September 20th ~ 27th
“Sailing in the Mist” by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky
Cold hearted orb that rules the night, Removes the colors from our sight. Red is gray and yellow white. But we decided which one is right. And which is an illusion. ~ Graham Edge (The Moody Blues)
The planet Neptune has many halls within its watery domain of Pisces. The last sign of the zodiac, it speaks to distillation and purification. To the sort of dissolution that gives way to the watery and emotional depths of Pisces, as well as to oblivion. It is also within this realm that we have the ability to touch the Divine. But in order to reach that most sacred hall of all in Pisces, we also have to pass through the treacherous halls of delusion, misinformation, grief, doubt and sorrow, which can easily lead us astray.
The land of dreams, gods and fairies is not of this earth, so it is difficult to recognize, or even believe that it could exist. Neptune in Pisces can lure us to the river Lethe, the river of forgetfulness and oblivion, or it can wash our feet in the river Mnemosyne, the river of omniscience. If we drink from the river of Lethe, we forget the reasons for our very existence. Why we are even here. But if we are led to the river Mnemosyne, we remember. We remember our purpose, our why, and all that brought us to this place in time.
On September 22nd, when the Sun enters the sign of Libra, it crosses one of the 4 sacred corners of the Solar Year. Libra is a sign of balance, of equality and fairness. And at the Libra Equinox even the days and nights are equal throughout most of the world. This week, as we stand here between the light and darkness, we have the opportunity to sow both gratitude and forgiveness. For here in the Northern part of the globe, we are readying ourselves for the dark time of year. Persephone will descend once more to the underworld, and we will celebrate the emerging Crone, the goddess of the winter months. In ancient times the wise Crones served as the story tellers, the teachers, the healers and guides who led the way. May we also come to know our own inner Crone, so that she can guide us and lead our way through any time of uncertainty and doubt that may lie ahead.
It is also with the ingress of the Sun into Libra that the chart for the Equinox sets the tone for the next quarter of the Solar Year. And it does so this year betwixt the two eclipses, the Lunar Eclipse in Pisces on September 17th, and the Solar Eclipse in Libra on October 2nd. Eclipses occur when the moon is near one of the nodes of its orbit, which are at the two points of its orbit that intersect with the Sun’s path. The Sun is about to cross one of those nodes, the True South node of the Moon at 6º of Libra. It is this Nodal Point that symbolizes the mystic intersection between the 2 eclipses, the place where the seams between worlds seem to thin out and weave within one another.
What is also significant about the Equinox this year, is its close opposition to Neptune in the very last degrees of Pisces, the very end of the last sign of the zodiac. And so if you are feeling a sense of impending loss, or as if the guideposts seem to keep receding into the distance, you are not alone. We are in that magical space between the eclipses, and we are lost here without a road map or any system of navigation to guide us.
Neptune fogs our vision, sows uncertainty and doubt, so that we do not know where to turn or what to expect. We cannot change the past, nor can we fully see the future. So we fill in the spaces with our imaginations, our fears, and our worries. But truly the only way to work with Neptune is by being present, and focusing on what is right here in front of us now. We are being asked to live with uncertainty, while having the faith that if we choose wisely, if we make the best and most righteous of decisions, if we have faith in the Good, our gods, and our highest principles, we will not lose our way.
Saturn and Pluto make the second of its 3 semi-squares on the 25th of September. Like a nagging headache, Saturn and Pluto are trying to show us those things that are standing in the way of progress. It also stands as a reminder that the choices we do make in this time of change and transformation, are going to have all sorts of ramifications and consequences… no wonder we are standing here in trepidation!
Mabon, the Equinox, one of the 4 Cardinal corners of the year, is a time of harvest. But it is also a time to prepare the way, so that new seeds will be able to take root and grow in the Spring. We are at a turning point, when many of the outer planets, including Neptune are about to change signs. Therefore the importance of sowing seeds of peace and equanimity with the Libra Equinox, is that much more important this year. For we do so in order to carry us over this liminal threshold, not only between the seasons, but between the past and a future that has yet to be written.
Balance: As we stand here in the balance between light and darkness, we have the opportunity to reflect on the year that was, and be thankful for all that we have accomplished. It is also an opportunity to welcome the approaching dark time of the year as a necessary part of the cycle.
Gratitude: It is time to give due service, and sow thanks, for what we have. Therefore it is recommended at this time to create a list of gratitude: perhaps beginning with all those things we take for granted, then moving on to that which we are particularly grateful for, so that they may fill our hearts and minds.
Embrace the darkness: Celebrate the emerging Crone, the goddess of the winter months. The Crones were the elders who carried the wisdom of the ages on their shoulders, which had been gathered and honed through sheer experience. In ancient times they served as the story tellers, the teachers, the healers and guides who led us through the dark. And for each of us, there is this recognition that we are entering this dark time of year in order to go within, and meet our own inner Crone. We do this to assimilate all that we have gained, all we have lost and learned, not only so that we can better plan for the year ahead, but to be able to connect with spirit, so that we may never lose sight of what really matters in the end.
Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us… A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead. ~ Barack Obama
For this week’s horoscopes, click below: