September 2004 Alignments Newsletter http://ezezine.com September 2004 Alignments Newsletter In this season of the Autumn Equinox and Harvest Moon, we focus on release and forgiveness. The Goddess grows ripe and full as the golden moon waxes over the horizon, a reflection of our inner lives. We reap the harvest of a full cycle of soul evolution and celebrate our connections with friends, community and family. Enjoy this sacred season and take time to reflect on what you hold dear. Please pass this newsletter along to others who might benefit from the information. Peace on your journey. In this issue... 1) Harvest the Riches of Soil and Soul 2) September Planetary Alignments Update 3) Jupiter in Libra 4) Navigating Life Changes Gracefully --------------------------------------------------- Harvest the Riches of Soil and Soul --------------------------------------------------- “Write your wishes on the door and come in. Stand outside in the pools of the harvest moon.” - Carl Sandburg Each year the Earth dances in cycles with the Sun and Moon, creating alignments with special significance as seasons change and souls evolve. Since ancient times, Spring Equinox has guided the planting of crops and the seeding of dreams. At Autumn Equinox, we gather the bounty of the harvest. Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox, when farmers gather their harvest by moonlight. The golden moon hovers near the horizon, ripe, full and round in this season of the Goddess. This year’s Harvest Moon rises on September 27. In the Earth dance, Equinoxes are the points in the solar year when day and night are of equal length. Solstices are the longest and shortest days of the year. Harvest Moon marks a time of completion, culmination, transition. We gather and celebrate the abundant harvest, give thanks for our blessings and prepare for the coming winter. Ceremonies and celebrations for a successful harvest are both worldwide and ancient. Individually and together, we focus on gratitude, abundance, health, charity, relationship and community. Some Native American tribes call this the Nut Moon, referring to the nuts and fruits gathered in fall to be made into breads. In England, harvest is celebrated with singing, prayer and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food during Harvest Festival. In schools and churches, people bring in food from home to be distributed among the poor or senior citizens of the local community. Pagans observe Autumn Equinox with the Sabbat of Mabon. The equinox falls on September 22, when the sun enters the sign of Libra. At Mabon, most of the crops have been reaped and people are ready to celebrate their abundance. Rituals focus on balance and harmony. In American secular tradition, this festival has translated to Thanksgiving, observed in late November by feasting with family, friends and community. Turning within Harvest Moon has a more private significance, too. In the soul’s journey, autumn brings to completion a year-long cycle of inner growth. As individuals, we review the year’s highs and lows, what we accomplished and what still needs to be addressed. We begin to turn our attention inward as the days grow shorter and Winter Solstice approaches. At Fall Equinox and Harvest Moon, we resolve the issues of life. The sign of Libra, symbolized by scales, represents balance and harmony. This is a time of "letting go," a time of forgiveness, a time for healing old wounds, both emotional and physical. We harvest the abundance of the soul and its growth, balance our karmic debts, release the past and make room for the new, enlightened being to emerge from within. And the cycle begins anew. Contacting the Goddess During this alignment of Earth and Moon, we may also connect more deeply with our feminine nature. The Earth Mother provides sustenance for all creatures and so represents nurturing, caring and compassion for all beings. Mabon, or "great son of the great mother,” is a Welsh God of the dying and rising sun, music, love and fertility. He represents the change of seasons. He is also called the Son of Light, the Young Son or Divine Youth. The Equinox is the birth of Mabon from his mother Modron, the Guardian of the Outerworld. She is the healer, the protector, and the Earth. At Taos Pueblo in northern New Mexico, the Earth Mother and Mother Mary are one - the Divine Mother - represented by a painting of corn on the church altar. Grandmother Moon draws forth our emotions as well as psychic, intuitive and healing abilities -- feminine qualities we may experience more intensely now. At the time of the harvest, we contact the Goddess to reveal the Divine Feminine within each of us. We may reconnect with the Earth Mother by spending more time in nature, perhaps in ceremony or ritual. Sleeping on the ground under the golden light of the Harvest Moon reveals the depths of the subconscious. In merging with the Earth and Moon, we align with our own Divine Nature. We become the ancestors. We remember our destiny and purpose. We remember…All is One. -------------------------------------------------------------- At the time of the Fall Equinox and Harvest Moon, I will host a women’s retreat in the Southern Rockies to connect with the Goddess and celebrate the Divine Feminine. The Women’s Harvest Moon Retreat will be held September 24-26 in Crestone, Colorado. During our weekend together, we will explore women’s health, spirituality, relationships, ritual and creativity. We’ll also visit the Divine Mother Temple at Haidakhandi Universal Ashram and soak in natural hot springs under the Harvest Moon. For more information, please visit: http://www.TheStarCenter.org and click on Workshops. --------------------------------------------------- Planetary Alignments Update --------------------------------------------------- Pluto has just stationed direct (August 30), and Mercury returns to forward motion on September 2, prompting forward movement on the soul’s journey and -- we hope -- less complicated human relations. Venus shines in Leo beginning September 6, and late in the month Jupiter, Mars and Mercury join the Sun in Libra after the Autumn Equinox. This much-needed energy of harmony and balance carries into October, in preparation for powerful Solar and Lunar Eclipses. Mercury Stations Direct -- September 2 Things may seem less sluggish once Mercury returns to forward motion on September 2. Creative projects, especially, get the green light. If we’ve used the retrograde period for review and refinement, we may now feel ready to move forward with plans and projects. Venus into Leo -- September 6 When Venus transits the flamboyant sign of Leo, we may not settle for anything less than grandiose gestures of love and perhaps some indulgent spending. Venus, the planet of love and finances, struts her stuff in the self-confident domain of Leo. Passion, creativity, love and lust combine for a raucous ride that could tend toward egotism and self-centeredness. Enjoyed in appropriate balance, this mixture blends sensuality and self-esteem for a winning combination. New Moon in Virgo -- September 14 10:24 a.m. EST Virgo, the sign of the virgin, represents the creative potential within. All New Moons are about fresh starts and new beginnings, and this one might be the perfect time to launch that creative project you’ve always wanted to do. How will you direct the energies of this New Moon? Do you secretly yearn to paint, sculpt or make music? Try something new and different. Virgo has a reputation for being picky and fussy. On the positive side, Virgo is about details, discernment, purification and wholeness. In which areas of our lives do we need to focus on the details? Have we separated the wheat from the chaff in needed areas? Spending time in nature helps us connect with the Goddess and evaluate where we need to go from here as we prepare for the gateway of Fall Equinox and the Harvest Full Moon. Jupiter conjunct the Sun -- September 21 Each year when Jupiter aligns with the Sun, we have an increased capacity for perceiving new and expanded possibilities. The Sun represents the self, so this may be an individual experience, but with Jupiter’s high-mindedness, our visions will relate to the collective. We’re confident in our individuality, yet aware of our relationship to humanity and the cosmos. Autumn Equinox -- September 22 The Autumn Equinox marks the Sun’s entry into Libra. The equinoxes are the points in the solar year when day and night are of equal length, and so represent balance in our inner and outer lives. Libra is the sign of the scales, which represent justice. It’s time to balance karmic debts and stand in our power, refreshed and renewed from within. Celebrations of community and rituals of balance are especially appropriate. Jupiter into Libra -- September 24 Mars into Libra (conjunct Jupiter) -- September 26 Mercury into Libra -- September 28 It’s an interesting mix when three fiery planets - the Sun, Jupiter and Mars -- enter the cool, peaceful sign of Libra. Hopes and ambitions may run high. With Mars conjunct Jupiter in Libra, we may feel compelled to defend or fight for human rights. Libra represents balance and cooperation. How do our individual paths fit within a social context? In what ways are we being challenged to flex, bend and grow? How are we relating with others? Later, Mercury joins the Libran scene, helping us communicate our views more effectively. Harvest Moon - Full Moon in Aries -- September 28 9:09 a.m. EST The Full Moon energizes Libran values of love, peace and balance. In Aries, the Moon picks up warrior steam, and we may find ourselves stubbornly fighting for our ideals. This is also the Harvest Moon, a turning point in our annual cycle of inner growth. After an extroverted summer season, we begin to turn within as the days grow shorter and winter approaches. This is the perfect time to give thanks for the blessings of the harvest in both our outer and inner worlds. In the U.S., the Moon waxes full in the early morning, so ritual and celebration are appropriate the night before, on September 27. Looking ahead… Partial Solar Eclipse -- October 13 Total Lunar Eclipse -- October 27 Next Mercury Retrograde -- November 30-December 19 ---------------------------------------------------------- Jupiter in Libra ---------------------------------------------------------- After a year-long transit of Virgo, Jupiter celebrates freedom and expresses more fully in Libra beginning September 24. Jupiter’s journey through the zodiac takes 12 years, so this hefty planet spends about a year in each sign. Jupiter’s transit of Libra lasts through October 2005. The planet of expansion and higher mind felt constrained in Virgo. In Libra, Jupiter gets to stretch and explore. Libra, the sign of the scales, represents balance. When the Sun enters Libra at the Autumn Equinox, night and day are of equal length. Libra helps us find the middle ground between seeming polarities - masculine and feminine, good and bad, right and wrong, liberal and conservative. Closely connected with justice, Libra influences the legal system. During Jupiter’s transit, we may witness developments that bring balance and harmony through legal channels. Libra is also the sign of relationships. Following the Transit of Venus in early June and three Venus-Pluto oppositions in recent months, Jupiter in Libra helps us expand our concepts of relating one-on-one. Our hopes for relationship and personal boundaries may be radically transformed during this passage. We may attract relationships of a much higher nature and let go of those that constrain us. Ritual that focuses on balance is especially appropriate at the Autumn Equinox as the Sun enters Libra -- balance between our inner and outer worlds, balance of the masculine and feminine within, balance between maintaining our individuality and identifying with the collective during these times of intense transition. Along with the Sun and Jupiter, we’ll feel a strong overall Libran influence this month when Mars and Mercury also enter the sign of the scales. Harmony, beauty, love and peace are hallmarks of this air sign. This energy will serve us well as we prepare for the upcoming eclipses in October and the Bear Lodge of winter. -------------------------------------------------------- Navigating Life Changes Gracefully -------------------------------------------------------- In numerology and astrology, we study cycles of soul growth and evolution. Your numerology chart and natal horoscope are blueprints that indicate the kinds of experiences your soul has chosen to have in this lifetime to learn and grow. Personal year cycles in numerology, along with transits and progressions in astrology, identify specific influences throughout the lifetime. What do your name, birth date, time and location reveal about your destiny and purpose, your soul’s urge, personality expression and life challenges? How are personal years and transiting planets influencing major life changes now and in coming years? Understanding the dynamics of numerology and astrology as they relate to your path in this lifetime is a major focus of my readings. We explore cycles of soul growth, personal transformation and mastery through the study of your astrology and numerology. Along with channeled guidance from the higher realms, we offer specific suggestions for navigating your path in grace. If you’d like to explore these areas more fully on an individual basis, please visit my web site for a description of my Soul Readings. I look forward to working with you. In Love and Peace, Allison Rae allison@TheStarCenter.org http://www.TheStarCenter.org Resources for Lightworkers and Starseeds The monthly Alignments Newsletter features information about star alignments, personal and planetary transformation, metaphysics, personal mastery, ancient wisdom, spiritual prophecy and more. We also offer a free sister newsletter, The Star Path, focusing on peace and enlightenment in daily living. To subscribe, visit http://www.TheStarCenter.org All Content Copyright 2004 Allison Rae/TheStarCenter.org