Mabon blessings to everyone who celebrates.
Today is the Pagan festival, which celebrates the balance of light into the dark as we move from summer to autumn. At this time the second harvest is celebrated, as the abundance we have grown over the past season is bought into the home to sustain us through the dark months of winter. This was a very important time before the modern appliances, nothing went to waste. Jams, cider, pickles, and chutneys were prepared and stored for winter. At this time of year we have an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, so where you can eat fresh and local and what you have spare, donate to the community. These are all parts of the ethos of this season.
As for the Sun, He is not so happy here in Libra, it is technically called the Sun's detriment as it is opposite the sign of Aries where it is exalted. Why is this? The Sun is the planet of self actualisation, the journey of the self/soul, it is oriented in searching for one's own personal truth. In Libra the Sun is being asked to speak to others within a relationship setting, therefore acknowledging that other people also have their spiritual path to follow. This is where Libra gets the reputation for being great mediators, collaborators and always searching for relationships. I have discussed before the fact that Libra is not always looking for harmony though, they are looking for balance. Therefore they will quite happily pick an argument or become mournful in a room where they feel everything is flowing along happily, just to keep the energy in balance.
Librans are also often accused of ‘sitting on the fence’ in an argument or debate or just can’t make up their mind. This is also not always the case as they are very able to see both sides of the story and will know very well what they actually want, it’s just not always easy to actualise their own wishes without first taking others into account. This is where manipulation can come in by gently guiding the other in the direction that they really want to go. After all, Librans are very charming, a lot of people can fall for that.
This does not mean that Librans are lacking any more than any other sign, all signs have both good points and bad points none are better than another. It is why the whole chart has to be taken into consideration when reading in a consultation. What has to be remembered is that to get the best from the energies of the signs, Libra needs to interact with another to become the best version of itself. Libra is good taste, relationship-oriented, artful, tactful, and charming too.
There is also another component to the loss of power of the Sun in Libra as it contains the Via Combusta or the ‘fiery way’, which occupies the last fifteen degrees of Libra into the first fifteen degrees of Scorpio. This is a place that in medieval astrology was seen as dangerous for planets, as here we have are detriment of the Sun (in Libra) and the fall of the Moon (in Scorpio), so both luminaries are at low points in power. (Kim Farnell has a great book on this subject called Fiery Travels: The Via Combusta, ISBN 978-1-908810-09-0. Thanks will always go to my good friend Kerry for gifting this book to me, as it leads me back into the study of astrology, especially ancient astrology. There are gems to find in all those hot coals that line the path!)
Mercury and Mars are also in Libra, which has been discussed in earlier posts. Mercury is currently walking the Via Combusta and preparing to retrograde back through to 10° and will then have to traverse the area again once it goes direct again. This is a dangerous road for Mercury to be fire walking, backward and forwards, but for me, it is asking what is on this path that is so dangerous that just has to be discovered and communicated? Mars and the Sun will follow to run the fiery gauntlet, of course, Mars loves fire so I am wondering what He is going to be kicking up once He gets into his house in the first half of Scorpio? Creating a lot of steam! Luckily Venus will have passed out of that area in a couple of days, so hopefully that will give a small boost to the situation, She will be relieved to be moving out of the direct opposition to Uranus if nothing else, and looking forward to getting into Sagittarius on October 7th. We can all do with a big dollop of hope.
Blessed Be everyone 🐝