Greetings Dear Friends,
The Fall Equinox is the second of the three major harvest festivals. It is also the Jewish New Year and a time of forgiveness and new beginnings. The Celtic name for this quarter day is Mabon: the season of storing food and preserving nature’s bounty for the coming winter months.
This year it will be on September 22nd at 8:00 pm (PDT) and there will be a full moon the next day - the Harvest Moon. Please go out in the evening and bathe in the extraordinary light of this auspicious moment when day and night are in balance. Perhaps you might reflect on the ways in which you can seek more balance in your own life.
Because of my passion for promoting intimacy and love, I’d like to highlight another celestial phenomenon occurring just after the Equinox: the Planet Venus (ruler of relationships) goes retrograde on October 8th for 40 days. The path of Venus as she is observed in the sky has given rise to one of the most ancient and enduring myths: the cycle of descent into darkness and return to the light.
Depending on her apparent motion, Venus is known as either the morning or the evening star. At times she becomes invisible because of the blinding light of the sun and when she returns to view she has changed from the evening star to the morning star, emerging at first dimmed and red-edged. This got the attention of ancient people; Mesopotamians, Chinese, Mayans and Egyptians (to name a few) and it led to the stories of the heroine/hero’s descent into the underworld where they have to strip away symbols of power and return to the world ravaged but wiser for their journey.
The myth of trials one must go through in the underworld has a powerful draw for humankind because it depicts universal experience. We all go through descent times in our lives and the allegory gives us hope that we can return to life having learned valuable lessons, becoming brighter and stronger for the experience. Our Awaken Your Inner Goddess Retreat on October 31st (for those close to Escondido, please mark you calendars) will be exploring this theme in depth.
There is nothing to fear from what may be occurring in relationships during Venus retrograde periods, it is an indication of where you need to renegotiate expectations and agreements (often unspoken) with your beloved. Or it may be that you are not currently in a relationship and may choose to renegotiate with your self. Take note of your emotional fluctuations and use every method you know that returns you to your center before entering into a dialogue to make the necessary adjustments with your partner or self. Yoga, meditation, physical exercise, healthy habits, chanting and prayer, all have their value at this time. I also have a partner exercise entitled Touching Hearts that you can practice when you are both ready and willing. Click here to view the exercise.
I wish you all a wonderful time of re-balancing relationships and I will be in Kauai gazing at the Harvest Moon and sending you love. I will be back in my office on October 4th, just in time to honor Venus as she makes her change.
Blessings,
Linda
lindasavagephd@goddesstherapy.com
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