Happy Samhain My Friends,
The wheel of the year is turning once again and we are moving into the darkest part of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The time period, between Oct. 31st and Nov. 2nd is one of the most widely celebrated ancient traditions honoring death and rebirth. Samhain means ‘summer’s end:’ the harvest is complete and the land will lie fallow for the winter months with the seeds of new life deep underground. Traditionally, this is the time of the descent into darkness and going within.
This year, the period is especially powerful because of the solar eclipse at the Scorpio new moon. I would like to quote my good friend and eminent astrologer, Simone Butler, at www.astroalchemy.com.
Scorpio New Moon (October 23, 2:56 p.m. PDT), which is also a potent solar eclipse exactly conjunct Venus. Scorpio is the sign of female empowerment, and the New Moon’s conjunction to Venus symbolizes the Goddess arising from darkness and obscurity to reclaim her rightful place in the world.
What is truly significant about this time period is that we are seeing people world-wide, finally harnessing the energy of anger to correct some of the egregious wrongs that have plagued cultures for so long. This newsletter may seem to be pertaining mostly to women, yet; in fact, this is for all of us who want to be the change we want to see. I recently posted Emma Watson’s speech to the UN General Assembly to launch her He For She campaign to end gender inequality. Her cataloguing of the gross deficits in access to education, jobs, justice, and healthcare for women was breathtaking. The message is clear that the need for both men and women to support this goal of gender equality is crucial.
In ancient cultures, there have been many images of angry Goddesses: Kali, Sekhmet, Lilith, and Pele, to name a few. Most of these Goddesses have been associated with refusing to be held down, or righting wrongs and upholding social justice. This new moon and solar eclipse usher in a time of unleashing female empowerment and it requires women to confront their own relationship with anger. I encourage all of us to explore how our anger may get blocked or expressed in uncontrolled rage or depression. For women, anger generally resides in the shadow: we disown it as ugly, unfeminine or even dangerous. It often masks feelings of fear, shame and unworthiness and it shows up in ways that may not serve us or our families. When blocked anger is moved into productive energy we hold the power to transform the world into a more equitable and cooperative community, capable of providing abundance for all.
Astrologer Simone Butler offers the example of Malala Yousafzai who was shot in the head and left for dead two years ago for advocating education for women in Pakistan. Just recently she was awarded the Noble Peace Prize, the youngest person ever to receive this honor and she inspires women and men everywhere to speak up for justice.
As a meditative practice, recognize how you express your anger and also how it may manifest in destructive behavior, health issues, or isolation. Then imagine creating pathways towards productive anger, where passionate energy propels you forward into speaking or taking action that leads towards resolution of the issues that you care about.
Blessings to all, Linda
lindasavagephd@goddesstherapy.com
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