What I do tend to do is feel that physical and emotional connection I have with Gaia and sit within the present moment of what is happening to me. Generally after the fact I will read that this planet or that planet has aligned with another. Honestly I cannot say I always understand it but the story that goes with it sounds plausible and seems to match how I have been feeling.
But this weekend to me seems like a very auspicious occasion. In fact I can feel it approaching and I am excited. The new moon for March aligns with the Autumn Equinox and to top it all off there is a total solar eclipse occurring on the 20th March also.
I have begun to notice the changing of the season and on the Autumn Equinox I was planning on a celebration of this. I know it seems a little hypocritical because a changing of the season is an astronomical event where the earth slightly moves off her axis and the sun crosses the equator. It makes no sense that I do not acknowledge I follow astrology but again I highlight for me this is an opportunity to acknowledge changing seasons and how physically and emotionally this impacts my body through a natural connection to that energy. Not a paying attention to someone’s interpretation of the events.
Over the last few years I have noticed the impact the changing of the season has and at this time I note how I want to start to shut down and how I want to prepare myself ready for hibernation. So I started to research and found that for years many ancient cultures would celebrate this and actively prepare for the cooler months. For me celebrating the changing of the seasons is celebrating that deeper connection to the earth and to the natural cycles of life.
Acknowledgement of the moon cycles has been another opportunity for me to connect. The women that come before me, the women who lived and worked the soils of the ancient mother Gaia celebrated a connection to the moon. For them it was a time to celebrate their woman hood. For many of them their bodies cycled with the moon. Ovulating around the full moon and bleeding during the new moon. Since coming off the oral contraceptive pill and aligning myself more with nature I too have been cycling in this manner. It is an honour for me to feel this connection.
And for the solar eclipse, where the sun is engulfed in the shadow of the moon at the time of celebrating both the Autumn Equinox and the New moon it is no wonder I feel the pull to get excited. Incidentally we won't be able to see the total solar eclipse in Australia but that doesn't lessen the excitement.
Ok so let me explain my excitement a bit further.
In pagan tradition symbolically the Autumn Equinox, also called Mabon recognizes a time of balance where the masculine and feminine energies come to together for their final dance before the “death” of the Sun (masculine energy) and the “birth” of Moon (feminine energy). So we have a double whammy celebration. And as I mentioned I love to recognise the cycles of life – birth, life, death and rebirth. We all go through it physically, emotionally and energetically.
The new moon is a time for celebrating the opportunity to “seed” the intention for a new cycle. Come full moon we “birth” this intention.
During this particular solar eclipse the moon has the opportunity to pass between the position of the sun and the earth. The feminine crosses the path of the masculine in perfect balance. Notice the connection to Mabon – Autumn Equinox through a time of balance. The sun is in the shadow of the moon as this occurs. The sun symbolically, in my mind is allowing the moon to move into position ready to take centre stage while he (the sun) fades into the distance. To me this is another symbol of preparation for the death of the masculine.
Then of course the new moon is that symbol of taking time to sit in that shadow and set your intention ready for the new cycle.
Wow I hope you understand why I am excited. On the 20th March and leading up to this Saturday I will be taking time to sit and meditate on my intention not only for the next month but also for the coming seasons of Autumn, Winter and beyond. I will celebrate my connection to the great mother Gaia, give thanks for the abundance in my life, taking stock of any excesses I have and perhaps seeking to store these up for the lean times which may or may not occur and finally feeling into the symbolism of dancing with the shadow over the pending winter months.
I will leave you with these questions to ponder.
What abundance in your life can you celebrate?
What is it that you wish to seed and grow over the coming months?
And finally what are you avoiding by not acknowledging the shadow aspects of your life? It is in the shadow we can create balance.