Autumn Equinox Window

Autumn Equinox Window 2014 – Inanna & the Underworld – Pluto and Persephone Station Direct – Libra New Moon

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The 2014 Autumn Equinox is a window that will allow us to transition into the new energies introduced during the Lion’s Gate and Pisces Full Moon. The Lion’s Gate astrology in August was defined by the Sun, Mercury, Lilith, and Moon-Venus conjunction in Leo, square Saturn in Scorpio and trine Uranus in Aries. In the weeks that followed, Jupiter is now approaching trine to Uranus, while in Scorpio the square to Jupiter is met by Ceres. The triangle between Aries, Leo, and Scorpio has evolved into the backdrop of the Autumn Equinox Window- the astrology of our collective descent into the Underworld. In Leo, Jupiter and Lilith are close together again, with the company of asteroid Apophis, who is currently carpet bombing our culture with images and scenarios of grotesque distortions and abuse of the sacred feminine that have exposed the chaos of our society’s views on women – In Scorpio, Ceres challenges Apophis with opportunities for transformational collective healing in response to the exposure of the chaos. Sekhmet and Vesta are transiting Saturn, giving this era of transformation a fresh injection of power, wholeness, and the ability to cultivate a new inner flame after the old self has been discarded. In Aries, Uranus and Eris flank the south node, assisting us in shattering the negative patterns of generational history and breaking the karmic soul contracts that prevent us from transforming into our true, whole, integrated, higher selves. Lilith trine Eris is a lengthy aspect due to the slow orbit of Lilith and almost motionless orbit of Eris. So we are getting a long term cooperation between the split and the synthesis of the sacred feminine, in fire signs.

After the energetic upgrade of the Lion’s Gate, which was followed by solar flares and CME’s that battered earth with geomagnetic storms last week, we can often find ourselves even more vulnerable to anxiety and confusion, contrary to what we may expect from an upgrade- this is because our lower vibrational attachments have disappeared and some of us feel the void of that missing energy so deeply that we can get stuck on the feeling that we have nothing to hold on to- and panic.  We know we have taken a step forward, but we feel lost. If this is where you are, then trying to control and understand your feelings now is not the right path. Welcome to the Underworld. We begin with asteroid Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, stationing direct at 1 Aquarius on Sunday, September 21st, just after 10pm (all times west coast united states).

On this chart we have labeled the evolved former Lion’s Gate triangle, Aries/Leo/Scorpio, which remains as the backdrop for all the activity of the Autumn Eqiunox window. At the moment that Persephone stations direct, the Moon is in Virgo opposite Neptune, who is being transited square by Mars. Mars square Neptune is a complicated aspect that is known for being associated with individuals with a particular intensity and darkness. Some souls that have chosen the difficult responsibility of transforming darkness to light, can become intimately familiar with darkness in ways that make less intense folks uncomfortable- and there is a tendency for those individuals to be consumed by this intense darkness. With Persephone stationing direct trine the Sun, while the Moon creates a T-square to this intense aspect, what I see is- the ‘door’ inside us that we keep shut, that we must open to enter the Underworld… well, here is is. Step 1: Queen Persephone opens the door to the Underworld.

Step 2: Less than 24 hours later, Hades asserts his rulership as King of the Underworld- Pluto stations direct opposite asteroid Hygieia in Cancer. Hygieia’s Cancerian companion is Juno , who adds a layer of complexity to our background triangle as she transits square Eris in Aries and trine Vesta in Scorpio. During the last few months that Juno and Hygieia have occupied the sign of the crab, while  Pluto was retrograde, lessons about relationships and boundaries have been coming to us directly through our bodies- literally flesh as messenger. The message? “THIS DOES NOT WORK.” Have we been listening? As Pluto stations direct opposite Hygieia we will shift gears, having learned what is no longer serving us, we can use the power of Pluto to remove the obstacles- obstacles that we must admit we co-created- that prevent us from relating to our bodies in a healthy and fully integrated way, which is more important than ever during this time that we are all processing our very deepest levels of trauma.

 

The Moon and Venus in Virgo have advanced to sextile Saturn and goddesses in Scorpio(in purple), adding levels of complexity to our understanding of the symbols that are pointing us towards the Underworld. Persephone is known as Queen of the Underworld because Pluto(Hades) kidnapped her- some versions of the myth say she went willingly to be the Queen of the Underworld after Pluto raped her- something that might resonate with those of us engaged in being fully present with our experience of the transformative energies of trauma. Ceres(Demeter) Persephone’s mother, the archetype of the nurturing aspect of Goddess, fought endlessly to save Persephone and bring her back- ultimately, Persephone chose to spend half the year in the Underworld with the fullness of her trauma, the other half of the year she is united with her nurturing mother.  Goddess worship of Persephone recognizes Autumn equinox as Persephone’s return to the Underworld. Two hours after Pluto station direct: Autumn Equinox- the Sun enters Libra. The chart below is essentially identical to the one above, with background aspects softened to highlight Persephone stationed direct trine the Autumn Equinox Sun, and the Moon in Virgo sextile the mother Ceres.

 

 

Less than 12 hours after Autumn Equinox, early Tuesday morning on the west coast, the Moon crosses over Venus at 22 Virgo. In January of 2014, Venus aligned between the Earth and the Sun to begin a new Venus Cycle, a cycle rooted in Capricorn, where Sun and Venus transited Pluto, Persephone, and Persephone’s companion asteroid Psyche, who is also an Underworld-tripper, and also stations direct before the Libra New Moon.  This year, as Persephone and Psyche separated from Pluto in Capricorn and entered Aquarius, Persephone stationed retrograde June 7th- within hours of Mercury station retrograde in Cancer. June 20th, Psyche stationed retrograde within hours of Chiron station retrograde in Pisces. During this equinox window they both station direct with Pluto. But let’s turn our attention to Venus, the myth of Inanna, and the final Moon-Venus transit before the astonishing October 23rd conjunction of Sun and Venus during the Scorpio New Moon Solar Eclipse.

The myth and symbolism of Venus and Inanna, is another version of the story of Persephone- The mysterious dance between Venus, the Sun, and the Moon, represents Persephone/Inanna’s cyclical journey in and out of the Underworld. The journey is marked by seven gates, represented by the seven Moon-Venus conjunctions that occur when Venus is visible in the sky- far enough away from the Sun to be free from its glare. A new cycle begins when Venus is aligned between the Earth and the Sun- then Venus moves out of the alignment to be seen as the morning star. Then, the seven Moon-Venus conjunctions represent the seven gates Inanna must cross, and at each threshold of descent, she removes and abandons her possessions. I have learned to use this meditation to represent the removal and clearing of energies that are blocking the seven chakras, beginning with the crown, and descending, like Inanna, through the root, into the primordal collective darkness. According to what I have learned, Inanna enters the underworld when Venus is rendered invisible by her proximity to the Sun, which happened August 29th, shortly after the August 23rd Lion’s Gate 7th and final Inanna’s Gate. Therefore the symbolism of this Moon-Venus conjunction exists purely to add depth and complexity to the story of asteroid Persephone and Autumn Equinox. I will go much further in depth with the myth of Inanna, and the second half of the Capricorn Venus cycle where she ascends again, in an upcoming post.

The following chart shows only the Moon-Venus conjunction and the goddess asteroids that fall into exact aspect with it.

 

 

Moon and Venus 22 Virgo, aligned with Lilith 22 Leo and Eris 22 Aries. Juno and Vesta at 23 degrees Cancer and Scorpio, and the great Sedna at 24 Taurus. The aspect I have not included on the charts up until this point is Vesta transiting opposite Sedna. This is a confrontation between two extremely opposite energies, at first glance seem impossible to merge the two or even channel them simultaneously. This is our great challenge as trauma survivors working to integrate our worst experiences into a healthy and complete life. Sedna is about finding power in your darkness and loss. Vesta is about cultivating the vitality of the inner flame. Juno transits in cooperation to Vesta, with a powerful creation link to Sedna. Our connection to Sedna energy, and our ability to translate that ownership of darkness through Juno (who determines the safety and dignity of our energy with our relationship boundaries) will determine our ability to transform our Vesta energy as she transits Scorpio. Vesta is clearly the focal point of this particular arrangement, and she will be the first Goddess to complete the transit through Scorpio. The opportunity to bridge and co-mingle the energies of Vesta and Sedna (with Juno’s assistance) will last until the final days of September.

Between the early sunrise hours of Tuesday morning, and almost midnight Tuesday night, the Moon transits away from Venus, and into Libra, to meet the Sun for the 2014 Autumn Equinox Libra New Moon. We return to the chart with the Aries/Leo/Scorpio triangle; Juno in Cancer with Hygieia opposite Pluto; the goddess half-hexagon in purple connecting Sedna, Juno, Venus, and Vesta; and of course, the New Moon at 1 Libra making no other aspect than an exact trine to Persephone at 1 Aquarius.

 

 

So, to re-cap our Underworld journey symbolism: Persephone and Pluto station direct together, with Persephone trine the Sun at Autumn Equinox representing Persephone’s entering the Underworld. The Moon conjuncts Venus, carrying echoes of the seven gates Inanna crossed on her descent.  The New Moon exact trine Persephone brings the cold peace that only occurs when you let go. Let go of control, let go of understanding, let go of whatever part of your ego is telling you that you must strategize and plan where to go from here.  We must allow the pain to surface, and surrender it with love to our Mother Earth, who wants it back and has the power to transform your pain into your future. Your incarnation doesn’t have this power.  Your spirit does.  Let go and trust.  Examine your natal chart for the degrees of zero, 1, and 2 Gemini. If you have a prominent point at those degrees, this could be one of the most meaningful, poignant, bittersweet transitions of your life.  Take this one day at a time. I give you this quote from a great healer in my life: “This is a project, not a lifestyle.” Things will change rapidly.  This is the last new moon before eclipse season. In two short weeks we will be experiencing our second of four Blood Moons- the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Aries- followed two weeks later by the Scorpio New Moon Solar Eclipse, where Inanna will be hung from the hook…. Stay tuned.