September, the harvest month…Summer is over and autumn has arrived. –Cynthia Wickham

The old Norsemen viewed the equinox as a time when all things were in balance for one brief moment, including the forces of good or evil. Like the Jews, they also believed one’s fate for the coming year was sealed at this time, and the Norse often spent the day and night just prior to the equinox in fasting, prayer and asking for forgiveness.  (Llewellyn’s The Witches Calendar, 2003)

The Fall Equinox coincides with the solar festival of Mabon, also known as the Celtic Festival of the Vine. Mabon marks the transition from light to the dark half of the year and celebrates the harvest. In ancient cultures it was the time to store food for the coming winter; today the harvest is symbolic as we focus on the fruits of our inner labors. What aspects of your life do you want to preserve and what parts do you need to discard? Mabon also teaches us about letting go. As summer fades and flowers go to seed, we release our efforts of the past year, our successes as well as those projects and plans that didn’t manifest. Symbolically, we separate the wheat from the chaff.

The Aries Lunar Eclipse – September 27-28, 2015
The Harvest Moon, Blood Moon, Barley Moon

A lunar eclipse is a super potent Full Moon; emotions are intensified, the energy is edgy and unpredictable. As I mentioned before, we all feel the power of the eclipse but those of you with planets or angles at 04 degrees of Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn will feel its full force. The theme of this Full Moon is relationships. What is more highly charged that that? The Sun in Libra, the ancient sign of marriage, is the lover, the artist and the diplomat. The Moon in fiery Aries is the leader, warrior and hero. Other oriented Libra teaches us compromise and negotiation. Self-directed Aries teaches us independence and courage. This Full Moon is a meditation on partnerships of all kinds and a reminder that a healthy relationship requires both freedom and commitment.

For true partnership can only be achieved by separate and whole beings who retain their separateness even in unity and uniting.
–The Book of Runes (Ralph Blum

Two asteroids, Juno and Vesta play a major role in the chart of the Full Moon. Juno, in Libra, is conjunct the Sun; Vesta, in Aries, is conjunct the Moon. Juno, originally known as the Greek Hera, is the goddess of marriage and queen of the heavens. When she wed Jupiter she became Juno and initiated women into the rites of marriage. Her union with Jupiter (the Greek Zeus) was not a happy one but she took her vows seriously and was revered for her loyalty and fidelity. Like many women Hera gave her power away to her husband then raged against him. As a result she is associated with the struggle for equality and genuine partnership.

Vesta, the goddess of hearth and keeper of the sacred flame is conjunct the Moon in Aries. Her name is derived from the Sanskrit root, vas, meaning “shining.” She is a symbol of focus, purity and dedication. In ancient Greece the women who tended the perpetual fires were known as virgins, not because they were sexually innocent, but because they remained unmarried and belonged to no man; they existed whole and complete unto themselves. Vesta reminds us that true partnership depends on two wholes; not two halves.

Eclipses close to a solstice or equinox are further potentized, because there is a reduction in the Earth’s magnetic field, which facilitates the download of new codes into collective consciousness.
– Stephanie Austin (Mountain Astrologer)

 Love brings up anything unlike itself for the purpose of healing.
– Sondra Ray (From the Living Relationships Training)

Full Moon eclipses are powerful portals. They have the power to bring up shadow material from the unconscious. Many relationships will be tested during this period but also transformed. The world is moving quickly, consciousness is speeding up. Can you feel it? Since the final Uranus/Pluto square in March walls have been falling, old models are dissolving and new paradigms emerging – both in the world and in us. This Full Moon teaches us that we need the fierceness of the Aries Moon to protect ourselves and the gentleness of the Libra Sun to expose our vulnerability. Further insights will emerge when the Sun makes a square to Pluto on October 6 and opposes Uranus on October 11.

And then there’s Mercury Retrograde…

Communication guru Mercury is currently retrograde in Libra through October 9. Like certain politicians and reality stars, retro Mercury has a dubious reputation, but it’s not all bad news and breakdowns. While it’s not the best time to launch big projects or make major purchases (especially Mercury ruled items like cell phones, computers and cars) it’s excellent for going back in order to review, rethink, revisit, revise. In Libra, the sign of partnership, Mercury invites us to reexamine not only our relationships but the old patterns and fears that keep us stuck and playing small. In mythology, Mercury, the keeper of the keys to knowledge, carried messages between the gods and between gods and humanity. If we are willing to explore this whole subject of partnership, Mercury retrograde can bring new information, evidence and powerful insights. We can’t change something unless we are aware of it. This Full Moon and Mercury retrograde is a catalyst for that awareness.

This is the weekend of the harvest moon, which, regardless of calendar or equinox, is autumnal as corn shock.
The full moon doesn’t come until tomorrow, but, as reasonably clear skies return, it will be a moonlit weekend.
The harvest moon is not a hasty moon; it comes early and stays late.
–Hal Borland (Borland Country)

Enjoy this beautiful autumn season and the energy of the Full Moon eclipse. Slow down, stay open, curious and above all be kind. Remember, we don’t have to agree in order to be respectful to each other. Below are a few quotes from Brene Brown who writes so deeply and powerfully about the courage to be vulnerable. In a sense her work is a great metaphor for this Full Moon eclipse. Love, Virginia

 You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging. 
- Brene Brown

Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky
but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable.
Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.
-Brene Brown

Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow,
a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them –
we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.
–Brene Brown