beautiful trine to this New Moon.  So if your routines are stuck, this is the power you need to un-stick them by trying something new and unexpected.  It will help if you go out into nature and ask Mother Nature what's the best course of action.  You WILL get an answer.

 Mars in Virgo is exactly trine Pluto in Capricorn, ready and willing to institute new rules, big changes.  Mars also inconjuncts Jupiter in Aquarius, creating a wonky energy that takes some adjusting to.  Jupiter wants us to see unexpected possibilities but Mars might have to adjust his goals to meet them.

 Venus in Libra is opposite Eris in Aries, the warrior goddess of the heart, square Pluto in Capricorn and trine Jupiter in Aquarius. The Goddess of Love and Wisdom is conjunct Vesta -- the fire priestess.  Both of them in Libra energize us to take our relationships seriously.  We all want and need relationships, but our culture hasn't taught us how to be in them. This is a great time to learn what it takes to create strong, loving relationships, without losing yourself in the process.  Relationships are supposed to support us in being our authentic selves, rather than dimming our lights.

It's time to listen to your heart's song and trust it.  I just read Brene Brown's book, Braving the Wilderness.  It's about being virginal -- the Virgo state of belonging to yourself.  It's hard to be authentic in today's world with so much bullying and nastiness on social media.  But this month is a call to do exactly that.  Be your authentic self. And do it with kindness, courtesy and intelligence.

Also, go out just after sunset and see Venus in the West and Jupiter in the East.  If you raise your arms in both directions, you'll see the 'trine' -- a 120* angle -- in the living sky.  

Last but not least, Mercury in Libra enters the shadow period of its upcoming retrograde -- September 26-27 -- just after this New Moon.  This means that it's at the degree it will retrograde back to (Libra 26* - 11*).  Pay attention to what comes up now to understand what you'll be dealing with during the retrograde.

Mercury forms a grand air trine between Saturn rx in Aquarius and Ceres in Gemini. Make sure that your plans are nurturing for you and stay open to other options that come up. Saturn can give you the focus you need to make things happen.

Mercury in Libra seeks balance in your relationships and harmony in your life.  The problem with Libra is that so many Librans bend over backwards to create that harmony.  I tell my clients, do not jump to the other side of the scale. It creates imbalance.  You're not hear to agree with the Other -- you're hear to listen to the other and find solutions.  But you have to stay on your own side of the scale to create that balance.

 

 
Today Virgo New Moon occurs at 8:52pm EDT/ 5:52pm PDT at 15* Virgo.

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon at 15* Virgo is:   A fine lace handkerchief, heirloom from valorous ancestors.

It's time to act with strength, determination, courage and discrimination while following in the footsteps of those who have gone before us.  Pick someone who you honor and use their image to help you find your own power.