Today is the Autumn Equinox.  It’s also a New Moon in Virgo.  This is a powerful and awesome time to turn to nature for some help and inspiration with things going on in our lives.  By flowing with the energy around us we get easy, natural support from the Universe and the Divine.

First let’s talk about the Virgo New Moon.  

The new moon is a time to plant seeds for the future, especially the month ahead.  What are we looking to change, grow and manifest in the month ahead?

With the Virgo aspect we start to look toward the practical things we need to do.  This is a great moon for planning the nuts and bolts ahead of us.  If we have something coming up that we need to hunker down and get really disciplined with, Virgo can help. And with the it being a new moon that means being able to really start things off on the right foot – focused and direct from the start.

Then there’s the autumn equinox, also known in earth-based spiritual traditions as Mabon, The Second Harvest, Feast of Avalon, the Wine Harvest and Alben Elfed.

This is the second of the three harvest festivals of the year and it’s a time for gratitude, “reaping what we have sown” and taking stock of what we have gained over the year.  It is the spiritual equivalent to the American Thanksgiving holiday that takes place in November.  It’s a time for feasting and celebration as well as counting your blessings.

But when we look toward the earth tonight on this Autumn Equinox with a Virgo New Moon we can take some lessons from the changes that Mama Gaia is experiencing.

 

 

Go Within

With the dark moon that may have such a faint sliver of light that you can’t even see it, tonight is a great time to go within – to find deep wisdom in your own space and energy rather than looking elsewhere.  The new moon is dark, it’s light turned inward rather than illuminating the world.  Where do you need to turn your light you shine for others on yourself?

For this reason tonight is a great night for some divination.  It’s a wonderful time for pulling a few tarot or oracle cards, reading some signs in incense smoke or candle wax.

 

Let Go

One of the big things that happens at this time of year in nature is the trees shed their leaves.  They are no longer viable and it’s time for them to be released from the branch, dropped to the earth and, when left there naturally, they break down and transform to be absorbed into the earth for nourishment.

What do you need to let go of?  What is no longer viable for you and could be better served by transforming into something else so you can let it feed the future?

A wonderful mini-ritual that you can do is take a quick nature walk {lovely to do on the equinox right sunset} and find a few fallen leaves.  Take then home and with a marker write on each one something that you are ready to let go of and release.  Then take your leaves and a fire-proof container and burn the leaves, letting the fire release these energies from your life, carrying it away on the smoke to the heavens.  {An alternate version is to let them be carried naturally by the winds to eventually rest and mulch somewhere in nature.}

 

Find Your Balance

The equinox is a time of equal light and dark.  It’s a time for seeking balance in our lives so that we can move forward with clarity and focus.  Where are you lacking balance right now?  How is your life tilted more to the dark side?  Or is it tilted too much to the light side?

Now some people might say “you can never have too much light”, but I would definitely disagree.  Darkness is necessary for growth, for rest, for nurture.  Don’t be afraid of darkness and blind it out with light.  Face your darkness and your fears, especially the darkness you have within that you may cover up and push down.  Facing it helps you grow.

And keep in mind that when something we fear is overcome even once it looks it’s power over us.  What we feared yesterday becomes no big thing tomorrow.  It’s just that moment of confronting and dealing with it that’s tricky.

 

Reading Spread for Letting Go

I wanted to share this small reading spread for letting go from my book Mabon: Celebrating the Autumn Equinox Season.

 

 

1. What needs focus right now?
2. What can you freely let go of but aren’t seeing?
3. What still needs some clarity?
4. What will you gain by letting go?

This spread can help you with figuring out what area of your life needs to be given some attention in order to clear out what’s holding you back or keeping you from really realizing the dreams you are after. The second card can be especially eyeopening because it may show you something you can let go of that you haven’t even considered up to this point.

 

Above all else have have gratitude.  When you have gratitude for what you already have and the things that have come your way through your spiritual and material harvest so far, you can be sure more will come your way.

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