Libra New Moon~ Choosing Harmony~
If you accepted the Virgo invitation from August's new moon, you may have experienced a wide range of weeding, cleansing, clearing, sweating, releasing and transforming your physical world. I clocked more hours of yard and housework time this last month than probably in the last 5 years. It was much needed and worth every drop of sweat and ounce of frustration.
From Mutable Earth, the realm of the healer, we now move to Cardinal Air and the symbolism of the scales. If you really did the deep work Virgo required of you, you let go of a lot and you may still find yourself wanting to "do" more but summer is officially over with Libra's entrance into the sky, and the energy all around is releasing. We must now find the way to balance what we are left with.
The seasonal shifts are instigated by the movement of earth on her axis as she circles the sun, as well as by the movement of zodiac constellations in the sky. When Libra takes center stage, it coincides with the perfect alignment of our planet for 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness (Autumn Equinox), followed by the shift into shorter days and longer nights for our side of the globe. Libra, ruled by the Goddess Venus, and as I mentioned, symbolized by the scales, seeks harmony. As a Cardinal sign, Libra initiates the creativity needed for compromise and balance. As an Air sign, this initiation starts in the mind.
We went camping in the woods this last weekend, a fitting end to the Virgo cycle. As I sat around the campfire with my family, watching the transformation of earth through the burning of wood, my stepson asked me to tell a story. It took me a moment, but as I have Libra rising and Venus ruling my chart, I was quickly nudged to tell my favorite equinox story, a myth that both explained the seasonal change to our ancestors and symbolizes beautifully the act of making choices, compromising, and being in relationship: The myth of Demeter & Persephone~
Demeter is the Goddess of Earth, grain, agriculture and all that grows. She was a great nurturing mama and loved to nurture the whole planet all year long, but especially her daughter, the innocent and beautiful Persephone. Demeter was not the only one to adore her child, the lord of darkness and the underworld, Hades, also had taken an interest. Hades got permission, behind Demeter's back, from the King of Gods, Zeus, to take Persephone as his bride, so one day, when the girl had left her mother's sight to gather flowers, the earth cracked open and Hades dragged her down into the underworld. There was no trace of the abduction and Demeter was devastated. She could not eat, sleep or grow any grain until she found her child. She searched and searched and the earth got more and more bare. Finally, Zeus had to tell Demeter that Hades had taken Persephone. Demeter demanded her return or she swore she would never let anything grow again. Zeus agreed.
Meanwhile, Persephone was suffering below the earth. She also refused to eat or drink and nothing Hades tried could pull his bride from her sadness. When word came that Demeter was going to take Persephone, Hades grew desperate. He told his wife that she would soon be leaving but to please just eat something so she wouldn't seem so weak. Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds to pacify him. There is a law that if you eat or drink anything while in the underworld that you cannot leave, which Hades triumphantly announced when Demeter arrived. Demeter was beyond outraged and again told Zeus she would let Earth die if she had to return without her daughter; so Zeus was forced to compromise. Persephone would spend six months of the year on earth and six in the underworld. Demeter also compromised, stating that nothing would grow when her child went under but that life would return with Persephone, hence the creation of seasons.
There is a lot to this story and many perspectives to consider, but as the the fall equinox and Libra new moon draw close, I want you to consider the journey of Persephone. Demeter represents the light part of the year, the summer growth and blossoming. Hades is the dark time, Winter death, decay and retreat to the underworld. It is Persephone who symbolizes the balance between them, the innocent child of Spring, and the dutiful wife of Fall. It is she who must enter the underworld at fall equinox and return to the earth at spring equinox. Whatever her own feelings, fears and wants, she honors the compromise from Zeus and over time is revered as the Queen of the underworld.
Though at first she is just a victim to deities more powerful than she (I think we can all relate to that!) It is still her decision to cultivate the relationships between and within the light and dark. Persephone is the embodiment of the scales and the true creator of harmony and compromise.
Whatever may have come up for you on the mental level during this physical cycle of Virgo, it is time to reconcile it. In what places and ways are you having to give up some of your lighter aspects and move into your dark? Perhaps the physical work brought up a lot of darkness and your job during this cycle where there is less sun is to try to find the lightness in them? What can you learn about your relationships and where you can and cannot compromise? Relationships are our greatest mirrors, our most powerful teachers, as we see through Persephone and her connection to both Demeter and Hades. Neither is really better than the other, but they both force Persephone into initiation.
This is the month of final harvest, but for many of us, it is in the mental realm of air: practicing slow, balanced breathing, making mental inventories of your own assets/debits as well those of your relationships, reading inspiring books/stories and every day considering how you can bring more harmony into your life. It is not always easy to find balance and compromise, particularly between light and dark, but if Persephone can accept a life split between earth and the underworld, we can utilize twenty eight days for our own exploration of the scales.
